Weekly Update for April 2, 2021
THIS COMING WEEK AT ST. MARY’S
FRIDAY 4/2 – Akathist to the Theotokos 7:00pm
NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
MEMORIALS FOR APRIL - Please note that those who passed away in April will be remembered on Sunday, April 18, 2021.
REMINDERS
REGISTERING FOR SERVICES – You can now register at https://stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/signup to attend the Lenten services (primarily the Presanctified Liturgies on Wednesdays, and the Akathist services on Friday evenings). If you're not a member of the parish, you can sign up to attend one of these services at 10:00am on the previous day.
Holy Week services will be available for registration around the middle of this month. These will be restricted to members of St. Mary only and will be limited to one service that week.
For regular Sunday services you can sign up for one Sunday per month. If additional spots are still available after 6:00 pm on the Friday prior to a Sunday liturgy, non-members as well as members may sign up to fill the remaining spots, even if they've already attended a Sunday service that month.
If you find that you can’t make it on a date you’ve signed up for, please cancel your reservation so someone else can use it.
E-NEWS EDITOR RETIRING – The Editor of this e-Newsletter, Melissa Nassiff will be retiring effective Friday, April 16, unless a new volunteer steps forward to take her place before then. If you’re interested in taking over this position please contact Melissa Nassiff (mnassiff@gmail.com), Fr. Antony or Ray Sayeg (rsayeg@koilaw.com). Plenty of help and guidance will be provided.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - In addition to editor of the eNewsletter (which provides church-related information to 675 subscribers), we are looking for volunteers to assist with more of the technical responsibilities
pertaining to outreach at the church:
Website Maintenance
- volunteer to post news, events, important announcements, custom forms and other
functionality, on our website.
- update calendar, review usage statistics.
- periodic redesigns of website.
- monitoring of listings in online directories, such as Yelp, Google Business, etc. including communicating
comprehensive web, marketing, and communications strategy for the parish.
Social Media Maintenance and Monitoring
- volunteer to post news, events, important announcements on our social media pages.
- monitor inboxes and comments, responding to or forwarding messages as needed.
- potential for expansion into other Social Media Platforms.
Sermon Editing and Posting on Web and Social Media
- volunteer to weekly edit and post sermons on the church website.
- possible future expansion including posting sermons to additional social media channels, including Instagram,
Snapchat and creation of a podcast of the sermons.
Occasional Tech Support, Layout, and Graphic Design Work for Various Church Ministries
- volunteer to assist with tech support and design work to support the administrative work and ministries of the
church.
- meet and work with other parish members and provide valuable technical assistance.
Please contact Father Antony or Raymond Sayeg to sign up.
LIVE-STREAMED SERVICES - All the Divine Services held in St. Mary’s Church can also be seen live-streamed at www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/live or https://www.facebook.com/stmarycambridge or www.youtube.com/stmarycambridge For the safety of all during the pandemic, please pray with us from home if you have a cough or cold.
DONATIONS TO THE CHURCH - One-time donations to the church (For the Good Health of, In Memory of, etc.) can be made on our website using this form: https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/donate/donate-now In addition to bank ACH transfers, we now accept credit cards for these donations, but ask that you kindly check the box to cover the 2.6% fee incurred by the church for this convenience. For pledge contributions, please sign up for eGive to make ACH transfers.
Donations for Holy Week and Pascha will be accepted until Monday, 4/19, 2021. Please email the church secretary or Mary Winstanley O’Connor at moconnor@koilaw.com with your name, to what you are donating and the reason, i.e. good health or in memory of someone. Donations will be accepted for the palms, holy oil, flowers to decorate the epitaphios for Good Friday, flowers to adorn the altar, and incense. Any questions, please call Mary Winstanley O’Connor at (617) 523-1010. These donations will appear in the Palm Sunday bulletin on April 25.
. Please submit your donations for Holy Week either by mail to the church office (8 Inman St, Cambridge MA 02139) or by E-give, designating to what you are donating, i.e. Good Friday flowers for the Tomb, Easter Lilies, Holy Oil, and how you would like your donation listed in the bulletin. All donations will appear in the Palm Sunday bulletin, April 25, 2021.
MORNING PRAYER - The daily morning prayer group on Zoom, led by Subdeacon James Wilcox and his wife Brooke is open to anyone who wants to take part. Prayers now run Monday through Friday, beginning
at 8:30am: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/377381275 password: 28052020
ORTHODOXY 102 - This adult education class is led by Subdeacon James on Zoom. Orthodoxy 102 is an adult education class designed for Christians who have spent many years in the Orthodox church, but have never had any formal teaching on the theology and liturgical structure of Eastern Christianity. This is the second year the class is being offered. It 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 want to join, please email Subdeacon James drjamesis@gmail.com (or introduce yourself to him on any Sunday following the liturgy, if you’re there in person). The class begins at 7:00pm every Monday on Zoom.
REFLECTION
The real and true life then is the Father, who through the Son in the Holy Spirit pours forth as from a fountain His heavenly gifts to all; and through His love to man, the blessing of life eternal are promised without fail to us men also. We must not disbelieve the possibility of this, but having an eye not to our own weakness but to His power, we must believe; for with God all things are possible.
- St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures
Accordingly, dearly-beloved, being mindful of our weakness, because we easily fall into all kinds of faults, let us by no means neglect this special remedy and most effectual healing of our wounds. Let us remit, that we may have remission; let us grant the pardon which we crave; let us not be eager to be revenged when we pray to be forgiven. Let us not pass over the groans of the poor with deaf ear, but with prompt kindness bestow our mercy on the needy, that we may deserve to find mercy in the judgment.
- Leo the Great, On Lent I.
O Lord and Master of my life! Take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to thy servant.
Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother;
For Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.
- St. Ephrem the Syrian