Update for the week Thursday, April 2, through Thursday, April 9, 2015

Update for the week Thursday, April 2, through Thursday, April 9, 2015

THIS WEEK

THURSDAY, 4/2 - The Bible Study group meets next Thursday, April 2, at 7:00 pm in the church library. This week’s discussion will focus on the book of Judges, using the podcasts at http://orthodoxbiblestudy.info/judges-part-1-2/ and http://orthodoxbiblestudy.info/judges-part-2-2/

   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 (mksayeg@gmail.com ) or Fr. Antony (frawhj@gmail.com). New members are always welcome.

SATURDAY, 4/4, Lazarus Saturday – Matins 8:00 am, Divine Liturgy 9:00 am

   + Communion Breakfast at 10:15 presented by the Women’s Club and offered by Selma Winstanley in loving memory of brother, Mitchell Mabardi. 

   + Church Clean-Up in preparation for Pascha, following the Breakfast.  Everyone is encouraged to come and bring some rags, cleaning supplies, small buckets, brown paper bags, irons and extension cords for wax removal, etc.  Please come and lend a hand in preparing God’s House for the Feast of Feasts.  John Rodriguez and Steve Walker are our clean-up leads - please see one of them to know where/what you can help clean. Thank you!

   + Choir rehearsal also following Communion Breakfast

   + Great Vespers 4:00 pm (note time)

SUNDAY, 4/5, Palm Sunday – Enquirers Class (St. Ignatius Catechetical Group) 9:00 am; Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am, followed by Procession with Palms. No Church School

   + An Archdiocese Collection will be taken following Liturgy on behalf of our Patriarchate of Antioch’s Humanitarian work. Make checks payable to St. Mary Church.

      + Annual Palm Sunday Fish Dinner, hosted by Ed & Lisa Brylczyk, sponsored by the Hospitality Group. $8 per person; $16 per family. Volunteers needed to help with setup before Liturgy, cleanup, and serving.

+ Bridegroom Matins 7:00 pm

MONDAY, 4/6 – Presanctified Liturgy 7:00 am

   + Bridegroom Matins 7:00 pm

TUESDAY, 4/7 – Presanctified Liturgy 7:00 am

   + Bridegroom Matins 7:00 pm

WEDNESDAY, 4/8 – Presanctified Liturgy 7:00 am

   + Holy Unction 7:00 pm

THURSDAY, 4/9 – Vesperal Liturgy 7:00 am

   + Washing of the Feet 6:45 pm; Twelve Gospels 7:00 pm

HOLY FRIDAY, 4/10 Children’s Retreat 9:30 am (see Reminders for Holy Week, below, for details)

   + Royal Hours 1:00 pm

   + Unnailing Vespers 3:00 pm

   + Lamentations 7:15 pm with Procession to Central Square; Teen Vigil overnight

HOLY SATURDAY, 4/11 – Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil 9:00 am, followed by Coffee Reception offered by Nadia & Bahig Kaldas

SATURDAY-SUNDAY, 4/11-12 – Vigil/Rush Service 10:00 pm; Resurrection Matins 11:00 pm; Great and Holy Pascha Divine Liturgy 12 midnight; Paschal Festivities in the Church Hall following

   + Joint Agape Vespers (Baouth) on Easter Sunday morning will be held at 11:00 am at St. George Church, 55 Emmonsdale Rd., West Roxbury, MA.

NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS FOR HOLY WEEK

DYE EGGS FOR PASCHA - Eight volunteers are requested to hard boil and dye 3 dozen brown eggs. Mary Ellen Mabardy will provide the dye and instructions if necessary. Please see Mary Ellen this Sunday, April 5, or call her at 781-729-6303.

DONATIONS FOR HOLY WEEK – For the special services of Holy Week, the Church needs donations of olive oil for the Unction Service (Wednesday), flowers for the tomb of Christ (Friday), flowers to distribute on Great and Holy Friday, rose water to anoint the faithful (Friday), incense, Paschal lilies and other flowers, and candles. Deadline for donations is Palm Sunday, April 5. Please use the donation form in the Sunday Bulletin.

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

HOLY FRIDAY RETREAT – Spend the morning in fellowship and activities with friends and families at the St. Mary’s Holy Friday Retreat on Friday, April 10 from 9:30-12:30. A variety of activities will be provided. Recommended for ages 5 - adult. Younger children welcome but must be accompanied by an adult.

   We welcome your energy and talent if you are able to provide a craft, read stories, or spend time coloring with the children as part of the morning’s activities. Teens and adults are welcome to assist with egg dying and pysanky decorating, crafts with the children, or decoration of the tomb upstairs. Fr. Antony will be available to hear the children’s and teen’s confessions before lunch.

   Lunch will be provided for everyone! ($5 donation per person donation requested. Make checks payable to St. Mary Orthodox Church.)

   Please let Trish Orlovsky know by Palm Sunday, April 5, if you are coming, and how you can assist or an activity you can provide for the morning. Contact her at t_orlovsky@hotmail.com or call 781-641-0182

DECORATE THE BIER – Please come help decorate the bier on Holy Friday morning beginning at 9:00. There is no time commitment nor do volunteers need to be good at artsy stuff. Teens and adults preferred, but younger kids can help if they are accompanied by a parent or responsible adult.

CHILDREN FOR LAMENTATIONS - Children ages 5-12 are invited to process in front of the bier on Holy Friday evening, strewing flower petals along the way. Participants should be dressed up (white dresses are the tradition for girls as "myrrhbearers," but not required). Please contact Shannon Sakellariou (srsakellariou@gmail.com) if you plan to participate or have any questions.

HOLY FRIDAY VIGIL - Following the Lamentations Service on Holy Friday evening, St. Mary's Teen SOYO will hold an All-Night Vigil at the Church.  All youth, ages 12-18 (grades 7-12), are encouraged to participate in reading Psalms, keeping watch at the tomb. The Vigil culminates Saturday morning with Vesperal Liturgy at 9:00 am.  Teens across the Diocese will participate in similar vigils at their respective churches. The Church will be locked and several chaperones will remain with the Teens throughout the night, into the morning.

OTHER NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS

WOMEN'S CLUB – The next meeting of the Women's Club will be Monday, April 20, at 7:30 a the church.

PARISH LIFE CONFERENCE - The 2015 Diocese of Worcester Parish Life Conference will be hosted by St. Mary Church of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Thursday to Sunday, June 18-21.

REMINDERS

FEAST DAY AND ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND - St. George Church, West Roxbury, invites you to join them in celebrating their Feast Day and the 115th Anniversary of the founding of their parish, with Metropolitan JOSEPH and Bishop JOHN, Friday-Sunday, April 17-19. Saturday Banquet and Hafli and Sunday Hierarchical Divine Liturgy followed by Brunch. For more information, Call the church Office: 617-323-0323 or Amal Hourani: 781-793-0219.

   + There will be no Vespers at St. Mary on April 18.

BIBLE BOWL - Any teen interested in being on St. Mary's Bible Bowl Team please see Violet Robbat or call her at 781-862-4388.  We will be studying the life of St. Raphael beginning Sunday, April 19, during coffee hour.  Participants must be present for all sessions. The Bible Bowl will be held at our Diocesan Parish Life Conference June 18-21.

PARISH COUNCIL – The next meeting of the Parish Council will be Wednesday, April 22, at 8:00 pm.

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE:

   - The New England Region Fellowship of St. John the Divine is awarding scholarships to students who are faithful and active Orthodox Christians, whose high school records indicate a potential for being successful in an accredited college and who are in need of financial assistance. Applications are available through the Church Office and must be received by the Scholarship Committee Chairperson by May 1, 2015.

   - The Francis Maria Scholarship is available through the Archdiocese Scholarship page, www.antiochian.org/scholarships. Several $2500 scholarships will be awarded to students attending an accredited 4-year college. Applications must be postmarked by May 15, 2015.

   - Antiochian Women’s Scholarships are available to females 25 years of age and older in good standing of the Antiochian Archdiocese, actively involved in their parish and who demonstrate need. The application deadline is June 1, 2015. Applications are available in the Church Office. E-mail cindy@cnyhondas.com with any questions.

   - Nicholas G. Beram 49th Scholastic Achievement Awards are available for high school seniors of our Arab American Community planning to attend a 4 year college full time. Applications are available in the Church office or on-line at http://www.stjohnd.org/ngberam. Application deadline is June 1, 2015.

FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN - On Saturday, June 27 at St. George Orthodox Cathedral in Worcester, volunteers from all over the Diocese will be measuring and scooping 100,000 meals of MannaPack Rice, a scientifically formulated food that is culturally acceptable worldwide, for starving children. Organizations in nearly 70 countries distribute these meals to children in greatest need. We need 500 volunteers on that day as well as donations to help meet the $22,000 goal for the cost of the MobilePack Rice. This Humanitarian project is being conducted in conjunction with Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) a Christian non-profit organization committed to feeding God’s children hungry in body and spirit.

   - Volunteers - Registration will be live 6 weeks prior to the event at fmsc.org/mobilepack.

   - Donations - submit online at http://www.fmsc.org/mobilepack or checks, made out to FMSC, Memo line Mobil Pack #1506-99, can be given at the Bengarri or church office.

   Please consider volunteering and/or making a donation to this worthy cause. If you would like to learn more you can contact Fr. Milad Selim at St. George Worcester 508-752-9150 or mailto:fr.milad.selim@gmail.comfr.milad.selim@gmail.com.

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.

THEOPHANY SCHOOL REGISTRATION - Theophany School is now enrolling for Fall 2015. They are excited to announce Theophany School's expansion into Elementary School and offering Preschool, Pre-K, Kindergarten, and First Grade Enrollment for this Fall. For more information visit their website at http://www.theophanyschool.org or contact them at 781-444-3058 or theophanyschool@gmail.com

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THIS SUNDAY

   Epistle:

… Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

   - Philippians 4:4-9

   Gospel:

… When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came, not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. …The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, "Hosanna! Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!"

   - John 12:1-18 

REFLECTION

Having accomplished the forty days for the benefit of our souls, we pray to Thee, O Lover of Man, that we may see the holy week of Thy passion, that in it we may glorify Thy greatness and Thine unspeakable plan of salvation for our sake. ...

   - Vesper Hymn for the Friday before Lazarus Saturday

When we were buried with Thee in baptism, 0 Christ God, we were made worthy of eternal life by Thy resurrection. Now we praise Thee and sing: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord!

   - Troparion for Palm Sunday

Upborne upon the heavenly throne, and seated upon the earthly foal, O Christ our God, receive the praises of angels and the hymns of men, exclaiming before Thee, Blessed is He that cometh to restore Adam.

   - Kontakion for Palm Sunday

During this last week of preparation, the celebration of the mystery begins. Lenten effort has made us capable of putting aside all that which usually and consistently obscures the central object of our faith, hope, and joy. Time itself comes, as it were, to an end. It is measured now not by our usual preoccupations and cares, but by what happens on the way to Bethany, and beyond to Jerusalem. And, once more, all this is not rhetoric. To anyone who has tasted of the true liturgical life – be it only once and however imperfectly – it is almost self-evident that from the moment we hear, "Rejoice, O Bethany, home of Lazarus…" and then "… on the morrow Christ is coming …," the external world becomes slightly unreal … "Reality" is that which is going on in the Church…

   - Alexander Schmemann, Great Lent