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 March 16

St. Patrick, March 17

St. Patrick, apostle of Ireland, was born in England, circa 386. Surprisingly, he was not raised with a strong emphasis on religion.  

When St. Patrick was 16 years old, he was captured by Irish pirates and brought to Ireland where he was sold into slavery. His job was to tend sheep. He came to view his enslavement of six years as God’s test of his faith, during which he became deeply devoted to Christianity through constant prayer. In a vision, he saw the children of Pagan Ireland reaching out their hands to him, which only increased his determination to free the Irish from Druidism by converting them to Christianity. 

The idea of escaping enslavement came to St. Patrick in a dream, where a voice promised him he would find his way home to England. Eager to see the dream materialize, St. Patrick convinced some sailors to let him board their ship. After three days of sailing, he and the crew abandoned the ship in France and wandered, lost, for 28 days—covering 200 miles of territory in the process. At last, St. Patrick was reunited with his family in England. 

Now a free man, he went to France where he studied and entered the priesthood. He never lost sight of his vision: he was determined to convert Ireland to Christianity. In 431, St. Patrick was Consecrated Bishop of the Irish, and went to Ireland to spread “The Good News” to the Pagans there. Patrick made his headquarters at Armagh in the North, where he built a school, and had the protection of the local monarch. From this base he made extensive missionary journeys, with considerable success.

To say that he single-handedly turned Ireland from a pagan to a Christian country is an exaggeration, but is not far from the truth. He baptized thousands and ordained many priests to lead new communities of Christians. His explanations of God was so simple that he was criticized during his lifetime for his lack of learning. However, he was known for his passion and zeal.

“Patrick was really a first—the first missionary to barbarians beyond the reach of Roman law,” Thomas Cahill writes in How the Irish Saved Civilization. “The step he took was in its way as bold as Columbus’s, and a thousand times more humane.”

Through preaching, writing and performing countless baptisms, he convinced Pagan Druids that they were worshiping idols under a belief system that kept them enslaved. By accepting Christianity, he told them, they would be elevated to “the people of the Lord and the sons of God.” 

Patrick is said to have used the shamrock to explain the Trinity, demonstrating that God is both three (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), yet one, as the shamrock is both three-leafed, yet a single plant. While no hard data proves that Patrick actually went around teaching via plant life, it was a brilliant move if he did. Shamrocks were sacred plants for the Druids, symbolizing eternal life. There is a consistent record of Celtic Christianity’s reinterpreting the culture into Christian forms, and this is a profound example of that.

St. Patrick died in 461 in Saul, Ireland. Though he was never formally canonized by a pope, St. Patrick is on the List of Saints, and was declared a Saint in Heaven by many Catholic churches. 

The Episcopal Church annually honors St. Patrick with the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day on March 17, the date of his death, which falls during the Christian season of Lent. 

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What to remember about St. Patrick on March 17?

Today is March 17, St. Patrick’s day. Among all the saints, St. Patrick’s day is easily remembered. You can’t forget it with all the celebrations. In our time it is connected with parades, wearing green, and drinking green beer among others.

Many things may be surprising about his life. No, he didn’t wear green. He wasn’t Irish but British. His original name wasn’t Patrick. Plus there may be parts of his original story made up by him to promote his cause. British professor Philip Freeman, author of a biography on St. Patrick has tried to strip away the legends – That he was “kidnapped from Britain, forced to work as a slave, but managed to escape and reclaim his status, is likely to be fiction.” Were the stories a way to escape his place in England?

So what is left and what’s in it for us in 2023? Plenty! Subtitle – how to succeed in the world? First, you must have a mission. Then you must pursue it with all of your talents. You must have a unique angle, different from others. Call it creativity and add in some luck. Let’s take each one.

1. He succeeded in his mission which is his objective and also includes his methods. He was determined to convert Ireland to Christianity from the Druids. In 431, St. Patrick was consecrated Bishop of the Irish and went to Ireland to spread “the Good news” there. He baptized thousands and ordained many priests to lead new communities of Christians. Patrick made his headquarters at Armagh in the North, where he built a school, and had the protection of the local monarch. He had a stable base! From this base, he made extensive missionary journeys, with considerable success.

2. He was known for his passion and zeal and was creative at the same time. He was totally dedicated as a priest for 40 years. Patrick is said to have used the shamrock to explain the Trinity, demonstrating that God is both three (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), yet one, as the shamrock is both three-leafed, yet a single plant. Shamrocks were sacred plants for the Druids, symbolizing eternal life. So he re-interpreted known symbols.

3. He is considered the first writer in Irish history. He has left us an autobiography (called the Confessio), a Letter to Coroticus (cruel ruler who persecuted Christians) in which he denounces the slave trade and rebukes the British chieftain Coroticus for taking part in it, and the Lorica (or “Breastplate” a poem of disputed authorship traditionally attributed to Patrick), a work that has been called “part prayer, part anthem, and part incantation.”Breastplate” is in the Episcopal Hymnbook. The version tune we sing was written by Mrs. Cecil F. Alexander, for St. Patrick’s Day, 1889, and sung generally throughout Ireland on that day

“Christ be within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ inquired, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.”

A possible 4. Tell your own story which he did!

Growing up in Christ! A Lenten series from the Diocese of Atlanta, Part 2 – Maladjusted

“To grow up in Christ will make you maladjusted to the world. In Paul’s day, Roman citizenship was the platinum standard. As a Roman citizen he was distinct, privileged and protected. Though Roman citizenship was the premium of his age he still writes, “But our citizenship is in heaven….” What subordinated Roman citizenship for Paul? What are the costs, responsibilities and privileges of this heavenly citizenship?

“As we grow up in Jesus, we get a glimpse how how we have adjusted ourselves to a world in open opposition to truth, peace, love and justice. The affect of this adjustment is that it reduces Christ to our personal chaplain and our heavenly citizenship to an ineffectual pie -in -the -sky theology. But to imitate Jesus, adopting his words and ways and seeing as he sees will result in us being maladjusted to the world as it is. The closer to Christ we walk the more palpable the tension becomes. Is it any wonder why people keep Jesus at a Sunday only safe and superficial distance? Yet, this tension, this feeling of being maladjusted to the world mustn’t go unnoticed, be repressed or become guilt, defeat or despair. In fact, it is a part of the fuel for a faithful life.

“We must become as Dr. King has said, “creative” in our maladjustment. Or, as Paul writes in another place, “transformed…so we can prove the good….” Picture a former President teaching Sunday school after building homes for the poor. Or, picture a Nobel Laureate leaving lofty company to support sanitation workers in their quest for fair wages. Creative maladjustment doesn’t take the weight of the world on it’s shoulders, only God can carry that burden. But it does as a first step. Shift our personal pronouns and primary considerations from I, me and my, to we, us and ours! What does this superior citizenship cost and what are its responsibilities and privileges? It costs courage to see the gaps between what we say on Sunday and how we live on Monday. It’s responsibility is to God and neighbor simultaneously and it’s privileges are clarity, purpose, joy and partnership with the God of all the nations.”

Philippians 3:17-4:1
Romans 12:2

Part 1 of this series

Sunday Links, Second Sunday in Lent, March 16

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  • Wed., March 12, 10am, Ecumenical Bible Study in the Parish House reading the Lectionary for March 16, Second Sunday in Lent
  • Sun., March 16, 11am, Holy Eucharist, Second Sunday in Lent

  • All articles for Sunday, March 16, 2025

    • Recent Articles, Second Sunday in Lent , March 16, 2025


    Second Sunday in Lent

    Lectionary – Second Sunday in Lent, Year C
    Visual Lectionary Vanderbilt, Lent 2
    Lectionary review, Lent 2
    Today, Tomorrow, and the Third Day (Luke 13: 31-35)
    The Gospel this Sunday – Jesus as a mother hen!
    Growing up in Christ! Part 2

    Remembering Harriet Tubman, March 10
    St. Patrick, March 17
    What to remember about St. Patrick on March 17?

    LENT BASICS
    The Call to a Holy Lent
    Origins of Lent
    Introduction to Lent, 2024
    Lent – From Ashes to Alleluias
    Season of Lent
    Facts about Lent
    5 Lenten Questions – Diocese of Atlanta
    Voices of Lent

    EIGHT LENTEN PRACTICES
    “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.” (Book of Common Prayer, page 265)

    What are these practices?
    1. Prayer during Lent
    2. Daily Readings
    3. Pretzels in Lent
    4. Daily Examen
    5. Express Yourself
    6. Reducing your carbon footprint
    7. Fasting and Feasting
    8. Building Happiness in Lent

    STATIONS OF THE CROSS
    The Stations of the Cross began as the practice of pious pilgrims to Jerusalem who would retrace the final journey of Jesus Christ to Calvary.
    Later, for the many who wanted to pass along the same route, but could not make the trip to Jerusalem, a practice developed that eventually took the form of the fourteen stations currently found in almost every church. Many explore the stations on Good Friday.

    3 versions of the stations
    1. VTS version – video and reflection guide
    2. Mary Peterman – paintings
    3. Creighton – Catholic version

    Lectionary – Lent 2 Year C

    I. Theme – We should trust in God’s covenants

    “ Fox and the Hen”

    The lectionary readings are here  or individually:

    Old Testament – Genesis 15:1-12,17-18 Psalm – Psalm 27 Epistle – Philippians 3:17-4:1 Gospel – Luke 13:31-35

    Today’s readings invite us to trust in God’s covenant promises. Each of the readings speaks about a future, a not yet. This week, try letting your heart break for the world in a new way, knowing that God will transfigure and transform every valley, every sorrow, and every cross knowing that God. is already doing to transfigure despair into hope, mourning into dancing, hate into love. Let your goal in your prayers this week be to deepen both your compassion for the world and your trust in God’s transforming presence all around.

    Abraham’s involves continuation of the tribe and of the name, and of the covenant.  His confidence in the lord’s promise is counted as righteousness. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, trusts in the coming of the Savior and the transformation of our bodies.    Paul wants his readers to be tied to the future that is the Kingdom of Heaven, and the future of Jesus is the future of the true prophet who delivers God’s final word on what will be. The gospel reminds us that although God’s covenant promises are for everyone, nevertheless our effort is required if we are to participate.

    While Advent calls us to awareness, awakening and alertness, Lent helps us appreciate the cloud, the shadow, the wisdom of deep sleep. God’s covenant with Abram is not forged beneath the brilliant blaze of noon but in a deep and terrifying darkness, after the sun has set. That such an important event should happen at night prompts us to question our usual assumptions that everything good occurs in the light.

    Jesus introduces another puzzle when he implies that the order of sanctity may not be as rigid as we might think. “Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” He turns this twist into a concrete example in his lament over Jerusalem: site of the magnificent temple. To his listeners, it’s grandeur must seem close to heaven. Yet it is the city that kills the prophets; it will be the scene of his death.

    Furthermore, the people most revered in that society, its religious leaders and scholars, wait outside a closed door, seething in bitterness and frustration. Because they have rejected Jesus’ overtures, they have missed their chance to enjoy the banquet of God’s reign.

    The question must come to our minds as it did to Jesus’ first hearers. If the elite don’t get in, who does? Perhaps those who are willing to be gathered like chicks, those who admit their vulnerability, those who do not pride themselves on their virtue, those who know they don’t have a corner on truth.

    As we grow in loving God, we become more skeptical of the idols that compete for our loyalty. When bureaucrats are inefficient and heroes corrupt, when the traffic is crazy, when time and energy dribble away, when we lose our favorite project, our finest self or our dearest love, when the oppressors triumph, the greedy profit and the innocent are bludgeoned, then we remember Paul’s claim that “our citizenship is in heaven.”

    Too much is awry in this world to ever claim it for permanent residence or lasting citizenship. Knowing that the terrestrial stakes are small and the earthly city doesn’t last forever helps us “stand firm in the lord” as Paul would have the Philippians do.

    So do not lose heart, as we are reminded in 2 Corinthians. Lent is a journey, and our spiritual lives are a journey. We do not see the end but we know the way we are going. Living for Christ means living for others and not for ourselves. Living for Christ means following God’s ways of love and justice and seeking justice for others. Living for Christ means knowing that the way of this world—to put ourselves first, to seek earthly success and gain, to “have it all”—means to lose it all in the end. Living for Christ means we trust in God, we trust in the hope of God for us, as Abraham and Sarah did so long ago, as Jesus taught us, and as the psalmists sang and Paul preached—we know we shall see the goodness of God in our lives, and we share that hope with others.

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    Today, Tomorrow, and the Third Day (Luke 13: 31-35)

    Today where sun rises on hills of fresh sorrow tomorrow where stars set upon fields of old pain we will do the day’s work to bring comfort and healing for this is Christ’s labour, fulfilled the third day

    Today where souls suffer, despairing and fearful tomorrow where whole lives are crushed under strain we will do the day’s work to bring peace, to bring courage for this is Christ’s labour, fulfilled the third day

    Today where the parched and scarred earth yields no bounty tomorrow where war-weary ground gives no grain we will do the day’s work to bring hope to the hungry for this is Christ’s labour, fulfilled the third day

    Today where the foxes of evil still threaten tomorrow where tenderness so often is maimed we will do the day’s work to bring love and compassion for this is Christ’s labour, fulfilled the third day

    Today where the forces of greed rule the kingdoms tomorrow where powers of death hold their sway we will do the day’s work to bring justice and caring for we are Christ’s labour, fulfilled the third day

    – Andrew King

    The Gospel this Sunday – Jesus as a mother hen!

    Dr. Kathy Bozzuti-Jones, Trinity NY. Image “Mother Hen. Mosaic, Jerusalem”. Unknown

    “In a striking woman-centered image of God, Luke’s Gospel invites us to contemplate Jesus as a mother hen, gathering her chicks under her wings in a loving, maternal, and open-hearted posture of mercy. But her children will not come home to her for shelter. And, by referring to Herod — an icon for the murderous powers of death — as a fox, this vulnerable hen, bereft and struggling with failure, declares that it will not run away. Jesus digs in, defiantly. He is resolved to move toward Herod and into Jerusalem for the completion of his saving work of healing and deliverance — his fiercely compassionate mission from God — despite all impending threats. Jesus must be on his way, now, even as he laments his certain rejection: Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills prophets.”

    Questions for reflection:

    “Does this caring, protective image of God confirm or expand your own image of God? Might it be a powerful image for our times? What does it say about the Christian call to radical vulnerability? What other images of God help you to understand God’s mercy and care, in this moment?”

    Introduction to Lent

    “Lent” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “lencton” – meaning “spring” or “lengthening” from the time of year when the days grow long.  The season begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with the Easter Triduum (Maundy Thursday through Easter Day), covering 40 days (excluding Sundays which are little feasts of the Resurrection).  There are three key ideas to Lent:

    1 Lent is in imitation of Christ -Early Christians observed “a season of penitence and fasting” in preparation for the Paschal feast, or Pascha (BCP, pp. 264-265). The season now known as Lent (from an Old English word meaning “spring,” the time of lengthening days) has a long history. Originally, in places where Pascha was celebrated on a Sunday, the Paschal feast followed a fast of up to two days. In the third century this fast was lengthened to six days. Eventually this fast became attached to, or overlapped, another fast of forty days, in imitation of Christ’s fasting in the wilderness.   40 is also connected to   Moses’ 40 days with God on Mount Sinai, and Elijah’s 40 days of

    2 Lent is for preparing for baptism – Easter has been the high point and culmination of the Christian year  in remembrance and celebration of Jesus’s resurrection and, consequently, of our redemption. As such, Easter was regarded from the earliest times as the most appropriate time for persons to enter the church through the sacrament of baptism.

    Four elements leading to baptism were developed – entering, prayer/growth, illumination, and commitment . According to author Alexander Shaia in Hidden Power of the Gospel  these steps  “perfectly echo the lessons taught in the gospel order of Matthew, Mark, John, and Luke. Scholars tell us that the full four-step process leading to baptism had formally appeared by 300 CE. The four-step process for baptism and the gospel sequence so perfectly mirror each other that we surmise the two grew together and likely became common practice in the same time period, sometime between 180 and 300 CE.”

    The candidate themselves realized they had to ready themselves in mind and spirit.  By the end of the second century, all Christians fasted at least a day or  more in preparation for Easter, depending upon the level of their devotion. By the fourth century, it had become customary for devout priests and lay persons to join the catechumens in their more intense fasts, instructions and other preparations.

    3 Lent is a time of  individual restoration and strengthening the community –Some believe that the word “Lent” may derive from the Latin “lentare”, which means “to bend.” This understanding reinforces a sense of Lent as a time of preparation for personal and collective transformation. Having nurtured ourselves through Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, Lent becomes the time to look truthfully at ourselves and make changes.  Alternately the time was important for those guilty of notorious sins who were being restored to the Christian assembly,  

    Historically, it was also used by the church to solidify the Christian community in its early years. 

    It wasn’t easy being a Christian in the centuries after Jesus . Lent grew up during the “growing pains” of Christianity. Conversion divided families and communities.   The Church needed to clarify the meaning of Christian faith and life so that its members would form a community that could withstand the pressures of an inhospitable environment. 

    So Lent over the centuries has broadened its range of activities. Yes , it is a time of  individual scrutiny – “giving up ”  fasting, abstinence, penance  but more importantly a time of “growing into” through  prayer, self-discipline, study, reflection and reaching out and serving others. 

    We don’t just do it individually but also collectively in Lent.   It is a special time for the whole Church to be on a retreat, to take inventory and reexamine priorities, to leave sin and self behind in the love and service of God and our neighbors. To keep a good Lent means to draw closer to God and one another and to prepare ourselves once again to renew our covenant with God through the reciting of our baptismal vows. Lent is a time to prepare to enter afresh into the mystery of Jesus ‘ resurrection and importantly our redemption.

    Lent is:

    • A time for looking at the things we do that are wrong or that tempt us, asking God’s and other people’s forgiveness;
    • A time for giving up things that keep us from being loving people;
    • A time for doing extra things that will help us grow closer to God;
    • A time to be more aware of what it means to love as God loves us;
    • A time to ask God to help us to be more loving, remembering that God is always ready to strengthen us.

     

    Facts About Lent

    • Lent Is a 40 day Christian festival beginning Ash Wednesday and concluding on Easter (Sundays are not counted)
    • The word “Lent” comes from the old Anglo-Saxon word lengten, which means “springtime,” named so for the time of the year in which it occurs. The days lengthen in light vs. darkness.From Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, what was cold becomes warm. What was dormant awakens. Just as green shoots break through the winter earth, so the church stirs into action to proclaim the Easter mystery: in dying, God destroys death, and in rising, God delivers and proclaims newness of life.
    • What we now call Lent was originally a period of fasting and study for catechumens who were to be baptized on the Saturday before Easter. The 40 day fast was said by Athanasius in 339 AD to be celebrated the world over. The 40 day fast of Jesus in the wilderness was responsible for the number 40 being chosen.
    • The purpose of this extended fast was to practice self-denial and humility. This was to prepare oneself for receiving God’s grace and forgiveness in baptism, given on Easter Saturday or Easter Sunday.
    • The liturgical color for Lent is purple, the color of repentance and sorrow for sin.
    • Lent prepares us for the observance of Jesus Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection for us. It is a season of repentance and sorrow for sin. Lent is a time of self-examination in light of the Ten Commandments; it is a time of giving up of sinful behavior, a time of personal housecleaning. It is a time of commitment to the new life of Christ begun in baptism. It is a time of disciplined study of Scripture and a time of growing in faith.
    • In recent years Lent has become a time to remember our baptisms. It is a time to reflect on the impact of baptism on our lives, and to ask ourselves how we are doing. Most of all, it is a time of renewal and new beginnings, as we through faith apply the complete forgiveness won by Christ’s death to our lives. Lent heightens our awareness that we desperately need Jesus Christ.
    • As someone has said: “Lent is the Church’s springtime. Out of the darkness of sin’s winter emerges a people the Church–reborn through baptism into their Lord’s death and resurrection from the grave.”
    • Lent is an opportunity not an obligation. It is not commanded by our Lord, nor is it even mentioned in the Bible. Those Christians who observe it do so because they find it a helpful opportunity for repentance and renewal, for the strengthening of their faith. Christians are free to observe or not observe Lent.
    • The beginning of what we call “Ash Wednesday,” is difficult to date with certainty, though it probably began around 600 A.D.
    • How the interior of the church changes ? A. The church changes Vestments are changed to purple, a color associated with mourning. B. Ornate crosses and other adornments are veiled in the church and all floral decorations are removed. (Crucifixes are left uncovered.) C. The shout of praise “Alleluia” is eliminated from all acts of worship. D. The Eucharist begins with an acclamation that acknowledges our need for mercy. The Celebrant says, “Bless the Lord who forgiveth all our sins,” and the people respond, “His mercy endureth for ever.” E. The Gloria (“Glory be to God on high”) is neither sung nor said, and the service music changes to more penitential settings. F. The Decalogue (The Ten Commandments, see The Book of Common Prayer, page 317) is read or sung at the beginning of Sunday Eucharists. G. The priest’s final blessing over the congregation is replaced with a solemn prayer focusing on the Lenten journey.
    • Ashes are applied to the forehead of Christians in the sign of the cross (throughout the Middle Ages ashes were sprinkled on the head) as a symbol of humility and repentance. The ashes are a reminder that we are “dust and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). Thus, they are a reminder of our mortality cursed as it is by sin. Moreover, the ashes remind us of our limits, of what we are, and how greatly we need God’s mercy in Christ.

    The Call to a Holy Lent

    How do we fulfill the call for a Holy Lent?

    A. By self-examination. This means setting aside time to intentionally reflect upon one’s thoughts and actions, acknowledging the ways in which we fall short of God’s goodness and love.

    B. By repentance. To repent means to have “a change of heart” and to “turn around” from actions and attitudes contrary to God’s will. This means honestly confessing our sins to God and receiving his forgiveness.

    C. By prayer. This calls us to take part in the Church’s corporate acts of worship as well as the setting aside of time for personal prayer.

    D. By fasting. To fast is to abstain from certain foods or all food for a period of time. Fasting separates you from the distractions of this world and it brings us into a closer union with God. It allows us to hear God better and fully rely upon Him.

    E. By self-denial. Denying oneself in Lent means giving up certain luxuries, even legitimate pleasures, in order to focus oneself spiritually.

    F. By reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. In Lent, believers are especially called to read and reflect on Scripture in a daily way.