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2. Contact the Rev Catherine Hicks, Rector 4. April, 2018 Server Schedule 5. Latest Newsletter-the Parish Post (April, 2018) 6. Calendar 8. What’s new on the website 10. Latest Easter 4 Sunday Bulletin (April 22, 2018 11:00am), and Sermon (April 8, 2018) |
Block Print by Mike Newman
Projects
| White | Gold | Easter | Apr 1-22 |
| White | Gold | Eastertide | Apr 23-May 24 |
| White | Gold | Ascension Day | May 10-12 [Sun May 13] |
| White | Gold | Eastertide | May 13-May 19 |
| Red | Pentecost Sunday | May 20-26 | |
| White | Gold | Trinity Sunday | Jun 27-Jun 2 |
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, April 15-22
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15
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[Damien, Priest and Leper, 1889, and Marianne, Religious, 1918, of Molokai] |
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16
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[Mary (Molly) Brant (Konwatsijayenni), Witness to the Faith among the Mohawks, 1796] |
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17
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[Emily Cooper, Deaconess, 1909] |
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18
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19
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Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Martyr, 1012 |
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Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1109 |
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22
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April 15, 2018
The Week Ahead…
April 18 – 10:00am, Ecumenical Bible Study
April 18 – 3pm-5pm, Village Harvest Distribution
April 22 – 10:00am, Children with Becky
April 22 – 11:00am, Holy Eucharist, Rite II
Sunday, April 22 Readings and Servers
Back to the Village Harvest, April 18, 2018
The Village Harvest served 153 in April compared 150 in February. (March was cancelled due to weather). Pounds of food provide increased from 1558 to 1872. The value per client was $73 up from $62 in February. We provided apples, cucumbers, meat, blueberries, potatoes,canned goods and paper products as well as toilet articles. We also had the donated Whitman’s Samplers this month.
Our numbers served have been down in 2018. We are no longer calling clients. The total number is down (6%) from 412 to 389 but the value is greater per client since food supplied is up 44% from the same period last year.
The pictures show all ages participate in this ministry, many of the same people month after month. A special thank you to Cookie and Johnny Davis who travel to purchase the food from the Northern Virginia Food Bank and Andrea who supplied the pictures and statistics.
Revelation: The Online Course
During Lent, we offered a Bible Study on the Book of Revelation. Other churches did also and many used Michael Battle’s book, Heaven on Earth as a basis. He visited St. George’s in Fredericksburg as part of their Lenten Weekend on the first Sunday in Lent. Book groups developed to study the book
ChurchNext is offering a free online course provided by Battle "Revelation: The End of the World or Heaven on Earth?
You can find it here
This course is ideal for those seeking a deeper knowledge of the Book of Revelation.
Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory at St. Peter’s
On April 12, Cookie and Johnny picked up approximately 60 boxes of Whitman’s samples from the Russell Stover outlet in Caroline County
The Russell Stover outlet at Ruther Glenn is unfortunately closing. (It is the only one in Virginia). They offered to donate chocolates to non-profits. St. Peter’s signed up. Cookie and Johnny volunteered to transport them. They loaded up the truck and brought 60 boxes of candies to St. Peter’s. They are each 2.5 pound boxes.
We will be offering them as part of the Village Harvest Food Distribution, April 18, 3pm-5pm
We are in Eastertide until Pentecost, May 20
Eastertide is the period of fifty days, seven Sundays from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday.
“Tide” is an old word meaning a “festival” and its season. In the early church, Lent was a season for new converts to learn about the faith and prepare for baptism on Easter Sunday. The initial purpose of the 50-day Easter season was to continue the faith formation of new Christians.
Easter is not a day but a season and it is one to examine the Resurrection, more broadly and deeply. There are a number of questions.
Is Resurrection just about death has been swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54-56) ? Is Resurrection of Jesus is a precursor to your own resurrection (1 Corinthians 15) ? Does it say something about our own ability to expect to see Jesus (Luke 24) ? How does the new Christian community begin to function making Christ the central part of daily life ? (Acts 2)
In Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:19, the resurrection illustrates the “immeasurable greatness of [God’s] power for us who believe.” In Ephesians 2:1-7, Paul applies this to our salvation. We have been made “alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."
Jesus physically appears in Easter 2 and 3 making the Resurection tangible. The shepherding part of his ministry is explored in Easter 4. From Easter 5-7, Jesus must prepare the disciples for his departure. He is going to leave them. Jesus prepares his disciples for continuing his ministry without his physical presence. Themes explored include the holy spirit, the Prayer of Jesus and God’s glory through His Son and the church.
Christ ascends on the 40th day with his disciples watching (Thursday, May 10th). The weekdays after the Ascension until the Saturday before Pentecost inclusive are a preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.This fifty days comes to an end on Pentecost Sunday, which commemorates the giving of the Holy Spirit to the apostles, the beginnings of the Church and its mission to all peoples and nation. Note that the Old Testament lessons are replaced by selections from the Book of Acts, recognizing the important of the growth of the church.
Read the Book of Acts over Eastertide
These were organized by Forward Movement for a combined Luke and Acts study These are just the Acts portion.
There are many commentaries on the book. Here is an easy one to get started.
Flowers for Tax Week
Is it a coincidence that flowers bloom for April 15 ? This week many people found themselves in the red as they sent out taxes so this small gallery has a lot of red (and purple) as a metaphor. The red bud trees have been magnificent this year so the gallery starts there.
Ellen Kympton at St. Stephens Richmond wrote about her visit with nature on a train trip between NY and Richmond and noticing the advancing spring
"I was reminded of the imagery used by Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century mystic. She used the Latin word viriditas to describe the "greening power" of God present in the earth and the human soul.
"Poet Mary Karr writes "every now and then we…deduce for an instant how we are formed, in what detail the force that infuses every petal, might specifically run through us." We are "animated ground" whose tended souls experience cycles and seasons of fallowness and new growth, sometimes even resurrection, as we come back to life.
"This power that is manifest in all creation and causes the human soul to green, grow and flourish is a mystery in which we rejoice. In the words of an Easter hymn, "When our hearts are wintry, grieving or in pain, thy touch can call us back to life again, fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been. Love is come again like wheat that springeth green."
Taking it to the Streets
Thanks to Andrea Pogue this is the 7th anniversary of this event!
•Use this opportunity to securely dispose of those out dated, sensitive documents and financial records that you have accumulated over the years; and
•Use this occasion to clear out old file cabinets, boxes, folders and envelopes containing pay stubs, tax records, bank statements and receipts that have amassed over time.
Bring them to St. Peter’s on Wednesday, May 2 between 4:30pm and 5:30pm and watch the action.
This is a fund raiser for community enrichment and charitable outreach efforts. We also need to pay for the shredder. Please a consider a generous donation to this cause.
Whether for the environment, to help St. Peter’s or to rid your home of excess papers, come down and bring your stuff on May 2
April 22 is Earth Day
Earth Day originated in 1970 after Sen. Gaylord Perry from Wisconsin witnessed the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. He hoped it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda. It did leading to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the passage of the Clean Air Act and a dialogue on a host of issues. In recent years it has taken up the climate change issue.
Churches have become involved in emphasizing the Biblical background for dialogue. We have celebrated the earth by planting trees in the yard and remembering the day through our liturgy and prayers.
Whether we agree on the effects of Climate change, there are things we can do to both conserve and save money. However, you first need to understand your energy usage as defined in your carbon footprint .
What’s your carbon footprint ? A carbon footprint is defined here as:
"The total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).
"In other words: When you drive a car, the engine burns fuel which creates a certain amount of CO2, depending on its fuel consumption and the driving distance. (CO2 is the chemical symbol for carbon dioxide). When you heat your house with oil, gas or coal, then you also generate CO2. Even if you heat your house with electricity, the generation of the electrical power may also have emitted a certain amount of CO2. When you buy food and goods, the production of the food and goods also emitted some quantities of CO2.
"Your carbon footprint is the sum of all emissions of CO2 (carbon dioxide), which were induced by your activities in a given time frame. Usually a carbon footprint is calculated for the time period of a year."
You can check calculate your carbon footprint here. Find out how to reduce emissions and save money.
Earth Day, 2018 – Focus on Plastics
1. Why we should focus on plastics ?
2. What we can do to reduce our plastics consumption ?
Lectionary, April 22, Easter 4
I.Theme – The Good Shepherd
Mafa – I am the Good Shepherd
“Jesus said, ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.’" – John 10:11,16
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
First Reading – Acts 4:5-12
Psalm – Psalm 23
Epistle –1 John 3:16-24
Gospel – John 10:11-18
Today’s readings assure us of God’s constant, shepherd-like care. In his sermon in Acts, Peter preaches that salvation is to be found in Jesus Christ of Nazareth, crucified, but raised from death by God. The author of 1 John tells us that, because of God’s love shown in Jesus, we are now God’s children. In the gospel, Jesus explains how he, as our Good Shepherd, lays down his life because he cares for his sheep.
The image of the shepherd can be difficult to understand. The metaphor of the shepherd has at times been sentimentalized and at other times abused.
Given that tension, what can we learn from today’s gospel? One of its most heartening aspects is the utter commitment of the Shepherd. Some of us might resent being diminished by the comparison to witless sheep. Yet all of us can respond with gratitude to a committed friend. The special people in our lives who know when we need a joke or a nudge, a compliment or a challenge; those who can both laugh and cry with us; those who give us perspective when we’ve lost ours: they are gift. To have as guide One who is the source and inspiration of all those gifts is blessing indeed.
We have been fortunate in our own day to see models lay down their lives for others. Martyrs in Central America and Africa are dramatic examples. Yet in unspectacular ways, ordinary people sacrifice daily for their children, their coworkers, their friends and relatives. Laying down one’s own life may be as simple as pausing to hear the leisurely unfolding of another person’s story when time pressures mount. Or it may be as complex as financing another’s education. But the surrenders we can observe so often around us prove that giving one’s life is both possible and practical.
A second noteworthy element is the lack of coercion exerted by the Shepherd. His voice is all, and it is enough. We often meet with resistance when we try to persuade another. We also witness the remarkable change that inner motivation can produce. Jesus knows well the drawing power of love and the strength of people driven by love.
For all the Sheep…
From "Exhaling Judgment: A Personal Journey Toward Radical Welcome (John 10:11-18)"- Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis
"In this Eastertide, here is what love looks like to me: Jesus lays down his life for the sheep. For all of the sheep. For all of the people. This is about relationship and intimacy. Between God and Jesus, and among God’s people. I believe there are no outsiders in the Reign of God. Jesus leads the way to abundant life because he is the life. For all of the sheep. All of the sheep hear Jesus’ voice and recognize it. It is spoken in the ethic of love. It is spoken in acts of justice and compassion. It is spoken in healing and restoration. It is spoken in connection and community. It is spoken in forgiveness and reconciliation.
Good Shepherd.. in the movies
In the Old Testament, Shepherds are used to represent leaders of God’s people (see Isaiah 63:11; Jeremiah 23:2). Shepherds watch for enemies who might attack the sheep, and they defend them when necessary. They tend to sick or wounded sheep and search for and rescue lost or trapped ones.
In Christ’s teachings, shepherds love their sheep and try to earn their trust. The sheep know, love, and trust the shepherd above all others. A good shepherd will even die for his sheep. Christ contrasts the shepherd with the hireling, who deserts the sheep in times of danger because he does not love them.
There are movies where the main character exhibit this behavior.
One of Jack Nicholson’s early films was "One Flew over the Cukoo Nest" (1975). Randall McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is sent from the state penitentiary to a mental hospital in order to be evaluated. McMurphy is promptly situated as the deviant who will challenge the establishment, embodied principally by the villainous Nurse Ratched. Randall demands to know what medication is being administered to him, attempts to teach fellow patients basketball and black jack, and instigates a futile campaign to have the schedule altered so that everyone may watch the World Series. His threat to the stability of the institution is finally acknowledged by the Board after he commandeers the hospital bus in order to take his disciples on a fishing expedition. The group gradually questions the hospital’s procedures. A violent uproar ensues, causing Randall’s beloved disciple "Chief" (Will Samson) to physically assault a ward who attempts to subdue McMurphy.
After the administration of corrective shock treatment to the dissenters, McMurphy begins to persuade the others to leave the institution, a premise they resist due to a lack of faith in their own capabilities to function on the outside. In the concluding sequence, it is obvious that McMurphy has empowered at least one of his disciples to do what was once unthinkable. "Chief" hurls a limestone bathroom fixture through the window and escapes the hospital. The rush of water at the beginning of the scene can be linked to baptism.
You can watch this sequence here.
Maximilian Kolbe – a caring shepherd among his people
From a sermon by Rev. William D. Oldland, "Jesus is the Shepherd and the Gate" about Maximiliam Kolbe
"His life exemplifies the role of a caring shepherd for his flock. His life is also a gate or perhaps a gateway through which we can see the effect of the incredible love of God.
"The priest’s name was Maximilian Kolbe. He was born in 1894 in Poland. His parents were poor. His father was a weaver. At an early age he had a vision. He had prayed to Mary and asked what was to become of him. In response Mary came to him in this vision holding two crowns. One was red and the other was white. The white one symbolized perseverance in purity and the red one meant martyrdom. She asked which one he would choose. He said he would accept them both. This decision shaped his future actions and would one day come true.
" In 1910, he entered the Franciscan order and he was ordained a priest in 1919 in Rome. On his return to Poland he was a teacher of church history and he built a friary outside of Warsaw. The friary grew until it housed 762 Franciscans. He went to Japan and India and started friaries there as well. In 1936, he returned to supervise the friary in Warsaw. When Germany invaded he sent the friars home to protect them. He was a good shepherd to his flock. He was imprisoned for a while. But when he was released he went back to the friary where he took in three thousand refugees. 2,000 of these refugees were Jewish. Those friars who worked with him shared all they had with the refugees. They shared their clothing, the little food that they had, and anything else that was useful.
" As you can imagine the Germans became suspicious and in 1941 they closed the friary arresting Maximilian and four other brothers. They were all transported to Auschwitz. At the camp Maximilian endured many hardships. No one had enough food. Clothing was inadequate for the cold. Shelter was not much help from the cold either. Maximilian was known to move among the prisoners with gentleness. At night he did not rest. He moved from bunk to bunk identifying himself as a priest and asking if they needed anything from him. He listened to confessions and heard their pleas for consolation. He continued to be a shepherd to his flock.
" Father Kolbe also endured personal pain. An SS officer saw him one day. He chose the heaviest boards he could find. He loaded them on Father Kolbe’s back and made him run with the load. When he fell the officer kicked him in the stomach and face. He ordered the soldiers to give him fifty lashes. Father Kolbe lost consciousness and the soldiers left him in the mud for dead. Some prisoners snuck him into the infirmary.
Voices on Good Shepherd Sunday
1. David Lose – "God is Not Done Yet"
Amid Jesus’ discourse on being “the good shepherd,” what jumped out to me this time was Jesus’ simply but bold assertion that, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” Have you ever noticed that before? Or, more than notice it, have you ever given much thought to its theological and homiletical implications?
What strikes me is that, quite simply, Jesus isn’t done yet. Despite his healings, despite his preaching, despite all that he had already done and planned to do, Jesus isn’t done yet. He still has more sheep to reach, sheep that are not in this fold. By extension, I’d suggest that God isn’t done yet, either. And this matters for at least three reasons.
First, God continues to call people from all walks of life, from every nation on the face of the earth, and from each and every generation across the nearly two thousand years since Jesus first uttered those words until today. If that were not true, you and I would not have come to faith and we certainly would not be giving our lives to the task and joy of proclaiming the Gospel.
Second, God is at work in our midst and through us and our congregations to extend the invitation to abundant life offered by the Good Shepherd. We probably know that, but do our people? Do they imagine, that is, that God is using their lives and words to invite others to faith? Can they imagine that simply by praying for someone or inviting someone to church they might be the vessel by which God continues to reach out and embrace God’s beloved sheep from beyond this fold? Perhaps kindling their imagination might prepare them to be equipped to do just that.
