Update for the week Friday, June 1, through Thursday, June 7, 2012

THIS WEEKEND

PENTECOST– This Sunday is the Feast of Pentecost. We will be celebrating with Festal Orthros and Divine Liturgy, followed by the Kneeling Prayers.

ANTIOCHIAN WOMEN’S SCHOLARSHIP – Scholarships are available to Antiochian Women 25 years of age or older, who choose to continue their education.  You must be a member in good standing of the Antiochian Archdiocese, be actively involved in your parish, be applying for an academic or trade study program and demonstrate financial need.  Scholarship applications are available in the office.  Deadline to apply is June 1, 2012.

N.G. BERAM AWARDS - The N. G. Beram Veterans Assoc. is pleased to announce the continuation of its Scholastic Achievement Awards program for the 46th year, which was established to encourage, promote and support the education of students of Arabic speaking backgrounds.  High school seniors can obtain the application along with the instructions by visiting the web page at:  www.stjohnd.org/ngberam.  All applications must be postmarked no later than June 1, 2012.

NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS

FEAST AND FAST - The week after the Feast of Pentecost there is no fasting; then the Apostles Fast begins on June 11 and continues until The Feast of the Apostles on June 29.

PLC CHOIR REHEARSAL – There will be a Diocesan Choir Rehearsal to prepare for the Parish Life Conference on Sunday, June 10, 2:30 – 5:30pm at St. George, Norwood.  Our PLC Host Parish has offered to serve dinner afterwards so we need to know who is coming.  If you are coming, please sign up at www.mysignup.com/diocesanchoir.

PARISH LIFE CONFERENCE UPDATE– This year’s Parish Life Conference, with His Grace Bishop John, will be held at The Cliff House, Ogunquit, Maine, June 21-24, 2012.  Note: the last day to register for the Lobster Bake is June 15th.  We also anticipate a sell-out at the Awards & Talent Competition Dinner.  For conference registration and information go to the conference website:  http://stgeorgenorwood.org/PLC2012/index.html
   Hotel info -  The overflow hotels in the area are filling up fast, and as demand increases, many places are raising their prices.  Internet travel sites will give you the best rates and locations.

REMINDERS

THEOPHANY SCHOOL CAMP – Theophany School will be hosting a one-week session of summer enrichment camp from Monday-Friday, June 4-8, 2012.  This exciting week will be geared  toward children ages 2.9—6 years.  We will be making maps, searching for treasures, and taking an imaginary voyage.  Daily programs will begin at 9:00 am and will end with pickup at 1:00 pm.  Cost is $220.00 per child and spaces are limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.  For more information or to register your child, please call 781-444-3058.

SUMMER GREETERS NEEDED – Please help out!  Volunteers are needed for all Sundays in July and August through September 2 (Labor Day Weekend).  Please contact Buddy Mabardy at 781-729-6303 or e-mail: buddy@cjmabardy.com. Summer Hours: Orthros: 8:15 am & Liturgy: 9:30 am.  Summer might be a great time for you to start participating in this Ministry! 

FSJD SCHOLARSHIP – Graduating High School Seniors who are actively involved in the parish  and whose parents are members of the parish, are eligible for the Fellowship of St. John the Divine Scholarship.  Please call the Church Office with your name so that an application will be mailed to you directly by Mary Winstanley O’Connor, or contact her at moconnor@koilaw.com or 617-523-1010.

REGULAR REMINDERS

COFFEE HOUR SIGNUP – A signup sheet for coffee hours is posted on the bulletin board outside the coat room.  There are plenty of dates to choose from after Pascha – sign up now for the date you will sponsor the coffee hour!

DONATE VIA eGIVE– Did you know that you can make your donations to St. Mary through eGive, and have no more envelopes or checks to worry about?   If you have not yet set up an account, you can do it at www.egive-usa.com, or contact Charlie Marge (marge@alum.mit.edu) for help. The Recipient Organization is “St. Mary’s Orthodox Church.”

STREAMING VIDEO – St. Mary’s Church services are broadcast live each week through an internet video stream.  If you can't attend a service in person or want to share this ministry with a friend or loved one, the live stream can be viewed at www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/live  during regularly scheduled service times (see the schedule of services below or online).  If you have questions or comments about this ministry please contact us at live@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org.

VIDEO STREAMING FOR EVENTS – Now you can video stream your wedding or baptism live from St. Mary’s to friends and family who can't attend your event in person.  The cost for Event Video Streaming is $150 for members, $300 for non-members, and includes a password- protected viewing page and setup and breakdown of the streaming service for your event by a trained staff member.   You can also get a copy of your streamed event on CD: $50 for members, $100 for non-members. Fees are payable to the church. Streaming is subject to staff availability. For general questions on the video streaming ministry or event streaming, please contact live@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org.  To schedule your event and/or request Event Video Streaming, please contact the Church Office.

PROTECT YOUR VALUABLES – Please do not leave valuables unattended in the Church Hall or Coat Room.

FIRST IN, LAST OUT – Please do not park in the small lot behind the church unless you intend to stay through the end of coffee hour. The only way out is the single lane driveway.  Please pull all the way in to the parking space, and please do not block the driveway – if the lot is full, you can park on the street.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE

There are a number of ways you can help the Church, your fellow worshippers and those in need.  Consider serving in one of these ways:

BE A GREETER - The Parish Council is continuing the Greeter Program, similar to other churches, to greet and aid parishioners, guests and visitors into the Church each Sunday.  As a Greeter, you will welcome people into the Church and help to direct visitors upstairs to the Liturgy, as well as keeping an eye on the Vestibule, hallways and entrance ways during church, arriving at Church at 9:45 am.  Greeting time ends when Communion starts.  We need volunteers.  If you would like to be a Greeter, a Sign-Up Sheet is posted on the Church Bulletin Board.  If you have any questions, please contact Buddy by e-mail buddy@cjmabardy.comor call him at 781-729-6303. “I was a stranger, and you invited me in………”   (Matthew 25:35)

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.  All Orthodox Christians in the Parish are welcome and encouraged to participate. We usually need one Epistle  and six people to hold cloths and baskets.  If you would like to read the Epistle or assist during Communion, please contact Jeff Wasilko, 781-820-0882, jeffw@smoe.org

COFFEE HOUR – People are needed every week to provide coffee, juice and cookies, or more if desired, and set it up Sunday morning. To sign up for an available Sunday, please put your name on the new signup sheet on the bulletin board outside the Hall or call Marilyn Robbat in the Parish Office and she will write your name in. If you need any help with figuring out what to bring or do, check the list below the signup sheet (also printed in the Bulletin), or ask Marilyn at secretary@stmaryorthodoxchurch.orgor 617-547-1234.

PRISON MINISTRY – If you would like to find out more about Prison Ministry at St. Mary’s Church, please subscribe to our mailing list at http://groups.google.com/group/ocpm-concord

"As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me," says our Lord.

THIS SUNDAY'S VOLUNTEERS

GREETER:  Erick Straghalis

LITURGICAL SERVICE: Epistle: Charlie Marge; Cloth and Bread: to be determined

COFFEE HOUR:  The Shoop family

LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK

Saturday, June 2:  Great Vespers 5:00 pm

Sunday, June 3, Feast of Pentecost:  Matins 8:45 am;  Divine Liturgy 10:00 am

SCRIPTURE READINGSfor the Feast of Pentecost: 
Epistle: Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. … the multitude … were amazed and wondered, saying, "… we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God."

Gospel: John 7:37-52; 8:12
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, "If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, 'Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.'" Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. … Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

LOOKING AHEAD

Saturday, June9:  No Vespers at St. Mary

Sunday, June 10:  Matins 8:45 am;  Divine Liturgy 10:00 am

Thursday-Sunday, June 21-24:  Parish Life Conference at the Cliff House, Ogunquit, ME (No services at St. Mary, and church offices closed.)

Saturday, June 23:  No Vespers at St. Mary, Vespers will be at Parish Life Conference

Sunday, June 24:  No Liturgy at St. Mary; Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Parish Life Conference

Friday, June 29:  Feast of Ss. Peter & Paul, the Apostles - No services at St. Mary

Saturday, June 30:  No Vespers at St. Mary

Sunday, July 1:  Summer Hours begin - Orthros 8:15 am, Divine Liturgy 9:30 am

INSIGHT

In the Church's annual liturgical cycle, Pentecost is "the last and great day." It is the celebration by the Church of the coming of the Holy Spirit as the end - the achievement and fulfillment - of the entire history of salvation. For the same reason, however, it is also the celebration of the beginning: it is the "birthday" of the Church as the presence among us of the Holy Spirit, of the new life in Christ, of grace, knowledge, adoption to God and holiness. …
   We are taught that the entire history of mankind was directed towards the day on which God "would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh." This day has come! All hope, all promises, all expectations have been fulfilled. At the end of the Aposticha hymns, for the first time since Easter, we sing the hymn: "O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth…," the one with which we inaugurate all our services, all prayers, which is, as it were, the life-breath of the Church, and whose coming to us, whose "descent" upon us in this festal Vigil, is indeed the very experience of the Holy Spirit "coming and abiding in us."
    - Father Alexander Schmemann, http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsLife.asp?FSID=45
 
Once, when he descended and confounded the tongues, the Most High divided the nations;  and when He divided the tongues of fire, he called all men into unity, and with one accord we glorify the All-holy Spirit.
   - Kontakion of the Feast of Pentecost, Tone 8
 
The Church belongs to the very heart of God's intentions. Every Orthodox believes that the Church is an expression of God's will on earth. That is why we take it very seriously and do not regard it as a kind of committee, an office, an administration, or a rigid body. That which is understood by the word "Church" is exactly that which is understood by the word "community." Whenever an Orthodox speaks of community he is ipso facto speaking of the Church and if the Church is not that, it has no raison d'etre at all. It could be replaced by other agencies established to fulfill certain practical purposes.
   - Patriarch Ignatius IV of Antioch    
 
[T]he gifts of the Holy Spirit are revealed in community. As such, they are for all the community, and so one gift does not quench the other, even when, as happens often, they are opposite. So the analytical does not quench the emotional, the gift of tears does not quench that of laughter, the gift of the spiritual elder does not contradict that of the psychologist, the gift of ecstasy does not stand in disharmony with that of calm.
   - Bp. Seraphim Sigrist, A Life Together