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 Dec 1

The Church’s New Year begins on First Advent

The Lectionary, made up of the appointed readings for each Sunday, covers a three- year cycle, beginning each year on the first Sunday of Advent.  Year A uses readings from the Gospel according to Matthew, Year B from the Gospel according to Mark, and Year C from the Gospel according to Luke.  Readings from the Gospel according to John are woven throughout all three years. 

The yearly lectionary readings begin the new cycle of readings on the first Sunday of Advent.   This year we move from Year A to b and from a concentration on the Gospel of Matthew to Mark.   It all happens on Advent 1, Nov. 29

Mark is one of the Synoptic Gospels which means that Matthew, Mark and Luke present similar narratives of the life and death of Jesus Christ. It is the shortest of the four Gospels and likely the first, or earliest to be written. It was written Circa 55-65 A.D. This was probably the first Gospel to be written since all but 31 verses of Mark are found in the other three Gospels.

The Gospel of Mark was written to prove that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Mark records more miracles of Christ than any of the other Gospels. Jesus proves his divinity in Mark by the demonstration of miracles. The Gospel of Mark was written to encourage the Christians in Rome as well as the wider church.

The Gospel of Mark also reveals Jesus the Servant. The overriding theme of the Gospel of Mark is to show that Jesus came to serve. Mark 10:44-45 …”and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

He gave his life in service to mankind. He lived out his message through service, therefore, we can follow his actions and learn by his example. The ultimate purpose of the book is to reveal Jesus’ call to personal fellowship with him through daily discipleship.

Advent Wreath

Faith, Hope, Love, and Joy

“But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”(1 Cor. 13:13)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Gal. 5:22-23)

The circle of the wreath and the evergreens that make it up both signify God’s endless mercy and undying love as well as God’s Eternity. Three purple candles and one rose-colored (pink) candle are evenly spaced around the wreath. There is one larger white candle in the center of the wreath. The wreath can be as simple as four candle holders with greenery laid around them to form a circle. However, some traditions attach meanings to using different greens, each signifying another aspect of the season. These include:

Ivy—to remind us of the human spirit clinging to God’s strength.

Cedar—to remind us of eternal life available to all through Christ.

Holly—to remind us of Jesus’ crown of thorns.

Bay—to remind us of victory over sin and death.

There are 4 candles, one for each week in Advent, are used with one larger white candle in the middle as the Christ candle.

During each Sunday of the Advent season, we focus on one of the four virtues Jesus brings us: Hope, Love, Joy and Peace

Faith is trust in God and reliance on His Word. “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Heb. 11:6)

Hope is confident expectation of good. “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Rom. 15:4)

Love is the genuine inner readiness and longing to secure the good of others. “We love, because He first loved us.” I Jn 4:19

Joy is a sense of well-being and delight in good well-secured. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” (John 15:10-11)

Three of the candles are purple This is the color of penitence and fasting as well as the color of royalty to welcome the Advent of the King.

The Third candle is pink, a color of joy, the joy that Jesus is almost here and fasting is almost order. Gaudete Sunday (from the Latin meaning “rejoice”) which is taken from Philippians 4:4-5, the Entrance Antiphon of the day.

While the Advent wreath with its four candles did bring light to churches, it was not to illuminate the interior as much as to symbolize the coming of Christ. The Advent wreath began in the time of the Protestant reformer Martin Luther.

The Christ candle is lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day reminding Christians that Jesus is the light of the world. The wreath continually reminds us of whom we are called to be as followers of Jesus.

Each week, an additional candle is lit. As the light grows brighter, we are reminded that the Light of the World will soon arrive in glory.

The central white candle is to be larger (often thicker) than the four in the wreath. This relatively recent addition to the Advent wreath signifies the Light of Christ and is first lit on Christmas Eve and relit burned on Christmas Day

 

Advent Education-“His Gospel is Peace”

His Gospel is Peace: The Advent of Christ and the End of Fear

For this Advent Sermon series, Pastor Matt Popovits focuses on five places in Scripture whereGod addresses our fears and proclaims his peace. Despite your worries, anxieties, and veryreal suffering, we have a God who stands resolute to give us his “peace which surpasses allunderstanding” (Phil. 4:7).

The season of Advent helps us long for a different reality: one ruled by peace ratherthan fear. For the Son of God was born into our tribulation, despair, and fear not just tocomfort us but to bring about an end to whatever terrifies us most.This is why the psalmist can assert, “We will not fear, though the earth gives way.”It’s why one of Jesus’ common refrains is “Fear not.”It’s why Paul proclaims that the peace of God guards and rules over the hearts of hispeople.

For this Advent Sermon series, Pastor Matt Popovits focuses on five places in Scripture whereGod addresses our fears and proclaims his peace. Despite your worries, anxieties, and veryreal suffering, we have a God who stands resolute to give us his “peace which surpasses allunderstanding” (Phil. 4:7).

Links to the 5 sections:

PSALM 112:6-8 – NO Fear of the future

MATTHEW 17:6-8 – No Fear of Failure

LUKE 12:32 – No Fear of Lack

ISAIAH 9:6-7 – No Fear of Man

COLOSSIANS 3:15 – No Fear

Arts and Faith- Advent 1, relating art and scripture

Wassily Kandinsky’s The Last Judgment invites us into the Advent season with an emotional tour de force expressed in color, line, and form. An example of abstract art, The Last Judgment is not narrative or descriptive, but rather expressive. It shows emotion and force and invites the viewer to experience them visually.

The Last Judgement is a composition of bright primary colors, opaque black shapes, and heavy black lines. The lines overlap the colors rather than contain them. Throughout the image, the black lines and the flow of primary colors produce a composition of contrasts.

Although abstract art is generally non-representational, Kandinsky does offer a bridge into his work to help the viewer frame the experience with a narrative clue. On the right center of the image, we see a blue angelic form holding a yellow trumpet. This is an iconic image of the Last Judgment, or the end of days that we hear about in Luke’s Gospel. The angel is a unique element of the painting in which color, form and line converge in a traditional way. The black lines form the boundaries around the colors to give us the silhouette of the angel and the trumpet. An interesting detail about the angel is his wings. One is made of blue color, while the other is entirely made of black lines. Everywhere else in the image, line and color separate, overlap, or even clash. With dual wings, the angel unites within himself the two separate elements of the composition. Recalling Luke chapter 21, we are in a scene that is frightening but redemptive, tumultuous but glorious. We are invited to feel the tension that animates us toward hope.

The Last Judgment is meant to evoke feeling and emotion. The colors of the image, particularly near the center, resemble watercolor and have an ethereal, transcendent, and uplifting quality. The upward flow of the two forms left of center, red and blue as they reach into the bright white center of the image, represent this theme. By contrast, the two solid black shapes near the center have a harshness and heaviness that weighs down and overwhelms the viewer. The overlap of light transcendence and dark heaviness throughout the rest of the image is a visual expression of Luke’s passage and also demonstrates the complexity of the spiritual life.

As Luke reminds us, we are called to prayer and vigilance. We are called to resist that which weighs us down, and make way instead for that which elevates us to stand before the Son of Man.

Advent Meditations, 2024 – Living Compass

Living Compass produces a book of daily meditations for Advent- “Living Well through Advent which begins Dec. 1

https://shop.livingcompass.org/collections/advent-and-lent-resources   The printed copy is $1 and the download is free. 

The Living Compass Model for Well-Being offers us guidance in four dimensions of our being: heart, soul, strength, and mind and focus on how they are interconnected. The goal is wellness and wholeness

The theme this year is “Practicing Peace with All Your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind”  “The seasons of Advent and Christmas are filled with the presence of peace, if only we remember to pause and open ourselves to receiving this gift.” “Peace on earth” is at the heart of the Christmas story.

Week 1 Peace like a river – Deepening Our Understanding of Peace

“The peace of God is transformative. It changes us from those who would use oppressive power to a people who nurture and tend. The peace of Christ moves us into new places. This holy peace requires that we change and move, not stay stagnant.”

“Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the trust that God can trans-form conflict into reconciliation. Peace is not calm because the disparate voices are silenced, but the courage to stand within the waters of righteous anger, hear the wails of suffering, and work for change. Peace is crossing from the bank of oppression to the side of justice, and having the faith to walk in the shifting sands and strong current that would make us turn back, except that God call us to cross to the side of love … every single time.”

Week 2 Making Peace with Ourselves. Audrey Scanlan reminds us that seeking a deeper peace within ourselves requires honest, soul-searching self-reflection. It is a road less traveled. So much so that Audrey, a person who takes practicing peace seriously, concludes her reflection with the unexpected words, “It was, perhaps, the first time that I had ever practiced making peace with myself

Week 3 Becoming Instruments of God’s Peace. For people of faith, making peace with ourselves is not an end in and of itself, but a necessary step toward our being able to be instruments of peace for others.

Week 4 Practicing Peace as a “Holy Yes”. Responding “yes” to the Spirit is contagious—it goes viral! Mary’s “yes” to carry the Christ child precipitated Joseph’s “yes” to protect and care for them. And their “yeses” led to millions more, thus transforming the world. For Mary it meant bearing the Christ Child under less-than-ideal circumstances and witnessing his crucifixion. Joseph took on the shame of Mary’s unwed pregnancy. Thankfully, our yeses are not carried out alone. Emmanuel—God with us—gives us the grace not only to bear the cost, but also to experience the new life that can only come from accepting divine invitation.