Interfaith

The Table at St. George’s Receives Generous Grant

February 23, 2022 by St. George's Leave a Comment

The Honeywell Charitable Fund of the Community Foundation awarded The Table at St. George’s a $25,000 grant to support its ministry to provide fresh fruit and vegetables to those challenged with food insecurity in the city of Fredericksburg and surrounding counties.

This generous grant will help provide food and fresh product to The Table, a market-style food pantry and The Table in the World (TITW), an initiative which provides low-contact deliveries of fresh produce, eggs, and cheese directly to community sites and organizations that serve diverse clients in need.

In 2021, The Table and TITW purchased more than 85,000 pounds of food from a local produce distributor and more than 850 creates of produce from a local farmer to distribute to those experiencing food insecurity. Those served include the young and aged, the able-bodied and the physically challenged, the unemployed and many who are working one or two jobs but are unable to earn enough to adequately nourish their families. Food provided by The Table/TITW and other such food operations can make a significant difference in the amount of food available to the people of our community, many of whom receive food stamps through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The Table is grateful for the generosity of the Honeywell Charitable Fund of the Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region and all who support St. George’s efforts to improve the lives of people living with food insecurity. More than 90% of funding for The Table comes from awards, donations, fundraisers, and grants. In-kind donations are provided by corporations and local businesses.

For more information, contact Laurel Loch at 540.373.4133.

Visit The Table at St. George’s Facebook page at facebook.com/thetableatstg

Our Commitment to Racial Justice and Reconciliation

June 5, 2020 by St. George's Leave a Comment

The events of the past week or so have shaken our entire country as well as our local community. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery in recent weeks have showed us, yet again, how African Americans fight daily for their dignity and sometimes for their very lives, because of racial injustice. St. George’s stands by our welcome statement: “You are welcome at St. George’s regardless of race, nationality, sexual orientation, gender expression, or tradition.” Under-girding that welcome is our Baptismal Covenant which asks us: “Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?” Our response is always, “I will with God’s help.”

In order for our welcome to be genuine we must acknowledge the realities of inequity which are the opposite of welcome. We follow Jesus on the way of love, which means we speak up when our neighbors are unjustly treated and under attack. When one of us suffers, we all suffer. We reject the sin of racism in all its forms as part of our baptismal rejection of the “evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God.” We pray for repentance as well. We have often left undone those things we ought to have done to change the systems which unjustly tip the scales in favor of white people in our nation.

A statement came from our Diocesan leaders yesterday. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry issued this word to the church over last weekend: As rector of St. George’s, I wholeheartedly embrace these statements and commend them to you. I also preached an additional sermon this past weekend. These are all summaries of where I stand and where I hope we as a parish can stand together in all our diversity of opinions and backgrounds.

There are young people leading peaceful protests in our community, and I call us to lament with them, listen to them, and ask how we can help. I applaud our city police yesterday for marching with them and pray for police who are also traumatized by the actions of their counterparts elsewhere. Largely in response to these young people, our city council yesterday adopted a resolution condemning racism and affirming that black lives matter. I was present at a march last Saturday and have tried to be a non-anxious and supportive presence at protest events in Market Square this week. They are literally in our backyard, and if we say we are welcoming, we need to be attentive. This is a moment for evangelism, to proclaim to our neighbors, by word, but mostly by example, the good news, through our actions of love.

I am asking some members of our racial reconciliation book group, which has been meeting for over a year, to share some of what they have learned about how we might continue our work. I will open up a space where parishioners can speak and hear each other without judgment. We will pray together for the whole human family. We will not try to fix each other or assume there is one right way.

Our conversation follows many previous ones. It will not be the last one, and there will be more to say. This is long, hard work. Lord, have mercy upon us and help us.

Your rector and brother in Christ,
Joe+

Worship with Us – Holy Week and Easter 2019 Schedule

March 8, 2019 by St. George's Leave a Comment

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

Black History Month Special Event – Untold Stories 2019

February 5, 2019 by St. George's Leave a Comment

“Looked for in the Hour of Danger – but Trampled Underfoot in the Time of Peace”

Friday, February 22, 2019, 6-8 p.m.
Rain date: March 1
A $10 donation (paid in advance) is greatly appreciated.

Tours are every 20 minutes beginning at 6:00 p.m. They begin at St. George’s Episcopal Church and end at Shiloh Baptist (New Site) with vignettes at the Presbyterian Church and Fredericksburg United Methodist Church in between. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended.

Each vignette will have local actors portraying scenes based on real people and their service before and after a particular war. Included will be a look at the relationship between George Washington and Phillis Wheatley, the first U.S. female African American poet; a view of the “lost” Camp Casey near the present-day Pentagon that served as a training ground for the all-black 23^rd U.S. Colored Infantry; a moment in a foxhole in France with Dr. Urbane Bass, a Fredericksburg physician who gave his life for his country; and, finally, a discussion with local resident who served in the US Navy during WWII.

This is FoWB’s 2^nd annual Black History Month Untold Stories event and is co-sponsored by the John J Wright Educational and Cultural Center and four historic churches in Fredericksburg. Light refreshments will be served following the last vignette and guests are encouraged to visit with sponsor organizations at this time.

To reserve a spot for a tour, please sign up at the Friends of Wilderness Battlefield’s website www.fowb.org, where you may request which tour you would like to take. Please note that space is limited so signing up early is advised!

Micah Noon Lenten Services – 2019

February 5, 2019 by St. George's 2 Comments

The Micah Ecumenical Ministries partner churches are coordinating a series of Wednesday noon services during Lent. Host parishes will host a lunch following the service. Here is the 2019 schedule:

March 13: Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site), 801 Sophia St., Fredericksburg, VA
Preaching: The Rev. Anne Martin, Christ Lutheran

March 20: Fredericksburg United Methodist Church, 308 Hanover St., Fredericksburg, VA
Preaching: The Rev. Brittany Tamminga, The Presbyterian Church

March 27: The Presbyterian Church, 810 Princess Anne St., Fredericksburg, VA
Preaching: The Rev. Josh Hagstrom, Fredericksburg United Methodist

April 3: Trinity Episcopal, 825 College Ave, Fredericksburg, VA
Preaching: The Rev. Kent Rahm, Trinity Episcopal Church.

April 10: St. Mary Catholic Church, 1009 Stafford Ave., Fredericksburg, VA
Preaching: The Rev. Aaron Dobynes, Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site)

There will be a Stations of the Cross on Good Friday, April 19. More information to follow.

This year’s Ecumenical Easter Sunrise Service will be at the Presbyterian Church at 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning, April 21 with Meghann Cotter preaching.