Update for the week Thursday, May 21, through Thursday, May 28, 2015
THIS WEEK
SATURDAY, 5/23 – Great Vespers 5:00 pm
SUNDAY, 5/24 - Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am.
+ Bible Bowl participants will meet in the library after Liturgy. The Bible Bowl will be held at the Diocesan Parish Life Conference June 18-21.
MONDAY, 5/25 – Memorial Day - Fr. Antony will be blessing graves at Fairview Cemetery in Hyde Park, MA. starting at 9:00 am. If you would like him to bless the graves of loved ones in other cemeteries, please let him know by calling the Church Office at 617-547-1234 or e-mail frawhj@gmail.com
WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 – The next meeting of the Parish Council will be this Wednesday at 7:30 at the church.
THURSDAY, 5/28 – The Bible Study group meets next Thursday, May 28, at 7:00 pm in the church library.
The Bible Study at St. Mary meets every other Thursday, and is based on a very interesting course originally broadcast on Ancient Faith Radio, entitled Search the Scriptures. For more information contact Marianna Sayeg (mailto:mksayeg@gmail.com ) or Fr. Antony (mailto:mksayeg@gmail.com ). New members are always welcome.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
DIOCESE CHOIR REHEARSALS - Two choir rehearsals will be held with Paul Jabara to prepare for the Parish Life Conference and the National Convention: Sunday May 31, 7pm-10pm, at St Mary’s, and Monday June 15, 7pm, at St. John of Damascus, Dedham
GREEK FESTIVIAL - Archangels Greek Orthodox Church is having a Greek Festival June 26-28, with Greek music, dancing, food, bookstore and more. Time: 11:00am-11pm, Sunday noon-8pm. 25 Bigelow Ave. Watertown. For more info call 617-924-8182.
REMINDERS
ST HERMAN SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE - St. Herman School, 62 Harvard Ave., Allston, MA, invites you to its annual Open House on Friday, May 29. St, Herman School provides Orthodox Christian Education, K-8th Grade.
VIGIL FOR PENTECOST – There will be no Vespers at St. Mary on Saturday, May 30. Fr. Antony will be at the Vigil for Pentecost at Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral, 165 Park St., Boston, MA. All are welcome. Vigil starts at 5:00pm.
HAFLI - St. George Orthodox Cathedral, Worcester, will be sponsoring a Hafli featuring Superstar Joseph Attieh on Saturday, May 30. Doors open at 8:00 pm, Mazza and Dinner are at 9:00 pm. For reservations contact Michael Houssan 508-981-4327, email: hafli2009@gmail.com.
PENTECOST – Sunday, May 31 is the Feast of Pentecost. There is no fasting during the week following the Sunday of Pentecost.
WOMENS CLUB DINNER – The Women's Club will end the year with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in Chestnut Hill on Monday, June 1, at 7:00 pm. All women of the parish are welcome to join them - please call Marilyn Robbat (781-729-3033) or the church office (617-547-1234) for more information.
WOMEN'S CLUB OFFICERS – At its last meeting the St. Mary Women's Club elected/re-elected new officers for the coming year. Congratulations to Marilyn Robbat, President, Melissa Nassiff, Vice President, Shirley Bezreh, Secretary, and Barbara Shoop, Treasurer.
SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE:
- Antiochian Women’s Scholarships are available to females 25 years of age and older in good standing of the Antiochian Archdiocese, actively involved in their parish and who demonstrate need. The application deadline is June 1, 2015. Applications are available in the Church Office. E-mail cindy@cnyhondas.com with any questions.
- Nicholas G. Beram 49th Scholastic Achievement Awards are available for high school seniors of our Arab American Community planning to attend a 4 year college full time. Applications are available in the Church office or on-line at http://www.stjohnd.org/ngberam. Application deadline is June 1, 2015.
NO VESPERS – There will be no Vespers at St. Mary on Saturday, June 6 and on Saturday, June 20
CHURCH SCHOOL GRADUATION – The St. Mary Church School Closing and Graduation festivities will be Sunday, June 7. Please plan on joining us as we close the 2014-2015 Church School year. All Church School children who attended Church School for most of the school year will be recognized as they move up to the next grade or graduate.
CHINESE MARTYRS MISSIONS BREAKFAST – Please join us on June 7 for the 2015 Chinese Martyrs Missions Breakfast to benefit the Chinese Translation Project via the Orthodox Fellowship of All Saints of china (OFASC). We look forward to your support of this worthwhile project and seeing you at this event! Suggested minimum donation $5 per adult (Checks made payable to “St. Mary Orthodox Church-Fellowship” earmarked “Chinese Missions”).
SUMMER CAMP – Theophany School Summer Camp for children ages 2.9 through 6 will be held Monday-Friday, June 8-12. Cost: $275 for first child, $225 for siblings. Contact the School at 781-444-3058 or theophanyschool@gmail.com to enroll.
CONVENTION PLANNING – There will be a very important meeting of all Convention committees on Tuesday, June 9, at 7:00 pm at the church.
ST. MARY POTLUCK PICNIC - Come join the St. Mary’s Hospitality Group and your fellow parishioners at nearby Dana Park (10-20 McTernan St, Cambridge) after church on Sunday, June 14 (rain-date June 21)! Bring a blanket, some eats or drinks to share, balls, frisbees, even bathing suits if you want splash in the sprinklers! Dana Park is a 5-10min walk south of the Church, with an enclosed playground, hoops, water spouts, and beautiful green. This is a great opportunity to relax and spend time with our church family. Open to all ages! If you would like to help us out, please email Diana Yousef (yousefd@post.harvard.edu )
PARISH LIFE CONFERENCE - The 2015 Diocese of Worcester Parish Life Conference will be hosted by St. Mary Church of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Thursday to Sunday, June 18-21. All Services will be held at Providence Marriott, Providence, RI.
+ The St. Mary Church office will be closed during the Parish Life Conference.
DIVINE COMPASSION AND THE ICON – You are invited to a lecture entitled “Divine Compassion and the Icon,” part of the St. Catherine’s Vision Lectureship Series, on Saturday, June 20 at Hellenic College, Brookline. For more information visit www.saintcatherinesvision.com.
FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN - On Saturday, June 27 at St. George Orthodox Cathedral in Worcester, volunteers from all over the Diocese will be measuring and scooping 100,000 meals of MannaPack Rice, a scientifically formulated food that is culturally acceptable worldwide, for starving children. Organizations in nearly 70 countries distribute these meals to children in greatest need. We need 500 volunteers on that day as well as donations to help meet the $22,000 goal for the cost of the MobilePack Rice. This Humanitarian project is being conducted in conjunction with Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) a Christian non-profit organization committed to feeding God’s children hungry in body and spirit. You can help in these ways:
- Volunteers - Registration will be live 6 weeks prior to the event at www.fmsc.org/mobilepack .
- Donations - submit online at http://www.fmsc.org/mobilepack or checks, made out to FMSC, Memo line Mobil Pack #1506-99, can be given at the Bengarri or church office.
Please consider volunteering and/or making a donation to this worthy cause. If you would like to learn more you can contact Fr. Milad Selim at St. George Worcester 508-752-9150 or fr.milad.selim@gmail.com
HOUSING HELP NEEDED - Orthodox Family of 3, new to the area, is looking for a place to live starting on June 14. If you know of a place to rent or temporary place to stay, please contact Richard Barrett, rrbarret@indiana.edu or 812-219-0286. (Richard led the recent Diocesan Vocal Workshop).
+ A young woman who will be starting a Master's program in Speech and Language Pathology at Emerson College this fall is looking for housing, and is open to both studio and 2-bedroom options; she is on the lookout for a roommate as well. She will not have a car so an apartment close to the T would be ideal. Please contact Elyse Timothy, elyse.timothy@gmail.com
ARCHDIOCESE CONVENTION - As you all know, our parish will be hosting the 2015 Archdiocesan Convention at the Sheraton-Boston Hotel in Copley Square the week of July 19-26, 2015. There are numerous and various committees on which you may volunteer. We will require everyone’s involvement at St. Mary’s to make this convention truly a success spiritually, socially and financially. If you are interested in participating, please see either Father Antony or the co-chairs, Raymond Sayeg and Mary Winstanley O’Connor.
The convention room rate is $199.00 per night, plus tax. To book rooms at the hotel, register for the convention, purchase convention event tickets and tickets for Boston excursions and obtain forms to place a message in the Souvenir Journal, go to www.acboston2015.com. Rooms are booking quickly for this historic convention. Please call the church at (617) 547-1234 with any questions.
NEW ORTHODOX JOURNAL – Fr. Antony highly recommends a new quarterly journal of Orthodox Christian thought, entitled “The Wheel.” The current, inaugural issue can be seen at http://www.wheeljournal.com/current/. Check it out!
THEOPHANY SCHOOL REGISTRATION - Theophany School is now enrolling for Fall 2015. They are excited to announce Theophany School's expansion into Elementary School and offering Preschool, Pre-K, Kindergarten, and First Grade Enrollment for this Fall. For more information visit their website at http://www.theophanyschool.org or contact them at 781-444-3058 or theophanyschool@gmail.com
THIS WEEK'S VOLUNTEERS
Greeter: Richard Robbat
Liturgical Service:
Epistle: Melissa Nassiff
Procession: Danait Teclezghi, Mary Neguse, Joseph, Ava & Matthew Keamy, Danait Teclezghi, Esther Porr, Saimon Teclezghi
Bell ringers: All/any kids who come to the front left pews
Communion: Lea Crea, Aura Brosnan, John Odom, Linda Arnold, Larisa Patacchiola, Melissa Nassiff
Coffee Hour: Gretchen Ayoub and Family
SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THIS SUNDAY
Epistle:
… And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by so toiling one must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, 'it is more blessed to give than to receive.' " And when he had spoken thus, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
- Acts 20:16-18, 28-36
Gospel:
Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work which you gave me to do; and now, Father, you glorify me in your own presence with the glory which I had with you before the world was made. "I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world; yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ... But now I am coming to you; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves."
- John 17:1-13
REFLECTION
He became poor, that by His poverty We might become rich. He accepted the form of a servant, that we might win back our freedom. He came down that we might be lifted up. He was tempted, that through Him we might conquer. He was dishonored, that He might glorify us. He died, that He might save us. He ascended, that He might draw to Himself us, who lie prostrate, having fallen into sin.
- St. Gregory the Theologian
The Son of God, who in His compassion became man, died so far as His body was concerned when His soul was separated from His body; but this body was not separated from His divinity, and so He raised up His body once more and took it with Him to heaven in glory. Similarly, when those who have lived here in a godly manner are separated from their bodies, they are not separated from God, and in the resurrection they will take their bodies with them to God, and in their bodies they will enter with inexpressible joy there where Jesus has preceded us (cf. Heb. 6:20) and in their bodies they will enjoy the glory that will be revealed in Christ (cf. 1 Pet. 5:1). Indeed, they will share not only in resurrection, but also in the Lord's ascension and in all divine life."
- St. Gregory Palamas
When thou didst fulfill the dispensation for our sake and unite earth to heaven, thou didst ascend in glory, O Christ our God, in no way parted from those who love thee but remaining with them and crying: I am with thee and no one will be against thee.
- Kontakion of the Ascension, Tone 6
[Jesus prayed] "that they may be one, as We are." In this perfect unity, not only the all-conquering power of the faithful but also the glory of God will be seen; yes, and God's very being. As the Father and the Son are one in essence, differing only in Person, so let it be among the faithful, many and varied in person, but essentially one in love, will and mind.
- St. (Bp.) Nikolai Velimirovic, Homilies
Christ, having completed for us his saving work and ascended to heaven with the body which he had taken to himself, accomplishes in his own self the union of heaven and earth, of material and spiritual beings, and thus demonstrates the unity of creation in the polarity of its parts.
- Maximus the Confessor