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, January 14, 2015
1/18 announcements
January 18, 2015
Commemoration of Sts. Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria
Hebrews 13:7-16: St Paul encourages us in his letter to the Hebrews, reminding us of the unchanging nature of Jesus Christ, Who has sanctified us through His own blood.
Luke 17:12-19: In the reading from St Luke we see the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ as He heals ten lepers, only one of whom thanks the Lord for being healed.
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 Sts. Athanasius and Cyril: With work of Orthodoxy, ye shone forth and extinguished wicked opinion, becoming triumphant and clothed with victory. And having enriched all with true worship, and adorned the Church with great adornment. Athanasius and wise Cyril, ye worthily found Christ God, granting to all, through your prayers, the Great Mercy.
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 18 (Sts. Athanasius & Cyril of Alexandria)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
5:30 p.m. -- Youth Group
Monday, January 19
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
Tuesday, January 20 (Euthymios the Great)
6:00 a.m. -- Festal Orthros
Wednesday, January 21
6:30 p.m. -- Daily Vespers
7:30 p.m. -- Choir Practice
Thursday, January 22
Friday, January 23
Saturday, January 24
5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
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
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Abrahams for the Feast of the Veneration of the Chains of St. Peter this past Thursday evening and by the Karams for the Divine Liturgy today.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
January 18 Karam Schelver/Lavric/Turner
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 18 Warren Strain Heb. 13:7-16 365
January 25 Mildred Morris Heb. 7:26-8:2 334
February 1 Phillip Lasseter Heb. 13:7-16 365
February 2 (Mon am) Kh Be'Be' Schelver 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.
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.
* 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 13-15th.
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 23rd 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, January 25th and February 8th.
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.
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 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 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
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: "There is prayer which man himself makes; and there is prayer which God Himself gives to him who prays (I Kings ii.9: Sept.) Who is there who does not know the first? And you must also know the second, at least at its inception. Anyone wishing to approach the Lord will first approach Him by prayer. He begins to go to church and to pray at home, with the help of a prayer book or without. But thoughts keep running away. He cannot manage to control them. All the same, the more he strives to pray, the more thoughts will quieten down, and the purer prayer will become. But the atmosphere of the soul is not purified until a small spiritual flame is kindled in the soul. This flame is the work of the grace of God; not a special grace, but one common to all. This flame appears when a man has attained a certain measure of purity in the general moral order of his life. When this small flame is kindled, or a permanent warmth is formed in the heart, the ferment of thoughts is stilled."
St. Theophan the Recluse
from The Art of Prayer compiled by Igumen Chariton of Valamo
Worship: Sunday, January 25, 2015 (St. Gregory the Theologian)
Scripture: Hebrews 7:26-8:2; Luke 19:1-10
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Mildred Morris
Prosphora: Brock
Coffee Hour: Henderon/Baker/Lockhart
