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
Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost – Sunday of the Holy Forefathers
of Christ
Epistle: Colossians 5:4-11 Gospel: Luke 14:16-24
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
Sunday - Teen Group – Meeting with Seniors,
- Young
Adult Group at Fr. John & Kh. Pamela’s home,
Monday - First
Hour,
- Advent Paraklesis,
Tuesday - Third Hour,
- Men’s Lunch,
- No
Choir Practice or Catechumen/Inquirer’s Class
-
Clergy Meeting,
Wednesday - Third
Hour,
-
Vespers,
- Parish
Meal,
-
Teaching,
Thursday - Third Hour,
Friday - First Hour,
-
Third Hour,
-
Stay & Play Group will meet in the fellowship hall after third hour
Saturday - AWSJ – Akathist,
- Ninth Hour and Great Vespers,
Sunday -
- Orthros,
- Divine Liturgy,
Schedule
for Divine Liturgy Sunday, December 21st
PRIEST: Fr.
John HOMILY: Fr. John
DEACONS: Dns. James
& Charles READER: Caleb McGee
HOLY BREAD: Judy Terry USHER: John McGee
ALTAR SERVERS: Ethan, J. Morgan, Luke L., Benji
COFFEE HOUR: Ethan & Claire van Drimmelen,
Mary Ann Coccaro
Welcome Team – Mark your calendars! There will be a
Welcome Team meeting in the nave on Monday, January 26th at
“Teaching” this Wednesday – Fr. John will continue presenting slides from his
and Dn. James’s and
COMMEMORATIONS
December 14: Martyrs Thyrsos, Leukios and Kallinikos of Apollonia; Martyrs Philemon, Apollonios,
Hypatios and Arrianos of
December 15: Hieromartyr Eleutherios, bishop of Illyria, and his mother, Martyr Anthia; Venerable Paul of Latra;
Stephen, bishop-confessor of Surozh; Venerable Tryphon of Pechenga.
December 16: Prophet Haggai; Theophania
the empress; Hieromartyr Modestos,
archbishop of
December 17: Prophet Daniel; The Three Holy Youths: Ananias, Azarias and Misael; Dionysios of Zakynthos, the
wonder-worker; Avvakum the deacon.
December 18: Martyrs Sebastian and Zoe
of Rome, and those with them.
December 19: Sunday before the Nativity of Christ (The Holy
Fathers); Martyrs Boniface and Areos of
December 20: Hieromartyr Ignatios the God-bearer, bishop of
December 21: Virgin-martyr Juliana of Nicomedia; Martyr Themistokles of Myra in
**For reading material on the
saints for this week, visit the display in the church library.
DAILY
SCRIPTURE
Sunday Colossians 3:4-11 Luke
Monday I Timothy 5:1-10 Mark
8:11-21
Tuesday I Timothy 5:11-21 Mark 8:22-26
Wednesday I Timothy 5:22-6:11 Mark 8:30-34
Thursday I Timothy 6:17-21 Mark 9:10-16
Friday II Timothy 1:1-2, 8-18 Mark 9:33-41
Saturday Galatians 3:8-12 Luke 14:1-11
Sunday Hebrews 11:9-10, 17-23, 32-40 Matthew 1:1-25
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
–
Diocese of
Michael Bittle Fund – Holy Trinity
Orthodox Church –
Christmas
shopping on your mind? Shop at the
BOOKS – with many new titles
of books
ICONS – a bountiful selection
(most icons are now 50% off!)
MUSIC
CDs – LOOK
FOR OUR NEW CHRISTMAS CDs!!
There is also a new CD for children
– a great stocking stuffer!
CHILDRENS
BOOKS –
look for these new titles:
Children’s Bible Reader – It is Orthodox
with beautiful iconographic illustrations.
The Miracle of St. Nicholas by Gloria
Whelan (look
for review in coming Evangelist)
2009 CALENDARS – marked with the Church’s feast &
fasting days
GIFT CERTIFICATES to the St. John Bookstore – These gifts
give
in two ways!
They would provide an opportunity for the recipient
to purchase an edifying
book, CD or icon and at the same
time support the ministry of this parish. To
purchase a gift certificate just
contact
Antiochian Women of St. John’s Calendar
~ Secret Sisters ~
Ladies - please return your Secret Sister forms to Corinne or
Judy by today!!!
You will get your new sister's name after Christmas, and we will
begin giving in January.
~ Book Club ~
The
January ~ at Kh. Pamela
Mashburn’s home ~ The Hiding Place by Corrie TenBoom
February ~ The Purple Mantle
~ Women’s Teaching ~
Upcoming Dates ~ January
8th ~ February 5th ~ March 12th
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.
Beginning in January – We have typically done vespers on Wednesday evenings. In January, we initiate some variation in our
mid-week prayers. In general, we will
pray:
First Wednesday – Lesser blessing of the water
Second and Fourth Wednesday – Vespers
Third Wednesday – a selected Akathist
This will give us some
variation and introduce these services to our parishioners.
Bitter sweet news – Daniel Ciobanu has been
given a teaching position at the
Bookstore sale on Icons – With exception of icons of the Lord, the Theotokos,
and John the Theologian, all of which are on the top of the book shelves in the
bookstore, all the other icons are HALF
PRICE!
Schedule of services for the Nativity
Wednesday, 12/24 – Royal Hours,
Vesperal
Divine Liturgy of St. Basil,
Orthros for Nativity,
Divine Liturgy of
NATIVITY CELEBRATION – We will have a light celebration after Divine
Liturgy Wednesday night. As in the past, the church will provide deli trays and
bread for sandwiches as well as drinks. Please feel free to plan to bring any
side items and/or desserts to share. This will be a great opportunity to share
and enjoy holiday goodies & tasty treats that are a part of each family’s
Christmas traditions.
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).
Bulletin Boards –
Remember to check the bulletin boards!! There is a new addition, a letter from
Metropolitan PHILIP.
Pro-life
Corner – A portion of Section 4 of the current form of the Freedom
of Choice Act (FOCA) reads: “A
government may not — (1) deny or interfere with a woman’s right to choose – (A)
to bear a child;” The “Human Cloning Ban and Stem Cell Research Protection Act
of 2007 prohibits “human cloning” defined as “implanting or attempting to
implant the product of nuclear transplantation into a uterus of the functional
equivalent of a uterus.” While such laws
are not supported by pro-life groups because they allow unlimited cloning for
research purposes, there is a ban on cloning for “reproductive purposes.”
It is
difficult to see how such a law could survive or be enforced if governments may
not “deny or interfere with” any woman’s right to choose to bear a child. Rather, under FOCA it would seem that once a
human embryo has been produced, by cloning or any procedure, a woman has the
right to decide, free of any government interference, whether to bear that
child. That is, it would seem that even
“reproductive cloning” would have to be permitted.
LIBRARY
LINES – Parents and Godparents, are
you looking for good books to read to your little ones? Look at the display below the commemorations
on the cart in the library. Some of the titles are in the bookstore if you want
them for presents.
Today
we honor perhaps the richest group on the Church’s list of commemorated saints.
Today is known as the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, the ancestors in the flesh
of Christ. This day and the Scripture
read at the Nativity service of Christ’s genealogy are powerful reminders that
He is fully man and fully God.
In keeping
with this theme, Wednesday we commemorate the Prophet Daniel(12/17)
and the Three Holy Youths. They are familiar to many of us because they are
frequent subjects of children’s Bible stories. Remember Daniel in the lion’s
den and the fiery furnace? It never
ceases to amaze me that all of these stories and events that I remember from
childhood are “ever-occurring” and woven into the Liturgy, music and life of
the Church. The three holy youths are
mentioned repeatedly during services throughout the year including Lent and
even in the marriage service.
John of Kronstadt is not listed in the names of those saints on our
list for this week; however, we honor this pious man on December 20. St, John library has the following books by
and about him:
The Bible and the Holy Fathers. REF/PAT/COM/MAN.
See p. 1068 in the
index and accompanying legends.
My Life in Christ by
On Prayer by
Spiritual Counsels by
See icons
of these saints and their stories in St. John Library.
Teen Group Events
TODAY
- Sunday, December 14th
Meeting
with Seniors at the church,
We
will be watching Expelled – No
Intelligence Allowed.
Worship and liturgical reminders
It can be a
useful thing to occupy small children with books while they are in church, as
it gives them a tangible focus and helps them to remain quieter during
services. Unfortunately however, they can be rather rough with books,
especially books not designed to hold up to young hands and energy. It seems
that occasionally the service books in the pews are being used by small
children to play with. In order to keep these in good shape, we would like to
encourage parents to bring books from home (preferably soft books for the
youngest) for their children to use in church, and to reserve the pew books for
the literate worshiper.
Winter
Supplies for Rachel’s Kids
Rachel and Harry at
Rachel’s Kids tutor and provide for underprivileged children in the Binghampton neighborhood and need the following supplies
for children in kindergarten through high school. Generic products are
fine. Please put donations in the
Rachel’s Kids collection box in the food pantry. Questions?
Contact Lynda Spinolo. Thank you!
¾ Ankle Socks (not low cut, not crew length)
Cold medicine (decongestants with cough
suppressant)
Tylenol or generic acetaminophen
Chap Stick / lip balm
Cough medicine
Underwear
Band-Aids
Personal and Home Security
The
following are “Good Practices” as distributed in Evergreen
Historic District Association’s weekly email:
· Program 545-COPS (545-2677)
into your cell phone.
· Look up and down the alleys
every day as you walk, bike or drive by - immediately report suspicious activity
to the police.
· Don’t leave intriguing
items visible in your car. Stow it, don't show it!
· Lock your doors when you
are in your yard.
· Discourage walk-up 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.
· Don’t look like a victim.
Keep your head up, be alert, make eye contact.
· Close blinds where possible
so would-be burglars can’t see potential loot.
· Report street lights that
are not working properly- http://www.mlgw.com/SubView.php?key=res_streetlight
· Cyberwatch:
https://kiosk.memphispolice.org/cyberwatch
Keep up with the latest
security issues around Midtown - Midtown Security Community - http://www.midtownsecurity.blogspot.com/
From
the Fathers
“Seek God daily. But seek Him in your
heart, not outside it. And when you find Him, stand with fear and trembling,
like the Cherubim and the Seraphim, for your heart has become a throne of God.
But in order to find God, become humble as dust before the Lord, for the Lord
abhors the proud, whereas He visits those that are humble in heart, wherefore
He says: ‘O whom will I look, but to him that is meek
and humble in heart?’” - St. Nectarios of
“The path of Christ is
somewhat difficult, but with patience, will, and humility one makes progress...
It involves tribulation and suffering, without which it is not possible for one
to find the path open for the benefit of his soul.” - St. Raphael of
“God descends to the humble
as waters flow down from the hills into the valleys.” - St. Tikhon of
“If we are
not humbled by virtues, then sin will humble us. Virtue leads to voluntary and temporary abasement,
but sin leads to irreversible and eternal abasement.”
- St. Nikolai Velimirovich
“It often happens that Satan
will insidiously commune with you in your heart and say: ‘Think of the evil you
have done; your soul is full of lawlessness, you are weighed down by many
grievous sins.’ Do not let him deceive you when he does this and do not be led
to despair on the pretext that you are being humble. You should answer: ‘I have God’s assurance,
for He says: "I desire, not the sinner’s death, but that he should return
through repentance and live"’ (Ezek. 33:11) What was the purpose of His
descent to earth except to save sinners, to bring light to those in darkness
and life to the dead?” - St. Makarios of