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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5/10 announcements
Homily for May 3, 2015
5/3 announcements
Homily for April 26, 2015
4/26 announcements
Homily for April 19, 2015
Homily for April 5, 2015
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Saint Peter Antiochian Orthodox Church
Madison, Mississippi
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
5/17 announcements
May 10, 2015
Sunday of the Blind Man
Today is the Sunday of the Blind Man. Though the Gospel account of the healing of the blind man touches many subjects, there is but one theme: Christ is the divine Light which illuminates the hearts of those who behold Him in faith. Despite the intimidation of the authorities, despite the confusion of the people who know him, despite the fear of his parents, the blind man given sight refuses to deny what he knows is the truth: Jesus has given him sight, has healed the affliction he has born from birth, and one who does such good is from God. To deny his healer is to deny the truth, and he prefers persecution and rejection to that denial. More than his eyes have been opened; his heart has been opened to true and eternal Light. As were the Israelites cast into the dark despair of his fear, as are we all blinded by the frustration of sin and of our weakness, so this man was trapped by his closed eyes; and, as may all be, he was freed by the coming of the Messiah. In faith we open our eyes to the radiant glory of our Lord and King.
Acts 16:16-34: In our reading from Acts we see Paul and Silas imprisoned unjustly; but the Lord uses the circumstances to bring the jailer to Himself by means of a dramatic rescue.
John 9:1-38: After Jesus heals a man born blind, we see the hypocrisy and unbelief of the Pharisees as they seek to learn how the man came to see. After being put out of the temple, the formerly blind man again encounters Jesus, whom he worships as his savior.
Troparion of the Resurrection: Let us believers praise and worship the Word, co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit, born of the Virgin for our salvation; for he took pleasure in ascending the Cross in the flesh, to suffer death, and to raise the dead by his glorious Resurrection.
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 Pascha: When Thou didst descend into the grave, O Immortal, Thou didst destroy the power of Hades. In victory didst Thou arise, O Christ God, proclaiming ARejoice@ to the myrrh-bearing women, granting peace to Thine apostles and bestowing resurrection on the fallen.
CALENDAR
Sunday, May 17 (Sunday of the Blind Man)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
9:00 a.m. -- Christian Education
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
5:00 p.m. -- Young Adults
Monday, May 18
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
Tuesday, May 19
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
6:30 p.m. -- Paschal Vespers for the Leave-taking of Pascha
Wednesday, May 20
6:00 p.m. -- Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy
Thursday, May 21 (Ascension)
The fortieth day after Easter is the day of the Ascension, the liturgical end to the celebration of the Resurrection and the opening of the season observing the glory of the Messiah. This is a day too often associated with the sadness of departure; yet this day brought great joy to the Disciples. They saw not the departure of one dear to them, but the glorious entry of their King to His heavenly throne. They saw not the loss of their Intercessor, but the Father accepting the eternal sacrifice and blessing the completion of man's salvation. They saw not their separation from Christ but their assumption with Him into glory through the Incarnation. They saw not the removal of the blessed One but the promise from Him of further blessings. This day is another step in our procession into eternity, a remembrance of heavenly things, a reminder that the essence of our lives is the heavenly, a refreshing of the image of our God in all His glory.
NO Daily Orthros
Friday, May 22
Saturday, May 23
11:30 a.m. -- Serving Meal at Stewpot Ministries
5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, May 24 (Sunday of the Holy Fathers of Nicea)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
5:30 p.m. -- Youth Group
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Eucharist Bread …was offered by the Schelvers for the Divine Liturgy today.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
May 17 Schelver Skirtech/Skirtech/Parker
May 20 (Wed. pm) Morris Kh. Janet Henderson
(Feast of the Ascension) Mary Guy Lockhart
May 24 Jones D. Root/Dansereau
May 30 (Sat. am) Meadows Brittany Salisbury
(Saturday of the Souls) Koliva:
May 31 Davis POT LUCK MEAL
(Feast of Pentecost) (Set-up: Elizabeth Root
Brittany Salisbury)
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#
May 17 Phillip Lasseter Acts 16:16-34 58
May 20 (Wed. pm) Kh. Be'Be' Schelver Acts 1:1-12 63
May 24 Brenda Baker Acts 20:16-18, 28-36 66
May 30 (Sat. am) David Turner Acts 28:1-31 72
May 31 Tom Willingham Acts 2:1-11 77
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 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.
Vivian Haddad from Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Clinton is at home again, having been hospitalized earlier with a stroke. She and her husband Charles have been dear friends of many here at St. Peter. Please keep them and their family 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 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.
* The Leave-taking of Pascha will be celebrated with Paschal Vespers on Tuesday evening, May 19th, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
* We will celebrate the Feast of the Ascension with Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy on Wednesday evening, May 20th, beginning at 6:00 p.m.
* We will be serving at the Stewpot on Saturday, May 23rd, along with members of Holy Resurrection and Holy Trinity/St. John the Theologian Orthodox Churches.
* Vacation Church School will be held Thursday, July 2nd through Saturday, July 4th.
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).
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 the last day to book the special conference rate is May 20th.
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, May 17th and June 7th and 21st.
Fasting Discipline for May
The traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil) will be observed on all Wednesdays and Fridays of the month.
Major Commemorations for May
May 17 Sunday of the Blindman
May 21 Feast of Ascension
Sts Constantine and Helen
May 24 Sunday of the holy Fathers of Nicea
May 25 The Forerunner (3rd Discovery)
May 30 Saturday of the Souls
May 31 Feast of Pentecost
Happy Birthdays in May:
May 5 -- Dale Cooper
-- Joanna Davis
May 7 -- Tiffany Strain (#18!)
May 8 -- Kh. Janet Henderson
May 10 -- Fr. Leo Schelver
May 11 -- Meghan Brock
May 15 -- Tom Skirtech
May 21 -- Jacob Skirtech (#8!)
May 24 -- Paul Katool
-- Daniel Root
May 26 -- David Turner
-- Julian Dabit (#3!)
May 27 -- Luke Habeeb (#10!)
May 30 -- Dn. Terry Algood
May 31 -- Stephen Chamblee
Happy Anniversaries in May:
May 12 -- Cliff and Anna Kathryn Stewart (#8!)
May 19 -- Jay and Joanna Davis (#3!)
May 25 -- Nicholas and Carrie Henderson (#1!)
May 30 -- Tom and Jennifer Skirtech (#38!)
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: "How Should We Conduct Ourselves in the Morning?
First, we never are completely alone; always and everywhere our Guardian Angel and the Lord God are with us. Our Guardian Angel, if we ourselves do not drive him away from us, is always with us, and the Lord God unquestionably is always with us by His very essence, because He is an omnipresent God. For in him we live, and move, and have our being, says the holy apostle (Acts 17:28)."
How to Live a Holy Life by Metropolitan GREGORY of
St. Petersburg
Worship: Sunday, May 24, 2015 (Sunday of the Holy Fathers of Nicea)
Scripture: Acts 20:16-18, 28-36; John 17:1-13
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Brenda Baker
Prosphora: Jones
Coffee Hour: D. Root/Dansereau
