As we conclude our Lenten journey for this year, please know that you are in my prayers and it is my fervent hope that you will find the way of the Cross to be nothing less than a way of Life for you and your family.

Fr. Matthew, Katharine, Carl, Drayton, Kendra, Chris and John Michael and I look forward to sharing the new life of grace in Christ Jesus with you.

Ram

Palm Sunday

Sunday, March 16th at 8:15 am and 10:45 am

The congregation is invited to gather by the St. Francis statue in the courtyard (weather permitting). Palms will be distributed, a reading and prayer will be performed outside. The congregation will then process into the church.

Stations of the Cross

Monday thru Thursday of Holy Week at 12:10 pm each day.

March 17 thru March 20

The Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours (or Passion) of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion.The object of the Stations is to help the faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer, through meditating upon the chief scenes of Christ's sufferings and death.
The Stations themselves are usually a series of 14* pictures or sculptures depicting the following scenes:

Jesus is condemned to death
Jesus receives the cross
Jesus falls the first time
Jesus meets His Mother
Simon of Cyrene carries the cross
Veronica wipes Jesus' face with her veil
Jesus falls the second time
Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem
Jesus falls the third time
Jesus is stripped of His garments
Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross
Jesus dies on the cross
Jesus' body is removed from the cross (Pieta)
Jesus is laid in the tomb and covered in incense.

Evening Holy Eucharist
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week - March 17 thru March 19 at 6:30 pm

On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in Holy Week services with special collects and lessons deal with the themes of suffering and coming glory.

Maundy Thursday Service with Foot Washing
Thursday, March 20

Thursday in Holy Week is called Maundy Thursday, from the Latin for commandment: (After Jesus washed the feet of the disciples he said "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another." ) Foot-washing is included in St. Georges' liturgy. The Eucharist commemorates the first Eucharist at the Last Supper. The service ends in complete silence with the stripping of the altar, in recognition of the despair and death to come.

Prayer Vigil
Beginning immediately following Maundy Thursday service and continuing until noon on Friday.

You are invited to come and pray in the church at anytime during the night or morning.

The night before His death, Jesus asked his disciples to stay awake and pray for Him. They did not. Now, as we mourn His death, we too, should be called to prayer. Through this time of prayer we can feel His pain, we can feel the torment, and we can feel the grief.

It is only through being absorbed in these feelings that we can then enjoy the tremendous joy of Jesus being risen. Listen to the words of vigil organizer Steve Alwais, "Truly, I promise you that if you have given a little of yourself as Jesus gave of himself, will your eyes fill with tears of joy this Easter."

Good Friday Liturgy with the Seven Last Words of Christ

Friday, March 21 from noon to 3:00 pm

Over the years Christians have gathered to hear about the last hours of Jesus as he embraced death upon the cross for our redemption. Many congregations offer a time of reflection and meditation on the seven words, or sayings, of Jesus as he hung on the cross. These words, as recorded in the Gospels, are offered and followed by a meditation.

We will offer the Good Friday liturgy as provided by the Prayer Book with the addition of the Seven Last Words. In addition to meditations offered by our clergy, two special guests will offer meditations. The Right Reverend David M. Reed, our Suffragan Bishop, and The Right Reverend William Frey, retired Bishop of Colorado, will be with us to share their words of inspiration.

Following the conclusion of our liturgy, the church bell will toll once for every earthly year of Jesus' life.

Holy Saturday Liturgy

Saturday, March 22 at 9:30 am

Holy Saturday was once a day of fasting in preparation for the Great Vigil of Easter and for baptism. No Eucharist is celebrated. This is a short service of prayer and reflection.

Easter Vigil with Baptism, Confirmation and Reaffirmation

Saturday, March 22 at 7:00 pm

The Great Vigil of Easter is one of the most ancient liturgies in the Church. Traditionally, this liturgy was the night on which new converts to the Christian faith were baptized and made full members of the Church.

Our Great Vigil will begin at 7 p.m. with the kindling of a new fire to light the Paschal Candle and the hearing of the record of God's saviing deeds in the world as recorded in the Old Testament. The Right Reverend David M. Reed will once again be with us to baptize, confirm and receive several new members into the body of Christ here at St. George.

We will also celebrate the first Eucharist of the Easter season!

Easter Sunday

Easter Eucharist at 8:15am

Easter Continental Breakfast at 9:30 am

A continental breakfast will be available to all in the Parish Hall. The breakfast is catered by our very on Laura Barowski and A Black Tie Affair.

Flowering of the Cross at 10:30 am

Have your children bring fresh cut flowers and help flower our cross.

Easter Eucharist at 10:45 am

Children will ring in the Alleluia!

Reconciliation of a Penitent

During Holy Week the clergy have set aside times to administer "Reconciliation of a Penitent."

"The ministry of reconciliation, which has been committed by Christ to his Church, is exercised through the care each Christian has for others, through the common prayer of Christians assembled for public worship, and through the priesthood of the Church and its ministers declaring absolution.

"The Reconciliation of a Penitent is available for all who desire it. It is not restricted to times of sickness. Confessions may be heard anytime and anywhere."(Book of Common Prayer, pg. 446)

During Holy Week the scheduled times are Monday through Thursday from 1 - 4 p.m. Please call the Marilynne in the Church Office (210-342-4261) to schedule an appointment.

An Easter Factoid

Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.
Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22), but that is pretty rare.
Here's the interesting info:
This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see. Only the most elderly (95 or older) of our population have seen it this early and none of us has ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier!
Here are the facts:
The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now).
The last time it was this early was 1913, so if you're 95 or older you were around for that.
The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now).
The last time it was on March 22 was 1818.
So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

Contact Info
Publications Coordinator
Tracey Runas

210-342-4261 ext. 313