January 26, 2020

Thirty-second Sunday after Pentecost

I Timothy 4:9-15: From our reading in St Paul’s first letter to Timothy, we hear him exhort

Timothy to teach concerning God, the Savior of all men, and by his conduct to be an example of godliness to unbelievers.

Luke 19:1-10: In the story of Zaccheus we are reminded of why the Only-begotten Son of the

Father became incarnate: to save mankind from our sin and its consequences.

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 the Presentation: Thou, O Christ God, who by your Birth, didst sanctify the Virgin’s womb, and as is meet, didst bless Simeon’s arms, and didst also come to save us, preserve thy fold in wars, and confirm them whom thou didst love; for thou alone art the Lover of mankind.

CALENDAR

Sunday, January 26 (Thirty-second Sunday after Pentecost)

8:50 a.m. — Orthros

9:00 a.m. — Christian Education

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy

Monday, January 27 (John Chrysostom)

Father John’s Day Off

Tuesday, January 28

6:30 a.m. — Daily Orthros

12:00 p.m. — Ladies Lunch

Wednesday, January 29

6:30 p.m. — Daily Vespers

7:15 p.m. — Choir Practice

7:30 p.m. — Parish Council Meeting

Thursday, January 30 (The Three Hierarchs)

6:30 a.m. — Festal Orthros

Friday, January 31 (Cyros and John the Unmercenary Healers)

Saturday, February 1

10:30 a.m. — Baptism of Henry Wood

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

Sunday, February 2 (Presentation of our Lord in the Temple)

8:50 a.m. — Orthros

9:00 a.m. — Christian Education

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy

12:00 p.m. — POT LUCK MEAL

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

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.

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

January 26 Brock Habeeb/Jones/Turner

February 2 Baker POT LUCK MEAL

Set-up: Ellis/Zouboukos/Waites

February 9 Henderson Henderson/Lockhart/Alaeetawi/Cooper

February 16 Algood Stewart/Meadows

February 22 (Sat. a.m.) Katool Rebecca Dansereau

(Saturday of the Souls) Koliva: Sh. Charlotte Algood

February 23 Schelver Pigott/Meadows

Schedule for Epistle Readers – Page numbers refer to the Apostolos (book of the Epistles) located on the chanters stand at the front of the nave. Please be sure to use this book when you read.

Reader Reading Page#

January 26 Sam Habeeb I Tim. 4:9-15 252

February 2 Sh. Charlotte Algood Heb. 7:7-17 371

February 9 Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver II Tim. 3:10-15 258

February 16 Mildred Morris I Cor. 6:12-20 265

February 22 (Sat. a.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows I Cor. 10:23-26 271

February 23 Sam Habeeb I Cor. 8:8-9:2 273

Please be reminded that the Sacristy/Vestry which is adjacent to and behind the altar in our church is considered by the Orthodox Church to be part of the Sanctuary (Altar area) and should not be entered without the blessing of the priest for a specific purpose. If you need to speak with a member of the clergy while they are in the Sanctuary, please ask them to come to you in the nave.

Please be reminded of the following:

Be very careful with the Blessed Bread when you take it after communion. Because this bread has been blessed, we should take care not to let crumbs fall on the floor. Parents, especially, please help your children to choose a small piece and treat it carefully.

Also, at the end of the liturgy, maintain a prayerful disposition during the veneration of the cross as the prayers of thanksgiving after communion are still underway. Please exchange your greetings with each other in the Fellowship Hall during Coffee Hour.

Please remember the following in your prayers: Steve, Sheryl Chamblee; Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Sam and Lamia Dabit; 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; Dn. Noah and Sh. 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; Emad and Natalia Alaeetawi and their family; Tom and Kathy Willingham..

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

Please continue to pray for the following members of St. Peter:

Warren Strain and their family. Warren is hospitalized in the ICU at St. Dominic’s following a stroke on December 23rd.

Nicholas Zouboukos and his family. Nickolas has recovered from his pneumonia and will be undergoing tests for a GI disorder in the future.

Aidan Milnor and his family. Aidan is now recovering from his illness at home.

A Benevolence account has been established at St. Peter to help the Strain family deal with Warren’s medical bills and other needs. If you would like to make a donation to this fund, please note on your check that it is for the Warren Strain Benevolence Fund. 100% of these funds will go to the Strain family.

We welcome Leonid Ivanovski into the fellowship of St. Peter’s. Leonid is a Serbian Orthodox Christian who has recently taken a job here and relocated from her home in Michigan.

Henry Wood (son of Thomas and Katie Wood) will be baptized on Saturday morning, February 1st, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Dale Cooper will be his Godfather. Please keep them in your prayers.

Calendar Items:

* The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month. However, they will meet on the third Thursday in July (only).

* 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 Feast of the Presentation of our Lord in Temple with a POT LUCK MEAL on Sunday, February 2nd. (As a result, there will be no Pot Luck Meal on the second Sunday of the month, as is our parish custom.)

* The Annual Lebanese Dinner at St. George in Vicksburg is on Monday, February 10th.

* The Saturday of the Souls will be celebrated on Saturday morning, February 22nd with Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

* Stewpot Dates: February 22nd and August 22nd.

* Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers will take place at St. Peter this year on Sunday evening, March 8th. More information will be available shortly.

Pledge Letters were mailed earlier this week. Please fill these out and return them as soon as possible.

Tax letters for 2019 Donations will be mailed shortly. Please let Kh. Sharon know if you do not receive yours, or if there are any discrepancies in the amount listed.

House Blessings! A sign-up sheet is available in the Fellowship Hall to sign up to have your home blessed. You may also e-mail Father John at frjohnc with 3 dates for your house 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 (March 2nd this year).

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.

If severe weather is in the area please check our website or facebook page for information on services. If it is ever necessary to cancel any of our services due to severe weather conditions, this will be posted on those sites.

Fasting Discipline for January

Following the Feast of Theophany the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) is observed on the remaining Wednesdays and Fridays of the month.

Major Commemorations for January

January 27 John Chrysostom

January 30 The Three Hierarchs

January 31 Cyros and John the Unmercenary Healers

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: “Man, without being himself infinite, not only is fit, but is also thirsty for the infinite and precisely for this reason is also capable of, and longs for, God, the true and only infinite (homo capax divini—man capable of the divine). He has a capacity and is thirsty for the infinite not in the sense that he is in a state to win it, to absorb it in his nature—because then human nature itself would become infinite—but in the sense that he can and must be nourished spiritually from the infinite, and infinitely. He seeks and is able to live in a continual communication with it. But man didn’t want to be satisfied with this sharing in the infinite; he wanted to become himself the center of the infinite, or he believed that he is such a center; he let himself be tricked by nature’s thirst for the infinite.”

Dumitru Staniloae, Orthodox Spirtuality

Worship: Sunday, February 2, 2020 (Feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple)

Scripture: Hebrews 7:7-17; Luke 2:22-40

Celebrant: Father John

Epistle Reader: Sh. Charlotte Algood

Prosphora: Baker

Coffee Hour: POT LUCK MEAL

Set-up: Ellis/Zouboukos/Waites