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
Sunday
of the Holy Forefathers
Epistle: Colossians
5:4-11 Gospel: Luke 14:16-24
The Holy Bread for Eucharist is offered this morning by Margaret
McKelroy.
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 – Bible Bowl
Monday - First Hour,
- Advent
Paraklesis,
Tuesday -
Third Hour,
- Men’s
Lunch,
-
Caroling at King’s Daughter’s and Son’s Home,
Wednesday - Third Hour,
- Vespers,
- Story time for the children is
directly following Vespers
- Wednesday dinner,
- Wednesday teaching,
Thursday -
Third Hour,
Friday - First Hour,
- Third Hour,
- Paraklesis,
-
Parent’s Night Out,
5
Saturday -
Nave Work Day.
- Ninth Hour and Great Vespers,
Sunday - Orthros,
-
- Divine
Liturgy,
Divine
Liturgy Sunday, December 20,
PRIEST: Fr.
John HOMILY: Fr. John
DEACONS: Dns. Charles & Tim READER: Jack Turner
HOLY BREAD: Christy Yadron USHER: John
Sneed
ALTAR SERVERS: Caleb, J. Morgan, Alex, Deon
COFFEE HOUR: Dn. James & Sh. Corinne Elliott, Bill Stanek
WELCOME TEAM: Cliff McWhorter and Claire Van Drimmelen
Chrismation
Today
Nathan Powell
Upcoming
Chrismations
Rod, Trish, Jake and Cailyn Ratliff – December 20
COMMEMORATIONS
December
13: Martyrs Eustratios, Auxentios,
Eugene, Mardarios, and Orestes at Sebaste;
Virgin-martyr Lucia of Syracuse; Hieromartyr Gabriel,
patriarch of
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
Antiochian Women of
Women’s Book Club
Our
next meeting will be on January 4,
We
will be discussing Gown of Glory by Agnes Turnbull.
Women’s Teaching
We
will meet on Thursday, January 7,
Women’s Crafts Club
We
will resume on January 11,
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rachels’ Kids, Inc. |
Diocese of
Michael
Bittle Fund – Holy Trinity Orthodox Church –
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, December 13 – meeting with
the seniors
Next week, December 20 – bible bowl
Inquirers/Catechumen
Class will resume in January
COME CAROLING WITH US! We will again
be singing Christmas carols at Kings Daughter’s & Son’s Home in
Sons of Thunder
– We next meet on Sunday, the 17th
of January, at Seven O’clock in the evening at the gracious home of David Twombly. We shall be reading The Abolition of Man
by C. S. Lewis.
Parents
Night Out - On Friday the 18th
evening of December 2009, the Teen Group will host a Parents’ Night Out.
It will last from
Nave Work
Day – Saturday, December 19 – We will
need volunteers to help clean the nave for the Nativity Feast. We will begin at
THE NATIVITY FAST is divided into two periods: The
1st period is November 15th throu
Weekly Paraklesis services – During the Nativity fast, we will continue to pray
the Paraklesis service on Monday evenings at
Second Day of Christmas - Everyone is invited to St. Paul Skete
to celebrate the Second Day of Christmas. Fr. Nicholas will serve Divine
Liturgy for the Synaxis of the Theotokos at
Do
You Like to Have Fun? Do you like to get
together with friends? We’re looking for YOU to set up for or clean
up after the Nativity Feast. We need men
(for clean up) and women (set up and clean up) to volunteer. If you have any questions, see Nancy McGee or
sign up on the sign up sheet downstairs.
Iconography Work – As you can see, our iconographers continue to work very hard. The remaining work is primarily decorative,
although there are (as of Friday) still 4 icons to add inside the altar – Kings
and Prophets David and Solomon, as well as two seraphs. Their last day of work will be this
Friday. If you would like to bring them
lunch this week, please call the office so we can coordinate.
Please keep Dmitry, Victor, and Aleko
in your prayers. We have been and will
continue to be blessed greatly by their work! -
Father John
Mea Culpa – Okay, my last comment in last week’s bulletin
regarding the celebration after the Nativity Feast (“We will simply discard any
dishes left at the church after the feast.”) was over the top, and I was
appropriately chastised. Please forgive me. However, let’s all try
to remember those who have volunteered to clean up afterward (are you
interested?) and make their tasks as simple as possible. - Father John
A Message from the
aa LIBRARY LINES aa
Today we honor perhaps the richest group on the
Church’s list of commemorated saints. This is the Sunday of the Holy
Forefathers, the ancestors in the flesh of Christ. Today's Gospel reading 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, Thursday 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.
During Advent we have commemorated several events in
the life of the Theotokos. Her entrance into the temple (11/21),
her conception (12/9) and the nativity of Christ (12/25). These and
others are depicted in one of St. John Library’s most popular books. The
Story of Mary the Mother of God (KID/PAP) by Dorrie
Papademetriou is a beautifully illustrated book for
young children. The first half of the short book is devoted to Sts. Anna and
Joachim, their desire for a child and the early life of the Theotokos. The book
continues with the Annunciation, birth, and life of Christ.
The life of the Theotokos is shown to us in much greater detail in another one
of our most informative books, The Life of the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos.
This reference book gives us icons, hymns and commentary from the fathers on
her life, her significance in the
See the display of these books, others about the
Theotokos and ones about the Nativity of our Lord in the Flesh in St. John
Library.
DAILY SCRIPTURE
Sunday Ephesians
Monday 2 Timothy
Tuesday 2
Timothy 3:16-4:4 Mark 8:22-26
Wednesday 2 Timothy 4:9-22
Mark 8:30-34
Thursday Titus 1:5-2:1 Mark 9:10-16
Friday Titus
Saturday Ephesians
Sunday Colossians
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES FOR THE NATIVITY
~ Thursday, December 24th~
Royal Hours,
Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St.
Basil,
Orthros for Nativity,
Divine Liturgy of
NATIVITY CELEBRATION
aa
We
will have a light celebration after Divine Liturgy on December 24. As in the
past, the church will provide deli trays and bread for sandwiches as well as
drinks. Please let us know if you are planning on attending so we can order an
appropriate amount of food. There is a
sign up sheet downstairs.
Also,
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.
**NOTE** If
you bring items to share, please label your dish with your name. This will help us to return anything left
behind to its rightful owner in a timely manner. If you do need to use trays,
bowls or other items from the kitchen, please be sure to put them away before
you leave. We can show our appreciation
for those who have volunteered to clean up by not adding to their work. This
will also help to insure that we are all able to get home at a reasonable hour
on Christmas Eve. Thank you so much for
your help in making this a wonderful and memorable evening for the parish.
Upcoming
special services for the remainder of the fast and the Nativity season
through Theophany (1)
gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
Monday, December 14
Paraklesis,
Monday, December 21
Paraklesis,
Thursday, December 24
Royal Hours,
Vesperal
Divine Liturgy of St. Basil,
Orthros
for Nativity,
Divine Liturgy of
Saturday, December 26
At St. Paul Skete Divine
Liturgy, 9:00 AM
Thursday, December 31
Great Vespers for the Feast of St. Basil,
Tuesday, January 5
Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great,
Wednesday, January 6
Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom,
(1) Remember
that December 24 and January 5 are fast days.
There is NO fasting from December 25 through January 4.
(2) There
will be a finger food potluck following Vespers – please bring something to
share.
Special note: Theophany House Blessings – Be sure and
sign up in the parish hall for times and days that are possible times for one
of the priests to bless your home.