Essex Church Will Fly the Flag of St George on April 23
Proud patriots will fly the flag of St George at an Essex church on April 23. Prayers will be said for Queen and Country. And the vicar will urge his flock to fight against dragons and rescue the helpless.
Father Garry Jenkins, the vicar of St George’s church in Brentwood, has said: “We do make a special day of it. The St George's flag will be carried and we will say prayers for our Queen and Country and also for the other St George's churches we know of - there are seven in our diocese. We will sing five verses of the National Anthem, two for the Queen and three for peace. We are encouraging people to turn up wearing a red rose.
“The service will be followed by a buffet and the chance to toast St George, the Queen, England, and the churches in England.
“We will have a Sung Eucharist including traditional St George's Day hymns and good English ones - like Stainer's 'All for Jesus' and the last night of the Proms favourite, 'Jerusalem'.
“Funnily enough the saint we will be remembering wasn’t an Englishman at all. He was born in the eastern Mediterranean into a Greek family and had a Palestinian mother. There is no historical evidence to suggest that he ever came to England. But none of that matters in the slightest. Our faith cuts right across barriers of nationality and culture. We must fight against today’s dragon of racism.
“Everyone is welcome – dragons and chargers may be left in Larkins Field in Ongar Road (by kind permission of the council).”
More information
- The special service will take place on Wednesday April 23 at 8.00pm at St George’s Church, Ongar Road, Brentwood CM15 9HR (near Robin Hood roundabout).
- Did you know?
- St George was born into a Greek family in an eastern Mediterranean country, probably what is now Turkey or Israel, in about 283 AD.
- His mother came from Lydda, now in Israel.
- He became a soldier in the Roman army.
- He went to Palestine and was martyred, on 23 April 303 AD, by Roman emperor Diocletian for defying the persecution of the Christians.
- As well as being patron saint of England, St George is also a patron saint of Aragon, Canada, Catalonia, China, Ethiopia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Montenegro, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Russia and Serbia.
- The St George’s churches in Chelmsford Diocese are: Barkingside St George, Brentwood St George, Beacontree St George, East Ham St George & St Ethelbert, Harold Hill St George, Pentlow St Gregory & St George, and Thundersley St George.
