Update for the week Friday, November 2, through Thursday, November 8, 2012

THIS WEEKEND

ORTHODOXY ON TAP – Orthodoxy on Tap is a three-part series of lectures and discussion sponsored by the Metropolis of Boston, which meets Thursday evenings at Roggies Brew and Grille (356 Chestnut Hill Ave in Cleveland Circle, Boston). This year’s series, which began last week, centers around the theme “Thinking Through Faith,” and continues this week with Dr. Tim Patitsas, speaking on "Life or Death...Where do you stand?" Ballot Question #2: Physician Assisted Suicide. Come to Roggies tonight, Thursday, November 1st at 7:30pm.

NO VESPERS – There will be no Vespers service at St. Mary this Saturday, November 3.

EASTERN STANDARD TIMEDaylight Savings Time ends this weekend - don’t forget to set your clocks back. Liturgy begins at 10:00am Eastern Standard Time this Sunday!

NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS

MISSIONS LECTURE – Next Thursday, November 8, the Missions Institute at Hellenic College/Holy Cross will present a lecture entitled Mission to Guatemala, Receiving the Mayan People into the Orthodox Church. Guest speakers will be visiting missionaries Fr. John Chakos, an Orthodox missionary to Guatemala, and Fr. Andres Giron, a native of Guatemala. The lecture will begin at 7:00 pm in the Library Reading Room, preceded by a wine and cheese reception. All are invited to attend. To view the lecture online, visit http://bit.ly/HCHCMissionsLecture   For more information see the Missions Week flyer at http://holycross.hchc.edu/assets/files/NewsandEvents/Missions%20Week%202012.2.pdf

FAMILY VESPERS – St. Mary's Church School will hold its fall Family Vespers on Saturday, November 10. This is a good opportunity for families to attend the Saturday Vespers service together. Following the service, parishioners are invited to stay for pizza dinner and an activity. Father Antony will also hear confessions.
   During this family event, we will be giving more information about the new Liturgical Service Ministry, which encourages church school children and teens to participate in liturgical service in new roles. Church school families attending the vespers will have a chance to do a walk-through of liturgical roles and ask questions before the new ministry begins on Sunday, November 11.
   Families planning to attend the Vespers are asked to RSVP to Doreen Bargoot at dbargoot@aol.com no later than Friday, November 9.

LITURGICAL SERVICE MINISTRY – Beginning Sunday, November 11, the Church School will begin a new Liturgical Service Ministry to encourage church school children and teens to participate more actively in liturgical service roles. All church school participants will be assigned to a liturgical service team, with one team of children and teens participating in assigned roles in the service each week. A description of the new ministry can be found in this Sunday’s bulletin. Questions can be directed to Teva Regule at teva@mit.edu  or Doreen Bargoot at dbargoot@aol.com

WOMEN’S CLUB – The next meeting of the Women’s Club will be Tuesday, November 13, at 7:30 in the kitchen.

PARISH COUNCIL – The next meeting of the Women’s Club will be Wednesday, November 14, at 7:30 in the kitchen.

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.  Every Wednesday during this period there will be a Paraklesis service at 6:30 pm.

PARISH COUNCIL ELECTIONS - If you are interested in serving on the Parish Council for 2013, contact Fr. Antony or Mary Winstanley O’Connor on or before Friday, November 16.  You must be a member in good spiritual and financial standing for at least 2 years.

REMINDERS

BAZAARS – Several churches in the area have upcoming bazaars and other fund raisers:

St. John, Dedham:  Annual Bazaar – This Friday through Sunday, November 2-4.  Friday noon to 9:00 pm; Saturday, 10:00 am to 9:00 pm; Sunday noon to 2:00 pm.  Authentic Middle Eastern cuisine, live & silent auction. For more information:  www.stjohnd.org/bazaar

St. Mary, Pawtucket, RI:  Annual Bazaar – Friday through Sunday, November 9-11. Friday 5:00 to 8:00 pm; Saturday 11:00 am to 8:00 pm; Sunday 11:30 am to 3:00 pm.  Arabic food & pastry, American foods, village market, bargain basement, Christmas booth, St. Mary’s famous cashews, silent auctions, beer & wine, cash raffle & grand raffle.  For more information:  401-726-1202 or www.stmarypawtucket.org

St. George Church, West Roxbury:   Ladies Society Penny Sale – Saturday, November 10.

St. Michael’s Church in Cotuit:  International Food Festival – Saturday, November 17, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Traditional Syrian, Lebanese, Russian, Albanian, and Greek foods will be available for take-out. Also a delicious Spanikopita Luncheon will be served.  Come to the Cape and see St. Michael’s  newly dedicated “Fr. Nicholas Manikas Hall” at the same time.

TEEN SOYO SPAGHETTI DINNER - The annual Spaghetti Dinner sponsored by Teen SOYO will take place on Sunday, November 11, following Liturgy. Come enjoy a meal of Spaghetti, Meatballs (just before the Fast!), Salad and Bread, Dessert and Coffee/Beverage.  Your Goodwill donation will be much appreciated.

WINE & CHEESE LECTURE SERIES – The Fellowship of St. John the Divine at St. John Church, Dedham, is sponsoring a Wine & Cheese Lecture Series beginning Friday, November 16. Topic of Part 1 will be Bringing the Eucharist into your Interfaith Relationships, with guest speaker Bishop JOHN. Wine & cheese at 6:30; Lecture at 7:00 pm.

AL-KAFAAT GALA DINNER – Please come to a gala dinner to help Al-Kafaat, a private, nonprofit and nondenominational organization that delivers education and rehabilitation services across seven different campuses in Lebanon. Under the Patronage of Metropolitan Philip and the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in North America, Al-Kafaat is raising funds across North America to build a new compound. The dinner, on Saturday, November 17 at 6:00 pm (following Vespers at 4:30), is sponsored by St. George of Boston, 55 Emmonsdale Rd, West Roxbury. Tickets are $125 – contact Violet Robbat at 781-862-4388 or vmkrobbat@yahoo.com.  You can read an article about Al-Kafaat at http://www.antiochian.org/node/25836.

CHARITY BAKE SALE –The Women’s Club will hold its annual Thanksgiving Charity Bake Sale on Sunday, November 18, 2012 (the Sunday before Thanksgiving).  Plan on purchasing all your holiday breads, pies, goodies, Syrian pastries and much more!  All proceeds will benefit the Convent of Saidnaya in Syria.  Call Priscilla Goss 781-762-1517, if you can help bake or donate something to sell.

BERAM AWARDS BANQUET - The Nicholas G. Beram Veteran's Association 66th Anniversary Celebration and 46th Scholastic Achievement Awards Banquet will be held Saturday, November 24, 2012, 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm at the Holiday Inn in Dedham.  Our own Mary Winstanley O’Conner will receive a Distinguished Service Award.

COME SEE THE MESSIAH – Join friends from St. Mary’s for the Handel and Haydn Society’s  annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, on Sunday afternoon, December 2, at 3:00 p.m.  Group tickets are just $20. We will carpool to Symphony Hall after Liturgy and have lunch together 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   or order your own tickets online at http://www.handelandhaydn.org.  

CANNED FOOD DRIVE The annual FOOD FOR HUNGRY PEOPLE food drive will be held October through December, 2012. Bring in your canned goods to the Church and place them in the large, blue plastic containers outside the Church Office – they will be distributed to local food pantries in our area. 42 pounds of food will feed a family of four for 3 days - since 1984 we have collected over 3,281,200 pounds of food!

BOOKS FOR SALE – The Fellowship of St. John the Divine has  several copies of the book "A Life Together: Wisdom of Community from the Christian East," by last year's von Holzhausen lecturer, Bishop Seraphim Sigrist. List price is $15.99, but you can purchase it for our cost of $9.00 per copy. This is your last chance to buy it at cost before we return our unsold books to the publisher. Please talk to or email Michael Decerbo, Fellowship treasurer at mdecerbo@alum.mit.edu, if you are interested in buying the book. If you are out of town, send your check to the church with an additional $4 for postage -- and please also email Mike so he can expect it and set your copy aside.

DANCING WITH THE ABBA STARS DVD - The AABA Board of Directors wish to thank all who attended, supported and enjoyed "Dancing with the AABA Stars 2012".  A professionally made DVD is available for $25.  Make your check payable to Cheriton Heights and send to:  Olivia Waishek, 5 West Boundary St, West Roxbury, Ma. 02132

REGULAR REMINDERS

DONATE VIA eGIVE– Did you know that you can make your donations to St. Mary through eGive, and have no more envelopes or checks to worry about?   If you have not yet set up an account, you can do it at www.egive-usa.com, or contact Charlie Marge (marge@alum.mit.edu) for help. The Recipient Organization is “St. Mary’s Orthodox Church.”

STREAMING VIDEO – St. Mary’s Church services are broadcast live each week through an internet video stream.  If you can't attend a service in person or want to share this ministry with a friend or loved one, the live stream can be viewed at www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/live  during regularly scheduled service times (see the schedule of services below or online).  If you have questions or comments about this ministry please contact us at live@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org.

VIDEO STREAMING FOR EVENTS – Now you can video stream your wedding or baptism live from St. Mary’s to friends and family who can't attend your event in person.  The cost for Event Video Streaming is $150 for members, $300 for non-members, and includes a password- protected viewing page and setup and breakdown of the streaming service for your event by a trained staff member.   You can also get a copy of your streamed event on CD: $50 for members, $100 for non-members. Fees are payable to the church. Streaming is subject to staff availability. For general questions on the video streaming ministry or event streaming, please contact live@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org.  To schedule your event and/or request Event Video Streaming, please contact the Church Office.

PROTECT YOUR VALUABLES – Please do not leave valuables unattended in the Church Hall or Coat Room.

FIRST IN, LAST OUT – Please do not park in the small lot behind the church unless you intend to stay through the end of coffee hour. The only way out is the single lane driveway.  Please pull all the way in to the parking space, and please do not block the driveway – if the lot is full, you can park on the street.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR SERVICE

There are a number of ways you can help the Church, your fellow worshippers and those in need.  Consider serving in one of these ways:

BECOME A GREETER – If you do not sing in the choir, or chant, serve in the Altar or at the Bengarri, and  are not a Church School teacher,  please consider serving the Church as a GREETER!  Greeters arrive at 9:45 am., get a Greeter Name Tag  from the Bengarri, pin it on and greet visitors/parishioners at the Church Entrance and direct them upstairs to the Church, or to the CloakRoom or RestRooms.  Greeting time ends when Communion starts.  Send your name and e-mail address to Buddy Mabardy: buddymabardy@cjmabardy.com or phone him 781-729-6303. 

LITURGICAL SERVICE – Each Sunday, members of the congregation are needed to read the Epistle and assist during Communion by holding the Communion Cloths and Holy Bread Baskets.  All Orthodox Christians in the Parish are welcome and encouraged to participate. We usually need one Epistle  and six people to hold cloths and baskets.  If you would like to read the Epistle or assist during Communion, please contact Jeff Wasilko, 781-820-0882, jeffw@smoe.org

COFFEE HOUR – People are needed every week to provide coffee, juice and cookies, or more if desired, and set it up Sunday morning. To sign up for an available Sunday, please put your name on the new signup sheet on the bulletin board outside the Hall or call Marilyn Robbat in the Parish Office and she will write your name in. If you need any help with figuring out what to bring or do, check the list below the signup sheet (also printed in the Bulletin), or ask Marilyn at secretary@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org or 617-547-1234.

PRISON MINISTRY – If you would like to find out more about Prison Ministry at St. Mary’s Church, please subscribe to our mailing list at http://groups.google.com/group/ocpm-concord

"As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me," says our Lord.

THIS SUNDAY'S VOLUNTEERS

GREETER:  Andrew Bargoot

LITURGICAL SERVICE:   To be determined

COFFEE HOUR:   The Sayeg family

LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK

Saturday, November 3: No Vespers at St. Mary

Sunday, November 4:  Daylight Savings Time ends.  Orthros 8:45 am; Enquirers’ Class 9:00 am;  Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School lesson 6

SCRIPTURE READINGS for Sunday, November 4:
   Epistle: St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 6:11-18
… But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

   Gospel: Luke 16:19-31
… And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, full of sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table; … The poor man died …The rich man also died … But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.'

Wednesday, November 7:  Fr. Antony will be visiting St. Michael, Cotuit, for Vespers  7:00 pm.

LOOKING AHEAD

Saturday, November 10:  Church School Family Vespers and Confession

Sunday, November 11:  Orthros 8:45 am; Enquirers’ Class 9:00 am;  Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School lesson 7;  followed by Teen SOYO Spaghetti Dinner

Thursday, November 15:  Nativity Fast begins

Saturday, November 17: No Vespers at St. Mary – Vespers at St. George in West Roxbury 4:30 pm, followed by dinner for Al-Kafaat

Sunday, November 18:  Orthros 8:45 am; Enquirers’ Class 9:00 am;  Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School lesson 8

Tuesday, November 20:  Evening Liturgy for the Feast of the Presentation of the Theotokos in the Temple  6:30 pm

Wednesday, November 21:  Paraclesis Service 6:30 pm

REFLECTION

… God teaches you to be as merciful to those in need as He is merciful to you. It is dangerous and sinful to ignore the voice of God, to remain unrepentant and unimproved during times of hardship, to fail to thank God, or not to help others when you have plenty. Even more ruinous is to do the opposite of that to which God is leading us: to grumble and become embittered in difficult circumstances or to forget God and live only for pleasure in fortunate surroundings.
   - St. Innocent of Irkutsk, The Way Into the Kingdom of Heaven

The more a person loves God, the more he loves other people. He loves them with holiness, respect and refinement, as images of God.  …  We must have Love; even if they do us the greatest harm, we must love them. We will be able to enter Paradise only with love.
   - Elder Amphilochios Makris

Those who are suffering in hell, are suffering in being scourged by love.... It is totally false to think that the sinners in hell are deprived of God’s love. Love is a child of the knowledge of truth, and is unquestionably given commonly to all. But love’s power acts in two ways: it torments sinners, while at the same time it delights those who have lived in accord with it.
   - Saint Isaac the Syrian

The rich man who gives to the poor does not bestow alms but pays a debt.
   - St. Ambrose of Milan

The rich are in possession of the goods of the poor, even if they have acquired them honestly or inherited them legally.
   - St. John Chrysostom

You do wrong to everyone you could help but fail to help.
   - Basil of Caesarea