Brothers and Sisters,
Happy Feast!
There is a lot going on during the month of June. Please read carefully through this week’s edition of The Happy Parish to find out about all that is happening.
Speaking of which, this coming Sunday, June 7, will be the first Sunday of the month. That means, right after the Divine Liturgy, over at the chanter’s stand, we will be blessing icons, prayer ropes, and crosses as well as anyone who will be traveling during June. You will also need to check the Lost and Found (we have had to add a trash bag to hold all the stuff, and we don’t want you to miss something that’s important to you).
Fasting Days
There is no fasting during the week after Pentecost (Wha-Hoo!)
Daily Services
Monday, June 1-Friday, June 5: Orthros 4am; Vespers 5pm (in general, if you plan on attending one of the daily services, it’s a good idea to check with Father Aidan the day before to make sure the schedule has not changed).
Tuesday, June 2
Inquirer’s Class 7pm
Wednesday, June 3
Divine Liturgy 6am
Saturday, June 6
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, June 7 The Sunday of All Saints
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Coming Up
This year, The Apostle’s Fast will run from Monday, June 8, through Sunday, June 28. That’s a bit longer than usual, and the fasting requirements for the season are a bit more complicated than Great Lent or Nativity Lent, so it’s good to be ready ahead of time. During The Apostle’s Fast, the normal fasting discipline (abstaining from meat, fish with backbones, dairy products, oil, wine, and hard liquor) is kept on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, there is a blessing for oil and wine; on Saturdays and Sundays, there is a blessing for fish, oil, and wine. Women who are pregnant or nursing, children who are still growing, and anyone with a medically-prescribed diet should not try and keep the full fast. If you need to modify the fasting guidelines in any way, speak to one of our priests as soon as possible.
During The Apostle’s Fast, we offer The Akathist to the Apostles on Wednesday evenings at 7pm. That’s great time to pray for all of our loved ones and friends who are not yet part of the Church or who have fallen away from the Church. The akathist will be offered on June 10, 17, and 24, and we should all do our best to make at least one of those services.
Our parish feast day, The Nativity of the Forerunner, is Wednesday, June 24. On Tuesday, June 23, we will offer Great Vespers at 7pm, and, on the day of the feast, we will serve Orthros at 4am and Divine Liturgy at 6am. But on Saturday, June 20, we will have our Annual St John’s Festival where we Beat the Bounds and serve up locusts and honey and enjoy a King Herod Pinata. The fun will start right after Great Vespers on that Saturday evening, so don’t miss out on any of it.
On Monday, June 29, we will wrap up The Apostle’s Fast with the Feast of our Patriarchate, Sts Peter and Paul. On Sunday afternoon, June 28, no later than 1pm, we will serve Great Vespers, and then on Monday morning, we will offer Orthros at 4am and Divine Liturgy at 6am. Please plan on joining us during those festal services.
Working on the Building
If you want us to get into that new temple as soon as possible, there are four things you can do this week:
Join us in offering The Akathist for a New Temple each week. Copies are available in the bookstore and online; a recording is available on Discord, and there is a group that meets on Discord each Friday at noon to offer the service.
Join us for the 6am Wednesday Morning Divine Liturgy (since most of June will be taken up with The Apostle’s Fast, we will only serve this liturgy once, on Wednesday, June 3). At the conclusion of the Liturgy, you will have the opportunity to reverence our relic of St Eanswythe of Folkestone, the Patroness of our Building Program.
Check to make sure that you’re current on your Three Year Commitment to our Building Program. If you have not make a commitment to our Temple Fund, please check with our Finance Guy, Ray W.; he’ll get you set up.
Take out a (totally free) subscription to our Substack, Come See Something Beautiful, and forward each of the three weekly posts to absolutely everyone you know.
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.