June 30, 2024

First Sunday after Pentecost

Commemoration of All Saints and Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles

The Church commemorates and remembers all of its saints at three times during the year; in anticipation of Christmas, at the beginning of Lent, and immediately after Pentecost. On all three days we are reminded of the unified body of God’s people and of the holiness they have achieved and for which we strive. These two things are not abnormal and removed from us; they are truth and reality. On this day we are especially reminded of the strength of the saints and their victories, and we move from the day of Pentecost, the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit, to join God’s people in our victorious procession, through purifying trial and sacrifice, to the Day of the Lord.

Hebrews 11:33-12:2: Brethren, all the saints through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and scourging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were killed with the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering over deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfection of our faith.

Matthew 9:36-10:8: At that time, when Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His Disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” And He called to Him His twelve Disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. The names of the twelve Apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him. These twelve Jesus sent out, charging them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And preach as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay.”

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 All Saints: Thy Church, O Christ God, hast regaled herself in the blood of thy Martyrs throughout all the world, as in porphyry and purple. Through them she lifts her voice, crying, Turn with thy compassion to thy people, and grant peace to thy city, and to the souls the Great Mercy.

Troparion of the Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles: O Holy Apostles, intercede with our merciful God, to grant our souls forgiveness of sins.

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 All Saints: To thee, O Lord and Author of all creation, the universe offers as first-fruits of nature the divinity-bearing Martyrs. Wherefore, by their imploring preserve thy Church in perfect safety, for the sake of the Theotokos, O most Merciful.

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, June 30 (Sunday of All Saints; Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles)

8:50 a.m. – Orthros

10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy (webcast)

Monday, July 1 (Cosmas and Damian of Rome)

Father Herman off

Tuesday, July 2 (Deposition of the Robe of the Theotokos)

NO Services

Wednesday, July 3

5:20 p.m. – Catechism Class

6:30 p.m. – Daily Vespers

Thursday, July 4

NO Services

Friday, July 5 (Athanasios of Athos)

NO Services

Saturday, July 6

4:30 p.m. – Chanters’ Practice

5:00 p.m. – Catechumen Class

6:00 p.m. – Great Vespers

Sunday, July 7 (Second Sunday after Pentecost; Great-martyr Kyriaki)

8:50 a.m. – Orthros

10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy (webcast)

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Schelvers for the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul yesterday morning and by the Joneses for the Divine Liturgy this morning.

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.

Eucharist Bread Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

June 30 Jones D. Root/Baker

July 7 Meadows Meadows/Alaeetawi

July 14 Davis POT LUCK MEAL

D. Root/Lively

July 21 D. Root Miller/Weatherly

July 28 Karam Lasseter/Pacurari/Lavric

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#

June 30 Brenda Baker Heb. 11:33-12:2 84

July 7 Kh. Sharon Meadows Gal. 3:23-4:5 160

July 14 Brenda Baker Titus 3:8-15 322

July 21 Walt Wood Rom. 6:18-23 102

July 28 Reader Basil Baker Rom. 10:1-10 108

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; Sh. Charlotte Algood 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; Galina Singletary; Emily and Cole Parker; Dane and Stephanie Skirtech.

His Grace Bp. NICHOLAS will make his next Arch-pastoral visit August 10-12. The schedule for this visit will be forthcoming.

Father Herman will be out July 22 -26 for the Clergy Symposium at the Antiochian Village. If you need a priest during this time, please contact one of the other priests.

On Saturday, August 3 at 9:00 a.m. we will be baptizing Jenny Rodriquez and chrismating Bryce Henderson, Grady Fisher, and Kurtis Petrel into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Please continue to keep them in your prayers as they become members of Christ’s Holy Church.

The Sacred Music Institute for the Archdiocese is scheduled for July 10-14 at the Antiochian Village. Several members of our choir will be attending.

The Assembly of Orthodox Bishops in North America has designated the last Sunday in July (28th) Prison Ministry Awareness Sunday. Our Hierarchs are reminding us to consider how we might serve those in prison. They are calling us again to remember the words of Christ Himself: “I was in prison, and you visited Me.” In keeping with these words of Christ, we, as a parish, will be hosting a letter writing night on Wednesday July 31st after Daily Vespers. If you would be interested in participating in this letter writing night please see Will Lively. This is a wonderful opportunity to minister to those who are incarcerated and are in desperate need of encouragement and love. Please consider participating.

On Sunday, June 16th, we began to phase out the individual snacks available at Coffee Hour and return to the way we did it prior to Co-vid. The church will provide beef sticks, cheese cubes, crackers, cookies and orange juice. Those in charge of a Coffee Hour may bring other things if they so desire, but this is NOT obligatory. Please limit these items to fruit, veggies and a cake if there is a celebration. Coffee Hour is not meant to be a meal, but a means to break the fast with a snack and visit with each other. (We will still have our Monthly Pot Luck Meals.) During Fasting seasons, the church will provide bagels, peanut butter, jams, jellies, cookies and orange juice. Since this will involve a little more with clean-up, we ask that everyone pitch in to help the families hosting Coffee Hour, just as we do with our Pot Luck Meals. Instruction sheets for set-up for both Non-fasting and Fasting Coffee Hours are located on the bureau in the foyer and also taped to the Refrigerator in the kitchen.

** We ask that families go through the Coffee Hour line together, so that children are under the supervision of their parents. **

NO children are allowed to be in the pantry or in the refrigerator and children under the age of 12 are not allowed in the kitchen without the presence of a parent or a responsible adult. Children under the age of 12 are not allowed to access the icemaker. Parents, we ask for your assistance with enforcing this policy. Thank you.

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.

* The Fast of the Dormition begins on August 1st and runs through the 15th. As is our parish custom we will pray the Paraklesis service to the Theotokos on Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings during the fast with the exception of Monday the 5th and Wednesday the 14th. On those evenings we will have Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy in celebration of the Feasts of the Transfiguration of our Lord and the Dormition of the Theotokos.

* Saturday, August 3rd – Baptism and Chrismations, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

* His Grace, Bishop NICHOLAS will be with us August 10-12 (Schedule TBA).

* Remaining Stewpot date for 2024 will be November 30th.

Fasting Discipline for July

The traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) will be observed on all Wednesdays and Fridays of the month.

Major Commemorations for July

July 1 Cosmas and Damian of Rome

July 2 Deposition of the robe of the Theotokos

July 5 Athanasios of Athos

July 7 Great-martyr Kyriaki

July 11 Euphemia the All-praised

July 17 Great-martyr Marina

July 20 Prophet Elias

July 27 Great-martyr Panteleimon

Quotable: “Everyone has a cross to carry. Why? Since the leader of our faith endured the cross, we will also endure it. On one hand, the cross is sweet and light, but, on the other, it can also be bitter and heavy. It depends on our will. If you bear Christ’s cross with love then it will be very light; like a sponge or a cork. But if you have a negative attitude, it becomes heavy; too heavy to lift.”

Elder Ephraim of Katounakia

Worship: Sunday, July 7, 2024 (Second Sunday after Pentecost; Great-martyr Kyriaki)

Scripture: Galatians 3:23-4:5; Matthew 4:18-23

Epistle Reader: Kh. Sharon Meadows

Prosphora: Meadows

Coffee Hour: Meadows/Alaeetawi