Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
This year, in our Fall Theological Seminar, we’re going to be talking about the next steps in our building program. The seminar begins on the evening of Wednesday, August 31. That’s a great day to kick off our work together, because August 31 is the Feast Day of the Patroness of our Building Program, St. Eanswythe of Folkstone. We sing a hymn in honor of St. Eanswythe at each Divine Liturgy, but you may not know her full story:
She was a British princess and she was the very first female monastic in England. She was also really good looking. So, even after she entered the monastic life, she still had men who were looking to marry her. One of those men was a barbarian noble and this noble was very persistent. The nuns of St. Eanswythe’s community were building a chapel and, when the central beam for the roof was delivered, it was discovered that the beam was not long enough. So, St. Eanswythe told the persistent barbarian noble that, if he could lengthen the beam, then she would leave the monastery and marry him. The barbarian ordered his pagan priests to pray over the beam and they stayed at their prayers all night without any result. The next morning, St. Eanswythe and her sisters offered Orthros and, after the service, the beam was just the right size.
That is the holy woman who has been guiding us through the many years of our building work on this property. And she will continue to guide us as we begin this new stage on her feast day, Wednesday, August 31.
Fasting Days
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. If you need to modify the fast in any way, please check with your spiritual father.
Monday, August 8 to Friday, August 12
Daily Services
Orthros 5am
Vespers 5pm
There will be No Daily Vespers on Thursday, August 11.
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. The schedule is below:
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, August 9
The Paraclesis Service at 7:00 p.m.
Orthodoxy 101 will return after the Dormition Fast on Tuesday, August 16
Wednesday, August 10
The Paraclesis Service at 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, August 11
The Paraclesis Service at 7:00 p.m.
Bible Study will return on Thursday, August 18
Friday, August 12
The Paraclesis Service at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 13
St. Thomas School at 4:00 p.m.
Great Vespers at 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 14
The 9th Sunday of St Luke
Orthros at 8:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.
Typika with Holy Communion at 10:00 a.m. at Central Texas Behavioral Center 315 East Avenue D, Killeen, TX, 76541
Fellowship Hour at Noon
Great Vespers with Lamentations for the Feast of the Dormition No Later Than 1:00 p.m.
Monday, August 15
The Feast of the Dormition
Orthros 6:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 8:00 a.m.
ST THOMAS SCHOOL
On Saturday, August 13, Father Andrew Wilson will lead the discussion of Chapter One in Volume Two, “Scripture and Tradition”.
In order to participate online, send an email to remote.meetings@theforerunner.org by this coming Thursday, August 11. You will also need to keep your camera on during the session.
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.
The Great Feast of the Dormition
The Dormition Fast ends with the Great Feast of the Dormition on Monday, August 15. We will serve Great Vespers with the Lamentations for the Mother of God following Fellowship Hour on Sunday, August 14, and then, on the morning of Monday, August 15, we will offer Orthros at 6:00 a.m. and Divine Liturgy at 8:00 a.m.
Fall Theological Seminar
Several weeks ago, we all received an announcement about The 2022 Fall Theological Seminar. In case you missed that announcement, a copy of it is attached to the emailed version 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, one of the fun things that we’ve done during past stages of our building work is to have St. Eanswythe Meals. You get together with some friends, you place St. Eanswythe’s icon close by, you sing her Troparion, and then you enjoy a meal together (but be sure and take a photo of the group so we can put it in The Happy Priest). Why not have a St. Eanswythe Meal each Wednesday of the Fall Theological Seminar? You could meet folks for dinner before the seminar, whether you will be participating online or in person.
Things That Make Priests Happy
Blessing Father Andrew and Khouria Xenia Wilson on their 20th anniversary; meeting George H. (I just waved through the window); agreeing, with Robbie T., that those fleeting moments matter; hearing this quotation from Rilke applied to the Divine Liturgy: “there is no place there/that does not see you/you must change your life”; talking with Michael C. about air conditioning; giving Ella C. advice about going off to college (don’t let them change the keys on you, Ella); visiting with Jared H. about Martin T. and with Mike B. about Sergei B; asking Victoria J. if her dad knows how to cook; keeping an eye on a rabbit who was sitting in the bushes on the edge of the parking lot.
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 Gerasimos Juliano. Our Webmasters are Lily Halsey and Seth Hart. Our Keeper of Lists is Father Andrew Wilson. Our Roving Reporter is Nancy Hicks-Gribble. Our new favorite ice cream flavor is Cow Tongue (we fly it in from Tokyo), and our Spiritual Advisor is Elder Galaction of the Holy Mountain.