Weekly Newsletter for the week Friday, March 6, through Thursday, March 12, 2009
THIS WEEKEND
AKATHIST AND SPEAKER - Akathist service starts at 7:00 pm this Friday, and continues every Friday during Lent. After the service we'll meet in the Church hall for refreshments and a Learning in Lent presentation (approximately 8-9:30 pm). This evening's speaker is Father Antony Hughes, St Mary's Pastor; his topic is Living Compassion: the Spiritual Path.
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. All are welcome - this is not for women only!
BOSTON BYZANTINE CHOIR CONCERT - The Sound of Icons, a concert of Orthodox sacred chant in English before a visually expressive background of Orthodox Sacred Art, will be presented on Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 7:00 pm in Manning Chapel, Brown University, Providence RI. FREE Admission - Open to everyone.
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME BEGINS - DST begins this Sunday, March 8, 2009. Remember to set your clocks ahead; don't be an hour late for church!
LENTEN FOOD SALE - If you ordered Hoomos or Mjadara, it will be ready for pickup this Sunday, March 8, during coffee hour. Spinach Triangles will be ready next Sunday, March 15. If you would like to help cook, join us on Saturday, March 14 at 9:30 a.m.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONFERENCE ON THE FACE OF GOD - The community is invited to a Conference on the Face of God in Islam and Eastern Christianity from 2:00pm-5:00pm Friday, March 13th, in the Braun Room, Andover Hall, Harvard Divinity School, 45 Francis Ave., Cambridge, MA. Keynote speakers include Professor Ali Asani (Harvard), Professor Aristotle Papanikolaou (Fordham), and Christopher Gosey, an Eastern Orthodox iconographer. Graduate Student presenters include Martin Nguyen, Daniel Majchrowicz, and Zachary Ugolnik. Opening remarks by Professor Charles Stang (Harvard) will begin the conference and a panel discussion will conclude the event. Reception to follow.
REMINDERS
ANTIOCHIAN WOMEN'S MONTH - March is Antiochian Women's Month throughout the Archdiocese. Women of the parish will be reading the Epistle, holding the Communion cloths and bread baskets, taking the collection, and delivering the homily.
LENTEN POTLUCKS - Every Wednesday during Lent there will be a Presanctified Liturgy at 6:30 p.m., followed by a Potluck Supper sponsored by the Fellowship of St. John. Do plan to come and bring something 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. Please stay for supper even if you can't bring food--there's room at the table for everyone.
LEARNING IN LENT - The Fellowship of St John the Divine (FSJD) will offer its annual lecture series on the following Fridays in Lent. After Akathist, which starts at 7:00 pm, we'll meet in the Church hall for refreshments and a presentation (approximately 8-9:30 pm).
March 6th: Father Antony Hughes (St Mary's Pastor) - Living Compassion: the Spiritual Path
March 13: Rev. Cameron Partridge (Priest at St Luke's and St Margaret's Episcopal Church; Master of Divinity, Harvard; Master of Sacred Theology, Yale) - On the Church Fathers
March 20: Robert Kowalik (Master of Divinity, Holy Cross Seminary; Master of Arts in Religion, Yale Divinity School) - On Piety and Devotion
March 27: Teva Regule (Master of Divinity, Holy Cross Seminary) - Who are We? Christian Identity Formation in the Services of Pascha
April 3: David Vermette (St Mary's Catechism Director) - "The Problem of Evil" and the Orthodox Tradition
April 10: Brett Grainger (Doctoral candidate at Harvard Divinity School) - Talk topic TBA
RETREAT AT NEW SKETE - New Skete Monastery is offering a one-day Lenten retreat on Saturday, March 14, entitled, "Self-discovery and Spiritual Growth." The day will consist of presentations on aspects of self discovery, spiritual direction and sacramental confession and include time for discussions, meditation and reflection. An opportunity for sacramental confession will also be available. A donation of $15 is asked to help cover the expenses for the day. The number of retreatants is limited and available on a first come, first served basis. To register for the retreat, contact Robin Hetko at robin.hetko@gmail.com. In addition, the monastery will celebrate the Liturgy of St. James (the ancient rite of Jerusalem) on that Sunday (March 15). Those wishing to visit the monastery for the weekend (to take advantage of both opportunities), please contact Teva Regule (teva@mit.edu) for housing arrangements.
LENTEN RETREAT WITH FREDERICA MATHEWES-GREEN - The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Newburyport, MA, invites you to its 3rd Annual Lenten Retreat, Saturday, March 21, 2009 from 10:00 am- 2:00 pm with lunch. Topic: Transforming Our Life and Our World, with featured speaker, Frederica Mathewes-Green. Cost: $15 per person ($10: Students & Seniors) For more information or to RSVP by March 16, please e-mail annunciationlentenretreat@verizon.net or call Julie Ray at 978-462-5262.
LENTEN RETREAT WITH KYRIAKI K. FITZGERALD - St. Michael, Cotuit invites you to an Adult Lenten Retreat, Saturday, April 4, 2009 Topic: "Reflections on Psalm 50," with speaker, Kyriaki K. Fitzgerald, M.Div., Ph.D. Retreat & Luncheon cost: $20. Registration Deadline: March 31, 2009. For more information call Lorraine Reiley at 508-240-2412.
SYRIAN-LEBANESE SCHOLARSHIPS - The Women's Club of Greater Boston offers scholarships to young women of Syrian and Lebanese origin, living in Massachusetts within a 50-miles radius of Boston , who plan to pursue a 4-year college education. Awards ($1,000) are based on outstanding academic achievement, extra-curricular activities, charitable and civic involvement and good character. Each applicant must be in good academic standing in her school and possess those personal attributes which best serve the community. Applications are available through our Church Office or call Mary Winstanley O'Connor at 617-523-1010 or e-mail at her moconnor@koilaw.com Application must be postmarked by March 31.
ANTIOCHIAN WOMEN'S SPRING FLING - On April 4, 2009, the women of the diocese will sponsor a visit to the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, MA. Bus transportation is available, departing at 9:45 am from the Russian Church of the Epiphany at 961 South St . , Roslindale, and returning approximately 3:15 pm. The cost for this package, which includes bus transportation, museum admission with guided tour, and a $10 voucher for lunch at a local restaurant, is $49.95. For those who prefer to drive, the museum admission alone is $4. Please RSVP to Priscilla Goss, or contact her for further information, at pagoss@aol.com or phone 781-762-1527.
RETREAT AT NEW SKETE #2 - On May 22-24 (Memorial Day weekend), the Fellowship of St. John the Divine is sponsoring a weekend retreat Friday through Sunday at New Skete Monastery. The details of the retreat are still in the planning stages, but SAVE THE DATE! Please RSVP to Tiffany Conroy (trattus1@gmail.com or 617-990-7162) by April 1, or contact her for more information.
FOOD FOR HUNGRY PEOPLE - Money Boxes are on the Bengarri. Please be sure to pick one or two up and place them throughout your home. Our Church School Students have been given their own boxes to fill. Be generous with your contributions during this Lenten season. Return the filled FFHP boxes on Palm Sunday, April 12, 2009.
PARISH LIFE CONFERENCE - St. George Church in Lawrence will be hosting the 2009 Parish Life Conference for the Diocese of New England, June 25-28, at the Wyndham Hotel in Andover , MA . Singles and Doubles: $95. Triples: $105 and Quads: $115. Hotel Reservation Deadline is June 4, 2009; mention Parish Life Conference for special rates. More information can be found on St. George's website at www.stgeorgelawrence.org/Conf2009
ANTIOCHIAN VILLAGE CAMP 2009 - Schedules have been announced for the 2009 camping program at the Village - see http://www.antiochianvillage.org/camp.html
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.
ARCHDIOCESE CONVENTION - The national convention for the whole Archdiocese will be held July 19 - 26 at Desert Springs JW Marriot Hotel, Palm Desert , California, hosted by St. Michael Church, Van Nuys. Check out their website at www.archdioceseconvention2009.org for more information.
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
March 7: Christian Alcala
LITURGICAL SERVICE
March 8: Women of the Church
COFFEE HOUR
March 8: Deno Takles, Bob Kowalik, Juliet Burch & Trish Orlovsky
LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Friday, March 6: Akathist Service 7:00 pm, followed by Learning in Lent (every Friday in Lent). This week's speaker: Fr. Antony Hughes
Saturday, March 7: Great Vespers 5:30
Sunday, March 8, Sunday of Orthodoxy: Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School lesson in the Sanctuary; Procession with icons.
(There will be no Pan-Orthodox Vespers this year.)
SCRIPTURE READINGS for March 8, Sunday of Orthodoxy:
Epistle: St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 11:24-26, 32-40 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 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.
Gospel: John 1:43-51 At that time, Jesus decided to go to Galilee , and he found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida , the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael, and 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." ... Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these." And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man."
Wednesday, March 11: Presanctified Liturgy 6:30 pm, followed by pot luck supper (every Wednesday in Lent)
LOOKING AHEAD
Friday, March 13: Akathist Service 7:00 pm, followed by Learning in Lent (every Friday in Lent). This week's speaker: Rev. Cameron Partridge
Saturday, March 14: Great Vespers 5:30
Sunday, March 15: Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School lesson 17
Wednesday, March 18: Presanctified Liturgy 6:30 pm, followed by pot luck supper (every Wednesday in Lent)
Tuesday, March 24: Evening Liturgy for Feast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos 6:30 pm
Sunday, April 19: Holy Pascha
Saturday, May 2: FSJD von Holzhausen lecture
Thursday, June 25 - Sunday, June 28: Parish Life Conference
INSIGHT
Thy pure image do we venerate, O good One, asking forgiveness of our sins, O Christ our God; for by thine own will thou didst ascend the Cross in thy body, to save thy creatures from the bondage of the enemy. Thou hast verily filled all with joy, since thou didst come, O our Savior, to save the world.
- Troparion for the Sunday of Orthodoxy
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.
- Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, Sunday of Orthodoxy ( from http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/orthodoxy1985.html )