Update for the week Friday, July 1, through Thursday, July 7, 2011
THIS WEEKEND
SUMMER HOURS BEGIN– Our summer worship schedule begins this Sunday, July 3 and continues through August 28. Starting this week, Orthros will be at 8:15 am and Divine Liturgy at 9:30 am.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
CHURCH OFFICE SUMMER HOURS – During the summer, the church office will only be open on Tuesday, Thursday & Friday, from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm.
CHURCH WILL BE CLOSED – St. Mary Church and offices will be closed Monday through Friday, July 25-29, during the Antiochian Archdiocese Convention (see Reminders, below). Also, there will be no Vespers at St. Mary on Saturday, July 30.
THANK YOU FOR BOOKS – Thank you to all the parish
members who contributed books for the school library in Albania. We
collected eight boxes of books! The books will be shipped by crate
later in the summer, and the students will get to enjoy them in the
coming year.
- Panayiotis and Shannon Sakellariou
NEW SKETE PILGRIMAGE –The Monastic Communities and Chapel Community members of New Skete Monastery in Cambridge, New York (www.newskete.org ), invite you to join them for a day of prayer and reflection celebrating their feast day on Saturday, August 13, 2011 (rain or shine). The theme of the pilgrimage is "Preparing for Life: Exploring End of Life Questions." As is the rule of monastic life, the day will begin and end with prayer—Matins at 8:30 am, followed by the celebration of the Diving Liturgy 9:30 am (Close of Transfiguration) and end with Vigil of the Resurrection (Preparation for Dormition) at 5:00 pm. In addition, a special Healing Service with Anointing will be held at 4:00 pm. Fr. George Gray, Priest at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, Portland, Oregon, and a lecturer on end of life issues will deliver the feature presentation and Sr. Macrina, Ph. D. of the Nuns of New Skete, will give the response and lead the discussion. In addition, the day will include tours of the monastery churches, a talk on monastic life, a demonstration of the monks' dog training program and opportunities for puppy socialization, as well as time for hiking, conversation, reflection and quiet. Activities for children and teens are also planned. Traditional ethnic and American style food will be available for purchase. (The Monks, Nuns, and Companions of New Skete are a Stavropegial monastery under Metropolitan Jonah of the Orthodox Church in America.) For more information, contact Teva Regule (teva@mit.edu).
REMINDERS
TANGLEWOOD OUTING– Several of us from St. Mary’s will be carpooling out to Tanglewood after Liturgy next Sunday, July 10, and you’re welcome to join us. We’ll picnic on the lawn and listen to music by Higdon, Bruch and Tchaikovsky, with violinist Joshua Bell. (For more details 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 – or can provide one - contact Melissa Nassiff by email (mnassiff@gmail.com) or phone 508-877-7483).
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?
BIBLE BOWL CHAMPS– Congratulations to Thomas Marge, Anthony Marge and Theo Smith, and their coach Violet Robbat, who won the Bible Bowl at the New England Diocese Parish Life Conference. Next they will represent the Diocese at the Archdiocese Convention Bible Bowl in Chicago on Wednesday evening, July 27. We wish them much success!
2011 ARCHDIOCESE 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
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.
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 – Fr. Antony & Kh. Carol Hughes
LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Saturday, July 2: Great Vespers 5:00 pm
Sunday, July 3: Summer Hours begin - Orthros 8:15 am, Divine Liturgy 9:30 am
SCRIPTURE READINGS forJuly 3:
Epistle: St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 5:1-10
… . More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering
produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character
produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has
been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given
to us. … God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners
Christ died for us. … For if while we were enemies we were reconciled
to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled,
shall we be saved by his life.
Gospel: Matthew 6:22-33
The Lord said, "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your
eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is
not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light
in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! … do not be anxious,
saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we
wear? For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father
knows you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well."
LOOKING AHEAD
Saturday, July 9: Great Vespers 5:00 pm
Sunday, July 10: Summer Hours - Orthros 8:15 am, Divine Liturgy 9:30 am
Monday-Sunday, July 25-31: Archdiocese Convention in Chicago (church and offices closed Monday – Friday)
Saturday, July 31: No Vespers at St. Mary
INSIGHT
It
is one thing to be content with shabby clothes and have no desire for
magnificent array, but a different matter to put on the light of God.
They are two different things. Caught up in a myriad of desires, some
have easily been negligent, but only they [put on the light] who
constantly search for it through all kinds of penitence; those who
become children of light and of the day through the fulfillment of the
commandments.
- St. Symeon the New Theologian
God is truth and light. God’s judgment is nothing else than
our coming into contact with truth and light. In the day of the Great
Judgment all men will appear naked before this penetrating light of
truth. The ‘books’ will be opened. What are these ‘books’? They are our
hearts. Our hearts will be opened by the penetrating light of God, and
what is in these hearts will be revealed. If in those hearts there is
love for God, those hearts will rejoice in seeing God’s light. If, on
the contrary, there is hatred for God in those hearts, these men will
suffer by receiving on their opened hearts this penetrating light of
truth which they detested all their life.
- St. Symeon the New Theologian
God does not create crosses for people, that is, cleansing spiritual and
physical sufferings. And however heavy that cross may be for that
individual, the tree that produces its timber grows from the soil of his
heart.
- St Ambrose of Optina
Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting
hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it; ...Trusting that He will make all
things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy
in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next.
Amen.
- Reinhold Niebuhr