Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
For the past several weeks, we have attached to (the email version of) The Happy Priest not only our Annual Stewardship Letter, but also a copy of our basic budget. Those materials are again available with this newsletter because we are trying to wrap up our Annual Stewardship Campaign and get everyone to make a commitment on Realm. That way, the parish council can make any necessary adjustments before we head into the New Year. If you have trouble accessing Realm or if you have any finance related questions, just ask our Finance Guy, Ray W.
Fasting Days
Wednesday, November 5, and Friday, November 7
Daily Services
Monday, November 3-Friday, November 7: 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 Unseen Warfare by St. Theophan the Recluse. 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, November 4
The Inquirer’s Class 7pm
Wednesday, November 5
The Fall Theological Seminar 7pm
Saturday, November 8
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, November 9 Seventh Sunday of St Luke
Orthros 8am
Church School 8:15am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
The Bible Study Old Testament Edition 1pm
Coming Up
The Fall Theological Seminar continues each Wednesday night at 7pm through November 12. Dr H. is leading the discussion of David Ford’s book Women and Men in Early Christianity; the group is covering one chapter each week, and there are watch parties (they call them watch groups, but they’re actually watch parties) in Killeen and Bastrop. Of course, the coolest way to participate is to show up at the parish house, so pick up a copy of the book at Christ the Lightgiver, and get in on the fun.
The Nativity Fast begins on Saturday, November 15, and runs through, Wednesday, December 24. The fast is divided into two periods. From November 15 through December 20, the full fast (no meat, dairy, fish with backbones, oil, wine, and hard liquor) is observed on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; there is a blessing for wine and oil on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and for fish, wine, and oil on Saturdays and Sundays (in some traditions, fish in only permitted on Sundays). From December 20 through December 24, the full fast is observed. Women who are pregnant or nursing, children who are still growing, and anyone with a medically supervised diet is not to keep the full fast. Many American Orthodox Christians also obtain a blessing to celebrate Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 27). If you need a blessing to modify the fast in any way, please check with one of our priests
Rigel T. is planning something new for our Fall Festival on Saturday, November 15. In addition to the annual Talent Show, we will be doing an artist and artisan market. We have approval from the parish council to sell things, so all artists and artisans are welcome to apply for a booth. If you have a child who is prolific in some art or craft, we invite them to join in as well. The number of booths is limited, so please submit your application by October 25. If you would like to do something for the variety show, you need to get the details and sign up ahead of time since there will be no walk-ons. Here is the agenda for the festivities: 3:00–5:30 pm Arts & Crafts Market 4:00–5:30 pm Variety Show 6:00–7:00 pm Vespers (all welcome) 7:00–9:00 pm Live music (Family Band), food & drinks, icon drawing with Baker Galloway. Rigel is also recruiting volunteers to help with setup, teardown. If you have questions or would like to sign up for any portion of the event, just get in touch with Rigel.
Dr. Andrew Richardson, the lead archaeologist of the team that found and authenticated St. Eanswythe’s relics, will be joining us on the one-year anniversary of the translation of her relics back into her parish church in Folkestone. Andrew will join us at St John’s for Great Vespers on Saturday, November 15th, and he will be with us again on Sunday morning, November 16th, for the Divine Liturgy. After Fellowship Hour at 1pm, he will present the first of two talks about the Finding Eanswythe Project, Anglo-Saxon Kent, Folkestone, and his experience with our Princess and the whole project. The first talk will be 30-45 mins and will function as an introduction for the longer 1.5 hour talk which he will present on Monday, November 17th, at 7pm.
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
If you wish to receive communion during the Divine Liturgy, please remember that you must arrive no later than the gospel reading. Children who arrive late may come forward and receive the gifts; adults who arrive later than the gospel lesson must wait until the following week.
This Week’s Recommended Baby Name
Since we have so many babies, all of us at One Take Productions thought it would be helpful if we highlighted a saints’ name each week to help with the process of name selection. So, straight out of the Synaxarion, this week’s Certified Orthodox Baby Name is Hermenegild.
an unworthy priest
aidan