Sunday Bulletin for 16 March 2014

ST JOSEPH THE BETROTHED

Melkite-Greek Catholic CHURCH

725 W. Mt. Hope Ave, Lansing, MI 48910                             517-575-6264

FMailing Address:  921 Westover Circle, Lansing, MI 48917E

www.MelkiteChurch.org   /   www.facebook.com/MelkiteChurchLansing

Rev. Father James K. Graham, Pastor                           frjamie@earthlink.net

Rev. Protodeacon Joseph Daratony                                                   248-719-5169

Phone or email Fr James with items for the bulletin by Thursday night.

Troparion of St Gregory Palamas (Tone 8)

O Gregory the Wonderworker, light of orthodoxy, support and teacher of the Church, glory of monks, and invincible protector of theologians, pride of Thessalonika

and preacher of grace, pray without ceasing for the salvation of our souls!

16 March 2014— 2^nd Sunday of Great Lent (The Holy Relics; St Gregory Palamas).  Holy Martyr Sabinos the Egyptian.  (Tone 2)

Readings    Apostolos:  Hebrews 1:10-2:3                              Gospel:  Mark 2:1-12

10:30 am  Orthros (Morning Prayer)

11 am         Divine Liturgy of St Basil the Great for the health & salvation of Griffin Barna, David Georges, Elias Atallah, Ralph Farhat, Robert Kuri, Nick Nakfoor, Isaac Salim, Louise Hajj, Iva Butler, Michel Badawi, Kelsey Andrews, Elaine & Eva-Genevieve Scarborough, Michael Maslowski, Clay Thomas, Elias Haggar, Deacon Joe Daratony, Fr John Leonard, Fr James Babcock; in memory of David, Victoria, Edward & Charles Calille (by Siham Calille), Abraham Saba (by Ann Rashid), John Rashid (by Mike & Lela Rashid & Family), Gladys Lemmons & Anne Gallagher (by Fr James).

23 March 2014—3^rd Sunday of Great Lent (Veneration of the Holy Cross).  Holy Martyrs Nikon & His 200 Pupils.  (Tone 3)

Readings    Apostolos:  Hebrews 4:14-5:6                          Gospel:  Mark 8:34-9:1

10:30 am  Orthros (Morning Prayer)

11 am         Divine Liturgy of St Basil the Great in memory of Tony Rahme (1 year by the Rahme Family), John Rashid (by Bob Abraham), Abraham Saba (by Emile Indraous), Julia Axmacher and Jack Lysaght (by Fr James).  Procession with the Holy Cross.

Troparia and Kontakion for Today

1. Troparion of the Resurrection, in Tone 2, Liturgikon, page 183.
2. Troparion of St Gregory Palamas, in Tone 8, page 203.
3. Troparion of the Holy Relics, in Tone 2, page 203.
4. Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.
5. Kontakion of the Annunciation in Tone 4, page 32.

Our Offerings to the Lord

The collection taken in the Liturgy is part of our worship.  We offer the Lord our lives, our prayers, our gifts of bread and wine, and our financial gifts.  Last Sunday, about 85 people attended the Liturgy.  Our offering totalled $1828 in the ordinary collection, $65 for liturgies, and $36 for candles.  Not everyone can make an equal gift, but everyone can make an equal sacrifice.  Please make a generous sacrifice to support your church in proportion to the many blessings God has given you.

 

Support Our Teens’ Lenten Lunch Today

St Joseph NAMY group will present a Lenten Lasagna Lunch this Sunday, 16 March, after the Liturgy.  Be sure to stay for a delicious lunch of homemade lasagna, salad, and garlic bread—or take a plate home with you.  Our teens are raising money so that they can attend the NAMY Retreat in July.

 

Great Compline on Wednesday at 6 PM

During Great Lent we should intensify our prayer life.  To help us do this, the Church offers special services on the weekdays of the Great Fast.  You can find announcements of our Lenten services on our Facebook page.  Services will be celebrated at 6 pm on Wednesdays (Great Compline or Presanctified Liturgy) and Fridays (Akathist or other prayers). Great Vespers will be served on Saturdays at 5 pm.  Please attend as many of these services as you can.

 

Last Celebration of the Akathist This Friday at 6 PM

The Akathist Hymn in praise of the Theotokos is a service of preparation for the feast of the Annunciation (25 March), sung on the five Fridays before the feast.  Our final Akathist celebration of this year will be on 21 March at 6 pm. 

 

Get Your Easter Cookies Now

The Ladies Society is selling ma’amoul with date or walnut stuffing for only $10 a dozen.  Contact Lamia Haddad (517-323-0819) to order yours now.

 

Join in the Parish Clean-Up Day, 29 March

We need everyone’s help on Saturday 29 March, starting at 10 am, for spring cleaning at the church, inside and out.  Put on your jeans and sweatshirt and gloves and come to scrub, dust, dig, sweep, polish, chop, etc.

 

Parish Lenten Mission Set for 1-3 April

Fr Michael Skrocki will come to St Joseph’s to give our Lenten Retreat on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 1-3 April.  His talks will be given at 7 pm.  On Tuesday, he will speak mainly to the junior high and high school students.  On Wednesday his talk will follow our 6 pm celebration of Great Compline.  Fr Michael is pastor of St Ann Melkite Church in Danbury, CT.  He is also a Doctor of Canon Law (Church law).

 

Take a Look at our Reactivated Facebook Page

St Joseph parish’s Facebook page is now very active, with fresh postings of announcements, Bible quotations, photos, and other parish news.  Friend us and invite your friends to friend us.  See what’s happening in your church!

 

Contact Father James to Schedule Your House Blessing

Traditionally, we bless houses from Theophany to the beginning of Great Lent.  Because the severe weather made blessing houses very difficult, Fr James will continue blessing homes and businesses into Great Lent.

 

Upcoming Meetings

Parish Pastoral Council meets Wednesday 26 March at 7 pm in the hall.

 

Parish Hall Telephone Disconnected

The telephone in the parish hall has been disconnected to save $720 a year.

 

Give to Charity Through The Shepherd’s Care

     The Gospel of St Luke (chapter 2, verses 1-4) tells us that Jesus “saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and He noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said: ‘I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.’”

     A “mite” means a tiny, insignificant thing.  Compared with the large gifts Jesus observed, the tiny coins offered by this poor widow might go unnoticed.  If others did notice her offering they might even judge her as stingy.  Our Lord, in His all-knowing wisdom, however, recognized that the widow’s “mite” was far greater than the other people’s large offerings.  They could afford to give more – and their offerings were therefore small!  The poor widow gave to God everything she had.

     The Church reminds us of this example each year at the beginning of the Great Fast.  We receive a little box –a “mite box”—to take home.  This box symbolizes the offerings we make during Lent, together with our increased prayers and our fasting and abstinence.

     Put it on your dining table or in your ikon corner where you pray, and throughout Lent place your offerings in the box.  Some people put in the amount they save by fasting.

     At the end of Great Lent bring the proceeds of your mite box back to the church.  Whether your offering is great or small only the Lord knows!  But combined with those of your brothers and sisters in Christ – the other families in your parish—they amount to something more.

     All of the mite boxes of all of the families in all of our parishes are put together into a special fund that is for charities only.

     Some of the money in past years has gone to support programs for the hungry and the homeless, victims of wars and natural disasters.  Please be generous and make The Shepherd’s Care an essential part of your and your family’s Lent.  It’s not just for kids; it’s for everybody.