For Palm Sunday, we began our 9 am and 11:15 am services with a joyful procession. With palms at the ready, we sang “Holy, holy, holy Lord”.
Thank you to everyone who participated and all who helped prepare for this Sunday.
Adult Formation
Register Today for 2019 ASL Classes
Learn American Sign Language!
Classes run Tuesdays, April 23 – June 11, from 7 – 8:30 pm at the Renwick Building (815 Princess Anne Street). Classes are taught by Pastor Mike Byrd, who is Deaf and has over 30 years of teaching ASL to hearing students. His passion and zeal for teaching and sharing his Deaf heritage are evident to all who meet him.
Fill out the form below to register. Cost for the class is $25, scholarships are available. Child care is available, please contact the office.
Click here if the form isn’t displaying correctly.
Worship with Us – Holy Week and Easter 2019 Schedule
During Easter we celebrate and worship together in a spirit of joyful fellowship.
There’s a place for you here and we invite you to join us at any or all of our Holy Week and Easter services.
Palm Sunday: April 14
Services at 7:45 am, 9 am, 11:15 am, 5:30 pm,
8 pm Compline, (Nave)
Taize Service: April 16
Service at 7 pm, (Nave)
This service gently opens our hearts for Holy Week through the repetition of Taize hymns along with readings from scripture and prayers.
Wednesday: April 17
At 6:30 pm, we offer Stations of the Cross in the Nave, a series of 8 meditations on the last day of Jesus’ life as we move around the nave. The service takes about 20 minutes.
Maundy Thursday: April 18
Service at 7 pm, (Nave)
We enter into the experience of the disciples stunned by Jesus’ insistence that he would take on the role of a servant and wash the feet of the others. Anyone who wishes will be able to have their feet washed – and wash the feet of others. The service will continue with Eucharist followed by the stripping of the altar. Stripping the church of every bit of decoration, we go to dark Gethsemane with the disciples, where they struggled to stay awake as Jesus prayed.
Good Friday: April 19
Services at Noon and 7 pm
On Good Friday, we meet in a church that is so bare it even sounds different. We read the account of the Crucifixion according to the Gospel of John, following the traditional Prayer Book Good Friday service.
Walk the Labyrinth
1 – 7 pm, Sydnor Hall
The labyrinth is an ancient spiritual tool. Its winding path becomes a mirror of the way we live our lives. It touches our sorrows and releases our joys. Please join us to walk, search, and follow with an open mind and an open heart.
Downtown Stations of the Cross
1:45 pm, Meet at Micah Ecumenical Ministries, 1013 Princess Anne St.
For hundreds of years, the Stations have been a way to make a virtual pilgrimage in the spirit of pilgrims to Jerusalem walking the Via Dolorosa. We will walk in procession, stopping fourteen times at different sites in downtown Fredericksburg to pray and mark moments in Jesus’ journey to the cross and tomb.
Holy Saturday: April 20
Morning Prayer, 8:30 am
Liturgy of the Light, 5 pm
For children age 3 and above
The Liturgy of the Light is one of the beautiful experiences Catechesis of the Good Shepherd gives us. It is a children’s Easter Vigil service, and adults are welcome as well. Each child receives their own “light of Christ,” and we conclude with a simple Eucharist prepared by the children. We will celebrate the Liturgy of the Light in Sydnor Hall. Nursery provided for toddlers and babies.
Great Vigil of Easter, 8 pm
Followed by the Paschal Party in Sydnor Hall
At the Easter Vigil, we gather in a darkened church. We light the Paschal (Easter) candle, and we are warmed by the candlelight retelling of stories from the Hebrew Scriptures. We sing our Alleluias for the first time in forty days! And we proceed with a celebration of the first Eucharist of Easter. Afterward, the celebration continues with festive food and drink at the Paschal Party in Sydnor Hall. In all, it is a powerful and dramatic celebration of Easter.
Easter Sunday: April 21
Sunrise Easter Service at 6:30 am
Outside The Presbyterian Church
Our ministry partners from Micah Ecumenical Ministries gather for a joint service. Together, we greet the sunrise, share joy with each other, and begin our Easter celebrations in community.
Easter Eucharist at 7:45 am, 9 am, 11:15 am
Easter Egg Hunt: 10:15 am
Celtic Evensong + Communion at 5:30 pm
Compline at 8 pm
Lent 2019 – Group and Individual Practices
A Time for Reflection and Renewal.
Lent is a 40-day season prior to Easter during which we are invited to restoration and returning to God through special practices of devotion, prayer, scripture study, and gentle self-examination and self-discipline.
Here is a list of a wide variety of ways to explore Lent through personal and group activities and events in addition to our usual schedule of worship and formation on Sundays.
.Click here to download a pdf version
Individual Practices
Rite of Reconciliation:
By appointment with clergy, schedule a conversation about making a private confession of sins using the Book of Common Prayer.
Explore the Way of Love:
Personal daily devotions: www.episcopalchurch.org/way-of-love.
Fasting as a Spiritual Discipline:
Contact clergy if you would like to discuss fasting.
Forward Day by Day:
Daily devotional booklets are available in the Narthex tract rack.
For Households
Build a Lenten Cross:
Similar to an Advent wreath, line up 5 candles in the shape of a cross. Light one or more candles each night before dinner for the entire Lenten season.
Bake pretzels:
Pretzels were first baked during Lent because they can be made with only water, fl our, and salt. The shape came from a posture of prayer, with arms crossed and hands on opposite shoulders.
Daily Prayer Time:
Gather the household over a meal or at bedtime, spend time in prayer on a certain topic of your choosing, (e.g., the health of loved ones, members of your church, people groups close to your
heart, etc.)
Find Something to Give Away:
As a family, go through your possessions and find gently used (or well loved but still good quality) items, then pray about how you can bless others with those things.
Good Deeds Bracelet:
The good deeds bracelet is a tangible way to remember the importance of making sacrifices every day. The beads on the bracelet begin in one position and, as the person wearing it performs a work of mercy, s/he moves one bead on the bracelet to the other side.
Lenten Challenge:
For the entire Lenten season, challenge yourself to do something new and different that opens our heart, mind, or body.
Spiritual Practices in Community
Stations of the Cross at St. George’s:
Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. Led by Melissa Mooney in the nave.
Stations of the Cross for Youth:
Sunday, April 14th 5 – 7 pm during Youth Group.
Drum Circle:
Wednesday, April 3, 7:00 pm in Faulkner Hall
Pray the Labyrinth for Lent:
Labyrinths have been used for centuries as meditation and prayer aides. The labyrinth can represent the journey of life and our walk with God. You are invited to pray the labyrinth as part of your spiritual practice this Lent, every Sunday evening in Lent from 2 – 5 pm, in Sydnor Hall and from 1 – 7 pm on Good Friday (April 19). Volunteers will be there to assist and pray with you, and there will be resources to help you pray the labyrinth. For more information, please contact the Rev. Areeta Bridgemohan.
Study
Stations of The Cross Study and Planning:
Spend Lent meeting regularly with members of St. George’s and other churches learning about and planning our downtown Stations of the Cross Walk on Good Friday. Dates TBA. Contact the Rev. Joe Hensley by March 10 if you are interested.
Lenten Bible Studies:
The Rev. David Casey, O.P. will facilitate a Bible study and discussion on the Epistle readings Thursday evenings at 7 pm, as well as Friday mornings at 7 am and 10 am in Elsie Lewis. There will be a different passage each week. You are invited to attend as many sessions as you would like, and St. Georgians are also invited to lead a session. Please contact the Rev. David Casey, Young Adult Missioner, for more information.
The Red Door Fellowship:
(Our 18 – 35+ group) will be a hosting a series, “Open Conversations of Faith” on select Saturdays in Lent at 820 College Avenue. Please contact the Rev. David Casey, Young Adult Missioner, for more information or follow “The Red Door Fellowship” on Facebook.
Exploring Congregational Song:
Great Hymns of the Church March 12, 19, 26, April 2, 9 7:30-8:30 pm. Do you have a favorite hymn? Where do our hymns come from? What is a hymn anyway? Come meet to explore the rich history and theology of congregational song. No training in music is necessary! For space reasons, participation is limited to 8 persons meeting on the above dates at the home of Shirley and Susan Onderdonk, 1209 Rappahannock Ave. 22401. Contact Susan to sign up.
Quiet Circle:
Reflect using poetry, art, and silence the first Thursday of the month, 9:30 am – 12 pm in Sydnor Hall.
Book Study Group:
Tuesdays, 7:15 pm beginning March 12, on the Youth Floor. Selected book is The Divine Dance by Richard Rohr. Contact Nanette Lofaro with questions.
Worship Services:
Ash Wednesday services:
March 6, 7 am (Imposition of Ashes); Ash Wednesday Services at 12 pm and 7 pm.
Wednesday Micah Churches Services and Luncheons:
Click here to view the complete schedule.
Sunday, March 31: “Laetare” Sunday:
Wear pink to church on this fourth Sunday in Lent and celebrate a break in the Lenten solemnity.
Holy Week services:
Tuesday, April 16: Taize Service at 7 pm.
Thursday, April 18: Maundy Thursday Service with Footwashing at 7 pm.
Friday, April 19: Good Friday Services at 12 pm and 7 pm.
Saturday, April 20: Holy Saturday Service at 8:30 am; Liturgy of the Light, 5 pm; Great Easter Vigil with Holy Baptism at 8 pm (Reception following service).
Sunday, April 21: Easter Sunday Services at 7:45 am, 9 am, 11:15 am, 5:30 pm, and 8 pm. Easter Egg Hunt at 10 am.
Noonday prayer: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Events:
Diocesan Quiet Day ECW March 13:
The Lenten Quiet Day is Wednesday, March 13 from 9:30 am – 2:30 pm at the Roslyn Conference and Retreat Center in Richmond. Register online at: www.ecw.thediocese.net.
Parish Clean Up Day March 23:
8:30 am – 12:30 pm. Come help do some spring cleaning in and out of the church buildings before Bishop Goff visits on March 24. The morning will also include optional pauses for prayer and the option of working in silence for those who wish to use their work as a time of meditation. All ages are welcome. Sign up at coffee hour on Sundays or by contacting the church office.
Movie – Traces of the Trade:
As we explore the Lenten call to repentance and reconciliation, join us for a showing of this powerful documentary followed by discussion. Filmmaker Katrina Browne (an Episcopalian) discovers that her New England ancestors were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. She and nine cousins retrace the Triangle Trade and gain powerful new perspectives on the black/white divide. April 6, 10 am in Sydnor Hall.
Parish Prayer Partners in Lent
Prayer is the glue that binds our community together! It’s time for “3P in L,” the lent edition of our semi-annual parish-wide prayer activity. Sign up–alone or with members of your household, including children–to pray for another member or household of the parish during the time of Lent. Your name will be given to someone else for prayer. Every week you will receive a message of encouragement and instruction about ways to pray. During the time of Easter, we’ll meet up for a fun event to “reveal” who’s praying for whom! Deadline to sign up is February 27.
If you cannot see the form below (as on some mobile devices), please click here to register.
Fill out my online form.