Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
Happy Feast!
This week, we will be celebrating our parish feast day on Thursday, June 24. We will be celebrating the Nativity of the Forerunner with Great Vespers on Wednesday, June 23, at 7:00 p.m. Then, on Thursday, June 24, we will celebrate Orthros at 7:00 a.m. and Divine Liturgy at 9:00 a.m. We’ve invited all the area Orthodox parishes, so plan on joining us as we honor our patron and protector, the Holy Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John.
Our Calendar
Fasting Days
The week after Pentecost is Fast-free (Wha-Hoo!)
Daily Services
Monday, June 21 to Friday, June 25
Orthros 5am;
Vespers 5pm
There will be No Daily Vespers on Monday, June 21. Also, check the schedule for the festal services. If you plan on attending any of the daily services, it’s generally a good idea to check the day before to make sure that the service will be offered. Sometimes pastoral situations require a change of plans and the service cannot be offered on that particular day.
The Hours
This week, Seth Hart will be back at the online chanter’s stand, offering the First, Third, Sixth, and Ninth Hours every day on ZOOM.
Schedule: Monday-Friday:
First Hour at 6:45 a.m.
Third Hour: 8:45 a.m.
Sixth Hour: 12:00 p.m.
Ninth Hour: 2:45 p.m.
See the emailed newsletter for login info.
Monday, June 21
Funeral Service for Alexi Ergorov 10:00 a.m.
Tuesday, June 22
Parish Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m.
The deadline to sign up for the agenda has passed, but everyone is welcome to be present at the meeting.
Wednesday, June 23
Great Vespers for the Nativity of the Forerunner at 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 24
The Nativity of the Forerunner
Orthros at 7:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 9:00 a.m.
Saturday, June 26
St. Thomas School at 4:00 p.m.
Great Vespers at 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 27
The Sunday of All Saints
Orthros at 8:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.
Model Fellowship Hour at Noon
Hopefully we will have enough team leaders to pull it off!
Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children at Noon
The service will be offered in the Cry Room or see the emailed newsletter for login info.
St Thomas School
On Saturday, June 26, Baker Galloway will continue leading the discussion of Chapter 7, The Iconographic Tradition in Byzantium, pgs. 135-158.
The following link will provide a summary of the material that will be covered:
Orthodox Christianity, Vol II, Chp 7: Iconographical Tradition in Byzantium
See the emailed newsletter for Zoom login info.
Fellowship Hour
So, we’ve now had two Model Fellowship Hours and our hope is that everyone has a much better idea of how the whole process works. What we need to do next is get everyone signed up either on one of the teams or as a team leader. Thankfully, we now have nine teams, but we really need twelve in order to spread the work around as effectively as possible.
So, if you want an organized Fellowship Hour (and consistent coffee service) each and every week, just Do the Adult Thing and get in touch with Misty Wright, our Kitchen Coordinator, and tell her, “Yeah, I’ll be one of those three new team leaders”. That way, we will all get to spend good quality time together over good quality food and no one will have to suffer through caffeine withdrawal.
Church School
We are planning to have Church School during the fall of 2021 and the spring of 2022! We will begin the fall semester on Sunday, September 12, and it will run through Sunday, December 5. We will begin the Spring Semester on Sunday, January 9, and it will run through, Sunday, May 15. However, this year, a number of things about our Church School program will be different and we will need your assistance in order to make everything work.
First of all, we need your prayers. We still need one teacher and one assistant and the parish house renovations are not yet complete. Please be praying that volunteers will be forthcoming, that the parish house flooring will be installed quickly, and that all the furniture and equipment will be in place soon. If, during your prayers, you are inspired to teach or assist or help with the renovation then, by all means, get in touch with Father Aidan and we will put you to work.
Second, we need your cooperation. If you are the parent of a child ages three through twelve, then we need you to click on this link https://forms.gle/XZ7dG9jgrGjwdRbg9 and fill out a registration form for each of your children by Sunday, June 27. If you are the parent of a teenager, then we need you to join us for a meeting after Divine Liturgy on Sunday, June 27, so we can discuss plans for our youth during the coming year.
Finally, we need your understanding and patience. Because we now have so many children, we no longer have enough space for everyone to meet at the same time. That means that we will divide each of the three Levels of Church School (Level I, ages 3-6; Level II, ages 6-9; Level III, ages 9-12) in two. One group will meet on the first and third Sundays of the month, from 8:15 a.m. through 9:30 a.m. The other group will meet on the second and fourth Sundays of the month, from 8:15 a.m. through 9:30 a.m. Obviously, we want to keep all families together in one group and on the same Sundays, but we won’t know what the exact numbers will look like until all the registration forms are in—so please submit those forms as quickly as possible.
Also, speaking of patience and understanding, as you no doubt read in the recent letter about masking that was sent to the parish, our teachers will each set the masking policy for their own classroom. That means some classes may do things differently than other classes. Nevertheless, since our teachers work very hard, it is only fair to allow them to have the final say when it comes to the issue of masks. If you have questions about that approach, just check with Father Aidan.
Apart from serving the Divine Liturgy, educating our children and young people is the most important responsibility we have as Orthodox Christians. With your prayers, cooperation, patience, and understanding (and with the grace of the Most Holy Trinity), we will do a great job with Church School in the coming year
The Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul
On Tuesday, June 29, we will celebrate the Feast of our Patriarchate, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. We will serve Great Vespers on Monday, June 28, at 7:00 p.m. (and that Monday will be the only day of the Apostle’s Fast this year). Then, we will offer Orthros at 7:00 a.m. and Divine Liturgy at 9:00 a.m. on the Tuesday, June 29. Come honor the Princes of the Apostles and the Patrons and Protectors of our Patriarchate, the Great City of God, Antioch and All the East.
Unction Service for Gwyneth Brown
On Wednesday, June 30, at 7:00 p.m., we will offer an Unction Service for Gwyneth Brown. She has been diagnosed with MS and the service we originally scheduled had to be canceled when she ended up back in the hospital. Many of you have been generous to the Browns with meals and donations and child care, so please now be generous with your prayers and join us on that evening.
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.
—
An unworthy priest,
Aidan
The Happy Priest is a publication of Life at a Dead Run Media, which is a subsidiary of One Take Productions. Our IT Guy is Jerry Juliano (“Go, Jerry, Go!”). Our Webmaster is Seth Hart. Our Keeper of Lists is Father Deacon Andrew Wilson. Our Roving Reporter is Cal McAffrey. When we practice for the National Hollering Contest, we always try to perfect our functional hollering as opposed to our expressive hollering and our Spiritual Advisor is Elder Galaction of the Holy Mountain.