Lent at St George’s This Lent there are two courses on offer: 1) English- language Lent Group discussing Rowan Williams’ book ‘Being Disciples’ on Wednesday evenings at 18.30. ‘Being Disciples’ – March 8th; ‘Faith, Hope & Love’ – March 15th; ‘Forgiveness’ – March 22nd; ‘Holiness’ – March 29th. 2) Etude biblique francophone pour le carême : Le salut selon l’épître aux Romains. Les textes bibliques pour la période de Carême, prévus dans le lectionnaire de cette année, sont articulés autour de l’idée du salut de l’humanité en Jésus-Christ et de l’appel à vivre selon l’Esprit Saint. Nous proposons dans cette étude biblique de réfléchir sur le salut, en se basant notamment sur les textes de l’épître aux Romains. Les séances, en français, se dérouleront les samedis après-midi, de 15h à 16h30, dans la bibliothèque. 1ere séance : Le péché, la séparation de l’homme avec Dieu (11 mars) 2e séance: l’appel d’Abraham, la justification par la foi (18 mars) 3e séance : la rédemption par l’œuvre de Dieu en Jésus-Christ (25 mars) 4e séance : l’appel à marcher selon l’Esprit Saint (1er Avril) Lent IV is Mothering Sunday: March 26th. The young people will be in church for all the service, which also includes the blessing of cards and flowers. Weekday Eucharist in Lent The Eucharist is celebrated on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 18.30 and on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 12 noon in the chapel. These short services are quiet and meditative: they can add a different rhythm to your life of prayer. Chemin de Croix en malgache et français : Samedi le 8 avril à 16.30 avec Nicolas Razafindratsima. Social Event this Lent: Quiz Night and Bring and Share Supper. Saturday April 1st from 18.00. Looking Forward to Holy Week & Easter Holy Week and Easter is the centre of the Church’s year at St George’s. Starting on Palm Sunday, April 9th, we keep the whole week as well as we can. Please make an effort to find time to observe this holy season and to attend the ancient liturgies of the Church. The Holy Week preacher is the Right Rev’d Nicholas Reade, formerly Bishop of Blackburn, and an honorary bishop in our diocese. He will be giving an address after the Eucharist Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday of Holy Week and preaching on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and Easter Day. This week can be a time to find a space of retreat right here in the heart of the city. ST GEORGE’S, PARIS LENT Lent is the time when we are called to prepare with joy for the great days of Holy Week and Easter. We do that by a time of reflection and selfexamination, and by the traditional three-fold duties of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Originally Lent was a time of preparation for candidates who were to be admitted by baptism and confirmation to the Church’s full fellowship at the Easter Vigil. Now the Church recognises that we all need this time in order to prepare to renew the promises we made at our baptism at the Vigil and so I ask you to reflect on how you can mark this holy season of Lent. Prayer Prayer is central to the life of any believer: it is the life blood of our relationship with God, who loves us and has come to us in the life and death of Jesus Christ. Lent should be a season when we make sure we are giving time and focus to our prayer life both in the quiet of our homes and in the public worship of the Church. Lent is a time to reflect on the sources of prayerfulness that can sustain us and refresh us. Fasting Of course we are all familiar with the concept of ‘giving something up for Lent’ and that can be a good discipline for each one of us. Fasting in the Bible has other connotations though. It is also a sign of our stewardship of God’s creation: that we are not just in this life out to satisfy our own desires. The prophets of the Old Testament also talked about fasting as a concern for justice in the world. Fasting then is a call to reflect on how we live our lives in harmony with our care for the world and our neighbour. Almsgiving Almsgiving may now sound a rather old-fashioned word: at its heart is the duty we have as Christians to lead lives that give something to the society in which we live. As we reflect on our blessings and on the goodness of creation and on the story of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ, we remember his message that what we do for our brothers and sisters in need we do also for him. Lent is a time to reflect on how we can live generous and open lives.