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.

Early Fall


Early Fall(full size gallery)

Fall is a wonderful time to pause and look at nature all around you. You have to take the time and not think of the minutes. The time before church is my time to let nature envelop me.

The effect of fall is magnified after a rain. Add another plus for leaves beginning to fall around you in all their color. It’s the sound of the crunching of leaves beneath your fee. It’s a time to look at those small things along the ground- small flowers, water pellets on leaves. It’s time to lookup to see fall advancing in our trees.  So many things we never notice or take the time to see.

Water is life giving – and destructive. The effect of rain was seen this week along the gravestones, often with leaves falling around.  The wet leaves along the ground reflect up at you. Then over the river to see the water rushing along as I am trying to be still.

Fall is a time to get out Robert Frost for yet another fall.


October
By Robert Frost
 

“O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—
For the grapes’ sake along the wall”

Music and Noisemakers – “Earth and all stars”

From Catherine’s introduction to the Oct. 22, 2023 service:

“I am dedicating today’s service to Brad and the Choir. Aren’t we so fortunate to have music! You have noise makers.. you are going to need them. three of the hymns are about singing and then there are two about seeking God and God seeking us.”

This was apparent in our hymn of praise – “Hymn #412 Earth and all stars”, always a favorite. See the one minute video of a selection of this energetic hymn:

Sermon 21st Sunday after Pentecost, Oct. 22, 2023

Sermon, Proper 24, Year A 2023

Psalm 95, I Thessalonians 1:1-10, Matthew 22:15-22

Sing to the Lord a new song!  Sing to the Lord, all the whole earth! 

The times we live in certainly do call for a new song, and today’s scriptures help us to figure out how to sing the song that God wants the world to hear about the good news of God’s salvation. 

During the readings today, we got to hear from the earliest book in the New Testament.  Even before the gospels were completed, Paul wrote a letter to the church in Thessalonica which he had started. 

The Thessalonians had it together—because they had become imitators of Jesus.  They served the living and true God.  News of their works of faith and labors of love and steadfastness of hope in Jesus spread far and wide.  As Paul tells them, “The word of the Lord has sounded forth from you in every place your faith in God has become known.”

Through the way they were living their lives, the Thessalonians were showing the world who Jesus was by the way they were following him—by doing their best to be like him—to be people of faith, hope, and love in all that they did.

They were singing a new song of praise and joy, blessing the Lord and declaring the good news of God’s salvation, available to all who chose to listen. 

And now, over two thousand years later, we also try to follow Jesus by serving God and doing works of faith and labors of love.  We try to be steadfast in our hope that God’s kingdom will come on this earth. 

It’s our turn to sing to the Lord a new song, to sing out to God and to bless God’s name and proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day. 

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