February 26, 2017

Sunday of Cheese-fare

Yes, it is that time again. Lent begins on Monday, February 27th, but we begin the preparations for the journey of “bright-sadness” by especially dealing with our hearts and our spiritual condition. In her wisdom the Church is a great aid to us, for the four Sundays before Lent carry special themes that enable us to examine ourselves.

The theme of the Sunday before Lent is FORGIVENESS (cheese fare) and the Gospel lesson is Matthew 6:14-21 which teaches us both of forgiveness and of fasting. “To forgive is to put between me and my enemy the radiant forgiveness of God Himself. To forgive is to reject the hopeless dead-ends of human relations and to refer them to Christ. Forgiveness is truly a breakthrough of the Kingdom into this sinful and fallen world” (Great Lent, Page 28). And to fast is to first fast before God and not men so as to curb the desires and cravings of our fallen nature. This effort can help free us from the dictatorship of the flesh over our spirit, so we can more fully love and forgive.

Romans 13:11-14:4: As we read from his letter to the Romans, St Paul encourages us to walk in the light and put aside the deeds of darkness, knowing that the time of salvation is near at hand. He also encourages us to accept those who are weak in faith and not to make personal judgments.

Matthew 6:14-21: The Lord Jesus in this portion of the Sermon on the Mount gives us instructions on forgiving others, on fasting, and on laying up treasures in our hearts.

Troparion of the Resurrection: Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad; for the Lord hath done a mighty act with his own arm. He hath trampled down death and become the First-born from the dead. He hath delivered us from the depths of hades, granting the world the Great Mercy.

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 Cheese Fare Sunday: O thou who guidest to wisdom, and givest understanding and intelligence, the Instructor of the ignorant and Helper of the poor, strengthen my heart and grant it understanding, O Master. Give me word, O Word of the Father; for behold, I shall not refrain my lips from crying to thee, O merciful One, have mercy upon me who am fallen.

CALENDAR

Sunday, February 26 (Sunday of Cheese-fare)

8:50 a.m. — Orthros

9:00 a.m. — Christian Education

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy

6:30 p.m. — Forgiveness Vespers

Monday, February 27

Office Closed — Father John’s Day Off

6:30 p.m. — Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

Tuesday, February 28

6:00 a.m. — Lenten Orthros

11:30 a.m. — Ladies Lunch

6:30 p.m. — Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

Wednesday, March 1

6:30 p.m. — Presanctified Liturgy followed by Soup Supper

Thursday, March 2

6:00 a.m. — Lenten Orthros

6:30 p.m. — Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

Friday, March 3

6:30 p.m. — Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos

Saturday, March 4

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

Sunday, March 5 (Sunday of Orthodoxy)

8:50 a.m. — Orthros

9:00 a.m. — Christian Education

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy

5:00 p.m. — Sunday of Orthodoxy vespers at St. George in Vicksburg

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Karams for the Divine Liturgy this morning.

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.

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

February 26 Karam Henderson/Baker/Lockhart

March 5 Brock Stewart/Turner/Waites

March 12 Baker POT LUCK MEAL

(set-up: Ellios/Zouboukos)

March 19 R. Root Pigott/Meadows/Alaeetawi

March 25 (Sat. a.m.) Henderson Kh. Janet

(Feast of the Annunciation)

March 26 Algood 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#

February 26 Warren Strain Rom. 13:11-14:4 279

March 5 Sh. Charlotte Algood Heb. 11:24-26, 32-40 281

March 12 Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 1:10-2:3 283

March 19 Mildred Morris Heb. 4:14-5:6 285

March 25 (sat. a.m.) Brenda Baker Heb. 2:11-18 376

March 26 Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver Heb. 6:13-20 287

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

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

Please remember the following in your prayers: Steve, Sheryl Chamblee; Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Sam and Lamia Dabit and Sammie; Georgia Buchanan, George and Michael Johns (Georgia’s grandsons) and their family; Mary Greene (Lee and Kh. Sharon’s sister); Fr. Stephen Tewfik; Walt and Charlotte Wood and their family; Lynda Costas; Angelina Speier; Tom and Kathy Willingham and Tom’s stepdaughter, Marica, who has been diagnosed with MS; Peggy (David Turner’s paternal aunt) who is suffering from cancer and related complications; Alexa (Lou Turner’s very close friend) who sustained multiple injuries in a serious car wreck; and George (Dorothea and Daniel Staursky’s uncle) who sustained injuries in a bad fall.

Chanters’ Stand: We are looking into the purchase of a Chanters’ Stand for the church. The ones that are currently under consideration are carved and are similar to the beautiful tables in the nave and narthex. The cost would be somewhere between $2000 and $4000. We are soliciting donations to cover the cost. If you would like to participate, please let Fr. John know.

A Bridal Shower is planned for Stephanie Baker on Saturday, March 11th at the Meadows’ home from 12:30 – 2:00 p.m. All the ladies in the church are invited. Please see the invitation posted on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall for more information.

Parents of Young Children: Please make sure that your children are supervised if they are in the Nursery during Coffee Hour, just as they are supervised if out on the Playground. The Nursery is being left in a mess on Sunday mornings following Coffee Hour and the clean-up is falling on the same people (i.e. those who teach Sunday School classes in that room). If you leave and there are still children using the room, please make sure that your children pick up the things with which they have been playing.

If you are the last to leave, please make sure that the doors in the Fellowship Hall, the kitchen and the hallway are all locked.

Scholarships to Camp St. Thekla are available but must be turned in soon. If you are in need of these, please contact Father John as soon as possible. There is a deadline for the scholarship forms to be submitted.

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 Ladies of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the fourth Tuesday of the month.

* This year Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers will be held at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Vicksburg, beginning at 5:00 p.m. (Please note the time).

* As is our parish custom, we will celebrate the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts in place of Daily Vespers on Wednesday evenings, beginning at 6:30 p.m., followed by a Soup Supper in the Fellowship Hall. On Friday evenings we will celebrate the Akathist to the Theotokos, again beginning at 6:30 p.m.

* The Feast of the Annunciation will be celebrated with Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy on Saturday morning, March 25th, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

Fasting Discipline for February/March

February 26th is Cheesefare Sunday, the last day that dairy and wine are permitted. Monday, February 27th is Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent when the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) is observed on all days of the week until Pascha (except the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25th and Palm Sunday on April 9th, when fish, wine and oil are permitted).

Major Commemorations for February/March

February 26 Cheesefare Sunday

February 27 Clean Monday (Great Lent begins)

March 5 1st Sunday of Lent; Sunday of Orthodoxy

March 9 Forty Martyrs of Sebaste

March 12 2nd Sunday of Lent; Gregory of Palamas

March 16 Christodoulos, wonder-worker of Patmos

March 19 3rd Sunday of Lent; Adoration of the Holy Cross

March 25 Feast of the Annunciation

March 26 4th Sunday of Lent; John Climacus

Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel

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: “The same thing applies if we consider tribulations. How would we express our freedom or how would we recognize it, unless we were obliged to go through great effort in order to be raised up to God—effort which is bound up with illnesses, ordeals, fatigue, etc. God, however, has given us freedom together with the potential to recognize that we are endowed with grace, that such a great gift is bestowed upon us. Together with this He gave us the capacity to manifest our freedom, which is expressed in our willing endurance of tribulations. Thus the wise soul, recognizing from all this that she is the recipient of gifts and benefits (in the highest spiritual meaning of the term) from God, rejoices in tribulations and thanks God. ”
Archimandrite Sophrony, Striving for Knowledge of God

Worship: Sunday, March 5, 2017 (First Sunday of Great Lent; Sunday of Orthodoxy)

Scripture: Hebrews 11:24-26, 32-40; John 1:43-51

Celebrant: Father John

Epistle Reader: Sh. Charlotte Algood

Prosphora: Brock

Coffee Hour: Stewart/Turner/Waites

February 19, 2017

Sunday of Meat-fare

Yes, it is that time again. Lent begins on Monday, February 27th, but we begin the preparations for the journey of “bright-sadness” by especially dealing with our hearts and our spiritual condition. In her wisdom the Church is a great aid to us, for the four Sundays before Lent carry special themes that enable us to examine ourselves.

The theme of the second Sunday before Lent is THE LAST JUDGEMENT (meat fare) and the Gospel lesson is Matthew 25:31-46 in which Christ describes the last judgement. It is a lesson about Christian love. For we all need love and each have been given the gift and grace of Christ’s love. Thus, on whether or not we have accepted this responsibility (of Christ’s gift), and on whether we have loved or refused to love, shall we be judged. For “inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto Me….”

I Corinthians 8:8-9:2: St Paul, writing to the Corinthians, uses the situation about eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols to encourage them and us that we should be aware of our actions and how they affect others in their quest for holiness.

Matthew 25:31-46: In describing the judgment of the nations, the Lord Jesus tells us that the righ­teous will receive eternal blessings, while the unrighteous shall receive eternal punishment.

Troparion of the Resurrection: When thou, O immortal Life, didst humble thyself unto death, then didst thou destroy death by the brightness of thy Godhead; and when thou didst raise the bowels of the earth, then all the heavenly powers exclaimed, O Christ, thou art the Giver of life! Glory to thee, O our God!

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 Meat Fare Sunday: When thou comest, O God, to earth with glory, and all creatures tremble before thee, and the river of fire floweth before the Altar, and the books are opened and sins revealed, deliver me then from that unquenchable fire, and make me worthy to stand at thy right hand, O righteous Judge.

CALENDAR

Sunday, February 19 (Sunday of Meat-fare)

8:50 a.m. — Orthros

9:00 a.m. — Christian Education

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy

Monday, February 20

Office Closed — Father John’s Day Off

Tuesday, February 21

6:00 a.m. — Lenten Orthros

11:30 a.m. — Ladies Lunch

Wednesday, February 22

6:30 p.m. — Daily Vespers

7:15 p.m. — Choir Practice

7:30 p.m. — Parish Council Meeting

Thursday, February 23

6:00 a.m. — Lenten Orthros

Friday, February 24 (The Forerunner – 1st & 2nd Discoveries)

Saturday, February 25

9:30 a.m. — Creative Arts Workshop

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

Sunday, February 26 (Sunday of Cheese-fare)

8:50 a.m. — Orthros

9:00 a.m. — Christian Education

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy

6:30 p.m. — Forgiveness Vespers

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Davises for the Saturday of the Souls liturgy yesterday morning and by the Daniel Roots for the Divine Liturgy this morning. The Koliva for yesterday’s liturgy was provided by Anastasia Jones.

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.

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

February 19 D. Root Schelver/Lavric/Karam

February 26 Karam Henderson/Baker/Lockhart

March 5 Brock Stewart/Turner/Waites

March 12 Baker POT LUCK MEAL

(set-up: Ellios/Zouboukos)

March 19 R. Root Pigott/Meadows/Alaeetawi

March 25 (Sat. a.m.) Henderson Kh. Janet

(Feast of the Annunciation)

March 26 Algood 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#

February 19 Walt Wood I Cor. 8:8-9:2 273

February 26 Warren Strain Rom. 13:11-14:4 279

March 5 Sh. Charlotte Algood Heb. 11:24-26, 32-40 281

March 12 Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 1:10-2:3 283

March 19 Mildred Morris Heb. 4:14-5:6 285

March 25 (sat. a.m.) Brenda Baker Heb. 2:11-18 376

March 26 Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver Heb. 6:13-20 287

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

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

Please remember the following in your prayers: Steve, Sheryl Chamblee; Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Sam and Lamia Dabit and Sammie; Georgia Buchanan, George and Michael Johns (Georgia’s grandsons) and their 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 and Tom’s stepdaughter, Marica, who has been diagnosed with MS; Peggy (David Turner’s paternal aunt) who is suffering from cancer and related complications; Alexa (Lou Turner’s very close friend) who sustained multiple injuries in a serious car wreck; and George (Dorothea and Daniel Staursky’s uncle) who sustained injuries in a bad fall.

Chanters’ Stand: We are looking into the purchase of a Chanters’ Stand for the church. The ones that are currently under consideration are carved and are similar to the beautiful tables in the nave and narthex. The cost would be somewhere between $2000 and $4000. We are soliciting donations to cover the cost. If you would like to participate, please let Fr. John know.

House Blessings! A sign-up sheet is available in the Fellowship Hall to sign up for your house blessing. You may also e-mail Father John at frjohnc with 3 dates for your blessing. Please schedule these as soon as possible. Everyone should have their home blessed. However, the responsibility for scheduling lies with individuals and not with Father John. No house blessings will be done once Great Lent starts (February 27th this year).

Please pray for Kevin Spier, the son of Fr. Nicholas and Kh. Jan from St. Athanasius in Goleta, CA, has been moved to hospice care and is rapidly declining.

Congratulations and Many Years! to Thomas Wood on his wedding this afternoon to Caitlin Warburton in San Antonio, TX. Please keep them in your prayers today.

Welcome to Scott Parker, Ashley Shows and her daughter Gwen who were enrolled as catechumens last Sunday! Please keep them in your prayers.

A Bridal Shower is planned for Stephanie Baker on Saturday, March 11th at the Meadows’ home from 12:30 – 2:00 p.m. All the ladies in the church are invited. Please see the invitation posted on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall for more information.

If you are the last to leave, please make sure that the doors in the Fellowship Hall, the kitchen and the hallway are all locked.

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.

* Great Lent will begin on Clean Monday, February 27th. The schedule for the serices of the first week of Great Lent are as follows:

Sunday, February 26th