Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
This coming 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.
Fasting Days
Wednesday, July 22, and Friday, July 24
Daily Services
Wednesday July 22-Friday, July 24: Orthros 4am; Vespers 5pm (but there will not be any daily services on Monday, July 20, or Tuesday, July 21; 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 21
Inquirer’s Class 7pm
Wednesday, July 22
Divine Liturgy 6am
Saturday, July 25
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, July 26 Eighth Sunday of St Matthew
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Church School Registration
The 2026-27 Church School year begins Sunday, September 6th. Children aged 3-12, by September 1st of this year, will be in The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Program, and children aged 13-18, by September 1st of this year, will be in the Youth Group. Please note that all children aged 3-18 will use the same registration link, which is available in the email version of the newsletter.
Parents must complete an individual registration form for each child. If you plan to have your child participate in CGS or Youth Group, they must be registered; this is a rule that has been established by our Archdiocese. Details regarding orientations, graduations, and upcoming dates will be communicated via email to parents of registered children.
(If you are relatively new to St. John's and would like more info on our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Church School Program, please go to the following website: www.cgsusa.org.)
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
Last 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 the email newsletter 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
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.
Our Arch Episcopal Vicar, Father Calinic Berger, will be visiting our parish on the weekend of August 29-30. On Saturday, August 29, at 4pm, we will have an Update Presentation on Where We Are in our temple program, then after Great Vespers at 6pm, we will dedicate a cross on the site of the altar for our new temple. Refreshments and music will follow. Father Calinic will be with us for the services on Sunday morning, August 30, and then, that evening, we will begin the Annual Vigil for St Eanswythe at 6pm. Just prior to the Vigil, we will unveil a very special surprise in the nave. You won’t want to miss any of that weekend, so please be sure and be present as often as you can.
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
When the new Liturgical Year begins on Tuesday, September 1, we will no longer offer Birthday, Name Day, and Anniversary Blessings at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy. Children will have their birthdays and name days recognized in Church School; if adults wish to have a birthday or name day or anniversary blessing (apart from the 5/10 year dates) they will be able to have that done on the first Sunday of the month when we offer travel blessings and bless devotional items. Offering birthday, name day, and anniversary blessings at the conclusion of the Liturgy made sense when we were a much smaller community, but now that our parish has grown significantly there are just too many people who wish to participate, so we need to find new ways to meet those needs.