Update for the week Friday, October 19, through Thursday, October 25, 2012

THIS WEEK

PRISON MINISTRY TRAINING – If you are interested joining the Prison Ministry, there will be training for volunteers on Friday, October 19 at 4:00 pm at the Rectory of Immaculate Conception Parish, 11 Prospect Street,  Marlborough, MA 01752.  Dinner will be served by the Knights of Columbus. Training is required if you would like to come into prison to volunteer.  Please see Deacon Jeff or Father Anthony if you have questions or would like to join this ministry.

HELP MAKE SFEEHA AND KIBBEH – Please come to the church on Saturday morning, October 20, starting at 9:30 am to help make meat pies with the Women's Club.   Lots of help will be needed – young and old, women and men are all welcome - and it's always lots of fun.  Also, if you can, come at 9:00 Friday morning, October 26, to help the Women’s Club cook Kihbbeh.
   Pick-up dates are Sunday, October 21 for Sfeeha, and Sunday, October 28 for  Kibbeh.

CONFESSIONS –  Confessions are heard each Saturday evening before and after Vespers (which start at 5:00 pm) or by appointment.
                 
SPECIAL OLYMPICS – This Sunday, October 21, our teens will solicit your financial donations to enable them to sponsor the 32nd Annual Special Olympics Sports Camp at the Antiochian Village in the summer of 2013.  Please be generous, as the teens need to raise in excess of $50,000 to run this worthwhile program.

“BREAKFAST SEARCH” –  All teens and young adults are encouraged to participate in our first ever St. Mary's breakfast search, on Sunday, October 21. Our very own Theo Smith will lead us in a brief orientation during coffee hour before we head out to feed and talk to people on the streets! If you have questions, please contact Nadia: nabuelezam@gmail.com.

TALK ON ANTIOCH –  On Thursday evening, October 25, The Diocesan Chapter of the Fellowship of St. John the Divine will host a lecture entritled Antioch: Yesterday and Today.  The speaker is Fr. Elia Khalife, a monk at the Monastery of St. George Dayr al-Harf, Lebanon, and Director of the Center for Antiochian Studies & Research at Oxford University in England. The talk will be held at St. George of Boston at 7:30 pm.

NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS

BAZAARS – Several churches in the area have upcoming bazaars and other fund raisers:
   St. George. West Roxbury:    Annual Bazaar & Food Fair – Friday through Sunday this weekend, October 19-21. Friday and Saturday 10:00 am to 9:00 am;  Sunday, noon to 3:00 pm. Free admission/wheelchair accessible.  Full kitchen service and take-out available.  Authentic Middle Eastern  cuisine and pastry, American foods and pastry, country store, holiday, craft, handmade items, white elephant tables and much more.  For more information: 617-323-9861. 

   St. John, Dedham:  Annual Bazaar – Friday through Sunday, November 2-4.  Friday noon to 9:00 pm; Saturday, 10:00 am to 9:00 pm; Sunday noon to 2:00 pm.  Authentic Middle Eastern cuisine, live & silent auction. For more information:  www.stjohnd.org/bazaar

   St. Mary, Pawtucket, RI:  Annual Bazaar – Friday through Sunday, November 9-11. Friday 5:00 to 8:00 pm; Saturday 11:00 am to 8:00 pm; Sunday 11:30 am to 3:00 pm.  Arabic food & pastry, American foods, village market, bargain basement, Christmas booth, St. Mary’s famous cashews, silent auctions, beer & wine, cash raffle & grand raffle.  For more information:  401-726-1202 or www.stmarypawtucket.org

   St. George Church, West Roxbury:   Ladies Society Penny Sale – Saturday, November 10.

WINE & CHEESE LECTURE SERIES – The Fellowship of St. John the Divine at St. John Church, Dedham, is sponsoring a Wine & Cheese Lecture Series beginning Friday, November 16. Topic of Part 1 will be Bringing the Eucharist into your Interfaith Relationships, with guest speaker Bishop JOHN. Wine & cheese at 6:30; Lecture at 7:00 pm.

BERAM AWARDS BANQUET - The Nicholas G. Beram Veteran's Association 66th Anniversary Celebration and 46th Scholastic Achievement Awards Banquet will be held Saturday, November 24, 2012, 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm at the Holiday Inn in Dedham.  Our own Mary Winstanley O’Conner will receive a Distinguished Service Award.

DANCING WITH THE ABBA STARS DVD - The AABA Board of Directors wish to thank all who attended, supported and enjoyed "Dancing with the AABA Stars 2012".  A professionally made DVD is available for $25.  Make your check payable to Cheriton Heights and send to:  Olivia Waishek, 5 West Boundary St, West Roxbury, Ma. 02132

WEEPING ICON IN THE NEWS – Many St. Mary parishioners were among the large crowd venerating the Weeping Icon of the Mother of God of Hawaii this past Monday at St. George in West Roxbury. And at least one TV station carried a news story on Tuesday about the Icon’s visit in Worcester, which featured Fr. Milad Selim (formerly a seminarian at St. Mary) and also showed Fr. Antony:  http://www.necn.com/10/16/12/Religious-painting-expected-to-draw-thou/landing.html?blockID=789659&feedID=11106

REMINDERS

YOUTH MONTH – October is Youth Month throughout the Antiochian Archdiocese. In our parish young people will be reading the Epistle, holding the Communion cloth and Holy Bread baskets, and taking the collection. 

FALL DELEGATES MEETING – The Fall Diocesan Delegates Meetings of  Teen SOYO, Fellowship of St. John the Divine and Antiochian Women will be held on Saturday, October 27, at St. Mary Church, 249 High St., Pawtucket, RI. Morning Prayers at 10:00 am, followed by meetings, and Lunch at 12:30.

TEEN SOYO SPAGHETTI DINNER - The annual Spaghetti Dinner sponsored by Teen SOYO will take place on Sunday, November 11, 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.

AL-KAFAAT GALA DINNER – Please come to a gala dinner to help Al-Kafaat, a private, nonprofit and nondenominational organization that delivers education and rehabilitation services across seven different campuses in Lebanon. Under the Patronage of Metropolitan Philip and the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in North America, Al-Kafaat is raising funds across North America to build a new compound. The dinner, on Saturday, November 17 at 6:00 pm, is sponsored by St. George of Boston, 55 Emmonsdale Rd, West Roxbury. Tickets are $125 – contact Violet Robbat at 781-862-4388 or vmkrobbat@yahoo.com.  You can read an article about Al-Kafaat at http://www.antiochian.org/node/25836.

CHARITY BAKE SALE –The Women’s Club will hold its annual Thanksgiving Charity Bake Sale on Sunday, November 18, 2012 (the Sunday before Thanksgiving).  Plan on purchasing all your holiday breads, pies, goodies, Syrian pastries and much more!  All proceeds will benefit the Convent of Saidnaya in Syria.  Call Priscilla Goss 781-762-1517, if you can help bake or donate something to sell.

COME SEE THE MESSIAH – Join friends from St. Mary’s for the Handel and Haydn Society’s  annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, on Sunday afternoon, December 2, at 3:00 p.m.  Group tickets are just $20. We will carpool to Symphony Hall after Liturgy and have lunch together before the concert.  Those who have done this before have thoroughly enjoyed it - not only do we hear a world-class orchestra and chorus with famous soloists singing glorious words (taken directly from the Bible), but we also have an opportunity to spend time getting to know some fellow parishioners we normally may not encounter.  Good seats go fast - please contact Melissa Nassiff at mnassiff@gmail.com   or order your own tickets online at http://www.handelandhaydn.org.  

CANNED FOOD DRIVE The annual FOOD FOR HUNGRY PEOPLE food drive will be held October through December, 2012. 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!

BOOKS FOR SALE – The Fellowship of St. John the Divine has  several copies of the book "A Life Together: Wisdom of Community from the Christian East," by last year's von Holzhausen lecturer, Bishop Seraphim Sigrist. List price is $15.99, but you can purchase it for our cost of $9.00 per copy. This is your last chance to buy it at cost before we return our unsold books to the publisher. Please talk to or email Michael Decerbo, Fellowship treasurer at mdecerbo@alum.mit.edu, if you are interested in buying the book. If you are out of town, send your check to the church with an additional $4 for postage -- and please also email Mike so he can expect it and set your copy aside.

COFFEE HOUR SIGNUP – A new signup sheet has been posted on the bulletin board outside the coat closet. Sign up now to reserve the date you want in 2013.

REGULAR REMINDERS

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.org or 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:  TBD  

LITURGICAL SERVICE:  St. Mary young people

COFFEE HOUR:   Solomon Risom family

LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK

Saturday, October 20:  Great Vespers 5:00 pm

Sunday, October 21:  Orthros 8:45 am; Enquirers’ Class 9:00 am;  Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School lesson 4

SCRIPTURE READINGS for Sunday, October 21:
   Epistle: St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 1:11-19
… For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it; and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers…

   Gospel: Luke 8:26-39
At that time, as Jesus arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, there met him a man from the city who had demons; for a long time he had worn no clothes and he lived not in a house but among the tombs. …Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. …

LOOKING AHEAD

Saturday, October 27: Great Vespers 5:00 pm

Sunday, October 28:  Orthros 8:45 am; Enquirers’ Class 9:00 am;  Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School lesson 5

Sunday, November 4:  Daylight Savings Time ends

Thursday, November 15:  Nativity Fast begins

REFLECTION

Zeal is not reckoned among men to be a form of wisdom, but one of the illnesses of the soul, namely narrow-mindedness and deep ignorance. The beginning of divine wisdom is clemency and gentleness, which arise from greatness of soul and the bearing of infirmities of men. For, he [the Apostle Paul] says, "let the strong bear the infirmities of the weak," and "Restore him that has fallen in the spirit of meekness." The Apostle numbers peace and patience among the fruits of the Spirit.
   - St. Isaac of Nineveh

Someone who has tasted the truth is not contentious for truth. Someone who is considered among men to be zealous for truth has not yet learnt what truth is really like: once he has learnt it he will cease from zealousness on its behalf. … The gift of God and of knowledge of him is not a cause for turmoil and clamor; rather this gift is entirely filled with a peace in which the Spirit, love and humility reside. … The person whose mind has become aware of God does not even possess a tongue with which to speak, but God resides in his heart in great serenity. He experiences no stirring of zeal or argumentativeness, nor is he stirred by anger. He cannot even be aroused concerning the faith.
   - St Isaac of Syria

Be persecuted, rather than be a persecutor. Be crucified, rather than be a crucifier. Be treated unjustly, rather than treat anyone unjustly. Be oppressed, rather than zealous. Lay hold of goodness, rather than justice.
   - St Isaac of Syria

The demons that wage war on us through our shortcomings in virtue are those that teach unchastity, drunkenness, avarice and envy. Those that wage war on us through our excessive zeal for virtue teach conceit, self-esteem and pride; they secretly pervert what is commendable into what is reprehensible.
   - St. Maximos the Confessor

There is no deeper pathos in the spiritual life of man than the cruelty of righteous people. If any one idea dominates the teachings of Jesus, it is his opposition to the self-righteousness of the righteous.
   - Reinhold Niebuhr