Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
Sandi A. is very close to becoming the only active, fully accredited Orthodox Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Trainer in this country (Go, Sandi!). One of the things that she needs our help with is finishing up the materials for the different classrooms. So please mark your calendars and put a note in your phones and reserve this coming Sunday, October 26. On that day, Sandi will have all sorts of projects for all sorts of skill levels all laid out. We will just need to show up and go to work, so let’s help Sandi—and our parish—achieve this important goal.
Fasting Days
Wednesday, October 22, and Friday, October 24
Daily Services
Monday, October 20-Wednesday, October 22; Orthros 5am; Vespers 5pm; Divine Liturgy Wednesday, October 22 at 6am (there will be no daily services Thursday and Friday of this week; also, it’s always a good idea to check the day before and make sure nothing has come up to change the regular schedule). However, Fr. Andrew, Seth Hart, and many other folks continue to broadcast daily readings from spiritual books online. They are now reading Unseen Warfare by Theophan the Recluse. The schedule is as follows: M-F at 12pm.
In addition to the daily Synaxarion readings posted in the #synaxarion channel on Discord, the online team is now posting daily Bible Readings that will allow you to read through the Bible in a year. These readings are posted in the #bible-365 channel.
Tuesday, October 21
The Inquirer’s Class 7pm
Wednesday, October 22
The Fall Theological Seminar 7pm
Saturday, October 25
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, October 26 Sixth Sunday of St Luke
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Free Estate Planning Seminar
"If you died today..." Do you know what would happen to your stuff? Would your children know how to carry out your wishes? Would they have the tools they need to settle your affairs with ease? Do you have the knowledge and legal authority you need to carry out your parents' affairs? Do these questions seem overwhelming? - Fear not.)
The Saint Johanna Myrrhbearers have arranged an Estate Planning Seminar with local Attorney, Tom Fortenberry with the Silverleaf Legal Group—and all who are in attendance will gain access to a FREE one-hour private consultation with Tom in his Cedar Park office.
The Myrrhbearers will be on hand to serve some light refreshments. The Seminar will take place in the Parish House on Saturday, November 1 from 3:30 to 5:30 pm. If you do plan to attend, please send Valerie an email to let her know - Tom's team wants to have enough information packets for those in attendance.
Coming Up
This past month, you should have received a copy of our Annual Stewardship Letter. If that did not show up in your email box, it is attached to this week’s newsletter. Our goal is to get everyone to make a commitment on Realm by October 31. That way, the parish council can make any necessary adjustments before we head into the New Year. If you have trouble accessing Realm or if you have any finance related questions, just ask our Finance Guy, Ray W.
The Fall Theological Seminar continues each Wednesday night at 7pm through November 12. Dr H. is leading the discussion of David Ford’s book Women and Men in Early Christianity; the group is covering one chapter each week, and there are watch parties (they call them watch groups, but they’re actually watch parties) in Killeen and Bastrop. Of course, the coolest way to participate is to show up at the parish house, so pick up a copy of the book at Christ the Lightgiver, and get in on the fun.
On Saturday, November 1, we will be celebrating the Feast of St Raphael of Brooklyn. St Raphael is the "Good Shepherd of the Lost Sheep in America" which means he is the perfect intercessor for all of us who have family members and friends who are either not yet part of the Church or who have fallen away from the Faith. On that Saturday, we will be offering Orthros at 6am and Divine Liturgy at 8am, so you can still pray for all the folks on your list and still get all your normal Saturday Stuff done.
Rigel T. is planning something new for our Fall Festival. In addition to the annual Talent Show, we will be doing an artist and artisan market. We have approval from the parish council to sell things, so all artists and artisans are welcome to apply for a booth. If you have a child who is prolific in some art or craft, we invite them to join in as well. The number of booths is limited, so please submit your application by October 25. If you would like to do something for the variety show, you need to get the details and sign up ahead of time since there will be no walk-ons. Here is the agenda for the festivities: 3:00–5:30 pm Arts & Crafts Market 4:00–5:30 pm Variety Show 6:00–7:00 pm Vespers (all welcome) 7:00–9:00 pm Live music (Family Band), food & drinks, icon drawing with Baker Galloway. Rigel is also recruiting volunteers to help with setup, teardown. If you have questions or would like to sign up for any portion of the event, just get in touch with Rigel: rigelthurston@gmail.com.
Our Substack, Come See Something Beautiful, is now live, so please share it with everyone you know in as many ways as you can--and, of course, every last bit of any money raised goes to the temple. Here's a link: https://comeseesomethingbeautiful.substack.com
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
If you wish to receive communion during the Divine Liturgy, please remember that you must arrive no later than the gospel reading. Children who arrive late may come forward and receive the gifts; adults who arrive later than the gospel lesson must wait until the following week.
an unworthy priest
aidan