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 Blind Man
Epistle: Acts
The Holy Bread for Eucharist is offered by Meribeth Harvey.
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 Game Night,
Monday
-
First Hour,
-
Tuesday - Third Hour,
- Men’s Lunch,
- Catechumen/Inquirers Class,
Wednesday - Third
Hour,
- Divine
Liturgy for Ascension,
- Finger-food Potluck to Follow
Thursday -
No Hours
Friday - First Hour,
- Third Hour,
- Stay & Play, downstairs in parish hall
- Paraklesis,
Saturday - Ninth Hour and Great Vespers,
Sunday -
- Divine
Liturgy,
- Trisagion Prayers for Esther Longa
- Holy
Mystery of Matrimony for Mitch
Childress and
![[image]](http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/icons/clip/scroll.gif){kind=icon}
Divine
Liturgy for Ascension Wednesday, May 12,
PRIEST: Fr.
John HOMILY: Fr. John
DEACONS: Dns.
Tim & Charles READER: Caleb McGee
HOLY BREAD: Lynda Spinolo ALTAR SERVERS: Any available
POTLUCK COFFEE HOUR
Divine Liturgy Sunday,
May 16,
PRIEST: Fr. John HOMILY: Fr. John
DEACONS: Dns. James
& Tim READER:
HOLY BREAD:
ALTAR SERVERS: Caleb, Luke
S., Misha, Alex, Jake & Joe
COFFEE HOUR: Nawar &
WELCOME TEAM:
*Fasting Note: With the blessing of the Synod of Antioch, a
katalysis for fish, wine and oil is granted for all Wednesdays and Fridays of
the Pentecostarion (the period between Pascha and Pentecost).
COMMEMORATIONS
May 9: Prophet Isaiah; Martyr Christopher of Lycia;
Venerable-martyr Nicholas; translation to
May 10: Apostle Simon Zelotes;
Venerable Laurence of
May 11: Hieromartyr Mokios, priest in
May 12: Germanos, patriarch of
Constantinople, Epiphanios, bishop of
May 13: Virgin-martyr Glykeria of Heraklea; Sergios the Confessor;
Venerable John the Georgian, founder of Iviron
monastery on Athos and Venerable Euthymios, George
and Gabriel of Iviron monastery; Venerable-martyrs of
Iviron monastery.
May 14: Martyr Isidore of
May 15: Achilles, bishop of Larisa; Venerable Pachomios the Great; Martyr Barbaros
the myrrh-streaming of Corfu; Isaiah, bishop of Rostov; Andrew the hermit; Titos, bishop of Crete; Demetrios,
prince of Moscow.
May 16: Venerable Theodore the Sanctified, disciple of Pachomios the Great; Alexander, archbishop of
ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
Pray for our catechumens: In
Please remember in your prayers: His Eminence, Metropolitan PHILIP, His Grace, Bishop
ANTOUN, Dn. Sidney & Sh. Mary Elliott and family, Buddy Taylor, Margaret
Layman, Chris Hodges, Judy Smith (Julie Sanderlin’s
mother), Shirley Gore (
Catechumen/Inquirers class will meet on Tuesday,
Save the Date! – Friday, May 28, Memphis Redbirds Game – Join the Teen Group at
Parish Council Meeting – the Parish Council will meet May 19th
at
Our Newest member! – We welcome Elmo Thompson, Kh Martha’s
father into our parish family! Mr.
Thompson, as we all call him, was received into the Church this week by
chrismation at the hands of his son-in-law Fr. Don. For years he has been coming to the services
of the church, and most of that time having to listen to the services
downstairs through the speaker system.
As age has further weakened him, travel is now quite difficult. After consultation with His Grace Bishop
ANTOUN and querying Mr. Thompson, Mr. Thompson was received and communed with
his assent. May God guard and guide him
always!
Elliott Longa
– God willing, we will church Elliott on May 23. May God watch over and protect him in every
way!
Updated Directories – Updated church directories (not the pictorials) are
now available in the parish hall. Be
sure to pick one up. Please remember
that these are for personal use only.
Future Icons in the church - Several have asked about approved subjects for the
remaining icons to be added in the church.
There is a list available in the parish hall containing the individual
saints already present in the iconography in the church, as well as those which
are “approved” or under consideration.
Kroger & Schnucks cards are available in the office for those
interested. Each time you use your Schnucks card or Kroger Gift Card,
Teen Group Events
Today
May 9 - Game Night,
NEXT WEEK
May 16 – Middlers,
ALMS-GIVING
OPPORTUNITIES
Diocese of
Michael Bittle Fund – Holy Trinity Orthodox Church,
Parish Life Conference in
June 16-20
There is registration
information on the Parish Life Conference (
Next year our parish is hosting the
conference. We will need most of our parishioners to be
involved in some way to adequately host our diocesan gathering. Attending this year’s conference is a great
way to get prepared to assist for next year.
Consider attending!
ffWorship & Liturgical Remindersff
It
was not so long ago that when one came to the services of the church, he
expected that should someone want to reach him by phone, it would have to take
place after the service. (Fast forward
to today – we can now include being reached by TEXT MESSAGES!) Except in the most extreme cases of
emergency, it should still be that way.
PLEASE turn off your telephones when you
enter the nave for prayer and worship.
ffMorality Cornerff
We
have for some time frequently offered the “Prolife
Corner” in the bulletin. It seems
equally important to offer from time to time this new section as well. While I may state some things that seem
“everybody knows already,” we should be aware that that is not the case. All too often our various media sources have
distorted traditional Christian morality and many of us, particularly our
children, do not realize that our views differ from those of the Holy Fathers
on these things. I hope to help us
reestablish more clarity on the Church’s positions and teachings so that we
might be better armed in our spiritual struggles.
~Fr
John
ffProlife Cornerff
“You shall love your neighbor more than you own
life. You shall not slay the child by
abortion. You shall not kill that which
has been generated.”
The Epistle of Barnabas, first century
aa LIBRARY LINES aa
Today we commemorate the
Prophet Isaiah (5/9). On Holy Saturday and Pascha we sang, “Isaiah saw the
never-setting light of the compassionate manifestation to us as God, O Christ.
Rising early from the night he cried out, ‘The dead shall arise.’ Those in the
tombs shall awake. All those on earth
shall greatly rejoice.” He also prophesied the virgin birth and the suffering
of Christ which were gloriously put to music by George Handel in The Messiah. Isaiah died a martyr’s death and his relics
are on
Sts. Cyril and Methodios (5/11) are known as equal to the apostles and
enlighteners of the Slavs. Equal-to-the-Apostles is a special title given to some
saints in recognition of their outstanding service in the spreading the Gospel,
which is comparable to that of the original Apostles. (Among others who have been given this distinction are
Sts. Mary Magdalene, Nina, Thekla, Helen and
Constantine, Nicholas of
Friday we commemorate Sts. Helen and Constantine
(5/21). The library has several accounts
of the history behind their feast day, but perhaps one of the best ones is in A Child’s Paradise of
Saints by the nun Nectaria McLees. Did you know
that St. Helen was 70 years old when she found the True Cross? The first
chapter in this book tells how God performed a miracle that revealed to her the
identity of Christ’s cross, explains the sign of the cross and shows us a
beautifully detailed icon of these saints of God. St. Helen Finds the Cross of Jesus by
Michelle Georgiou is another engaging book for younger readers. The story is
written in large text and each page has an accompanying brightly colored, full
page illustration.
DAILY SCRIPTURE
Sunday Acts 16:16-34 John 9:1-38
Monday Acts 17:1-15
John
Tuesday Acts
Wednesday Acts
Thursday Acts 1:1-12 Luke 24:36-53
Friday Acts 19:1-8 John 14:1-11
Saturday Acts 20:7-12 John
Sunday Acts 20:16-18, 28-36 John 17:1-13
KROGER
AND SCHNUCK’S CARDS
SCHNUCKS
Simply register your existing
Schnucks grocery card online or over the phone. If you do not currently have a Schnucks card, they are available free of charge in the
office (see Trish).
Group Name:
Group ID: 500024054
Go to: www.escrip.com and follow the directions
or
Call 1-800-931-6258
*
KROGER
The Kroger program works
differently than the Schnucks program. You will need to purchase a $5 Gift Card from Trish in the office. You would then take the card to Customer
Service at any Kroger store and have them load the desired amount (up to $500)
onto your card. You may reload it as
often as you like! You would then use
your card to pay for your groceries, prescriptions or gas.
Remember our
"Friends in Need"
Diocesan Activity
Our
local and diocesan Antiochian women maintain a list
of those who cannot participate fully in the life of their parish, or who have
a serious illness, and would be encouraged by receiving periodic cards and
letters from us. This year, we're expanding participation in this program to
include our entire parish of
Nicholas
has a real talent for calligraphy and uses it to provide hand-made pieces of
encouragement to those whom he writes.
From
the Fathers
“My
grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” ~2Corinthians
12:9
“Why
do you increase your bonds? Take hold of your life before your light grows dark
and you seek help and do not find it. This life has been given to you for
repentance; do not waste it in vain pursuits.”
~St. Isaac the Syrian
“If
you wish to be saved, seek no other thing here in this world as much as love.” ~Saint
Cosmos of Aitolos
“The light of true knowledge is
the power to discriminate without error between good and evil. Then the path of
righteousness leads the intellect [nous] upward
towards the Sun of Righteousness and brings it into the boundless illumination
of spiritual knowledge, so that henceforth it will grow more and more confident
in its quest for love.”
~St. Diadochos of Photiki
__._,_.___
“Here is the shortest and easiest path to salvation: Be obedient
and temperate, do not judge and keep your mind and heart free of evil thoughts;
believe instead that all people are kind and that God loves them. For these
humble thoughts the grace of the Holy Spirit will live within you, and you will
say, ‘God is merciful.’” ~St. Silouan