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
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
5/13 announcements
May 13, 2012
Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
This Sunday concludes the week which includes mid-Pentecost. The scriptures for that day make reference to the great and final feast and the Lord's words concerning fountains of living water and the nourishment of the spirit. The episode of the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well and Jesus's further description of Himself as living water continue this theme. There are innumerable nuances to the message of this episode, ranging from the allusion to the patriarch Joseph to the faith of those who believe without seeing, but let us concentrate on the woman who comes into the presence of her God. Christ asks service of her, asks her to ignore their traditional enmity, confuses her with parables, confronts her with her sins, and claims to be her Messiah and Lord. She enters the scene with skepticism, but she does not let circumstances blind her, for the words of the man before her ring with unmistakable authority and truth. Whether she wants to or not, she must believe herself to be in the presence of the Son of God; she not only believes, but she quickly bears witness to the others of her town. We join her in her faith, and we, too, partake of the Water of Life.
Acts 11:19-30: Reading in Acts, we see the establishment of the first predominately Gentile church in Antioch under the leading of Barnabas and Saul.
John 4:5-42: In Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman we see our Lord's concern with the truth, both in our dealings with others and in our worship of God. We also see that spreading the eternal gospel of the Kingdom is a corporate action and not that of just one or two.
Troparion of the Resurrection: Having learned the joyful message of the Resurrection from the angel, the women Disciples cast from them their parental condemnation, and proudly broke the news to the Disciples, saying, Death has been spoiled. Christ God is risen, granting the world Great Mercy.
Troparion for mid-Pentecost: In the midst of this Feast, O Saviour, give my thirsty soul to drink of the waters of true worship; for thou didst call out to all, saying, Whosoever is thirsty, let him come unto me and drink. Wherefore, O Christ our God, Fountain of life, glory to thee.
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 ARejoice@ to the myrrh-bearing women, granting peace to Thine apostles and bestowing resurrection on the fallen.
CALENDAR
Sunday, May 13 (Sunday of the Samaritan Woman)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
12:00 p.m. -- Coffee Hour honoring Melissa Curtis
5:30 p.m. -- Youth Group
Monday, May 14
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
Tuesday, May 15
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Wednesday, May 16
5:00 p.m. -- Catechism Class
6:30 p.m. -- Daily Vespers
Thursday, May 17
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Friday, May 18
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Saturday, May 19
1:00 p.m. -- Meadows/Davis Wedding
Ninth Hour and Great Vespers have been Cancelled
Sunday, May 20 (Sunday of the Blindman)
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 Freundts for the Divine Liturgy today.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
May 13 Freundt Morris/Jones/Stewart
May 20 Wood Fahmy/Pigott
May 23 (Wed. p.m.) Baker
May 27 Fahmy R. Root/Algood
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.
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 13 Tom Willingham Acts 11:19-30 52
May 20 Kh. Be'Be' Schelver Acts 16:36-34 58
May 23 (Wed. p.m.) Brenda Baker Acts 1:1-12 63
May 27 Tom Skirtech Acts 20:16-18, 28-36 66
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 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 and Sammie; 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); Fr. Stephen Tewfik; Dn. Howard Shannon.
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.
Congratulations to Melissa Curtis who was a member of the Madison Central Academic Decathlon Team that won third place in the National Competition in Albuquerque, NM! Melissa had the highest score on her team. We are also honoring Melissa this morning at Coffee Hour as a graduating high school senior.
Congratulations to George Wood on his graduation from Mississippi College!
Joanna Meadows and Jay Davis will be joined in the sacrament of Holy Matrimony here at St. Peter's on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. (Ninth Hour and Great Vespers have been Cancelled for that evening.)
Baby Shower: On Sunday, May 27th, we will have a "Coffee Hour/Baby Shower" in honor of Nikki and Phillip Lasseter following the liturgy. The hostesses will be Lynda Costas, Sh. Margaret Root, Anastasia Jones, Sh. Charlotte Algood, and Kh. Be'Be' Schelver. If you'd like to buy a baby gift for Titus, they're registered at Target and Babies-R-Us. Come and help us celebrate a new addition to our church!
Opportunity for Almsgiving: Ian Jones will be travelling to Hogar Rafael Ayau in Guatemala the first week in June as part of a mission team led by Father Chad Hatfield. They plan to help the nuns prepare for their patronal feast, catechize incoming members of the church and help in moving the orphanage out to the monastery and away from its current location in one of the most crime-ridden parts of Guatemala City. As a team member, he is attempting to raise $1100. If you would like to contribute to this cause, make your check out to St. Vladimir's Seminary, earmarked "Guatemala Mission Trip 2012," and mail it to Ian at the following address:
St. Vladimir's Theological Seminary
575 Scarsdale Road
Tuckahoe, New York 10707
Pentecost Feast: On June 3rd, Pentecost, we will have a "directed pot luck." Kh. Janet Henderson and Kh. Be'Be' Schelver are the hostesses in charge. There will be a sign-up sheet posted on the bulletin board in the fellowship hall. Please make an effort to sign up soon for this and plan to attend this joyous occasion.
Annual GreekFest Celebration: Holy Trinity and St. John the Theologian Greek Orthodox Church will be holding their annual GreekFest May 18th-20th at the church (located on Pear Orchard Road across from Christ United Methodist Church). For more information, see one of the flyers on the information table in the hallway outside the nave.
Calendar Items:
* The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month.
* Coffee Hour honoring Melissa Curtis' graduation from high school today.
* Joanna Meadows and Jay Davis' wedding on Saturday, May 19th.
* We will celebrate the Leave-taking of Pascha with Paschal Vespers on Tuesday evening, May 22nd, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
* We will celebrate the Feast of the Ascension with Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy on Wednesday evening, May 23rd, beginning at 6:00 p.m.
* Coffee Hour and Baby Shower for Nikki and Phillip Lasseter on Sunday, May 27th.
* Stewpot schedule (together with Holy Resurrection) – July 21st and December 29th.
Fasting Discipline for May
The traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, wine and oil) is observed on all Wednesdays and Fridays of the month.
Major Commemorations for May
May 13 Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
May 20 Sunday of the Blindman
May 21 Sts. Constantine and Helen
May 24 Feast of the Ascension
May 25 The Forerunner (3rd Discovery)
May 27 Sunday of the Holy Fathers of Nicea
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.
Happy Anniversaries in May:
May 12 -- Cliff and Anna Kathryn Stewart (#5!)
May 14 -- Lorencz and Geraldine Quirk (#52!)
May 30 -- Tom and Jennifer Skirtech (#35!)
Happy Birthdays in May:
May 5 -- Dale Cooper
-- Joanna Meadows
-- Mary Greene
May 7 -- Tiffany Strain (#15!)
May 8 -- Kh. Janet Henderson
May 10 -- Fr. Leo Schelver
May 11 -- Meghan Brock
May 15 -- Tom Skirtech
May 21 -- Jacob Skirtech (#5!)
May 24 -- Paul Katool
-- Daniel Root
May 26 -- David Turner
May 27 -- Luke Habeeb (#7!)
May 30 -- Dn. Terry Algood
May 31 -- Stephen Chamblee
Quotable: "However, it seemed obvious to our spiritual teachers, just as it seems obvious in the modern world, that there is something broken about the way the mind works, par-ticularly in those situations where the mind seems to have a life of its own. Unlike a computer, the mind does not have an 'off' switch. When we are not actually using it, it carries on under its own power, behaving as if it were in charge and issuing a constant stream of comments and challenges, almost all of which are of a negative character. As we have seen, the Fathers call this activity logismoi, and although these thoughts are not evil of themselves (most of them start as simple speculations of the 'what if' variety), the spiritual experts maintain that all sin has its roots in this stream of thought."
Archimandrite. Meletios Webber, Bread and Water, Wine and Oil: an Orthodox Christian Experience of God
Worship: Sunday, May 20, 2012 (Sunday of the Blindman)
Scripture: Acts 16:16-34; John 9:1-38
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Kh. Be'Be' Schelver
Prosphora: Wood
Coffee Hour: Fahmy/Pigott
