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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11/9 announcements
11/2 announcements
10/26announcements
10/19 announcements
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10/5 announcements
Homily for September 14, 2014
9/21 announcements
9/14 announcements
Homily for September 7th, 2014
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Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church
Madison, Mississippi
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
11/16 announcements
November 16, 2014
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew
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.
Matthew 9:9-13: Our Lord calls the tax collector Matthew, to become one of His disciples and tells the Pharisees that He did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Troparion of the Resurrection: When Mary stood at thy grave looking for thy sacred body, angelic powers shone above thy revered tomb, and the soldiers who were to keep guard became as dead men. Thou led hades captive and wast not tempted thereby. Thou didst meet the Virgin and didst give life to the world; O thou who art risen from the dead! O Lord, glory to thee.
Troparion of St. Matthew: O Holy Apostle and Evangelist, intercede with our merciful God to grant our souls forgiveness of sins.
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 16 (Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost; Apostle Matthew)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
5:00 p.m. -- Young Adults
Monday, November 17
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
Tuesday, November 18
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Wednesday, November 19
6:30 p.m. -- Advent Paraklesis
7:30 p.m. -- Parish Council Meeting
Thursday, November 20
6:30 p.m. -- Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia
Friday, November 21 (Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple)
The Presentation of the Holy Virgin into the Temple is found in the apocryphal gospels, which describe the three-year-old Mary being taken by her parents to the Temple, where she remained in a life of holiness and dedication. Though the story be legend, as symbol it yields insight into spiritual truth. The scriptures for vespers, matins, and the divine liturgy all speak to the relationship between man and God within the context of the Temple and emphasize two themes: holiness and the superiority of the living, eternal temple to that built of stone. In Mary we see both. Rather than being sanctified by the Temple, she sanctifies the Temple and all mankind by becoming herself the perfect temple in which dwelt the eternal Son. Truly she was set apart, even as a child, and consecrated to the most glorious work God granted humanity. Truly she is the instrument by which we, too, become living temples in which God lives and which live eternal. Truly we, the holy, catholic church, the living Temple of God, open our doors to her, most blessed of women, the Holy Mother of God.
Saturday, November 22
5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
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
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Fahmys for the Divine Liturgy today.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
November 16 Fahmy Algood/Lavric/Turner
November 20 (Wed. p.m.) D. Root (Artoklasia Bread) Great Vespers with Litia & Artoklasia
(Feast of the Presentation of the Theotokos in the Temple)
November 23 Wood Henderson/Baker/Lockhart
November 30 R. Root Karam/Stewart/Meadows
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 16 Walt Wood I Cor. 4:9-16 135
November 23 Sh. Charlotte Algood Eph. 2:14-22 207
November 30 Warren Strain I Cor. 4:9-16 135
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.
The icons of the Platytera and the Nativity of our Lord have been ordered for the sanctuary.
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 celebrate the Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple with Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia on Thursday evening, November 20th, beginning 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.
* 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, November 16th and 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 16 Apostle and Evangelist Matthew
November 21 Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple
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: "When you learn what the world is, by distinguishing these matters you will also come to know your entanglement as well as your freedom from it. But that I may speak briefly: the world is the carnal way of life and the 'mind of the flesh.' Hence, a man's elevation above the world can also be recognized from these two things: from the good transformation of his way of life and from a discernment of his thoughts."
St. Isaac the Syrian
Worship: Sunday, November 16, 2014 (Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost; Sunday
after the Presentation of the Theotokos)
Scripture: Ephesians 2:14 to end; Luke 12:16-21
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Sh. Charlotte Algood
Prosphora: Wood
Coffee Hour: Henderson/Baker/Lockhart
