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

Beheading of the Prophet and Forerunner John

August 29, 2010

Epistle: Acts 13:25-32 Gospel: Mark 6:14-30

The Holy Bread for Eucharist is offered by Karen Bell.

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.

ST. JOHN CALENDAR August 29 – September 5 (Wed. & Fri. Fast)

Fast TODAY for the Beheading of John the Baptist

Sunday - Teen Group

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

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

- Men’s Lunch, 11:45 a.m.

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

- Choir, 7:00 p.m.

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

- Vespers, 5:30 p.m., meal to follow*

- Children’s reading time immediately following Vespers

- Wednesday Teaching, 7:00 p.m. – Nativity of the Theotokos

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

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

- Third Hour, 9:00 a.m.

- Stay & Play Group will meet in the parish hall following Third Hour

- Sixth Hour, 12:00 p.m.

- AWSJ First Friday Brown Bag Lunch, following Sixth Hour

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

Sunday - Orthros, 9:00 a.m.

- Divine Liturgy, 10:00 a.m.

Divine Liturgy Sunday, September 5, 10:00 a.m.

PRIEST: Fr. John HOMILY: Fr. John

DEACONS: Dns. Tim & James READER: John Cameron

HOLY BREAD: Karen Bell USHER: Aaron White

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

COFFEE HOUR: Frank & Betsy Larker, David Twombly

WELCOME TEAM: David Twombly and Sarah Hodges

Upcoming Memorials:

Kitty Gilliland – September 5

Urania Alissandratos – October 10

*Caitlyn Maas will be catering Wednesday Dinner this week. Please be sure to let Trish know by Tuesday morning if you plan on attending.

COMMEMORATIONS

Aug. 29: The Beheading of the Forerunner. Venerable Theodora of Thessalonica, Theopistis and Joseph the Sanctified of Samaka.

Aug. 30: Alexander, Paul the New, and John, Patriarchs of Constantinople; Martyrs Phantinos of Calabria and Januarios; Repose of Venerable Alexander of Svir; translation of the relics of Alexander Nevsky, prince of Novgorod; Cyril and Makarios, patriarchs of Serbia.

Aug. 31: The commemoration of the placing of the Belt of the Theotokos in the Church of the Virgin in Halkoprateia-Constantinople.

Sept. 1: The beginning of the Indiction or the ecclesiastical New Year. Forty Virgin-martyrs and Ammon the deacon; Venerable Simeon the Stylite and his mother Martha; Venerable Euanthia; Righteous Joshua, son of Nun; Meletios the New of Greece; Venerable Nicholas of Crete; New-martyr Angelis of Constantinople.

Sept. 2: Martyr Mamas and his parents, Martyrs Theodotos and Rufina; John the Faster, patriarch of Constantinople.

Sept. 3: Hieromartyr Anthimos of Nicomedia; Martyr Chariton; New-martyr Polydoros of Cyprus; Venerable Theoktistos, fellow-faster with Euthymios the Great; Phoebe the deaconess; uncovering of the relics of Nektarios of Pentapolis, the wonder-worker; Ionikios I, patriarch of Serbia.

Sept. 4: Hieromartyr Babylas of Antioch; Prophet Moses the God-seer; Martyrs Jerusalem, Sekendos, Sekendios and Kegouros in Sleppo; Martyr Hermione, daughter of the Apostle Philip the deacon; uncovering of the relics of Joasaph, bishop of Belgorod; Venerable Anthimos the New; New-hieromartyr Gorazd, bishop of Bohemia and Moravia-Silesia.

Sept. 5: Prophet Zachariah and Elizabeth, parents of the Forerunner; Obadiah, bishop of Persia; martyrdom of the Holy Passion-bearer Gleb.

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DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS August 29 – September 5

Sunday Acts 13:25-32 Mark 6:14-30

Monday Galatians 2:11-16 Mark 5:24-34

Tuesday Galatians 2:21-3:7 Mark 6:1-7

Wednesday Galatians 3:15-22 Mark 6:7-13

Thursday Galatians 3:23-4:5 Mark 6:30-45

Friday Galatians 4:8-21 Mark 6:45-53

Saturday I Corinthians 4:17-5:5 Matthew 24:1-13

Sunday 2 Corinthians 4:6-15 Matthew 22:35-46

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- ALMS-GIVING OPPORTUNITIES –

St. John Alms Fund	St. John Camping Fund
St. John Food Pantry	St. John Seminarian Fund
St. Paul Mission Station	Rachel’s Kids, Inc.

Diocese of Miami and the Southeast Mission Fund

Michael Bittle Fund – Holy Trinity Orthodox Church

ST. JOHN COMMUNITY:

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

Church School restarts! - We will begin a new Church School year on Sunday, 9/12. See this weeks insert for your child’s room assignment!

Young Adults Group is back! We will resume meeting on September 12 at 7:00 p.m., and then the 1^st Sunday of each month thereafter. Christine McGee & Anne Katherine Campbell will be hosting the group in their home and Gary Karnaghon has agreed to lead it. We will have a meal, pray Small Compline, followed by a discussion. All young(-ish) adults ages 18-39 are invited to participate; however, childcare will not be provided.

EXCITING CHOIR NEWS – One of our own parishioners, Nathan Powell, has composed a new setting of the Troparion for St. John (affectionately known here as “O Apostle John”). Some of you heard the choir sing it at Bill and Jennifer Stanek’s wedding last month; if you weren’t there, you can hear a recording of the setting on the parish website at http://www.stjohnmemphis.org/music/Apostle_John.mp3. While we do not intend to replace the setting we all know and love, the choir would like to begin singing this new setting from time to time.  If you would like sheet music for the new Troparion, it is available in the church office.  We are blessed to have a composer with such talents in our parish.  Thank you, Nathan!

Kroger & Schnucks cards are available in the office for those interested. Each time you use your Schnucks card or Kroger Gift Card, St. John will receive a percentage of your purchase. This is a simple way to help the church while doing an everyday activity!

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.

Antiochian Women of St. John Calendar

Please remember to sign up for AWSJ positions for the upcoming year. The list can be found downstairs on the bulletin board.

First Friday Brown Bag Lunch

Come pray Sixth Hour with us and

then enjoy a brown bag lunch in the parish hall

Women’s Teaching

Upcoming Dates: September 9, October 7, November 4, December 2

Next Teaching - Thursday, September 9 at 10:00 a.m. in Anne Dugan’s home.

AWSJ Quarterly Prayers for the Dead

Our next Prayers for the Dead will be Saturday, September 11 at 8:30 a.m.

There will be a potluck breakfast to follow.

Upcoming Book Club Titles

We will resume on September 13^th with Three Cups of Tea

October: In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White

November: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

AWSJ Crafts Club

September 27 at 7:00 p.m. in home of Corinne Elliott

hhPro Life Cornerff

Fathers of aborted children are the neglected victims of abortion who once they recognize the moral and spiritual gravity of their action or inaction, may experience deep rage and “a gut-wrenching sorrow” so overwhelming, it can , if not healed, emotionally paralyze a man forever.

~Dave Andrusko, NRL News, 10/07

LIBRARY LINES

St. John Library has three new books for children! Look for these on the display cart below the commemoration sources:

The Hermit, the Icon, & the Emperor by Chrissi Hart, illustrated by Niko Chocheli

Lucia: the Saint of Light by Katherine Hyde

Under the Grapevine: a Miracle by Saint Kendras of Cyprus by Chrissi Hart

Wednesday is the beginning of the Liturgical New Year! And, there is even a feast day and icon for the Indiction. We also begin the year by commemorating Moses the God-seer (9/4) and an Old Testament hero, Joshua (9/1). The church calendar is so important that there are Old Calendarists and New Calendarists who, sadly, cannot agree on which one to use. Actually the liturgical year is a concept that is much deeper than that of a device to mark time. Read about the significance of the church year in The Year of Grace of the Lord written by a monk of the Eastern Church. See also A Companion to the Greek Orthodox Church (CAT/GEN/LIT), The Orthodox Church Calendar (CAT/SPEC/PHO), Victories of Orthodoxy (CAT/GEN/CAV) and The Church Year from the Celebration of Faith series for an explanation of the history and development of our calendar.

Hardly a week goes by that we don’t commemorate the uncovering or translation of a saint’s relics. This week we remember it twice, St. Nektarios (9/3) on Friday and St. Joasaph (9/4) on Saturday. 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. Bishop Kallistos Ware connects this practice with the theology of the body in The Orthodox Church (CAT/GEN/WAR). See chapter 11.

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Pray for our catechumens: Memphis - Maria Cartagena, Maria Brackey, Lisa Martin, Ashley Newton, Sandy Childress, Michael Hill, and Dennis Daley. Tupelo - Shane Davis, Leah Hardy, Adam Clay, Casey & Jessica Hardy (Davis). Hernando – Donald Estes. Henning –John Kearney & Richard McKeal.

Please remember in your prayers: His Eminence, Metropolitan PHILIP, His Grace, Bishop ANTOUN, Dn. Sidney & Sh. Mary Elliott and family, Buddy Taylor, Margaret Layman, Judy Smith (Julie Sanderlin’s mother), Shirley Gore (Judy Terry’s mother), Effie Johnson (Kh. Susan’s mother), Mary Clark, Kim Hilal (pregnant), Gigi Sliger (pregnant), Ann Hicks (Dianna Hildebrand’s mother), Sue Ingram, Charles Ingram, Ted & Patty Greathouse (Shelley Snowden’s parents), June Peeples (Sarah Hodges’ mother), Allen Sudduth (Paul’s father), Elmo Thompson, David & Erin Williams (Jill Healy’s children), Janet Berry (Joel Berry’s mother), Lydia Banicescu (Tupelo), Betty Wells (Karen Wells’ mother), and Rhonda Stark (Josh’s mother).

From the Fathers

(and others)

“Without God's concession, man is never exposed to troubles. Troubles, labors and pain are granted for the purpose of repentance and for the benefit of the soul.”

~ St. Isaac the Syrian

“I am a sorry wretch, as the Lord knows, but my pleasure is to humble my soul and love my neighbor, though he may have given me offence. At all times I beseech the Lord Who is merciful to grant that I may love my enemies; and by the grace of God I have experienced what the love of God is, and what it is to love my neighbor; and day and night I pray the Lord for love, and the Lord gives me tears to weep for the whole world. But if I find fault with any man, or look on him with an unkind eye, my tears will dry up, and my soul sinks into despondency. Yet do I begin again to entreat forgiveness of the Lord, and the Lord in His mercy forgives me, a sinner.” ~ St. Silouan

“True happiness is not found outside or even inside of us. It is found only in God. When we find God, happiness is everywhere.”

~ Blaise Pascal

“Playing. The more you try to hide one sin with another, the more you will be ridiculed. A sin is not hidden by another sin; it is hidden only through repentance and confession. When we want to hide a sin with another, we are like little children playing ‘hide and seek.’”

~St. John Chrysostom (on Matthew, Homily 48.5)

“As long as the passions exist and prevail, you will never be able to achieve inner peace.”

~St. Augustine (City of God 19.27)