Parish Life

Homily for Dec 21, 2014

posted by Daniel Root at 8:21 AM Parish Life

Homily for Dec 24, 2014

posted by Daniel Root at 8:11 AM Parish Life

Homily for Jan 4, 2015

posted by Daniel Root at 8:09 AM Parish Life

Homily for Jan 11, 2015

posted by Daniel Root at 7:18 AM Parish Life

Homily for Jan 25, 2015

posted by Daniel Root at 6:29 AM Parish Life

2/1 announcements

February 1, 2015

Sunday of the Pharisee and the Publican

Forefeast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple

The theme of the fourth Sunday before Lent is HUMILITY and the Gospel lesson of the Publican and the Pharisee (Luke 18:10-14) is read. Here we are taught to avoid the arrogant thoughts of the Pharisee and to emulate the humble prayer of the Publican "God be merciful to me a sinner."

II Timothy 3:10-15: In St Paul's second letter to Timothy we are reminded that godliness will bring persecutions; and we are encouraged to continue doing those things that we have been taught so as to gain the wisdom that leads to salvation in Christ.

Luke 18:10-14: In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax-gatherer, Jesus teaches us that justification does not come to those who are proud and arrogant, but rather to those who are humble and repentant.

Troparion of the Resurrection: The stone being sealed by the Jews, and thy pure body being guarded by the soldiers, thou didst arise on the third day, O Saviour, granting life to the world. Wherefore, the heavenly powers acclaimed thee, O Giver of life, crying, Glory to thy Resurrection, O Christ! Glory to thy kingdom! Glory to thy gracious providence, O only Lover of mankind.

Troparion of the Forefeast of the Presentation: The Heavens' choir looked down from the vaults of the Heavens and gazing on the earth, they beheld with amazement the First-born of all creation brought forth as a suckling babe to the Temple by a pure and virginal mother; and with us, they now do sing a hymn for the Forefeast, astonished and full of awe.

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: Thou, O Christ God, who by your Birth, didst sanctify the Virgin's womb, and as is meet, didst bless Simeon's arms, and didst also come to save us, preserve thy fold in wars, and confirm them whom thou didst love; for thou alone art the Lover of mankind.

CALENDAR

Sunday, February 1 (Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee)

8:50 a.m. -- Orthros

9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education

10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy

5:30 p.m. -- Youth Group

Monday, February 2 (Presentation of our Lord in the Temple)

Many years before the coming of Christ there lived a very pious and saintly man called Simeon. He was one of the most intelligent Jewish scholars of his day. Simeon prayed for the day that the Saviour would come and deliver all Israel (and the world) from sin. One evening while kneeling in prayer, Simeon heard the voice of God saying to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Holy Tradition tells us that Simeon waited many long years. Some Holy Fathers inform us that Simeon was over 150 years old when the Promise of God was fulfilled. The Holy Scriptures tell us that 40 days after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ the Virgin Mary brought the Christ Child to the Temple for Presentation. It was a law that the first born son of a family should be offered to God and His service, as soon as a period of purification was past. It was here that Simeon waited patiently that day, as he had done for so many years. The Spirit of the Lord brought him to the baby Jesus. Simeon took the infant Child in his trembling hands and recited the following beautiful prayer which is recited in the Orthodox Church every evening during Vesper services:

"Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word.

For mine eyes have seen Thy Salvation which thou hast prepared before the

face of all peoples. A Light to enlighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of

thy people Israel."

Thus the promise to the aged Simeon was finally fulfilled. The next day Simeon died in peace, thankful to Almighty God that he was honored to see the coming of Christ.

This custom has continued down to our own day for both male and female children, and every mother who brings her new-born child to Church on the fortieth day is remembering the Great Feast of the Presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple.

6:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy (only)

Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off

7:00 p.m. -- Dr. Veniamin's Talk

Tuesday, February 3 (Simeon the God-receiver)

6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros

7:00 p.m. -- Dr. Veniamin's Talk

Wednesday, February 4

6:00 p.m. -- Daily Vespers

7:00 p.m. -- Dr. Veniamin's Talk

Thursday, February 5

11:30 a.m. -- Men's Lunch

Friday, February 6

Saturday, February 7

5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers

Sunday, February 8 (Sunday of the Prodigal Son)

8:50 a.m. -- Orthros

9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education

10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy

12:00 p.m. -- Pot Luck Meal

5:00 p.m. -- Young Adults

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Eucharist Bread …was offered by Fahmys for the Divine Liturgy today.

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.

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

February 1 Fahmy Karam/Stewart/Meadows

February 2 (Mon am) Wood Kh. Sharon Meadows

February 8 R. Root POT LUCK MEAL

SET-UP: Ellis/Zouboukos/Fahmy

February 14 (Sat am) Henderson

(Saturday of the Souls – Koliva: Abraham)

February 15 Algood Pigott/Brock/Strain

February 22 Katool Teens Cheesefare Fundraiser

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#

February 1 Phillip Lasseter II Tim. 3:10-15 258

February 2 (Mon am) Kh Sharon Meadows Heb. 7:7-17 371

February 8 Tom Skirtech I Cor. 6:12-20 265

February 14 (Sat am) David Turner I Cor. 10:23-26 271-272

February 15 Tom Willingham I Cor. 8:8-9:2 273

February 22 Walt Wood Rom. 13:11-14:4 279

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 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 third Saturday this month to pray the Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children. Those who are able will go out for lunch and fellowship at La Brioche afterwards. We will not have our usual monthly Ladies Lunch on the fourth Tuesday this month due to the start of Great Lent.

* We will celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple with Divine Liturgy (only) TOMORROW morning, beginning at 6:00 a.m.

* Dr. Christopher Veniamin, Professor of Patristics at St. Tikhon Seminary will be speaking at St. Peter's February 2-4, 2015.

* Youth Retreat at Roosevelt State Park, February 13-15^th.

* The Teens will be holding their annual Cheesefare Meal to raise funds for the Youth Group on Sunday, February 22^nd following the Divine Liturgy.

* Parish Creative Arts Festival – Saturday morning, February 28^th from 9:00-12:00.

* Sunday of Orthodoxy vespers at St. Peter – March 1^st, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

House Blessings! A sign-up sheet is available in the Fellowship Hall to sign up for your house blessing. You may also e-mail Father John at frjohnc@bellsouth.net with 3 dates for your blessing. Please schedule these as soon as possible. Everyone should have their home blessed. However, the responsibility for scheduling lies with individuals and not with Father John. No house blessings will be done once Great Lent starts (February 23^rd this year).

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, March 8^th and 22^nd.

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.

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.

Pledge Letters were mailed this week. Please fill these out and return them to the office as soon as possible. Your pledges make it possible to plan a budget for the coming year.

The letters confirming your non-taxable donations for 2014 were also mailed. If you do not receive your letter in the mail within the next week, please contact Kh. Sharon.

Parish Creative Arts Festival: The Christian Education classes will have a festival to work on their entries for this year's Creative Arts Festival on Saturday morning, February 28^th from 9:00a.m. - 12:00 p.m. There will be teaching about this year's conference theme and then time to work on the projects themselves. Please make plans for your children to attend.

We will be hosting the Sunday of Orthodoxy vespers this year on Sunday evening, March 1^st, beginning at 6:00 p.m. St. Peter will provide Pot Luck refreshments afterwards. As a result, we will NOT have our regularly scheduled Pot Luck Meal on March 8^th.

Camp St. Thekla is filling up fast. If you are interested in having your child participate, please see Father John as soon as possible. Scholarship forms are available in the church office, but they must be turned in before March 1^st.

Parish Life Conference 2015: This year St. Ignatius Orthodox Church in Franklin, TN will be hosting the Parish Life Conference for our Diocese on June 10-14. His Grace, Bishop JOHN Abdallah will be the speaker. Registration forms are available in the office or you can go online at www.saint-ignatius.org to register. The Conference will take place at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs and last day to book the special conference rate is May 20^th.

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.

Fasting Discipline for February

The traditional fasting (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) is observed on all Wednesdays and Fridays of the month. Following Meatfare Sunday (February 15^th) meat will not be eaten again until Pascha. During the week following Meatfare Sunday, dairy products (milk, cheese, eggs, etc.) are permitted, even on Wednesday and Friday. February 22^nd is Cheesefare Sunday, the last day that dairy and wine are permitted. Monday, February 23^rd is Clean Monday, the first day of Great Lent when the traditional fasting discipline is observed on all days of the week until Pascha (except Annunciation on March 25^th and Palm Sunday on April 5^th, when fish wine and oil are permitted).

Major Commemorations for February

February 1 Sunday of the Pharisee and the Publican

February 2 Presentation of our Lord in the Temple

February 3 Simeon the God-receiver

February 8 Sunday of the Prodigal Son

February 10 Hieromartyr Haralampos

February 11 Blaise, Bishop of Sebaste

February 14 Saturday of the Souls

February 15 Meatfare Sunday

February 22 Cheesefare Sunday

February 23 Clean Monday [Great Lent begins]

February 24 The Forerunner (1^st and 2^nd discoveries)

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 February:

February 5 -- Andrei Anicescu

February 11 -- Demetrius Zouboukos

February 13 -- Clyde Ellis

February 15 -- Mary Guy Lockhart

February 17 -- Anthony Zouboukos

February 18 -- Tom Willingham

February 22 -- Kh. Sharon Meadows

February 24 -- Nimr Fahmy

February 28 -- Cole Parker (#10!)

Happy Anniversaries in February:

February 7 --- Ben and Meghan Brock (#6!)

February 18 -- David and Lou Turner (#9!)

February 21 -- Michael and Amy Surratt (#17!)

February 25 -- Daniel and Elizabeth Root (#9!)

Quotable: "When inner prayer gains power, then it will control oral prayer, gaining dominion over external prayer and even absorbing it. As a result, the zeal of prayer will take fire, because then Paradise will be in the soul. If you content yourself with exterior prayer alone, you may cool in the work of prayer, even if you practice it with attention and understanding. The principal thing in prayer is a feeling heart."

St. Theophan the Recluse

from The Art of Prayer compiled by Igumen Chariton of Valamo

Worship: Sunday, February 8, 2015 (Sunday of the Prodigal Son; Sunday after the

Presentation of our Lord in the Temple)

Scripture: I Corinthians 6:12-20; Luke 15:11-32

Celebrant: Father John

Epistle Reader: Tom Skirtech

Prosphora: R. Root

Coffee Hour: POT LUCK MEAL

(Set-up: Ellis/Zouboukos/Fahmy)

posted by Daniel Root at 3:56 PM Parish Life

1/25 announcements

January 25, 2015

Commemoration of St. Gregory the Theologian

Hebrews 7:26-28; 8:1-2: We read in Hebrews that priests of the New Covenant serve as representatives of the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ.

Luke 19:1-10: In the story of Zaccheus we are reminded of why the Only-begotten Son of the

Father became incarnate: to save mankind from our sin and its consequences.

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 our Holy Father, Gregory the Theologian: The pastoral psalter of thy discourse in theology triumphed over the trumpets of orators and overcame it; for having sought the depth of the Spirit, there was also vouchsafed to thee excellence of speech, O Father Gregory. Wherefore, intercede 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 the Presentation: Thou, O Christ God, who by your Birth, didst sanctify the Virgin's womb, and as is meet, didst bless Simeon's arms, and didst also come to save us, preserve thy fold in wars, and confirm them whom thou didst love; for thou alone art the Lover of mankind.

CALENDAR

Sunday, January 25 (Gregory the Theologian)

8:50 a.m. -- Orthros

9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education

10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy

5:00 p.m. -- Young Adults

Monday, January 26

Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off

Tuesday, January 27 (John Chrysostom)

6:00 a.m. -- Festal Orthros

11:30 a.m. -- Ladies Lunch

Wednesday, January 28

6:30 p.m. -- Daily Vespers

7:30 p.m. -- Choir Practice

7:30 p.m. -- Parish Council meeting

Thursday, January 29

Friday, January 30 (The Three Hierarchs)

Saturday, January 31 (Cyros and John the Unmercenary Healers)

5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers

Sunday, February 1 (Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee)

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 Brocks for the Divine Liturgy today.

Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:

Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour

January 25 Brock Henderson/Baker/Lockhart

February 1 Fahmy Karam/Stewart/Meadows

February 2 (Mon am) Wood Kh. Sharon Meadows

February 8 R. Root POT LUCK MEAL

SET-UP: Ellis/Zouboukos/Fahmy

February 14 (Sat am) Henderson

(Saturday of the Souls – Koliva: Abraham)

February 15 Algood Pigott/Brock/Strain

February 22 Katool Teens Cheesefare Fundraiser

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.

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#

January 25 Mildred Morris Heb. 7:26-8:2 334

February 1 Phillip Lasseter Heb. 13:7-16 365

February 2 (Mon am) Kh Sharon Meadows Heb. 7:7-17 371

February 8 Tom Skirtech I Cor. 6:12-20 265

February 14 (Sat am) David Turner I Cor. 10:23-26 271-272

February 15 Tom Willingham I Cor. 8:8-9:2 273

February 22 Walt Wood Rom. 13:11-14:4 279

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 Fr. Joseph and Kh. Joanna Bittle, and their daughter Abigail, in your prayers.

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.

Congratulations to Noah and Beth Pappas (and also to grandparents, Reader Basil and Brenda Baker) on the baptism of their son Anthony this past week!

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.

* We will celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple with Divine Liturgy (only) on Monday morning, February 2^nd, beginning at 6:00 a.m.

* Dr. Christopher Veniamin, Professor of Patristics at St. Tikhon Seminary will be speaking at St. Peter's February 1-4, 2015.

* Youth Retreat at Roosevelt State Park, February 13-15^th.

House Blessings! A sign-up sheet is available in the Fellowship Hall to sign up for your house blessing. You may also e-mail Father John at frjohnc@bellsouth.net with 3 dates for your blessing. Please schedule these as soon as possible. Everyone should have their home blessed. However, the responsibility for scheduling lies with individuals and not with Father John. No house blessings will be done once Great Lent starts (February 23^rd this year).

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 meeting will be Sunday, February 8^th.

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. Fliers are available on the table in the Hallway with information about Dr. Veniamin and his talks.

Pledge Letters will be mailed this week. Please fill these out and return them to the office as soon as possible. Your pledges make it possible to plan a budget for the coming year.

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.

The letters confirming your non-taxable donations for 2014 will also be mailed very shortly. If you do not receive your letter in the mail within the next 7-10 days, please contact Kh. Sharon.

Fasting Discipline for January

The traditional fasting (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) is observed on the remaining Wednesdays and Fridays of the month.

Major Commemorations for January

January 25 Gregory the Theologian

January 27 John Chrysostom

January 31 Cyros and John the Unmercenary Healers

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 Anniversaries in January:

January 10 -- Bob and Georgia Buchanan (#28!)

January 17 -- Chris and Rebecca Dansereau (#6!)

January 19 -- Ramzi and Jean Kafoury (#12!)

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

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: "You have probably heard such words as: oral prayer, mental prayer, prayer of the heart; you may also have heard discussions about each of them separately. What is the cause of this division of prayer into parts? Because it happens that sometimes through our negligence the tongue recites the holy words of prayer, but the mind wanders elsewhere: or the mind understands the words of the prayer, but the heart does not responds to them by feeling. In the first case prayer is only oral, and is not prayer at all, in the second, mental prayer joins the oral, but this prayer is still imperfect and incomplete. Complete and real prayer comes only when the prayer of word and thought is joined by prayer of feeling.

Spiritual or inner prayer comes when he who prays, after gathering his mind within his heart, from there directs his prayer to God in words no longer oral but silent: glorifying Him and giving thanks, confessing his sins with contrition before God, and asking from Him the spiritual and physical blessings that he needs. You must pray not only with words but with the mind, and not only with the mind but with the heart, so that the mind understands clearly what is said in words, and the heart feels what the mind is thinking. All these combined together constitute real prayer, and if any of them are absent your prayer is either not perfect, or is not prayer at all."

St. Theophan the Recluse

from The Art of Prayer compiled by Igumen Chariton of Valamo

Worship: Sunday, February 1, 2015 (Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee; Pre-

Feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple)

Scripture: Hebrews 13:7-16; Luke 18:10-14

Celebrant: Father John

Epistle Reader: Phillip Lasseter

Prosphora: Fahmy

Coffee Hour: Karam/Stewart/Meadows

posted by Daniel Root at 10:31 AM Parish Life