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.

2024 Sun Jan 14

Accomplishments of Martin Luther King

He promoted a vision of equal rights under the law in public accommodations and eliminating segregation throughout America, ignoring the differences in skin color

To work toward this goal, King helped to popularize the technique of nonviolent confrontations based on his reading of Gandhi, Whitman and others which combined with his organizing abilities helped to bring about successes. King’s techniques for non-violent confrontations are explored here.

During the less than 13 years of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s leadership of the modern American Civil Rights Movement, from December 1955 until April 4, 1968, African Americans achieved more genuine progress toward racial equality in America than the previous 350 years had produced.

Here’s a sermon Catherine preached in April, 2018 on the 50th anniversary of his death.

Here are 10 accomplishments of his life:

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King: A Filmed Record (1970)

King: A Filmed Record … Montgomery To Memphis is a 1970 American documentary film biography of Martin Luther King Jr. and his creation and leadership of the nonviolent campaign for civil rights and social and economic justice in the Civil Rights Movement.

It uses only original newsreel and other primary material, unvarnished and unretouched, and covers the period from the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955 and 1956 through his assassination in 1968. The original newsreel segments are framed by celebrity narrators Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Ben Gazzara, Charlton Heston, James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster, Paul Newman, Anthony Quinn, Clarence Williams III, and Joanne Woodward.

The movie was produced by Ely Landau and directed by Sidney Lumet in what was the only documentary he would direct in his whole film career. It lasts 1 hour 45 minutes.

“Letter from a Birmingham Jail”

“Fight on Amos”

Many people now read King’s classic “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (1963) in college and like the Apostle Paul, King did some of his best work in jail.

King’s Birmingham Campaign began on April 3, 1963 with coordinated marches and sit-ins against racism and racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. The non-violent campaign was coordinated by Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights and King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

On April 10, a blanket injunction was issued against “parading, demonstrating, boycotting, trespassing and picketing”. Leaders of the campaign announced they would disobey the ruling. On Good Friday, April 12, King was roughly arrested with others. The day of his arrest, eight Birmingham clergy members wrote a criticism of the campaign that was published in the Birmingham News, calling its direct action strategy “unwise and untimely.”

King’s Letter has been called one of the most significant works of the Civil Right movement. You can read it here – and was addressed to the eight clergymen that opposed his action.

In the letter King applied Amos to his situation, quoting from Amos 5:24. Amos gave his message to the Israelites in 750 BCE. Amos warns the people of Israel that the Lord is displeased with their behavior. People are overly concerned with earthly possessions, bodily desires and there is a shallow adherence to their religious values. Amos tells the people that God will soon judge them for their sins.

King wrote “But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Was not Amos an extremist for justice: “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Was not Martin Luther an extremist: “Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.”

He also quoted Amos in the “I Have a Dream” speech, 5 months after the above letter – Dr. King declared, “we will not be satisfied until ‘justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.’”

King had used the message of love when during the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1956 when white supremacists firebombed his house while he was away and an angry crowd gathered at his home. He told them to go home, saying “We must learn to meet hate with love.”

Five days later, he received a telegram from Julian Grayson, an undergraduate classmate at Crozer Theological Society who had become a Methodist minister. It read simply, “FIGHT ON AMOS GOD IS WITH YOU.”

The Season after the Epiphany – What’s it all about ? Focus on the Gospels

The Season after the Epiphany – Epiphany is all about establishing the identity of Jesus. Now that he has been born who is he ?   Epiphany continues to define who Jesus is – healer, preacher and the Messiah, the last one comes early in Epiphany and continues.

Epiphany refers to the appearance of Jesus Christ as the savior of the world—of Israel and the Gentiles.  For this reason, Epiphany is commonly associated with the visitation of the Magi (or “wise men”), who were almost certainly Gentiles, in Matthew 2:1–12.

We focus on the mission of the church to reach all the peoples of the earth with the great gift of God’s grace in revealing healing truth and light to the world.”

It is very much present oriented. The main idea of Epiphany is that Christ is the light of the world that came at Christmas and now beckons us to travel with Him ths year. The story of the Epiphany is about discovery—following a star to the source of salvation.Epiphany is filled with unexpected revelations that change our minds and ways – we have to be willing to experience them.

Epiphany is our jumping off spot. From the Eucharistic Prayer – “With each new day, you call us to feed the hungry, bring recovery of sight to the blind, liberate the oppressed, heal the broken hearted and bind up their wounds, and keep watch for the dawn of your reign on this earth. ”

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“A Case for Love”, a Movie for Our Time

On January 23, 2024, there will be a one night showing of a new movie entitled “A Case for Love“.  The movie originated in 2019, prior to the pandemic by a team led by Brian Ide, a film director in California. 

Watch the trailer

Get tickets – $12.75 or $9.50 seniors. Paragon theatre in Fredericksburg, 4pm and 7pm shows.

Link to Film Website.

The movie may be a good tie-in to our 2024 theme. St. Peter’s has a 2024 theme of  “ Walk in Love” with 4 distinct seasons. The movie will be shown during one of those seasons, Epiphany, with a title of “Walk in the Light”. Light has been viewed as  a metaphor for righteousness and goodness.   As Bishop Curry writes in his book Love is the Way  “Love as an action is the only thing that has ever changed the world for the better..” “Love is a commitment to seek the good and to work for the good and welfare of others.”

Ide writes about how the movie idea came to him  “Recently, I had grown more and more troubled by the increasing divisive state of our culture, and found myself contemplating, “What can I do to help?”

“While that led to many considerations, at the end of the day, all I really knew how to do well is make movies. Combining this glaring need with my skills, I went about the task of making this documentary —to give voice to my own thoughts as well as many others around the country.

“Bishop Michael Curry, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, inspired the film’s focus as he offered a solution to what ails us: “Love.” Specifically, “Unselfish Love.”

“As Bishop Curry wrote in his latest book, “When love is the way, the earth will be a sanctuary. When love is the way, we will lay our swords and shields down by the riverside to study war no more. When love is the way, there’s plenty of room for all of God’s children. When love is the way, we actually treat each other, well, like we are actually family.”

“Could the answer to society’s problems really be that simple and actually within the grasp of each of us?  This film presents what I observed and encountered while criss-crossing back and forth across the U.S.,  in search of the answer. Viewers must decide for themselves, and if their answer is “yes,” they will hopefully be inspired to live—intentionally—more selflessly and become part of the solution, making their  own case for love

“In the documentary, our film team travels the U.S. searching for people living their lives selflessly and interviews them about how that way of living affects others and themselves. We also interview random people on the street, discussing where they’ve witnessed unselfish love and where they’ve seen its absence. We also learn what well-known figures, including Pete Buttigieg, Al Roker, Sam Waterston, John Danforth, Becca Stevens, Jon Meacham, Russell Moore, Kelly Brown Douglas, and Jim Clyburn, have to say about the topic. Finally, Bishop Michael Curry places all we’ve seen into context.

“Subjects explored: Racial Justice, Sexual Identity, Military Service, Foster Care, Politics, Sexual Trafficking, Disability, Loss of Loved Ones, Refugees, Volunteering, Food Justice and more.

“What’s the verdict on “A Case for Love“? Is unselfish love the antidote to what ails us? Join us January 23, 2024 and decide for yourself!

“The film will be shown on one night in about 1,000 locations. The closest location to us is Paragon movie theatre in Fredericksburg. There are two times – 4pm, 7pm. The film is about 2 hours. The admission is $12.75 adult and seniors $9.50.”

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The Way of Love – in summary

1.  From the book Love is the Way by Michael Curry

“Love is a firm commitment to act for the well-being of someone other than yourself. It can be personal or political, individual or communal, intimate or public. Love will not be segregated to the private, personal precincts of life. Love, as I read it in the Bible, is ubiquitous. It affects all aspects of life.”

“Love is a commitment to seek the good and to work for the good and welfare of others. It doesn’t stop at our front door or our neighborhood, our religion or race, or our state’s or your country’s border

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In Pursuit of Peter – Confession


Caesarea Philippi

Video on Peter’s Confession

The first 5 minutes are the most important. You are there at the same place where the confession occurred.

Transcript of the key moment

“Jesus has come to this center for pagan worship.( Caesarea Philippi in Israel). Everything here would be abhorrent to a conservative jew, like Peter. The deities of the pagan world were more active, and more powerful in certain locations than others, and this surreal-looking place, to them, was a place where you could expect deities to be active. what you’re standing on here would be full of worshipers… of the deity, pan, whose statue is going to be tucked in here. In fact, Eusebius, the church historian, says this cave was the entrance to hades. Many people made the trek here to worship the Greek god, Pan. Pan was half human, with the hind legs and the horns of a goat. His powers were said to rule over nature, and especially fertility. the words “panic” and “pandemonium” have their origins in the myths surrounding pan. The religious expression of pan’s worshipers played out in acts of raw lust and hedonism. The scene to be deeply disturbing to Peter – every norm of observant Judaism would be violated. A high point for Peter’s discipleship of Jesus occurs here. You know Jesus begins by asking them, “who do people say that i am?” some of the disciples say, “you’re a prophet, “some say you’re Elijah.” And Peter finally nails it, “you are the Christ, the messiah, the son of god, “fulfillment of messianic promises.” And that’s a huge moment, and Jesus, in effect, says, “you got it.”

“When Jesus asked the disciples, “who do people say that i am?” and he starts to hear answers that fit the sea of galilee context, he says, “but what about you?” and Peter’s right there. He’s going, “oh, i get it. “You want us to put the question in the right context. “You are the Christ,” and then he adds, “the son of the living god. in contrast to everything “that’s claiming authenticity here, you’re the real deal.” Jesus affirms what Peter said, and this is also a very significant statement. He says, “this has been revealed to you “by my heavenly father,” and then he says, “you are Peter,” and remembering that Peter means rock, “and on this rock i will build my church.” and this is an extraordinary moment for Peter.”

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Jan 18-25, 2024

Traditionally the week of prayer is celebrated between 18-25 January, between the feasts of St Peter and St Paul.

Check out the event website. The chosen theme is ‘You shall love the Lord your God… and your neighbor as yourself’ (Luke 10:27). Go and do likewise!

The materials for 2024 were prepared by an ecumenical team from Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is located in West Africa in the Sahel region, which includes the neighboring countries of Mali and Niger with It has 21 million inhabitants.  64% of the population is Muslim, 9% adheres to traditional African religions and 26% is Christian (20% Catholic, 6% Protestant).

From the materials   “Burkina Faso is currently experiencing a serious security crisis, which affects all the communities of faith. After a major jihadist attack was mounted from outside the country in 2016, the security situation in Burkina Faso, and consequently its social cohesion, deteriorated dramatically. The country has endured a proliferation of terrorist attacks, lawlessness and human trafficking. This has left over three thousand dead and almost two million internally displaced persons in the country. Thousands of schools, health centers and town halls have been closed, and much of the socio-economic and transport infrastructure has been destroyed. Attacks targeting specific ethnic groups exacerbate the risk of inter-communal conflicts. In the context of this dire security situation, social cohesion, peace and national unity are being undermined.

“Christian churches have been expressly targeted by armed attacks. Priests, pastors and catechists have been killed during worship and the fate of others who were kidnapped remains unknown. At the time of writing, more than 22% of the national territory is outside the control of the state. Christians can no longer openly practice their faith in these areas. Because of terrorism, the majority of Christian churches in the north, east and north-west of the country have been closed. There is no longer any public Christian worship in many of these areas. Where worship is still possible, with police protection, usually in large cities, it has been necessary to shorten services owing to security concerns. 

“Nevertheless, a degree of solidarity is emerging between the Christian, Muslim and traditional religions. Their leaders are working to find lasting solutions for peace, social cohesion and econciliation. …”

“Following the government’s calls for prayers for peace, social cohesion and reconciliation, individual churches continue to organize daily prayers and fasting. Action by the various Catholic and Protestant churches has intensified to assist displaced persons. Reflection and awareness-raising meetings have been organized to promote better understanding of the situation and of the value of fraternity, and to develop strategies for a return to lasting peace.

“The invitation to work together on the texts for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024 challenges the different churches in Burkina Faso to walk, pray and work together in mutual love during this difficult period for their country. The love of Christ that unites all Christians is stronger than their divisions and the Christians of Burkina Faso commit themselves to walking the path of love of God and love of neighbor. They are confident that God’s love will overcome the violence that currently afflicts their country.”

“The churches of Burkina Faso have invited us to join with them in a process of self-reflection as they consider what it means to love our neighbor in the midst of a security crisis

Confession of St. Peter, Jan 18, 2024

"St. Peter"- Peter P. Rubens

This is not a confession of the church but relates to Peter, the Apostler !

Jesus went to the predominately pagan region of Caesarea Philipp. Here is the Mark reading (Mark 8:27-30) ” Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.” Peter nailed it at this time

Jan 18 is the day appointed for this event. The collect – "Almighty Father, who inspired Simon Peter, first among the apostles, to confess Jesus as Messiah and Son of the living God: Keep your Church steadfast upon the rock of this faith, so that in unity and peace we may proclaim the one truth and follow the one Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. "

Sermon, The Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B

“As Gail O’Day says in her commentary on John’s gospel, Jesus becomes the bridge between heaven and earth. Knowing Jesus is to see the way to heaven opened for us.”

Have you ever had this experience?  You’re in the grocery store in the produce section.    

Someone comes up to you and says with great intent, “I know you from somewhere.”  This happens to me more than it used to, since there are many short women with gray hair and glasses pushing carts through the grocery store aisles, trying to remember what exactly was on that grocery list that they can’t find—now which pocket did I stuff that list into? 

So there you stand with this person who is sure that they know you from somewhere, and you’re thinking, “I don’t think so, but maybe….”and the person names various places that might have been where they knew you, and then, at last,  there’s an epiphany and the person  says,  “Oh, wait, weren’t you at Christ Church (or wherever) for a while?”  And then the dim lightbulb in your mind gets brighter and you remember–“Oh yes!  I remember now!” and you have a little chat next to the bananas, which yes, you remember, ARE on your grocery list, and then you part ways, hopefully both happy that an old acquaintance has been found and acknowledged even if only for that moment.

So here’s Nathanael, minding his own business when his friend Philip comes running up with some news.  (Remember that people have been fervently hoping for the Messiah).  “We’ve found him!”  Philip says with great excitement—”the one we’ve been waiting for, Jesus of Nazareth!”

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Sunday’s Links, Jan. 14, 2023

Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Calling of the disciples, Part 1- Philip and Nathanael

  • 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

  • Wed., Jan 10, Ecumenical Bible Study, Parish House, 10am-12pm  Reading Lectionary for Second Sunday after the Epiphany
  • Thurs., Jan 11, Vestry, Parish House, 2pm

  • Lectionary, Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Jan 14
  • Servers, Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Jan 14
    Lector: Ben Hicks
    Chalice Bearer: Alice Hughes
    Altar Cleanup: Jan Saylor
  • Wed., Jan 17, Ecumenical Bible Study, Parish House, 10am-12pm  Reading Lectionary for Third Sunday after the Epiphany
  • Wed., Jan 17, Village Harvest, 3pm-5pm . Please email Andrea to volunteer at wakepogue.public@gmail.com, or (540) 847-9002. Pack bags 1-3PM, Deliver food to clients’ cars 3-5PM
  • Thurs., Jan 18, Sacred Ground, 7pm Link. Meeting ID: 892 6886 3201 Passcode: 138914.
  • Thurs., Jan 18, Confession of St. Peter
  • Thurs., Jan 18 -25, Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

  • Jan., 2024 newsletter

  • All articles for Sunday, Jan 14, 2024