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.

“Letting Go” – Diocese of Atlanta, Week 3

Jesus saw the gap between God’s word and what was being practiced in the Temple. For Jesus, the Temple was a “house of prayer,” for some others it was a “marketplace.” Jesus felt so strongly about that gap that he made a whip and drove animals and people out of the Temple. He also dumped coins on the floor, flipped over tables and shouted.

I’m sure those displaced merchants would defend themselves using words and phrases like tradition, practical and convenient. And, I’ll bet we would use some of those same words today to explain the gap between how we practice religion when we get together and what Jesus desires. The church/religion or if you prefer the term spirituality, are only most fully the gifts God intended when they boldly and clearly point to God.

Church are the people who follow Jesus wherever they find themselves showing forth in their living a living God. And, when we do get together in buildings, where Jesus’ name, likeness and Cross are venerated and commended, our calling is “not to conform to the patterns of the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.” We followers of Jesus have to let go of some of the ways we practice church so we can recapture Jesus’ vision for the organization that bears his name.

Sunday’s Thoughts Lent 3, March 3

This Sunday’s Gospel has an usual order of the overthrowing of the Temple’s table . In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus flips tables in the Temple courtyard just after the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But in John, we get this narrative much earlier, following directly on the heels of Jesus performing his first miracle at the wedding at Cana. So, for John, Jesus flipping tables at the Temple is more an inauguration of Jesus’ earthly ministry rather than a culmination of Jesus’ earthly ministry. One thing we can’t do is flip the pews – they are bolted to the floor

Is Jesus against commerce? The SALT blog was quick to point ou this week. No. “…Jesus’ anger seems to be focused not on marketplaces, or on corruption in general, but rather on the sacrificial system itself. His actions seem to say: It’s high time for that system to end, and for a new era to begin.”

The second part of the scripture moves the temple from a physical location to the temple in his body. ” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body. ”

Thus Jesus does at least three things at once: (1) he counters the religious authorities; (2) he cryptically predicts his death and resurrection, something his disciples realize only later, “after he was raised from the dead”; and (3) he casts a revolutionary vision for worship in the new era. His body is the temple.

He re-interprets both the temple and worship. We can follow Jesus and his ministries outside the church and find new avenues for extending the kingdom. And they may be in the institutions in Port Royal and elsewhere.

Back in Matthew 5:!7-19 Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount that “his purpose is not to abolish the law or to criticize what the prophets proclaimed and taught. Rather, he has come to fulfill or complete them. Jesus also emphasizes that keeping the commandments is essential for faithful living.” So it may not be where the temple is, the institution but how we can approach what it teaches.

“The core message of Jesus was to proclaim what all the law and prophets demand of us; to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves. For Jesus, the law of love was primary, and he responded to people and situations with love and compassion. Love is the law and the gift that we are called to live and to share.”

Jesus teaching was radical since the original temple, the Temple of Solomon, was built in Jerusalem around 990–931 BCE and had 1,000 years of use. This was the means of public religion. Now there was a different vision of how it should be done that wrangled many of the Jewis leaders.

In our time there are similar controversies involving institutions and the way they have been doing things which have contributed to the polarization in our society. We should look at process to try to bridge the gap. Look at vision first. Are we are aligned with a similar vision or not ? If we are, can we work together on means and come up with a way forward where both groups can find a role and a place?

Sacred Ground meeting, Feb. 29, 2024

The meeting  started with a  Collect on the right use of God’s gifts 

Meeting with Chief Anne Richardson of the Rappahannock Indians

In 1998, the Rappahannock Indians elected the first woman Chief, G. Anne Richardson, to lead a Tribe in Virginia since the 1700s  as a fourth generation chief in her family. Also in 1998, the Tribe purchased 119.5 acres to establish a land trust, retreat center, and housing development. 

Catherine met with her on Feb. 29, 2024. She found her amazingly wise, charismatic but humble. Issues discussed:

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The Creeds Class, Part 2, Feb. 28, 2024

What the Creeds have to say about God and how that understanding influences our own relationships with God. There were 7 participants.

The session started with Psalm 134

A song of ascents.

Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord
    who minister by night in the house of the Lord.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
    and praise the Lord.

May the Lord bless you from Zion,
    he who is the Maker of heaven and earth. 

The catechism was reviewed (beginning on Page 845), Book of Common Prayer. It has 5 questions

Q. What do we learn about God as creator from the revelation to Israel?
A. We learn that there is one God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

Q. What does this mean?
A. This means that the universe is good, that it is the work of a single loving God who creates, sustains, and directs it.

Q. What does this mean about our place in the universe?
A. It means that the world belongs to its creator; and that we are called to enjoy it and to care for it in accordance with God’s purposes.

Q. What does this mean about human life?
A. It means that all people are worthy of respect and honor, because all are created in the image of God, and all can respond to the love of God.

Q. How was this revelation handed down to us?
A. This revelation was handed down to us through a community created by a covenant with God.

The Nicene Creed presents a more complete picture than the Apostles Creed:

“We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.  (Nicene Creed)  I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.  “

Let’s break it down:

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Sunday’s Links, March 3, 2024

Third Sunday in Lent

  • Web site
  • YouTube St. Peter’s Page for viewing services
  • Facebook St. Peter’s Page
  • Location – 823 Water Street, P. O. Box 399, Port Royal, Virginia 22535
  • Wed., Feb. 28, Ecumenical Bible Study, Parish House, 10am-12pm  Reading Lectionary for the Third Sunday in Lent
  • Wed., Feb. 28, “The Creeds—a Guide to Deeper Faith”, 7pm. This week – God in the Creeds Zoom link Meeting ID: 833 7014 5820 Passcode: 528834
  • Thurs., Feb. 29, Sacred Ground, 7pm. Zoom link Meeting ID: 828 0444 2092, Passcode: 181934
  • Sun., March 3, “God’s Garden”, 10:00am.
  • Servers, Third Sunday in Lent, Eucharist, March 3, 11am
    Lector: Ben Hicks
    Acolyte: Chester Duke
    Bread and Wine :
    Chalice Bearer: Andrea Pogue
    Altar Cleanup: Jan Saylor
  • Wed., March 6, Ecumenical Bible Study, Parish House, 10am-12pm  Reading Lectionary for the Fourth Sunday in Lent
  • Wed., March 6, “The Creeds—a Guide to Deeper Faith”, 7pm. This week, Jesus in the Creeds Zoom link Meeting ID: 833 7014 5820 Passcode: 528834
  • Thurs., March 7, Confirmation Class begins, 7:30pm-8:15pm. Zoom link Meeting ID: 893 1712 7905 Passcode: 505603
  • Coming up!

  • Holy Week Workshop, March 24, 2:30pm The following donated items needed by March 17: egg cartons (12 egg size), terra cotta 2 1/2″ pots, and 6″ terra cotta drip trays (used is fine), and any leftover potting soil you might like to share. Place items on the back pew. Thank you!!
  • Lenten Page

    Quick link to Feb, 2024 Lent Calendar
    Quick link to March, 2024 Lent Calendar

  • Feb., 2024 newsletter
  • All articles for Sunday, March 3, 2024
  • Recent Articles, March 3, 2024, Lent 3

    Third Sunday in Lent, March 3
    Videos
    Photos from Sunday
    Photos leading to Lent 3
    Sermon
    Bulletin
    God’s Garden, 10:00-11am
    Lectionary, 11am service
    Commentary Third Sunday in Lent
    Visual Lectionary – Vanderbilt
    Exploring the Temple Incident
    Art with the Temple Incident

    Lent began Feb. 14 (Ash Wednesday)
    Lent at St. Peter’s
    Lent Basics
    3 key points about Ash Wed
    Ash Wed. 2024, 7pm service


    “Letting Go” series, Diocese of Atlanta
    “Letting Go”-Diocese of Atlanta. Feb. 25
    “Letting Go”-Diocese of Atlanta March 3


    Conversation about Ash Wed
    Lent Stations:Vices & Virtues

    Ministries
    Holy Week Workshop, March 26
    Stations of the Cross
    Village Harvest, Feb., 2024


    Lenten Study – The Creeds
    Creeds class, Feb. 21
    Creeds class, Feb. 28- God


    God’s Garden “Let the Children Come to Me”
    God’s Garden – Making pretzels
    God’s Garden- Learning the Lord’s Prayer
    God’s Garden – The Alleluia Banner, Part 2
    The Alleluia Banner, Part 1


    Discretionary Fund donations Feb. 11


    Sacred Ground, Jan., 2024
    Sacred Ground, Feb., 2024

    Lent 3, Year B – March 3, 2024

    I.Theme –  Old and new covenants

    "Moses with the Ten Commandments" – Rembrandt, 1659

    The lectionary readings are here or individually:

    Old Testament – Exodus 20:1-17
    Psalm – Psalm 19 Page 606, BCP
    Epistle –1 Corinthians 1:18-25
    Gospel – John 2:13-22

    Commentary by Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell:

    We continue to recall the covenants of God with the people, remembering the promises of old. We have remembered the covenants of God with Noah and all of creation, between God and Abraham and Sarah and their family, and now God’s new covenant with the people journeying out of Egypt to be their God in Exodus. God’s covenant requires that the people live in community, and these “ten best ways” (a phrase I borrow from the curriculum Godly Play) are part of that covenant, what the people have to do on their end to uphold the covenant. As we know, the covenant is larger than this, and there are over 600 law codes in Exodus and Leviticus on how the people of Moses’ day were required to live in community with each other, but these ten are the ones that have stood the test of time and have become a part of even our secular society. We remember most of all that to be part of God’s family, we have to be in community with each other.

    Psalm 19 is a song of praise about creation and God’s covenant. The writer delights in the law of the Lord–in following God’s law, the psalmist knows he is part of the faithful community, part of God’s family–this is beautiful to the psalmist. The writer desires to be in the company of the faithful to God, and sings the beauty of the laws and ordinances.

    John 2:13-22 extends the idea of the faithful community to within and beyond the walls of the Temple. When Jesus enters the temple and sees all sorts of animals being sold for the sacrifices, the temple priests making money off of those coming to exchange for the temple currency, his anger is kindled. In the other three Gospels Jesus turns over the tables, but in John’s Gospel (in which this event happens much earlier, on a first trip to Jerusalem, not the week Jesus is killed as it is in the other Gospels), Jesus makes a whip of cords and drives out the moneychangers and sellers. Jesus desires to end all boundaries to relationship with God. No longer will the poor, who do not have the money for the temple currency or to afford the clean animals for the sacrifice, be turned away, and no longer will those in the temple appear to have special access to God. The temple of God will no longer be in stone, but in Christ, and in our very selves, the body of Christ. No longer will there be arbitrary separation based on human standards, but all who believe will be in relationship with God.

    1 Corinthians 1:18-25 is the famous discourse of Paul, that we proclaim Christ crucified. The new covenant in Christ is not written on tablets of stone or seen in a bow in the clouds, but is written in our hearts, as the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed. But more importantly, the new covenant is one in which death is no more. The cross is a stumbling block to those for whom the Messiah was supposed to avoid death. The cross is foolish to those who have had gods defy death. Instead, the cross calls us to put to death the sin within us, and to work to end sin in the world. But death itself is not something to be feared, because death has no power over us. The new covenant is new life–here and to come.

    The new covenant, which is emerging in the Lenten passages this season, ends all separation from God. The covenant with Noah and all creation ensures that days and seasons, the passing of years, will never cease. The covenant with Abraham and Sarah promises a family of God that will endure for generations. The covenant with Moses and the people at Sinai ensures a community of faith, the family of God, participation with each other and relationship with God. But Christ calls forth a greater covenant, one in which there are no boundaries that can be drawn on earth or by any power to separate us from God’s love, and that by being the body of Christ, we are the temple for God, that cannot be destroyed because we have the promise of eternal life in Christ.


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