Brothers and Sisters,
Happy Feast!
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Program needs our help! We had a great response to the last materials making session, and we will be having two additional sessions before the Church School year gets underway: the first session will be today, Sunday, August 16, and the second will be Sunday, August 30. Just head over to the parish house towards the end of Fellowship Hour, and Sandi A. will get you all fixed up—she also has lots of ‘take-home’ projects, so, even if you can’t hang around at the parish and make materials, you can still assist our hard-working catechists and assistants by taking a project home.
Fasting Days
Wednesday, August 19, and Friday, August 21
Daily Services
Monday August 17-Friday, August 21: 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, August 18
Inquirer’s Class
Saturday, August 22
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, August 23 Twelfth Sunday of St Matthew
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
The Bible Study New Testament Edition 1pm
A Visit from our Arch Episcopal Vicar
Our Arch Episcopal Vicar, Father Calinic Berger, will be visiting our parish on the weekend of August 29-30. Below is the schedule for all the events. Since we do not have a bishop in our diocese, Father Calinic visits annually as the vicar—or representative—of our metropolitan. Here are a few highlights from the schedule: 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, Father Calinic will hold a question and answer session about all things archdiocesan. At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning, August 30, we will dedicate a cross on the site of the altar for our new temple, and then, that evening, we will begin the Annual Vigil for St Eanswythe at 9pm. 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.
Friday, August 28
Great Vespers for The Beheading of the Forerunner 5pm
Saturday, August 29
6am Orthros
8am Divine Liturgy
4pm Presentation to Parish about Where We are in our Temple Project
5:45pm Ninth Hour and Great Vespers followed by Question and Answer Session with Father Calinic
Sunday, August 30
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am with Blessing of the Cross
Vigil for St Eanswythe 9pm
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
Recently, 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 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
A good weekly spiritual discipline is to donate canned goods to Hill Country Community Ministries or baby supplies to the Williamson County Women’s Center. Just place your donations in the basket in the narthex, and we’ll get them to the right destination.
The weekend of August 29-30 will be a busy one, but, after Father Calinic’s visit and The Cross Blessing and the All Night Vigil for St Eanswythe (and The Temple Project Surprise), we will also celebrate the Feast of the Indiction on Tuesday, September 1. The Indiction marks the beginning of the Liturgical Year, so we will offer Great Vespers at 7pm on Monday, August 31, and, Tuesday, September 1, we will serve Orthros at 4am and Divine Liturgy at 6am. Join us as we offer the New Year to the Most Holy Trinity.
Registration for St. Justin Orthodox Co-op is now open for the 2026–27 year. The co-op brings Orthodox children together to encounter the beauty of the Church through the lives of the saints, hymns and prayers, history and geography, sacred art and handwork, and the celebration of the Great Feasts. The co-op serves children ages 3–10 and meets on Thursdays at Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, beginning September 3rd. There is room for many more families—please reach out to Natali P. with any questions, to learn more, or to find out how you can get involved! You can also use the link provided in the email version of the newsletter.
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 (We do not offer this Liturgy during fasting seasons or when there is a feast that falls during the week, so the next Wednesday Morning Divine Liturgy will be on Wednesday, September 23).
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.