Update for the week Friday, March 18, 2011 through Thursday, March 24, 2011
THIS WEEKEND
LEARNING IN LENT– After the Akathist service this Friday, March 18, we will have the second of a series of Learning in Lent talks. Akathist begins at 7:00 pm. This week’s speakers will be Mary Long and Ann Bezzerides.
DIOCESAN TEEN SOYO LENTEN RETREAT – There will be a retreat for teens in grades 7-12, the weekend of March 25-27 at St. Methodios Faith & Heritage Center, Contoocook, NH. Uncle Paul and Aunt Deborah Finley, from the Antiochian Village, will be guest speakers. Cost is $95 per teen, $50 per advisor. Registration forms must be returned no later than Friday, March 18, 2011. For more information contact Fr. Joseph Kimmett at geonorwood@aol.com(781-762-4396), or Greg Abdalah at abdalah.g@gmail.com(508-752-9150)
HELP VICTIMS IN JAPAN- A collection will be taken this Sunday for the victims of the tragedy in Japan. Make checks payable to St. Mary Church; these funds will be forwarded to the IOCC.
ANTIOCHIAN WOMEN’S MONTH– March is Antiochian Women’s Month throughout the Archdiocese. Each Sunday our women will be reading the Epistle, taking the Collection, assisting during Communion, and giving the Homily. 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.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
PASCHA BAKE SALE– The Women’s Club will be holding their annual Pascha bake sale on Sunday, April 10 (the Sunday before Palm Sunday). Plan on purchasing all your Pascha/Easter desserts, pastries and goodies then. This year we will also be offering Hoomos and Mjadarra – please use the order form in the Sunday bulletin; order deadline is Sunday, April 3, 2011. If you can help bake or bring something for us to sell, please call MaryEllen Mabardy at 781-729-6303.
FSJD SCHOLARSHIPS – Graduating High School Seniors, who are actively involved in the parish and whose parents are members of the parish, are eligible for the FSJD Scholarship. Please call the Church Office with your name so that an application will be mailed to you by Mary Winstanley O’Connor, or contact her directly at moconnor@koilaw.com or 617-523-1010.
MISSING BOOK– Did you check out from our Parish Library the book, "Partakers of the Divine Nature" by Stavropoulos, and forget to sign out the card? We have need for it and cannot seem to locate it at present. If anyone has it can they please contact James Wilcox, our librarian, at drjamesis@gmail.com, or else please return it to the St. Mary's Library? Thanks.
REMINDERS
PRESANCTIFIED LITURGY and LENTEN POTLUCKS– Every Wednesday during Lent 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.
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.
HELP STREAM LENTEN SERVICES OVER THE INTERNET- As we have been doing for the past several years, we are continuing our free live streaming ministry over the web this year for those who cannot join us in person. This ministry has already reached thousands of people across the country and in more than 40 countries around the world, who join us online to celebrate services with us through their computer! Erick Straghalis needs additional people who plan to attend services regularly or semi-regularly throughout Lent, who can help to set up the video stream before each service. No experience is needed! You can be trained on how to turn on the computer, camera and microphones and start the streaming application in just a few minutes. If you are interested and able, please contact Erick Straghalis at estraghalis@gmail.comfor more information and to set up schedules.
VON HOLZHAUSEN LECTURE & BOOK– Fr. Michael Plekon (http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/wsas/academics/anthropology/mplekon.htm) is coming to give our von Holzhausen lecture this year, and we have copies of his book, Hidden Holiness, to sell and read before he comes. See Tiffany Conroy to get a copy for $18, a big discount over the retail price of $25! This would be an excellent book to read during Lent, and Fr Plekon is eager to have people prepared for a good discussion! The book is great!!!
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. See the flier on the bulletin board and at http://www.newskete.org/pdfs/lentenretreat2011-Flyer.pdf 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). A donation of $25 is asked to help cover the expenses for the day. In addition, the monastery will celebrate the Liturgy of St. James (the ancient rite of Jerusalem) on that Sunday, March 27.
LENTEN WOMEN’S RETREAT- Sts. Martha and Mary Sisterhood at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Alston invites you a Lenten retreat for women on Saturday, March 26, 2011. Featured speaker is Molly Sabourin, author of Close to Home: One Orthodox Mother’s Quest for Patience, Peace and Perseverance. For more information see the flyer on the bulletin board downstairs, or contact Popadia Paula Tishel at ptishel@yahoo.comor 617-522-1057. Advance registration is required.
FOOD FOR HUNGRY PEOPLE–You are urged during this season of prayer, self-discipline and fasting, to be very generous in your contribution to the Food for Hungry People program of our Archdiocese . Money Boxes for collecting alms at home will be on the Bengarri; please pick one or two up and place them throughout your home, fill them up, and return them on Palm Sunday, April 17. Our Church School Students will also be given their own boxes to fill. Please be generous!
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.
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 May 27, 2011.
2015 ARCHDIOCESE CONVENTION- St. Mary has obtained the permission of Metropolitan PHILIP to bid on the 2015 Archdiocese Convention. The Parish Council is preparing a bid to have the convention be held at the Sheraton Boston Hotel in Boston, MA from Sunday, July 19, through Sunday, July 26. The determination as to which church will be chosen will be made at the July 2011 National Convention. The convention co-chairs will be Mary Winstanley O’Connor and Raymond Sayeg. Mary and Ray are looking for volunteers to assist with a number of committees – see the list in Sunday’s bulletin. The Parish Council will need all parishioners to provide their time and talent to make this convention a significant success. Please call Mary at her office at 617-523-1010 or email her at moconnor@koilaw.com with any questions or your willingness to participate. Or contact Ray at his office at 617-742-1184 or email him at rsayeg@dennerpellegrino.com
LENTEN RETREAT – St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church, Cotuit, MA will be holding a Lenten Retreat on Saturday, April 2, 2011. For more information, call Lorraine Reiley 508-240-2412.
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.
BENEFIT FOR THEOPHANY SCHOOL– On Saturday, May 7, starting at 6:30, there will be a Benefit Evening & Auction for Theophany School at Apollo Functions, Norwood, MA For more information, call the school at 781-444-3058.
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 May 27, 2011.
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 May 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
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.
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
REGULAR REMINDERS
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 - St. Mary Women
COFFEE HOUR – Bob Kowalik et al
LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Thursday, March 17: New England Deanery Paraclesis7:00 pm at St. John Church, Dedham
Friday, March 18: Akathist (Madayeh) Service 7:00 pm, followed by “Learning in Lent” Lecture Series
Saturday, March 19: Great Vespers 5:00
Sunday, March 20: Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00; Church School lesson 18
SCRIPTURE READINGS for March 20, Commemoration of St. Gregory of Palamas, Bishop of Thessalonica:
Epistle: St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 1:10-14; 2:1-3
… But to what angel has he ever said, "Sit at my right hand, till I make
thy enemies a stool for thy feet?" Are they not all ministering spirits
sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?
Gospel: Mark 2:1-12
… And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And
when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the
roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the
pallet on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he
said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven." … " Which is
easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say,
'Rise, take up your pallet and walk? But that you may know that the Son
of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" - he said to the
paralytic - "I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home."
Wednesday, March 23: Presanctified Liturgy 6:30 pm, followed by pot luck supper
Thursday, March 24: Evening Liturgy for the Annunciation of the Theotokos 6:30 pm
LOOKING AHEAD
Friday, March 25: Akathist (Madayeh) Service 7:00 pm (no speaker)
Saturday,March 26: Great Vespers 5:00
Sunday, March 27, Veneration of the Cross: Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00; Church School lesson 19
Wednesday, March 30: Presanctified Liturgy 6:30 pm, followed by pot luck supper
Friday, April 1: Akathist (Madayeh) Service 7:00 pm, followed by “Learning in Lent” Lecture Series
Saturday, April 2: Great Vespers 5:00
Sunday, April 3: Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00; Church School lesson 20
Sunday, April 24: Great and Holy Pascha
Sunday, May 1: vonHolzhausen Lecture 12:30
Friday-Sunday, June 17-19:Parish Life Conference
INSIGHT
Man, by virtue of the honor of the body created in the likeness of God, is higher than the angels.
- St. Gregory Palamas
Many, unable to endure the self-constraint needed for acquiring the
virtue of prayer, do not attain a plenitude of divine gifts; but those
who do persist are rewarded with greater manifestations of divine aid,
which sustain, support and joyfully carry them forward. Then what is
difficult to accomplish is easily achieved, for they are invested with
what one might call an angelic capacity, which empowers our human nature
to commune with what lies beyond it. This accords with the words of the
prophet, that those who persist will grow wings and will gain new
strength (cf. Isa. 40:31).
- St. Gregory Palamas
Since the Word of God though His descent to us has brought the kingdom
of heaven close to us, let us not distance ourselves from it by leading
an unrepentant life. Let us rather flee the wretchedness of those who
sit "in darkness and the shadow of death" (Isa. 9:2). Let us
acquire the fruits of repentance: a humble disposition, compunction and
spiritual grief, a gentle and merciful heart that loves righteousness
and pursues purity, peaceful, peace-making, patient in toil, glad to
endure persecution, loss, outrage, slander and suffering for the sake of
truth and righteousness. For the kingdom of heaven or, rather, the King
of heaven - ineffable in His generosity - is within us (cf. Luke 17:21);
and to Him we should cleave through acts of repentance and patient
endurance, loving as much as we can Him Who so dearly has loved us.
- St. Gregory Palamas
If, as the Psalmist says, "All the glory of the king's daughter is within" (Ps. 45:13),
how shall we seek it somewhere without? And if, as St. Paul says, "God
has sent forth His Spirit into our hearts, crying: 'Abba Father' " (cf. Gal. 4:6),
how shall we not pray in union with the Spirit that is in our hearts?
And if, as the Lord of the prophets and the apostles says, "The kingdom
of heaven is within us" (cf. Luke 17:21), how shall we not find
ourselves outside the kingdom of heaven if we strive to alienate our
intellect from what lies within us? "An upright heart," says Solomon,
"seeks conscious awareness" (cf. Prov. 27:21), the awareness or perception which he elsewhere calls noetic and divine (cf. Prov. 2:5)."
- St. Gregory Palamas
Unless we bear with patience the afflictions that come to us unsought,
God will not bless those that we embrace deliberately. For our love for
God is demonstrated above all by the way we endure trials and
temptations. First the soul has to surmount afflictions embraced
willingly, thereby learning to spurn sensual pleasure and self-glory;
and this in its turn will permit us readily to bear the afflictions that
come unsought.
- St. Gregory Palamas
...without love the works of virtue are not praiseworthy or profitable
to the man who practices them, and the same is true of love without
works. St. Paul makes this fully clear with reference to works when he
writes to the Corinthians, 'If I do this and that, but have no love, it
profits me nothing' (cf. I Cor. 13:1-3); and with reference to
love the disciple especially beloved by Christ writes, 'Let us not love
in word or tongue but in action and truth' (I John 3:18).
- St. Gregory Palamas