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.

Events

Trinitarian Apple Pie

The Apple pie as a symbol of the Trinity.

From a sermon on Trinity Sunday, 2011
 

"This pie is Trinitarian for several reasons. First of all, it has three parts. It has a crust, it has a filling, and it has a topping. Second, each of the three parts has three ingredients.

"The crust is made of flour with a little salt thrown in, some shortening, and some ice water. The filling contains apples, sugar, and cinnamon. The topping is made of a trinity of flour, butter and sugar.

"When all of these ingredients are subjected to the heat of the oven over a period of time, they merge together into one delicious pie, which would not be complete if any of the ingredients were lacking.

"This apple pie is a great symbol for God as Trinity. In order to understand most fully who God is, we Christians know God as the transcendent God, so mysterious that we will never ever know God fully in this life. We know God as Jesus, who lived and died as one of us—not some far off distant deity, but God who experienced the joys and sorrows of being human. We know God as that voice that whispers to us, bringing us inspiration, understanding, and guidance. The ways in which we know God are incomplete until we embrace all of these ways of knowing God, knowing that even then God remains a mystery. This pie would be incomplete without its three parts."


Trinitarian Apple Pie Recipe

“Thy Kingdom Come”

“Thy Kingdom Come” is celebrating its 7 year anniversary in 2023. Since May 2016, The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the people of Thy Kingdom Come have been bringing the world together in prayer. St Peter’s has been part of this international prayer initiative for several years. Here is the website. Check out their new mobile app.

In the gospel according to Luke, before Jesus ascended, he told the disciples to go to back to Jerusalem and await the coming of the Holy Spirit. They did as he asked, spent ten days absorbed in prayer as they waited, and the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost.

Through these prayerful disciples, the Holy Spirit brought the Church to birth. Following the example of these disciples, we can spend time in intentional prayer praying for people around the world to be filled with the Spirit and to come to know Jesus more fully.

So what we can do to participate?

1. Review the 2022 Play list

The 2021 Video Series is also available

Here is their Impact Report from 2022 and before.

2. Pray for 5 people

From the Archbishop of Canterbury:

Download the card. This card will easily fit inside your wallet, purse or book. Choose five people you would regularly like to pray for and write their names down onto a list. If you’re not sure who to pray for, ask God to guide you as you choose. Once you have settled on 5 names, commit to praying for them regularly. Use this card as a daily reminder to pray for them.

Once you have settled on 5 names, commit to praying for them regularly by praying the following: Loving Father, in the face of Jesus Christ your light and glory have blazed forth. Send your Holy Spirit that I may share with my friends [here, name your friends] the life of your Son and your love for all. Strengthen me as a witness to that love as I pledge to pray for them, for your name’s sake. Amen.

3. Go deeper with a 2023 Prayer Journal

Each day there are a few things to read, a prayer to offer and then an invitation for you to make your own reflections on what it means to follow in the way of Christ. You don’t have to write anything down, but you may find it helpful.

4. Prayers from Ascension to Pentecost

The nine days from Ascension Day to the Eve of Pentecost are the original novena–nine days of prayer.

Before he ascended, Jesus ordered the disciples not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. After his Ascension, they returned to the upper room in Jerusalem where they devoted themselves to prayer. These last days of the Great Fifty Days of Easter can be a time for us to prepare for the celebration of Pentecost. 

They have also published their 2023 Novena and exploration of 1st John

Read more

World Communion Sunday, Oct. 2

Oct. 2 is "World Communion Sunday"

What is World Communion Sunday? Churches this Sunday all over the world celebrate oneness in Christ in the midst of the world ever more in need of peacemaking and the universal and inclusive nature of the church. The tradition originated in the Shadyside Presbyterian Church in 1933, was adopted throughout the US Presbyterian Church in 1936, and subsequently spread to other denominations. The Episcopal Church also remembers students serving abroad, particularly the Young Adult Service Corp in the Episcopal Church.

 

Poem for World Communion Sunday 

THE TABLE WITH NO EDGES by Andrew King

We will sit down where feet tire from the journey.
    We will sit down where grief bends the back.  

We will sit down under roofs wrecked by artillery.
    We will sit down where cries sound from cracked walls.  

We will sit down where heat beats like hammers.
   We will sit down where flesh shivers in cold.  

We will sit down where bread bakes on thin charcoal.
   We will sit down where there is no grain in baked fields.  

We will sit down with those who dwell in ashes.
   We will sit down in shadow and in light.  

We will sit down, making friends out of strangers.
   We will sit down, our cup filled with new wine.  

We will sit down and let love flow like language.We will sit together at the table with no edges.
   We will sit to share one loaf, in Christ’s name, in one world.  

Sunday Links for July 3, 2022

July 3, 11:00am – Eucharist

We had a diverse crowd 26 in the service and 5 online. However, we had Brad Saylor’s family visiting from Africa (8 or so) and Peter from Wales. We also had Ken’s father from Tennessee. We had ample time for dialogue – the sermon featured it. It was also first Sunday coffee hour called “Cookies and Conversation”. It was a picturesque Sunday with not only the regular flowers but special flower for a parishioner’s mother born on July 4. The town had their July 4 flags out. We introduced our task to provide 250 markers for school children by the middle of the month.

We even had enough children for an impromptu children’s sermon.

It was one of the most important Gospel lessons from Luke 10 – in essence how to spread Jesus teaching with his sending out of the 70.

The mission was the same as Jesus’ own ministry: “cure the sick” and “say to them, ‘the kingdom of God has come near to you.’”

There are two basic tasks 1. Bring the message, “God’s kingdom has come close to you!” All this is in the present tense and not the future. 2. Show by action. Bring deeds of the kingdom. (Namely, heal the sick.) Tell them the good news that “the kingdom of God has come near to you” (v. 9): it’s partly already here! The teams went out with an urgent message. “Turn around people – and seek peace – God’s reign has come close to you!” The message is timeless.

Notice how Jesus only tells them what they should do and doesn’t say anything about measuring their success. The version 16 paragraph closes with another note about success. We are not to rejoice about our success in our various ministries, but to rejoice “that your names are written in heaven,” that is, that we are part of this kingdom of God which we are proclaiming.

So, the essence of the mission is to live out the relationship with God that has been given to us through Jesus Christ. And this is what it looks like; don’t travel alone, do travel light, not worry about what is up ahead, just share peace and healing if you can.

Bishop Susan Goff visited St. Peter’s, Sun June 19 for confirmation

Bishop Susan Goff’s visitation occurred on June 19. The last Bishop visit was Bishop Ihloff in 2019. She substituted for the Rt. Rev. Jennifer Brooke-Davidson who had a death in the family

Arthur Duke and Cornesha Howard were confirmed with a covered dish luncheon following the service.

Bishop visitation and confirmation June 19, 2022(full size gallery)