"Unique and holy day, King and lord of days, feast of feasts, solemnity of solemnities. . ."  Thus we celebrate the Great Feast because of the resurrection of our Lord and begin the season of celebration which lasts through Pentecost.  The paschal solemnities (of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday) are joined to the feast of the resurrection to endow the mystery of Christmas and the Incarnation with the fulness of its meaning and are the prerequisite condition for Pentecost.  Easter, therefore, is the center, the heart of the Christian Year.

 

"Come, take light from the Light that has no evening, and glorify Christ, risen from the dead."  The Church again represents the Christian mystery in terms of light; this Light, whose birth was marked by the star of Bethlehem, is shining among us with growing intensity; the darkness of Golgotha could not extinguish it.  The physical Resurrection of Jesus would be without value to us if the divine light did not shine at the same time among us, within us.  But the good news of the Resurrection is that the light brought by the Saviour now completely overcomes the darkness of our sins!

 

"Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down Death by death, and to those in the tomb He has given life!"

 

Acts 1:1-8:  From our reading in Acts we are reminded that following the Resurrection and Ascension of our Lord, the Church would receive the Holy Spirit to empower Her in spreading the eternal gospel to all parts of the Earth.

 

John 1:1-17:  Reading in the Gospel of John we see Jesus Christ as the eternally Begotten Son of The Father with Whom He has always existed.  We also see John the Baptist coming to prepare the way for our Lord's ministry.

 

Paschal Troparion: Christ is risen from the dead; by Death has he trodden death, and upon those in the tombs, hath he bestowed life.

 

Hypakoe of Easter:  They who were with Mary came before the dawn, found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre, and heard the angels say unto them,  Why seek ye him as man with the dead, who dwelleth in light eternal?  Behold the grave wrappings; make haste and declare to the world that the Lord is risen, and hath caused death to die; for he is the Son of God, the Saviour of mankind.

 

Kontakion of Pascha: When Thou didst descend into the grave, O Immortal, Thou didst destroy the power of hades.  In victory didst Thou arise, O Christ God, proclaiming "Rejoice" to the myrrh-bearing women, granting peace to Thine apostles and bestowing resurrection on the fallen.

 

 

 

Sunday, April 19  (Easter Sunday)
 3:00 p.m. – Agape Vespers – Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, Clinton, MS 

 

NO FASTING DURING BRIGHT WEEK

Monday, April 20
 Office Closed – Father John's Day Off

 

Tuesday, April 21
 6:00 a.m. – Bright Week Orthros
 6:30 p.m. – Choir Practice
  
Wednesday, April 22
 5:00 p.m. – Catechism Class
 6:30 p.m. – Great Vespers with Paschal Format

 

Thursday, April 23  (Great-Martyr George)
 6:00 a.m. – Festal Orthros with Paschal Format
 
Friday, April 24  (Apostle and Evangelist Mark)
 6:00 a.m. – Bright Week Orthros
        
Saturday, April 25
 5:00 p.m. – Sandwich and Ice Cream Social
 6:30 p.m. – Great Vespers

Sunday, April 26  (Thomas Sunday) 
 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 Bakers for the Vesperal Liturgy this morning and by the Hendersons for the Paschal service this evening.

 

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
                                     Eucharist Bread              Coffee Hour
April 18 (Sat. night) PASCHA Hendersons            Wood/Pigott/Turner
April 26                                Joanna Meadows     R. Roots
May 3  NO Services due to wedding
May 10                                Freundts                 Hendersons
May 17                                Woods                    Chamblees
May 24                                R. Roots                 Freundts
May 28 (Wed. evening)         Algoods                   Dansereaus/Morrises
May 31                               Katools                    Fahmys

 

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 #
April 18 (Sat. night)     Warren Strain          Acts 1:1-8               25
April 26                      Mildred Morris          Acts 5:12-20           32
May 3  NO Services due to wedding
May 10                      Kh. Be'Be' Schelver  Acts 9:32-42           45
May 17                      Brenda Baker          Acts 11:19-30          52
May 24                      Tom Willingham      Acts 16:16-34          58
May 28 (Wed. evening) Tom Skirtech         Acts 1:1-12             63
May 31                      Walt Wood             Acts 20:16-18,28-36 66

 

Welcome and Many Years! to Ben Brock who was chrismated this morning!

 

Except for services, Father John will be off for the whole of Bright Week.  If you need a priest, please call Father Leo or Father James.

 

Congratulations to Max Baker! ...who has been accepted into Job Corps, and is now in training in Crystal Springs.

 

There will be no services at St. Peter's on May 2-3 (for this weekend only) since all the clergy will be at Jordan Henderson's wedding in Florida.  You are encouraged to attend one of the other Orthodox churches in the area.

 

Information concerning Paschal meals and activities:
 * Holy Resurrection has requested that we bring deserts as our contribution towards the Agape Feast. They are also asking for monetary donations to help with their food costs. Please contact Christina Katool by e-mail or at 601-594-4885 and let her know if you are planning on bringing a dessert.
 * If you have a child or children that want to go Easter Egg hunting at Holy Resurrection, they will need to bring a basket and a dozen filled plastic eggs.
 * Bright Week... We will have an Ice Cream Social on Saturday, April 25th at 5:00 pm, followed by Vespers. We will have sandwiches and ice cream.
 
Please remember the following in your prayers: Reader Basil's family (Dad, Bill; Mom, Cleo; sister Betty; and uncle and aunt, James and Sarah Powell), 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) Jared and Stacy Autrey and their daughter Olivia Kate who has been in the hospital at Vanderbilt Medical Center (St. Ignatius in Franklin).

 

 * Tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m., we will celebrate Agape Vespers at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Clinton.   
 

 * The next meeting for the PLC 2009 Planning Committee will Thursday, April 23rd at 7:00 p.m.
 

 * Parish Life Conference at the Hilton, June 10-14!! (See below)

 

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 hallway 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. Tikhon'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.

 

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.

 

Directory Updates have been mailed to each household.  Most of these have been returned, but several are still missing.  Please correct these if needed (or place a check mark on the form if the information is already correct) and mail or bring them to the church office as soon as possible. We hope to be able to have updated directories available in a few weeks, but this will only be possible if everyone does their part.  Thank you for your assistance in this task.

 

The Ladies of St. John Orthodox Church in Memphis are hosting a bridal shower for Sally Elliott on Sunday, May 17th from 4-6 p.m.  All of our ladies are invited.

 

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.

 

Fasting Discipline for April:
There is no fasting during Bright Week following Pascha.  Starting on April 27th traditional fasting will resume on Wednesdays and Fridays.

 

Major Commemorations During April
 April 19  PASCHA
 April 23  Great-martyr George
 April 24  Apostle and Evangelist Mark 
 April 26  Thomas Sunday

 

The Christmas Village (a pregnancy intervention ministry located in Canton) is hosting a fund-raising mother-daughter tea next Sunday afternoon, April 26th.  This worthwhile organization ministers to women who are unwed or have difficulties, but do not want to have an abortion.  Many of our ladies have helped staff their bakery at Christmastime.  Informa-tion about the tea  is posted on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall.

 

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!!

 

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. 

  
Quotable: "The Son of God assumed human nature, and in it He endured all that belongs to the human condition.  This is a remedy for mankind of a power beyond our imagining."

    - St. Augustine of Hippo

 

Weekly Quote:  "The Savior becomes all things to all, according to the need of each: to those who ask for joy, He becomes the vine; to those who wish to enter, He becomes the door; to those who are under the weight of sin, He becomes a lamb, a lamb slain for them.  He becomes all things to all, but He remains nonetheless what He is.  He is called by a twofold name: Jesus because He gives us salvation, and Christ because He is priest."

    - St. Cyril of Jerusalem

 

 Scripture:  Acts 5:12-20; John 20:19-31
 Celebrant:  Father John
 Homily:  Father James
 Deacon:  Deacon Terry
 Epistle Reader  Mildred Morris
 Acolytes:  TBA
 Prosphora:  Dansereaus
 Coffee Hour:  Algoods
 Teen Hosts:  TBA

 

 

 

 

 

    Palm Sunday begins the observance of the eight days that encapsulate all of time and eternity as relates to man.  The days begin with the proclamation on earth of the entry of the Messiah into Jerusalem and end with the Eternal King rising in incomprehensible victory to establish the heavenly Jerusalem and His eternal reign.  On Palm Sunday, we begin the days of the full exhibition of the awful corruption sin has spread in mankind and the measureless love that heals and deifies our humanity.  Today we thrill at the picture of Christ and the praises of the people, the object of adoration yet the perfection of humility.  The imagery of the scene is beyond description:  the King amidst His people, the palm and olive branches symbolizing His victory, His anointing, His peace; the cloaks and garments cast before Him symbolizing our complete submission to His will; the cries of adoration, of "Hosanna," the coming of the Lord.  Yet, on this day we are also near enough to feel acutely the dread of His passion, the desolation of the trial and Golgotha.  This day also begins the week of the Eighth Day, the entry to eternity.  As we observe Palm Sunday, we observe all history and the fulfillment of all history.

 

Philippians 4:4-9:  The Apostle Paul encourages us in the reading from his letter to the Philippians;  we are to rejoice in the Lord and to let our concerns and desires be made known to God in prayer and supplication.  By doing so, he tells us that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds.

 

John 12:1-18:  In anticipation of her Lord's passion, Mary anoints Jesus' feet with costly ointment, foreshadowing His coming death.  Jesus then enters Jerusalem shortly before Passover in fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy.
Troparion of Lazarus:  O Christ God, when thou didst raise Lazarus from the dead before thy Passion, thou didst confirm the universal resurrection.  Wherefore, we, like babes, carry the insignia of triumph and victory, and cry to thee, O Vanquisher of death, Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord.

 

Troparion of Palm Sunday:  O Christ God, when we were buried with thee in Baptism, we became deserving of thy Resurrection  to immortal life.  Wherefore, we praise thee, crying, Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he that cometh in the Name of the Lord.

 

Kontakion of Palm Sunday: Seated upon Thy throne in heaven, and a foal on earth, O Christ our God, Thou didst receive the praise of the angels and the hymns of the children: Blessed is He that cometh to recall Adam.

 

 

 

Sunday, April 12 (Palm Sunday)
 8:50 a.m. – Orthros
 9:00 a.m. – Sunday School
 10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy, followed by Palm Sunday Meal (Fish Fry)
 6:30 p.m. – Bridegroom Matins  

 

Monday, April 13 (Great and Holy Monday)
 Office Closed – Father John's Day Off
 6:30 p.m. – Bridegroom Matins

 

Tuesday, April 14 (Great and Holy Tuesday)
 6:30 p.m. – Bridegroom Matins
  
Wednesday, April 15 (Great and Holy Wednesday)
 5:00 p.m. – Catechism Class
 6:30 p.m. – Service of Holy Unction

 

Thursday, April 16 (Great and Holy Thursday)
 6:00 a.m. – Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil
 6:30 p.m. – Reading of the 12 Passion Gospels
 
Friday, April 17 (Great and Holy Friday)
 6:00 a.m. – Royal Hours
   ...followed by the Preparation of the Bier
 3:00 p.m. – Vesper Service (Taking Down from the Cross)
 6:30 p.m. – Lamentations Service
        
Saturday, April 18 (Great and Holy Saturday)
 9:00 a.m. – Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil
 10:30 p.m. – Rush Matins and the Divine Liturgy of Pascha, followed by Paschal Feast

 

Sunday, April 19 (Great and Holy Pascha)
 3:00 p.m. – Agape Vespers at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church

 

 

 

Eucharist Bread: ...was offered today by the Fahmys and yesterday by the Daniel Roots for Lazarus Saturday.

 

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
                                 Eucharist Bread          Coffee Hour
April 12 Palm Sunday     Fahmys                 Freundt/Meadows/Joanna
April 16 (Thurs. a.m.)      Meadows               Meadows
April 18 (Sat. a.m.)         Bakers                  Meadows
April 18 (Sat. night) PASCHA Hendersons    Wood/Pigott/Turner
April 26                         Joanna Meadows    R. Roots

 

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 #
April 12                    Tom Skirtech                 Philippians 4:4-9         294
April 16 (Thurs. a.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows     I Cor. 11:23-32            295
April 18 (Sat. a.m.)   Sh. Charlotte Algood       Rom. 6:3-11               300
April 18 (Sat. night)   Warren Strain                Acts 1:1-8                   25
April 26                   Mildred Morris                 Acts 5:12-20               32

 

Ben Brock will be chrismated at the Vesperal Liturgy next Saturday morning.  His sponsor will be Ken Jones.  Please keep them in your prayers. A light reception will be held in his honor following the liturgy.

 

Congratulations to Max Baker! ...who has been accepted into Job Corps, and is now in training in Crystal Springs.

 

 * For the Paschal feast Saturday night, the church will be providing ham & turkey for sandwiches, dessert, and drinks. Please bring a basket of "side items" that your own family will enjoy. 
 * Holy Resurrection has requested that we bring deserts as our contribution towards the Agape Feast. They are also asking for monetary donations to help with their food costs. Please contact Christina Katool by e-mail or at 601-594-4885 and let her know if you are planning on bringing a dessert.
 * If you have a child or children that want to go Easter Egg hunting at Holy Resurrection, they will need to bring a basket and a dozen filled plastic eggs. 
 * Bright Week... We will have an Ice Cream Social on Saturday, April 25th at 5:00 pm, followed by Vespers. We will have sandwiches and ice cream.

 

There will be no services at St. Peter's on May 2-3 (for this weekend only) since all the clergy will be at Jordan Henderson's wedding in Florida.  You are encouraged to attend one of the other Orthodox churches in the area.

 

Please remember the following in your prayers: Reader Basil's family (Dad, Bill; Mom, Cleo; sister Betty; and uncle and aunt, James and Sarah Powell), 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) Jared and Stacy Autrey and their daughter Olivia Kate who has been in the hospital at Vanderbilt Medical Center (St. Ignatius in Franklin).

 

 * The schedule of services for Holy Week are as follows:
   Sun.-Tues. Apr. 12-14 Bridegroom Matins at 6:30 p.m.
   Wed. April 15 Service of Holy Unction at 6:30 p.m.
   Thurs. April 16 Vesperal Liturgy (Holy Thursday) at 6:00 a.m.
   Thurs. April 16 Twelve Passion Gospels at 6:30 p.m.
   Fri. April 17 Royal Hours at 6:00 a.m.
   Fri. April 17 Taking down from the Cross at 3:00 p.m
   Fri. April 17 Lamentations Service at 6:30 p.m.
   Sat. April 18 Vesperal Liturgy (Holy Saturday) at 9:00 a.m.
   Sat. April 18 Paschal Service at 10:30 p.m.
   Sun. April 19 Agape Vespers at Holy Resurrection at 3:00 p.m.

 * The next meeting for the PLC 2009 Planning Committee will Thursday, April 23rd at 7:00 p.m.

 * TODAY we will have a catfish fry following the Divine Liturgy.  Catfish Haven will be providing the food again this year.  The cost will be $8 for adults and $5 for children.

 * Parish Life Conference at the Hilton, June 10-14!! (See below)

 

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 hallway 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. Tikhon'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.

 

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.

 

Directory Updates have been mailed to each household.  Please correct these if needed (or place a check mark on the form if the information is already correct) and mail or bring them to the church office as soon as possible. We hope to be able to have updated directories available in a few weeks, but this will only be possible if everyone does their part.  Thank you for your assistance in this task.

 

Fasting Discipline for April:
During Great Lent the traditional fasting discipline is observed on all days of the week until Pascha (except 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.  There is no fasting during Bright Week following Pascha.  Starting on April 27th traditional fasting will resume on Wednesdays and Fridays.

 

Major Commemorations During April
 April 12  Palm Sunday
 April 13  Great and Holy Monday
 April 14  Great and Holy Tuesday
 April 15  Great and Holy Wednesday
 April 16  Great and Holy Thursday
 April 17  Great and Holy Friday (Good Friday)
 April 18  Great and Holy Saturday
 April 19  PASCHA
 April 23  Great-martyr George
 April 24  Apostle and Evangelist Mark 
 April 26  Thomas Sunday

 

The Ladies of St. John Orthodox Church in Memphis are hosting a bridal shower for Sally Elliott on Sunday, May 17th from 4-6 p.m.  All of our ladies are invited.

 

The Christmas Village (a pregnancy intervention ministry located in Canton) is hosting a fund-raising mother-daughter tea on Sunday afternoon, April 26th.  This worthwhile organization ministers to women who are unwed or have difficulties, but do not want to have an abortion.  Many of our ladies have helped staff their bakery at Christmastime.  Informa-tion about the tea  is posted on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall.

 

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.

 

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!!

 

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. 

 

Quotable: "Whenever the Holy Spirit is present, He makes men of gold out of men of clay."

    - St. John Chrysostom

 

 

 (Beginning at 10:30 p.m. Saturday Evening)
 Scripture:  Acts 1:1-8; John 1:1-17
 Celebrant:  Father John
 Homily:  Father John
 Deacon:  Deacon Terry, Deacon Richard
 Epistle Reader  Warren Strain
 Acolytes:  TBA
 Prosphora:  Hendersons
 Coffee Hour:  Paschal Feast (Woods/Pigotts/Turners)
 Teen Hosts:  N/A (Agape Vespers)

 

 

 

    The facts of the life of St. Mary of Egypt are vague and clouded by time and separation, but the spirit of her story is a clear call to repentance and devotion.  According to tradition, Mary was from Alexandria, where she was an actress and courtesan, living a life of sin and infamy.  When spiritual intervention forbade her entry to Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, she spent the night in penitent prayer.  The following morning she was able to enter, whereupon she venerated the cross and immediately removed herself to the life of a penitent and solitary in the Palestinian desert.  She remained in isolation for forty-seven years, aided only by monks of the region and God's grace.  Only at her death was she found and given communion by the priest Zosimus.  On this last Sunday of Lent, as we prepare for Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and the Great Feast of the eighth and eternal day, we call to mind this holy woman, her fear of the all-powerful God, her recognition of her sin, her repentance, her humility, her faith, and her unwavering intent to seek righteousness and the courts of her King.

 

Hebrews 9:11-14:  In our reading from Hebrews, we hear the Apostle tell us that when Christ entered the heavenly Holy of Holies through His own blood, He obtained for us eternal redemption for our sins.

 

Mark 10:32-45:  We again hear our Lord prophesy concerning His coming death and resurrection,    but, His disciples do not understand, displaying concern for personal gain as a reward.  The Lord then explains to them that greatness in the kingdom of  God is attained through service to others.

 

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. Mary of Egypt: In thee, O Mother, was preserved that which is according to God's image, for thou hast taken up the Cross and followed Christ.  By thine actions thou hast taught us to despise the flesh, for it passes away, but to care for the soul, which is a thing immortal; and so thy spirit, holy Mary, rejoices with the angels.

 

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 for Usual Sundays:  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.

 

 

 

Sunday, April 5 (Fifth Sunday of Great Lent – St. Mary of Egypt)
 8:50 a.m. – Orthros
 9:00 a.m. – Sunday School
 10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy
 5:30 p.m. – Youth Group  

 

Monday, April 6
 Office Closed – Father John's Day Off

 

Tuesday, April 7
 6:00 a.m. – Lenten Daily Orthros
 6:30 p.m. – Choir Practice
  
Wednesday, April 8
 5:00 p.m. – Catechism Class
 6:30 p.m. – Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, followed by Soup Supper

 

Thursday, April 9
 6:00 a.m. – Lenten Daily Orthros
 
Friday, April 10
 6:00 a.m. – Lenten Daily Orthros
 6:30 p.m. – Small Compline with the Canon of St. Lazarus
        
Saturday, April 11   (Lazarus Saturday)
 9:00 a.m. – Orthros/Divine Liturgy
 6:30 p.m. – Great Vespers

 

Sunday, April 12   (Palm Sunday)
 8:50 a.m. – Orthros
 9:00 a.m. – Sunday School
 10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy, followed by Palm Sunday Meal (Fish Fry)
 6:30 p.m. – Bridegroom Matins

 

 

 

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

 

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
     Eucharist Bread  Coffee Hour
April 5                                              Milnors               Joneses/Stewarts
April 11 (Sat. a.m.) Lazarus Saturday D. Roots              Anastasia/Karen
April 12 Palm Sunday                        Fahmys              Freundt/Meadows/Joanna
April 16 (Thurs. a.m.)                         Meadows            Meadows
April 18 (Sat. a.m.)                            Bakers                Meadows
April 18 (Sat. night) PASCHA             Hendersons         Wood/Pigott/Turner
April 26                                             Joanna Meadows R. Roots

 

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 #
April 5                       Tom Willingham          Heb. 9:11-14             290
April 11 (Sat. a.m.)     Walt Wood                 Heb. 12:28-13:8        291
April 12                      Tom Skirtech              Philippians 4:4-9       294
April 16 (Thurs. a.m.)  Kh. Sharon Meadows  I Cor. 11:23-32          295
April 18 (Sat. a.m.)     Sh. Charlotte Algood   Rom. 6:3-11              300
April 18 (Sat. night)     Warren Strain             Acts 1:1-8                25
April 26                     Mildred Morris              Acts 5:12-20            32

 

Please remember the following in your prayers: Reader Basil's family (Dad, Bill; Mom, Cleo; sister Betty; and uncle and aunt, James and Sarah Powell), 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) Jared and Stacy Autrey and their daughter Olivia Kate who has been in the hospital at Vanderbilt Medical Center (St. Ignatius in Franklin).

 

wPlease 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.

 

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. 

 

 
 * The schedule of daily evening services during the remainder of Lent are as follows:
   Wednesday, April 8th – Presanctified Liturgy followed by Soup Supper and
    brief teaching by Father John – 6:30 p.m.
   Friday, April 10th – Small Compline with Canon of St. Lazarus – 6:30 p.m.

 
 * The schedule of services for Lazarus Saturday and Holy Week are as follows:
   Sat. April 11 Orthros/Divine Liturgy, starting at 9:00a.m.
   Sun.-Tues. Apr. 12-14 Bridegroom Matins at 6:30 p.m.
   Wed. April 15 Service of Holy Unction at 6:30 p.m.
   Thurs. April 16 Vesperal Liturgy (Holy Thursday) at 6:00 a.m.
   Thurs. April 16 Twelve Passion Gospels at 6:30 p.m.
   Fri. April 17 Royal Hours at 6:00 a.m.
   Fri. April 17 Taking down from the Cross at 3:00 p.m
   Fri. April 17 Lamentations Service at 6:30 p.m.
   Sat. April 18 Vesperal Liturgy (Holy Saturday) at 9:00 a.m.
   Sat. April 18 Paschal Service at 10:30 p.m.
   Sun. April 19 Agape Vespers at Holy Resurrection at 3:00 p.m.

 
 * The next meeting for the PLC 2009 Planning Committee will Thursday, April 23rd at 7:00 p.m.

 
 * On April 12th we will have a catfish fry following the Divine Liturgy.  Catfish Haven will be providing the food again this year.  The cost will be $8 for adults and $5 for children.  A sign-up sheet is in the Fellowship Hall.

 
 * 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.

 

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 hallway 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. Tikhon'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.

 

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!!

 

Directory Updates have been mailed to each household.  Please correct these if needed (or place a check mark on the form if the information is already correct) and mail or bring them to the church office as soon as possible. We hope to be able to have updated directories available in a few weeks, but this will only be possible if everyone does their part.  Thank you for your assistance in this task.

 

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 April:
During Great Lent the traditional fasting discipline is observed on all days of the week until Pascha (except 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.  There is no fasting during Bright Week following Pascha.  Starting on April 27th traditional fasting will resume on Wednesdays and Fridays.

 

Major Commemorations During April
 April 5   Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt (Fifth Sunday of Great Lent)
 April 11  Lazarus Saturday
 April 12  Palm Sunday
 April 13  Great and Holy Monday
 April 14  Great and Holy Tuesday
 April 15  Great and Holy Wednesday
 April 16  Great and Holy Thursday
 April 17  Great and Holy Friday (Good Friday)
 April 18  Great and Holy Saturday
 April 19  PASCHA
 April 23  Great-martyr George
 April 24  Apostle and Evangelist Mark 
 April 26  Thomas Sunday

 

The Ladies of St. John Orthodox Church in Memphis are hosting a bridal shower for Sally Elliott on Sunday, May 17th from 4-6 p.m.  All of our ladies are invited.

 

The Christmas Village (a pregnancy intervention ministry located in Canton) is hosting a fund-raising mother-daughter tea on Sunday afternoon, April 26th.  This worthwhile organization ministers to women who are unwed or have difficulties, but do not want to have an abortion.  Many of our ladies have helped staff their bakery at Christmastime.  Informa-tion about the tea is posted on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall.

 

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: "On Sundays and feast days come to the Church, and falling down with reverence before God, be mindful of all the mercies you may ever have received from Him.  Thank Him for them with all your heart, and as a sign of your thankfulness, promise to live as He commanded you."

    - St. Tikhon of Zakonsk

 

 

 

 Scripture:  Philippians 4:4-9; John 12:1-18
 Celebrant:  Father John
 Homily:  Father Leo
 Deacon:  Deacon Terry, Deacon Richard
 Epistle Reader  Tom Skirtech
 Acolytes:  TBA
 Prosphora:  Fahmys
 Coffee Hour:  Fish Fry (Freundts, Meadows, Joanna)
 Teen Hosts:  N/A (Bridegroom Matins)