Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
It’s On! The Holiest Week of the Year! Please read through this newsletter all the way to the end so you’ll be fully informed about all the opportunities that lie ahead.
Our Calendar
Fasting Days
During this week, the full fast calls on us to go without meat, dairy products, fish with backbones, oil, wine, and hard liquor. Great and Holy Friday is a strict fast day, which means we should eat and drink as little as possible. Women who are pregnant or nursing, children who are still growing, and folks who have specific medial requirements are not expected or encouraged to keep a strict fast or the full fast, but all of us can fast in some way. Please check with your sponsor or spiritual father if you need to adjust the fast.
Great and Holy Monday, April 14
Pre-Sanctified Liturgy 6am
Bridegroom Orthros 7pm
Great and Holy Tuesday April 15
Pre-Sanctified Liturgy 6am
Bridegroom Orthros 7pm
Great and Holy Wednesday, April 16
Pre-Sanctified Liturgy 6am
Service of Holy Unction 7pm
Great and Holy Thursday, April 17
The Vesperal Liturgy of St Basil 6am
The Service of the Twelve Gospels 7pm
Great and Holy Friday, April 18
Royal Hours 9am
Descent from the Cross Vespers Noon
The Service of Lamentations 7pm
Great and Holy Saturday, April 19
Vesperal Divine Liturgy 8am
Paschal Services 11pm
The Great and Holy Pascha, Sunday, April 20
Agape Vespers 2pm
Paschal Picnic 3pm
There will not be any daily services on Bright Monday, April 21. The daily services will resume with Orthros at 5am and Vespers at 5pm on Bright Tuesday, April 22 (but please note: the services of Bright Week are all much shorter than usual).
Tuesday April 22
Inquirer’s 101 7pm; you can also access the group on Discord
The Parish Council 7pm
Wednesday, April 23
The Pascha Book Study 7pm
Thursday, April 24
The Bible Study, New Testament Edition 7pm; you can access this group on Discord
Saturday, April 26
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, April 27
Thomas Sunday
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Anniversary / Memorial Blessings
You can use the links in the email version of the newsletter to sign up for anniversary blessings and memorial services that will be offered in 2025. Please note that things have changed for 2025 to accommodate our growing parish (i.e. some were not able to get on the schedule for anniversary blessings in 2024 because all of the slots were taken).
Memorial Services, will now occur at the end of Great Vespers on Saturday, and they may only be offered for Orthodox Christians who have departed this life. If your departed loved one was not an Orthodox Christian, visit this page on our website to learn about and request an Akathist for the Departed rather than signing up for a memorial service.
Anniversary Blessings may be requested for the first wedding anniversary and every fifth anniversary thereafter (i.e. 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, etc.). They may only be offered if one of the married couple is an Orthodox Christian. Approach the solea immediately after the hymn “Blessed be the Name of the Lord” at the end of the Divine Liturgy. If you have marriage crowns, bring them with you as you come forward. Those celebrating anniversaries that are not eligible to sign up, are invited to come forward during the “Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Namedays” segment of the announcements after the Divine Liturgy.
Coming Up
We always decorate the Nave with flowers for Pascha. That effort generally costs between $500-$800. If you would like to contribute towards that effort and make our celebration that much more beautiful, look for the special Pascha Contribution Basket in the narthex.
On Great and Holy Friday night, it is customary to serve a Tomb Vigil in the Nave. The vigil will begin right after the Service of Lamentations and run up to the beginning of the Vesperal Divine Liturgy at 8am on the morning of Great and Holy Saturday. Participants sign up for one hour time slots during which they read out loud from the New Testament. Due to security reasons, we’re not able to serve the vigil unless all the time slots are filled, so, if you would like to take part in this service, please follow this link and sign up as soon as possible, at the link in the email version of the newsletter.
At the service of Agape Vespers, it is customary to read the Gospel Passage in many different languages. Everyone is welcome to participate, but you need to sign up ahead of time. Just follow the link provided in the email version of the newsletter.
The Pascha Book Study begins on Bright Wednesday, April 23. This year, we will be using a short book called The Passions of the Soul. That book is available at Christ the Lightgiver, so why not pick up a copy so you’ll be ready to go when the book study begins on the Wednesday of Bright Week. Benedict H. will be leading the Pascha Book Study, and here’s what he has to say about the book and the event: “For the Pascha Book Study, we’ll be studying Rowan Williams’ Passions of the Soul. Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, is one of the premier Western scholars of the Eastern spiritual tradition. With Williams’ help, we’ll investigate what the fathers can teach us about the passions and how we can overcome them.”
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
As part of our Preparations for Pascha here are all of the Annual Paschal Moments of Grace and Courtesy:
Please remember that parking is going to be at a premium, so, if you are young and male and single, please park off-site in one of the surrounding neighborhoods (stay four feet from any drive ways and bridging abutments; park in the direction of traffic). If you arrive late, our ushers will be working the lots, and they will let you know if all the spots are taken; they will, however, allow you to drop off your family members at the entrance to the lots before you head off to park in the neighborhoods. Please DO NOT PARK in the circular drive in front of the parish house, along any of the clearly marked fire lanes, or anywhere on the grass.
During the Paschal Services on Saturday night/Sunday morning, if young children need to sleep, then they must be A) in the parish house with a family member or friend, or B) held in the arms or on the lap of a family member in the nave. Please do not, under any circumstances, allow your children to sleep on the floor of the nave, the narthex, the cry room, or the kitchen. This is not safe, and our ushers have been instructed to remind parents and grandparents that children are not allowed to sleep in these locations. Also, please remember that if your children are going to sleep in the parish house, there must be a family member with them at all times; they are not to be left alone for any reason.
Pre-school children should not be given lighted candles. Battery operated candles are available at craft stores, and that is what pre-school children should use. Parents and grandparents should use their best judgment when it comes to allowing elementary-age children to hold a lighted candle. This is not only a safety issue (hot wax can cause bad burns; hair and clothing can blaze up quickly and unexpectedly); it also takes a great deal of work to remove wax from the carpet. Again, our ushers have been instructed to remind parents that very young children should not be given lighted candles.
Please remember to bring extra food for the Paschal Feast early Sunday morning. Godparents, if this is your godchild's first Pascha, please teach them about the feast and encourage them to bring food and join in. If you have friends who have been visiting the parish but aren't yet catechumens, please let them know about the feast so they can participate.
Please do not bring food that requires cooking or warming up or extensive preparation; there simply isn't room for that in our kitchen. Also, if you bring food that requires refrigeration, you also need to bring an ice chest; there simply isn't room in our refrigerators.
Please leave your food in your vehicle until after the Pascha services have ended. Once we have all reverenced the cross, there will be plenty of time to get the food and get organized; however, we simply won't have room for all the food during the services.
When the Fast ends, please be judicious in your consumption of alcohol. Don't over-do; have a designated driver; keep an eye on friends and family who might not be aware of their limits
Please remember that, even though the Paschal Services run through the night, it’s not a slumber party; it’s a foretaste of the Banquet of the Kingdom. So, rather than pajamas or athleisure wear, we should dress up: think prom, wedding, anniversary, last night of the cruise, job interview, and show up in your best clothes.
Please plan on cleaning up after yourself and your children or grandchildren--even if your children or grandchildren aren't actually sitting with you during the Paschal Feast. Also, if your schedule will allow, please plan on helping clean up after the feast: we will need to put up all the tables and chairs, clean up the kitchen, take out the trash, wipe down the bathrooms and vacuum before Agape Vespers that afternoon.
There's a lot in that Moment of Grace and Courtesy, but if we will observe each of those measures, then we will have a safe and joyous celebration, and no one will get a parking ticket or get stuck cleaning up by themselves.
an unworthy priest
aidan