October 20, 2024

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

II Corinthians 6:16-7:1: Brethren, we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will live in them and move among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out from them, and be separate from them,” says the Lord, “and touch nothing unclean; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and make holiness perfect in the fear of God.

Luke 8:26-39: At that time, Jesus arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. And as He stepped out on land, there met Him a man from the city who had demons; for a long time he had worn no clothes, and he lived not in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, and said with a loud voice, “What hast Thou to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beseech Thee, do not torment me.” For Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. [For
many a time it had seized him; he was kept under guard, and bound with chains
and fetters, but he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the
desert.] Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. And they begged Jesus not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged Jesus to let them enter these. So He gave them leave. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how he who had been possessed with demons was healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked Jesus to depart from them; for they were seized with great fear; so He got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with Jesus; but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare all that God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city all that Jesus had done for him.

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 St. Artemius the Great-martyr: Thy Martyr, O Lord, in his courageous contest for Thee received as the prize the crown of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal God. For since he possessed Thy strength, he cast down the tyrants and wholly destroyed the demons’ strengthless presumption. O Christ our God, by his prayers, save our souls, since Thou art merciful.

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 Theotokos: O undisputed intercessor of Christians, O mediatrix, who is unrejected by the Creator, turn not away from the voice of our petitions though we be sinners; come to us in time, who cry to thee in faith, for thou art good. Hasten to us with intercessions, O Theotokos, who didst ever intercede for those who honor thee.

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, October 20 (Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost)

8:50 a.m. – Orthros

9:00 a.m. – Christian Education

10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy (webcast)

5:20 p.m. – Formal Reception of Bishop NICHOLAS

5:30 p.m. – Vespers

6:30 p.m. – Men’s Meeting with Bishop NICHOLAS and DOMSE AMEN

President Michael Baclig in the Fellowship Hall

Monday, October 21

10:00 a.m. – Daily Orthros

11:15 a.m. – Clergy Lunch with Bishop NICHOLAS

5:30 p.m. – Parish Council Dinner with Bishop NICHOLAS

Tuesday, October 22

NO Services

Wednesday, October 23 (Apostle James the Brother of the Lord)

6:30 P.M. – Daily Vespers

7:30 P.M. – Parish Council Meeting

Thursday, October 24

NO Services

Friday, October 25

NO Services

Saturday, October 26 (Great-martyr Demetrios)

4:00 p.m. – Fall Festival at the Church

NO Catechism Class, Choir Practice or Great Vespers

Sunday, October 27 (Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

8:50 a.m. – Orthros

9:00 a.m. – Christian Education

10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy (webcast)

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

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#

October 20 Katie Miller II Cor. 6:16-7:1 173

October 27 Simeon Root II Cor. 9:6-11 178

November 2 (Sat. a.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 7:26-8:2 334

November 3 Ian Jones II Cor. 11:31-12:9 183

November 10 Brenda Baker Gal. 1:11-19 188

November 17 Walt Wood Gal. 2:16-20 193

November 24 Reader Basil Baker Gal. 6:11-18 198

October is Teen SOYO Month in our Archdiocese. Teens will be reading the Epistle at the Divine Liturgy during this month.

Eucharist Bread Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

October 20 Pacurari Pigott/Ian Jones

October 27 Lasseter Ken Jones/Stewart

November 2 (Sat. a.m.) Baker Meadows/Brock

(St. Raphael of Brooklyn)

November 3 Henderson Dansereau/Alaeetawi

November 10 Algood POT LUCK MEAL

D. Root/Lively

November 17 Schelver Ellis/Zouboukos/Waites

November 20 (Wed. p.m.) Lasseter (Artos) NO Meal

(Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple – Great Vespers with Litia & Artoklasia)

November 24 Jones Miller/Weatherly

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; Marilyn (Kyriake) Snell; Jack and Jill Weatherly; Sh. Charlotte Algood and their family; Reader Basil and Brenda Baker and their family; Fr. Joseph Bittle; Rick Carlton; Very Rev. Fr. Nicholas and Kh. Jan Speier; 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, Bishop NICHOLAS will be visiting St. Peter again this evening and tomorrow. He has been in Vicksburg this week-end and will come to us following the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy there today. His schedule (subject to change) will be as follows:

Sunday, October 20

1:00 p.m. – Pick up from St. George Vicksburg

5:20 p.m. – Formal Reception of the Bishop

5:30 p.m. – Vespers

6:30 p.m. – Men’s Meeting with Bishop NICHOLAS and DOMSE AMEN

President Michael Baclig in the Fellowship Hall

Monday, October 21

10:00 a.m. – Orthros

11:15 a.m. – Clergy Lunch with Bishop NICHOLAS at Bulldog Burger

5:30 p.m. – Parish Council Dinner with Bishop NICHOLAS (location TBA)

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.

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

Fall Festival: Our annual Fall Festival is scheduled for Saturday, October 26th. We will not have Chor Practice, Catechism Class or Great Vespers that day. Anna Kathryn has placed two sign-up sheets in the Fellowship Hall – one for people who will be coming and another for people who are willing to help with activities. More details will be available shortly

We will be showing the documentary film Sacred Alaska at Mississippi College on Friday evening, November 1st, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The date was changed from the original date selected to accommodate MC’s student schedule and also MC’s Homecoming celebration.

Posters for our Showing of Sacred Alaska have been placed on the bureau in the foyer. If you have a location at which these can be put up, please feel free to take one, or a few, to do so.

Fasting Discipline for October

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

Major Commemorations for October

October 23 Holy Apostle James, Brother of the Lord

October 26 Great-martyr Demetrios

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 annual Fall Festival is scheduled for Saturday, October 26th. More details later.

* His Grace, Bishop NICHOLAS will be visiting St. Peter this evening and tomorrow.

* Sacred Alaska documentary showing at Mississippi College, Friday, November 1st, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

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

Quotable: “Our Jesus, my children, wants us to have complete love for him. In other words, two loves do not fit in one and the same heart. We cannot serve both God and mammon (Matthew 6:24). Rather, we ought to give Him an unadulterated, pure heart, so that He in turn may give us His undefiled, divine heart.”

Elder Ephraim of the Holy Mountain

Worship: Sunday, October 27, 2024 (Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost)

Scripture: II Cor. 9:6-11; Luke 8:41-56

Epistle Reader: Simeon Root

Prosphora: Lasseter

Coffee Hour: Ken Jones/Stewart