Update for the week Thursday, January 23, through Thursday, January 30, 2014
THIS WEEK
ANTIOCHIAN WOMEN – The winter meeting of the Antiochian Women of the Diocese, with Bishop JOHN, will be this Saturday, January 25, at 10:30am at the Chancery, 2 Lydia’s Path, Westborough, MA. Luncheon will follow the meeting.
PARISH MEETING - The Annual Meeting of the Parish will be held this Sunday, January 26, after Liturgy. (Snow date: Sunday, February 2) It is important that all members of St. Mary's Church attend this meeting, and vote on the 2014 budget. Please do not park in the lot behind the Church unless you plan to stay for the Annual Meeting.
TEEN SOYO ACTIVITIES - The Teens will be going ice skating this Sunday, January 26, following the Parish Meeting. We will organize transportation, so please let Greg (greghakim@gmail.com) or Hannah (hoakley18@gmail.com) know if you would like to join us!
Also, the Teens will be going bowling on Friday, February 7 (time and place to be determined). Please let Hannah or Greg know if you would like to join in the fun.
BIBLE STUDY – The Bible Study at St. Mary, sponsored by the Fellowship of St. John the Divine, meets every other Thursday in the church library, and is based on a series of talks originally broadcast on Ancient Faith Radio. For more information contact Marianna Sayeg (mksayeg@gmail.com) or Fr. Antony (frawhj@gmail.com ). New members are always welcome. Join us next Thursday, January 30, at 7:00 pm as we discuss Noah and the Flood in Genesis.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
VESPERS ON FAMILY DAY – Since the Family Day celebration at Saint John of Damascus on Saturday, February 1 (see Reminders, below) will end with Vespers at 5:00 pm, and since we are all encouraged to take part in that event, there will be no Vespers at St. Mary on February 1.
HELP FOR THE TRAUMANN-DAVIS FAMILY: Our own Elisabeth Traumann, wife of Seraphim Davis and mother of Isis, Thais and Tycho Traumann-Davis, has been diagnosed with stomach cancer and will be starting chemotherapy soon, to be followed by surgery in late spring/early summer. Her prognosis is good, but prayers are appreciated. Anyone who would like to offer their help with meals, etc. may visit the family's Lotsa Helping Hands community at: https://www.lotsahelpinghands.com/c/713408/
LENTEN POTLUCKS – Every year during Lent, the Fellowship of St. John the Divine sponsors a potluck supper after the weekly Wednesday evening Pre-Sanctified Liturgy. We need 3 leads for each potluck - for Food, for Setup, and for Cleanup - on March 5, March 12, March 19, March 26, April 2, and April 9. (Note that volunteering for food means simply providing a main dish and coordinating what others bring if they ask.) Please contact Julie Wasilko (julie31415pi@gmail.com) to sign up to be one of the leads for a potluck.
LENTEN FOOD SALE – The Women's Club is now taking orders for Spinach Triangles, Hoomos (hummus), and Mjadara (lentils with rice). Please use the order form in the Sunday bulletin. Order deadline is Sunday, March 2; pickup date is Sunday, March 16. Also, please plan to come help make the Spinach Triangles on Saturday, March 15, at 9:30 am.
REMINDERS
DIOCESAN FAMILY DAY – There will be a celebration of Diocesan Family Day at Saint John of Damascus in Dedham on Saturday, February 1. The day begins at noon with a luncheon for everyone; followed by various events (Fr. Benjamin Kjendal speaking on “My Journey to Christ” and Fr. Chris Nerrau on “Life in God: A Journey from Legalism to Liberty,” plus more), and concluding with Great Vespers at 5:00 pm. Family Day is coordinated by the Diocesan Mission Council. For information contact Father Joseph Kimmett (stgeorgenorwood@gmail.com or geonorwood@aol.com ) or Greg Abdalah (abdalah.g@gmail.com)
This year the Antiochian Women Pre-Lenten Retreat will be held in conjunction with Diocesan Family Day at Saint John of Damascus. We are blessed to welcome V. Rev. Chad Hatfield, Chancellor of Saint Vladimir's Seminary, as our featured speaker. His topic will be “Mary, Mysteries, & Mission – Rediscovering our Christian Identity.” Advance Registration by January 23 is required just for this retreat - contact ErinMaryK@aol.com.
CHURCH SCHOOL TEACHERS - There will be a brief Teacher’s Meeting on Sunday, February. 2, immediately following Liturgy, in the Library. It is very important that all Teachers and Assistants attend.
BLESSING OF HOMES – Fr. Antony will be blessing homes after Epiphany (January 6) and between Pascha (April 20) and Pentecost (June 8). We bless homes to reveal the home as what God created it to be, a way to heaven; to rid the home of every evil; to show that the family is a small church unit in Christ; to consecrate the home and all activity in it to God; and to fill the home and all who live in it with the fullness of God. To schedule the blessing of your home, please use the form in the weekly Bulletin or call the church office at 617 547-1234.
CONVENTION PLANNING – In our ongoing preparation to host the 2015 National Convention, Ray Sayeg’s committees will meet at the home of Mary Winstanley O’Connor on Wednesday, February 5, at 7:00 pm. Mary Winstanley O’Connor’s committees will meet at her home on Wednesday, February 12, at 7:00 pm.
CHINESE NEW YEAR BREAKFAST - Please join the FSJD on Sunday, February 9 after Liturgy, for the 2014 Chinese New Year Missions Breakfast to benefit the Chinese Translation Project via the Orthodox Fellowship of All Saints of China (OFASC). Volunteers will be needed to help decorate, setup, serve, cook and/or donate a food item. Please RSVP to Mitrophan Chin at mitrophan@orthodox.cn by Wednesday, February 5. We look forward to your support of this worthwhile project and to seeing you at this event!
WOMEN'S CLUB - The next Women’s Club meeting will be Tuesday, February 11, at 7:30 at the church. We welcome all women of the parish to join us in the Women’s Club. Everyone is welcome! Any woman interested in joining may call Mary Ellen Mabardy at 781-729-6303 for more information.
PARISH COUNCIL – The next meeting of the Parish Council will be Wednesday, February 19, 2014, at 7:30.
SPRING DELEGATES MEETING – The Spring Diocesan Delegates Meetings of Teen SOYO, Fellowship of St. John the Divine and Antiochian Women will be held at St. George Church, West Roxbury, on Saturday, February 22. Divine Liturgy at 9:00 am, meetings immediately following.
MEATFARE SUNDAY BREAKFAST - Please join us on Sunday, February 23 for the FSJD's Meatfare Sunday coffee hour ($8/person, $15/family). Contact Chef Socrates (dr.socrates@gmail.com ) to let him know if you can help with food preparation the day before (February 22) from 12:00-2:00 pm, or for cooking or serving on Sunday. We will need 6 volunteers.
ANTIOCHIAN VILLAGE - For important announcements about Summer Camp registration, check out their FaceBook page (https://www.facebook.com/AntiochianVillage) because the 2014 Summer Camp registration is now open. You may register online or the old-fashion way with paper applications. Please note that you are not registered until they receive a deposit and you receive a confirmation email. Please visit their Registration Page for instructions on how to register. We look forward to summer 2014 and can't wait for our campers to return. For more information go to http://www.antiochianvillage.org/camp.html.
REAL BREAK – OCF Real Break aims to prepare college students to be socially informed Orthodox Christian citizens of this world, while directing their focus on the world to come, the kingdom of heaven. Built on a foundation of fellowship, education, worship, and service, Real Break provides students the opportunity to understand the true meaning of seeing Christ in the other – traveling to all parts of the world deepening their faith, serving those in need, and cultivating relationships with like-minded peers. To find detailed information regarding the 2014 Real Break trips and to register, please visit www.ocf.net/realbreak. Be a part of this year's life-changing week-long Real Break experience.
SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE - Scholarships ($1,000) are available to young women of Syrian and Lebanese origin, residing in Massachusetts within 50-mile radius of Boston, who plan to pursue a four-year college education. Scholarships are based on outstanding academic achievement, extra-curricular activities, charitable and civic involvement and good character; and applicants must be in good academic standing in her school and possess those personal attributes which best serve the community. Applications are available through the Church Office and must be postmarked by March 31, 2014. If you have any questions, contact Mary Winstanley O’Connor at 617-523-1010 or email at moconnor@koilaw.com.
PARKING RESTRICTIONS – Parishioners must not park in the City Hall Electric Car Charging Station across from the Church. This spot must be available at all times to Cambridge residents who have electric cars.
Also, there is no parishioner parking in the Church parking lot Mondays through Fridays until after 6:00 pm.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE
There are a number of ways you can help the Church, your fellow worshipers, and those in need. Consider serving in one of these ways:
- Be a Greeter
- Participate in Liturgical Service*
- Provide a Coffee Hour
- Join the Prison Ministry
- Help with Video Editing
- Share your talent as Photographer Or Graphic Designer
For information about these opportunities, and who to contact, see https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/ministries/volunteering
*Also, during the school year, the Church School students participate in our liturgical celebration by holding candles at the Gospel reading; processing with candles, a festal icon, and the baskets of Antidoron (i.e. extra bread) at the Great Entrance; and then presenting the Antidoron for a blessing during the Hymn to the Theotokos.
THIS WEEK'S VOLUNTEERS
Greeter: Azeb Mitiku
Church School Liturgical Service - Candle Bearers: Easton Bourell & Gabi Popa; Icon Bearer: Maia Popa; Bread Baskets: Nico Bezzerides & Jacob Tyler Doucette; Team Leader: Tycho Traumann-Davis; Adult Supervisor: Doreen Bargoot
Coffee Hour: The Mazzoni and Nebiye families
LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Saturday, January 25: Great Vespers 5:00 pm
Sunday, January 26: Orthros 8:45 am, Enquirers' class 9:00 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School lesson 14. Annual Parish Meeting following Liturgy.
SCRIPTURE READINGS for Sunday, January 26:
Epistle: St. Paul's Letter to Timothy 4:9-15
... we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things.
Gospel: Luke 19:1-10
At that time, Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaius; he was a chief tax collector, and rich ... And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost."
LOOKING AHEAD
Sunday, February 2, Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple: Church School Teachers/Assistants brief meeting following Liturgy.
Sunday, Februrary 9: FSJD Chinese New Year Missions Breakfast following Liturgy
Sunday, February 23: Meatfare Sunday
Sunday, March 2: Forgiveness Sunday
Monday, March 3: Great Lent begins
Sunday, April 20: Pascha
Thursday-Sunday, June 19-22: Parish Life Conference, Plymouth, MA
REFLECTIONS
God belongs to all free beings. He is the life of all, the salvation of all faithful and unfaithful, just and unjust, pious and impious, passionate and dispassionate, monks and laymen, wise and simple, healthy and sick, young and old, just as the effusion of light, the sight of the sun, and the changes of the seasons are for all alike; "for there is no respect of persons with God."
- St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Let us recognize that, if He had not wished to save by means of Himself us who have been purchased, He would not have come down to earth, nor would He have been slain for our sake. But, as it is written, He has done this because He wills that all should be saved. Listen to Him say it Himself: 'I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world' (Jn. 12:17).
- St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life
Our Lord saves us by becoming what we are, by sharing totally in our humanity, thereby enabling us to share in what he is. Thus through a reciprocal exchange of gifts he takers our humanity and communicates to us his divine life, reestablishing that communion between Creator and creation which sin has destroyed.
- Timothy Ware (Bishop Kallistos), How are we Saved?
...And if by grace, it will be said, how did we not all come to be saved? Because you refused. For grace, even though it be grace, saves the willing, not those who will not have it, and turn away from it, those who persist in fighting against it, and opposing themselves. to it."
- St. John Chrysostom
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