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
Saturday, December 15, 2012
12/16 announcements
December 16, 2012
Twenty-ninth Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday of the Forefathers
Colossians 3:4-11: As we read in Colossians, we see St Paul encouraging the Church to practice the virtues of compassion, kindness, and humility. He reminds us that love is the bond which holds us together and calls us to let the peace of Christ to rule us.
Luke 14:16-24: In the parable of the man who gave a dinner we see that not all who are called to dine will come and that the consequences of refusing the invitation are great.
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 Forefathers: Thou hast justified by faith the ancient forefathers and through them thou hast gone before and betrothed unto thyself the Church of the Gentiles. Let the saints, therefore, take pride in glory; for from their seed sprouted forth a noble fruit, and she it was who gavest birth to thee without seed. Wherefore, by their pleadings, O Christ God, 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 16 (Twenty-ninth Sunday after Pentecost)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
1:00 p.m. -- Young Adults
Monday, December 17
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
Tuesday, December 18
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Wednesday, December 19
6:30 p.m. -- Advent Paraklesis
Thursday, December 20 (St. Ignatios of Antioch, the God-bearer)
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Friday, December 21
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Saturday, December 22
5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour Prayers followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, December 23 (Sunday before the Nativity)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
5:30 p.m. -- Youth Group
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Morrises for the Divine Liturgy this morning.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
December 16 Morris Skirtech/Skirtech/Parker
December 23 Jones D. Root/Dansereau/Dale Cooper
December 24 (Mon pm) Meadows Katool/Strain/Dabit/Dabit
(Feast of the Nativity of our Lord)
December 30 Davis Pigott/Freundt/Turner
December 31 (Mon pm) Baker (Artoklasia Bread) No Meal
(Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord and Feastday of St. Basil the Great)
January 6 D. Root POT LUCK MEAL
(Feast of Theophany) (Set-up: Dansereau/Algood/Meadows)
January 13 Yeatts R. Root/Abraham/Davis
January 15 (Tues pm) Abraham Meadows
(Feast of the Veneration of the Chains of St. Peter)
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 16 Mildred Morris Col. 3:4-11 233
December 23 Phillip Lasseter Heb. 11:9-10, 32-40 348
December 24 (Mon pm) Kh. Be'Be' Schelver Gal. 4:4-7 351
December 30 Brenda Baker Gal. 1:11-19 188
January 6 Tom Willingham Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7 361
January 13 Tom Skirtech Eph. 4:7-13 364
January 15 (Tues pm) Sh. Charlotte Algood Acts 12:1-11 50-51
Please remember the following in your prayers: Steve, Sheryl and Stephen Chamblee; Amy and Brantley Oliver; Aidan Milnor, the Milnor family; Sam and Lamia Dabit and Sammie; Georgia Buchanan, George Johns (Georgia's grandson) and his family; Mary Greene (Lee and Kh. Sharon's sister); Fr. Stephen Tewfik; Sh. Gail Shannon; Dn. Sidney and Sh. Mary Elliot.
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 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 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.
Directory Update: the Surratts have a new mailing address:
P.O. 607
Ridgeland, MS 39158.
The Deanery Youth Retreat is scheduled for February 15-17, 2013. Sister Magdalene from the Monastery of St. John in England will be the speaker. Sister Magdalene will also be speaking at St. Peter's for two evenings around the time of the retreat. More details will be available at a later date. But be sure to mark your calendars now for the retreat and Sister Magdalene's talks!!
Calendar Items:
* The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month.
* As is our custom we will celebrate the Advent Paraklesis in place of Daily Vespers on Wednesday evenings during the Fast of the Nativity. (However, on the evening of December 5th, we will celebrate Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia for the Feast of St. Nicholas instead of the Paraklesis Service.) This is a very beautiful service. Please make plans to attend.
* We will celebrate the Nativity of our Lord with Royal Hours at 7:00 a.m. on Monday, December 24th and with Orthros and Divine Liturgy at 10:00 p.m. that evening. Metropolitan PHILIP has stipulated that this evening service can begin no earlier than 10:00 p.m.
* The Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord and the Feastday of St. Basil the Great will be celebrated with Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia on Monday evening, December 31st, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
* Because the Feast of Theophany falls on a Sunday this year, we will have the Royal Hours on Friday morning, January 4th instead of Daily Orthros, beginning at 6:00 a.m.
* The great Feast of Theophany will be celebrated on Sunday, January 6th with a Pot Luck meal following the Divine Liturgy. We will hold our traditional Blessing of the Waters at the Reservoir with our sister churches later that afternoon at Old Trace Park on the Ross Barnett Reservoir. (Time is TBA and more details will be available later).
* Stewpot schedule (together with Holy Resurrection) – December 29th.
* Deanery Youth Retreat is scheduled for February 15-17, 2013. More details later.
Supper Clubs: If you are interested in being a part of a supper club, please put your name on the sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall. Supper Clubs are scheduled to begin in January. If you have any questions, see Kh. Sharon.
Coffee Hour guidelines have been posted on the refrigerator in the kitchen. These list the items to be set out for Fasting and Non-fasting Coffee Hours along with guidelines for setting out the food and for storage afterwards. Please be sure that the power switch on the dishwasher is turned off when you are through with clean-up.
Fasting Discipline for December
During December the traditional fasting (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, wine and oil) is observed each day of the week. Note, however, through December 19th there is a katlysis 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 20 God-bearer Ignatius of Antioch
December 25 Nativity of our Lord
December 26 Synaxis of the Theotokos
December 27 Protomartyr Stephen
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 December:
December 21 -- Fr. John and Kh. Janet Henderson (#38!)
Happy Birthdays in December:
December 1 -- Christina Katool
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 (#13!)
December 28 -- Sheryl Chamblee
Building Fund: As we proceed with the plans for the approval by the City of Madison and Metropolitan PHILIP for our addition/renovation, we are reviewing our Building Fund. We currently have over $150,000 in the fund and are regularly adding to it. The Parish Council has decided to apply cash donations from the Sunday offering to the Building Fund – UNLESS it is specified or otherwise apparent that these are intended as a regular tithe/donation. Of course, other donations by check, etc., specified for the Building Fund are always welcome! So feel free to chip in a little (or lot!) extra as you are able. With God's grace, we look forward to this next phase of our building program and beyond to the next phase of building a new main church building/temple.
Quotable: "Let us therefore, my beloved brethren, be eager to find Christ and see Him as He is, in His beauty and attractiveness. We see many men who are moved by the desire of transitory things to endure many toils and labors. They will travel great distance and even disregard wife and children and every other glory and enjoyment, and prefer nothing to their purpose in order that they may secure the attainment of their goal. If, then, there are some who make every effort to attain transitory and temporal ends even to the point of laying down their very lives, shall we not deliver our souls and bodies to death for the sake of the King of kings and Lord of lords (I Tim. 6:15), the Creator and Sovereign of all things."
St. Symeon the New Theologian
Worship: Sunday, December 23, 2012 (Sunday before the Nativity of our Lord)
Scripture: Hebrews 11:9-10; 17:23, 32-40; Matthew 1:1-25
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Phillip Lasseter
Prosphora: Jones
Coffee Hour: D. Root/Dansereau/Dale Cooper
