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.
Previous Posts
Homily for Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers Mar 1, 2015
Homily for Mar 1, 2015
3/1 announcements
Homily for Feb 22, 2015
Homily for Feb 8, 2015
Homily for Feb 15, 2015
Our new Platytéra is here!
2/8 announcements
Homily for Feb 1, 2015
Homily for Dec 21, 2014
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Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church
Madison, Mississippi
Wednesday, March 04, 2015
3/8 announcements
March 8, 2015
Second Sunday of Great Lent
Commemoration of St. Gregory Palamas
St. Gregory Palamas (c. 1296-1359) - St. Gregory was a Greek monk and theologian and the chief exponent of Hesychasm. He was ordained a priest in the year 1326 and became Bishop of Thessalonica in 1347. The political conditions made it impossible for him to take possession of the see until 1350. He died on November 14, 1359, which is his feast day. He was canonized in 1368. St. Gregory stressed the biblical notion of man as a single and united whole, body and soul together. In virtue of this, he argued that the physical exercises used by the Hesychasts in prayer, as well as their claim to see the Divine Light with their bodily eyes, could be defended as legitimate. He distinguished between the essence and the energies of God: God's essence remains unknowable, but his uncreated energies, which are God Himself, permeate all things and can be directly experienced by man in the form of deifying grace.
Hebrews 1:10-2:3: Writing to the Hebrews, the Apostle quotes from Scripture to proclaim the greatness of Jesus Christ as compared with the angels; for this reason we must be careful not to neglect our salvation.
Mark 2:1-12: Reading in the Gospel of Mark, we see Jesus demonstrate His authority to forgive sins by healing a paralytic.
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. Gregory Palamas: O Gregory the Wonderworker, light of Orthodoxy, support and teacher of the Church, glory of monks and invincible protector of theologians, pride of Thessalonica and preacher of grace, pray without ceasing for the salvation of 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 Sundays of Lent: To thee the champion leader, I thy servant offer thanks for victory, O Theotokos, thou who hast delivered me form terror. As thou hast power invincible, free me from every danger that I may cry unto thee: Rejoice, O bride without bridegroom.
CALENDAR
Sunday, March 8 (Gregory of Palamas)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
5:00 p.m. -- Young Adults
Monday, March 9 (Forty Martyrs of Sebaste)
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
Tuesday, March 10
6:00 a.m. -- Lenten Orthros
6:30 p.m. -- Choir Practice
Wednesday, March 11
6:30 p.m. -- Presanctified Liturgy followed by Soup Supper
Thursday, March 12
Friday, March 13
6:30 p.m. -- Akathist
Saturday, March 14
10:00 a.m. -- Ladies meet for Akathist and lunch
5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, March 15 (Adoration of the Holy Cross)
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 Morrises for the Divine Liturgy today.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
March 8 Morris D. Root/Dansereau (NO POT LUCK )
March 15 Jones Algood/Lasseter
March 22 Meadows R. Root/Abraham/Habeeb
March 25 (Wed. am) Davis Christina Katool
(Feast of the Annunciation)
March 29 D. Root Schelver/Lavric/Turner
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#
March 8 Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 1:10-2:3 283
March 15 Sh. Charlotte Algood Heb. 4:14-5:6 285
March 22 Mildred Morris Heb. 6:13-20 287
March 25 (Wed. am) Kh. Sharon Meadows Heb. 2:11-18 376
March 29 Kh. Be'Be' Schelver Heb. 9:11-14 290
Father Leo is serving today at St. George Orthodox Church in Vicksburg on behalf of Father John Morris who is seriously ill.
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.
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 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 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.
Fr. John and Kh. Janet will be in Kentucky March 6-10 to visit Jordan's family. If you need a priest during this time, please contact Fr. Leo or Fr. James.
Confessions: Please go ahead and schedule your confessions so we do not have so many people trying to fit it in just before Holy Week. No confessions will be heard during Holy 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 the 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 Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Wednesday evenings and the Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos on Friday evenings during Great Lent. Both services will begin at 6:30 p.m.
* Sunday of Orthodoxy vespers at St. Peter – March 1st, beginning at 6:00 p.m.
* We will celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation with Divine Liturgy (only) on Wednesday morning, March 25th, beginning at 6:00 a.m.
* We will hold our annual catfish dinner on Palm Sunday, April 5th following the Divine Liturgy. Meals will be $10 for adults and children 12 and over, and $6 for children 5-11. There is a sign-up sheet in the fellowship hall. Please be sure to sign it if your family will be participating in the meal.
Repose of Fr. Matthew Baker: Fr. Matthew Baker (not to be confused with Bill and Brenda Baker's son, Matthew) died on his way home from the Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers in a snow storm. He leaves behind his wife, Presbytera Katherine and six children - Isaac (12), Elias (10), George (8), Eleftheria(6), Cyril (4) and Matthew (2). Fr. Matthew was a very good friend of Ian when Ian was in New York. Please keep them all in your prayers and consider a gift of alms to this very urgent need. For more information, go to: http://www.gofundme.com/nizf2g
March is Ladies Month in our Archdiocese when we honor the women in our church who serve so faithfully throughout the year. This month the Ladies will be reading the Epistle during the Liturgy.
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 22nd.
Pledge Letters have been mailed. 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.
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 20th.
Fasting Discipline for March
During Great Lent the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) is observed on all days of the week until Pascha (except Annunciation on March 25th and Palm Sunday on April 5th, when fish wine and oil are permitted).
Major Commemorations for March
March 8 2nd Sunday of Lent; Gregory of Palamas
March 9 Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
March 15 3rd Sunday of Lent; Adoration of the Cross
March 16 Christodoulos the Wonder-worker of Patmos
March 22 4th Sunday of Lent; John of the Ladder
March 25 Feast of the Annunciation
March 26 Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel
March 29 5th Sunday of Lent; Mary of Egypt
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.
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 March:
March 3 -- Kay Carlton
March 6 -- Amy Surratt
March 9 -- Ian Jones
March 12 -- Alexa Zouboukos (#20!)
March 17 -- Cliff Stewart
March 20 -- Charlotte Wood
March 24 -- Brenden Skirtech (#11!)
March 26 -- Katherine Habeeb (#7!)
March 29 -- Sophie Dansereau (#4!)
March 30 -- Aidan Milnor (#9!)
Happy Anniversaries in March:
March 10 -- Fr. James and Kh. Sharon Meadows (#42!)
March 13 -- Warren and Sandra Strain (#21!)
March 15 -- Dn. Richard and Sh. Margaret Root (#40!)
March 27 -- Sam and Anne Habeeb (#11!)
Quotable: "Fr. Isidore was independent and free. He was simple, gentle, forgiving and non-judgmental. He wouldn't judge or get angry with anyone, but would endure everything. There was no end to his forgiveness: if he noticed that someone had been annoyed or offended by him, he would immediately ask for forgiveness, even though he wasn't guilty of anything."
St. Paul Florensky
from Salt of the Earth: An Encounter with a Holy Russian Elder:
Isidore of Gethsemane Hermitage
Worship: Sunday, March 15, 2015 (3rd Sunday of Great Lent; Adoration of the Holy
Cross)
Scripture: Hebrews 4:14-5:6; Mark 8:34 to end; 9:1
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Sh. Charlotte Algood
Prosphora: Jones
Coffee Hour: Algood/Lasseter
