August 28, 2022
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
I Corinthians 9:2-12: Brethren, you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who would examine me. Do we not have the right to our food and drink? Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a wife, as the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Do I say this on human authority? Does not the law say the same? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of a share in the crop. If we have sown spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits? If others share this rightful claim upon you, do not we still more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the Gospel of Christ.
Matthew 18:23-35: The Lord spoke this parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also My heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
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. Moses the Ethiopian: Thou didst prove to be a citizen of the desert, an angel in the flesh, and a wonderworker, O Moses, our God-bearing Father. By fasting, vigil, and prayer thou didst obtain heavenly gifts, and thou healest the sick and the souls of them that have recourse to thee in faith. Glory to Him that hath given thee strength. Glory to Him that hath crowned thee. Glory to Him that worketh healings for all through 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 Nativity of the Theotokos: By thy holy birth-giving, O pure one, Joachim and Anne were delivered from the reproach of barrenness; and Adam and Eve were delivered from the corruption of death; thy people do celebrate it, having been saved from the stain of iniquity, crying unto thee, The barren doth give birth to the Theotokos, who nourisheth our life.
CALENDAR
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: All services listed on the calendar will be available through streaming and webcast.
Sunday, August 28
8:50 a.m. — Orthros (webcast)
10:00 a.m. — Divine Liturgy (webcast)
Monday, August 29 (Beheading of the Forerunner)
[STRICT FAST DAY]
Father Herman off
Tuesday, August 30
NO Services
1:00 p.m. — Ladies’ Lunch
Wednesday, August 31 (Deposition of the Belt of the Theotokos)
6:30 p.m. — Daily Vespers
7:15 p.m. — Chanter Practice
Thursday, September 1 (Indiction of the Ecclesiastical Year)
September 1 marks the beginning of the ecclesiastical year. The liturgical year is a body of sacred “signs” which have a present effect. Each liturgical feast renews and actualizes the event of which it is the symbol; it takes the event out of the past and makes it immediate; it offers us the appropriate grace; it becomes the “effectual sign.” The liturgical year is a special means of union with Christ. Every Eucharist unites us intimately with Christ, for in it He is “both He who offers and He who is offered.” Every prayer, being the prayer of the members of the mystical body, shares in the prayer of Him who is the Head of the Body and the only One whose prayer is perfect. We are called to relive the whole life of Christ: from Christmas to Easter, from Easter to Pentecost, we are exhorted to unite ourselves to Christ in his birth and in his growth, to Christ suffering, to Christ dying, to Christ in triumph and to Christ inspiring His Church. The liturgical year forms Christ in us; the liturgical year is Christ Himself, annus est Christus. It includes the cycle of feasts of the saints, the glorified members of the body of Christ. Their sanctity is but an aspect, a shining ray of the holiness of Christ Himself. To celebrate the feast of a saint is to celebrate a special grace that flows from Christ to that saint and so to us. In the same way that the feasts of our Lord in a mysterious way renew the events of His life, so the feasts of the saints make their lives, their merits and their deaths mysteriously actual. Commemorations of the martyrs renew the grace of their violent deaths, so that, as these were a participation in the passion of Christ, this passion is relived in remembering the martyrs. The liturgical year has but one and the same object, Jesus Christ; whether we contemplate Him directly or through the members of His body. Great graces and great spiritual opportunities are offered us during the course of the liturgical year. It provides a frame and support for Christian piety; it gives it a style which is sober and objective; it maintains a bond of unity among believers. Above all, it communicates an inspiration and transmits a life. It acquires its true meaning to the extent that it becomes an adoration in spirit, in truth.
(Excerpted and paraphrased from The Year of Grace of the Lord)
NO Services
Friday, September 2
NO Services
Saturday, September 3
Sunday, September 4 (Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost)
8:50 a.m. — Orthros (webcast)
10:00 a.m. — Hierarchical Divine Liturgy (webcast)
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Karams for the Divine Liturgy this morning.
Eucharist Bread Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
August 28 Karam Dansereau/Alaeetawi
September 4 Brock Meadows/Pigott
September 7 (Wed. p.m.) Meadows (Artoklasia bread) NO Coffee Hour
(Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos)
September 11 R. Root POT LUCK MEAL
Algood/Schelver
September 13 (Tues. .m.) Pacurari Lasseter/Pacurari/Miller
(Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross)
September 18 Baker D. Root/Baker/Cooper
September 25 Henderson Henderson/Jones
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.
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#
August 28 Brenda Baker I Cor. 9:2-12 141
September 4 Sam Habeeb I Cor. 15:1-11 146
September 11 Walt Wood Gal. 6:11-18 198
September 13 (Tues. p.m. Kh. Sharon Meadows I Cor. 1:18-24 311-312
September 18 Sh. Charlotte Algood Gal. 2:16-20 193
September 25 Ian Jones II Cor. 4:6-15 163
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.
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.
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 has been opened and necessary information has been emailed.
There will be NO Great Vespers service on Saturday, September 3rd.
Instructions for streaming our services can be found on the parish website.
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.
* September 1st is the Indiction of the Ecclesiastical Year. We will have the Prayers of Indiction at the end of The Divine Liturgy TODAY.
* The remaining date for Stewpot for 2022 is Saturday, September 3rd.
* We will celebrate the Heirarchical Divine Liturgy with His Grace, Bishop NICHOLAS on Sunday, September 4th.
* We will celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos with Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia on Wednesday evening, September 8th, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
* Church School will resume on Sunday September 11th at 9:00 a.m.
* The Feast of the Precious and Life-giving Cross will be celebrated with Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy on Tuesday evening, September 13th, beginning at 6:00 p.m.
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/September
Following the 15th, the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) is observed on the remaining Wednesdays and Fridays of the month. The feast-day of the Beheading of the Forerunner on August 29th is a strict fast day. In September, the traditional fasting discipline is observed on all Wednesdays and Fridays of the month. The Feast of the Elevation of the Cross on September 14th is also a strict fast day.
Major Commemorations for August/September
August 29 Beheading of the Forerunner
August 31 Deposition of the Belt of the Theotokos
September 1 Indiction of the Ecclesiastical Year
September 6 Miracle of the Archangel Michael
September 8 Nativity of the Theotokos
September 9 Righteous Joachim and Anna
September 13 Dedication of the Church of the Anastasis
September 14 Elevation of the Precious Life-giving Cross
September 23 Conception of the Forerunner
September 24 Proto-martyr Thekla
September 26 Apostle John the Theologian (repose)
Quotable “As a permanent state, repentance is an inner stance of fear of God, the remembrance of death, and—above all—humility; by which man comes to know again with sadness his infirmity, his weakness, and his nothingness before God.”
Elder Sergei of Vanves
Worship: Sunday, September 4, 2022 (Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost)
Scripture: I Corinthians 15:1-11; Matthew 19:16-26
Celebrant: Father Herman
Epistle Reader: Sam Habeeb
Prosphora: Brock
Coffee Hour: Meadows/Pigott
Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church 