Last Sunday (Pentecost 2, June 7, 2015)
June 14 – 10:00am, Godly Play (preschool through 2nd grade)
June 14 – 11:00am, Holy Eucharist, Rite II. (Reminder – bring spaghetti, and/or sauce for the Village Harvest in June)
June 17 – 10:00am, Ecumenical Bible Study
June 17 – 1:30pm – ECW
June 17 – 3:30pm-5:00pm – Village Harvest distribution
This Sunday at St. Peter’s – Servers, Readings
The Next Village Harvest- June 17- What we need ?
Last Sunday for collection!
We are collecting spaghetti and sauce for the next Village Harvest in particular, though any canned goods are welcome. We can also use workers for June 17 to help fill the bags. Many thanks for all who provide assistance for this vital ministry.
FredCamp lunch signup, June 29-July 3
St. Peter’s will be providing lunch to the youth volunteers working on rehabilitating homes the week of June 29- July 3. It will involve preparing food for 7-10 people in Port Royal on 7213 Royal Street. Not only do you get to meet the crew, but you get a chance to see what they are doing!
If you can donate snacks, desserts, fruit, and help assemble sandwiches or choose a day to take pizza or other fast food to the workers, please let Catherine know (540) 809-7489 or by email.
In lieu of a mission trip, this is a great way to support local mission. FredCamp is working on some special ways restaurants can support the program. Stay tuned!
Relatives of Parish House owners visit St. Peter’s
During Garden week, April 21, 2015, relatives of a Parish House owner came to visit.They are Turner and Christine Smith from Middleburg, Clinora Smith Forbes and Jody Smith Stricklen. Their great-great-great grandparent lived in the Parish House from approximately 1800-1817.This is the Parish House on Lot 4 before 1876 when St. Peter’s bought it.
Their relative was Newton Berryman (1769-1838).Newton also owned Lot 11 in 1800 which is the Church property. Newton was postmaster here from 1813-17 and also trustee for the Female Academy which was behind the Port Royal Manor Court. In 1817, he left to become postmaster at Leedstown. He died in 1838 and is buried at his birthplace of “Whtehall” in King George.
He married Alice Hipkins in 1799 and they had 7 children included Louisa Hipkins whom the family mentioned.
Alice Hipkins’ uncle was John Hipkins (1744-1804). Hipkins was one of our most successful and notable merchants and land speculators of his time amassing a fortune of $100,000, an amazing for the period. Hipkins also owned the church property in 1785 as well as Lot 21, the Holloway house on the corner of Route 301 and Water Street. He purchased Belle Grove for his only child, Frances “Fanny” Hipkins Bernard and her husband, William Bernard. In 1791, John Hipkins built the center section of the current home over what is believed to have been the Conway house’s basement.A third notable home he owned was Rose Hill (Gay Mont). Hipkins left his Gay Mont estate (at that time called Rose Hill) to his grandchild and namesake, John Hipkins Bernard.
Lectionary, June 14, Pentecost 3
I. Theme – The Surprising and Unexpected Revelations of God
"Mustard Tree" – Katy Jones
The lectionary readings are here or individually:
Old Testament – Ezekiel 17:22-24
Psalm – Psalm 92:1-4,11-14 Page 720, BCP
Epistle –2 Corinthians 5:6-10,[11-13],14-17
Gospel – Mark 4:26-34
Today’s readings are colored by lovely shades of green, and are filled with images of growth and newness. From the cedars of Ezekiel to the palm tree of the psalm, the flourishing of human beings is part of all creation’s fruitfulness.
In the first readings, Ezekiel gives the Israelites hope that one day God will restore their strength and Samuel sees beyond outward appearances to choose the least likely son of Jesse to anoint as king. Paul reminds his Corinthian communities that our eternal dwelling is not found here on earth but is with the lord.
In the gospel, Jesus uses two parables to describe how God’s dynamic presence—the kingdom—grows in our lives. In Jesus’ parable of the kingdom, seed (God’s word) is scattered broadly. Perhaps as he told this story, Jesus was watching a farmer hand-sow a field. The farmer does not know how the seed sprouts and grows. The process goes on while the farmer sleeps and wakes, not by any effort on the farmer’s part, but by the mystery of growth itself. “The earth produces of itself” and the harvest comes. Jesus is not trying to explain the mystery of growth. He is commanding the same kind of trust in the reality of God’s kingdom that we depend upon in the natural world. Just as we believe a seed is growing in the dark ground while we cannot see it, so we believe the kingdom is growing in our dark world.
For the spiritually perceptive, Jesus himself is the seed God has sown in the world. We believe in the divine kingdom already “planted” in Christ and trust the creative Spirit of God to bring forth the new harvest of redeemed human souls.
The word “harvest” is also used as a biblical note of warning. The sickle is judgment. The grain was ripe when Jesus came into the world. But now the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. God’s kingdom has already sprung up in Christ, and we must decide whether or not to be among the disciples who understand his words and live by them.
God is doing something new, which is the new thing God began in creation. God is bringing the high down low and lifting up the low to be high. God is creating us anew, in a way in which we grow and live together in a way that honors God and each other, and not ourselves. The reign of God is built when we live for each other, building each other up, doing Christ’s work here on earth. The reign of God is built when we recognize that death does not have a hold on us, and that life is worth living when we live for others, not for ourselves. Everything old dies, but in Christ, everything becomes new, and life surpasses death.
Read more about the lectionary…
So What is an Epistle?
By Jack Wellman
"I read a survey many years ago that tested the biblical literacy of Christians. One of the questions was “What were the wives of the apostles called?” There were multiple choice answers and the one answer that received the most votes was the apostles wives were called “epistles” but that is, of course, wrong so let’s find out the answers to the questions: what were the epistles in the Bible and what does the word epistle mean?
General Convention: A Primer
What is it ? The General Convention is the governing body of The Episcopal Church (TEC) that meets every three years. This year it is in Salt Lake City and begins June 25 and lasts until July 3.
The Convention is a bicameral legislature that includes the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops. The work at Convention is carried out by deputies and bishops representing each diocese. There are 800 depusties (lay and clergy) sent from 108 dioceses for the House of Deputies and there are 200 active and retired bishops for the House of Bishops. During its triennial meeting deputies and bishops consider a wide range of important matters facing the Church
It is more than legislative sessions. It includes opportunities for learning, worship and socializing.
Who goes to General Convention? Besides bishops and deputies (4 clergy and 4 lay persons elected from each diocese, plus alternate deputies sometimes), there are numerous others who attend: Executive Council members; members of Standing Commissions, Boards and Committees; seminary representatives; staff of the Domestic & Foreign Missionary Society (aka The Episcopal Church); representatives from other denominations; exhibitors (there is a huge exhibit hall) representing many agencies, organizations, programs, publishers, and more. There are many visitors and many, many volunteers.
Who is going from Virginia ? Here is the Virginia Delegation.
Work of the Convention
1. Adopting legislation on issues important to the Church.
2. Amending the Book of Common Prayer, the Constitution, and the Canons of the Church.
3. Adopting a three-year budget for The Episcopal Church.
4. Electing candidates to offices, boards and other committees.
5. Creating space and time for worship, advocacy, continuing education and connecting.
What are the most pressing issues ?
1. Election of a new presiding bishop. The current bishop elected not to run again
2. Reports on reform – Task force to Reimagine the Episcopal Church. In 2012, the General Convention voted unanimously to appoint a task force “to present the 78th General Convention with a plan for reforming the Church’s structures, governance, and administration.”
That group, which named itself the Task Force for Reimagining the Episcopal Church, issued its final report in December 2014. The report includes proposals to reduce significantly the size and scope of General Convention and the Executive Council that governs the church between conventions, the elimination of most churchwide commissions on which bishops, laypeople and clergy serve, and a unicameral structure for a new General Convention that would include fewer clergy and laypeople.
Below you will find an article on TREC and in the link interpretations of their work.
3. Report on Task Force on Marriage
For the past three years, the Marriage Task Force created by General Convention in 2012 has been consulting with people across the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, considering the needs of Episcopalians in states, like Illinois, where same-sex marriage is legal, and considering “issues raised by changing societal and cultural norms and legal structures.”
In its final report, issued in February, the group calls for General Convention to authorize Episcopal clergy to officiate at same-sex weddings and to change language in the marriage canon (church law) to be gender neutral. Recently, the Anglican Theological Review published a critique of the Marriage Task Force’s work written by an Episcopal bishop, two scholars, and a member of a breakaway Anglican church, as well as several essays by scholars in favor of the proposed reforms. Deputy Tobias Haller of the Diocese of New York, a member of the task force, has also blogged extensively on the issue.
The Episcopal Cafe has published a number of responses.
4. Debate and passage of resolutions. The Blue Book contains reports and proposed legislation from the Committees, Commissions, Agencies, and Boards of the General Convention
Resolutions can deal with the Book of Common Prayer and other official liturgical publications, church disciplinary processes, social justice issues, the structure of the church’s governance, and nearly anything else.
Actions they can take
1. Change “governing documents”: the Constitution, the Canons, Book of Common Prayer, Hymnal, and/or Rules of Order.
2. Provide funding.
3. Adopt a position on an external issue (e.g., denouncing ISIS or supporting raising the minimum wage).
4. State the Episcopal Church’s position on an internal issue (e.g., the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy or recommending certain employment practices for the Church).
How to keep up with the convention on a day by day basis?
1. Virginia’s own Center Aisle provides coverage in a newspaper/magazine style
2. Live coverage as it happens – The General Convention Media Hub
3. Episcopal Herald. A new online magazine. Jimmy Abbott one of the principals, was a friend of Catherine’s in seminary.
Just give me the links!
2. St. Peter’s collection of General Convention links
Coming to Salt Lake City in the Next Month..
With General Convention of the Episcopal Church 2015 set to begin in Salt Lake City within a month a number of groups have proposed meeting the trends head on. In particular there are two reform minded groups – Episcopal Resurrection and TREC(Taskforce to Reimagine the Church) and one group within the House of Deputies (State of the Church report). Last week we reviewed the State of the Church report. This week we look at TREC
The Task Force for Reimagining the Episcopal Church has been charged by the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church to create a plan for reforming the Church’s structures, governance, and administration.
Part 1 – Final report of TREC – ENGAGING GOD’S MISSION IN THE 21ST CENTURY Here is Lionel Deming’s version with bookmarks
A) Specific, concrete proposals to the General Convention
- Move to a unicameral model of governance. (Instead of the General Convention meeting separately as Bishops and Deputies, meet as one body including bishops, clergy, and laity.) Make General Convention smaller by sending only clergy and three lay delegates (instead of four as at present).
- Create a task force on the episcopacy to study the current process and recommend a new process for discernment, formation, search and election of bishops. Ensure that episcopal transitions include discernment with bishops of adjoining dioceses (presumably to determine whether merger or collaboration is indicated).
- Provide only active bishops, not retired bishops, vote in the affairs of the church.
- Lower the percentage of funds expected for the churchwide budget from participating dioceses. Make payment mandatory unless specific exception is granted.
- Compensate the Presiding Deputy position (currently titled President of the House of Deputies) to make the role accessible to more candidates.
- Clarify staff roles and responsibilities: Consider the Presiding Bishop the CEO of the Church, Chair of the Executive Council, and President of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, “with clear managerial responsibility for all DFMS staff.” Provide for a Church General Manager (COO), Church Treasurer (CFO), Church Secretary (General Clerk), and Church General Chancellor (Chief Legal Officer) to serve under the supervision of the Presiding Bishop. Establish mutual ministry reviews among the Presiding Bishop, Presiding Deputy, and Executive Council.
- Make the Executive Council 21 members instead of 42. All nominees would be proposed by the Joint Standing Committee on Nominations (some proposed by the provinces). None would be nominated from the floor of General Convention.
- Eliminate all Standing Commissions except the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music and the Standing Commission on Constitution and Canons. Rename these commissions to clarify the scope of their work.
B). General directions for further work by other bodies:
- Episcopal seminaries are to collaborate in new ways to offer new programs to foster new leadership.
- Diocesan Councils, Commissions on Ministry, and Bishops are to consider ways to support bi-vocational clergy.
- The Church Pension Fund and the Executive Council are to study our current system of clergy compensation, and the Church Pension Fund is to report to the next General Convention regarding the pension plan and how it meets the needs of today’s church.
- Churchwide staff are to create a network for churches and their leaders to foster excellence in liturgy and stewardship of resources, and to report progress annually in these areas.
- Bishops are to cultivate collaborations and discuss the number and size of our dioceses and whether change is needed, reporting to succeeding General Conventions.
- Dioceses are to reflect theologically on the use of their assets, particularly their buildings and grounds, “to develop a theology of sacredly inclusive use-of-space that is adaptive and generative financially and spiritually.”
- Presiding Bishop & Deputy are to convene professionals to advise congregations who wish to re-envision their space and its possible uses.
- Bishops, Deans, Chapters, Rectors and Vestries are to think strategically about how best to use their space in their local context to serve God’s mission.
- Standing Committees of each diocese are to set a standard for intervening in endowment spend-downs in order to provide for ministry to future generations.
- Planners are to shift the General Convention to a shorter church-wide mission convocation convening local mission practitioners to share best practices and develop networks.
- The presiding officers of General Convention are to appoint task forces to carry out the work of General Convention on a triennium-by-triennium basis. The Presiding Bishop’s office is ultimately responsible to ensure the issues identified by General Convention are studied and addressed.
Read the interpretations of the Report…
Background of TREC – Acts 8 movement
The TREC initiative came out of a series of unofficial meetings of the last convention in 2012 that became " the Acts 8" movement or initiative.
Here is how Susan Snook, one of the founders, described it :
"It’s a dark time for the church. Social forces have impacted believers so that it’s not clear how the community of faith can continue. The institutions that have held the church together are breaking apart, and people are scattered, unsure of their next step, uncertain that the gospel will survive into the next generation. The Episcopal Church in 2012? No – the Followers of The Way in Jerusalem, 40 A.D. Acts Chapter 8 has the story. A persecution has broken out against the followers of Jesus. In Jerusalem, the apostles have created an organization, with assigned roles and delegation of responsibilities to deacons and others. It seems to work, until Stephen speaks out of turn, insisting that the older Temple organization is not necessary. Stephen gets killed as a result, and a persecution begins. The fledgling institution is destroyed and scattered, and no one knows what to do.
"The Episcopal Church in the 21st century is not in a restructuring moment – we’re in an Acts 8 moment. Let’s open up a process of prayer and discernment that allows people across the church to pray together, to study the Bible together, to dream together about what the church could be. Let’s put everything out on the table, including our dearest structures. The disciples learned that they didn’t become Christians in Jerusalem – they had to move to Antioch. Everything has to be open to change, and we have to be ready to listen.
"Our institutions are no longer useful in the same way they once were, society around us often seems hostile to our mission, and we’re not sure what’s coming or how the church can survive into the next generation. We are being scattered, flung headlong into a new world."
Here are the founding blog posts and a video where they had to finish the sentence "I dream of a church…". This was a lay and clergy group that formed at the General Convention in Indianapolis under the following principles:
"1. We follow Jesus, guided by the Holy Spirit, grounded in prayer, scripture, and worship.
"2. We challenge The Episcopal Church to proclaim the good news of Jesus in effective ways.
"3. We encourage and equip local missionary communities.
"4. We carry out our work with hope, optimism, and good humor.
"5. We consistently and transparently communicate to achieve dialogue across the church. "
Believing that funding innovative ministries at the local level could provide new models from which the whole church could learn, the Episcopal Church distributed 38 grants totaling roughly $1.7 million for Mission Enterprise Zones and Church Plants in 2013 and 2014. As these grants required matching funds, $3.5 million was raised toward "fostering creative ways to be the Body of Christ in differing contexts."
This article reviews examples of innovative ministries created under this program.
An Acts 8 Moment in Virginia
One of the Mission Enterprise Grants was given to the Trinity Charlottesville as they came together to create a combination ministry – kitchen, garden and food. Bread and Roses uses its garden and kitchen to teach low-income residents to cook unfamiliar foods, to preserve produce so it can be eaten out of season, and to create meals that bring the family together. Read more about it
Getting at the Heart of What the Episcopal Church is about…
This is a favorite essay by Linda Ryan to close on what this Church is about, warts and all, written in relationship to Acts 8. Excerpts follow but read Linda’s story in the link.
"But the Episcopal Church is more than a liturgy and church practice. For me, one of the most important bits is the focus on the teachings of Jesus that go beyond the church walls. In church we don’t hear constantly about our sinful selves and need of salvation although we do hear the word "sinners" fairly often and in a serious context. What we hear is what Jesus preached and taught: to care for the poor, the widows, the orphans, the sick, the dying, the prisoners and both the resident aliens and the strangers in our midst. These are lessons we are to take out into the world with us and to not just proclaim our Christianity but show it as advocates and workers who do what they can to relieve the poverty, injustice and oppression that exists everywhere in this world.
"Episcopalianism is a broad umbrella, encompassing many variations of worship style, beliefs and ministry focus. Wha binds us all together are the historic creeds, the practice of prayer and the dedication to bringing the kingdom of God to this world rather than waiting for someone to provide it for us in the next. Whether the church is bells-and-smells high with incense and formality or more conservative and sometimes charismatic, the focus is still on Jesus and what we as Christians are supposed to do in response to his teachings. Through his death and resurrection we have obtained eternal life, but through his teaching and our practice of obedience to those teachings, we help others to obtain a glimpse of the kingdom of God, a place of peace, harmony, security, health and equality go hand-in-hand and where everyone benefits.
"I love my church. I’m saddened by its conflicts and problems but I see it becoming more and more aware of the needs of the world above the needs of the church. I celebrate that. I see it responding to the cries of those who most need help and advocacy and that gives me hope that we as Episcopalians can be known as Jesus followers in every sense of the word, "not only with our lips, but in our lives," as one of our prayers states. "