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.

2025 Sun Feb 2

Rosa Parks birthday, Feb 4 – Black History


From the SALT project

“February 4 is the birthday of Rosa Parks, born in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1913. In the 1940s and 50s, she served as secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP, working as a civil rights organizer and activist.  

“In August of 1955, black teenager Emmett Till, visiting relatives in Mississippi, was brutally murdered after allegedly flirting with a white woman. Parks attended a mass meeting at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery on November 27, 1955; the meeting’s speakers addressed the Emmett Till case at length, including the news that Till’s two murderers had just been acquitted. Parks was deeply disturbed and angered by the verdict, not least because Till’s case had received such widespread public attention, far more than other cases she and the Montgomery NAACP had worked on over the years. Just four days later, she took her famous stand on that fateful Montgomery bus ride. She later said that when the driver ordered her to move, “I thought of Emmett Till and I just couldn’t go back.”

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Congregational Meeting, 2025

JANUARY 26, 2025          

Sunday a large congregation met at 11am for the Annual Meeting of St. Peters which held during the church service led by Rev. Tom Hughes.  Speakers included John Davis ( Sr. Warden), Larry Saylor (Jr.   Warden), Ken Pogue (ECM)  & Andrea Pogue (ECW).  

A Valentine Social Honoring the Ladies of St. Peters -by ECM      
The Episcopal Church Men (ECM) would like to cordially invite you to help coordinate, host and pay tribute to the wonderful, hard-working and gracious ladies of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church as well as the blessed ladies in Port Royal and beyond that contribute their time and efforts in support the mission of the church.

Cuisine – Our mission is to provide a heartfelt and joyful experience for our wives and lady attendees that will include a light, picnic style meal of fried chicken, potato salad, macaroni salad, mixed green salad, green beans, baked beans, dinner rolls and dessert; consisting of cherry cheesecake.

Entertainment – Entertainment will consist of a series of randomly, self-selected melodies, popular standards and seasonal favorites; all sung together in “sing-along” fashion, lead and accompanied by the talented Meistro, Lawrence (Larry) Saylor and his guitar (Bessie).  It promises to be wildly entertaining, and yes, the words to every song will be readily available for the divas in all of us. Of course there will be beverages; coffee, tea, soda, and wine sufficient enough to loosen the vocal cords of even the most inhibited among us. So let’s sing together and celebrate the ladies in our lives to the glory of His name.

Attire – The preferred attire for gentlemen is Blazer/Sportscoat (No Tie); Ladies – Go for it.  We love it when you Show Out!

Gentlemen – Please help us demonstrate our love (your love) and appreciation for the ladies in our lives by donating whatever time you can spare towards the coordination, set-up, errands and the anticipated cleanup duties.  Also donations in the amount of $30 are requested to cover the costs for this illustrious event.  Please make your contributions payable to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church and write “ECM” on the memo line.

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Sunday Links, Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany, The Presentation Feb. 2

  • 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

  • 1. Wed., Jan. 29, 10am, Ecumenical Bible Study in the Parish House reading the Lectionary for Feb. 2, Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
  • 2. Wed., Jan. 29, 10am, Ecumenical Bible Study in the Parish House reading the Lectionary for Feb 2, The Presentation
  • Sun., Feb. 2, 11am, Holy Eucharist, the Presentation
  • Sun, Feb. 2, 12pm, Coffee Hour Parish House
  • Wed., Feb 5, 10am, Ecumenical Bible Study in the Parish House reading the Lectionary for Feb 9, Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

  • All articles for Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025

    • Recent Articles, Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, The Presentation, Feb. 2, 2025


    Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, The Presentation

    Note: In the Epiphany cycle, Feb 2 is the 4th Sunday after the Epiphany. However, since Feb. 2 is a feast day, the Presentation of Jesus in the temple, the Presentation takes precedence so the lectionary will be the Presentation. The Lectionary for Epiphany 4 is also included below to keep the Epiphany flow going.

    Congregational Meeting, Jan. 26
    The Season after the Epiphany – What’s it all about ? Focus on the Gospels
    Lectionary, The Presentation
    Presentation of the Lord
    Story of Rembrandt’s Presentation in the Temple
    Visual Lectionary Vanderbilt, Feb 2, Presentation
    Candlemas on Feb. 2

    Lectionary, Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
    Commentary, Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

    Rosa Park’s birthday, Feb 4

    The Epiphany was Jan. 6, 2025 The Season after the Epiphany lasts until March 4, Shrove Tuesday.

    Epiphany Sermon, Trinity Episcopal, NY, Jan. 5, 2025
    Epiphany Content and traditions
    3 Miracles associated with the Epiphany
    Epiphany Readings
    The Epiphany – a perfect start to the new year
    Bursting Forth – An Epiphany Reflection

    Epiphany 4, Year A – Presentation of the Lord

    I.Theme –  The Temple as the place of God’s revelation

    “Presentation of Jesus in the Temple”  (detail) – Rembrandt (1631)

    The lectionary readings are here  or individually:

    1.  Old Testament – Malachi 3:1-4

    2.  Psalm- Psalm 84 OR Psalm 24:7-10

    3.  Epistle – Hebrews 2:14-18

    4.  Gospel – Luke 2:22-40

    The readings focus on the Temple as the place of God’s revelation. When Jesus is brought to the Temple, he becomes the living revelation of God.

    Luke 2:22-40. Luke shows Mary and Joseph observing the requirements of the Torah by presenting their firstborn to the Lord and then ransoming him back. Within this scene, Luke paints a meeting between Jesus and two representatives of Israel: Simeon, who is “righteous and devout,” and Anna, a “prophetess.” (Luke frequently presents women in leadership positions where his audience would normally expect a man.)

    Malachi 3:1-4. In Jewish thought, the Temple was God’s footstool on earth, the point at which the divine touched creation. In apocalyptic thought, it was the place where the final judgment would take place. That is Malachi’s vision: God will appear seated in the Temple, “refining and purifying,” so that the people might offer pure sacrifice.

    Psalm 24. This song was sung by pilgrims as they reached the Temple. Standing outside, they called on the gates to lift up. From inside the Temple, voices sang back a question of faith: “Who is the king of glory?” The answer, given in faith, allowed access to the Temple.

    Hebrews 2:14-18. An excerpt from an extended reflection on why Jesus had to be human—he had to be one of the “children” in need of redemption that he might “expiate the sins of the people.”

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    Story of a painting – Rembrandt’s “Presentation in the Temple”

    Rembrandt returned to the subject, "Presentation of Jesus in the Temple" at least 5 times from 1627 to 1654, two paintings, three etchings.

    The subject is the biblical story of Simeon. Jesus was still an infant when Joseph and Mary took him to the temple to be presented to God. There they were approached by Simeon, a devout old man who recognised the child as the Saviour and praised him to God.

    The most famous of these works was in 1631 when he was about 25 and still living in Leiden. Later that year he moved to Amsterdam. This painting is the high point of Rembrandt’s Leiden years: it represents the sum total of his artistic abilities at that

    Most of his paintings are in very dark tones out of which his figures seem to appear to the foreground. Rembrandt was the master of dark and light and most of his pictures are made in this style of struggle between dark and light, night and day, sorrow and joy.

    The key to the picture is how carefully and delicate the figures are painted, even those in the darkest part of the painting. The beautiful contrast, between the light on the central group and the soft dimness of the remoter parts of the cathedral, illustrates a style of work for which Rembrandt was very famous.

    Our eyes are drawn to the very emotional Simeon, eyes aglow. As with the priest, his figures are often elongated in this period. The pictures is framed by the two figures behind Mary and Joseph in dark contrasting with Mary’s blue and Simeon’s shimmering robe.

    Rembrandt adhered fairly closely to the biblical text. Simeon, with the infant Jesus in his arms, praises God with upturned face. To his left kneels the surprised Mary. Joseph holds the two doves he has brought along to sacrifice. Simeon praises Jesus as ‘a light to lighten the Gentiles’, which is why Rembrandt portrayed the Christ Child as a veritable source of light

    However, the picture is not realistic of the temple. He depicts a Gothic Cathedral with the beggars looking at the Christ-child. They were beggars of Amsterdam, and the men seated in the wooden settle at the right were like the respectable Dutch burghers of his acquaintance. His style featured large cavernous spaces.

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