Update for the week Friday, February 25, 2011 through Thursday, March 3, 2011
THIS WEEKEND
ORTHODOXY ON TAP– You are invited to a three-part series of lectures and discussion at Roggies Brew and Grille (356 Chestnut Hill Ave, Boston), with Dr. Timothy Patitsas, Professor of Ethics at Holy Cross Seminary, sponsored by the 20/40 club at St. George. The first one was last Thursday, February 17th. Tonight ( if you get this Update in time), February 24th, Dr. Patitsas will discuss "The City as Liturgy" and next Thursday, March 3rd, he will be discussing "The American Dream and the Orthodox Worldview". Each one begins at 7:30 pm in the downstairs room at Roggies. Admission is free, full bar and food menu will be available. Open to all (21+) in the Boston area.
HAFLI FOR THE ANTIOCHIAN VILLAGE CAMPAIGN– In support of the parish’s goal to provide financial help for all our children and teens interested in attending AV camp, St. Mary will host a Hafli this Saturday, February 26 at 7:30 in the church hall. Mitchell Kaltsunas and his band will be there for a night of dancing, mazza and wonderful company. Beer and wine and soda will be available for purchase. Ticket price is $40.00/person and includes hot/cold mazza. (If you can’t attend, consider making a donation anyway!) For tickets please call the Church Office at 617-547-1234, Mary Winstanley O’Connor, 617-523-1010, or Paul Nahass, 617-547-9065. No tickets will be sold at the door.
MEATFARE SUNDAY BREAKFAST – The annual Meatfare Sunday breakfast sponsored by the Fellowship of St. John the Divine will be held this Sunday, February 27, 2011 after Liturgy. Suggested donation: $7 per person, $14 per family. Your donations will help support the many activities of the Fellowship at St. Mary's, including the annual Lessons and Carols evening; Learning in Lent lecture series; Wednesday evening potluck suppers after Pre-Sanctified Liturgies during Lent; the Annual Father John vonHolzhausen lecture; Coffee House ministry; coffee hours and special meals; the weekly St. Mary Update e-mail newsletter; and more.
HELP NEEDED- The Fellowship could use your help with setting up, cooking, and serving the breakfast on Sunday morning starting at 9:00 am, as well as cleaning up afterward.
LENTEN FOOD SALE – The Women's Club is now taking orders for Hoomos (hummus), Mjadara (lentils with rice), and Spinach Triangles. Please use the order form in the Sunday bulletin. Order deadline is this Sunday, February 27; pickup date is Sunday, March 13. Also, please plan to come help make the Spinach Triangles on Saturday, March 12, at 9:00 am.
THEOPHANY CD - Experience the beauty of the Feast of Theophany all year around – The Voice of the Lord: Selected Hymns from the Feast of Theophany is available for purchase either as a hard copy or as a download through iTunes and Liturgica.com! Chanted in a traditional Byzantine style, this CD was made in memory of Sonia Daly Belcher, the founder of the Theophany School in Boston, MA, who died three years ago. For more information or to purchase, go to http://www.theophanyschool.org/cd. Or see Jamil Samara, who will be selling the CD during coffee hour this Sunday.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
TEEN SOYO –All teens who would like to go to Lawrence to attend the Spring Diocesan Meeting on Saturday, March 5th (and the teen social event), please RSVP to Nadia (nabuelezam@gmail.com). If anyone is willing to drive, please also let Nadia know. Let's get good representation and get to know other teens from around the diocese!
FORGIVENESS VESPERS– The last thing we do before beginning the Lenten fast is forgive each other, and ask everyone to forgive us. Join us next Sunday evening, March 6, at 5:30 pm for Forgiveness Vespers. Lent begins Monday, March 7.
LENTEN SERVICES AND EVENTS:
GREAT CANON OF ST. ANDREW – The Great Canon of St. Andrew will be offered on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings of the first week of Lent at 7:00 pm
PRESANCTIFIED LITURGY and LENTEN POTLUCKS – Every Wednesday during Lent, beginning Wednesday, March 9, there will be a Presanctified Liturgy at 6:30 pm, followed by a Potluck Supper sponsored by the FSJD. Do plan to come and bring something to share. Any Lenten fare is welcome: main courses, sides, salads, desserts, as well as beverages and snacks. This is a wonderful opportunity for fellowship during Lent, plus we get to sample each other's Lenten recipes. Please stay for supper even if you can't bring food--there's room at the table for everyone.
LEARNING IN LENT – The Fellowship of St John the Divine will offer its annual lecture series on the Fridays in Lent, beginning Friday, March 11 (speakers TBA). After Akathist (Madayeh), which starts at 7:00 pm, we’ll meet in the Church hall for refreshments and a presentation (approximately 8-9:30 pm).
TEEN CONFESSION and DINNER –St. Mary teens will be making confession and going out to dinner on Saturday, March 12. Meet at St. Mary's at 4:00 pm for confession. After vespers, the group will go out to dinner somewhere in Central Square. Bring money for dinner! We should conclude by 8:00 pm.
PARISH COUNCIL – The next Parish Council meeting will be on Monday, March 14 at 7:30 pm.
THANK YOU – Barbara Shoop says, “I would like to thank
my Saint Mary family for all your kind words and support during my
brief, yet rewarding, tenure as the Church Administrator. I especially
want to thank Fr. Antony, Nick and Mitch Bezreh, Mary Winstanley
O’Connor and Marilyn Robbat for their encouragement and assistance. It
was indeed a pleasure to have served the Parish in this capacity.”
Marilyn Robbat will return next Tuesday.
REMINDERS
COFFEE HOUR VOLUNTEERS URGENTLY NEEDED – Please volunteer to provide a coffee hour – it can be as simple as coffee, juice, and cookies. Most upcoming Sundays are available. Signup sheets are on the bulletin board downstairs outside the Hall, or call the Church Office at 617-547-1234, or email secretary@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org .
ANTIOCHIAN WOMEN’S MONTH – March is Antiochian Women’s Month throughout the Archdiocese. Our women will be reading the Epistle (1 woman), taking the Collection each Sunday (2 women) and assisting during Communion (6 women). We are inviting all Women of St. Mary Church to be included: If you wish to participate please sign up on the sheet at the Bengarri or, contact MaryEllen Mabardy at 781-729-6303.
DIOCESAN SPRING MEETINGS– St. George, Lawrence, will be hosting the General Assembly meetings of the Fellowship, Women, and Teens on Saturday, March 5. Morning prayers begin at 10:00 am, with meetings following at 10:30.
LENTEN RETREAT AT NEW SKETE– New Skete Monastery is offering a one-day Lenten retreat on Saturday, March 26, 2011, entitled, "Living Our Baptismal Covenant." The day will consist of presentations on Christian Initiation as well as Monastic Life, and will include time to discussions, meditation, and reflection. Our own Teva Regule will give a presentation. An opportunity for spiritual direction and sacramental confession will also be available. A donation of $25 is asked to help cover the expenses for the day. The number of retreatants is limited and available on a first come, first served basis. To register for the retreat, contact Sr. Macrina at the Nuns (srmacrina@gmail.com). In addition, the monastery will celebrate the Liturgy of St. James (the ancient rite of Jerusalem) on that Sunday, March 27. Those wishing to visit the monastery for the weekend, to take advantage of both opportunities, please contact Teva Regule (teva@mit.edu) for housing arrangements (by March 14). See the flier on the bulletin board on the way in to the Church Hall.
SCHOLARSHIPS - Syrian Lebanese Women’s Club of Greater Boston will make available a number of scholarship awards in the amount of $1000.00 each to young women of Syrian and Lebanese origin, residing in Massachusetts within a 50 mile radius of Boston, who plan to pursue a four-year college education. Applications are available in the Church Office or by calling or e-mailing Mary Winstanley O’Connor (617-523-1010 or moconnor@koilaw.com) and must be postmarked by March 31, 2011.
VONHOLZHAUSEN LECTURE– The Fellowship of St. John the Divine invites you to the annual vonHolzhausen Lecture following coffee hour on Sunday, May 1, 2011. This year’s speaker will be Fr. Michael Plekon, professor at Baruch College’s Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, Orthodox priest, and author. Watch for more information.
OCF REAL BREAK– College Students: Do something REAL this spring Break! The Real Break program provides alternatives to the “traditional” Spring Break for college students. It exists to provide students with the most authentic experience possible, and is modeled as a full Christian lifestyle, which includes fellowship, prayer within community, witness and service. Each Spring, over 100 students attend various trips, both domestic and international, to give of themselves to those less fortunate and to do something “real” for themselves and for God. OCF Real Break has been running since 2000 with over one thousand students participating in these life-changing opportunities. Past and current trips include: Mexico, Guatemala, Jerusalem, Constantinople, Raphael House, St. Basil Academy, Greece, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Romania, Buenos Aires, Alaska, and more. For information about the 2011 trips see http://www.ocf.net/wikis/programs/real-break-2011-trips.aspx
MISSION TEAM OPPORTUNITIES- The Orthodox Christian Mission Center has announced their 2011 Mission Teams. Teams will be heading to 9 locations around the globe to share the teachings of the faith and offer the gift of service through hands-on experience. For more information go to http://teams.ocmc.orgor call the OCMC at 877-463-6784.
BE PART OF A FAMILY MISSION TEAM –This year the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) is proud to announce a collaboration with the Center for Family Care (of the Greek Archdiocese) by offering a Family Mission Team. For two weeks, July 17-29, 2011, families from North America, along with Albanian families, will participate in this outreach assisted by OCMC missionaries and Albanian church leaders. The primary focus is to offer a “family witness” while sharing the faith and growing as a family in Christ. Consider being part of this first OCMC and Center for Family Care collaboration and family mission witness! Visithttp://teams.ocmc.org1, or e-mail teams@ocmc.org, for more information or to apply.
CREATIVE ARTS FESTIVAL –The Church School’s Creative Arts Retreat scheduled for February 5 was postponed because of weather; watch for more information on a possible alternate date. Meanwhile, students wishing to prepare creative art projects for entry to the Antiochian Archdiocese Creative Arts Festivals on their own (including entries in drawing, clay, fabric, photography, performance, poetry, or creative writing) should contact Andrea Popa at maryandreapopa@gmail.comor their church school teacher for further information.
PARISH LIFE CONFERENCE– This year’s New England Parish Life Conference will be held Friday, June 17, through Sunday, June 19, at the Resort & Conference Center in Hyannis, hosted by St. John of Damascus Church of Dedham. Register today - early bird discount through 5/14. Look for us on Facebook: “2011 Parish Life Conference”.
CROSSROAD – Attention High School Juniors & Seniors: CrossRoad is an exciting summer vocation exploration program designed to help students discern their life callings and match their God-given gifts with the needs of the world. CrossRoad session dates for summer 2011 are June 18-28 (first session) and July 5-15 (second session). For more information and to download an application: www.crossroad.hchc.edu
ARCHDIOCESAN CONVENTION– The 50th Antiochian Archdiocese Convention will be held July 24-31 at the Marriott Chicago Downtown, Chicago, Illinois. For more information see www.archdioceseconvention2011.orgor email info@archdioceseconvention2011.org
STREAMING VIDEO- Divine Liturgy at St. Mary is broadcast live every week! Do come to church… but if you can’t, then join us on your computer! To see live broadcasts go to https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/livestream. Divine Liturgy starts at 10:00 am every Sunday September through June, and at 9:30 am during the summer.
If you are interested in helping, please contact Erick Straghalis (estraghalis@gmail.com).
PROTECT YOUR VALUABLES - Please do not leave valuables unattended in the Church Hall or Cloak 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 or in the lot at the corner of Prospect Street and Bishop Allen Drive.
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:
PARTICIPATION
Liturgical Service - Each Sunday, members of the
congregation are needed to read the Epistle and assist during
Communionby 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 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.
VOLUNTEERING
Holy Resurrection Open Doors - The Holy Resurrection
Open Door Meal Ministry in Allston needs volunteers every Monday evening
(there is a special need in the summer). The official hours of the
project are 4:30 pm-7:30 pm, but it is fine to come anytime and leave
any time. Best times would be 5:30-5:45 to 7:15-7:30 pm. You can serve
meals, coffee and tea to the people who arrive for dinner (6-7 pm) or
just stay behind the scenes doing set-up and clean-up. It is a very
rewarding, hands-on, face-to-face way to serve the community with
(mostly) other Orthodox Christians—we even chant the Our Father together
before the meal begins. Church info can be found at http://hrocboston.org. Questions? Please contact Liz Straghalis atliztutella@gmail.com phone 617-974-5005, or Tiffany Conroy at trattus1@gmail.com.
St Paul’s Food Pantry - Volunteers are needed each week in the food pantry at St Paul's Roman Catholic Church in Harvard Square, Saturday mornings from 9:30-11:45.
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
DONATIONS
Food and Clothing – Holy Resurrection in Allston takes donations of non-perishable food items and clothing
to distribute at the Open Door Ministry on Monday evenings. You can
bring your donations by on Monday nights between 4:30 pm and 7:30 pm or
contact Tiffany Conroy, trattus1@gmail.com, for more information.
Canned Goods-The
annual Food For Hungry People canned food drive is held October
through December each year. Bring in your canned goods to the Church
and place them in the large, blue plastic containers outside the Church
Office – they will be distributed to local food pantries in our area.
"As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me," says our Lord.
THIS WEEK'S VOLUNTEERS
LITURGICAL SERVICE - Epistle:
Mary Long; Left Cloth: Elana Jabbour and Rose Njuguna; Right Cloth:
James Wilcox and Greg Hakim; Left Bread: Michelle Chin; Right Bread:
Cassandra Chirieac
COFFEE HOUR – FSJD Meatfare Breakfast
LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Saturday, February 26: Great Vespers 5:00
Sunday, February 27, Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meatfare Sunday): Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School lesson 16; followed by FSJD Meatfare Breakfast
SCRIPTURE READINGS for February 27:
Epistle: St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 8:8-13; 9:1-2
Brethren, food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do
not eat, and no better off if we do. Only take care lest this liberty of
yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. … Therefore, if
food is a cause of my brother's falling, I will never eat meat, lest I
cause my brother to fall.
Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46
The Lord said, "When the Son of man comes in his glory and all the holy
angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him
will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from
another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will
place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the
king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me
drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed
me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'
Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when …?' And the King will
answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of
these my brethren, you did it to me.' "
LOOKING AHEAD
Saturday, March 5: Great Vespers 5:00
Sunday, March 6, Forgiveness Sunday (Cheesefare Sunday): Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School lesson 17; Forgiveness Vespers 6:00 pm
Monday, March 7: Great Lent begins; Great Canon of St. Andrew 7:00 pm
Tuesday, March 8: Great Canon of St. Andrew 7:00 pm
Wednesday, March 9: Presanctified Liturgy 6:30 pm, followed by pot luck supper
Thursday, March 10: Great Canon of St. Andrew 7:00 pm
Friday, March 11: Akathist (Madayeh) Service 7:00 pm, followed by “Learning in Lent” Lecture Series
Sunday, March 13, Sunday of Orthodoxy: Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 , with procession of Icons
Thursday, March 24: Evening Liturgy for the Annunciation of the Theotokos 6:30 pm
Sunday, April 24: Great and Holy Pascha
Sunday, May 1: vonHolzhausen Lecture 12:30
Friday-Sunday, June 17-19:Parish Life Conference
INSIGHT
It is love that constitutes the theme of "Meat-Fare Sunday." The Gospel lesson for the day is Christ's parable of the Last Judgment (Matt. 25:31-46).
When Christ comes to judge us, what will be the criterion of His
judgment? The parable answers: love – not a mere humanitarian concern
for abstract justice and the anonymous "poor," but concrete and personal
love for the human person, any human person, that God makes me
encounter in my life. …
The parable of the Last Judgment is about Christian love. Not all of
us are called to work for "humanity," yet each one of us has received
the gift and the grace of Christ's love. We know that all men
ultimately need this personal love – the recognition in them of their
unique soul in which the beauty of the whole creation is reflected in a
unique way. We also know that men are in prison and are sick and
thirsty and hungry because that personal love has been denied them. And,
finally, we know that however narrow and limited the framework of our
personal existence, each one of us has been made responsible for a tiny
part of the Kingdom of God, made responsible by that very gift of
Christ's love. Thus, on whether or not we have accepted this
responsibility, on whether we have loved or refused to love, shall we be
judged.
-Alexander Schmemann, Great Lent
God didn’t create you to love and serve him. He created you so that He could love and serve you.
- Fr. Antony Hughes, quoted by Fr. Michael Nasser in an
article describing how that statement changed his life, in the February
2011 issue of The Word magazine (http://www.antiochian.org/sites/antiochian.org/files/feb_2011_word.pdf , page 7)
When we teach our children to be good, to be gentle, to be forgiving
(all attributes of God), to be generous, to love their neighbor, to
regard this present age as nothing, we install virtue in their souls,
and reveal the image of God within them. This, then, is our task: to
educate both ourselves and our children in godliness; otherwise what
answer will we have before Christ’s judgment seat?
- St. John Chrysostom, Homily 21
Only God is good by nature, and only he who imitates God is good in will
and purpose. For it is the intention of such a person to unite the
wicked to Him who is good by nature, so that they too may become good.
That is why, though reviled by them, he blesses; persecuted, he endures;
vilified, he supplicates ; put to death, he prays for them. He does
everything so as not to lapse from the purpose of love, which is God
Himself.
- St. Maximus the Confessor
Therefore, casting out of our souls all faithlessness, sloth, and
hesitation, let us draw near with all our heart, with unhesitating faith
and burning desire, like slaves who have been newly purchased with
precious blood. Indeed, with reverence for the price paid on our
behalf, and with love for our Master Who paid it, and as having accepted
His love for us, let us recognize that, if He had not wished to save by
means of Himself us who have been purchased, He would not have come
down to earth, nor would He have been slain for our sake. But, as it is
written, He has done this because He wills that all should be saved.
Listen to Him say it Himself: 'I did not come to judge the world, but to
save the world' (Jn. 12:17).
- St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life