ST.
JOHN
ORTHODOX CHURCH
1663 TUTWILER AVENUE
(901)
274-4119
www.stjohnmemphis.org
V.
Rev.
Pastor
Assistant Pastor
V. Rev. Fr. Basil Cushman Rev.
Fr. Donald Berge
Associate
Pastor
Attached
GREAT
VESPERS ORTHROS and
Saturday,
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of
“…the
Disciples were called Christians first in
Acts 11:26
Commemoration
of St. Matthew the Evangelist
Epistle: Romans 10:11-11:2 Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13
The Holy Bread for Eucharist is offered this morning by
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
Sunday - Teen Group,
Followed
by a Field Trip for the Seniors, 6:30 p.m.
- Young
Adult Group, at Fr. John & Kh. Pamela’s home,
Monday - First
Hour,
- Advent Paraklesis,
Tuesday - Third Hour,
- Men’s Lunch,
- No
Choir Practice
- Catechumen/Inquirer’s
Class,
Wednesday - Third
Hour,
- Vespers,
-
Wednesday Dinner,
-
Wednesday Teaching,
Thursday - Third
Hour,
- Divine
Liturgy for the Entrance of the Theotokos,
Finger Food Potluck to follow in the
fellowship hall.
Friday - No Hours
- Stay & Play Group will meet at Mindy
Willams’ home
Saturday - Ninth Hour and Great Vespers,
Sunday -
- Orthros,
- Divine Liturgy,
Divine Liturgy for the Entrance of the Theotokos, Thursday, Nov. 20th,
PRIEST: Fr.
Basil HOMILY: Fr. Basil
DEACONS: Dns.
James & Charles READER:
HOLY BREAD:
ALTAR SERVERS: Any who can
Schedule
for Divine Liturgy Sunday, November 23rd
PRIEST: Fr.
John HOMILY: Fr. John
DEACONS: Dns. Tim
& James READER: Owen White
HOLY BREAD:
ALTAR SERVERS: Ethan, J. Morgan, Luke L., Benji
COFFEE HOUR:
COMMEMORATIONS
Nov. 16: Apostle
Mathew the Evangelist; Martyr Ephygenia.
Nov. 17: Gregory the
wonder-worker, bishop of New-Ceesarea; Gennadios, archbishop of
Nov. 18: Martyrs Platon of Ancyra, Ramanos, Zacchaeos the deacon and Anastasios
of Caesarea in
Nov. 19: Prophet
Obadiah; Martyrs Agapios, Azi
of Isauria, Barlaam of
Caesarea in Cappadocia, Heliodoros of Thessalonika and Euphemia;
Venerable Barlaam and Joasaph;
Venerable Barlaam of the
Nov. 20: Gregory of
Decapolis; Proclos, Maximos
and Anatolios, patriarchs of
Nov. 21: The Entrance
of the Theotokos into the temple. Venerable Columban of
Nov. 22: Apostles
Philemon, Apphia, Archippos
and Onesimos of the Seventy; Clement, bishop of Ochrid and enlightener of Bulgaria; Hieromartyr
Sisinios; Venerable Kallistos
Xanthopoulos of Athos; Martyr Michael, prince of Tver.
Nov. 23: Gregory,
bishop of agrigentum; Amphilokios,
bishop of Iconium; Ischyrion,
bishop in Egypt and hermit of Sketis; Venerable Sisinios the Confessor of Kyzikos;
Dionysios, patriarch of Constantinople; repose of
Alexander Nevsky, prince of Novgorod; Metrophanes, first bishop of Voronezh.
**For reading material on the
saints for this week, visit the display in the church library.
DAILY
SCRIPTURE
Sunday Galatians
6:11-18 Luke 10:25-37
Monday I Thessalonians 1:1-5 Luke
Tuesday I Thessalonians 1:6-10 Luke
14:25-35
Wednesday I Thessalonians 2:1-8 Luke 15:1-10
Thursday I Thessalonians 2:9-14 Luke
16:1-9
Friday I Thessalonians
2:14-19 Luke 16:15-18; 17:1-4
Saturday II Corinthians 8:1-5 Luke
Sunday Ephesians
2:4-10 Luke 12:16-21
Pray for our catechumens: In
In Tupelo - Shane Davis, Justin & Tifphanie Franks (Paris), Justin & Brandy Williams,
Leah Hardy, Adam Clay, Casey & Jessica Hardy (Davis) and Justin Stevens.
Please remember in your
prayers: His
- 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.
OTHER CONTINUING ALMS-GIVING
OPPORTUNITIES
Diocese of
Michael Bittle Fund – Holy Trinity
Orthodox Church –
Wednesday nights – We will return to our regular schedule this
Wednesday.
Vespers
Dinner
Teaching
Please be sure to
sign-up for dinner. We will have soup, salad & rolls this week.
BOOKSTORE – The 2009 Church calendars that are
marked with feast days, fasting days and daily commemoration of the saints are
now available. They are in the bookstore and are $3.00 each.
Antiochian Women of St. John’s Calendar
This Saturday,
November 22nd at
The women have purposed to meet quarterly to
pray an Akathist. This last quarter of the year we will meet this Saturday, November
22nd at
~ Women’s Teaching ~
Upcoming Date ~
December 4
~ Book Club ~
The
Please check here for
meeting date and time.
January ~ at Kh. Pamela
Mashburn’s home ~ The Hiding Place by Corrie TenBoom
February ~ The Purple Mantle
SAVE
THE DATE ~ Friday & Saturday, January 30th~31st, 2009
Apartment for Rent - The first-level apartment in the duplex next door is
available for rent. It has two bedrooms, an office and one bathroom. If you are
interested or have any questions, please contact the church office.
OCF –
Orthodox
OCF meetings for the Fall
semester have concluded. But we will resume in the New Year. Please look for an
announcement in January for Spring activities.
St. Nicholas Play
moved to December 10 – Our annual play to remember the Great Wonderworker,
St. Nicholas, will follow vespers and our parish meal on Wednesday, December 10
instead of the evening of December 5.
Due to schedule conflicts, this will free up many of our “cast
members.” Mark your calendars. We will still have vespers the evening of
December 5, but without the play.
LIBRARY LINES – This week we honor
two different men; one who lived before Christ, and one who lived during his
lifetime. Both boldly proclaimed the
After
Pentecost, the apostle Matthew (11/16) preached in
While
asking God for the salvation of the Ethopians, Christ
appeared to him as a youth and gave him a staff. He told him to plant it at the doors of a
church. There Matthew was met by the ruler Fulvian.
He accused Matthew of sorcery and gave orders for his execution. His body
remained unharmed and he gave his soul to the Lord. Although Fulvian repented, he still had doubts and ordered Matthew’s
body to be placed in an iron coffin and thrown into the sea. The waves carried
the coffin to the shores by the church. Falvian begged the apostle’s forgiveness, was baptized and
given the name Matthew.
The
prophet Obadiah (11/19), a faithful servant of the Most High God, was a steward
in the house of the idolatrous King Ahab. Obadiah headed one of three groups of
soldiers sent by Queen Jezebel to arrest the Prophet Elias. Heavenly fire
consumed two of the detachments, but Obadiah and his men were spared through
the intercession of Elias. Thereupon,
Obadiah resigned his position and became a disciple of the Holy Prophet. His
life is recounted in the first and second books of Kings, and his prophecy is
included in the books of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament.
See
icons of these saints and their stories in St John Library.
Teen Group Events
Today - Sunday, November 16th,
Field
Trip for Seniors,
Next Sunday, November 23rd,
After a long
hiatus, the Sons of Thunder Literary
Club for Men will soon begin meeting once again. We would like to
invite any person interested. Our next meeting is scheduled for (note date change), Thursday, December 18th , at
Pro-life
Corner - Pending legislation entitled
the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) has been introduced in Congress for several
years running, and it probably about to be reintroduced in the coming
Congress. The language of this bill is very simple and its reach is very sweeping, much more so than the existing reach
that Roe vs Wade has left us with. As often is the case with such legislation,
the language and nomenclature, on the surface, seem to be non-threatening, but
the legal application is not so. Over
time, I will try to share the effects that passage of this bill would initiate.
One
likely major effect would be the invalidation
of any laws that require the
parents’ involvement in a minor child’s abortion decision. A minor child (under 18 in most cases) could
go to an abortion facility and receive an abortion without the parents ever
being contacted in any way. Irrespective
of the moral and ethical issues of abortion itself, as Orthodox
The list of the needed
items is on the AWOSJ bulletin board so you can sign up for what you and your
family would like to contribute. If the slots are full for Thanksgiving,
remember that you'll have an opportunity to give for the Christmas baskets. The
AWOSJ will meet this Saturday, November 22nd from
Bulletin Boards – On the parish
bulletin board in the fellowship hall there is an Interview with Bishop Hilarion of Vienna and
Austria posted.
The Nativity Fast continues - This fast is divided into two periods.
The 1st period is November 15th through December 19th when the traditional fasting discipline** is observed
with katalysis (relaxation) for wine
and oil on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and for fish, wine and oil on Saturdays and
Sundays. The 2nd period is December 20th through 24th when the traditional fasting discipline** is
observed with katalysis for wine and
oil only on Saturday and Sunday. **
(Refraining from eating meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, fish, wine and oil. Shellfish is traditionally permitted. It is
good to moderate the amount of food we consume on these days [consider eating
smaller portions] and to refrain from eating between meals.)
Baby Shower for Alicia Stickle
Sunday, December 7th after Coffee Hour
At the home of Kh. Pamela Mashburn
If you are interested in contributing to the group gift,
please contact Claire van Drimmelen.
Alicia is registered at Babies R Us and
Target.
Worship and liturgical reminders
The
Kiss of peace – Anciently, all
churches practiced this in the liturgy, but it fell into disuse except between
members of the clergy within the altar.
There were reasons for this.
Originally, only the faithful were present in the Eucharistic portion of
the liturgy. The kiss of peace would
have be just that, a physical kiss expressing unity in belief and practice,
peace, and reconciliation between the all those present. Also, men and women would have been on
separate sides of the nave, and the exchange would have been between men only
and women only. With the addition of
non-communicants and the intermingling of genders, the practice waned to avoid
any opportunity for scandal.
His Eminence, Metropolitan PHILIP, has blessed our
churches to practice the kiss of peace, but it must be done appropriately and
with a minimum of disruption, if at all.
To that end I suggest:
(1) . . . that you simply lightly embrace the person next
to you IF you know them well enough,
exchanging the greeting and response, “Christ is in our midst – He is and ever
shall be.” (Seasonal greetings change.)
(2) If the
individual next to you is a visitor or unfamiliar, it might be more appropriate
to simply take one another’s hand and exchange the greeting.
(3) Remember that
we are still in the liturgy, and our exchange of peace should be done with as
little noise and disturbance as possible.
Most importantly, remember you are saying to all present
when you exchange the greeting with one another that you are at peace with all.
- Fr John Troy
NURSERY – As you may have
noticed, the nursery has recently received a facelift. In order to make
clean-up easier we have minimized toys and organized to provide a nice, clean
environment with simple upkeep. We ask that all parents whose children use the
nursery teach them responsibility by having them clean-up the toys that they
use. Cleaning-up the nursery will not be the responsibility of those cleaning
the fellowship hall after coffee hour. Below are the reminders that are posted
in the nursery:
- Keep all food and
drinks outside the nursery area.
- Put away any toys
you take out.
- Always share and
be kind.
Parents
of young children (toddler – age 5) will receive an email in the next week as
we will be coordinating a monthly effort to have families come and give the
nursery a good cleaning.
Revenue Graphs – Included herein are graphs showing our tithes and
contributions in 2008. Graphs in past
announcements have shown the actual and budget amounts without
