Update for the week Thursday, November 12, through Thursday, November 19, 2015
THIS WEEK AT ST. MARY'S
THURSDAY, 11/12 – The Bible Study group meets tonight, Thursday 11/12, at 7:00 pm in the church library. This week’s discussion will conclude the book of Elijah and begin an introduction to the prophets, using the podcasts at http://orthodoxbiblestudy.info/elijah-part-4/ and http://orthodoxbiblestudy.info/introduction-to-the-prophets-part-1/
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, 11/14 – There will be no Vespers at St. Mary until further notice.
SUNDAY, 11/15 – Adult catechism 9:00; Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00; Church School lesson 8
+ Plan to stay for the vonHolzhausen Lecture after Liturgy and coffee hour this Sunday. How does a punk rock drummer from Washington, D.C. end up helping to archive Syrian history? This year's annual Fr. John vonHolzhausen Lecturer will answer that question at 12:30 pm, in a talk entitled Music, Photographs and Stories from Syria. Our speaker, Jason Hamacher, is an internationally recognized musician, photographer, writer, and public speaker, and massage therapist. His work has taken him across the globe documenting the sights and sounds of culture, music, people and food. Jason was profiled last year in a fascinating NPR interview – see http://www.npr.org/2014/08/07/338586411/before-war-a-punk-drummer-preserved-syrian-chants This event is free and open to the public; donations to St. Mary’s Hospitality Group are welcome.
+ The Nativity Fast, also known as the season of Advent, begins this Sunday. This is the forty days of fasting and prayer in preparation for the Great Feast of the Nativity of Christ.
MONDAY, 11/16 - The next meeting of the Women's Club will be this Monday, November 16, at 7:30, not November 9 as originally scheduled.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
THANK YOU - We want to thank all the parents and friends who came to help with our Fall Liturgy Retreat this year, “Let us love one another… Liturgy as Philanthropy." We had nearly 80 church school students, family members, and friends attend the day. We were able to learn how we love and care for the other (i.e. our philanthropia) within our liturgical celebration (e.g. praying for others, exchanging the Kiss of Peace, sharing the leftovers from our Offering, etc.) as well as in the “liturgy after the Liturgy.” We showed our love and concern for our church family by making prosphora (Holy Bread) for the Church that can be used at the Divine Liturgy for the next several weeks. We also showed our love and concern for our neighbor through our donations of canned goods for the hungry and our afternoon service projects—making soup mixes for St. Paul’s pantry, knitting scarves for the needy, assembly toiletry packet for homeless children (a special project of our toddler set), and composing greeting cards for the parish shut-ins. Our teens learned about seeing Christ in the other, especially the homeless among us, as well as those in prison. A special thank you to Shannon Sakellariou and Bob Kowalik for coordinating and supervising the prosphora making, Natasha Smith for organizing the soup mix and knitting projects, Kate Jellinghouse for the artistic greeting cards, Deacon Jeff for the prison ministry session and all of our teachers (Bonnie Michal, Jack Souweha, Natasha Smith, Tom Perkins, Bob Kowalik, and Teva Regule), our lunch crew (Doreen Bargoot, Peter Nassiff, Richard and Violet Robbat), as well as the many parents and friends who pitched in where needed. It "takes a village" to put this event together. We are grateful for all who contributed, in any way - those we named and the many we have not recognized by name. Mark your calendars for next year’s retreat on Veterans’ Day: Friday, November 11, 2016! - Doreen Bargoot, Esther Porr, Teva Regule, and Panayiotis Sakellariou, Liturgical Service Ministry Coordinators and Supervisors.
COFFEE HOUR MADE EASY! - To make sponsoring a Coffee Hour a little bit easier, St. Mary’s will be offering a delivery service through “Instacart”, for the basic foods necessary to host a Coffee hour. Simply select a date, mail a check to the office and we will order the food and have it delivered to the church on that Sunday between 9:00 and 10:00 am. You will need to be at the church to accept the order and you will be required to set up for the coffee hour and clean up both the kitchen and hall at the end of the coffee hour. Two menus will be offered. Menu one will include: bagels, mini muffins, fruit, hummus/Syrian bread, juice and coffee for $160. Menu two will include: bagels, juice and coffee for $70. Prices DO NOT include a 20% tip for delivery and are subject to change based on current market pricing of items. Cream cheese, peanut butter, jam and coffee creamer are included with each menu. As usual, St. Mary’s will provide the plates, cups, napkins, utensils, serving platters, and sweetener for coffee. If you are interested in taking advantage of this service and signing up for a coffee hour please contact the office at 617-547-1234 or e-mail secretary@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org.
ANGEL TREE HELP NEEDED - St. Mary's is participating in the Angel Tree Prison Ministry, which provides Christmas gifts to children in our local community on behalf of their parent serving time in prison. Together with Angel Tree, we can help these children feel loved and valued. Our parish received the names of 20 children in need this season. We need volunteers to help make gift deliveries. This can be done at a time convenient for you. All the children have been selected by St. Mary’s Parishioners but if you would like to make a monetary donation please see Linda or Kate. In addition, we will have a bin out during the next few coffee hours prior to the gift due date, where folks can leave their wrapped gifts for the children with tag attached. Please see or email Kate Arnold (katherine.arnold@gordon.edu) or Linda Arnold (mmarmee52@aol.com) if you can help or have questions. Thank you for helping with this important ministry!
TRUMPET OF THE SWAN - St. Mary’s own Gabi Popa, daughter of Cristian and Andrea Popa, will be performing in The Trumpet of the Swan at Wheelock Family Theatre from October 23 through Sunday, November 22 - Friday nights at 7:30; Saturday & Sunday matinees at 3:00. St. Mary's Orthodox Church parishioners can purchase tickets for only $10 by using the promo code "community10" (note correction: it's not just “community”) when ordering online. The performance will run 1 hour 45 minutes, including a 15 minute intermission. The play, which is based on E. B. White’s award-winning novel, is recommended for all ages, 6 through adult. For more information and to order tickets online, go to www.wheelockfamilytheatre.org .
CHRISTMAS LUNCHEON – The Syrian-Lebanese Women's Club is sponsoring a Christmas luncheon on Saturday, December 12 at noon at St. John of Damascus Church in Dedham. Donation: $25, with all proceeds going to the Scholarship Fund. Come and join us for an elegant afternoon of fine food, pastries and fellowship. Reservations and questions: Carolyn Ganim, 781-329-0830, or Norma Janvrin, 781-326-5131. Tables of 8 may be reserved.
REMINDERS
CHURCH SCHOOL CHRISTMAS PAGEANT - If your child is interested in participating in the Christmas Pageant, please see Sarah Byrne-Martelli or e-mail her at sarahebyrne@gmail.com We also need parents to assist at all rehearsals, which will takplace Sunday, December 6 during coffee hour; Sunday, December 13 during coffee hour; and Saturday, December 19, 2:30 – 4:30pm (dress rehearsal). The Pageant will be on Sunday, December 20 after liturgy.
FAMILY SHELTER - The Women’s Club provides the Cambridge YWCA Family Shelter with baskets filled with household goods, to help residents ready to move to their own apartments. We ask for your help by providing monetary donations to offset the cost of the items. Please give your donation to Marilyn Robbat or Barbara Shoop or mail it to the Church office c/o the Woman’s Club.
PRESENTATION OF THE THEOTOKOS – On Friday, November 20, we will celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Theotokos in the Temple with Evening Liturgy at 6:30 pm.
MARRIAGE SEMINAR – A Seminar for Couples preparing for marriage will be held on Saturday, November 21, at the Chancery, 2 Lydia’s Path, Westborough, MA. Bishop JOHN will be the featured speaker. $35/couple. RSVP by November 14: make checks payable to NER Deanery, and mail to St. John of Damascus Church, 300 West St., Dedham, MA 02026.
THANKSGIVING BAKE SALE – The Women's Club will sponsor its annual Thanksgiving Charity Bake Sale on Sunday, November 22. All proceeds will benefit the Convent of Saidnaya, northwest of Damascus in Syria. Plan on purchasing all your holiday breads, pies, goodies, Syrian pastries and much more – and please volunteer to bake! Call Marilyn Robbat@ 781-729-3033 or the church office, if you can bake and/or donate.
SEE THE MESSIAH – You can still join friends from St. Mary’s for the Handel and Haydn Society’s annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, on Sunday, November 29, at 3:00 p.m., and meet us for lunch before the concert. Order your tickets online at http://www.handelandhaydn.org. Contact Melissa Nassiff at mnassiff@gmail.com for more information.
PARISH COUNCIL – The next meeting of the Parish Council is scheduled for Wednesday, December 2, at 7:30 pm, at the church.
PARISH CHRISTMAS CARD - Save yourself time, let us do the work and have all proceeds benefit the Antiochian Women Project 2015-2016: Help Feed Hungry Children Home and Abroad. Let the Women’s Club send a lovely Christmas card on your behalf to our parishioners. You will receive this card with the names of parishioners, like yourself, who are wishing a Blessed Nativity and a Merry Christmas to all. Please use the form in the Sunday Bulletin – deadline is Sunday, December 6.
DIOCESAN CHRISTMAS CONCERT - A Christmas Concert, sung by the combined choirs and chanters of the Diocese of Worcester and New England, will be held on Saturday, December 5 at 6:00 pm at St. George Cathedral in Worcester immediately following Vespers, and on Sunday, December 6 at 3:00 pm at St. John of Damascus in Dedham. Mark Haddad, choir director at St. John’s, will be conducting the Diocesan Choir with Charles Marge of St. Mary’s conducting the Diocesan Chanters. This will be a beautiful event open to parishioners, families, and friends as well as the public. Please plan on joining us! For more information or questions, please contact: Mark Haddad at mhh42@me.com or Charlie Marge at marge@alum.mit.edu.
DONATIONS FOR THE HOLY NATIVITY - If you would like to donate toward the Poinsettias and Nativity decorations for the Nativity services please use the form printed in the Sunday bulletin. Deadline is December 14, 2015. Please pass it in with your check at the Bengarri on Sundays or mail to: St. Mary Church, 8 Inman St., Cambridge, MA 02139-2407. Donations will be printed in the December 20 bulletin.
FOOD FOR HUNGRY PEOPLE – Once again St. Mary's is holding its annual Canned Food Drive: October through December 31, 2015. Since 1984, we have collected over 3,281,200 pounds of food. Please bring in canned goods ONLY and place them in the plastic bins in the room outside the kitchen. They will be distributed to food pantries in our area.
ADULT CATECHISM – Open registration is now available for the Adult Catechism program at St. Mary's Church. Classes will be held every Sunday morning at 9:00 am, running regularly through April 2016. These classes are free and open to new members of our community who are exploring the Orthodox Faith. Contact Richard Robbat at learn@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org for more information and registration.
THIS WEEK'S VOLUNTEERS
Greeter: Marc Patacchiola
Liturgical Service:
Epistle: Katie Boardman
Procession: Danait Teclezghi, Saimon Teclezghi, Essey Teclezghi, Mulugheta T., Sara G.
Communion: Teva Regule, Andrea Popa, Linda Arnold, Aura Brosnan, Jeanne Brickman and another TBD
Coffee Hour: The Sayeg Family, in memory of Viola Sheehan
SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THIS SUNDAY
Epistle:
Brethren, Christ is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
- Ephesians 2:14-22
Gospel:
A lawyer stood up to put Jesus to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read?" And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." And he said to him, "You have answered right; do this, and you will live." But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
- Luke 10:25-37
REFLECTION
Courage does not consist in defeating and oppressing one's neighbor, for this is overbearingness, which oversteps the bounds of courage. Nor again does it consist in fleeing terrified from the trials that come as a result of practicing the virtues; for this is cowardice and falls short of courage. Courage itself consists in persisting in every good work and in overcoming the passions of soul and body.
- St. Peter Damascus
Keep your mind from malicious thoughts of your neighbors, knowing that such thoughts are hurled by diabolical power, to keep your mind from your own sins and from seeking God.
- Our Holy Father Elias of Egypt
A man needs to satisfy his conscience towards God by not despising God's precepts, even those concerning things which are not seen by men or those things for which one is not accountable to men. For example, did he neglect his prayers? If an evil thought came into his heart, was he vigilant and did he keep control of himself or did he entertain it? He sees his neighbor saying or doing something; does he suspect it is evil and condemn him? To put it simply, all the hidden things that happen inside us, things which no one sees except God and our conscience, we need to take account of. This is what I mean by our conscience towards God.
- St. Dorotheos of Gaza
Let mercy outweigh all else in you. A hard and unmerciful heart will never be pure.
- St. Isaac the Syrian
As grass and fire cannot coexist in one place, so mercy and legalism cannot exist in the same soul.
- St Isaac of Nineveh