Update for the week Thursday, March 19, through Thursday, March 26, 2015
THIS WEEK
THURSDAY, 3/19 - The Bible Study group meets next Thursday, March 19, at 7:00 pm in the church library. 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.
FRIDAY, 3/20 – Akathist (Madayeh) service 7:00 pm (and every Friday through March 27).
SATURDAY, 3/21 – No Vespers at St. Mary
SUNDAY, 3/22 – Enquirers Class (St. Ignatius Catechetical Group) 9:00 am; Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am; Church School lesson 18; followed by Coffee Hour
+ Guest priest will be Fr. Walter Smith.
MONDAY, 3/23 – Great Compline at St. George, West Roxbury, 7:00 pm
WEDNESDAY, 3/25 – Evening Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Annunciation to the Holy Theotokos
6:30, followed by Potluck Supper.
+ We will celebrate the Feast with the Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom for the Annunciation and the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel. Because this year the Feast of the Annunciation falls on Wednesday in Lent when we usually celebrate the Pre-Sanctified Divine Liturgy, we will follow the ancient order for services allowing us to celebrate the Feast at the end of the day with the Chrysostom Liturgy. Fish, wine and oil are permitted this day. Afterwards, we return to the strict fast.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
FAMILY WEBINAR – A webinar entitled, “Preparing Your Family for Holy Week” will be offered on Tuesday, March 24, from 3:00pm-4:00pm, by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Center for Family Care. For more information go to www.family.goarch.org
LENTEN RETREAT - St. Demetrios Greek church in Weston, MA invites you to a Lenten Retreat entitled “Blessed Are Those who Hear” on Saturday, March 28, 8:30am-2:30pm. Registration is $15 and includes breakfast and lunch. RSVP by March 20 to Vincent Minucci at vminucci@stdemetriosweston.org.
DIOCESAN COMPLINE – Great Compline services have been offered every Monday evening at 7:00 pm in a different church of the diocese. On Monday, March 30 the service will be at St. George, Worcester at 6:30pm. (Note new time.)
LAZARUS SATURDAY - Please come and bring your friends and family to celebrate the Divine Liturgy on Lazarus Saturday, April 4 at 9:00 am (Matins 8:00 am), and enjoy a Communion Breakfast following, at 10:15 am, presented by the Women’s Club and offered by Selma Winstanley in loving memory of brother, Mitchell Mabardi.
Following the Communion Breakfast, there will be a Church Clean-Up in preparation for Pascha. Everyone is encouraged to bring some rags, cleaning supplies, small buckets, brown paper bags and irons for wax removal, etc. Please come and lend a hand in preparing God’s House for the Feast of Feasts. John Rodriguez and Steve Walker are our clean-up leads - please see one of them to know where/what you can help clean. Thank you! Remember, “Many hands make light work!”
PALM SUNDAY FISH DINNER – The Hospitality Group invites you to its annual Palm Sunday Fish Dinner, hosted by Ed & Lisa Brylczyk, on Sunday, April 5, 2015. Spend Palm Sunday with your family and friends at Church after Liturgy and let us do the cooking! $8 per person / $16 per family
Please also help us with setup, cleanup, or serving meals to the parishioners. **We always need more help with clean-up.**
HOLY FRIDAY RETREAT – Spend the morning in fellowship and activities with friends and families at the St. Mary’s Holy Friday Retreat on Friday, April 10 from 9:30-12:30. A variety of activities will be provided. Recommended for ages 5 - adult. Younger children welcome but must be accompanied by an adult.
We welcome your energy and talent if you are able to provide a craft, read stories, or spend time coloring with the children as part of the morning’s activities. Teens and adults are welcome to assist with egg dying and pysanky decorating, crafts with the children, or decoration of the tomb upstairs. Fr. Antony will be available to hear the children’s and teen’s confessions before lunch.
Lunch will be provided for everyone! ($5 donation per person donation requested. Make checks payable to St. Mary Orthodox Church.)
Please let Trish Orlovsky know by Palm Sunday, April 5, if you are coming, and how you can assist or an activity you can provide for the morning. Contact her at t_orlovsky@hotmail.com or call 781-641-0182
FEAST DAY AND ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND - St. George Church, West Roxbury, invites you to join them in celebrating their Feast Day and the 150th Anniversary of the founding of their parish, with Metropolitan JOSEPH and Bishop JOHN, Friday-Saturday, April 17-19. Saturday Banquet and Hafli and Sunday Hierarchical Divine Liturgy followed by Brunch. For more information, Call the church Office: 617-323-0323 or Amal Hourani: 781-793-0219.
PARISH COUNCIL – The next meeting of the Parish Council will be Wednesday, April 22, at 8:00 pm.
SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE - Nicholas G. Beram 49th Scholastic Achievement Awards are available for high school seniors of our Arab American Community planning to attend a 4 year college full time. Applications are available in the Church office or on-line at www.stjohn.org/ngberam. Application deadline is June 1, 2015.
FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN - On Saturday, June 27 at St. George Orthodox Cathedral in Worcester, volunteers from all over the Diocese will be measuring and scooping 100,000 meals of MannaPack Rice, a scientifically formulated food that is culturally acceptable worldwide, for starving children. Organizations in nearly 70 countries distribute these meals to children in greatest need. We need 500 volunteers on that day as well as donations to help meet the $22,000 goal for the cost of the MobilePack Rice. This Humanitarian project is being conducted in conjunction with Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) a Christian non-profit organization committed to feeding God’s children hungry in body and spirit.
- Volunteers - Registration will be live 6 weeks prior to the event at fmsc.org/mobilepack.
- Donations - submit online at www.fmsc.org/mobilepack or checks, made out to FMSC, Memo line Mobil Pack #1506-99, can be given at the Bengarri or church office.
Please consider volunteering and/or making a donation to this worthy cause. If you would like to learn more you can contact Fr. Milad Selim at St. George Worcester 508-752-9150 or fr.milad.selim@gmail.com.
REMINDERS
WOMEN'S MONTH – March is Antiochian Women’s Month. Our women will be reading the Epistle (1 woman), taking the Collection each Sunday (2 women) and assisting during Communion (6 women). We are inviting all Women of St. Mary Church to be included: If you wish to participate, sign up on the sheet at the Bengarri or contact Mary Ellen at 781-729-6303 or the church office.
WOMEN'S MONTH SERMONS - This month a number of women from the parish will be sharing their thoughts on the various "Themes of Holy Week." By reflecting on Holy or Great Week, it is our hope that we can gain a greater understanding of the services that mark our yearly celebration of our Lord's death and resurrection and its meaning for our lives today. This Sunday Linda Arnold will talk about Holy Friday: “Suffering and Confession”
LENTEN RETREAT – Our teens are invited for the annual Lenten Retreat at the Saint Methodios Retreat Center in Contoocook, New Hampshire, on Friday-Sunday, March 27-29. The speaker will be Father Gregory Christakis, a Greek Orthodox priest from Medford, MA.
BAKE SALE – The St. Mary Women’s Club's annual Pascha Bake Sale will be held Sunday, March 29, during Coffee Hour. Plan on purchasing all your Pascha/Easter desserts, pastries and goodies. If you can bake something please call Mary Ellen Mabardy at 781-729-6303.
LENTEN POTLUCKS – Every Wednesday during Lent the Presanctified Liturgy at 6:30 pm will be followed by a Potluck Supper, if we have a volunteer leader for each week.
Being the leader simply means a) providing a main dish, b) coordinating what others bring if they ask, and c) coordinating setup and cleanup. As with coffee hour, if there is no potluck leader, then there is no potluck. We still need one more volunteer - contact Julie Wasilko (julie31415pi@gmail.com) or Melissa Nassiff (mnassiff@gmail.com) to sign up to lead a potluck.
Everyone else, please bring a dish 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.
BBC LENTEN RECORDINGS – You can span the liturgical cycle from Lent to Pascha with the triad of recordings from the Boston Byzantine Choir: Lenten Journey, Thy Passion, and Thy Resurrection. These CDs, $15 each or $40 for all three, are available from the Church Office or from Charlie Marge.
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 .
- The New England Region Fellowship of St. John the Divine is awarding scholarships to students who are faithful and active Orthodox Christians, whose high school records indicate a potential for being successful in an accredited college and who are in need of financial assistance. Applications are available through the Church Office and must be received by the Scholarship Committee Chairperson by May 1, 2015.
- The Francis Maria Scholarship is available through the Archdiocese Scholarship page, www.antiochian.org/scholarships. Several $2500 scholarships will be awarded to students attending an accredited 4-year college. Applications must be postmarked by May 15, 2015.
- Antiochian Women’s Scholarships are available to females 25 years of age and older in good standing of the Antiochian Archdiocese, actively involved in their parish and who demonstrate need. The application deadline is June 1, 2015. Applications are available in the Church Office. E-mail cindy@cnyhondas.com with any questions.
DONATIONS FOR HOLY WEEK – For the special services of Holy Week, the Church needs donations of olive oil for the Unction Service (Wednesday), flowers for the tomb of Christ (Friday), flowers to distribute on Great and Holy Friday, rose water to anoint the faithful (Friday), incense, Paschal lilies and other flowers, and candles. Deadline for donations is Palm Sunday, April 5. Please use the donation form in the Sunday Bulletin.
FOOD FOR HUNGRY PEOPLE – You are urged during this season of prayer, self-discipline and fasting, to be generous in your contribution to the Food for Hungry People program of our Archdiocese. Money Boxes for collecting alms at home will be on the Bengarri; please pick one or two up and place them throughout your home, fill them up, and return them on Palm Sunday, April 5. “Whoever gives a hand to help his neighbor is helped by God’s own hand.” - St. Isaac the Syrian
ETHIOPIAN ICON EXHIBIT - The Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, MA is featuring an exhibit on the History of Ethopian Icons through April 18. For information call 978-598-5000 or see www.museumofrussianicons.org.
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
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.
THIS WEEK'S VOLUNTEERS
Greeter: Mike Decerbo
Liturgical Service:
Epistle: Shannon Sakellariou
Procession: Popa, Julie Wasilko. Marianna Sayeg, Melissa Nassiff & Amanda Bourell, Doreen Bargoot
Communion: Cindy Mazzoni, Lea Crea, Khourieh Carol, Anna Higgins, Azeb Mitiku, Jeanne Brickman
Collection: Juliana Paraschiv, Barbara Shoop
Coffee Hour: An anonymous donor
SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THIS SUNDAY
Epistle:
Brethren, when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore to himself, saying, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you." And … we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. 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.
- Hebrews 6:13-20
Gospel:
At that time, a man came to Jesus kneeling and saying: "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; and wherever it seizes him it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able... but if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us." And Jesus said to him, "If you can! All things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" ... And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting."
- Mark 9:16-30
REFLECTION
Be always with Christ.
Pray as you can, not as you want.
Have a keepable rule of prayer that you do by discipline.
Spend some time in silence every day.
Do acts of mercy in secret.
Do not engage intrusive thoughts and feelings. Cut them off at the start.
Reveal all your thoughts and feelings regularly to a trusted person.
Read the scriptures regularly.
Be an ordinary person.
Live a day, and a part of a day, at a time.
Be totally honest, first of all, with yourself.
Be faithful in little things.
Do your work, and then forget it.
Do the most difficult and painful things first.
Be simple, hidden, quiet and small.
- Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, excerpts from 55 Maxims for Christian Living
From https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/orthodoxy/articles/55-maxims-for-christian-living