ST. JOHN ORTHODOX CHURCH

1663 TUTWILER AVENUE

MEMPHIS, TN 38107

(901) 274-4119

www.stjohnmemphis.org

V. Rev. Fr. Basil Cushman V. Rev. Fr. John Troy Mashburn, Jr. Rev. Fr. Donald Berge

Assistant Pastor Pastor

GREAT VESPERS ORTHROS and CHURCH SCHOOL DIVINE LITURGY

Saturday, 6:00 p.m. Sunday, 9:00 a.m. Sunday, 10:00 a.m.

Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

“…the Disciples were called Christians first in Antioch!”

Acts 11:26

Sunday of the Pharisee and the Publican

February 17, 2008

Epistle: II Timothy 3:10-15 Gospel: Luke 18:10-14

The Holy Bread for Eucharist is offered this morning by Laura Graham.

Welcome to all those visiting St. John Orthodox Church. We are honored by your presence. It is our sincere desire that your participation today in the Divine Liturgy will draw you closer to Christ and His Church.

If you are from a non-Orthodox background you may see new things such as icons, incense, the sign of the cross, the veneration of saints, and a great deal of standing. These can be perplexing to the uninitiated eye. Rest assured that everything we do has a solid biblical foundation and a long history among Christian people. Please feel free to participate where you feel comfortable, and feel equally as free only to observe when you prefer.

The Orthodox Church understands the Eucharist, or Lord’s Supper, to be – among other things – the paramount expression of Christian unity. While it is our deepest hope that Christendom will one day fulfill Christ’s desire for true unity among all those who claim His name (John 17:21), the unfortunate reality of our day is that the various segments of Christendom are not unified with the historic Orthodox faith. Since participation in the Eucharist expresses a unity with all the dogma and practice of the Orthodox Church, non-Orthodox guests do not receive Holy Communion. The Holy Eucharist is reserved for those members of the Orthodox Church who have prepared themselves by prayer, fasting, and recent confession. All visitors and unprepared Orthodox are invited to partake of the blessed bread as they come forward to venerate the cross at the end of the Liturgy. Thank you for your understanding.

ST. JOHN CALENDAR February 17^th - February 24^th (No Fasting)

Sunday - Teen Group – Roller Skating, 2:00 p.m. at Cordova Skate Center

- No Young Adult Group

Monday - First Hour, 6:45 a.m.

- Bible Bowl Meeting, 4:00 p.m.

Tuesday - Third Hour, 9:00 a.m.

- Men’s Lunch, 12:00 p.m.

- Choir Practice, 6:45 p.m.

- Catechumen/Inquirer’s Class, 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday - Third Hour, 9:00 a.m.

- Ninth Hour and Vespers at St. George’s, 6:30 p.m.

- Ninth Hour and Vespers, 6:50 p.m.

Thursday - Third Hour, 9:00 a.m.

Friday - First Hour Prayer, 6:45 a.m.

- Third Hour Prayer, 9:00 a.m.

- Sixth Hour Prayer, 12:00 p.m.

- Teen Group leaves for Deanery Retreat, 4:30 p.m.

- Orthodoxy Goes West – Dinner Theatre, 6:00 p.m.

Saturday - Ninth Hour and Great Vespers, 5:50 p.m.

Sunday - Orthros, 8:55 a.m.

- Church School, 8:50 a.m.

- Divine Liturgy, 10:00 a.m.

Schedule for Divine Liturgy Sunday, February 24^th

PRIEST: Fr. Basil

HOMILY: Fr. Basil

DEACONS: Dns. James & Charles

ALTAR SERVERS: Caleb, J. Morgan, Misha, Joe

HOLY BREAD: Judy Terry

READER: Billy Scrantom

USHER: John Sneed

COFFEE HOUR: Michael & Mindy Williams

NEXT WEEK: The week following the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee is FAST-FREE!

For an excellent item on the life of St. Spyridon, the subject of one of our new icons, go to the website: http://www.saint-spyridon.com/archive_spyridon.htm

COMMEMORATIONS**

February 17: Great-martyr Theodore the Soldier (“Tyro”); Marcian the emperor and Pulcheria the empress; New-martyrs Theodore and Michael; Venerable Euxiphios; repose of Hermogenes, patriarch of Moscow; Venerable Finan, bishop of Lindisfarne.

February 18: Leo the Great, pope of Rome; Agapitos the Confessor, bishop of Synnada in Phrygia; Venerable Colman, bishop of Lindisfarne.

February 19: Apostles Archippos, Philemon and Apphias of the Seventy; Venerable-martyr Philothea of Athens; New-martyr Nikita the New of Epiros.

February 20: Leo, bishop of Catania in Sicily; Venerable Vissarion the Great of Egypt; Agathon, pope of Rome.

February 21: Venerable Timothy of Symbola; Eustathios, archbishop of Antioch; Zachariah, patriarch of Jerusalem; George, bishop of Amastris.

February 22: The uncovering of the relics of the Martyrs at the gate of Eugenios in Constantinople; Martyr Anthusa.

February 23: Hieromartyr Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna; Martyr Polychronios; Venerable Gorgonia; Venerable Damian and Venerable-martyr Damian of Philotheou monastery on Athos.

February 24: The first and second discoveries of the honorable head of the Forerunner.

**For reading material on the saints for this week, visit the display in the church library.

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS February 17 – February 24

Sunday II Timothy 3:10-15 Luke 18:10-14

Monday II Peter 1:20-2:9 Mark 13:9-13

Tuesday II Peter 2:9-22 Mark 13:14-23

Wednesday II Peter 3:1-18 Mark 13:24-31

Thursday I John 1:8-2:6 Mark 13:31-14:2

Friday I John 2:7-17 Mark 14:3-9

Saturday II Timothy 3:1-9 Luke 20:46-21:4

Sunday I Corinthians 6:12-20 Luke 15:11-32

Pray for our catechumens: In Memphis - James Pritchard, Trent Terry, Leland & Courtney Murphree (Mary Charlotte), Chase Sliger, Caitlyn Manning, Brandon Maas,

Gary & Cindy Karnaghon, and Sue Brownlow. In Tupelo - Shane Davis, Jason & Shea Guntharp (Jordon & Lauren), Justin & Tifphanie Franks (Paris), Brian, Suzie, Griffin, Oliver, Burke, Quinn, Gabriel & Sophia Fahling, Justin & Brandy Williams, Leah Hardy, and Adam Clay

Please remember in your prayers: His Eminence, Metropolitan PHILIP, His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN, Archimandrite Roman Braga, Rev. Fr. Mikhail & the faithful of Spaso-Pargolovo (St. Petersburg), Buddy Taylor, Margaret Layman, Chris Hodges, Jonathan Cushman, Jason Cushman, Judy Smith (Julie Sanderlin’s mother), Shirley Gore (Judy Terry’s mother), Stephen Wright, Linda Starr (friend of Mary Ann Coccaro), Effie Johnson (Kh. Susan’s mother), Mary Clark, Kh. Susan Cushman, Claire van Drimmelen (pregnant), Beauvais George (pregnant), Jodi Elliott (pregnant).

Alms Giving Opportunities:

The Alms Fund – used for a variety of uses throughout the year

Food for Hungry People – add to the food pantry**

Diocese of Miami and the Southeast Mission Fund

Michael Bittle Fund – Holy Trinity Orthodox Church – Little Rock, AR

**The Food Pantry is in need of the following items: Canned fruit & meat, crackers, small jars of peanut butter. Also, if you have any extra sample-size/hotel toiletry items, feel free to bring them to the food pantry as they are a nice addition to the bags that we hand out.

Vacation Bible School – It is not too early to start planning for VBS. We are looking for someone to coordinate this year’s VBS. This would be a great way to serve the children of our parish. There are already a few volunteers in place, but a fearless leader is needed. Please contact Meribeth in the church office if you are interested.

New Phone Directories – The long-since promised phone directories are now available in the parish hall. Please remember that these directories are for personal use only. Also remember that the directories are only as good as the information given to us. If there are any changes or corrections that need to be made, please let me know. – Meribeth

Pro-life Corner – “Although it is a fundamental embryological truth that each of us was once an embryo, the advocates of embryonic stem cell research are eager to portray human embryos as different from the rest of us, unable to make the grade, and hence fair game for destruction at the hands of those who themselves are no longer embryos.”

- Rev. Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D.

Antiochian Women of St. John’s Calendar

Book Club

Monday, March 3^rd – The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

7:00 p.m. at the home of Shanna Massouh

Upcoming Book Club Dates:

Monday, May 12^th – My Journey with Father Alexander by Juliana Schmemann

Monday, June 2^nd – The Pilgrim’s Inn ~ The Herb of Grace by Elizabeth Goudge

Women’s Teaching

Upcoming Women’s Teaching Dates - March 20^th & April 10^th

10:00 a.m. at the home of Anne Dugan

It's a boy!!!  The Antiochian Women of St. John are invited to a Baby Shower for Jodi Elliott on Saturday, March 22 at 11:00 a.m., at the home of Claire vanDrimmelen. 

Mark your calendars!  Registry and group gift information to follow. 

Stay & Play – A mom’s group that will plan to meet Friday mornings at the church for third hour prayer at 9:00 a.m. and then stay to let the little ones play in the nursery while moms get a chance to indulge in grown-up talk. This is a very informal get-together…come and join in the fun!

Upcoming baptisms, chrismations, enrollments:

- IN MEMPHIS -

Today, Sunday, February 17^th

Evan & Elizabeth Chastain, Chrismation - Godparents, Charlie & Meribeth Harvey

Gary & Cindy Karnaghon, Enrollment-Godparents, Dn Charles & Sh Margaret McKelroy

Sue Brownlow - Enrollment, Godparent, Kh. Susan Cushman

Saturday, March 1^st – Following Vespers

Paul Elliott, Baptism - Godparents, Joel and Sarah Finley

Peter Snowden, Baptism - Godparents, Caleb McGee and Katherine Thames

Edmond Massouh, Baptism - Godparents, Matthew and Gigi Snowden

- IN TUPELO -

Sunday, March 9th

Jason and Shea Guntharp, Chrismation - Godparents Paul and Sheila Sudduth

Jordan and Lauren Guntharp, Baptism - Godparents Paul and Sheila Sudduth

LIBRARY LINES – Our commemoration list includes several Theodores. Today we honor Theodore the Tyro (2/17), which means “the Recruit.” Often this is a term of derision, but this saint proved it otherwise. He was put in prison for refusing to obey the order of his commanding officer to sacrifice to idols. Christ appeared to him, encouraging him before his martyrdom. On the 50th anniversary of his death, he appeared to a bishop and warned him to guard his flock against eating food that had been secretly sacrificed to idols. He is also commemorated on the first Saturday of Lent, and a Canon was composed to him by St. John of Damascus. We ask his intercession for the return of stolen items.

St. Leo the Great (2/18) is perhaps the most well-known bishop of Rome we commemorate. He brought a devout faith, underscored by an excellent education, to the Church when he was attacked by the heresy of the Monophysites who denied the dual natures of Christ. With his oratorical skills, he defended Italy from invasion by the Huns and Vandals.

Many of us are fond of the Celtic saints. And, there is a strong tie between the Orthodoxy and the Celtic Church. See Again Magazine, the summer 2007 issue, “How to Get to the Land of the West: an Again Interview with Terry Mattingly.” Sts. Colman and Finan (2/17) both of Lindisfarne, Ireland, were upholders of the Celtic tradition in its struggle against the Roman influence. St. Finan of Lindisfarne, Irish by birth, became a monk and upheld the Celtic traditions against the encroachment of Roman practices. Finan baptized local rulers and debated the correct way to calculate the date of Easter. Finan died in 661. St. Colman, also of Ireland, was tonsured as a monk and was a devoted disciple of St Columba (6/9) and a contemporary of Sts. Aidan (8/31) and Finan. Most of our information of him comes from the Venerable Bede (5/27). He was a strong influence in controversies of the time; proper calculation of the date of Pascha, power of local monasteries over worship practices, and the practice of tonsuring. (See the bulletin board for a history of the practice.) King Oswy ruled in favor of the Roman practices, and Colman resigned his bishopric in protest. He left with the Irish monks and about 30 English ones for Scotland. He founded several churches and later returned to Ireland and died peacefully.

See their icons and stories in St. John Library.

Teen Group Events

TODAY – Roller Skating at Cordova Skate Center at 2PM, cost $10

Monday, February 18^th – Bible Bowl Meeting at the church

Friday, February 22^nd – Leave for Deanery Teen Retreat

We will meet at the church at 4:30 PM

Good Tips for Personal and Home Security

**Program 545-COPS (545-2677) into your cell phone.

**Look up and down the neighborhood alleys every day as you walk, bike or drive by. **Report immediately suspicious activity to the police -

Cars and trucks stopped in alleys are suspicious.

**Don’t leave intriguing items visible in your car.

**Discourage walk-up lawn workers by never hiring them –

Hire folks recommended by your neighbors.

**Use porch and other outdoor lights at night -

Lights on motion detectors can help with security AND save energy.

2008 Stamo Latto Scholarship for young women graduating from high school and for talented female juniors. As is previous years, the competition is open to all members of canonical Orthodox churches in Charleston, SC and Memphis, TN. There will again be up to 3 scholarships of up to $1,000 each. The deadline will be April 20. For more information contact Meribeth in the church office at 274-4119 or meribeth@stjohnmemphis.org.

Community Outreach Committee –

The committee we will have a field trip to the Binghampton neighborhood Monday, February 18^th in the late afternoon/evening.  Anyone willing and able may join the committee for a visit to 2 Binghampton community service organizations.  We will begin 4:45 p.m. at the Village Community Center (2509 Harvard) for soup and sandwiches.  The founder of “The Village”, Onie Johns, will talk to us about the services they offer to the community.

We will then meet Rachel Coates, the founder of Rachel’s Kids Inc. (www.rachelskidsinc.org). She and other volunteers tutor and mentor children in the area.  She will not be tutoring this evening because it is Presidents Day, but will introduce us to the opportunities for us to help out.

Please let Lynda Spinolo know if you can make it.  Teens are invited as well, since we may join forces with the teen group in our community outreach efforts.

Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev:

Liberal Christianity will not survive for a long time

(Intervention at the opening session of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, Geneva, 13 February 2008)

I would like to draw your attention to the danger of liberal Christianity. The liberalization of moral standards, initiated by some Protestant and Anglican communities several decades ago and developing with ever-increasing speed, has now brought us to a situation where we can no longer preach one and the same code of moral conduct. We can no longer speak about Christian morality,because moral standards promoted by 'traditional' and 'liberal' Christians are markedly different, and the abyss between these two wings of contemporary Christianity is rapidly growing.

We are being told by some allegedly Christian leaders, who still bear the titles of Reverends and Most Reverends, that marriage between a woman and a man is no longer the only option for creating a Christian family, that there are other patterns, and that the church must be 'inclusive' enough to recognize alternative lifestyles and give them official and solemn blessing. We are being told that human life is no longer an unquestionable value, that it can be summarily aborted in the womb, or that one may have the right to interrupt it voluntarily, and that Christian 'traditionalists' should reconsider their standpoints in order to be in tune with modern developments. We are being told that abortion is acceptable, contraception is agreeable, and euthanasia is better still, and that the church must accommodate all these 'values' in the name of human rights.

What, then, is left of Christianity? In the confusing and disoriented world in which we live, where is the prophetic voice of Christians? What can we offer, or can we offer anything at all to the secular world, apart from what the secular world will offer to itself as a value system on which society should be built? Do we have our own value system which we should preach, or should we simply applaud every novelty in public morality which becomes fashionable in the secular society?

I would also like to draw your attention to the danger of a 'politically correct' Christianity, of a Christianity which not only so easily and readily surrenders itself to secular moral standards, but also participates in promoting value systems alien to Christian tradition.

We are facing a paradoxical situation. British secular politicians who share Christian convictions are concerned about the rising Christianophobia in the UK and initiate a debate on this issue in Parliament, calling for recognition of the country's Christian identity. At the same time the primate of the Church of England calls for 'a constructive accommodation with some aspects of Muslim law.'

I am sure I will be told that Christianity must become more tolerant and all-inclusive, that we Christians should no longer insist on our religion as being the only true faith, that we should learn how to adopt other value systems and standards. My question, however, is: when are we going to stop making Christianity politically correct and all-inclusive; why do we insist on accommodating every possible alternative to the centuries-old Christian tradition? Where is the limit, or is there no limit at all?

Many Christians worldwide look to Christian leaders in the hope that they will defend Christianity against the challenges that it faces. It is not our task to defend Sharia law, or to commend alternative lifestyles or to promote secular values. Our holy mission is to preach what Christ preached, to teach what the apostles taught and to propagate what the holy Fathers propagated. It is this witness which people are expecting of us.

I am convinced that liberal Christianity will not survive for a long time. A politically correct Christianity will die. We see already how liberal Christianity is falling apart and how the introduction of new moral norms leads to division, discord and confusion in some Christian communities. This process will continue, while traditional Christians, I believe, will consolidate their forces in order to protect the faith and moral teaching which the Lord gave, the Apostles preached and the Fathers preserved.

Join us for a Fun & Entertaining

Dinner Theatre ~ AWSJ Fundraiser

for Retired Clergy Housing Fund for 2008

(euphemistically known as the Men in Black)

ORTHODOXY GOES WEST

An Anne Schommer Production

Friday, February 22^nd at 6:00 p.m.

St. John Orthodox Church Fellowship Hall

Admission – suggested minimum donations

$10/adult & $5/school-age children

Any donations above & beyond ticket price

will go to a VERY worthy cause

Western Attire Encouraged – Definitely Denim!

In the past this dinner theatre event was limited to adults. This year the informal, casual evening can be enjoyed by school-age children as well. A great way to prepare for the evening would be to sit-down together and watch

Oklahoma!

Wanted Volunteers!

Please contact Meribeth Harvey in the church office if you would like to help in ANY way – 274-4119 or meribeth@stjohnmemphis.org