Weekly Parish Newsletter

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​Discover the vibrant community at St. George's Anglican Church!  Join us for Holy Communion on Sunday mornings or participate in one of our educational opportunities:  Youth Group on Wednesday Evenings, Women's Bible Study on Tuesday Morning or Men's Bible Study on ever other Saturday Morning.

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The Rector's Corner for the week of May 10, 2026

​Reading Recommendation:    Blue Zones, by Dan Buettner
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National Geographic Explorer Dan Buettner has traveled the globe to uncover the best strategies for longevity found in the Blue Zones: places in the world where higher percentages of people enjoy remarkably long, full lives. And in this dynamic book he discloses the recipe, blending this unique lifestyle formula with the latest scientific findings to inspire easy, lasting change that may add years to your life.

Buettner's colossal research effort, funded in part by the National Institute on Aging, has taken him from Costa Rica to Italy to Japan and beyond. In the societies he visits, it's no coincidence that the way people interact with each other, shed stress, nourish their bodies, and view their world yields more good years of life. While the Blue Zones publications have come under some criticism, the recommendations and examples reflect common sense, Scriptural exhortation, and scientific evidence.
 
A summary of the nine common elements of blue zones: https://www.bluezones.com/2016/11/power-9/

​Saint of the Week: 

Gregory of Nazianzus
 

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Life
Born c. 1033 in Aosta, Italy, Anselm entered Bec Abbey (Normandy) in 1060, becoming prior (1063) and abbot (1078). Consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093 despite his reluctance. Anselm's principled resistance to the appointment and future conflicts with the crown became a turning point in church-state affairs in that era, culminating after his death in the Magna Carta.

Ministry
He defended Church liberty against Kings William II and Henry I in the Investiture Controversy, enduring two exiles (1097–1100, 1105–1107). A 1107 compromise permitted his return; he governed with pastoral care and monastic simplicity.

Teachings
Guided by fides quaerens intellectum (“faith seeking understanding”), his key works are:

• Monologion and Proslogion: In the latter, he presented the famous ontological argument for God's existence: God is "that than which nothing greater can be conceived." If such a being exists only in the mind, a greater being (one existing in reality) could be conceived—hence, God must exist in reality. This argument has profoundly influenced philosophy and theology.
• Cur Deus Homo (Why Did God Become Man?): Further developed the Satisfaction theory of Atonement—only the God-man could satisfy infinite divine honor offended by sin.

His reasoned, devotional theology founded Scholasticism, which reached its fullest apex in Thomas Aquinas.
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Death
Anselm died peacefully 21 April 1109 at Canterbury. Canonized 1494, declared Doctor of the Church 1720; feast on 21 April.
Anselm exemplifies for us humble intellect in service to faith and ecclesiastical freedom.

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​The Rector's Corner  for May 3, 2026

Recommended  Resource:
 
Podcast:  The Aaron Renn Show
- Joshua Mitchell and the America's Hebraic Christianity Culture
​(Aired April 27, 2026)
 
Renn, author of the influential book "The Negative Age", interview Joshua Mitchell and they discuss Mitchell's recent article in the American Reformer about the unique American religious heritage.  Focusing particularly upon the Protestant Reformation and its impact upon the political and cultural landscape of this nation.  As part of the discussion, they compare and contrast Rome, the East, and the Reformers' assumptions about how to interpret the faith and the world through Aristotle, Plato, and the Old Testament.

​Saint of the Week: 

​Athanasius of Alexandria,
​May 2nd Commemoration​

Life
Born c. 296–298 in Alexandria to a Christian family, Athanasius received excellent theological training. As deacon to Bishop Alexander, he attended the Council of Nicaea (325) and, though only a deacon, effectively debated and opposed Arius, who was teaching the heresy later known as "Arianism"(the belief Jesus was a created being).  He was  Elected Bishop of Alexandria in 328 at about age thirty.

Ministry
His episcopate spanned forty-five years (328–373), yet it was marked by extraordinary trials: five separate exiles ordered by four Roman emperors, totaling more than seventeen years of banishment. These exiles—first under Constantine to the Rhineland (336), then under Constantius, Julian the Apostate, and Valens—arose from relentless political and theological opposition by Arian factions and schismatic groups such as the Meletians. Despite these hardships, Athanasius remained the unwavering guardian of the Nicene Creed, particularly the doctrine of the homoousios (the Son’s consubstantiality with the Father). He conducted extensive visitations across his vast patriarchate (Egypt and Libya), forged strong bonds with the Coptic monks of Upper Egypt (including St. Pachomius), and sheltered among the desert fathers during his flights. His ministry combined pastoral care, ascetic example, and fierce theological combat, earning him the titles “Athanasius the Great,” “the Confessor,” and, among Copts, “the Apostolic.”

Key Writings

• On the Incarnation of the Word — classic defence of Christ’s divinity and the purpose of the Incarnation.
• Four Orations Against the Arians — systematic refutation of Arianism.
• Life of St. Antony — influential biography that shaped Christian monasticism. Other works include letters on the Holy Spirit and accounts of the councils.

​Death
Returned from final exile, Athanasius died peacefully in Alexandria on 2 May 373, aged about 75–77. Venerated immediately as a saint and later declared a Doctor of the Church, and is an example to us of courageous witness.