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.

Anything but Ordinary! Ordinary Time

Ordinary TimeBeginning on Pentecost 2, we enter the Church year known as Ordinary Time. After Easter, Jesus’s ascension into heaven, and the coming of the Holy Spirit to us at Pentecost, we accept responsibility for being and becoming Christ’s body in the world. We are called by Jesus to live in community, our lives together guided not only by the example of Jesus, but by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
 

Basically, Ordinary Time encompasses that part of the Christian year that does not fall within the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter. Ordinary Time is anything but ordinary. According to The General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, the days of Ordinary Time, especially the Sundays, “are devoted to the mystery of Christ in all its aspects.” We continue our trek through the both the Gospels of Luke and John- through parables challenges, healings – some great stories and teachings.  

Vestments are usually green, the color of hope and growth. Green has long been associated with new life and growth. Even in Hebrew in the Old Testament, the same word for the color “green” also means “young.” The green of this season speaks to us as a reminder that it is in the midst of ordinary time that we are given the opportunity to grow. 

Ordinary Time, from the word “ordinal,” simply means counted time (First Sunday after Pentecost, etc.). we number the Sundays from here on out in order from the First Sunday after Pentecost, all the way up to the Last Sunday after Pentecost The term “ordinary time” is not used in the Prayer Book, but the season after Pentecost can be considered ordinary. 

The Church counts the thirty-three or thirty-four Sundays of Ordinary Time, inviting her children to meditate upon the whole mystery of Christ – his life, miracles and teachings – in the light of his Resurrection.

You may see Sundays referred to as “Propers”. The Propers are readings for Ordinary Time following Epiphany and Pentecost, numbered to help establish a seven day range of dates on which they can occur. Propers numbering in the Revised Common Lectionary begins with the Sixth Sunday in Epiphany, excludes Sundays in Lent through Pentecost and Trinity Sunday, and resumes the Second Sunday after Pentecost (the first Sunday after Pentecost is Trinity Sunday), usually with Proper 4. 

In some ways, it might be right to think of this time as “ordinary”, common or mundane. Because this is the usual time in the church, the time that is not marked by a constant stream of high points and low points, ups and downs, but is instead the normal, day-in, day-out life of the church. This time is a time to grapple with the nuts and bolts of our faith, not coasting on the joy and elation of Christmas, or wallowing in the penitential feel of Lent, but instead just being exactly where we are, and trying to live our faith in that moment.  

It is a reminder of the presence of God in and through the most mundane and ordinary seasons of our lives. . It is a reminder that when God came and lived among us in the person of Jesus Christ, he experienced the same ordinary reality that we all experience. And that God, in Christ, offered us the opportunity to transform the most ordinary, mundane experiences into extraordinary events infused with the presence of God. God is there, present in the midst of the ordinary, just waiting for us to recognize it.  

Only when the hustle and bustle of Advent, Easter, and Lent has calmed down can we really focus on what it means to live and grow as Christians in this ordinary time in this ordinary world. It is a time to nurture our faith with opportunities for fellowship and reflection. It is a time to feed and water our faith with chances for education and personal study. It is a time to weed and prune our faith, cutting off the parts that may be dead and leaving them behind. And we have a lot of growing to do, so God has given us most of the church year in which to do it.  

The Connection – Juneteenth (June 19) and World Refugee Day (June 20)

Juneteenth is related to World Refugee Day.

Juneteenth and World Refugee Day are times to celebrate what has been done to make our world better for all and reminds us to recommit ourselves to the healing work we need to do before we can all truly be free. It also reminds us to attend to the systemic forces that prevent change, keep oppression in place, and distract us with the falsehood that one person’s freedom must be another person’s loss. As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”—Ruth Frey

Jesus disturbed the comforted and comforted the disturbed – Ryan W. Clayton

Junetenth is about personal freedom. World Refugee Day also proclaims the value of each person as a unique child of God and commit ourselves to the healing and wholeness of all persons.

There is a community element as well. As the Bishop of Atlanta writes “God rejoices when we celebrate the truth-that we were made for each other and for God’s glory. “How good and how pleasant it is for brothers and sisters and siblings to dwell together in unity.”

Juneteenth also preserved the integrity of the family by allowing families to stick together without the possibility of being sold. World Refugee Day remembers and honors the families and individuals made homeless by disasters, wars, poverty, and intolerance around the world.

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”