March 3, 2024

Sunday of the Prodigal Son

Yes, it is that time again. Lent begins on Monday, March 18th, but we begin the preparations for the journey of “bright-sadness” by especially dealing with our hearts and our spiritual condition. In her wisdom the Church is a great aid to us, for the four Sundays before Lent carry special themes that enable us to examine ourselves.

The theme of the third Sunday before Lent is RETURN FROM EXILE and the Gospel lesson of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) is read. We are taught by this lesson that even as we stray from God, a banquet is set for our return. And we find that nothing in this fallen world truly satisfies, and thus we find ourselves on a pilgrimage of repentance – returning to God.

I Corinthians 6:12-20: Brethren, all things are lawful for me, but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the authority of anything. Foods are for the belly, and the belly for foods; but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body; and God both raised up the Lord, and will also raise us up through His power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore take away the members of Christ, and make them members of a harlot? God forbid! Or, do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For, “The two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body, but whoever commits fornication sins against his own body. Or, do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have received from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Luke 15:11-32: The Lord spoke this parable: “There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.’ And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into March 03, 2024 Liturgy Variables 2 The Prodigal Son a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to make merry. Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

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 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 Prodigal Son: Foolishly I sprang away from Thy great fatherly glory, and dispersed in wicked deeds the riches that Thou didst give me. With the Prodigal I therefore cry unto Thee now: I have sinned against Thee, O compassionate Father. But receive me in repentance; make me as one of Thy hired servants, O Lord.

CALENDAR

UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: All services listed on the calendar will be available through streaming and webcast. (Instructions can be found on the parish website.)

Sunday, March 3 (Sunday of the Prodigal Son)

8:50 a.m. – Orthros

9:00 a.m. – Christian Education

10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy (webcast)

Monday, March 4

Father Herman off

Tuesday, March 5

NO Services

Wednesday, March 6

6:30 p.m. – Daily Vespers

Thursday, March 7

NO Services

11:00 a.m. – Men’s Lunch

Friday, March 8

NO Services

Saturday, March 9 (Forty Martyrs of Sebaste; Saturday of the Souls)

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

4:30 p.m. – Choir Practice

6:00 p.m. – Great Vespers

Sunday, March 10 (Sunday of Meat Fare)

8:50 a.m. – Orthros (webcast)

9:00 a.m. – Christian Education

10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy (webcast)

12:00 p.m. – POT LUCK MEAL

5:30 p.m. – Book Study with Father John

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

March is Ladies Month in our Archdiocese. Please allow the Ladies to receive Holy Communion first. This month ladies will also be reading the Epistle during the Divine Liturgy.

Eucharist Bread Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

March 3 Meadows Meadows/Pacurari/Cooper

March 9 (Sat. a.m.) Davis Pigott/Stewart

(Saturday of the Souls) Koliva: Pacurari

March 10 D. Root POT LUCK MEAL
Ellis/Zouboukos/Waites

March 17 Karam TEENS FUNDRAISER MEAL

March 24 Brock Algood/Schelver/I. Jones

March 25 (Mon. a.m.) R. Root Lasseter/Miller

(Feast of the Annunciation)

March 31 Pacurari D. Root/Baker

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 3 Sophie Dansereau I Cor. 6:12-20 265

March 9 (Sat. a.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows Thess. 4:13-17 412

March 10 Brenda Baker I Cor. 8:8-9:2 273

March 17 Katie Miller Rom. 13:11-14:4 279

March 24 Anastasia Heb. 11:24-26, 32-40 281

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

March 31 Brenda Baker Heb. 1:10-2:3 283

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.

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; Reader Basil and Brenda Baker and their family; Buddy Cooper; Georgia and Bob Buchanan; Fr. Joseph Bittle; Steve and Sheryl Chamblee; Rick Carlton; Very Rev. Fr. Nicholas and Kh. Jan Speier; Dora Lambert (Dimitri Zouboukos’ fiancée); Lee Greene; Joseph, Amanda and Hunter Hines; Fr. John and Kh. Janet Henderson and their family.

Samantha Dabit, daughter of Sam and Dana Dabit, will be baptized Saturday March 16th, at 11:30 a.m. Please keep the Dabit family in your prayers.

Each year the Metropolitan assigns a project to the Antiochian Women and money is collected during Ladies’ Month. This year the AW Project is to establish an Endowment Fund to assist the widowed Clergy Wives in our Archdiocese. The Ladies of St. Peter will have a donation box available in the Fellowship Hall during Coffee Hour on Sundays for the entire month. Please consider giving generously to this very worthy cause.

Registration is now open for this year’s Parish Life Conference which will be held June 12-15th in Atlanta at the Hilton Peachtree City Atlanta Hotel and Conference Center and hosted by St. Stephen in Hiram. Please go to the Diocesan website (DOMSE.org) to register for the conference and for the hotel.

Camp St. Thekla registration opened on February 1st. If your children are going to camp, please register as soon as possible. If financial help is needed, please let Father Herman or Daniel know. This year the church will not be providing transportation to camp. If you have children going to camp who need a ride, please let Father Herman or Daniel know.

The book study group with Father John meets every other Sunday in the Fellowship Hall at 5:30 p.m. The next meeting will be March 10th.

There will be an icon writing workshop at Holy Resurrection July 8-13. The iconographer who will be teaching this class is Theodoros Papadopoulos. Tuition for this class is $780. For further information and enrollment, please visit the website http://www.theodoreicons.com/clinton. Holy Resurrection is only providing space for this class.

Calendar Items:

* The men of the parish meet for lunch at 11:00 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 at 1:00 p.m. on the last Tuesday of the month.

* Book Study – Sunday, March 10th.

* Stewpot dates for 2024 will be March 30th and November 30th.

Fasting Discipline for March

In March the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) is observed on Wednesday and Friday of the first week. Following Meatfare Sunday (March 10th), meat will no longer be eaten until Pascha. The week following Meatfare Sunday is Cheesefare week, when dairy products are allowed on all days of the week. Beginning with Clean Monday on March 18th, the traditional fasting discipline is observed on all days of the week until Pascha (except for the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25th and Palm Sunday on April 28th, when fish , wine and oil are permitted).

Major Commemorations for March

March 3 Sunday of the Prodigal Son

March 9 Forty Martyrs of Sebaste

Saturday of the Souls

March 10 Sunday of Meatfare

March 16 Christodoulos, Wonder-worker of Patmos

March 17 Sunday of Cheesefare

March 18 Clean Monday (Great Lent Begins)

March 24 1st Sunday of Lent; Sunday of Orthodoxy

March 25 Feast of the Annunciation

March 26 Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel

March 31 2nd Sunday of Lent; Commemoration of Gregory Palamas

Quotable: “We are told to hold in balance two complementary truths: without God’s grace we can do nothing; but without our voluntary cooperation God will do nothing…Our salvation results from the convergence of two factors, unequal in value yet both indispensable: divine initiative and human response. What God does is incomparably more important, but man’s participation is also required.”

Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, The Orthodox Way

Worship: Sunday, March 10, 2024 (Sunday of Meat Fare; Sunday of the Last Judgement)

Scripture: I Corinthians 8:8-9:2; Matthew 25:31-46

Celebrant: Father Herman

Epistle Reader: Brenda Baker

Prosphora: D. Root

Coffee Hour: POT LUCK MEAL

Ellis/Zouboukos/Waites