Today is the Sunday of the Blind Man.  Though the Gospel account of the healing of the blind man touches many subjects, there is but one theme:  Christ is the divine Light which illuminates the hearts of those who behold Him in faith.  Despite the intimidation of the authorities, despite the confusion of the people who know him, despite the fear of his parents, the blind man given sight refuses to deny what he knows is the truth:  Jesus has given him sight, has healed the affliction he has born from birth, and one who does such good is from God.  To deny his healer is to deny the truth, and he prefers persecution and rejection to that denial.  More than his eyes have been opened; his heart has been opened to true and eternal Light.  As were the Israelites cast into the dark despair of his fear, as are we all blinded by the frustration of sin and of our weakness, so this man was trapped by his closed eyes; and, as may all be, he was freed by the coming of the Messiah.  In faith we open our eyes to the radiant glory of our Lord and King.

 

Acts 16:16-34:  In our reading from Acts we see Paul and Silas imprisoned unjustly;  but the Lord uses the circumstances to bring the jailer to Himself by means of a dramatic rescue.

 

John 9:1-38:  After Jesus heals a man born blind, we see the hypocrisy and unbelief of the Pharisees as they seek to learn how the man came to see.  After being put out of the temple, the formerly blind man again encounters Jesus, whom he worships as his savior.

 

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 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 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, May 24  (Sunday of the Blindman)
 8:50 a.m. –  Orthros
 9:00 a.m. –  Sunday School (last day until fall)
 10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
 5:30 p.m. -- Youth Group

 

Monday, May 25   (Discovery of the Head of the Forerunner)
 Office Closed – Father John's Day Off

 

Tuesday, May 26   (Leave-taking of Pascha)
 6:00 a.m. – Daily Orthros
 6:30 p.m. – Paschal Vespers
  
Wednesday, May 27
 5:00 p.m. – Catechism Class
 6:00 p.m. – Orthros, followed by Divine Liturgy (Feast of the Ascension)

 

Thursday, May 28  (Feast of the Ascension)
  The fortieth day after Easter is the day of the Ascension, the liturgical end to the celebration of the Resurrection and the opening of the season observing the glory of the Messiah.  This is a day too often associated with the sadness of departure; yet this day brought great joy to the Disciples.  They saw not the departure of one dear to them, but the glorious entry of their King to His heavenly throne.  They saw not the loss of their Intercessor, but the Father accepting the eternal sacrifice and blessing the completion of man's salvation.  They saw not their separation from Christ but their assumption with Him into glory through the Incarnation.  They saw not the removal of the blessed One but the promise from Him of further blessings.  This day is another step in our procession into eternity, a remembrance of heavenly things, a reminder that the essence of our lives is the heavenly, a refreshing of the image of our God in all His glory.

 

 NO Daily Orthros

 

Friday, May 29
 6:00 a.m. – Daily Orthros
        
Saturday, May 30
 5:00 p.m. – Great Vespers
 NOTE SPECIAL TIME – A SHOWER FOR MATTHEW BAKER AND SALLY DUBOSE WILL FOLLOW VESPERS

 

Sunday, May 31  (Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council)
 8:50 a.m. –  Orthros
 10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
 6:00 p.m. -- Young Adults

 

 

 

Eucharist Bread: ...was offered today by the Dc Richard Roots for the Divine Liturgy.

 

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
                 Eucharist Bread      Coffee Hour
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 #
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
 
Please remember the following in your prayers: Jack and Ginny Henderson (Fr. John's parents) and their family; Reader Basil's family (Dad, Bill; Mom, Cleo; sister Betty; and uncle and aunt, James and Sarah Powell), Ken Jones' mother (recovering from hip 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 (St. Ignatius in Franklin).

 

In preparation for the upcoming Parish Life Conference we will be having a workday at the church next Saturday morning, May 30th, starting at 9:00 a.m.  We need volunteers – men, women and teens – to stuff hospitality bags (gentlemen??); to make prosphora for the Divine Liturgies and cookies for the registration table.  This should be a fun time and will go much faster, the more hands that we have.  We need everyone's help.  Please mark it on your calendar and plan to participate!!

 

St. Peter shirts....several of you placed an order for one of the shirts with our name on them.  They have arrived and the cost is $30.  If you ordered one of these, please see Fr. John.  We do have a few extras if someone wanted one but was unable to order it.

 

Please remember Sally Dubose and Matthew Baker in your prayers as they prepare for their wedding on July 25, 2009.  Next Saturday, May 30th there will be a shower for them (which includes a light supper) following vespers, which will be moved up to 5:00 p.m. for that day.  All adults in the parish are invited.

 

June 7 is Pentecost Sunday. Laura Yeatts and Be'Be' Schelver are in charge of the feast, which will be a "Picnic" after the worship service. There is a sign up list on the corner table in the fellowship hall. Please sign up for an item or two to bring. Thanks!

 

 
 * Great Vespers for the leave-taking of Pascha will be celebrated Tuesday evening, May 26th, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

 
 * The Feast of Ascension – May 28th will be celebrated with Orthros and Divine Liturgy on the evening of Wednesday, May 27th, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

 
 * PLC workday at the church – next Saturday, May 30th , at 9:00 a.m.

 
 * The next meeting for the PLC 2009 Planning Committee will Thursday, June 4th  at 7:00 p.m.

 
 * The Feast of Pentecost – June 7th.

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

 

The Parish Life Conference is almost here!!  There are registration forms on the table in the hall or online at our website.  Since we are hosting this event, it is important for our members to be there.  If you can't come for all the events, try to make as many as you can, in particular the Saturday evening Grand Banquet, and the liturgies.

 

If you have not turned in your Directory update, please do so as soon as possible.  There are several that are still outstanding.  We will be printing the new ones in the next week or two and will be using the old information for any that have not been returned.

 

Fasting Discipline for May:
The traditional fasting (no meat, fish, dairy, wine or oil) is observed on Wednesdays and Fridays of April and May.

 

Major Commemorations During May
 May 28  Leavetaking of Pascha
 May 29  Feast of the Ascension
 May 31  Sunday of the Holy Forefathers

 

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!!

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.

 

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: "Could the leaves exist without the tree, and could the tree exist without the earth, air, water and warmth?  Likewise, no soul can exist without God, without His Son, without the Holy Spirit.  God is my being, my breath, my light, my strength, my drink, my food.  He carries me as a mother carries her infant in her arms.  More than this – carrying me, my soul and body, He dwells in me, and is united to me."

    - St. John of Krondstadt

 

    - St. John Climacus

 

 

 Scriptures:  Acts 20:16-18, 28-36; John 17:1-13
 Celebrant:  Father John
 Homily:  Father James
 Deacon:  Deacon Terry
 Epistle Reader:  Walt Wood
 Prosphora:  Katools
 Coffee Hour:  Fahmys