January 29, 2012
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
Galatians 3:23-29;4:1-5: In this reading from Galatians we hear St. Paul explain that prior to the coming of Christ, we were under the Law and hence divided, but now that Christ has come we are justified by faith in Christ and have become one, belonging to Christ. Therefore, we are no longer under bondage to the Law and the world, but are now free as children of God.
Matthew 15:21-28: In the passage from Matthew we see our Lord demonstrate His mercy by healing the daughter of a Canaanite woman.
Troparion of the Resurrection: O compassionate One, thou didst descend from the heights; thou didst submit to the three-day burial, that thou might deliver us from passion. Thou art our Life and our Resurrection, O Lord, glory to thee.
Troparion of the Heiromartyr Ignatius: As a sharer of the ways and a successor to the throne of the Apostles, O inspired of God, thou foundest discipline to be a means of ascent to divine vision. Wherefore, having rightly divided the word of the truth, thou didst also contest for the Faith even unto blood, O Hieromartyr Ignatius. Intercede with Christ our God that our souls be saved.
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 Presentation: Thou, O Christ God, who by your Birth, didst sanctify the Virgin’s womb, and as is meet, didst bless Simeon’s arms, and didst also come to save us, preserve thy fold in wars, and confirm them whom thou didst love; for thou alone art the Lover of mankind.
CALENDAR
Sunday, January 29 (Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros
9:00 a.m. — Christian Education
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy
5:30 p.m. — Youth Group
Monday, January 30
Office Closed — Father John’s Day Off
Tuesday, January 31
NO Daily Orthros
Wednesday, February 1
NO Catechism Class
6:00 p.m. — Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy
Thursday, February 2 (Presentation of our Lord in the Temple)
NO Daily Orthros
11:30 a.m. — Men’s Lunch
Friday, February 3 (St. Simeon the God-receiver)
NO Daily Orthros
Saturday, February 4
9:00 a.m. — Creative Arts Festival with Pizza Lunch
5:45 p.m. — Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, February 5 (Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros
9:00 a.m. — Christian Education
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy
12:00 p.m. — Ladies of St. Peter
1:00 p.m. — Young Adults
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered 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
January 29 Jones Fahmy
February 1 (Wed. p.m.) Meadows Bakers/Mary Guy
(Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple)
February 5 Joanna Meadows D. Roots/Dansereaus
February 12 Dansereaus Pigotts
February 18 (Sat. a.m.) D. Roots
(Saturday of the Souls – Koliva: Charlotte Algood)
February 19 Yeatts Morrises
February 26 Freundts YOUTH GROUP
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#
January 29 Tom Willingham II Cor. 6:16-7:1 173
February 1 (Wed. p.m.) Sh. Charlotte Algood Heb. 7:7-17 371
February 5 Walt Wood II Tim. 3:10-15 258
February 12 Tom Skirtech I Cor. 6:12-20 265
February 18 (Sat. a.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows I Cor. 10:23-26 271
February 19 Warren Strain I Cor. 8:8-9:2 273
February 26 Phillip Lasseter Rom. 13:11-14:4 279
Please be reminded that the Sacristy/Vestry which is adjacent to and behind the altar in our church is considered by the Orthodox Church to be part of the Sanctuary (Altar area) and should not be entered without the blessing of the priest for a specific purpose. If you need to speak with a member of the clergy while they are in the Sanctuary, please ask them to come to you in the nave.
Please remember Fr. Joseph and Kh. Joanna Bittle and their daughter Abigail in your prayers.
Please continue to pray for the health of His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN.
Please remember the following in your prayers: Maria Costas; Amy and Michael Surratt and Amy’s family; Tom and Jennifer Skirtech and Jennifer’s mother, Jessamine Hinkson; Warren and Sandi Strain and their family; 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; Georgia Buchanan, George Johns (Georgia’s grandson) and his family; Dorin and Carolina Lavric and Victor (Carolina’s brother); Mary Greene (Lee and Kh. Sharon’s sister); Joanna Meadows and Jay Davis (as they prepare for their wedding).
Welcome! Lynda Costas has moved her membership officially from Holy Trinity and St. John the Theologian Orthodox Church to St. Peter’s and we welcome her as an “official” member!
House Blessings! A sign-up sheet is available in the Fellowship Hall to sign up for your house blessing. Please schedule these as soon as possible. Everyone should have their home blessed. However, the responsibility for scheduling lies with individuals and not Father John. No house blessings will be done once Great Lent starts (February 27th this year).
Calendar Items:
* The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month.
* We will celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple with Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy this Wednesday evening, beginning at 6:00 p.m.
* Parish Creative Arts Festival – this Saturday morning, February 4th from 9-12.
* The Annual Deanery Youth Retreat will be held on February 10-12, 2012 at John W. Kyle State Park in Sardis. Joel and Sarah Finley will be addressing the topic of the Culture of Dating. More information will be available as the time draws near.
* Father Thomas Hopko will be speaking at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Clinton February 14-16, 2012. More information will be available at a later date.
* Bridal Shower for Joanna Meadows – February 25th at the home of Mildred Morris.
* The Youth Group is planning to hold their annual Cheesefare Fundraising Luncheon on Sunday, February 26th.
* The Ladies of St. Peter will hold their annual fund-raising lunch and auction on Sunday morning, March 25th.
* 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.
Please be sure to turn in your pledge letters as soon as possible. If you did not receive one in the recent weeks, please let Kh. Sharon know.
Breakfast and Bible Study: we are continuing to meet every 2-3 weeks for Bible Study 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.
Parish Creative Arts Festival: The Christian Education classes will have a festival to work on their entries for this year’s Creative Arts Festival THIS Saturday morning, February 4th from 9-12. There will be teaching about this year’s conference theme and then time to work on the projects themselves. A Pizza lunch will be provided afterwards. Please make plans now for your children to attend.
Camping Scholarships: We have received the request form for Scholarships to attend one of the Archdiocese camps this summer. If your camper needs financial assistance to attend Camp St. Thekla or the Antiochian Village, please see Kh. Sharon for a form. Father John must submit these forms to the Department of Camping no later than March 1, 2012 (no exceptions).
Fasting Discipline for February
The traditional fasting (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, wine and oil) is observed on Wednesdays and Fridays of the month. However, there is no fasting during the week following the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee (February 5th). Following Meatfare Sunday (February 19th) meat will not be eaten again until Pascha. During the week following Meatfare Sunday, dairy products (millk, cheese, eggs, etc.) are permitted, even on Wednesday and Friday. February 26th is Cheesefare Sunday, the last day until Pascha that cheese, dairy and wine are permitted. Monday, February 27th is Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent when the traditional fasting discipline is observed on all days of the week until Pascha (except Annunciation on March 25th and Palm Sunday on April 8th, when fish, wine and oil are permitted).
Major Commemorations for January/February
January 31 Cyros and John the Unmercenary Healers
February 2 Presentation of our Lord in the Temple
February 3 Simeon the God-receiver
February 5 Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee
February 10 Hieromartyr Haralampos
February 11 Blaise, Bishop of Sebaste
February 12 Sunday of the Prodigal Son
February 19 Judgement Sunday (Meatfare)
February 24 The Forerunner (1st and 2nd Discoveries)
February 26 Forgiveness Sunday (Cheesefare)
February 27 Clean Monday (Great Lent begins)
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 January/February:
January 29 — Michelle Pigott
January 30 — Chris Dansereau
February 11 — Cassie Freundt (#19!)
— Zoe Freundt (#19!)
— Demetrius Zouboukos (#19!)
February 13 — Clyde Ellis
February 15 — Mary Guy Lockhart
February 17 — Anthony Zouboukos
February 18 — Tom Willingham
February 22 — Kh. Sharon Meadows
February 24 — Nimr Fahmy
February 28 — Cole Parker (#7!)
Happy Anniversaries in February:
February 7 — Ben and Meghan Brock (#3!)
February 18 — David and Lou Turner (#6!)
February 21 — Michael and Amy Surratt (#14!)
February 25 — Daniel and Elizabeth Root (#6!)
Windows into Heaven: We are looking for a volunteer to take charge of the small bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall that was used in the past to display icons, hymns and information about the major feasts that occur during the year. The packets of material needed for the bulletin board are available in the church office and only need to be changed for each of the feasts as they occur. If you are interested in taking on this responsibility, please let Fr. John know.
Quotable: “Western psychotherapy is often concerned not only with healing the mind, but also encouraging patients to come to terms with their feelings and emotions. Moreover, at least in everyday speech, it is assumed that the source of these emotions or feelings is the heart.
In the East, we can discern another scheme. Here, the one thing that can be said of the mind is that it is divorced from the heart. In this fallen state, it issues a constant stream of logismoi, the torrent of ‘thoughts’ that accompanies our daily lives. However, in a less demonstrable way (the Fathers do not really talk about emotions), the mind is also the source of emotion and feeling. These originate in the mind as logismoi which are felt, in a reactive way, in the physical body; these reactions are what we call feelings. Feelings, then, in fallen man are as broken and unreliable as the thoughts that give them birth.”
Archimandrite. Meletios Webber, Bread and Water, Wine and
Oil: an Orthodox Christian Experience of God
Worship: Sunday, February 5, 2012 (Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee;
Sunday after the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple)
Scripture: II Timothy 3:10-15; Luke 18:10-14
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Walt Wood
Prosphora: Joanna Meadows
Coffee Hour: D. Roots/ Dansereaus
Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church 