May 7, 2017
Sunday of the Paralytic
In the miracle of the healing of the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda, we see the Son’s power over life and sin, power which becomes fully evident in the Resurrection. The paralytic is a man crippled in body and spirit, for, even as He heals the body, Jesus warns against results of further sin. Christ frees us from our bodies of corruption and grants us flesh glorified in Him; He also frees us from the power of sin and grants us perfection in His Spirit. As the man at the pool accepted God’s grace and found life, so let us walk in His light and come into His presence.
Acts 9:32-42: Empowered by the Holy Spirit, St Peter heals a paralyzed man and raises a woman from the dead; both acts lead to many people believing in the Lord.
John 5:1-15: Jesus demonstrates His lordship over creation and the Sabbath when He heals a sick man at the pool of Bethsaida.
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 Pascha: When Thou didst descend into the grave, O Immortal, Thou didst destroy the power of Hades. In victory didst Thou arise, O Christ God, proclaiming ARejoice@ to the myrrh-bearing women, granting peace to Thine apostles and bestowing resurrection on the fallen.
CALENDAR
Sunday, May 7 (Sunday of the Paralytic)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros
9:00 a.m. — Last Sunday for Christian Education
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy
12:00 p.m. — Special Coffee Hour honoring Oliver Strange, our high school graduate
Monday, May 8 (Apostle John the Theologian)
Office Closed — Father John’s Day Off
Tuesday, May 9
6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros
Wednesday, May 10 (Apostle Simon the Zealot)
6:30 p.m. — Daily Vespers
7:15 p.m. — Choir Practice
Thursday, May 11
6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros
Friday, May 12
Saturday, May 13
10:00 a.m. — Ladies meet for Akathist
5:45 p.m. — Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers with Paschal Format
Sunday, May 14 (Sunday of the Samaritan Woman)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Brocks for the Divine Liturgy this morning.
Please continue to pray for the health of His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
May 7 Brock Schelver/Lavric/Karam (No Pot Luck)
May 14 Baker Henderson/Baker/Lockhart
May 21 R. Root Stewart/Turner/Waites
May 24 (Wed. p.m.) Henderson Mary Guy Lockhart
(Feast of the Ascension)
May 28 Algood Ellis/Zouboukos
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#
May 7 Brenda Baker Acts 9:32-42 45
May 14 David Turner Acts 11:19-30 52
May 21 Walt Wood Acts 26:1, 12-20 384
May 24 (Wed. p.m.) Sh. Charlotte Algood Acts 1:1-12 63
May 28 Warren Strain Acts 20:16-18, 28-36 66
Please remember Fr. Joseph and Kh. Joanna Bittle, and their daughter Abigail, in your prayers.
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.
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 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; Sue Thayer (Charlotte Wood’s mother), Walt and Charlotte and their family; Lynda Costas; Fr. Nicholas, Kh. Jan 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.
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.
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.
Today we will have a Special Coffee Hour in honor of Oliver Strange who will be graduating from high school this year. He plans to attend the University of Southern Mississippi in the fall.
Our special collection to benefit FOCUS (Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve) last month netted $600, which was forwarded to them. Thank you for your generosity.
The Fahmys’ new address is 2117 Loudenslager Drive
Thompsons Station, TN 37179-5313
Congratulations to Emile Ellis, in his Junior year at Delta State, for making First Team All Conference in baseball!
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.
* Special Coffee Hour honoring Oliver Strange, our graduating high school senior today.
* Vacation Church School will be held June 8-10 at the church.
* The Parish Life Conference will be held June 15-18 in Atlanta.
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.
Fasting Discipline for May
Following Bright Week, the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) is observed on the remaining Wednesdays and Fridays of the month. In May the traditional fasting discipline is observed on all Wednesdays and Fridays of the month.
Major Commemorations for May
May 7 Sunday of the Paralytic
May 8 Apostle Johnthe Theologian
May 10 Apostle Simon the Zealot
May 14 Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
May 21 Sunday of the Blindman
Sts. Constantine and Helen
May 24 Leave-taking of Pascha
May 25 Feast of the Ascension
The Forerunner (3rd Discovery)
May 28 Sunday of the Holy Fathers of Nicea
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: “‘A sower went forth,’ he says, ‘to sow’—not to plow the earth but to sow: thus showing that the work of preparation must be done by us. Therefore, since in order to obtain the effects of the divine mysteries we must approach them in a state of grace and be properly prepared, it was necessary that these preparations should find a place in the order of the sacred rite: and, in fact, they are found there. There, indeed, we see what the prayers and psalms, as well as the sacred actions and forms which the liturgy contains, can achieve in us. They purify us and make us fittingly to receive and to preserve holiness, and to remain possessed of it.”
Nicholas Cabasilas, A Commentary on the Divine Liturgy
Worship: Sunday, May 14, 2017 (Sunday of the Samaritan Woman)
Scripture: Acts 11:32-42; John 4:5-42
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: David Turner
Prosphora: Baker
Coffee Hour: Henderson/Baker/Lockhart
