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Lent 2019 – Group and Individual Practices

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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

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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.

Lenten Weekend 2019

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The_Rev_Ōshin_Jennings
The Rev. Liam Ōshin Jennings

Rooted in Wholeness: Contemplative Prayer and Mindfulness

March 8 – 10, 2019. Featuring the Rev. Ōshin Jennings, leader of No Barriers Zen in Washington, D.C.

Online registration is now closed. Please register when you check-in at the door.

How do we remove barriers to nurture our inner selves? This year’s Lenten Weekend invites participants to let go of their thinking and surrender to God’s wholeness through practices of meditation and contemplative prayer. Our keynote speaker is The Rev. Ōshin Jennings. Rev. Ōshin is a Soto Zen Buddhist priest, a trained psychotherapist, and multi-media artist. He is the first known Deaf Buddhist monk and leads No Barriers Zen, a meditation community based in Washington, DC. The aim of No Barriers Zen is to make meditation practice accessible to people of all abilities and disabilities.

This weekend is accessible to all Deaf, hearing, and ASL communities and is made possible in part by a grant from the Episcopal Conference of the Deaf (ECD).

 

Schedule of Events

Friday – March 8
Sydnor Hall
6 pm: Potluck dinner – bring a dish to share!
Nave (note location change)
7 – 9 pm: Introduction to Meditation by The Rev. Ōshin Jennings

Seats and a limited number of cushions will be available. Please feel free to bring your own meditation cushion.

Saturday – March 9
10 am: Tour of St. George’s facilities
Nave (note location change)
7 – 9 pm: Expanding Our Practice by The Rev. Ōshin Jennings

Seats and a limited number of cushions will be available. Please feel free to bring your own meditation cushion.

Sunday – March 10
Nave
9 am: Worship Service with Homily by The Rev. Ōshin Jennings

Sydnor Hall
10 am: Adult Forum discussion “The Embodied Buddhist Journey” led by The Rev. Ōshin Jennings

Youth Floor
12:30 pm: Lunch with Youth

Nave
2 pm: Interfaith Panel Discussion: How do different faith communities participate in meditation?
Panelists:

Rev. Ōshin Jennings, our keynoter for the weekend
Seham El-Ansary, Islamic and inter-faith scholar and community leader, Fredericksburg-area resident. She is the founder and director of WAH- Women Alliance For Humanity, self-prosperity coach, former education and management consultant, and a lifelong community activist who has dedicated her efforts to civic empowerment, women & youth training, interfaith outreach, and the betterment of the community. She holds an MBA and a BA in Social Sciences and Education, with a minor in Psychology. She lectured in many universities, churches and synagogues. Her community work has been featured in various local newspapers, TV & Radio shows, in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Education and empowerment work is her paramount focus and passion in life.
Dr. John McLaughlin, M.D. physician and mindfulness based stress reduction instructor. John has been involved in meditation and contemplative practices since his late teens. He started with TM (Transcendental Meditation) and currently practices in the Non Dual tradition in the Ramana Maharshi and Sri Nisargadatta lineage. His root teacher in Adyashanti. John is a cofounder of the Yoga Foundation of Fredericksburg which is a nonprofit organization which offers yoga, mindfulness and wellness workshops with a focus on the underserved in our community.  He teaches Mindfulness Bases Stress Reduction (MBSR) after having finished his teacher training with the founder Jon Kabat Zinn at the University of Massachusetts. He has a strong science background having trained as a MD and now combines his passion for the Body with that of the Mind and Spirit.
The Rev. Joe Hensley, rector of St. George’s.
The Rev. Ed Jones, Episcopal deacon and former editor of the Free Lance Star will serve as the moderator for the panel discussion

 

Online registration is now closed but you are welcome to attend! Please register at the door when you check-in.

 

Annual Meeting 2018 Details

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St. George’s will gather for its annual meeting to elect the next class of vestry members on Dec 9 at 10:00 a.m. in the church nave at a combined meeting and worship service. There will be no 9 or 11:15 services. We will still hold the 7:45 and 5:30 services but voting will only occur at 10. The meeting and service are open to everyone.

Why are we shifting to a different format this year?

The main business of the annual meeting is electing four vestry members for 3-year terms. Our Episcopal church canons (laws) require us to “elect” vestry members. Many of us have struggled with this process as it means some people are chosen while others may feel rejected. Selecting church leaders is rightfully a spiritual discernment of whom God is calling, not a popularity contest. Conducting the election in the context of a worship service will set a more prayerful mood. Last year we offered voting opportunities at all the services. This was really stretching the limits of how the Diocese expects us to conduct the election. We will only vote during the 10:00 a.m. service and meeting this year. And again, I hope that it will bring an enhanced sense of discerning God’s will together.

The canons stipulate that only registered members of the parish, in good standing (actively attending and financially contributing) are eligible to vote. If you are not sure if you are registered, please contact the church office asap. We operate the election on the honor system. If you are not eligible to vote, we ask that you participate by praying during the election portion of the service while others fill out their ballots.

By combining the meeting with our principal worship service, I hope that we have a greater sense of participation as a whole congregation than we have had at separate meetings in Sydnor Hall. I encourage as many people to attend as possible from all the services so that we can see and pray with one another. Some have expressed concern that the children in the service may get restless. We will provide a special activity for kids to do during the announcements which will be somewhat extended but not too much. We are spreading out elements of the meeting throughout the service, so that it will flow along. There will also be fewer reports as we have had at other annual meetings. My hope is to have a meeting in February 2019 to give a true “annual report” of 2018.

As always I welcome your feedback and ideas. As we try a new thing, I pray God blesses our meeting and gives us wisdom and grace as we worship and give thanks for St. George’s and the opportunities we have to serve, care, learn, pray, give, and grow together.

Your rector and brother in Christ,
Joe+

All Saints Sunday – 2018

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All Saints
Elizabeth Wang (c) Radiant Light

November 4, 2018 is All Saints Sunday. On this Feast Day, we remember loved ones who have passed away during the year. We give thanks for their life, time with us, and memories shared. We lift up prayers in their honor and remember their place in our lives even as we may still grieve their departure.

Please fill out the form below if you have a loved one you would like us to include in prayer on All Saints Sunday.