Update for the week Thursday, August 15 - Wednesday, August 21, 2019
THIS WEEK AT ST. MARY’S
SUNDAY 8/18 – Orthros 8:45am, Divine Liturgy 10:00am
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEW YEAR – The new Ecclesiastical Year of the church begins on Sunday, September 1.
ANTIOCHIAN WOMEN – The Fall Diocesan Meeting of Antiochian Women will be held at the Diocese Chancery (2 Lydia’s Path, Westboro) on Saturday, September 7. Divine Liturgy will begin at 9:00am followed by the meeting. If you are interested in attending, please contact Melissa Nassiff, 508-877-7483 or mnassiff@gmail.com .
WELCOME BACK BBQ – The Parish Council and the Women’s Club invite you to join us in welcoming everyone back from their summer activities at our Welcome Back BBQ on Sunday, September 15 following Liturgy. We invite all members of the Parish, Church School Families, and College Students to join us for food and fellowship. We will also be honoring the St. Mary Bible Bowl and Oratorical Festival participants, who all won First Place at the Parish Life Conference, and their coach. The BBQ will take place outside in the parking lot (weather permitting). Parking lot will be unavailable for parking.
CHOIR MEMBERS NEEDED - The Choir is looking for new members, especially Alto (woman) and Bass/baritone (men), but of course we welcome all parts. Please e-mail Michelle Mabardy at mmmabardy@gmail.com if you are interested.
SEMINARIAN WELCOME RECEPTION – All are invited to St. George Church in West Roxbury on Sunday, September 15 at 4:00pm for Vespers followed by a Welcome Reception to greet the new Seminarians at Holy Cross School of Theology and Hellenic College. Please join us as we welcome these students from all over the country to our Diocese. The Reception is sponsored by the Diocese Antiochian Women.
REMINDERS
WOMENS CLUB – The first meeting of the St. Mary Women‘s Club this year will be on Sunday, August 25 in the hall during Coffee Hour. If you are a woman and you attend St. Mary’s Church, you are one of us. Come to the meeting! This will be a brief one, with just one major agenda item. If you have any questions, please contact Melissa Nassiff (mnassiff@gmail.com).
CHURCH SCHOOL – Registration for new students, and for children who have reached the age of 3, will be held on Sunday, September 8. Classes will begin on Sunday, September 15.
+ Please contact Deno Takles, our Church School Superintendent at takles67@yahoo.com if you would be able to help with the Church School. We are looking for a Teacher for Grades 4/5.
ELEVATION OF THE CROSS – Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross will be celebrated on Friday, September 13 at 6:30pm
CHURCH SCHOOL – Church School classes begin with a short lesson on Sunday, September 15 after Communion and the Procession of the Holy Cross
ADULT CAMP – Antiochian Village Adult Camp is summer camp for adults at the Village, Friday-Monday, September 13-16. Adult Camp is open to all adults ages 21+ who want to spend the weekend in an Orthodox Christian Environment growing in their faith. Cost of $195 includes lodging, food and activities. More information can be found at https://avcamp.org/other-programs/adult-camp.
PARISH COUNCIL – The next meeting of the Parish Council is scheduled for Wednesday, September 18
MEN’S RETREAT – A Men’s Retreat will be hosted by the St. Stephen’s Group at St. Methodios Retreat Center, Contoocook, NH, on Friday-Sunday, September 20-22. This year’s topic is Relationships. Cost: $239 for 2 nights, meals included. For more info or to register contact Jeff St. Jean 413-348-2878 or jeffstjean11@gmail.com .
ENQUIRERS’ CLASS – The St. Ignatius Catechetical Group (Enquirers’ Class) will begin meeting on Sunday, September 22 at 9:00am in the hall. Enrollment will be open until October 20. The group is for non-Orthodox adults who are interested in exploring the Christian Faith as it has been – and continues to be – understood, preached, and lived by members of the Holy Orthodox Church. Bob Kowalik will be teaching the group. If you would like to participate, please talk to Bob during coffee hour; or get in touch by phone 617-889-3436 or r.kowalik@comcast.net. For those seeking to be received into the Orthodox Church, participation in the group and Fr. Antony’s blessing are required.
“ORTHODOXY 102” – Orthodoxy 102 is an Adult Sunday Class designed for Christians who've spent many years in the Orthodox church, but have never been given any formal teaching on the theology and liturgical structure of the Eastern Christian faith. Beginning Sunday, September 22 at 9:00am, this new class will meet weekly to journey through the structure of the Divine Liturgy, while taking an in-depth look at Scripture, the Ecumenical Councils, our iconography, and the meaning and application of Orthodox theology. If you would like more information or would care to join, please email drjamesis@gmail.com (Or introduce yourself to Subdeacon James on any Sunday following the liturgy).
FAMILY CAMP – You’re invited to Diocese Family Camp Friday-Sunday, October 4-6 at St. Methodios Faith & Heritage Center in Contoocook, NH. Families from our Diocese come together for a weekend of camp activities, prayer, relaxation, fellowship, and learning. More information and pictures can be found at www.soyofallcamp.org Registration information will be posted soon.
JOIN US ONLINE - St. Mary’s Church services are broadcast live each week through an internet video stream. If you can't attend a service in person, or want to share this ministry with a friend or loved one, the live stream can be viewed at www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/live during regularly scheduled service times (see the schedule of services or online). If you have questions or comments about this ministry please contact us at live@stmaryorthodoxchurch.org
REFLECTION
...there is one kind of faith, the dogmatic, involving an assent of the soul on some particular point...But there is a second kind of faith which is bestowed by Christ as a gift of grace...The faith then which is given of grace from the Spirit is not merely doctrinal, but also works things above man's power.
- St. Cyril of Jerusalem
In Eastern Christian practice, from antiquity to the present, meditation and contemplation are the paths to knowledge of God. Divine revelation offers a foundation for all such meditation and contemplation, of course, but the Orthodox emphasis falls not on speech about but on silence before God and his revelation. The person who would know God must drink deeply of, and not just analyze, what God has made known about himself and his ways toward humankind; one must be saturated with it through wonder rather than seek to connect its elements in curiosity.
- James R. Payton Jr, Light from the Christian East
Faith and love which are gifts of the Holy Spirit are such great and powerful means that a person who has them can easily, and with joy and consolation, go the way Jesus Christ went. Besides this, the Holy Spirit gives man the power to resist the delusions of the world so that although he makes use of earthly good, yet he uses them as a temporary visitor, without attaching his heart to them. But a man who has not got the Holy Spirit, despite all his learning and prudence, is always more or less a slave and worshipper of the world.
- St. Innocent of Irkutsk, Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven