Brothers and Sisters,
At the Annual Meeting, we elected Christine Y. and Kyle D. to the parish council. Jennifer R. was also appointed to the council by Father Aidan. These three good folks join Bessie and Arun J., Elena C., Luke C., Steve G., Dawn C., and Michael C. who are currently serving. Please keep all these folks in your daily prayers as they work for our parish community.
Our next Safety and Security Rehearsal will be this coming Sunday, February 18. This rehearsal will be for a fire, so all we have to do is exit The Long Hall and The Parish House and walk to one of the Rally Signs out on the parking lots. It’s important that we don’t get in our cars and drive away, as that would obstruct any emergency vehicles and first responders trying to access our property. Also, the ushers will be counting to make sure that we all make it over to the Rally Signs, so please be patient and give them a few minutes to complete that important part of the program.
Our Calendar
Fasting Days
Wednesday, February 14, and Friday, February 16
Daily Services
Monday, Feb 12 - Friday, Feb 16
Orthros 5 am
Vespers 5 pm
(Please remember that 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 “Wounded By Love: The Life and Wisdom of St Porphyrios". The schedule is M-F at 12pm.
Also, our online team will now be reading the Daily Synaxarion on the #synaxarion channel.
Tuesday, February 13
Orthodoxy 101 7 pm at the Long Hall and on Discord
Thursday, February 15
The Bible Study, New Testament Edition 7pm on Discord
Saturday, February 17
St. Thomas School 4 pm
Great Vespers 6 pm
Sunday, February 18
The Sunday of the Canaanite Woman
Orthros 7:30 am
Church School 8:15 am
Between Orthros and the Divine Liturgy, Phae C. will be baptized. Please arrive early to join us for this Holy Mystery
Divine Liturgy 10 am
Safety and Security Rehearsal Immediately following the Divine Liturgy
Fellowship Hour will follow the rehearsal
St. Thomas School
On Saturday, February 17, Chris S. will be leading the discussion of chapter eight of Volume V entitled, “The Nativity Cycle”. 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, February 15, to reserve your spot.
Coming Up
It’s time to plan for summer camp! Every year, The Order of St Ignatius generously provides each parish in the archdiocese with scholarship money. This year, the Order will give St John’s $1,000 to be divided up among no more than 10 campers, but we need to sign up for this scholarship money by March 1. So, if your child is registered for Camp St Raphael, and you would like to access some of the scholarship money, send an email to Father Aidan as soon as possible and get on the list.
This year, the Triodion begins on Sunday, February 25, and Great Lent begins on Monday, March 18. Please take a look at the website calendar and start planning how you will fast and when you will make your confession. We also need to be thinking about which Lenten services we will attend, what kind of spiritual reading we want to do, how we will help others, and how much we want to increase our giving. If we will plan ahead, we will be able to take full advantage of these special seasons.
This year, the Saturdays of Souls fall on March 9 and March 30, as well as on April 6 and June 22. On those Saturdays, we pray for our departed friends and loved ones, but we also prepare for our departure from this life, and our Burial Society can help us with a lot of those practical details. Members of the society will be present on each Saturday, along with a representative from Beck Funeral Home, and they can answer all your questions and help get you started on that process that so very many of us just try to postpone. Since there are four Saturdays of Souls, our hope is that all of us will attend the Divine Services on at least one of those days, so look at your calendar and go ahead and pick a Saturday on which you can join us.
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
If you are the parent or grandparent of a young child, please remember that, whether you are outside or inside one of the buildings, you must be able to see that child at all times. If you need assistance with your children, please do not hesitate to ask, but it is not enough to simply assume that others in the parish will keep track of your child. Parenting styles differ, but, please remember that, when you are at church, the expectation of our community is that your child will be in your direct line of sight at all times.
An unworthy priest,
aidan