May 22, 2011
Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
This Sunday concludes the week which includes mid-Pentecost. The scriptures for that day make reference to the great and final feast and the Lord’s words concerning fountains of living water and the nourishment of the spirit. The episode of the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well and Jesus’ further description of Himself as living water continue this theme. There are innumerable nuances to the message of this episode, ranging from the allusion to the patriarch Joseph to the faith of those who believe without seeing, but let us concentrate on the woman who comes into the presence of her God. Christ asks service of her, asks her to ignore their traditional enmity, confuses her with parables, confronts her with her sins, and claims to be her Messiah and Lord. She enters the scene with skepticism, but she does not let circumstances blind her, for the words of the man before her ring with unmistakable authority and truth. Whether she wants to or not, she must believe herself to be in the presence of the Son of God; she not only believes, but she quickly bears witness to the others of her town. We join her in her faith, and we, too, partake of the Water of Life.
Acts 11:19-30: Reading in the book of Acts, we see the establishment of the first predominately Gentile church in Antioch under the leading of Barnabas and Saul.
John 4:5-42: In Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman we see our Lord’s concern with the truth, both in our dealings with others and in our worship of God. We also see that spreading the eternal gospel of the Kingdom is a corporate action and not that of just one or two.
Troparion of the Resurrection: Having learned the joyful message of the Resurrection from the angel, the women Disciples cast from them their parental condemnation, and proudly broke the news to the Disciples, saying, Death has been spoiled. Christ God is risen, granting the world Great Mercy.
Troparion for mid-Pentecost: In the midst of this Feast, O Saviour, give my thirsty soul to drink of the waters of true worship; for thou didst call out to all, saying, Whosoever is thirsty, let him come unto me and drink. Wherefore, O Christ our God, Fountain of life, glory to thee.
Troparion of the Chains of St. Peter: O Holy Apostle, Peter, thou dost preside over the Apostles by the precious chains which thou didst bear. We venerate them with faith and beseech thee that by thine intercessions we be granted the great mercy.
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, May 22 (Sunday of the Smaritan Woman)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros
9:00 a.m. — Christian Education
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy
1:00 p.m. — Young Adults
Monday, May 23
Office Closed — Father John’s Day Off
Tuesday, May 24
6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros
Wednesday, May 25 (The Forerunner – Third Discovery)
5:00 p.m. — Catechism Class
6:30 p.m. — Daily Vespers
7:30 p.m. — Choir Practice
Thursday, May 26
NO Daily Orthros
Friday, May 27
NO Daily Orthros
Saturday, May 28
NO Catechism Class
5:45 p.m. — Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, May 29 (Sunday of the Blind Man)
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 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.
Please continue to pray for the health of His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
May 22 Morrises Schelvers
May 29 Joneses Pigotts
June 1 Meadows Woods/T. Skirtech/
(Wed. p.m. – Feast of the Ascension) Mary Guy
June 5 Joanna Meadows D. Roots
June 12 Freundts POT LUCK
June 19 Fahmys Strains
June 26 Bakers Morrises
June 28 Woods Schelvers
(Tues. p.m. – Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul)
We will NOT hold the service for Saturday of the Souls on the day before Pentecost. This was scheduled for Saturday morning June 11, but has been cancelled for this year only.
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#
May 22 Tom Willingham Acts 11:19-30 52
May 29 Tom Skirtech Acts 16:16-34 58
June 1 (Wed. p.m.) Sh. Charlotte Algood Acts 1:1-12 63
June 5 Walt Wood Acts 20:16-18, 28-36 66
June 12 Mildred Morris Acts 2:1-11 77
June 19 Warren Strain Heb. 11:33-12:2 84
June 26 Phillip Lasseter Rom. 2:10-16 90
June 28 (Tues. p.m.) Brenda Baker II Cor. 11:21-33, 12:1-9 389
Please remember the following in your prayers: Fr. Leo, Kh. Be’Be’, Stephen and Amy, Justyn and Jeffrey; Steve, Sheryl and Stephen Chamblee; Maria Costas; Amy and Brantley Oliver; Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Sam and Lamia Dabit; David Turner’s mother Mary Jean; Fr. Joseph Bittle, Kh. Joanna, their daughter Abigail and the rest of their family; Brees Johns.
Calendar Items:
* The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month.
The next meeting will be June 2nd at Pigskins in Ridgeland.
* The Paschal Season will come to a close with Paschal Vespers for the Leave-taking of Pascha on Tuesday evening, May 31st beginning at 6:30 p.m.
* Thursday, June 2nd is the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord. We will have Orthros followed by the Divine Liturgy the preceding night (June 1st), beginning at 6:00 p.m.
There will be no Daily Orthros on Thursday morning.
* We will celebrate the Feast of Pentecost with a Pot Luck Meal on Sunday, June 12th. As is our custom, we will also have the service of Kneeling Vespers that evening, beginning at 6:30 p.m. There will be no fasting during the following week.
* The Fast of the Apostles will run from June 20-28 this year. We will celebrate Orthros and Divine Liturgy for the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul on Tuesday evening, July 28th, beginning at 6:00 p.m.
* 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.
* Father John will be out of town July 21-31st for the Archdiocese Convention in Chicago.
* His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN will be here the weekend of May 6, 2012 to help us celebrate our 25th anniversary as a parish. The planning committee is working very hard to make our celebration a memorable one. There will be an evening event at the MS Museum of Art on Saturday, May 6th. Other events are being planned and more information will be available in the coming months.
Because our clergy will be attending the Parish Life Conference there will be no Daily Vespers on Wednesday June 15th. There will also be no catechism class on Wednesday June 15th or Saturday June 18th. Nor will there be Daily Orthros on Thursday or Friday of that week. However, Father James will be returning on Saturday afternoon. So our regular services will be celebrated on Saturday and Sunday June 18th and 19th.
We are looking for new faces in the choir….anyone 7th grade or older who is interested should contact Karen or Sh. Margaret.
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.
Fr. John leave for Pensacola Thursday, May 26th and will return on Monday, May 30th. He will be filling in for Fr. David Bleam at St. Andrew’s and will be remaining for a family vacation. There will be no Thursday or Friday Daily Orthros or Saturday Catechism Class in his absence.
Fasting Discipline for May/June
The traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, wine and oil) is observed on all Wednesdays and Fridays of the month. There will be no fasting during the week following Pentecost (June 12th). The traditional fasting discipline is again observed on all days during the Fast of the Apostles (June 20-28).
Major Commemorations during May/June
May 25 The Forerunner (3rd discovery)
June 1 Justyn Martyr
June 2 Feast of Ascension
June 4 Metrophanes of Constantinople
June 5 Holy Fathers of the First Council of Nicea
June 8 Theodore the General (transfer of relics)
June 11 Apostles Bartholomew and Barnabas
June 12 Feast of Pentecost
June 19 Sunday of All Saints
June 24 Nativity of the Forerunner
June 29 Chief Apostles Peter and Paul
June 30 Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles
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.
New Parish Directory: The Parish Council has decided to implement a new Directory with family pictures. Pictures will taken on the following Sundays: May 29th, June 5th, June 12th, June 26th and July 3rd. A group picture will taken on Pentecost (June 12th) for the cover of the Directory.
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.
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.
Happy Anniversaries remaining in May:
May 30 — Tom and Jennifer Skirtech (1977)
Happy Birthdays in remaining May:
May 21 — Jacob Skirtech (#4!)
May 24 — Daniel Root
— Paul Katool
May 26 — David Turner
May 27 — Luke Habeeb (#6!)
May 30 — Dn. Terry Algood
May 31 — Stephen Chamblee
Quotable: “Disease is not the greatest evil for man, because a disease of the body endured with humility, faith, and patience can cure the soul sick with sin and bring it closer to God—the greatest good for man.”
Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev
Worship: Sunday, May 29, 2011 (Sunday of the Blind Man)
Scripture: Acts 16:16-34; John 9:1-38
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Tom Skirtech
Prosphora: Joneses
Coffee Hour: Pigotts
Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church 