July 14, 2024

Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council

Titus 3:8-15: Titus, my son, faithful is the saying, and concerning these things I desire you to affirm confidently, that those who have believed in God may be thoughtful of how to preside in honorable occupations. These things are good and profitable to men. But avoid foolish disputes, and genealogies, and contentions, and controversies about the Law; for they are unprofitable and vain. A man who is a heretic after the first and second admonition reject, knowing that such a one is subverted, and sins, being self-condemned. When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicós, give diligence to come to me to Nicopolis; for I have determined to winter there. Set forward Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that they may be lacking in nothing. And let our people also learn how to preside in honorable occupations, so as to help in cases of urgent need, that they should not be unfruitful. All who are with me salute you. Salute those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

Matthew 5:14-19: The Lord said to His Disciples: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father Who is in heaven. Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

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 the Holy Fathers: Thou, O Christ, art our God of exceeding praise who didst establish our holy Fathers as luminous stars upon earth, and through them didst guide us unto the true Faith, O most merciful One, 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 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, July 14 (Holy Fathers of the 4th Ecumenical Council)

8:50 a.m. – Orthros

10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy (webcast)

12:00 p.m. – Pot Luck Meal

Monday, July 15

Father Herman off

Tuesday, July 16

NO Services

Wednesday, July 17 (Great-martyr Marina)

5:20 p.m. – Catechism Class

6:30 p.m. – Daily Vespers

Thursday, July 18

NO Services

Friday, July 19

NO Services

Saturday, July 20 (Prophet Elias)

8:30 a.m. – Workday at the Church

4:30 p.m. – Choir Practice

6:00 p.m. – Great Vespers

Sunday, July 21 (Fourth Sunday after Pentecost)

8:50 a.m. – Orthros

10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy (webcast)

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

Eucharist Bread Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

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#

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

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.

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.

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.

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 17 Great-martyr Marina

July 20 Prophet Elias

July 27 Great-martyr Panteleimon

Quotable: “Now there is no need to tell of the loving-kindness of Christ, bathed as it is in peace. But we must learn from it to cease from strife within ourselves, against each other and against the angels. We must work together and with the angels to do the things of God, and we must do so in accordance with the Providence of Jesus ‘Who works all things in all,’ making that Peace which is ineffable and was fore-ordained from eternity, reconciling us to himself and in Himself to the Father.”

+St. Dionysius the Areopagite

Worship: Sunday, July 21, 2024 (Fourth Sunday after Pentecost)

Scripture: Romans 6:18-23; Matthew 8:5-13

Epistle Reader: Walt Wood

Prosphora: D. Root

Coffee Hour: Miller/Weatherly

July 7, 2024

Second Sunday after Pentecost

Great-martyr Kyiaki of Nicomedia

Galatians 3:23-4:5: Brethren, before faith came, we were confined under the Law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. So that the Law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian; for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no better than a slave, though he is the owner of all the estate; but he is under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. So with us; when we were children, we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe. But when the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Matthew 4:18-23: At that time, as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. And going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. And He went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.

Troparion of the Resurrection: The stone being sealed by the Jews, and thy pure body being guarded by the soldiers, thou didst arise on the third day, O Saviour, granting life to the world. Wherefore, the heavenly powers acclaimed thee, O Giver of life, crying, Glory to thy Resurrection, O Christ! Glory to thy kingdom! Glory to thy gracious providence, O only Lover of mankind.

Troparion of St. Kyriaki: Thou didst prove an auspicious and pleasing sacrifice, a holy off’ring, O valiant prizewinner Kyriaki, when thou broughtest thy Creator thine own spotless soul; which Christ in turn hath glorified, for through thee, He poureth forth divine gifts and endless graces upon the faithful who praise thee, since He is the Friend of man.

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

8:50 a.m. – Orthros

10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy (webcast)

Monday, July 8

Father Herman off

Tuesday, July 9

NO Services

Wednesday, July 10

5:20 p.m. – Catechism Class

6:30 p.m. – Daily Vespers

Thursday, July 11 (Euphemia the All-praised)

NO Services

Friday, July 12

NO Services

Saturday, July 13

10:00 a.m. – Ladies meet for Akathist

NO Choir Practice

5:00 p.m. – Catechumen Class

6:00 p.m. – Great Vespers

Sunday, July 14 (Third Sunday after Pentecost; Holy Fathers of the 4th Ecumenical

Council)

8:50 a.m. – Orthros

10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy (webcast)

12:00 p.m. – Pot Luck Meal

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

Eucharist Bread Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

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#

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

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.

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

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.

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 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: “What is the Orthodox Church? The Orthodox Church is a body or community of people, who, 1—correctly believe in divine revelation; and 2—who obey a lawful hierarchy instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ himself, through the holy apostles. In order to belong to the Orthodox Church two principal conditions are required: First—to accurately accept, rightly understand and truthfully confess the divine teaching of faith; and secondly— to acknowledge the lawful hierarchy or priesthood, to receive from it the holy mysteries or sacraments, and generally to follow its precepts in matters concerning salvation.”

+St. Sebastian Dabovich

Worship: Sunday, July 14, 2024 (Third Sunday after Pentecost; Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council)

Scripture: Titus 3:8-15; Matthew 5:14-19

Epistle Reader: Brenda Baker

Prosphora: Davis

Coffee Hour: POT LUCK MEAL

D. Root/Lively

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