Sunday Bulletin for 9 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 the Ikon of Christ (Tone 2)

Before Your most pure image we bow in worship, O Good Lord, begging forgiveness of our sins, O Christ God, because You chose of Your own free will to ascend upon the Cross in the flesh in order to deliver from the enemy’s bondage those You had created.

For this reason we cry out to You in thanksgiving:  “You have filled all things with joy,

O our Savior, when You came to save the world.”

9 March 2014—1^st Sunday of Great Lent (Sunday of Orthodoxy).  40 Holy Martyrs of Sebastea.  (Tone 1)

Readings    Apostolos:  Hebrews 11:24-26, 32-40             Gospel:  John 1:43-51

10:30 am  (Morning Prayer)

11 am         Divine Liturgy of St Basil the Great for the health and 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 Abraham Saba (by Siham Calille), John Rashid (by Mr & Mrs Monah Hourani), Msgr. Bryan T. O’Rourke and Mitzi Mogannam (by Fr James).

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 in memory of John Rashid (by Mike & Lela Rashid & Family), Abraham Saba (by Ann Rashid), and Gladys Lemmons (by Fr James).

 

Troparia and Kontakion for Today

1. Troparion of the Resurrection, in Tone 1, Liturgikon, page 181.
2. Troparion of the Ikon of Christ, in Tone 2, page 202.
3. Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.
4. Kontakion in Tone 2, page 31.

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 75 people attended the Liturgy.  Our offering totalled $1645 in the ordinary collection, $40 for liturgies, and $15 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.

 

Procession With Ikons Today

The First Sunday of Great Lent celebrates the “Triumph of Orthodoxy”; that is, the way the True Christian Faith has prevailed over many heresies, or wrong beliefs, over the centuries.  The defeat of iconoclasm (a movement to ban and destroy all sacred images) typifies the triumph of orthodoxy, so on this Sunday we have a procession with the sacred ikons. 

 

Parish Group Photos Will Be Taken Today

Today we will try again to take photos of the whole congregation and various groups, including the cantors and choir, the liturgy servers, the Parish Pastoral Council, the Stewardship Council, the Property Council, the Ladies Society, the Church School classes, and the NAMY group.

 

Pre-Sanctified Liturgy 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.  A schedule of our Lenten services has been posted on the parish website and mailed to those who have requested mailings.  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.

 

Celebration of the Akathist Continues Fridays 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 remaining celebrations will be on 14 and 21 March at 6 pm.  The Ladies Society will serve a meatless meal after the service this Friday.

 

Support Our Teens’ Lenten Lunch Next Sunday

St Joseph NAMY group will present a Lenten Lasagna Lunch next 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.

 

Thank You to Our Hardworking Renovation Crew

The whole parish is very grateful to the men who volunteered their time last Saturday to come and renovate our classrooms, stripping off old paneling, cleaning the walls, patching, and painting.  Great job, guys!

 

Parish Hall Telephone Disconnected

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

 

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

The Parish Pastoral Council will meet Wednesday 26 March at 7 pm in the hall.

 

What Is The Church?

By Nimer Haddad, Chair of St. Joseph Parish Evangelization Committee

     A church is a building used for public Christian worship.  It is a place to worship God, the Creator of the whole universe.  The Church consists of people, not buildings.  Fellowship, worship and ministry are all conducted by people, not by buildings.  The Church worships in a church.

     There are many images of the Church in the Bible.  The most important images of the Church in the Bible are the Body of Christ, the People of God and the Bride of Christ.  Christ is the head of the Church (Ephesians 4:15).

    A local church is a body of believers united in Christ.  Its role is to worship God, and to nurture, edify, and reach out to a world suffering from injustice and poverty.

     A local church is tasked with a variety of ministries such as Bible study, praying for one another, acts of hospitality, education, and more.

     A church needs to reach out to people with the good news about Jesus and encourage them to be part of a church community.  Worship in church is God-centered and Christ-centered.  It is not about interesting displays or presentations or socialization, but about expressing our love by worshiping our Creator.

     Here at St. Joseph Melkite Catholic Church we need to adapt a famous line from President John Kennedy’s inaugural address in 1961 to ourselves:

               “Ask not what your Church can do for you.

               “Ask what you can do for your Church.”

     The implications of this motto and its application call all parishioners to join the common task of helping our church to grow and survive the difficult times ahead for the sake of God’s will and for our future generations.  It is an appeal to every parishioner who is capable of offering any kind of help and of making significant contributions for the benefit of our church, a group of believers, to come forward and join the effort to achieve that goal.

     It is not enough to make generous financial contributions when we go to church; the body of believers of our church also must sacrifice of our time and contribute our talents for whatever assistance is needed, whether that involves helping at the upcoming Food Fest, or participating in establishing a ”Learning Center” to help our kids meet the challenges of the future, or getting involved in some other way.