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Block Print by Mike Newman
Projects
Help us advertise the concert!
Go to the Thirteen page for links including the poster.
| Colors | Season | Dates | |
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| Green | After Epiphany | Jan 7-Feb 10 | |
3-Minute Retreats invite you to take a short prayer break right at your computer. Spend some quiet time reflecting on a Scripture passage.
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.
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, Feb. 4 -11
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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] |
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6
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The Martyrs of Japan, 1597 (new date) |
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7
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Cornelius the Centurion (new date) |
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8
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9
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10
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11
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[Frances Jane (Fanny) Van Alstyne Crosby, Hymnwriter, 1915] |
Coming in a week!
The Thirteen began the yearly concert series in 2013. We are pleased to welcome that back in our 6th concert year.
The above description is the concert they will present at St. Peter’s. It fits in well with the "Season of Creation" from last fall.
From their website “Described as having “a tight and attractive vocal blend and excellent choral discipline” (American Record Guide), The Thirteen is an all-star professional choir known for inspired and powerful live performance. Since its founding in 2012, the choir has been at the forefront of bringing invigorating performances to the American choral community in repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to the Romantic, from Bach to Bruckner; and from Gregorian chant to the world premieres of new American composers. “
The concert is free but we encourage donations so we can keep this series going.
Help us advertise the concert. The Thirteen page has both informational links as well as 2 posters that you can download and distribute .
The Thirteen originated in 2012 with performing music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. In our first concert in Oct., 2013 this included works from Tallis, Palestrina and highlighted works of the 16th century. Several forms were presented – madrigals and selections from the mass of St. Cecelia. Over the years they have expanded to include selections from the 18th through the 20th centuries.
The following article will concentrate on the Renaissance and Baroque and then 20th century work to show the diversity of the choir. One work will be highlighted in the earlier periods which is still an area of emphasis for the group.
From left – Full moon Jan 30 before "blood, red" moon; rainy, damp Sunday Feb 4;Laying on of hands; Fans of Philadelphia and Boston- gracious; Sermon of 3 verbs -to trust, to pray, and to go;contributing to the Souperbowl for the Village Harvest; Potluck Coffee house; Sunrise Feb 1; The Peace
Check out last Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018
The Week Ahead…
Feb. 7 – 10am – Ecumenical Bible Study
Feb. 7 – 5pm – 6:30pm – Village Dinner
Feb. 9 – 7:30am – ECM at Hornes
Feb. 10 – 11am. Waterways tour at the Fredericksburg Museum
Feb. 11 – 10am – Christian Education for children
Feb. 11 – 11am – Holy Eucharist, Rite II
Feb. 11 – 7pm – "Thirteen" Concert
Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018 Readings and Servers
An informative tour of our waterways especially for children, Sat. Feb. 10, 11am 
From the Free Lance-Star
"As a multidisciplinary exhibit, “Water/Ways” will explore how water is an essential component of life on our planet, environmentally, culturally and historically. For instance, water takes on different meanings around the globe, such as a source of peace, contemplation and as a sacred symbol. Water has also affected settlement and migration patterns."
Feb. 10, 11am. Catherine will be taking a group for a free educational program at the Fredericksburg museum. Lunch will follow after the tour.
From 11 a.m. to noon on Feb. 10, docents will be stationed at different areas of “Water/Ways” to discuss its relationship to the Rappahannock River. In the interactive program, they’ll talk about the water cycle, human consumption and run-off pollutants that harm the river. The program caters to children in second to fifth grade, but all ages are invited.
Our Lent 2018 preview..
DATES
Lent, -Feb 14 – March 31
Holy Week, March 25- 31
Easter, April 1
Lent at a glance with links to the planned events. Check it out…
Make your reservation for the Shrine Mont retreat in May!
Once again Christ Episcopal has extended an invitiation to St. Peter’s to join them on the mountain at Shrine Mont. It will be in the first week in May, May 4-6. Signups are due in mid Feb. It is $155 for an adult. Catherine has the forms.
Ken Pogue on Jan 28 in church pointed out the advantages of going to Shrine Mont. It is a retreat from modern life (cell phones and the like) with the ability to reconnect to one another and nature with wonderful hikes, brooks and streams. The food is plentiful and declicous. For what you get it is a bargain.
Catherine designed Shrine Mont 2017 program around Celtic Christianity.
If you plan to attend, please let Catherine know by mid-February. Shrinemont is a wonderful place to enjoy nature and fellowship with one another. Here is the group from last year: 
Last Epiphany, Year B Lectionary Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018
I.Theme – God’s Transformative presence
"Transfiguration" – Fra Angelico
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – 2 Kings 2:1-12
Psalm – Psalm 50:1-6 Page 654, BCP
Epistle –2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Gospel – Mark 9:2-9
Old Testament – Elisha receives the mantle of prophetic responsibility from Elijah
Psalm – focuses on the meaning of sacrifice
Paul – Pictures the changes brought by the light of Christ
Mark – Peter, James and John are transformed at Jesus transfiguration
Commentary by Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell:
"Transfiguration Sunday marks the movement from Christ’s entry into the world (Advent/Christmas/Epiphany) into Christ’s Resurrection (Lent/Easter/Pentecost).
"We begin by reading the ascension into heaven by Elijah (in the Old Testament reading), preparing us for the vision of Elijah we will read in the Gospel. The ascension of Elijah marks one of those Mystery times in the Bible, when heaven and earth fully meet, where the Divine and Human intersect. People do not die but instead ascend into heaven. People’s faces are transformed. What has died is brought to new life.
"While this passage may be about Elijah’s ascension into heaven, it really is about Elisha’s faithfulness to both God and to his friendship with Elijah. Elisha is willing to go the distance for his friend, even to the point of being grieved as Elijah is taken up in the whirlwind. Elisha probably did not fully understand what was going to happen to Elijah, but he chose to accompany him rather than let him go the journey alone until the time he was taken up.
"Psalm 50:1-6 also speaks of the intersection of heaven and earth through God. The fire and tempest or whirlwind that Elijah experienced is present here before God in verse 3, and in the following verse, God calls to both the heavens and earth. These moments of intersection, where the Mystery happens, where the Divine and Creation intersect are not just for prophets, but can happen to those who are faithful.
"Mark 9:2-9 is the story of the Transfiguration. Peter, James and John experience this moment of intersection as they witness Jesus with Elijah and Moses. Jesus’s clothes become dazzling white, transfigured as Jesus appears to enter the veil between heaven and earth and stand between the two. But Peter does not get it. Peter does not listen and keep silent, as Elisha did. Peter, terrified of this space where heaven and earth meet, tries to fill the silence, tries to say something but does not understand what is happening. Perhaps Peter, as some scholars speculate, assumed Elijah and Moses were also divine beings or equals with Jesus and made his declaration of building tents. Perhaps Peter was ready for the restoration of the earthly kingdom of Israel and took this as a sign. We don’t really know.
"The Transfiguration is one of those passages that we don’t clearly understand what happened nor do we understand why Peter reacted the way he did. But what we do know is this: heaven and earth, Divine and Human, intersected on that mountain, just as they intersected in the person of Jesus the Christ.
"2 Corinthians 4:3-6 reminds us that the call to proclaim the Gospel is always at hand, and it is our call to proclaim it for the sake of Jesus, not for our own gain. There are some that will not receive and will not understand. We are called to bear the light of Christ to the world.
"There are moments when heaven and earth, Divine and Human, Creator and Creation intersect in our lives. They may not be as earth-shattering as the whirlwind and fire that Elisha saw Elijah taken up in, or as incredibly brilliant as Jesus speaking with Elijah and Moses. But they do happen to us: in our moments of baptism, when we fall and rise out of the waters anew; when we let go of loved ones as they pass on to God’s sole care; and in moments such as watching a brilliant sunrise or experiencing the Northern Lights: there are moments in creation and in our relationships with others where we experience the veil being torn and heaven and earth intersecting. Elisha experienced this in his faithfulness to Elijah; Peter experienced it on the mountain with Jesus and Moses experienced it on the mountain alone with God. But we all have our own experiences of the great Mystery, when we realize that the kingdom of heaven is very near. And as we remember, both John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ preached the same sermon that we often hear as we enter Lent: ‘The kingdom of heaven has drawn near; repent, and believe in the Good News.’"
Read more about the Lectionary…
Raphael’s Transfiguration – story of a painting
Raphael (1483-1520) was a master painter of the Renaissance. He considered the Transfiguration to be his greatest masterpiece though he died before he could finish it at age 37. A student finished it.
In his final delirium he asked to see his painting for the last time. His friends brought it to him, and placed it on the bed in which he died on Good Friday, 1520.
Giorgio Vasari, the sixteenth century Italian painter, writer, historian said of the painting that is was “…the most famous, the most beautiful and most divine…”
Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici (who later became Pope Clement VII), commissioned Raphael to paint Transfiguration for the city of Narbonne, in France. The painting was kept personally by the Pope after Raphael’s untimely death, until he donated it to the church of San Pietro in Rome.
The painting is now housed in the Vatican Museum and is large – 15 feet, 1.5 inches by 9 feet, 1.5 inches. (Only a part of it is shown above). Raphael preferred painting on canvas, but this painting was done with oil paints on wood as chosen mediums.
The Transfiguration was ahead of its time, just as Raphael’s death came too soon. The dramatic tension within these figures, and the liberal use of light to dark was characteristic of the next age – the Baroque.
On the most obvious level, the painting can be interpreted as the split between the flaws of men, depicted in the lower half, and the redemptive power of Christ, in the upper half of the painting.
Two scenes from the Gospel of Matthew are depicted in Raphael’s Transfiguration. One the transfiguration itself, Christ reaching to the heavens symbolic of a future resurrected stage and an epileptic boy falling to the ground in a seizure, lies there as if dead and then ‘rises’ up again.
The only link between the two parts of the picture is made by the epileptic boy, who is the only person in the lower half of the picture whose face is turned to the transfigured Christ in the upper part of the painting.
• At the top, it is Mathew 17:1-9. Christ has climbed Mount Tabor with the Apostles, and there he is transfigured—appearing in his glorified body, flanked by Moses (representing the Law) and Elijah (representing the Prophets).
We see the transfigured Christ floating aloft, bathed in a blue/white aura of light and clouds. To his left and right are the figures of the prophets, Moses and Elijah. White and blue colors are used symbolically to signify spiritual colors.
Voices of the Transfiguration
Apse Mosaic, Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor Israel. Scholars think the transfiguration took place either on Mount Tabor or Mount Hermon in Israel.
1. Transfiguration is transformation. No one and no situation is "untransfigurable" – Dawn Hutchings
In his book, God Has A Dream: A Vision of Home for Our Time, Desmond Tutu tells about a transfiguration experience that he will never forget. It occurred when apartheid was still in full swing. Tutu and other church leaders were preparing for a meeting with the prime minister of South Africa to discuss the troubles that were destroying their nation. They met at a theological college that had closed down because of the white government’s racist policies. During a break from the proceedings, Tutu walked into the college’s garden for some quiet time. In the midst of the garden was a huge wooden cross. As Tutu looked at the barren cross, he realized that it was winter, a time when the grass was pale and dry, a time when almost no one could imagine that in a few short weeks it would be lush, green, and beautiful again. In a few short weeks, the grass and all the surrounding world would be transfigured.
As the archbishop sat there and pondered that, he obtained a new insight into the power of transfiguration, of God’s ability to transform our world. Tutu concluded that transfiguration means that no one and no situation is “untransfigurable.” The time will eventually come when the whole world will be released from its current bondage and brought to share in the glorious liberty that God intends.
2. Transfiguration emphasizes the mission of Jesus -that the way of Jesus is the way of the cross
A. Travis Meir
"Jesus’ ministry continues with the trip back down the mountain. He will not take Peter’s advice and stay on the mountaintop. The mountaintop was a vision of the glory of God, but it is not to be confused with the way of the cross, the true ministry of Jesus. Jesus is to be found where the people are, leaning into their needs, and giving life back to those on the margins.
The disciples do not understand this, and will not understand it until they here the message from the young man at the tomb, delivered by the women. “He has been raised…Go back to Galilee..he is going ahead of you to Galilee (16:6-7).” That is where the ministry of the kingdom of God continues to unfold"
B. Lawrence "Disclosing New Worlds"
The shadow of the cross hangs over the narrative. And it is the cross, not the resurrection, which is emphasised here on the mountain… the Transfiguration is different from what most of us have been brought up to believe since we coloured in our first picture of the event in Sunday School. This is not a moment of glory, or of hope. It is confirmation of the second great cycle in Mark’s narrative: the Way of the Cross. The Way of the Cross is about engagement with the powers of the day. It will bring about suffering and death. It is the only way – both for Jesus and for would-be followers. The Transfiguration confirms the call to suffering discipleship issued in 8:34f. The divine voice underscores it: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to what he tells you!”
.. At the end of Epiphany, we stand on the threshold of Lent and have to be prepared to hear the call to the Way of the Cross as shocking, new, uncomfortable, divisive and repellent. We need to commit ourselves to dealing with our blindness and our deafness. In Mark’s narrative, the blind and the deaf symbolise the disciples’ condition and response to Jesus. But it’s a narrative of hope, because the deaf hear and the blind see – and the disciples on the mountain do deny themselves, take up their crosses, and follow Jesus! That, too, needs to be our story.
Poet Extraordinaire: Mary Oliver
Mary Oliver is one of our most beloved poets, winner of the National Book World and Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Krista Tippett recently spoke to her in Tippet’s show "On Being " in an interview "Listening to the World." Here is the interview.
You can also hear her read her own poems and view an illustrated version of her wonderful poem "Wild Geese". Two poems follow:
Wild Geese
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
In Blackwater Woods
Look, the trees
are turning
their own bodies
into pillars
of light,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,
the long tapers
of cattails
are bursting and floating away over
the blue shoulders
of the ponds,
and every pond,
no matter what its
name is, is
nameless now.
Every year
everything
I have ever learned
in my lifetime
leads back to this: the fires
and the black river of loss
whose other side
is salvation,
whose meaning
none of us will ever know.
To live in this world
you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it
go,
to let it go.