Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
This week, we will be wrapping up the festal season that we started back on the Feast of Nativity with the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord and Master in the Temple. We will serve Great Vespers at 7pm on Tuesday evening, February 1, and, on the day of the feast, we will serve Orthros at 4am and Divine Liturgy at 6am. Please plan on joining us for the festal services.
Also, Camp St Raphael 2022 Camper Applications will be available online at https://www.campstraphael.org at Noon on February 1st. Remember spots are reserved on a first come first serve basis, so don’t delay. Session One is June 26th through July 2nd, and Session Two is July 3rd through 9th. This year CSR will be at new location in Kingston, Oklahoma.
Our Calendar
Fasting Days
Wednesday, February 2, and Friday, February 4; 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 31 through Friday, February 3: Orthros 5am; Vespers 5pm. (But please check the schedule for the festal services. 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:
Tuesday, February 1
Great Vespers for the Presentation 7pm
Orthodoxy 101 will return next week at the regular time on Tuesday, Feb 8
Wednesday, February 2
The Feast of the Presentation
Orthros 4am
Divine Liturgy 6am
Thursday, February 3
The Bible Study 7pm - see emailed newsletter for Zoom info
Saturday, February 4
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, February 5
Sunday of the Canaanite Woman
Orthros 8am
Church School 8:15am
Typika with Holy Communion 10am 315 E Ave D in Killeen
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Since it is the first Sunday of the month, this Sunday will be Blessing Sunday, so if you have a new car or icons, crosses, prayer ropes—or if you will be traveling during February—be sure and head over to the chanter’s stand after you reverence the cross so you can receive your blessing.St Thomas School
St Thomas School
On Saturday, February 5, Father Andrew Wilson will lead the discussion of Chapter Four, in Volume V, “Repenance (Confession)” 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, February 3; you will also need to keep your camera on during the session.
Financial Update
Thanks to the grace and mercy of the Most Holy Trinity, and thanks to your dedication and generosity, we finished up 2021 with a surplus of over $9,000. All of that will be applied to the Building Fund, so let’s be sure and start this New Year as faithfully as we ended this past year.
Coming Up
The Triodion begins on Sunday, February 13. The Triodion is the four week period of preparation for Great Lent. So that means, Great Lent will begin on Monday, March 7! It will be here before we know it, so let’s make sure and use this upcoming time of preparation wisely.
The Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America’s Parish Life Conference will be hosted by St George Cathedral in Wichita, Kansas, from June 15th through 18th. Hotel reservations may be made at Reservations: Hyatt Regency https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/group-booking/WICRW/G-GEC.
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
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; our Webmaster is Seth Hart; our Keeper of Lists is Father Andrew Wilson; our Roving Reporter is Floyd Robertson; our Corporate Curling Team always releases the stone before The Hog Line, and our Spiritual Advisor is Elder Galaction of the Holy Mountain.