Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
Abortion is the great evil of our time, and each year, in January, we offer The Service for the Victims of Abortion. The victims include not only the unborn children who have died, but the men and women who are participant in those deaths, the siblings who never had a chance to meet their sisters and brothers, and our entire culture that has been denied the perspectives and insights and contributions of those we did not allow to be born. In addition to praying for all those folks, we will also be collecting supplies (Baby hygiene products; Diapers size 4, 5, 6; Baby healthcare kits; Sippy cups; Wide neck baby bottles; Baby outfits size 3-6 months) for the Williamson County Pregnancy Help Center. Please join us at 7pm on Friday, January 31.
Our Calendar
Fasting Days
Wednesday, January 29, and Friday, January 31
Daily Services
Monday, January 27-Friday, January 31 Orthros 5am; Vespers 5pm (it’s always a good idea to check the day before and make sure nothing has come up to change the regular schedule).
However, Fr. Andrew, Seth Hart, and Matthew Groh and many other folks continue to broadcast daily readings from spiritual books online. They are now reading “The Ecclesiastical History of the English Speaking People” by Bede of Jarrow. The schedule is as follows: M-F at 12pm.
In addition to the daily Synaxarion readings posted in the #synaxarion channel on Discord, the online team is now posting daily Bible Readings that will allow you to read through the Bible in a year. These readings are posted in the #bible-365 channel.
Tuesday, January 28
Orthodoxy 101 7pm; you can also access the group on Discord
Parish Council 7pm
Thursday, January 30
The Bible Study, Old Testament Edition 7pm; you can access this group on Discord
Friday, January 31
Service for the Victims of Abortion 7pm
Saturday, February 1
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm with Memorial Service
We will remember two very early parishioners of our parish, Irene Benton and Christopher Medina. Unfortunately, there is no information available for Christopher, and just a small bio for Irene, which you can read in the email version of the newsletter. Thank you for praying for this departed brother and sister in Christ.
Sunday, February 2
The Feast of the Presentation
Orthros 8am
Church School
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Youth 1pm
Tuesday, February 4
Orthodoxy 101 7pm; you can also access the group on Discord
Thursday, February 6
The Bible Study, Old Testament Edition 7pm; you can access this group on Discord
Saturday, February 8
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, February 9
The Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee
Orthros 8am
Church School 8:15am
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.
Financial Update
Thanks to the grace and mercy of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and thanks to your hard work and generosity, we finished 2024 with a surplus of just over $50,000. We’ll pause here for a moment to just let that amazing news sink in. But we’re just going to pause for a moment, because we’re now in the last week of the first month of the New Year, and that means we need to make sure that we’ve started off well with both of commitment to the annual budget and our commitment to the building fund. All of that information is on Realm, but if you need some help sorting through it or finding your way around, just check with our Finance Folks, Arun J. and Ray W.
Coming Up
This year, the conclusion for this wonderful festal season will fall on a Sunday. On Saturday, February 1, we will offer Great Vespers for the Feast of the Presentation at 6pm, and then all the other festal services will happen at the usual time on Sunday morning, February 2. It’s a special blessing to be able to wrap up these forty festal days on a weekend, so let’s be sure and take advantage of that and be present as often as we can on Saturday, February 1, and Sunday, February 2.
Our Annual Meeting will be on Sunday, Feb 9. The reports have been available for almost two months now (the link is also available on Discord), so read up on everything that’s been going on in the past year and everything that we have planned for the coming year—and, if you have any questions, just check with Father Aidan Wilcoxson or our parish council president, Bessie J.
During February, we will celebrate all the Sundays of the Triodion, which is the four week period of preparation leading up to Great Lent. The Fast begins on Monday, March 3, but between now and then we will observe the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, the Sunday of the Last Judgement, and Forgiveness Sunday. The Church provides us with this period of preparation so we will be ready to take full advantage of all the Great Lent has to offer
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
Now that our services are often very crowded, it’s very important that we leave the chairs and the benches for folks who are older and for folks who have physical limitations. Children and young people should always sit on the floor or stand. We never know who is going to come through the door of the nave, so even if it appears that there are vacant chairs or benches, children and young people should remain sitting on the floor or standing.
an unworthy priest
aidan