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Block Print by Mike Newman
Projects
Link to the reports from Jan 15 Annual Meeting
Daily meditations in words and music.
Your daily prayer online, since 1999
"We invite you to make a ‘Sacred Space’ in your day, praying here and now, as you visit our website, with the help of scripture chosen every day and on-screen guidance."
Saints of the Week, Jan. 29 – Feb. 5
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29
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[Andrei Rublev, Monk and Iconographer, 1430] |
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30
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31
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[Juan Bosco (John Bosco), Priest, 1888], also [Samuel Shoemaker, Priest and Evangelist, 1963] |
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1
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Brigid (Bride), 523 |
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2
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The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple |
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3
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[The Dorchester Chaplains: Lieutenant George Fox, Lieutenant Alexander D. Goode, Lieutenant Clark V. Poling and Lieutenant John P. Washington, 1943] |
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4
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Anskar, Archbishop of Hamburg, Missionary to Denmark and Sweden, 865 (new date) |
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5
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[Roger Williams, 1683, and Anne Hutchinson, 1643, Prophetic Witnesses] |
Jan. 29 -Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
From Last week…
Youth in Morning Prayer, Jan. 29
Acolyting, ushering, singing and going along with the service
"Walk in Love" video from Annual Convention
Link to the Diocese of Va. video
Susan Tilt’s Reflections on Annual Council
Susan was our delegate to Annual Convention and presented her reflections during Sunday’s sermon (Jan 29). Here is a link to her remarks
Bishop Shannon’s Address at Convention
A summary of Bishop Shannon’s pastoral address, Jan 27, 2017, Annual Convention in his own words. Link to the full address
1 Faith in the public square – I must be more of a public activist about the values to which I feel called by my faith in Jesus as the Lord of life and by the whole record of the sacred Scriptures. I’ve been calling this awareness “faith in the public square,” and it compels me not only for my ministry and role as a bishop but also simply as an individual Christian person. Why ?
A First, the “mainstream” Protestant churches have become more marginalized than ever, our voice being all but drowned-out by the hard-Right fundamentalists and politically-charged evangelicals.As a result, our secularized culture is not truly aware of a more moderate and broader voice from the Christian tradition
B The second factor moving me into a more activist-style of our Christian faith is the alarming polarization in our public discourse as the American society. If ever our nation and world needed the Anglican tradition of a “big tent” community, our ability to forge consensus around “both—and” as contrasted to the highly toxic and (in the end) destructive “either—or” it is now.
C Finally, I’m raising the bar for my Christian voice because it is now apparent to me that here in the United States (although certainly not limited to our country) a fear-driven, isolationist nationalism seriously threatens the Gospel’s vision for human life and community by propping up self-interest as nothing short of an idol. Jesus never said or exemplified “self first.” Quite the contrary: We follow a Lord who said “Love one another as I have loved you.” In my book, that means “selflessly” and “unconditionally.”
I shall seek to articulate and bring a concrete witness to our Christian values as declared with unambiguous specificity in the Baptismal Covenant. In my view, this will most often involve our promise to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself” and to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.” We are charged with a bias for Jesus’ Gospel vision of human life, striving for the realization of God’s Kingdom in this life. So, if-ever and whenever you feel called to enter the arena of a public issue from the point of view of your Christian faith, my strong counsel to you is that you must be very sure indeed to be able to articulate, clearly and unequivocally, precisely what in the matter at hand offends an imperative from Scripture.
The Week Ahead…
Feb. 1 -10:00am, Ecumenical Bible Study
Feb. 1 – 5:00pm, Village Dinner
Feb. 2 -Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
Feb. 2 – 6:45pm, Peumansend Jail Ministry
Feb. 5 – 10:00am, Christian Ed – Godly Play, "God’s Kids"
Feb. 5 – 11:00am, Holy Eucharist, Rite II
Feb. 5 – Souperbowl collection
Feb. 5 – 12:00pm, First Sunday Social
Sunday, Feb. 5 Readings and Servers
Lectionary, Feb. 2, Epiphany 5
I.Theme – How should we act in relationship to others? Actions speak louder than words.
The Sermon of the Mount Part 2 – "Salt and Light". Stained glass is entitled "Light for Others" and from St. Mary’s church, Melton Mowbray, England
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
1. Old Testament- Isaiah 58:1-9a, (9b-12)
2. Psalm- Psalm 112:1-9, (10) Page 755, BCP
3. Epistle – 1 Corinthians 2:1-12, (13-16)
4. Gospel – Matthew 5:13-20
Isaiah -In today’s verses, God redefines the role of fasting and looks at our role with each other. An expression of humility, fasting offers the people an opportunity to do for others what God has already done for them. We need to make a difference for those who live with oppression or poverty or bereavement. The way to serve God is not in pious proclamation but in subversive affirmation.
The Psalmist also affirms that the blessed are those whose everyday actions in sharing their riches proclaims their faith and honours the God whom they serve.
Paul in Corinthians asks his listeners to consider his actions, actions rooted in the ancient wisdom of God, a wisdom that he demonstrated before naming. It was important that the folk to whom Paul ministered saw the power of God’s Spirit in Paul’s life before he proclaimed that Spirit.
Jesus after his initial preaching on the Sermon on the Mount exhorts his followers to consider the impact of their everyday living as people of faith on the communities they inhabit and in which they are called to serve and witness.
Following on from the Beatitudes, this further teaching of Jesus seems to root his teaching in a context with which the religious authorities of the day would more easily identify and which it would not be as easy for them to distance themselves.
Here we see Jesus, not abolishing the ancient laws that had become a burden for many people but giving them a makeover so that ordinary people could grasp the essence of love that underpins all of God’s law and teaching.
Read more about this week’s lectionary…
Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and Candlemas
“Today is a day of purification, renewal, and hope.”
The Presentation of our Lord commemorates when Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem where he was greeted by Simeon and Anna. By the Law every first born male was to be consecrated to the Lord.” This happened 40 days after his birth at Christmas.
It is a feast day though it does not often fall on a Sunday. Candlemas occurs at a period between the December solstice and the March equinox, so many people traditionally marked that time of the year as winter’s “halfway point” while waiting for the spring.
Candlemas is actually a very old feast, celebrated by both the churches of the East and the West, and in some places it is on this day that the creche is finally removed from the church. The passage from The words in this scripture are often part of Compline
According to some sources, Christians began Candlemas in Jerusalem as early as the fourth century and the lighting of candles began in the fifth century. Other sources say that Candlemas was observed by blessing candles since the 11th century. An early writing dating back to around 380 CE mentioned that a feast of the Presentation occurred in a church in Jerusalem. It was observed on February 14. The feast was observed on February 2 in regions where Christ’s birth was celebrated on December 25. It is also Groundhog Day in the United States and Canada on February 2.
Candles are blessed on this day (hence the name “Candlemas”). It was the day of the year when all the candles, that were used in the church during the coming year, were brought into church and a blessing was said over them – so it was the Festival Day (or ‘mass’) of the Candles. Candles were important in those days not only because there was no electric lights. Some people thought they gave protection against plague and illness and famine. For Christians, they were (and still are) a reminder of something even more important. Before Jesus came to earth, it was as if everyone was ‘in the dark’.
Pieces of these candles are considered of great efficacy in sickness, or otherwise. When a person is dying, a piece is put in his hand lighted, and thus he passes away in the belief that it may light him to Paradise.
A Real Souper Bowl, Feb 5, 2017
"Souper Bowl of Caring" is an annual fundraising drive organized in partnership with the NFL. It focuses attention on the issues of hunger and poverty in our community and throughout the world. It began over 20 years ago with a simple prayer : “Lord as we enjoy the Super Bowl, help us to be mindful of those without a bowl of soup to eat.”
St. Peter’s will participate this year, one of over 14,000 groups. We are looking for both food and money. The money and we collect be used in our Village Harvest. We spend about $150 a month on this ministry. For food we are looking for cans of kidney beans or other dried beans, cans of tomatoes—diced, crushed for making soups.
On Sunday Feb 5, 2017, please make a separate donation at the offertory (with “Souperbowl” in the memo line) or bring in some food for this worthy cause. The youth will also be collecting dollars in our pail at the conclusion of the service.
Food Insecurity in our area
Food insecurity is a USDA measure of lack of access at times to enough food for an active healthy life for all household members and limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods.
Food insecure households are not necessarily food insecure all the time. It may reflect a household’s need to make tradeoffs between important basic needs, such as housing or medical bills and purchasing nutritious food
Based on the latest figures (2014) from Feeding America, Essex County is in worse shape than Caroline -15.2% food insecurity rate vs. 12.6% Caroline. We get a significant number of people visiting the Village Harvest from Essex. The state total is 11.8%
Food insecurity rates are determined using data from the 2001-2014 Current Population Survey on individuals in food insecure households; data from the 2014 American Community Survey on median household incomes, poverty rates, homeownership, and race and ethnic demographics; and 2014 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on unemployment rates.
Additional money required to meet food needs – A county multiplier weights the national average of additional money a food insecure person reports needing to meet his/her food needs. To calculate the additional money, you multiply the weekly amount by the number food insecure in the county than by 52 weeks and then by 60%, the average portion of the year in which a food secure person experiences food insecurity.
What further steps need to be taken? Possibly conversations with churches and other entities in Essex County on the current state of feeding programs to see what additional steps we can take. We are already involved through the Village Harvest.