St. Mary Orthodox Christian Church

Update for the week Friday, July 26 through Thursday, August 1, 2013

THIS WEEKEND

VESPERS - There will be NOT be a Vespers service this Saturday.

SUMMER HOURS – During July and August, Sunday services start half an hour earlier than usual: Orthros starts at 8:15 am, and Divine Liturgy 9:30 am.

July Trisagion Prayers of Mercy (Memorials) will be offered for the repose of the souls
of the servants of God departed during the month of July.

NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
TANGLEWOOD OUTING CANCELLED – The trip to Tanglewood originally scheduled for Sunday, July 28, will not take place.

PARISH COUNCIL – The next meeting of the Parish Council will be Wednesday August 7, at 8:00 pm, following the Paraclesis service, in the Church hall.

FSJD MEETING – The Fellowship of St. John the Divine is now opening a new Vice President role. Please contact Julie Wasilko (julie31415pi@gmail.com) if interested. Also, the next FSJD meeting will be Sunday, August 25 in the church hall during coffee hour, where we'll be reviewing the new calendar for many of St. Mary's 2013-2014 events and activities. All are welcome.

REMINDERS

PATRONAL FEAST DAY: The Dormition of the Blessed Theotokos - on the eve of the feast,  Wednesday, August 14.  Vespers: 4:15p.m. Orthros with Lamentations:  5:30 p.m. Festal Divine Liturgy: 7 p.m.  Join us for a celebration following offered by Charles Arbeely.

BIBLE STUDY – The Bible Study at St. Mary, sponsored by the Fellowship of St. John the Divine, meets every other Thursday and is based on a lecture series originally broadcast on Ancient Faith Radio.  For more information contact Marianna Sayeg (mksayeg@gmail.com) or Fr. Antony (frawhj@gmail.com). New members are always welcome!

CHURCH SCHOOL TEACHERS NEEDED - The Church School is looking for several Teachers, Assistants and Substitutes for the 2013-2014 school year. Being a Church School Teacher can be a very rewarding and exciting opportunity. Teachers are provided with all the materials they will need. If you are interested, please see Barbara Shoop as soon as possible.

HELP GIVE SHOES TO CHILDREN IN NEED – FOCUS North America and the Antiochian Women of the Archdiocese are working with a major American shoe company to distribute thousands of pairs of shoes to economically disadvantaged children in Boston and other large cities throughout the US. Volunteers are needed to help sort, organize, and distribute these shoes and other items. Your efforts are essential to the program’s success! For more information or to volunteer, please contact our own Kailen Hodge, the FOCUS “Operation Lace Up” coordinator in our area, at 857-277-8323 or Kailen.Hodge@gmail.com. Information can also be found on the web at www.FOCUSna.org/LaceUp.

HALL FLOOR REFINISIHING - On Saturday, August 3rd, the church hall floor will be refinished. Therefore, there will not be Vespers on Saturday evening August 3rd and there will not be a coffee hour on Sunday, August 4th. Please do not walk on the floor in the church hall from Saturday August 3rd-Monday August 5th.

NEW SKETE PILGRIMAGE - The Monastic Communities of New Skete Monastery in Cambridge, New York (www.newskete.org), invite you to their Annual Pilgrimage on Saturday, August 10, 2013, between 8:30am - 6:00pm. The day will include Church Services, Church Tours, a Photo Exhibit, and a Healing Service with Anointing as well as talks by the monastics on Monastic Life and Iconography and by Chapel Community members on their relationship with the monastery. This year’s guest speaker will be Art Historian, William Hood. His talk is entitled, "Praying with Two Eyes: Icons in the Christian Life." A event flier can be found here: http://www.newskete.org/pdfs/2013Pilgrimage%20SchedulePosterAccommodationsFINAL.pdf
   In the past, a crew from Boston has usually gone out to help with the logistics of the day. If you would like to do so (and also stay at the monastery), please contact Teva Regule at teva@mit.edu by July 28. (Caveat: Housing requests for the monks' guest rooms must be received before July 10. We have more time with other housing requests.)

GREETERS NEEDED – We’re still looking for Summer Greeters – please help out! Volunteers are needed for these Sundays: August 11, 18, 25, and September 1. 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. Arrive at Church 15 minutes before Liturgy. Greeting time ends when Communion starts. Please contact Buddy Mabardy at 781-729-6303 or e-mail: buddy@cjmabardy.com. Summer Hours are: Orthros: 8:15 am, and Liturgy: 9:30 am. Summer might be a great time for you to start participating in this Ministry!

OUR PRISON MINISTRY ON RADIO - Our own Deacon Jeff Smith can be heard in a recent interview with Ancient Faith Radio, talking about the blessings of ministering to prisoners in Concord, MA. Deacon Jeff gives listeners an inside look at prison ministry, recounting the nervousness of visiting a prison for the first time, the deep faith he's encountered among men in prison, and how his parish has even involved their Sunday school children in the ministry. Listen to Deacon Jeff's heartfelt interview here: http://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/features/prison_ministry_awareness_sunday1

PRISON MINISTRY - Please donate unwanted past issues of Orthodox magazines such as The Word, OCMC or other periodicals to prison ministry to hand out to inmates. Please remove any personal mailing address for security purposes and give them to Mitrophan Chin.

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

PARKING RESTRICTIONS – Please do not park in the Church parking lot if you need to leave quickly after church. Cars parked there will be staying until the end of coffee hour.
   Additionally, do not park beyond the sign that prohibits parking at the corner of Inman Street and Bishop Allen Drive. (An orange cone will be placed in that No Parking area.) It is difficult for large vehicles to turn the corner if cars are parked there. Failure to heed this warning may result in the City preventing parishioners from parking on Inman Street. Your cooperation is appreciated.
   And remember, there is no parishioner parking in the church parking lot Monday through Friday until after 6:00 pm.

LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK

Sunday, July 28: Summer hours: Orthros 8:15 AM, Divine Liturgy 9:30 am

St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 10:1-10

BRETHREN, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened. For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified. Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on the law shall live by it. But the righteousness based on faith says, Do not say in your heart, "Who will ascend into heaven?" (that is, to bring Christ down) or "Who will descend into the abyss?" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach); because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved.

The Gospel of Matthew 8:28-34; 9:1

At that time, when Jesus came to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, two demoniacs met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one would pass that way. And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" Now a herd of many swine was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, "If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine." And he said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the swine; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and perished in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, and what had happened to the demoniacs. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood. And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city.