April 24, 2011
Great and Holy PASCHA
“Unique and holy day, King and lord of days, feast of feasts, solemnity of solemnities. . . “ Thus we celebrate the Great Feast because of the resurrection of our Lord and begin the season of celebration which lasts through Pentecost. The paschal solemnities (of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday) are joined to the feast of the resurrection to endow the mystery of Christmas and the Incarnation with the fulness of its meaning and are the prerequisite condition for Pentecost. Easter, therefore, is the center, the heart of the Christian Year.
“Come, take light from the Light that has no evening, and glorify Christ, risen from the dead.” The Church again represents the Christian mystery in terms of light; this Light, whose birth was marked by the star of Bethlehem, is shining among us with growing intensity; the darkness of Golgotha could not extinguish it. The physical Resurrection of Jesus would be without value to us if the divine light did not shine at the same time among us, within us. But the good news of the Resurrection is that the light brought by the Saviour now completely overcomes the darkness of our sins!
“Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down Death by death, and to those in the tomb He has given life!”
Acts 1:1-8: From our reading in Acts we are reminded that following the Resurrection and Ascension of our Lord, the Church would receive the Holy Spirit to empower Her in spreading the eternal gospel to all parts of the Earth.
John 1:1-17: Reading in the Gospel of John we see Jesus Christ as the eternally Begotten Son of The Father with Whom He has always existed. We also see John the Baptist coming to prepare the way for our Lord’s ministry.
Paschal Troparion: Christ is risen from the dead; by Death has he trodden death, and upon those in the tombs, hath he bestowed life.
Hypakoe of Easter: They who were with Mary came before the dawn, found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre, and heard the angels say unto them, Why seek ye him as man with the dead, who dwelleth in light eternal? Behold the grave wrappings; make haste and declare to the world that the Lord is risen, and hath caused death to die; for he is the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind.
Kontakion of Pascha: When Thou didst descend into the grave, O Immortal, Thou didst destroy the power of hades. In victory didst Thou arise, O Christ God, proclaiming ARejoice@ to the myrrh-bearing women, granting peace to Thine apostles and bestowing resurrection on the fallen.
CALENDAR
Sunday, April 24 (PASCHA)
3:00 Agape Vespers
Monday, April 25 (Apostle and Evangelist Mark)
Office Closed — Father John’s Day Off
No fasting during Bright Week
Tuesday, April 26
6:00 a.m. — Bright Week Orthros
Wednesday, April 27
NO Catechism Class
6:30 p.m. — Paschal Vespers
Thursday, April 28
6:00 a.m. — Bright Week Orthros
Friday, April 29 (Apostle James of Zebedee)
6:00 a.m. — Bright Week Orthros
Saturday, April 30
NO Catechism Class
5:45 p.m. — Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, May 1
8:50 a.m. — Orthros
9:00 a.m. — Christian Education
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy
5:30 p.m. — Youth Group
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Dn. Richard Roots for the Vesperal Liturgy of Great and Holy Thursday, by the Hendersons for the Vesperal Liturgy of Great and Holy Saturday and by the Morrises for the Divine Liturgy today.
Please be reminded of the following:
Be very careful with the Blessed Bread when you take it after communion. Because this bread has been blessed, we should take care not to let crumbs fall on the floor. Parents, especially, please help your children to choose a small piece and treat it carefully.
Also, at the end of the liturgy, maintain a prayerful disposition during the veneration of the cross as the prayers of thanksgiving after communion are still underway. Please exchange your greetings with each other in the Fellowship Hall during Coffee Hour.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
April 23 (Sat. p.m.) Morrises T. Skirtechs/Parkers/
PASCHA B. Skirtechs
May 1 Algoods Hendersons
May 8 Katools Algoods
May 15 Schelvers R. Roots
May 22 Morrises Schelvers
May 29 Joneses Pigotts
Please remember the following in your prayers: Fr. Leo, Kh. Be’Be’, Stephen and Amy, Justyn and Jeffrey; Amy and Brantley Oliver; Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Sam and Lamia Dabit; David Turner’s parents, Harry and Mary Jean; Fr. Joseph Bittle, Kh. Joanna, their daughter Abigail and the rest of their family.
Schedule for Epistle Readers – Page numbers refer to the Apostolos (book of the Epistles) located on the front pew. Please be sure to use this book when you read.
Reader Reading Page#
April 23 (Sat. p.m.) Warren Strain Acts 1:1-8 25
May 1 Phillip Lasseter Acts 5:12-20 32
May 8 Mildred Morris I John 4:12-19 315
May 15 Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver Acts 9:32-42 45
May 22 Tom Willingham Acts 11:19-30 52
May 29 Tom Skirtech Acts 16:16-34 58
Welcome and Many Years!! to Michael and Amy Surratt who were chrismated this morning.
Please continue to pray for the health of His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN.
Calendar Items:
* The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month.
* The 2011 Parish Life Conference is being hosted by St. John Orthodox Church in
Memphis on June 16-19. More information (hotels, etc.) is available through the
Archdiocese website at antiochian.org.
* We will be serving a meal at the Stewpot in Jackson on July 9th and November 19th.
If you are planning to attend the Parish Life Conference in Memphis, please register as soon as possible. St. John needs our registrations as they continue their preparations to host this event.
If you have not yet returned your pledge slip, please do so as soon as possible, either by mail in the enclosed envelope, or by placing your pledge slip in the Tithes box at the back of the nave. We need this information to prepare our budget for the year.
Fasting Discipline for April
During Great Lent the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, wine and oil) is observed on all days of the week until Pascha (except Palm Sunday on April 17th, when fish, wine and oil are permitted). There is no fasting during the week following Pascha ( Bright Week).
Major Commemorations during April
April 23 Great-martyr George
April 24 PASCHA
April 25 Apostle Mark
April 30 Apostle James of Zebedee
If you are the last to leave the building, please make sure that the heating and cooling unit in the Fellowship Hall is turned off.
Antiochian Women’s Scholarship: Each year AOCWNA is able to award scholarships, usually in the amount of $500 each, to help women continue their education in order to improve their circumstances and those of their families. In order to be eligible, a woman must be over 25 years of age, a member in good standing and active in her parish, registered in an academic or trade program of study, and demonstrate financial need. The application deadline is May 27, 2011. If you are interested in applying for this scholarship, please see Fr. John for an application.
Lost Items! Are you missing any items?? …most notably 3 sets of keys or a thread-counted bookmark.? These may be claimed in the church office. Please see Kh. Sharon.
Happy Birthdays in April:
April 6 — John Wood (#18!)
April 11 — Brandon Strain (#9!)
Happy Anniversaries in April:
April 12 — Mike and Cheryl Piggott (#30!)
April 25 — Jim and Desi Roehner (#62!!)
Quotable: “Dear readers, we are created for God, and only in Him do we find the paramount bliss for which our heart is constantly yearning. Nothing other than God can make our souls happy! Give man everything which he desires. He will enjoy it for a while, but afterwards he will become indifferent to it, because he feels that something else, much more elevated, is missing. Is it not in that way that the child, too, enjoys every new toy until it grows hungry? Then it abandons the toy and looks for food. A certain inextinguishable inner hunger for truth, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom. 14:17) torments our souls and does not give us peace, even among the best pleasures of life and among the most enviable achievements in the world”
Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev
Worship: Sunday, May 1, 2011 (Sunday of St. Thomas; New Sunday)
Scripture: Acts 5:12-20; John 20:19-31
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Phillip Lasseter
Prosphora: Algoods
Coffee Hour: Hendersons
Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church 