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.
Pentecost, May 19, 11am, Day of Pentecost, Bishop Visitation, Confirmation and Reception
Coming up!
Day of Pentecost, May 19, an important feast
Sermon
Bishop Final Pentecost Prayer
Photos
Videos
Bulletin
Lectionary, May 19, 11am service
Confirmation and Reception
Commentary
Voices of Pentecost
3 Pentecost prayers
Chancellor Village Photos and sermon, May 14
Village Harvest, May 2024
“Good morning! Happy birthday, happy birthday church, happy birthday church!
“This is the birthday of the Christian church. Today, the day of the Pentecost, this day and not before this day could the followers of Jesus be called Christians
“Easter is the holiest day of the year right? I know we think it’s Christmas but it’s not. It is Easter. The second holiest day of the year is today.
“Pentecost is the last day of the great 50 days of Easter, then Christmas is after that. (Maybe it’s third holiest at least that’s what the church has been teaching for more than 2,000 years )
“Today is a day of celebrating the ongoing presence of God in the community who follow Jesus.
“Go forth to be makers of Peace, not just those who pray for it, be of good courage, strengthen the weak, lift up the lonely, help those who are afflicted in any way, always strive to be urgent for justice for others which is not about reward and punishment but justice in God’s eyes which is about restoration and mercy, hold fast to that which is the whole truth that comes without spin or agenda and may make you uncomfortable.
“Do not return evil for the evil done to you but rather rejoice for God’s holy spirit is at work in you to do God’s loving and forgiving work and the blessing of God Almighty the Eternal Majesty, the Incarnate Word and the everbody Spirit be with you and remain with you on this holy, holy day and forever more” Amen
01 Prelude – “Let the Whole Creation Cry”
Video from the Choir loft
02 Opening Hymn – “Hail thee, festival day!”
From the Congregation
03 Readings
1. “The Church – a Power House ” – Diocese of Atlanta
“What is the church? The answer is right there in the story of Pentecost! God intends for the church- the people and where we gather- to be a Power-House! In the Power-House people are released to worship in spirit and truth: to heal, create, forgive, fend off selfishness and conquer fears. God’s intervening power turned a traditional religious observance into a spirit-filled gathering by recentering the community on “God’s deeds of power.” The power was in the promise God gave to Joel long ago, that God’s spirit would birth dreams and visions for the young and old and rewrite all the limiting ways we relate to one another. Is where you go to church a Power-House?”
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Below are some of the foods and workers on Tuesday, May 14 unboxing, sorting and bagging the distribution. Thanks to Cookie and Johnny for obtaining the food from the Healthy Harvest Food Bank as well as working with the food, assisted by Elizabeth, Andrea, Lin, Dave, and Catherine and Ben.
May was an explosion in both food provided and clients receiving! (A nice 188th birthday present for St. Peter’s, consecrated on this day in 1836.)The weather was drizzly but thankfully that didn’t affect the turnout. May featured the largest number of clients, 119 since Nov. 2020 when it was 135. (A year ago the number was 93). Elizabeth reports that “The 119 includes the people Catherine and Jan and Lin pick up for. This may have been more than usual, and we also seemed to have more people from Essex and from Port Royal itself than before.”
The pounds available in May was 1,400 the largest since Dec. 2022 at 1,468 (A year ago in May, 2023 1,143)
Year to date we have served 487 people compared to 415 last year representing a 17.3% increase. The client total also exceeds both 2022, 447 and 2021, 465. However, it would be under the pre-pandemic years of 2019, 593, and 2018, 501 (with one month cancelled). Still, it represents an important improvement over the last few years.
1 There were many “moving parts” during this service which remarkably moved together and created a memorable service. The only concern was the weather with the outdoor concert and reception. The weather held! The reception was divided up between the kitchen for people to get their food and to converse with the bishop with tables outside for people to enjoy the music.
2. Some parts of the service were the culmination of months of activity. Initially they moved at a slower pace but today they were up to speed. The three to be confirmed spent two months on Thursday nights to understand confirmation and to decide if they really wanted to go through with it. At the end they contributed to the process of organizing the procession. The choir spent months learning the prelude “Let the Whole Creation Cry”.
3. Those who were part of the reception had to be organized to decide who was bringing what. The choir had to prepare as well the “Tongues of Fire” on the last hymn. The “Little Falls Bluegrass band” had to be booked and coordinated when they were to appear. Cookie had to prepare the altar and outside flowers.
4. The Bishop has been in this position for 22 years. Going to a new church means going through a check list. And of course a special sermon for both Pentecost and the presentation. The presentation involving two churches had to be worked out. The priests involved have much to do leading up to the service. We made time for the Bishop an hour before the service for her to talk to the confirmands. One unique feature during the service was her conversing individually with each which made the process more meaningful to all at the end.
5. The bishop also contributed to her choir with her sonorous voice. She also gave an impromptu talk prior to the reception in the Parish House about General Convention coming up in June.
6. And then there was Pentecost. 50 days since Easter. As the Bishop says the second most important Sunday of the year (behind Easter). We had to make sure to extinguish the Paschal candle for the last time. “Hail Thee, Festival Day” is sung almost every Pentecost. It is a difficult hymn the way it is organized and requires practice. But there is nothing better for Pentecost!
6. It was both an enjoyable and meaningful day. 9 people between two churches, St Peter’s and St Paul’s, king George were confirmed or received.
Because of…
1. The arrival of the Holy Spirit. That will be symbolized by the “Tongues of Fire” resting on the disciples. Lots of red for the Holy Spirit will be worn tomorrow
2. The birthday of the Church. The Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament provides the account of that as well as the missionary journeys of Paul in several books of the New Testament
3. the Bishop visitation to St. Peter’s. 3 youth to be confirmed and 3 adults to be received
4. A luncheon afterward Food provided by parishioners and the Little Falls Bluegrass Band providing the music
5.A time to bring us together. Language was no barrier at Pentecost
the last stanza from Jan Richardson’s poem at Pentecost,
WHEN WE BREATHE TOGETHER
This is the blessing
that blazes among us
when we speak
the words
strange to our ears,
when we finally listen
into the chaos,
when we breathe together
at last.
I. Theme – The coming of the Holy Spirit
Window from St Aloysius’ church in Somers Town, London
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
First Reading – Acts 2:1-21
Old Testament – Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm – Psalm 104:25-35, 37 Page 736, BCP
Epistle –Romans 8:22-27
Gospel – John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
Pentecost is a milestone in the story of salvation. It was on that day that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the believers in an upper room in Jerusalem as they awaited the baptism Jesus told them they would receive. Jesus had promised this event just before He ascended into heaven.
"And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
The symbol of fire is important for Pentecost.Fire has long represented God and the presence of his Holy Spirit. Fire consumes but is its own energy force. hat energy is around action and for the church, mission. Acts is about mission, about speaking, proclaiming, the good news to people everywhere, in languages (and language) they can understand. This is the day in which the mission of the church was given birth.
Commentary by Rev. Mindi
The familiar passage of Ezekiel prophesying to the dry bones reminds us that breath, wind and Spirit are all connected. They are the same words in Hebrew, the same words in Greek. The wind from God comes over the waters and breathes life into creation. The breath of God breathes into the human being and the human being becomes alive in Genesis 2. And the Spirit gives new life, eternal life, beginning in Ezekiel and echoed in John 20 and Acts 2 and elsewhere in Scripture. The celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit is the recognition that the breath that gives us life also gives us eternal life, for breath, wind, and Spirit are from God. Ezekiel is given a task that seems impossible, but God is showing Ezekiel that even out of death new life can rise through the power of the Spirit.
The Psalm is a hymn of praise, offered in the course of Temple worship, probably at the Autumnal harvest festival, given its theme of creation. It is a poem praising God and celebrating the order, the balance and majesty of creation reflecting upon God’s mighty power. Psalm 104 speaks to the breath of creation and God’s wondrous work of breathing life into the world and all of creation. Not only do all things live and die, but God renews the face of the ground (vs. 30), breathing new life into the earth. We see this in the turning of the seasons year after year, but we also see this work in the re-creation after disaster. We see the waves reshape the beach after a hurricane; we see the forests regrow after fires and volcanic eruptions–life returns, new life is begun.
Acts 2:1-21 is the familiar Pentecost story by the author of Luke, where the disciples are gathered in Jerusalem, and the wind from God blows through the house they are gathered in. We all know the story. We use the color red to represent fire, the image of flames above their heads. But we really don’t know what the heck happened there. Why this happened in this place, at the spring harvest festival? What we do know is that this story opens the door for ministry outside of the disciples own people–God’s message is for all. And the vision of Joel is renewed–all people, young and old, slave or free, male or female–and as Paul will add, Jew or Gentile–have the opportunity to be filled with God’s spirit and participate in God’s reign and vision for new life.
Romans 8:22-27 reminds us that the Spirit helps us in the waiting time. Through our Lectionary cycle we relive the history of faith, and as we go into the season after Pentecost, we are in a great period of waiting. There are no more major church holidays until Advent. We have a long time of waiting, and in our lives and in the world, we are still waiting for Christ to return, for Christ to enter our lives in a new way. Through the presence of the Spirit–through the witness of God’s love by our love for one another, our work for God’s justice, and our work for peace–we live into God’s hope through the power of the Spirit. The Spirit helps us in this time of waiting, and continues to remind us God is not through with us, or the world, yet. God is continuing to do something new
John 15:26-16:15 explains the writer of John’s view that the Spirit’s work is not only to bring eternal life, but a newness of life now. We are called to testify to the light, as John shares in chapter 1, and our lives are to be that testimony, that living witness. How we live our lives shows whether we live with the Spirit within us. We are called to love one another, as Christ first loved us, and the witness of this love is our lives, which is full of the Spirit. If we do not love one another, we do not love God, and we do not live with the Spirit in our lives.
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The priests in the Rappahannock Region of the Diocese of Virginia hold a Eucharist service every Tuesday at 1pm for the retirement community of Chancellor Village, just west of Fredericksburg, VA. First, a few photos from May 14 and then the Gospel and sermon reflecting Gospel on Easter 7.
A. Photos
B. Gospel and Sermon