November 24, 2013
Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday after the Presentation of the Theotokos
Galatians 6:11-18: In the conclusion of his letter to the Galatians, St Paul reminds them that to be circumcised or uncircumcised is not the issue, but rather to be a new creation in Christ Jesus.
Luke 18:18-27: In the Gospel according to St Luke we hear our Lord tell us via an encounter with a rich, young ruler that to obtain eternal life we must be willing to give up everything that we possess in service to the Kingdom of God.
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 Presentation of the Theotokos: Today the Virgin is the foreshadowing of the pleasure of God, and the beginning of the preaching of the salvation of mankind. You have appeared in the Temple of God openly and have gone before, preaching Christ to all. Let us shout with one thrilling voice, saying, Rejoice, O you who are the fulfillment of the Creator's dispensation.
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 Presentation of the Theotokos: The all-pure temple of the Saviour, the most precious bridal-chamber and Virgin, the treasure-house of the glory of God, today enters the Temple of the Lord, bringing with her the grace which is in the divine Spirit; whom also the angels of God do celebrate in song; for she is the heavenly tabernacle.
CALENDAR
Sunday, November 24 (Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
5:30 p.m. -- Youth Group
Monday, November 25 (Great-martyrs Catherine and Mercurios)
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
Tuesday, November 26
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Wednesday, November 27
6:30 p.m. -- Advent Paraklesis
Thursday, November 28
NO Daily Orthros
Friday, November 29
NO Daily Orthros
Saturday, November 30 (Apostle Andrew the First-called)
5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, December 1 (Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by Joneses for the Divine Liturgy this morning and the Artoklasia Bread was offered by the Meadows for the Feast of the Presentation of the Theotokos in the Temple this past Wednesday evening.
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
November 24 Jones D. Root/Dansereau/Dale Cooper
December 1 Davis R. Root/Abraham/Habeeb
December 5 (Thu pm) Henderson (Artoklasia Bread) No Meal
(Feast of St. Nicholas)
December 8 D. Root POT LUCK MEAL
(set-up: Algood/Yeatts/Lasseter)
December 15 Yeatts Schelver/Lavric/Turner
December 22 Abraham Henderson/Baker/Lockhart
December 24 (Tue pm) Fahmy POT LUCK MEAL
(Feast of the Nativity of our Lord)
December 29 Wood Jones/Stewart/Meadows
December 31 (Tue pm) Baker (Artoklasia Bread) No Meal
(Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord; Feast of St. Basil the Great)
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#
November 24 Kh. Be'Be' Schelver Gal. 6:11-18 198
December 1 Brenda Baker Eph. 2:4-10 202
December 5 (Thu pm) NO Reading
December 8 Walt Wood Eph. 2:14-22 207
December 15 Sh. Charlotte Algood Col. 3:4-11 233
December 22 Warren Strain Heb. 11:9-10, 17-23, 32-40 348
December 24 (Tue pm) Kh. Sharon Meadows Gal. 4:4-7 351
December 29 Mildred Morris Gal. 1:11-19 188
December 31 NO Reading
Please remember Fr. Joseph and Kh. Joanna Bittle, and their daughter Abigail, in your prayers.
Continue to pray for Metropolitan Paul (who is also the brother of our Patriarch) and the Syriac Archbishop John of Aleppo who were abducted recently while on a humanitarian mission in Syria.
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;
Fr. Alexander Atty, the Dean of St. Thikon's who is battling cancer.
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.
Calendar Items:
* The Men of the parish meet for lunch and fellowship on the first Thursday of the month.
* The Ladies of St. Peter will meet at 10:00 a.m. on the second Saturday of each month to pray the Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children. Those who are able will go out for lunch and fellowship afterwards.
* The Youth Group will meet for a meal and Christian Education with Father John on Sunday evenings, November 24th, December 8th and 22nd , beginning at 5:30 p.m.
* We will celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas the Wonder-worker with Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia on Thursday evening, December 5th, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
* The Young Adults will meet at the church Sunday, December 15th from 5:00-6:30 p.m.
* During the Fast of the Nativity we will have the Advent Paraklesis in place of Daily Vespers on Wednesday evenings beginning on November 27th at 6:30 p.m.
* The Ladies of St. Peter will not meet for lunch and fellowship on the fourth Tuesday of November and December, due to the holiday seasons. More information will be available once the dates for those two months have been set.
* The Christian Education classes will present a play during Coffee Hour on Sunday, December 22nd. More information will be available soon.
Canned food drive: The Christian Education classes are collecting canned good s for the needy.
Young Adults Study Group: The Young Adults will meet once a month on Sunday evening from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. (time will be strictly adhered to) for a meal, fellowship and teaching. The next meeting will be December 15th. Please let Father John know by text or e-mail if you will be there, so that plans may be made for the meal.
Parents, please supervise your children with food in the Fellowship Hall. We are getting stains on the new carpet (and also the chairs in the nave).
The website of the Episcopal Assembly has recently posted important statements concerning Orthodoxy. (Two of these statements are located on the Bulletin Board in the Fellowship Hall. Please be sure to take a look at them.) The website is an important source of information on the Orthodox Church.
Amy Surratt has volunteered to be in charge of the Angel Tree here at St. Peter's this year. Information is available in the Fellowship Hall. Gifts are due back to the church by December 6th.
Nativity Feast: This year we will be doing something new for our meal following the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Nativity. It will be a true Pot Luck Meal. Every family is asked to bring a dish. If your dish requires cooking, that should be done at home BEFORE you come. The warmer will be turned on to keep casseroles warm during the service. Please be sure to TAKE YOUR DISH home with you when you leave (even if you have to leave a little early). No one will be staying late to wash dishes after the meal.
Fasting Discipline for November
The traditional fasting (no meat, dairy, fish, wine or oil) is observed all Wednesdays and Fridays of the month. Beginning November 15th, the first day of the Nativity Fast, the traditional fasting 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.
Major Commemorations for November
November 25 St. Catherine the Great-martyr
November 30 Apostle Andrew, the First-called
Happy Birthdays in November:
November 5 -- Alexia Parker (#16!)
November 11 -- Beth Ann Baker
November 13 -- Sophia Skirtech (#5!)
-- Summer Goss
November 17 -- Karen Cooper
November 21 -- Ken Jones
November 24 -- Mildred Morris
November 29 -- Mike Pigott
Happy Anniversaries in November:
November 26 -- Glenn and Mildred Morris (#47!)
November 28 -- Dn. Terry and Sh. Charlotte Algood (#42!)
Quotable: "That most perfect of prayers, the 'Our Father,' contains all the things for which we should pray, and also indicates the order of importance according to which our requests should be made. Therefore, in the first of the seven petitions which constitute this the best of prayers we ask that God be acknowledged and glorified and praised throughout the earth. In the second petition we pray that we may one day possess the Kingdom of Heaven, which God has prepared for us. And since this great Kingdom can only be entered and enjoyed by those who do God's Will on earth, we beg in the third petition that we may be enabled at all times to keep His commandments. In the fourth petition we beg of God those worldly and spiritual necessities without which we can sustain neither the life of our bodies nor that of our souls. Next we ask to e preserved from evils of soul and body, imploring deliverance from our debts and sins which would exclude us from the Kingdom of God. We then pray for victory over temptation which would hinder us from doing God's Will. In concluding this beautiful prayer, we ask to be delivered from all those evils that might imperil our spiritual or earthly life, such as sudden death, famine, war, pestilence and the like."
Rev. Fr. David F. Abramtsov, The Orthodox Companion
Worship: Sunday, December 1, 2013 (Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost)
Scripture: Ephesians 2:4-10; Matthew 22:2-14
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Brenda Baker
Prosphora: Davis
Coffee Hour: R. Root/Abraham/Habeeb