Monthly Archives: November 2012

12/2 announcements

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December 2, 2012
Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost
 
Ephesians 5:8-19:  St Paul exhorts us to walk as wise men by doing the will of God and avoiding the deeds of darkness.
 
Matthew 17:14-23:  The Lord Jesus again shows His abundant mercy when He heals a boy possessed by a demon.  We also hear Him foretell His betrayal, death and resurrection, but the disciples do not understand.
 
Troparion of the Resurrection:  The stone being sealed by the Jews, and thy pure body being guarded by the soldiers, thou didst arise on the third day, O Saviour, granting life to the world.  Wherefore, the heavenly powers acclaimed thee, O Giver of life, crying, Glory to thy Resurrection, O Christ! Glory to thy kingdom! Glory to thy gracious providence, O only Lover of mankind.
 
Troparion of the Prophet Habakkuk: As we celebrate the memory of Thy Prophet Habakkuk, O Lord, through him we beseech Thee to save our souls.
 
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 Preparatory for Nativity:  Today the Virgin comes unto the cave to give birth in an ineffable manner to the Word before the ages.  Rejoice, therefore, O universe, when you hear, and glorify with the angels and the shepherds him who shall appear by his own will as a new babe, being God before the ages.
 
 
CALENDAR
 
Sunday, December 2   (Twenty-sixth 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
           
Monday, December 3   
Office Closed   — Father John’s Day Off
           
Tuesday, December 4   (Great-martyr Barbara and St. John of Damascus)
            6:00 a.m.         — Festal Orthros
           
Wednesday, December 5   (Sava the Sanctified)
6:30 p.m.         — Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia
 
Thursday, December 6    (St. Nicholas the Wonderworker)
6:00 a.m.         — Festal Orthros
               11:30 a.m.       — Men’s Lunch
 
Friday, December 7    
6:00 a.m.         — Daily Orthros
 
Saturday, December 8
5:45 p.m.         — Ninth Hour Prayers followed by Great Vespers
 
Sunday, December 9   (Twenty-fifth 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
 
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Woods for the Divine Liturgy this morning.
 
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
                                                Eucharist Bread                          Coffee Hour
December 2                               Wood                                    Ellis/Zouboukos
December 5 (Tues pm)             Henderson (Artoklasia Bread)   No Meal
         (Feast of St. Nicholas)
December 9                                Schelver                                  Fahmy/Brock/Stephanie Baker
December 16                          Morris                                           Skirtech/Skirtech/Parker
December 23                          Jones                                             D. Root/Dansereau/Dale Cooper
December 24 (Mon pm)         Meadows                                     Katool/Strain/Dabit/Dabit
         (Feast of the Nativity of our Lord)
December 30                          Davis                                               Pigott/Freundt/Turner
December 31 (Mon pm)         Baker (Artoklasia Bread)             No Meal
         (Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord and Feastday of St. Basil the Great)
 
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#
December 2                            Warren Strain                       Eph. 5:8-19                     217
December 9                             Kh. Sharon Meadows        Gal. 4:22-27                    314
December 16                           Mildred Morris                   Col. 3:4-11                      233
December 23                           Phillip Lasseter                    Heb. 11:9-10, 32-40       348
December 24 (Mon pm)         Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver            Gal. 4:4-7                       351
December 30                           Brenda Baker                        Gal. 1:11-19                   188
 
Please remember the following in your prayers:  Steve, Sheryl and Stephen Chamblee; Amy and Brantley Oliver; Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Sam and Lamia Dabit and Sammie; Georgia Buchanan, George Johns (Georgia’s grandson) and his family; Mary Greene (Lee and Kh. Sharon’s sister); Fr. Stephen Tewfik; Sh. Gail Shannon; Dn. Sidney and Sh. Mary Elliot.
 
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 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 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.
 
Christmas Play:  We plan to have a rehearsal and costume fitting during Sunday School hour on Sunday, December 9, so if your child wishes to participate in the Christmas play, please heave them present then.  The Sunday School children will present the Christmas Play after the Divine Liturgy in the Fellowship Hall on Sunday, December 23rd. 
 
Directory Update:  the Surratts have a new mailing address:
                        P.O. 607
                        Ridgeland, MS  39158.
 
The Deanery Youth Retreat is scheduled for February 15-17, 2013.  Sister Magdalene from the Monastery of St. John in England will be the speaker.  Sister Magdalene will also be speaking at St. Peter’s for two evenings around the time of the retreat.  More details will be available at a later date.  But be sure to mark your calendars now for the retreat and Sister Magdalene’s talks!!
 
Calendar Items:
*    The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month.
*    As is our custom we will celebrate the Advent Paraklesis in place of Daily Vespers on Wednesday evenings during the Fast of the Nativity.  (However, on the evening of December 5th, we will celebrate Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia for the Feast of St. Nicholas instead of the Paraklesis Service.)   This is a very beautiful service.  Please make plans to attend.
*    We will celebrate the Nativity of our Lord with Royal Hours at 7:00 a.m. on Monday, December 24th and with Orthros and Divine Liturgy at 10:00 p.m. that evening.  Metropolitan PHILIP has stipulated that this evening service can begin no earlier than 10:00 p.m.
*    Stewpot schedule (together with Holy Resurrection) – December 29th.
*    Deanery Youth Retreat is scheduled for February 15-17, 2013.  More details later.
 
Supper Clubs:  If you are interested in being a part of a supper club, please put your name on the sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall.  Supper Clubs are scheduled to begin in January.  If you have any questions, see Kh. Sharon.
 
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. 
 
Fasting Discipline for December
During December the traditional fasting (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, wine and oil) is observed each day of the week.  Note, however, through December 19th there is a katlysis on Tuesdays and Thursdays when wine and oil are permitted, and on Saturdays and Sundays when fish, wine and oil are permitted.  There is no fasting from December 25th through January 4th.
 
Major Commemorations for December
December 4           Great-martyr Barbara and Father John Damascene
December 5           Sava the Sanctified
December 6           Nicholas of Myra
December 9           Conception of the Theotokos
December 12         Spyridon the Wonder-worker
December 15         Hieromartyr Eleutherios
December 20         God-bearer Ignatius of Antioch
December 25         Nativity of our Lord
December 26         Synaxis of the Theotokos
December 27         Protomartyr Stephen
 
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.
 
Happy Anniversaries in December:
         December 21         —    Fr. John and Kh. Janet Henderson (#38!)
 
Happy Birthdays in December:
         December 1           —    Christina Katool
         December 3           —    Stephanie Baker
                                       —    Athena Zouboukos
         December 4           —    Brenda Baker
         December 8           —    Ben Brock
                                       —    Sam Habeeb
                                       —    Michael Surratt
         December 11         —    Sh. Charlotte Algood
         December 12         —    Jenna Skirtech
         December 20         —    Steve Chamblee
                                       —    Anna Freundt
         December 21         —    Caroline Halley
         December 27         —    Ben Skirtech
                                       —    Warren Strain
                                       —    Nicholas Zouboukos (#13!)
         December 28         —    Sheryl Chamblee

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.
 
Quotable:  “May I entreat you, let us endeavor to see Him and contemplate Him even in this life.  For if we are found worthy sensibly (aisthitos) to see Him here, we shall not die, ‘death will have no dominion over us’ (Rm. 6:9).  Let us not wait to see Him in the future, but strive to contemplate Him now, since John the Theologian tells us ‘We know that we have God in our hearts, from the Spirit which we have received from Him’ (1 John 3:24, 2:27).”
                                                            St. Symeon the New Theologian
 
 
Worship:         Sunday, December 9, 2012 (Twenty-seventh Sunday after Pentecost; Conception of St. Anne, Mother of the Theotokos))
 
         Scripture:                                Galatians 4:22-27; Luke 13:10-17
         Celebrant:                               Father John
         Epistle Reader:                       Kh. Sharon Meadows
         Prosphora:                             Schelver
         Coffee Hour:                          Fahmy/Brock/Stephanie Baker               

11/25 announcements

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November 25, 2012
Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Leave-taking of the Presentation of the Theotokos
St. Catherine the Great-martyr
 
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.
 
Luke 18:18-27:   In the Gospel according to St Luke we hear our Lord tell us via an encounter with a rich, young ruler that to obtain eternal life we must be willing to  give up everything that we possess in service to the Kingdom of God.
 
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 Presentation of the Theotokos:  Today the Virgin is the foreshadowing of the pleasure of God, and the beginning of the preaching of the salvation of mankind.  You have appeared in the Temple of God openly and have gone before, preaching Christ to all.  Let us shout with one thrilling voice, saying, Rejoice, O you who are the fulfillment of the Creator’s dispensation.

Troparion of St. Catherine: Let us extol the all-lauded bride of Christ, Catherine, the guardian of Sinai, who is our succour and our support; for by the power of the Spirit she silenced brilliantly the nobility of liars.  And now that she hath been crowned as a Martyr, she seeketh for all the Great Mercy.
 
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 of the Theotokos:  The all-pure temple of the Saviour, the most precious bridal-chamber and Virgin, the treasure-house of the glory of God, today enters the Temple of the Lord, bringing with her the grace which is in the divine Spirit; whom also the angels of God do celebrate in song; for she is the heavenly tabernacle.
 
 
CALENDAR
 
Sunday, November 25   (Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost)
            8:50 a.m.           — Orthros
            9:00 a.m.           — Christian Education   
         10:00 a.m.         — Divine Liturgy
           
Monday, November 26   
Office Closed   — Father John’s Day Off
           
Tuesday, November 27   
            NO Daily Orthros
           
Wednesday, November 28   
6:30 p.m.           — Advent Paraklesis
               7:30 p.m.           — Parish Council Meeting
 
Thursday, November 29    
NO Daily Orthros
 
Friday, November 30    (Apostle Andrew, the First-called)
NO Daily Orthros
 
Saturday, December 1
            7:30 a.m.           — Breakfast with Bible Study
            9:00 a.m.           — Madison Christmas Parade    
        5:45 p.m.           — Ninth Hour Prayers followed by Great Vespers

Sunday, December 2   (Twenty-sixth 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 Algoods for the Divine Liturgy this morning and the Artoklasia Bread for the Feast of the Presentation of the Theotokos in the Temple was provided by the Katools for the vespers service this past Tuesday evening.
 
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
                                        Eucharist Bread                           Coffee Hour
November 25                  Algood                                           Meadows/Lasseter/Greene
December 2                     Wood                                    Ellis/Zouboukos
December 5 (Tues pm)   Henderson (Artoklasia Bread)    No Meal
         (Feast of St. Nicholas)
December 9                    Schelver                                   Fahmy/Brock/Stephanie Baker
December 16                  Morris                                            Skirtech/Skirtech/Parker
December 23                  Jones                                                D. Root/Dansereau/Dale Cooper
December 24 (Mon pm) Meadows                                      Katool/Strain/Dabit/Dabit
         (Feast of the Nativity of our Lord)
December 30                  Davis                                               Pigott/Freundt/Turner
December 31 (Mon pm) Baker (Artoklasia Bread)             No Meal
         (Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord and Feastday of St. Basil the Great)
 
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#
November 25                       Brenda Baker                       Gal. 3:23-29, 4:1-5            160-161
December 2                         Warren Strain                       Eph. 5:8-19                       217
December 9                         Kh. Sharon Meadows         Gal. 4:22-27                       314
December 16                       Mildred Morris                     Col. 3:4-11                        233
December 23                       Phillip Lasseter                     Heb. 11:9-10, 32-40          348
December 24 (Mon pm)     Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver           Gal. 4:4-7                           351
December 30                       Brenda Baker                        Gal. 1:11-19                      188
 
Please remember the following in your prayers:  Steve, Sheryl and Stephen Chamblee; Amy and Brantley Oliver; Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Sam and Lamia Dabit and Sammie; Georgia Buchanan, George Johns (Georgia’s grandson) and his family; Mary Greene (Lee and Kh. Sharon’s sister); Fr. Stephen Tewfik; Sh. Gail Shannon; Dn. Sidney and Sh. Mary Elliot.

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 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.
 
Please continue to pray for the health of His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN.
 
Father John is at home recovering from surgery on his hip.  He will be out of commission for the next few weeks and Fr. Leo and Fr. James will be filling in for him.  Please keep Fr. John and Kh. Janet in your prayers.  (There will be no Daily Orthros for the remainder of November.)
 
Memory Eternal!
            Please keep Chris and Rebecca Dansereau in your prayers (along with Chris’ family).  Chris’ father passed away this past Friday.
            Mr. Ellis Rantizi, a long-time member of St. George Orthodox Church in Vicksburg (and brother-in-law of Lamia Dabit), fell asleep in the Lord this past Sunday evening.  Please keep his family in your prayers.
 
Directory Update:  the Surratts have a new mailing address:
                        P.O. 607
                        Ridgeland, MS  39158.
 
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.
 
The Deanery Youth Retreat is scheduled for February 15-17, 2013.  Sister Magdalene from the Monastery of St. John in England will be the speaker.  Sister Magdalene will also be speaking at St. Peter’s for two evenings around the time of the retreat.  More details will be available at a later date.  But be sure to mark your calendars now for the retreat and Sister Magdalene’s talks!!
 
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. 
 
Calendar Items:
*    The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month.
*    As is our custom we will celebrate the Advent Paraklesis in place of Daily Vespers on Wednesday evenings during the Fast of the Nativity.  (However, on the evening of December 5th, we will celebrate Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia for the Feast of St. Nicholas instead of the Paraklesis Service.)   This is a very beautiful service.  Please make plans to attend.
*    Stewpot schedule (together with Holy Resurrection) – December 29th.
*    Deanery Youth Retreat is scheduled for February 15-17, 2013.  More details later.
 
His Eminence, Metropolitan PHILIP has sent out an appeal to all the churches of our Archdiocese for financial assistance for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.  If you would like to contribute to this cause, please make your checks out to St. Peter’s and mark it for the Hurricane Sandy Relief effort.  Please do this as soon as possible.  We will be sending a single check from our parish in the very near future.
 
The Madison Christmas Parade is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. next Saturday morning, December 1st.  We are looking for volunteers to ride on the float and to walk along with it.  There is a sign-up sheet posted on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall.  You may check with Cliff Stewart for more information.
 
Fasting Discipline for November
The traditional fasting is observed on all Wednesdays and Fridays of the month.  Beginning November 15th, the first day of the Nativity Fast, the traditional fasting (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, wine and oil) is observed each day of the week.  Note, however, through December 19th there is a katlysis on Tuesdays and Thursdays when wine and oil are permitted, and on Saturdays and Sundays when fish, wine and oil are permitted.
 
Major Commemorations for November
November 25          St. Catherine the Great-martyr
November 30          Apostle Andrew, the First-called
 
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.
 
Happy Birthdays in November:
         November 5            —    Alexia Parker (#15!)
         November 11          —    Beth Ann Baker
                                       —    Lorencz Quirk
         November 13          —    Sophia Skirtech (#4!)
         November 16          —    Melissa Curtis (#19!)
         November 17          —    Karen Cooper
         November 21          —    Ken Jones
         November 24          —    Mildred Morris
         November 29          —    Mike Pigott
 
Happy Anniversaries in November:
         November 26          —    Glenn and Mildred Morris (#46!)
         November 28          —    Dn. Terry and Sh. Charlotte Algood (#41!)
 
Quotable:  “It is a true saying, that the fruit of good deeds is honorable.  For those who wish to lead lives pure and undefiled as far as is possible for men, Christ will adorn with His gifts, and grant them an abundant recompense for all their saintly deeds, and make them partakers of His glory.  For it is impossible that He should ever lie who says:  As I live, saith the Lord, those who honor Me, I will honor.”
                                                            St. Innocent of Alaska
 
 
Worship:         Sunday, December 2, 2012 (Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost)
 
         Scripture:                                Ephesians 5:8-19; 4:1-5; Matthew 17:14-23
         Celebrant:                               Father James
         Epistle Reader:                      Warren Strain
         Prosphora:                             Wood
         Coffee Hour:                           Ellis/Zouboukos                            

11/18 announcements

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November 18, 2012
Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost
 
Ephesians 2:14-19: In our reading from Ephesians, we are reminded that Christ not only brought us into union with Himself, but also into union with each other and the faithful saints who have gone before us to be with the Lord.
 
Luke 12:16-21:  In the parable of the rich landowner the Lord teaches us that material possessions are worthless when valued more than knowing God.
 
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 Martyrs:  Thy Martyrs, O Lord, in their courageous contest for Thee received as the prize the crowns of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal God.  For since they possessed Thy strength, they cast down the tyrants and wholly destroyed the demons= strengthless presumption.  O Christ our God, by their prayers, save our souls, since Thou art merciful.
 
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 of the Theotokos:  The all-pure temple of the Saviour, the most precious bridal-chamber and Virgin, the treasure-house of the glory of God, today enters the Temple of the Lord, bringing with her the grace which is in the divine Spirit; whom also the angels of God do celebrate in song; for she is the heavenly tabernacle.
 
 
CALENDAR
 
Sunday, November 18   (Twenty-fourth 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, November 19   
Office Closed   — Father John’s Day Off
           
Tuesday, November 20   
            NO Daily Orthros
            6:30 p.m.           — Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia
           
Wednesday, November 21   (Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple)
6:30 p.m.           — Advent Paraklesis
 
Thursday, November 22    
NO Daily Orthros
 
Friday, November 23    
NO Daily Orthros
 
Saturday, November 24    
6:00 p.m.           — Ninth Hour Prayers followed by Great Vespers
 
Sunday, November 25   (Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost)
            8:50 a.m.           — Orthros
            9:00 a.m.           — Christian Education   
10:00 a.m.         — Divine Liturgy
 
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Bakers for the Divine Liturgy this morning.
 
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
                                    Eucharist Bread                      Coffee Hour
November 18             Baker                                        Jones/Stewart/Habeeb
November 20 (Tues pm)  Katool (Artoklasia bread)        No Meal
         (Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple)
November 25            Algood                                      Meadows/Lasseter/Greene
December 2               Wood                               Ellis/Zouboukos
December 5 (Tues pm) Henderson (Artoklasia Bread)    No Meal
         (Feast of St. Nicholas)
December 9              Schelver                                Fahmy/Brock/Stephanie Baker
December 16            Morris                                         Skirtech/Skirtech/Parker
December 23            Jones                                           D. Root/Dansereau/Dale Cooper
December 24 (Mon pm) Meadows                            Katool/Strain/Dabit/Dabit
         (Feast of the Nativity of our Lord)
December 30            Davis                                          Pigott/Freundt/Turner
December 31 (Mon pm) Baker (Artoklasia Bread)          No Meal
         (Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord and Feastday of St. Basil the Great)
 
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#
November 18                   Walt Wood                         Eph. 2:14-22                    207
November 25                   Brenda Baker                       Gal. 3:23-29, 4:1-5           160-161
December 2                     Warren Strain                       Eph. 5:8-19                     217
December 9                      Kh. Sharon Meadows        Gal. 4:22-27                     314
December 16                    Mildred Morris                    Col. 3:4-11                       233
December 23                    Phillip Lasseter                    Heb. 11:9-10, 32-40        348
December 24 (Mon pm)  Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver           Gal. 4:4-7                         351
December 30                     Brenda Baker                       Gal. 1:11-19                    188
 
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:  Steve, Sheryl and Stephen Chamblee; Amy and Brantley Oliver; Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Sam and Lamia Dabit and Sammie; Georgia Buchanan, George Johns (Georgia’s grandson) and his family; Mary Greene (Lee and Kh. Sharon’s sister); Fr. Stephen Tewfik; Sh. Gail Shannon; Dn. Sidney and Sh. Mary Elliot.
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.
 
Please continue to pray for the health of His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN.
 
Father John is at home recovering from surgery on his hip.  He will be out of commission for the next few weeks and Fr. Leo and Fr. James will be filling in for him.  Please keep Fr. John and Kh. Janet in your prayers.  (There will be no Daily Orthros for the remainder of November.)
 
The Deanery Youth Retreat is scheduled for February 15-17, 2013.  Sister Magdalene from the Monastery of St. John in England will be the speaker.  Sister Magdalene will also be speaking at St. Peter’s for two evenings around the time of the retreat.  More details will be available at a later date.  But be sure to mark your calendars now for the retreat and Sister Magdalene’s talks!!
 
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.
 
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. 
 
Calendar Items:
*    The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month.
*    As is our custom we will celebrate the Advent Paraklesis in place of Daily Vespers on Wednesday evenings during the Fast of the Nativity.  (However, on the evening of December 5th, we will celebrate Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia for the Feast of St. Nicholas instead of the Paraklesis Service.)   This is a very beautiful service.  Please make plans to attend.
*    Stewpot schedule (together with Holy Resurrection) – December 29th.
*    Deanery Youth Retreat is scheduled for February 15-17, 2013.  More details later.

His Eminence, Metropolitan PHILIP has sent out an appeal to all the churches of our Archdiocese for financial assistance for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.  If you would like to contribute to this cause, please make your checks out to St. Peter’s and mark it for the Hurricane Sandy Relief effort.  Please do this as soon as possible.  We will be sending a single check from our parish in the very near future.
 
The Madison Christmas Parade is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, December 1st.  We are looking for volunteers to ride on the float and to walk along with it.  There is a sign-up sheet posted on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall.  You may check with Cliff Stewart for more information.
 
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.
 
Fasting Discipline for November
The traditional fasting is observed on all Wednesdays and Fridays of the month.  Beginning November 15th, the first day of the Nativity Fast, the traditional fasting (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, wine and oil) is observed each day of the week.  Note, however, through December 19th there is a katlysis on Tuesdays and Thursdays when wine and oil are permitted, and on Saturdays and Sundays when fish, wine and oil are permitted.
 
Major Commemorations for November
November 21          Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple
November 23          St. Amphilocios of Iconium
November 25          St. Catherine the Great-martyr
November 30          Apostle Andrew, the First-called
 
Happy Birthdays in November:
         November 5            —    Alexia Parker (#15!)
         November 11          —    Beth Ann Baker
                                       —    Lorencz Quirk
         November 13          —    Sophia Skirtech (#4!)
         November 16          —    Melissa Curtis (#19!)
         November 17          —    Karen Cooper
         November 21          —    Ken Jones
         November 24          —    Mildred Morris
         November 29          —    Mike Pigott
 
Happy Anniversaries in November:
         November 26          —    Glenn and Mildred Morris (#46!)
         November 28          —    Dn. Terry and Sh. Charlotte Algood (#41!)

Quotable:  “Nothing in this world but God can fill our heart or fully satisfy our desires.  a fire cannot be put out with brushwood and oil, because only water will put it out.  In exactly the same way, the desires of the human heart cannot be satisfied with the goods of this world, because only the Grace of God can quench the thirst of our desires.”
                                                            St. Innocent of Alaska
 
Worship:         Sunday, November 25, 2012 (Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost;
Leave-taking of the Presentation of the Theotokos; St. Catherine the Great-martyr )
 
         Scripture:                                 Galatians 3:23-29; 4:1-5; Luke 18:18-27
         Celebrant:                                Father James
         Epistle Reader:                        Brenda Baker
         Prosphora:                               Algood
         Coffee Hour:                            Meadows/Lasseter/Greene           

11/11 announcements

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November 11, 2012
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
 
II Corinthians 4:6-15:  From our reading in II Corinthians we hear St Paul discuss how his and the other apostles’ sufferings have brought forth life in the people of God.
 
Luke 10:25-37:  From the Gospel reading we hear the parable of the Good Samaritan in which    the Lord teaches us that to love one’s neighbor requires giving of our time and money in addition to prayers and good words.
 
Troparion of the Resurrection:  When Mary stood at thy grave looking for thy sacred body, angelic powers shone above thy revered tomb, and the soldiers who were to keep guard became as dead men.  Thou led hades captive and wast not tempted thereby.  Thou didst meet the Virgin and didst give life to the world;  O thou who art risen from the dead!  O Lord, glory to thee.
 
Troparion of the Martyrs:  Thy Martyrs, O Lord, in their courageous contest for Thee received as the prize the crowns of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal God.  For since they possessed Thy strength, they cast down the tyrants and wholly destroyed the demons= strengthless presumption.  O Christ our God, by their prayers, save our souls, since Thou art merciful.
 
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 of the Theotokos:  The all-pure temple of the Saviour, the most precious bridal-chamber and Virgin, the treasure-house of the glory of God, today enters the Temple of the Lord, bringing with her the grace which is in the divine Spirit; whom also the angels of God do celebrate in song; for she is the heavenly tabernacle.
 
 
CALENDAR
 
Sunday, November 11   (Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost)
            8:50 a.m.           — Orthros
            9:00 a.m.           — Christian Education   
         10:00 a.m.         — Divine Liturgy
         12:00 p.m.         — Pot Luck Meal
        1:00 p.m.           — Young Adults
           
Monday, November 12   
Office Closed   — Father John’s Day Off
           
Tuesday, November 13   (Repose of St. John Chrysostom)
            NO Daily Orthros
           
Wednesday, November 14   (Holy Apostle Philip)
6:30 p.m.           — Daily Vespers
7:30 p.m.           — Choir Practice
 
Thursday, November 15    (FAST OF THE NATIVITY BEGINS)
NO Daily Orthros
 
Friday, November 16    (Holy Apostle Matthew)
NO Daily Orthros
 
Saturday, November 17    
10:00 a.m.         — Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children
6:00 p.m.           — Ninth Hour Prayers followed by Great Vespers
 
Sunday, November 18   (Twenty-fourth 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
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Dn. Richard Roots for the Divine Liturgy this morning.
 
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
                                    Eucharist Bread                      Coffee Hour
November 11             R. Root                                     POT LUCK MEAL     
                                                                                    (set-up:Morris/Algood/Willingham)
November 18             Baker                                       Jones/Stewart/Habeeb
November 20 (Tues pm)  Katool (Artoklasia bread)        No Meal
         (Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple)
November 25            Algood                                      Meadows/Lasseter/Greene
 
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#
November 11                  Tom Skirtech                        II Cor. 4:6-15                  163
November 18                  Walt Wood                           Eph. 2:14-22                   207
November 25                   Brenda Baker                       Gal. 3:23-29, 4:1-5          160-161
 
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:  Steve, Sheryl and Stephen Chamblee; Amy and Brantley Oliver; Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Sam and Lamia Dabit and Sammie; Georgia Buchanan, George Johns (Georgia’s grandson) and his family; Mary Greene (Lee and Kh. Sharon’s sister); Fr. Stephen Tewfik; Sh. Gail Shannon; Dn. Sidney and Sh. Mary Elliot.
 
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.
 
Please continue to pray for the health of His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN.
 
Father John is at home recovering from surgery on his hip last Wednesday.  He will be out of commission for the next few weeks and Fr. Leo and Fr. James will be filling in for him.  Please keep Fr. John and Kh. Janet in your prayers.  (There will be no Daily Orthros for the remainder of November.)
 
The Ladies of St. Peter will gather at the church next Saturday morning, November 17th at 10:00 a.m. to pray the Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children.  There will also be a time of fellowship afterwards.  Please make plans to come, pray for our children and enjoy each other’s company.
 
The Deanery Youth Retreat is scheduled for February 15-17, 2013.  Sister Magdalene from the Monastery of St. John in England will be the speaker.  Sister Magdalene will also be speaking at St. Peter’s for two evenings around the time of the retreat.  More details will be available at a later date.  But be sure to mark your calendars now for the retreat and Sister Magdalene’s talks!!
 
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.
 
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).
 
Calendar Items:
*    The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month.
*    The Ladies of St. Peter will gather at the church on Saturday morning, November 17th, at 10:00 a.m. to pray the Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children.
*    Stewpot schedule (together with Holy Resurrection) – December 29th.
*    Deanery Youth Retreat is scheduled for February 15-17, 2013.  More details later.
 
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.
 
Fasting Discipline for November
The traditional fasting is observed on all Wednesdays and Fridays of the month.  Beginning November 15th, the first day of the Nativity Fast, the traditional fasting (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, wine and oil) is observed each day of the week.  Note, however, through December 19th there is a katlysis on Tuesdays and Thursdays when wine and oil are permitted, and on Saturdays and Sundays when fish, wine and oil are permitted.
 
Major Commemorations for November
November 13          St. John Chrysostom (repose)
November 14          Apostle Philip
November 16          Apostle and Evangelist Matthew
November 21          Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple
November 23          St. Amphilocios of Iconium
November 25          St. Catherine the Great-martyr
November 30          Apostle Andrew, the First-called
 
Happy Birthdays in November:
         November 5            —    Alexia Parker (#15!)
         November 11          —    Beth Ann Baker
                                       —    Lorencz Quirk
         November 13          —    Sophia Skirtech (#4!)
         November 16          —    Melissa Curtis (#19!)
         November 17          —    Karen Cooper
         November 21          —    Ken Jones
         November 24          —    Mildred Morris
         November 29          —    Mike Pigott
 
Happy Anniversaries in November:
         November 26          —    Glenn and Mildred Morris (#46!)
         November 28          —    Dn. Terry and Sh. Charlotte Algood (#41!)
  
Quotable:  “For what purpose does the Lord add day after day, year after year, to our existence?  In order that we may gradually put away, cast aside, evil from our souls, each one his own, and acquire blessed simplicity; in order that we may become truly gentle; in order that we may learn not to have the least attachment to earthly things, but as loving and simple children may cling with all our hearts, all pour souls, and all our thoughts, to God alone, and so to love Him, and our neighbors as ourselves.  Let us therefore hasten to pray to the Lord, fervently and with tears, to grant us simplicity of heart, and let us strive by every means to cast out the evil from our souls.”
                                                            St. John of Kronstadt
 
 
Worship:         Sunday, November 18, 2012 (Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost)
 
         Scripture:                                 II Corinthians 4:6-15; Luke 10:25-37
         Celebrant:                                Father James
         Epistle Reader:                        Walt Wood
         Prosphora:                               Baker
         Coffee Hour:                            Jones/Stewart/Habeeb