Lent Series 2021 Vol 3

Dear Friends,

The Lent Series materials have been finalized. Pandemic travel restrictions were lifted in Israel and Palestine week before last and we were able to complete the filming of the final two videos for our Virtual Lenten Pilgrimage, A River Through The Desert.


All of the material you need for your personal study or for a group course is now complete and included below. We hope that this series proves to be fruitful and inspiring for you throughout Lent. We hope that this study gives you a glimpse of the spiritual riches of the Land of the Holy One. 


In addition to these materials we will host two Live from Jerusalem webinars. Dates, times and links are below:

Wednesday, February 24 at 8pm USA EST (7pm CST, 6pm MST, 5pm PST)   Webinar Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87568407974?pwd=KzRDQUcrWDRLQVdaRkZRcXdqbVdkZz09


Wednesday, March 24 at 8pm USA EDT (7pm CDT, 6pm MDT, 5pm PDT)


Reminders will be sent out prior to the webinars.

We realize these times are not convenient for those outside North America. Both webinars will be recorded and a link will be mailed to everyone after the event so that you may enjoy it at a time more suitable for your time zone.

This course is offered as a free resource but we invite all those who can afford it and would like to support the College whilst we are in the midst of our financial crisis to make a donation. We welcome any amount however large or small, but as a guide we suggest US $15 for an individual or US $100 for a church (or equivalent amounts for different countries). Donations may be made through the College's giving page: https://www.saintgeorgescollegejerusalem.com/giving.

In time it will be possible to begin international travel once again and we look forward to welcoming pilgrims back to the College for our study pilgrimages. To find out about these pilgrimages please go to our website https://www.saintgeorgescollegejerusalem.com where there is a good deal of information about our courses for 2021 and 2022. 

We hope the College will be a busy crossroads for Christians from all over the world once again, before very long. 

May you have a holy and blessed Lent.
 
The Very Revd Canon Richard Sewell
Dean of St George’s College
Series Introduction
I am delighted to be able to share with you this new resource for Lent which we hope will be a taste of the beauty, wonder and inspiration of the Holy Land. For those who have been, it should be a wonderful reminder of those times which undoubtedly will have left an indelible mark. For those who have not yet been able to make their pilgrimage, perhaps it might serve as a taste to inspire you to find a way to come to the Land of the Holy One. (READ MORE)


Week One - The Desert
The desert has profound significance in the Christian life. We are most readily drawn to think about the desert because of Jesus’s temptations there which mark the beginning of his public ministry. But that significant moment evokes the much earlier foundational event of the Exodus of the Hebrew people who escaped the clutches of Pharaoh on a long journey towards the ‘Promised Land’.

Week 1 Video


Suggested Bible Reading:

The Temptation of Jesus

‌
Week Two - The Water Well
Water is a vital element in the sustenance of human life. We can survive without water to drink for four days at most. In ancient civilisations, dwellings would only be built around, or near, a reliable fresh water supply. In Jerusalem, it was the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley which enabled King David to make the city his capital. If there was no spring, then an underwater supply would need to be found and if successful, then a well could be built over it to enable water to be collected and carried. (Read More)
Week 2 Video






Suggested Bible Reading:

Jesus and the Woman of Samaria
Week Three - The Mountain
A thoughtful reading of the Bible shows that many of the themes and important events in the New Testament are prefigured by themes and events in the Old Testament. This will hold true for much of what we consider in this Lent course. As mentioned before, Matthew, in his gospel account, can be seen to be presenting Jesus as a new Moses leading people out of slavery into liberation. So, it is not surprising that the mountain of Sinai should find some reflections in the life of Jesus. (Read More)
Week 3 Video


Suggested Bible Reading:

The Transfiguration
Week Four - The Sea
The Sea of Galilee has a special place in the faith and heart of every Christian. So many of us grew up on the stories of Jesus and all that he did on and around the Sea of Galilee. It feels like a familiar place to us even before we have actually visited it in person so, when we do make our pilgrimage to the Holy Land, there can be a sense of feeling as if we have arrived in our spiritual home when we get to Galilee. The Sea is a place of great beauty: a large expense of (usually) blue water and circled by high hills on all sides which afford spectacular views across the sea’s length and breadth. (Read More)
Week 4 Video


Suggested Bible Reading:

Jesus Stills the Storm
Week Five - The Road
This fifth week of the Lent study sets us on course for Jerusalem. The road to Jerusalem was well-trodden by the Jews of Palestine in Jesus’s time, and before, because pilgrimage to the Holy City and to the Temple for the great festivals, was a requirement. A crux moment in Jesus’s life in Luke’s gospel is when Jesus ‘set his face to go to Jerusalem’ (Luke 9:51) and culminates in his Triumphal Entry on what has become known to the Church as Palm Sunday. (Read More)
Week 5 Video


Suggested Bible Reading:

Jesus's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem; Jesus Weeps Over Jerusalem;
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
Week 6 - The Garden
It has often been noted that the Bible begins in a garden with a tree whose fruit leads to the first sin (Genesis 2 and 3) and ends with the New Jerusalem in which there is a tree whose ‘leaves are for the healing of the nations’ (Revelation 22:1-5). John Milton described this powerfully in the 17th century in his epic poems Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. It might not be entirely incidental that Jesus sought his Father’s will also in a garden (Gethsemane) and sought the strength to fulfil his divine calling, which of course he did (Matthew 26: 36-56). Adam and Eve’s failure to obey God’s will in the Garden of Eden is mirrored in opposite by Jesus’s faithful following of God’s will in Gethsemane.
Week 6 Video





Suggested Bible Reading:

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane;
The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus
Thank You For Your Continued Support
of St. George's College
We extend our deepest gratitude for your generous and steadfast support of St. George's College through your donations.

Depending on where you live, donations through our Regional Committees may have tax advantages. Consult with your tax advisor for tax guidance.

You may make a donation in the UK, Australia and the US through one of our Regional Committees or you may give directly to the College. Click here for detailed donation instructions. 

US donors may make tax-deductible on-line donations by clicking here.

Canadian donors may mail tax deductible donations to :

The Archbishop Fred Hiltz Scholarships
℅ The Anglican Diocese of Toronto Foundation
135 Adelaide Street East
Toronto, ON M5C 1L8

However you chose to give, please know that your donations are appreciated.
Other ways to support St. George's College
Including the St. George's College in your will, trust or as a beneficiary is a meaningful way to continue to support St. George's College. St. George's has been able to keep its facilities up-to-date and modern because of individuals who had the foresight to include St. George's College in their estate plans. 

For information on making a planned gift please contact Dean Richard Sewell at dean@sgcjerusalem.org or in North America contact Barbara Warder, Executive Director of the North American Committee for St. George's College at nacstgeorges@outlook.com.
Plan Your Next Pilgrimage
See our 2021 and 2022 Course Offerings
We all dream of the day we can travel again and we hope your dreams include a return to the Holy Land and to St. George's College. Course Director Mary June Nestler has spent the downtime during the pandemic updating our course materials to include new sites and new information on recent discoveries. Click on the links below to browse our updated schedules and plan you trip now.

To register for a course go to our website. Please note that schedules are subject to change. You can find the most current schedule and course descriptions on our website.

Revised 1/21
The staff of St. George's College look forward
to welcoming you back to the Holy Land.
Follow St. George's College on Social Media
A NOTE ON UNSUBSCRIBING: If you do not wish to receive additional Lent Series materials please e-mail RESOURCES@SGCJERUSALEM.ORG. Clicking unsubscribe below will remove you from all future St. George's College e-mails.