St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Port Royal, VA
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.
Sunday Links, Jan. 7, 2024, First Sunday after the Epiphany, Jesus’ Baptism
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
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.”
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. ”
By Br. Geoffrey Tristram, SSJE
“Each of us can light a candle in the darkness and bring good news to a world in so much need. Is there someone I need to change the way I look at; to see them with God’s eyes? Or is there something bold and courageous I can do, to bring God’s Good News into this broken world which God so loves? Make good news this coming year.”
Epiphany is Jan 6 and is one of the essential feasts in the Christian year. The essence of Epiphany is found in 2 Timothy 1:10: “And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior.”
The English word “Epiphany” comes from the Greek word epiphaneia, which means “appearing” or “revealing.” Epiphany focuses on God’s self-revelation in Christ, the divinity of Christ.
The Epiphany celebration remembers the three miracles that manifest the divinity of Christ. The celebration originated in the Eastern Church in AD 361, beginning as a commemoration of the birth of Christ. Later, additional meanings were added – the visit of the three Magi, Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River with the voice from heaven that identifies Jesus as God’s son, and his first miracle at the wedding in Cana.
The Roman Catholic Church in Sylva, NC planned to install the above art in their baptisty to celebrate the miracles. From their website:
“The works selected are high-quality reproductions of frescoes painted by late medieval Italian painter Giotto di Bondone. Giotto was one of the first medieval artists to depict his subjects in a more realistic, natural style, breaking away from the earlier tradition of more stylized figures.”
“In our display, the Baptism of the Lord is central, being aligned with the baptismal font, to remind us that all those baptized in the sacred waters of this font are baptized into the Lord, to share in his Passion and Resurrection. To the left, the Adoration of the Magi is a reminder for us to give our homage to Christ who is the Lord of all, no matter our ethnicity or nationality. And on the right, the scene from the Wedding at Cana brings to our mind the words of instruction spoken by our Blessed Mother to the servants, which we have emblazoned on our baptistery wall: “Do whatever He tells you” (Jn 2:5).”