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

Holy Apostles Peter & Paul

Second Sunday after Pentecost

June 29, 2008

Epistle: II Corinthians 11:21-33; 12:6-9 Gospel: Matthew 16:13-19

The Holy Bread for Eucharist is offered this morning by Jack Turner.

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 June 29^th – July 6^th (Wed. & Fri. Fast)

Sunday - Claire vanDrimmelen’s Baby Shower at Cameron’s home, 5:00 p.m.

- No Teen Group – due to camp

- Young Adult Group at Fr. John & Kh. Pamela’s home, 7:00 p.m.

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

Tuesday - Third Hour, 9:00 a.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, 6:50 p.m.

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

- Men’s Lunch, 12:00 p.m.

Friday - Office is Closed

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

Sunday - Orthros, 9:00 a.m.

- Divine Liturgy, 10:00 a.m.

Schedule for Divine Liturgy Sunday, July 6^th

PRIEST: Fr. Basil HOMILY: Fr. Basil

DEACONS: Dns. James & Charles READER: John McGee

HOLY BREAD: Sue Ingram USHER: John McGee

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

COFFEE HOUR: **STILL NEED VOLUNTEERS**

COFFEE HOUR SCHEDULE – The schedule for coffee hour for the months of July, August & September is in the parish hall. Please take a moment to sign-up to serve.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

No Divine Liturgy on July 11 – We will not celebrate the liturgy for St. Ephemia originally scheduled on July 11 due to Fr. John’s being out of the country.

Scheduling change for the Men’s Lunch - The Men’s Lunch will meet on Thursdays at noon at the Barksdale on South Cooper.

Fr John travel – Fr John will be out of town quite a bit in the next several weeks:

July 1-16 France Pilgrimage

July 21-25 Antiochian Village Clergy symposium

COMMEMORATIONS**

June 29: Apostles Peter and Paul.

June 30: The synaxis of the Twelve Apostles. New-martyr Michael.

July 1: Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian, martyrs in Rome; New-martyr Constantine; translation of the relics of Venerable John of Rila from Trnovo to Rila.

July 2: The commemoration of the placing of the Robe of the Theotokos in Blachernae. Juvenaly, archbishop of Jerusalem; the new-martyrs of Samothrace; repose of Job, first patriarch of Moscow.

July 3: Martyrs Hyacinth and Theodota of Caesarea in Cappadocia; Anatolios, patriarch of Constantinople; Venerable-martyr Gerasimos the New of Carpenision; Venerable Joachim; translation of the relics of Philip the wonder-worker, metropolitan of Moscow; Venerable Nikodemos of Kozhe Lake.

July 4: Andrew, bishop of Crete, author of the Great Canon; Martyrs Theodore of Cyrene and Lucia; Venerable Andrew Rublev.

July 5: Venerable Athanasios the Athonite, founder of the Great Lavra on Athos; Venerable hieromartyr Cyprian of St. George kelli on Athos; Venerable Lampados of Irenoupolis; the synaxis of the 23 martyrs of Lesvos; uncovering of the relics of Venerable Sergios the wonder-worker of Radonezh.

July 6: Venerable Sisoes the Great; Apostles Archippos, Philemon and Onesimos of the Seventy; Martyrs Lucia, Epimachos and Alexander; Venerable-martyr Cyril.

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

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS June 29 – July 6

Sunday II Corinthians 11:21-12:9 Matthew 4:18-23 & Matthew 16:13-19

Monday Romans 7:1-13 Matthew 9:36-10:8

Tuesday Romans 7:14-8:2 Matthew 10:9-15

Wednesday Romans 8:2-13 Matthew 10:16-22

Thursday Romans 8:22-27 Matthew 10:23-31

Friday Romans 9:6-19 Matthew 10:32-36; 11:1

Saturday Romans 3:28-4:3 Matthew 7:24-8:4

Sunday Romans 5:1-10 Matthew 6:22-33

Pray for our catechumens: In Memphis - James Pritchard, Leland & Courtney Murphree (Mary Charlotte), Gary & Cindy Karnaghon, Sue Brownlow, Larry Ichniowski, and Kinney Graham. In Tupelo - Shane Davis, Justin & Tifphanie Franks (Paris), 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, Claire van Drimmelen (pregnant), Beauvais George (pregnant), Jodi Elliott (pregnant), Joy White (pregnant), Jodi Yzaguirre (pregnant), Andrew Alissandratos, Chuck Sneed (John’s brother), Ann Hicks (Dianna Hildebrand’s mother).

- ALMS-GIVING -

FOOD PANTRY - Please remember that we give items from the food pantry to a few specific families all year long and this is a wonderful way to give alms all throughout the year. We will continue to keep a bin just outside the parish hall for collection of these items.

HANDS-ON ALMS-GIVING OPPORTUNITIES - Rachel’s Kids – Interested in tutoring one on one, or donating food, drinks or paper serving items? Tuesday nights - Contact Lynda Spinolo, (751-8828), (355-0150), or email lspinolo@comcast.net.

OTHER CONTINUING ALMS-GIVING OPPORTUNITIES

Diocese of Miami and the Southeast Mission Fund

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

St. Barbara Monastery – for the benefit of Sister Thekla (Anne Marie Harrison)

Project Mexico – www.projectmexico.org

Worship and liturgical reminders - I was recently told by a St. John parishioner that I needed to be “mean father” as it regards punctuality and arriving on time for the services of the Church. Forgive me, but I do not like to be mean. However, I have been and continue to be troubled by the growing number of parishioners who arrive after the beginning of our services. We often begin even the liturgy with less than half of those who are here to hear the Gospel. This is very disturbing and bad practice to say the least! I have included in this bulletin a rather strongly written item included entitled, “An Open Letter to the Beloved Parishioners of St. George” dealing with arriving on time for the divine services. It was written by a parishioner of St. George (Wichita) Cathedral, but it is certainly applicable to all churches, including ours. I hope we can modify our practice substantially – I do not want to have to say more than that. - Fr John

Antiochian Women of St. John’s Calendar

**New Event!! - AWSJ – Potluck Dinner**

Monday, July 21^st in St. John Parish Hall – more details to follow

Upcoming Book Club Dates:

This Monday, July 7^th – The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

We will meet on Sarah Hodges’ screened-in front porch at 7:00 p.m.

We will not meet in August

Monday, September 8^th – Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

Monday, October 6^th - Diary of a Country Priest by George Bernanos

Monday, November 3^rd – The Bishop’s Mantle

AWSJ – Bi-monthly Business Meeting

Upcoming dates ~ August 3^rd

Women’s Teaching

Upcoming Dates ~ Thursday, August 7^th, 10:00 a.m. at the home of Anne Dugan

OCF ~ Orthodox Christian Fellowship

Movie Night ~ Take-out Food Potluck

Tomorrow! Monday, June 30^th ~ 7:00 p.m.

at Claire & Ethan vanDrimmelen’s home

RSVP: Caitlyn Manning

Rachels’s Kids – Many thanks to all those who donated camper supplies for Rachel’s Kids going to camp! This summer a total of 28 children will be able to participate in camp and 2 of their older children will be counselors. Although attendance will be lighter with many children going to camp, there will still be children at Rachel’s Kids on Tuesdays from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. If you would like to go and read or play games you will be most welcome! They would also love some fresh fruit. Please contact Lynda Spinolo if you have any questions.

“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring two pence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.” - C. S. Lewis

LIBRARY LINES –

Have you ever wondered how people get to be saints in the Orthodox Church? Read chapter 5 in Selected Essays (CAT/GEN/POM) by Protopresbyter Michael

Pomazansky. He tells us the development of the process and the reason for it, which he says, “is among the most important activities of the Church.”

This week on July 4th, we commemorate two St. Andrews who glorified God through the arts. St. Andrew of Crete was mute as a child, yet went on to compose the beautiful Canon we sing during Lent as well as other hymns of the Church. St. Andrew Rublev, also a monk at an early age, painted the famous icon of the Holy Trinity, the Hospitality of Abraham.

See their icons and the accounts of their lives on display at St. John Library.

Teen Group Events

Sundays, June 29^th & July 6^th – No Teen Group due to Camp St. Thekla

Sunday, July 13^th – Pool Party!

EXCITING NEWS! – Please join me in welcoming Rev. Dn. Nicolai Meyers, Sh. Jeanette, and their daughter Anna Marie Meyers to our parish. Dn. Nicolai will be ordained to the priesthood as Rev. Fr. Nicholas on July 20 at his home parish, St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Riverside, CA. He has been officially assigned to our parish effective August 1. Dn. Nicolai is a recent graduate of St. Tikhon’s Seminary. They will stay with Pamela and me until we leave for France on July 1. They will remain in our home until they leave about July 15 for his ordination. Their plan is to leave California about July 28 to return to Memphis with their “California” belongings by August 1. During the two weeks of July they will be here, they hope to locate housing. I hope that many of you can take an opportunity to offer hospitality to them in our absence.

The clergy, parish council, and I are very positive about the possibilities and opportunities ahead. May we all prove worthy of the gifts and callings given us by God.