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.

Episcopal General Convention 81

The General Convention is the governing and legislative body of The Episcopal Church. Every three years it meets as a bicameral legislature that includes the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops, composed of deputies and bishops from each diocese.

The 81st General Convention will take place June 23 – 28, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky at the Kentucky International Convention Center. Link

This General Convention marks the conclusion of Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry’s primacy and the election of his successor, the 28th presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church. There are 5 nominees

What is the main work of the convention? Work on the resolutions that come before the convention make up much of its work. Resolutions arise from four different sources: 1) “A” resolutions from interim bodies whose work is collected in what is referred to as the “Blue Book” 2) “B” resolutions which come from Bishops 3) “C” resolutions which come from diocesan conventions and 4) “D” resolutions which originate from Deputies. Each properly submitted resolution is referred to a convention committee which makes its recommendation to the House. When one house has acted on the resolution it is sent to the other house for consideration.

Who is going to be there? Deputies from each of our 110 dioceses in the United States and abroad, lay leadership and diocesan bishops, as well as members of the Episcopal Church Women, and other visitors.

Youth. This is the General Convention Official Youth Presence (GCOYP.) This group was established by a resolution at General Convention in 1982 and has been further defined at subsequent conventions, with legislation passed as recently as 2000. Up to two youth from each of the church’s nine provinces will be selected to participate in the Official Youth Presence The GCOYP have seat and voice on the floor of the House of Deputies and can testify at hearings held before and during General Convention.

Special topics:
1. The Blue Book Reports by each standing committee, the Executive Council, the House of Deputies, and the House of Bishops. This is the way to follow the path of the resolutions.
2. Calendar of the Convention – What happens each day, including the election of the next presiding bishop
3. Organization chart
4. The Virtual Binder. This system replaced reams of paper in 2018. It enables users to track the progress of convention resolutions. It also includes each house’s daily agendas, calendars for each day and journals (a list of messages sent between the houses informing the other of actions taken), committee calendars and reports. It contains tabs for checking on current action and floor amendments in each house.
5. Media Hub This has live video from the two houses as well as video clips, photos and press conferences.
6. Event App. A. Search for the “Cvent Events” app on the iOS Apple App Store or Google Play Store. B. Upon opening the app search for “The 81st General Convention,” and download the event to the app.

Midsummer’s Night – June 21-24, Solstice June 20

Midsummer’s Night, Celebrate Light and community-  

We pass Midsummer’s Night in June . European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. This year it is being celebrated on June 24.

In the US, we tend to celebrate the solstice, a one day event which occurs June 20, 4:50pm.

The solstice occurs when one of Earth’s poles is tilted toward the sun at its most extreme angle, and due to Earth’s tilt, this happens twice a year. In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice falls in June (while the Southern Hemisphere experiences the winter solstice), and in the Southern Hemisphere, it falls in December (while the Northern Hemisphere experiences the winter solstice).

 The Midsummer’s night celebration began in pre -Christian times when it was believed that forces could slip between this world and the next at a time when there was more light than at any time of the year. Fires were lit to ward off the evil spirits.  

We may think of Midsummer’s Night in terms of Shakespeare’s play of the same name. Ironically, most of the play takes place in a dark forest in a wild, mysterious atmosphere, rather than in the light, in which the magical elements of Shakespeare’s plot can be played out. One of the subplots involves the brawl of the ferries, Oberon and Titania which creates a disturbance in nature.  

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The Gospel in June, 2024

We are back to Mark! In May the readings were from the Gospel of John as it explored the effects of the Resurrection, the roles of the disciples and their relationship to Jesus. This month explores the challenges to Jesus  with the Pharisees, with the disciples and even from his own family.  Jesus is not on the defensive –  these stories help enlarge the concept of the Kingdom of God.

June 2 – 2nd Sunday after Pentecost -Mark 2:23-3:6

Sometimes rules and regulations can get in the way of our mission. The connection this week is in the role of the Sabbath. Jesus’ operating principle is that the Sabbath ( and the law and the rituals of holiness) was created for humanity, and not the other way around. ’ In that sense, God is chiefly known as love and the laws and purity rituals are for humanity’s own good.  The alternate theology is that for humans have to achieve a certain level of holiness – through following laws or practicing purity rituals – to be acceptable to God.  That’s the focus on the Pharisees whose religion had deteriorated into rules, regulations and rituals..

To make His point still further, Jesus goes into the synagogue and brings a man with a withered arm into the middle of the gathering. Then, He asks the simple question – is it against the law to do good on the Sabbath – or to save a life? Needless to say, His critics have no answer. Jesus has an answer – he heals the man. Mark’s  description of healings were important  – they were signs that the Kingdom of God was at hand

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Shred-it shreds the documents and adds cash for the church

With the 12th year of Shred-it on June 12, 2024, St. Peter’s received donations of $1,316 for shredding people’s important papers. With costs of $335, we cleared, $981 the best in the dozen years. Thanks to all who participated and Andreas leadership!

Andrea brought tea and lemonade and set up a covered area for people to sit and visit – which they did since it was a beautiful day and not too hot. Shred-it is great for the environment and facilitates fellowship.

Here is a photo gallery of the day

Looking back to the beginning of Summer, 2016, 8 years ago

Traveling back in time for June and July, 2016 marks the transition from spring to summer. We have a slide show and a description.

 Look back to June, July 2016(full size gallery)

Here are some of the events that happened over the 2 month period:

1. Altarpiece center portion and other sections completed so scaffolding could be removed in July
A. July 21, 2016
B. July 13, 2016
C. July 3, 2016
D. June 26, 2016
E. June 11, 2016
F. June 11, 2016
G. June 9, 2016

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Larry’s new guitar, June 16, 2024

Larry Saylor played the prelude and offertory today June 16, 2024. What’s significant is that he played them on a new guitar. Not one bought but the second one he made! (His first one debuted in Feb. 2022). This one took 1.5 years compared to 3 years of the first one.

This guitar has a different design. It is closer to a Romantic guitar, smaller with two less frets. It was modelled after a Martin 1920’s model. Another quality is that Larry designed the moldings and resonator board himself rather than buying them. Thus this instrument has been more personalized

Two performances :

Prelude – “Study in A”

Offertory- “In the bulb there is a flower”

Gospel of Mark, Jesus Early Ministry, June- July, 2024, Year B

The Big Picture – 8 Sundays from the Gospel extending from the Sunday after Trinity through most of July get into the heart of Jesus’ message in the early phases of his ministry.

From the SALT Blog the basic idea if that “the ‘kingdom,’ the ‘reign,’ the “realm” of God has come near — near enough that we can reach out and touch it. It’s not somewhere else; it’s here.” The Gospel messages highlight characteristics of Jesus’ ministry:


What’s important ?
1. Love
2. Restoration, healing, joy and hope
3. Growth
4. Confrontation forces of evil
5. Faith
6. Hospitality
7. Warning about hardships
8. Feeding and Compassion

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