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.

Thy Kingdom Come, 2024

“Thy Kingdom Come” is celebrating its 8 year anniversary in 2024. Since May 2016, The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the people of Thy Kingdom Come have been bringing the world together in prayer. St Peter’s has been part of this international prayer initiative for several years. Here is the website. Check out their new mobile app.

In the gospel according to Luke, before Jesus ascended, he told the disciples to go to back to Jerusalem and await the coming of the Holy Spirit. They did as he asked, spent ten days absorbed in prayer as they waited, and the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost.

Through these prayerful disciples, the Holy Spirit brought the Church to birth. Following the example of these disciples, we can spend time in intentional prayer praying for people around the world to be filled with the Spirit and to come to know Jesus more fully.

So What we can do to participate?

1. Review the 2023 Playlist

The 2022 Play list is available

The 2021 Video Series is also available

Here is their Impact Report from 2022 and before.

2. Pray for 5 people

From the Archbishop of Canterbury:

Download the card. This card will easily fit inside your wallet, purse or book. Choose five people you would regularly like to pray for and write their names down onto a list. If you’re not sure who to pray for, ask God to guide you as you choose. Once you have settled on 5 names, commit to praying for them regularly. Use this card as a daily reminder to pray for them.

Once you have settled on 5 names, commit to praying for them regularly by praying the following: Loving Father, in the face of Jesus Christ your light and glory have blazed forth. Send your Holy Spirit that I may share with my friends [here, name your friends] the life of your Son and your love for all. Strengthen me as a witness to that love as I pledge to pray for them, for your name’s sake. Amen.

3. Go deeper with a 2024 Prayer Journal

Each day there are a few things to read, a prayer to offer and then an invitation for you to make your own reflections on what it means to follow in the way of Christ. You don’t have to write anything down, but you may find it helpful.

4. Prayers from Ascension to Pentecost

The nine days from Ascension Day to the Eve of Pentecost are the original novena–nine days of prayer.

Before he ascended, Jesus ordered the disciples not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. After his Ascension, they returned to the upper room in Jerusalem where they devoted themselves to prayer. These last days of the Great Fifty Days of Easter can be a time for us to prepare for the celebration of Pentecost. 

5. Listen to the Bishop Tom Wright’s podcast. Wright is a both a prominent theologian and author. He was the Bishop of Durham from 2003 to 2010. He then became Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at St Mary’s College in the University of St Andrews in Scotland until 2019, when he became a senior research fellow at Oxford University. He has written over 70 books but has specialized in Paul.

In a 2003 interview, he said that he could never remember a time when he was not aware of the presence and love of God and recalled an occasion when he was four or five when “sitting by myself at Morpeth and being completely overcome, coming to tears, by the fact that God loved me so much he died for me.”

Here is the complete collection.

6. New resources.

Firstly, they have introduced new daily themes for our resources. These themes focus on the character of God – ‘Our Father in Heaven’ – the One to whom we are petitioning and inviting people to know, to love and to serve.

Secondly, this year they are introducing a new sub-theme ‘Living the Kingdom’. Whilst Thy Kingdom Come will always have its focus as a call to prayer for evangelism we want to invite participants to go one step further. Mission always comes from the place of prayer, so how can we in this time go the extra mile, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to love and serve those we are praying for or others who are in need? This is about living the Kingdom – individually and corporately – in our context.

Finally, returning to the early days of TKC, they are encouraging Christians to gather together (in-person where possible) and collaborate ecumenically locally, regionally and nationally – being a truly united witness to the world.

For families, there is an 11-part children’s video series called Cheeky Pandas – packed with Bible stories, prayers, animation, worship songs and interviews with special guests including Adventurer, Bear Grylls, CBeebies Presenter Gemma Hunt, Revd Nicky Gumbel (HTB and Alpha) and Pastor Agu and Shola (Jesus House) to name a few. The video series (which will be available from early April onwards) can be used as part of church at home, gathered church (online and offline) and in school assemblies. Similar to last year, the series will be the main content in the Family Prayer Adventure Map and App.

Highlights, “Thy Kingdom Come”, Day 1, Ascension

May 9, 2024, the first video featured Right Rev. Stephen Cottrell. the second-most senior bishop of the church and the most senior in northern England.

Key parts

“At supper with his friends on the night before he dies the other Judas asks Jesus a question in John chap 14:22. He says to “Jesus why is it that you reveal yourself to us but not to the world now now thisis a really interesting question in fact ”

“It’s a question that takes us right to because the great focus of thy kingdom come is that we pray for people who do not yet know Jesus but here’s Judas asking Jesus the question that we ask Jesus. So why is it that we need to do this. Why is it that you reveal yourself to us but not to others ? why is that why do we have to pray for these five people ? Lord why don’t you just reveal yourself to them ? Jesus tells us elsewhere in the gospels that our father knows what we need before we ask him so so why do we have to ask him so anyway

“The answer is in John 14:23. Jesus answered him, those who love me will keep my word and my father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them.

“I think he’s saying something profoundly beautiful about the nature of prayer itself. Prayer isn’t just us asking stuff from God, it isn’t what if we could just get enough signatures on the prayer petition maybe God wou ld change his mind on this one.

“It’s about placing ourselves in right relationship with God that God will change us that we will become channels of God’s beauty, God’s goodness, God’s purposes for the world we are praying in this period between Ascension when Jesus Takes our Humanity into heaven to Pentecost the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit.”

“Come Lord Jesus Come Holy Spirit make your home in us and when we pray thy kingdom come when we pray Lord Jesus take your place at the center of my life when that happens we do indeed become channels of God’s grace, that God is at work through us and we dare to Hope and dare to believe and even see this happening in our world others coming to know Christ and even the kingdoms of this world becoming the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ.

Sunday Links, May 12, 2024

Easter 7, May 12, 11am, Ascension Sunday

  • Web site
  • YouTube St. Peter’s Page for viewing services
  • Facebook St. Peter’s Page
  • Instagram St. Peter’s Page
  • Location – 823 Water Street, P. O. Box 399, Port Royal, Virginia 22535
  • Staff and Vestry
  • Wed., May 8, Ecumenical Bible Study, Parish House, 10am-12pm  Reading Lectionary for Easter 7
  • Thurs., May 9, The Ascension.
  • Thurs., May 9, Thy Kingdom Comes begins
  • Sat., May 11, Episcopal Church Men’s (ECM’s) Meeting to ready the church for the Bishop. 8am.
  • Servers, Easter 7, May 12 11am
    Lector: Cookie Davis
    Chalice Bearer: Andrea Pogue
    Altar Clean up: BJ Anderson
  • Tues., May 14, Chancellor’s Village Eucharist, 1pm
  • Wed., May 15, Ecumenical Bible Study, Parish House, 10am-12pm  Reading Lectionary for Pentecost
  • Wed., May 15, Village Harvest food distribution, 3pm-4pm Call Andrea (540) 847-9002 to volunteer. All help is welcome for this vital St Peter’s ministry. Time of food pick up and unloading of food to be announced for earlier in the week and help will be needed
  • Thurs., May 16, Confirmation Class continues, 7:30pm-8:15pm in person.
  • Coming up!

  • Shred-It, Wed., June 12, 1:30pm
  • April newsletter
  • All articles for Sunday, May 12, 2024
  • Recent Articles, May 12, 2024

    Easter 7, May 12
    Photos
    Videos
    Bulletin
    Sermon
    Named Sundays in May
    Lectionary, May 12, 11am service
    Commentary


    Visual lectionary May 12

    Ascension, Thurs., May 9
    Ascension – Start of the Church’s mission
    Ascension
    Ascension lectionary
    Ascension art
    Thy Kingdom Come

    Mother’s Day
    On Mothering
    Mothers in the Bible quiz
    Origin of Mothers’ Day
    Sermon for Mothers

    From last Sunday, May 5
    Photos
    Videos
    Bulletin
    Sermon
    Lectionary, May 5, 11am service
    Commentary
    “Friendship Is at the Heart of the Gospel”>


    Rogation Sunday
    Rogation hymns
    Rogation Sunday photo gallery Visual lectionary May 5
    Julian of Norwich, May 8
    Eastertide
    Celebrate Eastertide

    Ministries
    Thy Kingdom Come
    ECM Maintenance, May 11
    St. Peter’s Anniversary, May 15
    Chancellor’s Village Sermon, April 23
    Foundations of an African-American Community
    Sacred Ground, Jan., 2024
    Sacred Ground, Feb., 2024


    St. Peter’s and the Earth
    Team Up to clean up event, April 20


    April newsletter
    ECW Chair change
    ECW Spring meeting, April 9
    Breakfast program in Jamaica


    Portland Guitar Duo at St. Peter’s, April 19, 2024


    Village Harvest, April, 2024
    Village Harvest, March, 2024
    Village Harvest, Feb., 2024


    Creeds class notes 5 sessions- Conclusion


    God’s Garden collection

    Sermon, Easter 7, Year B – “Eternal Life”

    “The Sacerdotal Prayer” – Eugène Burnand (1850-1921)

    Today is Mothers’ Day.  Mother’s Day is not a religious holiday, but like Fathers’ Day, coming up in June, we tend to acknowledge these two holidays in church because they have a lot to say about love. My mother, age 96, still lives in the house where I grew up.  I talk with her every day by phone, and I am filled with gratitude that I still have the joy and privilege of going home and finding my mother, full of love, waiting with open arms. 

    But going home isn’t quite the same as it used to be since my father died in 2021.  I still long for my father’s open arms—he gave the best hugs in the world.  But since his death, I’ve had to get used to my father’s physical absence.  Most of us gathered today have experienced in one way or another the pain that death brings, that physical separation from someone we have loved and who has loved us in this lifetime. 

    Part of our Christian life is to believe that our lives extend beyond our physical deaths, and that “through the grave and gate of death we pass with Christ to our joyful resurrection,” as one of the prayers for burial states in The Book of Common Prayer.  And this prayer also says something about our beliefs in the life to come, that we have in this life “the comfort of a reasonable and holy hope, a joyful expectation of eternal life with those we love.” We believe that even death cannot separate us from those we love. 

    Read more

    Photos, ECM work day Sat. May 11,2024 – 3 projects

    Notes

    1. We had 8 men working on a glorious Sat morning, somewhat cool. (Thanks to Ken Pogue, ECM chair, and Larry Saylor, Junior Warden for organizing it). The ECW provided lunch

    2. 3 projects. 1 project was completely finished (C), One is a work in progress to be completed next week (A). A third one needs external review.(B)

    A. New water pipe from the parish house to the church to be installed by a plumber on Monday, May 13. We need to dig trenches to find the main line from the parish house and prepare the connection for the plumber. The line going into the church needs to be reviewed. Finally, refill the trenches and make sure firm.
    DONE! Awaiting the plumber on Monday. (Photos before and after).


    B. Handicapped ramp needs painting. Scraping needs to be done. Concern was wood damage. PARTIALLY DONE. Some scraping done but much remains. It is very time consuming! We need a third party to review and advise on the stability of the ramp and whether the ramp can be repaired and life extended. (Photos before and after).

    C. Segment on the fence in the rear graveyard was bent. DONE! (Photos before and after).

    Photo Gallery of the day


    (full size gallery)