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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Homily for Tuesday, January 10, 2018
Homily for September 13, 2015
second set of announcements for 9/20
9/13 announcements
9/6 announcements
Homily for August 30, 2015
Homily for August 16, 2015
8/30 announcements
Homily for August 16, 2015
8/23 announcements
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Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church
Madison, Mississippi
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
11/30 announcements
November 30, 2014
Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost
The Holy Apostle Andrew the First-called
I Corinthians 4:9-16: We hear St Paul speak to the Corinthians as their spiritual father and exhort them to imitate him in their actions.
John 1:35-51: In the Gospel account we hear of the calling of the first Apostles, beginning with Andrew who had been a disciple of St. John the Forerunner.
Troparion of the Resurrection: O compassionate One, thou didst descend from the heights; thou didst submit to the three-day burial, that thou might deliver us from passion. Thou art our Life and our Resurrection, O Lord, glory to thee.
Troparion of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-called: As the first-called of the Apostles, and brother of their leader, O Andrew, entreat the Master of all that peace be granted unto the world and great mercy to 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, November 30 (Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost; Holy Apostle Andrew)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
Monday, December 1
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
Tuesday, December 2
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Wednesday, December 3
6:30 p.m. -- Advent Paraklesis
Thursday, December 4 (Great-martyr Barbara and St. John of Damascus)
11:30 a.m. -- Men's Lunch
Friday, December 5 (St. Sava the Sanctified)
Saturday, December 6 (St. Nicholas the Wonder-worker)
9:00 a.m. -- Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy
5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, December 7 (Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost)
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 Dn. Richard Roots for the Divine Liturgy today.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
November 30 R. Root Karam/Stewart/Meadows
December 6 (Sat am) Henderson Sh. Charlotte Algood
(Feast of St. Nicholas)
December 7 Algood Ellis/Zouboukos/Fahmy
December 14 Katool Pigott/Bock/Strain
December 21 Schelver Skirtech/Skirtech/Parker
December 24 (Wed pm) Morris Cheryl Pigott/Kh. Sharon Meadows
(Feast of the Nativity of our Lord)
December 28 Jones D. Root/Dansereau
December 31 (Wed pm) Meadows (Artoklasia Bread for Great Vespers with Litia & Artoklasia)
(Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord and the Feastday 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 30 Warren Strain I Cor. 4:9-16 135
December 6 (Sat am) Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 13:17-21 343
December 7 Mildred Morris Eph. 5:8-19 217
December 14 Phillip Lasseter Col. 3:4-11 233
December 21 Kh. Be'Be' Schelver Heb. 11:9-10, 17-23, 32-40 348
December 24 Tom Skirtech Gal. 4:4-7 351
December 28 David Turner Gal. 1:11-19 188
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 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;
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.
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.
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.
Congratulations to Peter Henderson on his engagement to Amy Guffin. A date has not been finalized yet, but they will be getting married sometime in the spring. Please keep them 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.
* As is our parish custom, we will celebrate the Advent Paraklesis service to the Theotokos in place of Daily Vespers on Wednesday evenings, beginning November 19th, at 6:30 p.m.
* The enthronement of His Eminence, Metropolitan JOSEPH is scheduled for the weekend of December 5-7th at the Cathedral in Brooklyn, NY. Fr. John and Kh. Janet will be attending.
* The Feast of St. Nicholas will be celebrated with Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy on Saturday morning, December 6th, beginning at 9:00 a.m.
* The Christian Education classes will present a special program during Coffee Hour on Sunday, December 14th.
* Dr. Christopher Veniamin, Professor of Patristics at St. Tikhon Seminary will be speaking at St. Peter's February 1-4, 2015.
Young Adults Study Group: The Young Adults agreed to begin meeting twice a month. One of these meetings will feature a teaching by Fr. John on various aspects of the Orthodox Christian faith. Topics will include education, ethics and parenting children. The next meetings will be Sunday, December 7th and 21st.
Lower Mississippi Valley Teen Retreat: The Teen Retreat will be February 13-15, 2015 at Roosevelt State Park. The speaker for the retreat will be Heiromonk Benedict (Josuah Armitage). His topic will be "Dealing with Doubts about God." We are very excited to have Fr. Benedict come to address this important topic with our teens! Be sure to mark your calendars now.
Fasting Discipline for November/December
Beginning November 15th, the first day of the Nativity Fast, the traditional fasting (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or 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 November/December
November 30 Apostle Andrew, the First-called
December 4 Great-martyr Barbara and Father John of Damascus
December 5 Sava the Sanctified
December 6 Nicholas of Myra
December 9 Conception of the Theotokos
December 12 Spyridon the Wonder-worker
December 15 Hieromartyr Eleutherios
December 20 God-bearer Ignatius of Antioch
December 25 Nativity of our Lord
December 26 Synaxis of the Theotokos
December 27 Protomartyr Stephen
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).
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
December 21 -- Caroline Halley
December 27 -- Ben Skirtech
-- Warren Strain
-- Nicholas Zouboukos (#15!)
-- Eli Milnor (#2!)
December 28 -- Sheryl Chamblee
Happy Anniversaries in December:
December 21 -- Fr. John and Kh. Janet Henderson (#40!)
Dr. Christopher Veniamin, Professor of Patristics at St. Tikhon Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, will visit St. Peter's February 1-4, 2015. He will speak at our church on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. His topic will be "The Orthodox Understanding of Salvation." We are priviledged to have a man of Dr. Veniamin's stature with us. This promises to be a most edifying and instructive time for our church. Please put these dates on your calendar and plan to be here.
Thermostats in the Fellowship Hall: There are two thermostats in the Fellowship Hall—one in the main room to control the air in the main room, and a second one in the Nursery room that controls the air in all four of the Sunday School rooms. Please be sure when you leave the building that both thermostats are set to 80 degrees in warm weather or 60 degrees in cold weather.
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.
Quotable: "Prayer is the primary work of the moral and religious life. The root of this life is a free and conscious relationship with God, which then directs everything. It is the practice of prayer that expresses this free and conscious attitude towards God, just as the social contacts of daily life express our moral attitude towards our neighbor, and our ascetic struggles and spiritual efforts express our moral attitude towards ourselves. Our prayer reflects our attitude to God, and our attitude to God is reflected in prayer. And since this attitude is not identical in different people, so the kind of prayer is not identical either. He who is careless of salvation has a different attitude to God from him who has abandoned sin and is zealous for virtue, but has not yet entered within himself, and works for the Lord only outwardly."
St. Theophan the Recluse
from The Art of Prayer compiled by Igumen Chariton of Valamo
Worship: Sunday, December 7, 2014 (Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost)
Scripture: Ephesians 5:8-19; Luke 13:10-17
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Mildred Morris
Prosphora: Algood
Coffee Hour: Ellis/Zouboukos/Fahmy
Saturday, November 22, 2014
11/23 announcements
November 23, 2014
Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Sunday after the Presentation of the Theotokos
Ephesians 2:14-19: In our reading from Ephesians, we are reminded that Christ not only brought us into union with Himself, but also into union with each other and the faithful saints who have gone before us to be with the Lord.
Luke 12:16-21: In the parable of the rich landowner the Lord teaches us that material possessions are worthless when valued more than knowing God.
Troparion of the Resurrection: Thou didst shatter death by thy Cross; thou didst open paradise to the thief; thou didst turn the mourning of the ointment-bearing women into joy, and didst bid thine Apostles proclaim warning that thou hast risen, O Christ, granting the world Great Mercy.
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 23 (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 24
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
Tuesday, November 25 (Great-martyrs Catherine and Mercurios)
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Wednesday, November 26
6:30 p.m. -- Advent Paraklesis
Thursday, November 27
Friday, November 28
Saturday, November 29
11:30 a.m. -- Serving meal at the Stewpot
5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, November 30 (Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost; Apostle Andrew)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Meadows for the Divine Liturgy today.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
November 23 Meadows Henderson/Baker/Lockhart
November 30 R. Root Karam/Stewart/Meadows
December 6 (Sat am) Henderson Sh. Charlotte Algood
(Feast of St. Nicholas)
December 7 Algood Ellis/Zouboukos/Fahmy
December 14 Katool Pigott/Bock/Strain
December 21 Schelver Skirtech/Skirtech/Parker
December 24 (Wed pm) Morris Cheryl Pigott/Kh. Sharon Meadows
(Feast of the Nativity of our Lord)
December 28 Jones D. Root/Dansereau
December 31 (Wed pm) Meadows (Artoklasia Bread for Great Vespers with Litia & Artoklasia)
(Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord and the Feastday 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 23 Sh. Charlotte Algood Eph. 2:14-22 207
November 30 Warren Strain I Cor. 4:9-16 135
December 6 (Sat am) Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 13:17-21 343
December 7 Mildred Morris Eph. 5:8-19 217
December 14 Phillip Lasseter Col. 3:4-11 233
December 21 Kh. Be'Be' Schelver Heb. 11:9-10, 17-23, 32-40 348
December 24 Tom Skirtech Gal. 4:4-7 351
December 28 David Turner Gal. 1:11-19 188
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 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;
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.
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.
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.
Congratulations to Reader Basil and Brenda Baker (and to Noah and Beth) on the birth of their grandson, Anthony Charles, last Sunday. Mother and baby are doing well.
Congratulations to Ben and Meghan Brock on the news of a sibling for Jude in June!! Please keep them in your prayers.
Congratulations to Peter Henderson on his engagement to Amy Guffin. A date has not been finalized yet, but they will be getting married sometime in the spring. Please keep them 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.
* As is our parish custom, we will celebrate the Advent Paraklesis service to the Theotokos in place of Daily Vespers on Wednesday evenings, beginning November 19th, at 6:30 p.m.
* We will be serving a meal at the Stewpot Ministries on Saturday, November 29th in conjunction with members of Holy Resurrection and Holy Trinity/St. John the Theologian Orthodox Churches.
* The enthronement of His Eminence, Metropolitan JOSEPH is scheduled for the weekend of December 5-7th at the Cathedral in Brooklyn, NY. Fr. John and Kh. Janet will be attending.
* The Feast of St. Nicholas will be celebrated with Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy on Saturday morning, December 6th, beginning at 9:00 a.m.
* The Christian Education classes will present a special program during Coffee Hour on Sunday, December 14th.
* Dr. Christopher Veniamin, Professor of Patristics at St. Tikhon Seminary will be speaking at St. Peter's February 1-4, 2015.
Young Adults Study Group: The Young Adults agreed to begin meeting twice a month. One of these meetings will feature a teaching by Fr. John on various aspects of the Orthodox Christian faith. Topics will include education, ethics and parenting children. The next meetings will be Sunday, December 7th and 21st.
Lower Mississippi Valley Teen Retreat: The Teen Retreat will be February 13-15, 2015 at Roosevelt State Park. The speaker for the retreat will be Heiromonk Benedict (Josuah Armitage). His topic will be "Dealing with Doubts about God." We are very excited to have Fr. Benedict come to address this important topic with our teens! Be sure to mark your calendars now.
Dr. Christopher Veniamin, Professor of Patristics at St. tikhon Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, will visit St. Peter's February 1-4, 2015. He will speak at our church on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. His topic will be "The Orthodox Understanding of Salvation." We are priviledged to have a man of Dr. Veniamin's stature with us. This promises to be a most edifying and instructive time for our church. Please put these dates on your calendar and plan to be here.
Fasting Discipline for November
The traditional fasting (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) is observed on 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 23 St. Amphilochios of Iconium
November 25 St. Catherine the Great-martyr
November 30 Apostle Andrew, the First-called
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).
Happy Birthdays in November:
November 5 -- Alexia Parker (#17!)
November 7 -- Jude Brock (#1!)
November 11 -- Adrian Lavric (#1!)
November 13 -- Sophia Skirtech (#6!)
-- 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 (#48!)
November 28 -- Dn. Terry and Sh. Charlotte Algood (#43!)
Thermostats in the Fellowship Hall: There are two thermostats in the Fellowship Hall—one in the main room to control the air in the main room, and a second one in the Nursery room that controls the air in all four of the Sunday School rooms. Please be sure that both thermostats are set to 80 degrees when you leave the building
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.
Quotable: "Turn to the Lord, drawing down the attention of the mind into the heart, and calling upon Him there. With the mind firmly established in the heart, stand before the Lord with awe, reverence, and devotion. If we would fulfill this small rule unfailingly, then passionate desires and feelings would never arise, nor would any other thought."
St. Theophan the Recluse
from The Art of Prayer compiled by Igumen Chariton of Valamo
Worship: Sunday, November 30, 2014 (Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost; The Holy
Apostle Andrew the First-called)
Scripture: I Corinthians 4:9-16; John 1:35-51
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Warren Strain
Prosphora: R. Root
Coffee Hour: Karam/Stewart/Meadows