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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An Introduction to the Trinity – what it is and what it is not

The core belief

The doctrine of the Trinity is the Christian belief that there is One God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Other ways of referring to the Trinity are the Triune God and the Three-in-One.

The Trinity is a controversial doctrine; many Christians admit they don’t understand it, while many more Christians don’t understand it but think they do.

In fact, although they’d be horrified to hear it, many Christians sometimes behave as if they believe in three Gods and at other times as if they believe in one.

Trinity Sunday, which falls on the first Sunday after Pentecost, is one of the few feasts in the Christian calendar that celebrate a doctrine rather than an event.

A fundamental doctrine

The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the most difficult ideas in Christianity, but it’s fundamental to Christians because it:

-states what Christians believe God is like and who he is

-plays a central part in Christians’ worship of an “unobjectifiable and incomprehensible God”

-emphasises that God is very different from human beings

-reflects the ways Christians believe God encounters them is a central element of Christian identity

-teaches Christians vital truths about relationship and community

-reveals that God can be seen only as a spiritual experience whose mystery inspires awe and cannot be understood logically

Unpacking the doctrine

The idea that there is One God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit means:

-There is exactly one God

-The Father is God
-The Son is God
-The Holy Spirit is God
-The Father is not the Son
-The Son is not the Holy Spirit
-The Father is not the Holy Spirit

An alternate way of explaining it is:

There is exactly one God

There are three really distinct Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Each of the Persons is God

Common mistakes

The Trinity is not

-Three individuals who together make one God

-Three Gods joined together

-Three properties of God

BBC’s Trinity Page

Lent 4 is “Mothering Sunday”

The fourth Sunday in Lent is traditionally known as “Mothering Sunday” or Refreshment Sunday. In some parts of Great Britain, the custom was to return to the “mother church” or the cathedral for a special service on this day, and it also became customary to celebrate or pay special respect to one’s own mother on this day, a sort of Anglican “Mother’s Day.”

Another custom is the relaxation of austere Lenten observances on this day, the baking of simnel cakes (light fruit cakes covered in marzipan), and in some places the replacement of purple robes and liturgical hangings with rose-colored ones. Simnel cakes are called such because of the fine flour (Latin "simila") they were made of.  
 

A recipe for Simnel cake is here. 

Children of all ages were expected to pay a formal visit to their mothers and to bring a Simnel cake as a gift. In return, the mothers gave their children a special blessing. This custom was so well-established that masters were required to give servants enough time off to visit out-of-town mothers – provided the trip did not exceed 5 days! This holiday became Mother’s Day in America.

Spring begins! 8 Ways to Experience

Spring begins early on March 20 at 5:01am.

The March equinox, like all equinoxes, is characterized by having an almost exactly equal amount of daylight and night across most latitudes on Earth. It is the end of winter when the sun crosses the celestial equator and our days are lengthening.

Here is how to celebrate it:

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Book of Forgiving – Four Fold Path

Desmond Tutu’s – from the Book of Forgiving. Four Fold Path

•We always have a choice whether to walk the Revenge Cycle or the Forgiveness Cycle.

• In the Revenge Cycle, we reject our pain and suffering and believe that by hurting the person who hurt us our pain will go away.

• In the Forgiveness Cycle, we face our pain and suffering and move toward acceptance and healing by walking the Fourfold Path.

These are the steps of the Fourfold Path:

1. Telling the Story

2. Naming the Hurt

3. Granting Forgiveness

4. Renewing or Releasing the Relationship.