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Block Print by Mike Newman
Projects
Music at St. Peter’s, Part 1
"It has a beautiful ancient sound. It blends with other instruments. It blends with voices. It fills the church…That organ just fits there like a jewel." – John Baird, a member of the Hilbus Chapter of the Organ Historical Society in Washington, 1990.
This is one of a series of articles on music at St. Peter’s, first considering the organ and then looking into other topics, such as concerts held here, the organists who played and the choir members who have participated in services.
Music at St. Peter’s has revolved around the George Stevens 1850 organ and its predecessors. With the amount of fine music written for the instrument that is only natural. With the choir it leads the worship service with music. Our 1850’s organ is one of the oldest in Va. that is still in current use.
We have information about Stevens (1803-1894) here as well as restorations and current maintenance
Stevens built one and two manual organs for small churches, around 800 over a career that lasted almost 60 years. Patton says 20 years ago (1973) 70 of his organs had survived. I have documented 25 here including St. Peter’s. The difficulty is that some have been completely rebuilt and so it is unclear how much of Stevens’ work remains. Two are in storage waiting for sales. Want a Stevens organ for your home ? We knew a professor at Salem who had one in his home. At the turn of the 20th century it was not uncommon.
The History of the Organ in the United States (Orpha Ochse, 1975) notes Stevens’ quality or workmanship although he never achieved a popularity of other builders, such as Appleton and Hooks. Stevens for most of his life had his own shop though worked in a partnership with William Gayetty from 1833-1835 and then James Jewett in 1855-1856. Stevens’ brother William also was an organ builder with his organ shop
Stevens organ can be divided into two phases – those characterized as "quite mild" to a sound that can be said to be "brassy" and "bold sound". St. Peter’s is of the former type.
2. How Does your garden grow ?
For a future article, we would like to spotlight gardeners at St. Peter’s . This includes both flower and vegetable gardeners. With all the rain your garden should be in good shape. We are looking for pictures and descriptions of your garden, such as how big, what have you grown, successes and difficulties, etc. We would especially like to hear about a spiritual component to gardening. You can upload your picture here. You may upload as many pictures as you like. It also asks for a description and your name. One picture description may be that of your garden and the others simpler describing only the picture included. Your choice. Thanks!
Don’t see your pet ? Upload a picture
4. Prayer requests – Add a name to the prayer list here.
Sunday, July 21, 2013 (full size gallery)
July 28- 9:00am- Holy Eucharist, Rite I
July 28- 11:00am-Morning Prayer, Rite II
This Sunday at St. Peter’s – Servers, Readings
Focus on the Lord’s Prayer
Lord’s Prayer – Matthew vs. Luke
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The prayer as it occurs in Matthew 6:9–13 |
The prayer as it occurs in Luke 11:2–4 |
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Our Father in heaven, |
Father, |
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hallowed be your name. |
hallowed be your name. |
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Your kingdom come, |
Your kingdom come. |
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your will be done, |
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on earth, as it is in heaven. |
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Give us this day our daily bread, |
Give us each day our daily bread, |
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and forgive us our debts, |
and forgive us our sins |
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as we also have forgiven our debtors. |
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. |
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And lead us not into temptation, |
And lead us not into temptation |
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but deliver us from evil. |
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Lord’s Prayer in Luke Chapter 11
Another famous story from Luke. The Gospel reading is here.
""The Lord’s Prayer" -Psalter (2008)
The irony about Ordinary Time is that it is anything but ordinary. In the heat of the summer doldrums, the lectionary lights up with teaching moments – sending out of the 70, the parable of the Good Samaritan and the story of Mary and Martha. Connecting all are ideas of hospitality, anxiety and the “fatherhood” of God. The latter is explored this week.
The Lord’s Prayer is both in Matthew and Luke. Luke’s version is probably older since it is shorter. There are also a few differences in word choice (“sin” instead of “debt/trespass,” for example)
Luke puts a greater emphasis on prayer than the other gospels. -Jesus is praying at his baptism before heavens open (3:21) -Jesus spends the night praying to God before selecting the twelve (6:12) -Jesus is praying before he asks the disciples, "Who do the crowds/you say that I am?" (9:18) -Jesus is praying on the mountain before the transfiguration. (9:28, 29) -Jesus is praying before the disciples ask him to teach them to pray. (11:1)
It may be that Luke was writing to a group of people unfamiliar with Christian/Jewish prayer, so he emphasizes the importance of prayer as he moves among the gentiles.
The contexts for the Lord’s Prayer in Luke and Matthew are quite different. The audience in Matthew (6:5-15) seems to know about praying. Jesus says, "When you are praying,…" They seem to know how to pray and the importance of prayer, but they need further instructions about prayer. In Luke, the audience, (including the disciples,) don’t know how to pray (at least as Jesus’ followers).
The disciples (and Luke’s readers?) ask Jesus to teach them to pray.
There is a reference to John the Baptist. John’s disciples were known for certain practices, such as prayer and fasting (5:33). These practices served as markers for their identity as John’s followers. Jesus prayer also puts an identity on us as Christians. The prayer is intended to be communal, rather than personal. Note also the plural pronouns in the prayer: "our" and "us." The Lord’s Prayer is a list of those "good gifts", gifts we may ask of God in the sure knowledge that they are ours in the asking.
Clift Notes version – “God is Holy. Ask for God’s kingdom – reign over all things to become a reality in your life and in your world. Live simply; one day at a time. Stay humble and ask pardon for your wrongdoings. Offer pardon to others just as you want that for yourselves and ask for help to stay out of trouble. When you live with these things uppermost in your life, you will begin to live in God’s kingdom with the help of the Holy Spirit to help you”
There are five key words in the prayer 1. Relationship 2. Hope 3 Nourishment 4 Reconciliation, 5 Peace
Why Prayer is Important?
"Give us Today our Daily Bread" -James Hook (1866)
Michael Foss (Power Surge) lists "daily prayer" as "The first mark of a disciple."
From Yearning Minds and Burning Hearts: Understanding the Spirituality of Jesus by Glandion Carney , William Rudolf Long
“’Prayer changes us.’" The ultimate value of prayer is that it opens us to understand God and the world in fresh ways. Prayer gives us new spectacles to see the world–glasses that put the seemingly huge demands of contemporary life in a new perspective. Prayer helps us listen to the voice of God, accept the will of God and ask for the good things of God
“The practice of prayer is a standing rebuke to the wisdom of the world. The practice of prayer affirms a dimension to life that is unseen and unmeasurable, while the wisdom of the world considers something important only if it is visible and quantifiable. The practice of prayer proclaims that people are spiritual beings, rooted in the heart, while the wisdom of the world assumes that we are economic beings, concerned primarily with our personal net worth and an adequate retirement income. The practice of prayer indicates that God is the watcher, guide and protector of our lives, while the wisdom of the world teaches that unless we stand up for ourselves, no one will. The practice of prayer proves that "nothing will be impossible with God" (Luke 1:37), while the wisdom of the world says we need all the resources ahead of time and all the right people speaking up for us or we will not be able to get what we want out of life. The practice of prayer says, "Don’t worry." The wisdom of the world says, "Calculate."
“Prayer is one of the principal ways of enlarging our awareness of God and of the universe. Prayer assumes there is more to the world than we can experience with our five senses. The great diversity of living things in the world should not only increase our sense of wonder, but also give us an awareness of our human limitations
“Prayer is the unique opportunity which God gives us to develop a deeper understanding of God and of the world
Three Characteristics of Prayer:
Read about these characteristics….
In the News: Belle Grove
Parishioner homes have been in the news of late. Witness Rock Stop Farm
Another home Belle Grove just across the river from St Peter’s was featured in the business section of the Free Lance-Star, July 21. Here is the link to the story or you can follow it below.
Carolinus Turner was a pew holder in 1850 in pew 29 on a list drawn up by Jim Patton and provided $75 to the church. A family tree can be viewed here.
Carolinus and Susan Turner would live at Belle Grove and would have five children, Caroline “Carrie” M. Turner, Anna August Turner, George Turner, their only son, Susan Rose Turner, and Alice Pratt Turner. Carolinus live from 1813 until he died at age 64 of tuberculosis in 1876.
The obituary appeared in Alexandria Gazette on December 19, 1876 that was reprinted from the Fredericksburg Herald:
"…Mr. Turner was a large landholder, and previous to the war, owned a great many servants. He was a gentleman of excellent education, and commanded the respect and esteem of a large circle of friends.”
A description of the properties of homes along the Rappahannock, many associated with St. Peter’s was found in DeBow’s "Review No. 26" in 1859:
Paul and Galatians, Part 1
Editor’s note – On August 12-15, the Adult portion of vacation Bible school will study of Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. Over the next three weeks we will look at Paul and a background to Galatians. This week we will look at a brief summary of Paul’s life and letters.
Paul never met Jesus but he claims to have seen him through subjective visionary experiences (Galatians 1:12, 16; 2:2; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10). Jesus died around 30D. Around A.D. 37, Paul reported his initial apparition of "Christ" whom he identified with Jesus raised from the dead The relationship of Jesus and Paul is explored in a new book Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity by James D. Tabor, a professor at UNC-Charlotte.
Tabor towards the end of his book, he lists what we know about Paul:
• “Paul calls himself a Hebrew or Israelite, stating that he was born a Jew and circumcised on the eighth day, of the Jewish tribe of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5-6; 2 Corinthians 11:22).
• "He was once a member of the sect of the Pharisees. He ad¬vanced in Judaism beyond many of his contemporaries, being extremely zealous for the traditions of his Jewish faith (Philippians 3:5; Galatians 1:14). [He was born in Tarsus in what is today southernTurkey]
• “He zealously persecuted the Jesus movement (Galatians 1:13; Philippians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 15:9).
• “Sometime around A.D. 37 Paul had a visionary experience he describes as "seeing" Jesus and received from Jesus his gospel message as well as his call to be an apostle to the non-Jewish world (1 Corinthians 9:2; Galatians 1:11-2:2).
• “He made only three trips to Jerusalem in the period covered by his genuine letters; one three years after his apostolic call, when he met Peter and James but none of the other apostles (around A.D. 40); the second fourteen years after his call (A.D. 50), when he appeared formally before the entire Jerusalem leadership to account for his mission and gospel message to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:1-10); and a third, where he was ap¬parently arrested and sent under guard to Rome around A.D. 56 (Romans 15:25-29).
• “Paul claimed to experience many revelations from Jesus, in¬cluding direct voice communications, as well as an extraordi¬nary "ascent" into the highest level of heaven, entering paradise, where he saw and heard "things unutterable" (2 Corinthians 12:1-4).
• “He had some type of physical disability that he was convinced had been sent by Satan to afflict him, but allowed by Christ so that he would not be overly proud of his extraordinary revela¬tions (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).
• “He claimed to have worked miraculous signs, wonders, and mighty works that verified his status as an apostle (2 Corinthians 12:12).
• “He was unmarried, at least during his career as an apostle (1 Corinthians 7:8, 15; 9:5; Philippians 3:8).
• “He experienced numerous occasions of physical persecution and deprivation including beatings, being stoned and left for dead, and shipwrecked (1 Corinthians 3:11-12; 2 Corinthians 11:23-27).
• “He worked as a manual laborer to support himself on his trav¬els (1 Corinthians 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 9:6, 12,15).
• “He was imprisoned, probably in Rome, in the early 60s A.D. and refers to the possibility that he would be executed (Philippians 1:1-26).”
Paul’s writings occupy nearly ¼ of the New Testament. Of the 27 books, thirteen are letters attributed to Paul. To these add the book of Acts, in which Paul is the main character in sixteen of its twenty-eight chapters. Paul’s accomplishment was to bring Christianity to the Gentiles in more pure sense that did not include Jewish practices.
Letters associated with Paul with his name include seven letters that scholars believe were written by Paul
First Thessalonians (ca. 51 AD)
Philippians (ca. 52-54 AD)
Philemon (ca. 52-54 AD)
First Corinthians (ca. 53-54 AD)
Galatians (ca. 55 AD)
Second Corinthians (ca. 55-56 AD)
Romans (ca. 55-58 AD)
The six letters are questionable – Colossians, Ephesians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus. In Hebrews does not bear Paul’s name and most scholars agree was not written by Paul
Paul is known for his travels. Here is a timeline showing followed by Paul’s travels along with maps
How is this all relevant to today ? Circumcision and keeping the Law of Moses are no longer issues which face us today. The letters demonstrates the importance of taking a stand for the Gospel against those such as those who substitute their own beliefs for it. Secondly, Galatians reminds us of the importance understand the doctrine of justification by grace through faith which was revived by Luther in the Reformation. The book also reconnects us to God’s promises related through covenants and how this reaches the height with Jesus.