(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
Sunday of the Prodigal Son
Epistle: I Corinthians 6:12-20 Gospel: Luke 15:11-32
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 – Bible Bowl at the Spinolos,
-
No Young Adult Group
Monday - First
Hour,
Tuesday - Third Hour,
- Men’s Lunch,
- Choir Practice,
- Catechumen/Inquirer’s
Class,
Wednesday - Third
Hour,
- Vespers,
-
Wednesday Dinner,
-
Wednesday Teaching,
Thursday - Third
Hour,
Friday - First Hour,
-
Third Hour,
-
Stay & Play Group will meet in the fellowship hall after third hour.
-
Sixth Hour,
Saturday - Divine Liturgy for Saturday of Souls,
- Ninth Hour and Great Vespers,
Sunday -
- Orthros,
- Divine Liturgy,
Divine
Liturgy for Saturday of Souls Saturday, February 21st
PRIEST: Fr.
Basil HOMILY: Fr. Basil
DEACONS: Any who can READER: TBA
HOLY BREAD: TBA COFFEE HOUR: Kollyva &
Coffee
Schedule
for Divine Liturgy Sunday, February 22nd
PRIEST: Fr.
Nicholas HOMILY: Fr. Nicholas
DEACONS: Dns. Charles
& Tim READER:
HOLY BREAD:
ALTAR SERVERS:
COFFEE HOUR: Meatfare
Potluck Lunch
Wednesday evening teachings – This coming Wednesday Colonel Mike Fuller will come
speak to us about security and how we can keep ourselves protected here and at
home. Talks for the next two weeks are:
Wednesday, February 18 – Colonel Mike Fuller, Memphis
Police Department
Wednesday, February 25 – Slides from the
Come join us on
Wednesdays! Be sure and sign up for
dinner!
COMMEMORATIONS
February 15: Apostle Onesimos of the
Seventy; Venerable Eusebios of
February 16: Martyr Pamphilos, priest
of Caesarea in
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
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
February 21: Venerable Timothy of Symbola;
Eustathios, archbishop of
February 22: The uncovering of the relics of the Martyrs at the
gate of Eugenios in
**For reading material on the
saints for this week, visit the display in the church library.
DAILY SCRIPTURE
Sunday I
Corinthians 6:12-20 Luke 15:11-32
Monday I John
Tuesday I John 3:11-20 Mark 14:10-42
Wednesday I John 3:21-4:6 Mark 14:43-15:1
Thursday I John
Friday II John 1:1-13 Mark 15:22-25, 33-41
Saturday I Corinthians 10:23-28 Luke 21:8-9, 25-27, 33-36
Sunday I
Corinthians 8:8-9:2 Matthew 25:31-46
-
ALMS-GIVING –
Diocese of
Michael
Bittle Fund – Holy Trinity Orthodox Church –
Pray for our catechumens: In
Please remember in your
prayers: His
Catechumen and Inquirers’ classes – Everyone is welcome.
We meet Tuesday’s at
Sons of
Thunder (Men’s Book Club – See more
details below) – The next meeting is
scheduled for TOMORROW, February 16th at 7:00 p.m. at the home of
Dn. James Elliott,
The
club’s focus is to read a wide range of literature, especially pieces we would
not normally read. The Sons of Thunder
try to meet once a month at either an attendee’s home, or some other place. The attendees usually partake of food and
drink at the start of the gathering, before eventually settling down to discuss
the agreed upon reading. This being
said, the atmosphere at these gatherings is quite relaxed; we talk about many
other things besides the books and articles we chose to read.
If you would like to know more, or have any questions,
please contact Caleb McGee or find one of our regular members.
Special Services today:
Churching
Alicia and Maureen Grace Stickle
Enrolling
Misty Duke as a catechumen
Next Sunday is Meatfare
Sunday -
We will have a POTLUCK meal, please
bring a dish to share.
Keep in mind, desserts will be available
for purchase at the
If you would like to help set-up or
clean-up, please contact Meribeth in the church office, 274-4119 or meribeth@stjohnmemphis.org
Antiochian Women of St. John’s Calendar
~ Women’s Teaching ~
Upcoming Dates ~ March 12th
AWSJ Sweets & Cheesy Treats
Each
year the Antiochian Women are charged by Metropolitan PHILIP with a special
fundraising focus. This year, our call is to raise funds to support the Al Kafa’at Foundation in
On
Meatfare Sunday, February 22nd, the
Come with your pockets full and your hearts ready to
support the
Al Kafa’at Foundation in
Great Lent approaches – Great Lent begins on March 2. It will be here before we know it! Today, February 15, is the Sunday of the Prodigal
Son, and the week following is a normal fasting week. We should begin to prepare ourselves even now
for the spiritual journey ahead!
Lenten
CDs – We have a couple of nice CDs in the bookstore that would be wonderful accompaniments to your Lenten
journey. One is Russian-style music for the Presanctified Liturgy from St.
Vladimir’s and the other is Byzantine-style as is chanted on Wednesday
evenings. There are also Pascha CDs and other music fitting to listen to during
Lent. If you have any questions regarding the CDs or are looking for
recommendations, please feel free to contact Sh. Corinne Elliott.
MEN NEEDED -- If you are a man and you can read music, please see
LIBRARY
LINES – St. Onesimus (2/15) rose
from a life of a servant to that of a bishop!
In his youth he fled from his
St. Leo the Great (2/18) is perhaps the most well-known
bishop of
Many
of us are fond of the Celtic saints.
And, there is a strong tie between the Orthodoxy and the
St. Finan of
St.
Colman, also of
Check
the display cart for reading material for Lent.
Teen Group Events
TODAY,
February 15th – Bible Bowl at the Spinolo’s
home,
Next
Weekend – Deanery Teen Retreat
FASTING IN THE SEASON OF
THE TRIODION – While the
hymnography of the Church reminds us of the primary importance of keeping the
spiritual aspect of the Great Fast, it also counsels us to keep
the physical aspect -- reducing our consumption of food and drink
and abstaining from certain categories. During the week
following the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee there is katalysis
for all things, meaning that there is no fasting on any day of the week.
During the week following the Sunday of the Prodigal Son we
observe the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, eggs,
cheese, milk or other dairy products, fish, wine and olive oil) on Wednesday
and Friday. During the week following Judgment (or Meatfare) Sunday we abstain from meat and poultry;
note however that there is katalysis for eggs, cheese, milk and
other dairy products, fish, wine and oil on all days of that
week. From the first day of the Great Fast, known as Pure
Monday, the day following Forgiveness (or Cheesefare)
Sunday, we observe the traditional fasting discipline (no meat,
poultry, eggs, cheese, milk or other dairy products, fish, wine and olive
oil) on weekdays through Great and Holy Friday, while on Saturdays
and Sundays there is katalysis for wine and olive oil;
EXCEPTIONS on Annunciation (March 25th) and Palm Sunday there is katalysis
for fish, wine and oil; on Great and Holy Thursday there is katalysis
for wine and oil; on Great and Holy Saturday, if we eat anything at all, we
observe the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, eggs,
cheese, milk or other dairy products, fish, and olive oil) with katalysis
for wine. We break the Lenten Fast only following the Paschal
Orthros and Divine Liturgy.
Note, also, that on the first day of
the Great Fast, Pure Monday, it is a good practice, and kept by many, to make
that a day of abstinence. In keeping
with ancient practices, some are abstinent on more days of the first week, as
well, as outlined in Metropolitan KALLISTOS’s
article. Be sure and seek counsel from
one of the priests if you have any questions.
Handouts for Great Lent -
There are copies of a number of handouts downstairs
for your taking:
Comments
on the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
The
Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian
Reflections
on the Akathist Hymn
The
Sundays of Great Lent
Daily
Scriptural Reading, entitled “Spiritual Calendar”
The
prayer of repentance used at Forgiveness Vespers
The
schedule of services for the Great Fast through Bright week
“The
Rules of Fasting” - by Bp KALLISTOS
“The
Four Canonical Fasting Seasons” – by Bp BASIL
Fasting
Guidelines – Some nice comments on fasting
Saturday of Souls Divine Liturgy – Next Saturday, Feb 21 we will celebrate the Divine
Liturgy for the Saturday of Souls. There
is a nice one page, front and back, handout in the parish hall to remind us of
the mercy afforded in this service. We would like for as many of you as desire
to bring Kollyva for that service. Simply place it on the table on the solea prior to the service that morning.
Dates
to remember:
February 21 – Saturday of Souls – Morning Liturgy
March 1 – Forgiveness vespers in evening – Lent services begin
March 8 – Sunday services at Annunciation
March 25
– Feast of the Annunciation
April 12
– Sunday of the Triumphal Entry – Palm Sunday
April 19
– PASCHA
May 28 –
Ascension
June 7 –
Pentecost
June
10-14 – Parish Life Conference in
Today is another example of
our church’s reaching beyond our Faxon location
liturgically. Fr. Basil is serving at St.
Fr John will
be in
Worship
and liturgical reminders: Various reminders today!
The
brass refuse can just below the holy
water dispenser is to be used only for those things which need to be burned,
such as cups used for holy water. Other trash should be discarded outside the
nave.
We have added page
numbers to the hymn supplement to assist our visitors as they follow the
liturgy with their liturgy books and the supplement.
Children’s toys other
than soft, cuddly items should
be avoided in the nave. They too often
can become “hammers” in the child’s hands, or be dropped multiple times on the
pews.
When we worship, we need to try to remember we are in a holy place
worshipping the Most High. While we do
not need to stand at “attention,” we should try to avoid postures that
communicate a lack of reverence – exaggerated slouching, leans on the walls,
arms crossed over the chest, crossed legs, etc.
From
the Fathers
“Be at peace with your
own soul then heaven & earth will be at peace with you. Enter eagerly into the treasure house that is
within you, and you will see the things that are in heaven, for there is but
one single entry to them both. The
ladder that leads to the Kingdom is hidden within your soul . . . Dive into
yourself and in your soul and you will discover the stairs by which to ascend.”
-
St. Isaac of
“Blessed the one who always
keeps the memory of God in himself, he will be wholly
like an Angel from heaven upon earth, ministering to the Lord with fear and
love.”
- St.
Ephraim
“Observe your thoughts, and
beware of what you have in your heart and your spirit, knowing that the
demons put ideas into you so as to corrupt your soul by making it think of
that which is not right, in order to turn your spirit from the
consideration of your sins and of God.”
- Abba
Elias
“Hear what the Psalmist says:
'How great is the multitude of Thy goodness, O
Lord!’ (Ps. 31:20). Your accumulated offenses surpass not the
multitude of God's mercies: your wounds
surpass not the great Physician's skill. Only give yourself up to faith.”
- St.
Cyril of
“If you wish to be saved,
seek no other thing here in this world as much as love.”
- St.
Cosmos of Aitolos