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.

2024 Sun Sept 29

Season of Creation – Forests (Deforestation)

This week we look at ground level to consider deforestation

Deforestation

Forests in our memories – From Michelle Cook, Intergen. “How do you think of forests? In your imagination are they places of peace and quiet? Are they places that scare you? Are you more at home in a eucalypt forest than in a mangrove forest? Sometimes forests can be places of fear. Think of all the old stories from Europe, the folk tales some of us may have grown up hearing. Stories like Hansel and Gretel, where children get lost in the forest. Stories like Snow White, where the beautiful young girl gets taken to the forest by the hunter so that he may kill her far away from witnesses. Forests in these stories are seen as places of secrecy, of unknown dangers and mysterious powers.”

“In Psalm 139 it is our bodies being knit together in our mother’s wombs that becomes known. God, the creator of everything, knows our bodies, and hear the Psalmist says to us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Even the workings of the womb, hidden from us, and felt by mothers, are known by God. The story of creation is retold in Genesis 2:4b-22. Adam is created from earth and is set in a garden – a forest of fruit trees – a garden of food. Here is a forest, where again, all is known. The chaos and desperation of the land, where nothing is yet growing, is contrasted with the richness and safety of the garden.”

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Richard Rohr on St. Francis

Rohr is a Roman Catholic priest and writer. He is the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation which brings together action and contemplation .

He recently created a video on St. Francis.

Rohr discusses St. Francis and his connection with nature which he refers to as “The First Bible”.  Some points

1 The  early Franciscans taught that the whole natural universe is the first Bible

2 if we murder and mangle and manipulate and destroy, how would we possibly have the skills to reverence and use, correctly, the written Bible?

3  You grant respect and reverence to nature and you let the animals talk back to you. Once you’re inside the enchanted universe where everything is granted subjectivity, you’re never lonely

Focus on 5 areas of the Environment in the Season of Creation, 2024

We have taken the five Sundays readings in the Season of Creation and highlighted a specific environmental area which we will cover weekly. (This week, earth; ) How is this area affecting us ? What can we do to improve our use of them ? We have added related scriptures.

1. Earth – Sept 1

Collect “O God, creator of heaven and earth, you have filled the world with beauty and abundance. Open our eyes to behold your gracious hand in all your works; that rejoicing with your whole creation, we may learn to serve you with gladness; for the sake of him through whom all things were made, your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. ”

2. Water – Sept 8

Isaiah 55:9-10 “8 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater.”

3. Energy – Sept 15

Isaiah 40:28-31 “The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. 30 Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; 31 but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

4. Food – Sept 22

James 5:7-8 “Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. ”

5. Climate (Deforestation) – Sept 29

Romans 8:18-21 “18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ”

Diocesan ECW 134th Fall Meeting, Oct. 12, 2024

The ECW Fall Meeting will be hosted by Aquia Episcopal Church on Saturday, October 12, 2024. 9am. registration/continental breakfast. Meeting begins 10am.

The Rt. Rev Gayle E. Harris is the keynote speaker. Theme -“A Child of God, A Woman of Faith, A Warrior of Christ. ” The address is 2938 Richmond Highway, Stafford, VA, 22554.

The meeting concludes at 1:30pm with Holy Eucharist.

Registration is here. Please register by Oct. 1.