ST. JOHN ORTHODOX CHURCH

1663 TUTWILER AVENUE

MEMPHIS, TN 38107

(901) 274-4119

www.stjohnmemphis.org

V. Rev. Fr. John Troy Mashburn, Jr. Rev. Fr. Nicholas Meyers

Pastor Assistant Pastor

V. Rev. Fr. Basil Cushman Rev. Fr. Donald Berge

Associate Pastor Attached

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

Sunday of the Holy Fathers

May 31, 2009

Epistle: Acts 20:16-18, 28-36 Gospel: John 17:1-13

The Holy Bread for Eucharist is offered this morning by Margie Yarbro.

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 May 31^st – June 7^th (Wed. & Fri. Fast)

Sunday - Teen Group – Bible Bowl Meeting

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

- AWSJ Potluck Dinner, 6:30 p.m.

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

- Men’s Lunch, 11:45 a.m.

- Catechumen & Inquirers Class, 7:00 p.m.

- Choir, 7:00 p.m.

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

- Lesser Blessing of Water, 5:30 p.m.

- Wednesday Dinner, 6:15 p.m. Please be sure to sign-up.

- Wednesday Teaching, 7:00 p.m.

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

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

- Third Hour, 9:00 a.m.

- Stay & Play Group will meet in the fellowship hall after third hour.

- Sixth Hour, 12:00 p.m.

- AWSJ First Friday Lunch, in the fellowship hall after sixth hour.

Saturday - Divine Liturgy for Saturday of Souls, 9:00 a.m.

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

Sunday - Orthros, 9:00 a.m.

- Church School, 9:00 a.m.

- Divine Liturgy, 10:00 a.m. Potluck meal to follow

- Great Vespers with Kneeling Prayers, 6:00 p.m.

Divine Liturgy – Saturday of Souls Saturday, June 6^th, 9:00 a.m.

PRIEST: Fr. Basil HOMILY: Fr. Basil

DEACONS: Dns. Tim & James READER: Mickey Hodges

HOLY BREAD: Sarah Hodges USHER: Any who can

ALTAR SERVERS: Any who can

COFFEE HOUR: Sh. Corinne Elliott

Divine Liturgy – Feast of Pentecost Sunday, June 7^th, 10:00 a.m.

PRIEST: Fr. John HOMILY: Fr. John

DEACONS: Dns. Charles & Tim READER: Subdeacon Joshua

HOLY BREAD: Reem Mansour USHER: Matt Spinolo

ALTAR SERVERS: Ethan, J. Morgan, Luke L., Deon

POTLUCK MEAL TO FOLLOW THE LITURGY – Details elsewhere in the bulletin

FASTING NOTE: With the blessing of the Synod of Antioch, a katalysis for fish, wine and oil is granted for all Wednesdays and Fridays between Pascha and Pentecost.

COMMEMORATIONS

May 31: Martyrs Hermias and Eusebios.

June 1: Martyrs Justin the Philosopher, Pyrros the virgin, Chariton of Rome, and Thespesios of Cappadocia; Venerable Dionysios of Glushetsk.

June 2: Nikephoros the Confessor, patriarch of Constantinople; New-martyrs Demetrios of Philadelphia, John of Trebizond, and Constantine of Athos; Hieromartyr Pothinos bishop of Lyons and his companion Martyr Blandina; Erasmos of Ochrid.

June 3: Martyr Lukyllian of Byzantium; Virgin-martyr Paula; Venerable Athanasios the wonder-worker of Cilicia; Clotilde, queen of the Franks.

June 4: Metrophanes, first patriarch of Constantinople; Mary and Martha, the sisters of the Righteous Lazarus.

June 5: Hieromartyr Dorotheos, bishop of Tyre; Martyr Nicander of Egypt; New-martyr Mark of Smyrna; repose of Theodore Yaroslavich, brother of Alexander Nevsky; Peter Korishki.

June 6: Venerable Hilarion the New, of the Dalmaton monastery; Venerable Vissarion of Egypt and Attalos the wonder-worker.

June 7: Hieromartyr Theodotos, bishop of Ancyra; Venerable Sebastian the wonder-worker; Venerable Cedd, bishop of Essex.

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

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS May 31 – June 7

Sunday Acts 20:16-18, 28-36 John 4:10-21

Monday Acts 21:8-14 John 14:27-15:7

Tuesday Acts 21:26-32 John 16:2-13

Wednesday Acts 23:1-11 John 16:15-23

Thursday Acts 25:13-19 John 16:23-33

Friday Acts 27:1-44 John 17:18-26

Saturday Acts 28:1-31 John 21:15-25

Sunday Acts 2:1-11 John 7:37-52; 8:12

- ALMS-GIVING –

St. John Alms Fund	St. John Camping Fund
St. John Food Pantry	St. John Seminarian Fund
St. Paul Mission Station, Tupelo	Rachels’ Kids, Inc.

Diocese of Miami and the Southeast Mission Fund

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

Pray for our catechumens: In Memphis - Maria Cartagena, Maria Brackey, Lisa Martin, Barbara McWilliams, Jill Healy, Priscilla Neale, Misty Duke and David Twombly. In Tupelo - Shane Davis, Justin & Brandy Williams, Leah Hardy, Adam Clay, Casey & Jessica Hardy (Davis) and Justin Stevens. In Hernando – Donald Estes. In Henning – Bobby Johnson.

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 (Judy Terry’s mother), Effie Johnson (Kh. Susan’s mother), Mary Clark, Hannah Snowden (pregnant), Shanna Massouh (pregnant), Ann Hicks (Dianna Hildebrand’s mother), Sue Ingram, Charles Ingram, Ted & Patty Greathouse (Shelley Snowden’s parents), Laura Greathouse, Reuben & Earlene Snowden (Gene’s parents), Helen Robbins (Sheila Sudduth’s mother), and Brendan Healy (Jill’s son).

ST. JOHN COMMUNITY:

Catechumen and Inquirers class will meet this week on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

Upcoming Baptisms/Chrismations:

Misty Duke will be chrismated on Pentecost, June 7.

Maureen Grace Stickle will be baptized on July 4.

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 Joshua has mentioned, the teens are raising money to assist in attending the Parish Life Conference. Those who receive assistance will participate in the Oratorical Festival at the conference.

Bittersweet news – Hardy and Katherine Thames and their family are relocating to Gulfport, MS. Hardy has taken a teaching job there, and they will be much closer to most of their family members. We will miss them very much, and we pray for their continued well-being in every way. Many years!

New on the bulletin boards: Information on CONNECT program – University of Balamand; Job opportunity at Delta Airlines for the summer; a new OCF Newsletter; a letter from OCMC missionary, Katie Wilcoxson, who will be visiting our parish sometime in August.

Out of town dates for Fr. John:

May 28 – June 6 – Wedding and vacation

June10 – June 14 – Parish Life Conference, Jackson, MS

July 20 – July 25 – Archdiocese Convention, Palm Desert, CA

Antiochian Women of St. John’s Calendar

TOMORROW!! POTLUCK DINNER – Monday, June 1^st - 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Kick off the summer with an AWSJ potluck at St. John! We will conduct a bit of

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 5^th after sixth hour prayer

We welcome any and all who can join us for sixth hour prayer & a brown-bag lunch.

Book Club

June 8^th ~ Hind’s Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

We will meet on Sarah Hodges front porch at 7:00 p.m.

July 13^th ~ The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

Mark your Calendars! – Saturday, June 20^th

Mother Nektaria has requested our assistance in readying the guest house for visitors coming for the feast on June 29. We’ll do a deep cleaning of the guest house and any other indoor chores Mother requests. This is a terrific time to go out on Friday evening in time for 6:00 p.m. vespers with Mother. Then we can retire to the guest house for dinner and time together, rising for 6:00 a.m. prayers before breakfast and the workday. If you’d rather come for just Saturday, arrive as soon as possible to join in the fun. Please let Anne Dugan know in advance if you plan to go.

LIBRARY LINES – This week we commemorate two of our favorite saints,  Mary and Martha(6/4), the sisters of Lazarus. They are mentioned several times in the Scriptures and are numbered among the Myrrhbearers.  Perhaps we particularly love these sisters because they were friends of Jesus. They also seem very real to us because of our need for prayer in our ‘busyness” with life’s small cares.  A hymn of praise to them is on the bulletin board in St. John Library.  See also the story of St. Sophia(6/4), a mother of six and caregiver of orphans and widows who prayed ceaselessly.

Visit St. John Library for information about these saints as well as the First Ecumenical Council.

St. John Chrysostom on the benefits and importance for Christians of Scripture Reading: Christians who are ignorant of their faith are responsible for the pagans' unbelief and the blasphemies which they say about Christ. "It is ridiculous if he who professes to be a Christian is unable to utter a word in defense of his own faith…It is this that prevents the pagans from quickly realizing the absurdity of their error. Inasmuch as, relying on falsehood, they make every effort to obscure the baseness of their teachings, while we who are the guardians of truth cannot even open our mouth, what will prevent them from despising the great weakness of our doctrine? Will they not get the idea that our teaching is deceitful and foolish? Will they not blaspheme Christ as a dissembler and deceiver who makes us of the stupidity of the majority to advance his deceit? And we are responsible for this blasphemy if we are not willing to be on the alert to speak in defense of righteousness, but rate such matters as superfluous, and concern ourselves about the things of earth. To be sure, and admirer of a dancer or of a charioteer or of a contender against wild beasts runs every risk and makes every effort so as not to come off worsted in disputes concerning his favorite. Moreover, these men string together long commendations, building up a defense against those who find fault with them, casting countless jibes at their opponents. But, when arguments are proposed about Christianity they all bow their heads, and rub them and yawn, and when laugh at, withdraw. Now are you not deserving of unmitigated anger if Christ appears less honored among you than a dancer? For while, you have thought up countless defenses of their deeds - even though all of these are somewhat base - you do not even exert yourself to give any thought and care to the wondrous deeds of Christ." (Homily 17 on John)

Teen Group Events

TODAY, May 31^st – Bible Bowl Meeting

Thursday, June 4^th – Trip to Fuller’s Ranch

Next Sunday, June 7^th – No meeting

Monday, June 8^th – Redbirds’ Game

with Teen Group from Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church

Teen Group Events

TODAY, May 31^st – Bible Bowl Meeting

Thursday, June 4^th – Trip to Fuller’s Ranch

Next Sunday, June 7^th – No meeting

Monday, June 8^th – Redbirds’ Game

with Teen Group from Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church

UPCOMING FEASTS:

Saturday of Souls – June 6^th

Saturday of Souls liturgy – We will celebrate the Divine Liturgy for the Saturday of Souls on the day before Pentecost, June 6 at 9:00 a.m. If you can make kollyva for the Trisagion prayers afterward, please let Fr. Nicholas know.

Feast of Pentecost – June 7^th

The Great Feast of Pentecost will be celebrated Sunday, 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 Joshua, and another from our parish who is a student there now, Matthew Snowden.

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 6:00 p.m.

Feast of Saints Peter & Paul ~ June 29^th

Change in upcoming festal celebration – We typically celebrate the end of the Apostles Fast by celebrating the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul on June 29 here in the parish. However, since this is the feast day for St. Paul Skete, we will pray vespers in the parish the evening before, June 28, and the Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at the Skete on the morning of the 29^th. More details to follow.

Due to a number of reasons, we will not be printing and mailing the Evangelist at this time. If you would like a paper copy, there will be a few available in the parish hall. Please note that there is not a calendar included. However, at any time you are able to access both a calendar and the weekly bulletin on our website http://www.stjohnmemphis.org/.

SUMMER IS HERE!!

Beat the Heat!

Be sure to mark your summer calendars

with the following dates for our

St. John Potluck Pool Parties:

June 29^th • July 27^th • August 17^th

Come ready to swim or just relax!

We meet at the pool at Rhodes College and swim from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. There is a grill available for whatever meat or veggies you would like to bring. We ask that everyone bring their own meat (or vegetarian equivalent), drinks (non-alcoholic) and a dish (side or dessert) to share.

From the Fathers

“. . . often a thought has occurred to me, and it was by writing it down that I committed it to memory. Thus in time of spiritual struggle I had it as a source of aid or relief or gratitude, supported as it was by the testimony of divine Scripture. Had I been negligent about writing it down, I would not have found it when I had need of it, and I would have been deprived of its help by that greatest of evils, forgetfulness.” - St. Peter of Damaskos

“Blessed is the man who realizes his weakness, for this knowledge becomes the foundation, the root and the beginning of every boon. For as soon as a man understands and truly feels his weakness, he immediately puts a restraint on the vain pride of his soul which obscures reason, and thus he gains protection.” - St. Isaac the Syrian

“When you are praying alone, and your spirit is dejected, and you are wearied and oppressed by your loneliness, remember then, as always, that God the Trinity looks upon you with eyes brighter than the sun; also all the angels, your own Guardian Angel, and all the Saints of God. Truly they do; for they are all one in God, and where God is, there are they also. Where the sun is, thither also are directed all its rays. Try to understand what this means.”

- St. John of Kronstadt

“When the wind blows steadily, every sailor can think highly of himself and boast of his skill; but only a sudden change of wind reveals the skill of experienced helmsmen.”

- St. Anthony