Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
Christ is Risen!
This is the last Friday edition of The Happy Priest. Next week, we will resume publishing this weekly newsletter on Sunday. That’s because, on the weekend of Saturday, May 30 to Sunday, May 31, we will kick off our 25% Plan, which will make it possible for all of us to come by the parish in a single weekend.
This weekend, Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24, we will continue to follow the Schedule for Divine Services that was printed in the last few editions of The Happy Priest, but, during the following week, we will start getting back to something of a regular schedule.
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 23
Orthros 7:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 9:00 a.m.
St. Thomas School at 4:00 p.m. via ZOOM (See details below.)
Great Vespers at 6:00 p.m.
Check the schedule in last week’s edition of this newsletter and please do not attend unless you have been assigned to this particular service.
Sunday, May 24
The Sunday of The Blind Man
Orthros at 8:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.
Great Vespers at 12:30 p.m.
Again, check the schedule in last week’s edition of this 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 10:00 a.m. As an encouragement and in order to provide some liturgical guidance, Father Deacon has volunteered to offer the Typika via ZOOM. See the emailed newsletter for Zoom login info.
Wednesday, May, 27 and Friday, May 28
Fasting Days
Monday, May 25 to Friday, May 29
Daily Services
Orthros at 5:30 a.m.
Vespers at 5:00 p.m.
But please also be aware of the festal services this week—and don’t forget that Seth Hart is offering the Third, Sixth, and Ninth Hours every day on ZOOM. See the emailed newsletter for Zoom login info.
Schedule:
Monday-Friday:
Third Hour: 9:00 am
Sixth Hour: 12:00 pm
Ninth Hour: 3:00 pm
Tuesday, May 26
Monthly Parish Council Meeting via ZOOM at 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 27
Great Vespers for the Feast of the Ascension at 7:00 p.m.
This service will be exclusively for those folks who are at risk due to age or health concerns.
Thursday, May 28
The Feast of the Ascension
Orthros at 5:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 7:00 a.m.
Building Task Force Meeting via ZOOM at 7:00 p.m.
If you belong to the Red Penguin, Green Oyster, or Purple Pelican Group and would like to attend either of these services, read the section of this newsletter entitled Ascension Lottery and follow the directions.
Saturday, May 30
Orthros at 7:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 9:00 a.m.
These services are exclusively for those who are at risk due to age or health issues. If you wish to be included in that group, please contact Father Aidan directly.
St. Thomas School at 4:00 p.m. via ZOOM
Great Vespers at 6:00 p.m. - Red Penguin Group
Sunday, May 31
The Sunday of the Holy Fathers
Orthros at 8:00 a.m. - Green Oyster Group
Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m. - Purple Pelican Group
If you are going to be at home on Sunday, you can offer the Typika along with Father Deacon Michael Coleman at 10:00 am. As an encouragement and in order to provide some liturgical guidance, Father Deacon has volunteered to offer the Typika via ZOOM. See the emailed newsletter for Zoom login info.
The Ascension Lottery
This coming week, we will be celebrating the Feast of the Ascension and, since the services for that feast do not fall within any of the scheduling that we have worked out for the different groups, we have designated Great Vespers on Wednesday, May 27, for all those folks who are at risk due to age or health. However, if you are not part of that group, and you would like to attend the festal services on Thursday, May 28, we’re going to have an old fashioned email lottery. So, the first 110 people who send Father Aidan an email, will be assigned a slot either at Orthros or Divine Liturgy for the feast. The contest begins as soon as you receive this newsletter, so get those notes in as soon as possible.
This Week at St Thomas School
This Saturday, DeAnne Maisano will be leading the discussion on Chapter 7, Orthodoxy in Russia. See the emailed newsletter for Zoom login info.
And here’s a run-down of the material that will be discussed: Orthodoxy in Rus' (Vol 1, Ch 7)
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 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. 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 16:16-34. The gospel lesson is St John 9:1-38. There are also two hymns:
Let us believers praise and worship the Word; coeternal with the Father and the Spirit, born of the Virgin for our salvation. For, He took pleasure in ascending the Cross in the flesh to suffer death; and to raise the dead by His glorious Resurrection.
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.
This is the final week when we will be including the homily and hymns and scripture lessons for the Typika, but please remember that Father Michael Coleman will be offering the Typika via ZOOM throughout the month of June.
I’m looking forward to celebrating the Feast of the Ascension with all of you Liturgical Winners.
An unworthy priest,
Aidan