Update for the week Thursday, February 26, through Thursday, March 5, 2015
THIS WEEK
SATURDAY, 2/28 - Great Vespers at St. Mary 5:00 pm
+ The YES (Youth Equipped to Serve) Family Day scheduled for Saturday, February 28 at St. Mary's has been postponed. The new date is still to be determined.
+ The Diocese of Worcester and New England is holding a Parish Council Workshop at St. John of Damascus Church in Dedham, on Saturday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Our own Richard Robbat will be the Facilitator.
+ There will be a General Assembly Meeting of Teen SOYO, Fellowship of St. John the Divine and Antiochian Women on Saturday at 10:00 am, also at St. John of Damascus Church in Dedham. After the meeting, for the teens there will be games, fellowship, and lunch – all teens are welcome.
SUNDAY, 3/1 – Enquirers Class (St. Ignatius Catechetical Group) 9:00 am; Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School short music lesson
MONDAY, 3/2 – Great Compline at St. Michael, Cotuit 7:00 pm
WEDNESDAY, 3/4 – Presanctified Liturgy 6:30, followed by Potluck Supper (and every Wednesday through April 1, except 3/25). Potluck leader for 3/4 is Natasha Smith, nasmith05@gmail.com
THURSDAY, 3/5 - The Bible Study group meets next Thursday, March 5, at 7:00 pm in the church library. The Bible Study at St. Mary meets every other Thursday, and is based on a very interesting course originally broadcast on Ancient Faith Radio, entitled Search the Scriptures. For more information contact Marianna Sayeg (mailto:mksayeg@gmail.com ) or Fr. Antony (mailto:mksayeg@gmail.com ). New members are always welcome.
FRIDAY, 3/6 – Akathist (Madayeh) service 7:00 pm (and every Friday through March 27)
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
WOMEN'S MONTH SERMONS - This month a number of women from the parish will be sharing their thoughts on the various "Themes of Holy Week." By reflecting on Holy or Great Week, it is our hope that we can gain a greater understanding of the services that mark our yearly celebration of our Lord's death and resurrection and its meaning for our lives today.
COFFEE HOUR VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – People are needed every week to provide coffee, juice and bagels, cookies, or more if desired, and set it up Sunday morning. Some do it to celebrate a special event or anniversary, but you don’t need a reason, and it can be as simple or fancy as you like. To sign up for an available Sunday, please put your name on the signup sheet on the bulletin board outside the Hall or call Barbara Shoop in the Parish Office (617-547-1234) and she will write your name in. When no one volunteers, there’s no coffee! The next several weeks are available.
LENTEN FOOD SALE – The Women's Club is now taking orders for Hoomos (hummus), Mjadara (lentils with rice), and Spinach Triangles. Please use the order form in the Sunday bulletin. Order deadline is Sunday, March 10; pickup date is Sunday, March 15. Also, please plan to come help make the Spinach Triangles on Saturday, March 14, at 9:30 am.
WOMEN'S RETREAT – The Sts. Martha and Mary Sisterhood of Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, 62 Harvard Ave., Allston, invites you to a Lenten Women’s Retreat on Saturday, March 14. The theme is Becoming a Living Sacrifice, with speaker Matushka Constantina Parker, author of The Scent of Holiness. Registration begins at 8:30 am; $35 adult fee/$20 student fee includes lunch and afternoon tea. Contact Lydia Hutchinski for registration questions: 617-323-5989 or hutchinski@verizon.net
FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION – We will celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation to the Holy Theotokos with Evening Divine Liturgy on Wednesday, March 25,at 6:30 pm
BAKE SALE – The St. Mary Women’s Club's annual Pascha Bake Sale will be held Sunday, March 29, during Coffee Hour. Plan on purchasing all your Pascha/Easter desserts, pastries and goodies. If you can help bake please call Mary Ellen Mabardy at 781-729-6303
FOOD FOR HUNGRY PEOPLE – You are urged during this season of prayer, self-discipline and fasting, to be generous in your contribution to the Food for Hungry People program of our Archdiocese. Money Boxes for collecting alms at home will be on the Bengarri; please pick one or two up and place them throughout your home, fill them up, and return them on Palm Sunday, April 5. “Whoever gives a hand to help his neighbor is helped by God’s own hand.” - St. Isaac the Syrian
REMINDERS
WOMEN'S MONTH – March is Antiochian Women’s Month. Our women will be reading the Epistle (1 woman), taking the Collection each Sunday (2 women) and assisting during Communion (6 women). We are inviting all Women of St. Mary Church to be included: If you wish to participate, sign up on the sheet at the Bengarri or contact Mary Ellen at 781-729-6303 or the church office.
LENTEN POTLUCKS – Every Wednesday during Lent (except for March 25) the Presanctified Liturgy at 6:30 pm will be followed by a Potluck Supper, if we have a volunteer leader for each week.
Being the leader simply means a) providing a main dish, b) coordinating what others bring if they ask, and c) coordinating setup and cleanup. As with coffee hour, if there is no potluck leader, then there is no potluck. We still need three more volunteers - contact Julie Wasilko (julie31415pi@gmail.com) or Melissa Nassiff (mnassiff@gmail.com) to sign up to lead a potluck.
Everyone else, please bring a dish to share. Any Lenten fare is welcome: main courses, sides, salads, desserts, as well as beverages and snacks. This is a wonderful opportunity for fellowship during Lent, plus we get to sample each other's Lenten recipes.
MARRIAGE PREPARATION AND ENRICHMENT – You are invited to a Marriage Preparation and Enrichment workshop on Saturday, March 7, 10 am-4pm, at the Chancery, 2 Lydia’s Path, Westborough. Cost: $35 per couple. Mail your check payable to NER Deanery, to St. John of Damascus, 300 West Street, Dedham, MA, 02026.
ANNUAL MEETING RESCHEDULED – The Annual Meeting of St. Mary's Parish, repeatedly postponed because of snow, is now scheduled for Sunday, March 15, immediately after Liturgy. It is important that all members of St. Mary’s Church attend this meeting to approve the 2015 budget.
PARISH COUNCIL – The next meeting of the Parish Council will be Wednesday, March 18 at 8:00 pm
LENTEN RETREAT – Our teens are invited for the annual Lenten Retreat at the Saint Methodios Retreat Center in Contoocook, New Hampshire, on Friday-Sunday, March 27-29. The speaker will be Father Gregory Christakis, a Greek Orthodox priest from Medford, MA.
SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE - Scholarships ($1,000) are available to young women of Syrian and Lebanese origin, residing in Massachusetts within 50-mile radius of Boston, who plan to pursue a four-year college education. Scholarships are based on outstanding academic achievement, extra-curricular activities, charitable and civic involvement and good character; and applicants must be in good academic standing in her school and possess those personal attributes, which best serve the community. Applications are available through the Church Office and must be postmarked by March 31, 2015. If you have any questions, contact Mary Winstanley O’Connor at 617-523-1010 or email at moconnor@koilaw.com .
DIOCESAN COMPLINE – Great Compline services are offered every Monday evening at 7:00 pm in a different church of the diocese. The schedule is as follows: Feb. 23rd St. George, Norwood; March 2nd St. Michael, Cotuit; March 9th St. John of Damascus, Dedham; March 16t h St. George, Lowell; March 23rd St. George, West Roxbury; and March 30th St. George, Worcester (6:30pm).
ANTIOCHIAN VILLAGE SUMMER CAMP - Summer Camp registration is now open. Last year most sessions were full by the end of February, so make sure you register right away! There are currently over 300 campers registered. Please visit the Registration Page for instructions on how to register. Please note that you are not registered until they receive a deposit and you receive a confirmation email. For more information go to http://www.antiochianvillage.org/camp.html
ARCHDIOCESE CONVENTION – The 52nd Antiochian Archdiocese Convention, hosted by St. Mary Church, will be held Sunday, July 19, 2015-Sunday, July 26, 2015 at the Sheraton Boston Hotel, Boston, MA. The convention room rate is $199.00 per night, plus tax. To book rooms at the hotel, register for the convention, purchase convention event tickets and tickets for Boston excursions and obtain forms to place a message in the Souvenir Journal, go to www.acboston2015.com. Rooms are booking quickly for this historic convention. Please call the church at (617) 547-1234 with any questions.
THIS WEEK'S VOLUNTEERS
Greeter: Andrew Bargoot
Liturgical Service:
Epistle: Lea Crea
Procession: Esther Porr, Azeb Mitiku, Lea Crea, Nazret Nebiye, Sara Ghile (Teclezghi)
Homily: Stephani Colby
Communion: Cindy Mazzoni, Esther Porr, Kailen Hodge, Linda Arnold, Larisa Patacchiola, and Shannon Sakellariou
Coffee Hour: No volunteer; no coffee (last minute volunteers welcome!)
SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THIS SUNDAY – March 1, Sunday of Orthodoxy
Epistle:
Brethren, by faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets … Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and scourging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword ... And all these, though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
- Hebrews 11:24-26, 32-40
Gospel:
At that time, Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." ... Philip found Nathanael, and he said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." …
- John 1:43-51
REFLECTION
Whenever we have any feast or joy in the Church, we Orthodox first of all look back - for in our present life we depend on what happened in the past. We depend first of all, of course, on the first and the ultimate triumph - that of Christ Himself. Our faith is rooted in that strange defeat which became the most glorious victory - the defeat of a man nailed to the cross, who rose again from the dead, who is the Lord and the Master of the world. This is the first triumph of Orthodoxy. This is the content of all our commemorations and of all our joy.
This man selected and chose twelve men, gave them power to preach about that defeat and that victory, and sent them to the whole world saying preach and baptize, build up the Church, announce the Kingdom of God. And you know, my brothers and sisters, how those twelve men - very simple men indeed, simple fishermen - went out and preached. The world hated them, the Roman Empire persecuted them, and they were covered with blood. But that blood was another victory. The Church grew, the Church covered the universe with the true faith. After 300 years of the most unequal conflict between the powerful Roman Empire and the powerless Christian Church, the Roman Empire accepted Christ as Lord and Master. That was the second triumph of Orthodoxy. The Roman Empire recognized the one whom it crucified and those whom it persecuted as the bearers of truth, and their teaching as the teaching of life eternal. The Church triumphed. But then the second period of troubles began.
The following centuries saw many attempts to distort the faith, to adjust it to human needs, to fill it with human content. In each generation there were those who could not accept that message of the cross and resurrection and life eternal. They tried to change it, and those changes we call heresies. Again there were persecutions. Again, Orthodox bishops, monks and laymen defended their faith and were condemned and went into exile and were covered with blood. And after five centuries of those conflicts and persecutions and discussions, the day came which we commemorate today, the day of the final victory of Orthodoxy as the true faith over all the heresies. It happened on the first Sunday of Lent in the year 843 in Constantinople. After almost 100 years of persecution directed against the worship of the holy icons, the Church finally proclaimed that the truth had been defined, that the truth was fully in the possession of the Church. And since then all Orthodox people, wherever they live, have gathered on this Sunday to proclaim before the world their faith in that truth, their belief that their Church is truly apostolic, truly Orthodox, truly universal. This is the event of the past that we commemorate today. ...
At the end of the first century - when the Church was still a very small group, a very small minority, in a society which was definitely anti-Christian when the persecution was beginning - St. John the Divine, the beloved disciple of Christ, wrote these words: "And this is the victory, our faith, this is the victory." There was no victory at that time, and yet he knew that in his faith he had the victory that can be applied to us today. We have the promise of Christ, that the gates of hell will never prevail against the Church. We have the promise of Christ that if we have faith, all things are possible. We have the promise of the Holy Spirit, that He will fill all that which is weak, that He will help us at the moment when we need help. In other words, we have all the possibilities, we have everything that we need, and therefore the victory is ours.
- Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, Sunday of Orthodoxy (from http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/orthodoxy1985.html )