This was a special Sunday with a formal dedication of the Belfry plaque for inside the church . The sermon celebrated the concept of sacred space as defined by the architect of the new VTS chapel . "Sacred spaces are a way of structuring the ineffable, that is making something visible that is otherwise impossible to describe."
Catherine described the history of the Belfry in the announcements from the time of the fire in 1868 which destroyed to the mounting of the bell in the companile in 1873 to Helmut’s vision of the new belfry on top of the church to the Vesty agreeing to support it in 2009. It was completed in 2010 and dedicated by Father John Wall in 2010. A plaque was placed outside the Church but there was none for the many people who gave money for its completion in 2010. – until now.
Here is a set of pictures of the design and raising of the belfry. This article appeared in the Caroline Progress on the creation of the belfry.
Two plaques were created one by Senior Warden Linda and David Beck for the church and the other by Terri Harrison for the Parish House.
It has been a busy week in the Parish. During the announcements, Catherine recognized Eunice, Betty and Cookie who prepare the annual Village Dinners on Wednesday of each month. She described the pet blessing the next day and also the Jail Ministry. Mary Anne Betchy has just joined as one of the voluntter.
On Saturday, Oct. 6, 3 Fishers, Catherine and Eunice brought the St. Peter’s banner and vestments to participate in the National Acolyte festival at the National Cathedral. They were part of the procession and service and participated in workshops.
We also celebrated the birthday of Dutchy Fannon this week as well as Ken and Andrea Pogue’s anniversary
41 were in Church on a more typical Oct day in the 50’s under rainy and overcast skies. Coffee hour was prepared by Marion consisting or ham and roast beef sandwiches, fruit crackers and donut holes and coffee cake
Some people didn’t want to leave.!
As mentioned, there was a sermon tie in to the belfry dedication. ( For reference – Readings, Bulletin). The sermon was about the concept of sacred space as defined by Robert Stern of the architectural firm desigining the new chapel at Virginia Theological Seminary. "He said that sacred spaces are a way of structuring the ineffable, that is making something visible that is otherwise impossible to describe." The belfry was gone from 1868-2010.
"And so this congregation decided to make sure that people knew that this building was a sacred space, and in 2010, you had a new belfry and cross designed and placed back in its original spot on the church roof. Now anyone who drives by knows that this building is indeed, a sacred space. "
And yet the gospel seemingly is about divorce and little children. Marriage could be described as a sacred space. The passage in its core is about hard heartedness of two parties – the Pharisees and disciples.
Some background is in order. Professor Robert Lose describes the concept of divorce in Jesus time -"There were two schools of thought about divorce in Jesus’ day – both believed a man had a right to put away, dismiss, or divorce his wife. One school was fairly strict – a man could do this only if his wife were unfaithful; the other was more lenient – a man could do this if his wife displeased him in any number of ways, including, according to one rabbinic source, ‘burning her husband’s toast.’"
Marriage in Jesus time was primarily a means of ensuring families’ economic stability and social privilege. The consequences for the woman in divorce were devastating – familial and public disgrace, potentially severe economic hardship, and limited future prospects for her and her children.
Jesus is on route toward Jerusalem. The pharisees challenge Jesus about divorce. In response to the question by the Pharisees – "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" – Jesus actually refuses to render a legal judgment on divorce but instead turns the question on its head, shifting the conversation from legal to relational categories as he seeks protection for the most vulnerable.
The pharisees can only quote Moses and don’t think of the consequences of divorce for women. The Pharisees neglect to mention a key piece of Deuteronomy 24:1-4, which requires a husband to give the certificate of divorce to his ex-wife. Such a document might provide a divorced woman with a defense against rumor and slander.
In the end, when Jesus debates the Pharisees, he appeals to a greater law, the law of God’s creation. Jesus gives women a place of greater equality in the marriage relationship, hardly seeing them as passive objects. He implies that adultery involves more than violating the property rights of another man, a legal agreement. It concerns accountability to a partner, just as marriage does.
The passage about children appears abruptly after this discussion. Children were also vulnerable as women in a different sense and maybe worse. Children in the ancient world had few rights and essentially no social status. Therefore the disciples obstruct people who bring children to Jesus. He says they belong to the Kingdom of God which Mark proclaims at the beginning of his gospel. In turn we must embrace the Kingdom of God as a little child would – innocently, simply without preceived conceived notions.
Jesus in Mark constantly goes beyond the prescribed boundaries – both geographical and social – to proclaim God’s mercy and grace even if that meant challenging the status quo. As the sermon states "Jesus is the one who, when he becomes one of us, speaks our language, and he calls us back from brokenness into the sacred space of relationship with him, back to the beginning, back toward the perfection of Paradise."
"And yet, these are the very people that Jesus welcomes into his embrace—children, people who have suffered because of broken relationships or who are broken from physical illnesses, people who suffer in unhappy marriages, people who have no one to love them, sinners, outcasts, people who live in fear, people who long for God’s love—in other words, all of us— we are the people that Jesus will not only judge at the end of time, but we are also the people that Jesus will welcome into his sacred space, and he will touch each one of us with his merciful hands of healing and hold us close in his arms of love."