Update for the week Friday, June 15, through Thursday, June 21, 2012

HAPPY FATHERS’ DAY!

THIS WEEKEND

PLC REGISTRATION DEADLINES –The last day to register for the Lobster Bake at the Parish Life Conference is today, Friday, June 15th.  On-line registration for the Conference closes this  Sunday, June 17, though walk-inregistration will be available for most events.

NO VESPERS – There will be no Vespers at St. Mary this Saturday.

GUEST PRIEST –We are pleased to welcome back Fr. Phillip Begley, who will be celebrating
Orthros and the Divine Liturgy this Sunday, while Fr. Antony is recuperating.

HELP NEEDED THIS SATURDAY –  Gabe is 14 years old, a swimmer and musician from Providence RI.  In March, he was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia, a blood disorder  in which the body’s bone marrow doesn’t make enough new blood cells.  The only cure is a bone marrow transplant and unfortunately Gabe’s young brothers were not a match and he’ll need an unrelated bone marrow donor.
   Please join the Bone Marrow Registry.  (Registration is simple….just paperwork and a cheek swab.) Date: Saturday, June 16, 2012 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.  Location:  Hand In Hand Children’s Center, 462 Walpole St., Norwood, MA  02062.  Questions?  Phone 866-875-3324;      Nmdpdonor@partners.org

GREEK FESTIVAL - Ss. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 14 Magazine St., Cambridge, will hold a Greek Festival Friday - Sunday, June 15 - 17 from  11:00 am to 11:00 pm.   There will be live music, dancing, foods, pastries, Children’s Game Room, Flea Market, etc.   FREE Admission

MIDDLE EASTERN FESTIVAL– St. John, Dedham will hold a Middle Eastern Festival/Mahrajan on Saturday, June 16, from 11:00 am – 9:00 pm on the Church grounds.  There will be food, live music from 3-8 pm, and family fun!  Adults: $10; Children 12 and under: FREE (note change)

NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANTIOCHIAN VILLAGE CAMP – Registration and information about summer camp at the Antiochian Village can be found at http://antiochianvillage.org/camp/programs/campdates.html
A big  “Thank you” to the organizers and benefactors of St. Mary’s Antiochian Village Camp Scholarship fundraiser. The fundraiser is enabling eighteen of St. Mary's kids to attend with generous partial scholarships. You can view the daily photos for Session  3, July 15 – 27, 2012, (when our kids attend) at http://www.antiochianvillage.org/camp/memories.   The photos currently posted are from last year but they will be updated daily from July 15-27. The spiritual growth they experience at The Village returns with them to St. Mary's each fall.

VACATION CHURCH SCHOOL 2012– St. Mary Church, 535 Salisbury St., Worcester, will offer Vacation Church School for Grades K – 7, Tuesday through Friday, August 14 – 17.  Theme:  Our God-Bearing Fathers.  Registration:  $40 per child (includes ticket for Tornadoes Picnic & Game);  Adult Ticket: $25.  For more information,  contact Greg Abdalah 724-518-6811; abdulah.g@gmail.com  

MEN’S WEEKEND –  There will be an Orthodox Men's Get-Away Weekend September 21-23, 2012, at The Saint Methodios Faith and Heritage Center - 329 Camp Merrimac Road Contoocook, NH 03229 (www.boston.goarch.org/faith_heritage_center.html), sponsored by  St. Stephen's Orthodox Church (www.stsoc.org).  Guest Speakers will be  Fr. Michael Keiser and Fr. Kenneth DeVoie, both of the Department of Missions & Evangelism for the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America, and others TBA. Cost:  $189.00  (2 night stay, all meals, snacks and use of recreational facilities).  For more information & to register, contact Jeff St. Jean at  jeffstjean11@verizon.net

REMINDERS

PARISH LIFE CONFERENCE – This year’s Parish Life Conference, with His Grace Bishop John, will be held at The Cliff House, Ogunquit, Maine, next week, June 21-24, 2012.  Note: the last day to register for the Lobster Bake is today, Friday, June 15th.  We also anticipate a sell-out at the Awards & Talent Competition Dinner.  For conference registration and information go to the conference website:  http://stgeorgenorwood.org/PLC2012/index.html
   Hotel info -  The overflow hotels in the area are filling up fast, and as demand increases, many places are raising their prices.  Internet travel sites will give you the best rates and locations.
   Bible Bowl and Oratorical Festival –Thomas and Anthony Marge and Alex Dalton, coached by Violet Robbat, will represent St. Mary in the Bible Bowl at the Parish Life Conference on Friday evening, June 22.  Then Thomas Marge and Andrew Dalton will be our participants in the Oratorical Festival on Saturday morning.  Come and support our participants. We wish them all much success!

SUMMER GREETERS NEEDED – Volunteers are needed for Sundays July:15, 22 and August: 5, 12, 19 through September 2 (Labor Day Weekend).  Please contact Buddy Mabardy at 781-729-6303 or e-mail: buddy@cjmabardy.com.  Summer Hours: Orthros: 8:15 am & Liturgy: 9:30 am.  Summer might be a GREAT time for you to start participating in this Ministry! 

APOSTLES FAST- The Apostles Fast began on Monday, June 11, and continues until The Feast of the Apostles on June 29.

ARCHDIOCESE SCHOLARSHIPS – In order to download scholarship applications and information available through our Archdiocese, log on to http://www.antiochian.org/scholarships (note corrected link).

VACATION CHURCH SCHOOL 2012– St. George Church, West Roxbury will offer Vacation Church School, Tuesday through Friday, August 21 – 24, for Pre-School (at least 3 yrs. old AND potty trained)  through 4th Grade.  Theme:  Heroes of the Bible. There will be lessons, crafts, playtime, singing and fun!  Snack provided each morning.  Registration Donation:  $15/1 child; $20/2 children; $25/3 children. Volunteers are needed.  Contact Elisabeth: Elisabeth@stgeorgeofboston.org or call 617-323-0323.

REGULAR REMINDERS

COFFEE HOUR SIGNUP – A signup sheet for coffee hours is posted on the bulletin board outside the coat room.  There are plenty of dates to choose from after Pascha – sign up now for the date you will sponsor the coffee hour!

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.”

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.

VIDEO STREAMING FOR EVENTS – Now you can video stream your wedding or baptism live from St. Mary’s to friends and family who can't attend your event in person.  The cost for Event Video Streaming is $150 for members, $300 for non-members, and includes a password- protected viewing page and setup and breakdown of the streaming service for your event by a trained staff member.   You can also get a copy of your streamed event on CD: $50 for members, $100 for non-members. Fees are payable to the church. Streaming is subject to staff availability. For general questions on the video streaming ministry or event streaming, please contact live@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org.  To schedule your event and/or request Event Video Streaming, please contact the Church Office.

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 not block the driveway – if the lot is full, you can park on the street.

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 new 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 SUNDAY'S VOLUNTEERS

GREETER:  Bob Kowalik

LITURGICAL SERVICE: Epistle: Jeff Wasilko;  Left Cloth: Dimitrios Antos and TBD; Right Cloth: Julie and Jeff Wasilko; Left Bread: TBD; Right Bread: Melissa Nassiff

COFFEE HOUR:  John & Maggie (Arnold) Rodriguez

LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK

Saturday, June 16:  No Vespers at St. Mary (note change)

Sunday, June 17:  Matins 8:45 am;  Divine Liturgy 10:00 am

SCRIPTURE READINGSfor Sunday, June 17: 
Epistle: St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 2:10-16
Brethren, glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality. All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

Gospel: Matthew 4:18-23
…. And He went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.

LOOKING AHEAD

Thursday-Sunday,June 21-24:  Parish Life Conference at the Cliff House, Ogunquit, ME (No services at St. Mary, and church offices will be closed.)

Saturday, June 23:  No Vespers at St. Mary; Vespers will be at Parish Life Conference

Sunday, June 24:  No Liturgy at St. Mary; Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at Parish Life Conference

Friday, June 29:  Feast of Ss. Peter & Paul, the Apostles - No services at St. Mary

Saturday, June 30:  No Vespers at St. Mary

Sunday, July 1:  Summer Hours begin - Orthros 8:15 am, Divine Liturgy 9:30 am

INSIGHT

Do not distinguish the worthy from the unworthy. Let everyone be equal to you for good deeds, so that you may be able to also attract the unworthy toward goodness, because through outside acts, the soul quickly learns to be reverent before God.
   - St. Isaac the Syrian

God is perfect, He is faultless. And so, when Divine love becomes manifest in us in the fullness of Grace, we radiate this love --- not only on the earth, but throughout the entire universe as well. So God is in us, and He is present everywhere. It is God’s all-encompassing love that manifests itself in us. When this happens, we see no difference between people: everyone is good, everyone is our brother, and we consider ourselves to be the worst of men --- servants of every created thing.
   - Elder Thaddeus

Our God is a consuming fire. And if we, by love, become transformed into Him and burn as He burns, His fire will be our everlasting joy. But if we refuse His love and remain in the coldness of our sin and opposition to Him and to other men then will His fire (by our own choice rather then His) become our everlasting enemy, and Love, instead of being our joy, will become our torment and our destruction.
   - Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation, p. 124

Each of us, no matter how good, is fallen, and each of us, no matter how evil, is as beloved as the prodigal son.
   - Frederica Mathewes-Green, The Illumined Heart

God does not condemn us to Hell; God wishes all humans to be saved. He will love us to all eternity, but there will exist the possibility that we do not accept the love and do not respond to it. And the refusal to accept love, the refusal to respond to it, that precisely is the meaning of Hell. Hell is not a place where God puts us; it's a place where we put ourselves. The doors of Hell, insofar as they have locks, have locks on the inside.
   - Metropolitan Kallistos Ware