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Worship with Us – Holy Week and Easter 2019 Schedule

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During Easter we celebrate and worship together in a spirit of joyful fellowship.

There’s a place for you here and we invite you to join us at any or all of our Holy Week and Easter services.

 

Palm Sunday: April 14

Services at 7:45 am, 9 am, 11:15 am, 5:30 pm,
8 pm Compline, (Nave)

Taize Service: April 16

Service at 7 pm, (Nave)
This service gently opens our hearts for Holy Week through the repetition of Taize hymns along with readings from scripture and prayers.

Wednesday: April 17

At 6:30 pm, we offer Stations of the Cross in the Nave, a series of 8 meditations on the last day of Jesus’ life as we move around the nave. The service takes about 20 minutes.

Maundy Thursday: April 18

Service at 7 pm, (Nave)
We enter into the experience of the disciples stunned by Jesus’ insistence that he would take on the role of a servant and wash the feet of the others.  Anyone who wishes will be able to have their feet washed – and wash the feet of others.  The service will continue with Eucharist followed by the stripping of the altar.  Stripping the church of every bit of decoration, we go to dark Gethsemane with the disciples, where they struggled to stay awake as Jesus prayed.

Good Friday: April 19

Services at Noon and 7 pm
On Good Friday, we meet in a church that is so bare it even sounds different.  We read the account of the Crucifixion according to the Gospel of John, following the traditional Prayer Book Good Friday service.

Walk the Labyrinth
1 – 7 pm, Sydnor Hall
The labyrinth is an ancient spiritual tool.  Its winding path becomes a mirror of the way we live our lives. It touches our sorrows and releases our joys. Please join us to walk, search, and follow with an open mind and an open heart.

Downtown Stations of the Cross
1:45 pm, Meet at Micah Ecumenical Ministries, 1013 Princess Anne St.
For hundreds of years, the Stations have been a way to make a virtual pilgrimage in the spirit of pilgrims to Jerusalem walking the Via Dolorosa. We will walk in procession, stopping fourteen times at different sites in downtown Fredericksburg to pray and mark moments in Jesus’ journey to the cross and tomb.

Holy Saturday: April 20

Morning Prayer, 8:30 am

Liturgy of the Light, 5 pm
For children age 3 and above
The Liturgy of the Light is one of the beautiful experiences Catechesis of the Good Shepherd gives us. It is a children’s Easter Vigil service, and adults are welcome as well. Each child receives their own “light of Christ,” and we conclude with a simple Eucharist prepared by the children. We will celebrate the Liturgy of the Light in Sydnor Hall. Nursery provided for toddlers and babies.

Great Vigil of Easter, 8 pm
Followed by the Paschal Party in Sydnor Hall
At the Easter Vigil, we gather in a darkened church. We light the Paschal (Easter) candle, and we are warmed by the candlelight retelling of stories from the Hebrew Scriptures. We sing our Alleluias for the first time in forty days! And we proceed with a celebration of the first Eucharist of Easter. Afterward, the celebration continues with festive food and drink at the Paschal Party in Sydnor Hall. In all, it is a powerful and dramatic celebration of Easter.

Easter Sunday: April 21

Sunrise Easter Service at 6:30 am
Outside The Presbyterian Church
Our ministry partners from Micah Ecumenical Ministries gather for a joint service. Together, we greet the sunrise, share joy with each other, and begin our Easter celebrations in community.

Easter Eucharist at 7:45 am, 9 am, 11:15 am

Easter Egg Hunt: 10:15 am

Celtic Evensong + Communion at 5:30 pm

Compline at 8 pm

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 Celebration

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On All Saints Sunday, we celebrated with music, fellowship, and Holy Baptism. We blessed our United Thank Offering ingathering as well as the pledges received for our 2019 Stewardship Campaign – An Invitation to Share. You can listen to Father Joe’s sermon here.

Thank you to all who helped prepare for this Holy Feast Day.

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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.

 

Ways to Observe Lent at St. George’s

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Reveal. Restore. Renew.

Lent is a time for hopeful reflection. Taking time to reflect can uncover areas for growth and healing and illuminate a new path forward.

During this season, St. George’s offers a number of opportunities for self-reflection and also fellowship with one another.

Why not take a look at these many options and try something new?

Lectio Divina: Mondays, 7 pm

Noonday Prayer: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays

Adult Education: Sundays, 10 am

Contemplative Prayer: Saturdays, 9:30 am

Online Morning and Evening Prayers:

Micah Lunch Services: Wednesdays

Micah Ecumenical Ministries is again coordinating the downtown parishes for Wednesday noonday services followed by a luncheon during Lent.

Trinity Episcopal Dinner and Study Series: Wednesdays, 6 pm
More information here.

Quiet Circles: March 1
Our Quiet Circles group regularly meets on the first Thursday of the Month in Faulkner Hall.

Parish Clean-up: March 23 – 24
Join us as we gather to serve by cleaning and caring for our parish building.

Rite of Reconciliation: Private confession with clergy (by appointment).  Contact clergy directly to request an appointment or email office@stgeorgesepiscopal.net.