LENT - St George`s Paris

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 self-
examination, 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.