Brothers and Sisters,
Christ is Risen!
For almost three years now, one of the mainstays of our adult education program has been our weekly, online Bible Study. Those folks get together just about every Thursday night, and Father Andrew leads them in a slow reading of St Matthew’s Gospel. But starting this coming Thursday, the group will begin a new schedule: Father Andrew will continue to work through St Matthew’s Gospel on the first and third Thursdays, but, beginning, April 27, Father Aidan will start a slow study of the Book of Genesis. So, that’s the New Testament on the first and third Thursdays and the Old Testament on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month—and this would be a great time to join the group. Just click on the Discord link that’s available in the Our Calendar section of the emailed version of this newsletter.
One of the really fun features of life at St John’s during the Paschal Season is our Annual Talent Show. This year, the show will be on Sunday, April 30th, so if you play a musical instrument or do magic tricks or sing or tell stories or jokes or dance—or, really, do anything that brings joy to others—please consider participating in the show. If you have questions or need some specific equipment, please check with Rigel Thurston, but go ahead and sign up for your slot with this link: https://forms.gle/dJ37Trzm5eiCfbLv7
Before the Talent Show gets underway, we’re going to have a special presentation in the common room of the parish house from the Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center. These folks have visited our community before, and they have a great program on how to recognize and report child abuse. Of course, that’s not a topic most of us like to think about, but it’s something about which we all need to be knowledgeable, so head over to the parish house before you head over to the show, and we will not only be able to enjoy all the amazing talent in our community, but we will also learn how to keep all our children safe.
Our Calendar
Fasting Days
Monday, April 26 and Friday, April 28
Daily Services
Monday, April 24-Friday, April 28:
Orthros 5am
Vespers 5pm
Seth Hart and friends will be at the online chanter’s stand offering the First, Third, Sixth, and Ninth Hours this week.:
1st hour: 6:45 a.m.
3rd hour: 8:45 a.m.
6th hour: 11:45 a.m.
9th hour: 3:45 p.m.
Join the Daily Hours on Discord.
St. John Trapeza Readings
Fr. Andrew, Seth Hart, and Matthew Groh and many other folks continue to broadcast daily readings from spiritual books online. They are currently reading Commentary on Psalm 118 by St Theophan the Recluse. The schedule is as follows: M-F at 12pm.
Please see the emailed version of the newsletter for the link to join the Trapeza Readings on Discord.
Tuesday, April 25
Parish Council 7pm This group will meet in the Parish House
Orthodoxy 101 7pm This group will meet in the narthex of the Long Hall
You can access the group on Discord. Please see the emailed version of the newsletter for the link to join.
Wednesday, April 26
The Pascha Book Study 7pm
You can access the group on Discord using this link in the emailed version of the newsletter.
Thursday, April 27
The Bible Study 7pm
You can access the group on Discord using this link in the emailed version of the newsletter.
Saturday, April 29
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, April 30 The Holy Myrrhbearers
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon - 5th Sunday Potluck
Presentation by Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center Noon
Talent Show 1pm
Membership Update
On Pascha, Barbara E., Nathaniel N., Violet P., and John S. were all made catechumens. Please introduce yourself to these folks and let them know you will be praying for them as they prepare to be fully received into the Church.
st. thomas school
On Saturday, April 29, Father Aidan will lead the discussion on Chapter 31 of Volume I, “Posthumous Retribution”. Online access is available on Discord; like to participate online, you still need to sign-up ahead of time. Just send an email to remote.meetings@theforerunner.org by Thursday, April 27, to reserve your spot.
mEMORIAL GARDEN UPDATE
Currently, the stones that parishioners may place in the Memorial Garden have been reserved for these three circumstances:
A departed parishioner of St. John’s who either has no grave, or it is more than 100 miles from the church
In memory of infants who departed this life before birth, under any circumstances
Departed immediate family members who were Orthodox, and whose graves are out of state
However, as we are a parish comprised primarily of converts, this leaves a noticeable void for those who have lost a non-Orthodox family member who chose to have no grave, or it is too far to visit regularly. So, to provide a place for these parishioners to remember their loved one, the St. Joanna Myrrhbearers are opening the garden to St. John members who have an immediate non-Orthodox family member who either has no grave, or it is out of state. Immediate family members include parents, brothers and sisters, and children. Our wish is to provide a place where all of us can place a small stone in remembrance of those we love, and pray that their memories be eternal. We ask that anyone in this circumstance who would like to purchase a stone speak with the Myrrhbearers first. You can contact Becky Thurner for more information.
coming up
The Pascha Book Study begins on Bright Wednesday, April 19, and it will meet each Wednesday night at 7pm through May 17. This year’s study will be structured just like the Fall Theological Seminar; we will have a series of presentations that will focus on our new temple, but we will also be talking about men’s issues and women’s issues and how, as women and men, we will interact with one another in our new temple. Please plan on joining us, either in person or on Discord, for what promises to be a very important time in the life of our community.
The Annual Talent Show is this coming Sunday, but, to keep the fun going all throughout the Paschal Season, on the Sundays following the Talent Show, we’re going to have live music during Fellowship Hour. We want to feature all the musicians in our community, so if you are part of a group or play an instrument or want to put together a group just for this program, talk to Rigel Thurston or use this link to get on the schedule: https://forms.gle/EdcAtJidfBW9nAjT9
And to keep the fun going all throughout the Paschal Season, on the Sundays following the Talent Show, we’re going to have live music during Fellowship Hour. We want to feature all the musicians in our community, so if you are part of a group or play an instrument or want to put together a group just for this program, talk to Rigel Thurston or use this link to get on the schedule: https://forms.gle/EdcAtJidfBW9nAjT9
We’ve already started getting ready for the next steps in our Building Program, and the way we’re doing that is through Prayer and Fellowship. When it comes to prayer, we’re asking everyone to purchase a copy of The Temple Akathist and to offer that service at home once a week. Copies are available at Christ the Lightgiver Bookstore. And while you’re picking up your copy of that service, if you don’t already have an icon of St Eanswythe of Folkestone, please get one of those, as well. St Eanswythe has been, for many years, the Patroness of our Building Program, and she’s the focus of our fellowship efforts—because what we want everyone to do is invite some friends over once a month to share a meal and to offer The Temple Akathist and then to post a photo of that fun on Discord.
On Saturday, May 27, we will have our First Annual Blessing of Animals. May 27 is the Feast Day of St Melangel of Wales; she had a special relationship with rabbits. But a great many other Orthodox saints have also had close relationships with bears and whales and mice and leopards and lions. We're not going to be blessing any whales or leopards, but, if you have a pet that you would like to have blessed, just bring your animal up to the parish, and we will bless them all before Great Vespers--and then, in the service of vespers we will listen to some very special hymnography about how all animals will be sanctified through our love of the Most Holy Trinity. Dr Jason Foster, a member of our parish who has been a vet for many years, is providing with some really helpful guidelines for this event, and we will share those with you as we get closer to May 27. But right now, go ahead and enter that date into your phone and plan on joining us for this beautiful service.
OUR MOMENT OF GRACE AND COURTESY
Please remember to silence your phones and other electronic devices when you attend the divine services. These sorts of disruptions are distracting and completely unnecessary.
Things That Make Priests Happy
Celebrating Stella P.’s 18th birthday; hearing about Jackson J. debut as catcher for the Orioles; discovering that Kyle D. is an Iggy Pop Guy; agreeing, with Jennifer R. and Jared H., that if you’re going to discuss nihilism, you really need kitten videos; blessing two deer before Orthros.
an unworthy priest,
aidan
The Happy Priest is a publication of Life At A Dead Run Media, which is a subsidiary of One Take Productions. Our IT Guy is Christian Perez; our Webmasters are Lily Halsey and Seth Hart; our Keeper of Lists is Father Andrew Wilson; our Roving Reporter is Jackson Bentley, during Bright Week, our Corporate Board Room serves only steak and ice cream (or ice cream and steak), and our Spiritual Advisor is Elder Galaction of the Holy Mountain.