August 21, 2016
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
After-feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos
I Corinthians 3:9-17: In the reading from I Corinthians St Paul admonishes the Corinthian Church to give credit to the Lord for the work done by men in building the Church.
Matthew 14:22-34: In our reading from Matthew, we see Jesus’ mastery over creation by walking on the Sea of Galilee; Peter’s attempt to join Jesus shows us that our faith is weakened when we take our eyes off the 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 Dormition: In thy birth-giving, O Theotokos, thou didst keep and preserve virginity; and in thy falling-asleep thou hast not forsaken the world; for living thou wast translated, being the Mother of Life. Wherefore, by thine intercessions, deliver our souls from death.
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 Dormition: Verily, the Theotokos, who is ever watchful in intercessions, who is never rejected, neither tomb nor death could control. But being the Mother of Life, he who dwelt in her ever-virgin womb didst translate her to life.
CALENDAR
Sunday, August 21 (Ninth Sunday after Pentecost)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy
Monday, August 22
Office Closed — Father John’s Day Off
Tuesday, August 23
6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros
11:30 a.m. — Ladies Lunch
Wednesday, August 24
6:30 p.m. — Daily Vespers
7:15 p.m. — Choir Practice
7:30 p.m. — Parish Council Meeting
Thursday, August 25 (Apostles Barhtolomew and Titus)
6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros
Friday, August 26
Saturday, August 27
5:45 p.m. — Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, August 28 (Tenth Sunday after Pentecost)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by Katools for the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos this past Monday morning and by the Schelvers for the Divine Liturgy this morning.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
August 21 Schelver Henderson/Baker/Lockhart
August 28 Morris R. Root/Stewart/Meadows
September 4 Jones Ellis/Zouboukos/Fahmy
September 7 (Wed. p.m.) Meadows (Artoklasia Bread)
Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos
September 11 Davis POT LUCK MEAL
(Set-up: Pigott/Strain/Osborne)
September 13 Karam Karen Cooper
(Feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross)
September 18 Brock Skirtech/Skirtech/Parker
September 25 Fahmy Algood/Lasseter/Dansereau
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.
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#
August 21 Phillip Lasseter I Cor. 3:9-17 130
August 28 Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver I Cor. 4:9-16 135
September 4 Brenda Baker I Cor. 9:2-12 141
September 11 David Turner Gal. 6:11-18 198
September 13 (Tue. p.m.) Sh. Charlotte Algood I Cor. 1:18-24 311-312
September 18 Walt Wood Gal. 2:16-20 193
September 25 Warren Strain II Cor. 1:21-2:4 158
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.
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; 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; Walt and Charlotte Wood and their family; Lynda Costas; Kevin and Angelina Speier; Tom and Kathy Willingham; Demitrius Zouboukos; Fr. James and Kh. Sharon and their family.
Please remember Fr. Joseph and Kh. Joanna Bittle, and their daughter Abigail, in your prayers.
Please keep Dr. David Morris, son of Glenn and Mildred, in your prayers as he is recovering from quadruple bypass surgery following a heart attack last week. Please also keep his wife, Ming, and their two small sons, David and James William, in your prayers as well as Glenn and Mildred and the rest of their family.
Tithes and Donations: We have had several unexpected expenses this summer (new a/c unit for the nave, etc.) and have used some of our financial buffer. If you are behind on your contributions, please catch them up as soon as you are able, so that we can rebuild our buffer.
Acolyte Schedule: The new Acolyte Schedules are located on the table in the hallway. Acolytes, please pick one up!
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.
* The men of the parish will meet at the church once each quarter for a Saturday morning Father-Son Prayer Breakfast.
* The remaining dates for serving at the Stewpot Ministries this year are September 17th and November 26th.
* The MS Valley Deanery Clergy Retreat will be held at St. Peter October 24-26th.
Burial Plots at Natchez Trace Cemetery: Mr. Michael Hudgins, the Director of the Natchez Trace Funeral Home has made a very generous offer to the members of St. Peter who wish to purchase a burial plot and pre-arrange their funeral needs. The offer will expire at the end of 2016. Copies of Mr. Hudgins letter may be found on the information table in the Fellowship Hall. If you are interested in this offer, please contact Mr. Hudgins for an appointment. (We will not have another meeting of the parish as previously announced.)
Fasting Discipline for August
From August 1st through August 14th (the Dormition Fast), the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) is observed on all days, except August 6th (the Feast of the Transfiguration) when fish and wine are permitted. After the 15th, the traditional fasting discipline is observed on the remaining Wednesdays and Fridays of the month. August 29th is also a strict fast day in remembrance of the beheading of the Forerunner.
Major Commemorations for August
August 25 Apostles Bartholomew and Titus
August 29 Beheading of the Forerunner
August 31 Deposition of the Belt of the Theotokos
Quotable: “However, God’s call is irrevocable and ‘steadfast’ (cf. Rom. 11:29). Furthermore, death is an illegitimate enemy, for the will of God, the basis of man’s original issuing forth, has foreordained that man should live eternally ‘in immortality’ (Wisd. 2:23). Death must therefore be destroyed (cf. I Cor. 15:26), for which reason the Son of God Himself came into the world to blot it out and to ‘destroy the works of the devil’ (I John 3:8). Man’s mortality is therefore a phenomenon that runs counter to his nature in that it opposes that for which he has been designed. This is precisely why the human soul is restless: if life leads only to death, then nothing can be meaningful.”
The Hidden Man of the Heart by Archimandrite Zacharias
Worship: Sunday, August 28, 2016 (Tenth Sunday after Pentecost)
Scripture: I Corinthians 4:9-16; Matthew 17:14-23
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver
Prosphora: Morris
Coffee Hour: R. Root/Stewart/Meadows
