Brothers and Sisters,
Greetings in the Name of the Lord.
The Apostles’ Fast comes to an end with the Feast of the Patrons and Protectors of our Patriarchate, Sts Peter and Paul. This coming Wednesday, June 28, we will offer Great Vespers at 7pm, and then on Thursday, June 29, the day of the feast, we will serve Orthros at 6am and Divine Liturgy at 8am. Please join us as we honor the Princes of the Apostles and ask for their prayers.
Our Calendar
Fasting Days
The Apostles’ Fast continues through the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul on Thursday, June 29. Friday is a normal fasting day.
Daily Services
Monday, June 26 to Friday, June 30
Orthros 5am
Vespers 5pm
But check the schedule for this week’s festal services.
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.
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, June 27
Orthodoxy 101 7pm
You can access the group on Discord.
Wednesday, June 21
Great Vespers 7pm
Thursday, June 29
Feast of Sts Peter and Paul
Orthros 6am
Divine Liturgy 8am
Bible Study, Old Testament Edition 7 pm (on Discord)
Saturday, July 1
St. Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 7pm
Sunday, July 2
The Fourth Sunday of St Matthew
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Since this is the first Sunday of the month, it is Blessing Sunday, so if you’re going to be traveling during July or if you have icons, prayer ropes, and crosses to be blessed, just show up at the chanter’s stand after liturgy for those prayers. But the first Sunday of the month is also Claim Your Stuff Sunday; that means you need to check the Lost and Found Box in the kitchen because it will all go to Goodwill after Fellowship Hour is over.
st. thomas school
On Saturday July 1, Father Deacon Michael Coleman will leading our next First Saturday of the Month Practical Orthodox Stuff Class. Our topic for July is Confession and Preparation for Holy Communion. These are two of the most important moments in the spiritual life, and Father Deacon will show you how to make the most of them and how to use these Holy Mysteries to draw closer to the Most Holy Trinity.
The st. joanna burial society
Memorial Services
How many of you knew the departed parishioners we pray for at the end of Sunday’s Divine Liturgies? Probably not many, since our parish has grown so much over the last several years. In an effort to help us all connect more fully to these people who are, in death, still a meaningful part of our community, we will be publishing information (and photos, if available) of them as a link included in The Happy Priest, as well as on the #myrrhbearers-info channel on the St. John Discord page.
We hope that you take a minute to read these, and continue to pray for the departed brothers and sisters of our church family.
Requests for Myrrhbearer Services
Since most of us are converts, there can often be a spiritual void when a family member departs this life. The Myrrhbearers offer three potential ways to help us fill this void: a week-long reading of the Psalter at the time of death, a clergy-led Akathist Service in church, and a stone in the Memorial Garden. There are specific guidelines for these, which can be found on the Myrrhbearers home page: https://www.theforerunner.org/st-jo. Please remember that memorial stone requests must go through the Myrrhbearers.
coming up
On Sunday, July 16, we will have our first Blessing of Automobiles. That’s the Sunday closest to St Elias’ Day, and since St Elias ascended into heaven in a fiery chariot, we’re going to bless all of our cars and trucks on that Sunday. When we get our homes and apartments blessed, we always make sure they are picked up and cleaned up, and we should do the same thing for our vehicles. At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy on the 16th, we will process through the parking lots and bless each of the cars and trucks parked there, so let’s make sure that they are all sparkling and clean.
OUR MOMENT OF GRACE AND COURTESY
When you are out in the narthex, please remember that the doors separating the nave and the narthex are far from sound-proof. So, if your child is being especially noisy or if you need to speak with someone about a matter that just can't wait, you may need to move into the kitchen or out on to the porch. Also, please remember that since it's possible to see all the way from one end of the building to the other, even when you are out in the narthex, you should be focused on what is happening in the nave. So, for example, if the priest turns around from the altar to give a blessing, you should be ready to respond appropriately; you shouldn't be visiting with friends or talking on your phone.
Things That Make Priests Happy
Thanking Mary Anne H. for all her many years of faithful friendship and service; processing around the Property on our Parish Feast Day; admiring the W. Brothers’ Bounds Beating Staves; learning that Kenneth C. is going to start practicing for the Locust Eating Contest on next year’s feast day; hearing about Arun J.’s Irish A; talking with the graduates of Brundage L.’s Spring Roll University; walking past the six deer who were sleeping on the front lawn of the Long Hall (and who will be with us in the Kingdom of the Most Holy Trinity).
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 Cat Grant, our Roller Derby Team is called Thebez and the Millstones, and our Spiritual Advisor is Elder Galaction of the Holy Mountain.