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.

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Recent Articles, April 30, 2023

Maximilian Kolbe – a caring shepherd among his people

From a sermon by Rev. William D. Oldland, "Jesus is the Shepherd and the Gate"  about Maximiliam Kolbe 

"His life exemplifies the role of a caring shepherd for his flock. His life is also a gate or perhaps a gateway through which we can see the effect of the incredible love of God. 

 "The priest’s name was Maximilian Kolbe. He was born in 1894 in Poland. His parents were poor. His father was a weaver. At an early age he had a vision. He had prayed to Mary and asked what was to become of him. In response Mary came to him in this vision holding two crowns. One was red and the other was white. The white one symbolized perseverance in purity and the red one meant martyrdom. She asked which one he would choose. He said he would accept them both. This decision shaped his future actions and would one day come true. 

 " In 1910, he entered the Franciscan order and he was ordained a priest in 1919 in Rome. On his return to Poland he was a teacher of church history and he built a friary outside of Warsaw. The friary grew until it housed 762 Franciscans. He went to Japan and India and started friaries there as well. In 1936, he returned to supervise the friary in Warsaw. When Germany invaded he sent the friars home to protect them. He was a good shepherd to his flock. He was imprisoned for a while. But when he was released he went back to the friary where he took in three thousand refugees. 2,000 of these refugees were Jewish. Those friars who worked with him shared all they had with the refugees. They shared their clothing, the little food that they had, and anything else that was useful.

 " As you can imagine the Germans became suspicious and in 1941 they closed the friary arresting Maximilian and four other brothers. They were all transported to Auschwitz. At the camp Maximilian endured many hardships. No one had enough food. Clothing was inadequate for the cold. Shelter was not much help from the cold either. Maximilian was known to move among the prisoners with gentleness. At night he did not rest. He moved from bunk to bunk identifying himself as a priest and asking if they needed anything from him. He listened to confessions and heard their pleas for consolation. He continued to be a shepherd to his flock.

 " Father Kolbe also endured personal pain. An SS officer saw him one day. He chose the heaviest boards he could find. He loaded them on Father Kolbe’s back and made him run with the load. When he fell the officer kicked him in the stomach and face. He ordered the soldiers to give him fifty lashes. Father Kolbe lost consciousness and the soldiers left him in the mud for dead. Some prisoners snuck him into the infirmary.

 " Here is where we see the gateway begin to open. Even though Father Kolbe was beaten horribly, he endured all of the hardship. He pleaded with the other prisoners to forgive the persecutors, to pray for them, and to overcome their evil with good. Whenever he was beaten, he did not cry out. He prayed for them. He was always the last to seek help for his injuries. Everyone else had to go first. Do we begin to see the gateway? Can we see where Jesus has called this man? Do we see how Jesus is with this man? Even in the pain, even in the heart of this incredible darkness, Jesus’ light shines out as a beacon of love. This man lives the faith he believes. Yet, this story is not over.

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We are in Eastertide until Pentecost

The word “Easter” comes from Eostre, the name of a Teutonic goddess associated with the return of the season of growth and fertility at springtime. The season of Easter was also connected with the Hebrew Feast of Weeks, which began at Passover and ended on the fiftieth day as Shavuot or Pentecost. This was originally an agricultural festival and later celebrated the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai. In many countries the name of the Christian feast we call Easter is still called by its older Greek name, Pascha, which means “Passover.” It is this meaning as the Christian Passover that celebrates Jesus’ triumph over death and entrance into resurrected life that is the heart of Easter in the Christian church. For the early church, Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the Jewish Passover feast. Through Jesus we have been freed from the slavery of sin and granted entry to the Promised Land of everlasting life. The primary theme of Easter is the resurrection. 

Eastertide is the period of fifty days, seven Sundays from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday. Easter is not a day but a season and it is one to examine the Resurrection, more broadly and deeply.  “Tide” is an old word meaning a festival and its season. Why fifty days ?After the resurrection, Jesus spent forty days on earth before he ascended, and then there were ten more days after that before the Day of Pentecost. 

Easter is also more than just an extended celebration of the resurrection of Jesus  and all that means for us, leading to the launching of the Christian Church and its mission on Pentecost.. In the early church, Lent was a season for new converts to learn about the faith and prepare for baptism on Easter Sunday. The initial purpose of the 50-day Easter season was to continue the faith formation of new Christians. 

Jesus physically appears in Easter 2 and 3 making the Resurrection tangible. Easter 2 is the story of Thomas.  Easter 3 this year is the journey to Emmaus.  The shepherding part of his ministry is explored in Easter 4. From Easter 5-7, Jesus must prepare the disciples for his departure. He is going to leave them. Jesus prepares his disciples for continuing his ministry without his physical presence. Themes explored include the holy spirit, the Prayer of Jesus and God’s glory through His Son and the church. 

Christ ascends on the 40th day with his disciples watching (Thursday, May 18th). The weekdays after the Ascension until the Saturday before Pentecost inclusive are a preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit. These fifty days comes to an end on Pentecost Sunday, which commemorates the giving of the Holy Spirit to the apostles, the beginnings of the Church and its mission to all  peoples and nation.  

The Legacy of Thomas in India

The Legacy of Thomas in India

The National Geographic -"He traveled farther than even the indefatigable Paul, whose journeys encompassed much of the Mediterranean. Of all the Apostles, Thomas represents most profoundly the missionary zeal associated with the rise of Christianity—the drive to travel to the ends of the known world to preach a new creed."

"Thomas is said to have raised the first cross in India and performed one of his earliest miracles: When he encountered a group of Brahmans throwing water into the air as part of a ritual, he asked why the water fell back to Earth if it was pleasing to their deity. My God, Thomas said, would accept such an offering. He then flung a great spray into the air, and the droplets hung there in the form of glistening white blossoms. Most onlookers converted on the spot; the rest fled."

"St. Thomas still stands as the direct link between his converts in Kerala and the founding Christian story on the shores of the Mediterranean, clear across the known world of the first century. Unlike later Christian groups in Asia who were converted by missionaries, Thomas Christians believe their church was founded by one of Christ’s closest followers, and this is central to their spiritual identity. "They are an apostolic church," Stewart said, "and that’s the ultimate seal of approval for a Christian group."

"The community was historically united in leadership and liturgy, but since the 17th century have been split into several different church denominations and traditions. 

"Historically the Saint Thomas Christian community was part of the Church of the East, centred in Persia.They are a distinct community, both in terms of culture and religion. Though their liturgy and theology remained that of East-Syrian Christians of Persia, their life-style customs and traditions were basically Indian.  

"In the 16th century the overtures of the Portuguese padroado to bring the Saint Thomas Christians into the Catholic Church led to the first of several rifts in the community and the establishment of Syrian Catholic and Malankara Church factions. Since that time further splits have occurred, and the Saint Thomas Christians are now divided into several different Eastern Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, and independent bodies, each with their own liturgies and traditions." 

Tenebrae Returned! April 5, 2023,

1. Background of the service Tenebrae is the opening of the Holy Week services for the church.

Unlike the other Easter services, Tenebrae doesn’t relate to a specific Holy Week event as Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter.

“Tenebrae” is Latin for shadows. The purpose of the service is to recreate the emotional aspects of the passion story. This is an unusual service with its own Liturgy. There is no music – the readings carry the service. And it’s not from the traditional Gospel readings.

It sets a mood and brings you through the Holy Week story through a set of “shadows”. The shadows move through the agony of last week- Betrayal, Agony of the Spirit, Denial, Accusation, Crucifixion, Death and Burial – symbolized by the lighted candles.

Each shadow generally has a reading from Luke, a Psalm and a hymn. The readings range from Lamentations in the Old Testament to commentary from St Augustine, and at last a reading from Hebrews, in which the theology of God’s saving grace through Jesus Christ is presented for our consideration. The Psalms dominate the service. 

This service makes use of the power of light and sound to emphasize the darkness of death.  15 candles are lit and extinguished gradually throughout the service until one is left.   The candles are snuffed out as Jesus life was.  The candle in the end, the Christ candle, is taken away seemingly saying that evil won. However, dramatically a noise is heard at the end denoting the events of Good Friday and the Christ candle is brought back,  a solitary light in the darkness for resurrection into which we depart, indicating that Christ has triumphed.

2. Bulletin

3. Photo gallery

4. Service (begins at 10:11)

Commentary is by Daniella Zsupan-Jerome.

Byzantine icons are portals to the divine presence. The depictions are heavenly—the gold backgrounds speak of divine truth. The serene, symmetrical faces invite us into the order of Heaven. Here is a peace that surpasses all understanding. We slow down before the icon and encounter the divine presence.

“In this icon of the woman at the well, we see the encounter of Christ with the Samaritan woman, who in the Orthodox tradition has a name: St. Photini, the illuminated or enlightened one. She meets Jesus while he is seated by the well. She approaches with her vessel to get water. Their hands indicate for us that they are engaged in conversation. On Christ’s right hand, his third finger bends in, a subtle sign of his divine nature. The two mountains behind them recall their words, reflecting that they come from two different backgrounds.

“Central to the icon are two architectural elements—the well, and the walled city in the distance.

“The well has a peculiar shape; it’s low and shaped like a cross and is suggestive of a baptismal font. It invites us to enter into the death of Christ so as to rise with him in the Resurrection—the very essence of the Paschal Mystery. We are beckoned to the font to seek the living water that delivers us from death to eternal life.

“Behind the font looms a walled city. It is Jerusalem, the scene of the Paschal Mystery. The dark, gaping gate is like a tomb. Red curtains hint of the passion and bloodshed that will soon occur there. Yet the curtains are drawn back. Like the font, these curtains are inviting us into the tomb but also showing us the way out.

“The woman at the well enters the tomb as she acknowledges in truth the painful path of her life. Christ illuminates her heart. He invites her to move beyond her current life. She enters the tomb of this in truth and accepts the living water. She is transformed from an outcast to an evangelizer. She will bring her joy back to her community and compel them to follow her to Christ. Through meeting Christ, St. Photini finds light in her darkness, a light she will shine to others.

Another look at the Gospel – Lent 3

Another Look at the Gospel, Lent 3 – “Rebuilding the World with Everyday Wisdom” 

We can go further and look at Jesus’ example beyond the woman in simply doing what’s needed to be done.

Pschologist Barry Schwarz in a Ted Talk laments the loss of Wisdom. He argues powerfully that rules often fail us, incentives often backfire, and practical, everyday wisdom will help rebuild our world.   Here is the Ted Talk

“Practical wisdom,” Aristotle told us, “is the combination of moral will and moral skill.”

A wise person knows when and how to make the exception to every rule, as the janitors knew when to ignore the job duties in the service of other objectives. A wise person knows how to improvise, as Luke did when he re-washed the floor.

Real-world problems are often ambiguous and ill-defined and the context is always changing. A wise person is like a jazz musician — using the notes on the page, but dancing around them, inventing combinations that are appropriate for the situation and the people at hand. A wise person knows how to use these moral skills in the service of the right aims.

To serve other people, not to manipulate other people. And finally, perhaps most important, a wise person is made, not born. Wisdom depends on experience, and not just any experience. You need the time to get to know the people that you’re serving. You need permission to be allowed to improvise, try new things, occasionally to fail and to learn from your failures. And you need to be mentored by wise teachers.”