Update for the week of August 17-24, 2017
THIS WEEK AT ST. MARY
SUNDAY 8/20– Orthros 8:45 am, Divine Liturgy 10:00 am.
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION POSTPONED - St. Mary’s 90th Anniversary Celebration has been postponed. His Eminence Metropolitan JOSEPH has informed us that due to a synod meeting scheduled at the Patriarchate he regrets that he must postpone his Hierarchical visit to our parish, originally scheduled for the weekend of September 29-October 1, 2017. His Eminence will be making a visit at a date to be determined in the near future. His Grace Bishop JOHN will be at St. Mary’s for a Hierarchical visit on Sunday, September 24, 2017 to celebrate liturgy and kick off our 90th year celebration.
NEW YEAR – Friday, September 1 marks the beginning of a new ecclesiastical year.
BIBLE STUDY - Welcome back to the Bible Study/Adult Education Program at St. Mary's Church! Meetings will resume in September, once every 2 weeks. Due to construction in the church, our meeting day will be moved to Mondays. Our first meeting will be Monday, September 11th at 7:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall. The Bible study for the coming year will focus on podcasts that introduce the History of the Bible, the Church Fathers, and the first three books of the Hebrew Scriptures. Everyone is welcome to attend; a snack to share is welcomed, but not required. If interested, please contact the new co-leaders: Steve Walker at smwalk@gmail.com or Ioana Popa at drioanapopa@gmail.com .
PARISH COUNCIL – The next meeting of the Parish Council will be Wednesday, September 20, at 7:30 pm.
SIGN UP FOR COFFEE HOUR – The sign-up sheets for hosting Coffee Hour in 2017-2018 have now been posted. Please sign up to provide a coffee hour – it can be as simple as coffee, juice, and cookies. Plenty of help is available! Signup sheets are on the bulletin board downstairs outside the Hall, or contact Linda Arnold (mmarmee52@aol.com) or the Church Office (617-547-1234 or Secretary@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org ). Remember, no volunteers = no coffee hour!
REMINDERS
NATIVITY OF THE THEOTOKOS –Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos will be celebrated on Thursday, September 7, at 6:30pm
CHURCH SCHOOL REGISTRATION - Registration for new students, and for children who have reached the age of 3, will be held on Sunday, September 10.
+ Classes will begin on Sunday, September 17.
ELEVATION OF THE CROSS – Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross will be celebrated on Wednesday, September 13, at 6:00pm (note early start time).
SOCIAL JUSTICE MINISTRY – Save the date for a training session on building social justice ministry teams in the church on September 16, 2017 here at St. Mary Orthodox Church. More information can be found at https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/news/events/2017/social-justice-ministry-teams
WOMEN’S CLUB – The first Women’s Club meeting of the church year will be Monday, September 18 at 7:30. At this meeting we will formulate our yearly calendar, so come with any ideas you may have. We meet only once a month, and welcome all women of the parish to join us. The Women’s Club does charitable work both locally, nationally and internationally, and supports the Church School. Call Priscilla (781-762-1527) or the church office (617-547-1234) if you have any questions or are interested in joining us.
SONIA’S RUN - Sonia’s Run and Fall Fair in memory of Sonia Daly Belcher, St. George’s, West Roxbury will be held on Saturday, September 23. Registration begins at 8:30am, race starts at 9:30am. St. Mary’s will run as a team again this year (last year we came in 2nd place). Please e-mail Charlie Marge, charlie.marge@verizon.net if you are planning on running so that you can be included in our team. All proceeds from the run will benefit Theophany School. Vendor tables are available. For more information go to www.soniasrun.org .
ICON EXHIBIT – You are invited to an exhibit at the Museum of Russian Icons entitled Fantastic Beasts in Iconography. This Exhibit spotlights the many types of natural and unnatural creatures in iconography, exploring their origins, symbolism, stories, and myriad representations. This exhibit is family friendly, with images and activities that are appealing, accessible, and educational for both adults and children. This exhibit runs until Sunday, September 24. Special rates are available for group tours. Just call their Group Tour Manager, Amy Consalvi for information: 978.598.5000 x125. And more details of the exhibits are available on their website www.museumofrussianicons.org.
DIOCESE FAMILY CAMP – Our first Diocese Family Camp will be held the weekend of Friday-Sunday, October 13-15, 2017 at the St. Methodios Faith & Heritage Center in Contoocook, NH. Our Family Camp is modeled after the program at Antiochian Village. We will have daily services, Christian Education for children, a Keynote Speaker (TBD) for the parents, and sports and games for the whole family to participate. Experienced AV Staff Members are being recruited to serve as counselors for the weekend. More registration details, promotional flyer, bulletin insert, and tentative schedule are online at http://antiochian.org/FamilyCampNE . There is also a facebook event under the Diocese Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/1425084937546643
CHURCH SCHOOL TEACHERS - We now have a teacher and assistant for 4th/5th grade, thanks to Theo Smith and Fortuna Risom. We are always in need of substitute teachers. Please consider being a substitute and helping with this very important ministry. Contact Barbara Shoop @ Barbara@dsaarchitects.com or secretary@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org or 617-547-1234 if you are interested.
YOUNG ADULT MINISTRY - The Young Adult Ministry is an active, dynamic group that hosts monthly social, spiritual, and outreach events and programs. We have lots of great plans for 2017, and we hope you'll join us! If you are interested in getting involved, please contact Jamil at 617-501-4427 or youngadults@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org.
GREETER MINISTRY- The Greeter Ministry is always looking for new people to greet on Sunday Mornings. As a Greeter, you will welcome people into the Church and help to direct visitors upstairs to the Liturgy, as well as keeping an eye on the Vestibule, Hallways and Entrance ways during Church. Arrive at Church 15 minutes before Liturgy (9:45am). Greeting time ends when Communion starts. As a greeter you get to meet all the parishioners of St. Mary’s, whether old or new to the church. We hope you will consider joining this ministry! If you are interested, contact Buddy Mabardy at buddy@cjmabardy.com or 781-729-6303, or contact the church office at secretary@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org or 617-547- 1234.
COFFEE HOUR MADE EASY! - To make sponsoring a Coffee Hour a little bit easier, St. Mary’s offers 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.
REFLECTION
Now is the day of joy; let us not seek revenge. Now is the day of good will; let us not be mean. In this day of peace let us not be conquered by anger. This present day can open the heavenly doors to our prayers; let us open our door to those who ask our forgiveness.
- St. Isaac the Syrian, Nativity Homily
Do we forgive our neighbors their trespasses? God also forgives us in His mercy. Do we refuse to forgive? God, too, will refuse to forgive us. As we treat our neighbors, so also does God treat us. The forgiveness, then, of your sins or unforgiveness, and hence also your salvation or destruction, depend on you yourself. For without forgiveness of sins there is no salvation.
- St. Philotheos of Sinai