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Block Print by Mike Newman
Projects
Link to the reports from Jan 15 Annual Meeting
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, July 16 – July 23
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16
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[“The Righteous Gentiles”] |
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17
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William White, Bishop of Pennsylvania, 1836 |
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18
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[Bartolomé de las Casas, Friar and Missionary to the Indies, 1566] |
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19
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Macrina, Monastic and Teacher, 379; also [Adelaide Teague Case, Teacher, 1948] |
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20
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Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Ross Tubman |
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21
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[Albert John Luthuli, Prophetic Witness in South Africa, 1967] |
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22
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Saint Mary Magdalene |
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23
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July 16, 2017 – Pentecost 7
Johnny Davis led a young crew into the fields on Sat., July 15 to show them how to glean in support of the Northern Neck Food Bank, our supplier of fresh produce and meat for the Village Harvest, every 3rd Wednesday. All a part of building community.
Rev. David Upshaw preached on Sun., July 16, how the scriptures this week revealed the nature of God and then provide a mirror so can see who are in God.
The Week Ahead…
July 19 – 10:00am – Evangelical Bible Study
July 19 – 3:30pm-5pm – Village Harvest Distribution
Sunday, July 23 Readings and Servers
Village Harvest, July 2017 – sets a new monthly record!
We had a large number of parishioners working on the Village Harvest in the hottest month of the year, July. They were definitely needed as we set a monthly record of shoppers!
The Village Harvest is our market-style food distribution that we organize once a month. The work to get it ready extends during much of the day.
Cookie and Johnny went early to the Northern Neck Food Bank early in the morning and bought 1,536 pounds of food. Karen, Chris, Helmut and John Gilliland help to unload later in mid- morning. Elizabeth was setting up; we had crackers, can goods, punch, Gatorade, corns, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, toilet paper , seasoning, water and two types of chicken.
The Village Harvest runs from 3:30pm to 5pm on third Wednesday of the month. We had people taking positions as people arrived. Linn and her sister took care of out side; Karen and Sally deal with the potatoes; Helmut and Sally, meat and Johnnie corn. People shop, picking out what they need as in a food store.
61 families picked up food 46 that was on the list and 15 came for the first time that would like to be added to the list. We fed a record 163 people – a watershed, since this ministry began in Nov., 2014. Thanks for Andrea for keeping notes and reporting totals. Here is our monthly stats in 2017:
For the first seven months of 2017, we have fed an average of 142 people compared to 108 for the same period in 2016, a growth of 32%. A total of 995 people have been provided fresh vegetables, meat and other supplies through July compared to 753 for the first 7 months of 2016.
The Village Harvest is like a second much larger congregation for St. Peter’s with an increasing number of parishioners working to contribute food, buy food, unload it, set it up. We draw shoppers, the rest of the congregation from 4 counties – Caroline, King George, Essex and Westmoreland as well as the village of Port Royal. It is definitely a feast day for all!
Ed Jones to preach, July 23, 2017
We are pleased that Ed Jones will be joining us as preacher on July 23. Ed is a graduate of Fredericksburg’s James Monroe High School, Harvard College and the University of Virginia School of Law.
When Ed commits to something he is in for the long haul. At St. George’s Episcopal in Fredericksburg he served as senior warden for 3 terms in 3 different decades! He has also chaired the Outreach Commission as well as the Rector Search Committee in 2003. Finally, he chaired the Adult Christian Education Committee.
Ed was the editor of The Free Lance-Star newspaper for 12 years where he worked for 48 years since starting as an intern in 1965. He also served as managing editor, editorial page editor, film critic, radio host, political reporter and columnist. He led several national journalism organizations, served for three years as a juror for the Pulitzer Prizes and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011. His colleage Nick Cadwallender wrote about him "For 48 years, Ed has told the stories of our community with integrity, fairness and compassion.”
He retired from The Free Lance-Star in 2013 and soon became secretary and chief of staff at the Diocese of Virginia. As chief of staff, Ed supervises and supports the diocesan staff members.He serves as senior adviser to the bishops and as point of contact for the legal team on issues pertaining to litigation, employment and real estate.
At the diocesan level, Ed led the Resolutions Committee for several years. He also served on the Transition Committee for our Bishop Shannon as well as the committee to develop blessings for same sex unions. At the national level, Ed has edited Center Aisle, the Diocese of Virginia’s daily newspaper since 2000, using his journalistic skills in serving the church.
Also in 2013 Ed became a deacon in the Episcopal Church and has served at St. Mary’s Episcopal, Colonial Beach. He has now graduated into a regional deacon position for Region One in the Diocese over the last year
He has written about Deacons – "Though we are all called as Christians to connect to the wider world, deacons are called to a distinctive, symbolically important ministry of interpreting the world to the Church, and of shining the light of God’s love into the world. We are the connectors; we are the bridge builders."
Read more from his 2015 sermon for the ordination of deacons – "We all need to be good deacons."
ECW Summer meeting July 27
The ECW are having a summer meeting at St. Stephen’s Heathsville, July 24, 1pm-4:30pm. The church’s address is 6807 Northumberland Hwy. Heathsville, VA 22473
This meeting in the Northern Neck gives us an opportunity to meet with other ECW members in this area of the diocese for fellowship and small group discussions about living into our baptismal covenant. The afternoon will end with Holy Eucharist. The Diocesan ECW continues to support human trafficking victims, and we can help by donating new or gently used bras for freethegirls.org.
The bras that we collect get sent to El Salvador, Mozambique, and Uganda, where they become the inventory that young women who have been rescued from sex trafficking can sell for a safe economic opportunity to succeed financially. Through this program, survivors of sex trafficking can gain safe homes, restore relationships, have a way to work safely and with dignity, earn an education, and live without fear.
Art Day with Bishop Goff, Aug 26
Saturday, August 26
9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Roslyn Retreat Center, Richmond
Come enjoy the day with Bishop Goff and become co-creators with God!
Join Bishop Goff for a day of creativity at Roslyn Retreat Center. No art experience required. Cost is $35 per person. Space is limited. Call 800.477.6296 to reserve your spot. Click here for additional information
Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins
"Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins were launched away in space
Millions of hearts were lifted, proud of the human race
Space control at Houston, radio command
The team below that gave the go they had God’s helping hand"
– Zeke Manners, Scott Seely (Recorded by the Byrds, 1969)
This week on July 20 marks the 48th anniversary of the landing of Apollo 11 with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landing on the moon and Michael Collins above in the command ship.
1969 was a divisive year with an unpopular war in Vietnam, racial strife and assassinations. The Cold War continued and many wondered about the growing expenses of the space program. Events had moved quickly – it was just a little over eight years since the flight of Alan Shepard, followed quickly by President Kennedy’s challenge to put a man on the moon before the decade is out. Maybe too quickly!
However, Apollo 11 brought the world together for one short week in the middle of summer in July. We focused not on our individual conditions but the spirit of humankind. A half a billion people watched the ghostly images of Armstrong and Aldrin as they explored the moon.
One of the best indicators of the larger meaning of the event was the plaque left on the moon. "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind." We are still searching for that peace.
Although faith and science have often been in conflict in the past and many see the mission as only a triumph in science, there are examples of faith a part of the Apollo program.
Apollo 8
The spiritual side of Apollo 11 really began earlier in December, 1968 with Apollo 8.
Since the lunar module was not yet ready for testing, NASA officials made the bold decision to fly a manned crew around the Moon to test the Saturn V booster. This historic flight was the first time that humans had reached beyond the confines of the Earth’s orbit. This was the first time that people had seen the Moon up close. Moreover, it was the first time people had seen the Earth from the distance of the Moon, as a small blue marble amidst the blackness of space.
Apollo 8 orbited the Moon on Christmas Eve, 1968.
Lectionary, July 23, 2017, Pentecost 6, Proper 10 Year A
I.Theme – Conquering fear and uncertainty
"Parable of the Wheat and Tares" – Lucas Gassel, 1540
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – Isaiah 44:6-8
Psalm – Psalm 86:11-17 Page 710, BCP
Epistle –Romans 8:6-11
Gospel – Matthew 13:24-30,36-43
These texts speak eloquently to the problem of fear, and fear is what many people are currently experiencing. We are confronted with fear in our jobs, our homes and our world. It is ever present and diverts us from productive activities. Despite our increasing knowledge and interconnectedness, fear is very much a part of our world and maybe even more in the last generation. We look to someone, something for security.
So what causes the fear ? There is an “enemy” in each of these readings – Isaiah – Babylonians since the Jews were in captivity, Psalm – by a force that nearly killed the writer – Romans – “flesh” Gospel – “Devil” . In the latter we can be our own worst enemy by our propensity to judge others. The truth is that none of us are qualified to judge, only God has that privilege! The Gospel also emphasizes that it is often difficult tell the good from the bad and separate them. The Psalm indicate our enemies cause us to turn from God. We feel the absence of God’s grace and we petition for this to return.
The readings emphasize that God is with us in all the things of our lives and is involved with us throughout our lives helping through his Spirit to maximise our potential. We will not be abandoned!
There is no guarantee that God who will step in and magically fix everything, but God is intimately present and actively at work in our lives, taking what is and steadfastly aiming at what can be. This process of transformation is not always something we can see, but something we can trust. And trust, like hope, is the divine alternative to fear. Isaiah maybe expresses the best of all – “Is there any god besides me ? There is no other rock; I know not one."
The Gospel this week contains the parable of the weeds, following closely on the parable of the sower last week. Weeds grow amids the harvest. It is difficult to separate them. Jesus emphasized that the pure and impure, righteous and unrighteous exist together and there is no way to separate them. Indeed we need to work hard with all. The mission should be to spread the Gospel and not worry about the weeds. All will be sorted out in God’s time and not ours. And we shouldn’t judge – it is difficult to figure out if they are weeds.
In Paul’s terms, it’s all a matter of how we live. We should live by the spirit and its values. The crucial point is the realization that we are children of God that will propel us into new life. The idea of “new life” can be approached in three ways: in eschatological, evolutionary, or worldly terms. Each is full of promise. The implication is that when we know, really know, who we are as children of God, we will act differently, and creation itself will be set free from its bondage—a condition resulting from the Fall, or, stated differently, from our misuse and exploitation.
In the midst of all this there will be suffering. Paul talks about the the mutual suffering of all creation: the whole creation that groans together and suffers together, "and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies."
The Old Testament readings prop this up with images. Isaiah uses the "rock" drawn from Deuteronomy-connoting stability, security, safety. The Psalm emphasizes God’s love and ability to teach us the ways, listening to our petitions. We request a sign of God’s favor to us based on the fact that God has helped and conforted us in the past.