Weekly Newsletter for the week Friday, June 22 2007 through Thursday, June 28, 2007
Weekly Newsletter for the week Friday, June 22, 2007 through Thursday, June 28, 2007
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
NO VESPERS - There will be no service of Great Vespers at St. Mary's this Saturday, June 23, as Father Antony is out of town for a family wedding. This Sunday, June 24, we will welcome Fr. Stelios Muksuris of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh, who will be celebrating the Liturgy in Fr. Antony's absence.
Over the next couple of months, there will be no Vespers on June 30 (Parish Life Conference), July 28 (Archdiocesan Convention), August 4, or August 11 ( Antiochian Village summer camp).
SUMMER HOURS - Our summer hours will begin July 8 and continue until September. During the summer, Sunday services will start one half hour earlier: Orthros at 8:15 and Divine Liturgy at 9:30 a.m.
REMINDERS
HELP WITH PICNIC - The upcoming Parish Life Conference in Plymouth will include a picnic at Miles Standish State Park this Friday, June 29th. The conference organizers are hoping to make it a fun time for all, with music, food, and a nature walk. Our own Socrates Deligeorges is planning to provide the delicious food that's made so many Fellowship breakfasts memorable, but to make the picnic a success, we need a few more volunteers to help out with setup, food preparation, and generally getting people where they need to go. If you are planning to attend the conference and wouldn't mind taking some time on Friday to help with the picnic, we need your help! Even if you aren't going to be at the conference, if you would be able to help on Friday, June 29th, we will arrange to get you a ride to the picnic site that morning, returning late that afternoon. Please contact Michael Decerbo at (617) 312-1321, or by email to mdecerbo@alum.mit.edu.
PARISH LIFE CONFERENCE - The 2007 Diocesan Parish Life Conference will be next weekend, June 28 through July 1, at the Radisson Hotel in Plymouth , MA . Theme: Missions and Outreach. His Grace Bishop ANTOUN will be the presiding Hierarch, and Fr. Michael Keiser will be the keynote speaker, speaking on Missions and Evangelism. All proceeds will go toward establishing a Mission Endowment Fund for our Diocese. To see the schedule of events and register for the conference, click on www.WorcesterDiocese.net - you can register either online or on paper. To register for the hotel call 508-747-4900. If you have any questions, email conference@worcesterdiocese.net or ask our own Paul Nahass (pnahass@comcast.net) or Michael Marge (Michael_Marge@yahoo.com), co-chairmen.
CHURCH CLOSED - During the Parish Life Conference, Thursday, June 28 through Sunday, July 1, the church offices will be closed and no services will be held at St. Mary's.
APOSTLES' FAST - the Apostles Fast began Monday, June 4 and continues until the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, this Friday, June 29.
5th ANNUAL TANGLEWOOD OUTING - Join your music-loving friends from St. Mary's as we carpool out to Tanglewood after Liturgy on Sunday, July 8. We'll picnic on the lawn and listen to the Boston Symphony Orchestra playing music by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofiev. (For more information see http://www.bso.org/bso/mods/perf_detail.jsp?pid=24300117 ) The concert starts at 2:30; lawn tickets are just $18. Bring picnic food for yourself and to share, or buy it on the way. For more information and to sign up, especially if you'll need a ride, contact Melissa Nassiff by email (mnassiff@gmail.com) or phone (508 877-7483).
ARCHDIOCESE CONVENTION - The 48th Antiochian Archdiocese Convention will be held in Montreal , Canada , July 23 - 29, 2007, hosted by St. Nicholas Church of Montreal. Download registrations forms and/or register online at www.stnicholasmtl.org
VOTE ON COVER FOR NEW BIBLE - If you would like to vote on one of three proposed cover designs for the new Orthodox Study Bible (with O.T. - now due out in February of 2008), you can go to this site: http://www.thomasnelson.com/research/osb-a.htm
PILGRIMAGE TO NEW SKETE - The New Skete monastic communities in Cambridge , NY are hosting their 2007 Annual Pilgrimage on Saturday, August 11, with the theme Encountering God through Creation. The day will include services (Matins at 8:30 a.m., Divine Liturgy 9:30, Vigil 5:00 p.m.), talks, food, church tours, hiking, dog training demonstration, exhibits, monastic conversations, time for quiet reflection, and activities for children and teens. To coordinate rides and/or offer to help for the day, call our local contact: Teva Regule at 617-734-0210 or teva@mitlns.mit.edu See flyer on Church Bulletin Board.
WOMEN'S BOOK CLUB - This summer Women's Club members (and anyone else who'd like to join us) will be reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini. The author of The Kite Runner takes his storytelling powers to the next level with this instant classic. Following the lives of two Afghan women over 30 years, this beautiful, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting novel will sweep you away. We'll be discussing it in September - start your summer reading now!
YOU ARE NEEDED - The services of the Church continue all year round, and volunteers continue to be needed throughout the summer!
Coffee Hour - If you've never given a coffee hour before, now's a good time to start. It's never difficult, but it's even easier in the summer. To sign up for an available Sunday please put your name on the signup sheet on the bulletin board outside the Hall, or call Marilyn in the Office 617-547-1234 and she'll write your name in. Plenty of help is available if you need it.
Epistle and Communion - Members of the congregation read the Epistle every Sunday, and hold the cloth and Holy Bread baskets during Communion. If you would like to help with these services, please contact Jeff Wasilko at jeffw@smoe.org or 781-820-0882.
Tables and Chairs - Someone needs to take the lead after coffee hour and get everyone to help put away the tables and chairs. Many people are quite willing to help, but someone needs to get the ball rolling each week. To volunteer, please contact Abra Greene at abrayanti@gmail.com
INSIGHT
Since the enemy watches you constantly, waiting for an opportunity to sow evil in you, be doubly watchful over yourself, lest you fall in the nets spread for you. As soon as he shows you some fault in your neighbor, hasten to repel this thought, lest it take root in you and grow. Cast it out, so that no trace is left in you, and replace it by the thought of the good qualities you know your neighbor to possess, or of those people generally should have. If you still feel the impulse to pass judgment, add to this the truth that you are given no authority for this and that the moment you assume this authority you thereby make yourself worthy of judgment and condemnation, not before powerless men, but before God, the all-powerful Judge of all.
- Bishop Theophan the Recluse
Never allow yourself boldly to judge your neighbor; judge and condemn no one, ... rather have compassion and pity for him, but let his example be a lesson in humility to you; realizing that you too are extremely weak and as easily moved to sin as dust on the road, say to yourself: 'He fell today, but tomorrow I shall fall.'
- Lorenzo Scupoli, Unseen Warfare
There is a difference between speaking evil of one's neighbor and judging him. Speaking evil means saying, "So-and-so has told a lie or he has lost his temper." The neighbor's sin is exposed. Judging, on the other hand, means saying, "So-and-so is a liar or he is bad-tempered." The permanent disposition of his soul in under judgment, his whole life is being judged, and this is indeed serious.
- Dorotheus of Gaza
Even without any other passion, self-esteem can ruin a man; and in the same way, if we have formed the habit of judging, we can be utterly ruined by this alone; for indeed, the Pharisee was condemned for this very thing.
- St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
The person who loves God cannot help loving every man as himself, even though he is grieved by the passions of those who are not yet purified.
- St. Maximos the Confessor
LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Saturday, June 23: NO Great Vespers at St. Mary's
Sunday, June 24: Orthros 8:45 a.m.; Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.
SCRIPTURE READINGS for June 24, Nativity of the Forerunner John the Baptist:
Epistle: St. Paul 's Letter to the Romans 13:11-14; 14:1-4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for God is able to make him stand. (The entire reading may be found at http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/lectionary.asp?type=epistle&code=268&event=98
Gospel: Luke 1:1-25, 57-68, 76-80 And [John's] father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways." (The entire reading may be found at http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/lectionary.asp?type=gospel&code=367&event=98&DL=EN )
LOOKING AHEAD
Thursday, June 28, through Sunday, July 1: Parish Life Conference - No services at St. Mary's, church offices closed
Saturday, June 30: NO Great Vespers at St. Mary's (Vespers at Parish Life Conference in Plymouth 5:00 p.m.)
Sunday, July 1: NO Orthros or Divine Liturgy at St. Mary's (Orthros 9:00 a.m., Hierarchical Divine Liturgy 10:00 at Parish Life Conference)
Sunday, July 8: Summer hours begin - Orthros 8:15 a.m.; Divine Liturgy 9:30 a.m.
Saturday, July 28: No Great Vespers at St. Mary's (Fr. Antony at Archdiocese Convention)
Saturdays, August 4 and 11: No Great Vespers at St. Mary's (Fr. Antony serving at Antiochian Village )
VOLUNTEER SCHEDULES
FOOD PANTRY
Two to four volunteers help each week in the food pantry at St. Paul 's RC Church in Harvard Square , Saturday mornings from 9:30-11:45. If you are willing to help, contact Christian Alcala at cmalcala1989@yahoo.com or (617) 876-5684.
June 23: David Vermette and Steve Walker
LITURGICAL SERVICE
The Epistle each Sunday is read by a member of the congregation, and six members of the congregation hold the cloth and Holy Bread baskets during Communion. If you would like to help with these services, please contact Jeff Wasilko at jeffw@smoe.org or 781-820-0882.
June 24: Epistle - Bill Coyle
Communion Assistance - David Vermette, Juliet Burch, Melissa Sayeg, Marianna Sayeg, Abigail Sayeg, Victoria Sayeg
July 1: [No services at St. Mary's]
July 8: Epistle -Christian Alcala
Communion Assistance - Elana Jabbour, Helen Gabriel, Stella Miller, Scott Miller, Simona Caia, Sofia Miller
July 15: Epistle - David Vermette
Communion Assistance - Brett Grainger, Melissa Nassiff, Peter Nassiff, plus 3 others
COFFEE HOUR
To sign up for an available Sunday, please put your name on the signup sheet on the bulletin board outside the Hall or call Marilyn in the Office 617-547-1234 and she'll write your name in.
June 24: The Ayoub family
July 1: [No services at St. Mary]
July 8: Tiffany Conroy
July 15: The Robbat family