Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
This coming Saturday, January 24, His Eminence, Metropolitan SABA, will be at our parish , and when he’s here, he will ordain Seth H. to the Holy Diaconate and tonsure Demetry Z. a Reader. Orthros will begin that morning at 9am; the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy will begin at 10am. Lunch and an opportunity to visit with His Eminence will follow. We’re expecting lots and lots of visitors, so arrive early, and, if you’re able park off site to free up spaces for others.
And don't forget: There is life after this Saturday's exciting event! We will be offering Great Vespers at the regular time on Saturday evening, and we will follow our regular Sunday morning schedule on January 25 (where Father Deacon Seraphim will serve his first Divine Liturgy).
Fasting Days
Wednesday, January 21, and Friday, January 23
Daily Services
Monday, January 19-Friday, January 23: Orthros 5am; Vespers 5pm (please note that 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 Hymns of Paradise by St Ephrem the Syrian. 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, January 20
The Inquirer’s Class 7pm
Saturday, January 24
Orthros 9am
Hierarchical Divine Liturgy 10am
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, January 25 Zaccheus Sunday
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
The Bible Study, New Testament Edition 1pm
Coming Up
Abortion is the great evil of our time, and each year, in January, we offer The Service for the Victims of Abortion. The victims include not only the unborn children who have died, but the men and women who are participant in those deaths, the siblings who never had a chance to meet their sisters and brothers, and our entire culture that has been denied the perspectives and insights and contributions of those we did not allow to be born. In addition to praying for all those folks, we will also be collecting supplies (Baby hygiene products; Diapers size 4, 5, 6; Baby healthcare kits; Sippy cups; Wide neck baby bottles; Baby outfits size 3-6 months) for the Wilco Women’s Center (formerly the Williamson County Pregnancy Center). Please join us at 7pm on Friday, January 30.
On Monday, February 2, we will wrap up this forty day festal season with The Feast of the Presentation of our Lord and Master in the Temple. We will serve Great Vespers on Sunday, February 1, no later than 1pm, and then, on the day of the feast, we will offer Orthros at 5am and Divine Liturgy at 7am. Please join us as we bring this joyous season to a conclusion.
The reports for our Annual Meeting on Sunday, February 8, are now available. Please read through them in the weeks ahead. It’s a great way to find out about all the great things that are going on in our parish. You can find the reports in the announcement channel on Discord.
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
When you greet a Metropolitan, you put your right hand over your left, and you say, “Bless, Your Eminence”. Let’s also bear in mind that His Eminence has a very soft voice, so we will need to listen attentively and keep the noise to a minimum when he answers our questions after the Divine Services and lunch.
an unworthy priest
aidan