Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
Pascha is almost here and that means there’s a lot to do. The complete schedule for Holy Week is available in this edition of the newsletter, so you can figure out which services you will attend. If you have the Archdiocesan Holy Week Service Book, attached to this week’s Happy Priest emailed newsletter is a guide for using that volume in our Holy Week Services.
In this edition of the newsletter, there is also a link to the sign-up sheet for the Tomb Vigil on the night of Great and Holy Friday.
Lastly, please don’t forget to donate Pascha Flower Fund when you are at the Divine Services. We need at least $800 to make everything look nice. You can also via PayPal and select “Flower Fund” in the dropdown menu.
And speaking of looking nice, the website Orthodox Arts Journal has a great article about our very own Baker Galloway. The article was written some time ago, so what Baker didn’t get a chance to mention is the fact that he’s beginning work on the iconography for our Church School classrooms. Baker will be providing us with updates and images of his work throughout this two year process, but if you’d like to know more (or commission an icon), just send him a note at sacredfaceicons.com. Also, please remember Baker and the project in your daily prayers.
Here’s the link to the piece.
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. If you need to modify the fast in any way, please check with your spiritual father.
Daily Services
Monday, April 4 to Friday, April 8
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.
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, April 4
Great Compline at 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 5
Orthodoxy 101 at 7:00 p.m. in the common room at the Parish House.
The topic will be the Divine Worship of the Church. Online participation will also be available through the Zoom link in the emailed newsletter.
Wednesday, April 6
Small Compline with The Canon of St. Andrew and Life of St. Mary at 7:00 p.m.
Masks will be required at this service.
Thursday, April 7
Bible Study at 7:00 p.m.
Topic: Bible Study. To participate, please see the Zoom link in the emailed newsletter.
Friday, April 8
The Akathist Service at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 9
St. Thomas School at 4:00 p.m.
Great Vespers at 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 10
The Fifth Sunday of Great Lent
Orthros at 8:00 a.m.
Church School at 8:15 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.
Fellowship Hour at Noon
THE SCHEDULE FOR HOLY WEEK
Saturday, April 16
Lazarus Saturday
Orthros at 6:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 8:00 a.m.
Masks will be required at these services.
Great Vespers at 6:00 p.m.
At the conclusion of this service will be the final opportunity to participate in the Mystery of Holy Confession prior to Pascha.
Sunday, April 17
Palm Sunday.
Orthros at 8:00 a.m.
Church School at 8:15 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.
Fellowship Hour at Noon
Bridegroom Orthros at 6:00 p.m.
Monday, April 18
Great and Holy Monday
Presanctified Liturgy at 6:00 a.m.
Masks will be required at this service.
Bridegroom Orthros at 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 19
Great and Holy Tuesday
Presanctified Liturgy at 6:00 a.m.
Masks will be required at this service.
Bridegroom Orthros 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 20
Great and Holy Wednesday
Presanctified Liturgy at 6:00 a.m.
Unction Service at 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 21
Great and Holy Thursday
Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil with Washing of Feet at 6:00 a.m.
Service of the Twelve Gospels at 7:00 p.m.
Friday, April 22
Great and Holy Friday
Royal Hours at 9:00 a.m.
Descent from the Cross Vespers at Noon
Service of Lamentations at 7:00 p.m.
The Tomb Vigil Begins at 9:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 23
Great and Holy Saturday
Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil with Baptisms at 8:00 a.m.
Masks will be required at this service.
Paschal Service at 11:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 24
Great and Holy Pascha
Agape Vespers at 2:00 p.m.
If you wish to read the gospel in a language other than English, please contact Father Aidan before Saturday, April 16.
Paschal Picnic at 3:00 p.m.
CONSTRUCTION NEWS
The work on our new parking lot is going well. The project will take a few 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.
ST THOMAS SCHOOL
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 (all of which are available through Christ the Lightgiver Bookstore). 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 (online access is also available) and the incomparable John Bell will be leading the discussion of Chapter 1 in Volume I, on Early Christianity.
In order to participate online, send an email to remote.meetings@theforerunner.org by this coming Thursday, April 7. You will also need to keep your camera on during the session.
The Tomb Vigil
This service runs from 9:00 p.m. on Friday, April 22, to 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 23. Participants sign up for one hour slots during which they read the New Testament out loud in the nave. If you would like to be a part of this beautiful tradition, sign up using the link provided in the emailed newsletter. In order to have the service, though, we need the schedule to be full by the beginning of Holy Week, Saturday, April 16.
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
It’s time to start getting ready for Holy Week and Pascha. Here’s the second of our Pascha Moments of Grace and Courtesy:
Preschool children should not be given lighted candles. Battery-operated candles are available at craft stores and that is what pre-school children should use. Parents and grandparents should use their best judgment when it comes to allowing elementary-age children to hold a lighted candle. This is not only a safety issue (hot wax can cause bad burns and hair and clothing can blaze up quickly and unexpectedly), but it also takes a great deal of work to remove wax from the carpet. Again, our ushers have been instructed to remind parents that very young children should not be given lighted candles.
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 Mary Noticias. We’ve decided that the font for all of our official office communications will be BODONI MT BLACK and our Spiritual Advisor is Elder Galaction of the Holy Mountain.