Brothers and Sisters,
This coming Wednesday, we will celebrate the Feast of St Nicholas. Great Vespers will be served on Tuesday evening at 7pm; on Wednesday, December 6, we will offer Orthros at 5am and Divine Liturgy at 7am. St Nicholas is the patron of all children, so this is a wonderful opportunity for all parents and grandparents and godparents to pray for the children in their lives. Also, please don’t forget that the St Nicholas Box is now in the narthex: You may bring a new, unwrapped toy to place in the box, and all the toys we collect will be donated to Blue Santa following the festal services on December 6.
Speaking of toys, we are also purchasing new toys for the Play Room in the Parish House. If you would like to see the list of what is still needed, just contact Dawn C., Marla P., or Khouria Cynthia W.
Please double check the 2024 House Blessing Schedule at the conclusion of the email edition of The Happy Priest; we want to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to get their home blessed in the coming year.
Our Calendar
The Nativity Fast
The Nativity Fast continues. This fasting season 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.
Daily Services
Monday November 27—Friday, December 1: Orthros 5am; Vespers 5pm (in general, if you plan on attending the in-person services, it’s always a good idea to check the day before and make sure the regular schedule will be observed). Also, Seth Hart and friends will be at the online chanter’s stand, offering the First, Third, Sixth, and Ninth Hours this week: 1st hour & 3rd hour: 8:30 a.m.; 6th hour & 9th hour: 3:30 p.m.
Fr. Andrew, Seth Hart, and Matthew Groh and many other folks continue to broadcast daily readings from spiritual books online. They are now reading “The Hidden Man of the Heart” by Elder Zacharias. The schedule is as follows: M-F at 12pm.
Also, our online team will now be reading the Daily Synaxarion on Discord. Just look for this channel: #synaxarion
Tuesday, December 5
Great Vespers 7pm
Wednesday, December 6
The Feast of St Nicholas
Orthros 5am
Divine Liturgy 7am
The Nativity Paraclesis 7pm
Thursday, December 7
The Bible Study, Old Testament Edition 7pm You can access this group on Discord
Saturday, December 9
Youth Church School 4pm
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, December 10
The Tenth Sunday of St Luke
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
St Thomas School
On Saturday, December 9, Baker G. will be leading discussion the chapter of Volume IV entitled, “The Divine Liturgy” (pgs 146-155). Online access is available on Discord; like to participate online, you still need to sign-up ahead of time. Just send an email to remote.meetings@theforerunner.org by Thursday, December 7, to reserve your spot.
Coming Up
During the Nativity Fast, we always offer the Nativity Paraclesis on Wednesday evenings at 7pm. After this week, there are two more of those services—on December 13 and 20—so all of us should be able to make at least one of them. So please go ahead and note on your calendar the services in which you will be able to participate.
The Archdiocese expects us all to make our confession at least once during Nativity Lent. In our community, confession is offered on Saturday evenings after Great Vespers, or just about any other time by appointment. We will not be hearing confessions on Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24, but, between now and the end of December, all you need to do is show up on Saturday night or contact one of our priests to arrange a specific time to participate in this Holy Mystery.
Since the Feast of Nativity falls on a Monday this year, we will offer the Royal Hours for the feast on Friday, December 22 at noon. Great Vespers for Nativity will be served no later than 1pm on Sunday, December 24, Christmas Eve, after a very brief, coffee only, Fellowship Hour. The services for the feast will continue on Monday, December 25, with Orthros at 8am and Divine Liturgy at 10am (and no Fellowship Hour after the Liturgy). Please plan on joining us as often as you can for the services.
At the conclusion of the email edition of the newsletter, you’ll find the schedule for our 2024 House Blessings. Please read through the schedule, and, if your name is not on the list, please contact Father Aidan right away. If your name is on the list, put that date in your phone or write it on your calendar or magnetize it to the refrigerator—or do all three. That way, you won’t be surprised when a guy in a black dress shows up at the door with a Holy Water Sprinkler.
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
The playground is one of the most lovely features on our property. However, it has always been our custom to stay off the playground while the Divine Liturgy is being offered. If very young children need to get outside and move around a bit, then there is plenty of room to do that without accessing the playground. Let’s keep that special area as a blessing that we partake of after the Divine Liturgy has concluded.
an unworthy priest
aidan