Frontpage, Jan. 20, 2019

January 20, 2019 – Epiphany 2

From left to right, top to bottom , The peace, Birthday celebration Cookie Davis, Welcoming Susan Tilt, junior ushers, the balloon girl!, Sermon on the Wedding of Cana, Weather whipping up on the Rappahannock

Pictures and text from this Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019

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The Week Ahead…

Jan. 23 – 10:00-12pm – Ecumenical Bible Study

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Jan. 27 – 10am – Living the Good News (children)

Jan. 27 – 11am – Morning Prayer

Sunday, Jan. 27 Readings and Servers

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Village Harvest, Jan. 16

The first Village Harvest of 2019 brought 110 people on snow covered ground on Jan. 16. The snow was still around from Sunday when services were canceled.

Read more…

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We have the Congregational meeting reports online in several formats –  as a spread, pdf format and book formats: 

1.  Web This shows the reports as a table of contents in the left sidebar and you can click on the reports which will display in the right pane. Below the table of contents are also the PDF and flash formats described below.

2.  PDF

3.  Book view. Looks like a book with table of contents, flipping pages, searching, etc.

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Reading Romans during Epiphany

Read Romans during Epiphany beginning on Jan 7. This is sponsored by Forward Movement, the people who make “Day by Day” and encouraged throughout the Episcopal Church. They call the initiative the “Good Book Club.”

Why Read Romans ?
from J. I. Packer, Canadian Theologian.

Paul’s primary theme in Romans is the basic gospel, God’s plan of salvation and righteousness for all humankind, Jew and Gentile alike.

Paul’s purposes for writing this letter were varied:

1. He wrote to prepare the way for his coming visit to Rome and his proposed mission to Spain (1:10-15; 15:22-29).

2. He wrote to present the basic system of salvation to a church that had not received the teaching of an apostle before.

3. He sought to explain the relationship between Jew and Gentile in God’s overall plan of redemption. The Jewish Christians were being rejected by the larger Gentile group in the church because the Jewish believers still felt constrained to observe dietary laws and sacred days.

There are 50 daily readings here from January 7 to March 5. The readings are in manageable chunks plus there are resources to help you along the way.

Links

1. The Readings

2. Basic Resources

3. Catherine’s Roman’s Outline

4. Catherine’s Roman’s Study Guide

5. Indepth Resource

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Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Jan 18-25, 2019

Theme for 2019:
"Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power;"
Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue …(Deuteronomy 16:18-20)

At least once a year, Christians are reminded of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples that “they may be one so that the world may believe” (see John 17.21). Hearts are touched and Christians come together to pray for their unity. Congregations and parishes all over the world exchange preachers or arrange special ecumenical celebrations and prayer services. The event that touches off this special experience is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Traditionally the week of prayer is celebrated between 18-25 January, between the feasts of St Peter and St Paul.

Brochure for 2019. Readings are here. 

"The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2019 has been prepared by Christians from Indonesia. With a population of 265 million, 86% of whom are reckoned to be Muslim, Indonesia is well known as having the largest Muslim population of any country. However, about 10% of Indonesians are Christian from various traditions. In terms of both population and the vast extension of the country Indonesia is the biggest nation in South East Asia. The nation is founded on five principles called Pancasila, with the motto Bhineka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity). Across the diversity of ethnicity, language and religion, Indonesians have lived by the principle of gotong royong which is to live in solidarity and by collaboration.

“This always fragile harmony is today threatened in new ways. Much of the economic growth that Indonesia has experienced in recent decades has been built on a system that has competition at its heart. This is in stark contrast to the collaboration of gotong royong. Corruption is experienced in many forms. It infects politics and business, often with devastating consequences for the environment. In particular, corruption undermines justice and the implementation of law. Moved by these concerns, the Christians of Indonesia found that the words of Deuteronomy, “Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue …” (see Deut. 16:18-20) spoke powerfully to their situation and needs. Before the people of God enter the land God has promised them they renew their commitment to the Covenant God established with them."

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Conversion of St. Paul, Jan 25 – in art and words 

On January 25 we remember how Saul (or Paul) of Tarsus, formerly a persecutor of the early Christian Church, was led by God’s grace to become one of its chief spokesmen. Here are two art works that depict the event :

“The Conversion on the Way to Damascus; ” (1601)   “ The Conversion of St. Paul ” Nicolas-Bernard Lepicie, 1767

 "and suddenly a light from heaven shined round about him. And falling on the ground, he heard a voice saying to him: Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Who said: Who art thou, Lord? And he: I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. " Acts 9: 3-5

The Italian painter Caravaggio painted the one on the left in 1601 for the Cerasi Chapel of the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, in Rome. The painting depicts the moment recounted in Chapter 9 of Acts of the Apostles when Saul, soon to be the apostle Paul, fell on the road to Damascus.

Caravaggio is close to the Bible. The horse is there and, to hold him, a groom, but the drama is internalized within the mind of Saul. There is no heavenly apparition. He lies on the ground stunned, his eyes closed as if dazzled by the light.

Caravaggio’s style featured a dark background with usually one point of breaking light. Paul is flung off of his horse and is seen on his back on the ground. Although Paul reflects the most light out of all the characters, the attention is given to him in a strange way. Because Paul is on the ground, he is much smaller than the horse, which is also at the center of the painting but he is pictured closer to the viewer.

The second painting constrast with Caravaggio in the use of color and light. This one has some of the most vibrant colors.  Heaven’s light is shown coming dynamically from left to right.  The painting is like the key frame in a movie on the conversion.  At the time Lepicie was a professor at the  Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris

Read more about Paul’s conversion… 

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Epiphany –  Jan 6 until Lent  begins March 6, 2019

Adoration of the Magi – Bartholomäus Zeitblom (c. 1450 – c. 1519)

The English word “Epiphany” comes from the Greek word epiphaneia, which means “appearing” or “revealing.” Epiphany focuses on God’s self-revelation in Christ.  

Epiphany celebrates the twelfth day of Christmas, the coming of the Magi to give homage to God’s Beloved Child. 

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The Epiphany celebration remembers the three miracles that manifest the divinity of Christ. The celebration originated in the Eastern Church in AD 361, beginning as a commemoration of the birth of Christ. Later, additional meanings were added – the visit of the three Magi, Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River with the voice from heaven that identifies Jesus as God’s son, and his first miracle at the wedding in Cana. These three events are central to the definition of Epiphany, and its meaning is drawn from these occurrences.

More about Epiphany

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Coming in 2 weeks, Feb. 3… 

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?"– 1 John 3:17.

"Souper Bowl of Caring" is an annual fundraising drive organized in partnership with the NFL. It focuses attention on the issues of hunger and poverty in our community and throughout the world. 149 million will tune into the big game but there are 50 million facing hungry. We would like to "change the game" from hunger to abundance.

It began 29 years ago with a simple prayer : “Lord as we enjoy the Super Bowl, help us to be mindful of those without a bowl of soup to eat.” Souper Bowl evolved into a separate non-profit. During "Souper Bowl of Caring 2019", schools, faith-based organizations and service clubs throughout the United States raised over $8 million that was donated to local charities. There is online video about the program –

St. Peter’s began participating in 2012 so this is our 7th year. The money and food we collect stays local and benefits Caroline County since the proceeds will go to our Village Harvest Food ministry.

Here is our recent record:

You can check out our entire record here 

On Sunday Feb 3, 2019, please make a separate donation at the offertory (with “Souperbowl” in the memo line) or bring in some food for this worthy cause. The youth will be collecting both donations and food outside at the conclusion of the service.

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Lectionary, Jan. 27, 2019

I. Theme – The importance of community

Prisoners Exercising” – Van Gogh (1890)

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,  to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."

The lectionary readings are here  or individually: 

Old Testament – Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
Psalm – Psalm 19
Epistle – 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Gospel – Luke 4:14-21     

Today’s readings address us as a community rather than a group of individuals. In Nehemiah, we hear the heartfelt response of God’s people as God’s word is read aloud to the community restored from exile. Paul compares the community of the Church to a body, each individual member necessary to the body as a whole.

The lectionary readings this week have a pattern of linking the art of reading scripture, interpretation and preaching, but we are wise to remember that these are not the only spiritual gifts.  Paul reminds us that we need teachers, leaders, interpreters, those who help others in addition to preaching—but there are greater gifts, gifts of faith, hope, compassion, care—and love. These are the gifts that are needed in our world today. All other gifts—preaching, teaching, leading, etc.—should work to the benefit of God’s gift of love.  

Luke shows Jesus as he begins his ministry by proclaiming God’s word to his hometown community gathered at a synagogue. We are watching Jesus of Nazareth work out being the Son of God. At the point of Luke chapter 4, the title "Son of God" does not signify the second person of the Holy Trinity, it does not yet entail actual divinity, Jesus has still to work that out; and though it was already true of him,  At this point in the gospel, to be the Son of God is to be the royal prince of Israel, the true king of the Jews, of the House and lineage of David, the entitled one, the anointed one, the christos, the Christ, the Messiah. 

Today we read of him going public and developing his campaign. He doesn’t go straight to Jerusalem. He does the synagogues, explaining the book of the law of Moses, the Torah. Like Ezra in our reading from Nehemiah. He read the law and made sense of it so the people could understand it, he was giving them interpretation and inspiration and hope. From our perspective we can see him as God having come among God’s people, God talking to them again. But they would not have seen him as the Messiah, doing that. King David was not a teacher. They saw him as a rabbi and a prophet. 

He chooses to announce that he’s the Messiah in his own home town, in the town hall, which is the synagogue. He does it by simply reading from the Isaiah scroll.

Read more..

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