Caption – downpour on the flowers with day lilies out, “Sweet Sixteen” birthday, Tongues of fire descending on the congregation during concluding hymn “Sweet, Sweet Spirit”, Extinguishing of the Paschal Candle with Pentecost, A Pentecost Cake
Pictures and text from this Sunday, June 9, 2019
The Week Ahead…
June 12 – 10:00am-12pm – Ecumenical Bible Study
June 12 – 5:00pm – 6:30pm, Village Dinner
June 14 – 7:00am, ECM at Hornes
Bishop Ihloff Visitation
June 16 – 10am – Children’s Education Living the Good News
June 16 – 10am – Agape Meal for Corinth with Bishop Ihloff
June 16 – 11:00am – Holy Eucharist, Rite II, Trinity Sunday, Bishop Ihloff
June 16 – 11:00am – Final Collection for UTO, spring ingathering
June 16 – 12:00pm – Lunch in the Parish House with Bishop Ihloff and those being confirmed.
Sunday, June 16, Trinity Sunday Readings and Servers
“A Cup of Tea and an Hour of Prayer”, June 7, 2019
Eleven people gathered at the home of Cookie and Johnny Davis to enjoy a time of fellowship and to pray together as part of “Thy Kingdom Come”. After the group enjoyed cups of tea and goodies prepared by Cookie, Marilyn Newman led us in prayer accompanied by harp music, and then we prayed by following a finger labyrinth to the music of the harp. Then the group prayed together for a number of people who are dealing with various troubling issues. The time of prayer ended with thanksgiving and The Lord’s Prayer.
More pictures and text here
Pentecost – Thy Kingdom Come – Concluding video
St. Peter’s Mobile is here
“St. Peter’s Mobile” is St. Peter’s new mobile phone app and is now available for Android phones. (IPhone to come). Search for it on the Google Playstore (play.google.com/store) by name (St. Peter’s Mobile) or by its package name – com.churchsp.stpm. All of the data is stored on the internet so it has to be working.
Why do we need an app ? You can take church content on the go wherever you are and not be tied to a desktop computer. Yes, we are a mobile society! The modern church is the world!
The app is designed as a scrolling list of recent content. The list will change weekly. Much of it but not all is selected from our website. The idea was to make it very simple and different from a website.
The content can be sorted by date or title, ascending or descending using the drop down button below the church picture. Like email, clicking on on the title gets you to the content. The content can be a mixture of text, photos, sound and/or video.
The bottom navigation bar with 4 buttons is different since it has fixed titles. It is intended to be inspirational, read frequently, generally everyday. “Day by Day” is the popular daily message by Forward Movement that changes with the day. The next icon is the Daily Office read in many Episcopal churches also changes depending on the day. Following those are the Book of Common Prayer and Bible. We are always reading those!
Suggestions and comments are welcome!
UTO Spring Ingathering, June 2-16, Give Generously
The mission of the United Thank Offering is to expand the circle of thankful people.
Over 125 years ago, the United Thank Offering was founded as a women’s ministry to help individuals pay more attention to the spiritual blessings in their lives by making small thank offerings to support innovative ministries in the Church for which the church budget had not yet expanded to fund.
The United Thank Offering (UTO) Ingathering is set to award $1,535,740.55 in 2019, thanks to increased giving by people from across the church in 2018. UTO funds are granted on an annual basis to support mission across The Episcopal Church and throughout the Anglican Communion. The UTO 2018 Ingathering reflects an increase in giving of $15,495.15 over the 2017 thank offerings. Fifty-three Episcopal dioceses increased their giving.
There were two grants in Va.
- $2,500 -New Church Community at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
- $30,000 – Charis Hospitality Expansion Project: Charis is an intentional community of young adults living at McIlhany Parish, seeking to follow Jesus through prayer and social action. Our church is intending to declare public sanctuary for people facing deportation, and this grant would allow us to add three bedrooms, a bathroom, and make our home more hospitable to welcoming the stranger.
Thoughts for your UTO Blue Box:
Give thanks this day for your own health. Drop a coin in your Blue Box as you give thanks and pray for the continued health and improved health of those you love.
Give thanks this day for friendship with others. Drop a coin in your Blue Box as you give thanks and pray for your friendship with others.
Give thanks this day for the UTO’s work with mission by contributing to their work. Check out the following grants that have been supported by the UTO.
Bring your boxes back by June 16 , write a check to “St. Peter’s- UTO” and continue the work of this vital ministry.
Take the Ladies Night Out survey so the ECM can determine the best date to help them schedule the evening at the Riverside Theatre.
Meet Bishop Ihloff
The Rt. Rev. Robert Ihloff was hired to serve as Bishop Associate in the Diocese of Virginia on a part time basis, beginning in March 2018. Bishop Ihloff previously served as the Bishop of Maryland from 1995 until his retirement in 2007. He will be with us on Sunday, June 16
Bishop Ihloff earned a B.A. with departmental honors in history from Ursinus College in 1964; an M.A. in modern European history from Central Connecticut University in 1973; an M.Div. from Episcopal Theological School (later Episcopal Divinity School) in 1967; a D.Min from Episcopal Divinity School in 1985. His thesis/project was in the area Group Spiritual Direction. He is the recipient of three honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees.
Corinth Agape Meal, July 16, 10am
We are celebrating the end of our study of First Corinthians with a 1st Century Agape Meal on June 16. It is also Trinity Sunday and Bishop Ihloff will be here playing the role of Paul!
The Agape Meal is known as a Lovefeast and was originally part of the Eucharist in the early church but split off by 250AD. It was first mentioned by Paul in 1st Corinthians. The word “agape” is mentioned in reference to meals in Jude 12. They symbolize the unity of fellowship in the love of Christ which the saints at rest will share. Signs of the agape are the loving cup and bread.
The Christians of Corinth met in the evening and had a common meal including sacramental action over bread and wine. 1 Corinthians 11:20–34 indicates that the rite was associated with participation in a meal of a more general character. It apparently involved a full meal, with the participants bringing their own food but eating in a common room. Perhaps predictably enough, it could at times deteriorate into merely an occasion for eating and drinking, or for ostentatious displays by the wealthier members of the community, as happened in Corinth, drawing the criticisms of Paul
We know the word “Lovefeast” from the practice of the Moravian church during the church service. Ours will be separate at 10am.
Please come and celebrate the end of our Christian Ed study.
Trinity Sunday, June 16, 2019
Trinity Sunday, the first Sunday after Pentecost, honors the Holy Trinity—the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Although the word “trinity” does not appear in Scripture, it is taught in Matthew 28:18-20 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 (and many other biblical passages). It lasts only one day, which is symbolic of the unity of the Trinity.
Trinity Sunday is one of the few feasts of the Christian Year that celebrates a reality and doctrine rather than an event or person. The Eastern Churches have no tradition of Trinity Sunday, arguing that they celebrate the Trinity every Sunday.
Understanding of all scriptural doctrine is by faith which comes through the work of the Holy Spirit; therefore, it is appropriate that this mystery is celebrated the first Sunday after the Pentecost, when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit first occurred.
The Trinity is best described in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, commonly called the Nicene Creed. Essentially the Trinity is the belief that God is one in essence (Greek ousia), but distinct in person (Greek hypostasis). The Greek word for person means "that which stands on its own," or "individual reality," but does not mean the persons of the Trinity are three human persons. Therefore we believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are somehow distinct from one another (not divided though), yet completely united in will and essence.
Introduction to the Trinity – what it is and what it is not
The core belief
The doctrine of the Trinity is the Christian belief that there is One God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Other ways of referring to the Trinity are the Triune God and the Three-in-One.
The Trinity is a controversial doctrine; many Christians admit they don’t understand it, while many more Christians don’t understand it but think they do.
In fact, although they’d be horrified to hear it, many Christians sometimes behave as if they believe in three Gods and at other times as if they believe in one.
Trinity Sunday, which falls on the first Sunday after Pentecost, is one of the few feasts in the Christian calendar that celebrate a doctrine rather than an event.
Visualizing the Trinity
The Trinity is most commonly seen in Christian art with the Spirit represented by a dove, as specified in the Gospel accounts of the Baptism of Christ; he is nearly always shown with wings outspread. However depictions using three human figures appear occasionally in most periods of art.
The Father and the Son are usually differentiated by age, and later by dress, but this too is not always the case. The usual depiction of the Father as an older man with a white beard may derive from the biblical Ancient of Days, which is often cited in defense of this sometimes controversial representation.
The Son is often shown at the Father’s right hand.[Acts 7:56 ] He may be represented by a symbol—typically the Lamb or a cross—or on a crucifix, so that the Father is the only human figure shown at full size. In early medieval art, the Father may be represented by a hand appearing from a cloud in a blessing gesture, for example in scenes of the Baptism of Christ.
The Apple pie as a symbol of the Trinity.
From a sermon on Trinity Sunday, 2011
"This pie is Trinitarian for several reasons. First of all, it has three parts. It has a crust, it has a filling, and it has a topping. Second, each of the three parts has three ingredients.
"The crust is made of flour with a little salt thrown in, some shortening, and some ice water. The filling contains apples, sugar, and cinnamon. The topping is made of a trinity of flour, butter and sugar.
"When all of these ingredients are subjected to the heat of the oven over a period of time, they merge together into one delicious pie, which would not be complete if any of the ingredients were lacking.
"This apple pie is a great symbol for God as Trinity. In order to understand most fully who God is, we Christians know God as the transcendent God, so mysterious that we will never ever know God fully in this life. We know God as Jesus, who lived and died as one of us—not some far off distant deity, but God who experienced the joys and sorrows of being human. We know God as that voice that whispers to us, bringing us inspiration, understanding, and guidance. The ways in which we know God are incomplete until we embrace all of these ways of knowing God, knowing that even then God remains a mystery. This pie would be incomplete without its three parts."
Hymn of the Week – Holy! Holy! Holy!
Reginald Heber (1783 – 1826) was an English clergyman, traveller, man of letters and hymn-writer who, after working as a country parson for 16 years, served as the Anglican Bishop of Calcutta until his sudden death at the age of 42.
Reginald Heber wrote "Holy, Holy, Holy" while serving as vicar of Hodnet, Shropshire, England. He was the first to compile a hymnal ordering hymns around the church calendar. Wanting to celebrate a triune God, Heber wrote "Holy, Holy, Holy" for Trinity Sunday–a day that reaffirmed the doctrine of the Trinity and was observed eight Sundays after Easter. The hymn was first published in 1826.
Years later, John Dykes composed the tune Nicaea especially for Heber’s "Holy, Holy, Holy."
Text and tune were first published together in 1861. Since that time, this popular hymn has appeared in hundreds of hymnals and been translated into many languages.
The Nicene Creed, line by line
We say this creed every Sunday in the Eucharist service. It is the central creed or belief of Christianity and goes back to 325AD. On Trinity Sunday it is good to break it down into its essential meaning.
Walls of Nicea, today in Turkey
"I believe in one God"
The Greek, Latin and proper English translations begin with "I" believe, because reciting the creed is an individual expression of belief.
"the Father Almighty "
God the Father is the first person, within the Godhead. The Father is the "origin" or "source" of the Trinity. From Him, came somehow the other two. God the Father is often called "God Unbegotten" in early Christian thought.
"Maker of heaven and earth, And of all things visible and invisible"
Everything that is was created by God. Some early sects, the Gnostics and Marcionites, believed that God the Father created the spirit world, but that an "evil" god (called the demiurge) created the similarly evil material world.
"And in one Lord Jesus Christ, "
Jesus is Lord and Master of all this creation. No tyrant, Jesus is Lord, teacher, counselor, friend and servant.
"the only-begotten Son of God "
Jesus is in a unique relationship with God the Father, His only Son. While Hebrew kings were sons of God symbolically, Jesus is the only Son of God by nature.
"Begotten of his Father before all worlds "
Begotten has the meaning of born, generated, or produced. God the Son is out of the essence of God the Father. The Son shares the essential nature of God with the Father. Since God is eternal, the Son, being begotten of God, is also eternal. Jesus was begotten of the Father before this world came into being and was present at its creation.
Lectionary, June 16, 2019 – Trinity Sunday
I. Theme – The Trinity points to the mystery of unity and diversity in God’s experience and in the ongoing creative process
Holy Trinity– Anton Rublev (1430)
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
First Reading – Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Psalm – Psalm 8
Epistle –Romans 5:1-5
Gospel – John 16:12-15
The first reading reminds us of the holiness and wisdom of God’s personal mystery. The second reading invites praise for God’s glory, which we hope to share through our cooperation with God’s Spirit at work in us. In today’s gospel, Jesus promises the Spirit, who will convict the world and guide the disciples into truth.
Our language about God springs from our experience of God’s activity and, at best, only points to divine mystery. Though we know that all our language about God is metaphorical and that all our most comprehensive explanations fall short of God’s essential mystery, nevertheless we continue to be lured by God’s holy mystery.
Though we freely admit that God is beyond our rational capacity, we also recognize that God is not beyond our experience. Our metaphors move from what we know best to what we experience as lesser known. Our touchstone to the mystery of the Trinity is first of all the mystery of our own self. Despite our most persistent efforts to "know our self," there is always so much more of our self that escapes our scrutiny.
And the mystery of human selfhood spills over into our encounters with the mysterious others in our lives. Even those closest to us–our parents, children, spouses and friends–remain somehow other and surprising.
How do we know God? The question is not merely academic, but influences our deepest belief and behavior. The Trinity is not a heavenly riddle but an ongoing revelation, filling and blessing us and our days.
The Trinity, along with the Incarnation and the divine presence in history, is one of the great antidotes to the tendency of some Christians to see God as apathetic, a-historical, and unchanging in contrast to the passionate, evolving, and transitory world of time and space.
This lively God has not decided everything in advance without consulting the creaturely world, nor has the living God imaged the whole unfolding of history in one eternal, unchanging vision. The Trinitarian God suggested by today’s passages embodies loving fidelity through intimate and changing relationships with the unfolding world and its inhabitants
God is constantly doing something new, and God is constantly being revealed to us in new ways. God is still speaking through the acts of creation, which Wisdom (which also has at times been interpreted as the Holy Spirit in the New Testament) is part. Maybe even the Trinity falls short in showing us the way God is made known to us, but we have used it throughout Christian history
2. Contact the Rev Catherine Hicks, Rector 5. Latest Newsletter-the Parish Post (June, 2019) 6. Calendar 9. Latest Sunday Bulletin (June 16, 2019 11:00am), and Sermon (June 9, 2019) 10. Recent Services: |
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Saints of the Week, – June 9 – June 16
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9
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Columba, Abbot of Iona, 597 William Alexander Guerry, Bishop, 1928 Jeanne Guyon, Mystic, 1717 |
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10
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Ephrem of Nisibis, Deacon & Poet, 373 |
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11
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Saint Barnabas the Apostle |
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12
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Enmegahbowh, Priest and Missionary, 1902 |
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13
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14
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Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesarea, 379 Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Apologist and Writer, 1936 |
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15
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Evelyn Underhill, Mystic & Writer, 1941 |
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16
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Joseph Butler, Bishop, 1752 |