A big thank you to everyone who helped make our Holy Week and Easter services possible. From staff, to clergy, to ushers, greeters, musicians, altar guild, flower guild, and more we are blessed beyond measure with those willing to serve in ministry at our parish! We hope you enjoy the below photos from our worship time together.
Sermon Blog
Advent 2020 – Let There Be Light
This Advent, we wait for the birth of the Messiah: our unfailing light. We’ll seek a love that dispels the shadows of night. We’ll follow a star and trust that it shows us the way. We’ll proclaim that God has the power to make us new each day.
Here are some ways to help you seek the light of Advent:
A Sanctified Art Advent Calendar
If you have questions about Advent and how you might get involved, please fill out the form below. If the form isn’t displaying correctly, please click here.
Our Commitment to Racial Justice and Reconciliation
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
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.
Breathe on Us: Sermon – April 16, 2020
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.
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