Update for the TWO weeks Thursday, August 13, through Thursday, August 27, 2015
Editor's note: Because of vacation schedule, this issue of the eNewsletter covers the next two weeks. Any important new announcements during that time will be communicated separately.
THIS WEEK AND NEXT
FRIDAY, 8/14, DORMITION OF THE THEOTOKOS – Our Patronal Feast Day
+ Help decorate the bier 9:00 am; contact Trish Orlovsky for info and to volunteer: t_orlovsky@hotmail.com
+ Vespers 4:15 pm; Orthros with Lamentations 5:30 pm; Festal Divine Liturgy 7:00 pm.
+ Liturgy is followed by a meal offered by the Hospitality Group: $8 person/$16 family. (Checks payable to St. Mary's Church with "Hospitality Group" on the memo line.)
+ Volunteers are needed to help with the meal, starting about 6:00 pm, as well as with clean-up afterwards - please contact Socrates Deligeorges at dr.socrates@gmail.com or Mike Decerbo at michaeldecerbo@gmail.com to let them know you can help.
SATURDAY, 8/15 – No Vespers at St. Mary's
SUNDAY, 8/16 – Orthros 8:45 am. Divine Liturgy 10:00
THURSDAY, 8/20 – Bible Study this Thursday, August 20 in the Church library. St. Mary's Bible Study group is based on a very interesting and accessible course originally broadcast on Ancient Faith Radio, entitled Search the Scriptures – see http://orthodoxbiblestudy.info. The next discussion will cover Solomon – listen to the podcasts at http://orthodoxbiblestudy.info/solomon-part-1/ and http://orthodoxbiblestudy.info/solomon-part-2/
New members are always welcome. For more information contact Marianna Sayeg (mksayeg@gmail.com) or Fr. Antony (frawhj@gmail.com) Note: during the summer this year the Bible Study meets just once each month.
SATURDAY, 8/22 – No Vespers at St. Mary's
WEDNESDAY, 8/26 - The next Parish Council meeting has been scheduled for next Wednesday, August 26 at 7:30 pm at the church.
Thursday-Friday, 8/27-28 – Church Offices closed.
+ Deadline for the 8/30 Sunday Bulletin is Tuesday, August 25.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
CHANGE YOUR CONTACTS LIST - The Hospitality Group has a new email address! In order to receive messages from now on without having them rejected as spam, please add StMarysHospitalityGroup@gmail.com to your contacts list.
WELCOME BACK BREAKFAST - Please join us Sunday, September 13 after Liturgy in the Hall downstairs to once again welcome students back to the area after summer and to showcase all the different volunteer organizations within St. Mary's. Each table will showcase 1-2 groups. Each table should plan to provide one coffee hour food, so be prepared to mingle to get your coffee hour snacks and partake of this special, church-wide event. Julie Wasilko will contact each group's leader soon to coordinate the breakfast sign-up and table assignments.
NO VESPERS – There will be no Vespers service at St. Mary's on Saturday, September 5 or Saturday, September 26
NICK BELCHER ORDINATION - With the Blessing of Metropolitan JOSEPH, Bishop JOHN will Ordain ArchDeacon Nicholas Belcher to the Holy Priesthood during the Hierarchal Divine Liturgy to be celebrated at St. George, West Roxbury on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, at 10:00 am (Orthros at 8:45). (This will be celebrated on Monday to give priests the opportunity to attend.) Following the Liturgy, St. George will host a reception in the Church Hall to honor Fr. Nicholas.
NATIVITY LITURGY – The Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos is September 8. We will celebrate on the Eve of the Feast with Divine Liturgy for Feast of the Holy Theotokos on Monday, September 7, at 6:30pm.
NEW DATE!!! PARISH POTLUCK PICNIC – The picnic has been moved to Sunday, September 27 at Dana Park (10-20 McTernan St, Cambridge) – the same park as previous picnics! Bring a blanket, some eats or drinks to share, balls, frisbees, even bathing suits if you want splash in the sprinklers! Dana Park is a 5-10min walk south of the Church (walk down Magazine St), with an enclosed playground, hoops, water spouts, and beautiful green. This is a great opportunity to relax and spend time with our church family. OPEN TO ALL AGES!!! For people who need assistance getting to the park, we can coordinate rides. If you would like to help us out, please email Diana Yousef (yousefd@post.harvard.edu).
REMINDERS
PARKING AROUND CITY HALL - Please be aware that workers are repairing the City Hall windows and are working on Sundays to complete this task. Therefore, parking spaces around City Hall will be scarce as contractors are utilizing these spaces for their trucks and equipment.
TEACHERS STILL NEEDED – The Church School is still in need of teachers for the fall, in particular an assistant for Pre-School and teachers for Kindergarten/First grade and for Second/Third grades. Please contact the church office or Barbara Shoop at Barbara@dsaarchitects.com if you can help with the Church School.
HOUSE OF STUDIES – The 35th anniversary celebration of the Antiochian House of Studies (AHOS), Antiochian Village, Ligonier, PA will be Friday-Sunday, September 4-6. The theme is: “Orthodox Theological Education: St. Raphael to Modernity." The program will feature expositions of St. Raphael's era of theological education at the Halki Seminary, up to our contemporary endeavors. His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph will preside over the weekend events. For information, please contact cherimullins@yahoo.com; or Archdeacon Peter Boulukos at (201) 569-0095, theoedul@aol.com.
CHURCH SCHOOL REGISTRATION – Registration for new Church School students, age 3 and over, will take place after Liturgy on Sunday, September 13, the Feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross.
WOMEN'S CLUB – The Women's Club will meet Monday, September 14 at 7:30 in the church. At this meeting we will formulate our yearly calendar, so come with any ideas you may have. We usually meet just once a month, and we welcome all women of the parish to join us! The Women’s Club does charitable work locally, nationally and internationally, and also supports the Church School. Call Marilyn Robbat (781-729-3033) or the church office (617-547-1234) if you have any questions or want to be a part of this wonderful group of women.
SONIA'S RUN/WALK – The 7th annual Sonia’s 5K Run/Walk and Fall Fair will be held on Saturday, September 19, at St. George Orthodox Church, West Roxbury, MA. This race is held annually to benefit the Theophany School in honor of our beloved friend Sonia Belcher. The proceeds from Sonia's Run go towards Theophany School's "Building on a Dream" campaign, to fulfill Sonia's dream of a permanent home for Theophany School. For more information see http://www.soniasrun.org/
HCHC OPEN HOUSE - Hellenic College/Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology will hold its Fall open house on Saturday, September 26. Prospective undergraduate and graduate students are invited to be their guests for a half day of worship, learning and fellowship. More information is available on their website www.hchc.edu/visit.
CONGRATULATIONS - St. Mary’s is pleased to announce that at the Antiochian Archdiocese Convention hosted by our parish, Metropolitan JOSEPH appointed Mary Winstanley O'Connor to the Archdiocese Board of Trustees for a four year term. We congratulate her and thank her for her dedicated service to our parish and the Archdiocese.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE
There are a number of ways you can help the Church, your fellow worshipers and those in need. Consider serving in one of these ways:
Greeter: 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. To volunteer contact Buddy Mabardy at 781-729-6303 or e-mail: buddy@cjmabardy.com, or call the church office at 617-547-1234
Liturgical Service – Epistle: The Epistle is read each Sunday by a volunteer parishioner. To volunteer please contact Jeff Wasilko, jeffw@smoe.org
Liturgical Service – Procession: Church School children or parishioners carry the candles, icon, and bread baskets in the great procession. For information about this ministry contact Teva Regule at teva@mit.edu
Liturgical Service – Communion: Volunteers are needed every Sunday to hold the Communion cloths and the Holy Bread baskets during Communion. To volunteer please contact Jeff Wasilko, 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 signup sheet on the bulletin board outside the Hall, or contact Barbara Shoop in the Parish Office at secretary@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org or 617-547-1234.
Prison Ministry: For information about the Prison Ministry at St. Mary you can subscribe to our mailing list at http://groups.google.com/group/ocpm-concord. If you are interested in helping with this ministry, talk with Fr. Antony or Deacon Jeff. Another way to help is to donate Orthodox books, icon cards, and magazines (for security, please remove any personal mailing address) – Mitrophan Chin collects these to share with the inmates.
Hospitality Group: St. Mary's Donald D. Fiore Hospitality Group sponsors various events to welcome visitors and newcomers and to foster a spirit of fellowship and caring among all the people who worship here. To join us or to find out more, contact any of our officers: Julie Wasilko, President julie31415pi@gmail.com, Diana Yousef, Vice President dymartinek@gmail.com, Melissa Nassiff, Secretary and eNewsletter editor mnassiff@gmail.com, Michael Decerbo, Treasurer michaeldecerbo@gmail.com, Socrates Deligeorges, Head Chef dr.socrates@gmail.com
THIS WEEK'S VOLUNTEERS
Greeter: *
Liturgical Service – Epistle, Procession, and Communion: *
* Note: Volunteers are needed for this Friday 8/14 (Dormition Liturgy), Sunday 8/16, and Sunday 8/23. Please step up and contact the coordinators listed above, under Opportunities for Service.
Coffee Hour 8/16: Seraphim Davis and family, in memory of wife/mother Elisabeth Traumann
SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THIS SUNDAY
Epistle:
... Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? ...For it is written in the law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain." Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of a share in the crop. ...
- 1 Corinthians 9:2-12
Gospel:
The Lord said this parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the reckoning, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But that same servant, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat he said, 'Pay what you owe.' So his fellow servant fell down and besought him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison till he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you besought me; and should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailors, till he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to everyone of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."
- Matthew 18:23-35
REFLECTION
As we treat our neighbors, so also does God treat us. The forgiveness, then, of your sins or unforgiveness, and hence also your salvation or destruction, depend on you yourself. For without forgiveness of sins there is no salvation. You can see for yourself how terrible it is.
- St. Philotheos of Sinai
When you have peace and love for all, then your prayer is acceptable, and your offering well-pleasing, and your house blessed and you blessed. But if you are not reconciled with your brother, how can you seek pardon from me? You trample on my words, and do you demand pardon? I, your Master, demand, and you pay no attention, and do you, a slave, dare to offer me prayer, or sacrifice, or first fruits, while you have enmity against someone? Just as you turn your face from your brother, so I too turn my eyes from your gift and your prayer.
- St. Ephrem the Syrian
How frequently we offer a prayer for our enemies, but do it because we are commanded to, not out of love for them. … Those who do not pray for their enemies out of love are not asking anything for their benefit. Jesus, our advocate, has composed a prayer for our case. And our advocate is also our judge. He has inserted a condition in the prayer that reads, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Sometimes we say these words without carrying them out. Thus our words bind us more tightly.
- St. Gregory the Great, "Be Friends of God"
"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12). What can be more mild, what more merciful, than this precept! He has made you a judge of the pardon of your own offenses! If you forgive few things, He forgives you few! If you forgive many things, He forgives you many! If you pardon from the heart, and sincerely, God in like manner also pardons you...
- St. John Chrysostom
When we forgive evil we do not excuse it, we do not tolerate it, we do not smother it. We look the evil full in the face, call it what it is, let its horror shock and stun and enrage us, and only then do we forgive it.
- Lewis B. Smedes