Weekly Update for December 24, 2020
THIS COMING WEEK AT ST. MARY’S
SUNDAY 12/27 – Orthros 8:45am; Divine Liturgy 10:00am
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
CHRISTMAS CARD NAMES – The following contributors to the St. Mary Christmas card were inadvertently omitted from the listing:
John Coundouris
The Goss Family
Gail Kurker
Charlie, Thomas and Anthony Marge
Keziah Ofeish and William Conley-Elgee
Jan Randolph
NO BULLETIN NEXT WEEK - There will be no Sunday Bulletin next week, for January 3, 2021
ORTHODOXY 102 - The adult education class led by Subdeacon James (drjamesis@gmail.com) on Zoom, which has not met during most of December, will resume on Monday, January 11, 2021.
PARISH MEETING - The annual Parish meeting will be conducted via Zoom on Sunday, January 31, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. A link will be sent to all parishioners for whom we have an email address. If you do not have email or are uncertain if we have your email information, call Carol Griswold at (617) 523-1010, Ext. 255.
REMINDERS
NEW METHOD TO SIGN UP FOR LITURGY - For the remainder of this year, we are doing a trial period of a new online registration system. You can use this link to express your interest in attending services at St. Mary's: https://stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/signup. Sign up for ONE Sunday per month.
For the remaining services in December, if you have already attended a service in the past 3-4 weeks, please wait to give other parishioners time to sign up for one of the remaining Sundays. If additional spots are still available after 6:00pm on the Friday prior to liturgy, you and/or nonmembers may sign up for an open spot.
We will be operating on the honor system. The goal in using this new system is to keep things as simple as possible for those of us wanting to attend liturgy, and to minimize the administration required to manage the signups.
If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please let us know by calling the Church Office (617-547-1234)
LIVE-STREAMED SERVICES - All the Divine Services held in St. Mary’s Church can also be seen live-streamed at www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/live or https://www.facebook.com/stmarycambridge or www.youtube.com/stmarycambridge For the safety of all during the pandemic, please pray with us from home if you have a cough or cold.
ORTHODOX WITNESS TO CHRIST - Registration for the Orthodox Witness to Christ Program: A spiritual Journey is now open for the spring 2021 semester, and we would like to invite you to join us! Registration is limited to the first 30 people who register. For all questions, please email admin@witnesstochrist.org .
We begin on January 14, 2021, with ten all-online Round Table sessions on Thursday evenings from 6:30-8:00pm, and a Retreat on Saturday, February 20 from 10:00am-3:30pm. Please see program details on the flyer here.
The program covers four semesters, and participants can join at the beginning of ANY semester, in either the fall or the spring. The Witness to Christ Program Certificate will be awarded at the completion of the four semesters, even if not taken in order.
The purpose of the program is to offer an opportunity for a spiritual journey for anyone interested to learn, reflect, and be transformed through the Orthodox Christian Faith in preparation for various ministries. It aims to empower and equip Orthodox Christians to nourish and share the faith in the 21st century.
This program is sponsored by the Diocese of Worcester and New England – offered to the laity, Christian educators, parents, chaplains, counselors, therapists, physicians, and clergy. The program has eight units over four semesters led by His Grace Bishop John, D.Min.; Archpriest Antony Hughes, M.Div.; Ioana Popa, MD, BCC; Mary Lou Catelli, M.Ed.; Sebastien Falardeau, a Ph.D. candidate in Theology; and Tenbit Mitiku, MS.
To register for the upcoming semester, please fill out the Registration Form.
To receive general program updates, please Sign Up.
DONATIONS TO THE CHURCH - One-time donations to the church (For the Good Health of, In Memory of, etc.) can be made on our website using this form: https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/donate/donate-now
In addition to bank ACH transfers, we now accept credit cards for these donations, but kindly ask that you check the box to cover the 2.6% fee incurred by the church for this convenience. For pledge contributions, please sign up for eGive to make ACH transfers.
STEWARDSHIP – Our 2021 Stewardship Pledge Drive is 100% on-line this year and we are asking every member to make a pledge for 2021. If you haven’t yet, you can make a pledge by going to: https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/donate/stewardship-2021-pledge-card
For more information on our Pledge Drive, including frequently asked questions, see: https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/donate/stewardship-2021-pledge-drive
ENQUIRERS CLASS - The St. Ignatius Catechetical course – Enquirers’ Class is currently postponed due to the illness of Bob Kowalik, its leader. He expects to be back in January.
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.
Have a very blessed Nativity!