The Collect. 
LORD of all power and might, who art the author and giver of all good things; Graft in our hearts the love of thy Name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of thy great mercy keep us in the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle. Romans vi. 19 -  23
The Gospel. St. Mark viii. 1 - 9 

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (Isaiah 41:10)

In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33b)

These are the last two stanzas of “Dover Beach” written by Matthew Arnold in 1867:

“The Sea of Faith

Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore

Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.

But now I only hear

Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,

Retreating, to the breath

Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear

And naked shingles of the world.

 

Ah, love, let us be true

To one another! for the world, which seems

To lie before us like a land of dreams,

So various, so beautiful, so new,

Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,

Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;

And we are here as on a darkling plain

Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,

Where ignorant armies clash by night.”

The late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Britain and America were not tranquil times for the Anglican Churches. A combination of social factors, theological flaccidity, and skeptical German biblical scholarship had seriously undermined belief in the doctrines and practices of the Church. Matthew Arnold, whose father Thomas was a Church of England priest who achieved great prominence and influence as the headmaster of Rugby School, saw and deplored this decline of Christian faith.

Many others in Britain did not. They saw Christian faith and practice as a barrier to human happiness and looked to the emergence of a bright new world ruled by science, progress, and logic once what they saw as the superstitious, antiquated, and repressive influence of the Church had been swept away. The last stanza of “Dover Beach” is an expression of what Arnold dreaded that a world without Christ would actually be. Well, he was certainly no optimist, reportedly having said, “The Church of England as she now exists no power on earth can save.”

That opinion was in fact not unreasonable. For decades the rapidly growing Methodist movement, an evangelical revivalist wave within the Church of England that stressed individual repentance, faith in Christ, amendment of life (meaning moral and temperate living), and both group and solitary prayer, had been increasingly at odds with the rationalist and complacent Church hierarchy. The Methodists finally left the Church of England and became a separate denomination. This was a shocking development that made it appear to many observers that the Church of England had lost not only a large number of its most committed Christian members, but also at least some of it's unchallenged claim to be the national church. It is not hard to understand why the spiritual and theological decline of the Church could be seen, as Arnold saw it, as an irreversible institutionally fatal sickness.

But that was not to be. God does move in mysterious ways, and the apparently moribund Church of England was actually on the verge of the greatest period of fervor, devotion, and growth in it's history. There were two aspects to this. What became known as the Evangelical Revival had begun in the eighteenth century and was the basis for the Methodist movement. Another term for the Evangelical Revival was the Low Church Movement. This was not an insult; it did not imply that the Evangelicals were in some manner base or inferior. It was simply a recognition that they assigned a higher value to individual spiritual experience than to the life and experience of the Church, taking a “lower” view of the sacraments, the episcopate, the priesthood, and the traditions of the Church than was common within the Church of England. The Low Church Evangelicals remaining in the Church underwent a somewhat surprising transformation. With a lay leadership that contained many wealthy and important members of society, they added to the emphasis on personal religion both commitments to evangelism at home and abroad and a concern for the social welfare of the poor. This became the great age of foreign missionary endeavors and the formation of numerous societies and institutions for addressing various social welfare concerns. I believe that it is fair to say that this movement displayed the influences of both eighteenth century rationalism, with its love of systemization, and also the belief in the inevitability of human progress that marked the technologically revolutionary optimism of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. That was the first aspect of the reinvigoration of the Church of England.

The second was in some respects a reaction against that. A group of Oxford intellectuals, notably John Keble, John Henry Newman, and Edward Pusey, believed that the Church had over time drifted far from it's true nature and mission and allowed itself to become far too subservient to the civil government and far too conformed to the values and beliefs of secular society. They made compelling historical and theological arguments for enhanced respect for the ordained clergy, especially bishops, as well as for the importance of the Sacraments as a means of Grace and the appropriateness of a serious attention to the dignity and beauty of corporate worship. I believe that they were greatly influenced by the writings of John Ruskin and the Pre-Raphaelite artists to draw upon Classical, early Christian, and Medieval Catholic sources for a spiritual depth and an appreciation of the beauty and majesty of God that they saw as as lacking in their modern world. Their impact upon Anglicanism was almost incalculable. Intellectual and ecclesiastical clashes between the Low Church Evangelicals and the High Church Oxford Movement adherents were frequent and often bitter all over the Anglican world throughout the nineteenth century.

Surprisingly, although some Low Churchmen left Anglicanism for Protestant denominations and some very prominent High Churchmen became Roman Catholics, Anglicanism as a whole grew and flourished in all respects. It was as if the energy generated by their rivalry was channeled into a competition to prove the validity of their respective beliefs by greater service to God and to His people. Never before or since has Anglicanism produced so many eminent theologians, so many deeply meaningful hymns, such successful evangelization, and such numerical growth.

I believe that there is a good deal to be learned from this admittedly sketchy and over-simplified history, but one lesson seems to me to stand out above all others. Arnold saw the sea of faith receding like a falling tide and foresaw only the complete ruin of the Church of England and a godless and desolate future that no earthly power could prevent. What he did not foresee was that the Anglican Church was about to experience perhaps the greatest period in it's existence so far. What this says to me is that even the wisest among us should be very slow to allow ourselves to become pessimistic about the future of Christianity.

An old saying is that “The Church is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.” That's true. From the days of the earliest persecutions and through numerous later persecutions, hostile intellectual movements, equally hostile social trends, and heresies and corruption in the Church itself, Christianity has many times appeared to be on it's last legs, weakened and doomed to extinction. Yet each of these crises of faith has, although often after a long period of time, been followed by a resurgence of belief and a renewed appreciation of the truth of the Gospel and the power of life in Christ.

The last six or seven decades seem to me to be a sort of spiritual dark age such as Arnold feared, but perhaps, just perhaps, the tide of faith has turned and is now rising and returning to rather than withdrawing from us. There are signs that this may well be so. Whether it is or not, we should hold fast to the knowledge that God's truth will eventually prevail, and that our task is to hold fast to the faith in times of adversity and to rejoice for the Faith in times when the Church is strong and Christ is glorified.

-- Father Bragg+

To do good, and to distribute, forget not; for with
such sacrifices God is well pleased

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Services & Events
 
Sunday Services, 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM, & 11:15 AM (for online participation for the services go to: https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland)  
Sunday School is on recess and will start again in September

Nursery 9:00 & 11:15 Services

This Monday  7:30 PM (continuing Agust 11 & August 18), Summer Bible Study of the Book of Jonah with Father Bragg, church undercroft, bring yourself, your friends and your Bible, also online on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland 

Wednesday at Noon – Holy Communion and anointing for healing (for online participation please see above under Sunday Services)

September 12-13, DMAS Men's Retreat at Camp Hanover, 3163 Parsleys Mill Road, Mechanicsville, VA.  The cost of the retreat is $85 and covers accommodations and three meals (dinner, breakfast and lunch). For more info copy this link into your browser: https://dmas-acc.org/upcoming 

SAVE THE DATE: Sunday September 21, Church Picnic at Fort Hunt Park after combined 10 AM service, invite friends and neighbors too:  Great BBQ, hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages and so much more (additional details forthcoming


 UPDATED NEEDS FOR MaRiH CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTER

 MaRiH Center has made some changes and additions in its critically needed items. The Center provides help to mothers-to-be and mothers in need.  Please provide some of the items that are needed..They are very greatly appreciated. (You can leave the donations where the food for the food bank is collected on the pew in the undercorft.)

Especially Needed
In Bold and with an asterisk are a critical need. Please note changes in diaper needs and additional items.

*Diapers ( newborn, 1, 2, *3, *4, *5, & *6)
*Lovies, Rattles, Teethers
*Baby wipes
Diaper rash ointment
Baby shampoo
*Baby blankets
Baby bottles
Bibs: infant, *toddler
*Formula: *Simulac Advance Formula
Formula: other but not recalled
Diaper rash ointment
Wash clothes
Hooded Towels
Spring/summer clothing: 0-3 mo, 3-6 mo, 9-12mo, 18-24 mo, 2T
*Grocery gift cards
Baby Food (make sure not expired)
Shoes: toddler

Food Bank Needs

The food bank appreciates the generosity of our parish.Please help this month with a food donation if you are able. Those we help feed are very thankful for the food we provide to them each month. Please also buy low sugar cereals (and not the kid's types that have lots of sugar). 

Current needs include the following:
canned meats (chicken, corned beef, spam)
peanut butter
jelly
tuna
canned vegetables (corn, green beans - (regular and low sodium)
individual fruit cups (low sugar)
canned fruit (low sugar)
canola or vegetable oil (48 oz)
boxed cereal (low sugar) and instant or old fashioned oatmeal (18 oz or 42 oz)
pasta (regular and gluten-free):
instant potatoes
single serving fruit juice
macaroni & cheese
soups: Chunky or Progresso,noodle soup; chicken broth, cream of mushroom
coffee, cooking oil, flour, sugar
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St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland
1607 Dewitt Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22301-1625