Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
January has five Sundays, and, whenever that happens, we always have a potluck on the fifth Sunday. So, this coming Sunday, January 30, please plan on bringing a couple of your favorite dishes, as well as a dessert to share. And remember: This whole effort is heavily dependent on all of us pitching in. After all, nothing is more lame than a potluck that features a loaf of white bread, a small bowl of Brussel sprouts, and a bag of Flaming Hot Doritos. If you need any more information, please contact our Kitchen Lady, Misty Wright.
Our Calendar
Fasting Days
Wednesday, January 26, and Friday, January 28; we are observing the regular fasting schedule (in which we go without meat, most kinds of fish, dairy, oil, wine, and hard liquor; if you need to modify the normal fasting schedule, please check with your spiritual father).
Daily Services
Monday, January 24 through Friday, January 28: Orthros 5am; Vespers 5pm. (If you plan on attending 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).
Seth Hart will be at the online chanter’s stand, offering the First, Third, Sixth, and Ninth Hours this week on ZOOM: 1st hour @ 6:45; 3rd hour @ 8:45; 6th hour @11:45; 9th hour @3:45. Please also check the schedule for the festal services, but see the emailed newsletter for the log in information:
Monday, Jan 24
Parish Council Meeting 7pm Everyone is welcome to attend, but, if you would like to speak during the meeting, you will need to contact our president, Bessie Jacob, ahead of time
Tuesday, Jan 25
Orthodoxy 101 7pm - see emailed newsletter for Zoom info
Thursday, January 27
The Bible Study 7pm - see emailed newsletter for Zoom info
Saturday, January 29
St Thomas School 4pm
Reader’s Vespers 5:30pm 315 E Ave D in Killeen
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, January 30
The Feast of the Three Hierarchs
Orthros 8am
No Church School (We always skip the fifth Sunday of the month; class will resume on Sunday, Feb 6)
Divine Liturgy 10am
St Thomas School
On Saturday, January 29, Father Andrew Wilson will lead the discussion of Chapter Three, in Volume V, “The Holy Eucharist” https://theforerunner.squarespace.com/blog/2021/5/9/orthodox-christianity-vol-iii-ch-2.
In order to participate online, send an email to remote.meetings@theforerunner.org by this coming Thursday, January 27; you will also need to keep your camera on during the session.
Coming Up
If you are not yet on a Fellowship Hour Team, we could sure use your help! Just get in touch with Misty Wright, and she will get you set up with a fun group of people that you can serve with in the coming year.
Camp St Raphael will be offering two one-week sessions this coming summer at it’s new location at Cross Point Camp in Kingston, OK: June 26th - July 2nd and July 3rd - July 9th. Staff applications are now available online and camper applications in February. You can check out the website www.campstraphael.org or contact CSR’s Executive Director Gayle Malone at Gayle@campstraphael.org.
Our 2022 Annual Meeting
Per the requirements of our Parish Constitution, we are announcing that our 2022 Annual Community Meeting will take place on Sunday February 13. Thanks to the hard work of all our council members, you have already received, via email, a Parish Announcement to which was attached the agenda and all the reports for the meeting. Please read through the reports carefully, and, if you have any questions, speak with Bessie Jacob, our Parish Council President, or Father Aidan. At the meeting in February, we will review the reports that are attached to this newsletter, and we will vote for the folks who will serve on the Parish Council.
The ballots for the council elections will be distributed, filled out, and collected at the beginning of the Annual Meeting. Our parish clergy will count the votes during the course of the meeting, and the election results will be announced at the conclusion of the meeting. As usual, there will not be any provision for online voting; if you will not be able to attend the meeting on Sunday, February 13, then you must make arrangements to get a paper ballot from Father Aidan, fill it out, and return it prior to him the actual meeting on February 13.
Per the requirements of our Parish Constitution, three members of the Parish Council will be cycling off at the end of 2021: Nick Crown, Demetry Zozulya, and Jerry Juliano. However, Jerry is eligible to run for a second term, and we also have three other folks who have agreed to run for the council, so the 2022 nominees for the council elections are: Elena Cabeza de Vaca, Sandi Andrew, Jerry Juliano, and Michael Cotton. Please thank Nick and Demetry for their service these past six years; please thank Jerry, Elena, Sandi, and Michael for their willingness to run for the council, and please start praying now about which of them you will vote for during the election on February 13.
Of course, you cannot go wrong with any of the candidates that have agreed to run for the council. However, our constitution also allows for nominations from the floor at the Annual Community Meeting. Nevertheless (and this is a very important Nevertheless), since our constitution also requires that everyone nominated be 1) over 18 years of age 2) a member of our parish for at least 12 months, 3) a regular participant in the Holy Mysteries of Confession and the Eucharist, and 4) a consistent financial contributor to our community, it’s extremely important to A) check with the person you wish to nominate and B) check with Father Aidan before making the actual nomination during the Annual Meeting. That way, we can avoid any awkward and embarrassing moments.
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
Since more and more folks are attending the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning, we need to take full advantage of all the space we have in the nave. Just about everyone tends to hug the back wall, but, we will all have more breathing room, if we move up closer to the iconostasis. In the weeks to come, our ushers will be encouraging us all to get closer to the front of the room.
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; our Webmaster is Seth Hart; our Keeper of Lists is Father Andrew Wilson; our Roving Reporter is Ernie Pike; our favorite Meat Loaf Moment is the duet he sang with Senator Mitt Romney, and our Spiritual Advisor is Elder Galaction of the Holy Mountain.