St. Mary e-Newsletter for Friday, November 6, 2020
PRAYER AND WORSHIP
Great Vespers
On the first Saturday of every month we have a Vespers service at 5:00pm. The EventBrite link for Great Vespers for the Archangels this Saturday, November 7, will be
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/great-vespers-for-the-archangels-tickets-126548880107
Password is 0815
Every Sunday Orthros is at 8:45am, followed by Divine Liturgy at 10:00am. Members of St. Mary’s laity may attend Sunday services in rotation, with appropriate physical distancing throughout the nave. Complying with the Governor’s order, we are permitted 46 people per service (including altar servers, ushers, and chanters). The list of voting members is subdivided into four parts, and members in each part will receive an invitation on a Tuesday afternoon, by telephone or by email, to attend on the following Sunday. When you receive an invitation your response is requested by noon the following Friday.
Please visit our church webpage under “News,” “COVID-19 Safety
Directives and Policies” (https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/news/covid19safety) to review the procedures for attendance.
All the Divine Services held in St. Mary’s Church can also be seen live-streamed at www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/live or www.facebook.com/stmarycambridge or www.youtube.com/stmarycambridge
Monday–Saturday you can join Morning Prayers on Zoom with James & Brooke Wilcox. They write: “Morning Prayer has now become part of our daily routine, where we are joyfully able to participate with others in the St Mary’s community, including Fr. Antony who has recently come alongside to lead us each morning. And thanks to the power of the internet, and the influence of other participants, we now have people joining us each morning from Chile, Arizona, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York City and other portions of Massachusetts as well. We are always happy to add more!”
We run morning prayers for 15 minutes each morning, Monday through Saturday, beginning at 8:45am: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/377381275 password: 28052020
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Sound System
We are currently raising $15,000 to replace key elements of our sound system that are breaking. This project will improve the quality and reliability of both the in-person and live stream experiences. We have already received more than $7,000 towards our goal, and more has been pledged. You can donate to this effort by going to our Sound System Donation page: https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/audio-upgrades
Free Lecture
Fr. Michael Plekon, who gave the Fr. John von Holzhausen lecture at St. Mary a few years ago, will be giving the annual lecture of the Orthodox Theological Society in America in honor of Georges Florovsky. His lecture, a webinar entitled “Community as Church, Church as Community: Death and Resurrection in the Parish Today,” will be delivered on Friday, November 13, at 7:30pm. Registration is free and open to the public: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-Wa3hCnpTDCXusfHpdO_AQ
Young Adult Ministry
The Young Adults of St. Mary’s are starting a book club! We had our first meeting this past Wednesday and will continue to meet each Wednesday at 7:30pm on Zoom until November 11th. The book we will be reading is The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. If you are interested in joining, please email Cali Touloumes at cpantazis91@gmail.com
Parish Christmas Card
Let the Women's Club send a lovely Christmas card on your behalf to our parishioners. Save yourself time, let us do the work, and have all proceeds benefit the Antiochian Women's Project 2020: Building a New Cathedral at Antiochian Village. You will receive this card with the names of parishioners, like yourself, who are wishing a Blessed Nativity and a Merry Christmas to all. You can use the form in the Sunday bulletin or simply write us a note, telling us how you want your name to appear on the card, and send it with a check in any amount payable to St. Mary Women’s Club. Mail them to St. Mary Church - Women’s Club, 8 Inman St., Cambridge MA 02139-2407. Deadline: Sunday, November 29.
Donations for the Holy Nativity
If you would like to donate toward the Poinsettias and Nativity decorations, please provide us with your name, telephone, and email, and whether the donation is for the Good health of [name], Continued good health of [name], or in Memory of [name], and mail with your check to St. Mary Church, 8 Inman Street, Cambridge, MA 02139-2407. Donations will be printed in the December 20, 2020 Bulletin. Deadline is December 13, 2020.
Enquirers Class
The St. Ignatius Catechetical course – Enquirers’ Class is currently postponed due to the illness of Bob Kowalik, its leader.
Orthodoxy 102
Orthodoxy 102 is an adult education class designed for Christians who have spent many years in the Orthodox church, but have never had any formal teaching on the theology and liturgical structure of Eastern Christianity. This is the second year the class is being offered. It will meet weekly to journey through the structure of the Divine Liturgy, while taking an in-depth look at Scripture, the Ecumenical Councils, our iconography, and the meaning and application of Orthodox theology. If you would like more information or want to join, please email drjamesis@gmail.com (or introduce yourself to Subdeacon James on any Sunday following the liturgy, if you’re there in person). The class begins at 7:00pm every Monday on Zoom.
People Helping People
A number of parishioners have made known their desire to help people who need assistance. The church office is keeping a list of volunteers. Call the office if you would like your name added to the list of volunteers. There can’t be too many.
If you know of anyone who needs any sort of help call the church office (617) 547-1234 to make the connection. Remember, many people are ashamed/afraid to ask for help. Keep your eyes and ears open and ask about needs with kind concern.
REFLECTION
The Holy Eucharist is the first, most important, and greatest miracle of Christ. All the other Gospel miracles are secondary. How could we not call the greatest miracle the fact that simple bread and wine were once transformed by the Lord into His very Body and His very Blood, and then have continued to be transformed for nearly two thousand years by the prayers of priests, who are but simple human beings? And what is more, this mystery has continued to effect a miraculous change in those people who communicate of the Divine Mysteries with faith and humility.
- St. Ambrose of Optina
When you are before the altar where Christ reposes, you ought no longer to think that you are amongst men; but believe that there are troops of angels and archangels standing by you, and trembling with respect before the sovereign Master of Heaven and earth. Therefore, when you are in church, be there in silence, fear, and veneration.
- Saint John Chrysostom
Our wickedness shall not overpower the unspeakable goodness and mercy of God; our dullness shall not overpower God’s wisdom, nor our infirmity God’s omnipotence.
- St. John of Kronstadt