Update for the week Friday, August 2 through Thursday, August 8, 2013
THIS WEEK
VESPERS - There will be no Vespers at St. Mary this Saturday, August 3.
HALL FLOOR REFINISIHING - On Saturday, August 3rd, the church hall floor will be refinished. Therefore, there will not be Vespers on Saturday evening August 3rd and there will not be a coffee hour on Sunday, August 4th. Please do not walk on the floor in the church hall from Saturday August 3rd-Monday August 5th.
SUMMER HOURS – During July and August, Sunday services start half an hour earlier than usual: Orthros starts at 8:15 am, and Divine Liturgy 9:30 am.
TRANSFIGURATION LITURGY – There will be a Vesperal Liturgy for the Feast of the Transfiguration on Monday, August 5, at 6:30 pm.
PARACLESIS AND PARISH COUNCIL – The next meeting of the Parish Council will be Wednesday, August 7, at 7:30 pm (note revised time), in the Church hall, following the 6:30 pm Paraclesis service.
BIBLE STUDY – The Bible Study at St. Mary, sponsored by the Fellowship of St. John the Divine, meets every other Thursday and is based on a lecture series originally broadcast on Ancient Faith Radio. Join us at 7:00 pm next Thursday, August 8, in the church library. For more information contact Marianna Sayeg (mksayeg@gmail.com) or Fr. Antony (frawhj@gmail.com). New members are always welcome!
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
DORMITION FAST – The Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, August 15, is our Patronal feast day. The Dormition fast begins Thursday, August 1, and continues through Wednesday, August 14, the eve of the Feast.
Join us for Paraclesis Services at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, August 7, Friday, August 9, and Monday, August 12.
PATRONAL FEAST DAY – The Dormition of the Blessed Theotokos will be celebrated on the eve of the feast, Wednesday, August 14. Vespers will begin at 4:15 pm, Orthros with Lamentations at 5:30 pm, and Festal Divine Liturgy at 7:00 pm. Join us for a celebration following, offered by the Marge, Nahass, Sayeg, and Smith families.
ROOM OR APARTMENT WANTED: (1) A visiting parishioner, Sarah Chiu, is looking for a room/apt to rent for 1-2 years while she is studying in the area. She has two cats. She can be contacted at 207-229-1886 or clssarah@gmail.com.
(2) A Master’s student at Holy Cross, Katherine Mowers, is looking for a room to rent for the academic year. She can be reached at 202-276-5311 or Katherine000@gmail.com.
PILGRIMAGE – The annual St. Thekla pilgrimage at the Antiochian Village has been expanded this year to include supplication to St. Raphael, who is buried on the grounds of the Village. The Pilgrimage will be September 20-22, 2013; registration is due by September 1. For information and registration form see http://www.antiochian.org/sites/antiochian.org/files/2013_brochure.pdf
MARRIAGE SEMINAR WITH BISHOP JOHN – St. Mary will host the first evening of a two-day marriage seminar to be held Friday and Saturday, September 13-14. Evening Divine Liturgy at St. Mary on Friday at 6:30 pm will be followed by the first session, which will last approximately an hour and a half. A light dinner will be provided. The second session will be held at the Chancery in Westborough on Saturday morning from 10:00 am to 3:30, with lunch provided. Everyone, married or unmarried, is welcome and encouraged to attend and learn about the Orthodox approach to marriage. To register, contact Fr. Antony at frawhj@gmail.com. A fee of $25.00 is required to cover the cost of food.
REMINDERS
NEW SKETE PILGRIMAGE - The Monastic Communities of New Skete Monastery in Cambridge, New York (www.newskete.org), invite you to their Annual Pilgrimage on Saturday, August 10, 2013, between 8:30am - 6:00pm. The day will include Church Services, Church Tours, a Photo Exhibit, and a Healing Service with Anointing as well as talks by the monastics on Monastic Life and Iconography and by Chapel Community members on their relationship with the monastery. This year’s guest speaker will be Art Historian, William Hood. His talk is entitled, "Praying with Two Eyes: Icons in the Christian Life." A event flier can be found here: http://www.newskete.org/pdfs/2013Pilgrimage%20SchedulePosterAccommodationsFINAL.pdf
CHURCH SCHOOL TEACHERS NEEDED - The Church School is looking for several Teachers, Assistants and Substitutes for the 2013-2014 school year. Being a Church School Teacher can be a very rewarding and exciting opportunity. Teachers are provided with all the materials they will need. If you are interested, please see Barbara Shoop as soon as possible.
GREETERS NEEDED – We’re still looking for Summer Greeters – please help out! Volunteers are needed for these Sundays: August 11, 18, and 25. As a Greeter, you will welcome people into the Church and help to direct visitors upstairs to the Liturgy, as well as keeping an eye on the Vestibule, Hallways and Entrance ways during Church. Arrive at Church 15 minutes before Liturgy. Greeting time ends when Communion starts. Please contact Buddy Mabardy at 781-729-6303 or e-mail: buddy@cjmabardy.com. Summer Hours are: Orthros: 8:15 am, and Liturgy: 9:30 am. Summer might be a great time for you to start participating in this Ministry!
FSJD MEETING – The next Fellowship of St. John the Divine meeting will be Sunday, August 25 in the church hall during coffee hour. We will welcome our new Vice President, Diana Yousef, and review the new calendar for many of St. Mary's 2013-2014 events and activities. Please contact our President, Julie Wasilko (julie31415pi@gmail.com), with any questions or suggestions. All are welcome.
PRISON MINISTRY - Please donate unwanted past issues of Orthodox magazines such as The Word, OCMC or other periodicals to prison ministry to hand out to inmates. Please remove any personal mailing address for security purposes and give them to Mitrophan Chin.
Our own Deacon Jeff Smith can be heard in a recent interview with Ancient Faith Radio at http://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/features/prison_ministry_awareness_sunday1
STREAMING VIDEO – St. Mary’s Church services are broadcast live each week through an internet video stream. If you can't attend a service in person or want to share this ministry with a friend or loved one, the live stream can be viewed at www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/live during regularly scheduled service times (see the schedule of services below or online). If you have questions or comments about this ministry please contact us at live@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org
PARKING RESTRICTIONS – Please do not park in the Church parking lot if you need to leave quickly after church. Cars parked there will be staying until the end of coffee hour.
Additionally, do not park beyond the sign that prohibits parking at the corner of Inman Street and Bishop Allen Drive. (An orange cone will be placed in that No Parking area.) It is difficult for large vehicles to turn the corner if cars are parked there. Failure to heed this warning may result in the City preventing parishioners from parking on Inman Street. Your cooperation is appreciated.
And remember, there is no parishioner parking in the church parking lot Monday through Friday until after 6:00 pm.
THIS WEEK'S VOLUNTEERS
Greeter: Dino Takles
Coffee Hour: No coffee hour because of floor refinishing
LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK
Saturday, August 3: No Vespers at St. Mary
Sunday, August 4: Orthros 8:15 AM, Divine Liturgy 9:30 AM
SCRIPTURE READINGS for Sunday, August 4:
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. Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Gospel: Matthew 9:1-8
At that time, getting into a boat Jesus crossed over and came to his own city. 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." And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say 'Rise and walk?' But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" he then said to the paralytic -- "Rise, take up your bed and go home." And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
Monday, August 5: Vesperal Liturgy for Feast of Transfiguration 6:30 pm.
Wednesday, August 7: Paraclesis for the Dormition 6:30 p.m.
Friday, August 9: Paraclesis for the Dormition 6:30 p.m
LOOKING AHEAD
Monday, August 12: Paraclesis for the Dormition 6:30 p.m
Wednesday, August 14: Vigil for the Dormition of the Theotokos (our Patronal Feast) - Vespers 4:15 pm, Orthros with Lamentations 5:30 pm, Festal Divine Liturgy 7:00 pm, with celebration following
Saturday, August 31: No Vespers at St. Mary
Sunday, September 8: Church School registration
Sunday, September 15: Church School classes begin
REFLECTION
Faith is first of all an intellectual assent. It perfects the mind, it does not destroy it. It puts the intellect in possession of Truth which reason cannot grasp by itself. It gives us certitude concerning God as He is in Himself; faith is the way to a vital contact with a God who is alive, and not to the view of an abstract First Principle worked out by syllogisms from the evidence of created things.
- Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation
Faith that does not grow and change is dead. Faith that leaves our most cherished assumptions unchallenged is self-delusion.
- V. Rev. Antony Hughes
Sins are those things we do which openly manifest and reinforce our separation from God, or falling short. All sin is mortal sin, because all sin separates us from the source of immortality — God. Indeed, even our virtues can be sin if they somehow separate us from God, for instance, through pride. True faith, then, is an unconditional orientation of the whole person toward the will of God, but it is an orientation that must be desired, freely sought and freely accepted.
- Archbishop Lazar Puhalo, Neurobiology of Sin http://www.cas.sc.edu/socna/research/papers/puhalo-neurology.pdf
Do not say that faith in Christ alone can save you, for this is not possible if you do not attain love for Him, which is demonstrated by deeds. As for mere faith: "The demons also believe and tremble" (James, 2:19). The action of love consists in heartfelt good deeds toward one's neighbor, magnanimity, patience, and sober use of things.
- St. Maximus the Confessor