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.

Giving Tuesday 2023 results

W. T. Purkiser preacher, scholar, writer wrote a hundred years ago, “Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” His point in life was to lead an active faith and to share our blessings, often more than we realize.

The 2023 collection on Giving Tuesday of $1,205 was the highest Giving Tuesday figure since 2019. This should help to pay for about 5 months of the Village Harvest in 2023. We serve about 100 people a month. Wonderful! Many thanks to those who contributed

Recent Articles, Dec. 10, 2023

Advent 2, Dec. 10, 2023
Sermon Summary, Rev. Tom Hughes
Videos
Photos
Bulletin
Lectionary for Advent 2, Dec. 10
Advent Candle 2, Peace
Perspectives on Advent 2
Advent 2 including commentary. John The Baptist
John the Baptist in Art – National Gallery, London
Arts and Faith, Advent 2
Advent Thoughts, Advent week 2

All About Advent
Getting Ready for Advent

Living Compass Advent meditations
Shape of Scriptures in Advent
Advent Season Resources
Advent Online Learning
Music of compline, Dec. 7

Ministries
ECW takes dinner to the “House”, Dec. 5
Giving Tuesday results (updated Dec. 4)
Advent Workshop – the Nativity blocks
Advent Workshop – the Christmas trees
Christmas play poster download

Discretionary Fund in 2023
End of year gift to the Endowment Fund

Sunday links, Dec. 10, 2023

Advent 2, Dec. 10 – John the Baptist


  • Web site
  • YouTube St. Peter’s Page for viewing services
  • Facebook St. Peter’s Page
  • Location – 823 Water Street, P. O. Box 399, Port Royal, Virginia 22535
  • Ecumenical Bible Study, Wed., Dec. 6, 10am-12pm, Parish House Reading Lectionary for Dec. 10, Advent 2
  • Compline Thursdays in Dec. Dec. 7,14, 21 on Zoom, 7pm. Praying for a peaceful night during a hurried season Zoom Link
  • God’s Children, Dec. 10, 10:15am. Making Christmas Cards
  • Sun. Dec. 10, 2023, 11am Church service – Eucharist Live or YouTube St. Peter’s Page
  • Poinsettia forms and Gifts to the Endowment Fund are on the back pew. Poinsettia due Sun., Dec. 10th. Endowment due Sun., Dec. 17th Endowment Fund gifts are tax deductible.
  • Lectionary link for Dec. 10, Advent 2
  • Serving – Holy Eucharist
    Lector: Andrea Pogue
    Chalice Bearer: Andrea Pogue
    Altar Cleanup: BJ Anderson
  • Tues. Dec 12, 1PM, Chancellor Village Eucharist
  • Ecumenical Bible Study, Wed., Dec. 13, 10am-12pm, Parish House Reading Lectionary for Dec. 17, Advent 3
  • Wed. Dec 13, 12:15PM right after Bible study — Come one and all to help put together Advent/Christmas arrangements for the church windows
  • Thurs, Dec. 14, Vestry, 2PM
  • Compline Thursdays in Dec. 14 on Zoom, 7pm. Praying for a peaceful night during a hurried season Zoom Link
  • Coming up!

  • Christmas Play, 5pm, Dec. 16

    Christmas Play poster download

  • Dec., 2023 newsletter
  • All articles for Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023
  • Arts and Faith- Advent 2, relating art and scripture

    Commentary is by Daniella Zsupan-Jerome, director of ministerial formation at Saint John’s University School of Theology and Seminary.

    The voice of John the Baptist crying out in the wilderness and gathering great crowds invites us into the Second Sunday of Advent. Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s St. John the Baptist Preaching captures this moment as he presents a wooded wilderness embracing a colorful crowd. Left of center is John the Baptist, clad in camelhair, though we have to search the scene to find him. Instead of standing as a dominating figure, John is one of the crowd, one of the people who serves his peers with prophetic passion.

    For Brueghel, the crowd itself seems to be the dominant figure. It fully saturates the landscape as one body that reveals its diversity only upon closer inspection. A chief way Brueghel shows that diversity is through hats, hoods, and headdresses—each signifying a different culture, vocation, or profession. Brueghel shows not only the mix of people that might have been present in the region, but the great diversity of all of humankind as the intended recipients of the Good News that John is heralding. John prepares the way of the Lord to go beyond boundaries, starting with the colorful cavalcade of people who come to hear the prophetic message.

    The body of the crowd becomes vertical, as people all around the perimeter climb the trees to get a better view. Sitting on branches, they foreshadow the story of Zacchaeus the Tax Collector, a figure of conversion and repentance from the Gospel of Luke. Thus, the tree climbers also underscore the message of conversion that John is preaching. Ascending the trees also foreshadows the cross itself as the ultimate place of reconciliation.

    In the background, we see a clearing in the woods that presents a vista of a river, a walled castle, and misty mountains. This is an invitation to see beyond the immediate message to the possibilities of God’s ultimate home for us. The river, evocative of Baptism, is especially important as it winds like a road into the mysterious beyond.

    We too are called to look beyond and see ourselves as part of a body of people who are gathered by the Good News. Like John, we are also sent to share the Good News so as to help open the horizon of possibilities that lead us all into God’s eternal love

    Advent 2

    Explore Advent, Part 2

    “Advent is a time to look for “desert places”: the place of solitude, the place of true silence in which we can become fully awake to our sin and God’s forgiving grace which alone can heal it.”-Br. Robert L’Esperance

    This week we focus on John the Baptist through scripture, art and commentary. Let’s move to  Advent 2.

    John the Baptist      

    John the Baptist in art

     

    John the Baptist Presentation

     
    St. Nicholas      

    St Nicholas Day is December 6. 

     

    Here is a presentation that provides the background of this saint who has had a colorful and varied history over 1800 years.