Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
This coming Wednesday evening, April 2, we will be offering the service of Small Compline along with the entire Canon of St Andrew of Crete and The Life of St Mary of Egypt. This powerful service will begin at 7pm; it’s one of the longer services during this long season of spiritual striving, but it’s worth the effort, so plan on joining us this Wednesday.
Also, this Friday, April 4, we will offer the final Akathist Service for the year. This service is a beautiful hymn to the Mother of God; if you have not yet been able to participate in the service, mark your calendar for this coming Friday at 7pm.
Our Calendar
Fasting Days
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 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.
Daily Services
Monday, March 31-Friday, April 4: 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 “The Orthodox Faith” by St John of Damascus. 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.
Monday, March 31
Great Compline 7pm
Tuesday April 1
Inquirer’s 101 7pm; you can also access the group on Discord
Wednesday, April 2
Small Compline with The Canon of St Andrew 7pm
Thursday, April 3
The Bible Study, New Testament Edition 7pm; you can access this group on Discord
Friday, April 4
The Akathist Hymn 7pm
Saturday, April 5
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, April 6
The Fifth Sunday of Great Lent
Orthros 8am
Church School 8:15am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Youth 1pm
Monday, April 7
Great Compline 7pm
Tuesday April 8
Inquirer’s 101 7pm; you can also access the group on Discord
Wednesday, April 9
Pre-Sanctified Liturgy 7pm
Thursday, April 10
The Bible Study, Old Testament Edition 7pm; you can access this group on Discord
Saturday, April 12
Lazarus Saturday
Orthros 7am
Divine Liturgy 9am
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, April 13
Palm Sunday
Orthros 7:30am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Bridegroom Orthros 6pm
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
The Pascha Book Study begins on 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.”
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 (and which is just two weeks away).
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
It’s time to start preparing for Pascha! Here’s the second of our Annual Paschal Moments of Grace and Courtesy:
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.
an unworthy priest
aidan