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
“…the
Disciples were called
Acts 11:26
Twenty-first
Sunday After Pentecost
Commemoration of the Holy Un-mercenaries
Cosmas & Damian
Epistle: Galatians 2:16-20 Gospel: Luke 16:19-31
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 -
Teen Group – Fuller’s Ranch
- Sacrament of Holy
Matrimony for Joyce King & Michael Grossman,
Monday - First Hour,
- Women’s Book Club,
Tuesday -
Third Hour,
- Men’s Lunch,
- No Catechumen & Inquirers Class – we will meet again next week
- Choir,
Wednesday - Third Hour,
- Vespers,
-
Children’s reading time to follow Vespers
- Wednesday Dinner,
- Wednesday Teaching,
Thursday -
Third Hour,
-
- Men’s Quarterly Dinner –
Friday - First Hour,
- Third Hour,
- Stay & Play group will meet in the parish
hall following Third Hour.
- Sixth Hour,
-
Saturday - Divine
Liturgy for St. Raphael,
- Ninth Hour and Great Vespers,
Sunday - Orthros,
- Divine
Liturgy,
Divine Liturgy Saturday, November 7,
PRIEST: Fr.
John HOMILY:
Fr. John
DEACONS: Dns.
Tim & James READER:
Billy Scrantom
HOLY BREAD:
ALTAR SERVERS: Whoever can serve
COFFEE HOUR: Chris &
Divine Liturgy Sunday, November 8,
PRIEST: Fr.
Basil HOMILY:
Fr. Basil
DEACONS: Dns.
Charles & Tim READER:
HOLY BREAD:
ALTAR SERVERS: Caleb, J. Morgan, Alex, Deon
COFFEE HOUR: Alex & Alexandra Klimkowski,
Dianna Hildebrand
WECLOME TEAM:
COMMEMORATIONS
Nov. 1: The holy wonder-working unmercenaries Cosmas
and Damian of Mesopotamia and their mother Theodota; Venerable-martyr James and
his disciples James the deacon and Dionysios of Prodromou Skete on Athos; Venerable
David.
Nov. 2:
Martyrs Akindinos, Pegasios, Aphthonios, Elpidophoros and Anempodistos
of
Nov. 3:
Martyrs Akepsimas the bishop, Joseph the priest and Aeithalas the deacon
of
Nov. 4:
Venerable Ioanikios the Great; Hieromartyrs Nicander the bishop of
Nov. 5:
Martyrs Galaktion and Epistima of Homs; Apostles Hermas, Linos, Gaios,
Patrobas and Philogos of the Seventy; Hieromartyr Pamphilos; Jonah, bishop of
Nov. 6:
Paul the Confessor, archbishop of Constantinople; Venerable Luke of
Sicily; Paul the fool-for-Christ; Martyr Nicander; Venerable Barlaam of Khutyn;
Herman, bishop of Kazan.
Nov. 7:
Martyrs Thessalonkia in Amphipolis and Alexander of Thessalonika; the
Thirty-three Martyrs of Melitene; Venerable Lazarus the wonder-worker of
Magnesia; Venerable Gregory; Venerable Cyril of Novoezersk.
Nov. 8:
The synaxis of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel and all the bodiless
powers of heaven.
- ALMS-GIVING –
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Rachels’ Kids, Inc. |
Diocese of
Michael Bittle Fund – Holy Trinity Orthodox Church –
DAILY SCRIPTURE
November
1 – November 8
Sunday Galatians
Monday Colossians
Tuesday Colossians 2:20-3:3 Luke
11:34-41
Wednesday Colossians 3:17-4:1 Luke 11:42-46
Thursday Colossians 4:2-9
Luke 11:47-12:1
Friday
Colossians 4:10-18
Luke 12:2-12
Saturday 2 Corinthians 5:1-10
Luke 9:1-6
Sunday Galatians 6:11-18 Luke 8:41-56
Pray for our catechumens: In Memphis - Maria Cartagena,
Please remember in your prayers: His Eminence, Metropolitan PHILIP, His Grace, Bishop
ANTOUN, Buddy Taylor, Margaret Layman, Chris Hodges, Judy Smith (Julie
Sanderlin’s mother), Shirley Gore (
teen Group Events
TODAY, November 1 – fuller’s ranch
Next Sunday, November 8 – final
meeting with seniors - dinner afterward
Please remember to bring
Our time with him is running short!
Choir
will meet Tuesday evening at
No inquirers’ class this week and Deanery
Meetin
Iconography Update - Dimitry
Shkolnik, our iconographer, is scheduled to arrive November 30 with two workers
to do the bulk of phase two of our icon plan.
This includes a great deal of work in the altar, as well as putting gold
leaf on the current blue areas of the Pantacrator. Please remember him in your prayers.
New
Catechumen – Welcome to our newest
catechumen, Sandy Powell! She will be enrolled today between Orthros
and Divine Liturgy.
Sons of Thunder
– Our next meeting is Sunday, December 6,
Men’s
Quarterly Dinner – We will meet this
Thursday, November 5 at
Workday at
the Skete postponed – Due to the
weather, the workday we had planned for October 31 had to be rescheduled. Mark your calendars, the new date is November
14!
Mark your calendar -
Divine Litur
Icon order -
If there are specific icons you are interested in purchasin
2009 Parish Business Meeting & Parish
Council Meeting Minutes can be found in the parish hall for your review.
aa Worship and
litur
There is an excellent piece
included in this bulletin entitled, “On
the Offerin
New Musical Settin
Con
THE NATIVITY FAST be
Antiochian Women of
Women’s Teaching
Our next teaching will
be at
this Thursday, November
5 at
Women’s Book Club
Our next book club
meeting will be Monday, November 2 at
We will be discussing Gentian Hill by Elizabeth Goudge.
Prayers for the Dead
The next Saturday
Prayers for the Dead will be December 5 at
Crafts Club
We will meet at
Margaret McKelroy’s home on Monday, November 9 at
Feel free to bring
anything you’ve been working on and a snack to share!
LIBRARY LINES
Sts. Cosmos and Damian (11/1) belong to a group of
saints known as the Holy Unmercenaries, pious physicians known for their powers
of healing. These powers could truly be
called gifts because they vowed never to charge anyone they cured. Actually,
there were about twelve men given this designation; among them three brothers
named Cosmos and Damian and two named Cyrus and John. All of the Church’s hymns to these men praise
them with words that speak to us, “Freely ye have received, freely give.”
Once, St. Damian healed a seriously ill woman. In
gratitude, she offered him a gift in the name of the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. He did not refuse her in honor of the Trinity. When St. Cosmos, from his deathbed, heard
that his brother had accepted a gift, he thought St. Damian had accepted a
payment and said that he should not be buried beside him. Shortly afterward,
St. Damian died. Before his burial, a
camel, which the saints had healed, miraculously spoke and declared that St.
Damian had received the woman’s gift in respect for the Trinity. Their relics
are buried together in
See the icon and the story of these devoted siblings
in St. John Library.
St. John Library now has up-to-date title and subject listings for the collection. A hard copy of the catalog is in the binder
on the circulation cart by the bulletin board.
Soon this information, as well as a subject index, can be accessed from
the
a
Joyce Ann
King
and
Michael
Alan Grossman
request
the honor of your presence
as we are
joined together
in the
Sacrament of Marriage
Sunday,
the first of November
Two
thousand and nine
Reception
to follow in church hall
Antiochian Women of
November 13 – 14
Cost: $35
Father
Stephen Freeman of St. Anne Mission will be speaking on
“The Emptiness of God”
6 days left to turn in your
registration -
November
6 is the deadline. Flyers can be found
in the parish hall. Contact
Contact
Trish in the church office if you are willing to host out of town participants.
You
can find Fr. Stephen’s blogsite at http://fatherstephen.wordpress.com
On The Offering of Candles
In
our Baptism and Chrismation, we have all been made members of a “royal
priesthood, a holy nation”; so St. Peter calls us.[1]
One of the great privileges of this royal priesthood, in which all the faithful
participate, is the privilege of offering sacrifice to God. We offer many
things to God: our souls and bodies as a spiritual sacrifice;[2]
our alms; our praise and prayers; the prosphora
for Liturgy, which will become the Body and Blood of Christ; and many other
things. Among these others is the
offering of candles.
Why do we offer candles? The candle
and the light it produces is a symbol to us of the light which Christ has
brought into the world to dispel the darkness of sin and ignorance.[3]
For this reason, we offer it to God. Likewise it is a symbol of this same light
that was reflected so clearly in the lives of the saints. For this reason we
offer it before their icons. It is also a reminder to us that we should burn
with love for God, and that our works should so shine before men that when they
see them, they give glory to our Father in heaven.[4]
When we offer a candle, we always offer it
with a prayer. This may be in gratitude for a blessing we have received or for
some special petition we may have; it may be offered in intercession for a
loved one who still carries on their earthly struggle; or yet again it may be
offered for the repose of a soul departed this life.
When we ask something of God, it is a good
thing for us to offer something to Him as well. Not because God has any need
for what we offer, nor because we are trying to bargain with or bribe Him. But
what we offer is a token of how important our petition is to us, and how
grateful we are to Him for hearing our prayer. If we are not willing to give,
then how can we hope to receive?
This being so, even so simple a thing as a
candle can be a token that we are willing to give. Moreover, giving raises the
level of our prayer, for we have had to surrender something in order to offer
it, however small that thing may have been. It makes of our prayer a sacrifice
more concrete and more significant. It is for these reasons that the offering
of candles has become such an important custom in the Church.
But we must take care not to abuse this
custom. Offering means that we are giving something away. We should know that
if we have not paid for our candle, then our offering is void of meaning and
does nothing to help our prayer. Indeed, it may well hinder it, for we are offering
something that doesn’t belong to us; how can we do that to anyone without
insult, let alone God?
Now, there may be instances in which, on
account of poverty, we cannot afford the suggested donation for a candle. In
such a case however, we give whatever we can, however little; and God will
accept our offering even as He accepted the widow’s two mites.[5]
Moreover, while it is good for young children to learn how to pray and to offer
candles, never should candles be used simply as a toy to occupy them during
services.