Update for the week Thursday, June 9 - Thursday, June 16, 2016
THIS WEEK AT ST. MARY'S
OFFICE CLOSED - The Church Office will be closed for vacation Thursday, June 9 – Tuesday, June 21. In case of emergency please contact Fr. Antony directly at 781-507-5938 or frawhj@gmail.com, or Parish Council President Mary Winstanley O’Connor at 617-523-1010 ext.223 or moconnor@koilaw.com.
SATURDAY, 6/11 – Parish Life Conference Pre-Conference activities at St. George Church (8 Lowell St. Lawrence, MA). This day will include judging of the Creative Arts Festival and Oratorical Competition, plus various meetings and Luncheon.
- The Parish Life Conference itself, which will include Liturgy, Awards Lunch, Bible Bowl competition, Keynote Speaker and break-out workshops, as well as a lively dinner and dance to end the day, will be held a Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church on 71 Chandler Rd. in Andover on Saturday, June 25.
For more information and to register go to www.stgeorgelawrence.org/conference.
SUNDAY, 6/12 - Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am.
+ The Hospitality Group invites you to a potluck picnic after LIturgy this Sunday, June 12, at Dana Park (10-20 McTernan St, Cambridge) – the same park as previous picnics. 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 (walk down Magazine St), 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!!! For people who need assistance getting to the park, we will coordinate rides. If you would like to help us out, please email Diana Yousef (yousefd@post.harvard.edu).
WEDNESDAY, 6/15 – The next meeting of the Parish Council is scheduled for Wednesday, June 15, at 7:30
THURSDAY, 6/16 - The Bible Study group will meet on Thursday, June 16 (not June 9 as originally scheduled), at 7:00 pm. For more information contact Marianna Sayeg (mksayeg@gmail.com) or Fr. Antony (frawhj@gmail.com). New members are always welcome.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
MEMORY ETERNAL - We regret to inform you of the falling asleep in the Lord of Panagiotis “Pete” Takles in Houston, TX. Pete was the Father of longtime St. Mary’s parishioner, Deno Takles. Pete came to this country from Greece when he was 12 and was very devoted to his church St. Demetrios in Hammond IN. Funeral services are being held on Thursday June 9th at St. Demetrios Church. Contributions in Pete’s memory may be made to St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church.
GRECIAN FESTIVAL - Taxiarchae-Archangels Greek Orthodox Church, 25 Bigelow St., Watertown, will have a Grecian Festival Friday, June 24 - Sunday, June 26. Friday/Saturday 11am-11pm, Sunday 12pm-7pm. Greek music all day, Greek cuisine, kids games, church tours. For more information call 627-924-8182 or www.facebook.com/watertowngrecianfestival.
TEENS PAINTBALL - St. George Boston invites all those ages’ 10-19 years old to Boston Paintball in Ashland, MA Sunday, June 26 from 4-7pm. The cost is $65 a person (including 3hrs of play, rented guns, paintballs, transportation, pizza and soda/juice). Please call Rassem at 617-323-0323 Ext. 3 or email him (stgeorgeyouthdirector@gmail.com) to sign up. Deadline is Sunday, June 12. Spread the word and invite your friends!
REMINDERS
NO VESPERS - Saturday Vespers will not be held at St. Mary’s in June, July and August.
TANGLEWOOD OUTING – Join your music-loving friends from St. Mary’s as we carpool out to Tanglewood after Liturgy on Sunday, July 24, 2016. We’ll picnic on the lawn and listen to music by Ginastera, Mozart and Beethoven, featuring violinist Veronika Eberle, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Juanjo Mena. For more information see https://www.bso.org/Performance/Detail/77811. The concert starts at 2:30; lawn tickets are $21.00 - pay at the door; children are free. Bring lawn chairs if you want them, and picnic food for yourself and to share. For more information and to let us know you're coming, especially if you'll need a ride, contact Melissa Nassiff by email (mnassiff@gmail.com) or phone (508 877-7483).
NEW SKETE PILGRIMAGE – The annual New Skete Pilgrimage is set for Saturday, August 6 this year - Transfiguration. This year is extra special as they will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary! (Metropolitan Tikhon will be there.) In years past, a number of St. Mary people have gone out for the weekend to help the Communities with this event - to be extra sets of "helping hands" for the day. They are hoping a number of us will do so again this year. In the past, this has been a wonderful community building activity for all of us. Moreover, if you have never been to the monastery, this may be a good way to be introduced to their life and work. In addition to the services, there are tours of the church and talks by various members of the communities about their lives. There are also the dogs, great hiking trails, nearby tubing, etc. Once again, Teva Regule (teva@mit.edu) will be coordinating the Boston helpers and as much housing as she can. (In particular, any women wanting to "camp out" at the nuns’, let her know. The Emmaus house is now a guest house - anyone wishing to stay there should contact Br. Gregory directly at brgregory@newskete.org)
RIDES TO CHURCH FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS - Do you live near a college or university? Are you able to offer a ride to and from St. Mary Church for a student? Are you a college student in need of a ride? Contact St. Mary’s Young Adult Ministry at 617-564-3344 or rides@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org to sign up or to learn more!
CHURCH SCHOOL TEACHERS NEEDED – New teachers will be needed next fall for Kindergarten/Grade 1, Grade 2-3, and the Teen Discussion Group for grades 9-12. Two teachers are needed for each of these classes. Please contact Barbara Shoop at barbara@dsaarchitects.com to volunteer or to learn more.
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.
+ In addition to the sign-up sheet, our contact Barbara in the church office and the Instacart option, we also have LINDA ARNOLD serving as our volunteer Coffee Hour Coordinator. Her contact information is MMarmee52@aol.com and 978-270-0346. Please feel free to let her know of your interest and be open to hosting a coffee hour especially if you have not done so in the past. She will be happy to guide you through the process!
ABBA VILLAGE - Applications are available for Market Value, Tax Credit and Section 8 apartments in AABA Village in West Roxbury. Please have them call Vivian Haidar at 617-325-1913 and an application will be mailed. AABA Village is a multi-cultural community with many residents of Syrian/Lebanese descent. Amenities include on-site Resident Service Coordinators, accessible laundry rooms, sun room, game room, and library/computer labs. There are weekly and monthly activities including yoga, massage, The Ride and the Boston senior shuttle.
SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR THIS SUNDAY
Epistle:
Paul said “…now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by so toiling one must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, 'it is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
- Acts 20:16-18, 28-36
Gospel:
Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent … Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves."
- John 17:1-13
REFLECTION
If there is a reward or punishment at the last judgment, it does not come from God, but from the love or hate which reigns in our heart.
- St. Symeon
We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked from hut to hut comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man, but one thing: the last human freedom – to choose one’s own attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.
- Viktor Frankl
Do not rail against anyone, but rather say, "God knows each one." Do not agree with him who slanders, do not rejoice at his slander and do not hate him who slanders his neighbor. This is what it means not to judge. Do not have hostile feelings towards anyone and do not let dislike dominate your heart; do not hate him who hates his neighbor. This is what peace is: Encourage yourself with this thought, "Affliction lasts but a short time, while peace is for ever, by the grace of God the Word."
- St. Moses the Ethiopian, Sayings of the Desert Fathers
The outcome of every affliction endured for the sake of virtue is joy, of every labor rest, and of every shameful treatment glory; in short, the outcome of all sufferings for the sake of virtue is to be with God, to remain with Him forever and to enjoy eternal rest.
- St. Maximos, from the Philokalia