Parish Life
Welcome to the Parish Life section of Saint Peter Orthodox Church website. This is where we post news, events, photographs and more.
Welcome to the Parish Life section of Saint Peter Orthodox Church website. This is where we post news, events, photographs and more.
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Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church
Madison, Mississippi
Thursday, December 01, 2011
12/4 announcements
December 4, 2011
Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost;
Holy Great-martyr Barbara and St. John of Damascus
Galatians 3:23-29;4:1-5: In this reading from Galatians we hear St. Paul explain that prior to the coming of Christ, we were under the Law and hence divided, but now that Christ has come we are justified by faith in Christ and have become one, belonging to Christ. Therefore, we are no longer under bondage to the Law and the world, but are now free as children of God.
Luke 13:10-17: By healing a woman held in bondage to an illness for eighteen years, our Lord demonstrates that the Law does not prohibit righteous action on the Sabbath.
Troparion of the Resurrection: O compassionate One, thou didst descend from the heights; thou didst submit to the three-day burial, that thou might deliver us from passion. Thou art our Life and our Resurrection, O Lord, glory to thee.
Troparion of St. Barbara: Let us honor the all-revered Saint Barbara; for she did demolish the snares of the adversary and escaped from them like a bird, by the help of the Cross as with a weapon.
Troparion of St. John of Damascus: Thou hast shown thyself, O God-inspired John, as a guide to the Orthodox Faith, a teacher of true worship and purity, O star of the universe and companion of the Bishops, O wise one. Through thy light thou hast enlightened all, O harp of the Spirit. Therefore, intercede with Christ God to save our souls.
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.
CALENDAR
Sunday, December 4 (Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost; Great-martyr Barbara
And St. John of Damascus)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
12:00 p.m. -- Ladies of St. Peter
5:30 p.m. -- Youth Group
Monday, December 5 (St. Sava the Sanctified)
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
6:30 p.m. -- Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia
Tuesday, December 6 (St. Nicholas the Wonder-worker)
6:00 a.m. -- Festal Orthros
Wednesday, December 7
5:00 p.m. -- Catechism Class
6:30 p.m. -- Advent Paraklesis
7:30 p.m. -- Choir Practice
Thursday, December 8
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Friday, December 9 (Conception of the Theotokos)
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Saturday, December 10
5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, December 11 (Sunday of the Forefathers)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
1:00 p.m. -- Young Adults
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Fahmys for the Divine Liturgy today.
Please be reminded of the following:
Be very careful with the Blessed Bread when you take it after communion. 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.
Also, at the end of the liturgy, maintain a prayerful disposition during the veneration of the cross as the prayers of thanksgiving after communion are still underway. Please exchange your greetings with each other in the Fellowship Hall during Coffee Hour.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
December 4 Fahmys Joneses
December 5 (p.m.) Hendersons (Artoklasia Bread for St. Nicholas)
December 11 Bakers Ellis/Zouboukos
December 18 Woods Meadows/Lasseters/Karen
December 24 (p.m.) R. Roots Sandi Strain/Mary Ellis
December 31 (p.m.) (Artoklasia Bread for the Circumcision of our
Lord and the feast of St. Basil)
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 4 Brenda Baker Gal. 3:23; 4:1-5 160-161
December 11 Sh. Charlotte Algood Col. 5:4-11 233
December 18 Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 11:9-10, 32-40 348
December 24 Warren Strain Gal. 4:4-7 351
Please be reminded that the Sacristy/Vestry which is adjacent to and behind the altar in our church is considered by the Orthodox Church to be part of the Sanctuary (Altar area) and should not be entered without the blessing of the priest for a specific purpose. If you need to speak with a member of the clergy while they are in the Sanctuary, please ask them to come to you in the nave.
Please remember Fr. Joseph and Kh. Joanna Bittle and their daughter Abigail in your prayers. Abigail, who was born prematurely and only recently came home after months in the NICU, has developed meningitis.
Please remember the following in your prayers: Maria Costas; Amy and Michael Surratt and Amy's family; Tom and Jennifer Skirtech and Jennifer's mother, Jessamine Hinkson; Warren and Sandi Strain and Warren's mother, Ouida Strain; Fr. Leo, Kh. Be'Be', Stephen and Amy, Justyn and Jeffrey; Steve, Sheryl and Stephen Chamblee; Amy and Brantley Oliver; Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Sam and Lamia Dabit; David Turner's mother Mary Jean.
Please continue to pray for the health of His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN.
Please be sure to schedule a time for Confession with your priest during the Fast of the Nativity.
Congratulations to Joanna Meadows and Jay Davis on the news of their engagement! The wedding is scheduled for May 19th.
Young Adults…Father John will be teaching on the Orthodox perspective in the rearing of children (including discipline) on Saturday, December 11th. There is a sign-up sheet in the hall outside the nave. Please be sure to sign-up. The teaching is open to any who wish to attend.
Come one; come all to the 2nd Annual Christmas Cookie Bake-off to be held at the church on Saturday, December 17th from 1-3 p.m. (Jennifer assures all that there will be no discrimination due to age, gender or being artistically challenged.) Parents will help little ones through stations and then have a chance to decorate some themselves. Snacks, drinks and activities will also be provided. Please let Jennifer or Emily know by December 16th if you will be attending. (Parents: the children will be working with peanut butter, chocolate and red food dye in case your child has any of these allergies.)
Windows into Heaven: We are looking for a volunteer to take charge of the small bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall that was used in the past to display icons, hymns and information about the major feasts that occur during the year. The packets of material needed for the bulletin board are available in the church office and only need to be changed for each of the feasts as they occur. We would like to have the bulletin board up before the Feast of the Nativity. If you are interested in taking on this responsibility, please let Fr. John know.
Parish Creative Arts Festival: The Christian Education classes will have a festival to work on their entries for this year's Creative Arts Festival on Saturday morning, February 4th from 9-12. There will be teaching about this year's conference theme and then time to work on the projects themselves. A Pizza lunch will be provided afterwards. Please make plans now for your children to attend.
Volunteers for Village Confections: We will be working at Village Confections (the bakery that benefits the Christmas Village ministry to mothers with unplanned pregnancies) on Friday evening, December 16th. If you would like to volunteer, please let Joanna or Anastasia know.
Breakfast and Bible Study: we are continuing to meet every 2-3 weeks for Bible Study on Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast. This is open to all who are interested. Be sure to come and enjoy the fellowship.
Calendar Items:
* The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month.
* During the Fast of the Nativity, as is our parish custom, we will celebrate the Advent Paraklesis in place of Daily Vespers on Wednesday evenings, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
* The feast day of St. Nicholas the Wonder-worker will be celebrated with Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia TOMORROW evening, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
* Father John and Father James are in Pensacola today for the Consecration of St. Andrew the Apostle Antiochian Ortthodox Church.
* We will celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord with Orthros and Divine Liturgy beginning at 10:00 p.m. Saturday, December 24th. Royal Hours for the Feast of the Nativity will be held at 7:00 a.m. on Friday, December 23rd.
* As is our custom, we will have Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia to celebrate the Circumcision of our Lord and the feast of St. Basil the Great on Sunday evening, December 31st, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
* Parish Creative Arts Festival – Saturday morning, February 4th from 9-12.
* The Annual Deanery Youth Retreat will be held on February 10-12, 2012 at John W. Kyle State Park in Sardis. Joel and Sarah Finley will be addressing the topic of the Culture of Dating. More information will be available as the time draws near.
* Father Thomas Hopko will be speaking at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Clinton February 14-16, 2012. More information will be available at a later date.
* The Youth Group is planning to hold their annual Cheesefare Fundraising Luncheon on Sunday, February 26th.
* His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN will be here the weekend of May 6, 2012 to help us celebrate our 25th anniversary as a parish. The planning committee is working very hard to make our celebration a memorable one. There will be an evening event at the MS Museum of Art on Saturday, May 6th. Other events are being planned and more information will be available in the coming months.
Fasting Discipline for December
In December the traditional fasting (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, wine and oil) is observed each day of the week until the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord. Note, however, through December 19th there is a katalysis on Tuesdays and Thursdays when wine and oil are permitted, and on Saturdays and Sundays when fish, wine and oil are permitted. There is no fasting from December 25th through January 4th.
Major Commemorations for December
December 4 Great-martyr Barbara and Father John Damascene
December 5 Sava the Sanctified
December 6 Nicholas of Myra
December 9 Conception of the Theotokos
December 12 Spyridon the Wonder-worker
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
If you are the last to leave the building, please make sure that the heating and cooling unit in the Fellowship Hall is turned off.
Happy Anniversary on December 21st to Fr. John and Kh. Janet Henderson (#37!)
Happy Birthdays in December:
December 1 -- Christina Katool
December 2 -- Jim Roehner
December 3 -- Stephanie Baker
-- Athena Zouboukos
December 4 -- Brenda Baker
December 8 -- Ben Brock
-- Sam Habeeb
-- Michael Surratt
December 11 -- Sh. Charlotte Algood
December 12 -- Jenna Skirtech
December 20 -- Steve Chamblee
-- Anna Freundt
December 21 -- Caroline Halley
December 27 -- Ben Skirtech
-- Warren Strain
-- Nicholas Zouboukos (#12!)
December 28 -- Sheryl Chamblee
Quotable: "Do not grudge anything to your brother, but do unto him as unto the Lord; especially as you do not know in whom the Lord will come and visit you; be impartial to all, be kind to all, sincere and hospitable."
St. John of Kronstadt
Worship: Sunday, December 11, 2011 (Twenty-ninth Sunday after Pentecost;
Sunday of the Forefathers)
Scripture: Colossians 5:4-11; Luke 14:16-24
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Sh. Charlotte Algood
Prosphora: Bakers
Coffee Hour: Ellis/Zouboukos
