Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
Christ is Risen!
We have received a blessing from Bishop Basil to begin allowing folks into the Divine Services up to 25% capacity of the Long Hall. That means we will be able to have 55 people in each service. We will begin that approach on the weekend of May 30-31, and you can read about the details of that process in the emailed version of this newsletter.
Reminder: the emailed version of this newsletter includes updates exclusive to St. John parishioners. If you believe you should be receiving that newsletter, please contact Fr. Aidan.
Our Calendar
Saturday, May 16
St. Thomas School 4pm (See details below)
Great Vespers 6pm (Check the schedule in the emailed newsletter, and please do not attend unless you have been assigned to this particular service.)
Sunday, May 17
The Sunday of The Samaritan Woman
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Great Vespers 12:30pm
Again, check the schedule in the emailed newsletter, and please do not attend unless you have been assigned to these particular services. However, if you are going to be at home on Sunday, you can offer the Typika along with Father Deacon Michael Coleman at 10am. As an encouragement and in order to provide some liturgical guidance, Father Deacon has volunteered to offer the Typika via ZOOM. Please see the emailed newsletter for Zoom login details.
Fasting Days
Wednesday, May 20, and Friday, May 22
Daily Services
Monday, May 18-Friday, May 22:
Orthros 6am
Vespers 5pm
On Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, Small Compline will be served at 6:30pm.
However, check the schedule at the conclusion of this newsletter, and please do not attend the daily services unless you have been assigned to a particular service.
Also, don’t forget that Seth Hart is offering the Third, Sixth, and Ninth Hours every day on ZOOM. Please see the emailed newsletter for Zoom login details.
Schedule:
Monday-Friday:
Third Hour: 9:00 am
Sixth Hour: 12:00 pm
Ninth Hour: 3:00 pm
Wednesday, May 20
The Pascha Book Study 7pm via ZOOM (See details below)
Finance News
Greetings from your St. John Finance Team. Many of you have asked why you are unable to see your contributions in Realm. Please note that offerings will not hit the Realm system until the month after it was gifted. However, if you submit your contribution through Realm itself it will immediately reflect on your account. If you do not see your contribution by end of following month please reach out to us for inquiries.
Also, don’t forget that we are working hard to eliminate the budget deficit that we generated during all the quarantine disruption. Please remember to bring your offering when you come to the parish for services. If you are still at home, just put your check in the mail or use one of the new online payment options that we now have available. Also, if you can give a little extra, that will help those folks who haven’t been able to give as much as they had planned due to job loss or work furlough.
This Week at St Thomas School
You may be stuck at home, but, on Saturdays, you have free access to the premier Orthodox Adult Education Program in Central Texas (and, really, what else are you going to do—watch Titanic for the 400th time? Spoiler alert: the ship sinks).
Father Deacon Andrew will be leading the discussion this week, so here’s all the other information you need:
Time: Saturday, May 16, at 4:00 p.m.
Please see the emailed newsletter for Zoom login details.
And here’s a summary of the material that will be discussed:
Orthodox Christianity; Vol 1, Ch 6, pt 1 (pp 121-140)
Come join with us this week!
Pascha Book Study
This coming Wednesday will be the fifth and final meeting of the study; the book that we’re using is called The New Media Epidemic. The deacons of our parish are leading the group through the streaming service ZOOM. Please see the emailed newsletter for Zoom login details.
And here is the schedule of readings that we are using: May 20 (Chapters 12 & 13).
A New Bible Study
For Orthodox Christians, the Holy Scriptures are the pinnacle and crown of Holy Tradition. There are readings assigned for every service, and the texts of the services themselves are snippets of Scripture woven together. But even though we are literally awash in Holy Scripture, many of us do not spend time in dedicated study of it. The in-depth knowledge that we gain from such study is particularly important for us here in Central Texas, because we still live in an Orthodox Mission field. For many of us, this means that the majority of our loved ones are Protestants of one variety or another who have a deep and abiding love of the Bible. As such, if we aren’t able to communicate with them about the teachings and practices of the Church as they appear in Holy Scripture, then they will have a hard time hearing what we have to say. With this in mind, Fr. Dn. Andrew will begin offering a weekly Bible Study on Wednesday nights from 7:00 - 8:00 PM. Beginning with the Gospel According to St. Matthew, the study will work its way through the Holy Scriptures verse by verse. The first meeting will be Wednesday, June 3rd on Zoom (meeting details to follow at a later date). Going forward, the plan is to hold the study at the parish house while also continuing to stream the meeting online via Zoom. This approach should allow the most people to have the opportunity to attend. If you have any questions, please email Dn. Andrew.
Hymns and Scripture Lessons
Here is all the material that you need for your Typika this Sunday. The homily appears at the conclusion of this newsletter. The epistle lesson is The Acts of the Apostles 11.19--30; the gospel lesson is St John 4:5-42. There are also three hymns:
Having learned the joyful message of the Resurrection from the angel, the women disciples of the Lord cast from them their parental condemnation. And proudly broke the news to the Disciples, saying, Death hath been spoiled; Christ God is risen, granting the world Great Mercy.
In the midst of this Feast, O Savior, give Thou my thirsty soul to drink of the waters of true worship; for Thou didst call out to all, saying: Whosoever is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Wherefore, O Christ our God, Fountain of life, glory to Thee
Though Thou didst descend into the grave, O Immortal One, yet didst Thou destroy the power of Hades, and didst arise as victor, O Christ God, calling to the myrrh-bearing women, Rejoice, and giving peace unto Thine Apostles, O Thou Who dost grant resurrection to the fallen.
A Homily for the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
It’s been good to see so many of you, and I’m looking forward to all of us being back together.
an unworthy priest
aidan