Update for the week Friday, January 1 through Thursday, January 8, 2015
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
THIS WEEK
FRIDAY, 1/2 – The diocesan FSJD is holding a Potluck Christmas Party for Orthodox young adults, ages 19-39, at 6:00 pm. This event will be held at Bishop JOHN’s home, 2 Lydia’s Path, Westborough, MA.
SATURDAY, 1/3 – No Vespers at St. Mary's
SUNDAY, 1/4 – His Grace Bishop John will join us for a Pastoral Visit and Hierarchical Divine Liturgy. Enquirers Class (St. Ignatius Catechetical Group) 9:00 am; Orthros 8:45 am, Hierarchical Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School lesson 11
+ From Christmas Day until January 4, inclusive, there is a general dispensation from all fasting.
MONDAY, 1/5 – You are invited to celebrate the Feast of Theophany on the eve of the feast at St George Cathedral (30 Anna St., Worcester), with His Grace Bishop JOHN presiding. Orthros 5:30 pm, followed by a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy and the blessing of the water. Dinner will follow in the hall. (Note – no services at St. Mary's.)
+ Fr. Antony will be blessing homes after Theophany and between Pascha (April 12) and Pentecost (May 31). 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 call the church office at 617-547-1234.
THURSDAY, 1/8 – The Bible Study group will meet at 7:00 pm in the church library, as we look at Deuteronomy using the podcast at http://orthodoxbiblestudy.info/deuteronomy-2/
The Bible Study at St. Mary meets every other Thursday, and is based on a very interesting course originally broadcast on Ancient Faith Radio, entitled Search the Scriptures. For more information contact Marianna Sayeg (mailto:mksayeg@gmail.com) or Fr. Antony (mailto:frawhj@gmail.com). New members are always welcome.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
DIOCESAN FAMILY DAY - Save the Date - A Diocesan Family Day will be held at Saint John of Damascus in Dedham, on Saturday, February 14, 8:00am-4:30pm. More details to follow.
REMINDERS
PLEDGE CARDS - Please return your Pledge Cards, or pledge online at https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/ministries/stewardship, as soon as possible.
CALENDARS AND OFFERING ENVELOPES - New Church Calendars and 2015 Offering Envelopes are available for pick-up. The envelopes are on the desk in the Church Hall and the calendars are on the Bengarri. Please only one calendar per family.
PARISH COUNCIL - The next Parish Council meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, January 14, at 7:30pm at the church.
PARISH COUNCIL WORKSHOP – The Diocese of Worcester and New England is holding a Parish Council Workshop at St. John of Damascus Church in Dedham, on Saturday, January 17, from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.
CONVENTION COMMITTEE – The next meeting of the National Convention committee is scheduled for Wednesday, January 21, 2015. In case of snow, the meeting will be January 28.
PARISH MEETING – The Annual Meeting of St. Mary's Parish will be held on Sunday, January 25, immediately after Liturgy. (Snow date: February 1)
PASTORAL CHALLENGES IN MARRIAGE – The Center for Family Care of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese will host a second conference on Pastoral Challenges in Marriage, January 28-31, 2015, at the Doubletree Hotel in Santa Ana, CA. This conference will offer resources and tools, along with discussion and networking opportunities for clergy and laity regarding some of the pressing pastoral challenges in marriage today. For info and registration see http://www.family.goarch.org/oneness
THIS WEEK'S VOLUNTEERS
Greeter: Marc Patacchiola
Liturgical Service:
Procession: Danait Teclezghi, Zanta Ephrem, Essey Teclezghi, Meley Ephrem, Saimon Teclezghi, Zanta Ephrem, Doreen Bargoot
Epistle: Charlie Marge
Communion: Anna Higgins, Esteban Picornel, Melissa Nassiff and others TBD
Coffee Hour: The Crea, Patacchiola, Arnold and Marge families
SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THIS SUNDAY, January 4
Epistle:
... Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
- 2 Timothy 4:5-8
Gospel:
… John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. … And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
- Mark 1:1-8
REFLECTION
The rite of the Great Blessing of Water is celebrated in the Orthodox Church after the vesperal divine liturgy on the eve of the feast of the Epiphany [Theophany], and after the eucharistic liturgy on the day itself. It begins with the chanting of special hymns with the incensing of the water, and concludes with bible readings, petitions and prayers.
Today the nature of the waters is sanctified,
The Jordan bursts forth and turns back the flood of its streams,
Seeing the Master wash Himself.
To the voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the Lord,
You came, O Lord, taking the form of a servant,
Asking for baptism though you have no sin.
The waters saw You and were afraid.
The Forerunner began to tremble and cried out, saying:
How shall the lampstand illumine the Light?
How shall the servant lay hands upon the Master?
Sanctify both me and the waters, O Savior,
Who takes away the sins of the world.1
.....
God has sent His only-begotten Son "not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." (John 3:17) He has sent the Lord Jesus Christ not only to save people's souls, but to save their bodies, and not only to save human beings, but to save the entire creation.
You are great, O Lord, and Your works are wondrous, and there are no words capable of hymning Your wonders... For of Your own will You brought all things into being from nothing, by Your power You uphold the whole of creation, and by Your providence You order the world... The sun sings to You, the moon glorifies You, the stars meet together before Your face, the light obeys You, the deeps shudder before You, the water springs serve You... We confess Your grace, we proclaim Your mercy, we conceal not Your gracious acts: You have set free our mortal nature. By Your birth You have sanctified the Virgin's womb. All creation sings praises to You Who have revealed Yourself. For You, our God, have appeared upon earth and have dwelled among men. You have sanctified the Jordan streams... Therefore, O Master, be present here now by the descent of the Holy Spirit, and sanctify this water. Give it the blessing of Jordan. Make it a fountain of incorruption, a gift of sanctification, a remission of sins, a protection against disease, a destruction of demons... and may it be for those who will partake of it, to the cleansing of their souls and bodies, to the healing of their passions, to the sanctification of their homes, to every expedient purpose...2
Since the Son of God has taken human flesh and has appeared in the world, manifesting Himself in His baptism in the Jordan, all flesh and all matter is sanctified. Everything is made pure and holy in Him. Everything which is corrupted and polluted by the sinful works of men is cleansed and purified by the gracious works of God. All death-dealing powers of the devil which poison the good world of God's creation are destroyed. All things are again made new. Through the "prime element" of water on the feast of the Epiphany the entire creation is shown to be sanctified by God's Word through the same Spirit of God who "in the beginning... was moving over the face of the waters." (Genesis 1:2)
Come, O ye faithful,
Let us praise the greatness of God's dispensation toward us,
For He who became Man because of our transgressions
And who alone is clean and undefiled,
Was for our cleansing Himself cleansed in the Jordan
That He might sanctify both me and the waters...
Let us then draw water in gladness, O brothers,
For upon those that draw in faith
The grace of the Spirit is invisibly bestowed by Christ
The God and Savior of our souls.3
1Opening hymns from the rite of the Great Blessing of Water.
2The Main Prayer from the rite of the Great Blessing of Water.
3Concluding Hymn from the rite of the Great Blessing of Water.
- Fr. Thomas Hopko, The Winter Pascha