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.

2023 Sun May 28

UTO Spring Ingathering to be collected May 28 at Pentecost

The United Thank Offering (UTO) is a ministry of The Episcopal Church for the mission of the whole church. Originally it was started in the 1880’s to support missionary work. Through UTO, individuals are invited to embrace and deepen a personal daily spiritual discipline of gratitude. UTO encourages people to notice the good things that happen each day, give thanks to God for those blessings and make an offering for each blessing using a UTO Blue Box. UTO is entrusted to receive the offerings, and to distribute the 100% of what is collected to support innovative mission and ministry throughout The Episcopal Church and Provinces of the Anglican Communion. 

Here is a recent video on the UTO

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Lectionary, Pentecost Year A

I. Theme – The coming of the Holy Spirit  

 Window from St Aloysius’ church in Somers Town, London

The lectionary readings are here  or individually: 

First Reading – Acts 2:1-21
Psalm – Psalm 104:25-35, 37 Page 736, BCP
Epistle –1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
Gospel – John 20:19-23
Gospel 2 – John 7:37-39 

Pentecost is a milestone in the story of salvation. It was on that day that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the believers in an upper room in Jerusalem as they awaited the baptism Jesus told them they would receive. Jesus had promised this event just before He ascended into heaven.

"And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

The symbol of fire is important for Pentecost.Fire has long represented God and the presence of his Holy Spirit. Fire consumes but is its own energy force.

That energy is around action and for the church, mission. Acts is about mission, about speaking, proclaiming, the good news to people everywhere, in languages (and language) they can understand. This is the day in which the mission of the church was given birth.

The Psalm is a hymn of praise, offered in the course of Temple worship, probably at the Autumnal harvest festival, given its theme of creation. It is a poem praising God and celebrating the order, the balance and majesty of creation reflecting upon God’s mighty power.

His creative agent is his “spirit.” Creation is continuous, continually renewed.

Paul spends chapters 12, 13 and 14 of Corinthians trying to get them to enjoy and express their gifts in ways that give strength to the community and glory to God.

Paul talks about gifts are shown through the Holy Spirit, not for personal edification but “for the common good” for building up the Church – wisdom, healing, knowledge.

There are two Gospel readings from John which take place before the Resurrection. 

In John 20 Jesus breathed on his disciples and gave them the Holy Spirit as a foreshadowing of the Spirit they were to receive at Pentecost. Jesus message is that His followers need His Spirit to continue His work.There is no doubt that when John spoke about the breath of God in this way he was thinking back to the story of creation of humankind. When Jesus breathed on them and commanded them to receive the Holy Spirit he was reminding them of the creative life-force emanating from the being of God.

In John 7, there is a return to the metaphor of water. "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, `Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’" Living water is flowing water. In contrast, there can be "dead" water. Water going nowhere — stuck in a stagnant pool.

In John, "thirst" has the double meaning of literal thirst for real water and physical life; and "spiritual" thirst for a real relationship with God and eternal life.

Thus, those who come to Jesus and trust him will have floods of life flowing out of them. When he is lifted up on the cross, Jesus declared his work is finished and passes on his spirit.


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Pentecost Poetry

1. "Celestial fire" – Eleazar Ben Kaller

From Poetry for the Spirit, Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty Edited by Alan Jacobs Translated by T. Carmi

Now an angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a blazing fire –
 

a fire that devours fire;
a fire that burns in things dry and moist;
a fire that glows amid snow and ice;
a fire that is like a crouching lion;
a fire that reveals itself in many forms;
a fire that is, and never expires;
a fire that shines and roars; a fire that blazes and sparkles;
a fire that flies in a storm wind;
a fire that burns without wood;
a fire that renews itself every day;
a fire that is not fanned by fire;
a fire that billows like palm branches;
a fire whose sparks are flashes of lightning;
a fire black as a raven;
a fire, curled, like the colours of the rainbows!
 

2. David Adams

They were all filled with the Holy Spirit
Fill us, Holy Spirit
 

When the doors are closed and we are afraid to move,
Fill us, Holy Spirit.
 

When we are weak and unable to act,
Fill us, Holy Spirit.
 

When we are hesitant and unable to speak,
Fill us, Holy Spirit.
 

When we lack energy and are unable to cope,
Fill us, Holy Spirit.
 

That we may go out in your power,
Fill us, Holy Spirit.
 

That we may live and work for you,
Fill us, Holy Spirit.
 

That we may be part of your mission,
Fill us, Holy Spirit.
 

The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace In believing,

That you may abound in hope through the power Of the Holy Spirit.
 

Amen 

3. "Come, Holy Spirit" – Sister Joan Chittister  

May the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
bring fire to the earth
so that the presence of God
may be seen
in a new light,
in new places,
in new ways.

May our own hearts
burst into flame
so that no obstacle,
no matter how great,
ever obstructs the message
of the God within each of us.

May we come to trust
the Word of God in our heart,
to speak it with courage,
to follow it faithfully
and to fan it to flame in others.

May the Jesus
who filled women
with his Holy Spirit
fill the world and the church
with new respect
for women’s power and presence.

Give me, Great God,
a sense of the Breath of Spirit
within me as I…
(State the intention
in your own life at this time
for which you are praying.)

Amen.

 4. Effortlessly,

Love flows from God into man,
Like a bird
Who rivers the air
Without moving her wings.
Thus we move in His world,
One in body and soul,
Though outwardly separate in form.
As the Source strikes the note,
Humanity sings–
The Holy Spirit is our harpist,
And all strings
Which are touched in Love
Must sound.

– Mechtild of Magdeburg 1207-1297
trans. Jane Hirshfield

Sermon, Pentecost Year A May 28, 2023

Come, Holy Spirit! 

From the beginning, the breath of the Holy Spirit pours out, bringing life.   The Holy Spirit gives life to smallest microscopic organisms that can be seen only with the help of a microscope, and yet are essential to the world’s food chain.  And the Holy Spirit works in and through the sweeping grandeur of this earth’s magnificent and ever changing landscapes, covered in life, that the earth sustains.

All of this life exists and thrives through the power of the Holy Spirit, uncontrollable, wild, and free.  As Jesus told Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 

We Christians have been given the knowledge that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives.  I guarantee you that even  when we don’t acknowledge or recognize the Spirit, the Holy Spirit is always at work in those born of the Spirit, and that’s us. 

So today, I’d like to talk about how the Holy Spirit works in our lives so that we can more easily recognize the Spirit’s presence in each of us and among us. 

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Pentecost 2016

A Pentecost that can’t be duplicated – 180th anniversary as well as Pentecost, a church altarpiece under construction, new hangings in the church plus 3 priests on hand.

Back to Jamaica in 2023

In 2021, St. Peter’s fundraising contributed $3,000 for the school project. Here is the presentation from that trip.

A mission trip was organized to setup the school distribution. The supplies were sent ahead of the distribution.

In 2023 we are refreshing the supplies as well as moving to supply additional items, like computers. This year only Andrea, Ken and Laura will be going to deliver the supplies.

Background

Donate here

Victoria Primary School, formerly Victoria All-Age is located in North West St. Catherine about two (2) miles from the major town of Linstead in the farming community of Victoria. Victoria, along with the adjoining community of Banbury, where most of the children are from, has a populace of over 20,000.

Approximately 10 % of the adult population is dependent on farming for a living, some of the produce from this activity is sold at the Linstead Market and the remainder kept for domestic use. Another 30% depends on vending as their main means of livelihood, 40% is employed while the remaining 20% is unemployed.

The current parent population is very young with the average age being about 25 years. Most of them have attained secondary level of education but have not moved on to tertiary learning but instead have acquired a skill in order to become employable.

The school was originally a shift school, an elementary. It was built to house about 200 children. At the time of the 2021 mission trip school population it was 330

At the beginning of each school year, some parents often have financial challenges in purchasing items to send their children back to school. Some of these include the purchasing of school bags, writing books, pencils and uniforms etc. There are times when past students will assist in purchasing some of these items.

SanctifiedArt does Pentecost

…just imagine the chaotic, whirlwind, crazy kind of day with wind, fire, thousands of people, and unfamiliar sounds when Jesus called the Spirit of Truth to come alongside his followers, as helper, advocate, and guide.

This was created by a group of artists called A Sanctified Art, This team of four artists in ministry, work collaboratively to bring scripture and theological themes to life through film, visual art, curriculum, coloring pages, liturgy, graphic designs, and more. This really is a unique resource worth exploring.