Update for the week Friday, June 24, through Thursday, June 30, 2011
Update for the week Friday, June 24, through Thursday, June 30, 2011
THIS WEEKEND
VESPERS– Great Vespers Saturday 5:00 pm
LITURGY – Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 this Sunday (Note that Summer hours start next week.)
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
BIBLE BOWL CHAMPS– Congratulations to Thomas Marge, Anthony Marge and Theo Smith, and their coach Violet Robbat, who have retained the New England Bible Bowl crown! The team from St. Mary earned 71 points, while St. George, W. Roxbury and St. George, Worcester tied for second place with 66 points. Next our team will represent the New England Diocese at the Archdiocese Convention Bible Bowl in Chicago on Wednesday evening, July 27. We wish them much success!
ORATORICAL FESTIVAL: Congratulations to Theo Smith and Tatiana Dalton, our participants in the Senior and Junior Division respectively, for giving wonderful orations and representing St. Mary Church so well. Congratulations to all
REMINDERS
VACATION CHURCH SCHOOL - St. George Church, West Roxbury announces Vacation Church School, Monday, June 28 through Thursday, July 1, 8:45 am-1:00 pm. Registration is open to preschoolers (at least 3 yrs old and potty trained) through 4th grade. Registration: $15/1 child; $20/2 children; $25/3 children Volunteers are also needed. The registration form is available for download at http://www.stgeorgeofboston.org/ministries/vcs.html and should be returned to the church with a check by June 20. Contact Elisabeth Lourie at elisabeth@stgeorgeofboston.orgor 617-323-0322 if you have any questions or would like to help.
APOSTLES FAST – Reminder:the Apostles Fast began last Monday, June 20,and continues until the Feast of the Apostles on Wednesday, June 29.
SUMMER HOURS – Our summer worship schedule begins next Sunday, July 3 and continues through August 28. During the summer, Orthros will be at 8:15 am and Divine Liturgy at 9:30 am.
COFFEE HOUR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – Volunteering always falls off this time of year, but the need for fellowship and hospitality stays strong. Please sign up to sponsor a coffee hour, individually or with friends. It can be as simple as coffee, juice, and cookies, and plenty of help is available. Signup sheets are on the bulletin board downstairs outside the Hall. Isn't it your turn by now?
TANGLEWOOD OUTING- Join your music-loving friends from St. Mary’s as we carpool out to Tanglewood after Liturgy on Sunday, July 10. We’ll picnic on the lawn and listen to music by Higdon, Bruch and Tchaikovsky, with violinist Joshua Bell. (For more information see http://www.bso.org/bso/mods/perf_detail.jsp?pid=prod3880048) The concert starts at 2:30; lawn tickets are $25.50 (pay at the door). Bring lawn chairs if you want them, and picnic food for yourself and to share. For more information and to let us know you're coming, especially if you'll need a ride, contact Melissa Nassiff by email (mnassiff@gmail.com) or phone 508-877-7483).
CHURCH SCHOOL HELP NEEDED– St Mary’s Church School needs teachers or co-teachers for several classes for next year, as well as two administrative assistants to help with administrative tasks such as Church School calendar and registration. If you would like to be considered for a teaching or assisting role, please contact Andrea Popa at maryandreapopa@gmail.comor Arlene Marge at lanciani@alum.mit.edu.
MISSION TEAM OPPORTUNITIES – There are still openings on some of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center’s 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.
2011 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
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
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 atlive@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org.
DONATE VIA eGIVE – Recently we have had special collections for Japan, for Seminarians, for the Antiochian Women’s project: the Convent of St. Thekla, and other causes. If you didn’t have a chance to contribute to those collections, or would like to give more, you can do so through eGive at www.egive-usa.com. If you have not yet set up an account, you can do it there, or contact Charlie Marge (marge@alum.mit.edu) for help. The Recipient Organization is “St. Mary’s Orthodox Church,” and when you get to Step 4 after selecting that, you have the option of designating how your gift will be used.
PROTECT YOUR VALUABLES – Please do not leave valuables unattended in the Church Hall or Coat 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 notblock 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:
GREETERS –The
Parish Council has enacted the Greeter Program, similar to other
churches, to greet and aid parishioners, guests and visitors each
Sunday. 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. If you would
like to help and volunteer as a Greeter once every few months, please
contact Buddy Mabardy at 781-729-6303 or email at Buddy@cjmabardy.com
LITURGICAL SERVICE - Each Sunday, members of the
congregation are needed to read the Epistle and assist during Communion
by 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.
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
"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: If you would like to read the Epistle or assist during Communion, please contact Jeff Wasilko, 781-820-0882, jeffw@smoe.org.
COFFEE HOUR – FSJD
LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Saturday, June 25: Great Vespers 5:00 pm
Sunday, June 26: Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00
SCRIPTURE READINGS forJune 26:
Epistle: St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 2:10-16
God shows no partiality. … For it is not the hearers of the law who are
righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.
When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires,
they … show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while
their conscience also bears witness …
Gospel: Matthew 4:18-23
At that time, as Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two
brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a
net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow
me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Tuesday, June 28: Evening Liturgy for the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul 6:30 pm
LOOKING AHEAD
Saturday, July 2: Great Vespers 5:00 pm
Sunday, July 3: Summer Hours begin - Orthros 8:15 am, Divine Liturgy 9:30 am
Sunday-Sunday, July 24-31: Archdiocese Convention in Chicago (church and offices closed Monday – Friday)
Saturday, July 31: No Vespers at St. Mary
INSIGHT
God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
- Anonymous
Deeply implanted within all that the Logos created is a dynamism
that calls every nature, and each individual that embodies every nature,
toward God. The term used for this Godward-directedness is also logos (plural, logoi) – which points out the close relationship, in the divine energies, of the Creator to his creation.
- James R. Payton Jr., Light from the Christian East
And not only is the operation of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
everywhere one, but also there is one and the same will, calling, and
giving of commands, which one may see in the great and saving mystery of
the Church. For as the Father called the Gentiles to the Church,
saying: "I will call her My People which was not my people, and her
Beloved who was not beloved"; and elsewhere: "My house shall be called a
house of prayer for all nations," so, too, the Lord Jesus said that
Paul was chosen by Him to call forth and gather together the Church, as
you find it said by the Lord Jesus to Ananias: "Go, for he is a chosen
vessel unto Me to bear My name before all nations."
- St. Ambrose of Milan, On the Holy Spirit, Book II
The Holy Spirit can also be received by listening attentively to the
voice of God. God speaks to us by means of the internal voice of our
conscience and through external circumstances. It is very important to
develop sensitivity in order to hear more clearly what God suggests to
us. He, as a most loving Father, cares for you. Daily He calls you to
Himself, warns you and enlightens
you.
- St. Innocent of Irkutsk, The Way Into the Kingdom of Heaven
Love never hates anyone, never reproves anyone, never condemns anyone,
never grieves anyone, never abhors anyone, neither faithful nor infidel
nor stranger nor sinner nor fornicator, nor anyone impure, but instead
it is precisely sinners, and weak and negligent souls that it loves
more, and feels pain for them and grieves and laments, and it feels
sympathy for the wicked and sinners, more than for the good, imitating
Christ Who called sinners, and ate and drank with them. For this reason,
showing what real love is, He taught saying, "Become good and merciful
like your Father in Heaven," and as He rains on bad and good and makes
the sun to rise on just and unjust alike, so also is the one who has
real love, and has compassion, and prays for all.
- Abba Ammonas