Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
This coming Sunday is the Adoration of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross and that means we are just about halfway to Holy Week. So, let’s think about how things are going: Have we made our confession? Do we need to re-commit to the Fast? Have we attended any of the weekday Lenten services? Also, it’s not too late to increase our giving or pick up some spiritual reading at Christ the Lightgiver Bookstore or our wonderful Parish Library.
ATTENTION ALL PARENTS OF CAMPERS! Each year the archdiocese provides every parish with $700 that is to be used towards scholarships for Camp St. Raphael. If your child has already registered for camp and you would like to receive some of that scholarship money, please contact Father Aidan via email by this coming Friday, March 25. The money will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, so please be prompt.
OUR CALENDAR
Fasting Days
During Great Lent, we abstain from meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, fish, wine, and olive oil Monday through Friday, with a blessing for wine and olive oil on Saturday and Sunday. There is also a blessing for fish, wine, and oil on Friday, March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation. If you need to modify the fast in any way, please check with your spiritual father.
Daily Services
Monday, March 21- Friday, March 25: Orthros 5am; Vespers 5pm
There will be No Daily Vespers on Wednesday, March 23, because of the Pre-Sanctified Liturgy. 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.
THE HOURS
Seth Hart is continuing to read the Hours and stream them to Zoom. During Lent, the Hours include additional psalms and, at Sixth Hour, a reading from the Prophesy of Isaiah. Praying together online is nice, but praying together in person is even better. So, for the remaining Fridays of Lent, Seth will be reading Sixth Hour at 11:45 a.m. in the nave. The service is about 30 minutes. So, if you’re in the area, feel free to drop by for a “lunchtime” prayer. Additionally, Ninth Hour on Wednesdays is always read immediately before the presanctified liturgy at around 6:30 p.m. So, that service will not be streamed.
The schedule is below:
1st hour: 6:30 a.m.
3rd hour: 8:30 a.m.
6th hour: 11:45 a.m.
9th hour: 3:45 p.m. (except Wednesdays when read before Presanctified Liturgy)
Please see the emailed newsletter for login information.
Lenten Services
Monday, March 21
Great Compline at 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 22
Parish Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the narthex of the Long Hall.
Orthodoxy 101 at 7:00 p.m. at the Parish House.
The topic will be The Mother of God.
Online participation will also be available through the Zoom link in the emailed newsletter.
Wednesday, March 23
The Pre-Sanctified Liturgy at 7:00 p.m.
Masks will be required at this service.
Thursday, March 24
Great Vespers at 7:00 p.m.
There will be No Bible Study. It will return next week.
Friday, March 25
The Feast of the Annunciation
Orthros at 5:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 7:00 a.m.
The Akathist Service at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 26
Saturday of Souls
Orthros at 6:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 8:00 a.m.
Masks Will Be Required At These Services.
St. Thomas School at 4:00 p.m.
Great Vespers at 6:00 p.m.
Reader’s Vespers at 6:00 p.m. at Central Texas Behavioral Center, 315 East Avenue D, in Killeen.
Sunday, March 27
The Sunday of the Cross
Orthros at 8:00 a.m.
Church School at 8:15 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.
Fellowship Hour at Noon
Akathist to The Mother of God, Nurturer of Children at Noon
ST THOMAS SCHOOL
On Saturday, March 26, Michael Ruse will lead the discussion of Chapter Eleven in Volume V, “The Consecration of a Church and The Blessing of Chrism”.
In order to participate online, send an email to remote.meetings@theforerunner.org by this coming Thursday, March 24; you will also need to keep your camera on during the session.
On Saturday, April 9, St. Thomas School will begin its second two year cycle. It takes just about two years to go through all five volumes that are used in the program. So, this would be a great time to start consistently attending one of the very best Orthodox Adult Education programs in the country. The class will meet at 4:00 p.m. in the parish house (of course online access will also be available), and the incomparable John Bell will be leading the discussion of Chapter 1 in Volume I, on Early Christianity.
CONSTRUCTION NEWS
The work on our new parking lot is going well. The project will take at least two more weeks, weather permitting, and, during that time, here are some things we will all need to do:
First of all, we should be praying for the entire process, for our project manager, for the construction company and their workers, and for our parish council who will be overseeing the whole effort. Our prayers will keep everyone safe and ensure that the project is completed successfully.
Second, parents, godparents, and grandparents need to be especially vigilant during the construction work. None of the work will take place on Sundays. However, there will be heavy equipment parked on the property. Lots of earth will be moved. There will be construction fencing and porta-potties and all sorts of items that are attractive and intriguing to young children. The general rule at our parish is that our children must be in our direct line of sight at all times. This rule is going to be even more critical while the parking lot is being replaced.
Third, there are specific places that you cannot park: You cannot park in the circular drive in front of the parish house and you cannot park in any area where there is a red border along the edge of the concrete. Those areas are set aside for emergency vehicles. If a policeman drives by our property and sees that you are parked in any of those locations, you could very well receive a ticket.
Fourth, if your family normally brings two or three vehicles to the parish, please consider adjusting your schedule for the next several weeks and only bring one vehicle. If all our families car-pool, then we should have plenty of parking, not only for our parishioners but also for our visitors.
Finally, quite a few of our folks are going to be parking off-site while the construction project is going on. Those folks have already received instructions about how that is going to work (you can read through those instructions in the letter attached to this newsletter). However, if you arrive on a Sunday and you cannot find a place to park on our property, then you need to know that, while it is legal to park in the surrounding neighborhoods, (1) you cannot park within four feet of a private driveway, (2) you cannot park on the bridges that cross North Winecup Trail and Big Sur Drive, and (3) you must park in the same direction as traffic is flowing. Parking your car in those ways and in those locations could lead to a ticket.
WE REALLY LIKE OUR COFFEE
We are running out of coffee just about every Sunday. We don’t want folks to be without caffeine. So, there will now be two (count ‘em, two!) coffee pots available each week. One will be in its usual location on the porch of the Long Hall; the other will be on the porch of the Parish House. Please thank Misty for her hard work and foresight.
COMING UP
Saturday of Souls
There are just two more Saturday of Souls this year: Saturday, March 26, and Saturday, June 11. On each of those days, Orthros will be served at 6:00 a.m. and Divine Liturgy at 8:00 a.m. If you plan to be present on a particular Saturday, please write the names of the departed that you will be praying for in the Memorial Book that is located in the narthex. If you will not be present for those specific services, please do not write the names of your friends and loved ones on that particular day. That way, there will be plenty of space for the names of the loved ones who will be at the services.
Paschal Confession
Our Archdiocese expects that each of us will make our confession before Pascha. In our parish, we do not hear confessions during Holy Week. So, that means we have until Saturday, April 16, to participate in that Holy Mystery. Confession is offered each Saturday evening after Great Vespers or just about any other time by specific appointment.
Camp St. Raphael
Camp St. Raphael 2022 Camper Applications are available online at https://www.campstraphael.org. Remember spots are reserved on a first come first serve basis. So, don’t delay. Session One is Sunday, June 26th to Saturday, July 2nd, and Session Two is Sunday, July 3rd to Saturday, July 9th. This year CSR will be at new location in Kingston, Oklahoma. Scholarships are available. So, if you need assistance in order to send your child to camp, please speak with Father Aidan or Father Andrew.
Parish Life Conference
The Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America’s Parish Life Conference will be hosted by St. George Cathedral in Wichita, Kansas, from Wednesday, June 15th through Saturday, June 18th. Hotel reservations may be made at Reservations: Hyatt Regency https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/group-booking/WICRW/G-GEC.
OUR MOMENT OF GRACE AND COURTESY
Let’s be sure and pick up after ourselves when we are done with fellowship hour. Please make sure that all your plates, silver ware, and coffee cups make it back to the kitchen in the Long Fellowship Hall and please put all napkins and food scraps in the trash can. If you are sitting outside, be sure that you haven’t left anything on or under the picnic tables. If you are sitting inside, check the carpet and pick up any food or crumbs. If your children are not sitting with you, please make sure that they also clean up after themselves.
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 Madison Paige. At our recent corporate team-building event, all of us qualified for a BASE number and our Spiritual Advisor is Elder Galaction of the Holy Mountain.