Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
This coming Friday, January 27, we will offer The Service for the Victims of Abortion. By Orthodox standards, the service is pretty short, but we will start promptly at 7:00 p.m. and we will offer up to the Most Holy Trinity our prayers for everyone who has been a victim of this great moral evil. We will also be collecting supplies for Bastrop Pregnancy Resource Center (www.bastropprc.org). Lindsey B. volunteers with the center and she has provided us with a list of things they need. The list includes baby monitors, pacifiers, books for babies age 2 and under, books for moms on pregnancy and baby care, space heaters, and baby washcloths. So please buy a number of those items and bring them with you to the service on the 27th.
Our Calendar
Fasting
Wednesday, January 25, and Friday, January 27
Daily Services
Monday, January 23 - Friday, January 27
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 First, Third, Sixth, and Ninth Hours this week
on ZOOM. The schedule is below:
1st hour: 6:45 a.m.
3rd hour: 8:45 a.m.
6th hour: 11:45 a.m.
9th hour: 3:45 p.m.
The login information is available in the emailed version of the newsletter.
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: Monday to Friday at 12:00 p.m.
If you would like to listen in, use the link to join the Telegram group shared in the emailed version of the newsletter.
Tuesday, January 24
Parish Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m.
This group will meet in the Parish House.
Orthodoxy 101
Orthodoxy 101 at 7:00 p.m.
Topic: Orthodoxy 101
This group will meet in the narthex of the Long Hall and online. Please see the emailed version of the newsletter for login information.
Thursday, January 26
Bible Study at 7:00 p.m.
The login information is available in the emailed version of the newsletter.
Saturday, January 28
St. Thomas School at 4:00 p.m.
Great Vespers at 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, January 29 Sunday of The Canaanite Woman
Orthros 8am
Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Membership Update
This Sunday we made Sam K. and Brandon, Cara, and Kennedy M.catechumens. Please welcome all these folks to our community and let them know that you will be praying for them as they prepare to be fully received into the Church.
St. Thomas School
On Saturday, January 28, Father Andrew Wilson will lead the discussion of Chapter Twenty in Volume Two, “Salvation as Deification”
In order to participate online, send an email to remote.meetings@theforerunner.org by this coming Thursday, January 26. You will also need to keep your camera on during the session.
coming up
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.
Feast of The Presentation of the Lord
On Thursday, February 2, we will celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple. We will offer Great Vespers on Wednesday, February 1, at 7:00 p.m. On Thursday, the day of the feast, we will serve Orthros at 4:30 a.m. and Divine Liturgy at 6:00 a.m. Please join us as we wrap up the beautiful forty day festal season that we started back on December 25.
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 via the link shared in the emailed version of the newsletter.
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
When the priests are processing through the nave during the Great Entrance, everyone is welcome to touch their vestments as an act of prayer. However, please do not grab hold of the vestments as this could cause an accident. Parents and grandparents, please be sure that your children understand that they are to simply hold out their hand and touch the vestments rather than try to hold on to them.
Things That Make Priests Happy
Every year, we give out awards during The House Blessing Season, so, see the emailed version of the newsletter for The Final Round of The 2023 Housies. Stay tuned for the 2024 Awards in Next Year’s The Happy Priest!
an unworthy priest,
aidan