August 7, 2011
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost; Sunday after the Transfiguration
Before His Passion, Jesus ascended Mount Tabor with His disciples Peter, James and John, for the purpose of prayer. There the three disciples beheld Him transfigured and saw a vision in which Moses the Lawgiver (shown on the icon on the right holding the tablets of the Law) and Elijah the Prophet appeared and spoke with Him. “And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with Him” (Matt. 17:2-3). The fact that Moses and Elijah appeared at the Transfiguration is very significant in that these two men were the leading figures of the Old Testament – which confirms the fact that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (see Matthew 5:17). Their presence confirmed that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Messiah whom the people of the Old Testament had been anticipating. The Gospel account also says that a voice from a bright cloud said “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to Him” (Matt. 17:5), further confirming the person of Jesus as the divine Messiah. When the three disciples saw and heard these things they fell on their faces and were filled with awe (this is shown on the icon by the way Peter, James and John are depicted at the foot of the mount). When they came down the mountain, Jesus told His disciples to “tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead” (Matt. 17:9). Jesus did not want everyone to know what had happened until the time was right. The Kontakion of the feast gives understanding as to why Jesus allowed Peter, James and John to be present at His transfiguration: “On the mountain wast Thou transfigured, O Christ God, and Thy disciples beheld Thy glory as far as they could see it; so that when they would behold Thee crucified, they would understand that Thy suffering was voluntary, and would proclaim to the world that Thou art truly the Radiance of the Father.”
I Corinthians 1:10-17: St. Paul appeals to the Corinthians to put away their divisions and to be joined together in Jesus Christ.
Matthew 14:14-22: In the reading from St Matthew we hear about Jesus’ feeding the five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish. In this miracle we see that Jesus is the Bread of Life.
Troparion of the Resurrection: Thou didst shatter death by thy Cross; thou didst open paradise to the thief; thou didst turn the mourning of the ointment-bearing women into joy, and didst bid thine Apostles proclaim warning that thou hast risen, O Christ, granting the world Great Mercy.
Troparion of the Transfiguration: When, O Christ our God, thou wast transfigured on the mountain, thou didst reveal thy glory to thy Disciples in proportion as they could bear it. Let thine everlasting light also enlighten us sinners, through the intercessions of the Theotokos, O Bestower of light, 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 the Transfiguration: Thou wast transfigured on the mount, and thy Disciples, in so far as they were able, beheld thy glory, O Christ our God; so that, when they should see thee crucified, they would remember that thy suffering was voluntary, and could declare to all the world that thou art truly the effulgent Splendor of the Father.
CALENDAR
Sunday, August 7 (Eighth Sunday after Pentecost; Sunday after Transfiguration)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy
12:00 p.m. — Ladies of St. Peter
5:30 p.m. — Youth Group
Monday, August 8
Office Closed — Father John’s Day Off
6:30 p.m. — Paraklesis Service
Tuesday, August 29
6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros
Wednesday, August 10
5:00 p.m. — Catechism Class
6:30 p.m. — Paraklesis Service
Thursday, August 11
6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros
11:30 a.m. — Men’s Lunch
Friday, August 12
6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros
6:30 p.m. — Paraklesis Service
Saturday, August 13
5:45 p.m. — Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, August 14 (Ninth Sunday after Pentecost; Pre-feast of the Dormition)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy
1:00 p.m. — Young Adults
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Morrises for the Feast of the Transfiguration yesterday and by the Joneses 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
August 7 Jones Schelvers
August 14 Joanna Meadows Pigotts
August 15 (Mon. a.m.) Meadows Meadows
August 21 D. Roots POT LUCK
Set-up Schelvers/Algoods
August 28 Dansereaus D. Roots/Dansereaus
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#
August 7 Warren Strain I. Cor. 1:10-17 124
August 14 Mildred Morris I Cor. 3:9-17 130
August 15 (Mon. am) Kh. Sharon Meadows Phil. 2:5-11 403
August 21 Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver I Cor. 4:9-16 135
August 28 Phillip Lasseter I Cor. 9:2-12 141
Memory eternal! Our condolences go to Amy and Michael Surratt on the death of Amy’s father, Benton Ballard on August 1st and also to Fr. John Troy and Dn. Tim Mashburn and their families on the falling asleep of their mother, Hazel Mashburn this past Monday. May their memory be eternal!
Please remember the following in your prayers: Maria Costas; Amy and Michael Surratt and Amy’s family; Tom and Jennifer Skirtech and Jennifer’s parents; Warren and Sandi Strain and Warren’s mother; Fr. Leo, Kh. Be’Be’, Stephen and Amy, Justyn and Jeffrey; Steve, Sheryl and Stephen Chamblee; 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.
Please continue to pray for the health of His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN.
Congratulations and Many Years! Next Sunday, August 21st we will have a special POT LUCK meal in honor of Dorin and Carolina Lavric. A sign-up sheet for food items is available in the Fellowship Hall.
Calendar Items:
* The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month.
* The Dormition fast will last until the feast of the Dormition on August 15th. During this time we will once again have the Paraklesis Service on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings beginning at 6:30 p.m. Please make an effort to attend these beautiful services.
* The Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos will be celebrated on Monday morning, August 15th with Divine Liturgy only, beginning at 6:00 a.m.
* The Annual Knucklehead Family Reunion (aka Men’s Fishing Trip) will be held in
Arkansas, on September 16-23 this year.
* We will be serving our next meal at the Stewpot in Jackson on November 19th.
* 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.
Breakfast and Bible Study: we have begun a Bible Study of I Peter. The Bible Study will meet every 2-3 weeks on Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast. This is open to all who are interested. Be sure to come and enjoy the fellowship.
Fasting Discipline for August
From August 1st through 14th (the Dormition Fast), the traditional fasting (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, wine and oil) is observed on all days, except on August 6th (the Feast of the Transfiguration) when fish and wine are permitted. After the 15th, the traditional fasting is observed on the remaining Wednesdays and Fridays of the month. August 29th is also a strict fast day in remembrance of the beheading of the Forerunner.
Major Commemorations during August
August 15 Dormition of the Theotokos
August 29 Beheading of the Forerunner
New Parish Directory: The Parish Council has decided to implement a new Directory with family pictures. If you have not yet had your picture taken, please make arrangements with Daniel Root. A group picture will be taken at a later date for the cover of the Directory.
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 Birthdays in August:
August 4 — Simeon Root (#2!)
August 7 — Joseph Katool (#20!)
August 18 — Virginia Stewart (#1!)
August 20 — Suzi Fino
August 24 — Anastasia Jones
August 26 — Bob Buchanan
August 27 — Eli Dabit (#1!)
August 31 — Elizabeth Root
Happy Anniversaries in August:
August 16 — Rick and Kay Carlton (#36!)
August 17 — Steve and Sheryl Chamblee (#20!)
August 18 — Jesse and Sarah Milnor (#9!)
August 25 — Nimr and Mona Fahmy (#37!)
August 27 — Alfred and Christina Katool (#23!)
Quotable: “Even if God were to require that we give all our possessions to the poor, if He were to require from us that we fast all our lives or give up once and for all all earthly joys and comforts in order to atone for our sins and save ourselves from their ominous consequences, we should agree to anything, only to save ourselves from eternal torment in hell, to which our sin is dragging us. But look what a simple salvation God has established for us: Go shew yourselves to the priests (Luke 17:14). Confess your sins before them. Repent with all your heart, and you will free yourselves from the chains of evil.”
Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev
Worship: Sunday, August 14, 2011 (Ninth Sunday after Pentecost; Pre-feast of the
Dormition)
Scripture: I Corinthians 3:9-17; Matthew 14:22-34
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Mildred Morris
Prosphora: Joanna Meadows
Coffee Hour: Pigotts
Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church 