September 27, 2015

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

II Corinthians 6:16-7:1: St Paul reminds us that as God has promised to dwell with us, we are to be holy, cleansing ourselves from ungodliness.

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: 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 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 27 (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, September 28 (Venerable Chariton)

Office Closed — Father John’s Day Off

Tuesday, September 29

6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros

Wednesday, September 30

6:30 p.m. — Daily Vespers

7:15 p.m. — Choir Practice

Thursday, October 1

6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros

11:30 a.m. — Men’s Lunch

Friday, October 2

Saturday, October 3

5:45 p.m. — Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers

Sunday, October 4 (Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

8:50 a.m. — Orthros

9:00 a.m. — Christian Education

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy

5:00 p.m. — Young Adults

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Bakers for the Divine Liturgy today.

Continue to pray for Metropolitan Paul (who is also the brother of our Patriarch) and the Syriac Archbishop John of Aleppo who were abducted while on a humanitarian mission in Syria.

Please continue to pray for the health of His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN.

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

September 27 Baker Skirtech/Skirtech/Parker

October 4 Wood D. Root/Dansereau

October 11 R. Root POT LUCK MEAL

(set-up: Algood/Lasseter)

October 18 Henderson R. Root/Habeeb

October 25 Algood Schelver/Lavric/Turner

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 27 David Turner II Cor. 6:16-7:1 173

October 4 Walt Wood II Cor. 9:6-11 178

October 11 Sh. Charlotte Algood Titus 3:8-15 322

October 18 Warren Strain Col. 4:5-18 324

October 25 Kh. Sharon Meadows 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 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 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;

Walt and Charlotte Wood and their family; Tom and Jennifer Skirtech and their family; Tom and Kathy Willingham; Athena and Anthony Zouboukos and their family.

Please remember Fr. Joseph and Kh. Joanna Bittle, and their daughter Abigail, in your prayers.

Special Olympics Awareness Day is Sunday, October 18th. The youth Group will be collecting donations for the Special Olympics Camp that is held each year at the Antiochian Village.

Congratulations to

….Denis and Tatiana Lavric on the birth of their son, Aidan, on Saturday, September 12th;

….Simon and Rola Karam on the birth of their daughter, Mariam, on Tuesday, September 22nd.

Both mothers and babies are doing well.

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 meet at 10:00 a.m. on the second Saturday of the month to pray the Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children. Those who are able will go out for lunch and fellowship afterwards.

* The men of the parish will meet at the church once each quarter for a Saturday morning Father-Son Prayer Breakfast.

* On October 18th, Niko Petrogeorge will be with us to give a presentation about FOCUS ministries.

* Our parish Fall Festival will be held at the church on Saturday afternoon, October 31st.

Young Adults Study Group: The Young Adults agreed to begin meeting twice a month. One of these meetings will feature a teaching by Fr. John on various aspects of the Orthodox Christian faith. Topics will include education, ethics and parenting children. The next meetings will be Sundays, October 4th and 18th.

Fall Festival! We will hold our parish Fall Festival on Saturday afternoon, October 31st, beginning at 4:00 p.m. Ninth Hour and Vespers will be cancelled that day. There will be a petting zoo and bouncy house for the children, along with other fun activities. Be sure to mark your calendars now!

Mary Brock’s Baptism has been postponed due to family schedule conflicts with October 17th. The new date will be posted as soon as it is finalized.

Fasting Discipline for September/October

The traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish wine or oil) is observed on all Wednesdays and Fridays of the month.

Major Commemorations for September/October

September 28 Venerable Chariton

October 6 Apostle Thomas

October 9 Apostle James Son of Alphaeus

October 18 Apostle Luke

October 23 Apostle James Brother-of-the-Lord

October 26 Great-martyr Demetrios

October 28 Protection of the Theotokos

Pan-orthodox Ladies Retreat: In conjunction with Holy Resurrection and Holy Trinity/St. John the Theologian, we will be hosting a one day women’s retreat at St. Peter. The date is Saturday, November 14. Mother Nectaria will be our keynote speaker and will be talking on “How Can I Live a Christian Life in a Culture that Embraces Non-Christian Values”. We should have brochures out later this month so we can register. The registration fee will be $20.00 in advance or $25.00 at the door. This includes a continental type breakfast and a catered lunch. We will meet from 9 a.m. until about 3:00 p.m. If for any reason you cannot afford the registration fee, just let Christina know. We want all of our ladies to have the chance to attend.

Thermostats in the Fellowship Hall: There are two thermostats in the Fellowship Hall—one in the main room to control the air in the main room, and a second one in the Nursery room that controls the air in all four of the Sunday School rooms. Please be sure when you leave the building that both thermostats are set to 80 degrees in warm weather or 60 degrees in cold weather.

Happy Birthdays in September/October:

September 30 — Laura Algood

October 1 — Emily Parker

October 3 — Reader Basil Baker

October 4 — Rod Parker

October 5 — Antonina Karam (#3!)

October 7 — Glenn Morris

October 8 — Brantley Oliver

October 10 — Phillip Lasseter

October 16 — Jesse Milnor

— Rola Karam

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 October:

October 17 — Phillip and Nikki Lasseter (#6!)

October 22 — Walter and Charlotte Wood (#32!)

Quotable: “So what was the essence of the sin of Adam and Eve? It was that they questioned the all-good God the Creator and put more faith in the devil, the enemy of God, than in God, thereby breaking God’s commandment and wishing to become gods themselves knowing good and evil.”

The Struggle for Virtue

by Archbishop AVERKY

Worship: Sunday, October 4, 2015 (Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

Scripture: II Corinthians 9:6-11; Luke 6:31-36

Celebrant: Father John

Epistle Reader: Walt Wood

Prosphora: Wood

Coffee Hour: D. Root/Dansereau