Fredericksburg

Where We’ve Been, Where We Are, Where We’re Going

October 20, 2020 by Leave a Comment

St. George’s Hosts Panel Discussion as part of 300th Anniversary Celebration: Where We’ve Been, Where We Are, Where We’re Going

St. George’s Episcopal Church hosted a panel discussion as part of their 300th anniversary celebration on Sunday, November 1 at 2:30 pm via Zoom. The panel discussed how St. George’s has changed and took a personal look at the parish’s place in the community, its history, and its future.

Panelists included the current Rector of St. George’s, the Rev. Joseph H. Hensley, Jr., The Rev. James C. Dannals, and the Rev. Charles Sydnor, former Rectors of St. George’s, and Ann Faulkner Ridgeway, the daughter of former Rector, the Rev. Thomas G. Faulkner. The panel was moderated by the Rev. Deacon Ed Jones, former Editor of The Free Lance-Star.

The lecture was offered free of charge and donations are still gladly accepted (select “300th Anniversary” from the fund dropdown).

If you missed it you can watch a replay of the webinar below.

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!

The Rhythm of the Table

July 31, 2015 by Leave a Comment

By Linda Carter

In this undated photo, shoppers select produce at the Table at St. George's, Fredericksburg, VA. — Table shoppers selecting produce

There is definitely a rhythm to Tuesdays. When we get there at 6 a.m., there are our regulars already at the door, happy to sit and chat with their neighbors. People drift in to work and grab a cutting board, knife, and loaf of Jimmy John’s bread to start bagging. They know more than I do what needs to be done, and they chat about the past week. Nell describes a mentholated ointment that her sister sends to her from the Korean store in New York City that is good for sprains, congestion, and just about everything. Strangely enough? There’s no ginger in it. Ginger is a cure-all for those from her island.

Maurice and Mike are busy emptying boxes on to the tables. Richard is working magic with the plastic bags. Tom is running around looking for the coffee cup he’s lost again. They are dividing everything between the day and night Tables, counting sweets from Panera and Starbucks. Lots of new people today. Tim talks about having been laid off and needing food for his family. A number more of these folks need to be walked through the process for the first time. You can tell it’s difficult for them to be asking for food, but everyone welcomes them and encourages them to ask questions. My crew is the best. A volunteer comes in with Depends for a cancer patient who is being hugged and blessed by all.

I get to hold my Thanksgiving turkey! Back around Thanksgiving, Sarah’s grandson was born the day we were handing out turkeys for Thanksgiving; we got a call from Sarah explaining that she was at the hospital with her daughter and asking if we could get her turkeys to her home. Most definitely, I said, since it was on my way home. Now, he’s a charmer—almost 9 months old and happy. Children are picking out books from Becky’s collection.

This morning is unbelievably busy; 113 households come through in 90 minutes, and we still had food to give. We haven’t seen this many people since Thanksgiving, actually. A quick trip to the Food Bank with empty boxes to see what we can scrounge for the evening session. No dairy or cereal, but lots of juice and water. The crew has been restocking everything while enjoying pizza. We take a trip to the store to purchase cereal that we are really low on. Chris has things under control since the church has a funeral tucked in between Table sessions.

The afternoon crew has been arriving in dribs and drabs, but we will have more than enough to cover The Table for the evening shift at 5. Veggies have been checked; discards, composted. Our Wawa goods are restocked. Joe+, our rector, is juggling cantaloupes to entertain the crowd while a volunteer films him to send to his sister in Florida with a “my church is better than your church” note. Our Virginia Tech intern, Erica, is handing out samples and talking about produce and nutrition. The skies have opened up with torrential rains, but people are adapting and waiting for a break in the storms. A meeting is starting in the kitchen to plan the cooking classes we will be doing starting in August. Everywhere there are smiles and conversations and sharing. Downtown Greens arrives to pick up 210 pounds of compost. I began the day with one baby and end the day with another, a 3-month-old charmer who is here with Mom and Grandma.

Clean-up begins in earnest because we have a 12-step group who has been temporarily displaced from its church home coming in to Sydnor at 7 p.m. It’s still pouring, but things go like clockwork and the group is in by 7, not even a little damp. I am headed home to dinner and a glass of wine. There is definitely a rhythm to The Table. It runs on its own, even on its busiest days, without disruption.

Inventory is very low at the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank right now. We are looking for items that do not have to be refrigerated. We are asking everyone to bring a box of cereal, a can of ravioli or stew, a small box of Velveeta or other shelf-stable (non-refrigerated) cheese, or shelf-stable milk to church on Sunday for distribution at The Table on Tuesday. If we see another 201 households on Tuesday, we will be very short of non-perishable items. We will have plenty of produce. Thanks to all.

Table Talk: Hugging the Vegetables

June 17, 2015 by Leave a Comment

By Linda Carter

Who hugs veggies and does a dance with them? Children who look forward to 7 p.m. on a Tuesday night when Tina will bring in any leftovers from The Table. Last night they got squash, zucchini, potatoes, carrots, onions, fennel and greens straight from the fields of the Flores Farm to them – actually with a little detour to The Table.

Our well-blessed cooling shed is doing a great job in keeping the produce fresh until we can give it out. What a treat not to worry about where we can store produce in this heat or how often we need to ice it and know that it will still wilt by the time we put it out. We have seniors who get just as excited about the fresh veggies we have. They swap recipes among themselves and with our volunteers. Kohlrabi was introduced to our shoppers last year, and young and old alike look for it now.

Thanks to a Mustard Seed grant, we are starting to put together a team to plan lessons which will start in August with families and run in to the fall with our older shoppers. Wendy was walking around in the morning sharing a soaked oatmeal, which is one of Dr. Yum’s recipes and can be made overnight with no cooking; it can be chocolate, berry or tropical flavored depending on personal preference and is a very child friendly dish. Looks like a winner and probably the first lesson. Janean is back with us this summer and will start preparing tastings for our shoppers using the produce delivered on Sunday; recipes in English and Spanish will be available.

Breakfast bags are back for all school age children who come to The Table. Thanks to Laura’s Daisies for getting us started last week, and thanks to a private donation, we will be able to provide cereal, juice, a granola bar, fruit and a protein to every child we see between now and the start of school. Thanks to Danielle and Sandy for clipping box tops all year and getting books for children with them. We have been giving them out with the breakfast bags. Not only are our young guests being nourished physically, they are being challenged mentally. I sat with one beginning reader last night who read to me from the book she chose. If you have any books your children have outgrown and would like to share, please bring them in.

Surrendering to the Good Shepherd

April 30, 2015 by Leave a Comment

From the Rev. Joe Hensley, rector, St. George’s Episcopal Church
Fredericksburg, VA | Fourth Sunday of Easter Year B, April 26, 2015

"Shepherd," by Reza Vaziri — “Shepherd,” by Reza Vaziri

“The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.” There are few other words in scripture that are more comforting. I have said them at the bedside of sick and dying persons. I have said them at funerals. They bring that reassurance that ultimately, God is the only One who turns our scarcity into plenty. The Divine and Holy One is the only one who can reassure us in the shadow of death, feed us in the presence of our enemies, and bless us with abundant and steadfast love. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

Shepherds have been around for nearly as long as humans have walked the earth. The relationship between shepherd and flock was sacred in ancient times. The shepherd cared for the animals which in turn provided labor and sustenance for the people. Survival depended on having good shepherds. To be a good shepherd took skills, sharp senses, and wisdom. Ancient peoples began using the term, shepherd, to describe their rulers. A good ruler like a good shepherd would care for the people. They would lead, protect, and provide.

We know, though, that not all shepherds are good. Not all monarchs are good. Jesus, in today’s Gospel describes himself as the Good Shepherd in contrast to the hired hand who runs away in the face of danger. What Jesus is saying, and what Psalm 23 is also saying, I think, is that there is really only one true and loving shepherd for humanity.

Sometimes, we have trouble believing that God is our shepherd. We can feel like God has left us defenseless. We worry that we won’t have enough. We fear that life is falling apart. Remember that the psalm which comes right before Psalm 23 is Psalm 22. Psalm 22 begins with the words, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?!” In Psalm 22, packs of wild animals surround the speaker. Enemies are on every side. The speaker cries out, wondering where God is: “Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is none to help.” When have we felt in trouble? When have we felt like no one had our back? For many of us, myself included, it is tempting in such times to turn away from God. We look for guidance and sustenance in the arms of inadequate shepherds, hired hands. The hired hand might do the job for a while, but runs away at the first sign of trouble. What “hired hand” do you turn to when you turn away from God? For some of us, we turn to money and the temporary security it offers. Some of us turn to unhealthy relationships or destructive behaviors. Some of us turn to overindulgence. Some of us turn to experts who tell us exactly what to do to find happiness. We fool ourselves by thinking that more knowledge will save us. None of these things give us the pastoral care that God provides. They help us deceive ourselves into thinking we can handle the situation on our own.

Truly, we can probably handle a lot of things on our own. There comes a point, though, where we say to ourselves, “I am ready to give up some control and stop trying so hard.” I’m ready to take my place among the sheep and stop pretending to be the shepherd. Some of us surrender to God easily. Some of us won’t give up until we hit rock bottom. Some of us surrender one day and put our defenses back up the next. I do not understand why we have trouble surrendering to God, why we have trouble believing “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.” What I do believe is that when we can give up, even temporarily, God cares for us much better than we can ever care for ourselves. Following God, we are much more free than we are following our own guidance.

So how do we surrender? How do we convince our hearts to believe that “The Lord is my shepherd?” We could spend several sermons on these questions. Certainly part of surrender is found in obeying the command to love one another that we heard in the letter of John today. Another part of surrender is definitely listening in quiet prayer for the voice of the shepherd that Jesus mentioned. I want to focus on something a little more uncomfortable, perhaps. It involves the collection plate. In the Episcopal Church, we tend to start with the material and move to the spiritual. We start with the wet water of baptism. The edible bread and wine of holy communion. We touch, taste, hear, smell, and see things in the act of worship. At first we may not have much understanding of what is going on before us, but with time and practice, we develop a sense of the Spirit at work. Every Sunday we put out an empty plate or pass it around. We don’t say much about it, but many of us put money in that plate or send a check to the church. Yes, that money does sustain the ministry of the church and helps others in need, but that is only a part of the purpose of the empty plate. Yes, we offer our gifts in thanksgiving to the one who gives us everything. But thanksgiving, too, is not the whole picture. We offer each other this empty plate as an invitation to surrender. Sacrifice some money as a material gesture of our desire to trust in God. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Money is not my shepherd. The things money can buy are not my shepherd. My true needs are not supplied by money. So I put some money in the plate. At first we may not be sure what this material gesture means. Over time, with practice, for many of us giving away money to God has become a sign that we want to be free. We want to stop following the hired hands who would feed us to the wolves. We want to be free to give, free to love, free to trust that God really is our shepherd.

I know there are lots of invitations to give money in the church. Since I got here in January, we have invited you to give to the operating budget, to Shrine Mont’s Shout to the Mountain campaign, to outreach, flowers, and trust funds for Easter, to United Thank Offering, and the Community Give effort for The Table. It may sound like a lot. Let me emphasize that this is not a test. You will notice that the plate does not sound an alarm if you give nothing. Nor does a choir of angels sing if you put in a million dollars. Your gift does not necessarily indicate great faith. The open plate simply extends an invitation to surrender who we are and what we have to God so that we can stop following false shepherds. Money is just one thing that goes in the plate. We can surrender our time to God. We can give energy and effort to God. We can offer whatever it is that we value instead of God. Money is often helpful, because it’s very tangible and we give it a lot of power in our minds.

Yes, money does help us keep the lights on and the bills paid. It helps us feed the hungry and be available to care for others. But the church too surrenders to God. We give away a lot for free and proclaim that God’s grace is without charge and plentiful. Over and over God shows us that we can do more than we ever thought possible. So again, this is not a test. The plate is not a fundraising tool. It is not a veiled attempt to get you to give more. The plate openly proclaims that when we surrender to God and Christ the Good Shepherd, God shows us our true life and revives our souls. The Lord is our shepherd, we shall not want. You, O God, spread a table before us, you have anointed us to follow you and announce your abundant love to the world. You will pursue us to the ends of the earth with goodness and loving kindness all the days of our life. May we surrender to you, O great, holy, and mysterious One and dwell in your house, our true home.