The Feast Day of our Patron Saint - St. James the Apostle

...was this week - July 25th -- below is a nice write up (heavy on legend)  about St. James and includes a recipe for a well known dish - Coquille St. Jacque - developed in honor of St. James...check it out!

St. James was the son of Zebedee, a Galilean fisherman, and Salome, a pious woman who tended after Christ. He and his younger brother, St. John (Feast Day: December 27), were called as disciples just after Simon Peter and Andrew were called, and Peter, James and John are often mentioned together in Scripture, having been witness to the raising of Jairus's daughter, the Transfiguration, and Christ's Agony in the garden of Gethsemani.

He and his brother must have been quick to anger and zealous as they came to be called "Boanerges" ("Sons of Thunder") -- a nickname given to them by Jesus Himself. After Our Lord's Ascension, tradition says that St. James's zeal for evangelizing took him to parts of Spain for a time, as St. Paul had wanted to do (Romans 15:24), whereafter he returned to Judea for his martyrdom.

In A.D. 44, Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great who tried to have the infant Jesus killed, set out to do the will of the Jews by dealing harshly with local Christians. St. James was accused, and Herod then "killed James, the brother of John, with the sword." (Acts 12:1-2). Church Historian, Eusebius, tells us that St. James's accuser followed James to martyrdom when he converted after hearing the Saint's confession to Herod.

Here tradition picks up again by telling us that James's relics were translated to Spain (of course, legends grew surrounding the event, one strange and lovely one in particular apparently meant to explain why the cockleshell is St. James's emblem. It is said that when the Saint's relics were being conveyed by ship from Jerusalem and approached the coast of Portugal, a man happened to be riding his horse on the beach. The horse disobediently plunged into the sea, with its rider, making for the boat. They sank, of course, but then rose again, covered with scallop shells, and hence the cockleshell became the symbol of our hero). The relics were entombed and rather forgotten after years of Roman persecution, Vandal and Visigoth invasions, and Muslim attacks -- forgotten, that is, until an early 9th century hermit named Pelayo discovered the tomb -- some say after seeing a star marking the place -- in an area that became known as Compostela, which means "Field of Stars." The King built a cathedral to mark the location (Pelayo's Bishop, Theodomor of Iria, is also buried there, refusing to be buried in his See out of his desire to be near the Saint).


The faithful began to make pilgrimages to the site -- so much so that Compostela became the third greatest place of pilgrimage, just after Jerusalem and Rome -- and still make the pilgrimage today. After making one of the many routes, known as "the Camino," pilgrims attach cockleshells or their facsimile to their hats or clothes as "pilgrim badges."

At the time of the Muslim ("Moorish") invasions mentioned above, a particular battle took place that was to seal St. James ever more closely to Spain, where he is known as "Sant  Iago."  (Saint James) At the Battle of Clavijo in A.D. 841, the Christians had lost and were in retreat when King Ramirez of Leon had a dream in which the Apostle assured him of victory. He relayed his vision to his men, and the next morning he had his trumpeters sound the call to battle. There, on the field, the men saw St. James on a horse adorned with cockleshells, waving a banner. He led the Christians on to a clear victory, and ever since, the Spanish battle-cry has been "Santiago!"

St. James is the Patron of Spain, equestrians, blacksmiths, tanners, veterinarians. He is usually depicted in art with his symbols -- the cockleshell, pilgrim hat, sword, Sacred Scripture -- or on horeseback, usually trampling a Moor.

For more (including the recipe)  read on...

http://www.fisheaters.com/customstimeafterpentecost4x.html

Here is..."his" Cathedral in Compostela, Spain

Click on image to enlarge it...

Trinity Sunday - Remember to Breathe

A Beautiful Thought about Our Triune God

And that same Father says to each soul in His infinite loving kindness, "Thou art Mine and I am thine: I am thine and thou art Mine, for I have chosen thee from all eternity." … When we unite ourselves to God by love, then we are spirit: but when we are caught up and transformed by His Spirit, then we are led into fruition. And the spirit of God Himself breathes us out from Himself that we may love, and may do good works; and again he draws us into Himself, that we may rest in fruition. And this is Eternal Life; even as our mortal life subsists in the indrawing and outgoing of our breath.



-John of Ruysbroeck c. 1294-1381

De Septem Gradibus Amoris, ch. 14

 
A Spiral-Shaped God © Jan L. Richardson

Our Annual Brick Church Service....

.....is THIS Sunday - May 1st.  You and yours are warmly invited to join the St. James Santee Parish Episcopal Church Family.  11:00 am, followed by Cover Dish Picinic! 

Scroll down on the right side of this page for directions.

Easter Day 2011

Alleluia!  Alleluia! Alleluia! -

Christ is Risen!

The Lord is Risen Indeed!  Alleluia!  Alleluia Alleluia!

Church was so beautiful and  full, music was uplifting, children scampered to pick up 350 plus Easter eggs and the Lord Jesus was glorified.    Resurrection is Real!   Alleluia!

Holy Week 2011

...began with a glorious Palm-Passion Sunday and will continue with Maundy Thursday at 6:30 pm and Good Friday at noon.  Come, walk the week and keep watch.

Here are some more pictures from the Windy Fire...they are such a strong symbol of the desolation that surely was the Lord's as he hung on the cross...

"For us to wicked hands betrayed, scourged mocked, in purple robe arrayed, he bore the shameful cross and death; for us gave up his dying breath."  (O Love, how deep, how broad, how high - Hymnal 1982 - 449)

Click on the pictures to enlarge them

Controlled Burning

Last week a good sized fire named "The Windy Fire"  came calling in the vicinity of Brick Church, Old Georgetown Rd, Rutledge Road and the South Santee area.  We are thankful to God that there were no injuries or loss of life.  The fire consumed about 2,600 acres of timber by the time it was done.  It started on Wednesday, the 23rd and  I noted one or two spots still smouldering when I rode out there on Sunday.  It was considered 95% contained by late Friday.
What an anxious time.  I sat by the radio scanner listening to the various firetrucks and divisions all working together in a pretty wonderfully coordinated way.  Ben Chapman told me that there were two fire truck stationed at Brick Church and apparently they were staged all around to protect some our other historic properties - Hampton Plantation, Harrietta,  the Wedge, and Fairfield on the South Santee side. 
By Sunday, we realized just how close the fire had come to Brick Church and to the Wambaw tract.  The fire burned right up to the northeast corner of the Wambaw tract.  Firefighters and the forestry folks are convinced that it did not go further because of the controlled burning we've been doing (well, the Nature Conservancy) over the past two years.  Also, the firefighters were using back burning to block areas as well as firebreaks.  Fighting fire with fire is a common expression but I understand it better now.  The controlled burning took out what would have been fuel for a big fire and cleared out the undergrowth so the long leaf pines could stretch out and have room to thrive.  Some of the area (the Peachtree tract) is absolutely burnt to cinders and is so damaged that it will not be able to come back.  A good bit of the rest of the forest looks as if it will be able to make a comeback - although it looks pretty fire darkened now.   I suspect there are more than a few sermons in this all too real happening, but the thing that strikes me right away is the lesson in controlled burning.  Perhaps, just perhaps, God can use the difficult times in our lives as a kind of controlled burning -- the undergrowth burns up so that our spirits can have room to grow and flourish.  I don't know.  It is certainly difficult to think this way when one is in the middle of adversity and it is only in retrospect that we can see.  I like something St. Paul had to say about suffering  (Romans 5). He writes, "We boast in our suffering..."  Eugene Peterson puts it this way  "We continue to shout our praise even when we are hemmed in with trouble." (The Message)...the NRSV continues...knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope , and hope does not disappoint us..."..So, Paul says when the controlled burning, when the back burning starts, praise God for what it will bring.    All in all , I think I'd rather go through a fire having had controlled burning  overseen by the Almighty ahead of time, so that when the big and really dangerous one shows up, I have some degree of protection.  I'd like for you to have that too.   Blessings,  Jennie

Photo by Tom McGree

Ash Wednesday 2011 - Come Back To Me

        Ash Wednesday is come again.  Thank God. 
       The Lord says through Joel,  "Return to Me."  St. Paul says, "I BEG you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."  I think he would prefer that be put in all caps. BE RECONCILED TO GOD!  In email and internet parlance, all caps is the equivalent of shouting. 
         I want to ask you just what does one DO with all of this kind of talk?  What if I (or you or we) were not even aware in the least that we have need of such thing?  Well, then, that might be a problem  and which is precisely why Joel is talking about blowing trumpets (wake up call) and why the Ash Wednesday Collect says, drawing from Psalm 51, "Create and make in us new and contrite hearts."  It is just when we start to think - "I don't need this stuff : God and I are just fine" that we are in the most difficulty.  We are in quicksand and don't even realize that we have fallen.  The simple truth is just what John says - All have sinned and fallen short....When our hearts are softened toward God, we realize just how much we fall short.  I did it at 4:00 this afternoon, Lord, help me. It wasn't huge in the big scale of things, but it was one of those little stumbles that lets you know - "O wait a minute...that wasn't exactly right."  So, we do need to return and we do need to be reconciled.  If you don't have a sense of your need for this--then ask God for that new and contrite heart.  He will give it to you, and it will be as tender as the skin of a newborn baby.  And, that will be something worth having.  May God bless you this Lent.