July 31, 2022

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Romans 15:1-7: Brethren, we who are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good for his edification. For Christ also did not please Himself; but, as it is written: “The reproaches of those who reproached Thee fell on Me.” For whatever was written beforehand was written for our learning, that we might have hope, through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus, that with one accord and one mouth you may glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, receive one another, even as Christ has also received you, to the glory of God.

Matthew 9:27-35: At that time, as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud: “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” When He entered the house, the blind men came to Him; and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly charged them, “See that no one knows it.” But they went away and spread His fame through all that district. As they were going away, behold, a dumb demoniac was brought to Him. And when the demon had been cast out, the dumb man spoke; and the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.” And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity.

Troparion of the Resurrection: When Mary stood at thy grave looking for thy sacred body, angelic powers shone above thy revered tomb, and the soldiers who were to keep guard became as dead men. Thou led hades captive and wast not tempted thereby. Thou didst meet the Virgin and didst give life to the world; O thou who art risen from the dead! O Lord, glory to thee.

Troparion of St. Eudokimos: The One that hath called thee from earth to Heaven to dwell preserveth thy body uncorrupted after thy death, O saintly Eudokimos; for in living modestly and chastely, O blest one, thou didst keep thy flesh free of all stain and defilement; with boldness, therefore, pray unto Christ that we all be saved.

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 Transfiguration: Thou wast transfigured on the mount, and thy Disciples, in so far as they were able, beheld thy glory, O Christ our God; so that, when they should see thee crucified, they would remember that thy suffering was voluntary, and could declare to all the world that thou art truly the effulgent Splendor of the Father.

CALENDAR

UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: All services listed on the calendar will be available through streaming and webcast.

Please continue to follow the CDC Guidelines to limit contagion and the spread of the COVID virus.

Sunday, July 31 (Seventh Sunday after Pentecost)

9:00 a.m. — Orthros (webcast)

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy (webcast)

Monday, August 1 (Procession of the Holy Cross)

Father Herman off

6:30 p.m. — Paraklesis Service

Tuesday, August 2

NO Services

Wednesday, August 3

6:30 p.m. — Paraklesis Service

7:15 p.m. — Chanters’ Practice

Thursday, August 4

NO Services

11:30 a.m. — Men’s Lunch

Friday, August 5

6:30 p.m. — Paraklesis Service

Saturday, August 6 (Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord)

Before His Passion, Jesus ascended Mount Tabor with His disciples Peter, James and John, for the purpose of prayer. There the three disciples beheld Him transfigured and saw a vision in which Moses the Lawgiver (shown on the icon on the right holding the tablets of the Law) and Elijah the Prophet appeared and spoke with Him. “And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with Him” (Matt. 17:2-3). The fact that Moses and Elijah appeared at the Transfiguration is very significant in that these two men were the leading figures of the Old Testament – which confirms the fact that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (see Matthew 5:17). Their presence confirmed that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Messiah whom the people of the Old Testament had been anticipating. The Gospel account also says that a voice from a bright cloud said “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to Him” (Matt. 17:5), further confirming the person of Jesus as the divine Messiah. When the three disciples saw and heard these things they fell on their faces and were filled with awe (this is shown on the icon by the way Peter, James and John are depicted at the foot of the mount). When they came down the mountain Jesus told His disciples to “tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead” (Matt. 17:9). Jesus did not want everyone to know what had happened until the time was right. The Kontakion of the feast gives understanding as to why Jesus allowed Peter, James and John to be present at His transfiguration: “On the mountain wast Thou transfigured, O Christ God, and Thy disciples beheld Thy glory as far as they could see it; so that when they would behold Thee crucified, they would understand that Thy suffering was voluntary, and would proclaim to the world that Thou art truly the Radiance of the Father.”

9:00 a.m. — Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy

4:45 p.m. — Choir Practice

6:00 p.m. — Great Vespers

Sunday, August 7 (Eighth Sunday after Pentecost)

9:00 a.m. — Orthros (webcast)

10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy (webcast)

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

Eucharist Bread Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

July 31 Algood Algood/Schelver

August 6 (Sat. a.m.) Schelver Lasseter/Pacurari/Miller

August 7 Morris D. Root/Baker/Cooper

August 14 Jones POT LUCK MEAL

Henderson/Jones

August 21 D. Root Dansereau/Alaeetawi

August 28 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#

July 31 Brenda Baker Rom. 15:1-7 119

August 6 (Sat. a.m.) Walt Wood II Pet. 1:10-19 401

August 7 Walt Wood I Cor. 1:10-17 124

August 14 Kh. Sharon Meadows I Cor. 3:9-17 130

August 21 Sh. Charlotte Algood I Cor. 4:9-16 135

August 28 Brenda Baker I Cor. 9:2-12 141

Also, please remember that we still need your tithes and offerings which may be placed in the tray that is passed during the Divine Liturgy, in the tithe box at the back of the nave or be mailed to: St. Peter Orthodox Church, P.O. Box 2084, Madison, MS 39130-2084.

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 remember the following in your prayers: Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Lamia Dabit and her family; Mary Greene (Lee and Kh. Sharon’s sister); Jay and Joanna Davis; Fr. Leo and Kh. Be’Be’ Schelver and their family; Kathy Willingham; Marilyn (Kyriake) Snell; Jack and Jill Weatherly; Lottie Dabbs (Sh. Charlotte Algood’s mother), Sh. Charlotte and their family; Maria Costas (currently at St. Catherine’s Village); Reader Basil and Brenda Baker and their family; Buddy Cooper.

If you are not feeling well, PLEASE do not attempt to come to the services. This also includes anyone who may have been exposed to you during this time. Also, please let Fr. Herman know if you are not feeling well and have COVID like symptoms.

Many thanks to Daniel and Elizabeth Root and all those volunteers who helped to make this year’s Vacation Church School a success!

His Grace Bishop NICHOLAS will be with us for the wedding of Tiffany Strain on September 3rd and will be serving Hierarchical Divine Liturgy that Sunday.

Father Herman will be on vacation the week of August 8-12. Father John will be covering for him that week.

We will celebrate the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos on Sunday, August 14th instead of Monday, August 15th. Please be aware of this transfer. Since we are celebrating the feast on that Sunday, our scheduled Pot Luck will be a festal and not a fasting meal.

Please mark your calendars now for this year’s Diocesan Fall Retreat. It will be hosted by St. Ignatius in Franklin, TN again this year, on September 9-10. Registration will be available soon.

Calendar Items:

* The men of the parish meet for lunch at 11:30 a.m. on the first Thursday of the month.

* The Ladies meet at the church at 10:00 a.m. on the second Saturday of the month to pray the Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children on behalf of our children.

* The Ladies meet for lunch on the last Tuesday of the month.

* The Fast of the Dormition begins on August 1st and runs until the 15th. As is our custom during the fast, we will pray the Paraklesis service to the Theotokos on the Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays of the first two weeks of August. We have been given permission to celebrate the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos on Sunday morning, August 14th since the feast falls on Monday this year.

* We will celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord with Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy on Saturday, August 6th, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

* The remaining date for Stewpot for 2022 is Saturday, September 3rd.

PARENTS, a problem has arisen due to the nursery room being left messy after Coffee Hour. No food of any kind should be taken into that room. Also, it is necessary for a parent to be in the room whenever their children are in there playing. Thank you for your assistance with this.

Fasting Discipline for August

The Fast of the Dormition begins tomorrow and runs through August 15th. During this time the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) is observed on all days of the week, except Saturday and Sunday when wine and oil are allowed and August 6th (Feast of the Transfiguration) when fish, wine and oil are allowed. Following the 15th, the traditional fasting discipline is observed on the remaining Wednesdays and Fridays of the month. The feastday of the Beheading of the Forerunner on August 29th is a strict fast day.

Major Commemorations for August

August 1 Procession of the Holy Cross

August 6 Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord

August 15 Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos

August 25 Apostles Bartholomew and Titus

August 29 Beheading of the Forerunner

August 31 Deposition of the Belt of the Theotokos

Instructions for streaming our services can be found on the parish website.

Quotable “While we are living improperly, we fear all kinds of things. When we recognize God, there occurs a fear of judgement. But when we start to love God, all fear vanishes.”

St. Isaac the Syrian

Worship: Sunday, August 7, 2022 (Eighth Sunday after Pentecost; After-feast of the Transfiguration)

Scripture: I Corinthians 1:10-17; Matthew 14:14-22

Celebrant: Father Herman

Epistle Reader: Walt Wood

Prosphora: Morris

Coffee Hour: D. Root/Baker/Cooper