Update for the week Friday, January 22 through Thursday, January 29, 2015
THIS WEEK
THURSDAY, 1/22 – The Bible Study group will meet at 7:00 pm in the church library as we begin looking at Joshua, using the podcast at http://orthodoxbiblestudy.info/joshua-part-1-2/ and http://orthodoxbiblestudy.info/joshua-part-2-2/
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:mksayeg@gmail.com ). New members are always welcome.
SATURDAY, 1/24 – No Vespers at St. Mary
SUNDAY, 1/25 – Enquirers Class (St. Ignatius Catechetical Group) 9:00 am; Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am, Church School lesson 13. Fr. Walter Smith will officiate at Orthros and Liturgy, as Fr. Antony will be out of town.
+ The Annual Meeting of St. Mary's Parish will be held this Sunday immediately after Liturgy, (snow date: February 1) to approve the 2015 budget. It is important that all members of St. Mary’s Church attend this meeting.
WEDNESDAY, 1/28 – SATURDAY, 1/31 – The Center for Family Care of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese will host a second conference on Pastoral Challenges in Marriage, January 28-31, 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.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
PARISH COUNCIL NEWS – Newly elected members of the Parish Council are Renay DiFiore, Jennifer Nahass, Mary Winstanley O’Connor, Diane Mabardi and Raymond Sayeg.
The newly elected officers for 2015 are Deno Takles, President; Ray Sayeg, Vice President; Nick Bezreh, Treasurer; and Mary Winstanley O’Connor, Recording/Corresponding Secretary. Congratulations to them all!
+ The next meeting of the Parish Council will be Wednesday, February 18, at 7:30 pm in the church.
ANTIOCHIAN WOMEN – The Antiochian Women will hold a Diocesan Meeting on Saturday, January 31 10:30am at the Chancery with Bishop JOHN, 2 Lydia’s Path, Westborough, MA. Luncheon will follow the meeting.
UNDERSTANDING THE OTHER ... IN CRISIS AND CONFLICT - Hellenic College will sponsor a Faith & Learning Symposium on Saturday, February 7 from 9:30 am-3:30 pm. The Symposium is entitled Understanding the Other: Perspectives on Religious Freedom, Extremism and Suffering in Crisis and Conflict. This event is free to all college and graduate students. For more info and to sign up: https://www.facebook.com/events/879521905394214
WOMEN'S CLUB - The next meeting of the Women’s Club will be Monday, February 9 at 7:00pm in the Church. We welcome all women of the parish to join us!
THANK YOU, GREETERS – Thanks to all the greeters who have helped over the past few years to provide a warm welcome on Sunday morning to St. Mary's parishioners and visitors - in particular, Marc Patacchiola, Deno Takles, Barbara Shoop, Alyssa Shoop, Buddy Mabardy, Andrew Bargoot, Jeanne Brickman, Jan Randolph, George Mayah, Ray Sayeg, Paul Demerjian, Richard Robbat, Paul Nahass, Mike Decerbo, Bob Kowalik and Azeb Mitiku.
Please consider joining this list – contact Buddy Mabardy at buddy@cjmabardy.com or 781-729-6303. or call the Church office 617-547-1234.
ARCHDIOCESE CONVENTION – The 52nd Antiochian Archdiocese Convention, hosted by St. Mary Church, will be held Sunday, July 19, 2015-Sunday, July 26, 2015 at the Sheraton Boston Hotel, Boston, MA. The convention room rate is $199.00 per night, plus tax. To book rooms at the hotel, register for the convention, purchase convention event tickets and tickets for Boston excursions and obtain forms to place a message in the Souvenir Journal, go to www.acboston2015.com. Rooms are booking quickly for this historic convention. Please call the church at (617) 547-1234 with any questions.
REMINDERS
HOUSE BLESSING - 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.
CHURCH SCHOOL TEACHERS MEETING – There will be a brief meeting for Church School teachers and assistants on Sunday, February 1, following Liturgy.
CHINESE NEW YEAR BREAKFAST - Please join us on Sunday, February 8, for the 2015 Chinese New Year Missions Potluck Breakfast to benefit the Chinese Translation Project via the Orthodox Fellowship of All Saints of China (OFASC). Suggested minimum donation is $5 (checks can be made payable to “St. Mary Orthodox Church,” please put “Hospitality/CNY” on the memo line.)
RSVP to Mitrophan Chin at mitrophan@orthodox.cn by Wednesday, February 4. Also let us know if you can donate a dessert or main dish, or provide a helping hand with setup, food prep or cleanup. We look forward to your support of this worthwhile project!
DIOCESAN RETREAT AND FAMILY DAY - A Diocesan Pre-Lenten Retreat and Family Day will be held at Saint John of Damascus in Dedham, on Saturday, February 14, 11:30m-5:00pm. This event is sponsored by the Antiochian Women & Missions Council. The featured speaker will be Fr. Ted Pulcini. Cost is $20, under 18 free. For questions or to register, contact ErinMaryK@aol.com. Please RSVP by February 7.
MEATFARE SUNDAY BREAKFAST - Our annual Meatfare Sunday Breakfast will be Sunday, February 15. The suggested donation – $8 per person, $15 per family – will help support the many activities of the Hospitality Group at St. Mary's.
We need the following volunteers for this event:
Feb 14th (Sat.) food preparation from 12:00- 2:00 pm: need 3 volunteers for food prep
Feb 15th (Sun.) during Liturgy: need 4-5 volunteers for remaining food prep & serving
Feb 15th (Sun.) after the breakfast: need 4 different volunteers for cleanup
Contact Chef Socrates (dr.socrates@gmail.com) to sign up to help.
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, February 28, from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Our own Richard Robbat will be the Facilitator.
YES FAMILY DAY – There will be a YES (Youth Equipped to Serve) Family Day at St. Mary’s on Saturday, February 28, from 9:00 to 4:00. This event is organized and led by YES Program Director Katrina Bitar of FOCUS, for parents and their Children (ages 8 and up). We’ll begin with breakfast and orientation; followed by a service project and lunch in Cambridge; and concluding with Vespers at St. Mary's. Registration Contribution: $5 per person, max of $20 per family. For more information and to register, contact Panayiotis Sakellariou at psakellariou@yahoo.com or 617-606-0750
SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE - Scholarships ($1,000) are available to young women of Syrian and Lebanese origin, residing in Massachusetts within 50-mile radius of Boston, who plan to pursue a four-year college education. Scholarships are based on outstanding academic achievement, extra-curricular activities, charitable and civic involvement and good character; and applicants must be in good academic standing in her school and possess those personal attributes, which best serve the community. Applications are available through the Church Office and must be postmarked by March 31, 2015. If you have any questions, contact Mary Winstanley O’Connor at 617-523-1010 or email at moconnor@koilaw.com .
ANTIOCHIAN VILLAGE SUMMER CAMP - Summer Camp registration is now open. Last year most sessions were full by the end of February, so make sure you register right away! There are currently over 300 campers registered. Please visit the Registration Page for instructions on how to register. Please note that you are not registered until they receive a deposit and you receive a confirmation email. For more information go to http://www.antiochianvillage.org/camp.html
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.
THIS WEEK'S VOLUNTEERS
Greeter: Jeanne Brickman and Jan Randolph
Liturgical Service:
Procession: Rahal Mahari, Kasonnet Mehery, Elnathan Daniel, Saron & Joseph Solomon, Danait Teclezghi, Robel Mahari, Robel Mahari & Zanta Ephrem; Esther Porr
Epistle: Bob Kowalik
Communion: Teva Regule, Dena Fehrenbacher, Linda Arnold and others TBD
Coffee Hour: No coffee hour; stay for the Annual Meeting instead
SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THIS SUNDAY, January 18
Epistle:
... Indeed, the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect for ever.
- Hebrews 7:26-8:2
Gospel:
… And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was ... And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, ... I must stay at your house today." So he ... received him joyfully. … And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost."
- Luke 19:1-10
REFLECTION
Should you pray, even a little, from the heart for salvation, you will be saved. Should you accuse and condemn yourself before God for the sins on your conscience, you will be justified for doing so. Should you be sorrowful over your sins, or be moved, or shed a tear, or sigh, your sighing will not be hidden from Him. St. Simeon tells us, “Nothing is hidden from Thee, my God, my Creator, my Redeemer, neither a teardrop, nor a part of a drop.” St. John Chrysostom states, “If you only lament over your sins, He will take it as a reason for your salvation.”
- St. Moses of Optina
Many flatter themselves and consider themselves to be good, humble, and meek, but they will discover the contrary under temptation. Do not become despondent in temptations, then, but give all the more thanks to God that He thus brings you to knowledge of yourself and wishes you to be corrected and be saved.
- Tikhon of Zadonsk
Those who want to be saved scrutinize not the shortcomings of their neighbor but always their own and they set about eliminating them. Such was the man who saw his brother doing wrong and groaned, `Woe is me; him today - me tomorrow!'
- St. Dorotheos of Gaza, Discourses and Sayings
Therefore, casting out of our souls all faithlessness, sloth, and hesitation, let us draw near with all our heart, with unhesitating faith and burning desire, like slaves who have been newly purchased with precious blood. Indeed, with reverence for the price paid on our behalf, and with love for our Master Who paid it, and as having accepted His love for us, let us recognize that, if He had not wished to save by means of Himself us who have been purchased, He would not have come down to earth, nor would He have been slain for our sake. But, as it is written, He has done this because He wills that all should be saved. Listen to Him say it Himself: 'I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.” (John 12:17).
- St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life
The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules. The most important thing is the first proclamation: Jesus Christ has saved you. And the ministers of the church must be ministers of mercy above all.
- Pope Francis