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

 

Third Sunday of the Triodion

Sunday of the Last Judgement

February 7, 2010

 

Epistle:  I Corinthians 8:8-9:2                                   Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46                                                               

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.

 

 

 

CALENDAR for FEBRUARY  7 - 14         (Fast from Meat - all other categories permitted)

 

Sunday - AWSOJ Sweet Eats & Cheesy Treats Bake Sale

- Meatfare Potluck Meal

- Welcome Team will meet during Coffee Hour in the library

-    Teen Group – Teen Dinner, 5:00 p.m.

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

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

- Men’s Lunch, 11:45 a.m.

- Choir 7:00 p.m.

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

Wednesday     - Third Hour, 9:00 a.m.

            - Vespers, 5:30 p.m.

            - Story time for the children is directly following Vespers

            - Wednesday dinner, 6:15 p.m.

            - Wednesday teaching  

            - Parish Council Meeting, 7:45               

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

                                               

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

- Paraklesis, 12:00 p.m.

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

Sunday - Orthros and Church School, 9:00 a.m.

- Divine Liturgy, 10:00 a.m.

- Forgiveness Vespers, 6:30

 

Divine Liturgy            Forgiveness Sunday                   Sunday, February 14, 10:00 a.m.

PRIEST:                       Fr. John                                    HOMILY:        Fr. John

DEACONS:                  Dns. Tim & James                    READER:        Owen White

HOLY BREAD:           Margaret McKelroy                  USHER:           Matt Spinolo

ALTAR SERVERS:      Caleb, Luke S., Alex, Jake, & Joe

COFFEE HOUR:          Ethan & Claire Van Drimmelen, Karen Bell

WELCOME TEAM:     Corinne Elliott, David Twombly

 

 

Forgiveness Vespers

 

The opening service of Great Lent is Forgiveness Vespers on the evening of February 14, which is followed by the Rite of Forgiveness.  Begin today to prepare yourselves for that very important and powerful service which begins our annual school of repentance

 

COMMEMORATIONS

 

February 7: Parthenios, bishop of Lampsakos; Venerable Luke of Hellas; New-martyr George of Crete.

 

February 8: Great-martyr Theodore the General (“Stratelates”); Prophet Zachariah; Sabbas II, archbishop of Serbia.

 

February 9: Martyr Nikephoros of Antioch; Hieromartyrs Markellos, bishop of Sicily, Pankratios, bishop of Taormina, and Philagrios, bishop of Cyprus; translation of the relics of Innocent, first bishop if Irkutsk.

 

February 10: Hieromartyr Haralampos the wonder-worker, bishop of Magnesia; Venerable Zenon.

 

February 11: Hieromartyr Blaise, bishop of Sebaste; Theodora the empress; New-martyr George of Serbia; Vsevolod, prince and wonder-worker of Pskov;  Venerable Demetrios of Prilutsk.

 

February 12: Meletios, archbishop of Antioch; New-martyr Christos of Constantinople; Alexis, metropolitan of Moscow.

 

February 13: Venerable Martinian of Palestine; Apostles and Martyrs Aquila and Priscilla; Eulogios, patriarch of Alexandria; Venerable Simeon (Nemanja) the myrrh-streaming, prince of Serbia and founder of Hilandar monastery on Athos.

 

February 14: Auxentios the priest of Bithynia; Venerable Abraham, Maron of Syria and Damian; New-martyrs Nicholas of Corinth and George of Mitylene; repose of Venerable Cyril, equal-to-the-Apostles and teacher of the Slavs; Venerable Isaac the Recluse of the Kiev Caves.

 

 

 

 

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS                         February 7 – February 14

Sunday 1          Corinthians       8:8-9:2                         Matthew           25:31-46         

Monday           3 John              1:1-15                          Luke                19:29-40; 22:7-39

Tuesday           Jude                 1:1-10                          Luke                22:39-42, 45-23:1

Wednesday      2 Timothy         2:1-10                          John                 15:17-18:2

Thursday          Jude                 1:11-25                        Luke                            23:2-34

Friday              Zechariah         8:7-17                          Zechariah         8:8-23

Saturday           Romas              14:19-23; 16:25-27      Matthew           6:1-13

Sunday             Romans            13:11-14:4                   Matthew           6:14-21           

 

Pray for our catechumens:  In Memphis - Maria Cartagena, Maria Brackey, Lisa Martin, Jennifer Criswell, Michael Grossman, David Corbett, Sandy Powell, and Keith & Sarah Parker. In Tupelo - Shane Davis, Justin & Brandy Williams, Leah Hardy, Adam Clay, Casey & Jessica Hardy (Davis). In Hernando – Donald Estes. In Henning – Bobby Johnson.

 

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 (Judy Terry’s mother),  Effie Johnson (Kh. Susan’s mother), Mary Clark, Elizabeth Cameron (pregnant), Amy Gill (pregnant), Esther Longa (pregnant), Marjo Labonte (pregnant), Mindy Williams (pregnant), Kh. Jeanette (pregnant), Ann Hicks (Dianna Hildebrand’s mother), Sue Ingram, Charles Ingram, Ted & Patty Greathouse (Shelley Snowden’s parents), June Peeples (Sarah Hodges’ mother), Joyce Bittle, Allen Sudduth (Paul’s father), Elmo Thompson (Kh. Martha’s father), David Williams (Jill Healy’s son-in-law), Erin Williams (Jill Healy’s daughter, pregnant), Will Parham (Christine Scrantom’s brother-in-law) and Rose Marton (Mary Ann Coccaro), Janet Berry (Joel Berry’s mother).

 

 

 

- 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

 

 

ST. JOHN COMMUNITY:

 

 

Catechumen/Inquirers class will meet Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.

 

Annual AWSJ "Sweets & Cheesy Treats Bake Sale" will be held TODAY during the Meatfare potluck following Liturgy.  This year's sale will benefit the new women's convent at Antiochian Village. What a blessing it is to be able to contribute to that project! Please be prepared to pay for your items with cash or check.  We cannot accept IOU’s this year.

 

Altar Server Training - We will be having a training session for all Altar servers this Saturday, February 13 from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.  We all need refreshers on our duties, plus we have new servers who will be training for the first time.  Please make every effort to attend.  If for some reason you cannot attend, please speak with Caleb or Father John.

 

Great Lent approaches – Great Lent begins on February 15.  It will be here before we know it!  Today, February 7, 2010, is the Meatfare Sunday or the Sunday of the Last Judgement, and the week following we fast from meat.  We should begin to prepare ourselves even now for the spiritual journey ahead!

 

 

 

 

 

Teen Group Events

 

Today, February 7 – Dinner, 5:00 P.M.

NEXT WEEK, February 14 – No Teen Event

 

 

 

 

Presanctified Meals – If you are interested in providing a Presanctified Meal during Lent, please contact Trish in the office at 901-274-4119 or tratliff@stjohnmemphis.org .

 

Stamo Latto Scholarship – From Julia Alissandratos:  “I am happy to announce the 2010 Stamo Latto Scholarship academic competition.  It is for young women high school seniors and talented juniors who are U.S. citizens and members of canonical Orthodox churches in Charleston, SC and Memphis, TN.  Three $1,000 scholarships are available, although awards may range from $500 to more than $1,000, depending on qualifications and the pool of candidates.  The deadline for receipt of documentation is May 1, 2010.  More information, including requirements and application form, is available at this link: http://www.stjohnmemphis.org/LattoScholarship.html

                                                                                    ~ (Dr.) Asimoula Julia Alissandratos

 

 

aa  Prolife Corner  aa

Those who support abortion on demand most often describe the unborn child as a “mass of cells” of some similar description that negates the personhood of the unborn.  In fact, abortion providers are usually coached to never use the word “baby” when speaking of the child in the womb of a pregnant mother.  Modern medical advances have been used to explode this myth simply by photographing the child in the womb.  Recently, the director of Planned Parenthood in Bryan, TX (Texas A & M is there) resigned her job after watching an ultrasound-guided abortion.  “What I saw on the screen was a 13-week old baby fighting for its life . . . And I had flashes in my head of my own daughter.  I remembered having an ultrasound at 12 weeks with my own daughter.  And I just was thinking, ‘What am I doing?’  I was thinking, ‘I’ve never seen this before.’” 

            I doubt any of the six pregnant women in our parish have thought of their children as a mass of cells – or as anything less than their own child.  As the pregnancies develop, that thought becomes all the more real and tangible.  

                                                                                                                        ~ Fr John

 

aa LIBRARY LINES  aa

 

 

Saturday of this week and Wednesday two weeks ago we commemorated the translation of the relics of Sts. Innocent of Alaska (2/9) and John Chrysostom (1/27), respectively.   Hardly a week goes by that the Church doesn’t commemorate the uncovering or translation of a saint’s relics.  So, what’s so important about it? The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (HIS/CRO) donates a page to this practice explaining that it is even practiced in Buddhism and is “based on the natural instinct of men to treat with reverence what is left of the dead they loved.”

 

A more readable explanation is given in The Pearl by Michael Whelton.  (CAT/GEN/WHE) Chapter VI gives us his answers to questions frequently asked by Protestants, or former ones like most of us.  His concise answer concerning relics begins on page 139. Kallistos Ware connects this practice with the theology of the body in The Orthodox Church (CAT/GEN/WAR). See chapter 11. See also Holy Relics by T. L. Frazier (CAT/SPEC/FRA)

 

Friday we honor the Prophet Zachariah(2/8).  He was called the sickle-seer because had a vision in which he saw a sickle flying in the air and destroying evil doers. He prophesied very specific events in the life of Christ, including the Triumphal Entry, the piercing of his side and the darkening of the sun at the crucifixion.

 

Looking for Library books on Lent?  You'll find a list of titles in the Handouts for Great Lent file downstairs in the fellowship hall.

 

 

ggggggg   Antiochian Women of St. John Calendar    ggggggg

 

Sweets & Cheesy Treats Bake Sale

TODAY during Coffee Hour

 

Women’s Book Club

Tomorrow, February 8, 7:00 p.m. at Kh. Pamela’s home

We will be discussing The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.

 

Women’s Teaching

This Thursday, February 11, 10:00 a.m. at Anne Dugan’s home.