Weekly Newsletter for the week Friday, May 18, 2007 through Thursday, May 24, 2007
PARKING LOT CLEANUP - The Felowship of St. John the Divine needs your help in cleaning the parking lot to get ready for the Parish Picnic. Please join us Saturday morning, May 19, from 9:00 to 12:00. Coffee, donuts and bagels wil be provided. If you can, please bring rubber gloves, rakes, brooms, dustpans, garbage bags, etc. (Some will also be available.) Please call Abra Greene to let her know if you can help, or to check for any weather-related changes - 617-718-9616.
VON HOLZHAUSEN LECTURE & DINNER - Please join us for the 2007 Father John Von Holzhausen Memorial Lecture & Dinner on Saturday, May 19, after Vespers (5:00 pm). Jeff Keiser, former St. Mary's parishioner and currently a Ph.D. candidate at McGill University , will speak on "With Eyes Unveiled: Seeing the Glory of God in the New Testament." This event is sponsored by the Fellowship of St. John the Divine at St. Mary's, and is open to anyone who wishes to come.
PARISH PICNIC - On Sunday, May 20, immediately following Divine Liturgy, we will be celebrating the close of the Church School year with a "family style" picnic in the Church parking lot, under a big tent. The entire parish is invited to attend. Festivities will include Bar-B-Que hot dogs & hamburgers; Silly Willy the Clown with a magic show, balloon sculptures & face painting; DJ's Peter and Nick Gonchar; raffle prizes; crafts, backgammon, and more. Every Church School member will receive a free raffle ticket, and Church School children eat free! A free-will donation is graciously appreciated for adults.
HELP NEEDED FOR GRADUATION/PICNIC -The St. Mary Parish Picnic/Closing of Church School/Graduation is Sunday, May 20. Your help is needed to set up chairs and tables in the Church parking lot before Liturgy and, following the Picnic, to break them down again and put them away. Please plan to arrive at 8:30 a.m. to help. If you have any questions, contact Michelle Mabardy at mmmabardy@aol.com or 781-860-8899.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
FASTING RESUMES - From the Resurection at Pascha until the Ascension this week, the Church did not fast. "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast." (Matt. 9:15) Fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays resumes now.
WOMEN'S CLUB - The next meeting of the Women's Club will be Monday, May 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the library.
ORTHODOX YOUTH OUTREACH - OYO (a ministry of the NAC Teen SOYO) will sponsor a mission trip to Providence , RI , June 8 - 10. This is a weekend trip open to participants nationwide. John Mahfouz will be leading the weekend. Registration information is on the OYO web site: http://www.orthodoxyouthoutreach.net/
ARCHDIOCESE CONVENTION - The 48th Antiochian Archdiocese Convention will be held in Montreal , Canada , July 23 - 29, 2007, hosted by St. Nicholas Church of Montreal . Download registrations forms and/or register online at www.stnicholasmtl.org
REMINDERS
FOOTLAMPS - The next talk in the Footlamps Monthly Lecture Series will be held Saturday, May 19, at St. Michael Church, Cotuit , MA . Speaker will be Dr. John Chirban. Open to everyone. Vespers service begins at 5:00 pm followed by lecture and light refreshments. Suggested Donation $5. For more information and to RSVP please Contact Ghada Khouri at 781-275-7244 or nerfellowship@yahoo.com
MEMORIAL DAY - Fr. Antony will be blessing graves at Fairview Cemetery in Hyde Park on Memorial Day, May 28, starting at 9 a.m. If you would like him to bless the graves of your loved ones in other cemeteries, please let him know by calling the Church Office at 617-547-1234.
PARISH LIFE CONFERENCE - The 2007 Diocesan Parish Life Conference will be June 28 through July 1, at the Radisson Hotel in Plymouth , MA . Theme: Missions and Outreach. His Grace Bishop ANTOUN will be the presiding Hierarch, and Fr. Michael Keiser will be the keynote speaker, speaking on Missions and Evangelism. All proceeds will go toward establishing a Mission Endowment Fund for our Diocese. To see the schedule of events and register for the conference, click on www.WorcesterDiocese.net - you can register either online or on paper. To register for the hotel call 508-747-4900. Please register for both by May 28 in order to get Early Bird rates for the conference, and the special room rate of $119 per night for the hotel. If you have any questions, email conference@worcesterdiocese.net or ask our own Paul Nahass, co-chairman (pnahass@comcast.net).
NO VOLUNTEERS = NO COFFEE - Several upcoming Sundays are available, so please sign up to sponsor a coffee hour, individually or with friends. Some do this to celebrate a special event or anniversary, others simply as an act of hospitality. It can be as simple as coffee, juice, and cookies. Signup sheets are on the bulletin board downstairs outside the Hall.
LORD HAVE MERCY - Teen SOYO is selling "Lord Have Mercy" Bracelets. They are black with "Lord Have Mercy" written on them in English, Arabic, and Greek. They are selling fast, so get yours now! Cost: 1 for $3, 2 for $5, and 3 for $7
LITURGICAL SERVICE - Each Sunday, members of the congregation are needed to read the Epistle and assist during Communion by holding the Communion Cloths and Holy Bread baskets. Six people are needed each week, in addition to the reader. If you would like to read the Epistle or assist during the Communion, contact Maria McDowell at 617-921-6395 or email: mariagwyn@gmail.com
SCHOLARSHIPS - Attention High School Seniors: The Fellowship of St. John the Divine gives out scholarships each year to high school seniors who are planning to attend a four-year college in the fall. Please contact the Church Office at secretary@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org or (617) 547-1234 so that an application may be mailed to you directly from the FSJD.
INSIGHT
Christ, having completed for us his saving work and ascended to heaven with the body which he had taken to himself, accomplishes in his own self the union of heaven and earth, of material and spiritual beings, and thus demonstrates the unity of creation in the polarity of its parts. - Maximus the Confessor
Do you see then to what height of glory human nature has been raised? Is it not from earth to heaven? Is it not from corruption to incorruption? How hard would not someone toil in order to become the intimate friend of a corruptible king here below? But we, although we were alienated and hostile in our intent by evil deeds, have not only been reconciled to God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, but we have also soared aloft to sonship, and now our nature is worshipped in the heavens by every creature seen and unseen. - St. Ephrem, Catechesis
The Son
of God, who in His compassion became man, died so far as His body was concerned
when His soul was separated from His body; but this body was not separated from
His divinity, and so He raised up His body once more and took it with Him to
heaven in glory. Similarly, when those who have lived here in a godly manner
are separated from their bodies, they are not separated from God, and in the
resurrection they will take their bodies with them to God, and in their bodies
they will enter with inexpressible joy there where Jesus has preceded us (cf.
Heb. 6:20) and in their bodies they will enjoy the glory that will be revealed
in Christ (cf. 1 Pet. 5:1). Indeed, they will share not only in resurrection,
but also in the Lord's ascension and in all divine life." - St. Gregory Palamas
LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Saturday, May 19: Great Vespers 5:00 P.M., followed by dinner and von Holzhausen lecture, sponsored by FSJD
Sunday, May 20: Orthros 8:45 a.m.; Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m., followed by Parish Picnic and Closing of Church School/Graduation
SCRIPTURE READINGS for May 20:
Epistle: Acts of the Apostles 20:16-18,28-36 [Paul] called to him the elders of the church. And when they came to him, he said to them: "Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God which he obtained with the blood of his own Son. (The entire reading may be found at http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/lectionary.asp?type=epistle&code=27&event=940
Gospel: John 17:1-13 At that time, Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." (The entire reading may be found at http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/lectionary.asp?type=gospel&code=36&event=912&DL=EN)
LOOKING AHEAD
Saturday, May 26: Great Vespers 5:00 P.M.
Sunday, May 27, Feast of Pentecost: Orthros 8:45 a.m.; Divine Liturgy 10:00
a.m.
Thursday, June 28, through Sunday, July 1: Parish Life Conference
VOLUNTEER SCHEDULES
FOOD PANTRY
Two to four volunteers help each week in the food pantry at St. Paul 's RC Church in Harvard Square , Saturday mornings from 9:30-11:45. If you are willing to help, contact Christian Alcala at cmalcala1989@yahoo.com or (617) 876-5684.
May 19: Jeff Wasilko and Kern Ormond
EPISTLE READERS
The Epistle each Sunday is read by a member of the congregation. If you would like to be one of the readers, please contact Maria McDowell at mariagwyn@gmail.com or 617 921-6395.
May 20:
COFFEE HOUR
To sign up for an available Sunday, please put your name on the signup sheet on the bulletin board outside the Hall or call Marilyn in the Office 617-547-1234 and she'll write your name in.
May 20: Parish picnic
May 27:
TABLES AND CHAIRS
These volunteers will take the lead each week in getting the tables and chairs put away and the floor swept after Coffee Hour. Please help them - the more people there are doing it, the easier it is for all. To volunteer, please contact Abra Greene at abrayanti@gmail.com
May 20: Parish Picnic- FSJD members and
Church School
parents
May 27: