Brothers and Sisters,
Christ is Risen!
A special note from Sandi A., our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Director: first, thanks to all of you for your support of our church school program and encouragement to me in my first year as director of CGS and second, please join us for the official blessing of our atria iconography. As many of you are aware, Baker Galloway has worked very hard over the past several years transforming our Level 1, 2, and 3 atria with his beautiful iconography and has recently completed this endeavor. In celebration of this gift , we plan to hold a blessing of the atria followed by a presentation by Baker. Please join us in the parish house this coming Sunday, May 18th at 12:45 p.m. for this special event.
This coming Sunday, May 18th, we will also have our next Safety and Security Rehearsal. This rehearsal will be for an active shooter event. After the Divine Liturgy, we will explain what will happen, then one of the ushers will say, in a loud voice, “Gun, Gun, Gun”, and we will all get down on the floor, just as we do during our rehearsal for a severe weather event. After ten seconds, we will all get to our feet and exit the Long Hall as we do in each of these events. Our goal is to make the rehearsal as non-frightening as possible, but the reality of the world in which we live is that we need to be prepared for this sort of scenario, so, if participating in the event is going to be too stressful, please feel free to leave before the Liturgy has ended.
Our Calendar
Fasting Days
Wednesday, May 14, and Friday, May 16
Daily Services
Monday, May 12-Friday, May 16; Orthros 5am; Vespers 5pm (it’s always a good idea to check the day before and make sure nothing has come up to change the regular schedule). However, Fr. Andrew, Seth Hart, and many other folks continue to broadcast daily readings from spiritual books online. They are now reading “The Orthodox Faith” by St John of Damascus. The schedule is as follows: M-F at 12pm.
In addition to the daily Synaxarion readings posted in the #synaxarion channel on Discord, the online team is now posting daily Bible Readings that will allow you to read through the Bible in a year. These readings are posted in the #bible-365 channel.
Tuesday May 13
Inquirer’s 101 7pm; you can also access the group on Discord
Wednesday, May 14
The Pascha Book Study 7pm
Saturday, May 17
St Thomas School 4pm
Great Vespers 6pm
Sunday, May 11 Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
Orthros 8am
Church School 8:15am
Divine Liturgy 10am
Fellowship Hour Noon
Coming Up
On Saturday, May 24, we are going to have our annual Blessing of Animals. Tuesday, May 27 is the feast day of St Melangell of Wales; she had a special relationship with rabbits. However, there are a great many saints that have had close relationships with all sorts of animals, and the birds and the beasts and the creatures of the sea are going to be redeemed along with all of us. We already bless domestic animals when we do House Blessings each year, but bringing our pets to the parish for a blessing is even more fun. However, we want everyone--humans and pets--to participate in the blessing in a way that is safe and healthy, so we consulted with Jason F., a member of our community who's been a vet for a number of decades, and we’ve put together some guidelines for the event. Please read through them carefully:
The blessing will take place outside. Animals will not be allowed either in the Parish House or the Long Hall.
We will gather in the area between the Long Hall and the Parish House at 4:30pm on Saturday, May 24. The service will be the Ninth Hour, and it will most likely take about 20 minutes.
All small animals (cats, gerbils, lizards, guinea pigs, hamsters, snakes, etc) must be in containers, and they must stay in those containers while they are on parish property.
All dogs must be on leashes, and they must be leashed the entire time they are on parish property. Young children should not be allowed to control dogs; a responsible adult must handle the leashed dog. Also, if you have a dog that is aggressive or nervous or that does not interact well with humans or other animals, please do not bring it to the parish. We will be happy to bless aggressive and anxious dogs at their homes.
Domestic farm animals (goats, sheep, pigs, cattle, horses) are welcome, but they must remain in the trailers or vehicles in which they are transported.
There should not be any contact between any of the animals while they are on parish property.
All dogs and cats must be vaccinated. Dogs must have had Distemper (DHPP), Kennel Cough (Bordetella) and Rabies. Cats must have had Feline Distemper or upper respiratory vaccine (FVRCP) and Rabies. If you have questions about any of those vaccinations, Jason F. has indicated that he will be happy to communicate with you on our parish Discord platform. If your dog or cat does not have all those vaccination, and you would still like the animal to be blessed, you are welcome to attend the service, but the dog or cat must stay in your car. One of the priests will bless the animal while it is in the car.
Please bring water in a bottle or a bowl for your pet.
Please bring plastic bags and be prepared to clean up after your pet when they have a bowel movement.
That may seem like a lot, but it's pretty normal pet stuff, and it will ensure that our Blessing of Animals is a beautiful service that honors the Most Holy Trinity. And, notice, it is a worship service--that means we're not organizing a temporary dog park or a petting zoo. We're going to read prayers, bless all the animals with holy water, and sing some hymns. Then those of us who do not have pet responsibilities will go into the Long Hall for Great Vespers--and Great Vespers will feature hymns that have been specifically composed for the occasion. If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch with Father Aidan or Jason F.
On Thursday, May 29, we will wrap up the Paschal Season with the lovely Feast of the Ascension. We will offer Great Vespers at 7pm on Wednesday, May 28, and then, on the morning of the feast, we will serve Orthros at 5am and Divine Liturgy at 7am. Please join us for the celebration.
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
After receiving the Eucharist, it is traditional to share the blessed bread with our visitors and with the folks who are catechumens; this is one important way we can welcome people and help them participate in the Divine Liturgy. However, please ask them first if they would like some bread; if you wish to give a piece of blessed bread to a child, always ask their parents first. Also, if you see that the person with whom you intended to share the bread already has a piece, then simply share the bread with another person.
an unworthy priest
aidan