Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
Thanks to everyone who made our Open House Weekend such a success! We had good attendance at all the events and services, and at least six visitors joined us. We’ll do it again in the spring, but thanks to everyone who helped out this time around.
Our Calendar
Fasting Days
Wednesday, October 23, and Friday, October 25
Daily Services
Monday, October 21-Friday, October 25
Orthros 5am;
Vespers 5pm
(Due to Father Aidan’s teaching schedule, starting this Tuesday evening, September 24, he will not be able to serve Daily Vespers on Tuesday and Thursday evening until mid-December; the services will simply be read privately. Also, please don’t forget that since life in our parish community can be pretty busy, sometimes the starting times for the daily services has to be shifted. So, if you know ahead of time that you will be attending a particular service, it’s always a good idea to send Father Aidan a note at fraidan@austin.rr.com to confirm when the service will actually begin.)
Tuesday, October 22
Parish Council Meeting 7pm.
Everyone is welcome to attend, but, if you would like to speak to the council, you need to contact our Vice President, Misty Wright, ahead of time
Wednesday, October 23
Fall Theological Seminar 7pm at the parish house, in Georgetown, and in Harker Heights. We will be discussing Chapters 10-12, pgs 101-131
Saturday, October 26
St Thomas School 4pm Deacon Michael Coleman will lead the discussion on Chapter 10, The Paschal Cycle
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, October 27
7th Sunday of St Luke
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children Noon
Baker Galloway Icon Exhibit Noon
Make-Up Stewardship Visits Noon Remember: we need all the cards back by November 17
This Week at St. Thomas School
Chapter 10: The Paschal Cycle
How do we know what the truth is? Converts, inquirers, “cradle” Orthodox and many other camps of people want to know the answer to this question during these confusing times, especially when it’s about religion or politics. Metropolitan Hilarion gives a kind of pericope (verses that are cut out to form a unified thought, Greek) that connect to this question and the themes spoken of in the liturgical texts of the Paschal Cycle.
In the first section, he starts with the resurrection of Christ. The great litany in the Paschal Canon of St. John of Damascus says, “This is the day of resurrection. Let us be illumined, O people.” How can we become “illumined?” Because Christ was buried and resurrected, the open door to illumination is how He lived his life on earth. His death and resurrection not only freed us as individuals from “corruption,” but the whole world can be saved. Since our bodies are made of the same elements as the universe, when we become incorrupt and illumined, likewise the universe is saved and enlightened through Jesus Christ.
The second section discusses the Sundays from Pascha up to Pentecost that are called Antipascha (in place of Pascha, Greek). They include The Sunday of Thomas, The Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women, The Sunday of the Pool of Siloam, The Sunday of the Samaritan Woman and The Sunday of the Blind Man. All of these feasts speak of our need of spiritual healing and renewal as a “springtime of our souls” (Pentecostarion. Orthros. Ode 1, Sunday of Thomas). Unlike other Christian groups, the Orthodox Church doesn’t need to manufacture revivals or call councils for an aggiornamento (an organizational bringing up to date) in order to let a more modern mindset help us cope with a changing world. The Church has already experienced the Holy Spirit blowing fire on the Apostles and we have already left the royal doors open during the entire week of Pascha, which represents the tomb of Christ that renews our souls. The Holy Spirit can blow freshly on our lives every year during the Antipascha. All of these feasts in the Paschal cycle and Antipascha Sundays show us that the Way of Christ is to be purified, illumined, and glorified with Him. As a burial rite we hymn on Great Friday at Orthros, “O thou who puttest on light like a garment.” We too want to put on this light after we’ve been healed like the Samaritan woman and the Blind Man.
The next feast, The Ascension of the Lord, teaches us that Christ was glorified when he ascended to His Father, and that He will return glorified. So too, we must become glorified in Jesus Christ. The cloud that appears when Jesus Christ ascended to heaven is not some kind of explainable weather pattern or hyper-abstract, psychological cloud, but it is the real glorification of God the Father through Jesus Christ in Holy Spirit. There are many more hymns, stichera, and troparia that reference “Light,” “illumination” and other enlightening realities in this chapter.
Pentecost shows us that the Holy Spirit “illumines our souls” and “guides into all truth.” The Pentecostarion of the Sunday of Thomas says, “The queen of hours with splendor openly ministers to this light-bearing day.” When the Holy Spirit was given to the Apostles, political and racial divisions were nullified, and all nations were brought into spiritual unity through the Holy Spirit. Truth cannot exist outside of this reality and experience. The Holy Trinity is “the one indivisible light who is known in three hypostases.” When people in the Church are purified, illumined and glorified, there we will find the truth through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the only infallible source of goodness, truth, and beauty. Come join us this Saturday at 4:00p.m. to find out how to walk the ancient Way of Jesus Christ.
Coffee Cup Amnesty
Our Kitchen Coordinator, Misty Wright, reports that we are missing about two dozen coffee cups. If your caffeine addiction has caused you to take a cup home, remember that we are in the forgiveness business—we just ask that you return the cup (or cups) in a timely fashion.
Coming Up
Stewardship Visits have begun. These visits are the key to our Annual Budget Campaign. Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s process:
Look over the proposed budget that is attached to this newsletter. Then, on your assigned Sunday (see the schedule that’s printed below), show up at the presentation the Finance Committee will make in the common room of the parish house. At that presentation, the Finance Folks will highlight certain aspects of the budget and answer any questions you might have; they will also pass out the 2020 Commitment Cards.
You can fill the card out and give it to one of the Finance Folks after the presentation. You can fill the card out and place it in the Offering Bowl. You can fill the card out and give it to the priest. But we need you to be as specific as you can because we actually plan off of the information that you will put on that card. Also, this year, we are asking everyone to write their contact information on the card, so that we can make sure that our membership roster is up to date (street address; email address; phone numbers).
Once we receive the card, you will receive a thank you note via email. In the past, the priest has written all of those notes by hand, but he has developed a tremor in his right hand (nothing to worry about; he’s just getting old), so his hand writing has deteriorated. However, he will be sending you the thank you note via email. The purpose of the note is three-fold: to thank you for your generosity to our community, to confirm that we have recorded your commitment accurately, and to share with you the new sign-in information for the membership section of the website, which now changes each year.
If you miss your assigned presentation, you are welcome to attend one of the other sessions or one of the make-up sessions (again, check the schedule below). Nevertheless, we need all commitment cards to be returned by Sunday, November 17; that way the Finance Folks can adjust the budget in any way that might be needed. And when it comes to getting those cards returned, we are pretty relentless: In fact, we will send you a very polite and very discrete email each week until you turn in the card or until you say, “Go away. Leave me alone.”
Of course, we want everyone to fill out a card because having a card on file means you will continue to be an official member of St John’s. As an official member, you will continue to receive this amazing weekly newsletter, you will have ongoing access to the membership section of the website, and you will be eligible to vote in the Annual Community Meeting which happens each February.
Four times a year, the Finance Folks will send you a quarterly statement of your giving, and you will receive an annual statement at the end of the year. If you have questions about the budget or your statements, you can always ask the priest or any of the Finance Folks, but no one will ever, under any circumstances, pressure you about your giving.
Also, on Saturday, November 2, Mary King and Sarah Brown will be teaching a Prosphora Baking Class. The class will meet in the kitchen of the Long Hall; it will run from 10:30 until 1pm. The instruction will be for folks who’ve never baked before, but experienced bakers are also invited to attend. A light lunch will be provided, so if you plan on participating (and, remember, guys, we want lots of men there!), please contact Mary and let her know that you will be joining the group.
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
After receiving the Eucharist, it is traditional to share the blessed bread with our visitors and with the folks who are catechumens; this is one important way we can welcome people and help them participate in the Divine Liturgy. However, please ask them first if they would like some bread; if you wish to give a piece of blessed bread to a child, always ask their parents first. Also, if you see that the person with whom you intended to share the bread already has a piece, then simply share the bread with another person.
For the past three years, Baker Galloway has been studying with world-renowned iconographer Aidan Hart in the Prince’s Program for The Traditional Arts in Great Britain. Baker finished the program this fall, and, this coming Sunday, October 27, he will share with us the icons and images that he produced over the last three years. The display will be over at the parish house, and we will all be able to view it during Fellowship Hour, so be sure and stop by and congratulate Baker on this outstanding achievement.
an unworthy priest
aidan