We are a small Episcopal Church on the banks of the Rappahannock in Port Royal, Virginia. We acknowledge that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Port Royal, the Nandtaughtacund, who are still here, and we honor with gratitude the land itself and the life of the Rappahannock Tribe. Our mission statement is to do God’s Will in all that we do. We welcome all people to our church.
Easter Staircase, 2022
The Second Sunday of Easter , Year C
April 24 – 11:00am, Easter – Join here at 10:45am for gathering – service starts at 11am Meeting ID: 869 9926 3545 Passcode: 889278
- Bulletin April 24, 2022
- Lectionary for April 24, 2022
- Commentary April 24, 2022
- Easter 2 Videos
- Easter 2 Photos
April 27 – Bible Study 10am-12pm
Save the Date! May 11, Shred-it
Gather your older sensitive documents to be securely shred now
Village Harvest sees consistency in April with past trends
We have seen similar trends in clients visiting the Village Harvest from March to April over the last two years:
2021 March, 95 and
2021 April, 71
2022 March, 91 and
2022 April, 70
The supply of food was down to 1144 but well above a year ago at 838. It was below the 1480 and 1635 in Feb and March, respectively.
The important trend is that there were over 16 pounds per person and is above the 4 month average of 15. (The 12 month period it is higher at just under 17.50 pounds).
The food contents in April were similar with produce, mixed grocery and meat. The supply of produce is steady at the 35-37% level from the last two months. Compared to last year we are giving out a larger share of produce at 35% vs. 27%. (Produce is probably more in demand.) The major change between 2021 and 2022 was a larger share of grocery items (up from 21% to 46%) and little miscellaneous items.
The value to the client based on $6 a pound is $9.81. Though under the 12 month average at $10.5. It is above 2022’s average at $9.00.
Overall, most of measures in April exceeded the average 2022 numbers of pounds per person and value and we are giving out a large percentage of produce compared to a year ago.
Clearing a River Path
On Sat. April 23, we had approximately 10 from the church plus 3 boy scouts to begin a process of seeing how the church can use its access to the river. We were also being guided from Brent from the Friends of the Rappahannock. The goal today was to create an open space.
We will be looking at creating a more formal path to the river which can be used as space for activities – education, fellowship, and understanding the ecology of the river.
Read the rest of the story, including an end of day picture.
St. Mark’s Day is April 25. Who was he?
John Mark is the author of the Gospel of Mark which we are reading this year in Year B.
The painting was done in 1625 by Frans Hals, a Dutch painter, who painted portraits of all the Gospel writers.
Mark’s work was the first Gospel probably written in the 60’s AD. Gospel means “Good News” of Jesus Christ reflecting His life and work. The Gospel says the Kingdom of God is at hand and brings new life, sanctification and hope to the world. It is also one of the Synoptic Gospels.
Synoptic, in Greek, means "seeing or viewing together," and by that definition, Matthew, Mark, and Luke cover much the same subject matter and treat it in similar ways. Some scholars believe an oral gospel existed first, which Matthew, Mark, and Luke used in their versions. Others argue that Matthew and Luke borrowed heavily from Mark. A third theory claims an unknown or lost source once existed, providing much information on Jesus. Scholars call this lost source "Q," short for quelle, a German word meaning "source." Still another theory says Matthew and Luke copied from both Mark and Q.
Mark stresses Jesus’ message about the kingdom of God now breaking into human life as good news (Mk 1:14–15) and Jesus himself as the gospel of God (Mk 1:1; 8:35; 10:29). Jesus is the Son whom God has sent to rescue humanity by serving and by sacrificing his life (Mk 10:45).
We are in Eastertide until Pentecost, June 5
Eastertide is the period of fifty days, seven Sundays from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday. Easter is not a day but a season and it is one to examine the Resurrection, more broadly and deeply. There are a number of questions.
Is Resurrection just about death has been swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54-56) ? Is Resurrection of Jesus is a precursor to your own resurrection (1 Corinthians 15) ? Does it say something about our own ability to expect to see Jesus (Luke 24) ? How does the new Christian community begin to function making Christ the central part of daily life ? (Acts 2)
Jesus physically appears in Easter 2 and 3 making the Resurection tangible. The shepherding part of his ministry is explored in Easter 4. From Easter 5-7, Jesus must prepare the disciples for his departure. He is going to leave them. Jesus prepares his disciples for continuing his ministry without his physical presence. Themes explored include the holy spirit, the Prayer of Jesus and God’s glory through His Son and the church.
Christ ascends on the 40th day with his disciples watching (Thursday, May 5th). The weekdays after the Ascension until the Saturday before Pentecost inclusive are a preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.This fifty days comes to an end on Pentecost Sunday, which commemorates the giving of the Holy Spirit to the apostles, the beginnings of the Church and its mission to all peoples and nation. Note that the Old Testament lessons are replaced by selections from the Book of Acts, recognizing the important of the growth of the church.
Earth Day, 2022 – April 22
Earth Day, April 22 -8 steps
Earth Day originated in 1970 after Sen. Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin witnessed the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. He hoped it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda. It did lead to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the passage of the Clean Air Act and a dialogue on a host of issues.
The Earth Day 2022 Theme is Invest In Our Planet. What Will You Do? The site has “52 Ways to Invest in our Planet” https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-tips/ We have invested in our planed with Shred-It. The 10th Shred-It scheduled May 11, the same day as the Village Dinner
1 Plant more trees.
Canopy project – For every $1 donated a tree gets planted The Canopy Project partners with groups around the world to ensure that your donation sustainably plants trees for a greener future for everyone. This charity has a four star rating on Charity Navigator. https://donate.earthday.org/donate_to_the_canopy_project
Locally. Tree Fredericksburg has planted 7,500 trees in the city since its founding in 2008 https://treefredericksburg.org They have a donation project to donate free trees to individuals or business. Tree Fredericksburg always needs volunteers
2. Conservation landscaping
Also, Virginia provides financial incentives to help with environmental issues on your property. The Virginia Conservation Assistance Program (VCAP) is an urban cost-share program that provides financial incentives and technical and educational assistance to property owners installing eligible Best Management Practices (BMPs) in Virginia’s participating Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs).
These practices can be installed in areas of your yard where problems like erosion, poor drainage, or poor vegetation occur. This website provides more information. https://vaswcd.org/vcap
Examples include conservation landscaping to create a diverse landscape that helps to protect clean air and water and support wildlife. A part of this is planting more native plants https://vaswcd.org/conservation-landscaping . Native plants do not require fertilizer, use less water than lawns and help prevent erosion
3 Help with a clean-up. Cleanups outside reduce waste and plastic pollution, improve habitats, prevent harm to wildlife and humans and even lead to larger environmental action. It’s out there – let’s get rid of it! No community cleanup is scheduled in the spring. Is it worth considering for this area ? The Earth Day site has tips – https://www.earthday.org/your-first-cleanup-what-to-know-and-expect-15-tips-for-first-time-volunteers
Lectionary, Easter 3, May 1, 2022
I.Theme – Considering Jesus’ presence with us.
"Christ’s Appearance on Lake Tiberias" – Duccio di Buoninsegna 1308-11)
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – Acts 9:1-6, (7-20)
Psalm – Psalm 30
Epistle –Revelation 5:11-14
Gospel – John 21:1-19
Today’s readings invite us to consider the meaning of Jesus’ presence with us. In the story from Acts, the apostles, empowered by the Spirit of Jesus, preach the gospel despite persecution. John, in his Revelation, describes how being in the presence of Jesus, the enthroned Lamb of God, moves all of creation to bless and praise. In today’s gospel story, Jesus, in another post resurrection appearance, provides an abundant catch of fish for his disciples.
In Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass, the White Queen tells Alice that in her youth, she believed six impossible things every morning before breakfast and counsels Alice to believe in impossibilities as well. The Easter season is a season for mystics and “impossibility” thinkers. We are challenged to believe “more” rather than “less” about the world and its resources. Tempted to think small, we may discover that God is at work in our lives – in the causal events of life – to give us more than we can ask than imagine. Possibilities abound that appear to be “impossibilities” for unimaginative realists. Persecutor Paul encounters the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus; the Resurrected Christ cooks breakfast for the disciples and invites Peter to claim a global vocation; the author of Revelation envisages an enchanted and lively universe, in which all creation praises God; and Psalmist experiences ecstasy and joy amid the maelstrom of external challenges.
The call of the readings is to go out and act on them. There are people who are hungry—we must go and feed them, we can’t be only worried about our own needs. There are people who are mourning, who are sad—we must go and be with them, to help bear their burdens. We must remember that the picture is greater than ourselves. Messages of personal salvation only go so far, to help us feel good about ourselves. Remembering that God’s purpose as Creator is new life, we must do our part to help in all of creation to nurture that new life. "Feed my sheep", "Follow me’
Making Adjustments (Lectionary Easter 3)
Suzanne Guthrie
“The disciples have been night-fishing, but as dawn breaks they have nothing to show for their efforts. Jesus appears on the shore, too far away to help. He shouts at them to fish differently, to throw their nets on the unconventional side of the boat. That’s where they find what they’re looking for.”
-Richard Beard
from the novel, Lazarus is Dead (p.219)
“Is it possible that finding what I’m looking requires just the slightest adjustment in my way of seeing? How can pulling up my net, moving it a few feet over, throwing it back in the same waters, make a difference? And yet…
“What other slight adjustments to my life, my character, my thinking, my relating to family, friends, neighbors, the world, might change barrenness to fecundity? At any given moment there’s probably at least 153 ways to begin.
Do you remember the dynamic between the two disciples running to the tomb on Easter Morning? Mary Magdalene, having found the tomb empty runs to wherever the disciples have been hiding and brings back Peter and John. John outruns Peter but hesitates to go in. When Peter arrives he enters the tomb and sees the disarray of cloths. “Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed” (John 20:8).
“John understands. Peter acts.
“Here in the boat, the stranger on the shore calls to the men in the boat. Children, have you caught anything? No? Cast your net on the right side of the boat and you’ll catch some. And they did. And could hardly manage the haul of fish. “The disciple who Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”
“Peter, who is naked, throws on his clothes and jumps into the water to swim toward shore, leaving the others to manage the miraculous catch of fish.
“John understands. Peter acts.
“When I act first, perhaps I need to understand more. When I understand and fail to act, well, that’s another adjustment I need to make.”
During the Easter season Jesus reappears in 2nd and 3rd Easter as Jesus did from Easter Sunday onward. The timeline above shows there were at least 10 appearances between Easter Sunday and Ascension. What do we make of these appearances ?
Gerald Hughes in his book, The God of Surprises mentions three features that are common in all of the resurrection accounts. The most common feature he pointed out is that before Christ appeared everyone was in a negative mood: the women who came to the tomb, came only expecting to embalm Jesus; the disciples on the road to Emmaus are sad and disillusioned; the disciples in the upper room are afraid and living behind closed doors; and Thomas is in doubt. On Easter 3, no fish were begin caught. In every case, their pain and disillusionment revealed their poverty of spirit and need of God. Yet in each person our Lord’s love met them in the midst of their despair and led them to a life-transforming faith.
The second common feature of those who came to faith was the slowness of those to whom Christ appears to recognize that He really was the risen Christ. The disciples on the road to Emmaus walked several miles with him before they recognized him. “But their eyes were kept from recognizing him” In Easter 3, the disciples go back to being fisherman, their profession before they met Jesus, They catch nothing until a stranger calls to them to put out their nets on the right side. Once they bring in the load of the miraculous catch, Peter finally proclaims, “It is the Lord!”
A final feature common to the resurrection is that those to whom Christ appeared are commissioned to go and tell others. In Luke’s Road to Emmaus, the heartburn of despair had been replaced by a new burning faith. These two were re-energized. They might have been dragging on the way to Emmaus but they were ready to run back to Jerusalem. Before their faces were downcast. Even though it was late, very possibly dark by now—they immediately raced off to Jerusalem. The lesson is not to prejudge Jesus and expect to find Jesus in the most unlikely places, such as a war-torn country
Make a Gift Today! 2. Contact the Rev Catherine Hicks, Rector 4. Server Schedule April, 2022 5. Latest Newsletter-the Parish Post (April, 2022) 6. Calendar 9. Latest Sunday Bulletin (April 24, 11:00am), and Sermon (April 24, 2022) 10. Recent Services: Lent 5, April 3 Palm Sunday, April 10 Readings and Prayers, April 10 Easter Sunday, April 17 Readings and Prayers, April 17 |
Block Print by Mike Newman
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Knowing that not everyone prays at the same pace, you have control over the pace of the retreat. After each screen, a Continue button will appear. Click it when you are ready to move on. If you are new to online prayer, the basic timing of the screens will guide you through the experience.
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Saints of the Week, April 24 – May 1, 2022
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24
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Genocide Remembrance |
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25
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Saint Mark the Evangelist |
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26
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Robert Hunt, Priest, 1607 |
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27
27 |
[Zita of Tuscany], Worker of Charity, 1271 Christina Rossetti, Poet, 1894 |
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28
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29
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Catherine of Siena, Mystic & Prophetic Witness, 1380 |
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30
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Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, Prophetic Witness, 1879 |
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1
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Saint Philip and Saint James, Apostles |