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 Feb 4

Rosa Parks birthday, Feb 4 – Black History


From the SALT project

“February 4 is the birthday of Rosa Parks, born in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1913. In the 1940s and 50s, she served as secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP, working as a civil rights organizer and activist.  

“In August of 1955, black teenager Emmett Till, visiting relatives in Mississippi, was brutally murdered after allegedly flirting with a white woman. Parks attended a mass meeting at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery on November 27, 1955; the meeting’s speakers addressed the Emmett Till case at length, including the news that Till’s two murderers had just been acquitted. Parks was deeply disturbed and angered by the verdict, not least because Till’s case had received such widespread public attention, far more than other cases she and the Montgomery NAACP had worked on over the years. Just four days later, she took her famous stand on that fateful Montgomery bus ride. She later said that when the driver ordered her to move, “I thought of Emmett Till and I just couldn’t go back.”

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Bingo Night, Feb 26, 6pm-7:30pm, Port Royal Fire house

Mon., Feb. 26th, Bingo Night 6-7:30PM at Port Royal Fire Department St Peter’s is serving as a Partner in Education with the Caroline County Public Schools.

We will be providing snacks for the Caroline County. If you would like to help, please bring granola bars, individually wrapped bags of trail mix, or small bottles of water and place them in the back pew by Sunday, Feb. 25.

God’s Garden Feb 4 – March 31- The Alleluia!

The next eight Sundays of God’s Garden will include a big project!

During the first few sessions, the class will be designing and decorating a big banner with the word “Alleluia.” The banner will then be displayed in the church until the first Sunday of Lent when it will disappear.

The disappearance of the banner will be a reminder that during Lent the congregation does not end each service with the word “Alleluia,” and this will be a way to introduce lessons about Lent, Palm Sunday, and Easter. And, of course, the banner will re-appear on Easter!

Creating and Displaying the Alleluia Banner

This is a “process” Powerpoint concerning the preparation for “Burying the Alleluia”, one of many Lent events beginning Feb. 14. Today, Feb 4, the banner is being ceated. First, a background slide introduces “Burying the Alleluia”, a practice which has been traced back to the Middle Ages. Then, “God’s Garden” Sunday School class from ages 5-9 are shown finishing the Alleluia Banner in several photos. Jan Saylor created the banner and thd class finished it.

The finishing process is included along with a video excerpt of the lesson around it provided by Jan and Elizabeth Heimbach. Then, the banner is transported to the church and pictures show it being hung on the altar. Finally, there is a video during the announcements of the church service of it presented to the congregation. Next week the box will be created for it. The Powerpoint follows:

Sermon, Epiphany 5, Feb. 4, 2024

Rembrandt-The-Healing of the Mother in Law of St.Peter

Next Sunday is the Last Sunday after the Epiphany so let’s do a quick review of this season.   During the Season after the Epiphany, scripture reminds us all over again who Jesus is, the Son of God, and who we can become in the light of who He is. 

The Season after the Epiphany always starts out with the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, when the heavens are torn apart and the Spirit descends like a dove, and God speaks—“You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” And then the season always ends with the Transfiguration, that mystical experience on top of a mountain in which we hear God’s voice once more, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”  But that’s next week. 

In between Jesus’ baptism and his Transfiguration, scripture gives us proofs that Jesus is indeed the Beloved Son of God. 

In last week’s gospel, we found Jesus in the synagogue in Capernaum with his disciples.   Jesus is teaching with authority, not as the scribes, and then a man with a demon starts ranting and raving against Jesus—I know who YOU are—the Holy One of God!  What are you doing here?  This is our territory.”  And indeed this demon in the man makes a valid point.  Sometimes it’s easy to believe that the world has been taken over by spirits that want to keep anything holy, true, trustworthy and healing out so that they can continue to bring distrust, hatred, violence, destruction, and death to hold us all captive. 

When Jesus said that the Kingdom of God has come near, he meant it.  He came to rid the earth, and us, of the demons that hold us in thrall.  And so he casts out the demon in the man, showing the people in the synagogue, and us, that he has authority over even the demons that threaten to take us, and that he has authority over Satan himself. 

Now we come to today’s readings.  Jesus has just cast out the demon, and now he and Simon and Andrew and James and John go to Simon’s house.  All is not well here either—there isn’t a demon, but Simon’s mother-in-law is sick in bed with a fever.  The disciples tell Jesus about this at once.  Jesus goes to the woman, takes her by the hand and lifts her up.  Is any word spoken?  We don’t know.  

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