Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
Church School for children (GGS) and Youth (SOYO) begins today. CGS meets at 8:15; you must have registered your child for that program. SOYO meets at the conclusion of Fellowship Hour.
If you haven’t seen the video of the new temple on the big screen, then you really haven’t seen it yet. That lovely new video will be streaming in the common room of the Parish House during Fellowship Hour today, and Baker Galloway will be available to answer any questions you might have. Don’t miss it.
And you can learn how to help us raise money for that new temple by reviewing the attachment to the email edition of this week’s edition of The Happy Parish. In those power point slides, Father Deacon Seraphim will bring you up to speed on all our Substack plans and show you how you can help us collect all the funds we need in just five minutes a day.
This coming Tuesday, September 8, we will celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God. We will offer Great Vespers on Monday night, September 7, at 7pm, and then on the day of the feast, we will serve Orthros at 4am and Divine Liturgy at 6am. Join us as we celebrate the first of the Most Holy Theotokos’ Great Feasts.
Fasting Days
Wednesday, September 9, Friday, September 11
Daily Services
Monday, September 7-Friday, September 11: Orthros 4am; Vespers 5pm (but check the schedule for the Vigil and the festal services; in general, if you plan on attending one of the daily services, it’s a good idea to check with Father Aidan the day before to make sure the schedule has not changed).
Today, September 6 14th Sunday of St Matthew
Orthros 8am
Church School 8:15am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Youth 1pm
Monday, September 7
Great Vespers 7pm
Tuesday, September 8 The Feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God
Orthros 4am
Divine Liturgy 6am
Inquirer’s Class 7pm
Wednesday, September 9
Fall Theological Seminar 7pm
Saturday, September 12
4pm St Thomas School
5:45pm Great Vespers
Sunday, September 13 Sunday Before the Elevation
Orthros 8am
Church School 8:15am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Great Vespers no later than 1pm
Coming Up
This past Wednesday, September 2, Dr. Mengyu H. began leading this year’s Fall Theological Seminar. The group will be discussing the now-classic text Norms and Nobility by David Hicks. If you are involved in Classical Education, then you have probably heard of the book, but this is a chance to actually talk about it—and if you have pre-school age children, if you are interested in Orthodox education, or Orthodox schools, or the future of our culture and society, then this is where you need to be on Wednesday night. But you’ll need to be there in person, because we’re no longer going to be offering a distance option. The group will begin promptly at 7pm; the seminar will run through Wednesday, November 11, and everyone is welcome.
This coming weekend, we will begin celebrating The Feast of the Elevation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross. We will serve Great Vespers no later than 1pm on Sunday, September 13, and then, on Monday, September 14, the day of the feast, we will offer Orthros at 4am and Divine Liturgy at 6am. Join us as we reverence the Cross of our Lord and Master.
Our sister parish, St Sophia in Dripping Springs, will be celebrating their patronal feast day that same week. Great Vespers will be offered on Wednesday, September 16, at 5:50pm followed by a Lenten Potluck. On Thursday, September 17, Orthros and Divine Liturgy will begin at 9am followed by lunch. Everyone is welcome.
Working on the Building
If you want us to get into that new temple as soon as possible, there are four things you can do this week:
Join us in offering The Akathist for a New Temple each week. Copies are available in the bookstore and online; a recording is available on Discord, and there is a group that meets on Discord each Friday at noon to offer the service.
Join us for the 6am Wednesday Morning Divine Liturgy (We do not offer this Liturgy during fasting seasons or when there is a feast that falls during the week, so the next Wednesday Morning Divine Liturgy will be on Wednesday, September 23).
Check to make sure that you’re current on your Three Year Commitment to our Building Program. If you have not make a commitment to our Temple Fund, please check with our Finance Guy, Ray W.; he’ll get you set up.
Take out a (totally free) subscription to our Substack, Come See Something Beautiful, read through Father Deacon’s Seraphim’s instructional slides, and forward each of the three weekly posts to absolutely everyone you know.
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
At St John’s, we want our children to be children, but it’s also important that we observe certain boundaries in the nave. So, children should not be allowed to climb or play on any of the tables, the chanters stand, or the Music Director’s stand. Not only is there a possibility that a child could be injured, but the chanters stand and the Music Director’s stand both store equipment that is expensive and hard to replace. Please help your children and godchildren and grandchildren respect these boundaries, and, if you have any questions, check with one of the priests.