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Lent 2024

In this season of Lent there are multiple special opportunities to mark the season.  There are sign-up sheets at the church for those willing to provide soup or buns for the fellowship suppers.  There will also be a sign-up sheet for the Agape meal a few weeks before the event.  We are pleased to work with Prince of Faith in providing these opportunities.  Also, please note the on-line diocesan study which looks like it will be very interesting.

At St. George's:
  • February 13
  • 5:30 p.m. - Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper
  • February 14  7 p.m.  - Ash Wednesday Liturgy
  • February 21  6 p.m. Soup and Bun
                          7 p.m. Group Lectio Divina
    Lectio Divina, aka Sacred Reading, is a meditative process of reflecting on and praying a text, usually scripture.  This occasion will facilitate a group experience on texts suitable for the season of Lent
  • February 28  6 p.m. Soup and Bun
                          7 p.m. Holden Evening Prayer
    This is the same beautiful sung evening prayer service that many of us experienced last year!
  • March 6  6 p.m. Soup and Bun
                    7 p.m.  Taize Prayer Service
    Taize liturgies are meditative experiences which include scripture, prayers and, of course, the beautiful Taize chants which are sung repetitively to allow the words to sink into our hearts.
  • March 13  6 p.m.  Soup and Bun
                      7 p.m.  Healing Liturgy
    **More information about this liturgy is found at the bottom of this email.     
  • March 20  6 p.m. Soup and Bun
                      7 p.m.  Holden Evening Prayer
  • March 24th  10 a.m. Palm Sunday Liturgy shared with Prince of Faith with Potluck lunch to follow.
  • March 28  5:30 p.m.  Agape Meal
                      7 p.m.  Maundy Thursday Liturgy
  • March 29th  10 a.m.  Good Friday Liturgy
  • March 30th  It has not yet been determined if we will be doing an Easter Vigil Liturgy.  Please offer feedback to Rev. Chris if you have thoughts about this.
  • March 31 - 9:30 a.m.  The Resurrection of our Lord.
The Anglican Diocese of Calgary Lenten Study
Please join us this Lent for an in-depth exploration and conversation around the Temptation of Jesus in the Wilderness. After an initial exploration of the Biblical text in the first week, we will have five unique sessions focussing on how five different theologians and saints have approached Jesus’s Temptation, looking for their unique wisdom and insight to this event in Jesus’s life and ministry. We are excited, as well, to have each session led by a different person from the Diocese! Hopefully this study will enrich your Lenten journey. We’ll gather via Zoom on Thursday evenings through Lent, from 7-9pm. Please contact Barbara Labrecque (blabrecque@calgary.anglican.ca) at the Diocesan Office to register for the study.

This course is free, open to everyone and there are no study materials required to participate. 
Schedule
February 15 – Rev. Br. Jason Carroll (Biblical Introduction)
February 22 – Rev. Greg Clark (Karl Barth)
February 29 – Most Rev. Greg Kerr-Wilson (Rowan Williams)
March 7 – Rev. Chris Roth (Church Fathers)
March 14 – Rev. Br. Jason Carroll (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
March 21 – Rev. Elizabeth Short (Deitrich Bonhoeffer)
 
A Word about the Healing Service on March 13, 2024
**In the Letter of James, we read:
Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.  Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 
James 5:13-14
 
For almost all of its history, the Church has come together when people are suffering, prayed for one another, and perhaps also anointed one another with oil (as James encourages us to do).  Over the last decades, most Churches have seldom done this, and instead left this Healing Ministry in the hands of TV Preachers or Charlatans. (You likely know the kind of theatrics I’m referring to).
 
It’s only relatively recently that the Church has begun to rediscover the privilege, and the importance, of praying for one another when we are struggling.   There have been some occaisions when there has been a “Service of Prayer for Healing” with both Prince of Faith, and St. George’s – it’s not totally foreign, though perhaps a bit less familiar.
 
During the Season of Lent this year, we are wanting to offer a time of Prayer for Healing.   When we gather for worship on Wednesday, March 13th, we will gather around God’s Word as concerns Healing, and share songs that likewise speak of how God brings wholeness to those who are burdened. There will be a general time of prayer for those who are struggling, and there will also be an opportunity for anyone who so desires to come to the Altar Rail, where they can (if they choose) share with the Pastor/Priest what they would like prayer for, have the pastor/priest pray for them specifically, receive a blessing, and be anointed with oil in Jesus’ name.
 
There will be no theatrics.  All the stuff you may have seen on TV or in Movies?  Leave that for TV or Movies!  This is real faith for life.  It is simply an opportunity to intentionally share your burden in confidence, and to have another pray for you personally.