Weekly Newsletter for the week Friday, January 30, 2009 through Thursday, February 5, 2009
THIS WEEKEND
Saturday
DIOCESAN MEETINGS AND FOOTLAMPS - The winter meetings of Antiochian Women, Fellowship of St. John the Divine and Teen SOYO in the New England Diocese will be held on Saturday, January 31, at St. John Church , Dedham . Morning Prayers will start at 10:00 a.m.; meetings are scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by lunch.
During lunch there will be a Footlamps talk by Maria Khoury, author of Orthodox Christian children's books and the author of Witness in the Holy Land, a publication reflecting personal experiences living under military occupation with her husband the honorable Mayor David Canaan Khoury and three children. Her articles have been published world-wide in numerous newspapers and magazines and have been translated into various languages, bringing awareness of the Christian presence in the Holy Land . All are invited to attend; a good will donation is appreciated.
Sunday
CHINESE NEW YEAR BREAKFAST - On Sunday, February 1, the Fellowship of St. John the Divine will sponsor the 2009 Chinese New Year Missions Breakfast, to benefit the Chinese Translation Project via the Orthodox Fellowship of All Saints of China. Through Chinese Missions fund-raising events by participating parishes world-wide, OFASC is looking to underwrite Orthodox publication of practical articles for living the Orthodox Christian life.
The suggested minimum donation is $5.00 per adult (checks should be made payable to "St. Mary Orthodox Church - Fellowship" and earmarked to Chinese Missions). Please RSVP immediately, with the number of people attending and any diet restrictions, to Nelson Mitrophan Chin at mitrophan@orthodox.cn. Also let him know if you can donate a dessert or food item, or help with setup, food prep or cleanup.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
BLESSING OF HOMES - Fr. Antony will be blessing homes after Epiphany (January 6) and between Holy Pascha (April 8) and Pentecost (May 27). We bless homes to reveal the home as what God created it to be, a way to heaven; to rid the home of every evil; to show that the family is a small church unit in Christ; to consecrate the home and all activity in it to God; and to fill the home and all who live in it with the fullness of God. To schedule the blessing of your home please use the form in the weekly Bulletin or the monthly Cornerstone, or call the church office at 617 547-1234.
PARISH COUNCIL - The next meeting of the Parish Council will be Wednesday, February 11, in the small hall next to the kitchen.
PRE-LENTEN RETREAT - A Pre-Lenten Retreat will be held on Saturday, March 7, at St. George Orthodox Church, Norwood MA , sponsored by diocesan Antiochian Women. Elizabeth H. Prodromou, Assistant Professor in the Department of International Relations at Boston University, will speak on Orthodox Christian Unity: What, Why, Why Not Yet? See the registration form on the Church Bulletin Board. The requested donation, including lunch, is just $15; registration deadline is Sunday, February 28. All are welcome - this is not for women only!
LENTEN FOOD SALE - The Women's Club is now taking orders for Spinach Triangles, Hoomos and Mjadara (lentils with rice). Please use the order form in the Sunday bulletin. Order deadline is Sunday, March 1. If you would like to help cook, join us on Saturday, March 14 at 9:30 a.m.
REMINDERS
COFFEE HOUR VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED - Volunteers are needed for February 8 and 15. When no one volunteers we don't have a coffee hour, so please sign up to sponsor one, individually or with friends. Some do this to celebrate a special event or anniversary, but you don't need a reason, and it can be as simple as coffee, juice, and cookies. Signup sheets are on the bulletin board downstairs outside the Hall, or call Marilyn in the office at 617-547-1234.
ANTIOCHIAN VILLAGE CAMP 2009 - Schedules have been announced for the 2009 camping program at the Village - see http://www.antiochianvillage.org/camp.html Note that an Early Bird discount applies for Summer Camp if paid in full by February 1. Two scholarships are also available - see Fr. Antony for details.
MEATFARE SUNDAY BREAKFAST - The annual Meatfare Sunday Breakfast sponsored by the Fellowship of St. John the Divine will be Sunday, February 22. The suggested donation -$7 per person, $14 per family - will help support the many activities of the Fellowship at St. Mary's, including the annual Lessons and Carols evening; Learning in Lent lecture series; Wednesday evening potluck suppers after Pre-Sanctified Liturgies during Lent; the annual Father John vonHolzhausen lecture; Coffee House ministry; coffee hours and special meals; the weekly St. Mary Update e-mail newsletter; and much more.
BATTERED WOMEN'S SHELTER - The Women's Club is requesting your support with monetary donations toward the purchase of items for our annual Baskets for the Battered Women's Family Shelter. Each year, gifts baskets are made up of household items and given to the families to facilitate their moves into new homes and apartments. Please see Louise Homsy or Shirley Bezreh at the Bengarri. Make checks payable to St. Mary Women's Club and earmark: Battered Women. Thank you.
NO MORE CARE PACKAGES - Scott will be coming home in a few weeks, so donations are no longer needed for care packages! The Fellowship is very grateful for all the donations we've received, which enabled us to send him a new care package every two or three weeks. Scott says "Thank you very much for all of the packages of food and books you have sent me. They have brought very much needed relief for me and my platoon."
PARKING - Please note: If you do not plan on staying for the entire Coffee Hour on any given Sunday, please do not park in the Church Parking Lot. The first in will be the last out! Similarly, if you park in the driveway please plan to leave very promptly.
2009 PLEDGE CARDS - Please take the time to fill out your 2009 pledge card, which was mailed out recently, and return it to the Church Office as soon as possible in the self-addressed stamped envelope provided. We especially need your pledge this year - not just a bare minimum, but a percentage of your income (10% is the biblical ideal). Everyone, including students and new arrivals, is encouraged to make a stewardship commitment to St. Mary's. If you do not have a pledge card, please contact the Parish Office so that you may receive a New Member Packet. Or you can take advantage of the new convenient electronic pledge card on the Stewardship page of our parish website: https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/ministries/stewardship.php
2009 WEEKLY OFFERING ENVELOPES are ready for pick-up outside of the Church Office. Look for your name alphabetically. Remember: if you have chosen to pay periodically, you have not been assigned weekly envelopes. If you wish to change your payment arrangements, see or call Marilyn Robbat in the Church Office 617-547-1234.
CALENDARS - 2009 Church Calendars have arrived. Please take one per family.
CROSSROADS - High School Juniors and Seniors: The Office of Vocation & Ministry at Hellenic College is now accepting applications for its summer CrossRoad program. Two sessions are offered: June 20 - 30 and July 7 - 17, 2009. For more information and application see www.crossroad.hchc.edu or call 617-850-1309. Application deadline is March 1, 2009 for first consideration.
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:
PARTICIPATION
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 reader and six people to hold cloths and baskets. If you would like to read the Epistle or assist during the 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 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.
VOLUNTEERING
Holy Resurrection Open Doors - The Holy Resurrection Open Door Meal Ministry in Allston needs volunteers every Monday evening (there is a special need in the summer). The official hours of the project are 4:30 pm-7:30 pm, but it is fine to come anytime and leave any time. Best times would be 5:30-5:45 to 7:15-7:30 pm. You can serve meals, coffee and tea to the people who arrive for dinner (6-7 pm) or just stay behind the scenes doing set-up and clean-up. It is a very rewarding, hands-on, face-to-face way to serve the community with (mostly) other Orthodox Christians-we even chant the Our Father together before the meal begins. Church info can be found at http://hrocboston.org.
Questions? Please contact Liz Straghalis at liztutella@gmail.com phone 617-974-5005, or Tiffany Conroy at trattus1@gmail.com, 617-990-7162.
St Paul's Food Pantry - Two to four volunteers help each week in the food pantry at St Paul 's Roman Catholic Church in Harvard Square , Saturday mornings from 9:30-11:45. If you are interested in helping, please contact Christian Alcala at cmalcala1989@yahoo.com, or (617) 876-5684.
DONATIONS
Food and Clothing - Holy Resurrection in Allston takes donations of non-perishable food items and clothing to distribute at the Open Door Ministry on Monday evenings. You can bring your donations by on Monday nights between 4:30 pm and 7:30 pm or contact Tiffany Conroy, trattus1@gmail.com, 617-990-7162, for more information.
- St. Paul 's Food Pantry in Harvard Square , where volunteers from St. Mary help every Saturday, depends upon regular donations of canned and packaged foods. To help, contact Christian Alcala at cmalcala1989@yahoo.com, or (617) 876-5684.
Monetary Contributions - The Agape Canister Program is an Orthodox non-profit development program of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center . It is dedicated to meeting the needs of children, families, and communities throughout the world, regardless of race, color, or creed. All funds collected by the Agape Canister Program are earmarked for medical care and clinics, water wells, agricultural development, food and clothing, support personnel (e.g. doctors, nurses, teachers), the construction of schools, and the education of indigenous people in their own communities. Please contribute each Sunday - A clear plastic box is on the Bengarri.
"As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me," says our Lord.
THIS WEEK'S VOLUNTEERS
FOOD PANTRY: January 31: John Rodriguez and Eric Ayoub
COFFEE HOUR: February 1:
Chinese New Year missions breakfast
LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Saturday, January 31: Vespers 5:00 pm
Sunday, February 1: Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School lesson 13;
followed by 2009 Chinese New Year Missions Breakfast
SCRIPTURE READINGS for February 1:
Epistle (for St. Tryphon): St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews Chapter 13:7-16
Brethren, remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Gospel (Sunday of the Canaanite Woman): Matthew 15:21-28
At that time, Jesus went to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon." ... Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.
Monday, February 2, Feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple: No services at St. Marys
LOOKING AHEAD
Saturday, February 7:
Vespers 5:00 pm
Sunday, February 8: Orthros
8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church
School lesson 14
Saturday, February 21: No Vespers at St Marys
Sunday, February 22: Meatfare Sunday
Saturday, February 28: No Vespers at St Marys
Sunday, March 1: Cheesefare Sunday; Forgiveness Vespers
Monday, March 2: Lent begins
INSIGHT
Faith is not a supposition that something might be true, but the assurance that someone is there.
- Bishop Kallistos Ware, The Orthodox Way
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 Kronstad
Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.
- St. Augustine
When the time comes to enter the darkness in which we are naked and helpless and alone; in which we see the insufficiency of our greatest strength and the hollowness of our strongest virtue; in which we have nothing to rely on, and nothing in our nature to support us, and nothing in the world to guide us or give us light - then we find out whether or not we walk by faith.
- Fr. Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation
Hold faith and humility fast within you; for through them you will find mercy, help, and words spoken by God in the heart, along with a protector who stands beside you both secretly and manifestly. Do you wish to obtain these things, which are a fountain of life? From the very onset take hold of simplicity.
- St. Isaac the Syrian, Ascetical Homilies