Update for the week Friday, November 4, through Thursday, November 10, 2011
THIS WEEKEND
PAN-ORTHODOX SEMINAR FOR TEACHERS- DOXA Conference, Saturday, November 5, 2011, 9 am – 2:30 pm. Topic: Educating Ourselves and Our Children in Godliness. Cost: $20 per person. Location: Dormition Greek Orthodox Church, Somerville, MA. Please call for reservations: 617-625-2222
EASTERN STANDARD TIME – Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend - don’t forget to set your clocks back. Liturgy begins at 10:00am Eastern Standard Time this Sunday!
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
DOGS NEED A HOME – Two German Shepherd dogs need a new home, because their owner is about to join the New Skete Monastery and can’t take them with him. Yugi is a 9-year-old male, and Esra a 12-year-old female. Both are well trained and love children and dogs (but not cats). No cost. If you can help, please call Roy Tobin at 207-251-1466.
THEOPHANY SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE – Visit the school during Open House Week, November 8 through 10, from 9:30 to 11:30, and see what makes Theophany School so special. Located at 754 Greendale Ave., Needham; www.TheophanySchool.org , 781-444-3058.
PARISH COUNCIL– The Parish Council will meet on Wednesday, November 16, after Paraklesis (which begins at 6:30 pm).
ST. MARY PARISH CHRISTMAS CARD – Save yourself time, and let us do the work - let the Women’s Club send a lovely Christmas Card on your behalf to our parishioners. You will receive this card with the names of parishioners, like yourself, who are wishing a Blessed Nativity and a Merry Christmas to all. Use the form in the Sunday Bulletin or send a note, with your check in any amount, to St. Mary Church - Women’s Club, 8 Inman St., Cambridge, MA 02139. All proceeds benefit the Antiochian Women Project for 2011-2012: The Convent of St. Thekla. Deadline: Sunday, December 4, 2011
REMINDERS
FUNDRAISER HAFLI – Come to a fundraiser Hafli featuring Mitchell Kaltsunas and ensemble next Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 7:30 pm, here at St. Mary’s. This event will raise funds to help send our children to Antiochian Village. Your donation of $35.00 per person includes a mazza/appetizer plate, beer, wine and soft drinks. Reserved tables of 8 may be booked in advance ($250.00 per table, prepaid) and are available by calling Mary Winstanley O’Connor at (617) 523-1010, emailing her at moconnor@koilaw.comor calling the church office at (617) 547-1234. Tickets are limited. The evening is donated and all funds raised will be used for camper scholarships.
TEEN SOYO SPAGHETTI DINNER – The Teen SOYO Spaghetti dinner is set to take place on Sunday, November 13th,
following Liturgy. Come enjoy a meal of Spaghetti, Meatballs (just
before the Fast!), Salad and Bread, Dessert and Coffee/Beverage. Your
Goodwill donation will be much appreciated.
If you can help the teens prepare the Spaghetti Dinner
before/during liturgy that Sunday, or go shopping for the ingredients
before Sunday morning, please contact Nadia at nabuelezam@gmail.com. This would be a wonderful help!
NATIVITY FAST - The Nativity Fast, also known as the season of Advent, begins Tuesday, November 15. This is the forty days of fasting and prayer in preparation for the Great Feast of the Nativity of Christ. Every Wednesday during this period there will be a Paraklesis service at 6:30 pm.
FAMILY VESPERS and CONFESSION - All Church School families are invited to attend Family Vespers & Confession on Saturday, November 19. Pizza will follow in the church hall. Salad and dessert contributions are appreciated. Families are encouraged to bring a canned food item to contribute to the church’s Food for the Hungry People Drive.
BAKE SALE – The Women’s Club will hold a Thanksgiving Charity Bake Sale on Sunday, November 20. All proceeds will benefit the Convent of Saidnaya in Syria. If you can help bake something, please contact Beverly Mabbett at 781-391-6530. Plan on purchasing all your holiday breads, cakes, Arabic pastries, etc.!
N.G. BERAM AWARDS BANQUET – The N.G. Beram Veterans Association’s Scholastic Achievement & Distinguished Service Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday, November 26, 2011, from 12:30-5:00 pm at the Holiday Inn in Dedham. For adbook information seewww.stjohnd.org/ngberamor call 781-784-3341.
FELLOWSHIP OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE – Please consider joining the Fellowship! It’s a great way to meet new people and feel like an integral part of our Parish life. We do not hold regular meetings, but we work together on a variety of projects and events. For example, after coffee hour every Sunday we all pitch in to put away tables and chairs. You can join our members’ email news list by contacting Melissa Nassiff at mnassiff@gmail.com. Also, check us out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/FSJD1
CANNED FOOD DRIVE – The annual FOOD FOR HUNGRY PEOPLE Canned Food Drive will be held October through December, 2011. 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. 42 pounds of food will feed a family of four for 3 days - since 1984 we have collected over 3,281,200 pounds of food!
PARISH LIFE CONFERENCE – Next year’s Parish Life Conference will be held at The Cliff House, Ogunquit, Maine, June 21-24, 2012. Amazing Room Rate: $149 (Regularly $310) Reservations open October 15: Call 207-361-1000 or visit their website www.CliffHouseMaine.com/attendees User Name: PARISH Password: pa986B
REGULAR REMINDERS
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 at live@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org.
DONATE VIA eGIVE– Did you know that you can make your donations to St. Mary through eGive, and have no more envelopes or checks to worry about? If you have not yet set up an account, you can do it at www.egive-usa.com, or contact Charlie Marge (marge@alum.mit.edu) for help. The Recipient Organization is “St. Mary’s Orthodox Church.”
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:
BE A GREETER - The Parish Council is continuing the
Greeter Program, similar to other churches, to greet and aid
parishioners, guests and visitors into the Church 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, arriving at Church
at 9:45 am. Greeting time ends when Communion starts. We need volunteers.
If you would like to be a Greeter, a Sign-Up Sheet is posted on the
Church Bulletin Board. If you have any questions, please contact Buddy
by e-mail buddy@cjmabardy.comor call him at 781-729-6303. “I was a stranger, and you invited me in………” (Matthew 25:35)
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
GREETER: Barbara Shoop
LITURGICAL SERVICE: TBD
COFFEE HOUR: Raymond and Melissa Sayeg and family
LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Saturday, November 5: Great Vespers 5:00 pm
Sunday, November 6: Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 amEastern Standard Time; Church School lesson 7
SCRIPTURE READINGS for November 6:
Epistle: St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 2:16-20
Brethren, you know that a man is not justified by works of the law
but through faith in Jesus Christ, … For I through the law died to the
law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is
no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now
live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and
gave himself for me.
Gospel: Luke 8:41-56
At that time, there came to Jesus a man named Jairus, who was a
ruler of the synagogue; and falling at Jesus' feet he besought him to
come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of
age, and she was dying. … And a woman who had had a flow of blood …
touched the fringe of his garment; and immediately her flow of blood
ceased. … And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well;
go in peace." While he was still speaking, a man from the ruler's house
came and said, "Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any
more." But Jesus on hearing this answered him, "Do not fear; only
believe, and she shall be well." …
LOOKING AHEAD
Sunday, November 13: Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School lesson 8; Teen SOYO Spaghetti Dinner
Tuesday, November 15: Nativity Fast begins
Wednesday, November 16: Paraklesis service 6:30 pm
Saturday, November 19: Church School Family Vespers and Confession
Sunday, November 20: Festal Vespers with Artoklasia for the Feast of the Presentation of the Theotokos in the Temple – 5:00 pm
Wednesday, November 23: Paraklesis service 6:30 pm
Saturday, November 26: No Vespers at St. Mary
Sunday, November 27: No Church School (Thanksgiving weekend)
INSIGHT
Our wickedness shall not overpower the unspeakable goodness and mercy of
God; our dullness shall not overpower God’s wisdom, nor our infirmity
God’s omnipotence.
- St. John of Kronstadt
In Christ we possess everything. Let every soul approach him, be it sick
with sins of the flesh, infixed by the nails of worldly desires,
admittedly still imperfect, progressing by intense meditation, or
already perfect in its many virtues. Everyone is in the Lord's power,
and Christ is all things to us. If you desire to heal your wounds, he is
your doctor; if you are on fire with fever, he is your fountain; if you
are burdened with iniquity, he is your justification; if you need help,
he is your strength; if you fear death, he is your life; if you desire
heaven, he is your way; if you are fleeing from darkness, he is your
light; if you are seeking food, he is your nourishment: Taste and see
that the Lord is good. Happy is the man who takes refuge in him.
- St. Ambrose of Milan
It is quite evident that the apostles and many saints worked miracles
and wonders. This was in accordance with what the Lord Himself had
commanded when He said, 'Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the
lepers, expel the demons. You have freely received. Give freely.' (Matthew 10:8)
- St. John Cassian, Conferences
Since thou art a divine river of mercy, like unto a fathomless gulf of
plentiful sympathy, O Bountiful One, manifest the divine streams of thy
mercy, and heal all men. Pour forth abundantly fountains of wonders and
cleanse all; for resorting ever unto thee, we fervently implore thy
grace.
- Kathisma for Wednesday of Holy Week