November 1, 2015
Sts. Cosmas and Damian of Asia
I Corinthians 12:27-31;13:1-8: In our reading from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, we are reminded that although we all have received gifts from the Holy Spirit, they are meaningless without love.
Luke 16:19-31: In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, our Lord teaches us that giving mercy to others, regardless of the form, is essential to holiness.
Troparion of the Resurrection: Let us believers praise and worship the Word, co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit, born of the Virgin for our salvation; for he took pleasure in ascending the Cross in the flesh, to suffer death, and to raise the dead by his glorious Resurrection.
Troparion of Sts. Cosmas and Damian: O ye silver-hating, wonder-working saints, visit our sicknesses. Freely received ye, freely give unto us.
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, November 1 (Cosmas and Damian of Asia)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros
9:00 a.m. — Christian Education
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy
5:00 p.m. — Young Adults
Monday, November 2
Office Closed — Father John’s Day Off
Tuesday, November 3 (Dedication of the Church of St. George)
6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros
Wednesday, November 4
6:30 p.m. — Daily Vespers
7:15 p.m. — Choir Practice
Thursday, November 5
6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros
11:30 a.m. — Men’s Lunch
Friday, November 6
Saturday, November 7 (Raphael Bishop of Brooklyn)
9:00 a.m. — Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy
11:30 a.m. — Teens serving at Stewpot
5:45 p.m. — Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, November 8 (Archangels Gabriel and Michael)
9:00 a.m. — Baptism of Aidan Lavric
9:00 a.m. — Christian Education
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy
12:00 p.m. — Pot Luck Meal
5:30 p.m. — Youth Group
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Katools for the Divine Liturgy this morning.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
November 1 Katool Stewart/Meadows
November 7 (Sat am) Schelver Sh. Margaret Root
Feast of St. Raphael of Brooklyn
November 8 Morris POT LUCK MEAL
(set-up: Henderson/Baker/Lockhart)
November 15 Jones Ellis/Zouboukos/Fahmy
November 21 (Sat am) Meadows Rebecca Dansereau
Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple
November 22 Davis Pigott/Strain/Osborne
November 29 D. Root Skirtech/Skirtech/Parker
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 1 Mildred Morris I Cor. 12:27-31; 13:1-8 329
November 7 (Sat am) Phillip Lasseter Heb. 7:26-8:2 334
November 8 Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver Heb. 2:2-10 332
November 15 David Turner Eph. 2:14-22 207
November 21 (Sat am) Brenda Baker Heb. 9:1-7 337
November 22 Walt Wood Eph. 4:1-7 212
November 29 Kh. Sharon Meadows Eph.5:8-19 217
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.
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 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; Elias and Olga Karam (Simon’s parents) as well as Simon and Rola Karam.
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.
Rola and Mariam Karam were churched this morning before Orthros. We rejoice to have them with us.
Aidan Lavric will be baptized next Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. The Divine Liturgy will begin immediately following the baptism.
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.
* We will celebrate the Feast of St. Raphael of Brooklyn with Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy NEXT Saturday morning, beginning at 9:00 a.m.
* Father John will be in Memphis, November 9-11 for the Clergy Retreat which will be held at St. John’s Orthodox Church. If you need a priest during that time, please contact Father Leo.
* The Fast of the Nativity begins on Sunday, November 15th and runs through December 24th. During this time, as is our parish custom, we will celebrate the Advent Paraklesis in place of Daily Vespers on Wednesday evenings, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
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, November 1st and 15th.
Fasting Discipline for November
The traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish wine or oil) is observed on all Wednesdays and Fridays of the month. Beginning November 15th, the first day of the Nativity Fast, the traditional fasting 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 7 St. Raphael Bishop of Brooklyn
November 8 Archangels Gabriel and Michael
November 9 St. Nektarios the Wonder-worker
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. Amphilochios of Iconium
November 25 St. Catherine the Great-martyr
November 30 Apostle Andrew, the First-called
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 Nektaria 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”. 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.
Quotable: “We cannot help but remember vividly the fires of 2006 when we were ourselves twice evacuated from our property here near Santa Paula. By the grace of God, the fire turned away from our side of the mountain, but the experience was a demonstration of what we constantly repeat in the texts of the liturgical services: Earthly life is deceptive—seemingly so solid, but indeed as fragile as a shadow. And when it is destroyed and disappears, what remains is only the treasure we have stored up in Heaven. The saints, like the newly glorified Venerable Sebastian and the Holy Hierarch Mardarius, witness to this truth.”
Abbess Victoria and the Community
of St. Barbara Monastery
Quotable: “It was this same human pride that induced people, for the sake of ‘making a name for themselves,’ to begin construction of the Tower of Babel, which prompted God to counteract against human pride by confusing the tongues, after which people dispersed over all the earth and formed various nations, among whom there has been constant warfare ever since. As such, pride has engendered division among people, making them alien and hostile towards one another.”
The Struggle for Virtue
by Archbishop AVERKY
Worship: Sunday, November 8, 2015 (Archangels Gabriel and Michael)
Scripture: Hebrews 2:2-10; Luke 8:41-56
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver
Prosphora: Morris
Coffee Hour: POT LUCK MEAL
(Set-up: Henderson/Baker/Lockhart)
