Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
This coming Saturday, December 17, will be the last opportunity to make your confession before the Feast of Nativity. Both priests will be on duty that night, so having two lines will make the wait time a lot shorter, but please be sure and take advantage of this arrangement because we will not be offering the Holy Mystery again until Saturday, December 31.
Also, to make your holiday shopping easier, in addition to the usual Sunday hours, between now and Christmas Eve, Christ the Lightgiver Bookstore will be open on Wednesday evenings following the Nativity Paraclesis, and Saturday evenings following Great Vespers. Of course, if you would like to make an appointment at another time to do some shopping, just contact Stephanie Crown, our hard-working manager.
Our Calendar
The Fast
The Nativity Fast is divided into two periods: (A) November 15th through December 19th when the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, fish, wine, and olive oil) is observed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with a blessing for wine and olive oil (some also permit fish) on Tuesday and Thursday, and for fish, wine, and olive oil on Saturday and Sunday, and (B) the period of the Forefeast, December 20th through 24th, when the traditional fasting discipline is observed Monday through Friday, with a blessing for wine and olive oil on Saturday and Sunday. The eve of the feast, December 24th is a strict fast day. December 25th through January 4th is fast-free, if you need to modify the fast in any way, please check with your spiritual father as soon as possible.
Daily Services
Monday, December 12 to Friday, December 15
Orthros 5am
Vespers 5pm
But check the schedule for the festal services; also, 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 will be at the online chanter’s stand offering 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.
St. John Trapeza Readings
Also, Fr. Andrew, Matthew G., and Seth H. continue to broadcast daily readings from spiritual books online. They are currently reading Guiding to a Blessed End: Andrew of Caesarea and his Apocalypse Commentary in the Ancient Church, by Dr. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou. The schedule is as follows: M-F at 12pm.
If you would like to listen in, use this link to join the Telegram link shared in the emailed version of the newsletter.
Tuesday, December 13
Orthodoxy 101 7pm
Please see the login details in the emailed version of the newsletter to join Zoom meeting
Wednesday, December 14
The Nativity Paraclesis 7pm
Saturday, December 17
St. Thomas School 4 pm
Great Vespers at 6 pm
Sunday, December 18 The Sunday Before Nativity
Orthros at 8am
Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Akathist to the Mother of God, Nurturer of Children following Fellowship Hour
Chess Club 6pm
ST THOMAS SCHOOL
On Saturday, December 17, Seth Hart will lead the discussion of Chapter Sixteen in Volume Two, “The Passion and Death of The Savior” https://theforerunner.squarespace.com/blog/2021/5/9/orthodox-christianity-vol-iii-ch-2. In In order to participate online, send an email to remote.meetings@theforerunner.org by this coming Thursday, December 15; you will also need to keep your camera on during the session.
Anniversary blessings and memorial services
Anniversary Blessings and Memorial Services
Starting in 2023, the process for requesting a Memorial Service or an Anniversary Blessing will now be electronic. Simply click the link below and follow the instructions to make your request. You may also access the electronic document by clicking the new link in the Members Area of the website. Please note that, if you do not have a Google account connected to your phone, you will need to access this link on your computer. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1K8All0GkwgGD-Chv7-qfsQKWYog_hMcK?usp=share_link.
COMING UP
We continue to talk about the next steps in our building program, and we want to hear from everyone. To make that easier, a Frequently Asked Questions document is attached to this newsletter. Of course, you can also talk to Baker Galloway, Mike Brown, Will Hampton, or Father Aidan Wilcoxson in person or contact any of those folks via email.
During the Nativity Fast, we always offer the Nativity Paraclesis on Wednesday evenings at 7pm. There is one more of those services—on December 21—so please do your best to join. Also, this year, since these services follow our Fall Theological Seminar, we’re going to be using them to pray for discernment as we move forward with our Building Program.
In Holy Orthodoxy, we always have services on Christmas Day. This year, December 25 falls on a Sunday, so going to a worship service won’t seem quite so odd, but, if you have extended family who are not Orthodox, you’ll need to alert them to the fact that you’ll be absent from the festivities for a couple of hours. Of course, you can always invite them to join you for the services: Orthros 8am; Divine Liturgy 10am (but there will not be any Fellowship Hour following the Divine Liturgy).
At the conclusion of this week’s edition of The Happy Priest is the schedule for 2023 House Blessings—yes, it will be here before you know it! So, please read through the list and make sure that your name appears on it; if the date that you’ve been assigned works, then please log that date into your phone and write it on all your calendars. If you have been left off the list, or if the date that you’ve been assigned will not work, then please get in touch with Father Aidan Wilcoxson as soon as possible.
Registration is now open for the 2023 Saint Emmelia Orthodox Homeschool Conference, which will be held January 26-29th at Saint Elias Orthodox Church, North Campus. The conference will feature practical homeschooling advice, spiritual encouragement, and fellowship. The keynote speaker is Fr. Turbo Qualls; workshop leaders include Dr. John Mark Reynolds, Adam Lockridge, Matt Bianco, Hiedi White, Katrina Kern. Children’s workshops will include iconography and chanting. If you are interested in volunteering for childcare, food service, or other opportunities, please contact our own Anna Comer annaecomer@gmail.com. Registration available at: https://www.saintemmelia.com/south-2023 Scholarships/financial assistance available by contacting saintemmeliaministries@gmail.com.
OUR MOMENT OF GRACE AND COURTESY
Now that our nave is often crowded, seating is at a premium, so let’s be sure and leave the chairs and the benches for folks who are older and for folks who have physical limitations. Children and young people should always sit on the floor or stand. We never know who is going to come through the door of the nave, so even if it appears that there are vacant chairs or benches, children and young people should remain sitting on the floor or standing.
Things That Make Priests Happy
Blessing Rigel and Polly T. on their 11th anniversary; offering the services for St Nicholas; driving down Park Street past the house with the two story inflatable Santa in the back yard and wondering what my life would be like if I had a two story inflatable Santa in my back yard (I mean, like, do you have to get a parade permit?); having fun with the remotes for the Christmas trees in the nave (Do you have to register with the Civil Air Patrol?); admiring the new chalice veils and blessing cross and icon stands (Can you rent it out to the National Weather Service for a Weather Balloon?); arriving at the parish around 5:45 am on Sunday, backing into my usual parking place, switching off the car, turning to open the door, and realizing that, inches from the window, a very large deer with really big antlers was staring right at me (I think he wanted to ask me about the inflatable Santa).
an unworthy priest,
aidan