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Rector’s Blog

Reflections and notes from the Rector of St. George’s, the Rev. Joseph H. Hensley Jr.

Notes from the Rector

Selected notes to the parish from the Rev. Joseph H. Hensley, Jr., rector of St. George's Episcopal Church.

Announcing St. George’s 300th Anniversary Commemoration Events

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Fredericksburg, VA – St. George’s Episcopal Church announces two upcoming events as part of their 300th Anniversary celebrations. On Friday, April 30 at 7 pm, they will host The Most Reverend Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, for a Zoom conversation. On May 1 at 11 am, St. George’s will welcome The Rt. Reverend Susan Goff, Bishop of the Diocese of Virginia, and Mary Katherine Greenlaw, Mayor of Fredericksburg, for a special commemoration. ASL Interpretation will be provided for both events.

Hosted by Rev. Joe Hensley, Rector of St. George’s, and Rev. Deacon Ed Jones, former Editor of The Free Lance-Star, An Evening with Bishop Curry on April 30 will explore how we are called to be bridge-builders and people of faith, hope, and love as we look to the future of the church and nation. The evening will include a Q&A with Bishop Curry. Advance registration is required at: https://bit.ly/stgbishopcurry.

Bishop Curry will also preach at the 10 am livestream service on Sunday, May 2.

May 1 marks the 300th anniversary of when the legislation which created St. George’s parish officially went into effect. To celebrate, Bishop Susan Goff will provide a special blessing and Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw will issue a proclamation. The outdoor ceremony in front of the church at 905 Princess Anne Street will include an unveiling of the parish’s new National Register of Historic Places plaque. This event will be livestreamed on YouTube Live: https://bit.ly/StGYouTube.

For more information about St. George’s Episcopal Church, visit www.StGeorgesEpiscopal.net.

 

 

In-person Worship Guidelines

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We are excited to worship together in-person again! Our worship time will look and feel a bit different. Below is some helpful information and instructions so we can all come together safely.

If you have a question, please contact the church office or ask one of our ushers at the service.

Update – May 12, 2022:

Masks required for the 9 am Sunday worship service. This service typically has our highest attendance and also many families with young children who are not old enough to be vaccinated.

Masks are highly recommended (especially while singing) at our other worship services.

General:

  • Worship from home if you are ill, experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, are a caregiver for someone who is ill, or have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days
  • Use hand sanitizer (available at hand sanitizer stations)
  • Follow instructions from ushers and greeters

Worship:

  • Digital bulletins (via QR code) available to view on your tablet or mobile phone. We will have a limited number of hard copy bulletins available.
  • Ushers will direct you to a pew / seat. We seat people from front to back. This helps us maximize the number of people we can seat and minimize path crossings.
  • You can “pass the peace” by waving to others instead of shaking hands
  • Offering baskets are not passed during the service. Instead, they are in a designated spot for you to place your gifts before or after the service. Ushers will point them out to you.

Communion:

  • Ushers will invite you forward to receive the Body of Christ (just the bread, not the wine)
  • Use the hand sanitizer available prior to receiving.
  • Maintain social distancing
  • Clergy will drop a wafer in your hands without making contact. Please wait to consume it until you are back at your seat. You may remove your mask briefly to consume the wafer.

Dismissal:

  • Please wait for an usher to dismiss your pew / row.
  • If seated in a pew, please close the door behind you so that it can be sanitized afterward.
  • Maintain social distancing and please avoid gathering in groups
  • Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!

Holy Week 2021

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3/29/2021: Please see our updated schedule below which now includes information about in-person, indoor worship!

We are excited to share our Holy Week worship schedule with you! Please be sure to make reservations for in-person worship soon! If you cannot make a reservation, please call our church office for assistance (540.373.4133).

We invite you to join us for any or all of our worship services listed below. We are also including additional home resources (that we created last year for distance worship) for personal or household reflection.

Palm Sunday – March 28

9 am: In-person Worship with Holy Communion in Market Square and YouTube Live. We will celebrate the Liturgy of the Palms and the Passion. Reserve seats here.
2 pm: Outdoor Labyrinth Walk at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (25 Chalice Circle). Please wear a mask and sturdy shoes.

Tuesday – March 30

8 pm: Live stream, sung Compline service via our Compline Choir’s Facebook page.

Wednesday – March 31

12 pm: Clergy will lead Noon Prayer via our Facebook page.

Maundy Thursday – April 1

7 pm: Live stream worship with a sermon, Spiritual Communion, and stripping of the altar. The service will be live streamed via YouTube Live. View service leaflet here. For an audio only Zoom: Dial: 301 715 8592; Meeting ID: 883 0597 0867; Passcode: 967945

At home Resources: Please note these resources are from last year

Have your household share an Agape Meal as part of your Maundy Thursday worship. We will provide an adapted liturgy for use at home at supper time as well as musical offerings. Share photos of your fellowship time on Facebook and tag St. George’s (@stgeorgesfxbg)! Click here for the adapted liturgy.

Here are the video links for at-home worship:
Hymn WLP 764: Taste and See

Hymn WLP 729: As in the that upper room

Homily by the Rev. David P. Casey, O.P.

Good Friday – April 2

12 pm: Indoor, in-person worship with sermon and prayers. Reservations are required. The service will be live streamed via YouTube Live.  View service leaflet here. For an audio only Zoom: Dial: 301 715 8592; Meeting ID: 852 8019 3496; Passcode: 475505
Following the service, the Nave will be open for socially distanced, private prayer (no reservations required for prayer).
7 pm: The St. George Chamber Choir sings The Passion According to St. John by Heinrich Schütz. This pre-recorded video will premiere on our Facebook page.

At home Resources: Please note these resources are from last year

Experience the Good Friday liturgy by watching a video of the liturgy led by our clergy as well as a sermon by our Rector, the Rev. Joseph H. Hensley, Jr. Click here for the video. You can view the service leaflet here.

Holy Saturday – April 3

8:30 am: Pastor Joe will live stream Morning Prayer from the Nave via Facebook Live. View service leaflet here.
5 pm: Children’s Easter Vigil via Zoom. Please contact Hecti Musa for the login. View service leaflet here.
8 pm: The Great Easter Vigil with Holy Baptism, live streamed from our Nave via YouTube Live. View service leaflet here.

At home Resources: Please note these resources are from last year

For at home worship of the ancient service of the Easter Vigil, we have videos of music (including the Exsultet chanted by Director of Music Ministries John Vreeland) and a sermon by Priest Associate the Rev. Robert M. Miller.  Please click here for the service leaflet.

Here are the video links for at-home worship:

Exsultet (Chanted)

Hymn – Go down Moses

Homily by the Rev. Robert M. Miller

Hymn – Now the green blade riseth

We hope you enjoy this video which include music by the Choirs of St. Georges and images of flowers by our Flower Guild from previous Easter celebrations, photos of worship, and of course – our Annual Easter Egg Hunt!

Easter Sunday – April 4

7:45 am: Rite I with Holy Communion, Outdoor Worship in our Nave (note new location!). Seating is limited. Reserve seats here. View service leaflet here.
9 am: Episcopal Service of the Word, live streamed from our Nave via YouTube Live. View service leaflet here. For an audio only Zoom: Dial: 301 715 8592; Meeting ID: 867 2822 4989; Passcode: 098967 Clergy will offer Holy Eucharist from 10 am – 12 pm in the Narthex (front of church) for those who wish to have Communion following the live stream service. Reservations are appreciated. The Nave will also be open for socially distanced, private prayer.
10 am: Adult Formation / Coffee Hour via Zoom. www.zoom.us/join or call 929.205.6099; Meeting ID: 392 738 239 Password: 107758.
11:30 am: Easter Egg Hunt in our graveyard. View prayers here.
2 pm: In-person Outdoor Worship with Holy Communion at the Fredericksburg Fairgrounds. View service leaflet here. The service will be posted online as soon as possible following the service. Reserve seats here.

Our Commitment to Racial Justice and Reconciliation

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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+

Ascension Day Worship – May 21, 2020

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On Thursday, May 21, 2020 we celebrate Ascension Day. This principal feast marks the time when Christ rises to heaven after appearing to his followers for 40 days.

Our Ascension Day service features prayers, music, and a homily by our Rector, the Rev. Joseph H. Hensley, Jr. You can view the service leaflet here.