II Timothy 4:5-8:  St Paul encourages Timothy to persevere in his calling, knowing that our perseverance in the battle before us will be rewarded with the crown of righteousness.

 

Mark 1:1-8: From the Gospel of St Mark we hear how John the Baptist prepared the way for  Jesus' public ministry by calling for the people to repent from their sins and be baptized.

 

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 Forefeast of Theophany: Be thou ready, Zabulon; prepare thyself, O Nephthalim.  River Jordan, stay thy course and skip for gladness to receive the Sovereign Master, Who cometh now to be baptized.  O Adam, be thou glad with our first mother, Eve; hide not as ye did of old in Paradise.  Seeing you naked, He hath appeared now to clothe you in the first robe again.  Christ hath appeared, for He truly willeth to renew all creation.

 

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 Forefeast of Theophany: In the running waters of the Jordan River, on this day the Lord of all crieth to John: Be not afraid and hesitate not to baptize Me, for I am come to save Adam, the first-formed man..

 

 

 

Sunday, January 3
 8:50 a.m. – Orthros
 10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy
 9:00 a.m. – Christian Education
 5:30 p.m. – Youth Group

 

Monday, January 4
 Office Closed – Father John's Day Off

 

Tuesday, January 5
 6:00 a.m. – Royal Hours
 6:00 p.m. – Orthros/Divine Liturgy (Feast of Epiphany)
  
Wednesday, January 6  (Feast of Theophany)
    This Feast Day is one of the greatest days of the Christian year.  In English, we are accustomed to hearing this Feast Day called "Epiphany," a word which means "manifestation" or "appearance."  On this day, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River by St. John the Baptist (he is called "the Baptist" because he baptized Christ).  Epiphany is also called "Theophany" which means "God shows Himself to us."  The importance of this Feast Day lies in the fact that for the first time the Holy Trinity was revealed for all mankind to know and believe (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit).  When Jesus Christ was baptized in the River Jordan, a voice was heard from the heavens above saying, "This is my Son in whom I am well pleased."  The Father whose voice was heard from the heavens was God.  The white dove was the symbol of the Holy Spirit which descended upon Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Thus, we have the Holy Trinity being revealed to all that day, almost 2000 years ago.  This is why we call this day the day of illumination (light) and manifestation (appearance).  Th Holy Trinity made its appearance, and we have been illuminated by this wonderful truth and blessing.  On this day we have the traditional blessing of the waters.  Since the waters of the Jordan were blessed in the presence of Jesus Christ, it is a source of Divine Grace and blessing, and we bless ourselves and our homes with the waters of the "Sanctification Service" which is held during the Epiphany Services.
    Theophany Day is a day of illumination and sanctification.  Let us pledge ourselves to a greater participation in the sacramental life of the Church of Christ.  When the Priest blesses our homes, let us all pray that the blessing of the Theophany Season be with us throughout the year and may our homes be sanctified with our prayers, Christian living and spiritual direction in our lifetime.
 5:00 p.m. – Catechism Class 
 6:30 p.m. – Daily Vespers
 7:30 p.m. – Choir Practice

Thursday, January 7  (Synaxis of the Forerunner)
 6:00 a.m. – Daily Orthros

 

Friday, January 8
 6:00 a.m. – Daily Orthros
     
Saturday, January 9
 5:00 p.m. – Catechism Class
 5:45 p.m. – Ninth Hour and Great Vespers
 
Sunday, January 10   (Sunday after Theophany)
 8:50 a.m. – Orthros
 10:00 a.m. – Divine Liturgy
 9:00 a.m. – Christian Education
 3:30 p.m. – Blessing of the Waters at the Ross Barnett Reservoir
 6:00 p.m. – Young Adults

 

 

Eucharist Bread: ...was offered by the Daniel Roots for the Divine Liturgy this morning and the Artoklasia bread was offered by the Bakers for the feast of the Circumcision of our Lord and the feast of St. Basil the Great this past Thursday evening..

 

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
                                       Eucharist Bread    Coffee Hour
 January 3                             Fahmys             Meadows
 January 5 (Tuesday p.m.)      Woods               Dansereaus
 January 10                           R. Roots            Joneses/Stewarts
 January 16 (Saturday a.m.)    Hendersons       Hendersons
 January 17                           Katools              Strains
 January 24                           Schelvers           Pot Luck
 January 31                           Morrises            Milnors

 

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 #
January 3                      Mildred Morris               II Tim. 4:5-8                    354
January 5 (Tue. p.m.)     Kh. Sharon Meadows     Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7         361
January 10                    Brenda Baker                Eph. 4:7-13                    364
January 16 (Sat. a.m.)    Tom Willingham            Acts 12:1-11                50-51
January 17                    Tom Skirtech                 Heb. 13:17-21                343
January 24                    Walt Wood                   II Tim. 3:10-15                 258
January 31                    Warren Strain                I Cor. 6:12-20                 265

 

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.

 

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; Lee, Greene, 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).

 

The Sara Cooper Memorial Fund will remain open until further notice.  Please designate the fund on your checks if you are making donations.

 

Sign-up info will be available in the near future for house blessings following the feast of Theophany.  Please be thinking now about a time to have your home blessed and sign up as soon as the sheet becomes available.

 

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.)

 

 
 * Blessing of the Waters at Ross Barnett Reservoir will be held next Sunday at 3:00 p.m.  The location will be Old Trace Park as in the past.

 
 * 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.

 

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.

 

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!!

 

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.

 

Fasting Discipline for January
From December 25th through January 4th there is no abstinence of any sort and all types of food are permitted.  The forefeast of Theophany (January 5th) is observed as a strict fast day (no meat, poultry, fish eggs, dairy, wine and oil).  The traditional fasting is observed on Wednesdays and Fridays of the month.  However, there is no fasting during the week following the Sunday of Publican and the Pharisee (January 25 - 30th).

 

Major Commemorations During January
 January 5  Forefeast of Theophany
 January 6  Theophany
 January 7  Synaxis of the Forerunner
 January 11  Venerable Theodosios the Head of Monasteries
 January 16  Veneration of the Chains of St. Peter
 January 18  Sts. Athanasios and Cyril of Alexandria
 January 20  Venerable Euthymios the Great
 January 24  Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee
 January 25  St. Gregory the Theoplogian
 January 27  St. John Chrysostom
 January 30  Three Hierarchs
 January 31  Unmercenaries Cyros and John
   Sunday of the Prodigal Son and Sunday before the Presentation
   Of our Lord in the Temple

 

Quotable: "As our thoughts are, so is our life."
    - Elder Thaddeus of Vitovica, Serbia

 

    - St. Maximos the Confessor

 

 Scriptures:  Ephesians 4:7-13; Matthew 4:12-17
 Celebrant:  Father John
 Deacon:  Deacon Terry
 Epistle Reader: Brenda Baker
 Prosphora:  Dn Richard Roots
 Coffee Hour: Joneses/Stewarts