Update for the week Thursday, September 24, through Thursday, October 1, 2015

As Father Antony continues to recover from his recent heart attack, he and his family appreciate that you keep them in your prayers. But please continue to refrain from phone calls and visits, to allow him to recover and continue resting. Thank you.

THIS WEEK 

SATURDAY, 9/26 – No Vespers.
   + There will be no Vespers at St. Mary until further notice, while Fr. Antony is recovering. He appreciates your understanding and hopes to be back with us soon.
   + You are invited to the Fall Retreat sponsored by the Antiochian Women of the diocese this Saturday, at St John of Damascus Church in Dedham. Featured Speaker Father Ted Pulcini will talk about Hearing Your Call and Responding To It. The Retreat is open to Women, Men, Families and Friends. If you haven't registered yet, please call or email Kh. Erin Kimmet immediately at 781-775-0789 or erinmaryk27@gmail.com so the committee can plan enough food. Cost is $20; you can pay at the door.
   + 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.

SUNDAY, 9/27 – Orthros 8:45 am; Hierarchical Divine Liturgy 10:00; Church School lesson 2
   + During Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, with the blessing of His Eminence, Metropolitan JOSEPH, His Grace Bishop JOHN will ordain Prior Theodore of the Western Rite Monastery of Our Lady and Saint Laurence to the Holy Diaconate. Prior Theodore was formerly Michael Philips, a St. Mary's parishioner and our catechist. For more information about him and the monastery see http://saintlaurenceosb.org/monastery--oblates.html
   + The potluck picnic sponsored by the Hospitality Group, originally scheduled for this Sunday, is cancelled due to scheduling conflicts. We look forward to resuming this gathering in the Spring when the weather warms.

TUESDAY, 9/29 - The next Parish Council meeting has been scheduled for next Tuesday at 7:30 pm at the church.

NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY - While Fr. Antony is recuperating, in case of emergency please call Fr.Timothy Ferguson at 617-323-0323 (note the change to Fr. Timothy).

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 call Barbara Shoop 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 Barbara at secretary@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org or 617-547-1234

NEW SKETE FALL RETREAT - The New Skete fall retreat will be held on Saturday, October 17. The theme is “Silence: Learning to Listen to Life.” A special feature of this year’s retreat will be a piano concert by Haskell Small entitled, “A Journey in Silence: Reflections on the Book of Hours and Bach’s Partitia No. 6 in e minor.”  For more information and to register, see: http://www.newskete.org/retreat.html.

As usual, a number of St. Mary people plan to go out for the weekend. (It can be incredibly beautiful at this time of year). If you would like to stay at the monastery (with the nuns), please contact Teva Regule at teva@mit.edu by Sunday October 4. If you would like to stay at the Guest/Emmaus House, contact Br. Gregory directly at brgregory@newskete.org. (It would be advisable to do so soon, ideally with with a grouping in mind so you all can share a suite and leave space for others.) Also, as usual, we will try to coordinate rides. So if you are planning to go, let Teva know so she can put you on the list.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS AWARENESS DAYSunday, October 18 is Special Olympics Awareness Day, and the teens will request your financial donations to enable them to sponsor the 35th Annual Special Olympics Sports Camp, which is held annually at Antiochian Village. Please be generous as our teens need to raise in excess of $72,000 to run this wonderful program.

WOMEN'S CLUB – The next meeting of the Women's Club will be Monday, October 19, at 7:30 at the church. We welcome all women of the parish to join us!

DELEGATES MEETING - The Fall Diocesan Delegates Meetings of Teen SOYO, Fellowship of St. John the Divine, and Antiochian Women will be held on Saturday, October 24, at St. George Cathedral in Worcester, MA.

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.

PAN-ORTHODOX YOUNG ADULT RETREAT - Join a diverse group of Orthodox young adults October 2-4, 2015 in Syracuse, NY for a Pan-Orthodox Young Adult Retreat to explore and reflect on the mystery of the human person and why knowing ourselves matters! The Syracuse Pan-Orthodox Young Adult Retreats are sponsored by Holy Transfiguration (Bulgarian) Orthodox Church and St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church as part of an ongoing program to provide forums for young orthodox adults to network and socialize with one another, address their common problems and interests, and grow in their faith. To register contact Mike Tishel at michael.tishel@gmail.com, or see www.thepersonproject.com

FUNDRAISING GALA – On Saturday, October 3, St. George Norwood will be celebrating a “Red Carpet Gala” event to help reach their fundraising goals for church renovations, at Central FIAT of Norwood, 7:00pm. For more information or to purchase tickets visit them at: http://stgeorgenorwood.wix.com/gala-event-2

BIBLE STUDY – The Bible Study will resume bi-weekly meetings in October on Thursday, October 15 and Thursday, October 29, 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. New members are always welcome. For more information contact Marianna Sayeg (mksayeg@gmail.com) or Fr. Antony (frawhj@gmail.com)

BAZAAR & FOOD FAIR – Come to the St. George Bazaar & Food Fair, Friday through Sunday, October 16-18, 55 Emmonsdale Rd., West Roxbury. Admission is free. There will be Middle Eastern cuisine, country store, crafts, kids’ corner and raffles.

BAKE SALE - The Women’s Club will hold a Charity Bake Sale on Sunday, October 18, immediately following Liturgy in the church hall. All proceeds will benefit the charitable projects we sponsor, from the YWCA Family Shelter in Cambridge to the Antiochian Women’s project, Hungry People: At Home and Abroad. Call Marilyn Robbat at 781-729-3033, or the Church Office at 617-547-1234 or email secretary@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org if you can help bake and/or donate.

ABBA CONCERT - The American Arabic Benevolent Association (ABBA) will be presenting a concert with Gina Dimia, one of North Shore’s greatest entertainers, at the Norwood High School Theatre on Friday, October 23 at 8:00 pm. A pastry buffet will follow the concert. For tickets contact David Franciosi at dfranciosi@aol.com or 617-347-1007.

SFEEHA SALE – The Women’s Club is offering for purchase freshly made Sfeeha (ground lamb-meat pizza pies with onion, pine nuts & seasonings). Everything is cooked with the finest of ingredients and ready to eat now or freeze for the holidays! (Note: this product contains pine nuts.) Please use the order form in the Sunday bulletin, or contact the church office for a copy. Order deadline is Sunday, October 25. Please come help cook on Saturday, November 7. Pick-Up Date is Sunday, November 8.

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

Choir: The St. Mary Church Choir is very open to individuals interested in making a commitment to sing each Sunday at Divine Liturgy. Please feel free to join them and/or introduce yourself to the director, Michelle Mabardy, any Sunday after Liturgy.

THIS WEEK'S VOLUNTEERS

Greeter: Jeanne Brickman

Liturgical Service: 

Epistle: TBD

Procession: Doreen Bargoot, Teva Regule, Esther Porr, Panayiotis Sakellariou, Shannon Sakellariou

Communion: Volunteers needed – contact Jeff Wasilko, jeffw@smoe.org 

Coffee Hour: The Parish Council

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THIS SUNDAY

   Epistle: 

Brethren, we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will live in them and move among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people...“ Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and make holiness perfect in the fear of God. 

   - 2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1

   Gospel:

At that time, Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. And He saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, Jesus asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when Jesus had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at Thy word I will let down the nets.” ... But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish, which they had taken; … And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him. 

   - Luke 5:1-11

REFLECTION

Know to what extent the Creator has honored you above all creation. The sky is not an image of God, nor is the moon, nor the sun, nor the beauty of the stars, nor anything of what can be seen in creation. You alone have been made the image of the Reality that transcends all understanding, the likeness of imperishable beauty, the imprint of true divinity, the recipient of beatitude, the seal of the true light. When you turn to him you become that which he is himself...There is nothing so great among beings that it can be compared with your greatness. God is able to measure the whole heaven with his span. The earth and the sea are enclosed in the hollow of his hand. And although he is so great and holds all creation in the palm of his hand, you are able to hold him, he dwells in you and moves within you without constraint, for he has said, 'I will live and move among them' (2 Corinthians 6.16).

   - Gregory of Nyssa

Why is it that people who meet us never notice that we are limbs of the risen Christ, temples of the Holy Spirit? Why? Each of us has got to give his own reply to this question. Let us, each of us, examine ourselves and be ready to answer before our own conscience and do what is necessary to change our lives in such a way that people meeting us may look at us and say, "Such people we have never seen. There is something about them that we have never seen in anyone. What is it?" And we could answer: It is the life of Christ abroad in us. We are His limbs. This is the life of the Spirit in us. We are His temple. Amen.

   - Metropolitan ANTHONY Bloom

There is nothing hid from God, but even our secrets are nigh unto him. Let us therefore do all things as becomes those who have God dwelling in them, that we maybe his temples, and he may be our God, as also he is, and will manifest himself before our faces by those things for which we justly love him.
   - St. Ignatius of Antioch

Ultimately…the secret is perfect abandonment to the will of God in all things you cannot control, and perfect obedience to Him in everything that depends on your own volition, so that in all things, in your interior life and in your outward works for God, you desire only one thing, which is the fulfillment of His will.

   - Fr. Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation

A truly intelligent man has only one care - wholeheartedly to obey Almighty God and to please Him.
   - St. Antony the Great