Update for the week Friday, August 12, through Thursday, August 18, 2011
THIS WEEKEND
DECORATE FOR THE FEAST- Are you able to help or ask others who can decorate the bier with flowers on Saturday around noon? Trish Orlovsky usually does it, but this year she will be out of town. Flowers will be delivered to the church and it will be unlocked (yoga folks are there till 1:00). Trish has placed floral foam on the bier, so it just needs decorating, a light watering, and positioning on the table front and center on the solea for Sunday morning services. 2-4 people would be ideal to get this done quickly. Just decorate, clean up and close the door; you should be done in two hours or less. Trish is available by phone to coach anyone willing to help: phone 339-368-0463; or email t_orlovsky@hotmail.com
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 this Saturday, August 13, 2011 (rain or shine). Several St. Mary parishioners will be taking part.
DORMITION FEAST– The Dormition of the Blessed Theotokos, which is Monday, August 15, is our Patronal feast day. This Sunday, August 14, we will celebrate the Feast with a Festal Divine Liturgy, followed by a celebratory coffee hour provided by Charlie Arbeely.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
WOMEN’S CLUB MEETING – The next meeting of the Women’s Club will be held on Monday, August 29, at 7:30 in the kitchen. All are welcome.
HONOR OUR SEMINARIANS – The Antiochian Women of the Diocese of New England cordially invite you to a Celebration honoring the Antiochian Seminarians serving in our parishes. The event will be held on Sunday, September 25, from 4:00 to 7:00 pm at St. George Community Center, 55 Emmonsdale Rd., West Roxbury. Hot and cold hors d’oeuvres and desserts will be served. Come and enjoy refreshments and fellowship – all are welcome!
WOMEN’S CLUB HONORED – The St. Mary Women’s Club has received the “Friend of the YWCA Cambridge Award,” presented at their annual meeting on June 28, 2011. The award letter and certificate are reprinted in the August issue of Cornerstone. The Women’s Club thanks you for your ongoing support, which enables them to continue this kind of community outreach as well as their usual charitable activities and Church School support.
REMINDERS
COFFEE? – Volunteer! Several Sundays are still available.
SUMMERHOURS FOR CHURCHAND OFFICE – During the summer, Orthros is at 8:15 am, and Divine Liturgy at 9:30 am. The church office is only open on Tuesday, Thursday & Friday, from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. Regular hours will resume in September.
2015 CONVENTION – Our bid to host the 2015 Convention was presented by Fr. Antony Hughes, Mary Winstanley O’Connor and Raymond Sayeg, and was accepted! The 52nd Antiochian Archdiocese Convention will be held at the Sheraton Boston Hotel from Sunday, July 19 – Sunday, July 26, 2015, hosted by St. Mary Church, Cambridge, MA.
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 the Sunday Bulletin. The Parish Council will need all parishioners to provide their time and talent to make this convention a significant success. Please contact Mary at her office (617-523-1010 or moconnor@koilaw.com) or Ray at his office (617-742-1184 or rsayeg@dennerpellegrino.com) with any questions or with your willingness to participate.
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: Epistle: Mary Winstanley O’Connor, Communion cloth and bread TBD. If you would like to read the Epistle or assist during Communion, please contact Jeff Wasilko, 781-820-0882, jeffw@smoe.org.
COFFEE HOUR– Charlie Arbeely
LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Saturday, August 13: No Vespers at St. Mary
Sunday, August 14: Festal Orthros 8:15 am; Lamentations 9:30 am, followed by Liturgy for the Feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Theotokos
SCRIPTURE READINGS for August 14:
Epistle: St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 3:9-17
For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's
building. … no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid,
which is Jesus Christ. …. Do you not know that you are the temple of God
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple
of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which
temple you are.
Gospel: Matthew 14:22-34
… Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on
the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were
troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But
immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do
not be afraid." And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You,
command me to come to You on the water." So He said, "Come." And when
Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to
Jesus.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saturday, August 20: Great Vespers 5:00 pm
Sunday, August 21: Summer Hours - Orthros 8:15 am, Divine Liturgy 9:30 am
Saturday, August 27: No Vespers at St. Mary
Sunday, September 4: Regular Sunday hours resume – Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am
Sunday, September 11: Church School registration
Sunday, September 18: Church School classes start
INSIGHT
Come forward, O ye people, and receive the glad tidings, clapping your
hands together. Gather together today anxiously and joyfully, and shout
ye all in joy for the Theotokos is about to rise in glory from the
earth to the heavens. Let us ever glorify her with praises for she is
the Theotokos.
- Troparion of the Forefeast of the Dormition
THE DORMITION OF THE MOST-HOLY THEOTOKOS
The Lord Who, on Mt. Sinai, commanded by His Fifth Commandment:
"Honor your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12), showed by His own
example how one should respect one's parent. Hanging on the Cross in
agony, He remembered His mother and indicating to the Apostle John, said
to her: "Woman behold your son" (St. John 19:26). After that, He said
to John: "Behold your mother" (St. John 19:27). And so providing for His
mother, He breathed His last.
John had a home on Zion in Jerusalem in which the Theotokos settled
and remained there to live out the end of her days on earth. By her
prayers, gentle counsels, meekness and patience, she greatly assisted
the apostles of her Son. She spent most of her remaining time on earth
in Jerusalem, often visiting those places which reminded her of the
great events and of the great works of her Son. She especially visited
Golgotha, Bethlehem and the Mount of Olives. Of her distant journeys,
her visit to St. Ignatius the God-bearer in Antioch is recorded, as well
as her visit to Lazarus (whom our Lord resurrected on the fourth day),
the Bishop of Cyprus. She also visited Mount Athos, which she blessed,
and she stayed in Ephesus with St. John the Evangelist during the time
of the great persecution of Christians in Jerusalem.
In her old age, she often prayed to the Lord and her God on the Mount
of Olives, the site of His Ascension, that He take her from this world
as soon as possible. On one occasion, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to
her and revealed to her that within three days she would find repose.
The angel gave her a palm-branch to be carried at the time of her
funeral procession. She returned to her home with great joy, desiring in
her heart once more to see in this life, all of the apostles of Christ.
The Lord fulfilled her wish and all of the apostles, borne by angels in
the clouds, gathered at the same time at the home of John on Mount
Zion. With great rejoicing, she saw the holy apostles, encouraged them,
counseled them and comforted them. Following that, she peacefully gave
up her soul to God without any pain or physical illness. The apostles
took the coffin with her body from which an aromatic fragrance emitted
and, in the company of many Christians, bore it to the Garden of
Gethsemane to the sepulcher of her parents, Saints Joachim and Anna. By
God's Providence, they were concealed from the evil Jews by a cloud.
Even so, Anthony, a Jewish priest, grabbed the coffin with his hands
with the intention of overturning it but, at that moment, an angel of
God severed both his hands. He then cried out to the apostles for help
and was healed upon declaring his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Thomas was absent, again according to God's Providence,
in order that a new and all-glorious mystery of the Holy Theotokos would
again be revealed. On the third day, Thomas arrived and desired to
venerate the body of the Holy All-pure one. But when the apostles opened
the sepulcher, they found only the winding sheet and the body was not
in the tomb. That evening, the Theotokos appeared to the apostles
surrounded by a myriad of angels and said to them, "Rejoice, I will be
with you always." It is not exactly known how old the Theotokos was at
the time of her Falling Asleep but the overwhelming opinion is that she
was over sixty years of age.
- St. Nikolai Velimirovic, The Prologue of Ohrid