frontpages – Page 5 – St. Peter's Episcopal

Frontpage, Sept. 19, 2021

We are a small Episcopal Church on the banks of the Rappahannock in Port Royal, Virginia. We acknowledge that we gather on the traditional land of the first people of Port Royal, the Nandtaughtacund, who are still here, and we honor with gratitude the land itself and the life of the Rappahannock Tribe. Our mission statement is to do God’s Will in all that we do. We welcome all people to our church.

A procession of objects from nature during the Season of Creation.

Pentecost 17 – Sept. 19, 2021 – humility, compassion and service. This is the 3rd Sunday in the Season of Creation (Sept. 1- Oct. 4) and a most unusual service – one without organ music. Check out the videos and photos to see how we got by!

Sept 19 – 11:00am, Eucharist In person in the church or on Zoom. – Join here at 10:45am for gathering – service starts at 11am Meeting ID: 869 9926 3545 Passcode: 889278

Sept. 19 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30pm for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID 834 7356 6532 Password 748475

Sept. 20 – 6:30am – Be Still Meditation group in a 20 minute time of prayer Meeting ID: 879 8071 6417 Passcode: 790929

Bible Study on Wednesday 10am-12pm!

Sept. 26 – 11:00am, , Holy Eucharist, Pentecost 17

Sept. 26 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID 834 7356 6532 Password 748475

Coming up Wed., Sept. 29 as part of the Season of Creation…

Village Harvest, Sept 15 – a return to more normal numbers

Volunteers in action on Sept 15 with blueberries and oranges

The Village Harvest was about in the middle of the month on the 15th. The middle also relates to our numbers this year as of September.

Numbers in September returned closer to average. 83 were served compared to only 25 last month. 83 is just over the yearly average of 80. Most of the lower numbers were after May and were concentrated in the summer. Hopefully we are moving out of the summer slump. Catherine thinks that the signs and word of mouth helped the increased numbers in September.

Read the entire article.

Season of Creation 2021 – Theme

The Season of Creation is the annual Christian celebration of prayer and action for our common home. Together, the ecumenical family around the world unites to pray and protect God’s creation. The season starts 1 September, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends 4 October, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology beloved by many Christian denominations.

In 2021, the theme is “A HOME FOR ALL? RENEWING THE OIKOS OF GOD.” Oikos is the Greek word for “home,” or “household.” By rooting our theme in the concept of oikos, we celebrate the integral web of relationships that sustain the well-being of the Earth.

This year’s symbol, Abraham’s tent, signifies our commitment to safeguard a place for all who share our common home, just as Abraham did in the Book of Genesis. Abraham and Sarah opened their tent as a home for three strangers, who turned out to be God’s angels (Gen 18). By creating a home for all, their act of radical hospitality became a source of great blessing.

Abraham’s tent is a symbol of our ecumenical call to practice creation care as an act of radical hospitality, safeguarding a place for all creatures, human and more human, in our common home, the household (oikos) of God.

In Genesis God set a dome over the Earth. The word ”dome“ is where we get words such as ‘domicile’ and ’domestic’ — in other words, God puts us all is — all people, all life — under the same domed roof — we are all in the house, the oikos of God. God gave humans the ministry to take care and cultivate this oikos of God. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others have called the oikos of God ”the Beloved Community,” a community in which all of life are equally members, though each has a different role. We need to renew our world as an interconnected and interdependent global beloved community.

The Psalmist proclaims “the Earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” There are two statements of faith at the heart of this song. The first is that every creature belongs to the Earth community. The second is that the entire community belongs to the Creator. A Greek word for this Earth community is oikos

By faith, we join the Psalmist in remembering that we are not stewards of an inanimate creation, but caretakers within a dynamic and living community of creation. The Earth and all that is not a given, but a gift, held in trust. We are called not to dominate, but to safeguard. By reason, we discern how best to safeguard conditions for life, and create economic, technological and political architectures that are rooted in the ecological limits of our common home. Through wisdom we pay careful attention to natural systems and processes, to inherited and indigenous traditions, and to God’s revelation in word and Spirit.

Faith gives us trust that God’s Spirit is constantly renewing the face of the Earth. Within this horizon of hope, our baptismal call frees us to return to our human vocation to till and keep God’s garden. In Christ, God calls us to participate in renewing the whole inhabited Earth, safeguarding a place for every creature, and reform just relationships among all creation.

The River as a Holy Place in the Season of Creation

This is a series on “Holy Places” from Canterbury Cathedral in England. The use of the river as a holy place fits our location backing up to the Rappahannock and appropriate to consider in the Season of Creation. Two passages considered:

Psalm 46
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of the city;[b]it shall not be moved;
    God will help it when the morning dawns.
6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lordof hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Revelation 22:1
Then the angel[a] showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

The river is a vehicle to help us to understand truths about God. Nature imagery reveal something about God’s character since nature is God’s handiwork and bears god’s signature. Nature is good for both our health and spiritual well being.

Goodside’s M.O.R.E. Model for Effective Climate Action – REDUCE

Season of Creation focus in 2021 – Your role in reducing climate change

Download it!

“Fighting climate change needs to be our life’s work.” “We’re not going to fix this overnight. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, as they say-and that means we need to train for it. “

The above is from Goodside’s M.O.R.E. Model for Effective Climate Action, a short, concise book on climate change in our time. We will review this book in September weeks. M.O.R.E is measure, offset, reduce and educate. We covered Educate last week

“Our goal with this book is to arm you with the know-how to easily adopt lifestyle changes, habits and actions that will aid in your efforts against the climate crisis”.

Goodside’s M.O.R.E. Model for Effective Climate Action – REDUCE

Educate – Learn Everything you need to understand climate change

Measure – Measure Your Carbon Footprint (How to Do It, and Why It Matters)

Reduce – Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: 26 Ways to Live More Sustainably

Offset – Offset Your Carbon Emissions (Yes, It Really Makes a Difference)

Let’s take a look at Reduce.

The US carbon foot print averages 16 tons CO2 per capita. We need to cut it 90% to 1.7 to limit the rise in temperatures to to under 2°C (3.6°F) above pre- industrial levels-and ideally, under 1.5°C (2.7°F). To date we have seen a 1.0°C increase since pre-industrial times.

Human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for the observed warming. A warmer Earth also experiences more extreme weather events, like longer fire seasons, bigger and more frequent floods, and slower and stronger hurricanes.

Goodside-Reduce-min

Lectionary, Sept. 26 18th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

I. Theme – Healing and protection involving our work and inspiration from God

“Jesus Welcomes the Children” – Maha (1973)

“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea” – Mark 9:42

The lectionary readings are here or individually:

Old Testament – Numbers 11:4-6,10-16,24-29
Psalm – Psalm 19:7-14 Page 606-607, BCP
Epistle – James 5:13-20
Gospel – Mark 9:38-50

Today’s readings illustrate how God can choose unexpected people to do God’s work. The readings focus on healing and protection. Neither of these entirely comes from God, but involve our agency as well as divine creativity and care.

In Numbers Eldad and Medad, though not participating in Moses’ official “commissioning,” receive the same Spirit of prophecy as the seventy elders. James suggests practical guidelines for those who wish to do God’s work. Today’s gospel reading relates how Jesus, like Moses, endorses the work of those who, though not part of his “in-group,” still bring healing in God’s name.

Readers may squirm with embarrassment at the first words out of John’s mouth in today’s gospel. He brands himself a bigot with his snooty concern: those other guys are doing good! Translated to today’s terminology, it sounds all too familiar: someone of another age group/church/parish/gender/ethnic group/system of belief is threatening our monopoly on ministry. It is especially ironic in view of the fact that the disciples themselves had just failed at exorcism (Mark 9:14-19).

The passage has particular meaning as we enter an era when people are united more by common concerns than by religious labels. Could it mean more to be a committed Christian or a faithful human being than to be a good Catholic, Episcopalian or Lutheran ? If our brothers and sisters in synagogues or mosques make inroads on a social problem that plagues us all, we cheer for them, rather than jealously wishing we’d achieved that success.

As if we weren’t already squirming enough, Jesus directs a word to those who might consider themselves more educated or advanced in faith than others. He reserves his grimmest punishment for those who take advantage of the childlike. The next time we are tempted to poke fun at the simple beliefs of others, we might remember Gehenna: the smelly, smoldering garbage dump outside Jerusalem. Our little joke or ploy might buy us a one-way ticket to the place where maggots chew on offal. Is it really worth it?

Read more about the lectionary…

Make a Gift Today!
Help our ministries make a difference during the Pandemic

1. Newcomers – Welcome Page

2. Contact the Rev Catherine Hicks, Rector

3. St. Peter’s Sunday News

4. Server Schedule Sept., 2021

5. Latest Newsletter-the Parish Post (Sept, 2021)

6. Calendar

7. Parish Ministries

8. This past Sunday

9. Latest Sunday Bulletin (Sept. 19, 2021 11:00am), and Sermon (Sept. 19, 2021)

10. Recent Services:

Pentecost 14, Aug. 29

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 14, Aug. 29 2021

Pentecost 15, Sept 5

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 15, Sept. 5,

Pentecost 16, Sept 12

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 16, Sept. 12,

Mike Newmans Block print of St. Peter's

Block Print by Mike Newman

Projects

Colors for Year B, 2020-21

Daily “Day by Day”

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.

Follow the Star

Daily meditations in words and music.

Sacred Space

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.”

Daily C. S. Lewis thoughts

Saints of the Week, Sept. 19, 2021 – Sept. 26, 2021

19	Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury, 690
20	John Coleridge Patteson, Bishop of Melanesia, and his Companions, Martyrs, 1871
21	Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
22	Philander Chase, Bishop, 1852
23	[Thecla of Iconium], Proto-Martyr among Women, c.70
24	[Anna Ellison Butler Alexander], Deaconness, 1947
25	Sergius, Abbot, 1392
26 26	Lancelot Andrewes, Bishop, 1626 Wilson Carlile, Priest, 1942

Frontpage, Sept. 12, 2021

Dealing with too much or too little water in our times in the Season of Creation

Pentecost 16, Season of Creation 2 – Sept. 12, 2021

Sept 12 – 11:00am, Eucharist In person in the church or on Zoom. – Join here at 10:45am for gathering – service starts at 11am Meeting ID: 869 9926 3545 Passcode: 889278

Sept. 12 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID: 878 7167 9302 Passcode: 729195

Sept. 13 – 6:30am – Be Still Meditation group in a 20 minute time of prayer Meeting ID: 879 8071 6417 Passcode: 790929

Sept. 15 – 10am-12pm, Bible Study on Wednesday in the Parish House

Sept. 15 – 3pm-5pm, Village Harvest

If you would like to volunteer, please email Andrea or call (540) 847-9002. Pack bags for distribution 1-3PM Deliver food to client’s cars 3-5PM.

Sept 19 – 11:00am, Eucharist In person in the church or on Zoom. – Join here at 10:45am for gathering – service starts at 11am Meeting ID: 869 9926 3545 Passcode: 889278

Sept. 19 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID 834 7356 6532 Password 748475

Holy Cross Day, September 14

See Our Collection of Crosses

"O BLESSED Saviour, who by thy cross and passion hast given life unto the world: Grant that we thy servants may be given grace to take up the cross and follow thee through life and death; whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit we worship and glorify, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."

Holy Cross Day is Sept. 14 in honor of Christ’s self-offering on the cross for our salvation. The collect for Holy Cross Day recalls that Christ "was lifted high upon the cross that he might draw the whole world unto himself," and prays that "we, who glory in the mystery of our redemption, may have grace to take up our cross and follow him" (BCP, p. 192). The themes of Holy Cross Day are powerfully expressed by the hymn "Lift high the cross" (Hymn 473).

This day has been a part of the Eastern Church. The feast entered the Western calendar in the seventh century after Emperor Heraclius recovered the cross from the Persians, who had carried it off in 614, 15 years earlier. According to the story, the emperor intended to carry the cross back into Jerusalem himself, but was unable to move forward until he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrim. It only has been celebrated in the Episcopal Church with the current prayer book

Read more about the lectionary…

Season of Creation 2021 – Theme

Recent links dealing with the Season of Creation

“By mother earth my Lord be praised; Governed by thee she hath upraised what for our life is needful. Sustained by thee, through every hour, She bringeth forth fruit, herb, and flower.”

Hymnal 1982, Hymn 406 attributed to St. Francis

1. A Joint Message for the Protection of Creation”. Thoughts from the Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox churches

2. Society of St. John the Baptist – live streaming during the Season of Creation and their resources

3. Episcopal Church resources

4. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This is part of the 6th assessment on climate change from the group created by the UN in 1988

5. Why we shouldn’t give in to climate despair. From the Washington Post.

6. How Climate change is contributing to weather ? As the Washington Post wrote “it is a moment of truth for climate action.”

7. How Climate change is plundering the planet ?

8. The intersection of the climate crisis and social justice

From the Environmental Defense Fund – “Climate change affects everyone, but not everyone is affected equally. Communities of color and low-income communities are hit first and worst because of discriminatory policies that put them at risk for exposure to extreme weather and air pollution. Think about heat islands in urban areas, where people suffer more heat-related incidents and illness because they’re surrounded by concrete. There are no parks and trees in these neighborhoods, and that was by design. Racist housing policies of the 1950s and ‘60s prevented minorities from living in white neighborhoods and relegated them to overpopulated neighborhoods that lack infrastructure development and industrial permitting constraints. There was no investment in these communities.

“We see industrial facilities adding to air pollution, which worsens as it gets hotter. Due to lax permitting requirements, these polluting facilities were purposely sited in low-income communities and communities of color, and still today, this is affecting people’s health. We see higher rates of asthma and even shorter life spans in some communities because they are exposed to a disproportionate level of air pollution.

“But people who live with these issues do not separate them into silos. This is what we live every day. You cannot separate the environment or climate change from everything else.”

Measuring your carbon footprint

The “Goodside” book this week takes up the need to measure your use of carbon.

What’s your carbon footprint ? A carbon footprint is defined here “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.”

Calculate it using Berkeley’s Cool Climate Calculator

How to reduce your footprint? – Drive less, change to a more vegetable diet particularly with local vegetables, plant a garden, unplug your devices, line-dry your clothes, set up a compost system, reuse items to keep them out of landfills

What information do you need to calculate a carbon foot print using Berkeley’s Calculator?

1. QUICK Estimate

Where do you live?

How many people live in your household?

What is your gross annual household income?

2, HOW DO YOU GET AROUND?

Your Vehicles – (Each vehicle considered separately) Miles per gallon, miles driven

Public transit – mi/year

Airplane – mi/year

3 HOW MUCH DO YOU USE IN YOUR HOME?

Electricity – $ year

Nat.. Gas $ year

Heating oil and fuels $ year

Living space Sq Ft

Water usage – compared to other households

4. HOW MUCH DOES THE AVERAGE PERSON IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD EAT?

Meat, Fish Eggs – daily servings per person

Grains, baked goods – daily servings per person

Dairy – daily servings per person

Fruits and vegetables – daily servings per person

Snacks drinks – daily servings per person

5. HOW MUCH DO YOU SPEND ON EACH OF THE FOLLOWING?

Goods – Average, 2x,3x

Services – Average, 2x,3x

This is an example of the results of the questions – stacking up with others

Here are the recommendations it made

Goodside’s M.O.R.E. Model for Effective Climate Action – MEASURE (your carbon footprint)

Season of Creation focus in 2021 – Your role in reducing climate change

Download it!

“Fighting climate change needs to be our life’s work.” “We’re not going to fix this overnight. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, as they say-and that means we need to train for it. “

“Our goal with this book is to arm you with the know-how to easily adopt lifestyle changes, habits and actions that will aid in your efforts against the climate crisis”.

Educate – Learn Everything you need to understand climate change

Measure – Measure Your Carbon Footprint (How to Do It, and Why It Matters)

Reduce – Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: 26 Ways to Live More Sustainably

Offset – Offset Your Carbon Emissions (Yes, It Really Makes a Difference)

Let’s take a look at Measure. Turn the pages from the top toolbar.

Goodside-Measure-min

Make a Gift Today!
Help our ministries make a difference during the Pandemic

1. Newcomers – Welcome Page

2. Contact the Rev Catherine Hicks, Rector

3. St. Peter’s Sunday News

4. Server Schedule Sept., 2021

5. Latest Newsletter-the Parish Post (Sept, 2021)

6. Calendar

7. Parish Ministries

8. This past Sunday

9. Latest Sunday Bulletin (Sept. 12, 2021 11:00am), and Sermon (Sept. 12, 2021)

10. Recent Services:

Pentecost 13, Aug. 22

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 13, Aug. 22 2021

Pentecost 14, Aug. 29

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 14, Aug. 29 2021

Pentecost 15, Sept 5

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 14, Sept. 5,

Mike Newmans Block print of St. Peter's

Block Print by Mike Newman

Projects

Colors for Year B, 2020-21

Daily “Day by Day”

3-Minute Retreats invite you to take a short prayer break right at your computer. Spend some quiet time reflecting on a Scripture passage.

Follow the Star

Daily meditations in words and music.

Sacred Space

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.”

Daily C. S. Lewis thoughts

Saints of the Week, Sept. 12, 2021 – Sept. 19, 2021

12	John Henry Hobart, Bishop of New York, 1830
13	Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr of Carthage, 258
14	Holy Cross Day
15 15	[Catherine of Genoa], Mystic and Nurse, 1510 James Chisholm, Priest, 1855
16	Ninian, Bishop, c. 430
17	Hildegard of Bingen, 1170
18 18	Edward Bouverie Pusey, Priest, 1882 Dag Hammarskjold, Diplomat, 1961
19	Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury, 690

Frontpage, Sept. 5, 2021

From Season of Creation, 2018

Check out the Goodside book for this year’s Season of Creation which you can download. Your role in reducing, offsetting Climate Change

Pentecost 15 – Sept. 5, 2021

Sept 5 – 11:00am, Eucharist In person in the church or on Zoom. – Join here at 10:45am for gathering – service starts at 11am Meeting ID: 869 9926 3545 Passcode: 889278

Sept. 5 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID 834 7356 6532 Password 748475

Sept. 6 – 6:30am – Be Still Meditation group in a 20 minute time of prayer Meeting ID: 879 8071 6417 Passcode: 790929

Bible Study on Wednesday 10am-12pm!

Sept. 12 – 11:00am, , Holy Eucharist, Pentecost 16

Sept. 12 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID 834 7356 6532 Password 748475

The Jamaica Team in Jamaica

A collage and an article on St. Peter’s Jamaica Mission team in Jamaica distributing school supplies to 300 in late August. It went well despite Covid and provided ideas for future support.

Read the article

Caption:

Bottom left – Mission Team of 7 with 2 missing
Top right – Packing the bookbags for the distribution
Top left – with a family who came to get a bookbag. We gave out 300
Bottom right – A rising sixth grader with his new bookbag.

Lectionary, Sept, 16th Sunday after Pentecost, Season of Creation 2 Year B

I. Theme – Actions speak louder than words. We must match up our words and actions.

"Christ Carrying the Cross” – Lorenzo Lotto (1526)

"Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."- Mark 8:31

The lectionary readings are here or individually:

Old Testament – Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm – Psalm 116:1-8 Page 759, BCP
Epistle – James 3:1-12
Gospel – Mark 8:27-38

Today’s scriptures ask us to demonstrate our Christian beliefs through appropriate actions. In Isaiah, God’s servant remains obedient in the face of suffering and remains confident of God’s guidance and support. Proverbs invites us to begin the search for Wisdom. James reminds us of the destructive power of even a few evil words. In the gospel, after allowing himself to be identified as the Messiah, Jesus points out that sharing in his mission means embracing a life of sacrifice.

“Quick, now! Who do you say that I am?” Most of us, if caught flat-footed by the question, would fumble around and wish we had a handy catechism to consult. Quick-to-respond Peter blurts out, “You are the Messiah!”

In Echoing God’s Word, Jim Dunning calls Peter “one of the first Christians to mouth a doctrine without the foggiest idea of what it means.” Peter thought messiahship implied pomp, status, perks and power. Jesus interpreted it to mean “navigating stormy seas, eating with rejects, following down the road that leads to drinking the cup of suffering with our most broken and wounded sisters and brothers.”

Some of us, like Peter, dream of the perks that our association with Jesus might bring. But Jesus points instead to the suffering, the paradoxical loss of life, the hard road that leads to Calvary…a difficult journey indeed, ultimately continuing to Easter.

Consistency, congruency—this leads to authenticity. To be an authentic follower of Christ, we must match up our words and actions. We must remain faithful even in times of struggle. We must turn inward first to God before our words lead us astray—we must think before we speak. And we must remember that our lives and words are witnesses to Christ’s presence in our lives, and if we truly wish to walk with insight, to walk with Christ, we must remember that we can’t be focused on our own desires and need, but on the way of God, which is beyond ourselves and beyond our time.

Read more about the lectionary…

Season of Creation 2021 – Theme

Keys to the Season of Creation

For centuries, our theology our theology has focused on relationship with God and our human relationships with one another. The Season of Creation focuses God’s relationship with all creation and with our relationship with creation (and with God through creation). It highlights our role in understanding and addressing address the ecological problems we face today as a part of God’s creation.

We are going to look at 6 keys to the Season of Creation:

1. God as Creator The Spirit of God moving over the face of the water created the earth. Creation is also on a journey, it is ongoing and constantly in a process of being made new.

The Bible speaks of a God who is not passive or distant, but active and involved. God here exercises divine power through peaceful means. God creates by the word “In the beginning, God designed a home, a home in which God dwells, a home in which God delights, a home which God calls good. The earth is God’s home…”Nothing goes to waste in this creation. All this creation has a purpose, and every bit of this creation depends on every other bit of creation.”

The goal in worship then is to deepen our understanding of God as Creator, to celebrate God’s role as Creator, and to examine and deepen and widen our own relationships with God, creation, and with one another. How are we impacting creation which God said was “good.”

2. Jesus brings us Abundant Life –The Word Jesus was always with God even before creation began.

Jesus is the source of truth and understanding of God’s will. All of creation, including planet Earth, is the result of the impulse of the Word (Christ) from God. The Word is the supreme creative force through Whom all things were made. Jesus is the source of life by which men have a relationship with God and hope of eternal life. Christ reconciles all things in heaven and Earth

The Word is also divine wisdom, the principle of reason that gives order to the universe. Jesus dwelling in nature as one of us to bring us abundant life

As one of the Collects says “Things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Take a walk through the woods and you’ll see fallen trees and decay, and yet new birth is everywhere with seeds and new life Volcanoes give birth to lava. When the lava cools into rock, lichens grow on this rock, helping to erode it into soil in which plants can take root

3. Role of the spirit. As the “Giver of life” and the “Sustainer of life,” the Holy Spirit is the source of our empowerment, inspiration, and guidance as we seek to live in a way sustainable for all God’s creation. Being “in the unity of the Holy Spirit” encompasses our relationship with all of life. This is foundational for our worship.

4 Humans have a role in Creation Care as caretakers and to be healers because we were created with the rest of nature . The breath of life is the created spirit that God gives all living creatures so they can live. In Genesis 2:7, it says that God “breathed into [Adam’s] nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul

We came from Earth and we cannot survive without all that Earth provides. Just as Earth has creative powers, so Earth itself has restorative powers. Unless we have centered opportunities to express awareness of and gratitude for our dependence upon Earth and our relationship with other creatures, we will not be whole as human beings.

Dr. William P. Brown of Columbia Theological seminary has written “The fundamental mandate for creation care comes from Genesis 2:15, where God places Adam in the garden to “till it and keep it…” Human “dominion” as intended in Genesis is best practiced in care for creation, The root of the word “dominion” is the Latin word “domus,” the word for home. To have dominion over the earth is to be a housekeeper of the home of all creation. Our task, as the people of the earth, is to encourage the earth’s fruitfulness rather than to strip it of every life-giving resource. The world is a gift and we need to nurture it as such to make is prosper.

5. What must we do ? First, open our eyes to the beauty of creation and see life as connected.

In his letter to the Romans, right up front, Paul makes this statement. “Ever since the creation of the world, God’s eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things that God has made.”

This healing and care cannot even begin until we take the time to open our eyes and truly see what is around us; to know that even in the midst of the degraded condition of the earth, glimpses of the goodness that God had in mind at creation are still visible.

When we truly look at our home in creation, the original goodness and perfection of God’s plan for all of creation and for all of us gets revealed to us, and in that perfection, we can see the promise of the kingdom of God that will someday come to earth.

We tend to get lost in the big picture as we miss the details.

That’s why we must first, before we do anything else, take the time to appreciate the natural world in its beauty and sometimes terrible magnificence, to see it as the dwelling God has given us rather than an object to be used up for our own benefit. As the Pope has said many times, “We are the guardians of Creation” and “everything is connected.” We must be the stewards of our earth and be on guard for its exploitation.

We were created with the rest of nature. We came from Earth and we cannot survive without all that Earth provides. Just as Earth has creative powers, so Earth itself has restorative powers. Unless we have centered opportunities to express awareness of and gratitude for our dependence upon Earth and our relationship with other creatures, we will not be whole as human beings.<

So Jesus says, don’t just walk past a lily in the field. Stop and consider it!

To dwell on the beauty of a flower is to peer into the perfection of God’s creation. And to dwell on the beauty of creation can be a hopeful act, one that sustains people in the face of the most unimaginable disasters.

This act of seeing is a prayerful activity.

This act of prayerful seeing gives us hope and gives us an undying longing for the kingdom of God to come on earth, which is why Jesus taught us to pray, that God’s kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. In God’s kingdom on earth all of creation will be restored.

6. The Season of Creation emphasizes the creative role of humans. After opening our eyes to the beauty of creation, we must look at the darker side of our relationship to the earth. We must act to heal our earth and restore creation that was a gift to us.

Our baptisms in living water help us claim our place in God’s harmonious creation. When that baptismal water pours over our heads, we are given the opportunity to open our eyes to God’s creating powers throughout our lives. We have the desire to seek that new creation even when all around us has grown old and hope seems to have vanished.

The world is filled with creativity because it was created by a creative God whose art and talent are inexhaustible. In recent years, much of humanity has viewed creation as a resource to be exploited rather than a mystery to be celebrated and sustained. The time has come not only to celebrate creation but to transform our human relationship to creation by worshiping in solidarity with creation

Through the Season of Creation and worship we have an opportunity to come to terms with the current ecological crises in a spiritual way so as to empathize with a groaning creation. Worship provides a viable and meaningful way not only to include creation’s praise of God but also to engender a deep relationship with the suffering of a groaning creation.

“Imagine a great circle. God encircles everything else in this circle.

Inside the circle is a second circle, and that circle is us. We human beings encircle the rest of creation, at the center of the circle. Look at the word, earth. If you move the letter “h” from the back of this word to the front, the word “earth” becomes the word “heart.”

The current ecological crisis affects most of 6 days of creation – 2^nd Day the sky , 3^rd day – dry land, seas, plants and trees were created, 5^th days creatures that live in the sea and creatures that fly were created 6^th day animals that live on the land and finally humans

There are 5 areas of the environmental crisis:

Burning of fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas are adding more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere that will cause temperatures to exceed 1.5C, most simulations suggest. The three major fossil fuels—petroleum, natural gas, and coal—combined accounted for about 77.6% of the U.S. primary energy production in 2017: However, fossil fuel emissions represent the greatest cause of air pollution
Rising temperatures causes rise of sea levels though warming of water and melting of glacier
Severe water shortages can be expected when there will be no or only very little ice left to melt in the summer. This will affect food supplies
Water supplies are affected by pollution
The global benefits provided by trees are being threatened by deforestation and forest degradation. Deforestation is a major cause of global warming. When trees are burned, their stored carbon is released back into the atmosphere. The most important factors are clearance for agriculture (including cattle ranching), poor governance (illegal logging, corruption, and ineffective law and order), insecurity of land tenure, the system of international trade, poor planning (e.g.building of major trunk roads in forest areas), and unsustainable logging

Season of Creation focus in 2021 – Your role in reducing climate change

Goodside’s M.O.R.E. Model for Effective Climate Action

Download it!

Fighting climate change needs to be our life’s work” “We’re not going to fix this overnight. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, as they say-and that means we need to train for it. “

The above is from Goodside’s M.O.R.E. Model for Effective Climate Action, a short, concise book on climate change in our time which emphasizes the ordinary person’s role in understanding and dealing climate change, the central issue dealing with the future of the earth. We will review this book over the next 4 weeks online.

“Our goal with this book is to arm you with the know-how to easily adopt lifestyle changes, habits and actions that will aid in your efforts against the climate crisis”.

Educate – Learn Everything you need to understand climate change. We start with this topic today. We want to act in relationship to the best knowledge available.

Measure – Measure Your Carbon Footprint (How to Do It, and Why It Matters)

Reduce – Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: 26 Ways to Live More Sustainably

Offset – Offset Your Carbon Emissions (Yes, It Really Makes a Difference)

Let’s take a look at Educate. Turn the pages using the top navigation bar

Goodside-Educate-min

The Season of Creation – at home

The scriptures begin with God’s affirmation that all of creation is “very good” (Genesis 1:31). As caretakers of God’s creation, human beings are called to protect and nurture its goodness. (Genesis 2:15, Jeremiah 29:5-7).

One way to protect and nurture creation is to decrease carbon emissions.

As Sara Kaplan writes in The Washington Post, If we manage to reach “net zero” emissions in the next few decades, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th report (released in August 2021) finds, we have a good shot at limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) over preindustrial levels — just a few tenths of a degree hotter than the world is now. The world would still have to cope with longer heat waves, more frequent droughts and more intense rainfall during storms. But the scale of those changes would likely be within our capacity to adapt.”

Our efforts to limit the ways we create carbon emissions can make a difference. And we can do other things as well that are beneficial for the environment. Here are some ideas about how to protect and nurture God’s creation.

1. Plant native trees and flowers. As trees grow, they help stop climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the air, storing carbon, and sending carbon into the soil, and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. Trees help us breathe clean air. Trees absorb odors and pollutant gases (nitrogen oxides, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and ozone) and filter particulates out of the air by trapping them on their leaves and bark. Native trees, like oaks, are the most beneficial for planting since they provide food and shelter for native insects and birds.

2. When you go for a walk, take a trash bag with you. By removing trash, we can protect the Rappahannock River and its watershed. Typical items you will find as you walk along and pick up trash include straws, plastic bottles, take out trash, cigarette buts, plastic packing straps, Styrofoam containers and other take out trash, and discarded masks. Much of the waste on roadsides and in neighborhoods has been created by manufacturing that creates greenhouse gases. Don’t let this trash go on to pollute the waterways as well.

3. Create a buffer zone. Leave a border of land along the edge of your garden, walkways or car park that you do not mow or landscape so that wild grasses, local plants and wildflowers can grow. Or conserve a natural area around existing trees or bushes where you allow undergrowth to develop and let leaves and tree limbs fall and decompose naturally. Proper mulching that leaves the root flares of trees exposed helps the trees by killing off grass that is growing around the trees. Grass roots emit a substance that kills off competitive tree roots. Creating a proper mulched space around trees will contribute to the health of the tree, as well as to provide space for caterpillars and insects that then provide food for birds.

Natural buffer-zones promote the diversity of flora, which hold topsoil, and water. Wild plants and flowers will attract a variety of pollinators such as butterflies or bees, which increases the health and fruitfulness of the plants, which attract local birds. The roots, leaves, and fallen limbs of undisturbed plants provide shelter for insects and small mammals. The animal waste, along with fallen and decomposing limbs and leaves return nutrients to the soil, which nourishes the health of the entire ecosystem beyond the buffer zone

4. Ways to do your part to reduce climate change.
A. Recycle more. You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household waste.
B. Turn off electronic devices. Simply turning electronic devices off when you are not using them can save thousands of pounds of CO2 a year.
C. Shift your practices – Choose whole wheat over white bread, tap water over bottled water, reusable bags over single use bags, reduce the meat in our diet and buy more vegetables from the farmers market . By doing these things you can easily save the same amount of carbon that 40 trees absorb in a year.
D. Reduce single use plastics – Single-use plastics are plastic items that are only intended to be used once, such as soft-drink bottles. The most common items include disposable cups, bottles, non-recyclable packaging, plastic cutlery, straws and many take out containers.
E. Reduce energy use – Develop a plan to reduce daily electricity use around your home. Run the dishwasher less frequently, check your water heater temperature and lower it if possible. Adjust your thermostat.

Make a Gift Today!
Help our ministries make a difference during the Pandemic

1. Newcomers – Welcome Page

2. Contact the Rev Catherine Hicks, Rector

3. St. Peter’s Sunday News

4. Server Schedule Sept., 2021

5. Latest Newsletter-the Parish Post (Sept, 2021)

6. Calendar

7. Parish Ministries

8. This past Sunday

9. Latest Sunday Bulletin (Sept. 5, 2021 11:00am), and Sermon (Sept. 5, 2021)

10. Recent Services:

Pentecost 12, Aug. 15

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 12, Aug. 15 2021

Pentecost 13, Aug. 22

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 13, Aug. 22 2021

Pentecost 14, Aug. 22

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 14, Aug. 29 2021

Mike Newmans Block print of St. Peter's

Block Print by Mike Newman

Projects

Colors for Year B, 2020-21

Daily “Day by Day”

3-Minute Retreats invite you to take a short prayer break right at your computer. Spend some quiet time reflecting on a Scripture passage.

Follow the Star

Daily meditations in words and music.

Sacred Space

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.”

Daily C. S. Lewis thoughts

Saints of the Week, Sept. 5, 2021 – Sept. 12, 2021

5 5	[Katharina Zell], Church Reformer & Writer, 1562 Gregorio Aglipay, Priest, 1940
6	[Hannah More], Religious Writer & Philanthropist, 1833
7 7	[Kassiani], Poet & Hymnographer, 865 Elie Naud, Catechist, 1722
8 8 8	[Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary] Søren Kierkegaard, Philosopher, 1855 Nikolai Grundtvig, Bishop and Hymnwriter, 1872
9	Constance and her Companions, Martyrs, 1878
10	Alexander Crummel, 1898
11	Harry Thacker Burleigh, Composer, 1949
12	John Henry Hobart, Bishop of New York, 1830

Frontpage, Aug. 29, 2021

The Season of Creation, Sept. 1 – Oct 4. See more on this page

Pentecost 14 – Aug. 29, 2021

Aug. 29 – 11:00am, Morning Prayer In person in the church or on Zoom. – Join here at 10:45am for gathering – service starts at 11am Meeting ID: 869 9926 3545 Passcode: 889278. The Jamaican mission team will present their report as the sermon.

Bible Study on Wednesday 10am-12pm!

Sept. 5 – 11:00am, Holy Eucharist, Season of Creation 1

Sept. 5 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID 834 7356 6532 Password 748475

Lectionary, Sept, 15th Sunday after Pentecost, Season of Creation 1 Year B

I. Theme – God’s power to heal and restore

Healing the Blindman – El Greco (1570)

The lectionary readings are here or individually:

Old Testament – Isaiah 35:4-7a
Psalm – Psalm 146 Page 803, BCP
Epistle – James 2:1-10, [11-13], 14-17
Gospel – Mark 7:24-37

Today’s readings celebrate God’s power to heal and restore. Isaiah looks ahead to when God will bring healing to God’s people and to the land. Proverbs reminds us that God rewards just behavior. James speaks of God’s gift of inner, spiritual wholeness, a wholeness that results in outward acts of purity and kindness. In the gospel, away from the clamor of the crowd, Jesus transforms a man’s silent world by healing his deafness and a speech impediment.

There is a poem , “God has no hands but our hands, no feet but our feet.” In the scriptures today, there is a theme of doing good—speaking out for the poor, standing up against injustice—in all of these things, we act out of faith, and we know that God is working through us. We can do nothing apart from God, and we know that God is present in us individually and collectively when we love others. And we cannot love others if we do not care for their needs, if we do not seek to end their oppression and stop injustice against them. We must live out the calling of God and allow God to work through us, and not be in it for our own gain.

If you have ever been ill, you know the relief that sweeps over you when you suddenly realize you are in competent hands. Although you may not verbalize it, there is an almost palpable sense that everything will be okay.

That experience, though incomplete, offers a slight parallel to how people must have felt in the presence of Jesus. Hearing that voice cry, “Ephphatha!” (Be Open) and feeling that touch on the ears must have brought an overwhelming joy. The restoration of sound must sing like a great gift.

The church’s healing ministry must take on global proportions, excluding nothing in our quest to be faithful to God’s vision of Shalom. Healing cuts across boundaries and takes many forms. We need to expand rather than contract our vision of healing to embrace the healing of the planet’s atmosphere, endangered species, economic injustice, ethnic exclusion, as well as the healing of bodies, emotions, and spirits. Healing is truly global and indivisible.

Healing in one place contributes to healing in other places. Any healing act contributes to the well-being of the part as well as the whole and reflects our commitment to be God’s global healing partners. We cannot separate injustice from physical distress or racism from infant mortality rates and accessibility to health care and healthy diet.

Our challenge is to recognize the deaf and voiceless among us–noting that difficulties in hearing and speech are not restricted to the physical sphere–then intervene with the healing presence of Christ acting through us.

Read more about the lectionary…

Season of Creation

Sept 1 – Oct 4, 2021

For Five Sundays in September and early October we will be in this optional lectionary within Pentecost. For the most part, the seasons of the church year follow the life of Jesus: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter. The remainder of the church year encompasses Pentecost season (or Ordinary Time), which celebrates life in the Holy Spirit. This week we will explore what it is and why we have one. The end of the season, Oct. 4, is the Feast of St. Francis.

Sept 1 was proclaimed as a day of prayer for creation (World Day of Prayer for Creation, or Creation Day) by Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I for the Orthodox in 1989, and was embraced by the other major Christian European churches in 2001 and by Pope Francis for the Roman Catholic Church in 2015.

The event is celebrated in many faith traditions and has a centralized website.

Season of Creation 2021 – Theme

Season of Creation focus in 2021 – Your role in reducing climate change

“Fighting climate change needs to be our life’s work”…“We’re not going to fix this overnight. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, as they say-and that means we need to train for it. “

We will review this book over the next 4 weeks on this website. M.O.R.E is an acronym for measure, offset, reduce and educate. We will first look at educate next week.

“Our goal with this book is to arm you with the know-how to easily adopt lifestyle changes, habits and actions that will aid in your efforts against the climate crisis”.

Get the book now! It’s free after a short sign up form.

Why a Season of Creation ?

From The Season of Creation: A Preaching Commentary by Norman C. Habel and David Rhoads

There are many reasons! Here are seven of them:

First, because God is first and foremost the Creator of all of life. To fail to focus adequately on this dimension of God’s reality in worship is to fail to appreciate the fullness God’s work, and it is to narrow and diminish our relationship with God. Our own fullness of life depends upon our relationship with God as Creator.

Second, because we were created with the rest of nature. We came from Earth and we cannot survive without all that Earth provides. Just as Earth has creative powers, so Earth itself has restorative powers. Unless we have centered opportunities to express awareness of and gratitude for our dependence upon Earth and our relationship with other creatures, we will not be whole as human beings.

Third, because God has given us a creation to celebrate with! In recent years, much of humanity has viewed creation as a resource to be exploited rather than a mystery to be celebrated and sustained. The time has come not only to celebrate creation but to transform our human relationship to creation by worshiping in solidarity with creation

Fourth, because through worship we have an opportunity to come to terms with the current ecological crises in a spiritual way so as to empathize with a groaning creation. Worship provides a viable and meaningful way not only to include creation’s praise of God but also to engender a deep relationship with the suffering of a groaning creation.

Fifth, because a fresh focus on the wonders and wounds of creation will help us in positive ways to love creation and so care for creation as our personal vocation and our congregational ministry. Worshiping with this new awareness may well provide the impetus for a new mission for the church, a mission to creation.

Sixth, because this season enables us to celebrate the many ways in which Christ is connected with creation. From the mystery of the incarnation to the mystery of a cosmic Christ who reconciles all things in heaven and Earth, we celebrate the connection of Christ with creation. And we seek to identify with Earth in solidarity with Christ.

Seventh, because this season enables us to deepen our understanding and experience of the Holy Spirit in relationship with creation. As the “Giver of life” and the “Sustainer of life,” the Holy Spirit is the source of our empowerment, inspiration, and guidance as we seek to live in a way sustainable for all God’s creation. Being “in the unity of the Holy Spirit” encompasses our relationship with all of life. This is foundational for our worship.

6 Key Environmental issues -Season of Creation

1. CLIMATE CHANGE

97 percent of climate scientists agree that climate change is occurring and greenhouse gas emissions are the main cause Specialists indicate that the fossil fuel combustion which provide 93% of the world’s energy sources represents the greatest contributing factor to, greenhouse gas emissions In the 20th century, specialists indicate that the global average temperature increased with 1 degree Fahrenheit. Hence, the planet overheats, affecting humans, plants, and animals at the same time

Renewable energy comes from natural resources that can be replenished during an average human lifetime and includes the following types of power: Solar, Wind, Hydro, Geothermal, and Biomass Renewable energy sources are beneficial because they have a very limited negative environmental impact when compared to fossil fuels. They can also reduce the worldwide carbon dioxide emissions.

Overall, renewables are growing faster than fossil fuels. Last year, solar and wind power accounted for nearly 95% of new energy in the US. A 2018 report recently published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), predicts the cost of renewable energy will experience a noticeable drop by 2020, putting it on par with, or cheaper than, fossil fuels.

What You Can Do: Your home and transportation could be major sources of greenhouse gas emissions. A certified home energy audit can help make your home more energy efficient. Consider trading in your auto for a fuel efficient hybrid or better yet—go electric. Switch to LED lightbulbs

2. POLLUTION

Air pollution and climate change are closely linked, as the same greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet are also creating smoggy conditions in major cities that endanger public health

Water and soil pollution might not get the media attention that air pollution does, but they are still important public health concerns. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, dirty water is the world’s biggest health risk. While the Clean Water Act did much to make American water safe from harmful pollutants, today there is a new threat to clean water coming from the shale gas fracking boom taking place across the country and from the EPA itself.

Plastics use are a problem mostly due to their un-biodegradable nature, the materials used for plastic production (hydrocarbon molecules—derived from the refining of oil and natural gas), and the challenges behind properly discarding them

What You Can Do – Give up plastic straws, plastic water bottles. Take a reusable coffee cup with you. Choose cardboard and paper over plastic, Take a little extra time while doing your shopping and select products without plastic packaging.

3. DEFORESTATION

Forests are important to mitigating climate change because they serve as “carbon sinks,” meaning that they absorb CO2 that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere and worsen global warming. It is estimated that 15 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation. Cutting down trees also threatens animals and humans who rely on healthy forests to sustain themselves, and the loss of tropical rainforests is particularly concerning because around 80 percent of the world’s species reside in these areas. About 17 percent of the Amazon rainforest has been cut down in the past 50 years to make way for cattle ranching. That’s a double whammy for the climate because cattle flatulence is a major source of methane gas, which contributes more to short term climate change than carbon emissions.

What You Can Do: Plant trees, stop using paper towels and use washable cloths instead, use cloth shopping bags (instead of paper), and look at labels to make sure you only use FSC-certified wood and paper products. You can also boycott products made by palm oil companies that contribute to deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia..

4. WATER SCARCITY

As the population increases and climate change causes more droughts, water scarcity is becoming more of an issue. Only three percent of the world’s water is fresh water and 1.1 billion people lack access to clean, safe drinking water. By the middle of this century more than a third of all counties in the lower 48 states will be at higher risk of water shortages with more than 400 of the 1,100 counties facing an extremely high risk.

What You Can Do Installing an ENERGY STAR-certified washer, using low-flow faucets, plugging up leaks, irrigating the lawn in the morning or evening when the cooler air causes less evaporation, taking shorter showers and not running sink water when brushing your teeth. Also, consider using non-toxic cleaning products and eco-friendly pesticides and herbicides that won’t contaminate groundwater.

5. LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY

Increasing human encroachment on wildlife habitats is causing a rapid loss of biodiversitythat threatens food security, population health and world stability. Climate change is also a major contributor to biodiversity loss, as some species aren’t able to adapt to changing temperatures. According to the World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Index, biodiversity has declined 27 percent in the last 35 years.

What You Can Do: As consumers we can all help protect biodiversity by purchasing products that don’t harm the environment. Next time you are at the grocery store, check to see if food packaging contains any of the following eco-labels: USDA Organic, Fair Trade Certified, Marine Stewardship Council or Green Seal. Other product certifications include Forest Stewardship Council Certification, Rainforest Alliance Certification and Certified Wildlife Friendly. Also, reusing, recycling and composting are easy ways to protect biodiversity.

6. SOIL EROSION AND DEGRADATION

Unsustainable industrial agriculture practices have resulted in soil erosion and degradation that leads to less arable land, clogged and polluted waterways, increased flooding and desertification. According to the World Wildlife Fund, half of the earth’s topsoil has been lost in the last 150 years.

What You Can Do: you can make a difference in your backyard by switching to non-toxic green pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers.

Make a Gift Today!
Help our ministries make a difference during the Pandemic

1. Newcomers – Welcome Page

2. Contact the Rev Catherine Hicks, Rector

3. St. Peter’s Sunday News

4. Server Schedule Sept., 2021

5. Latest Newsletter-the Parish Post (Sept, 2021)

6. Calendar

7. Parish Ministries

8. This past Sunday

9. Latest Sunday Bulletin (Aug. 29, 2021 11:00am), and Sermon (Aug. 22, 2021)

10. Recent Services:

Pentecost 11, Aug. 8

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 11, Aug. 8 2021

Pentecost 12, Aug. 15

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 12, Aug. 15 2021

Pentecost 13, Aug. 22

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 13, Aug. 22 2021

Mike Newmans Block print of St. Peter's

Block Print by Mike Newman

Projects

Colors for Year B, 2020-21

Daily “Day by Day”

3-Minute Retreats invite you to take a short prayer break right at your computer. Spend some quiet time reflecting on a Scripture passage.

Follow the Star

Daily meditations in words and music.

Sacred Space

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.”

Daily C. S. Lewis thoughts

Saints of the Week, Aug. 29, 2021 – Sept. 5, 2021

29 29	[Beheading of John the Baptist] John Bunyan, Writer, 1688
30 30	[Margaret Ward, Margaret Clitherow & Anne Line], Martyrs, 1588, 1586 & 1601 Charles Grafton, Bishop and Ecumenist, 1912
31	Aidan, Bishop, 651
1	David Pendleton Oakerhater, Deacon and Missionary, 1931
2	The Martyrs of New Guinea, 1942
3	[Phoebe], Deacon
4 4	Paul Jones, Bishop, 1941 Albert Schweitzer, Theologian & Humanitarian, 1965
5 5	[Katharina Zell], Church Reformer & Writer, 1562 Gregorio Aglipay, Priest, 1940

Frontpage, Aug. 22, 2021

We are a small Episcopal Church in the village of Port Royal, Va., united in our love for God, for one another and our neighbor. Check out our welcome.

Ecumenical Bible study is for all faiths and all times, meeting on Wednesdays, weekly. It goes back to at least 2001 since we have a picture of it but it is certainly older. As the school year begins it is appropriate to remember this educational ministry.

Pentecost 13 – Aug. 22, 2021

Aug. 22 – 11:00am, Morning Prayer . Guess preacher, the Rev. Amy Turner, our first Godly Play teacher. In person in the church or on Zoom. – Join here at 10:45am for gathering – service starts at 11am Meeting ID: 869 9926 3545 Passcode: 889278

Aug. 22 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID: 878 7167 9302
Passcode: 729195

Aug. 23 – 6:30am – Be Still Meditation group in a 20 minute time of prayer Meeting ID: 879 8071 6417 Passcode: 790929

Bible Study on Wednesday 10am-12pm!

Aug. 29 – 11:00am, , Holy Eucharist

Aug. 29 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID 834 7356 6532 Password 748475

A big weekend in Mission!

The Jamaica Project Mission Trip takes place this coming week! Thank you all for your support of this project. Thanks to you, the mission team will be distributing school supplies for every student at the Victoria Elementary School, over 300 students. In addition, your donations have covered the shipping of these supplies, the cost for customs and also enough money left over to contribute to the school for ongoing projects. The team will give a complete report upon their return.

Thanksgivings for Andrea Pogue, who had the vision for this project and who has done a great deal of work to make the vision a reality. Please pray for those who will be traveling to Jamaica: Andrea and Ken Pogue, Cookie and Johnny Davis, Laura Carey, Jan Saylor, and Catherine Hicks.

Jamaica Project Itinerary

Thursday, August 19

Arrive in Kingston, go to Port Royal
Travel to Linstead

Friday, August 20

Go to school to sort items and prepare for distribution.
Go to Lemon Ridge in the country, social distancing picnic, give out clothing, etc
Visit the house that all who have bought Andrea’s dinners have helped make possible
Visit Myrtle’s and Lester’s graves

Saturday, August 21

Distribution – Two kids per class for photo op, two kids for each grade and school will distribute the rest with the school opening pushed back to September 15 due to Covid

Sunday, August 22

A Jamaican church service

The Jamaica Team in Jamaica (Port Royal), Aug 19 . From Catherine

“We got here, no problem, and then went to Port Royal, spent hours in a restaurant (service VERY slow) but when the food finally came it was delicious. Seafood! We are finally in the hotel (Linstead) we are staying at for tonight and tomorrow night. We did have our little worship service outside around a table just at dusk.”

View the service on the first night in Jamaica, Aug. 19

Jamaica Team in Jamaica, Fri., Aug. 20. From Catherine:

“The group went to the Victoria School today after breakfast and morning worship. The school has approximately 310 students from first grade to sixth grade. Each grade has two teachers. The principal was present to help us with today’s work. We packed the three hundred book bags that St Peter’s donated with a notebook, crayons, erasers, rulers, pencils and pens. We also put masks into each bag. This process took several hours.

“After finishing our work at the school, we drove up into the country to visit the house that Andrea’s family and their friends, including many of us, have helped to build. The work on the house is coming along nicely. We got to meet many local people and to try some Jamaican food like roasted bread fruit, and cashews. We did a brief house blessing and presented Junior with a beautiful framed house blessing made by Jan Saylor.

After a delicious dinner prepared by friends of the family, we returned to our hotel, looking forward to meeting the students at the Victoria School tomorrow at the book bag distribution.”

There were two services:

1. Morning Aug 20

2. Evening, Aug 20

A disappointing Aug. Village Harvest

We had the food – but not the clients! We set a new record in Aug. Not the one we are looking for! We only had 25 shoppers, the lowest count since we began the Village Harvest in Nov. 2014.

Why ? Some possibilities

1. People have received the child care credit. Eligible parents got the first advance child tax credit payment on July 15, with more partial installments being sent out through the end of 2021. Each child under age 6 could qualify for a maximum of $300 a month, and each child ages 6 to 17 could qualify for a maximum of $250 a month.

2. People have found work with labor in demand

3. People are away with the summer waning .

4. Children are back in school with the school picking up some of the food demand

Ironically, we had one of the larger food inventories. We have 1,461 pounds, the largest number of pounds since March. This included 476 pounds of produce, 702 pounds of grocery items, 248 pounds of meat and 35 of baker items. We paid $200 for the food but for those getting food a total of $351.

There was food left over. Elizabeth Heimbach reports, “we took the fruit, cabbages, peppers, bread, and some other things to the Food Pantry in Bowling Green. There are 16 bags of non-perishables and lots of frozen chicken all packed ready for next month.”

Lectionary, Aug. 29, 14th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

I. Theme – The challenge of living according to God’s guidelines

Cerezo Barredo (1999)

The lectionary readings are here or individually:

Old Testament – Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9
Psalm – Psalm 15 Page 599, BCP
Epistle –James 1:17-27
Gospel – Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Today’s readings remind us of the challenge of living according to God’s guidelines. Moses in Deuteronomy teaches that the law of the lord is a gracious gift to God’s people. James reminds us that the word planted within us can save us as we do what it says. Jesus emphasizes that right relationship is based on obedience to God, not in compliance with human traditions.

Incorporated in the Deuteronomy passage is the incalculable mystery of Israel’s election and mission. Moses appeals to the unique revelation of God to Israel and pleads for whole-hearted obedience to God. The law is to be a fence around the people of God so that they may live obedient to the One God, preserved from idolatrous influences in the years to come. The nation’s fidelity to God’s law was meant to demonstrate to all humanity the divine rule in human history. Here in substance is the missionary purpose of Israel’s existence.

Judaism considers the messianic claim of Jesus an addition that radically departs from the basic principle of the Jewish faith–the unity of God. The reference to a “god so near” is interpreted by the rabbis to mean that no intermediary of any sort is required for the worshiper to approach God in prayer. Judaism has a wide tradition of religious tolerance. It teaches that all people are judged solely on their moral life and the righteous of all nations share in the world to come with the righteous of Israel.

Judaism always taught that right motives are all-important, and Jesus certainly emphasized this in his teaching and preaching. In Mark 7, he points out that evil comes from within, “out of the heart.” Although righteousness cannot be legislated, the innumerable additions to the Torah via the oral tradition were justified by Israel’s teachers as necessary for deeper understanding and for increased resistance to idolatry–the offense that leads to all other sin.

Sin continues to take its toll. Human pride and perversity remain unconquered without divine intervention–the new and marvelous things that God did by sending the Son into the world. We know that the rulers of darkness and the spiritual hosts of wickedness assail us. The sword of the Spirit is still the Word of God. But the word came new and powerful in Christ to cleanse our hearts of evil from within. Christ completes the “whole armor of God.”

Faith is a matter of head, heart, and hands. Faith without works is useless, so says the author of the Epistle of James. Theology that can’t be practiced is irrelevant – a noisy gong or a clanging symbol. Action without reflection or divorced from values and vision is ultimately aimless and destruction, and certainly self-serving. Holistic theology embraces the wisdom of embodiment and integrates it with the guidance of spirit and reason.

In all things and at all times, our lives should praise God. In all things and at all times, our lives should model to others the love of God. In all things and at all times, our words should build up the reign of God, and not harm others. We are called to tear down the walls of division, not to judge others. We are called to care for the poor, the widows, the orphans, the marginalized, the oppressed—not to condemn or curse or justify ourselves. And when we bring ourselves into alignment—our words, actions and beliefs/values, we find ourselves living more authentically as Christians and followers of God’s way, and living more filling lives. We give value to ourselves and to others when we live authentically as followers of Jesus the Christ.

Read more about the lectionary…

Aug 24 – The Feast Day of St. Bartholomew

St. Bartholomew

Bartholomew was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, and is usually identified as Nathaniel and was a doctor. In Mark 3:18 he is one of the twelve Jesus calls to be with him. He was introduced to us as a friend of Philip, another of the twelve apostles as per (John 1:43-51), where the name Nathaniel first appears.

He was characterized by Jesus on the first meeing as a man "in whom there was no guile.” He is also mentioned as “Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee” in (John 21:2). His day is remembered on August 24. After the Resurrection he was favored by becoming one of the few apostles who witnessed the appearance of the risen Savior on the sea of Galilee (John 21:2).

From Eusebius history, Bartholomew went on a missionary tour to India, where he left behind a copy of the Gospel of Matthew. Other traditions record him as serving as a missionary in Ethiopia, Mesopotamia, Parthia, and Lycaonia.

Along with his fellow apostle Jude, Bartholomew is reputed to have brought Christianity to Armenia in the 1st century. Thus both saints are considered the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He is said to have been martyred in in Armenia. According to one account, he was beheaded, but a more popular tradition holds that he was flayed alive and crucified, head downward. He is said to have converted Polymius, the king of Armenia, to Christianity. His brother consequently ordered Bartholomew’s execution. The 13th century Saint Bartholomew Monastery was a prominent Armenian monastery constructed at the site of the martyrdom of Apostle Bartholomew in what is today southeastern turkey

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Help our ministries make a difference during the Pandemic

1. Newcomers – Welcome Page

2. Contact the Rev Catherine Hicks, Rector

3. St. Peter’s Sunday News

4. Server Schedule Aug., 2021

5. Latest Newsletter-the Parish Post (August, 2021)

6. Calendar

7. Parish Ministries

8. This past Sunday

9. Latest Sunday Bulletin (Aug. 22, 2021 11:00am), and Sermon (Aug. 22, 2021)

10. Recent Services:

Pentecost 10, Aug. 1

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 10, Aug. 1 2021

Pentecost 11, Aug. 8

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 11, Aug. 8 2021

Pentecost 12, Aug. 15

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 12, Aug. 15 2021

Mike Newmans Block print of St. Peter's

Block Print by Mike Newman

Projects

Colors for Year B, 2020-21

Daily “Day by Day”

3-Minute Retreats invite you to take a short prayer break right at your computer. Spend some quiet time reflecting on a Scripture passage.

Follow the Star

Daily meditations in words and music.

Sacred Space

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.”

Daily C. S. Lewis thoughts

Saints of the Week, Aug. 22, 2021 – Aug. 29, 2021

23	Martin de Porres, 1639, Rosa de Lima, 1617, and Toribio de Mogrovejo, 1606, Witnesses to the Faith in South America
24	Saint Bartholomew the Apostle
25	Louis, King of France, 1270
26
27	Thomas Gallaudet, 1902, and Henry Winter Syle, Priests, 1890
28	Augustine, Bishop of Hippo and Theologian, 430
29 29	[Beheading of John the Baptist] John Bunyan, Writer, 1688

Frontpage, Aug. 15, 2021

We are a small Episcopal Church in the village of Port Royal, Va., united in our love for God, for one another and our neighbor. Check out our welcome.

From Last Sunday, Aug. 8

Pentecost 12 – Aug. 15, 2021

Aug. 15 – 11:00am, Holy Eucharist. In person in the church or on Zoom. – Join here at 10:45am for gathering – service starts at 11am MMeeting ID: 869 9926 3545 Passcode: 889278

Aug. 15 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID: 878 7167 9302 Passcode: 729195

Aug. 16 – 6:30am – Be Still Meditation group in a 20 minute time of prayer Meeting ID: 879 8071 6417 Passcode: 790929

Aug. 18 – Bible Study, 10am-12pm

Aug. 18 – Village Harvest, 3pm-5pm

If you would like to volunteer, please email Andrea or call (540) 847-9002. Pack bags for distribution 1-3PM Deliver food to client’s cars 3-5PM.

Aug. 22 – 11:00am, , Holy Eucharist

Aug. 22 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID 834 7356 6532 Password 748475

A big week in Mission!

Jamaica Project Itinerary

Thursday, August 19

Arrive in Kingston, go to Port Royal
Travel to Linstead

Friday, August 20

Go to school to sort items and prepare for distribution.
Go to Lemon Ridge in the country, social distancing picnic, give out clothing, etc
Visit the house that all who have bought Andrea’s dinners have helped make possible
Visit Myrtle’s and Lester’s graves

Saturday, August 21

Distribution – Two kids per class for photo op, two kids for each grade and school will distribute the rest with the school opening pushed back to September 15 due to Covid

Sunday, August 22

A Jamaican church service

The Jamaica Team in Jamaica (Port Royal), Aug 19 . From Catherine

View the service on the first night in Jamaica, Aug. 19

Jamaica Team in Jamaica, Fri., Aug. 20. From Catherine:

After a delicious dinner prepared by friends of the family, we returned to our hotel, looking forward to meeting the students at the Victoria School tomorrow at the book bag distribution.”

There were two services:

1. Morning Aug 20

2. Evening, Aug 20

Lectionary, Aug. 22, 13th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

I. Theme – The Joys and Challenges of Following Jesus

Cerezo Barredo (1999)

The lectionary readings are here or individually:

Old Testament – Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18
Psalm – Psalm 34:15-22
Epistle –Ephesians 6:10-20
Gospel – John 6:56-69

Today’s readings invite us to consider the joys and challenges of following Jesus. In the first reading, Joshua leads the people of Israel in the choice to follow God. In Ephesians, Paul exhorts Christians to protect themselves with the armor of God. Jesus’ words cause many to turn away from him, but the twelve disciples recognize his teaching as the words of eternal life.

God is present in the community of believers, not in the mountains or the valleys or heaven or earth—God is present among us. We trust in God working in us and among us. We know that God is faithful even in times of doubt and trial. And we know that the way of God is the way to God—the way to eternal life is The Way. It is about how we live our lives for Christ and for others, not for our own gain, for when we seek our own gain, we lose. When we seek to save our lives, to find eternal life, we lose it, but when we seek to live for others, we find our own lives. We cannot be focused on our own mortality if we wish to follow Jesus. For the way of Jesus is the way to the cross, to die to live, to put to death the things that tie us to an earthly life—sin—and to live in Christ’s love.

The hard sayings Jesus gave to his disciples are still hard. That our true life depends on spiritual certainties rather than earthly realities requires a tremendous leap of faith. Even if we, like Peter, give Christ our allegiance, wholehearted trust is more difficult to attain. The universe is full of gods to choose from—they range from pseudo-Messiahs to devils. In between are the enticements of hedonistic pleasures and worldly crowns. Like the tribes in Joshua, we can choose from a dazzling array. Can we say, as they did, “As for me and my household, we will serve the lord”?

The mystical union of Christ with his Church is not an evident fact within Christendom. The Body of Christ is rent with divisions like those of an incompatible marriage. We have marred the model marriage of Christ with his Church by not really understanding the hard sayings that he has given us. The marriage covenant with Christ means to forsake all others and have no other gods.

We are drawn to God by love—just as human love draws us toward a particular person and inspires the desire for a permanent commitment. Mutual choice makes a covenant. The earthly things we know point to heavenly realities. A strong marriage is one in which union transcends the separate existence of husband and wife. The desire of each to give all to the other means that both receive from each other.

God has pledged love and blessings to us forever. God has told us this most explicitly through Christ. How poignant is Jesus’ question to his disciples: “Do you also wish to go away?” May we answer him with Peter’s firm conviction: “lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Read more about the lectionary…

In and Around the Web…

Ten articles you may (or may not) find interesting…

1. A small N.C. church reaches out in big ways

They are bigger than us – 70 members but not that much bigger. The major difference is their town is bigger:

"On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the parish hall bustles with up to a dozen children and a handful of adult church volunteers, who help them with their homework in math and English.
"Soon, the church will plow a 10,000-square-foot plot of land in the rear of the sanctuary to prepare the soil for next spring’s planting season.
"Now, Advent is beginning, and the church will adopt several needy families and shower them with gifts on Christmas.
‘North of town, a retired telephone marketer and church member has been baking cakes for every foster child in the county for the past 10 years."

2. Woman reads to dogs, returning the love

"There are small ways to make a difference and this lady from the North Shore in Pittsburgh is the perfect example… The dogs won’t understand what she’s reading, but hearing a calm human voice has proven to comfort shelter animals before. This is a nice reminder that there are other ways besides adoption to support animals who have forgotten what it means to be loved. "

There is a related article here about children reading to cats.

3. Black churches bucking the trend of decline

This article takes place close to us in Alexandria. "At Alfred Street Baptist Church, the pews start to fill more than half an hour before the service begins. So many people attend, church leaders are now asking people to limit their attendance to one service…There are numerous reasons why some black churches retain their members, but, most prominently, the church has played a historic role in black life that has fostered a continuing strong black Protestant identity. Members and visitors at Alfred Street say the church’s holistic ministry — the preaching, the singing and the community outreach — are what draw them in and keep them there."

4. This May Be Our Last Communion

There have been tragic attacks on American churches but I don’t know any American Christians who go to church consciously thinking, “I may die today, but I am going to church; I don’t know what will happen, but Jesus is with me.” This is the case in Nigeria. Read about their struggles with the by jihadist terrorist group Boko Haram.

5. Four Decades of the Refugee Crisis in 3 minutes

From the Washington Post – "What does it sound like if you turn four decades of global refugee movement into a three-minute music video? Brian Foo, who calls himself a ‘data-driven DJ,’ recently answered this question: quiet at first, but loud and alarming at the end. The New York City-based researcher used refugee data from the United Nations from 1975 to 2012 to create the audio visualization."

6. Party Of 1: We Are Eating A Lot Of Meals Alone

An NPR article. "But a lot of us are lone wolves these days when it comes to dining. New research finds 46 percent of adult eating occasions — that’s meals and snacks — are undertaken alone."

"One of the drivers of solo-eating is the shift towards more single-person households. According to Census Bureau data, the proportion of one-person American households increased from 17 percent in 1970 to 27 percent in 2012."

"But it’s a problem when it comes to the elderly living alone or in assisted living. They’re vulnerable to malnutrition for lots of reasons. They’re too frail to open food packages or screw off tops, they’re alone or depressed, they’ve lost their appetites, or they’re not motivated to cook a meal for one."

Some choose to eat alone but others are alone. Can the church do anything about this to ensure people have the right nutrition?

7. Church Doors into the Community

What do the placement of doors say about us ?

All Saints’, Kingston in England has stood in the center of the town for centuries. To show how old it is two Saxon kings were crowned there!

"Historically, one main door, the west one, leads down to the River Thames, the principal means of transport; and the other, the south door, to the ancient Kingston market place where all the business was transacted. As Kingston has developed in the last century and this one, the Church has been surrounded by a vast commercial shopping centre, and the town now has a major, secular university, as well as a substantial night club scene. Much of this, especially the commercial shopping centre, is on the north side of the Church. In recent years All Saints’ has undergone some major renovation work including opening up the north door, and thus direct access to the many activities of the town taking place on that side of the Church and the vast number of people who walk by on a regular basis. For me this has been both a symbolic and practical sign of the Church’s engagement with the community and context in which it is set."

"All Saints’ has many casual visitors and, since 2003, has offered a ‘Listening’ service in which anyone can share whatever is concerning or troubling them. It is a fine example of pastoral care in action.

How do we better open our doors to Port Royal and engage the residents ?

8. Remembering the remarkable life of Brother Roger, Taizé community

10 years ago the founder of this community was murdered in a service. Brother Roger founded the community of brothers known as Taizé in France that gradually grew into the monastic, ecumenical community that it is today consisting of over a hundred brothers from around the world. How did they respond? "In a world that is hyper-militarized, the brothers modeled a different response – one of trust, prayerfulness and compassion in a desperately wounded world. Taizé continues to organize what is called a “Pilgrimage of Trust” in different cities around the world each year where thousands of pilgrims are welcomed into people’s homes and churches." Taize music is sung in churches throughout the year, including St. Peter’s.

9. Jesus said "I am the Good Shepherd" (John 10:11).Here is how to learn to become a real shepherd

From Spain. "From 1982 to 2009, the number of sheep farms in Catalonia almost halved, from 3,964 to 2,085, according to the most recent census." Shepherds are getting old. Here is an innovative approach to restocking the supply of shepherds. NY Times focuses on one of four schools in Spain that are organized to do just that.

10. Who are we as Episcopalians ?

This week there have been at least two efforts to define Episcopalians and dispel misonceptions. Here is one from Laurie Brock, rector of St. Michael the Archangel Episcopal Church in Lexington, Kentucky. In response Father Kevin Morris, Rector of The Church of The Ascension in Rockville Centre, NY. wrote this alternative list spotlighting clergy’s role in the misperceptions

Somewhat, in jest, here are the late Robin Williams "Top 10 reasons to be an Episcopalian" (he was Episcopalian) :

10. No snake handling.
9. You can believe in dinosaurs.
8. Male and female God created them; male and female we ordain them.
7. You don’t have to check your brains at the door.
6. Pew aerobics.
5. Church year is color-coded.
4. Free wine on Sunday.
3. All of the pageantry – none of the guilt. (At one time he said Episcopalianism was "Catholic light: half the religion, half the guilt."
2. You don’t have to know how to swim to get baptized.

And the Number One reason to be an Episcopalian:

1. No matter what you believe, there’s bound to be at least one other Episcopalian who agrees with you.

Make a Gift Today!
Help our ministries make a difference during the Pandemic

1. Newcomers – Welcome Page

2. Contact the Rev Catherine Hicks, Rector

3. St. Peter’s Sunday News

4. Server Schedule Aug., 2021

5. Latest Newsletter-the Parish Post (August, 2021)

6. Calendar

7. Parish Ministries

8. This past Sunday

9. Latest Sunday Bulletin (Aug. 15, 2021 11:00am), and Sermon (Aug. 15, 2021)

10. Recent Services:

Pentecost 9, July 25

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 9, July 25, 2021

Pentecost 10, Aug. 1

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 10, Aug. 1 2021

Pentecost 11, Aug. 8

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 11, Aug. 8 2021

Mike Newmans Block print of St. Peter's

Block Print by Mike Newman

Projects

Colors for Year B, 2020-21

Daily “Day by Day”

3-Minute Retreats invite you to take a short prayer break right at your computer. Spend some quiet time reflecting on a Scripture passage.

Follow the Star

Daily meditations in words and music.

Sacred Space

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.”

Daily C. S. Lewis thoughts

Saints of the Week, Aug. 15, 2021 – Aug. 22, 2021

15	Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ
16
17 17	Samuel Johnson, 1772, Timothy Cutler, 1765, and Thomas Bradbury Chandler, 1790, Priests The Baptisms of Manteo, and Virginia Dare, 1587
18 18	William Porcher DuBose, Priest, 1918 Artemisia Bowden, 1969
19
20	Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, 1153
21
22

Frontpage, August 8, 2021

We are a small Episcopal Church in the village of Port Royal, Va., united in our love for God, for one another and our neighbor. Check out our welcome.

Coffee Hour, Aug 1, 2021 with the new Parish House bell

Pentecost 11 – Aug. 8, 2021

Aug. 8 – 11:00am, Holy Eucharist. In person in the church or on Zoom. – Join here at 10:45am for gathering – service starts at 11am Meeting ID: 869 9926 3545 Passcode: 889278

Aug. 8 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID: 878 7167 9302 Passcode: 729195

Aug. 9 – 6:30am – Be Still Meditation group in a 20 minute time of prayer Meeting ID: 879 8071 6417 Passcode: 790929

Aug. 11 – 10am-12pm – Bible Study, Parish House

Aug. 11 – 5pm-6pm – Village Dinner, Gather at Our Table! Pickup or eat in

Menu -– Baked chicken legs, Roasted potato and butternut squash, broccoli salad (all gluten free), dessert.

Aug. 12 – 4:00pm – Vestry

Aug. 15 – 11:00am, , Holy Eucharist

Aug. 15 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID 834 7356 6532 Password 748475

Aug. 15 – 11:00am, , Holy Eucharist

Local schools begin on Aug 10, 2021

School supplies are thought of a pencils, pens, paper and the like but prayers and blessings should be part of the supplies as well. From BuildFaith:

“Blessings and prayers are practices that help ground and guide us. Prayer reminds us that our community extends beyond what we see in front of us, connecting us to something bigger than ourselves. Blessing reminds us of God’s love in our lives. During times of transition and change, establishing a pattern of prayer and blessing can offer space to express worries and joys, hopes and dreams, and a time to both accept God’s love and peace, and extend it to someone else.”

Here are two prayers from Buildfaith:

A Prayer for the New School Year

“God of all wisdom, we praise you for gifting us with curiosity and learning. Give to all students, teachers, and caregivers a clear sense of your love. May they feel your presence throughout this school year. Guide their choices, their quest for knowledge, and their relationships. Use their successes and failures as opportunities to grow in understanding of who you would have them to be. Continue to shape them, that they may walk in the way of Christ, grow strong in Spirit’s love for all people, and know the complete joy of life in you. In the name of Christ our Great Teacher, we pray. Amen.”
Linda Witte Henke, adapted, “From the Vine,” in Marking Time: Christian Rituals for All Our Days, Moorehouse Publishing 2001, p. 63.

A Prayer for Parents

“Loving God, We confess some days the worries of parenthood are as abundant as the joys. Guide us through the valleys, so we may be present for our children in their valleys, until we are all brought again to the the mountaintop. We ask you to bless our children with hearts of compassion and courage, and keep them safe from harm. Fill them with the knowledge that they are loved and beloved. And may we always remember to pray: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.”
Meg Bucher, adapted, www.sunnyand80.org; Reinhold Niebuhr, “The Serenity Prayer”

A downloadable resource

Lectionary, Aug. 15, 12th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

I. Theme – Living the Abundant life -Connecting to God as source of wisdom, energy, and adventure.

“The Wedding Feast” -Jan Breughel the Elder (undated, died in 1625)

The lectionary readings are here or individually:

Old Testament – Proverbs 9:1-6
Psalm – Psalm 34:9-14
Epistle –Ephesians 5:15-20
Gospel – John 6:51-58

Today’s readings continue the theme of God’s sustenance with the emphasis on the eternal consequences. In Proverbs Wisdom gives a feast to which all are invited. Paul encourages Christians to be filled with God’s Spirit. Jesus promises that all who eat his flesh will live forever.

Jesus’ words about eating his flesh and drinking his blood in the Gospel shocked even his disciples. Early in the Old Testament, blood was identified with life and deemed sacred because God is the source of life. The spilling of human blood was considered an outrage against God.

Eating flesh containing blood was prohibited in the Pentateuch. The penalty for doing so was expulsion from God’s people. Blood was removed from use as food and reserved for sacramental purposes. In the rites of atonement, blood symbolized the yielding up of the worshiper’s life to God and the atoning communion of worshipers with God.

But in John’s gospel, Jesus tells the people, enigmatically, that he is the fulfillment of this sacrificial atonement. In the light of the age-long prohibition against eating flesh containing blood, his words, heard in a literal sense, were quite offensive. But they brought a promise of eternal life.

Not only the atonement, finished on the cross, but also the living instrument of its communication—the eucharist—transcends our ability to understand. In some unseen, incomprehensible way, the energy of redeeming love is transmitted, and we receive food for eternal life. By faith, we allow Christ’s life to penetrate our being and nourish our life. God’s own life comes to us through the natural and temporal elements of bread and wine, so that we, natural and temporal creatures, may become vehicles of God’s supernatural grace. We participate in terms of a radical embrace of God’s vision so that it becomes the center of our self-understanding. God is in us, just as we are in God.

Eating and drinking are of symbolic significance in most religions, especially in Christianity. Natural life depends on our giving and taking these necessities. The eucharist reminds us of the self-offering of our lord and our dependence on him for our soul’s life. It provides us with a continuous supernatural apprehension of eternity. It suffuses our little lives with the creative spirit of Christ and fits us for our vocation to transform the world.

Read more about the lectionary…

Who Was Jonathan Daniels ?

We celebrate his feast day on August 14.

Somebody must visit the sick, and the lonely, and the frightened , and the sorrowing. Somebody must comfort the discouraged, and argue lovingly and convincingly with the anguished doubter. Somebody must remind the sick soul that healing is within his grasp and urge him to take the medicine when his disease seems more attractive. Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send ? And who will go for us ?” The said I “Here am I. Send me.” – Jonathan M. Daniels – Sermon St. James Episcopal, Keene, NH

A summary of his biography follows:

Jonathan Myrick Daniels was born in New Hampshire in 1939, one of two offspring of a Congregationalist physician. When in high school, he had a bad fall which put him in the hospital for about a month. It was a time of reflection. Soon after, he joined the Episcopal Church and also began to take his studies seriously, and to consider the possibility of entering the priesthood.

After high school, he enrolled at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, Virginia where at first he seemed a misfit, but managed to stick it out, and was elected Valedictorian of his graduating class.

In the fall of 1961 he entered Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near Boston to study English literature, and in the spring of 1962, while attending Easter services at the Church of the Advent in Boston, he underwent a conversion experience and renewal of grace. Soon after, he made a definite decision to study for the priesthood, and after a year of work to repair the family finances, he enrolled at Episcopal Theological Seminary in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the fall of 1963, expecting to graduate in the spring of 1966.

In March 1965 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, asked students and others to join him in Selma, Alabama to push for voting rights legislation. He and others left on Thursday for Selma, intending to stay only that weekend; but he and a friend missed the bus back, and began to reflect on how an in-and-out visit like theirs looked to those living in Selma, and decided that they must stay longer. They went home to request permission to spend the rest of the term in Selma, studying on their own and returning to take their examinations.

Jon devoted many of his Sundays in Selma to bringing small groups of Negroes, mostly high school students, to church with him in an effort to integrate the St. Paul’s Episcopal Episcopal church. They were seated but scowled at. Many parishioners openly resented their presence, and put their pastor squarely in the middle. (He was integrationist enough to risk his job by accommodating Jon’s group as far as he did, but not integrationist enough to satisfy Jon.) (Our bishop Shannon Johnston served this church as his first congregation).

As time went on, Jonathan’s anger flared up not only in confronting the white power structure but also dealing with reluctance of Christians to speak against the racial inequalities.

However, Jonathan gradually saw his work in terms of a larger purpose – the way of the cross. – “ultimately the revolution to which I am committed is the way of the Cross.”

He was coming to a new realization that as a “soldier of the Cross” he was “totally free- at least to give my life, if that had to be, with joy and thankfulness and eagerness for the Kingdom.”

He began to tie in concepts of freedom in terms of doing God’s will -obedience.

“The Gospel is less and less a matter primary of the intellect. And more and more a matter of living and dying and living anew.”

“When the Christian first begins to answer with his own feeble love the overwhelming Love of God, he finds himself animated by an attitude that is equally “holy obedience” and “perfect freedom.” In that freedom which is holy obedience, the Christian has only one principle, only one agenda. And that is the dynamic of life –in-response to the loving, judging , healing, merciful revelation by God Himself of His Holy Will.”

In Camden after a tear gas bombing he found a new depth to the freedom of obedience-

“I think it was when I got tear-gassed leading a march in Camden that I began to change. I saw that the men who came at me were not free: it was not the cruelty was sweet to them (though I’m afraid it is) but that they didn’t know what else to do. Even though they were white and hateful and my enemy, they were human beings too…”

“Last week in Camden I began to discover a new freedom in the Cross: freedom to love the enemy. And in that freedom, the freedom (without hypocrisy) to will and to try to set him free…As I go about my primary business of attempting to negotiate with the white power structure…, there is a new factor – I rather think a new Presence – in our conversations: the “strategy of love.”

On Friday 13 August Jon and others went to the town of Fort Deposit to join in picketing three local businesses. On Saturday they were arrested and held in the county jail in Hayneville for six days until they were bailed out. (They had agreed that none would accept bail until there was bail money for all.). The prisoners were released on August 20 but were not provided with any means of transportation back to Selma.

Stranded in the 100 degree heat, Daniels and the others sought a cool drink at a nearby store Varner’s Cash Grocery Store. This store was one of the few shops in the area that didn’t impose a “whites only” policy. However, they were met at the door by Special Deputy Tom Coleman with a shotgun who told them to leave or be shot. After a brief confrontation, he aimed the gun of 17 year old Ruby Sales in the party, and Jon pushed her out of the way and took the blast of the shotgun himself. (Whether he stepped between her and the shotgun is not clear.) He was killed instantly.

As Daniels’ companions ran for safety, Coleman fired again, critically injuring Richard Morrisroe, a Catholic priest from Chicago, who survived.

Not long before his death he wrote:

“I lost fear in the black belt when I began to know in my Bones and sinews that I had been truly baptized into the Lord’s death and Resurrection, that in the only sense that really matters I am already dead, and my life is hid with Christ in God. I began to lose self-righteousness when I discovered the extent to which my behavior was motivated by worldly desires and by the self-seeking messianism of Yankee deliverance! The point is simply, of course, that one’s motives are usually mixed, and one had better know it. “

“As Judy (seminarian friend) and I said the daily offices day by day, we became More and more aware of the living reality of the invisible “communion of saints”–of the beloved comunity in Cambridge who were saying the offices too, of the ones gathered around a near-distant throne in heaven–who blend with theirs our faltering songs of prayer and praise. With them, with black men and white men, with all of life, in Him Whose Name is above all the names that the races and nations shout, whose Name is Itself the Song Which fulfils and “ends” all songs, we are indelibly, unspeakably One.”

There was large scale public outcry over the shooting; and deep shock that a white unarmed trainee priest could be shot and killed by a policeman for protecting an unarmed girl. As was the case in numerous race-related crimes during the civil rights era, an all-white jury acquitted Coleman when the defense produced witnesses who claimed that Daniels had a knife and Morrisroe had a pistol and that Coleman was acting in self-defense. The shootings and Coleman’s acquittal were condemned across the country.

Describing the incident, Dr Martin Luther King said that “one of the most heroic Christian deeds of which I have heard in my entire ministry was performed by Jonathan Daniels.”

Daniels was added to the Episcopal Church Calendar of Saints and Martyrs in 1994 to be remembered each Aug. 14, one of 15 martyrs recognized by the church in the 20th century. This is the 50th anniversary of the original shooting. Bishop Johnston will be attending a pilgrimage marking this 50th anniversary in Alabama, from Montgomery to Hayneville. The grocery store has been demolished but a historical marker will be dedicated.

The procession will then return to the Courthouse Square for prayer at a memorial erected in his honour by his alma mater, the Virginia Military Institute; before concluding at the Courthouse with a service of Holy Communion in the courtroom where Coleman was tried and acquitted. Presiding Bishop elect Michael Curry will preach.

What happened to Ruby Sales? Sales went on to attend Episcopal Theological School in Massachusetts which Daniels had attended (now Episcopal Divinity School). She has worked as a human rights advocate in Washington, D.C. She founded The SpiritHouse Project, a non-profit organization and inner-city mission dedicated to Daniels.

The Rev. Gillian Barr in a Evensong in honor of Daniel in Providence RI provides an apt summary of Daniels. “He was a young adult who wasn’t sure what he was meant to do with his life. He had academic gifts, a sense of compassion, and a faith which had wavered from strong to weak to strong. He was searching—searching for a way to live out his values of compassion and his faith rather than just studying them in a book. He was living in intentional community, first at VMI, then at EDS, and then finally with activists in Alabama. His studies, and his prayer life, and his community all led him to see more clearly the beauty and dignity in the faces of all around him, even those who looked very different and came from very different backgrounds than the quiet boy from Keene, NH.”

The Feast Day of St. Mary the Virgin, Aug 15

St. Mary the Virgin - Assumption Day On August 15, the church celebrates the Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin. This is the traditional date of her Assumption, bodily taken up to heaven. Mary, the mother of Christ, has been celebrated since the earliest days of the Christian church though there was no scriptural basis for the assumption and grew upon writings from the 4th century. The iconography of the eastern church (to the right) always showed Mary with Child as the mother of the deity though in the West she is pictured alone.

The Gospel of Luke contains a “Song of Praise” that was sung by Mary when her cousin Elizabeth recognized her as the mother of the Lord (Luke 1:43). Elizabeth was pregnant with John the Baptist when her cousin Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus, came to see her.

Mary’s Song of Praise (The Magnficat)

“My soul magnifes the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.

“Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me,and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm;

“he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has flled the hungry with good things,

“and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants for ever. (Luke 1:46-55)

This Feast Day comes a day after that for Jonathan M. Daniel

The Magnificat which held special meaning for Daniels. Just after the “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma, March 7. He wrote the following:

“My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.” I had come to Evening Prayer as usual that evening, and as usual I was singing the Magnificat with the special love and reverence I have always felt for Mary’s glad song. “He hath showed strength with his arm.” As the lovely hymn of the God-bearer continued, I found myself peculiarly alert, suddenly straining toward the decisive, luminous, Spirit-filled “moment” that would, in retrospect, remind me of others–particularly one at Easter three years ago. Then it came. “He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble and meek. He hath filled the hungry with good things.” I knew then that I must go to Selma. The Virgin’s song was to grow more and more dear in the weeks ahead.

Mary’s song is one where a young girl rejoices that despite being lowly “the humble and meek” she will be have a part of redeeming mankind. She understands that she is now personally caught up in the larger story of God acting on God’s passion for the plight of the weak, the hungry, the oppressed, the lowly. She is now to be a partner in God’s work of liberation and redemption. She knows that God consistently uses the least likely, the least powerful, to be instruments of God’s will.

Daniels’ life showed a pattern of putting himself in the place of others who were defenseless and in need. The pattern was evident even at VMI, where as an upperclassman he was known to have compassion on and defend first-year cadets as they endured the brutal hazing of the VMI “Rat Line.” During seminary he went beyond the call of duty in his field work study in Providence RI he gave up his entire weekend to tutor black children.

His decision to go to Selma, though it perhaps took some people by surprise, was really just his compassion expanding in a greater circle. When the initial fervor of the Selma marches faded and most of the white northerners had returned to the safety and routines of their homes, Jonathan looked at the local poor black activists still fighting and risking their livelihoods and lives, and realized he could not abandon them.

Here is an analysis of the Magnificat from Songs in Waiting by Paul Gordon-Chandler.

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9. Latest Sunday Bulletin (Aug. 8, 2021 11:00am), and Sermon (Aug. 8, 2021)

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Pentecost 8, July 18

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 8, July 18, 2021

Pentecost 9, July 25

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 9, July 25, 2021

Pentecost 10, Aug. 1

Readings and Prayers, Pentecost 10, Aug. 1 2021

Mike Newmans Block print of St. Peter's

Block Print by Mike Newman

Projects

Colors for Year B, 2020-21

Daily “Day by Day”

3-Minute Retreats invite you to take a short prayer break right at your computer. Spend some quiet time reflecting on a Scripture passage.

Follow the Star

Daily meditations in words and music.

Sacred Space

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.”

Daily C. S. Lewis thoughts

Saints of the Week, Aug. 8, 2021 – Aug. 15, 2021

8	Dominic, Priest and Friar, 1221
9	[Edith Stein (Teresa Benedicta of the Cross)], Philosopher, Monastic & Martyr, 1942
10	Lawrence, Deacon, and Martyr at Rome, 258
11	Clare, Abbess at Assisi, 1253
12	Florence Nightingale, Nurse, Social Reformer, 1910
13	Jeremy Taylor, Bishop & Theologian, 1667
14	Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Seminarian and Martyr, 1965
15	Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Frontpage, Aug. 1, 2021

We are a small Episcopal Church in the village of Port Royal, Va., united in our love for God, for one another and our neighbor. Check out our welcome.

The Way We Were, July 25, 2021

Pentecost 10 – Aug. 1, 2021

Aug. 1 – 11:00am, Holy Eucharist. In person in the church or on Zoom. – Join here at 10:45am for gathering – service starts at 11am Meeting ID: 869 9926 3545 Passcode: 889278

From the 11am service – Flower arrangement during the service, impressionist view of inside the church, Rev. Bambi Willis was our supply priest with sermon on the Bread of Life, 3 church members who installed our new bell by the Parish house from the Volland family, Andrea explains the upcoming Jamaican mission trip to Bambi.

Aug. 1 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID: 878 7167 9302 Passcode: 729195

Aug. 2 – 6:30am – Be Still Meditation group in a 20 minute time of prayer Meeting ID: 879 8071 6417 Passcode: 790929

Bible Study on Wednesday 10am-12pm!

Aug. 8 – 11:00am, Holy Eucharist

Aug. 8 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID 834 7356 6532 Password 748475

Lectionary, Aug. 8, 11th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

I. Theme – Nurture and Community

"The Breadline" – Grigori Grigorjewitsch Mjassojedow (1872)

The lectionary readings are here or individually:

Old Testament – 1 Kings 19:4-8
Psalm – Psalm 34:1-8
Epistle –Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Gospel – John 6:35, 41-51

Today’s readings constellate around the themes of nurture and community.

We learn from David’s story (Tract 1, not in our readings) that violence breeds violence, that injustice must be brought to light. We know this is not easy

In 1 Kings God nourishes Elijah for a journey that takes forty days and forty nights and he is constantly on the brink of not continuing it. Poor Elijah was ready to die as he ran into hiding to escape persecution, violence and injustice. In Psalm 34, the righteous also cry for help, for they are afflicted, broken-hearted and crushed in spirit.

When the author of Ephesians says, “Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us,” he reminds us of God’s providence. Christ’s extraordinary sacrifice on our behalf manifested God’s love and power once again and gave us safe passage into a new life with God. These acts demand a response from us. We are challenged as much by God’s gifts as we are by the lack of them. Our conduct toward each other must reflect God’s outpouring of love toward us. The author encourages Christians to be as loving as Christ to one another.

The Gospel emphasizes God’s sustenance through Jesus who gives himself for us. Jesus promises that he will save all who come to him. But God will renew our strength, will give us courage and will continue to encourage us. Jesus calls us into this new life, in which we must stand against injustice but in nonviolent ways. We are called to lead by example, to love and forgive, to use our anger at injustice to bring about justice through peaceful means. We are called into this new life.

Jesus points out that the Israelites ate manna in the wilderness and they died. He is reminding the people that people do not live by bread alone—true life comes from the word of God. Jesus identifies himself with God. Those “taught by God” will come to Jesus to be fed the living bread for eternal life in that long-promised land where there will never be scarcity. Anyone who tastes this bread will never die.

We need spiritual soul food not superficial fast food. We need the bread of heaven, embodied in earthly relationships; not spiritual quick fixes and easy answers. We feast on the Spirit when we see God in all things and all things in God. We come to the unsearchable mystery of the eucharist with a joyful hush of thanksgiving in our hearts. Jesus sustains our souls with his life now and forever.

Consider: How can I imitate Jesus example of total, selfless giving?

Read more about the lectionary…

The Ugly Duckling and John’s Gospel

By Rev Anne S Paton, Minister of East Kilbride

Do you remember the Hans Christian Andersen story The Ugly Duckling ? Here is the outline:

"When the tale begins, a mother duck’s eggs hatch. One of the little birds is perceived by the other birds and animals on the farm as a homely little creature and suffers much verbal and physical abuse from them. He wanders sadly from the barnyard and lives with wild ducks and geese until hunters slaughter the flocks. He finds a home with an old woman but her cat and hen tease him mercilessly and again he sets off on his own. He sees a flock of migrating wild swans; he is delighted and excited but he cannot join them for he is too young and cannot fly. Winter arrives. A farmer finds and carries the freezing little bird home, but the foundling is frightened by the farmer’s noisy children and flees the house. He spends a miserable winter alone in the outdoors, mostly hiding in a cave on the lake that partly freezes over. When spring arrives a flock of swans descends on the now thawing lake. The ugly duckling, now having fully grown and matured, unable to endure a life of solitude and hardship anymore and decides to throw himself at the flock of swans deciding that it is better to be killed by such beautiful birds than to live a life of ugliness and misery. He is shocked when the swans welcome and accept him, only to realise by looking at his reflection in the water that he has grown into one of them. The flock takes to the air and the ugly duckling spreads his beautiful large wings and takes flight with the rest of his new family.

"The important bit that ties in with today’s reading is in the paragraph where the ugly duck realises who he really is. "He saw below him his own image, but he was no longer a clumsy dark grey bird, ugly and ungainly, he was himself a swan! It does not matter in the least having been born in a duck yard, if only you come out of a swan’s egg!" Jesus was explaining to the gathered people that it was the same with them. It does not matter in the least having been from Nazareth and born in Bethlehem, if only you are born of God."

Thoughts by C.S.Lewis, Watchman of his generation

Psalm 130 – "My soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning."

Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1965), commonly referred to as C. S. was a British novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist.According to his memoir Surprised by Joy, Lewis had been baptised in the Church of Ireland at birth, but fell away from his faith during his adolescence. Owing to the influence of friend J. R. Tolkien and others, at the age of 32 Lewis returned to Christianity, becoming "a very ordinary layman of the Church of England". His conversion had a profound effect on his work, and his wartime radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity brought him wide acclaim. Biography

“Love, in the Christian sense, does not mean an emotion. It is a state not of the feelings but of the will…The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love your neighbor; act as if you did."

– C. S. Lewis

"Look for yourself & you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, & decay… …look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in

– C. S. Lewis Mere Christianity

“Remember He is the artist and you are only the picture. You can’t see it. So quietly submit to be painted"

– C. S. Lewis

“There is but one good; that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to Him & bad when it turns from Him.”

– C. S. Lewis The Great Divorce

"We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito

– C. S. Lewis

"Don’t let your happiness depend on something you may lose."

– C. S. Lewis

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

– C. S. Lewis

“Nothing you have not given away will ever really be yours.”

– C. S. Lewis Mere Christianity

Frontpage, July 25, 2021

We are a small Episcopal Church in the village of Port Royal, Va., united in our love for God, for one another and our neighbor. Check out our welcome.

Ministry during July

Pentecost 9 – July 25, 2021

July 25 – 11:00am, Holy Eucharist. In person in the church or on Zoom. – Join here at 10:45am for gathering – service starts at 11am Meeting ID: 869 9926 3545 Passcode: 889278

July 25 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID: 878 7167 9302 Passcode: 729195

July 26 – 6:30am – Be Still Meditation group in a 20 minute time of prayer Meeting ID: 879 8071 6417 Passcode: 790929

Bible Study on Wednesday is back in July in person, 10am-12pm!

Aug. 1 – 11:00am, , Holy Eucharist

Aug. 1 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID 834 7356 6532 Password 748475

Village Harvest update

In our mid summer Village Harvest on July 21, 2021 , we had 80 people show up for various vegetables and fruits (granny smith apples, peaches), breads, canned goods and grocery items as well as meat, always a popular item.

The client numbers of 80 are comparable to 77 a year ago in July though under our 7 months average of 88. We had 1,054 pounds of food on hand, lowest amount since April and under a year ago but which is still 13 pounds a person or about $79 value at $6 a pound.

Remembering St. James

St. Josemaria Institute

We celebrate James the Apostle on July 25. With his brother, John, the Gospels (Matthew 4, 21-22; Mark 1, 19-20; Luke 5, 10-11) record that they were fishermen, the sons of Zebedee, partners with Simon Peter, and called by Jesus from mending their nets beside the sea of Galilee at the beginning of his ministry

Jesus nicknamed them ‘the sons of thunder’ – perhaps justified by the story (Luke 9, 51-56) that they once wished to call down fire from heaven to destroy a village which had refused them hospitality.

They made it to key events in Jesus life – the Transfiguration, Gethsemene and at various healings and miracles – Peter’s mother-in-law and raising of Jairus’s daughter. Obviously, James was of Jesus closest followers.

He is known as James the Great to distinguish him from James the Less, or James the brother of the Lord.

About AD 42, shortly before Passover (Acts 12), James was beheaded by order of King Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great (who tried to kill the infant Jesus–Matthew 2). James was the first of the Twelve to suffer martyrdom, and the only one of the Twelve whose death is recorded in the New Testament.

Tradition is he was a missionary to Spain in his life and, at his death, was buried at Compostela, a site of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages.

Relics of the saints were believed to possess great power. Spain needed it in the 8th century. Jerusalem fell to the armies of Islam in 636 A.D., and less than a century later, in 711, Spain was also invaded and conquered. Islam rapidly reached northern Spain, and sent raiding parties into France. In northwest Spain, however, a small Christian kingdom, including Asturias and present-day Galicia, emerged in the 8th century, and at this time James’ tomb was discovered near Finisterre. James was the most senior member of the intercessionary hierarchy whose relics remained undiscovered. The discovery of his tomb helped to bolster the resistance.

In the 12th Century Santiago came to rank with Rome and Jerusalem as one of the great destinations of medieval pilgrimage. The first cathedral was built over the site of James tomb, and Benedictine houses were established. The cathedral where he is buried was depicted in the film, The Way, at the end of the “Way of St. James”, a pilgrim’s path across Spain.

The relics of St James are housed in a silver casket below the high altar, above which his statue presides over the cathedral. On the feast of St James on July 25, and other high days and holy days, a giant censer, the Botafumeiro, is swung on ropes by red-coated attendants in a great arc from floor to vaults, emitting clouds of incense over delighted crowds.

Here is the scene from The Way that depicts the pilgrims reaching Santiago and venturing to the cathedral with the swinging of the censer. This has never been filmed before and the production crew had to get special permission to film it.

The "Way" is actually many paths across France and Northern Spain that has been followed by pilgrims for 800 years. In recent decades it has enjoyed a resurgence as a spiritual journey with many organized and unorganized journeys. You can the take the route across Northern Spain (800km) taking 6 weeks or break it up into shorter journeys.

Lectionary, Aug. 1, 10th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

I. Theme – Living for God includes living for the welfare of others

"The Bread of Life" – Hermel Alejandre

The lectionary readings are here or individually:

Old Testament – Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15
Psalm – Psalm 78:23-29
Epistle –Ephesians 4:1-16
Gospel – John 6:24-35

Today’s readings portray God as our ultimate provider and sustainer of both our physical and spiritual lives. In Exodus God feeds the people of Israel with quail and manna. Paul reminds his community that they must put away their old way of life and be renewed in Christ. In anticipation of his eucharistic gift of himself, Jesus declares that he is the bread of life.

We’ve interrupted our Liturgical Year B trek through Mark’s gospel for a five-week sojourn in the gospel of John, Chapter 6, the extended teaching about Jesus as the Bread of Life.

After the Feeding of the 5,000, Jesus and His disciples cross back to the other side of Galilee. When the crowd sees that Jesus has left, they follow Him again. Jesus takes this moment to teach them a lesson. He accuses the crowd of only following Him for the “free meal.”

Jesus tells them in John 6:27, “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” The real import of Jesus’ activity isn’t simply to feed those who are hungry but to reveal something vital about Jesus and, in turn, about God. In this case, Jesus is the One who can satisfy every human need. They were so enthralled with the food, they were missing out on the fact that their Messiah had come.

They want proof. So the Jews ask Jesus for a sign that He was sent from God (as if the miraculous feeding and the walking across the water weren’t enough). They tell Jesus that God gave them manna during the desert wandering. Jesus responds by telling them that they need to ask for the true bread from heaven that gives life. When they ask Jesus for this bread, Jesus startles them by saying, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

This is an invitation for those listening to place their faith in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God as the one who is essential. The concept of bread is expanded from a physical substance of life into that into the spiritual realm. He is spiritual bread that brings eternal life.

A unifying theme in today’s passages is the reminder that living for God includes living for the welfare of others, and not putting our own desires first, for our own desires lead to giving into temptations and lead us away from God. And our response to those in need must be to meet the needs first, not to judge or complain. We are called to help and heal, not blame and condemn. We are called to live out the life of Christ in our own lives, to seek to be last and servant of all rather than first and right. We are called to put aside our own desire to be right to do what is right.

The scripture last week also included the story of Jesus walking on the water, Jesus is the one who transcends limits. In the process we need to allow Jesus to transform us which we more than often than not are unable to accept.

Read more about the lectionary…

Voices, Pentecost 10

The Gathering of Manna, Bernardino Luini, c 1520

"One early, cloudy morning when I was forty-six, I walked into a church, ate a piece of bread, took a sip of wine. … This was my first communion. It changed everything.

"Eating Jesus, as I did that day to my great astonishment, led me against all my expectations to a faith I’d scorned and work I’d never imagined. The mysterious sacrament turned out to be not a symbolic wafer at all but actual food – indeed, the bread of life. In that shocking moment of communion, filled with a deep desire to reach for and become part of a body, I realized that what I’d been doing with my life all along was what I was meant to do: feed people."

-Sara Miles, Take This Bread

The God of Surprises

"This, you see, is the sacraments. Communion and baptism are God’s external and objective words of love and forgiveness, given in a form which we can receive, for, as we said last week, the sacraments are God’s physical, visible words for God’s physical, visible people…

"But God, you see, our God rarely does what God is supposed to do. For our God is a God of surprises, of upheavals, of reversals. And so rather than do what God is supposed to do, God does the unexpected: instead of pronouncing judgment in the face of our sin and selfishness, God offers mercy; instead of justice, love; instead of condemnation, forgiveness; instead of coming in power, God came in weakness; and instead of giving us a miracle, God gives us God’s own self. For as Martin Luther would remind us, the whole of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are summed up both succinctly and eloquently in the two words we hear when coming to the Table: “for you.” This is Christ’s body, given for you. This is Christ’s blood, shed for you."

– David Lose. President of Luther Seminary

"What is manna? Is it a Hebrew pun on mah hu, or as Everett Fox suggests, “Whaddayacallit”: What is this stuff? Is manna mountains of sweet insect excrement, as proposed by some scholars, or the stuff of legend, of a tale told over the generations about how, in some mysterious way, God gives us life? The New Testament’s version of this question is “Who is he?” – and Christians have told one another, over the generations, that in some mysterious way he is the life that God gives. Our manna is Christ."

–Gail Ramshaw, Christian Century, July 28, 2009

At the table

"Blessed are you Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life."

– from the Roman Eucharistic Liturgy

"Whatever gets you through the Night"…Prayers at the close of day

From the New Zealand Prayer Book:
"Holiness; make us pure in heart to see you; make us merciful to receive your kindness and to share our love with all your human family; then will your name be hallowed on earth as in heaven.

It is night after a long day. What has been done has been done; what has not been done has not been done; let it be.

"Support us, Lord, all the day long, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, the busy world is hushed, the fever of life is over, and our work done; then Lord, in your mercy, give us safe lodging, a holy rest and peace at the last. God our judge and our companion, we thank you for the good we did this day and for all that has given us joy. Everything we offer as our humble service. Bless those with whom we have worked, and those who are our concern. Amen"

From the Book of Common Prayer (1979)

"O God, your unfailing providence sustains the world we live in and the life we live: Watch over those, both night and day, who work while others sleep, and grant that we may never forget that our common life depends upon each other’s toil; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

"Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen."

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.

Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised; for these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see: a Light to enlighten the nations and the glory of your people Israel. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.

From Scripture:

Frontpage, July 18, 2021

We are a small Episcopal Church in the village of Port Royal, Va., united in our love for God, for one another and our neighbor. Check out our welcome.

“Sun, sun, sun, here it comes”

Pentecost 8 – July 18, 2021

July 18 – 11:00am, Holy Eucharist. In person in the church or on Zoom. – Join here at 10:45am for gathering – service starts at 11am Meeting ID: 869 9926 3545 Passcode: 889278

July 18 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID: 878 7167 9302 Passcode: 729195

July 19 – 6:30am – Be Still Meditation group in a 20 minute time of prayer Meeting ID: 879 8071 6417 Passcode: 790929

Bible Study on Wednesday in person in July, 10am-12pm

July 21 – 3:00pm – 5pm – Village Harvest

If you would like to volunteer, please email Andrea or call (540) 847-9002. Pack bags for distribution 1-3PM Deliver food to client’s cars 3-5PM. From June, 2019:

July 25 – 11:00am, , Holy Eucharist

July 25 – 7:00pm, Compline on Zoom – Join here at 6:30am for gathering – service starts at 7pm Meeting ID 834 7356 6532 Password 748475

Another step forward from the Pandemic.

Wed. July 17, 2021 was our first inside Village Dinner dining experience in the Parish House since the pandemic began, March 2020. In that it is worth celebrating!

However, the food was exceptional and included barbecue ribs, baked beans, potato salad, corn on the cob and a chocolate dessert. The timing was right for sweet corn from Johnny which was good compliment to Andrea’s ribs main course. Certainly, the best dinner in Port Royal that night! It is every 2nd Wed of the month from 5pm-6pm, take out and now, dine in.

Donating Hand Sanitizer to Caroline’s Promise – By July 25

We have frequently partnered with Caroline’s Promise over the years. This year, we are helping out with the school supply drive to benefit our Caroline County students.

St Peter’s will be donating HAND SANITIZER. Our goal is to contribute 250 bottles to be distributed to students along with other school supplies on Saturday, July 31st. Bring your donation of hand sanitizer to church and place in the back pew no later than Sunday, July 25th.

Caroline’s Promise works to help young people in Caroline County to succeed by providing a healthy start and future, one of their five promises. You can read more about Caroline’s Promise.

Lectionary, July 25, 9th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B

I. Theme – Providing for each other out of our abundance

"Feeding of teh 5,000

"Feeding of the 5,000" – Daniel Bonnell

The lectionary readings are here or individually:

Old Testament – 2 Kings 4:42-44
Psalm – Psalm 145:10-19 Page 802, BCP
Epistle –Ephesians 3:14-21
Gospel – John 6:1-21

How do we provide out of our abundance ? What is hunger ? In this week’s lectionary, multiplication of food given to Elisha demonstrates God’s power to provide abundantly in the Old Testament. Paul exhorts the Ephesians to use their spiritual gifts to build up the Body of Christ. Jesus multiplies five loaves and two fish to feed the hungry crowd. The feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle of Jesus’ ministry recorded in all four gospels. As so often emphasized in John, Jesus takes the initiative, even before the people arrive.

Hunger is multidimensional. People are hungry not only for bread but also for dignity, meaning, and happiness. Thus, we might ask the same question Jesus did: “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?”

It’s a tricky question, as John implies with his parenthetical comment. The things which most satisfy our deepest hungers can’t be purchased. Still on the literal plane, Philip despairs: no amount of money could assuage the vast crowd’s hunger. (While they may well be physically hungry, remember that they followed him initially because of his compassion toward the sick.) Jesus’ silence directs us to look toward our own resources.

Faith is what helps us to understand the incomprehensible. Faith is what holds us to the path of God, the way of Christ. We are faced with temptations every day to live for ourselves, to satisfy our own greed and desires, and we forget the needs of others and God’s desire to live for others. In living for others, we find that we have life. In living for Christ, we find that we have lived for others. In thinking of the needs of others, we are reminded that we can be overwhelmed, as Elisha’s servant and Jesus’ disciples felt, or we can have faith, as Elisha and Jesus did, that the needs will be met when we serve and give out of what we have. It is not easy, but it is what we are called to do—and God always provides enough. We may not be able to solve the world’s hunger problems, but we can do our part to help those around us—and we may be surprised at what God can do with the little we have.

The child’s lunch box and the mother who probably packed it are a delightful reminder that “those who would be a blessing for others must bring what they possess to Jesus.” Without a scoff, a snicker or a doubt, Jesus takes the bread and fish into his hands with all confidence. Ignoring Andrew’s concern about scarcity, he provides an abundance. His action reassures those of us who deem our efforts too meager or skimpy to ever count as ministry, or to have any significant effect within God’s design. Instead we can count it, as did St. Ignatius of Loyola, “a toweringly wonderful thing that you might call me to follow you and stand with you.”

The miracle adds a new dimension to the picture of God given in Psalm 145. There, the people look hopefully to God as the source of their food. The opening of God’s hand satisfies their desires. In light of John’s gospel, we enter more directly into that process. No longer does God stand on one side of an abyss and we on the other. Now, Jesus takes our barley loaves into his hands and blesses them. In a co-creative act, we bring the food, share it with Jesus and each other, then gather the left-overs.

Those who are, as Ephesians calls us, one in body and spirit, cannot blame God for world hunger, neglected children and all our other social ills. For God has called us to partnership, graced our efforts, and made us abundant blessings for each other.

Read more about the lectionary…

Daniel Bonnell on his painting "Feeding of the 5,000"

"Feeding of the 5,000

"This is an important divine moment here that perhaps we miss. The scripture says that Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed the loaves and the fishes. All eyes are on Him as the crowd is instructed to sit down in the grass. He then gave thanks. In this painting all the focus is upon Jesus, the viewer looks up as if he or she were one of the crowd. Jesus raises a basket with two small fish in it to the sky. He gives thanks and before he finishes speaking the basket is filled to overflowing. Jesus is called the bread of life. We see Him performing many miracles that have symbolic meanings to those — that have eyes to see. He is victory over death. We see Him raising the dead in more than one instance. He is the water of life, as he tells thewoman at the well. He is the Prophet who knew of her five husbands. Look closer and you will see Jesus not just raising a basket of bread to the sky but you will see him upon the cross. The band of white sky forms a perpendicular bar with his arms and hands, which are pierced."

On the Sacraments

David Lose, President of Luther Seminary . David extracts the central concept of providing bread in the Feeding of the 5,000 providing thoughts on the Eucharist

"So the sacraments hold this unusual place in the Church, in that they are both central to our life of faith and yet also can be so very confusing. In an attempt to clarify the connect between the sacraments and our daily lives, I’ll start with a phrase from St. Augustine: “visible words.” I find this phrase attractive because it helps me appreciate Baptism and Communion as the visible, physical counterpoint to the preaching and teaching of the church. That is, the sacraments are the embodiment of the proclaimed and heard gospel in physical form, the gospel given shape in water, bread, and wine. They serve us, then, as physical reminders of what we have heard and believe simply because we are physical creatures and remembering and believing can be so hard. And so we have the gospel preached to us so that we may hear it, and we have the same gospel given to us so that we may taste and touch and feel it with our hands and mouths and bodies.

"Visible, physical words for visible, physical people. Now, if this is true, then the sacraments will share the same character as the proclaimed gospel. That is, the sacramental word, as with the preached word, will be primarily about one thing: telling the truth. And perhaps this is where our difficulty with the sacraments begins, because to do this — to tell unflinchingly the honest-to-goodness truth — is rarely easy and almost never welcome.

" Frederick Buechner, in his book Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale, describes why this truth telling can be so hard: Before the gospel is good news, he writes, it’s just news. Let us say that it is the evening news, the television news, but with the sound turned off. Picture that, then, the video without the audio, the news with, for a moment, no words to explain it or explain it away, no words to cushion or sharpen the shock of it, no definition given to dispose of it with such as a fire, a battle, a strike, a treaty, a beauty, an accident. Just the thing itself, life itself, or as much of it as the screen can hold, flickering away in the dark of the room (14).

" News, news describing the way things really are. And from such news, as Buechner goes on to explain, there is no escape, as we are confronted with who we really are, forced to look honestly at ourselves with no illusions, excuses, or hiding places.

" This is the gospel; this is the sacraments: the telling of the truth. And, as Buechner also writes, such truth is “bad news before it is good news. It is the news that man is a sinner, to use the old word, that he is evil in the imagination of his heart…. That is the tragedy. But it is also the news that he is loved anyway, cherished, forgiven, bleeding, to be sure, but also bled for. That is the comedy,” the good news .

" This news, tragedy before it is comedy, bad before it is good, law before it is gospel. It’s not what we want to hear, really, but there it is all the same. The sacraments tell us first the difficult truth about ourselves, and only then tell us the glorious truth about God’s loving response to us and abiding concern for us.

" And of all the truths the sacraments tell us about ourselves, the first is that we are not in control. Now, I know that you don’t need to be told this. After all, any illness, or job loss, or tragedy great or small reminds of just how precarious life is. And yet…and yet it is so tempting to believe otherwise, to try to arrange our life just so and in this way delude ourselves into believing that we really can be masters of our own destiny, captains of our fate. And so the gospel first reveals to us the difficult news that we are not in control.

1	Joseph of Arimathaea
2	Samuel Ferguson, Bishop for West Africa, 1916
3 3 3	[Joanna, Mary & Salome], Myrrh-bearing women George Freeman Bragg, Jr., Priest, 1940 William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, Sociologist, 1963
4
5	Albrecht DÃ¼rer, 1528, Matthias Grunewald, 1529, and Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1553, Artists
6	The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ
7 7	John Mason Neale, Priest & Hymnographer, 1866 Catherine Winkworth, Poet, 1878
8	Dominic, Priest and Friar, 1221

25	Saint James the Apostle
26 26	The Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary Charles Raymond Barnes, Priest & Martyr, 1939
27	William Reed Huntington, Priest, 1909
28	[Johann Sebastian Bach], Composer, 1750, and George Frederick Handel, 1759, and Henry Purcell, 1695, Composers
29 29	Mary and Martha of Bethany First Ordination of Women to the Priesthood in The Episcopal Church, 1974
30	William Wilberforce, Social Reformer, 1833, and Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Lord Shaftesbury, 1885, Prophetic Witness
31	Ignatius of Loyola, Priest and Spiritual Writer, 1556
1	Joseph of Arimathaea

18	Bartolomé de las Casas, Priest and Missionary, 1566
19	Macrina of Caesarea, Monastic and Teacher, 379
20	Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Ross Tubman, Social Reformers
21 21	[Maria Skobtsoba], Monastic & Martyr, 1945 Albert John Luthuli, Prophetic Witness, 1967
22	Saint Mary Magdalene
23	[John Cassian], Monastic & Theologian, 435
24	Thomas a Kempis, Priest & Mystic, 1471
25	Saint James the Apostle