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
Commemoration
of St. Anthony the Great
Epistle: Hebrews 13:17-21 Gospel: Luke
19:1-10
The Holy Bread for Eucharist is offered this morning by Reem Mansour.
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 – Meeting with Seniors,
- Sons of Thunder –
Monday - First Hour,
Tuesday -
Third Hour,
- Men’s
Lunch,
-
Catechumen/Inquireres Class,
-
Choir,
Wednesday - Third Hour,
- Vespers,
- Story time for the children is
directly following Vespers
- Wednesday dinner,
- Wednesday teaching
Thursday -
Third Hour,
Friday -
Third Hour,
- Paraklesis,
Saturday - Ninth Hour and Great Vespers,
Sunday -
Orthros,
-
- Divine
Liturgy,
Divine
Liturgy Sunday, January 24,
PRIEST: Fr.
Basil HOMILY: Fr. Basil
DEACONS: Dns. Charles & Tim READER: Caleb McGee
HOLY BREAD: Reem Mansour USHER:
ALTAR SERVERS: Ethan, J. Morgan, Luke L., Deon, Pavel
COFFEE HOUR: Rawad
& Shanna Massouh, Fadi & Rana Ibrahim
WELCOME TEAM: Gary Karnaghon,
Ladies---
It’s
Baby Time!
Please
join us for a baby shower in honor of AMY GILL on Sunday, January 24 after
Coffee Hour at the home of Kh. Pamela Mashburn.
If you would like to participate
in the group gift,
see
COMMEMORATIONS
January
17: Venerable Anthony the Great; Anthony the New, ascetic of Berrea in
January 18: Athanasios and Cyril,
patriarchs of
January 19: Venerable Makarios
the Great; Arsenios, bishop of Kerkyra;
Venerable Mark Eugenikos, metropolitan of Ephesos, pillar of Orthodoxy.
January 20: Venerable Eutymios
the Great; New-martyr Zachariah of Moreah.
January 21: Venerable Maximos
the Confessor, Zosimos and Neophytos;
Virgin-martyr Agnes of Rome; Venerable Maxim the Greek.
January 22: Apostle Timothy; Venerable-martyr Anastasios the Persian; Venerable Joseph the Sanctified of
January 23: Hieromartyr
Clement, bishop of
January 24: Hieromartyr
Babylas of Sicily; Venerable Xenia the merciful of
Rome; Venerable Philonos, bishop of Karpason; Venerable Neophytos the
recluse of Cyprus; Venerable Dionysios of Olympos, abbot of Philotheou
monastery on Athos; Hieromartyr Felician,
bishop of Folingo in Umbria, Italy; Blessed Xenia of
St. Petersburg, fool-for-Christ.
DAILY SCRIPTURE
Sunday Hebrews 13:17-21 Luke
6:17-23
Monday Hebrews 13:7-16 Matthew 5:14-19
Tuesday 1 Peter
Wednesday 1 Peter 4:1-11 Mark 12:28-37
Thursday 1 Peter
Friday 2 Peter 1:1-10 Mark 13:1-8
Saturday 1 Peter
Sunday 2 Timothy 3:10-15 Luke 18:10-14
Pray for our catechumens: In
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 (
Catechumen
classes to resume
Be a friend
in deed to our "Friends in Need"! - After Liturgy today, sign up to be a friend by
correspondence to one (or more) of our "Friends
in Need" in the Diocese of
What
commitment is involved? Add the individual(s) to your prayer list. Send cards
and/or letters on feast days, special holidays or whenever you think of them.
This is a wonderful way to give alms and touch lives!
Who can participate?
Individuals, families, Sunday School classes, catechumens ... in other words, all of us!
Dinner Club Members - You should have all met twice already. Remember,
you can meet during Lent and share fasting food and ideas, or meet soon before Lent.
If any group is struggling with meeting once every 2 months, you can call
or email me for help. It isn't the food we focus on, but the time
together in a small group. Meeting at Dino's for Sunday lunch is a super
easy plan. Email your group, make your plans and don't miss this special
time to get to know your fellow brothers and sisters! If anyone is not
currently a member of a dinner club and wants to jump in, call or email me.
Sons of Thunder
– We meet tonight at
Diocesan Meetings – Fr. John &
Antiochian Women of
Sweets & Cheesy Treats Bake
Cheesefare Sunday,
February 7 during Coffee Hour
Women’s Teaching
Thursday, February 11,
Women’s Book Club & Crafts Club will resume after
Lent.
aa The
On November 29, I included an insert in the bulletin
concerning The Manhattan Declaration. Copies of the statement (as well as a shorter
two page summary) are available in the parish hall. The statement is also readily accessible at www.ManhattanDeclaration.org. It reaffirms fundamental truths about justice
and the common good in three specific areas:
(1)
The sanctity of human life;
(2)
Traditional marriage; and
(3) The rights of conscience and religious
liberty.
Since November 24, the number of signatories has grown four fold
to over 381,000. Those signing include Bishop BASIL and Bishop MARK of our archdiocese, Metropolitan JONAH of the
In Bishop BASIL’s words, “Throughout the centuries,
God has graciously provided His people with teachers and prophetic voices who
apply His word to the critical issues of the day and who lead their hearers to
embrace His life-giving authority and counsel in the midst of cultural madness.
The Manhattan Declaration extends and honors that tradition, and we urge you to
join us in affirming it. The Manhattan Declaration addresses with urgent
eloquence the devaluation of human life, the corruption of marriage, and the
erosion of religious liberty. With
careful instruction, it brings light and clarity to all who read it.”
I hope that you will carefully read the
statement, and, if after done so, you feel so moved, please endorse
it by your signature online. If you feel
so inclined, you might also spread the word to others who might endorse it as
well. Again, you can read the
declaration at www.ManhattanDeclaration.org
or take one of the copies (the full statement, the summary, or both) from the
parish hall. ~ Fr John
Teen Group
Events
TODAY, January 17 - Meeting with Seniors
Next week, January 24 – Bible Bowl Practice
This year’s Deanery
Youth Retreat is approaching. It will be Friday, January 29 - 31
at
- ALMS-GIVING –
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Rachels’ Kids,
Inc. |
Diocese of
Michael Bittle Fund – Holy Trinity Orthodox Church –
aa LIBRARY LINES aa
Today we commemorate St.
Anthony the Great (1/17), the father of monasticism. His pious parents brought him up to be
serious about church services and the Holy Scriptures. From his youth, he
engaged in strict asceticism and was attacked by demons, sometimes in the form
of wild beasts. At age thirty-five, he began his monastic life as a hermit,
which was unheard of at the time. He lived in the desert eighty five years and
died peacefully in 356 A.D. at age105. The
Life of Anthony (PAT/ANT/ATH) by St. Athanasius of
St. Marcarius
(1/19) loved the life of silence and, like St. Anthony, fought the attacks of demons. He became a disciple of the elder St.
Anthony who received him in love and respect for his struggles. The Church’s
practice of praying for the departed is supported by this story from his life.
St. Anthony was walking along a road and saw a skull on the ground. He asked “Who are you?” The skull replied that he was a pagan and
said that when we pray for souls in hell, they receive some benefit.
St. Maximus
the Confessor (1/21) began his career in politics but resigned his position to
serve the Church. Although the Fourth
Ecumenical Council had condemned the monophysite
heresy, he devoted himself to speaking against this falsehood which raged for
many years. This story is recorded in The Disputation with Pyrrhus of our Father Among the Saints Maximos the Confessor
(PAT/MAX) which defends the Church’s teaching on the two natures of Christ.
His defense of the Church angered the heretic emperor who imprisoned the saint
and ordered his tongue and right hand severed. He was exiled to Sythia and died there in 662 A.D. His works include
explanations of difficult passages of Scripture, commentaries on the Lord’s
Prayer and the Psalms and treaties on St. Dionysius the Areopagite
and St. Gregory the Theologian. See also St. John Library’s On the Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ
(PAT/MAX) by St. Maximos and Maximos the Confessor by Andrew Louth (PAT/MAX).
See icons of these men, their
works and stories in St. John Library.
NEW ADDITION TO ST. JOHN Mother Nektaria ’s Christmas letter and you can’t find it?
St.
John Library’s catalogue is now complete and up to date! Holdings can be looked
up by their subjects, titles or authors as listed in these three separate indexes. Locating the book you want is now easier than
ever!
The
new catalogue is on the circulation table in the library. It will be updated
periodically as new material is acquired.
The database will eventually be on the church website under the library
link. Please see
From
the Fathers
“Whatever happens, happens by the
justice of God; for this reason the believer must always follow Divine
Providence and must seek, not his own will, but the Will of God; for he who
does or accepts all things in this manner has spiritual rest.” ~ The Evergetinos
“My poor soul! Sigh,
pray and strive to take upon you the blessed yoke of Christ,
and you will live on earth in a heavenly manner. Lord, grant that I may carry
the light and goodly yoke, and I shall be always at rest, peaceful, glad and
joyous; and I shall taste on earth of crumbs which fall from the celestial
feast, like a dog that feeds upon the crumbs which fall from the master's
table.” ~ St. Tikhon
of
“Blessed the one who is always
full of spiritual joy and has not grown slack in bearing the Lord’s good yoke,
for he will be crowned with glory.”
~ St. Ephraim the Syrian
“A man who has pure love also has
true wisdom. Man without love is always
without wisdom.” ~ St. Nikolai Velimirovich