2023 Sun July 9
Recent Articles, July 9, 2023
Sunday Links, July 9, 2023, Pentecost 6
Notebook Paper Collection for Caroline’s Promise School Supply Distribution
Sunday, July 16th is the deadline for St Peter’s to collect 8.5”looseleaf, hole punched notebook paper for Caroline County school children, to be distributed by Caroline’s Promise on Saturday, July 29th. Our goal is 200 packs of 8.5×11 looseleaf notebook paper, 3 hole punched . There is no specific quantity (200, 500 sheets, etc) to purchase. Most of them have been 150 sheet packs
[As of July 9 we have collected 37 packs of notebook paper. One week to go. ]
Bring your donation to church and place it in the back pew. If you’d like to make a monetary donation toward this project, write a check to St Peter’s and put Notebook Paper/Outreach on the memo line.
We have frequently partnered with Caroline’s Promise for school supplies. (Last year it was markers). Caroline’s Promise works to help young people in Caroline County to succeed by providing a healthy start and future, one of their five promises. You can read more about Caroline’s promise at
this link. https://www.carolinespromise.org/
Their distribution July 29, 10am-12pm
Caroline Middle School
13325 Devils Three Jump Road
Milford VA 22514
Videos, Pentecost 6, July 9, 2023
Gospel and Sermon – Rev. Catherine Hicks
Post Communion Prayer and Blessing
Closing Hymn – Lord of all hopefulness
Sermon, July 9, 2023 – Pentecost 6, Proper 9
Sermon, Proper 9, Year A 2023
Zechariah 9:9-12; Psalm 145:8-15; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
Before the jail in Caroline County closed several years ago, several of us led a Bible study there once a month. As part of our training, we took a tour of the jail and got to see how the prisoners lived. We were allowed to go into a part of the jail that wasn’t being used, so that we could see how the prisoners lived.
Each cell clustered around the large common area holds four people. The bunks are metal. There is a clearly visible toilet in each cell, offering no privacy. The prisoners spend a great deal of time in their cells. At certain times of the day, they can come out into the common room, unless there has been some disturbance and they are locked down. Getting outside means going into an area with a high fence topped with barbed wire, where there is room to walk, but not room for anything else.
And for prisoners who cause trouble, the solitary cell to which they are confined is separated from everyone else, completely silent and windowless, completely isolated from the outside world.
Periodically, throughout our lives, we find that we are maybe not in an actual jail cell, but in some circumstance in which feel that we are being held captive.
Bulletin, Pentecost 6, July 9, 2023
Click here to view in a new window.
Summer films
1. The Letter
Interfaith Power and Light is partnering with the Laudato Si’ movement to bring the documentary film about climate change, “The Letter,” to congregations this summer.
The Letter tells story of the Laudato Si’ environmanals encyclical letter by Pope Francis issued in 2015, through the eyes from frontline leaders battling the ecological crisis across continents. Laudato Si means “Praise be to you” which is the first line of a canticle by St. Francis that praises God with all of his creation.
Featured in the film are a variety of speakers on the topic: Arouna Kandé, a climate refugee in Senegal; Cacique Dadá, an environmental defender and leader of the Maró Indigenous territory in the Brazilian Amazon; Ridhima Pandey, a youth climate activist from India; and Greg Asner and Robin Martin, biologists studying coral reefs in Hawaii.
The film features exclusive footage from their encounter with Pope Francis, alongside the personal stories and scientific findings throughout the documentary.
2. Sabbath
Visual Lectionary Vanderbilt – Pentecost 6 – Sunday July 9, 2023
Click here to view in a new window.
Lectionary 6th Sunday after Pentecost, July 9, 2023
I.Theme – Lifting our burdens
"Bearing a heavy weight together" – Komarno, Slovakia
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – Zechariah 9:9-12
Psalm – Psalm 145:8-15 Page 802, BCP
Epistle –Romans 7:15-25a
Gospel – Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
Sermon by Amy Richter for this week
“Come to me, all you that are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
It didn’t help that she was already late for the meeting. Rushing past the sexton who was putting the recycling out, she had her own arms full as she tried to get the back door of the church open. Juggling her lunch bag, laptop bag, and pocketbook, she tried to pull the door open. She knew that in the humidity the door would often stick, but this time, it just wouldn’t budge. Not wanting to set anything down, she just pulled as hard as she could, hoping the door would budge and she could still make it in time. No such luck. She gave up and noticed the sexton was watching.
“Did you pull as hard as you could?” he asked.
“Yes, I gave it everything I’ve got.”
The sexton smiled and said, “No, you didn’t. You didn’t ask me to help you.” He walked over, took her bags off her shoulder and said, “Now try it.” The door came open on the first try.