March 31, 2019

Third Sunday of Great Lent

Veneration of Precious and Life-giving Cross

In the middle of Lent, the church sets before us the Cross of Christ. On two other occasions during the year, September 14 and August 1, the cross is presented for our remembrance and veneration. Both these feasts link the Adoration of the Cross to historic events. However, the remembrance of the cross on the third Sunday in Lent prepares us for the commemoration of the crucifixion which is soon to follow in Holy Week, and at the same time, it reminds us that the whole of Lent is a period when we are crucified with Christ. The dominant note on this Sunday, as on the two Sundays preceding, is one of joy and triumph. No separation is made between Christ’s death and His resurrection, but the cross is regarded as an emblem of victory on Calvary as seen in light of the Empty Tomb.

Hebrews 4:14-5:6: After describing the all-seeing power of Jesus Christ, the writer of Hebrews re­veals Him as the great high priest who perfectly identifies with us in our weakness.

Mark 8:34-9:1: In our reading from the gospel of Mark we hear our Lord tell His disciples that self-denial is required for true spirituality.

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 Holy Cross: O Lord, save thy people and bless thine inheritance, granting to thy people victory over all their enemies, and by the power of thy Cross preserving thy kingdom.

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 Sundays of Lent: To thee the champion leader, I thy servant offer thanks for victory, O Theotokos, thou who hast delivered me form terror. As thou hast power invincible, free me from every danger that I may cry unto thee: Rejoice, O bride without bridegroom.

CALENDAR

Sunday, March 31 (Veneration of the Cross)

8:50 a.m. — Orthros

9:00 a.m. — Christian Education

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy

Monday, April 1 (St. Mary of Egypt)

Father John’s Day Off

Tuesday, April 2

6:00 a.m. — Lenten Orthros

Wednesday, April 3

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

Thursday, April 4

6:00 a.m. — Lenten Orthros

11:30 a.m. — Men’s Lunch

Friday, April 5

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

Saturday, April 6

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

Sunday, April 7 (John Climacus)

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 Hendersons for the Feast of the Annunciation this past Monday morning and on behalf of the Algoods for the Divine Liturgy this morning.

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

March 31 Algood (by Meadows) R. Root/Habeeb/Cooper

April 7 Meadows Stewart/Meadows

April 14 Schelver Pigott/Dabit/Strain/Lavric

April 20 (Sat. a.m.) Morris Anastasia Jones

(Lazarus Saturday)

April 21 Jones Kh. JanetHenderson/Christina Katool

April 25 (Thurs. a.m.) Katool Kh. Sharon Meadows

(Great and Holy Thursday)

April 27 (Sat. a.m.) Davis Karen Cooper

April 27 (Sat. p.m.) D. Root Turners/Dabits/Kh. Be’Be’ and ?

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#

March 31 Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 4:14-5:6 285

April 7 Walt Wood Heb. 6:13-20 287

April 14 Warren Strain Heb. 9:11-14 290

April 20 (Sat. a.m.) Brenda Baker Heb. 12:28-13:8 291

April 21 Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver Phil. 4:4-9 294

April 25 (Thurs. a.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows I Cor. 11:23-32 295

April 27 (Sat. a.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows Rom. 6:3-11 300

April 27 (Sat. p.m.) Sam Habeeb Acts 1:1-8 25

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.

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, the Reader Basil and Brenda and all of the Baker family; Chris and Rebecca Dansereau and their daughters; Fr. Leo and Kh. Be’Be’ and their family.

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

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.

* We will celebrate the Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday evenings in place of Daily Vespers during Lent, beginning at 6:30 p.m..

* On Friday evenings of Great Lent we will pray the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

* Virtual Teen Retreat here on Saturday, April 13th.

* We will be hosting Agape Vespers this year. More info will be available later.

* His Grace, Bishop NICHOLAS will be with us for a visit on May 26-27th. More details will be available at a later date.

* Vacation Church School will be held again this year in July on the 11th,12th, and 13th. More information will be available later.

* Our next date for serving at the Stewpot is Saturday, September 28th.

There will be a Virtual Teen Retreat here on Saturday, April 13th. This is a Diocesan event with Teens from the other parishes in our Diocese connected via the internet!! There will be a speaker and it will be possible to see fellow teens in the other parishes. Teens, please make plans to attend. Parents, please let Father John know whether or not your teen will be attending.

During Great Lent we will once again be collecting goods for the Commissary at Sunnybrook Children’s Home. Lists of the items that are needed are available in the foyer and also in the Fellowship Hall. Please bring your donated items to the church and place them in the East end of the Fellowship Hall. Dn. Terry will collect them and take them to Sunnybrook.

New Address for the Algoods!!

601 Abbots Lane, Ridgeland, MS 39157

The Center for Pregnancy Choices of Jackson is hosting LifeWalk at Flowood Nature Park to raise funds for the many services it provides to the tri-county area. Find a sponsor, sponsor a walker, or sponsor yourself and join the Eastern Orthodox Churches team at nine o’clock, Saturday, April 13, 2019. Register at cpcmetrofriends.org/lifewalk or contact Susan Ainsworth at susana133@comcast. Sponsorship pledge forms are available in the foyer as well as additional information about the walk, but if you have any questions, please contact Susan Ainsworth.

Agape Vespers: St. Peter will be hosting Agape Vespers this year on Pascha. A committee is being formed to plan the event. More information will be available later.

His Grace, Bishop NICHOLAS will make his next archpastoral visit to St. Peter’s on May 26-27th (he will be leaving on Tuesday morning, May 28th). More information will be available at a later date. Please mark your calendars now!

Fasting Discipline for April

During Great Lent 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 21st, when fish, wine and oil are permitted). There is no fasting of any kind during Bright Week (April 29th – May 3rd).

Major Commemorations for April

April 1 Mary of Egypt

April 7 4th Sunday of Lent

John Climacus

April 14 5th Sunday of Lent

Mary of Egypt

April 20 Lazarus Saturday

April 22-27 Holy Week

April 23 Great-martyr George

April 25 Apostle Mark

April 28 PASCHA

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

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.

ead of ManHead of Maonasteries

Quotable: “Now begins the task of accustoming ourselves to spiritual prayer to the Lord. The first-fruits of this prayer quicken our faith, faith reinforces our efforts and multiplies their fruits; and so the work proceeds successfully.

If we attain this habit of spiritual prayer to the Lord, we shall find that, by God’s mercy, the inward longing for Him comes more frequently. And subsequently it comes about that this interior involvement is confirmed for ever, and the man dwells inwardly before God without ceasing. This is the establishing of the kingdom of God within us. But let us add that with this comes also the start of a new cycle of changes in our inner life, which may be called the spiritualization of soul and body.”

St. Theophan the Recluse

Worship: Sunday, April 7, 2019 (Fourth Sunday of Lent; Commemoration of John Climacus)

Scripture: Hebrews 6:13-20; Mark 9:17-31

Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Walt Wood

Prosphora: Meadows

Coffee Hour: Stewart/Meadows

March 24, 2019

Second Sunday of Great Lent

Commemoration of Gregory Palamas

St. Gregory Palamas (c. 1296-1359) – St. Gregory was a Greek monk and theologian and the chief exponent of Hesychasm. He was ordained a priest in the year 1326 and became Bishop of Thessalonica in 1347. The political conditions made it impossible for him to take possession of the see until 1350. He died on November 14, 1359, which is his feast day. He was canonized in 1368. St. Gregory stressed the biblical notion of man as a single and united whole, body and soul together. In virtue of this, he argued that the physical exercises used by the Hesychasts in prayer, as well as their claim to see the Divine Light with their bodily eyes, could be defended as legitimate. He distinguished between the essence and the energies of God: God’s essence remains unknowable, but his uncreated energies, which are God Himself, permeate all things and can be directly experienced by man in the form of deifying grace.

In the earlier period, there was on this day a commemoration of the Great Martyr Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 155). St. Gregory replaced St. Polycarp on the Second Sunday of Lent in the fourteenth century.

Hebrews 1:10-2:3: Writing to the Hebrews, the Apostle quotes from Scripture to proclaim the great­ness of Jesus Christ as compared with the angels; for this reason we must be careful not to neglect our sal­vation.

Mark 2:1-12: Reading in the Gospel of Mark, we see Jesus demonstrate His authority to forgive sins by healing a paralytic.

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 St. Gregory Palamas: O Gregory the Wonderworker, light of Orthodoxy, support and teacher of the Church, glory of monks and invincible protector of theologians, pride of Thessalonica and preacher of grace, pray without ceasing for the salvation of 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 Sundays of Lent: To thee the champion leader, I thy servant offer thanks for victory, O Theotokos, thou who hast delivered me form terror. As thou hast power invincible, free me from every danger that I may cry unto thee: Rejoice, O bride without bridegroom.

CALENDAR

Sunday, March 24 (Gregory of Palamas)

8:50 a.m. — Orthros

9:00 a.m. — Christian Education

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy

Monday, March 25 (Annunciation)

THE SCRIPTURE (Luke 1:26-38): The Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee (the northernmost district of Palestine) named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house (family) of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Rejoice, you who are full of grace, the Lord is with you! Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold you shall conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father (ancestor) David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob (the father of all the tribes of Israel) for ever; and of His kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the Angel, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” And the Angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid (servant) of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the Angel departed from her.

THE SIGNIFICANCE: This feast commemorates the day when the Archangel Gabriel announced to a young virgin named Mary that she, among all women, had found favor with the Father. She was invited to cooperate with Him for the Incarnation of His pre-eternal Son through the operation of the Holy Spirit. This, “the beginning of our salvation,” was conditioned not only by God’s will and His election of Mary, but also by Mary’s own “YES” to do God’s will – “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Father John’s Day Off

7:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy (only)

Tuesday, March 26 (Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel)

6:00 a.m. — Lenten Orthros

12:00 p.m. — Ladies’ Lunch

Wednesday, March 27

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

Thursday, March 28

6:00 a.m. — Lenten Orthros

Friday, March 29

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

Saturday, March 30

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

Sunday, March 31 (Adoration of the Cross)

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 Dn Richard Roots 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

March 24 R. Root Ellis/Zouboukos/Waites

March 25 (Mon. a.m.) Henderson Kh. Sharon Meadows

(Feast of the Annunciation)

March 31 Algood R. Root/Habeeb/Cooper

April 7 Meadows Stewart/Meadows

April 14 Schelver Pigott/Dabit/Strain/Pacurari

April 20 (Sat. a.m.) Morris Anastasia Jones

(Lazarus Saturday)

April 21 Jones Kh. JanetHenderson/Christina Katool

April 25 (Thurs. a.m.) Katool Kh. Sharon Meadows

(Great and Holy Thursday)

April 27 (Sat. a.m.) Davis Karen Cooper

April 27 (Sat. p.m.) D. Root Turners/Dabits/? and ?

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#

March 24 Mildred Morris Heb. 1:10-2:3 283

March 25 (Mon. a.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 2:11-18 376

March 31 Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 4:14-5:6 285

April 7 Walt Wood Heb. 6:13-20 287

April 14 Warren Strain Heb. 9:11-14 290

April 20 (Sat. a.m.) Brenda Baker Heb. 12:28-13:8 291

April 21 Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver Phil. 4:4-9 294

April 25 (Thurs. a.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows I Cor. 11:23-32 295

April 27 (Sat. a.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows Rom. 6:3-11 300

April 27 (Sat. p.m.) Sam Habeeb Acts 1:1-8 25

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 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, the Reader Basil and Brenda and all of the Baker family; Chris and Rebecca Dansereau and their daughters; Fr. Leo and Kh. Be’Be’ and their family.

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

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.

* We will celebrate the Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday evenings in place of Daily Vespers during Lent, beginning at 6:30 p.m..

* On Friday evenings of Great Lent we will pray the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

* We will be hosting Agape Vespers this year. More info will be available later.

* His Grace, Bishop NICHOLAS will be with us for a visit on May 26-27th. More details will be available at a later date.

* Vacation Church School will be held again this year in July on the 11th,12th, and 13th. More information will be available later.

* Our next date for serving at the Stewpot is Saturday, September 28th.

March is Ladies Month in our Archdiocese when we give special attention to the role of women in our parish. Ladies will be reading the Epistle this month. Also, please allow the women to go first for communion during this time.

During Great Lent we will once again be collecting goods for the Commissary at Sunnybrook Children’s Home. Lists of the items that are needed are available in the foyer and also in the Fellowship Hall. Please bring your donated items to the church and place them in the East end of the Fellowship Hall. Dn. Terry will collect them and take them to Sunnybrook.

New Address for the Algoods!!

601 Abbots Lane, Ridgeland, MS 39157

The Center for Pregnancy Choices of Jackson is hosting LifeWalk at Flowood Nature Park to raise funds for the many services it provides to the tri-county area. Find a sponsor, sponsor a walker, or sponsor yourself and join the Eastern Orthodox Churches team at nine o’clock, Saturday, April 13, 2019. Register at cpcmetrofriends.org/lifewalk or contact Susan Ainsworth at susana133@comcast. Sponsorship pledge forms are available in the foyer as well as additional information about the walk, but if you have any questions, please contact Susan Ainsworth.

Agape Vespers: St. Peter will be hosting Agape Vespers this year on Pascha. A committee is being formed to plan the event. More information will be available later.

His Grace, Bishop NICHOLAS will make his next archpastoral visit to St. Peter’s on May 26-27th (he will be leaving on Monday morning, May 28th). More information will be available at a later date. Please mark your calendars now!

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 March

During Great Lent 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 21st, when fish, wine and oil are permitted).

Major Commemorations for March

March 24 2nd Sunday of Lent; Gregory Palamas

March 25 Feast of the Annunciation

March 26 Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel

March 31 3rd Sunday of Lent; Adoration of the Holy Cross

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

ead of ManHead of Maonasteries

Quotable: “The practice of reading and speaking of God will, used on its own, create a facile habit for such things: it is easier to philosophize than to pray or pay attention to oneself. But since it is a work of the mind, which falls so easily into pride, it predisposes a man to self-esteem. It may altogether cool the desire for practical effort, and consequently hinder sound progress by a flattering successfulness in this mental activity.

For this reason sound-minded teachers warn their pupils of the danger, and advise them not to concern themselves too much with such reading and talk to the detriment of other things.”

St. Theophan the Recluse

Worship: Sunday, March 31, 2019 (Third Sunday of Lent; Adoration of the Holy Cross)

Scripture: Hebrews 4:14-5:6; Mark 8:34-9:1

Celebrant: Father John

Epistle Reader: Kh. Sharon Meadows

Prosphora: Algood (by Meadows)

Coffee Hour: R. Root/Habeeb/Cooper

March 10, 2019

First Sunday of Great Lent

Sunday of Orthodoxy

On the first Sunday of Great Lent, we celebrate the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. This is an historical feast commemorating the restoration of the icons, which had been banned for several decades, to their rightful liturgical use in the year 843 A.D.

The major emphasis of this feast is the victory of the true faith, the victory which always ultimately triumphs. Having completed the first week of our lenten efforts, we are reminded that Christ, the perfect image of God the Father, calls us to personal victory by restoring within ourselves “the image and likeness of God” in which we were first created (Genesis 1:26).

The icons of Our Lord, the Theotokos, and all the saints are images of true humanity, signs of what our eternal calling and vocation really is. They tell us that we are all called to be living icons and imitators of Christ, bearing the likeness of God as gracious vessels of the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 11:24-26;32-40: The writer of Hebrews calls us to consider the faith of those Old Testa­ment saints who endured hardships and death and yet still did great things because of their faith. The Apos­tle encourages us to lay aside the encumbrances of sin and run with endurance the race that is set be­fore us.

John 1:43-51: From our reading in the Gospel of John we see Jesus call Philip and Nathaniel to be His disciples.

Troparion of the Resurrection: The stone being sealed by the Jews, and thy pure body being guarded by the soldiers, thou didst arise on the third day, O Saviour, granting life to the world. Wherefore, the heavenly powers acclaimed thee, O Giver of life, crying, Glory to thy Resurrection, O Christ! Glory to thy kingdom! Glory to thy gracious providence, O only Lover of mankind.

Troparion of the Sunday of Orthodoxy: Thy pure image do we venerate, O good One, asking forgiveness of our sins, O Christ our God; for by thine own will thou didst ascend the Cross in thy body, to save thy creatures from the bondage of the enemy. Thou hast truly filled all with joy, since thou didst come, O our Saviour, to save the world.

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 Sundays of Lent: To thee the champion leader, I thy servant offer thanks for victory, O Theotokos, thou who hast delivered me form terror. As thou hast power invincible, free me from every danger that I may cry unto thee: Rejoice, O bride without bridegroom.

CALENDAR

Sunday, March 17 (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 Holy Trinity and St. John the

Theologian Greek Orthodox Church in Jackson

Monday, March 18

Father John’s Day Off

Tuesday, March 19

6:00 A.M. — Lenten Orthros

Wednesday, March 20

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

Thursday, March 21

6:00 a.m. — Lenten Orthros

Friday, March 22

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

Saturday, March 23

8:30 a.m. — Workday at the Church

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

Sunday, March 17 (Gregory of Palamas)

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 Bakers for the Divine Liturgy this morning.

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

March 17 Baker Algood/Jones/Turner

March 24 R. Root Ellis/Zouboukos/Waites

March 25 (Mon. a.m.) Henderson Kh. Sharon Meadows

(Feast of the Annunciation)

March 31 Algood R. Root/Habeeb/Cooper

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#

March 17 Sh. Charlotte Algood Heb. 11:24-26; 32-40 281

March 24 Mildred Morris Heb. 1:10-2:3 283

March 25 (Mon. a.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 2:11-18 376

March 31 Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 4:14-5:6 285

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.

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, the Reader Basil and Brenda and all of the Baker family; Chris and Rebecca Dansereau and their daughters; Fr. Leo and Kh. Be’Be’ and their family.

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

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.

* We will celebrate the Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday evenings in place of Daily Vespers during Lent, beginning at 6:30 p.m..

* On Friday evenings of Great Lent we will pray the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

* The Sunday of Orthodoxy vespers will be held tonight at HOLY TRINITY and

ST. JOHN THE THEOLOGIAN GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH, beginning at 5:00 p.m. The information showing the location for this service on the March calendar and in last week’s bulletin was incorrect.

* On the morning of Saturday, March the 16th, beginning at 9:00 a.m. there will be a Creative Arts Festival work-time for the children for their entries for the Parish Life Conference.

* His Grace, Bishop NICHOLAS will be with us for a visit on May 26-27th. More details will be available at a later date.

* Vacation Church School will be held again this year in July on the 11th,12th, and 13th. More information will be available later.

* Our next date for serving at the Stewpot is Saturday, September 28th.

March is Ladies Month in our Archdiocese when we give special attention to the role of women in our parish. Ladies will be reading the Epistle this month. Also, please allow the women to go first for communion during this time.

During Great Lent we will once again be collecting goods for the Commissary at Sunnybrook Children’s Home. Lists of the items that are needed are available in the foyer and also in the Fellowship Hall. Please bring your donated items to the church and place them in the East end of the Fellowship Hall. Dn. Terry will collect them and take them to Sunnybrook.

New Address for the Algoods!!

601 Abbots Lane, Ridgeland, MS 39157

The Center for Pregnancy Choices of Jackson is hosting LifeWalk at Flowood Nature Park to raise funds for the many services it provides to the tri-county area. Find a sponsor, sponsor a walker, or sponsor yourself and join the Eastern Orthodox Churches team at nine o’clock, Saturday, April 13, 2019. Register at cpcmetrofriends.org/lifewalk or contact Susan Ainsworth at susana133@comcast. Sponsorship pledge forms are available in the foyer as well as additional information about the walk, but if you have any questions, please contact Susan Ainsworth.

His Grace, Bishop NICHOLAS will make his next archpastoral visit to St. Peter’s on May 26-27th (he will be leaving on Monday morning, May 28th). More information will be available at a later date. Please mark your calendars now!

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 March

During Great Lent 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 21st, when fish, wine and oil are permitted).

Major Commemorations for March

March 17 1st Sunday of Lent; Sunday of Orthodoxy

March 24 2nd Sunday of Lent; Gregory Palamas

March 25 Feast of the Annunciation

March 26 Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel

March 31 3rd Sunday of Lent; Adoration of the Holy Cross

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

ead of ManHead of Maonasteries

Quotable: “He who seeks the inner kingdom of God and a living communion with Him, will naturally seek to remain continually in the thought of God. Turning his mind towards Him with all his might, his one desire will be to read only of Him, to speak only of Him. But these occupations alone will not lead to what is sought, unless accompanied by other more practical activities. A certain types of mystic talks only of these occupations: the reason is that such teachers are people of theory and not of practice. There is some exaggeration on this subject in Roman Catholic instructions concerning spiritual life, and this is not without danger.”

St. Theophan the Recluse

Worship: Sunday, March 24, 2019 (Second Sunday of Lent; Commemoration of Gregory Palamas)

Scripture: Hebrews 1:10-2:3; Mark 2:1-12

Celebrant: Father John

Epistle Reader: Mildred Morris

Prosphora: R. Root

Coffee Hour: Ellis/Zouboukos/Waites

March 10, 2019

Sunday of the Forgiveness

Sunday of Cheese Fare

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: 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 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, March 10 (Sunday of Cheesefare)

8:50 a.m. — Orthros

9:00 a.m. — Christian Education

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy

12:00 p.m. — Pot Luck Meal

6:30 p.m. — Forgiveness Vespers

Monday, March 11

[GREAT
LENT BEGINS]

Father John’s Day Off

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

Tuesday, March 12

6:00 A.M. — Lenten Orthros

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

Wednesday, March 13

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

Thursday, March 14

6:00 a.m. — Lenten Orthros

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

Friday, March 15

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

Saturday, March 16 (Christodoulos of Patmos)

9:00 a.m. — Creative Arts Festival worktime for children

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

Sunday, March 17 (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 Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church

in Clinton

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

March 10 Brock POT LUCK MEAL

Set-up: Schelver/Karam/Pacurari

March 17 Baker Algood/Jones/Turner

March 24 R. Root Ellis/Zouboukos/Waites

March 25 (Mon. a.m.) Henderson Kh. Sharon Meadows

(Feast of the Annunciation)

March 31 Algood R. Root/Habeeb/Cooper

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#

March 10 Brenda Baker Rom. 13:11-14:4 279

March 17 Sh. Charlotte Algood Heb. 11:24-26; 32-40 281

March 24 Mildred Morris Heb. 1:10-2:3 283

March 25 (Mon. a.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 2:11-18 376

March 31 Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 4:14-5:6 285

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 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 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, the Reader Basil and Brenda and all of the Baker family; Chris and Rebecca Dansereau and their daughters; Fr. Leo and Kh. Be’Be’ and their 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.

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.

* We will have Forgiveness Vespers on this evening, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

* Great Lent begins tomorrow on Clean Monday.

* We will pray the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings during the first week of Lent, beginning at 6:30 p.m..

* We will celebrate the Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday evenings in place of Daily Vespers during Lent, beginning at 6:30 p.m..

* On Friday evenings of Great Lent we will pray the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

* On the morning of Saturday, March the 16th, beginning at 9:00 a.m. there will be a Creative Arts Festival work-time for the children for their entries for the Parish Life Conference.

* His Grace, Bishop NICHOLAS will be with us for a visit on May 26-27th. More details will be available at a later date.

* Vacation Church School will be held again this year in July on the 11th,12th, and 13th. More information will be available later.

* Our next date for serving at the Stewpot is Saturday, September 28th.

March is Ladies Month in our Archdiocese when we give special attention to the role of women in our parish. Ladies will be reading the Epistle this month. Also, please allow the women to go first for communion during this time.

During Great Lent we will once again be collecting goods for the Commissary at Sunnybrook Children’s Home. Lists of the items that are needed are available in the foyer and also in the Fellowship Hall. Please bring your donated items to the church and place them in the East end of the Fellowship Hall. Dn. Terry will collect them and take them to Sunnybrook.

New Address for the Algoods!!

601 Abbots Lane, Ridgeland, MS 39157

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 March

March 10th is Cheesefare Sunday, the last day that dairy and wine are permitted. Monday, March 11th 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 21st, when fish, wine and oil are permitted).

Major Commemorations for March

March 10 Cheesefare Sunday

March 16 Christodoulos, Wonder-worker of Pamos

March 17 1st Sunday of Lent; Sunday of Orthodoxy

March 24 2nd Sunday of Lent; Gregory Palamas

March 25 Feast of the Annunciation

March 26 Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel

March 31 3rd Sunday of Lent; Adoration of the Holy Cross

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

ead of ManHead of Maonasteries

Quotable: “If all goes well, a man who seeks after God will, upon reflection, decide to give up distractions and live in self-denial, inspired by fear of God and by his conscience. In answer to this decision the grace of God, which until now has acted from without, enters within through the sacraments; and the spirit of man, previously impotent, now becomes full of strength.”

St. Theophan the Recluse

Worship: Sunday, March 17, 2019 (First Sunday of Lent; Sunday of Orthodoxy)

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

Celebrant: Father John

Epistle Reader: Sh. Charlotte Algood

Prosphora: Baker

Coffee Hour: Algood/Jones/Turner

March 3, 2019

Sunday of the Last Judgment

Sunday of Meatfare

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: Thou didst shatter death by thy Cross; thou didst open paradise to the thief; thou didst turn the mourning of the ointment-bearing women into joy, and didst bid thine Apostles proclaim warning that thou hast risen, O Christ, granting the world 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 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, March 3 (Sunday of Meatfare)

8:50 a.m. — Orthros

9:00 a.m. — Christian Education

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy

Monday, March 4

Father John’s Day Off

Tuesday, March 5

NO Daily Orthros

Wednesday, March 6

6:30 p.m. — Daily Vespers followed by presentation by Sister Olga from

St. Elizabeth Convent in Minsk, Belarus

Thursday, March 7

NO Daily Orthros

11:30 a.m. — Men’s Lunch

Friday, March 8

Saturday, March 9 (Forty Martyrs of Sebaste)

10:00 a.m. — Ladies meet for Akathist

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

Sunday, March 10 (Sunday of Cheesefare)

8:50 a.m. — Orthros

9:00 a.m. — Christian Education

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy

12:00 p.m. — Pot Luck Meal

6:30 p.m. — Forgiveness Vespers

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Daniel Roots for the Saturday of the Souls liturgy yesterday morning and by the Karams for the Divine Liturgy this morning. The Koliva for yesterday’s liturgy was prepared by Sh. Margaret Root and by Anastasia Jones.

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

March 3 Karam Katool/Davis/Staursky

March 10 Brock POT LUCK MEAL

Set-up: Schelver/Karam/Pacurari

March 17 Baker Algood/Jones/Turner

March 24 R. Root Ellis/Zouboukos/Waites

March 25 (Mon. a.m.) Henderson Kh. Sharon Meadows

(Feast of the Annunciation)

March 31 Algood R. Root/Habeeb/Cooper

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#

March 3 Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver I Cor. 8:8-9:2 273

March 10 Brenda Baker Rom. 13:11-14:4 279

March 17 Sh. Charlotte Algood Heb. 11:24-26; 32-40 281

March 24 Mildred Morris Heb. 1:10-2:3 283

March 25 (Mon. a.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 2:11-18 376

March 31 Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 4:14-5:6 285

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, the Reader Basil and Brenda and all of the Baker family; Chris and Rebecca Dansereau and their daughters; Fr. Leo and Kh. Be’Be’ and their 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.

Sister Olga from the convent of St. Elizabeth in Minsk, Belarus will be giving a presentation on their convent following daily vespers this Wednesday evening. The Convent of St. Elizabeth has a strong ministry to children without parental support and to patients in the nearby psychiatric hospital. Sr. Olga will have icons and other items for sale and all proceeds go toward new construction at the convent. Please make plans to attend.

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.

* We will celebrate the Saturday of the Souls liturgy on Saturday morning, March 2nd, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

* Our next date for serving at the Stewpot is Saturday, March 9th. Our remaining date for the year will be Saturday, September 28th.

* We will have Forgiveness Vespers on Sunday evening, March 10th, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

* Great Lent begins on Clean Monday, March 11th.

* We will pray the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings during the first week of Lent.

* We will celebrate the Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday evenings in place of Daily Vespers during Lent, beginning at 6:30 p.m..

* On Friday evenings of the Great Lent we will pray the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

* On the morning of Saturday, March the 16th, beginning at 9:00 a.m. there will be a Creative Arts Festival work-time for the children for their entries for the Parish Life Conference.

* Vacation Church School will be held again this year in July on the 11th,12th, and 13th. More information will be available later.

March is Ladies Month in our Archdiocese when we give special attention to the role of women in our parish. Ladies will be reading the Epistle this month. Also, please allow the women to go first for communion during this time.

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 March

Following Meatfare Sunday (March 3rd) meat will no longer be eaten until Pascha. During the week following Meatfare Sunday dairy products (milk, cheese, eggs, etc.) are permitted, even on Wednesday and Friday. March 10th is Cheesefare Sunday, the last day that dairy and wine are permitted. Monday, March 11th 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 21st, when fish, wine and oil are permitted).

Major Commemorations for March

March 3 Meatfare Sunday

March 9 Forty Martyrs of Sebaste

March 10 Cheesefare Sunday

March 16 Christodoulos, Wonder-worker of Pamos

March 17 1st Sunday of Lent; Sunday of Orthodoxy

March 24 2nd Sunday of Lent; Gregory Palamas

March 25 Feast of the Annunciation

March 26 Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel

March 31 3rd Sunday of Lent; Adoration of the Holy Cross

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

Happy Anniversaries in March:

March 10 — Fr. James and Kh. Sharon Meadows (#46!)

March 13 — Warren and Sandra Strain (#25!)

March 15 — Dn. Richard and Sh. Margaret Root (#44!)

March 27 — Sam and Anne Habeeb (#15!)

Happy Birthdays in March:

March 6 — Amy Surratt

March 9 — Ian Jones

March 12 — Alexa Zouboukos

— Gabriella Alaeetawi (#16!)

March 17 — Cliff Stewart

March 20 — Charlotte Wood

March 24 — Brenden Skirtech (#15!)

March 26 — Katherine Habeeb (#11!)

March 29 — Sophie Dansereau (#8!)

— Hazel Dansereau (#2!)

March 30 — Aidan Milnor (#13!)

ead of ManHead of Maonasteries

Quotable: “What is to be done? Be patient, they say, and go on working. Patience and labour are exercised, but all within remains the same. At last someone of experience is found who explains that all is inwardly in disorder because the forces within are divided: mind and heart each go their own way. Mind and heart must be united; then wandering of thoughts will cease, and you will gain a rudder to steer the ship of your soul, a lever by which to set in movement all your inner world. But how can one unite mind and heart? Acquire the habit of praying these words with the mind in the heart, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me’. And this prayer, when you learn to perform it properly, or rather when it comes to be grafted to the heart, will lead you to the end which you desire. It will unite your mind with your heart, it will cut off your wandering thoughts, and give you the power to govern the movements of your soul.”

St. Theophan the Recluse

Worship: Sunday, March 10, 2019 (Sunday of Cheese Fare; Sunday of Forgiveness)

Scripture: Romans 13:11-14:4; Matthew 6:14-21

Celebrant: Father John

Epistle Reader: Brenda Baker

Prosphora: Brock

Coffee Hour: POT LUCK MEAL

Set-up: Schelver/Karam/Pacurari