November 18, 2018

Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Ephesians 4:1-7: Reading in Ephesians, we hear St. Paul exhort us to maintain the unity of the spirit and to walk in a manner worthy of our calling.

Luke 12:16-21: In the parable of the rich landowner the Lord teaches us that material possessions are worthless when valued more than knowing God.

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 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 Presentation of the Theotokos: The all-pure temple of the Saviour, the most precious bridal-chamber and Virgin, the treasure-house of the glory of God, today enters the Temple of the Lord, bringing with her the grace which is in the divine Spirit; whom also the angels of God do celebrate in song; for she is the heavenly tabernacle.

CALENDAR

Sunday, November 18 (Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost)

8:50 a.m. — Orthros

9:00 a.m. — Christian Education

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy

Monday, November 19

Father John’s Day Off

Tuesday, November 20

6:00 a.m. — Daily Orthros

6:30 p.m. — Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia

Wednesday, November 21 (Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple)

The Presentation of the Holy Virgin into the Temple is found in the apocryphal gospels, which describe the three-year-old Mary being taken by her parents to the Temple, where she remained in a life of holiness and dedication. Though the story be legend, as symbol it yields insight into spiritual truth. The scriptures for vespers, matins, and the divine liturgy all speak to the relationship between man and God within the context of the Temple and emphasize two themes: holiness and the superiority of the living, eternal temple to that built of stone. In Mary we see both. Rather than being sanctified by the Temple, she sanctifies the Temple and all mankind by becoming herself the perfect temple in which dwelt the eternal Son. Truly she was set apart, even as a child, and consecrated to the most glorious work God granted humanity. Truly she is the instrument by which we, too, become living temples in which God lives and which live eternal. Truly we, the holy, catholic church, the living Temple of God, open our doors to her, most blessed of women, the Holy Mother of God.

NO Daily Services

Thursday, November 22

NO Daily Orthros

Friday, November 23

Saturday, November 24

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

Sunday, November 25 (Great-martyrs Katherine and Mercurios)

8:50 a.m. — Orthros

9:00 a.m. — Christian Education

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

November 18 Algood Algood/Jones/Turner

November 20 (Mon. p.m.) Katool (Artoklasia Bread) No Meal

(Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple)

November 25 Schelver R. Root/Habeeb/Cooper

December 2 Morris Henderson/Lockhart/Alaeetawi

December 5 (Wed. p.m.) Henderson (Artoklasia Bread) No Meal

(Feast of St. Nicholas the Wonder-worker)

December 9 Jones Pigott/Dabit/Strain/Lavric

December 16 Meadows POT LUCK MEAL

Set-up: Stewart/Meadows

December 23 Davis Baker/D. Root/Dansereau

December 24 (Mon. p.m.) D. Root 1. Sarah Milnor

(Feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ) 2. Natalia Alaeetawi

3. Cheryl Pigott

December 30 Karam Katool/Davis/Staursky

December 31 (Mon. p.m.) Baker (Artoklasia Bread) No Meal

(January 1 – Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord and the Feast of St. Basil the Great)

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 18 Warren Strain Eph. 4:1-7 212

November 25 Kh. Sharon Meadows Gal. 3:23-4:5 160

December 2 Mildred Morris Eph. 6:10-17 223

December 9 Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver Gal. 4:22-27 314

December 16 Sam Habeeb Col. 3:4-11 233

December 24 (Mon. p.m.) Walt Wood Gal. 4:4-7 351

December 30 Sh. Charlotte Algood Gal. 1:11-19 188

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 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 the following in your prayers: Steve, Sheryl Chamblee; Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Sam and Lamia Dabit and Sammie; Mary Greene (Lee and Kh. Sharon’s sister); Lynda Costas; Fr. Nicholas, Kh. Jan and Angelina Speier; David Morris and his family; Vernie Meadows, Fr. James and Kh. Sharon and their family; Walt and Charlotte Wood and their family; Lou Turner’s cousin Amy and her husband John; Noah and Beth Ann (Baker) Pappas, their unborn child, Demetrios (his patron saint is the Holy and Right-victorious Martyr Demetrios of Thessalonika), the Reader Basil and Brenda and all of the Baker family.

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

Please keep Fr. John Morris and Kh. Cheryl in your prayers. They have both been ill recently.

Memory Eternal! Mary Jo Wright, long-time secretary and Choir Director at St. George in Vicksburg and friend of many here at St. Peter, fell asleep in the Lord this past Monday. Please keep her and her family (as well as all of St. George) in your prayers.

Calendar Items:

* The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month.

* The Ladies of St. Peter 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 last Tuesday of the month.

* The Fast of the Nativity has begun and continues until the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord on December 25th. As is the custom in our parish, we will pray the Advent Paralesis on Wednesday evenings during the fast in place of Daily Vespers, beginning Wednesday, November 28th. (There will not be a service on Wednesday evening, November 21st.)

* We will celebrate the Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple with Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia on Tuesday evening, November 20th, at 6:30 p.m.

* The Feast of St. Nicholas the Wonder-worker will be celebrated with Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia on Wednesday evening, December 5th, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

* We will have a Santa Lucia celebration during Coffee Hour on Sunday, December 9th.

* The Children will present their Nativity Program on Sunday, December 16th during Coffee Hour. We will also have a Pot Luck Meal that Sunday to add to the festivities.

Changing of the Guard! We have new officers for the Ladies of St. Peter. Joanna Davis will serve alone as President for this year and Anna Kathryn Stewart will be her co-president beginning next year. Carolina Lavric will serve as Treasurer. Many thanks to Christina Katool, Kh. Sharon Meadows and Sandra Strain for their years of service to the Ladies!

Unsupervised children in the Kitchen: For health and safety concerns children are not to be allowed in the kitchen unless accompanied by a parent. Please get ice for your children and do NOT allow them to use the icemaker themselves.

Fasting Discipline for November

In November, the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) is observed on all Wednesdays and Fridays until the 15tth of the month, when the Fast of the Nativity begins. During this fast the traditional fasting discipline 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.

Major Commemorations for November

November 21 Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple

November 25 Great-martyrs Catherine and Mercurios

November 30 Apostle Andrew the First-called

For Parents: Children in the nursery during Coffee Hour MUST be supervised just as they are on the playground. This room is used for Sunday School each week. Children who are unsupervised create disarray and use materials set aside for the teaching of Christian Education. This creates extra work for the Sunday School teachers who have to come in and set the room in order before class or who find supplies depleted unexpectedly. A parent must be in the room with their children at all times. Please help us with this! — Fr. John

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.

ead of ManHead of Maonasteries

Quotable: “We must follow Christ going up to Golgotha. This ascension is none other than a struggle waged by Christ in His love for the whole world. When contests are fought only on the level of the world and the passions, people exhaust themselves and age very quickly. But when, on the other hand, sufferings come from striving against the passions in the Spirit of Christ, people are born anew.”

Archimandrite Sophrony, Words of Life

Worship: Sunday, November 25, 2018 (Great-martyrs Katherine and Mercurios)

Scripture: Galatians 3:23-4:5; Luke 18:18-27

Celebrant: Father John

Epistle Reader: Kh. Sharon Meadows

Prosphora: Schelver

Coffee Hour: R. Root/Habeeb/Cooper