September 23, 2012
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Conception of the Forerunner and Baptist John
Galatians 4:22-27: In the reading from Galatians we hear of the two sons of Abraham, one by Hagar and one by Sarah. We are reminded that these children symbolize the two covenants, and the two Jerusalems, one in slavery and the other free and she is our mother.
Luke 5:1-11: In the reading from the Gospel of St Luke we see Simon Peter, James, and John become disciples of our Lord.
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 St. John: Rejoice, O barren one, who had not given birth; for behold thou hast conceived clearly the one who is the dawn of the Sun who was about to illuminate the whole universe, blighted with sightlessness. Shout in joy, O Zachzrias, crying in favour, Verily, the one to be born is a Prophet of the High.
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 Theotokos: O undisputed intercessor of Christians, O mediatrix, who is unrejected by the Creator, turn not away from the voice of our petitions though we be sinners; come to us in time, who cry to thee in faith, for thou art good. Hasten to us with intercessions, O Theotokos, who didst ever intercede for those who honor thee.
CALENDAR
Sunday, September 23 (Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost; Conception of the Forerunner and Baptist John)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros
9:00 a.m. — Christian Education
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy
5:30 p.m. — Youth Group
Monday, September 24 (Protomartyr Thekla)
Office Closed — Father John’s Day Off
Tuesday, September 25
6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros
Wednesday, September 26 (Apostle John the Theologian)
6:30 p.m. — Daily Vespers
7:30 p.m. — Choir Practice
Thursday, September 27
6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros
Friday, September 28 (Venerable Chariton)
6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros
Saturday, September 29
7:30 a.m. — Bible Study with Breakfast
5:45 p.m. — Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, September 30 (Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros
9:00 a.m. — Christian Education
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy
1:00 p.m. — Young Adults
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Joneses for the Divine Liturgy this morning.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
September 23 Jones Strain/Dabit
September 30 Davis D. Root/Dansereau/Dale Cooper
October 7 Meadows Pigott/Freundt/Turner
October 14 Yeatts POT LUCK MEAL (set-up: Algood/Bassinger/Yeatts)
October 21 Abraham R. Root/Abraham/Davis
October 28 Bassinger Schelver/Lavric
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#
September 23 Walt Wood Gal. 4:22-27 314
September 30 Warren Strain II Cor. 6:16-7:1 173
October 7 Kh. Sharon Meadows II Cor. 9:6-11 179
October 14 Mildred Morris Titus 3:8-15 322
October 21 Phillip Lasseter Gal. 1:11-19 188
October 28 Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver Gal. 2:16-20 193
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 remember the following in your prayers: Pete and Maria Costas; Steve, Sheryl and Stephen Chamblee; Amy and Brantley Oliver; Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Sam and Lamia Dabit and Sammie; 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); Fr. Stephen Tewfik; Dn. Howard and Sh. Gail Shannon.
Please continue to pray for the health of His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN.
Please remember Fr. Joseph and Kh. Joanna Bittle, and their daughter Abigail, in your prayers.
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.
Fall Festival/Square Dance: We are planning a Fall Festival with Square Dancing for the month of October. The date will be Saturday, October 27th, beginning at 2:00 p.m. (Please note the change in time!!) We will not have Ninth Hour Prayers that day and Great Vespers will begin at 6:00 p.m.
Building Fund: As we proceed with the plans for the approval by the City of Madison and Metropolitan PHILIP for our addition/renovation, we are reviewing our Building Fund. We currently have over $150,000 in the fund and are regularly adding to it. The Parish Council has decided to apply cash donations from the Sunday offering to the Building Fund – UNLESS it is specified or otherwise apparent that these are intended as a regular tithe/donation. Of course, other donations by check, etc., specified for the Building Fund are always welcome! So feel free to chip in a little (or lot!) extra as you are able. With God’s grace, we look forward to this next phase of our building program and beyond to the next phase of building a new main church building/temple.
Many Thanks!! to Anastasia Jones for her service as President of the Ladies of St. Peter this past year. Thanks as well to Brenda Baker who will succeed her in the office of President. Sandra Strain has agreed to remain as Treasurer. Anyone willing to serve as Vice-president should contact Brenda.
The new Quarterly Schedule is available on the table in the hallway. Please be sure to pick one up. If you are unable to do Eucharist Bread or Coffee Hour on the Sunday you are assigned, please swap with someone else and be sure to let Kh. Sharon know so that the change can appear in the announcements. If you are unable to read the Epistle on your Sunday, please swap with someone and let Reader Basil and Kh. Sharon know about the change.
Coffee Hour guidelines have been posted on the refrigerator in the kitchen. These list the items to be set out for Fasting and Non-fasting Coffee Hours along with guidelines for setting out the food and for storage afterwards. Please be sure that the power switch on the dishwasher is turned off when you are through with clean-up. (It has been left on the last two weeks).
Parish Ministry Teams: The Ladies of St. Peter are making a change to focus more on service and spirituality and away from administrative tasks. Therefore we are forming Parish Ministry Teams to handle some of the tasks that have been handled by the Ladies of St. Peter in the past few years (as well as some other needs not handled by them). We are looking for volunteers to serve on these teams and hope to have both men and women involved (especially our Young Adults).
Calendar Items:
* The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month.
* October is Teen Month in our Archdiocese.
* Fall Festival and Square Dance – Saturday, October 27th, beginning at 2:00 p.m.
* Stewpot schedule (together with Holy Resurrection) – December 29th.
Fasting Discipline for September/October
The traditional fasting (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, wine and oil) is observed on all Wednesdays and Fridays of the month.
Major Commemorations for September/October
September 23 Conception of the Forerunner
September 26 Apostle John the Theologian (repose)
September 28 Venerable Chariton the Confessor
October 1 Protection of the Theotokos
October 6 Apostle Thomas
October 9 Apostle James, Son of Alpaeus
October 18 Apostle Luke
October 23 Apostle James, Brother of the Lord
October 26 Great-martyr Demetrios
Happy Birthdays in September/October:
September 25 — Rick Carlton
September 30 — Laura Yeatts
October 1 — Emily Parker
October 3 — Reader Basil Baker
October 4 — Rod Parker
October 7 — Glenn Morris
October 8 — Brantley Oliver
October 10 — Phillip Lasseter
October 16 — Jesse Milnor
October 17 — Max Baker
October 20 — Anna Kathryn Stewart
— Justyn Schelver
October 23 — Anne Habeeb
October 24 — Jean Kafoury
October 25 — Kathy Willingham
October 28 — Lamia Dabit
— Mona Fahmy
October 29 — Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver
Happy Anniversaries in September/October:
September 26 — Rod and Emily Parker (#8!)
October 17 — Phillip and Nikki Lasseter (#3!)
October 18 — Oliver and Laura Yeatts (#4!)
October 22 — Walter and Charlotte Wood (#29!)
When you host Coffee Hour or the meal for a Feast, please make sure that the oven, warmer, and coffee maker are turned off afterwards. On several occasions in the past, the cleaning ladies have found the oven still on when they came in to clean later during the week.
Quotable: “Further, one might guess that the heart is capable of constant awareness of God, and we can see that awareness, albeit in a weakened state, whenever we quiet the mind long enough to hear the silence. The heart functions at an altogether more profound level than the mind, achieving states of awareness and experience far removed from the tyranny of the logismoi or the vanity of emotion.”
Archimandrite Meletios Webber, Bread and Water, Wine and Oil: an Orthodox Christian Experience of God
Worship: Sunday, September 30, 2012 (Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost)
Scripture: II Corinthians 6:16-7:1; Luke 6:31-36
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Warren Strain
Prosphora: Davis
Coffee Hour: D. Root/Dansereau/Dale Cooper
Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church 