November 27, 2016

Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost

Ephesians 2:4-10: St Paul, writing to the Ephesians, encourages us by reminding us that we who were dead in our sins are now alive in our union with Christ because of God’s mercy toward us and are now able to do the good works prepared for us.

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: 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. James the Persian: Thy Martyr, O Lord, in his courageous contest for Thee received as the prize the crown of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal God. For since he possessed Thy strength, he cast down the tyrants and wholly destroyed the demons= strengthless presumption. O Christ our God, by his 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 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, November 27 (Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost)

8:50 a.m. — Orthros

9:00 a.m. — Christian Education

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy

Monday, November 28

Office Closed — Father John’s Day Off

Tuesday, November 29

6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros

11:30 a.m. — Ladies Lunch

Wednesday, November 30 (Apostle Andrew the First-called)

6:30 p.m. — Advent Paraklesis

7:30 p.m. — Parish Council Meeting

Thursday, December 1

6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros

11:30 a.m. — Men’s Lunch

Friday, December 2

Saturday, December 3

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

Sunday, December 4 (Great-martyr Barbara)

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 Davises for the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple this past Monday morning and by the Daniel Roots for the Divine Liturgy this morning.

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

November 27 D. Root Algood/Lasseter/Strain/Dabit

December 4 Karam POT LUCK MEAL

(set-up: R. Root/Habeeb/Pacurari)

December 11 Brock Schelver/Lavric/Karam

December 18 Fahmy Henderson/Baker/Lockhart

December 24 (Sat. p.m.) Baker 1.

(Feast of the Nativity of our Lord) 2.

3.

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 27 Warren Strain Eph. 2:4-10 202

December 4 Phillip Lasseter Gal. 3:23-4:5 160-161

December 11 Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver Col. 3:4-11 233

December 18 Brenda Baker Heb. 11:9-10, 32-40 348

December 24 (Sat. p.m.) David Turner Gal. 4:4-7 351

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 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 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.

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

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

December Pot Luck Meal: In December we will have our monthly Pot Luck Meal on the first Sunday of the month instead of the second Sunday because of the meal for the feast of the Nativity later in the month. This Pot Luck Meal on December 4th is not on the Quarterly Schedule that was recently distributed. So please make a note of it on your copy at home.

Directory Update: Arthur Jones and DeeDee Baba’s address is as follows:

1014 Poplar Boulevard

Jackson, MS 39202

Arthur – 601-863-9127 (c) arthurjones3@ gmail.com

DeeDee – 713-577-9110 (c) deedee@midtownlaw.com

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 Fast of the Nativity runs through the 24th of December. During this time, as is our custom, we will celebrate the Advent Paraklesis on Wednesday evenings in place of Daily Vespers.

* POT LUCK MEAL next Sunday, December 4th.

* We will celebrate the feastday of St. Nicholas the Wonder-worker with Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia on Monday evening, December 5th, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

* 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.

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 November/December

Beginning November 15th, the first day of the Nativity Fast, the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or 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 of any kind from December 25th through January 4th.

Major Commemorations for November/December

November 30 Apostle Andrew the First-called

December 4 Great-martyr Barbara and Venerable Father John of Damascus

December 5 Sava the Sanctified

December 6 Nicholas the Wonder-worker 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

Burial and Funeral Care Instructions forms: These forms are located on the bureau in the hallway outside the nave. There are two forms: one for the church and one for the family (with a copy given to the church). Please fill out your forms and return to the office as soon as possible.

Please be sure to have your forms notarized. The forms will be kept in a file in the office so that we have your instructions should the need arise.

Quotable: “Having made these clarifications it is important to examine more analytically what the heart and nous are in Orthodox tradition.

The heart is the centre of man’s psychosomatic constitution, since, as we noted previously, there is an ‘unconfused’ union between soul and body. The centre of this union is called heart.

The heart is the place which is discovered through ascetic practice in a state of grace; it is the place wherein God is revealed and made manifest. This definition may seem abstract, yet it is a matter of spiritual experience. [No
one] can fully show the place of the heart by rational and speculative definitions. In any case the heart is the centre and summation of the three faculties of the soul: of the intellect, the appetitive and the irascible. The fact is that when a person lives the inner life—when his nous returns within his inner world from its previous dispersion; when he experiences mourning and, in the deepest sense, repentance—he is then conscious of the existence of this centre, i.e. the existence of the heart. He feels therein pain and spiritual sorrow; he experiences the grace of God; there also he even hears the voice of God.”

Orthodox Spirituality by Metropolitan HIEROTHEOS of Nafpaktos

Worship: Sunday, December 4, 2016 (Great-martyr Barbara)

Scripture: Galatians 3:23-4:5; Luke 13:10-17

Celebrant: Father John

Epistle Reader: Phillip Lasseter

Prosphora: Karam

Coffee Hour: POT LUCK MEAL

Set-up: R. Root/Habeeb/Pacurari