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.
Previous Posts
3/18 announcements
3/11 announcements
2/19 announcements
2/12 announcements
2/5 announcements
1/29 announcements
1/22 announcements
1/15 announcements
1/8 announcements
1/1 announcements
Archives
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
July 2006
August 2006
October 2006
February 2007
March 2007
August 2007
September 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
August 2008
September 2008
October 2008
November 2008
December 2008
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
December 2009
January 2010
February 2010
March 2010
April 2010
May 2010
June 2010
July 2010
August 2010
September 2010
October 2010
November 2010
January 2011
February 2011
March 2011
April 2011
May 2011
June 2011
July 2011
August 2011
September 2011
October 2011
November 2011
December 2011
January 2012
February 2012
March 2012
April 2012
May 2012
June 2012
July 2012
August 2012
September 2012
October 2012
November 2012
December 2012
January 2013
February 2013
March 2013
April 2013
May 2013
June 2013
July 2013
August 2013
September 2013
October 2013
November 2013
December 2013
January 2014
February 2014
March 2014
April 2014
May 2014
June 2014
July 2014
August 2014
September 2014
October 2014
November 2014
December 2014
January 2015
February 2015
March 2015
April 2015
May 2015
June 2015
July 2015
August 2015
September 2015
December 2017
Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church
Madison, Mississippi
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
3/25 announcements
March 25, 2012
Fourth Sunday of Lent; Commemoration of St. John of the Ladder
Feast of the Annunciation
THE SCRIPTURE (Luke 1:26-38): The Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee (the northernmost district of Palestine) named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house (family) of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Rejoice, you who are full of grace, the Lord is with you! Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold you shall conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father (ancestor) David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob (the father of all the tribes of Israel) for ever; and of His kingdom there will be no end." And Mary said to the Angel, "How can this be, since I have no husband?" And the Angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God." And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid (servant) of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the Angel departed from her.
THE SIGNIFICANCE: This feast commemorates the day when the Archangel Gabriel announced to a young virgin named Mary that she, among all women, had found favor with the Father. She was invited to cooperate with Him for the Incarnation of His pre-eternal Son through the operation of the Holy Spirit. This, "the beginning of our salvation," was conditioned not only by God's will and His election of Mary, but also by Mary's own "YES" to do God's will - "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."
Hebrews 2:11-18: In this reading from Hebrews we see that our Lord Jesus Christ took upon himself the entirety of human nature 'that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest ... to make reconciliation for the sins of the people'.
Luke 1:24-38: The Gospel of St. Luke tells us of the Annunciation to Mary by the Archangel Gabriel that she shall bear a son who is the 'Son of God'.
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 the Annunciation: Today is the beginning of our salvation, and the manifestation of the mystery from the ages; for the Son of God becometh the Son of the Virgin, and Gabriel proclaimeth grace. Wherefore, do we shout with him to the Theotokos, Hail, O full of grace. The Lord is with you.
Kontakion of the Annunciation: To thee the champion leader, I thy servant offer thanks for victory, O Theotokos, thou who hast delivered me form terror. As thou hast power invincible, free me from every danger that I may cry unto thee: Rejoice, O bride without bridegroom.
CALENDAR
Sunday, March 25 ( 4th Sunday of Lent; Feast of the Annunciation)
Self-denial for self-glory is equally as vain as any endeavor not directed toward divine love and the glory of God. In St. John Climacus, seventh-century hermit and ascetic, we have a model of sacrifice directed to the love of fellow men. St. John knew that emptying himself of the things of this world was the act of renouncing his own efforts and accepting God's grace and mercy as true sustenance. The season of prayer and fasting is a time of true humility and complete submission to the Father's will. We proceed to the Great Feast, following a path of reconciliation and contemplation, seeking the adoration of the Son and His sacrifice, and emphasizing leaving the things of this world to attain perfect submission.
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 Fundraising Luncheon and Auction
Monday, March 26 (Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel)
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
Tuesday, March 27
NO Lenten Orthros
Wednesday, March 28
5:00 p.m. -- Catechism Class
6:30 p.m. -- Canon of St. Andrew of Crete
Thursday, March 29
NO Lenten Orthros
Friday, March 30
NO Lenten Orthros
6:30 p.m. -- Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos
Saturday, March 31
5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, April 1 (Fifth Sunday of Lent; St. Mary of Egypt)
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
1:00 p.m. -- Young Adults
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Dn. Richard Roots 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.
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.
March is Ladies Month. This is a time set aside to honor the women in our Archdiocese for their work for the good of others. During the month, our ladies will be reading the Epistle and partaking of communion first at the Divine Liturgy.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
March 25 R. Root Fundraiser Meal and Auction
(Set-up: R. Root/Jones/Pigott/Basinger)
April 1 Henderson Henderson/Schelver
April 7 (Sat. a.m.) Algood Algood
April 8 Katool Meadows/Joanna/Freundt
April 12 (Thurs. a.m.) Schelver Meadows
April 14 (Sat. a.m.) Morris Cooper
April 14 (Sat. p.m.) Jones Jones/Chamblee/?
April 22 Meadows Meadows/Lasseter
April 29 Joanna Meadows Ellis/Zouboukos
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#
March 25 Sh. Charlotte Algood Heb. 2:11-18 376
April 1 Tom Willingham Heb. 9:11-14 290
April 7 (Sat. a.m.) Brenda Baker Heb. 12:28-13:8 291
April 8 Tom Skirtech Phil. 4:4-9 294
April 12 (Thurs. a.m.) Kh. Sharon Meadows I Cor. 11:23-32 295
April 14 (Sat. a.m.) Sh. Charlotte Algood Rom. 6:3-11 300-301
April 14 (Sat. p.m.) Walt Wood Acts 1:1-8 25
April 22 Warren Strain Acts 5:12-20 32
April 29 Mildred Morris Acts 6:1-7 38
Please remember Fr. Joseph and Kh. Joanna Bittle and their daughter Abigail in your prayers.
Please continue to pray for the health of His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN.
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 their family; 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; Georgia Buchanan, George Johns (Georgia's grandson) and his family; Dorin and Carolina Lavric and Victor (Carolina's brother); Mary Greene (Lee and Kh. Sharon's sister); Joanna Meadows and Jay Davis (as they prepare for their wedding).
Isabelle Goss will be baptized on Great and Holy Saturday during the Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.
Oliver Yeatts will be chrismated on Saturday, May 12th at 10:30 a.m. Please keep him in your prayers.
Confessions: Please go ahead and schedule your confessions so we do not have so many people trying to fit it in just before Holy Week. No confessions will be heard after Great and Holy Wednesday.
When you host Coffee Hour or the meal for a Feast please make sure that the oven, warmer, and coffee maker are turned off afterwards. On several occasions in the past, the cleaning ladies have found the oven still on when they came in to clean later during the week.
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.
* As is our parish custom, we will celebrate the Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday evenings and the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos on Friday evenings during the time of the fast.
* The Ladies of St. Peter will hold their annual fund-raising lunch and auction TODAY.
* We will hold our annual catfish dinner on Palm Sunday, April 8th following the Divine Liturgy. Meals will be all-you-can-eat catfish, hushpuppies, cole slaw and French fries. Cost of the meal will be $9 for adults and children 12 and over, and $6 for children 5-11. There is a sign-up sheet in the fellowship hall. Please be sure to sign it if your family will be participating in the meal.
* 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.
* Stewpot schedule (together with Holy Resurrection) – July 21st and December 29th.
Fasting Discipline for March
The traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, wine and oil) is observed on all days of the week until Pascha (except Annunciation on March 25th and Palm Sunday on April 8th, when fish, wine and oil are permitted).
Major Commemorations for March
March 25 Feast of the Annunciation
4th Sunday of Lent; St. John Climacus
March 26 Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel
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 Anniversaries in March:
March 10 -- Fr. James and Kh. Sharon Meadows (#39!)
March 13 -- Warren and Sandra Strain (#18!)
March 15 -- Dn. Richard and Sh. Margaret Root (#37!)
March 27 -- Sam and Anne Habeeb (#8!)
Happy Birthdays in March:
March 3 -- Kay Carlton
March 6 -- Amy Surratt
March 9 -- Ian Jones
March 12 -- Alexa Zouboukos (#17!)
March 15 -- Emma Freundt
March 17 -- Cliff Stewart
March 20 -- Charlotte Wood
March 24 -- Brenden Skirtech (#8!)
March 26 -- Katherine Habeeb (#4!)
March 29 -- Sophie Dansereau (#1!)
March 30 -- Aidan Milnor (#6!)
Quotable: "In the field of mental health, there are a number of conditions that indicate the process of fragmentation in people in rather extreme ways. Schizophrenia, multiple personality disorder (now often called 'dissociative identity disorder'), and the borderline personality disorder are all examples of conditions in which individuals are obviously and seriously troubled by the fact that they are internally fragmented. More accurately, they are troubled not so much by their internal fragmentation per seas by the way they cope with it. "
Archimandrite. Meletios Webber, Bread and Water, Wine and
Oil: an Orthodox Christian Experience of God
Worship: Sunday, April 1, 2012 (Fifth Sunday of Lent; Commemoration of St. Mary of
Egypt)
Scripture: Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 10:32-45
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Tom Willingham
Prosphora: Henderson
Coffee Hour: Henderson/Schelver
