March 1, 2020
Sunday of Forgiveness
Cheese Fare Sunday
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 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 1 (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, March 2
[CLEAN
MONDAY – GREAT LENT BEGINS]
6:30 P.M. — Canon of St. Andrew of Crete
Father John’s Day Off
Tuesday, March 3
6:30 a.m. — Lenten Orthros
6:30 p.m. — Canon of St. Andrew of Crete
Wednesday, March 4
6:30 p.m. — Presanctified Liturgy followed by Soup Supper
Thursday, March 5
6:30 a.m. — Lenten Orthros
11:30 a.m. — Men’s Lunch
6:30 p.m. — Canon of St. Andrew of Crete
Friday, March 6
6:30 p.m. — Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos
Saturday, March 7
5:45 p.m. — Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, March 8 (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. Peter
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Morrises for the Divine Liturgy this morning.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
March 1 Morris Baker/D. Root/Dansereau
March 8 Jones Katool/Davis/Algood/Baba
March 15 Meadows Schelver/Karam/Pacurari
March 22 Davis Habeeb/Jones/Turner
March 24 (Tues. p.m.) D. Root Christina Katool
(Feast of the Annunciation)
March 29 Karam Ellis/Zouboukos/Waites
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#
March 1 Brenda Baker Rom. 13:11-14:4 279
March 8 Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 11:24-26, 32-40 281
March 15 Sh. Charlotte Algood Heb. 1:10-2:3 283
March 22 Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver Heb. 4:14-5:6 285
March 24 (Tues. p.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 2:11-18 376
March 29 Mildred Morris Heb. 6:13-20 287
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.
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; 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 at Baptist Hospital following a stroke on December 23rd.
Nicholas Zouboukos and his family. Nicholas is back in classes at Ole Miss but continues to undergo evaluation for a GI disorder.
Aidan Milnor and his family. Aidan is continuing to recover from his illness at home.
All those in our parish affected by the recent floods.
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.
Pledge Letters were mailed recently. Please fill these out and return them as soon as possible.
Tax letters for 2019 Donations were mailed recently. Please let Kh. Sharon know if you did not receive yours, or if there were any discrepancies in the amount listed.
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 March
Beginning with Clean Monday on March 2nd, 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 12th, when fish, wine and oil are permitted).
Major Commemorations for March
March 1 Cheese Fare Sunday
March 2 Clean Monday (Great Lent begins)
March 8 Sunday of Orthodoxy
March 9 Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
March 15 2nd Sunday of Lent; Gregory Palamas
March 16 Christodoulos, the Wonder-worker of Patmos
March 22 3rd Sunday of Lent; Adoration of the Holy Cross
March 25 Feast of the Annunciation
March 26 Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel
March 29 4th Sunday of Lent; John Climacus
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.
* Schedule for the special Services of the First Week in Great Lent:
Sunday, March 1st, 6:30 p.m. – Forgiveness Vespers
Monday, March 2nd, 6:30 p.m. — Canon of St. Andrew of Crete
Tuesday, March 3rd, 6:30 p.m.
Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church 
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