Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord
This coming Saturday is our first Saturday of Souls for 2025. The departed need our prayers, and we need to teach our families how to do that so they will be prepared to intercede for us when we have departed this life. Our expectation is that all of us can make at least one of the four Saturdays of Souls that are offered each year, so why not take care of that important obligation right now? We will be serving Orthros at 6am and Divine Liturgy at 8am.
Our Calendar
Fasting Days
Wednesday, February 19, and Friday, February 21
Daily Services
Monday, February 17-Friday, February 21 Orthros 5am; Vespers 5pm (but there will not be any daily vespers on Monday, Feb 17; 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 18
Inquirer’s 101 7pm; you can also access the group on Discord
Thursday, February 20
The Bible Study, New Testament Edition 7pm; you can access this group on Discord
Saturday, February 22
The Saturday of Souls
Orthros 6am
Divine Liturgy 8am
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, February 23
The Sunday of the Last Judgment
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Tuesday, February 25
Inquirer’s 101 7pm; you can also access the group on Discord
Thursday, February 27
The Bible Study, Old Testament Edition 7pm; you can access this group on Discord
Saturday, March 1
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, March 2
The Sunday of Forgiveness
Orthros 8am
Church School 8:15am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Forgiveness Vespers no later than 1pm
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.
Memorial Bio for the handmaiden of God, Addis Terefe
Please take a few minutes to read about this remarkable woman; learning about her determination, strength of faith, noble character and unfailing drive from her son, it is clear why her eight grown children and their families gather from all parts of the country each year in February to visit her grave. Her bio is attached to the email version of the newsletter. Her memorial service will be held Saturday, February 22 at Great Vespers. May her memory be eternal.
Prosphora Baking Class
Mary King 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. RSVP details are in the email version of the newsletter.
Also note if you have any food allergies.
Summer Camp Scholarships
Each year, the Order of St Ignatius gives each parish $1,000 to be used for camp scholarships. If your child is already registered for camp, and if you need financial assistance, please let Father Aidan know before March 1. The amount you receive will depend on the number of folks who require assistance, and the money will be distributed on a first come, first served basis, so, once your child is signed up for a specific session at St Raphael, get in touch with Father Aidan as soon as possible.
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 this coming 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 The 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
Let’s be sure and pick up after ourselves when we are done with fellowship hour. Please make sure that all your plates and silver ware and coffee cups make it back to the kitchen in the Long Fellowship Hall, and please put all napkins and food scraps in the trash can. If you are sitting outside, be sure that you haven’t left anything on or under the picnic tables; if you are sitting inside, check the carpet and pick up any food or crumbs. If your children are not sitting with you, please make sure that they also clean up after themselves.
an unworthy priest
aidan