Update for the week Thursday, October 15, through Thursday, October 22, 2015
THIS WEEK AT ST. MARY'S
THURSDAY, 10/15 – The Bible Study will resume bi-weekly meetings this Thursday, October 15 at 7:00 pm in the church library. The lessons we'll discuss will be http://orthodoxbiblestudy.info/solomon-and-kings/ and http://orthodoxbiblestudy.info/elijah-part-1/
St. Mary's Bible Study group is based on a very interesting and accessible course originally broadcast on Ancient Faith Radio, entitled Search the Scriptures – see http://orthodoxbiblestudy.info. New members are always welcome. For more information contact Marianna Sayeg (mksayeg@gmail.com) or Fr. Antony (frawhj@gmail.com)
SATURDAY, 10/17 – No Vespers. There will be no Vespers at St. Mary until further notice, while Fr. Antony continues his recovery. He appreciates your prayers and understanding and hopes to be back with us soon.
SUNDAY, 10/18 – Adult Catechism 9:00; Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00; Church School lesson 4
* Note that the Head of the Charles Regatta will be held on the Charles River this Sunday. Memorial Drive will be closed at 8:00 am from the Cambridge Boat House to Western Ave. Please plan accordingly when you come to church Sunday morning.
+ This Sunday is Special Olympics Awareness Day, and the teens will request your financial donations to enable them to sponsor the 35th Annual Special Olympics Sports Camp, which is held annually at Antiochian Village. Please be generous, as our teens need to raise in excess of $72,000 to run this wonderful program.
+ The Women’s Club will hold a Charity Bake Sale this Sunday, immediately following Liturgy, in the church hall. All proceeds will benefit the charitable projects we sponsor, from the YWCA Family Shelter in Cambridge to the Antiochian Women’s project, Hungry People: At Home and Abroad. Call Marilyn Robbat at 781-729-3033, or the Church Office at 617-547-1234 or email secretary@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org if you can help bake and/or donate.
MONDAY, 10/19 – The next meeting of the Women's Club will be Monday, October 19, at 7:30 at the church. We welcome all women of the parish to join us!
THIS WEEK ELSEWHERE
FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY, 10/16-18 – You are invited to the St. George Bazaar & Food Fair this this weekend (Fri. & Sat. 10am-9pm, Sun. 12pm-3pm) at 55 Emmonsdale Rd., West Roxbury. Admission is free. There will be Middle Eastern cuisine, country store, crafts, kids’ corner and raffles.
SATURDAY, 10/17 - The New Skete fall retreat will be held this Saturday, October 17. The theme is “Silence: Learning to Listen to Life.” A special feature of this year’s retreat will be a piano concert by Haskell Small entitled, “A Journey in Silence: Reflections on the Book of Hours and Bach’s Partitia No. 6 in e minor.” If you are planning on attending (and have not already done so), please register ASAP. See http://www.newskete.org/retreat.html for more information and registration.
Also, as usual, we will try to coordinate rides. If you are planning to go, let Teva Regule (teva@mit.edu) know so she can put you on the list.
TUESDAY, 10/20 – The Center for Family Care of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese invites everyone to listen to an online panel discussion regarding The Church and Families of Children with Special Needs, on Tuesday, October 20, 1:30-2:30 pm. This webinar will discuss the role of the church in meeting the needs of parents and caregivers with children that have special needs. The panel will include Fr. James Kordaris, Presvytera Melanie DiStefano, and Angie Giallourakis, with Melissa Tsongranis moderating.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
ADULT CATECHISM – Open registration is now available for the Adult Catechism program at St. Mary's Church. Classes will be held every Sunday morning at 9:00 am, beginning today, October 18, and running regularly through April 2016. These classes are free and open to new members of our community who are exploring the Orthodox Faith. Contact Richard Robbat at learn@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org for more information and registration.
DIOCESAN TEEN SOYO LOCK-IN AND DELEGATES MEETING - The Fall Diocesan Meeting is on Saturday morning, October 24, at St George in Worcester (30 Anna St, Worcester, MA 01604). This year, for the Teens, the meeting will be combined with a lock-in the night before (Friday, October 23). It's a great opportunity to meet other teens from around the region and participate in a weekend of fun and fellowship. All teens are invited to attend. Please RSVP to newenglandteensoyo@gmail.com. More details coming soon.
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, November 29, at 3:00 pm. Tickets are just $25 – even less if we have a big enough group. We will carpool to (or meet at) Symphony Hall after Liturgy and have lunch together at a nearby restaurant 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 by Sunday, October 25 (note deadline extension).
LITURGY RETREAT – A Fall Liturgy Retreat for Church School children and families will be held on Wednesday, November 11, 2015. (This is Veteran’s Day - a day off of school for many students and off of work for some adults.) The theme of this event is “Let us love one another” - Liturgy as Philanthropy. Our afternoon activity will be the “liturgy after the liturgy.” Kids 12 year and older will participate in a YES (Youth Equipped to Serve) service project. Kids 11 years and under will participate in a number of other philanthropic projects, one of which is making dry bean soup mixes that will be then donated to St. Paul’s Food Pantry. We need funds to buy all of the food items necessary for these packets. Please consider donating to help off set some of the expense of purchasing the ingredients. Please give donations to Natasha Smith. More information will be available soon.
vonHOLZHAUSEN LECTURE – How does a punk rock drummer from Washington, D.C. end up helping to archive Syrian history? This year's annual Fr. John vonHolzhausen Lecturer will answer that question on Sunday, November 15, 2015 at 12:30 pm, in a talk entitled Music, Photographs and Stories from Syria. Our speaker, Jason Hamacher, is an internationally recognized musician, photographer, writer, and public speaker, and massage therapist. His work has taken him across the globe documenting the sights and sounds of culture, music, people and food. Jason was profiled last year in a fascinating NPR interview – see http://www.npr.org/2014/08/07/338586411/before-war-a-punk-drummer-preserved-syrian-chants This event is free and open to the public; donations to St. Mary’s Hospitality Group are welcome.
REMINDERS
YOUTH MONTH – October is Youth Month throughout the Archdiocese. Our teens will be taking an active role in the Liturgy his month by helping with communion, taking collection and reading the Epistle. To get involved, please see Greg or Hannah Hakim.
CONGRATULATIONS – The Teens elected to be Teen SOYO officers for 2015-2016 are Rachel Bargoot, President; James Jabbour, Vice President; Rebecca Sayeg, Secretary; and Jessica Winstanley, Treasurer. Congratulations to them all! The Teen SOYO Officers serve a big role throughout the year in planning social and service events and topics for discussions, and representing our parish at Diocese meetings. If you have ideas for Teen SOYO, reach out to our officers! And be sure to congratulate them!
DONATIONS FOR SEMINARIANS - If you missed the collection for Antiochian Seminarians and Theological Schools, you can donate through eGive; a special category on eGive has been set up for this purpose. See https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/ministries/stewardship .
ABBA CONCERT - The American Arabic Benevolent Association (ABBA) will be presenting a concert with Gina Dimia, one of North Shore’s greatest entertainers, at the Norwood High School Theatre on Friday, October 23 at 8:00 pm. A pastry buffet will follow the concert. For tickets contact David Franciosi at dfranciosi@aol.com or 617-347-1007.
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 24, at St. George Cathedral in Worcester, MA. See New Announcements, above, for more info on the Teen SOYO meeting.
SFEEHA SALE – The Women’s Club is offering for purchase freshly made Sfeeha (ground lamb-meat pizza pies with onion, pine nuts & seasonings). Everything is cooked with the finest of ingredients and ready to eat now or freeze for the holidays! (Note: this product contains pine nuts.) Please use the order form in the Sunday bulletin, or contact the church office for a copy. Order deadline is Sunday, October 25. Please come help cook on Saturday, November 7. Pick-Up Date is Sunday, November 8.
PARISH COUNCIL - The next Parish Council meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, October 27 at 7:30 pm at the church.
PARISH COUNCIL ELECTIONS - If you are interested in serving on the Parish Council please speak to Deno Takles or Fr. Antony by Saturday, October 31. To be eligible to serve you must be a member of St. Mary’s for two years and in good financial standing.
TEENS TO SKY ZONE – The first Teen SOYO event will take place on Sunday, November 1 at Sky Zone. Teens must RSVP and have a signed permission slip to attend. Talk to Greg or Hannah Hakim for more details (greghakim@gmail.com)
BAZAAR – The Church of St. John of Damascus will hold its annual bazaar on Friday-Sunday, November 6-8. Authentic Middle Eastern cuisine, Christmas Crafts, Country Store, Raffles and more. For more information visit them at www.stjohnd.org/bazaar .
DIVINE COMPASSION CONFERENCE – Women: Healing, Authority and Ministry in the Orthodox Church is the topic of Divine Compassion Conference III, on Saturday, November 7, 9:00am-4:00pm at Hellenic College, Brookline. Donation: $35 includes lunch. Register online at www.divinecompassionconferenceiii.eventbrite.com.
MEN'S RETREAT – The Second Annual Archbishop Michael Memorial Men's Retreat, Responding to God's Call, sponsored by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, will be held Saturday, November 7, 2015, St. Basil Academy in Garrison, NY, from 9:30 am - 3:00 pm. Retreat Leader will be Archdeacon Panteleimon Papadopoulos. For more information, please contact: familycare@goarch.org (845) 424-8184
MARRIAGE SEMINAR – A Seminar for Couples preparing for marriage will be held on Saturday, November 21, at the Chancery, 2 Lydia’s Path, Westborough, MA. Bishop JOHN will be the featured speaker. $35/couple. RSVP by November 14: make checks payable to NER Deanery, and mail to St. John of Damascus Church, 300 West St., Dedham, MA 02026.
DIOCESAN CHRISTMAS CONCERT - A Christmas Concert, sung by the combined choirs and chanters of the Diocese of Worcester and New England, will be held on Saturday, December 5 at 6:00 pm at St. George Cathedral in Worcester immediately following Vespers, and on Sunday, December 6 at 3:00 pm at St. John of Damascus in Dedham. Mark Haddad, choir director at St. John’s, will be conducting the Diocesan Choir with Charles Marge of St. Mary’s conducting the Diocesan Chanters. This will be a beautiful event open to parishioners, families, and friends as well as the public. Please plan on joining us! For more information or questions, please contact: Mark Haddad at mhh42@me.com or Charlie Marge at marge@alum.mit.edu.
FOOD FOR HUNGRY PEOPLE – Once again St. Mary's is holding its annual Canned Food Drive: October, 2014 – December 31, 2015. Since 1984, we have collected over 3,281,200 pounds of food. Please bring in canned goods ONLY and place them in the plastic bins in the room outside the kitchen. They will be distributed to food pantries in our area.
THIS WEEK'S VOLUNTEERS
Greeter: Barbara Shoop
Liturgical Service:
Epistle: TBD
Procession: Alex Mina, Adrienne Hatch, Joe Slater, Amanda Ghannam, Todd Garvin & Tom Perkins
Communion: Young People of the Parish
Coffee Hour: Women’s Club Charity Bake Sale
SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THIS SUNDAY
Epistle:
Brethren, conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer every one. ...
- Colossians 4:5-11, 14-18
Gospel:
...The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name! " And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. " ...
- Luke 10:16-21
REFLECTION
An angel fell from heaven without any other passion except pride...
- Saint John Climacus
Even if we should have mounted to the very pinnacle of virtue, let us consider ourselves last of all; having learned that pride is able to cast down even from the heavens themselves him who takes not heed, and humbleness of mind [is able] to bear up on high from the very abyss of sins him who knows how to be sober.
- St. John Chrysostom
Having fallen from his heavenly rank through pride, the devil constantly strives to bring down also all those who wholeheartedly wish to approach the Lord; and he uses the same means which caused his own downfall, that is pride and love of vainglory.
- St. Anthony the Great
From the fact of our praying it so happens that we are with God; and whoever is with God is well away from the Enemy. Prayer thus preserves chastity, it beats down anger, it drowns pride, it gets rid of resentment, it destroys envy, it causes evil to vanish, it reforms wicked ways.
- Anonymous (6th Century) from The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life
The humbler our opinion of ourselves, the more swiftly our prayer rises to God. So soon as we lose humility, each and every ascetic effort is nullified. If pride is active in us, or fault-finding, or unfriendliness, the Lord stands remote from us.
- Archimandrite Sophrony, His Life is Mine
It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.
- Saint Augustine