Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
Our Fall Festival will be this coming Saturday, November 15. 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 T. 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.
Dr. Andrew Richardson, the lead archaeologist of the team that found and authenticated St. Eanswythe’s relics, will be joining us at St John’s for Great Vespers on Saturday, November 15th. He will be with us again on Sunday morning, November 16th, for the Divine Liturgy. After Fellowship Hour at 1pm, he will present the first of two talks about the Finding Eanswythe Project, Anglo-Saxon Kent, Folkestone, and his experience with our Princess and the whole project. The first talk will be 30-45 mins and will function as an introduction for the longer 1.5 hour talk which he will present on Monday, November 17th, at 7pm.
Fasting Days
Wednesday, November 12, and Friday, November 14. The Nativity Fast begins on Saturday, November 15 and runs through Wednesday, December 24. According to our Archdiocese’s Calendar, the Fast is divided into two periods: (1) November 15th through December 15th when the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, fish, wine, and olive oil) is observed on Wednesdays and Fridays, with a blessing for wine, olive oil and fish on other days; and (2) the subsequent period after December 15th, including that 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. Wednesday, November 12, and Friday, November 14. The Nativity Fast begins Saturday, November 15, and runs through, Wednesday, December 24. Women who are pregnant or nursing, children who are still growing, and anyone with a medically supervised diet is not to keep the full fast. Many American Orthodox Christians also obtain a blessing to celebrate Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 27). If you need a blessing to modify the fast in any way, please check with one of our priests
Daily Services
Monday, November 10-Friday, November 14: Orthros 5am; Vespers 5pm; Wed, Nov 12, Orthros will begin at 4am, and Divine Liturgy will be served at 5:30am (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 Warfareby 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, November 11
The Inquirer’s Class 7pm
Wednesday, November 12
The Fall Theological Seminar 7pm
Saturday, November 15
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, November 16 Feast of St Matthew
Orthros 7:30am Baptisms and Chrismations will be offered between Orthros and Divine Liturgy
Church School 8:15am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Youth 1pm
Monday, November 17
Dr Andrew Richardson Lecture 7pm
Coming Up
We will be offering the Nativity Paraclesis on Wednesday evenings throughout the Fast. The service will begin at 7pm; there will be five of those services, and our hope is that we will all be able to participate in at least one, so please plan on joining us (it’s an especially nice way to begin the Thanksgiving Holiday). To make these services even more meaningful, we are encouraged everyone to bring canned goods for the Hill County Community Ministries basket.
The archdiocese expects all of us to make our confession before Christmas. That holy mystery is available on Saturday evening after Great Vespers and just about any other time with a specific appointment.
Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, the Parish Council will be meeting on the third Tuesday of the month, November 18, rather than the fourth Tuesday.
On Friday, November 21, we will celebrate the Feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple. On Thursday, November 20, we will offer Great Vespers at 7pm; on the day of the feast, we will serve Orthros at 5am and Divine Liturgy at 7am.
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
Since our seating is so limited, if we are able, we should sit on the floor during the homily. Unless they are prevented from doing so by an injury or some other disabling condition, children and teenagers should always sit on the floor. Even when it appears that everyone has a spot, we never know who might come through the door or who might later need to sit in one of the chairs.
This Week’s Recommended Baby Name
Since we have so many babies, all of us at One Take Productions thought it would be helpful if we highlighted a saints’ name each week to help with the process of name selection. So, straight out of the Synaxarion, this week’s Certified Orthodox Baby Name is Cybi.
an unworthy priest
aidan