St. Mary e-Newsletter for Thursday, July 23, 2020

PRAYER AND WORSHIP

Every Sunday Orthros is at 8:45am, followed by Divine Liturgy at 10:00am. Both services are live-streamed - please join us by clicking the live broadcasts button on the church website:  http://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org. They can also be seen at facebook.com/stmarycambridge  or youtube.com/   If you LIKE St. Mary on Facebook you’ll get advance notice of live-streamed services.

After Divine Liturgy every Sunday the Young Adult Ministry invites you to a virtual coffee hour. Do you miss sitting at your favorite coffee hour table? Join the zoom call where you will be split into breakout rooms of smaller groups. After a few minutes your group will change, sort of like mingling with different people at coffee hour. Please use this link to join it: https://zoom.us/j/392596633
Password: 0815

Monday–Saturday you can join Morning Prayers on Zoom with James & Brooke Wilcox, who write: “We say the Trisagion Prayers, a Psalm, and the NT reading for the day, we honor the Theotokos, and include liturgical material which honors the saints for each day, in addition to incorporating festal hymns proper to each liturgical season. We’ve even come to adopt Patron Saints for our newly formed house chapel – Sts. Antony and Anastasia. And thanks to the power of the internet and the influence of other participants, we now have people joining us each morning from Arizona, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York City and other portions of Massachusetts as well. And we are always happy to add more!  If anyone would like to join, we start at 8:45 each morning, Monday through Saturday, and go for about 15 minutes.” The link to join is:  https://zoom.us/j/377381275.
Password: 28052020

On Tuesday at 6:30pm, Paraklesis to the Theotokos is held in the church. The text for the service can be found here:
http://ww1.antiochian.org/sites/default/files/paraklesis_little-with_music.pdf 

   To attend in person, you must register on EventBrite.
For 7/28:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/paraclesis-to-the-theotokos-tickets-113124452282
Password is 0815

   There are 20 distinct pew spots for family units/households.  Each household only needs 1 ticket.  The site will automatically suggest the closest pew. To change the selection, go to the map, deselect the ticket chosen and click on the pew number you would like instead.  Arrive between 6:15pm  and 6:45pm.

Thursday evenings at 7:00pm there is an Adult Education program (“Orthodoxy 102”) with Subdeacon James: https://zoom.us/j/92020118216
Password: 0611

Also, you can pray the liturgical services at home - The Archdiocese has published online instructions for reader services (services without a priest present). You can find them at the Online Liturgical Guide. Look at the list of services on the right side of the page and click on the ones marked ‘Reader Service’.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Transfiguration
On Thursday, August 6, the church commemorates the Transfiguration of our Lord. The evening before that, on Wednesday August  5, we will celebrate  with Vesperal Liturgy at 6:30pm.

Dormition
Our Patronal Feast Day is the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, on August 15. The church prepares for this every year with a Dormition Fast, which begins on Saturday, August 1 and continues through Friday, August 14.
   + There will be a Paraclesis for the Dormition on Friday, August 7 at 6:30pm, and another on Wednesday, August 12
   + Join us finally for a Vigil for the Dormition on Friday, August 14, the eve of the Feast, with Vespers at 4:15 pm; Orthros at 5:30pm;  and Festal Divine Liturgy at 7:00 pm.

People Helping People
A number of parishioners have made known their desire to help people who need assistance. The church office is keeping a list of volunteers. Call the office if you would like your name added to the list of volunteers. There can’t be too many.
   If you know of anyone who needs any sort of help call the church office (617) 547-1234 to make the connection.  Remember, many people are ashamed/afraid to ask for help. Keep your eyes and ears open and ask about needs with kind concern.

Procedures for Sunday services in the church
Members of St. Mary’s laity may attend services in rotation, with appropriate physical distancing throughout the nave.  The list of voting members is now divided in thirds, and each third will receive a telephone invitation on a Tuesday afternoon to attend on the following Sunday;  your response is requested by noon the following Friday.

There is now a new seating plan, as of Sunday 7/5, which opens up the side aisles and gives more room to the 4-part choir that is now allowed to sing but which needs 12 feet of social distance. Please sit in marked pews.

  • You must arrive no later than 10:15 a.m. on the Sunday you are scheduled to attend liturgy. After 10:15 a.m., there will be no one available to provide you access to the church.
  • When entering the Nave, you are to only sit in the pews that have a white piece of paper affixed to the end of the pew. Do not sit in any other pews. This limits the amount of sanitizing necessary.
  • There will be no access for any reason to the hall area, church offices and/or the kitchen. Children under 12 years of age are to be escorted to the bathroom by an adult.
  • You must have a mask or face covering, which you may remove when you are in the pew and must put on when leaving the pew. If you arrive without a mask or face covering, you will not be permitted to remain. You need to provide your own masks; the church will not have masks.
  • You must bring hand sanitizer with you for your use.
  • The Antidoron (holy bread) will be handed to you by Father Antony or the altar server.
  • There will be no hugging, handshakes or kissing, including kissing of icons, the cross, gospel and/or Father Antony’s hand. To appropriately venerate the gospel, cross or icon, please bow your head.
  • Communion and receipt of the Antidoron will be from the right aisle only. Tape will be placed on the carpet to provide for spacing for social distancing. An usher will be present; please follow his/her direction.
  • Father Antony will be wearing a face mask during the distribution of communion and during the dismissal for his protection and the protection of others.
  • Communion will continue in accordance with the church’s tradition. You must allow Father Antony to pour the Body and Blood by opening your mouth wide and not closing your lips on the spoon.
  • Do not wipe your mouth with the communion cloth after receiving communion. 

The spiritual conversation of confessions may be done either over the telephone with the absolution prayer being given in person with physical distancing or all in-person with physical distancing. The stole will not be placed on the penitent’s head.

We ask for your patience and that you respect these directives and strictly comply. These directives and restrictions are necessary to protect the health and safety of Father Antony, our altar services, chanters and those laity in attendance.

Our services will continue to be available by live stream.

In the event you have any questions and/or concerns, please call the church office or Mary Winstanley O’Connor at (781) 641-2967
 
REFLECTION  

For the man who believes, all things are possible because "Faith is counted as righteousness," and "Christ is the end of the Law." Belief in Him justifies and perfects the believer, for belief in Christ is considered to correspond to the works of the law. It is confirmed and witnessed by the evangelic precepts and so earns for the faithful a participation in eternal life, in Christ Himself.
   - St. Symeon the New Theologian

The one who is perfect in love and has reached the summit of detachment knows no distinction between one's own and another's, between faithful and unfaithful, between slave and freeman, or indeed between male and female. But having risen above the tyranny of the passions and looking to the one nature of men he regards all equally and is equally disposed toward all. For in him there is neither Greek nor Jew, neither male nor female, neither slave nor freeman, but Christ is everything and in everything.
   - Maximus the Confessor
 
[Jesus prayed] "that they may be one, as We are." In this perfect unity, not only the all-conquering power of the faithful but also the glory of God will be seen; yes, and God's very being. As the Father and the Son are one in essence, differing only in Person, so let it be among the faithful, many and varied in person, but essentially one in love, will and mind.
   - St. (Bp.) Nikolai Velimirovic, Homilies