Update for the week Friday, December 17, through Thursday, December 24, 2015
THIS WEEK AT ST. MARY'S
SATURDAY, 12/19 - Dress rehearsal for the Christmas Pageant is this Saturday from 2:30 to 4:30.
+ There will be no Vespers at St. Mary until further notice.
SUNDAY, 12/20 – Adult catechism 9:00; Orthros 8:45 am, Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with His Grace, Bishop JOHN 10:00; Church School Christmas Pageant after Liturgy
+ Teen SOYO Breakfast Search (see New Announcements, below)
+ This Sunday St. Ignatius Sunday. Parishioners who are members of The Order of St. Ignatius, please wear your crosses to Liturgy.
+ Young adults interested in the new Young Adult Ministry (see Reminders, below) are encouraged to attend a planning meeting to be held at the Diocese Chancery (2 Lydias Path, Westborough, MA) this Sunday at 7:30 pm.
THURSDAY, 12/24, Eve of the Nativity - Royal Hours for the Nativity 9:00 am, Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil 11:00 am; Orthros 6:45 pm, and Festal Divine Liturgy of St. Basil at 8:00 pm. (There will be no services at St. Mary on Christmas day.)
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
TEEN SOYO BREAKFAST SEARCH TODAY - Today the teens will partake in their annual breakfast search service project. The group will depart St. Mary's during coffee hour to bring coffee and spend time with those in need in the Harvard Square area. All high school teens are encouraged to participate.
PLEDGE CARDS - Pledge cards for 2016 have been mailed. Please return Pledge Cards to the church or ePledge on St. Mary’s website by December 31st.
THEOPHANY JOINT SERVICE – On Tuesday, January 5 there will be a Joint Diocesan Celebration of Theophany at St. George, West Roxbury. Orthros 5:00, Hierarchical Divine Liturgy 6:00 p.m. with the Blessing of the Waters. There will not be services at St. Mary’s.
BIBLE STUDY - The Bible Study group will meet again on Thursday, January 7, 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.
CHURCH CALENDARS & OFFERING ENVELOPES - New Church Calendars and 2016 Offering Envelopes are available for pick-up. Please only one calendar per family.
SUMMER CAMP REGISTRATION - Registration for Summer Camp at Antiochian Village has begun. St. Mary’s Children attend 3rd session. The camper fee is $750 for the two-week camp session. Camper fees paid in full by March 1 receive a $50 discount. Register on line at https://avcamp.org/summer-camp.
REMINDERS
NEW YOUNG ADULT MINISTRY - A new Young Adult Ministry (for ages 19-35) is being established in our Archdiocese. The mission of the Young Adult Ministry is to aid in the spiritual growth of the young adults between the ages of 19-35 within the Archdiocese, bringing them to a closer relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To accomplish this mission we will foster a balance among the following areas of living the Orthodox faith in Christ:
- Worship through the full life-cycle of the Church including attending weekday services together, gathering at a local parish for its Feast Day, and the combined services at Diocese and Archdiocese gatherings.
- Spiritual Renewal and Education through retreats, conferences, speaker series, pilgrimages, and Bible studies which are aimed at the needs of our young adults.
- Service through short-term mission trips and volunteer activities on a local level.
- Fellowship through social outings, conferences, and gatherings.
We are looking for dedicated and energetic young adults to take on leadership and coordinating roles with our Diocese Young Adults. All interested young adults are encouraged to attend a planning meeting to be held at the Diocese Chancery (2 Lydias Path, Westborough, MA) this Sunday, December 20 at 7:30 pm. At this meeting, we will hear a vision for the Young Adult Ministry in our Diocese from His Grace Bishop JOHN and from Fr. Nicholas Belcher (new Diocese Spiritual Adviser for the Young Adults). Please join us for our this opportunity to gather together with young adults from throughout our Diocese as we begin to develop this new ministry in our Diocese. For more information, please contact Fr. Nicholas Belcher (nbelcher@hchc.edu), Brendan Ferguson (Diocese Fellowship President brendanferguson76@gmail.com) or Khalil Samara (NAC Fellowship President khalilsamara@yahoo.com).
FOOD FOR HUNGRY PEOPLE – Once again St. Mary's is holding its annual Canned Food Drive: October through 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.
WOMEN'S CLUB MEETING - The next meeting of the Women's Club will be Monday, January 11, at 7:30, at the church.
PARISH COUNCIL - The next Parish Council meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, January 13 at 7:30 pm at the church.
ANNUAL PARISH MEETING – The Annual Meeting of St. Mary's Parish will be held on Sunday, January 24, 2016 (snow date: January 31.) At this time we will vote on the budget for 2016, among other things. It is important that all members of St. Mary’s Church attend this meeting. Note: Only members of the parish may vote. If you are a parishioner but not yet a member, please consider becoming a member and pledging. See Fr. Antony, Deno Takles or Barbara Shoop for a Member Packet or if you have any questions. Member packets are also available on the wall to the right of the Bengarri.
TEEN SOYO PROJECT: Health and Hygiene Kits for Syrian Refugees - The teens of St. Mary's are looking for your support. Throughout the month of December and into early January, our teens will be collecting items and putting together hygiene and health kits to send to refugees in Syria. We are in need of the following donations:
- Individual hand towels & washcloths
- Combs
- Metal nail files and/or nail clippers
- Bars of soap
- Toothbrushes
- Band-Aids
Basic items like this may seem small, but putting them together can have a major impact to those in need. Please bring and place donations in the marked bins located in the room next to the church kitchen. If you have any questions, please ask a member of Teen SOYO.
FAMILY SHELTER: PLEASE HELP - The Women’s Club provides the Cambridge YWCA Family Shelter with baskets filled with household goods, to help residents ready to move to their own apartments. We ask for your help by providing monetary donations to offset the cost of the items. Please give your donation to Marilyn Robbat or Barbara Shoop or mail it to the Church office c/o the Woman’s Club.
COFFEE HOUR MADE EASY! - To make sponsoring a Coffee Hour a little bit easier, St. Mary’s will be offering a delivery service through “Instacart”, for the basic foods necessary to host a Coffee hour. Simply select a date, mail a check to the office and we will order the food and have it delivered to the church on that Sunday between 9:00 and 10:00 am. You will need to be at the church to accept the order and you will be required to set up for the coffee hour and clean up both the kitchen and hall at the end of the coffee hour. Two menus will be offered. Menu one will include: bagels, mini muffins, fruit, hummus/Syrian bread, juice and coffee for $160. Menu two will include: bagels, juice and coffee for $70. Prices DO NOT include a 20% tip for delivery and are subject to change based on current market pricing of items. Cream cheese, peanut butter, jam and coffee creamer are included with each menu. As usual, St. Mary’s will provide the plates, cups, napkins, utensils, serving platters, and sweetener for coffee. If you are interested in taking advantage of this service and signing up for a coffee hour please contact the office at 617-547-1234 or e-mail secretary@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org.
THIS WEEK'S VOLUNTEERS
Greeter: Ken Kulmatycki
Liturgical Service:
Epistle: Teva Regule
Procession: Malek Joseph-Addello, Saron Nebiye, Saron Solomon, Joseph Solomon, El Nathan Daniel, Danait Teclezghi
Communion: Aura Brosnan, Greg Flessas, Linda Arnold, Diana Iovan and TBD
Coffee Hour: Church School Parents
SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THIS SUNDAY
Epistle:
Brethren, by faith Abraham sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city which has foundation, whose builder and maker is God. And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets... - of whom the world was not worthy - wandering over deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us,that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
- Hebrews 11:9-10, 32-40
Gospel:
The book of the Genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and … Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. … Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel"(which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.
- Matthew 1:1-25
REFLECTION
Today the Virgin cometh to the cave where she will give birth in an ineffable manner to the Word Who is before all the ages. Rejoice, therefore, O universe, when thou hearest it heralded: Glorify Him, with the angels and the shepherds, who chose to be seen as a new-born babe, the God Who is before all the ages.
- Kontakion of Preparation of Christ’s Nativity
Think not, therefore, it is of small things thou art hearing, when thou hearest of this birth, but rouse up thy mind, and straightway tremble, being told that God hath come upon earth. For so marvelous was this, and beyond expectation, that because of these things the very angels formed a choir, and in behalf of the world offered up their praise for them, and the prophets from the first were amazed at this, that "He was seen upon earth, and conversed with men" (Baruch 3:37). Yea, for it is far beyond all thought to hear that God the Unspeakable, the Unutterable, the Incomprehensible, and He that is equal to the Father, hath passed through a virgin's womb, and hath vouchsafed to be born of a woman, and to have Abraham and David for forefathers.
- St John Chrysostom
This is the reason why the Word of God was made flesh, and the Son of God became Son of Man: so that we might enter into communion with the Word of God, and by receiving adoption might become Sons of God.
- Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies
His love for me brought low his greatness.
He made himself like me so that I might receive him.
He made himself like me so that I might be clothed in him.
I had no fear when I saw him, for he is mercy for me.
He took my nature so that I might understand him,
my face so that I should not turn away from him.
- Odes of Solomon (2nd century, author unknown)