October 2, 2016

Fifteenth 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 6:31-36: From St Luke’s account of the Sermon on the Mount we hear our Lord teach us to love our enemies, to be unselfish in our giving, and to have mercy upon those who do us wrong rather than condemning them.

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 St. Cyprian the Confessor: By choosing the Apostles’ way of life, thou hast succeeded to their throne. Inspired of God, thou didst find the way to divine contemplation through the practice of virtue. After teaching the Word of Truth without error, thou didst defend the Faith to the very shedding of thy blood, O Hieromartyr Cyprian. Entreat the Lord our God 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 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, October 2 (Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

8:50 a.m. — Orthros

9:00 a.m. — Christian Education

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy

Monday, October 3

Office Closed — Father John’s Day Off

Tuesday, October 4

6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros

Wednesday, October 5

6:30 p.m. — Daily Vespers

7:15 p.m. — Choir Practice

Thursday, October 6 (Apostle Thomas)

6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros

Friday, October 7

[Knucklehead Family Reunion Begins]

Saturday, October 8

10:00 a.m. — Ladies meet for the Akathist

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

Sunday, October 9 (Sixteenth 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

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

October 2 Baker Algood/Habeeb/Pacurari

October 9 R. Root POT LUCK MEAL

(set-up: Henderson/Baker/Lockhart)

October 16 Henderson Schelver/Lavric/Karam

October 23 Algood Stewart/Turner/Waites

October 30 Katool Ellis/Zouboukos/Fahmy

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#

October 2 Mildred Morris II Cor. 4:6-15 163

October 9 Kh. Sharon Meadows II Cor. 6:1-10 168

October 16 Phillip Lasseter Titus 3:8-15 322

October 23 Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver Gal. 1:11-19 188

October 30 David Turner II Cor. 11:31-12:9 183

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

Please remember the following in your prayers: Steve, Sheryl 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.

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

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.)

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 MS Valley Deanery Clergy Retreat will be held at St. Peter October 24-26th.

* We will celebrate the Feastday of St. Raphael, Bishop of Brooklyn, with Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy on Saturday, November 5th, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

* The second Annual Pan-Orthodox Ladies’ Retreat will be held at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Clinton on Saturday, November 12th. V. Rev. Fr. Stephen Rogers, Pastor of St. Ignatius Orthodox Church in Franklin, TN will be speaking on the Theotokos. More information will be available soon.

* The remaining date for serving at the Stewpot Ministries this year is November 26th.

* The MS Valley Deanery will hold its annual Teen Retreat February 3-5, 2017 at Camp Hopewell in Oxford, MS. Fr. Daniel Bethancourt, Retreat Master this year, will be addressing issues related to self-esteem. Please mark your calendars now.

MS Valley Deanery Clergy Retreat: The MS Valley Deanery will hold its annual Clergy Retreat at St. Peter’s October 24-26th. The meetings will be for the Pastors of the Orthodox Parishes in our Deanery. However, they will also be praying Ninth Hour followed by Daily Vespers on Monday and Tuesday evening, beginning at 5:30 p.m. and Daily Orthros on Tuesday morning, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Anyone wishing to attend these services is welcome to do so.

Fasting Discipline for October

In September 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 October

September 26 Apostle John the Theologian (repose)

September 28 Venerable Chariton

October 1 The Protection of the Theotokos

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

Quotable: “From the narration of Genesis in the Old Testament, we know that initially God created Adam’s body and then he breathed into it and created his soul. By saying ‘He created the soul’ it is made clear that the soul is not a particle of God, the spirit of God, as some people claim. But, as St. Chrysostom says, since the inbreathing of God is the energy of the Holy Spirit, it is this energy of the Holy Spirit which created the soul, without itself being the soul. It is of vital importance to state this, for thus we understand well that the soul cannot be examined autonomously but only in connection with God.”

Orthodox Spirituality by Metropolitan HIEROTHEOS of Nafpaktos

Worship: Sunday, October 9, 2016 (Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

Scripture: II Corinthians 6:1-10; Luke 7:11-16

Celebrant: Father John

Epistle Reader: Kh. Sharon Meadows

Prosphora: R. Root

Coffee Hour: POT LUCK MEAL

(set-up: Henderson/Baker/Lockhart)