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, Sunday, 10:00 a.m.
Antiochian Orthodox
“…the
Disciples were called
Acts 11:26
Sunday
of the Blind Man
Epistle: Acts
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
The Orthodox Church understands the Eucharist, or
Lord’s Supper, to be – among other things – the paramount expression of
Sunday -
No Teen Group
Monday - First Hour,
Tuesday - Third Hour,
- Men’s Lunch,
- Catechumen & Inquirers Class,
- No Choir
Wednesday - Third Hour,
- Divine Liturgy for the Ascension of our Lord,
A finger
food potluck will follow – please bring a fasting dish to share.
Thursday -
No Third Hour.
Friday -
First Hour,
-
Third Hour,
- Stay & Play Group will meet in the
fellowship hall after third hour.
- Sixth
Hour,
Saturday -
Ninth Hour and Great Vespers,
Sunday - Orthros,
-
- Divine Liturgy,
Divine Liturgy for the Ascension of our Lord Wednesday, May 27th,
PRIEST: Fr.
John HOMILY:
Fr.
John
DEACONS: Dns. Charles & Tim READER:
HOLY BREAD: Ellie Moore ALTAR SERVERS: Any who can
FINGER FOOD POTLUCK:
Clean-Up:
Divine Liturgy Sunday,
May 31st,
PRIEST: Fr.
Basil HOMILY: Fr. Basil
DEACONS: Dns. James & Charles READER:
John Cameron
HOLY BREAD:
ALTAR SERVERS: Caleb, Luke S., Misha,
Joe
COFFEE HOUR: Michael & Mindy Williams,
Dates to remember:
June 6 – Soul Saturday June
7 – Pentecost
June 10-14 – Parish Life
Conference
FASTING NOTE: With
the blessing of the Synod of
Upcoming Baptisms/Chrismations:
Misty Duke will be chrismated on Pentecost, June 7.
Maureen Grace Stickle will be baptized on July 4.
COMMEMORATIONS
May 24: Venerable Stylites Simeon
the younger of the
May 25: The third discovery of the honorable head of the
Forerunner. Martyr Celestine; Demetrios the myrrh-streaming.
May 26: Apostles Karpos and Alphaios of the Seventy; Sinesios,
bishop; New-martyr Alexander of Thessalonika;
Augustine of Canterbury, evangelizer of
May 27: Hieromartyrs Halladios and Therapont, bishop
of Sardis; Martyr Alypios; uncovering of the relics
of Neilos the Younger, stylite
of Seliger Lake; John the Russian, the confessor.
May 28: Hieromartyr Eutychios, bishop of Melitene;
Martyr Helikonidos of Thessalonika;
Venerable Andrew; Germanos, bishop of
May 29: Hieromartyr Olvian, bishop of Aneos;
Venerable-martyr Theodosia of Tyre; New-martyrs
Andrew and John (Nannos) of
May 30: Isaac, founder of the Dalmaton
monastery in Constantinople; Martyrs Natalios and Barlaam of Caesarea in
May 31: Martyrs Hermias and Eusebios.
**For
reading material on the saints for this week, visit the display in the church
library.
DAILY SCRIPTURE
Sunday Acts 16:16-34 John 9:1-38
Monday Acts 17:1-15 John 11:47-57
Tuesday Acts
Wednesday Acts
Thursday Acts 1:1-12 Luke 24:36-53
Friday Acts 19:1-8 John 10:17-28
Saturday Acts 20:7-12 John 4:10-21
Sunday
Acts
- ALMS-GIVING –
Diocese of
Michael Bittle Fund – Holy Trinity
Orthodox Church –
Pray for our catechumens: In
Please remember in your
prayers: His Eminence,
Metropolitan PHILIP, His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN, Archimandrite Roman Braga, Buddy
Taylor, Margaret Layman, Chris Hodges, Judy Smith (Julie Sanderlin’s
mother), Shirley Gore (
Catechumen and Inquirers class will meet
this week on Tuesday at
Parish Life
Conference
– Several people are planning to attend.
It would be helpful to let Fr. John know if you are planning to do
so. If you have not contacted him
already, please let him know if you
are planning to be a participant at the conference.
Donations requested for Parish Life Conference
assistance for Teens - As
Sons of
Thunder, Men’s
Book/Discussion Group – We will be meeting next on Thursday, May 28th
at
Bittersweet news – Hardy and Katherine Thames
and their family are relocating to
New Catechumens – Welcome to our newest catechumens,
Out
of town dates for Fr. John:
May 28 – June 6 – Wedding and vacation
June10 – June 14 – Parish Life Conference,
July 20 – July 25 – Archdiocese Convention,
Antiochian Women of St. John’s Calendar
POTLUCK DINNER – Monday, June 1st -
Kick off the summer
with an
light business – otherwise,
this is an opportunity for relaxation and fellowship.
Bring whatever it is
that you’re most interested in eating, and enough to share.
First Friday Prayers – Friday, June 5th after sixth hour prayer
We welcome any and all
who can join us for sixth hour prayer & a brown-bag lunch.
Book Club
June 8th ~ Hind’s Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard
We will meet on
July 13th ~ The
Mark your Calendars! – Saturday, June 20th
New Alms opportunity – Each week we list various places alms donations (gifts beyond our
tithes and offerings) can be directed.
Over the past year and a half we have done some hands-on work with
Rachel’s Kids. Each year they send a
number of children in their program to summer camp. If you are interested in supporting this, the
following gives more details:
“Dear Friends, We’re making plans to get as many of our
Kids to summer camps as we can again this year. These inner city kids’ camp
experiences make such a difference! These experiences are just unbelievable to
them, and we’re able to provide for them because of your generosity. You can
see some pictures of happy kids at our website, www.rachelskidsinc.org. 100%
of your dollars go to the kids’ programs. Last year we sent over 60 kids to
camps. This year the average cost per camper is $325.00 per child. Here’s a
chance to make a difference in the life of urban youth. These week-long camps
are packed with fun and exciting activities. They have swimming pools, climbing
towers, mud holes and a whole lot more. We are an accredited 501 (c) (3), our
EIN# is 20-1035690, so anything you send is tax deductible. Checks should be
payable to: Rachel's Kids, Inc.,
LIBRARY LINES – This week we
honor three saints who are on opposing ends of the spectrum of success in the
world’s eyes. The Venerable Bede (5/27) was raised and educated in monasteries.
He was ordained as a deacon at age 19 and a priest at 30. Tradition tells a
story of his great love of the services of the Church. He believed that he
should attend every service since the angels were present also. “What if they
do not find me among the brethren when they assemble?” he asked. “Will they not
say, ‘Where is Bede?’” He is well-known for his biblical
commentary, hagiography and church history of
Friday,
we commemorate the repose of Blessed John of Ustug,
the Fool-for-Christ. From his youth, he kept a strict fast, eating nothing on
Wednesdays and Fridays and bread and water the other days. He began his
asceticism by keeping silence and then embraced the life of a holy fool.
See
icons of these men and their stories in the St. John Library.
St. John Chrysostom on the
benefits and importance for
New on the bulletin board:
Information on CONNECT program –
Job opportunity at Delta Airlines for the summer
OCF Newsletter
Teen Group Events
TODAY, May 24th – No Meeting
Next Sunday, May 31st – Bible Bowl Meeting
Thursday, June 4th – Trip to Fuller’s Ranch
UPCOMING
FEASTS:
Feast
of Ascension ~ May 28th
This year we
will celebrate the feast of Ascension with a liturgy the evening before, Wednesday,
May 27th at
Saturday of Souls – June 6th
Saturday of Souls liturgy – We will celebrate the Divine Liturgy for the Saturday of Souls on the day before Pentecost,
June 6 at
Feast
of Pentecost – June 7th
The Great Feast of
Pentecost will be celebrated on June
7 with a potluck meal to follow.
Since we continue to have many visitors, if possible, try to bring
enough food for your family plus a visitor.
Special
treat – Fr. Michael Dahulich, the Dean of St. Tikhon’s
Orthodox Seminary, will be with us for Pentecost. He will preach the homily that day, and will
take a few minutes during our pot-luck meal to talk with us about the
seminary. As most of you know, we have
graduates of the seminary on our staff, Fr. Nicholas and Subdeacon
One
change - Until this year we have
always done the vespers service for the kneeling prayers immediately after the
Divine Liturgy on Pentecost Sunday. This
year we will not do that. Rather we will
serve vespers with the kneeling prayers that evening at
Feast
of Saints Peter & Paul ~ June 29th
Change in upcoming festal celebration – We typically celebrate the end of the Apostles Fast
by celebrating the Feast of Ss. Peter and
THE ASCENSION: The Ascension of Christ is his final physical departure from this world after the Resurrection. It is the formal completion of his mission in this world as the Messianic Saviour. It is his glorious return to the Father who had sent him into the world to accomplish the work that he had given him to do (Jn 17:4-5).
The Church’s celebration of the Ascension, as all such festal celebrations, is not merely the remembrance of an event in Christ’s life. Indeed, the Ascension itself is not to be understood as though it were simply the supernatural event of a man floating up and away into the skies. The Holy Scripture stresses Christ’s physical departure and his glorification with God the Father, together with the great joy which his disciples had as they received the promise of the Holy Spirit who was to come to assure the Lord’s presence with them, enabling them to be his witnesses to the ends of earth (Lk 24:48-53; Acts 1:8-11; Mt 28:20; Mk 16:16-14).
In the
Church the believers in Christ celebrate these very same realities with the
conviction that it is for them and for all men that Christ’s departure from
this world has taken place. The Lord leaves in order to be glorified with God
the Father and to glorify us with himself. He goes in order to “prepare a place”
for and to take us also into the blessedness of God’s presence. He goes to open
the way for all flesh into the “heavenly sanctuary … the
Please see details elsewhere in the
bulletin for our service for the feast of Ascension.
SUMMER IS HERE!!
Be sure to mark your summer calendars with the
following dates for our St. John Potluck Pool Parties:
June 29th • July 27th •
August 17th
Come ready to
swim or just hang out – either way, you will have a great time!
We meet at the
pool at
We ask that
everyone bring their own meat (or equivalent) and drinks (non-alcoholic) and a
dish (side or dessert)
to share.
From the Fathers
“Affliction, if not accompanied by
patience, produces double torment, for a man's patience casts off his distress,
while faintness of heart is the mother of anguish. Patience is the mother of
consolation and is a certain strength which is usually born of largeness of
heart. It is hard for a man to find this strength in his tribulations without a
gift from God, received through his ardent pursuit of prayer and the outpouring
of his tears.”
St.
Isaac the Syrian
“Born into this world, we are bound
to it by the strong bonds of kinship. We love the world. Within its bounds
we fashion our eternity. But we suffer in it – it cramps the love
commanded of us. We cannot fail to love it but this does not mean walking
its fallen ways. We cannot help loving the world but when our attraction
to it triumphs over our love for God, we must find the strength in ourselves to
act like Abraham – ‘take the fire in our hand, and a knife,’ and offer in
sacrifice all that we hold dear for the sake of the victory of Divine love in
us.” (cf. Gen. 22:6)
Righteous
Elder Sophrony of
“We seek and desire sweet, spiritual
enjoyment; I do not argue, it is pleasant--but it is lower than the
cross. It is granted to us through the cross and without the cross it
cannot last. It comes to us and leaves us according to the degree that we
travel the way of the cross and humility.” St.
Macarius of Optina