The Rev. Joseph H. Hensley, Jr., Rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia shares this reflection at a live stream Celtic Evensong worship service on April 16, 2020.
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.
Join the 300th Anniversary Bible Reading Challenge
As part of our 300th Anniversary celebrations, our rector, Joe Hensley is challenging us to read the whole Bible by May 1, 2021 to ground our 300th celebration in faith. It is not too late to join! We have a suggested reading program (analog or digital) so that we can do this together (over 90 St. Georgians participating with new people still joining).
A weekly email from Rev. Joe provides encouragement and guidance for the readings. And anyone with questions is invited to attend our adult formation session (held virtually) on Sundays at 10 am. You can watch via Zoom Conference Call. Visit https://zoom.us/j/392738239 or dial 929.205.6099 and enter the meeting ID: 392 738 239.
Contact Joe Hensley if you are interested in participating.
Click here for a pdf of the reading schedule for the year.
Falling Down in Worship – March 2020, St. Georgian
The following is Rector Joe Hensley’s monthly opening message from our weekly e-newsletter the St. Georgian. If you’d like to receive our weekly e-newsletter, sign-up here.
Greetings beloved St. Georgians,
Continuing the “Way of Love” (https://episcopalchurch.org/way-of-love) with this month’s newsletter message, I invite us to reflect on our “worship.” According to the description in the Way of Love: “we gather in community weekly to thank, praise, and dwell with God” as followers of Jesus in the Episcopal Church.
Some Biblical terms for “worship” originally meant to physically fall down in a posture of submission such as kneeling or prostration. We stand more often these days (although kneeling is still a fine option), but worship is still about humbly submitting to God’s authority and love. Our gathering is not just for peace and comfort. We gather to collectively offer ourselves to God as a “sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving,” that God might make us holy.
Ancient worship involved the literal sacrifice of animals. Today we make other sacrifices to be in church, and it is work. We may feel like falling down by the time we find a parking spot, walk across streets, up the church steps or elevator and get situated for an opening hymn which we may struggle to sing. We listen to sometimes difficult Bible readings. We offer the first fruits of our hard-earned money. Why go to all this trouble?
When we fall down before God in community, we stumble into grace. We accept that God is God and we are not. By listening to ancient stories that are not about us (but which connect with our stories) and singing songs that we would not have chosen, praying words that we did not write, gathering with strangers, we move from being self-centered to God-centered. That opens our hearts and possibilities for new life.
During Lent, you may notice that when I preside at the altar, I am not lifting up my hands as I usually do. Priests have many options for what to do with their hands at the altar. I encourage our clergy to do what feels meaningful to them. The different hand motions add to the celebration. During Lent, though, I am doing less with my hands (some actions are required in the Book of Common Prayer) as a sign that it is God grace and not my doing which makes the sacrament holy. Why? In a season when we simplify our worship in many ways, I felt an invitation to still my hands and open my heart.
How might God be inviting you to “fall down” in worship this Lent as a way to open your heart? As we stumble into grace together, may God make us holy in service to the larger story of God’s saving and redeeming love.
Your rector and brother in Christ,
Joe+
2020 Micah Lenten Worship and Lunches
On Wednesdays at noon during Lent, the Micah Downtown Churches invite you to join in worship and lunch. Young Adult Chaplin the Rev. David P. Casey, O.P. will provide the sermon on March 11 at Shiloh Baptist Old Site. Our Rector, the Rev. Joseph H. Hensley, Jr. is preaching at the Presbyterian Church on April 1.
March 4: Fredericksburg United Methodist Church, 308 Hanover St., Fredericksburg, VA
March 11: Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site), 801 Sophia St., Fredericksburg, VA
March 18: St. Mary Catholic Church, 1009 Stafford Ave., Fredericksburg, VA
March 25: Christ Lutheran, 1300 Augustine Ave, Fredericksburg, VA
April 1: The Presbyterian Church, 810 Princess Anne St., Fredericksburg, VA
Pray – January 2020, St. Georgian
The following is Rector Joe Hensley’s monthly opening message from our weekly e-newsletter the St. Georgian. If you’d like to receive our weekly e-newsletter, sign-up here.
Our theme for this month is “pray,” one of the seven steps on the Way of Love. It seems appropriate given some of the current events we have seen so far in the new year.
In early January, our nation took significant military action against Iran, and we are waiting to see whether more escalation will occur. Bushfires in Australia have been devastating and deadly. Earthquakes in Puerto Rico have left many homeless and frightened. There are more things we could name which point to a sense of living in chaotic times, and who knows what will happen before the end of this month.
At such times, I turn to the Book of Common Prayer for prayers that express my feelings sometimes better than I can express them myself. By entering into these prayers which are part of our common life, I feel part of the larger Body of Christ. The prayers section begins on page 810. You can also find the BCP online: https://www.bcponline.org/ Click on the “Prayers and Thanksgivings” tab.
Another section of the BCP which does not get much attention is the Great Litany (p. 148). This intercessory prayer covers a wide variety of conditions. There is a modern adaptation which you can find here. Some examples that apply to our current events:
“From lightning and tempest; from earthquake, fire, and flood, from plague, pestilence, and famine, good Lord, deliver us.”
“That it may please thee so to rule the hearts of thy servants, the President of the United States, and all others in authority, that they may do justice, love mercy, and walk in the ways of truth, We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.”
“That it may please thee to make wars to cease in all the world; to give to all nations unity, peace, and concord; and to bestow freedom upon all peoples.”
“That it may please thee to support, help, and comfort all who are in danger, necessity, and tribulation.”
We do beseech God to hear us when we pray. There are also times when, as Romans 8:26 says, “We do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.” My sense is that God is always praying in us and through us. When we pause to pray, whether with words or in silent surrender to the Spirit’s deep sighs, we are joining with the divine prayer that is never ceasing.
I will close with some words from The Supplication (BCP p. 154): “From our enemies defend us, O Christ; Graciously behold our afflictions. With pity behold the sorrows of our hearts; mercifully forgive the sins of thy people.… Graciously hear us, O Christ.”
Joe+
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