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, and we respect and honor with gratitude the land itself, the legacy of the ancestors, and the life of the Rappahannock Tribe. Our mission statement is to do God’s Will in all that we do.

Art

“Picturing Mary” trip, Feb. 9, 2015

Eight from St. Peter’s enjoyed an exhibit of 60 Renaissance- and Baroque-era paintings from many museums around the globe all depicting Mary. The exhibit is at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington. The trip was an extension of our Advent study on Mary, “Singing Mary’s Song” and led by artist Susan Tilt. It will continue until April 12.

Stained glass repair 2011-2012

Back in November, 2011, we had a post about work to restore stained glass windows on both the left and right side of the church. One was cracked on the right side and there was a missing rose medallion on the left. Through a generous donation, the work is complete and installed on Feb. 23, 2012. Stained Glass by Shenandoah had to order special paint from France to complete the work. The results can be seen here in photos taken by the company.

Arts and Faith, Lent 1, Year C

This scene of the temptation of Christ comes from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, a 15th-century book of hours, or personal devotional book created especially for Duke Jean de Berry. The book offered meditations based on the time of day, as well as the feasts and seasons of the liturgical calendar. As the Latin text on the bottom tells us, this scene comes from the Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent.

The illuminated scene shows Christ resisting the temptations of the devil atop an ornately detailed Gothic castle. This castle was modeled after a real one, the Duke’s own castle at Mehun-sur-Yevre. Christ standing on top of this castle in the context of his temptation is an image that must have been deeply challenging for the Duke and meant to recall him to humility and conversion.

The scene is a conflation of the three temptations Jesus experienced in the desert. On top of the castle’s tower, he is experiencing the heights the devil asked him to jump from, and seeing all the riches of the world that might entice him. The devil completes the narrative by handing Jesus a stone to turn into bread. Alluding to all three temptations atop of the castle shows the Duke that he is in danger of succumbing to all of these. But rather than casting the Duke into despair and shame, the image offers hope and encouragement: we spot on the bottom right a mighty lion that has treed an ape-like adversary, a metaphor perhaps of the Duke conquering his personal temptations.

The three swans swimming in the moat further connect this scene to the Duke. An often-used symbol for de Berry, the swan was an homage to a woman for whom de Berry’s love was unrequited. To spot the swans in this image connects sin and temptation to one’s own hurts and woundedness. Our own suffering and pain can lead us to grasp tightly at our own reality, sometimes to the point of tearing our wounds even deeper. Conversion of heart means letting go and trusting in God’s healing love to mend the brokenness of our lives.