Update for the week Thursday, May 28, through Thursday, June 4, 2015

THIS WEEK

THURSDAY, 5/28 – The Bible Study group meets tonight - Thursday, May 28 - 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, 5/29 - St. Herman School, 62 Harvard Ave., Allston, MA, invites you to its annual Open House on Friday, May 29. St. Herman School provides Orthodox Christian Education, K-8th Grade.

SATURDAY, 5/30 – There will be no Vespers at St. Mary this Saturday. Fr. Antony will be at the Vigil for Pentecost at Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral, 165 Park St., Boston, MA. All are welcome. Vigil starts at 5:00pm.

   + St. George Orthodox Cathedral, Worcester, will be sponsoring a Hafli featuring Superstar Joseph Attieh this Saturday. Doors open at 8:00 pm, Mazza and Dinner are at 9:00 pm. For reservations contact Michael Houssan 508-981-4327, email: hafli2009@gmail.com.

SUNDAY, 5/31, SUNDAY OF PENTECOST – Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am, followed by the Kneeling Prayers.

   + Bible Bowl participants will meet in the library after Liturgy. The Bible Bowl will be held at the Diocesan Parish Life Conference June 18-21.

   + Diocese Choir rehearsal with Paul Jabara, to prepare for the Parish Life Conference and the National Convention, will be held this Sunday, May 31, 7pm-10pm at St Mary’s. A second rehearsal will be held Monday June 15, 7pm, at St. John of Damascus, Dedham

   + There is no fasting during the week following the Sunday of Pentecost.

MONDAY, 6/1 – The Women's Club will end the year with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in Chestnut Hill on Monday, June 1, at 7:00 pm. All women of the parish are welcome to join them - please call Marilyn Robbat (781-729-3033) or the church office (617-547-1234) for more information.

   + 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.

   + 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 http://www.stjohnd.org/ngberam. Application deadline is June 1, 2015.

NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS

CHURCH SCHOOL – Church school has concluded for the summer months. Parents, please be sure that your children remain in church after Communion. Children should not be in the Church hall after Communion or at any time during Liturgy unless supervised by their parents.

CHILDREN AND COFFEE HOUR - Parents must supervise their children at the food table during coffee hour. Children must not be going through the food line without the assistance of a parent!

GRAND HAFLI - Join us at the Parish Life Conference Saturday evening, June 20, for a night of fun, fellowship and dancing. Music by George Maaloof & Ensemble, plus an American DJ will spin a few hits! Low ticket prices will make this event family friendly: Adults $25, Teens (13-19) $15, Kids (12 & Under) free. Note: The Hafli is part of the Conference; if not registered for the conference attendees must pay a mandatory $10 registration fee.

PARISH COUNCIL - The next Parish Council meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, August 26 at 7:30 pm at the church.

CHURCH SCHOOL TEACHERS NEEDED - We are in need of teachers for the fall, in particular Pre-School and Kindergarten/1st grade. Anyone interested in teaching, or being an assistant or substitute, please contact Barbara@dsaarchitects.com.

REMINDERS

NO VESPERS – There will be no Vespers at St. Mary on Saturday, June 6, June 20, July 11, or July 25.

CHURCH SCHOOL GRADUATION – The St. Mary Church School Closing and Graduation festivities will be Sunday, June 7. Please plan on joining us as we close the 2014-2015 Church School year. All Church School children who attended Church School for most of the school year will be recognized as they move up to the next grade or graduate.

CHINESE MARTYRS MISSIONS BREAKFAST – Please join us on June 7 for the 2015 Chinese Martyrs Missions Breakfast to benefit the Chinese Translation Project via the Orthodox Fellowship of All Saints of china (OFASC). We look forward to your support of this worthwhile project and seeing you at this event! Suggested minimum donation $5 per adult (Checks made payable to “St. Mary Orthodox Church” earmarked “Hospitality/Chinese Missions”).

CONVENTION PLANNING – There will be a very important meeting of all Convention committees on Tuesday, June 9, at 7:00 pm at the church.

SUMMER CAMP – Theophany School Summer Camp for children ages 2.9 through 6 will be held Monday-Friday, June 8-12. Cost: $275 for first child, $225 for siblings. Contact the School at 781-444-3058 or theophanyschool@gmail.com to enroll.

ST. MARY POTLUCK PICNIC - Come join the St. Mary’s Hospitality Group and your fellow parishioners at nearby Dana Park (10-20 McTernan St, Cambridge) after church on Sunday, June 14 (rain-date June 21)! Bring a blanket, some eats or drinks to share, balls, frisbees, even bathing suits if you want splash in the sprinklers! Dana Park is a 5-10min walk south of the Church, with an enclosed playground, hoops, water spouts, and beautiful green. This is a great opportunity to relax and spend time with our church family. Open to all ages! If you would like to help us out, please email Diana Yousef (yousefd@post.harvard.edu )

PARISH LIFE CONFERENCE - The 2015 Diocese of Worcester Parish Life Conference will be hosted by St. Mary Church of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Thursday to Sunday, June 18-21. All Services will be held at Providence Marriott, Providence, RI.

   + The St. Mary Church office will be closed during the Parish Life Conference.

DIVINE COMPASSION AND THE ICON – You are invited to a lecture entitled “Divine Compassion and the Icon,” part of the St. Catherine’s Vision Lectureship Series, on Saturday, June 20 at Hellenic College, Brookline. For more information visit www.saintcatherinesvision.com.

GREEK FESTIVIAL - Archangels Greek Orthodox Church is having a Greek Festival June 26-28, with Greek music, dancing, food, bookstore and more. Time: 11:00am-11pm, Sunday noon-8pm. 25 Bigelow Ave. Watertown. For more info call 617-924-8182.

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. You can help in these ways:

   - Volunteers - Registration will be live 6 weeks prior to the event at www.fmsc.org/mobilepack

   - Donations - submit online at http://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

HOUSING HELP NEEDED - Orthodox Family of 3, new to the area, is looking for a place to live starting on June 14.  If you know of a place to rent or temporary place to stay, please contact Richard Barrett, rrbarret@indiana.edu or 812-219-0286.  (Richard led the recent Diocesan Vocal Workshop).

   + A young woman who will be starting a Master's program in Speech and Language Pathology at Emerson College this fall is looking for housing, and is open to both studio and 2-bedroom options; she is on the lookout for a roommate as well. She will not have a car so an apartment close to the T would be ideal. Please contact Elyse Timothy, elyse.timothy@gmail.com

ARCHDIOCESE CONVENTION - As you all know, our parish will be hosting the 2015 Archdiocesan Convention at the Sheraton-Boston Hotel in Copley Square the week of July 19-26, 2015. There are numerous and various committees on which you may volunteer. We will require everyone’s involvement at St. Mary’s to make this convention truly a success spiritually, socially and financially. If you are interested in participating, please see either Father Antony or the co-chairs, Raymond Sayeg and Mary Winstanley O’Connor.

   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.

NEW ORTHODOX JOURNAL – Fr. Antony highly recommends a new quarterly journal of Orthodox Christian thought, entitled “The Wheel.” The current, inaugural issue can be seen at http://www.wheeljournal.com/current/. Check it out!

THEOPHANY SCHOOL REGISTRATION - Theophany School is now enrolling for Fall 2015. They are excited to announce Theophany School's expansion into Elementary School and offering Preschool, Pre-K, Kindergarten, and First Grade Enrollment for this Fall. For more information visit their website at http://www.theophanyschool.org or contact them at 781-444-3058 or theophanyschool@gmail.com

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THIS SUNDAY, the Feast of Pentecost

   Epistle:

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly ... they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. ... each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were amazed and wondered, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ...we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God."

   - Acts 2:1-11 

   Gospel:

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, "If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, 'Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.'" Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. … Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

   - John 7:37-52; 8:12 

REFLECTION

Allow the Spirit of God to dwell within you; then in His love He will come and make a habitation with you; He will reside in you and live in you. If your heart is pure you will see Him and He will sow in you the good seed of reflection upon His actions and wonder at His majesty. This will happen if you take the trouble to weed out from your soul the undergrowth of desires, along with the thorns and tares of bad habits.

   - Evagrius of Pontus 

One must force himself to prayer when he has not spiritual prayer; and thus God, beholding him thus striving and compelling himself by force, in spite of an unwilling heart, gives him the true prayer of the Spirit.

   - St. Macarius the Great

When peace dwells in a man's heart it enables him to contemplate the grace of the Holy Spirit from within. He who dwells in peace collects spiritual gifts as it were with a scoop, and he sheds the light of knowledge on others.

   - St. Seraphim of Sarov 

When [Christ] gave the bread he did not say, "This is the symbol of my body" but, "This is my body." In the same way when he gave the cup of his blood he did not say. "This is the symbol of my blood," but, "This is my blood," for he wanted us to look upon the [Eucharistic elements] after their reception of grace and the coming of the Holy Spirit not according to their nature, but receive them as they are, the body and blood of our Lord. We ought . . . not regard [the elements] merely as bread and cup, but as the body and blood of the Lord, into which they were transformed by the descent of the Holy Spirit.

   - Theodore [A.D. 405], Catechetical Homilies 5:1

Grant me the Spirit of wisdom in my thoughts, the Spirit of prudence in my ignorance. Let the Spirit of the awe of You overshadow my deeds. Renew a steadfast Spirit in my breast, and let your guiding Spirit make firm my errant mind, so that each day, led by your good Spirit towards that which is profitable, I may be worthy to keep Your commandments, ever mindful of your glorious and soul-searching presence. Do not allow me to be beguiled by the world's corrupting delights, but rather to desire the enjoyment of future treasures

   - Kneeling Vespers of Pentecost, The Second Prayer