Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
Our celebration of the Feast of Nativity will actually begin this Friday, December 23, when we offer the Royal Hours at noon. We will then serve Great Vespers for the feast on Saturday, December 24, at 6:00 p.m. and, on Sunday, December 25, we will serve Orthros at 8:00 a.m. and Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m. Since Nativity is one of the Twelve Great Feasts, let’s be sure and dress up for the services—no pajamas or Christmas Casual, please.
Also, please note that the kitchen in the Long Hall will be closed on Sunday, December 25. That means we won’t be having Fellowship Hour that day and coffee will not be available. So, please make your plans accordingly.
Our Calendar
Fasting
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 19 to Friday, December 23
Orthros 5am
Vespers 5pm
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
Fr. Andrew, Seth Heart, and Matthew Groh 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 20
Orthodoxy 101 7pm
Please see the login details in the emailed version of the newsletter to join Zoom meeting
Wednesday, December 21
The Nativity Paraclesis 7pm
Thursday, December 22
Bible Study at 7:00 p.m.
Friday, December 23
Royal Hours at Noon
Saturday, December 24
Great Vespers at 6 pm
Sunday, December 25 The Feast of Nativity
Orthros at 8am
Liturgy 10am
ST THOMAS SCHOOL
St. Thomas School will not meet on Christmas Eve, but there will be a session on Saturday, December 31. So, check back here next week for all the details.
Membership Update
Andrew H. is an Orthodox Christian who has been in Austin for a short while and he has joined our parish. Please let Andrew know that we are thankful to have him as part of the St John’s community.
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.
Building Program Next Steps
We continue to talk about the next steps in our building program, and we want to hear from everyone. 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. Also, here is a link that contains all of the design documents with which we are working:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1N_joZhglHsnuPs-d55JXqZSC_tnFrbbD?usp=share_link
Nativity Paraclesis
During the Nativity Fast, we have been offering the Nativity Paraclesis on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. This coming Wednesday, December 21, is the last night in the series. So, if you have not yet been able to join us, please do your best to come pray with us during this final service of the season.
house blessings
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.
St. Emmelia Orthodox Homeschool Conference
Registration is now open for the 2023 Saint Emmelia Orthodox Homeschool Conference, which will be held Thursday, January 26, to Sunday, January 29th, at St. 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, and 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 at annacomer@gmail.com.
Registration is available at https://www.saintemmelia.com/south-2023.
Scholarships/financial assistance is available by contacting St. Emmelia Ministries at saintemmeliaministries@gmail.com.
Upcoming Annual Community Meeting
The Annual Community Meeting will take place on Sunday, February, 12, after Divine Liturgy. During the meeting we will have a lot of business to take care. So, in order to prepare for that meeting and to keep the length of the meeting to a minimum, it is important that everyone read through the Annual Meeting Document before attending the meeting.
You can view that information at the link provided in the emailed version of The Happy Priest.
Please take a moment to read through and familiarize yourselves with agenda and please read through all the reports.
OUR MOMENT OF GRACE AND COURTESY
We should always remember to dress appropriately for the Divine Liturgy. It is our encounter with the Most Holy Trinity and our clothes should reflect the importance of that encounter. If you have questions about what is or is not appropriate, you can consult the article from the archdiocese that is on our web-site. If you have specific questions that are not addressed in the article, please feel free to ask one of our clergymen. However, if you see someone who is wearing something that is inappropriate, under no circumstances should you say anything to that person because only clergymen have the authority to do that.
Things That Make Priests Happy
Blessing Nathan and Hannah D. on their fourth anniversary; running into Gigi Z., her mom, and her aunt at Panera (where, as Mike B. knows, everyone hangs out); finding out that Jerry and Maggie B, still know how to change a ‘tar’ and Rob and Becky T. still know how to party (with ZZ Top, nonetheless!); checking out the Grotto at Rigel T.’s place; hearing that Michael J. made his dramatic debut as Sugar Cookie #1; starting the car on frosty mornings.
An unworthy priest,
Aidan