Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord
Special thanks to everyone who made our Annual Meeting such a blessing. Particular thanks to all those who agreed to run for the parish council: Wes T., Collier W., Mengyu H., and Nathali M. We elected Nathali and Collier, and Michael C. was appointed to the council. Please be sure and express your gratitude to each of these fine folks.
This coming Sunday, February 16, is the Sunday of The Prodigal Son. We will be making some folks catechumens and baptizing and chrismating two infants. Also, the homily will be about sexual issues. It’s a challenge to talk about that subject in a meaningful way and not earn at least at PG-13 rating, so please be aware that we’re going to be dealing with that topic and make plans accordingly.
Our Calendar
Fasting Days
There is no fasting during the first week of the Triodion (Wha-Hoo!)
Daily Services
Monday, February 10-Friday, February 14 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 many other folks continue to broadcast daily readings from spiritual books online. They are now reading “Lost Histories: The Good, the Bad, and the Strange in Early American Orthodoxy” by Matthew Namee. 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, February 11
Inquirer’s 101 7pm; you can also access the group on Discord
Thursday, February 13
The Bible Study, Old Testament Edition 7pm; you can access this group on Discord
Saturday, February 15
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, February 16
The Sunday of the Prodigal Son
Orthros 7:30am
Church School 8:15am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Youth Church School 1pm
Tuesday, February 18
Inquirer’s 101 7pm; you can also access the group on Discord
Thursday, February 20
The Bible Study, Old Testament Edition 7pm; you can access this group on Discord
Saturday, February 22
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, February 23
The Sunday of the Last Judgment
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.
Summer Camp News
Registration for Camp Saint Raphael opened this past Saturday, February 1st. You can find more information at campstraphael.org. Here are the dates for the sessions:
Session 1: June 22 - June 28
Session 2: June 29 - July 5
Session 3: July 6 - July 12
Registration fills up fast and is first come, first serve (staff and CIT applications for CSR are due February 23rd), so get your registration in as soon as possible.
Memorial Garden Picnic
The Myrrhbearers will be having a picnic at our Memorial Garden during Fellowship Hour on Sunday, February 16th. Come eat dessert with us while we pray and remember our departed loved ones. Consider bringing flowers if you are remembering a loved one, both to honor them and to beautify our garden. We also invite those of you who have placed stones for your loved ones to bring pictures and stories to share. May their memories be eternal.
Prosphora Baking Class
Mary K. will be teaching a Prosphora Baking Class on Saturday, March 1st at 10:00 in St. John's Kitchen. A light lunch will be served. Please RSVP by text or email (details are in the email version of the newsletter).
Also note if you have any food allergies.
Coming Up
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.
This is also a great time to look ahead at the website calendar and make plans for which services we will attend. Generally, during the weeks of Great Lent, there are at least three services: Great Compline on Monday; the Pre-Sanctified Liturgy on Wednesday, and the Akathist Hymn on Fridays. Trying to make at least one of those services each week is a goal that’s doable for most of us.
There are three Saturdays of Souls during the Triodion and Great Lent. The first will be on Saturday, February 22; the other two will be on Saturday, March 15, and Saturday, March 22. We should all be able to make at least one of those services to remember our departed loved ones and friends. Please look for the memorial prayer binder on the narthex table, and list your departed loved ones (first names) so that they can be prayed for during the service you will attend.
During Great Lent, the full fast calls on us to go without meat, dairy products, fish with backbones, oil, wine, and hard liquor. There is a blessing for fish, wine, and oil on Saturdays and Sundays during the fast and on certain feast days (the Annunciation, for example). 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 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 Lent is a good time to do some spiritual reading. This year, during the Pascha Book Study, we will be using a short book called “Passions of the Soul”. That book is already available at Christ the Lightgiver, so why not pick up a copy, read through it slowly during Great Lent, and you’ll be ready to go when the book study begins on the Wednesday of Bright Week.
The Church calls on us to make our confession during Great Lent. At St John’s, we hear confessions on Saturday evening following Great Vespers. There is a list in the narthex, you put your name on the list, and you make your confession with whichever priest calls your name. If Saturday night does not work for you, or if you wish to make your confession with a specific priest, then you can make an appointment during the week with that clergyman. However, we do not hear confessions during Holy Week, so we all need to go ahead and participate in that Holy Mystery before Lazarus Saturday, which, this year, falls on April 12.
Finally, the Church expects us to increase our giving during Great Lent. Of course, we should first check and make sure that we are up to date with our current commitment to the parish budget, but, if we are, then we should consider giving a little more to help out all those who aren’t able to contribute as much as they had anticipated, or we should think about making a special gift to the Building Fund during this season of spiritual striving.
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
Our ushers are responsible for managing the flow of people in and out of the nave and for keeping things quiet in the kitchen and the narthex. If you arrive late for the service, or if you need step out of the nave for some reason, please remember that they will ask you to wait in the narthex or the kitchen during baptisms, during any of the entrances or scripture lessons, during the homily, and during communion. Please respect their role and follow their directions.
an unworthy priest
aidan