Weekly Newsletter for the week Friday, July 06, 2007 through Thursday, July 12, 2007
Weekly Newsletter for the week of Friday, July 6, 2007 through Thursday, July 12, 2007
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
BIBLE BOWL WINNERS - At the Parish Life Conference this past weekend, the Bible Bowl was won by the team from St. Mary's, consisting of Elana Jabbour, Alyssa Shoop and Theo Smith, coached by Violet Robbat. They will now go on to represent the Diocese of Worcester and New England at the Antiochian Archdiocese Convention in Montreal . Congratulations!
CREATIVE ARTS FESTIVAL WINNERS - The 2007 Creative Arts Festival Archangels Award, announced at the Parish Life Conference, was also won by St. Mary's representatives. The winning poster was created by Chris Borch, Erica Kaiser and Theo Smith, in Peter Nassiff's
7th grade Church School class. Congratulations!
SCHOLARSHIP WINNER - Winner of the FSJD Scholarship Award, announced at the Conference this past weekend, was our own Gregory Hughes. Congratulations!
HELP CHANGE LIGHTBULBS - Question: How many St. Mary parishioners does it take to change a lightbulb? Answer: As many as we can get! Actually, all the chandeliers in the church will be lowered this Thursday, July 12, at 7:00 p.m. so the lightbulbs can be changed. Anyone willing to come and help will be greatly appreciated.
THIS WEEKEND
SUMMER HOURS - Our summer hours will begin THIS Sunday, 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.
5th ANNUAL TANGLEWOOD OUTING - Join your music-loving friends from St. Mary's as
we carpool out to Tanglewood after Liturgy this 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).
REMINDERS
ARCHDIOCESE CONVENTION - The 48th Antiochian Archdiocese Convention will be held in Montreal , Canada , July 23 - 29, 2007, hosted by St. Nicholas Church of Montreal. Father Antony will be attending; the church office will be closed during that week.
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!
FOOD PANTRY - Two to four St. Mary's volunteers are needed each week to help in the food pantry at St. Paul 's RC Church in Harvard Square , Saturday mornings from 9:30-11:45.
Contact Christian Alcala at 617-876-5684 or cmalcala1989@yahoo.com.
SOUP KITCHEN - Three or four St. Mary's volunteers are needed to help each week at the Open Doors Meal Ministry at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Allston, Mondays any time between 4:00 p.m. and 7:30. Contact Liz Tutella at 610- 507-0488 or
INSIGHT
Remember that while you pray, God expects from you a positive answer to His question: "Do you believe that I can fulfill your prayer?" You must be able to answer from the bottom of your heart: "Yes, I believe, O God," and then you will be answered according to your faith.
- St. John of Kronstadt
Faith, like active prayer, is a grace. For prayer, when activated by love through the power of the Spirit, renders true faith manifest - the faith that reveals the life of Jesus. If, then, you are aware that such faith is not at work within you, that means your faith is dead and lifeless. In fact you should not even speak of yourself as one of the "faithful" if your faith is merely theoretical and not actualized by the practice of the commandments or by the Spirit. Thus faith must be evidenced by progress in keeping the commandments, or it must be actualized and translucent in what we do. This is confirmed by St. James when he says, "Show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18)
- St. Gregory of Sinai, The Philokalia
When Scripture says, "He will reward every man according to his works" (Matt. 16:27), do not imagine that works in themselves merit either hell or the Kingdom. On the contrary, Christ rewards each man according to whether his works are done with faith or without faith in Himself; and He is not a dealer bound by contract, but God our Creator and Redeemer.
- St. Mark the Ascetic.
...while the Lord's victory is certainly an accomplished fact, my personal participation in that victory is as yet far from complete. ..My trust is, therefore in Christ, not in myself, and I am confident that Christ is faithful and stands firm.
- Bishop Kallistos Ware, How are We Saved?
LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Saturday, July 7: Great Vespers 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 8: Summer hours begin - Orthros 8:15 a.m.; Divine Liturgy 9:30 a.m.
SCRIPTURE READINGS for July 8:
Epistle: St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 12:6-14 Brethren, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (The entire reading may be found at http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/lectionary.asp?type=epistle&code=266
Gospel: Matthew 9:1-8 And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on his bed; and when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven." (The entire reading may be found at http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/lectionary.asp?type=gospel&code=92&event=941&DL=EN )
LOOKING AHEAD
Saturday, July 14: Great Vespers 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 15: Orthros 8:15 a.m.; Divine Liturgy 9:30 a.m.
Saturdays, July 21 and 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.
July 7: Michael Decerbo and Deno Takles
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.
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, Elaina Matook plus 2 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.
July 8: FSJD
July 15: The Robbat family
July 22: Tiffany Conroy (note new date)