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 26, 2014
12/28 announcements
December 28, 2014
Sunday after the Nativity of Christ
Commemoration of Joseph the Betrothed,
David the Prophet and King, and James the Brother of the Lord
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: 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 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 28 (Sunday after the Nativity)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
Monday, December 29
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
Tuesday, December 30
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Wednesday, December 31
5:30 p.m. -- Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia
[PLEASE NOTE CHANGE IN TIME]
Thursday, January 1 (Circumcision of the Lord; Feast of St. Basil the Great)
Friday, January 2
Saturday, January 3
5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, January 4 (Sunday before Theophany)
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 Morrises for the Feast of the Nativity this past Wednesday evening and by the Joneses for the Divine Liturgy today.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
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)
January 4 Meadows Algood/Yeatts/Lasseter
January 5 (Mon pm) Davis Nikki Lasseter/Brittany Salisbury
(Feast of Theophany)
January 11 D. Root R. Root/Abraham/Habeeb
January 15 (Thurs pm) Abraham Anastasia Jones
(Feast of the Chains of St. Peter)
January 18 Karam Schelver/Lavric/Turner
January 25 Brock Henderson/Baker/Lockhart
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 28 David Turner Gal. 1:11-19 188
January 4 Tom Willingham II Tim. 4:5-8 354
January 5 (Mon pm) Walt Wood Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7 361
January 11 Sh. Charlotte Algood Heb. 13:7-16 365
January 15 (Thurs pm) Kh. Sharon Meadows Acts 12:1-11 50-51
January 18 Warren Strain Heb. 13:7-16 365
January 25 Mildred Morris Heb. 7:26-8:2 334
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.
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 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;
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.
Please remember Fr. Joseph and Kh. Joanna Bittle, and their daughter Abigail, 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.
* This year we will celebrate Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia for the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord and the Feast of St. Basil the Great on Wednesday evening, December 31st, beginning at 5:30 p.m. [Please note change in time.]
* On Monday, January 5th we will celebrate the Feast of Theophany with Royal Hours, beginning at 6:00 a.m. and Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy, beginning at 6:00 p.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, January 4th and 25th.
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.
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 December/January
From December 25th through January 4th there is no abstinence of any sort and all types of food are permitted. The forefeast of Theophany (January 5th) is observed as a strict fast day (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil). The traditional fasting is observed on the remaining Wednesdays and Fridays of the month.
Major Commemorations for January
January 1 Circumcision of our Lord
Commemoration of St. Basil the Great
January 6 Theophany
January 7 Synaxis of the Forerunner
January11 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
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.
Happy Birthdays in December/January:
December 28 -- Sheryl Chamblee
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 (#28!)
January 17 -- Chris and Rebecca Dansereau (#6!)
January 19 -- Ramzi and Jean Kafoury (#12!)
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.
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.
Quotable: "The principal thing is to stand with the mind in the heart before God, and to go on standing before Him unceasingly day and night, until the end of life."
St. Theophan the Recluse
from The Art of Prayer compiled by Igumen Chariton of Valamo
Worship: Sunday, January 4, 2015 (Sunday before Theophany)
Scripture: II Timothy 4:5-8; Mark 1:1-8
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Tom Willingham
Prosphora: Meadows
Coffee Hour: Algood/Yeatts/Lasseter
