Hebrews 11:9-10,17-23,32-40:  Reading from Hebrews we hear the Apostle tell us of the faith of Abraham and other saints of ancient times who endured hardships and death and yet still did great things because of their faith.

 

Matthew 1:1-25:  In the Gospel we hear the genealogy of Jesus Christ, and of how Joseph was visited by an angel of God who told him of the child that Mary bore in her womb.

 

Troparion of the Resurrection:  Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad; for the Lord hath done a mighty act with his own arm.  He hath trampled down death and become the First-born from the dead. He hath delivered us from the depths of hades, granting the world the Great Mercy.

 

Troparion of the Fathers:  Great are the accomplishments of faith; for the three holy youths rejoiced in the fountain of flames as though at waters of rest.  And the Prophet Daniel appeared a shepherd to the lions as though they were sheep.  Wherefore, by their pleadings, O Christ God, have mercy upon us.

 

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 Preparatory for Nativity:  Today the Virgin comes unto the cave to give birth in an ineffable manner to the Word before the ages.  Rejoice, therefore, O universe, when you hear, and glorify with the angels and the shepherds him who shall appear by his own will as a new babe, being God before the ages.

 

 

Sunday, December 20  (Sunday Before the Nativity; Ignatius of Antioch the God-bearer)
 8:50 a.m. – Orthros
 10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy
 9:00 a.m. – Christian Education
 5:30 p.m. – Youth Group

 

Monday, December 21
 Office Closed – Father John's Day Off

 

Tuesday, December 22
 6:00 a.m. – Daily Orthros
  
Wednesday, December 23
 6:30 p.m. – Daily Vespers
 7:30 p.m. – Choir Practice

 

Thursday, December 24
 6:00 a.m. – Royal Hours
 10:00 p.m. – Orthros/Divine Liturgy (Feast of the Nativity)

 

Friday, December 25 (The Nativity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ)
 NO Daily Services
     
Saturday, December 26
 5:45 p.m. – Ninth Hour and Great Vespers
 
Sunday, December 27  (Sunday After the Nativity; Protomartyr Stephen)
 8:50 a.m. – Orthros
 10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy
 9:00 a.m. – Christian Education
 5:30 p.m. – Young Adults

 

 

Eucharist Bread: ...was offered by the Daniel Roots for the Divine Liturgy this morning.

 

Please be very careful with the Blessed Bread when you take after communion or at the end of the liturgy.  Because this bread has been blessed, we should take care not to let crumbs fall on the floor.  Parents, especially, please help your children to choose a small piece and treat it carefully.

 

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
                                       Eucharist Bread      Coffee Hour
 December 20                         D. Roots             Dansereaus
 December 24 (Thursday p.m.) Dansereaus         Feast
  (Nativity of our Lord)  
 December 27                         Freundts             Morrises
 December 31 (Thursday p.m.) Bakers – Artoklasia Bread (Great Vespers)

 

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 #
December 20  Sh. Charlotte Algood     Heb. 11:9-10; 17:23,32-40     348
December 24  Warren Strain               Gal. 4:4-7                             351
December 27  Kh. Sharon Meadows    Gal. 1:11-19                         188

 

Be sure to schedule a time for confession with your priest during the Fast of the Nativity.

 

Please remember His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN in your prayers.  He had a fainting spell while at St. Nicholas Mission in Springdale, AR.  He went to the hospital, was later released and returned to Fort Lauderdale, FL.  Please continue to pray for his good health.

 

Please remember the following in your prayers: Sh. Charlotte Algood, Deacon Terry and their family; Resa Ellison and her parents Fr. James and Kh. Linda, Amy and Michael Surratt; Mary Catherine Long; Bobby and Sue Webb (Deborah Finley's parents); Tom Skirtech, Amy and Brantley Oliver ;  Reader Basil's family (Dad, Bill; sister Betty; and uncle and aunt, James and Sarah Powell),  Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Jared and Stacy Autrey and their daughter Olivia Kate (St. Ignatius in Franklin).

 

Many Years! To Brian and Robin Sellers and their newborn son Andrew!!

 

Congratulations: ...to Mindy and Michael Williams in Memphis on the happy news of the upcoming arrival of a baby in mid-June!

 

Wayne Hamilton has expressed a desire to continue as a catechumen here at St. Peter's.  He began his catechesis at the Greek Orthodox Church he attended in Birmingham.

 

Auction Rescheduled.....the Ladies of St. Peter have rescheduled their fund-raising auction that was planned for November 1st .  It will now be held January 24th, which will also be the date for our monthly Pot Luck meal. (We will not be having Pot Luck on January 3rd, due to the business of the season.)

 

 
 * The Fast of the Nativity began on Sunday, November 15th and runs through December 24th .  During this time, instead of Daily Vespers on Wednesday evenings, we will pray the Advent Paraklesis to the Theotokos.

 
 * We will celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord with Royal Hours at 6:00 a.m. on Thursday, December 24th .  Orthros and Divine Liturgy for the Feast will begin at 10:00 p.m. that evening.  A festal meal will follow the Liturgy.  (Please check the sign-up sheet for this meal, which is located in the Fellowship Hall.)

 
 * As is our custom, we will celebrate the feasts of the Circumcision of the Lord and of St. Basil the Great with Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 31st .

 
 * Fr. John will be in St. Petersburg, FL for the Mid-winter Delegates Meeting, January 22 - 24th .

 
 * January 24th  – Pot Luck Meal and Fund-raising Auction for the Ladies of St. Peter. (Please note that the auction has been rescheduled)

 
 * The MS Valley Deanery will hold its annual Teen Retreat the week-end of January 29-31, 2010 at John W. Kyle State Park in Sardis, MS.  Father James Coles, pastor of St. Ignatius Mission in Mesa, AZ, will be the speaker.  His topic will be "How to Experience the Peace of God in a Chaotic World."  More details will be available at a later date.

 

Sunday Pot Luck!!  On the first Sunday of each month instead of Coffee Hour we have a Pot Luck meal.  There will be a sign-up sheet posted on the Bulletin Board in the Fellowship Hall in the weeks prior to the meal, so that we can have an idea of the food that will be brought.  If you can't bring a dish, sign up for set-up or clean-up.  Participation is open to all (men as well as children!!)  This is a wonderful chance for some fellowship.  Please be sure to mark it on your calendars!!

 

Fasting Discipline for December
The traditional fasting discipline is observed each day of the week.  Note, however, that through December 19 there is katalysis on Tuesdays and Thursdays when wine and oil are permitted, and on Saturdays and Sundays when fish, wine and oil are permitted.  From December 20-22 the traditional fasting is observed on all days.  From December 25th through January 4th there is no abstinence of any sort and all types of food are permitted.

 

Major Commemorations During December
 December 15 Hieromartyr Eleutherios
 December 20 God-bearer Ignatius of Antioch
 December 25 Nativity of our Lord 
 December 26 Synaxis of the Theotokos
 December 27 Protomartyr Stephen
   Sunday after Nativity – Commemoration of Joseph the
   Betrothed, David the Prophet and King, and James the Brother
   of the Lord

 

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.

 

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: "As with the whole, so also it is with the part. Existing in a human body, to which He Himself gives life, The Son is still the Source of life to all the universe, present in every part of it, yet outside the whole; and He is revealed both through the works of His body and through His activity in the world."
    - St. Ignatius, On the Incarnation

 

 

 

 Scriptures:  Galatians 1:11-19; Matthew 2:13-23
 Celebrant:  Father John
 Deacon:  Deacon Terry
 Epistle Reader: Kh. Sharon Madows
 Prosphora:  Freundts
 Coffee Hour: Morrises