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, March 05, 2014
3/9 announcements
March 9, 2014
Sunday of Orthodoxy
Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste
On the first Sunday of Great Lent, we celebrate the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. This is an historical feast commemorating the restoration of the icons, which had been banned for several decades, to their rightful liturgical use in the year 843 A.D.
The major emphasis of this feast is the victory of the true faith, the victory which always ultimately triumphs. Having completed the first week of our lenten efforts, we are reminded that Christ, the perfect image of God the Father, calls us to personal victory by restoring within ourselves "the image and likeness of God" in which we were first created (Genesis 1:26).
The icons of Our Lord, the Theotokos, and all the saints are images of true humanity, signs of what our eternal calling and vocation really is. They tell us that we are all called to be living icons and imitators of Christ, bearing the likeness of God as gracious vessels of the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 12:1-10: In his letter to the Hebrews, St. Paul reminds us of the great cloud of witnesses that surrounds us and of the need for endurance. He encourages us to look to our Lord so that we might gain strength for the struggle lest we grow weary and become discouraged.
John 1:43-51: From our reading in the Gospel of John we see Jesus call Philip and Nathaniel to be His disciples.
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 of the Sunday of Orthodoxy: Thy pure image do we venerate, O good One, asking forgiveness of our sins, O Christ our God; for by thine own will thou didst ascend the Cross in thy body, to save thy creatures from the bondage of the enemy. Thou hast truly filled all with joy, since thou didst come, O our Saviour, to save the world.
Troparion of the Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste: By reason of the sufferings of the saints endured out of love for Thee, we implore Thee, O Lord and Lover of Mankind, to deliver us from all our pains.
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 Sundays of Lent: 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 9 (Sunday of Orthodoxy)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
6:00 p.m. -- Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers at Holy Resurrection
Monday, March 10
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
Tuesday, March 11
6:00 a.m. -- Lenten Orthros
Wednesday, March 12
6:30 p.m. -- Presanctified Liturgy followed by Soup Supper
Thursday, March 13
NO Daily Orthros
Friday, March 14
NO Daily Orthros
6:30 p.m. -- Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos
Saturday, March 15
8:30 a.m. -- Workday at the Church
5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, March 2 (Second Sunday of Lent; St. Gregory of Palamas)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
5:00 p.m. -- Young Adults
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Bakers for the Divine Liturgy this morning.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
March 9 Baker Stewart/Meadows
March 16 Wood Ellis/Zouboukos/Fahmy
March 23 R. Root Pigott/Brock/Strain
March 24 (Mon. p.m.) Henderson Anastasia Jones
March 30 Algood Skirtech/Skirtech/Parker
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 9 Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 12:1-10 375
March 16 Mildred Morris Heb. 1:10-2:3 283
March 23 Kh. Be'Be' Schelver Heb. 4:14-5:6 285
March 24 (Mon. p.m.) Brenda Baker Heb. 2:11-18 376
March 30 Sh. Charlotte Algood Heb. 6:13-20 287
Continue to pray for Metropolitan Paul (who is also the brother of our Patriarch) and the Syriac Archbishop John of Aleppo who were abducted 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 remember Fr. Joseph and Kh. Joanna Bittle, and their daughter Abigail, in your prayers.
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 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; Athena and Anthony Zouboukos and their family.
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.
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 confession will be heard after Great and Holy Wednesday.
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 March 16th. 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.
Paschal Meal: We are looking for volunteers to take charge of the meal following the Paschal Service on Saturday evening, April 19th. We plan to have a pot luck meal with the church providing a ham. A sign-up sheet will be available for people to specify what they want to bring (e.g. breakfast casserole, appetizer or dessert) so that we know what will be brought. We are also asking for volunteers to clean up afterwards. Gentlemen, this is a wonderful opportunity for you to help! Clean up will be important because we will be hosting the Agape Vespers the following afternoon.
Agape Vespers: We are looking for about three volunteers to help plan the meal following Agape Vespers and to co-ordinate with the other churches. Clean-up will be provided by our janitorial staff afterwards.
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.
* This year our Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers will be held at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Clinton tonight, beginning at 6:00 p.m.
* As is our parish custom, we will celebrate the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Wednesday evenings and the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos on Friday evenings during Great Lent. Both services will begin at 6:30 p.m.
* The next Workday at the Church is scheduled for Saturday morning, March 15th, beginning with breakfast at 8:30 a.m.
* The Young Adults will meet at the church Sunday, March16th from 5:00-6:30 p.m.
* We will celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation with Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy on Monday evening, March 24th, beginning at 6:00 p.m.
* The Youth Group will meet for a meal and Christian Education with Father John on Sunday evenings, March 23rd and March 30th beginning at 5:30 p.m.
* We will hold our annual catfish dinner on Palm Sunday, April; 13th following the Divine Liturgy. Meals 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.
Canned food drive: The Christian Education classes are collecting canned good s for the needy.
Fasting Discipline for March
March 2nd is Cheese Fare Sunday, the last day until Pascha that dairy and wine are permitted. Monday , March 3rd is Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent when the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, wine or oil) is observed on all days of the week until Pascha (except Annunciation on March 25th and Palm Sunday on April 13th, when fish, wine and oil are permitted).
Major Commemorations for March
March 9 1st Sunday of Lent; Sunday of Orthodoxy; Holy Forty Martyrs of
Sebaste
March 16 2nd Sunday of Lent; St. Gregory of Palamas
March 23 3rd Sunday of Lent; Adoration of the Holy Cross
March 25 Feast of the Annunciation
March 26 Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel
March 30 4th Sunday of Lent; St. John Climacus
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).
Suggestions on use of the Cry Room:
-- Please remember you're in liturgy when you're in the cry room.
-- Its main purpose should be a place for parents to take their children if they're being disruptive during liturgy, staying for 5-10 minutes (or until the child is calmed down) and then returning to liturgy.
-- It should not be used as a main sitting area during the liturgy.
-- Children should not be eating snacks or watching electronic devices while in the cry room.
Happy Birthdays in March:
March 3 -- Kay Carlton
March 6 -- Amy Surratt
March 9 -- Ian Jones
March 12 -- Alexa Zouboukos (#19!)
March 17 -- Cliff Stewart
March 20 -- Charlotte Wood
March 24 -- Brenden Skirtech (#10!)
March 26 -- Katherine Habeeb (#6!)
March 29 -- Sophie Dansereau (#3!)
March 30 -- Aidan Milnor (#8!)
Happy Anniversaries in March:
March 10 -- Fr. James and Kh. Sharon Meadows (#41!)
March 13 -- Warren and Sandra Strain (#20!)
March 15 -- Dn. Richard and Sh. Margaret Root (#39!)
March 27 -- Sam and Anne Habeeb (#10!)
Quotable: "The first Christians used the Sign of the Cross constantly. Tertullian, a writer of the latter part of the second century, says of it: 'At every motion and at every step, entering in or going out, when dressing, bathing, going to meals, lighting the lamp, sleeping or sitting, whatever we do, or whithersoever we go, we mark our foreheads with the Sign of the Cross.' St. Cyril of Jerusalem writes: 'Let us not be ashamed to confess the Crucified; let us boldly make the Sign of the Cross on the forehead, and on everything; on the bread which we eat; on the cups from which we drink; let us make it at our going out , and coming in; when we lie down to sleep, and when we rise, when we journey, and when we rest: It is a safeguard, given to the poor without price, to the weak without labor. For this is the Grace of God; a token for the Faithful, and a terror for evil spirits."
Rev. Fr. David F. Abramtsov, The Orthodox Companion
Worship: Sunday, March 16, 2014 (Second Sunday of Lent; St. Gregory of Palamas)
Scripture: Hebrews 1:10-2:3; Mark 2:1-12
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Mildred Morris
Prosphora: Wood
Coffee Hour: Ellis/Zouboukos/Fahmy
