Weekly Newsletter for the week Friday, November 6, through Thursday, November 12, 2009
Weekly Newsletter for the week Friday, November 6, through Thursday, November 12, 2009
THIS WEEKEND
Friday
WESTERN RITE SERVICE - A Western Rite Mass according to the Orthodox Rite of St. Gregory will be celebrated at St. Mary's this Friday, November 6, at 11:00 am. All are welcome!
Sunday
SPAGHETTI DINNER - On Sunday, November 8, the Teen SOYO will be serving a Spaghetti Dinner after Liturgy. The menu includes Spaghetti, Meatballs (just before the Fast!)
Salad, Bread, Dessert and Coffee/Beverage. Your goodwill donation will be much appreciated.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
NATIVITY FAST - The Nativity Fast, also known as the season of Advent, begins next Sunday, November 15. This is the forty days of fasting and prayer in preparation for the Great Feast of the Nativity of Christ.
WOMEN'S CLUB - The next meeting of the Women's Club will be Tuesday, November 17, at 7:30. All are welcome.
WOMEN'S CLUB CHRISTMAS OUTING - Join us for the Reagle Players' 40th Anniversary Season Christmas Show: It's Christmas Time! with featured singer Sarah Pfisterer, leading Broadway entertainer, on Sunday, December 13, 2009 at 4:00 pm in Waltham, MA. Discounted tickets: $36/each (regular price: $46). Make checks payable to St. Mary Women's Club. Advanced payment required. Reservation Deadline: Sunday, November 22, 2009. See MaryEllen Mabardy or, if questions, call 781-729-6303. ALL WOMEN ARE WELCOME!!
ST. MARY CHRISTMAS CARD - Save yourself time, let us do the work and have all proceeds benefit Antiochian Women's new Project 2009/2010: The Convent of St. Thekla at Antiochian Village. Let the Women's Club send a lovely Christmas Card on your behalf to our parishioners. You will receive this card with the names of parishioners, like yourself, who are wishing a Blessed Nativity and a Merry Christmas to all. Use the order form in the Sunday Bulletin. Deadline is Sunday, December 6, 2009.
LESSONS AND CAROLS - The Fellowship of St. John the Divine cordially invites you to a service of prayers, scripture readings and Christmas Carols - Western Rite Evensong with Lessons and Carols - on Saturday, December 12, 2009 (snow date: Saturday, December 19, 2009) at 5:00 pm. A festive Lenten Pot Luck Supper will follow - last names A-P please bring a main dish or salad, Q-Z please bring dessert. For more information, contact Tiffany Conroy at trattus1@gmail.com
REMINDERS
PARISH COUNCIL BALLOTS - Ballots for 2010 will be going out soon. If you are interested in serving on the Parish Council, please see Fr. Antony or Ray Sayeg right away.
FAMILY VESPERS - Attention Church School Parents & Students: Join us for a Church School Family Vespers at 5:00 pm next Saturday, November 14. Fr. Antony will be hearing confessions. For a small donation, we will have pizza together in the church hall after Vespers. This is a great way to prepare for the Nativity Fast, which starts on Sunday, November 15th.
IOCC WINE TASTING - The Metropolitan Committee of International Orthodox Christian Charities -Boston (IOCC) announces an Afternoon of Jazz, Wine Tasting & Hors d'oeuvres next Sunday, November 15th. It will take place at the X & O Restaurant in Stoughton from 2:00 - 5:00 pm. This is a great chance to find out about the work of IOCC and support their projects -- both in America and around the world. Tickets are $50 each or $40 if you order in advance at http://iocc.org/boston Designated Driver and Under-21 tickets are just $20. For more information email BostonMet@IOCC.org
BAKE SALE - The Women's Club presents its Annual Thanksgiving Charity Bake Sale on Sunday, November 22, 2009 (the Sunday before Thanksgiving). Plan on purchasing all your holiday breads, pies, goodies, Syrian pastries and much more! All proceeds will benefit the Convent of Saidnaya, North West of Damascus in Syria. Call Renay DiFiore @ 617-327-6361, if you can help bake and/or donate.
N.G. BERAM AWARDS BANQUET: The N. G. Beram Veterans Association will present its Distinguished Service Award, Veterans Service Award and 13 Scholastic Achievement Awards at its banquet Saturday, November 28, 2009 at the Holiday Inn, Dedham from 12:30-5:00 pm. For more information see http://www.stjohnd.org/ngberam/banquet/index.htm
SCHAEFFER TO SPEAK - Frank Schaeffer, best-selling author of Keeping Faith and Crazy for God, a frequent commentator on MSNBC and other news outlets and contributor to The Huffington Post, will be speaking here at St. Mary on the evening of Saturday, December 5, 2009. His talk, which promises to be both witty and provocative, will be entitled "Can Christianity Be Saved from the Christians?" Great Vespers will begin at 5:30 pm, followed by the lecture at 7:00 pm in the Church Hall. For more information about Mr. Schaeffer and his latest book, see https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/newsevents/2009-frankschaeffer.php.
COME SEE THE MESSIAH - Join friends from St. Mary's for the Handel and Haydn Society's annual performance of Handel's Messiah, on Sunday afternoon, December 6, at 3:00 p.m. We will carpool to Symphony Hall after Liturgy and have lunch together before the concert. Contact Melissa Nassiff at mnassiff@gmail.com for discounted tickets - possibly separate from the rest of the St. Mary group - or order your own tickets online at http://www.handelandhaydn.org. Either way, plan to join us for lunch first!
FOOD FOR HUNGRY PEOPLE - Canned Food Drive: October - December, 2009. Bring in canned goods to the Church and place them in the large, blue plastic containers outside the Church Office. They will be distributed to local food pantries in our area. 42 pounds of food will feed a family of four for three days, and 37 million people in America need our help!
ATTENTION COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY STUDENTS - If you are a new or returning college or university student, please fill out a blue College Student Address Form on the Bengarri (desk in the Narthex) so that we have your current addresses and information and you can receive announcements about activities at St. Mary's and on campus. See Charlie Marge if you have questions.
ATTENTION PARENTS OF ST. MARY PARISH COLLEGE STUDENTS - If you would like your sons or daughters to receive a copy of the CORNERSTONE each month while they are away at school to keep them in touch with what's going on at St. Mary's, please fill out one of the blue College Student Address Forms and return it to Marilyn Robbat.
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.
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, 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
November 7: Tatiana Kish
LITURGICAL SERVICE
Sunday, November 8: Epistle: Michael Marge; Left Cloth: Gabriel Smith and Michael Marge; Right Cloth: Michelle Chin and Mike Decerbo; Left Bread: Gabrielle & Micaela Mazzoni; Right Bread: Gabrielle Popa (all of whom celebrate their Feast Day on the Feast of the Archangels)
COFFEE HOUR
Sunday, November 8: Teen SOYO Spaghetti Dinner
LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Saturday, November 7: Great Vespers 5:00 pm
Sunday, November 8: Orthros 8:45 am; Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School lesson 6; followed by Teen SOYO Spaghetti & Meatball Dinner
SCRIPTURE READINGS for November 8, Synaxis of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel and of All the Heavenly Powers:
Epistle: St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 2:2-10 ... how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his own will. For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, "What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou carest for him? Thou didst make him for a little while lower than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet."
Gospel: Luke 8:41-56 As he went, the people pressed round him. And a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years and had spent all her living upon physicians and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment; and immediately her flow of blood ceased. ... And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."
LOOKING AHEAD
Saturday, November 14: Church School Family Vespers 5:00 pm, with confessions and Pizza to follow
Sunday, November 15: Orthros 8:45 am; Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School lesson 7; Nativity Fast begins
Wednesday, November 18: Paraclesis 6:30 pm
Friday, November 20: Evening Liturgy for the Presentation of the Theotokos into the Temple 6:30 pm
Saturday, November 21, Feast of the Presentation of the Theotokos into the Temple: Great Vespers 5:00 pm
Saturday, November 28: No Vespers at St. Mary
Saturday, December 5: Great Vespers 5:30 pm, followed by Frank Schaeffer talk 7:00 pm
Saturday, December 12: Western Rite Lessons and Carols 5:00 pm, followed by Pot Luck Supper
INSIGHT
The first cause of the gift of healing is the merit earned by holiness. The grace of working miracles is to be found among specially chosen and just men. It is quite evident that the apostles and many saints worked miracles and wonders. This was in accordance with what the Lord Himself had commanded when He said, 'Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, expel the demons. You have freely received. Give freely.' (Matthew 10:8)
- St. John Cassian, "Conferences"
When you hear Scripture saying of the Holy Spirit that He 'rested upon each' of the Apostles (Acts 2:3), or 'came upon' the Prophet (1 Samuel 11:6), or 'energizes' (1 Corinthians 12:11), or is 'grieved' (Ephesians. 4:30), or is 'quenched' (Thessalonians 5:19), or is 'vexed' (Isaiah 63:10), and again, that some 'have the first fruits' (Romans 8:23), and that others are 'filled with the Holy Spirit' (Acts 2:4), do not suppose that the Spirit is subject to some kind of division, variation or change; but be sure that, in the way we have described, He is unvarying, unchanging and all-powerful. Therefore in all His energies He remains what He is, and in a divine manner He gives to each person what is needful. On those who have been baptized He pours Himself out in His fullness like the sun. Each of us is illumined by Him to the extent to which we hate the passions that darken us and get rid of them. But in so far as we have a love for them and dwell on them, we remain in darkness.
- Saint Kosmas Aitolos
The Holy Eucharist is the first, most important, and greatest miracle of Christ. All the other Gospel miracles are secondary. How could we not call the greatest miracle the fact that simple bread and wine were once transformed by the Lord into His very Body and His very Blood, and then have continued to be transformed for nearly two thousand years by the prayers of priests, who are but simple human beings? And what is more, this mystery has continued to effect a miraculous change in those people who communicate of the Divine Mysteries with faith and humility.
- St. Ambrose of Optina
When
you are before the altar where Christ reposes, you ought no longer to
think that you are amongst men; but believe that there are troops of angels and archangels
standing by you, and trembling with respect before the sovereign Master
of Heaven and earth. Therefore, when you are in church, be there in
silence, fear, and veneration.
- Saint John Chrysostom