Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
One of the most beautiful feasts of the year is the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God—and this year the season will be especially lovely because we will be blessed with a new festal choir! The services of the feast will begin at 6pm on Wednesday, August 14, with Great Vespers and The Lamentations for the Theotokos, and, then, on Thursday, August 15, we will serve Orthros at 6am and Divine Liturgy at 8am. The festal choir will sing at the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, August 18, and you do not want to miss that service. We will see you there.
There are still two Paraclesis Services left during this short fasting season; our hope is that everyone will be able to participate in at least one of these beautiful services, so plan on joining us Monday or Tuesday evening at 7pm, especially if you haven’t yet been able to.
Before the Feast of the Dormition on Thursday, August 15, the Archdiocese expects all of us to make our confession, so there’s still time to get that done. Just check with one of our priests to make an appointment.
Our Calendar
Fasting Days
The Dormition Fast continues. During this Fast, which runs through Wednesday, August 14th , the eve of the great feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, we observe the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, fish, milk, cheese, eggs, wine and olive oil) Monday through Friday with a blessing for wine and olive oil on Saturday and Sunday—and, of course, Friday, August 16, is a regular fasting day.
Daily Services
Monday, August 12--Friday, August 16, Orthros 5am and Vespers, 5pm (but please check the schedule for the festal services (also, if you wish to attend the daily services, it’s always a good idea to check the day before to make sure the services will be offered).
Fr. Andrew, Seth Hart, and Matthew Groh and many other folks continue to broadcast daily readings from spiritual books online. They are now reading “On The Holy Spirit” by St Basil the Great. 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
Monday, August 12
The Paraclesis Service 7pm
Tuesday, August 13
The Paraclesis Service 7pm
Wednesday, August 14
Great Vespers for the Dormition with Lamentations for the Mother of God 7pm
Thursday, August 15
The Feast of the Dormition
Orthros 6am
Divine Liturgy 8am
The Bible Study, New Testament Edition 7pm; you can access this group on Discord
Saturday, August 17
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, August 18
8th Sunday of St Matthew
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Tuesday, August 20
Orthodoxy 101 7pm; you can also access the group on Discord
Thursday, August 22
The Bible Study, Old Testament Edition 7pm; you can access this group on Discord
St Thomas School
On Saturday, August 17, St Thomas School will be hosting our next Catechumen Cohort Check-In. This session is designed for all the catechumens, their sponsors, and for everyone is in interested in becoming a catechumen or a sponsor. We will be looking at the calendar together, answering everyone’s questions, and generally just getting a read on how everyone is progressing on their journey to full reception in the Church. Please plan on joining us at 4pm in the Parish House.
Coming Up
Our All Night Vigil for St Eanswythe of Folkestone will mark the beginning of the Three Year Pledge Portion of our Capital Campaign. That will happen on Friday, August 30. We sent out a letter with all the details this past week, but, just in case, you missed it, you can read up on everything here.
Sunday, September 1, marks the beginning of the Liturgical Year, and that is also the Sunday when we will begin Church School. The archdiocese is now emphasizing that all children need to be officially registered in order to participate in Church School, so, if you haven’t already done so, please read through the registration information in the next section of this newsletter.
This year our Fall Theological Seminar promises to be a whole lot of fun. We’re going to be reading a book by a Protestant pastor; the book is called Stability, and it’s available in the bookstore. But we’re not only going to be talking about the spiritual advantages—and challenges—of sticking it out in a particular community, we’re also going to be talking with folks in our parish who have done just that. Below is the schedule for the readings and the interviews, but plan now to join us in the parish house at 7pm on Wednesday, August 28. We will be getting together each Wednesday evening through the start of Nativity Lent, and, while we will have an online option available for those folks who live at a distance, let’s not forget that the conversation is always richer and more meaningful if you are actually present.
Aug 28 Introduction: Stability, History, and Holy Orthodoxy
Sept 4 Reading Assignment: A True Story. Guest: Pat K.
Sept 11 Reading Assignment: Introduction. Guest: Vera P.
Sept 18 Reading Assignment: Chapter 1. Stability and God. Guests: Rob and Becky T.
Sept 25 Reading Assignment: Chapter 2. Stability and Self. Guests: Matt and Valerie G.
Oct 2 Reading Assignment: Chapter 3. Stability and Relationships Guest: Rick K.
Oct 9 Reading Assignment: Chapter 4. Stability and Place. Guests: Jerry and Maggie B.
Oct 16 Reading Assignment: Chapter 5. Stability and Change. Guests: Chris and Sarah S.
Oct 23 Reading Assignment: Chapter 6. Practices of Stability. Guest: Baker G.
Oct 30 Reading Assignment: Chapter 7. Where Do We Stay From Here? p 125-134. Guest: Mary K.
Nov 6 Reading Assignment: Chapter 7. Where Do We Stay From Here? p 134-148. Guests: John and Lindsey B.
Nov 13 Conclusion: The Final Stability
Church School Registration
St. John Families,
It is now time to wrap up church school registration for the 2024-25 school year. If you intend for your children to participate in church school this upcoming year we ask that you register them by this coming Tuesday, August 13th. As a reminder, children need to be at least 3 years of age by September 1, 2024 and potty trained to register for Level 1, 6 years of age to register for Level 2, and 9 years of age to register for Level 3. SOYO (youth) is for ages 13-18. For questions about CGS (Levels 1-3), feel free to reach out to Sandi A. For questions about SOYO, you can reach out to Father Aidan or Father Andrew. The new CGS calendar is now posted to our parish website but please note that we have an exciting new change!! CGS will now be offered at its regular time (8:15 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Sunday morning) for the first three Sundays of each month. We are so pleased to be able to offer a third Sunday of church school to our children and look forward to spending more time with them. The link for church school registration can be found in the email version of the newsletter.
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
Our iconographers have told us that our icons will last much, much longer if we will only touch or kiss the outer frame of the image. So, when you are reverencing the icons on the iconostasis or on the icon stands, just touch or kiss the image on the side of the board or on the red line that runs along the outer frame--our grandchildren and great grandchildren will thank you.
Capital Campaign Countdown Column
Whatever is obtained as a result of long and persistent prayer will remain.
-St John Climacus
We are now just five weeks away from our three year pledge campaign that will begin on the Feast of St Eanswythe, August 31. If you would like to learn more about the project, please read through the FAQ that is attached to this newsletter, but, to help us prepare for this historic effort, this week’s Countdown Column comes to us from the Manager of our Bookstore, Christ the Lightgiver, Stephanie C.
When thinking about the beginning of a season of fundraising for a new temple, I have found it helpful to reflect on where we have been and where we hope to go in relation to Christ the Lightgiver Bookstore. Father Aidan provided this brief history of the bookstore in our publication, The Lamppost, a few years ago, and I think it is worthy of rereading it as we anticipate the future of our parish and our little bookstore. “Christ the Lightgiver Bookstore started in Austin, Texas; it was owned by a man named Randall Trainer. In the late 1990’s, when St John’s was located in a strip mall off of Parmer, Randall converted to Holy Orthodoxy in our community; he then closed the bookstore, but he donated a lot of the stock and many of the furnishings to the parish. When St John’s moved to Cedar Park, we decided to re-open Christ the Lightgiver. We were meeting in the parish house, so we enclosed the garage and converted it to a bookstore. A great many people joined the parish as a result of our bookstore ministry. Randall Trainer managed the store for several years, but he eventually moved to Odessa to care for his aging parents. The store then had several different managers in the space of a few years, but, when we remodeled the parish house, we invited Stephanie C. to take over Christ the Lightgiver.”
When my family and I started visiting St. Johns, one of the first places we found ourselves in was the bookstore. It was magical. We had access to things that we had never even seen or heard of before, and it was a place of gathering and hospitality. The goal of our bookstore continues to be just that for our parishioners and inquirers. What gets me excited about the upcoming fundraising campaign is the fact that we, as a community, are committing to extending hospitality and Holy Orthodoxy to Cedar Park and Central Texas. This is a place for everyone. My hope is that Christ the Lightgiver Bookstore can continue to be a place that embodies this for our parish community, and in extension, our local community. This will be a really exciting time for all of us at St. Johns!
-With Joy
Stephanie
an unworthy priest
aidan