Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
We’ll be starting the Dormition Fast in just two weeks. Since the fast only runs from Monday, August 1 to Monday, August 15, it’s important to be ready to start when the season begins. So, look at the schedule of services, figure out when you will make your confession, and, if you need a blessing to adjust the fasting disciplines, please check with your spiritual father between now and Monday, August 1.
OUR CALENDAR
Fasting Days
Wednesday, July 20 and Friday, July 22
Daily Services
Monday, July 18 - Friday, July 22
Orthros 5am
Vespers 5pm
There will be No Daily Orthros on Wednesday, July 20. 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 on ZOOM.
First Hour, 6:45 a.m.
Third Hour, 8:45 a.m.
Sixth Hour, 11:45 a.m.
Ninth Hour, 3:45 p.m.
Please see the emailed newsletter for login information.
Tuesday, July 19
Orthodoxy 101 at 7:00 p.m. at the Parish House. The group will be discussing Children in the Church through the end of July.Orthodoxy
Please see the emailed newsletter for Zoom login details.
Thursday, July 21
Bible Study at 7:00 p.m.
Please see the emailed newsletter for login information.
Saturday, July 23
St. Thomas School at 4:00 p.m.
Great Vespers at 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 24
Sixth Sunday of St. Luke
Orthros at 8:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.
Northern Typika with Holy Communion at 10:00 a.m. at Central Texas Behavioral Center, 315 East Avenue D, in Killeen.
Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children at Noon
Fellowship Hour at Noon
ST THOMAS SCHOOL
On Saturday, July 23, Seth Hart will lead the discussion of Chapter Twelve in Volume One, “The Contemporary Canonical Structure of The Orthodox Church”.
In order to participate online, send an email to remote.meetings@theforerunner.org by this coming Thursday, July 21. You will also need to keep your camera on during the session.
Church Iconography
Baker Galloway has started work on the iconography for our Church School classrooms. If you would like to follow his progress so you can pray more effectively for him and for the project, just check out his blog at this link: https://theforerunner.squarespace.com/iconography-project
If you would like to know what it’s like to paint icons—or if you would like to commission an icon from Baker—just follow this link: sacredfaceicons.com.
COMING UP
The Dormition Fast
On Monday, August 1, we will begin the Dormition Fast. During this Fast, which runs through Sunday, August 14th , the eve of the great feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, we observe the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, fish, milk, cheese, eggs, wine and olive oil) Monday through Friday with a blessing for wine and olive oil on Saturday and Sunday, and for fish, wine and olive oil on the great feast of the Transfiguration on Saturday, August 6th. If you need to modify the fast in any way, please check with your spiritual father.
Paraclesis to the Mother of God
During the Dormition Fast, we offer The Paraclesis to the Mother of God each week night between Monday, August 1 and Friday, August 13. That means, this year, there will be ten opportunities to participate in this lovely service. That also means all of us should be able to be present at least once during the fast. So, please look at your calendar and make plans to join us as we ask the Most Holy Theotokos for her intercessions.
Dormition Confession
Before the Feast of the Dormition on Monday, August 15, the Archdiocese expects all of us to make our confession. In our parish, that Holy Mystery is offered on Saturday evenings after Great Vespers or just about any other time by special appointment.
Fall Theological Seminar
This week, we all received an announcement about The 2022 Fall Theological Seminar. In case you missed that announcement, a copy of it is attached to this edition of The Happy Priest. During this year’s seminar, we will be talking about What’s Next in our building program and in the life of our parish community. This will be one of the most important things we have ever done at St. John’s and we want to hear from everyone during this process. So, please go ahead and reserve your Wednesday evenings this fall, beginning on Wednesday, August 31 and running through Wednesday, November 9.
OUR MOMENT OF GRACE AND COURTESY
This year’s Fall Theological Seminar is going to be a very important time in the life of our parish, so, in the weeks ahead, we’re going to use this space to provide you with some ideas on how to maximize your participation. For example, since we do not provide child care at the parish, if you have young children, one thing you can do is swap out with your spouse: One week, the mom can attend in person, and the dad can stay home and watch the seminar online, and, the next week, the dad can attend in person, and the mom can stay home and watch online.
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 Father Deacon (‘Respect The Bling’) Gerasimos Juliano. Our Webmasters are Lily Halsey and Seth Hart. Our Keeper of Lists is Father Andrew Wilson. Our Roving Reporter is Hugh Pugh. We prefer barley bubbles in our Boba tea, and our Spiritual Advisor is Elder Galaction of the Holy Mountain.