Frontpage, June 24, 2018

 

The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul commemorates the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles St. Peter and Paul of Tarsus, observed on June 29. The celebration is of ancient origin, the date selected being either the anniversary of their martyrdom in 67AD or of the translation of their relics. They had been imprisoned in the famous Mamertine Prison of Rome and both had foreseen their approaching death. Saint Peter was crucified; Saint Paul, a Roman citizen, was slain by the sword.  Together they represent two different Christian traditions.

Why do we remember them ? Peter is pictured on the left with the keys – the keys to the kingdom. In Matthew 16, Christ says " And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven." They keys since then have been symbols of Papal power.  Peter represents that part of the Church which gives it stability: its traditions handed down in an unbroken way from the very beginnings, the structures which help to preserve and conserve those traditions, the structure which also gives consistency and unity to the Church, spread as it is through so many races, cultures, traditions, and geographical diversity

Paul is pictured with the Bible. He, on the other hand, represents the prophetic and missionary role in the Church. It is that part of the Church which constantly works on the edge, pushing the boundaries of the Church further out, not only in a geographical sense but also pushing the concerns of the Church into neglected areas of social concern and creatively developing new ways of communicating the Christian message. This is the Church which is constantly renewed, a Church which needs to be constantly renewed.  

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July 4 at St. Peter’s

 

 St. Peter’s will be open until 2pm and will be involved in several ways:

1. Place of rest during the day in the cool of the church.  we have a history brochure and the graveyard brochure to read.

2.Cleo Coleman will portray Harriet Tubman as part of the HPR program. Mike Newman, Town Crier, will be reading the Declaration of Independence.

3. Marilyn will be bring two harpists.

4. The men will be selling hotdogs, watermelon, drinks and brownies to benefit St Peter’s.

5. St. Peter’s will provide a hymn sing with organ concert from Thom Guthrie and Bill McCoy.

This is a great event to help promote St. Peter’s! Come help out and come participate.

Here is a photo gallery of 2017 .

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 Keeping up with General Convention, July 5-13 

The 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church will be held in Austin, Texas from July 5-July 13, 2018 though there are some addresses on July 4 (Bishop Curry.

1. Watch it online – Media Hub

2. Bunch of links

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Lunch at the Trailer Park, July 9

We will be taking lunch to the trailer park at 11:30ajm and invite the families for fun activities.

If you would like to help prepare food, set up what is needed to serve the lunch, or be a server, contact Catherine

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Children to take a trip to Maymont, Tues. July 10

Maymont is a 100 acre Victorian estate in Richmond  developed by James and Sallie Dooley, who lived there from 1893 through 1925. The place remains much as they left it since it was donated to the City of Richmond at James Dooley’s death.

You can read about all the activities. The ECW went there in 2015. One activity is to enjoy the animals – Maymont is home to hundreds of animals including mighty black bears, iconic American bald eagles, playful river otters and friendly goats. Contact Catherine to signup or help.

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Lectionary, Pentecost 6, Year B, July 1

I. Theme –  Compassion and Healing

"Jesus heals the bleeding woman"  – From the Catacomb of Sts Marcellinus and Peter

The lectionary readings are here  or individually: 

Old Testament – Lamentations 3:21-33
Psalm – Psalm 30
Epistle –2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Gospel – Mark 5:21-43  

Today’s readings encourage us to remember God’s goodness and act toward others with the same unflinching generosity and compassion. Lamentations reminds those who are suffering that God’s goodness will surely come. Paul encourages the Corinthians to offer their surplus of wealth to other communities who are in need. In the gospel, Jesus brings the daughter of Jairus, a synagogue official, back to life in anticipation of his own resurrection.

We are called to live for others and not for ourselves.  We are called to share what we have with others and to be in solidarity with the poor and the marginalized. We are called, most of all, to remember that God’s love endures forever, and that at times we need to wait, and not lose hope. The woman who suffered for many years in Mark’s Gospel did not lose hope, neither did Jairus in the time of crisis for his daughter. We know that God through Jesus Christ gives us new life, a life that transcends death, a life that calls us into solidarity with others and to share what we have, for Christ lived not for himself but for all; we also are called not to live for ourselves but for others.

The Judeo-Christian concern for the poor and needy has become overwhelming in this day when the whole world of nations is at our doorstep. We hardly know how to respond. International economic injustices prevent the distribution of national resources on the basis of simple human need. Welfare and many other social obligations have largely become the responsibility of governmental agencies and institutions. We are not too conscious of the individual injunction to be our brother’s keeper.

Still, those who live under biblical mandates do what they can to relieve human need, as they are able. “For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a man has, not according to what he has not.” Voluntary and secret pledging may be hazardous to the Church, but it is in the spirit of what we are called to do. As Paul says, “…so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.”

The motivation for such stewardship of our resources is our response to Jesus’ voluntary poverty that we “might become rich.” If our gratitude and love for his life given for us is genuine, we are spontaneous givers. Paul equates liberality with our desire to fulfill the will of God, who has given us all that is necessary for our well-being. What and how we give it is really a matter between ourselves and God and reflects our relationship with God.

The passage from Mark seems incongruous with today’s other readings, but it may be related squarely to our sense of gratitude. There are two open secrets in the Gospel of Mark. One is that Jesus is lord over all life in both the natural and spiritual worlds, if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. The signs of God’s kingdom come in Christ are staked out all over the countryside if we can but read them in his words and deeds. The other secret is that faith alone will enable us to receive the blessings Jesus brings to the world.

For the first time in Mark’s gospel, a respectable member of society “falls at Jesus’ feet.” Whatever mixture of motives he might have, the ruler of the synagogue also has some faith that Jesus can help his dying child. Jesus recognizes the quantum of faith in Jairus and responds to it. Our lord is quick to respond to any budding faith, no matter how it is mixed with self-serving interests.

But the little girl dies before Jesus reaches her. Why trouble him further when death strikes in the midst of hope? We say “where there is life there is hope.” But Jesus, already challenged and victorious over the violence of nature and demonic forces, goes immediately to meet death head-on and calls the daughter of Jairus out of her “sleep.”

God is not the God of the dead but the living. “I am the resurrection and the life…He that believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” So Jesus vanquished death also, demonstrating that he is lord even over the last enemy of life.

Jesus has proved how genuine is his love for us. Our gratitude moves us to find our brothers and sisters in need and carry on his gracious work.

Read more…

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