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.
The Season after Epiphany is all about light. Jesus, the light of the world, continues to be revealed through scripture, son and our worship together. We, the disciples of Jesus, have the privilege of carrying the light that Jesus brings to our lives out into the world, not just during Epiphany, but year round.
In December, as part of sharing the Light, the Vestry sends money to various organizations. St Jude’s Hospital cares for children with cancer. Boy Scout Troop #304 is Tucker Fisher’s scout troop, and Chris Fisher is the scout master—the troop has several boys who lack financial resources, so our donation will help this scout troop thrive. Healthy Harvest Food Bank provides the food that we distribute for the Village Harvest each month. Virginia Theological Seminary trains people for ministry and is in the process of updating its buildings as well as its offerings, which have been broadened to include many offerings for lay people as well as those in the ordination process. Hunters for the Hungry processes the deer that are harvested each year and the meat is then donated to those in need. Our donation helps with the processing of the meat. Our donation to The Diocese of Virginia will help with diocesan outreach projects.
CERV helps with emergency financial needs of people at Caroline County. CERV thanked us with this note.
“Dear Members of St Peter’s Episcopal Church, Thank you so much for your very generous donation to CERVE. Your kindness is very much appreciated—by us at CERVE and especially by those in need. Your donation so $250 will help those in need, which is great when the weather is so cold. Thank you and may you have a very Merry Christmas. Gloria Bolecek”
Caroline Recovery, located in Bowling Green, VA, works with people in recovery from drug and alcohol addictions. They thanked St Peter’s with the following note.
“Dear Rev Hicks, We at Caroline Recovery Center are so very grateful for your donation of $250. This money will help families and individuals regain their lives and find meaning and purpose. Please feel free to come and visit us to see how we help people. Please let your congregation know we are grateful for the support of St Peter’s. Sincerely, Leslie Phillips, PRS, Laney Salton, PRS and Program Director, Don Majewski, PRS Executive director
The Vestry also gave a donation to the Endowment Fund in honor of Ben Hicks, and a donation to the Village Harvest in honor of me, and Ben and I are very grateful for these donations that will benefit the church and our outreach ministries.
In thanksgiving for Carey Connors’ first semester with us, the Vestry provided her with a gift. Here’s the note she sent for all of us.
Dear Catherine and the Community of St Peter’s,
Thank you so much for the lovely Christmas gift. It was incredibly generous and a wonderful surprise. As you might imagine, every penny is counted while in seminary and I will put it to good use. I am likewise so grateful for your friendship, kindness and generous support. You are truly God’s witness in my process of the goodness which awaits me in community. Peace and thanks, Carey
At the end of the year the congregation supported these causes
• ECM Thanksgiving – $510.00
• UTO – $882.70 (this is total for Spring and Fall)
• Giving Tuesday – $497.25
One of the threads that runs through 2019 is extending our reach and activities through the Port Royal Community and beyond.
You can see it in the Spanish Bible Study that started in Lent and continued through the year. Like most ministries there are mutual benefits. It allows the people in the congregation who speak or learning the language to converse with native Spanish speakers in a common language – scripture.
The children’s summer program was a multi-week program in the summer bringing children together from Port Royal and those from St. Peter’s to the Parish House for cooking, fellowship and Bible study. This was an extension of the one day program on Maundy Thursday which we have done for several years and also this year “Cooking with the Kids” in March.
We also walked with Shiloh Baptist in the MS Walk in May continuing the work done in 2018 to promote participation with our neighboring churches. The path took us around Port Royal twice and then around the village square – 3+ miles. It is a good cause which made over $880. There were 30-40 walkers including 7 from St. Peter’s.
We reached out to other churches with the Way of Beauty Retreat. To find what gives you harmony in your life, the moral condition of good, the things that are harmonious, blessed, good and satisfying are all part of living the way of beauty. The mindset of The Way of Beauty gave the Navajo people the strength to persevere and to survive the ordeal in the forced walk to Ft. Sumner in Arizona.
We created a “Blue Christmas Service” held on Dec. 22 for those not in Christmas spirit feeling sad, lonely, or depressed. We partnered with Connexion, choir from Colonial Beach to bring light in our midst with their music. They sang “Lully, Lulla, Lullay” and the “Seal Lullaby” while candles were lit on the altar.
We continued our relationship with Essex and the Baptist Church with “Hunters for the Hungry” which we have done for 5 years. The program is coordinated through the Baptist churches in Essex County. Hunters store the deer in a truck with Champlain. Johnny and Cookie Davis filled Caroline’s social service empty freezer with packaged meat and ground meat for burgers.
It is easy to forget the events we do monthly/weekly in this connection. We celebrated 5 years of the Village Harvest, our food ministry and continued the Village Dinners on the second Wednesday of the month as well as weekly Ecumenical Bible Study. Through funds collected through the Village Dinners and other events, the ECW was able to distribute $2,750 to charities at the end of the year.
We also furthered our relationship with the environment with the Season of Creation during September and the purchase of a new composter. The season focuses on the role of God as Creator and Jesus dwelling in nature as one of us to bring us abundant life. We had a procession of parishioners bringing up a part of nature to the altar. Catherine led Christian Ed during September to places in the world with a spiritual emphasis. Several sermons has the Season of Creation as their main focus.
The Souper Bowl collection on Feb. 3, 2019 was a success attracting $210 compared to $175 and $125 for the previous two collections. We have been involved in the program since 2012 and we have collected $1.3K during that time.
The Souper Bowl program in conjunction with the NBF focuses attention on the issues of hunger and poverty in our community and throughout the world. 149 million will tune into the big game but there are 50 million facing hunger.
The St Peter’s ECW cooked for the Episcopal Lutheran Campus Ministry in Fredericksburg on Tuesday, February 5. It is located at 820 College Avenue across from Trinity Episcopal and known as “The House.”
From Catherine Hicks -“We took dinner to The House, on College Avenue, and served chicken tenders wrapped in bacon, broad beans, mashed potatoes, rolls and chocolate eclair cake to hungry students who came to the dinner.”
“They talked with Megan Cotter from Micah Ecumenical Ministries. The students devised a plan for getting the word out to UMW students about ways they can help Micah’s service to the homeless in this area. Their short answer. “We’ll have a drive for furniture donations around move-out day”
The Rev David Casey is the Young Adult Missioner who heads up ministry for young adults (18-35) in our Region. (Top picture, right).
It was Helmut’s birthday party but it was also a time to celebrate Ecumenical Bible Study! Ecumenical Bible Study is a weekly event and for a survey as this easily missed because it is always there. The attendance can vary from 5 to 15 or more. They have met since at least 2002. While they frequently take a break in August they didn’t in 2019.
The readings follow the lectionary for the next Sunday. In addition they will periodically consider some thematic topics that tie in to the lectionary themes for that particular week.
“Love keeps Caroline couple together, even in senior rehab facility”
“Love has kept Fred and Crystal Pannell together for 60 years—and in recent weeks, so have the actions of some key medical people.
“The Pannells were born on the same day, one year apart, and she’s quick to point out that he’s the senior member of the couple. He’s 83, she’s 82.
Both were teachers in Chicago, dealing with different ends of the spectrum. He taught science to gifted students, and she was a vice principal in one of the toughest neighborhoods on the South Side. Her middle school bordered two gang territories.”
We provide a monetary donation from St. Peters to Hunters for the Hungry. St Peters has supported this project for more than five years.
From their website Hunters for the Hungry has distributed over 26.6 million quarter-pound servings of venison since their program began in 1991. Their goal for this year is to provide 280,000 pounds of venison to people in need in Virginia which will provide over a million servings.
Cookie and Johnny Davis went to Essex County on Feb 26, 2019 and picked up a truck load from Rev. Roy Foster, Pastor of Upper Essex Baptist Church.
They talked to Ann Tyree at social services and filled an empty freezer with packaged meat and ground meat for burgers. The Camden Hunt Club and St Peters both support the project.
Creating a Scene in Corinth:A Simulation explores 1st Corinthians through a book by Reta Halteman Finger which provides an introduction to the Greco-Roman setting of Corinth and a chapter-by-chapter survey of Paul’s letter and in turn leads to a simulation of a church.
The participants divide into four factions – those favoring Paul, Apollos, Peter, and the Christ group (1 Corinthians 1:12). A brief description of the background and nature of the groups gives the participants a sense of their role in the recreation. The characters represent a cross-section of Corinthian society: they include slaves and freeborn, widows and singles, and a number who have suffered deprivation and sexual abuse – much like typical society in that day.
Wednesday, March 13 was the Quiet Day retreat at Roslyn in Richmond. We had 6 people participate. Half of those had to get back to St. Peter’s for the Village Dinner.
Like Ecumenical Bible Study, the Village Dinner is easily omitted in a survey such as this because of its frequency – monthly. It did move from the first Wednesday of the month to the second in 2019.
They are served at the church and also are packaged to go. They also provide home-cooked dinners to parishioners under medical care and have organized a casserole ministry.
The experimental Spanish Bible study for Lent began March 15 from 6pm-8pm and was weekly on Fridays in Lent. We had support from Virginia Theological Theological with videos and written documents.
We had 4 Spanish speakers (two from Mexico, two from Guatemala) and 6 English on the first Friday. It started with a snack supper at 6pm. . There were up to 10 people attending. In the Lent portion there was Spanish video sermon on the lectionary and discussion afterwards.
The offering was during Lent and then was continued monthly until September.
Elizabeth and Jim Heimbach and Catherine Hicks held a cooking class for a few children in the parish house kitchen. Anya, Amya, 8 year old twins, and their brother. Dae’Vionn, age 11, sliced vegetables and prepared a small salad with the help of Elizabeth.
Catherine helped the children make brownies and crescent rolls. Jim showed each child how to crack eggs open and helped each person prepare his or her own omelet. Raoul and Claudia Villa also joined in on the cooking adventure. After cooking all of the food, everyone ate. And then, we all cleaned up the dishes and the kitchen.
The sermon blended our new composter into the sermon on the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree from Luke 13. Catherine gave out compostable paper for people to write “something that you want Jesus to compost for you. ”
The takeaway – “Jesus serves as our gardener. But being the good gardener that he is, Jesus wants to take the time to compost the manure in our lives into the manure can become the fertilizer we that we need to bear good fruit.
“I propose then, that instead of wallowing in the manure of our lives, or just blowing off the wrongs we’ve done, or trying to hide them from ourselves and others, and even from God, that we turn the manure in our lives over to Jesus for composting. Jesus will take your manure, and being the good gardener that he is, will compost it, and put it around your roots, so that you can bear good fruit.
“Offer up this manure up to Jesus for transformation.”
Five people gathered on the last Wednesday in March for the first Way of Love breakfast at St Peter’s. As you can see in the picture a number of vultures (about 30) were also interested in the subject (or just maybe the breakfast!).
The Way of Love came from a July 5, 2018 sermon by Presiding Bishop Michael /Curry to General Convention meeting in Austin, Tx introduced the “Way of Love”, spiritual practices to “help our church to go deeper as the Jesus Movement, not just in word, but not just in deed, either, but for real. How do we help our folk to throw themselves into the arms of Jesus.” There are 7 practices – Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, Rest.
After enjoying a leisurely breakfast together, we worshiped and then talked about the purpose of meeting as a small group for the next nine months. We talked about rules of life working like trellises in our lives, providing structure and shape for the spiritual growing that we hope to do as individuals and for the work of God in this church. The hope is to deepen our relationships with God and with one another.
About a dozen hearty souls teamed up with Johnny Davis to beautify the yards for spring and Easter. The Campbell magnolia was out in full bloom. The work day lasted all morning but Johnny and others continued until 4:30pm.
They were able to mulch, pull weeds, power wash the memorial garden, graves, parish house and fill in places along the drive way among other projects.
Mary Peterman (artist, flutist, singer) not only created 14 watercolors depicting the Stations of the Cross but also included the relevant verses. This was a wonderful addition for Good Friday. Thank you!
From Palm Sunday to Easter, 2019 we held 5 services. The services varied as well as mood – Psalm Sunday with the procession, the darkness and shadows of Tenebrae, the communal footwashing of Maundy Thursday, the musical meditation and tapers of Good Friday and then the wonderful attendance of Easter day. We also participated in the Port Royal Sunrise service on Sunday morning. Yes, we did walk with Jesus in his suffering and hardships and then sharing and proclaiming the resurrection.
St. Peter’s was invited to walk with Shiloh in this year’s MS Walk in Port Royal. The event is named after Laura Dobbins who passed away after enduring 25 years of multiple sclerosis. The National Multiple Sclerosis defines the disease -“Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. The cause of MS is still unknown. Scientists believe that a combination of environmental and genetic factors contribute to the risk of developing MS.
Walking at Shiloh were Cookie and Johnny Davis, Nancy Long, Helmut Linne von Berg, Catherine and Ben Hicks. Elizabeth Heimbach provided refreshments at the half way point at St. Peter’s. The path took us around Port Royal twice and then around the village square – 3+ miles.
At the Easter sunrise service in 2018 we pledged closer relations among all 3 Port Royal churches. A year ago we had a security seminar at the Fire Hall. We have marched with Shiloh for the MS Walk in that year and now 2019.
Wed., May 15, 2019 on a gorgeous spring day. On St. Peter’s 183rd birthday – a full house for Bible Study at 10am showing off 3 cakes for the Village Harvest and then the Village Harvest later that day at 3pm. Eunice made a pineapple upside cake, Cherry angel food and Brad contributed a pound cake.
At the harvest, 146 were fed with 1,192 pounds of food – produce, groceries, meats and those birthday cakes! 146 was our best draw in a year. We have fed 593 this year close to last year at this point at 601 though under 2017 with 692.
Clients received an average of 8 pounds of food worth approximately $49. The year it has been higher at 12.75 pounds just behind last year in May at 13.67 pounds.
Thanks to Andrea Pogue’s work on Shred-it today May 18, 2019, we earned $390, the largest tally in 8 years. The funds go to St. Peter’s outreach ministries. It covers well over a month of the Village Harvest.
A storm ripped through Port Royal, west to east destroying some of Robert Bryan’s trees on May 31, 2019 and moving across St. Peter’s property. St. Peter’s lost a dogwood in the front yard, a branch off the pear tree and a large 40′ pine on the border to an adjacent property. There were also larger branches on top of the sacristy.
Thanks to Johnny and Cookie Davis for cleaning up the mess. They took two truck loads on June 3 and Cookie estimates it will take too more. Johnny is the Junior Warden, a position traditionally tasked with the building.
We encouraged parishioners to host a prayer service at your house or the Parish House during the Thy Kingdom Come.
We held one on Friday June 7 -“A Cup of Tea and an Hour of Prayer” with Cookie and Catherine,11am until noon at Cookie’s home.
Eleven people gathered at the home of Cookie and Johnny Davis to enjoy a time of fellowship and to pray together. After the group enjoyed cups of tea and goodies prepared by Cookie, Marilyn Newman led us in prayer accompanied by harp music, and then we prayed by following a finger labyrinth to the music of the harp. Then the group prayed together for a number of people who are dealing with various troubling issues. The time of prayer ended with thanksgiving and The Lord’s Prayer.
June 16, Trinity Sunday, was a busy Sunday!. It was Bishop Ihlof’s Visitation with the reception of two people into the church (Morgan Key, John Hess), the conclusion of our study of First Corinthians with an Agape Meal, Trinity Sunday and Father’s day.
At 10am we experienced an agape meal with Bishop Ihloff playing Paul in our “home church” in Corinth, concluding our 2 month study of First Corinthians. We had 10 people in attendance. The videos and pictures are here
The agape meal is known as a Lovefeast and was originally part of the Eucharist in the early church but split off by 250AD. These foods are typical of the food that would have been eaten by the Corinthians -Grapes, dried fruit of various sorts, dates, olives, green peas and basil, hummus, pita bread, lentils, mint, goat cheese].
Questions for “Paul” were prepared prior to the meal:
1. Please speak on the necessity of taking care of those less fortunate than us
2. How do we promote joy in the midst of hardship?
3. How do we handle division with the issue of the Resurrection ?
St. Peter’s was the scene of the Historic Port Royal July 4, 2019 observation.
Many parishioners were involved. Cookie Davis, the President of Historic Port Royal opened the event. Nancy Long and Thom Guthrie helped with the music, Mike read the Declaration, Marilyn presented 2 harpists. Johnny Davis along Charles McGuire, Eunice Key, Andrea Pogue sold concessions.
The videos show many of the above events. You can see part of what we saw and experienced.
The summer program occurred throughout June and July, 2019. The last children’s summer program was held on July 31. The Bible story used was the “Feeding of the 5,000.” The 16 children present made little pizzas and enjoyed ice cream (and toppings) on them.
The Davis and Fisher families participated in gleaning on Aug 6 in Westmoreland County. We had a special guest Congressman Rob Wittman U.S. Representative for Virginia’s 1st congressional district.
“When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.” Deuteronomy 24:19
Our main source for fresh vegetables for the Village Harvest food distribution (3rd Wed of each month, 3pm-5pm) is the Healthy Harvest Food Bank in Warsaw whose market area includes six counties of Essex, Lancaster, Middlesex, Northumberland, Richmond and Westmoreland, including Colonial Beach. Although we are not in that market area, they allow us to purchase food from them. Johnny and Cookie Davis are responsible for developing and continuing that relationship. Both of them drive monthly to pick up the vegetables early in the morning to be ready for the distribution later in the day
This was our first separate backpack service, a chance for a more informal service in the late afternoon before school begins the next day. We had one family with 4 eager children ready to go back to school. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon with mild temperatures for Aug. 11
Everyone showed off their new backpacks with all the gear. The service was a shortened communion service with a reading from Deuteronomy, Chapter 6, Verses 4-8 and Luke Chapter 2, Verses 41-52, Jesus as a student
Ladies Night Out was conceived in 2003 by Tom Mahoney, originally with the men cooking for the women in our parish house on a weekend evening. It was held as a social event honoring the ladies of the church.
It also has been a fund raiser for Church projects that Bill Wick noted in 2014 had raised $6,000. We have added games (newlywed game in 2012,a murder mystery in 2013, a game show Jeopardy in 2014,) and had gone offsite (My Fair Lady 2016 at the Riverside).
We were back at the Riverside for Rogers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific in 2019. Jim Heimbach and Ken Pogue of the Episcopal Church Men organize 25+ people to go on Aug 23.
The musical which has just celebrated its 70th anniversary opens on a South Pacific island, during World War II, where a naive young Navy nurse from Arkansas becomes romantically involved with Emile de Becque, a French plantation owner. A second love story ensues between an American lieutenant and a native girl.
We rang St. Peter’s bells on Sun., Aug 25, 2019 at 3pm for one minute as part of remembrance of the 20 slaves brought to Va. Thanks to Jim and Elizabeth for doing the bell ringing. The bell is in the gallery with the front of the church in the distance showing the altar piece we restored in 2016.
Governor George Yeardley and his head of trade bought the “20. and odd Negroes” aboard in exchange for “victuals” — meaning, they traded food for slaves.
For the third year we have substituted lectionary readings and other events for the month of September to celebrate God as creator of nature and the Word, Jesus. Jesus is the source of truth and understanding of God’s will and dwells in nature as one of us to bring us abundant life. The Holy Spirit is the energy behind nature.
The first week we had a procession of objects from nature.
In Christian Ed, Catherine took Christian ed participants on a whirlwind tour to sacred places in Jerusalem,
The Rev. Deacon Carey Connors is a Deacon in the Diocese of Virginia and is currently in the process for ordination to the priesthood and is in her second year at Virginia Theological Seminary. Carey will be at St Peter’s for this school year as a seminarian. Carey brings many years of experience to our congregation. During her time as a deacon at St George’s in Fredericksburg, Carey was instrumental in starting The Table, a market style food distribution that is open every Tuesday to those in need in the Fredericksburg area. She also worked at empowering youth and women at St. George’s At St Peter’s, Carey will spend time in conversation with Catherine and with a lay committee whose members include Cookie and Johnny Davis and Helmut Linne von Berg. She will be assisting on two Sundays a month and preaching periodically as she learns about life at St Peter’s.
The location has varied over the years but the format is similar – singing favorite gospel hymns on various instruments with food either before or after. It has always been sometime in September just before the fall coolness arrives. This year it was at the Heimbach house for the second year and attracted 35, double the number from the preceding year.
This was part of the article in the Oct. newsletter and featured 30 pieces of art in the church and parish house. Unlike an art gallery, they are not organized as a collection don’t have labels attached.
God, the master artist, is always creating anew throughout the year, and the beauty of God’s earth is apparent everywhere on the grounds of St Peter’s. The church itself, which has been lovingly maintained since its opening in 1836, is a stately addition to the earlier colonial buildings in Port Royal.
St. Francis day is Oct. 4 but due to a prior commitment we did it on Oct. 2
The day was unseasonably hot 97% in Fredericksburg at noon. Thus we had only two pets due to the heat. However, that meant more mouse cookies for those present
Despite the weather, the fall colors were present in our sycamore trees.
This was our 8th yearly concert since 2013! And it was our largest group – 23 singers and director. We had 50 people who came to the show.
PhilHarmonia opened its 7th Season with “Music, She Wrote” – a concert celebrating works by women composers through the ages. The concert included traditional pieces for choir with that lush sound as well as pieces with extreme dissonance, foot stomping and soaring pitches. They have a special affinity for performing pieces that tackle social justice issues including racism, and LGBT. There was energy on all their pieces, evident in their delivery.
The Way of Beauty Retreat took place at St Peter’s on Saturday, November 9. Carol Maher, the founder of Many Waters Ministries, led the retreat for a group of fifteen people from St Peter’s and from St Mary’s in Colonial Beach
After we spent some time in prayer, listening to God, we made collages that reflected what we feel most passionately about in our lives, what means the most to us, what inspires us, where we go for refreshment and peace.
A dozen ladies gathered at Cookie Davis house to celebrate the year almost past, to decide on how to use the monies they collected in terms of donations and to enjoy the day with tea and other foods. They also made tags for the Giving Tree which will debut on Nov. 24.
Donations of $250 each or $2,750 in total to 11 groups:
Healthy harvest food Bank
Village harvest food distribution
Tunnels and towers
Heifer international
The discretionary fund
Wounded warriors
Saint Andrews school
Caroline’s promise
five talents
Episcopal relief and development
Caroline young life
On Nov. 19, 2014 we attracted 60 clients and gave out 300 pounds that day.
5 years later in 2019 we are averaging almost twice that number at 112 and 4 times are much food. I have called it “Give a Little, Gain a Lot.”
5 years later we have served over 6,800 clients over 64,500 pounds of food. This year the average pounds of food per person is over 12 which at $6 a pound is worth $72 It is clearly one of our more visible and valuable outreach expressions from our church. We are called to do like Jesus – and he fed people both physically and spiritually. Witness the stories of the Feeding of the 4,000 and 5,000.
The Episcopal Church Men (ECM) delivered Thanksgiving to 10 families this week (7 are single).
For Christmas we had the “Giving Tree” which was titled “St Peter’s Christmas Tree Family”. Tags were up by Nov. 24, and gifts returned by Dec. 8. This was a project between the church and Caroline County Department of Social Services. The tree will have gift tags on it describing the gifts needed by the family that we will be assigned.
This event in its 15th year is a combination of a pizza dinner, raffle, and a visit with Santa plus gifts provided after the visit. It is also a cooperative event between 3 churches, Parks and Rec., Town of Port Royal, the merchants, Caroline’s Promise and the Fire Department – and, of course, Santa. St. Peter’s provided the pizza and helped serve it. The children are the real stars.
Sat’s choir retreat has been an annual event for several years, at least since 2012. It is a combination of a separate practice away from the demands of Sunday to concentrate on the Christmas music as well as an opportunity to prepare a meal and enjoy each other’s company.
The choir ran over the Christmas music and enjoyed a lunch of crab quiche, bread, salad and and pie. In an earlier life, Brad was a chef in Washington which shows in the luncheon portion of the Choir retreat.
This is not a Christmas party but a Christmas experience. In every room in the Everett household you are surrounded by Christmas. It is challenging just to see everything. And their collection is still expanding! The family pitches by starting the decorating in early November to be ready.
There were at least 40+ people. The 2018 event was snowed out – well Cherry said there were about 20 hearty souls.
The first of a series upgrades – a new roof during the week of Dec. 16, 2019. Later the outside will be renovated as well as the inside. The work on the roof was donated.
In 1965, Rector Fall reconstructed the old outdoor kitchen behind the Rectory and converted it into a one-room structure with wood-stove piped into the chimney. This became the art studio of Mrs. Fall and is now our nursery building. Originally there was a shed there.
The play takes place with the Trinity, God, Son, Holy Spirit looking down at the world. God sees the world as beautiful but the Holy Spirit laments “I’m having trouble getting through to people. They are barely able to catch their breaths, much less breathe deeply enough to take me in.” Jesus adds “And their hearts have turned to stone, impervious to love. They are busy hating on each other.” God adds his response – “They seem so distant and lost from us, and they’ve made a mess of our good creation “But….many people are praying for rescue. Holy Spirit: “I’ve noticed too, as I blow where I will on the earth, that not all hearts have turned to stone. Take Mary, for instance. What a kind heart she has, overflowing with love.”
All three say together: “We will become one of them so that they can find their way back to us. ” The Christmas story is told with Gabriel, Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the three Wisemen and Herod.
We advertised it this way -“the Christmas Season a time when you feel sad, lonely, or depressed? We invite you to join us at this service to acknowledge these feelings and share in a time of reflection on the pain, sadness, or loneliness you may feel. We pray that you will find hope and comfort in knowing that you are not alone with this service.”
The setting of the service at 4:30pm at the winter solstice echoed the darkness of people’s lives. In contrast to this the candles in the windows and the altar candles provided an alternative setting.
We invited Connexion Chamber Choir to participate in this service. The highlight of the service was the section of “Lighting of candles” which included “Lully, Lulla, Lullay” and the “Seal Lullaby”. It was very ethereal especially when the descant came in. People came forward lit a candle and placed it in the pot remembering people we may have lost, a longing not fulfilled a particular hope.
A beautiful day to have a service! Moderate temperatures in the low 50’s with abundant sunshine. The outside views of the church were spectacular.
We had 52 at the service. A surprise was that both Fred and Crystal Pannell were able to make it to the service. In fact Catherine paused the service to welcome Fred who had not been able to get to the service in several years.
This year there were fewer instrumentalists as in 2018. The choir presented Carol of the Bells and Venite Adoramus, Gesu Bambino. However, there was a new women’s ensemble from the choir and others (Nancy, Denise, Mary and Catherine) who call themselves “St Peter’s Soli Deo Gloria Women’s Ensemble”. They have been practicing the music of John Rutter and performed “What sweeter music” at the offertory.
Thanks to Andrea Pogue’s work on Shred-it today May 18, 2019, we earned $390, the largest tally in 8 years. The funds go to St. Peter’s outreach ministries. It covers over a month of the Village Harvest.
Andrea originated it and has developed it over the period. It is a not only a convenient way to dispose of sensitive, private documents but we find it is a great fellowship event attracting all ages, particularly with all the food Andrea brings to the event! The weather was seasonable but in the sun the temperature rose. The watermelon and popsicles she brought his the spot! Thanks to all who contributed and for Andrea’s leadership.
Wed., May 15, 2019 on a gorgeous spring day. On St. Peter’s 183rd birthday – there was a full house for Bible Study at 10am showing off 3 cakes for the Village Harvest and then the Village Harvest later that day at 3pm. Eunice made a pineapple upside cake, Cherry angel food and Brad contributed a pound cake.
At the harvest, 146 were fed with 1,192 pounds of food – produce, groceries, meats and those birthday cakes! 146 was our best draw in a year
2. Shred-It – May 18, 2019
Thanks to Andrea Pogue’s work on Shred-it today May 18, 2019, we earned $390, the largest tally in 8 years. The funds go to St. Peter’s outreach ministries. It covers over a month of the Village Harvest.
Andrea originated it and has developed it over the period
Sunday, May 19 we had 38 under sunny skies. However the weather was noticeably warmer hitting the high 80’s today compared to unseasonably cooler weather in the last two weeks.
The Collins were here. Jennifer has completed one year of theological studies at Vanderbilt. She has one more year. We also recognized Sally from St. Paul’s King George and a friend from Colorado. Sally is now in Deacon’s school
We celebrated Bill Wick’s birthday today as well.
Catherine leaves today for 10 days in Ireland with her middle daughter. Helmut will preaching next Sunday. There will not be Adult education on Corinthians next Sunday nor a 9am service.
Today’s readings picture the love and encouragement to be found in Christian community. In Acts, Gentiles receive God’s word and the Holy Spirit just as the Jews do. John, in his Revelation, celebrates God’s final descent into our world to bring salvation and a restored world order. In the gospel, Jesus gives us a new command—love one another; by obeying Jesus, we show our discipleship.
Acts 11:1-18
Peter is such a reassuring figure to those of us who know only too well how flawed we are. Sometimes he’s a bit slow on the uptake. Sometimes he puts his foot in it. But there are times when he so wonderfully and courageously gets things right. The latter is on eof those times
As the story unfolds, Peter reveals that it took him three attempts to ‘get’ what God was trying to tell him and he recounts how it was through promptings from heaven (v.5) through the Spirit (v.12) and an angel (v.13) that he eventually understood what God was saying. And Peter compared that moment to the one he and the other disciples had experienced on the day of Pentecost when, gathered in that upstairs room, they found all they had known being completely shaken up, stirred and turned upside down, by the Spirit of God who was and is and is to come. Here Peter’s courage, as he speaks to these early Christians, is mind-blowing. But it is not Peter who is the hero of what happens this day. God is. God is the one who takes away all the prejudices and barriers that try to divide people into those who ‘belong’ and those who are ‘outsiders’.
Peter defends his unprecedented decision to baptize the Gentile Cornelius to critics who reflected the early Christian opinion that Jesus was for the Jews alone, and that faith must be accompanied by a strict adherence to the Jewish law.
Peter explains the baptism as a God-inspired act. God led Peter to recognize that the believing Gentiles’ were included in the kingdom because God granted them the same gifts of the Spirit that the Jewish believers had received (2:1-11). To withhold baptism would have been to oppose God. With this bold act, the Church understood that God’s impartiality demands the unity of Jews and Gentiles in the life of Christ.
Psalm 148
Psalm 148 summons all creation to praise God. First from the heavens–by angels, sun, moon, stars and celestial waters—and then from the earth—by sea monsters, seas, weather, rocks, trees, animals and people–the praises of God resound.
This final section of the book of the Psalms (146-150) sees those Psalms linked to each other by three words: ‘Praise the Lord’. Psalm 148 calls for that praise to be given to God from the heavenly realm (vs.1-6) and then from the earthly (vs.7-8). Even inanimate objects are to join in God’s praise and within that whole, humanity is included. We are no different from the rest of God’s creation. We too are a part of it and our voice is to be found in tandem with all God has made. It is alongside the whole of God’s creation, that God is to be praised for God’s work in c
Revelation 21:1-6
Once the first creation has disappeared and the wicked have been driven off to punishment, all that remains is to wonder at God’s eternal magnificence, reflected in the new creation. Because of its association with brutal storms, raging waters and myths of primeval chaos, the sea no longer exists. Such violence is not compatible with the peace of the world to come.
God then provides a new Jerusalem—a holy city because God dwells in it–that suggests the intimate union of God with the chosen people. “The home of God among mortals” fulfills God’s promise to “be with us” (Exodus 3:12) and Jesus’ assurance that “I will be with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
It is a city that descends from God: a city where a myriad of God’s people dwell as God’s people. Think… relationships. Of Community. It is also worth bearing in mind that while the talk has tended to be of being taken up into heaven at the final call, here we find God coming to the people yet again – and it’s in the coming that salvation lies. It’s not the city that saves: it’s God and the tears God wipes from every eye are all the tears that have ever been shed. We carry tiny glimpses of that new Jerusalem within us when we live out the costly, selfless kind of love we hear Jesus calling us to, in the next portion of Scripture; in John 13
John 13:31-35
For John, “glory” means a visible revelation of God’s presence and holiness. Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection manifests God’s glory in the fullest sense. The cross is not a humiliation but a glorification and the revelation of God’s plan for salvation.
The love commandment is new, not as a commandment, but in that Jesus’ love becomes the model for all love and the basic obligation of the new covenant. God’s unconditional love has been revealed in a new way in Jesus. Jesus is more than the standard for Christian love; he is its source. His love is both affective and effective, bonding the Christian community and bringing salvation.
Love is not a warm fuzzy feeling. It’s what you do. Right after Judas has left the room to betray his Lord, Jesus turns to those around Him, to tell them what love is – and love He tells them, is about doing mundane tasks for another and it is also about taking the risk to do something utterly unselfish and heroic for the other. When Jesus could have been forgiven for being a just a little preoccupied with what was about to happen, He chooses to tell the disciples of His love for them. It is a love Jesus will show them when it pins Him to a cross and then refuses to let death have the last word.
“I am with you only a little longer.” Jesus breaks this hard news to his friends at the Last Supper. When we love someone deeply, words such as this come with heartbreaking poignancy. “No!” we want to shout in reply. “Don’t go!” It was clearly too soon for him to leave.
But such an argument mistakes the end of a scene for the conclusion of the play. Jesus opens a new scene as he continues, “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” Just as we cherish a picture of someone dear who has died, so we reverence this teaching. If Jesus’ presence is to lighten this crazy, chaotic, death-filled world, it’s up to us.
One more Sunday rainy day. This one picked by the end of the service and was on the cool side considering we are close to the middle of May.
Today was both Mother’s Day and Good Shepherd Sunday from John 10 – “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.” It colored the hymns, anthem and sermon:
From the sermon – “Many of us choose the way we should go through life in a sort of willy-nilly way. Listening for the shepherd’s voice is essential in choosing the right pathways through our lives… If we are listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd, and we are in his flock, then what we find following us is goodness and mercy instead of want, exhaustion, meaninglessness, and fear.
First Corinthians continued with the passage from Chapter 12 on the many members of the body and the unique gifts of all. Paul was trying to create unity in the house churches of Corinth
We celebrated Karen’s birthday, the Long 36th wedding anniversary and welcomed the most of the Long family to St. Peter’s. Laura came from California.
During the announcements Catherine highlighted the 183rd anniversary of the church this Wed and the Village Harvest that day. We have 3 cakes being made from the congregation.
Next Sat is Shred-It, the 8th year. The donations of $5+ a box help pay for the truck and also provide a donation to the outreach ministries.
Today’s readings explore the image of God as a caring Shepherd. In Acts, the apostles’ preaching and miracles bring many Gentiles to believe and follow. John, in his Revelation, describes a great multitude worshiping God, who plans to care for them tenderly for all eternity. In today’s gospel, Jesus pictures his relationship to the faithful as that of a shepherd who works for the life of the sheep.
Acts 9:36-43
One of the purposes of the book of Acts was to explain to Gentile converts how their new religion started within Judaism, but soon reached beyond its roots to embrace strangers. This passage gives details about the human passions and divine providence behind that change.
One of the most pressing questions in the early church was what to make of the break between Judaism and Christianity. The earliest Christians had seen Jesus as the fulfillment of their own ancient Jewish hopes. Why, then, were he and they rejected by mainstream Judaism? One could argue that Christians’ openness to the Gentiles was both cause and effect of their rupture with Judaism. That’s strongly suggested by today’s first reading. One of the purposes of Acts is to explain this to Gentile converts, and to explain to them the Jewish background of their new religion
In this section, which is devoted to how the Gospel is received and acted upon in Judea and Samaria, we have a collection of stories about Peter’s ministry in Palestine. There is a rationale for this collection presented in 9:31: “The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the holy Spirit it grew in numbers.” There is also another purpose for Luke, and that is to show Peter as active in the same manner that Jesus was active.
Joppa is the present Jaifa, some 15 kilometres from Lydda, and the name ‘Dorcas’ is the Greek translation of ‘Tabitha’ and means ‘gazelle’. Had the disciples sent for Peter so he could join them in mourning Tabitha? Did they imagine Peter would be able to ‘do something’ for Tabitha
The story of Tabitha’s restoration to the community is reminiscent of the resuscitation of Jairus’s daughter by Jesus (Luke 8:49-56). Luke, the author of Acts, is demonstrating that the disciples now carry on the healing work of Jesus.
Peter repeats Jesus’ actions: responding to the request for help, sending the crowd out of the room and speaking to the dead woman. The only difference is that Peter pauses to kneel and pray, thereby illustrating that the authority to raise the dead is not his own like it was Jesus’, but is an extension of the presence of Christ.
When Peter arrives, the women are wearing the clothing Tabitha had given them while she was alive. She was always doing good and helping people who were poor and she is identified in the text as a disciple. Peter orders everyone out of the room, presumably because he does not want the miracle which is about to take place to be treated as a spectacle. ‘Tabitha, get up’, has echoes of what Jesus said to the young girl, ‘Talitha cum’ (Mark 5:41) and some scholars have wondered if this is the same story sometimes attributed to Jesus and sometimes to Peter.
In his commentary Acts: The Gospel of the Spirit, Justo L Gonzalez notes Luke often links a story about a man with a story about a woman. Gonzalez also points out Peter remained in Joppa with Simon, a tanner, an occupation considered unclean by many Jews because it involved working with the skin of dead animals and in the following chapter we learn of Peter’s extraordinary vision of unclean animals in Simon’s house (Acts 10: 9-23.
Psalm 23
This psalm is probably the most familiar and popular psalm of all. It celebrates God’s loving care for us under the guise of a good shepherd who provides food, security and protection from all dangers. God guides us on our journey through life so that we might “dwell in the house of the lord.”
It is a song of hope and strength in times of darkness and doubt, death and fear. We know that God provides for us and gives us strength and refuge in times of trouble. We know that with God, we are not alone, and even in death we have nothing to be afraid of, for God is right beside us. God will be with us throughout our lives. We recite this psalm at funerals and in times when we need reminders the most that we are not alone, even if we feel alone, we know that surely goodness and mercy will cover us. We know that we will dwell with God forever, even if we can’t feel it now.
Verses
1. The Lord is my shepherd: The prophets (Isaiah 40:11; Jeremiah 23:1-6; Ezekiel 34) use the image of Yahweh as the shepherd of his people.
In the ancient Near East, the king was seen as shepherd (vv. 1-4) and as host (vv. 5-6).
2-4: The singer uses the imagery of the shepherd’s care for his/her flock to describe Yahweh’s care for his flock.
God faithfully provides for his sheep, and constantly cares for them. He revives our very lives (“soul”, v. 3), and guides us in godly ways (“right paths”). Even when beset by evil (“darkest valley”, v. 4), we have nothing to fear. God’s “rod” (a defense against wolves and lions) protects us; his “staff” (v. 4, for rescuing sheep from thickets) guides us.
5. The singer describes his acceptance in the Temple, where he is fed with heavenly food and drink, and anointed with holy oil.The feast (v. 5) is even more impressive, for it is in the presence of his foes. Kings were plenteously anointed with oil (a symbol of power and dedication to a holy purpose).
6. Yahweh’s care and protection will continue throughout the life of the singer. He will dwell in the Temple.May God’s “goodness and mercy” (v. 6, steadfast love) follow (or pursue) him (as do his enemies) throughout his life. He will continue to worship (“dwell …”) in the Temple as long as he lives.
Revelation 7:9-17
Before the opening of the seventh seal, John sees a vision of the assured victory of God and God’s people. The innumerability and ethnic diversity of “the great multitude,” in contrast to the 144,000 from the 12 Jewish tribes, suggests the catholicity of the Church. The white robes of the redeemed are a sign of purity and righteousness, recalling the white robe put on the newly baptized.
Those who have “come out of the great ordeal” have survived the test of conflicting loyalties. The destiny of the redeemed weaves together a skein of images from the Old Testament: unending worship of God, shelter in God’s presence, the satisfaction of hunger and thirst, protection, the provision of water, God as shepherd and the end of all sorrow.
John 10:22-30
Not for the first time a dispute had broken out between Jesus and the religious authorities. At first it centers on the healing of a blind man, but soon the debate is about which of them has the authority to speak and act for God.
The Sadducees controlled the temple with its God-given feasts, ceremonies and rituals, while Pharisees controlled the synagogues, where attention was focused on obedience to the law and keeping the commandments.
If Sadducees and Pharisees both felt they had legitimate claims to be the shepherd of God’s people and speak for God, evidently both resented the upstart from Galilee with His claim to be THE good shepherd of God’s way, God’s truth and God’s life.
The incident in the Gospel takes place in the portico of Solomon, on the east side of the temple – shielded from the cold prevailing winds. The Festival of Dedication takes place in December, which we know as Hanukkah, a remembrance of the relighting of the temple lights following the defeat of the Seleucid kings and the rededication of the Temple to the exclusive worship of God. Such a setting would put the reader in mind of an earlier messiah – namely the Maccabees, who saved the Jews from the cruelties of the Hellenistic overlords.
Thus the question comes up, “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus evades the implications of their question (cf. John 8:25) and is concerned with their having a correct view of who and what he was. He replies quite frankly that he has told them and they don’t believe.
Although Jesus has given many hints about his identity he has only explicitly revealed himself as the Messiah to the Samaritan woman (4:26) and to the man born blind (9:37). To the rest, he provides evidence and waits for them to draw their own faith conclusions.
Jesus seeks to have them know his true purpose. In a few short sentences, Jesus describes our relationship to him and his relationship to his Father. We’re united with Jesus because we heed his word, as he is united with the Father because he does the Father’s will.
Earlier in his Good Shepherd discourse, Jesus focused on the role of the door and of the shepherd; now he develops the role of the sheep. In John 10:22-30, Jesus refers to those who know him as his sheep (at the beginning of chapter 10 he refers to himself as the Good Shepherd). The sheep know the voice of the shepherd. Each shepherd has a distinctive call that his own sheep recognize, and that makes possible the separation of herds after a night of sharing a common sheepfold.
Those that follow God follow the Shepherd, for God and the Shepherd are one (vs. 30). It is all about relationship (my sheep hear my voice – I give them eternal life.) Jesus as a shepherd caring for his own flock provides more than green pasture and still waters
The sheep trust the shepherd. We who follow Jesus trust Jesus. We trust his voice, and we believe because we trust. It’s less a question of doubts verses faith as it is a question of trust verses mistrust. We may have doubts and questions about faith, but if we trust in Jesus, we still have faith. It is when we do not trust that we have lost. Trust leads to faith, and what Jesus calls us to do is to know his voice.
Our Good Shepherd guides us through the heights and depths of life, even during the most difficult times when we feel we are alone and abandoned, even when we feel the absence of God. This is the voice we trust in life and in death, through the valley of darkness and the shadow, when it seems there is no hope, we know Jesus’ voice. We trust the words of Jesus, who leads us into new life, everlasting life, that begins now.
Some people are unresponsive, not because Jesus has not done the works of a shepherd, but because they are not of the flock; they are willfully blind. The statement made about Jesus in verse 28 is then made in verse 29 about the Father: their sheep are safe.
Jesus sums up by affirming that he and his Father are one. John describes their unity in actions, in teaching and in knowledge. Jesus’ unity with the Father also lies in the essence of his divine identity, which John makes clear, particularly through the “I am” statements (6:20; 8:24; 8:28, 58; 13:19; 18:5) that echo the sacred name of God from Exodus 3:14.
The final comment, “The Father and I are one” is the last straw. In the verse following our passage, the Jews pick up stones with which to stone him. The symbols in this passage are telling: Light, Rededication, Protection, Revelation, The Shepherd and the Sheep, and Unity.
Shred-It is scheduled on May 18, 2019 11am-1pm. This is the 8th year and the first to be scheduled on a weekend. We are hoping to attract many more people. Your donations make this event possible.
Last May we collected $325 or approximately 65 boxes in May, 2018. After paying Shred-it $225 for the truck we made $100 for St. Peter’s Outreach ministries.
Why support Shred-It?
1. For You – You are able to dispose of sensitive documents safely and securely freeing up needed space at home or work. Check your old folders and envelopes containing pay stubs, tax records, bank statements and receipts that have amassed over time. An eye sore is eliminated!
2. For the Environment – one less document in a landfill. A majority of the US still sends their trash to the dump. Harmful chemicals and greenhouse gases are released from rubbish in landfill sites. Recycling helps to reduce the pollution caused by waste.
3. For the Church – The funds we earn less the cost of the Shred-it truck helps our outreach ministries, such as the Village Harvest food distribution.
And we have a good time doing it! It’s fun to watch the Shred-It truck do its job. It’s a great fellowship event visiting with neighbors.
Shred-it 2018 happened under a beautiful spring day with abundant sunshine. The temperature was warm hitting 90 degrees but the humidity was not oppressive. The sycamore was out on the side along with Iris. The Rappahannock River was deep blue
Andrea Pogue set up shop with drinks and this year a beanbag game.
We collected $325, about 65 boxes and after paying Shred-It $225 the fund raiser cleared $100 for St. Peter’s outreach ministries. This was less than in 2017 with over 100 boxes for $560. After paying for the truck, we made $335 that year for St. Peter’s outreach ministries.
The Community Dinner which was well attended featured a marinated chicken, macaroni, salad, bread and ice cream and cake at the end.
As the sycamore and Iris came out this week, we are reminded this is Rogation Sunday. We are in the "Named Sundays" which come at this time of year – commemorating agriculture, the Ascension, Pentecost and Trinity Sunday. They are four feasts of great importance in the life of the Church.
Rogation is an old celebration. While it goes back to Rome, the Christian festival is based on decided events – calamities when events overtake the main means of production – agriculture. In 470 that was in Vienne, France after a series of disasters had caused much suffering among the people. The Goths invaded Gaul. There was an enormous amount of disease; there were fires; there were earthquakes; there were attacks of wild animals.
Today it is time set aside to appreciate and recognize our dependence upon the land for our food and most importantly upon our dependence of God for the miracles of sprouting seeds, growing plants, and maturing harvest. It takes on an environmental focus which affects all of us. We praise God for what God has provided but also ask for forgiveness for our mishandling the environment.
The offertory hymn was for rogation – "As those of old their first fruits brought". The lyric – As those of old their first fruits brought of vineyard, flock, and field to God, the giver of all good"
This week was Shred-it which supports recycling to help the environment. Thanks to Andrea Pogue for this event’s 7th year. We collected 60 boxes and made $100 for St. Peter’s Outreach ministries.
This Sunday was also Shrine Mont Sunday in the Diocese to remember the camps. We had 8 people on retreat with Christ Church, the fifth year of this program.
The congregation was small as a result, 23. It was Morning Prayer. The bulletin is here and the readings here . Coffee potluck followed with ham biscuits, vegetables, fruit, potatoes and macaroni and one of Brad’s chocolate cakes.
Cookie was the officiant, Susan Tilt the lector and Nancy Long provided the sermon.
Nancy’s message was from the Gospel,John 15:9-17. God is Love. We don’t necessarily need to understand it or ask why just do it.
If we are created by God we must know God before we leave the womb. We are born with love because God’s loves us. Infants nestle close to their mothers and therefore close to God. An infant’s smile reflects the love of God
As we grow we have to make the choice between good and evil. Parents provide a world of Bible understanding. We have the ability to love. God leads you in faith and to abide in God’s love. Faith is the cornerstone. We can choose to be baptized and God lives within us and love can grow
We have to remember to love one another as God has loved you. This is important to remember when we have differences. Jesus got angry at the disciples and Pharisees but he did on the basis of love and not hate. A basket can block light but it can be taken off to let light shine.
We must follow John’s love to love with actions and trust. Love can be a noun, verb or adjective. We must use love as a verb to show action. How do you use love as a verb in how we treat others? How can the congregation spread love. We must show the truth of God’s love in our actions to make the world a better place. God accepts all of us but won’t let us remain that way (Max Lucado)
Today’s readings urge believers to come together in a community characterized by love. In his sermon, Peter tells Cornelius of God’s work in Jesus Christ, thus opening the doors of the Church to Gentiles. A few simple words from today’s psalm unify today’s readings: “sing…a new song.” That allusion to newness captures the spirit of rebirth in spring as well as God’s marvelous surprises. We can almost imagine the jaws dropping as the Jewish believers discover the shocking truth that God’s grace has been poured out on Gentiles too. The author of 1 John describes Jesus as God’s love for us, and calls us to embrace one another in that love. In the gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that they have been chosen to love one another; in this they will find perfect joy.
This missionary speech in the Act’s reading "(Acts 10:44-48) marks an important turning point in the outreach of the early Church. Many Jewish Christians feared and resisted the possible inclusion of Gentiles, but Luke makes clear that Peter himself (even before Paul) began the mission to the Gentiles under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
Cornelius was a “God-fearing” Roman, one who worshiped God but had not adopted all of the Jewish religious practices. Cornelius receives the sacrament of baptism, but not before he and his gathered household receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This event marks a new Pentecost. The circle of Christian faith has now broadened to include the inhabitants of “the ends of the earth” (1:8). The Spirit first came to Jews (2:1-4), then to the despised Samaritans (8:14-17), and now to the Gentiles.
The writing of 1 John seems to have been occasioned by a schism in the community due to heresy, specifically the denial of Jesus’ humanity. The central theme of 1 John is that “God is love” (4:8). As 1 John points out, the important, new discovery is not that we love God, but that God loves us. For centuries, humans tried to placate angry deities. The significance of this statement is explored through repeated meditation that interweaves theology and ethics
The Gospel reading from the discourse on the vine and the branches deals with the disciples’ relationships with one another. Jesus’ relationship with the Father has now become the model for all believers. The Father and Son’s relationship of mutual indwelling is now extended to Christians. The Father’s love for the Son is the basis, both in origin and in quality, of the Son’s love for the believer.
Believers are to love one another with a love characterized by self-sacrifice. Thus while Christians are still "servants" (v. 15, literally “slaves”) of Christ in terms of ministry (see 12:26; 13:14-16), they are "friends" (v. 15) of Christ in terms of intimacy with God. In and through this relationship Christians are appointed to "bear fruit" (v. 16).
A beautiful spring afternoon, no more than 70 degrees under brilliant sunshine with a gentle wind.
We donated over 100 boxes with monetary donations of $560. After paying for the truck, we made $335 for St. Peter’s outreach ministries. This was the best year in 6. Andrea Pogue conceived of the project and has directed it each year.
Luther, the driver, works a route from Stafford down to Petersburg. Stafford Hospital gets emptried weekly as does Geico. Some anchor stories generate enough shreddable items to demand 3 visits a week. This is a clean industry. The shred items will go from his truck to eventually to be made into future paper products.
Thanks for those who contributed. We would like to get even wider community support.
Andrea scheduled Shred-It in conjunction with the Village Dinnner. Eunice, Cookie, Betty and Cheryl cooked an enchilada dinner with vegetables and flan cake.
