September 6, 2015
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
II Corinthians 1:21-2:1-4: St Paul, writing in II Corinthians, reminds us that we are established in God from whom we have received the Holy Spirit as a pledge of what we shall receive in the fullness of God's kingdom.
Matthew 22:2-14: In the gospel of St Matthew we hear our Lord tell us the parable of the marriage feast, in which we learn that readiness for the coming of our Lord requires correct preparation.
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 Archangel Michael: Supreme Commander of the Hosts of Heaven, we, the unworthy, importune and beseech thee that by thy supplications thou encircle us in the shelter of the wings of thine immaterial glory, guarding us who now fall down and cry to thee with fervor: Deliver us from dangers of all kinds, as the great Marshal of the heavenly hosts on high.
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 Nativity of the Theotokos: By thy holy birth-giving, O pure one, Joachim and Anne were delivered from the reproach of barrenness; and Adam and Eve were delivered from the corruption of death; thy people do celebrate it, having been saved from the stain of iniquity, crying unto thee, The barren doth give birth to the Theotokos, who nourisheth our life.
CALENDAR
Sunday, September 6 (Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost)
8:50 a.m. -- Orthros
10:00 a.m. -- Divine Liturgy
Monday, September 7
Office Closed -- Father John's Day Off
NO Great Vespers as previously scheduled
Tuesday, September 8 (Nativity of the Theotokos)
The first feast of the liturgical year celebrates the birth of the Holy Virgin Mary, most blessed of women, chosen to bear God the Son, partaker in the Incarnation as the dwelling place of God. To celebrate her birth and give honor to her life is unavoidably to anticipate the coming of the Messiah and to adore His person. To remember her worthiness is to remember God's grace. To wonder at her faith is to arouse ourselves to emulate her strength of will and her depth of trust. As we enter the cycle of the year, we turn first to honor the Holy Virgin, she who by her role in history and by her place among the saints most reminds us of the coming of the Saviour and the life He gives us, who by the Incarnation became the ladder between Heaven and Earth, who as the Mother of Christ is also the Mother of all His brethren.
6:00 a.m. -- Festal Orthros
Wednesday, September 9 (Righteous Joachim and Anna)
6:30 p.m. -- Daily Vespers
7:15 p.m. -- Choir Practice
Thursday, September 10
6:00 a.m. -- Daily Orthros
Friday, September 11
Saturday, September 12
8:30 a.m. -- Father-Son Prayer Breakfast
10:00 a.m. -- Ladies meet for Akathist
5:45 p.m. -- Ninth Hour followed by Great Vespers
Sunday, September 13 (Sunday before the Elevation of the 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 Davises for the Divine Liturgy today.
Eucharist Bread and Coffee Hour Schedule:
Eucharist Bread Coffee Hour
September 6 Davis Karam/Stewart/Meadows
September 13 Karam POT LUCK MEAL
(set-up:Ellis/Zouboukos/Fahmy)
September 14 (Mon am) Brock Kh. Sharon Meadows
(Feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross)
September 20 Fahmy Pigott/Strain
September 27 Baker Skirtech/Skirtech/Parker
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#
September 6 Mildred Morris II Cor. 1:21-2:1-4 158
September 13 Phillip Lasseter Gal. 6:11-18 198
September 14 (Mon am) Brenda Baker I Cor. 1:18-24 311-312
(Feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross)
September 20 Kh. Be'Be' Schelver Gal. 2:16-20 193
September 27 David Turner II Cor. 6:16-7:1 173
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 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 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.
Please keep Sophia Skirtech and her family in your prayers. She is home home from the hospital recovering from her bad fall last week.
Our condolences go out to Tom and Kathy Willingham on the death of Kathy's father, Gery Gunnels last week in New Mexico. Please keep them, as well as Kathy's mother, Vivian, and brothers, Tommy and Nike, 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.
* Father-Son Prayer Breakfast at the church, Saturday morning, September 12th, beginning at 8:30 a.m.
* The Feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross will be celebrated with Divine Liturgy (only) on Monday morning, September 14th, beginning at 6:00 a.m.
* Mary Brock will be baptized on Saturday morning, October 17th.
* On October 18th, Niko Petrogeorge will be with us to give a presentation about FOCUS ministries.
* Our parish Fall Festival will be held at the church on Saturday afternoon, October 31st.
Christian Education Classes for the new school year will begin on Sunday, September 13th, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Please be sure to have your children to the Church on time.
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 Sundays, September 20th, and October 4th and 18th.
Father-Son Prayer Breakfast: The men of the parish will begin meeting at the church once each quarter for a Saturday morning Father-Son Prayer Breakfast. The first prayer breakfast is scheduled for Saturday morning, September 12th, beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Special Olympics Awareness Day is Sunday, October 18th. The youth Group will be collecting donations for the Special Olympics Camp that is held each year at the Antiochian Village.
Fall Festival! We will hold our parish Fall Festival on Saturday afternoon, October 31st, beginning at 4:00 p.m. Ninth Hour and Vespers will be cancelled that day. There will be a petting zoo and bouncy house for the children, along with other fun activities. Be sure to mark your calendars now!
Pan-orthodox Ladies Retreat: In conjunction with Holy Resurrection and Holy Trinity/St. John the Theologian, we will be hosting a one day women's retreat at St. Peter. The date is Saturday, November 14. Mother Nectaria will be our keynote speaker and will be talking on "How Can I Live a Christian Life in a Culture that Embraces Non-Christian Values". We should have brochures out later this month so we can register. The registration fee will be $20.00 in advance or $25.00 at the door. This includes a continental type breakfast and a catered lunch. We will meet from 9 a.m. until about 3:00 p.m. If for any reason you cannot afford the registration fee, just let Christina know. We want all of our ladies to have the chance to attend.
Fasting Discipline for September
The traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, eggs, fish wine or oil) is observed on all Wednesdays and Fridays of the month. September 14th is also a strict fast day in remembrance of the Elevation of the Holy Cross.
Major Commemorations for August/September
September 6 Miracle of the Archangel Michael
September 8 Nativity of the Theotokos
September 9 Righteous Joachim and Anna
September 13 Dedication of the Church of the Anastasis
September 14 Elevation of the Holy Cross
September 23 Conception of the Forerunner
September 24 Proto-martyr Thekla
September 26 Apostle John the Theologian (repose)
September 28 Venerable Chariton
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.
Happy Anniversaries in September:
September 4 -- Ben and Jenna Skirtech (#14!)
September 15 -- Tom and Kathy Willingham (#25!)
September 26 -- Rod and Emily Parker (#11!)
Happy Birthdays in September:
September 1 -- Adelina Lavric (#3!)
September 3 -- Lee Greene
-- Hannah Strange (#9!)
September 4 -- Fr. John Henderson
September 8 -- Nikki Lasseter
September 9 -- Rebecca Dansereau
September 10 -- Dorin Lavric
September 12 -- Alvin Buckles
September 15 -- Lynda Costas
September 17 -- Jeffrey Schelver
September 18 -- Carolina Lavric
September 25 -- Rick Carlton
September 30 -- Laura Algood
Quotable: "Therefore theology is not related to philosophy, but more akin to medicine. And indeed we observe that all the heretics through the ages used philosophy, whereas the holy Fathers lived heyschasm. We find this in the whole tradition of the Church and in the three Hierarchs, as we shall see in what follows. They followed another method in order to partake of the uncreated grace of God and attain the real knowledge of God. In medical science there is a cure, and through this a person is brought to health. The same is true in orthodox theology. Man cures his organ for knowing, which is the nous, and in this way he attains health and acquires knowledge of God, which also implies his salvation."
The Person in the Orthodox Tradition
by Metropolitan NAFPAKTOS Hierotheos
Worship: Sunday, September 13, 2015 (Sunday before the Elevation of the Cross)
Scripture: Galatians 6:11-18; John 3:13-17
Celebrant: Father John
Epistle Reader: Phillip Lasseter
Prosphora: Karam
Coffee Hour: POT LUCK MEAL
(Set-up: Ellis/Zouboukos/Fahmy)