Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
This coming Sunday, July 19, we will have our Annual Blessing of Vehicles at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy. We will process around the parking lots and bless all the cars, trucks, and motorcycles, so clean up your ride and be here to get your blessing.
Fasting Days
Wednesday, July 15, and Friday, July 17
Daily Services
Monday, July 13-Friday, July 17: Orthros 4am; Vespers 5pm (but there will not be any daily vespers on Friday, July 17; 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, July 14
Inquirer’s Class 7pm
Wednesday, July 15
Divine Liturgy 6am
Saturday, July 18
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, July 19 Sixth Sunday of St Matthew
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
The Online Diocesan Catechetical Academy
Our on-line diocesan High School Catechism will be offering two courses this year (for all interested teens in the 9th-12th grades): [i] Our perennial "Catechism Boot Camp," being a one-year, systematic, adult-level catechism program, and [ii] “Great Narratives of the Old Testament: A Journey to Wisdom,” being a survey of the great figures of the Old Testament, interpreted in the light of Christ and applicable to the challenges of life. A student may enroll in one of the two classes, and for each there will be eight one-hour classes in the fall, and eight in the Spring. Cost is $125/year (discounts for additional teens from the same family). The program is for any high-school age student interested, but credit will be provided for those in a home-school consortium. To register, use this link: https://stacollege.org/courses/dc2025/
Adult Education for 2026-2027
This past week, we distributed a catalogue that describes all the Adult Education Offerings that the parish will sponsor in the coming year. That catalogue is attached to this edition of The Happy Parish, and it’s also now available on Discord. Please go ahead and look over all the opportunities for spiritual growth that are described in that catalogue, and plan on participating whenever you can.
Coming Up
Our sister parishes, St Elias and St Gregory, will be offering Vacation Church School in July. Children entering Pre-K4 through 5th grade are invited. The program will run July 27–30 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM. You can register here: https://steliasaustin.breezechms.com/form/9f2710
On Sunday, July 26, we will have our third Safety and Security Rehearsal for the year. This will be for a severe weather event, so, at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, we will all get down on the floor before we exit the buildings and walk to the Rally Signs on the south end of the property.
The Dormition Fast begins Saturday, August 1, and runs through Friday, August 14. During that fasting season we will serve the Paraclesis to the Mother of God on eight weeknights (check the website calendar for specific dates). The service will begin at 7pm; it runs less than an hour; we should all be able to make at least one of those lovely services.
Our sister parish, Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Parish, will celebrate its feast day with Great Vespers at 6pm on Wednesday, August 5, and, on Thursday, August 6, with Orthros at 9am and Divine Liturgy at 10am. Lunch will follow the services on August 6, and everyone is invited to participate.
On Saturday, August 15, we will wrap up the Dormition Fast with the greatest feast of the Most Holy Theotokos, Her Dormition. On Friday, August 14, we will offer Great Vespers with The Lamentations for the Mother of God, and, the following morning, we will serve Orthros at 6am and Divine Liturgy at 8am. Please plan on joining us during this beautiful celebration.
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.
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
We have parish photographers who are authorized to take pictures during our services. However, unless you have a blessing from our priest, we ask that you refrain from taking photograhs during the liturgy or weddings or baptisms or chrismations. This can be very distracting, and we do not want to distract anyone from the worship of the Most Holy Trinity.