March 17, 2024

Sunday of Forgiveness (Cheese Fare)

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 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: Brethren, now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk becomingly, as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in chambering and licentiousness, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. But as for the one who is weak in faith, receive him, but not for disputes over opinions. For one believes he may eat anything; but the weak person eats herbs. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to be the judge over the servant of a stranger? To his own master he either stands or falls; but he will be made to stand; for God is able to make him stand.

Matthew 6:14-21: The Lord said to His Disciples: If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father Who is in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret will reward you. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Troparion of the Resurrection: O compassionate One, thou didst descend from the heights; thou didst submit to the three-day burial, that thou might deliver us from passion. Thou art our Life and our Resurrection, 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 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

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 17 (Sunday of Cheese Fare; Forgiveness Sunday)

8:50 a.m. – Orthros

9:00 a.m. – Christian Education

10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy (webcast)

12:00 p.m. – Teen Fundraising Meal

6:30 p.m. – Forgiveness Vespers

Monday, March 18

Father Herman off

6:30 p.m. – Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

Tuesday, March 19

6:30 p.m. – Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

Wednesday, March 20

6:30 p.m. – Presanctified Liturgy followed by Soup Supper

Thursday, March 21

6:30 p.m. – Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

Friday, March 22

6:30 p.m. – Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos

Saturday, March 23

4:30 p.m. – Choir Practice

6:00 p.m. – Great Vespers

Sunday, March 24 (Sunday of Orthodoxy; First Sunday of Great Lent)

8:50 a.m. – Orthros (webcast)

9:00 a.m. – Christian Education

10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy (webcast)

(The Procession of the Icons will be done during the Divine Liturgy)

6:00 p.m. – Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia for the Feast of Annunciation

At Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Clinton

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Eucharist Bread …was offered by Karams 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 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 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.

Congratulations and Many Years! to Sam and Dana Dabit on the baptism of their daughter Samantha yesterday morning. Please keep Samantha, her godmother Tiffany Mychaskiw and 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.

If your child is registered for summer camp at Camp St. Thekla, please let Father Herman know ASAP so that he can apply for the scholarships through the Order of St. Ignatius by March 31st.

The Church Workday that was scheduled for yesterday has been rescheduled for April. The date will be forthcoming.

The time for the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Annunciation on Monday, March 25th has been changed on the calendar from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

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.

* During Great Lent we will have the Pre-sanctified Liturgy on Wednesday evenings instead of Daily Vespers. As is our parish custom, we will have pot-luck Soup Suppers afterwards (except for Wednesday, April 17th, when we will have the complete Canon of St. Andrew of Crete with the reading of the Life of St. Mary of Egypt instead of the Pre-sanctified Liturgy).

* This year the Sunday of Orthodoxy falls on the Paramon (Forefeast)of the Annunciation. So instead of our usual custom, we will have Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia for the Feast of the Annunciation with our sister churches at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Clinton, beginning at 6:00 p.m. We will have our usual procession of the icons during our Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning. Please be sure to bring your icons with you to the Liturgy that morning.

* The Feast of the Annunciation will be celebrated with Divine liturgy (only) on Monday morning, March 25th, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

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

Fasting Discipline for March

Beginning with Clean Monday on March 18th, the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) 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 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: “Fasting gradually disperses and drives away spiritual darkness and the veil of sin that lies on the soul, just as the sun dispels the mist. Fasting enables us spiritually to see that spiritual air in which Christ, the Sun who knows no setting, does not rise, but shines without ceasing. Fasting, aided by vigil, penetrates and softens hardness of heart. Where once were the vapors of drunkenness it causes fountains of compunction to spring forth.”

-St. Symeon the New Theologian, Discourses XI

Worship: Sunday, March 24, 2024 (First Sunday of Great Lent; Sunday of Orthodoxy)

Scripture: Hebrews11:24-26, 32-40; John1:43-51

Celebrant: Father Herman

Epistle Reader: Anastasia Jones

Prosphora: Brock

Coffee Hour: Algood/Schelver/I. Jones