Update for the week Friday, December 9, through Thursday, December 15, 2011
THIS WEEKEND
CHOIR AND CHANTER APPRECIATION – This Sunday is Choir and Chanter Appreciation Sunday. Please let our singers know how much they’re appreciated!
PAGEANT REHEARSAL– Rehearsal #2 for the Church School Nativity Pageant will be held this Sunday, December 11, during coffee hour.
SPECIAL COFFEE HOUR – Since no one signed up for this Sunday, this week’s coffee hour will be pot luck! A POT of coffee will be provided; if we’re LUCKy many of you will bring something we can eat (cookies, brownies, coffee cake, bagels, etc.) or drink (juice, cider, soda, etc.).
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
PAGEANT INFO- Dress rehearsal will be held Saturday, December 17, at 2:30 pm for speaking parts and 3:00 pm for all others. It will end by 4:30, in time for the Lessons and Carols and Potluck Supper. The performance will be Sunday, December 18.
Also, Charlie Marge is looking for an adult to help with the Nativity Pageant, a co-director to work with him this year and then run it next year. He also needs adults to help manage the young children during rehearsals. Please contact him at marge@alum.mit.edu or 781-863-5015.
BYZANTINE CHRISTMAS CONCERT - A Byzantine Christmas Celebration, a concert of Byzantine chants and Greek carols, will be held at 8:00 pm on Thursday, December 22, at First Church Cambridge. See http://www.firstchurchcambridge.org/pages/about/directions for directions. To purchase tickets contact the Greek Institute, 617-547-4770 or e-mail greekinst@verizon.net. Cost: $20 at the door, $7 student rush and $15 in advance.
HIERARCHICAL DIVINE LITURGY WITH OUR NEW BISHOP – Everyone is invited to St. George Cathedral, Worcester on Thursday, January 5 at 6:00 pm to celebrate the Feast of Holy Theophany with the Blessing of the Waters (Orthros: 4:45 pm) with His Grace, Bishop JOHN. A Welcoming Reception will follow, with food and refreshments. All are welcome. For more information, contact the Cathedral Office 508-752-9150 or e-mail StGeoWorc@aol.com.
COFFEE HOUR SIGNUP– A new signup sheet for coffee hours has been posted on the bulletin board outside the coat room. There are plenty of dates to choose from – sign up now for the date you will sponsor the coffee hour!
REMINDERS
BALLOT INFORMATION – Parish Council ballots have been mailed out to parishioners eligible to vote; please vote for up to five individuals and return them by next Monday, December 12. Note that Joseph (Buddy) Mabardy and Arthur Mabbett were inadvertently left off of the ballot, but they are not eligible for election. Buddy is not eligible to serve since he has served two three-year terms. Arthur is serving through 2012 and will be eligible for re-election in 2013.
PARISH COUNCIL MEETING – The next meeting of the Parish Council will be next Tuesday, December 13.
BIBLE STUDY– Fr. Antony will lead a Bible study group beginning next Thursday, December 15, at 7:00 pm, at the home of Arthur & Beverly Mabbett, 37 Powder House Rd. Ext, Medford (phone 781-391-6530). If you would like to attend, please RSVP to the Church Office, 617-547-1234, by Tuesday, December 13.
LESSONS AND CAROLS with POTLUCK - The Fellowship of St. John the Divine cordially invites you to Western Rite Evensong with Lessons and Carols - a service of prayers, scripture readings and Christmas Carols - on Saturday, December 17, 2011, at 5:00 pm. The service will be followed by a festive Lenten Pot Luck Supper. People whose last name begins with A – P please bring a Main Dish or Salad; people whose last name begin with Q – Z please bring Dessert. Drinks will be provided. For more information, contact Tiffany Conroy at trattus1@gmail.comor Natasha Smith at nasmith05@rcn.com.
NATIVITY FAST - The Nativity Fast, also known as the season of Advent, began on 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 is a Paraklesis service at 6:30 pm.
JUST A FEW WEEKS TO GO – The annual FOOD FOR HUNGRY PEOPLE Canned Food Drive runs from Octoberthrough 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!
YOUTH EQUIPPED TO SERVE– YES, a program of FOCUS North America, is coming to Boston Friday through Sunday, December 16-18. For more info and to register go to www.yesnorthamerica.org. If you have any questions you can contact Katrina Bitar, Program Director, at Katrina@focusna.org
SYRIAN LEBANESE WOMEN’S CLUB – The Syrian Lebanese Women’s Club of Greater Boston will hold its Annual Holiday Party at St. John’s, Dedham, on Saturday, December 17, from noon to 3:00 pm. Donation: $25. All proceeds to benefit Scholarship Program. RSVP by November 24 to Camille Florio 781-344-8469.
IOCC PRESENTATION – On Sunday, December 18, Louis A. Zagami, Development Officer of the International Orthodox Christian Charities, will speak to us about the IOCC’s history and programs and support.
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
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
GREETERS: Barbara & Julia Shoop
LITURGICAL SERVICE: 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: Fellowship of St. John the Divine and others
LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Saturday, December 10: Great Vespers 5:00 pm
Sunday, December 11: Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am
SCRIPTURE READINGS for December 11:
Epistle: St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians 3:4-11
BRETHREN, when Christ who is our life appears, then you also will
appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:
… you have put off the old nature with its practices and have put on
the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of
its creator. Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and
uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all,
and in all.
Gospel: Luke 14:16-24; Matthew 22:14
The Lord said this parable: "A man once gave a great banquet, and
invited many; and at the time of the banquet he sent his servant to say
to those who had been invited, 'Come; for all is now ready.' But they
all alike began to make excuses. … And the master said to the servant,
'Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel people to come in, that
my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were
invited shall taste my banquet. For many are called, but few are
chosen.'
Wednesday, December 14: Paraklesis service 6:30 pm
LOOKING AHEAD
Saturday, December 17: Western Rite Evensong with Lessons and Carols 5:00 pm, followed by Potluck Supper
Sunday, December 18: Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School Pageant
Wednesday, December 21: Paraklesis service 6:30 pm
Friday, December 23: Royal Hours for the Nativity 9:00 am
Saturday, December 24: Orthros 5:30 pm; Liturgy of St. Basil 7:00 pm
Sunday, December 25, Feast of the Nativity of our Lord, Christmas Day: No Services
INSIGHT
Each one becomes perfect, not by realizing one uniform standard of
universal perfection in his own life, but by responding to the call and
love of God, addressed to him within the limitations and circumstances
of his own peculiar vocation. In fact, our seeking of God is not all a
matter of our finding Him by means of certain ascetic techniques. It is
rather a quieting and ordering of our whole life by self-denial, prayer
and good works, so that God Himself, who seeks us more than we seek Him,
can "find" us and "take possession of us."
- Thomas Merton, Life and Holiness
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.
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, …, imitating Christ Who called sinners, and ate and drank with
them.
- Abba Ammonas
Come now, my brethren - all who have received the name of faith, who
have been deemed worthy to be called people of Christ - do not put aside
our calling; let us not violate our faith through improper works. It is
not enough for someone merely to be known as a believer, so let us show
our faith through works.
- St. John of Damascus, Homily on the Withered Fig Tree and the Parable of the Vineyard