Update for the week Thursday, November 3 - Thursday, November 10, 2016

THIS WEEK AT ST. MARY'S

THURSDAY, 11/3 - The Bible Study group will meet on Thursday, November 3, at 7:00 pm in the church library. For more information contact Fr. Antony (frawhj@gmail.com). The meeting after this will be two weeks later, Thursday, November 17. New members are always welcome

SATURDAY, 11/5 – This Saturday, November 5 there will be a service of Great Vespers at 5:00 pm, followed by Young Adult Trivia Night

SUNDAY, 11/6This Sunday we return to Eastern Standard Time. Remember to set your clocks back one hour Saturday night.

   + Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am.; Church School children remain upstairs for a Children’s Sermon after Communion

   + Enquirers’ Class 9:00 am in the library (next door to Fr. Antony’s office).

   + The teens invite you to a spaghetti and meatball dinner this Sunday, following Liturgy. The menu includes Spaghetti, Meatballs (just before the Nativity fast!), Salad, Bread, Dessert and Coffee/Beverage. Suggested minimum donation of $5.00/person will be greatly appreciated - no charge for Teen SOYO members.

   + If you are interested in serving on the Parish Council please speak to Mary Winstanley O’Connor or Fr. Antony by this Sunday.  To be eligible to serve you must be a member of St. Mary’s for two years and in good financial standing.

THIS WEEK ELSEWHERE

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, 11/4-6 - St. John of Damascus, 300 West St , Dedham will hold its annual Bazaar this weekend (Friday 12pm-9pm, Saturday 10am-9pm, and Sunday 12pm- 2pm).  Middle Eastern Cuisine, Country Store, Christmas Corner and more.

   + “From Stranger Danger to Entertaining Angels: Practicing Radical Hospitality as a Way of Life” is the topic of a retreat in Syracuse, NY on Friday-Sunday, November 4-6. Interested in getting to know other Orthodox young adults from a variety of backgrounds in a laid back retreat setting? Want to learn how to live out your faith in a contemporary context using the practice of radical hospitality? Join a diverse group of young adults from all up and down the East Coast and from a variety of different Orthodox jurisdictions for the Syracuse Pan-Orthodox Young Adult Retreat, November 4-6, 2016. For more information on the theme, speakers, schedule, and registration visit

www.syracuseyoungorthodox.com    NOTE: There will be a large number of people attending from Boston if anyone would like to carpool. Contact Dn. Michael Tishel at michael.tishel@gmail.com for more information!

SATURDAY, 11/5 - Come take part in a Refugee Welcome Fair this Saturday at UMass Boston from 1:00 to 6:00pm, sponsored by Cambridge Support for Syrian Refugees and other nonprofits. For information see https://www.facebook.com/events/284067631977013/

NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS 

ANGEL TREE PRISON MINISTRY - St. Mary's will once again be participating in the Angel Tree Prison Ministry, which provides Christmas gifts to children in our local community on behalf of their parent serving time in prison. 1 in 28 American children live with the shame of a parent's incarceration, and many of their guardians struggle to meet their basic needs while caring for them. Together with Angel Tree, we can help these children feel loved and valued--unlocking their potential for a brighter future. 

   Our parish has received the names of 30 children in need this season. There will be a table set up during coffee hour TODAY where you can select a child to support. Thank you for helping with this important ministry! Please see or email Linda or Kate Arnold (katherine.arnold@gordon.edu) if you can help or have questions.

N.G. BERAM AWARDS BANQUET – The Nicholas G. Beram Veteran's Association will hold its 70th Anniversary Celebration and 50th Scholastic Achievement Awards Banquet on Saturday, November 26 at the Holiday Inn, Dedham, 12noon-4pm.  Banquet reservation forms can be found at www.stjohnd.org/ngberam.  Among the award recipients this year are our own Anthony Marge and Rachel Bargoot.

CHURCH SCHOOL CHRISTMAS PAGEANT - If your child is interested in participating in the Christmas Pageant this year, please see Sarah Byrne-Martelli.  We also need parents to assist at all rehearsals.  Rehearsal #1Sunday, December 4, during coffee hour.  Rehearsal #2:  Sunday, December 11, during coffee hour.  Dress Rehearsal:  Saturday, December. 17, 2:30 – 4:30pm. The Pageant will be Sunday, December 18 after liturgy.

LESSONS AND CAROLS – Join us on Saturday, December 10 from 5:00-6:30pm, for our annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. This year we are pleased to welcome Belle Voci, an Orlando-based choir of young ladies under the direction of Claire Hodge.

   If you can accommodate two girls from this choir the weekend of December 9-11, please contact Ashley Hodge at purpleashes@gmail.com for details. 

PARISH COUNCIL – The next meeting of the Parish Council will be Wednesday, December 14, at 7:30pm

FOOD FOR HUNGRY PEOPLE – Our Canned Food Drive will go from October through December 31, 2016. Bring in canned goods and place them in the plastic bins in the room outside the kitchen. (Canned goods only, please.) They will be distributed to food pantries in our area.

REMINDERS

FALL LITURGY RETREAT - Church School parents, teens, families (and friends) are invited to a St. Mary Fall Liturgy Retreat a week from THIS Friday, on Friday, November 11, 2016, from 12:30 - 6:00 pm. This year’s theme is “Christmas Traditions: The Liturgies of Christmas.” Come and explore the various ways that we ritually prepare and celebrate (i.e. “liturgize”) the Birth of Our Lord. The retreat will include baking projects and Christmas rituals, and will culminate with a celebration of the Slavic-style “Christmas Eve Supper” to which we want to invite families and friends) The Festive Meal will begin at 5:00 pm. Donation: $5/student, $10/family (Includes Supper, snacks and supplies). For more information and registration, contact Teva Regule or Doreen Bargoot. 

   RSVP for Retreat and/or Dinner by THIS Sunday, November 6, to Doreen Bargoot (dbargoot@aol.com) so we know, among other things, how much food to prepare for our festive meal!

BYZANTINE MUSIC FESTIVAL - The Fourth Boston Byzantine Music Festival wil be held Friday-Saturday, November 11-12.  Tickets and full schedule of lectures and workshops are available at www.Bostonbyzantinemusic.org . Sponsored by the Mary Jaharis Center at Hellenic College.

YOUNG ADULT MINISTRY BRUNCH – The Young Adult Ministry at St. Mary will have a Pre-Advent Brunch at Nick and Dena’s on Sunday, November 13, at 12:30

WOMEN’S CLUB – The next meeting of the Women’s Club will be Monday, November 14, at 7:30, at the church

NATIVITY FAST – The Nativity Fast, also known as the season of Advent, begins Tuesday, November 15. This is the forty days of fasting and prayer in preparation for the Great Feast of the Nativity of Christ.

VILLAGE AT HOME – On Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18-19, St. George Cathedral in Worcester will host “Village at Home.” Village at Home gives our teens and children (ages 9 and up) a chance to experience the typical routine of a camper at Antiochian Village.  Contact Rassem El Massih for more information at 781-738-6107.

THANKSGIVING BAKE SALE – On Sunday, November 20, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, the Women’s Club will be holding its annual Charity Bake Sale. All proceeds will benefit the Convent of Saidnaya.  Please call our chairperson Renay DiFiore @ 617-327-6361 or the church office, if you can bake and/or donate.

MESSIAH AT GROUP RATES - Join friends from St. Mary’s for the Handel and Haydn Society’s annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, on Sunday afternoon, November 27, at 3:00 pm. Note: Tickets are just $23, because there are enough of us going now to qualify for group rates! 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.

AABA VILLAGE - Applications are available for Market Value, Tax Credit and Section 8 apartments in AABA Village in West Roxbury.  Please call Tom Chapman or Dorothy McNerny at 617-325-1913 and an application will be mailed out.

COFFEE HOUR MADE EASY! - To make sponsoring a Coffee Hour a little bit easier, St. Mary’s is 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, $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 hummus/Syrian bread, juice and coffee for $160.  Menu two will include: bagels, juice and coffee 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.

   + In addition to the sign-up sheet, our contact Barbara in the church office and the Instacart option, we also have Linda Arnold serving as our volunteer Coffee Hour Coordinator.  Please feel free to let her know of your interest and be open to hosting a coffee hour especially if you have not done so in the past.  She will be happy to guide you through the process!

REFLECTION

Come ye blind, and without money receive lights! Come ye lame, and receive your feet! Ye deaf and dumb, receive your voice! Come thou also whose hand is cut off; the maimed also shall receive his hands. It is the Son of the Creator Whose treasure-houses are filled with all manner of helps.

   - St. Ephraim of Syria, Hymns and Homilies

Everyone is in the Lord's power, and Christ is all things to us. If you desire to heal your wounds, he is your doctor; if you are on fire with fever, he is your fountain; if you are burdened with iniquity, he is your justification; if you need help, he is your strength; if you fear death, he is your life; if you desire heaven, he is your way; if you are fleeing from darkness, he is your light; if you are seeking food, he is your nourishment: Taste and see that the Lord is good. Happy is the man who takes refuge in him.

   - St. Ambrose of Milan

The Lord did not come to make a display. He came to heal and to teach suffering men. For one who wanted to make a display the thing would have been just to appear and dazzle the beholders. But for Him Who came to heal and to teach the way was not merely to dwell here, but to put Himself at the disposal of those who needed Him, and to be manifested according as they could bear it.

   - St. Athanasius, On the Incarnation

I have found a Physician. He dwells in Heaven and distributes His healing on earth. He alone can heal my pains Who Himself has none. He alone Who knows what is hidden, can take away the grief of my heart, the fear of my soul — Jesus Christ. Christ is grace, Christ is life, Christ is Resurrection! Amen.

   - St. Ambrose