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.

Lectionary Season of Creation V

Collect – “Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure;”

Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29 takes us through the problems of leading a badly-informed, traumatised people, the virtues of delegation and the liberation of letting others get on with what we cannot manage!

These verses stand near the beginning of part II of Israel’s time of wandering in the wilderness,  having just departed from Mt. Sina. A lively exchange between God and Moses follows. God replies to Moses’ complaint in two respects:  (1) God will share the spirit given to Moses with others, who will help to bear the burden (see verses 16-17, 24-30); (2) God will provide the meat for which the people have asked (see verses 18-23, 31-35). God works in and through the natural world to provide for his people

The entire book of Numbers is set in a journey through the wilderness. For us is may be a wilderness due to climate change. We are taken from the securities of life to the unknowns

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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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More than half of Brazil is racked by drought. Blame deforestation

Washington Post, Sept 13, 2024

Men ride horses Sunday across the dried-up Parana do Manaquiri, a river in Manaquiri, in Brazil’s Amazonas state.

Brazil is in the grip of its worst drought on record, Brazil’s Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alerts said this month, a drought that has parched at least 59 percent of Latin America’s largest country and dried out more than 1,400 cities.

Along the Rio Madeira in Amazonas state, locals are trekking miles on the hot sands of the dried riverbed in search of water. In the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland, fires have scorched an estimated 20,000 square kilometers (7,720 square miles). The vast Cerrado region is in the grip of the worst drought in at least 700 years, according to researchers at the University of São Paulo. And the air in São Paulo state has grown so heavy with forest fire smoke that authorities have urged people to avoid physical activity outside.

Much of the crisis, scientists say, can be explained by climate change, which is driving temperatures higher and making rainfall more unpredictable. But it’s been exacerbated by the deforestation of the Amazon, which has the potential to disrupt rainfall patterns across much of South America.

The biome is hydrated by a unique rainfall pattern known as “flying rivers.” Moisture blows in from the Atlantic Ocean and forms rain over the eastern Amazon. The dense forest canopy absorbs the water, then releases much of it back into the atmosphere as vapor to be carried farther west. The cycle repeats until the flying rivers collide with the Andes mountains, where they turn southward into central Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina.

Reliant on trees, the hydraulic system is now being frayed by deforestation. The destruction has been most acute in the southeastern Amazon, precisely where the moisture from the Atlantic is first deposited. The loss of vegetation is reducing the volume of water that’s reaching the continent.

This effect is being compounded by deforestation elsewhere. The Cerrado region, which has far fewer environmental protections than the Amazon, has been decimated in recent years by forest loss. Eight of the 10 municipalities that posted the highest rates of deforestation last year were concentrated in the region.

St. Michael and the Angels, Sept. 29

Michaelmas, or the Feast of Michael and All Angels, is celebrated on the 29th of September every year. St Michael is one of the principal angelic warriors, protector against the dark of the night and the Archangel who fought against Satan and his evil angels. It is the “mass of Michael.” As it falls near the equinox, the day is associated with the beginning of autumn and the shortening of days. It used to be said that harvest had to be completed by Michaelmas, almost like the marking of the end of the productive season and the beginning of the new cycle of farming.

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The Episcopal Lingo Part 6: Baptism

Parish Church

There were certain rites of passage marked by colonial churches—birth, initiation, marriage, and death for the great majority of its white population and to lesser and varying extents for non-adherents and African Americans as well. We will look at the first one this week – baptism.

The current 1979 prayer defines baptism – “Holy Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ’s Body the Church.” That part has not changed over time.

Today baptism can run the gamut from children to adults,  but in the colonial period, infant baptism was the norm, generally 1-3 months after birth. The difference with today is that recorded baptisms were close to actual recorded births, and since there were no bishops the priest baptized. Those baptized were close to recorded births since all were considered to part of the Anglican Church

The fullest and most remarkable of baptismal registers is that of Albemarle Parish (Sussex) during the ministry of William Willie. Parson Willie baptized 4,958 persons between 1740 and 1775, 4,112 whites and 846 blacks, averaging 138 baptisms annually. In the 1760s the annual average reached 166 baptisms. These figures represent 99 percent of white and 48 percent of black births recorded in the period.

There were two baptism services in the 1662 prayer, one for public and private. A significant number in the upper classes were baptized in the home and there is evidence they made an occasion for it. In diaries and journals, the word “christened” is used in conjunction with baptism.

This was not the prevalent practice based on the number of baptisms recorded on Sundays, accounting for 80% or more. The 1662 prayer book also carried a warning concerning private baptismal services.

Virginians observed both in home and church settings the Prayer Book requirement for godparents—two godfathers and a godmother for a male infant and two godmothers and a godfather for a female — to serve as "sureties" by acknowledging on behalf of the infant the articles of faith and promising to lead a godly life. Today we only require “one or more baptized persons” to act in that capacity.

The emphaisis on the service then was on original sin—Adam’s fall— was removed and the baptized person was received as a member of Christ’s Church: "forasmuch as all men are conceived and born in sin, and that our Saviour Christ sayth, none can enter into the Kingdom, of God except he be regenerate, and born anew of water and of the holy Ghost.”

The scripture language provided more examples of the use of water than today as a powerful but ambiguous symbol. As ocean, river, flood, or waves it represented an environment hostile to human activity, an unstable, ever changing, ever threatening, and often life-destroying force. The 1662 prayer book mentioned the example of Noah’s Ark and the flood. But it was also the element essential to life and the agent of cleansing and purifying. The liturgy of the prayerbook at the time called in remembrance of Moses’ part¬ing of the Red Sea water in the exodus from Egypt, and the baptism of Jesus by John, all associating water with God’s providence.

While both services are about “incorporating the Child into the body of Christ or the reception into the Church community, there is less emphasis on the original sin aspect and more about the role of community today. In the service as a community we “do all in your power to support these persons in their life in Christ. Thus, the idea of private baptisms has fallen out of favor. The direction of the minister then was to exhort the godfathers and godmothers to keep the child in the right direction.

Some similar ideas still remain in both services. In today’s service the baptized renounces “Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God” which is similar to that of 1662. In the actual baptism there is the “forgiveness of sin” and raising “ them to the new life of grace."

There is a section in the colonial service then where the baptismal covenant (Apostle’s Creed) was renewed. However, only those who support the infant said the creed and not the congregation as with today’s service.

Today’s service is more on continuing requirements of parishioners– “proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ”, seek and serve Christ in all persons” and “strive for justice and peace among all people."

The requirement for parents were more specific then – call upon the child to hear sermons and the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments. The last part of the service hinted that once these are known then the child is ready for initiation or what we call confirmation.

Today it is more general language – “Will you be responsible for seeing that the child you present is brought up in the Christian faith and life… Will you by your prayers and witness help this child to grow into the full stature of Christ”

Thus while the intent of the service was the same – forgiveness of sin and incorporation into the church, the emphais in the colonial period was the former. As the service started “Dearly beloved, all men are conceived and born in sin."

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. ”