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
Friday, December 27, 2013
12/29 announcements
December 29, 2013
Sunday after the Nativity of Christ
Galatians 1:11-19: St. Paul defends his ministry in his letter to the Galatians, telling them of how his former way of life was changed by a direct revelation from the Lord, and of his actions immediately afterwards.
Matthew 2:13-23: From the Gospel of Matthew we hear the fulfillment of several prophecies concerning the incarnation of our Lord.
Troparion of the Resurrection: When thou, O immortal Life, didst humble thyself unto death, then didst thou destroy death by the brightness of thy Godhead; and when thou didst raise the bowels of the earth, then all the heavenly powers exclaimed, O Christ, thou art the Giver of life! Glory to thee, O our God!
Troparion of the Nativity: Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, hath given rise to the light of knowledge in the world; for they that worshiped the stars did learn therefrom to worship thee, O Sun of justice, and to know that from the east of the Highest thou didst come; O Lord, glory to thee.
Troparion of the Sunday after Nativity: Proclaim, O Joseph, to David, the grandparent of God, the amazing wonders; for thou hast seen a Virgin great with child; for with the shepherds thou didst give glory, with the Magi thou didst worship, and by the angel it was revealed to thee. Wherefore, plead thou 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 of Nativity: Today the Virgin giveth birth to the Transcendent in essence; the earth offereth a cave to the unapproachable One; the angels with the shepherds glorify him; and the Magi with the star travel on their way; for a new child hath been born for our sakes, God before the ages.
CALENDAR
Sunday, December 29 (Sunday after the Nativity)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
Monday, December 30
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
Tuesday, December 31
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
6:30 p.m. -- Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia
Wednesday, January 1 (Circumcision of our Lord; St. Basil the Great)
NO Services
Thursday, January 2
NO Daily Orthros
11:30 a.m. -- Men's Lunch
Friday, January 3
6:00 a.m. -- Royal Hours
Saturday, January 4
10:30 a.m. -- Baptism of Adrian Lavric
5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, January 5 (Sunday before Theophany)
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 Fahmys for the Feast of the Nativity this past Tuesday night and by the Woods for the Divine Liturgy this morning.
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 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)
January 5 R. Root Ellis/Zouboukos/Fahmy
January 6 (Mon. a.m.) Henderson Christina Katool
January 12 Algood POT LUCK MEAL
set-up: Pigott/Brock/Strain
January 15 (Wed. p.m.) Schelver Anastasia Jones
(Feast of the Veneration of the Chains of St. Peter)
January 19 Morris Skirtech/Skirtech/Parker
January 26 Jones D. Root/Dansereau/Dale Cooper
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 29 Mildred Morris Gal. 1:11-19 188
December 31 NO Reading
January 5 Phillip Lasseter II Tim. 4:5-8 354
January 6 (Mon. a.m.) Kh. Be'Be' Schelver Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7 361
January 12 Brenda Baker Eph. 4:7-13 364
January 15 (Wed. p.m.) Sh. Charlotte Algood Acts 12:1-11 50-51
January 19 Warren Strain Col. 3:4-11 233
January 26 Kh. Sharon Meadows I Tim. 4:9-15 252
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.
Terrorists have abducted 12 Orthodox nuns from the Convent of St. Thekla in Syria. Please keep them in your prayers.
Please continue to pray for the health of His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN.
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; Walt and Charlotte Wood and their family; Tom and Jennifer Skirtech and their family; Tom and Kathy Willingham.
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.
Mary Guy is still at home recovering from back surgery. Please keep her in your prayers.
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, January 5th and 26th, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
* Royal Hours for the Feast of Theophany will be held on Friday, January 3rd, beginning at 6:00 a.m.
* We will celebrate the Feast of Theophany with Divine Liturgy (only) on Monday morning, January 6th, beginning at 6:00 a.m.
* As is our custom, we hold the Annual Blessing of the Water at the Ross Barnett Reservoir with the other Orthodox Churches in the area on Sunday, January 12th, beginning at 4:00 p.m. Those who are interested will go to Cock of the Walk for supper afterwards.
* We will celebrate our patronal feast of the Veneration of the Chains of St. Peter on Wednesday evening, January 15th with Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy beginning at 6:00 p.m.
* The Young Adults will meet at the church Sunday, January 19th from 5:00-6:30 p.m.
* Deanery Youth Retreat with Sister Magdalene – February 14-16th.
Adrian Lavric will be baptized next Saturday morning, January 4th, at 10:30 a.m.! Please keep him, his parents and his godparents in your prayers.
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 January 19th. Please let Father John know by text or e-mail if you will be there, so that plans may be made for the meal.
Metropolitan Philip has given the Antiochian Women the project of raising money for the orphans of the war in Syria. He has asked them to raise $200,000 towards this project. All monies raised are to be distributed directly to the affected areas. Please read information regarding "Help the Orphans of War in Syria" posted on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall. If you wish to contribute to this project, please make your donation to the Ladies of St. Peter noting it is for "Help the Orphans of War in Syria." They will be collecting money for this project through the coming months.
Sister Magdalene from the Monastery of St. John the Baptist in Essex, England will be the speaker at the Deanery Youth Retreat, February 14-16th. The topic of the Retreat will be "Our Faith, My Life." Following the Retreat, she will be at St. Peter's Sunday evening and Monday and will fly home to England on Tuesday, the 18th. Father John will be arranging times for speaking engagements and meetings during her stay. More information will be available at a later date.
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).
Fasting Discipline for January
From December 25th through January 4th there is no abstinence of any sort and all typed of food are permitted. The forefeast of Theophany (January 5th) is observed as a strict fast day (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy wine or oil). The traditional fasting is observed on the remaining Wednesdays and Fridays of the month.
Major Commemorations for January
January 1 Feast of the Circumcision of our lord and feastday of St. Basil the Great
January 6 Theophany
January 7 Synaxis of the Forerunner
January 11 Theodosios the Head of Monasteries
January 18 Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria
January 20 Euthymios the Great
January 25 Gregory the Theologian
January 27 John Chrysostom
January 31 Cyros and John the Unmercenary Healers
Canned food drive: The Christian Education classes are collecting canned good s for the needy.
Last Tuesday morning a$10 bill was found on the floor of the Narthex. If you lost this bill, please see Kh. Sharon. If no one claims the money, it will be placed in the Tithe Box.
Happy Birthdays in January:
January 1 -- Dn. Richard Root
January 5 -- Sarah Anne Milnor
January 10 -- Georgia Buchanan
January 11 -- Nicholas Henderson
January 12 -- Cheryl Pigott
January 13 -- Nader Dabit
January 19 -- Saliba (Sam) Dabit
January 20 -- Alfred Katool
January 22 -- Tatiana Lavric
January 24 -- Oliver Yeatts
January 26 -- Jay Davis
January 29 -- Michelle Pigott
January 30 -- Chris Dansereau
Happy Anniversaries in January:
January 10 -- Bob and Georgia Buchanan (#27!)
January 17 -- Chris and Rebecca Dansereau (#5!)
January 19 -- Ramzi and Jean Kafoury (#11!)
Quotable: "The Theotokos is higher than all of the Holy Angels and Holy Persons. She is completely aware of what we require spiritually; of all the joys and sorrows we have here on earth. She herself passed through all the trials of earthly life. The Virgin Mary's intercession has immense power with God. If the prayers of the Saints, His servants, have so much power with God, what must those of His Mother have! The Holy Angels are the ministers and messengers of God; they are the guardians of our souls and bodies. We ask them to lay our prayers at the Throne of God. The Saints served God while they lived on earth. They fulfilled God's Laws better than anyone. They taught people the good life; suffered for God's Truth; knew how to bear the very lack of life's necessities; patiently bore misfortune and unhappiness in life. We turn to them in prayer as to our protectors and helpers in our various undertakings. We pray for health, for success in our work. In times of happiness we turn to them with thanksgiving; others who sorrow, cry out to them in their grief. The Saints knew all of this and experienced it themselves in their earthly life. In all of these things they intercede with God for us. And are not the Saints in glory our beloved brothers and sisters in the Communion of Saints? Are not they like we members of Christ's Mystical Body, the Church? We may not know them, but they know us and love us and pray for us!"
Rev. Fr. David F. Abramtsov, The Orthodox Companion
Worship: Sunday, January 4, 2014 (Sunday before Theophany)
Scripture: II Timothy 4:5-8; Mark 1:1-8
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Phillip Lasseter
Prosphora: R. Root
Coffee Hour: Ellis/Zouboukos/Fahmy
