Weekly Newsletter for the week Friday, March 27, through Thursday, April 2, 2009

THIS WEEKEND

AKATHIST AND SPEAKER - Akathist service is  at 7:00 pm this Friday, and again next Friday,  April 3.  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 Teva Regule;   her  topic is Who are We?  Christian Identity Formation in the Services of Pascha.

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 28 at 7 p.m. at Ss. Constantine & Helen Church, 35 Lake Parkway, Webster, MA . The concert will be preceded by Vespers at 6 p.m.  Goodwill donations will be welcomed. Lenten dinner to follow.

ANTIOCHIAN WOMEN - March has been Antiochian Women's Month throughout the Archdiocese. At St. Mary's women of the parish have been reading the Epistle, holding the Communion cloths and bread baskets, taking the collection, and delivering the homily.  This Sunday Violet Robbat, Vice President of the North American Board of Antiochian Women, will talk briefly about the Antiochian Women and its projects.  A collection will be taken following Liturgy for this year's Antiochian Women's Project:  Children With Special Needs.  (Please make checks payable to St. Mary Women's Club)

NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS

CHURCH SCHOOL RETREAT and FAMILY VESPERS - On the afternoon of Saturday, April 4, church school students are invited to come to St. Mary's to work on their class's Creative Arts Festival Project, for a "Lenten Retreat-like"  hands-on activity, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.  Please check with your teacher to see if your class is participating.  You can also contact Melissa Sayeg (sayegirls@aol.com)  or Arlene Marge (lanciani@alum.mit.edu)  with any questions.

We encourage the students to stay (or come) with their parents for Family Vespers and confession after the retreat.  Incorporated into the Vespers will be a special dramatic reading of the life of St. Mary of Egypt, on the eve of her Feast.

LAZARUS  SATURDAY - Please come and bring your friends and family to celebrate the Divine Liturgy on Lazarus Saturday, April 11 (Matins 8:45  am, Liturgy 10:00 am) and enjoy a Communion Breakfast at 11:15 am offered by Selma Winstanley in memory of brother, Mitchell Mabardi. Then, starting at noon,  there will be Rehearsal for the choir, and a  Church Clean-Up in preparation for Pascha for everyone else, coordinated by the Fellowship of St. John the Divine.  Please bring rags, cleaning supplies, small buckets, brown paper bags and irons for wax removal, etc. Come and lend a hand in preparing God's House for the Feast of Feasts.  Remember,  "Many hands make light work!"

PENTECOST RETREAT AT NEW SKETE - The Fellowship of St. John the Divine is sponsoring a community building retreat for St. Mary's (and friends) at New Skete Monastery, Cambridge, NY, May 22-24 (Friday night until Sunday afternoon).  In the spirit of the Paschal/Pentecost season, the theme for the weekend is "Gifts of the Spirit," taken from 1 Cor. 12:7: "To each one has been given the Gifts of the Spirit for the Common Good."  Plans for the weekend include talks focusing on the theme with personal reflective time and group discussions as well as one introducing retreatants to the community and liturgical life of the monastery, opportunities to join the New Skete Communities for worship, and free time for hiking, journaling, playing with the dogs, etc.  Opportunities for personal spiritual direction and/or sacramental confession are also available.  For more information about the weekend and/or to reserve a spot, contact Tiffany Conroy (trattus1@gmail.com).  Retreatants will be housed at the various monastic communities' guest facilities (and possibly, nearby hotels).  Contact Teva Regule (teva@mit.edu) to reserve housing at the monastery.      

REMINDERS

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. 

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 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 - No Akathist service the sixth week of Lent; therefore there will be no speaker)

ANTIOCHIAN WOMEN'S SPRING FLING - On Saturday, April 4, 2009, the women of the diocese will sponsor a visit to the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, MA.    Museum admission is $4.  Contact Priscilla Goss for further information,  at pagoss@aol.com or phone 781-762-1527.

PALM SUNDAY FISH DINNER - The Fellowship of St. John the Divine is hosting its annual fish dinner on Sunday, April 12 after Liturgy.  Instead of cooking, spend your Palm Sunday with your family and friends in Church. A freewill donation will be collected and we need lots of help with serving and cleanup.  Please let us know how many will be coming - contact Lan Hu at hulan0@gmail.com or 617-953-8724, by Sunday, April 5th.

PASCHA BAKE SALE - The Women's Club will hold its annual Pascha Bake Sale Sunday, April 5, 2009 (The Sunday before Palm Sunday).  Plan on purchasing all your Pascha/Easter desserts, pastries and goodies!  If you can help bake or bring something for us to sell, please call Selma Winstanley at 781-646-9405 or Marilyn Robbat at 617-547-1234.

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. 

RETREATS AT ST. VLADIMIR'S - St. Vladimir's Seminary, Yonkers, NY, has announced two public events:

Annual Public Lenten Retreat, Saturday, April 4:  Speaker:  V. Rev. Dr. Alexander Atty

Topic: "Good & Faithful Servants." 

Summer Conference for Clergy & Laity, June 18 - 20, 2009 Keynote:  Archpriest Alexander Garklavs. Topic: "The Council & the Tomos: 20th Century Landmarks towards a 21st Century Church." E-mail or call 914-961-8313 Ext. 343

Register:  www.svotsedu or email: events@svots.edu   See  flyers on church bulletin board.

FSJD BOOK CLUB - As you may recall, the book discussion sponsored by the Fellowship of St. John the Divine originally scheduled for last fall, was postponed to April 26. This will coordinate with the vonHolzhausen lecture the following week, since our speaker will be the author of the book.  It's also great Lenten reading if you are still looking for some good reads this season.

Book: Mystic Street: Meditations on a Spiritual Path by Steve Georgiou

When: Sunday, April 26

Where: We'll meet up  in the church hall after coffee hour and discuss

What you need to do: You can order the book through Amazon.com  or Spirit Currents (http://www.spiritcurrents.com). Your local library or local bookstore may also have a copy if you'd rather go that route. 

Questions? Let Larisa Patachiola  or Brooke Wilcox know- snag them on Sunday or drop one of them an e-mail at larisademshuk@yahoo.com or brookewilcox@gmail.com. If you know someone who might want to join in on the reading fun, spread the word!

VonHOLZHAUSEN LECTURE - The Fellowship of St. John the Divine cordially invites you to the annual Fr. John vonHolzhausen dinner and lecture on Saturday, May 2, 2009, following Vespers. Dinner is at 6:00 p.m.; the lecture will begin at 7:00 p.m.

This year's speaker is S.T. Georgiou, Ph.D., who teaches Humanities and Comparative Religion at San Francisco City College and at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.  He recently completed his GTU doctoral studies in Religion and Art,  and is the author of The Way of the Dreamcatcher: Spirit-Lessons With Robert Lax,  Poet-Peacemaker-Sage;  and Mystic Street: Meditations On A Spiritual Path (the subject of our Book Club discussion - see above).  The title of his lecture will be When Less is More: Sharing the Wisdom & Simplicity of Robert Lax, Poet, Hermit, Mystic of Patmos.  A book signing will follow his presentation.

BASKETS FOR BATTERED WOMEN - 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.

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 to the Bengarri or to Violet Robbat 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 - 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.

THIS WEEK'S VOLUNTEERS

FOOD PANTRY: March 28:   Eric Ayoub

LITURGICAL SERVICE: March 29:   Women of the Church - Epistle: Marilyn Robbat;  Left Cloth: Julie Warfield and  ; Right Cloth: Melissa Nassiff and Renay DiFiore;  Left Bread: Louise Homsy;  Right Bread: Maria Walcott;   Collection: Louise Homsy and Violet Robbat;  Homily: Nadia Kaldas

COFFEE HOUR: March 29:   Women's Club

LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK

Friday, March 27: Akathist Service 7:00 pm,  followed by Learning in Lent speaker
Saturday, March 28:  Great Vespers 5:00
Sunday, March 29:  Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am;  Church School lesson 18

SCRIPTURE READINGS for March 29, Sunday of St. John Climacus: 

Epistle:  St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 6:13-20 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

Gospel: Mark 9:17-31  And Jesus said to him, "... All things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" ... And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting."

Monday, March 30:  Lenten Compline at St. John Church, Dedham 7:00 pm
Wednesday, April 1:  Presanctified Liturgy 6:30 pm, followed by pot luck supper

LOOKING AHEAD

Friday, April 3: Final Akathist Service 7:00 pm,  followed by Learning in Lent speaker
Saturday, April 4:  Church  School creative arts retreat 2:00-5:00 pm;  Family Vespers celebrating St. Mary of Egypt 5:00 pm
Sunday, April 5:  Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am;  Church School lesson 19
Wednesday, April 8:  Presanctified Liturgy 6:30 pm, followed by pot luck supper
Saturday, April 11, Lazarus Saturday: Matins 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am, Communion Breakfast 11:15 am, Church Clean-Up and Choir Rehearsal noon
Sunday, April 12, Palm Sunday:  Orthros  8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am,  followed by Palm Sunday Fish Dinner sponsored by FSJD;  Bridegroom Matins 7:00 pm
Holy Monday, April 13: Presanctified Liturgy 7 :00 am; Bridegroom Matins 7:00 pm
Holy Tuesday, April 14: Presanctified Liturgy 7 :00 am; Bridegroom Matins 7:00 pm
Holy Wednesday, April 15: Presanctified Liturgy 7 :00 am; Service of Holy Unction 7:00 pm
Holy Thursday, April 16:  Vesperal Liturgy 7 :00 am; Washing of the Feet 6:45 p.m. and 12 Gospels 7:00 pm
Holy Friday, April 17: Children's Retreat 10:00 am;  Royal Hours 1:00 pm;  Unnailing Vespers 3:00 pm; Lamentations 7:15 p.m. followed by Procession to Central Square
Holy Saturday, April 18: Vesperal Liturgy 9 a.m.
Saturday-Sunday, April 18-19:  Great and Holy Pascha Vigil/Rush Service 10:00 pm; Resurrection Matins 11:00 pm; Divine Liturgy 12 midnight;  Paschal Festivities in the Church Hall following
Sunday, April 26:  FSJD Book Discussion
Saturday, May 2:  FSJD von Holzhausen lecture
Thursday, June 25 - Sunday, June 28:  Parish Life Conference

INSIGHT

Repentance is a contract with God for a second life. ... Repentance is the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair.

   - St. John Climacus

In all your undertakings and in every way of life, whether you are living in obedience, or are not submitting your work to anyone, whether in outward or in spiritual matters, let it be your rule and practice to ask yourself: Am I really doing this in accordance with God's will?

   - St. John Climacus

My God, I pretend to nothing upon this earth, except to be so firmly united to you by prayer that to be separated from you may be impossible. Let others desire riches and glory; for my part, I desire but one thing, and that is to be inseparably united to you, and to place in you alone all my hopes of happiness and repose.

   - St. John Climacus

A mother feels less pleasure when she folds within her arms the dear infant whom she nourishes with her own milk, than the true child of charity [love] does when united - as he incessantly is - to his God, and folded as it were in the arms of his heavenly Father.

   - St. John Climacus

Charity [love] operates in some persons so as to carry them almost entirely out of themselves. It illuminates others, and fills them with such sentiments of joy that they cannot help crying out, "The Lord is my helper and my protector: in him hath my heart confided, and I have been helped. And my flesh hath flourished again, and with my will I will give praise to him. " This joy which they feel in their hearts is reflected on their countenances; and when once God has united, or, as we may say, incorporated them with his charity, he displays in their exterior, as in the reflection of a mirror, the brightness and serenity of their souls - even as Moses, being honored with a sight of God, was encompassed round by His glory.

   - St. John Climacus