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 April 7

“Team Up to Clean Up” in Caroline County, April 20

Thanks to the 7 people who picked up trash on Aug. 20 in support of Earth Day and to improve the beauty of Caroline County. We collected 9 orange bags.

Our territory was the trailer court at the edge of the nature perserve. The front was littered with plastic and paper in all stages of deterioration. We ventured in to the woods with thick brush that hindered our way. All sorts of things were found including a plastic bucket.

Thanks to the Solid Waste Department of Caroline County for sponsoring this trash pickup for a second year. They supplied the bright orange bags for pickup as well as the grabbers and vests for identification.

Here is a photo gallery of the event.


(full size gallery)

Portland Guitar, April 19 concert

They will be performing music written for two guitars at St. Peter’s, Friday, April 19 at 7pm as part of our annual concert series. (Reception 6:15pm in the Parish House.)

The concert is free but donations gratefully accepted for future concerts, held yearly since 2013. This is our 10th concert.

The Portland Guitar Duo are James Manuele and Foti Lycouridis and have been playing together since 1999.

Foti shared some of the details of the concert – “This time we will do a program of 19th century music on copies of period instruments. It will be mostly transcriptions of piano music of the period along with a few duets and solos written for guitar/guitars. We will also talk about the guitar history of that particular time. As performers and researchers we are very interested in music of other media that we can play on guitar, and piano music of that period has a very rich repertoire to draw from.”

Born in California, James Manuele began playing the guitar at age eleven. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree at Mansfield University, where he also studied voice and viola. Later, he earned his Masters of Music in Guitar Performance at Portland State University and has taught in colleges -Clark College in Vancouver and at Concordia in Portland.

Foti Lycouridis was born in Egypt of Greek parents. In 1981, he started his music education at the University of Portland. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Guitar Performance and a Master’s in Music Theory. He also can perform on a 10-string guitar and Baroque lute.

A. Here is a 3 minute summary of the Duo:
B. Live
1. Part 1 of a set for the Portland Community Media.
2. Part 2 of a set for the Portland Community Media.
3. “Miller’s Dance” by Manuel de Falla
4. At Oregon State University. “Spanish Dance no. 2 ‘Oriental'” by E. Granados”
5. “The Caprice” by Isaac Albeniz

Portland Guitar Duo – Web site

Eastertide

 We are in Eastertide until Pentecost, May 19

Eastertide is the period of fifty days, seven Sundays from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday. Easter is not a day but a season and it is one to examine the Resurrection, more broadly and deeply.  There are a number of questions.

Is Resurrection just about death has been swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54-56) ? Is Resurrection of Jesus is a precursor to your own resurrection (1 Corinthians 15) ? Does it say something about our own ability to expect to see Jesus (Luke 24) ? How does the new Christian community begin to function making Christ the central part of daily life ? (Acts 2)

Jesus physically appears in Easter 2 and 3 making the Resurection tangible. The shepherding part of his ministry is explored in Easter 4. From Easter 5-7, Jesus must prepare the disciples for his departure. He is going to leave them. Jesus prepares his disciples for continuing his ministry without his physical presence.  Themes explored include the holy spirit, the Prayer of Jesus and God’s glory through His Son and the church.

Christ ascends on the 40th day with his disciples watching (Thursday, May 9th). The weekdays after the Ascension until the Saturday before Pentecost inclusive are a preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.This fifty days comes to an end on Pentecost Sunday, which commemorates the giving of the Holy Spirit to the apostles, the beginnings of the Church and its mission to all  peoples and nation.  Note that the Old Testament lessons are replaced by selections from the Book of Acts, recognizing the important of the growth of the church.

Celebrate Easter Tide

Forward Movement is publishing a meditation everyday during Easter Tide. Access 50days here>

From their introduction – “Easter gives us 50 days to celebrate, 50 days to begin new habits so we can live an Easter life” – and celebrate!

“We get 50 whole days to celebrate the glory of Easter. And we need it. It’s not easy to grasp the mystery and majesty of what happened when Jesus walked out of the tomb on Easter morning.”

“On Good Friday, the powers of the world did their best to extinguish God’s perfect love. It looked like evil had won. But early on the morning of Easter, women found an empty tomb. They went and told others who were disciples of Jesus. The disciples saw that Jesus’s promises had come true.

“Before long, those followers of Jesus told others. And they told others. Soon thousands and thousands, and millions and millions, of people wanted to know the power of God’s transforming love in Jesus Christ. The Easter season invites us to remember that Easter changes everything, not only for Jesus but for us and for the whole universe.”

Sunday’s Links, April 7, 2024

Easter 2

  • Web site
  • YouTube St. Peter’s Page for viewing services
  • Facebook St. Peter’s Page
  • Instagram St. Peter’s Page
  • Location – 823 Water Street, P. O. Box 399, Port Royal, Virginia 22535

  • Wed., April 3, Ecumenical Bible Study, Parish House, 10am-12pm  Reading Lectionary for Easter 2

  • Servers, Easter 2, April 7 11am
    Lector: Alice Hughes
    Chalice Bearer: Alice Hughes
    Altar Clean up: Linda Kramer
  • Sun., April 7, 12pm, Coffee Hour
  • Sun. April 7, Last Day to sign up for “Team Up to Clean Up”. Please email Johnny – cookiejfd@gmail.com if you would like to join the group.
  • Tues., April 9, ECW Lunch at 11:30 at Horne’s. Please email Elizabeth – eheimbach@aol.com if you plan to attend.
  • Wed., April 10, Ecumenical Bible Study, Parish House, 10am-12pm  Reading Lectionary for Easter 3

    • Coming up!

  • Portland Guitar Duo, April 19, 7pm

    1. The concert
    2. Help us advertise

  • April 20, 9am-12pm “Team Up to Clean Up”. Please email Johnny – cookiejfd@gmail.com to join the group
  • April newsletter
  • All articles for Sunday, April 7, 2024

    • Recent Articles, April 7, 2024

    Easter 2, April 7
    Photos
    Videos
    Sermon transcribed
    Bulletin
    Eastertide
    Celebrate Eastertide
    Lectionary, 11am service
    Vanderbilt Visual Lectionary
    Commentary
    Who was Thomas?
    A primer on Thomas
    3 kinds of Doubt (SALT Project)
    Legacy of Thomas in India

    Flashback to Holy Week and Easter
    Best of Holy Week – Photos
    Best of Holy Week – Words
    Holy Week category

    Ministries
    April newsletter
    ECW Spring meeting, April 9, 11:30 at Hornes
    Team Up to clean up event, April 20
    Breakfast program in Jamaica


    Portland Guitar Duo at St. Peter’s
    Help us advertise the concert!
    Past Concerts at St. Peter’s


    Village Harvest, March, 2024
    Village Harvest, Feb., 2024


    Creeds class notes 5 sessions- Conclusion
    God’s Garden collection
    Sacred Ground, Jan., 2024
    Sacred Ground, Feb., 2024

    Photos, Sunday April 7, Second Easter

    Notes
    1 A beautiful Sunday, clear blue skies after a week of cool weather, rain and winds. It approached 60 degrees later in the day
    2. Tom’s sermon on the breath of God for Easter Tide.
    3. Upcoming activities – “Teach up to Clean up” on April 20,
    ECW Planning April 9, New details on the Portland Guitar Duo
    concert on April 19.
    4. Wonderful Sunday coffee hour – more of a brunch with eggs and sausage but with a generous helping of sweets

    (full size gallery)

    Videos, April 7, 2024

    Warm up -Short video of The River this morning

    01 Opening Hymn – “He is risen”

    From the congregation

    02 Hymn of Praise -“That Easter day with joy was bright”

    03 Readings

    Read more

    Sermon, April 7, 2024 – Rev. Tom Hughes – “the breath of God”

    What a joy to be together this morning and to have these wonderful lessons to go over there are a lot of things we need to touch on and there’s just a couple of things before I come to the subject thatI’ve been led to talk about.

    The first one is in in the lesson; that we heard of just a few minutes ago, there was a great deal of emphasis placed on ;sinfulness. What I want you to understand about that in all the Johannine tradition that sin is not a particular kind of moral failure like I told the lie or something like that – it’s being separated from God. That’s what living in sin is – being separated from God. Of course the mission of Jesus above all other things as we just read was that we would be close to God not separated from God to live in glory and the peace of God.

    Read more

    ECW Spring Planning, April 9, 2024

    From Elizabeth Heimbach–The flowers are blooming, and the grass is turning green; it is time to look ahead! I hope everyone can come for lunch at 11:30 on Tuesday, April 9 at Horne’s.

    We always have fun when we are together, and we will have time to brainstorm about fundraising ideas and future events including the Portland Guitar Duo Concert, the bishop’s visit, a holiday dinner and a reception. Please come with ideas! Hope to see you there!

    Please Email Elizabeth if you plan to attend.

    A Breakfast Program in Jamaica

    From Principal Annette Steele  – “The Victoria Primary School Breakfast initiative was established five years ago to help in addressing the nutritional needs of some of the students. We had an increasing number of students getting sick in the mornings. Some experienced tummy aches, headaches and even to the extent where some would faint. We realized that most of these cases were as a result of students not having breakfast in the mornings for various reasons. Some students arrived at school very early because parents were unable to provide breakfast because of financial constraints that they were experiencing.”

    “To date, these conditions still exist. However, we have seen a great reduction in the occurrence of illnesses, especially on days when breakfast is served. “

    Since November, 2023, a  group of parishioners has come forward and are sending funds monthly through Western Union.  A week’s worth of breakfast costs $50.  The action has not helped feed children  but also acted an inspiration to teachers to keep up their work as well.

    From Principal Annette Steele  “Their regular contributions have enabled us to expand the program. We are now able to add more to the menu and eventually feed more students Our students have benefitted greatly from their assistance and we want to express our sincere thanks and hope the partnership will continue as we ensure that the nutritional needs of our students are met.”

    If you would like to donate, contact Catherine or Andrea.