On the first Sunday of Great Lent, we celebrate the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy.  This is an historical feast commemorating the restoration of the icons, which had been banned for several decades, to their rightful liturgical use in the year 843 A.D.
    The major emphasis of this feast is the victory  of the true faith, the victory which always ultimately triumphs.  Having completed the first week of our lenten efforts, we are reminded that Christ, the perfect image of God the Father, calls us to personal victory by restoring within ourselves "the image and likeness of God" in which we were first created (Genesis 1:26).
    The icons of Our Lord, the Theotokos, and all the saints are images of true humanity, signs of what our eternal calling and vocation really is.  They tell us that we are all called to be living icons and imitators of Christ, bearing the likeness of God as gracious vessels of the Holy Spirit.
 
Hebrews 11:24-26;32-40:  The writer of Hebrews calls us to consider the faith of those Old Testament   saints who endured hardships and death and yet still did great things because of their faith.  The Apostle encourages us to lay aside the encumbrances of sin and run with endurance the race that is set before us.

 

John 1:44-52:  From our reading in the Gospel of John we see Jesus call Philip and Nathaniel to be His disciples.

 

Troparion of the Resurrection:  Let us believers praise and worship the Word, co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit, born of the Virgin for our salvation; for he took pleasure in ascending the Cross in the flesh, to suffer death, and to raise the dead by his glorious Resurrection.

 

Troparion of the Sunday of Orthodoxy: Thy pure image do we venerate, O good One, asking forgiveness of our sins, O Christ our God; for by thine own will thou didst ascend the Cross in thy body, to save thy creatures from the bondage of the enemy.  Thou hast truly filled all with joy, since thou didst come, O our Saviour, to save the world.

 

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 Sundays of Lent:  To thee the champion leader, I thy servant offer thanks for victory, O Theotokos, thou who hast delivered me form terror.  As thou hast power invincible, free me from every danger that I may cry unto thee: Rejoice, O bride without bridegroom.

 

 

Sunday, March 8  (Sunday of Orthodoxy)
 8:50 a.m. – Orthros
 9:00 a.m. – Sunday School
 10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy
 6:00 p.m. – Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers at St. George Orthodox Church in Vicksburg  

 

Monday, March 9
 Office Closed – Father John's Day Off

 

Tuesday, March 10
 6:00 a.m. – Lenten Daily Orthros
  
Wednesday, March 11
 5:00 p.m. – Catechism Class
 6:30 p.m. – Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, followed by Soup Supper

 

Thursday, March 12
 6:00 a.m. – Lenten Daily Orthros 
  
Friday, March 13
 6:00 a.m. – Lenten Daily Orthros
 6:30 p.m. – Akathist to the Theotokos
        
Saturday, March 14  (Saturday of the Souls)
 9:00 a.m. – Orthros and Divine Liturgy
 6:30 p.m. – Great Vespers

 

Sunday, March 15  (Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas)
 8:50 a.m. – Orthros
 9:00 a.m. – Sunday School
 10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy
 6:00 p.m. – Young Adults

 

 

 

Eucharist Bread: ...was offered today by the Algoods.

 

Please remember the following in your prayers: Karen Cooper (recovering from knee surgery), Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family, Penny and Dean Bruner and their family, Deborah and Paul Finley, Effie Johnson (Kh. Susan Cushman's mother) and the Cushman family (St. John's in Memphis)

 

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
                     Eucharist Bread         Coffee Hour
March 8             Schelvers                     Dansereaus
March 14 (Saturday morning) Meadows   Meadows
 (Saturday of the Souls)
March 15           Katools                        D. Roots
March 22           Algoods                       Morrises
March 24 (Tuesday evening) Morrises     Katools
 Feast of the Annunciation
March 29           Joneses                       Schelvers

 

Schedule for Epistle Readers   –  Page numbers refer to the Apostolos (book of the Epistles) located on the front pew.  Please be sure to use this book when you read.
                        Reader                     Reading                 Page #
March 8       Warren Strain                Heb. 11:24-26, 32-40     281
March 15     Mildred Morris                Heb. 1:10-2:3               283
March 22     Tom Willingham             Heb. 4:14-5:6               285
March 24 (Tues. eve.) Brenda Baker   Heb. 2:11-18                376
March 29     Kh. Sharon Meadows      Heb. 6:13-20                287

 

If you are the last to leave the building, please make sure that the heating and cooling unit in the Fellowship Hall is set to the optimum temperature for the building when unoccupied.  If you have overridden the programmed setting, please be sure to restore it to the original setting.  We are trying to keep our utility costs down.  If you do not know how to operate the thermostat, please consult with either Father James or Deacon Richard for instruction. 

 

Please be sure to schedule a time for confession with your priest at least once during the Great Fast.  We should make every effort to not leave this important task until the last minute.

 

Registration for the Parish Life Conference has begun!!  Be sure to register to attend the conference.  Registration forms are available on the table in the foyer and online at our website (thanks to Daniel Root!!).  On the website you can also find the schedule of events for the conference.  If you cannot afford to attend all the meals and events, be sure to register for as many as you can, especially the Grand Banquet on Saturday evening.  Come, also, for the services.  The Very Rev. Fr. Michael Dahulich, Dean of St. Thikon's Seminary will be the speaker this year.  You will also hear many wonderful homilies by the visiting priests.  The Bible Bowl is lots of fun (as anyone who has ever seen one will tell you) and the Oratorical Contest is a chance to hear the thoughts of some of our young people on spiritual issues.  This conference will be attended by those from our sister parishes throughout the diocese and is an opportunity to showcase our parish.  So make plans now to attend.

 

 
 * Great Lent has begun.  The schedule of daily evening services during Lent are as follows:
     Wednesday evening (6:30 p.m.) - Presanctified Liturgy, followed by a
   Soup Supper and a brief teaching by Father John on the
   subject of "Confronting Our Thoughts";
      Friday evening (6:30 p.m.) - Akathist.

 
 * The Vespers Service for the Sunday of Orthodoxy will be held THIS EVENING at St. George's in Vicksburg on Sunday evening, March 8th at 6:00 p.m.  Be sure to take your icons with you for the Procession during
  the Vespers service.

 
 * We will celebrate Orthros and Divine Liturgy for Saturday of the Souls on Saturday morning, March 14th at 9:00 a.m.

 
 * The next meeting for the PLC 2009 Planning Committee will Thursday, March 19th at 7:00 p.m.

 
 * The Feast of the Annunciation will be celebrated with Orthros followed by the Divine Liturgy on Tuesday evening, March 24th at 6:00 p.m.  There will be a meal following the Liturgy.

 
 * On April 12th we will have a catfish fry following the Divine Liturgy.  Catfish Haven will be providing the food again this year.  More information will be available later.

 
 * Pascha falls on April 19th this year.

 
 * St. Peter's will be hosting the Parish Life Conference next year.  The dates for the conference will be June 10-14.  This will a wonderful opportunity to showcase our parish.  More information will be available in the future.

 

Those hosting Coffee Hour or feasts MUST be sure to place fresh trash bags in the trash cans when cleaning up afterwards.  If this is not done, items get thrown into the empty trash cans and then dumped as is into the cans outside.  The trash people will NOT pick up loose trash from the cans and have even dumped it out in the past.  This means that Father John has to pick these items up by hand and bag them!  Please help us with this!!

 

Help needed for PLC 2009 Souvenir Journal!!   The PLC committee is starting to sell ads for the souvenir journal for the Parish Life Conference and we need your help! Our goal is to sell $20,000 of ads by May 1. Please consider talking to your employer about donating for a corporate ad, and if you have any suggestions of businesses to go to or people to talk to, please let Anna Kathryn know.

 

Fasting Discipline for March:
March 1st is Forgiveness Sunday (Sunday of Cheese Fare), the last day until Pascha that cheese, dairy and wine (some also include oil) are permitted.  Monday, March 2nd, is Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent when the traditional fasting discipline is observed on all days of the week until Pascha (except Annunciation on March 25th and Palm Sunday on April 12th, when fish, wine and oil are permitted).

 

   On days when the Holy Eucharist will be received at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, no food or drink should be taken until after the Liturgy.

 

Major Commemorations During March
 March 8  Sunday of Orthodoxy (First Sunday of Great Lent)
 March 15  Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas (Second Sunday of Great Lent)
 March 22  Sunday of the Adoration of the Holy Cross (Third Sunday of Great Lent)
 March 25  Feast of the Annunciation
 March 29  Sunday of St. John Climacus (Fourth Sunday of Great Lent)

 

Please supervise your children to avoid spills, ink stains or marks from their writing and drawing on our new chairs.  We also ask that you not allow them to stand on the kneelers.  Thank you for your help with this.

 

Quotable: "Every soul that has knows the Lord yearns for Him and cries, 'Where art Thou, o Lord? Where art Thou, my Light? What hinders Him from dwelling in me?'  This hinders Him:  Christlike humility and love for my enemies."
    - St. Silouan of the Holy Mountain

 

 

 Scripture:  Hebrews 1:10-2:3; Mark 2:1-12
 Celebrant:  Father John
 Homily:  Father John
 Deacon:  Deacon Richard
 Epistle Reader  Mildred Morris
 Acolytes:  TBA
 Prosphora:  Katools
 Coffee Hour:  Daniel Roots
 Teen Hosts:  TBA