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
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 Palm
Sunday (Tone 4)
We have been buried with You in baptism, O Christ
our God, and we merited eternal life through Your Resurrection. Wherefore we cry out to You, singing a hymn
of praise, “Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
13 April 2014— Holy
and Glorious Palm Sunday—The Triumphal Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. Holy Father Martin the Confessor, Pope of
Rome.
Readings Apostolos: Philippians 4:4-9 Gospel: John 12:1-18
10:30 am Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom for the health &
salvation of Dn. Joe Daratony, Griffin
Barna, Jim Covello, David Georges, Elias Atallah, Ralph Farhat, Robert Kuri,
Nick Nakfoor, Isaac Salim, Iva Butler, Michel Badawi, Kelsey Andrews, Elaine & Eva-Genevieve
Scarborough, Michael Maslowski, Clay Thomas, Michael Harmuth, Elias Haggar, Fr
John Leonard, Fr James Babcock; in memory of Louis Zarka, John Rashid (Dave & Cookie
Abraham), Abraham Saba (Boutros
Eid), Abdallah & Zakieh Badawi
(Nadia Badawi), Kevin Simpson
& Millard Wallace (Fr James).
Blessing
and Procession with Palms at the end of the Liturgy.
Services for Great & Holy Week and Pascha
All services for Great & Holy Week, Pascha &
Bright Monday are at 7 pm.
Tues. 15 April: Repentance Service
followed by Anointing with Holy Oil for Healing
Wed. 16 April: Holy Thursday Vespers
& Divine Liturgy—The Last Supper
Thurs. 17 April:
Good Friday Orthros—Passion Gospels: The Crucifixion
Fri. 18 April: Holy Saturday Vespers
(The Descent from the Cross) and Orthros (The Funeral of the Lord—Ginnaz al Messih)
Sat. 19 April: The New Light, Procession
of Triumph, Hajmeh, Paschal Orthros,
Divine Liturgy of the Resurrection, Blessing of Eggs and Bread
Sun. 20 April: No Services; the
only Easter services will be on Saturday night
Mon. 21 April: Agape Vespers for Bright Monday
Troparia and Kontakion for Today
- Troparion of Lazarus, in Tone 1, Liturgikon, page 206. Twice.
- Troparion of Palm Sunday, in Tone 4, page 207.
- Kontakion of Palm Sunday in Tone 6, page 207.
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 95 people attended the Liturgy. Our offering totalled $1553 in the ordinary
collection, $100 for liturgies and memorials, and $44 for candles. Please make a generous sacrifice to
support your church in proportion to the many blessings God has given you.
Protodeacon Joe Daratony Recovering After Hip
Surgery
Protodeacon Joe Daratony had successful hip
surgery on Tuesday, 8 April, and is at home.
We thank God for this and pray for his speedy recovery.
Please Contribute for the Good Friday &
Pascha Flowers
Please use the special envelope included with this bulletin to make a
donation for our Good Friday and Pascha flowers in memory of the departed
and/or for the health and salvation of the living.
NAMY Now Taking Orders for Mother’s Day
Truffles
Trying to earn all the money they need to attend the National Conference
in July, our NAMY group will make and sell chocolate truffles for Mother’s Day. After Liturgy they will be happy to take your
orders for these great gifts.
Have You Seen and Shared our Food Festival
Video?
Our active and creative NAMY group made and posted on YouTube a short
video promoting our Food Festival (1 and 2 May). Access the video on the parish’s Facebook
page or directly on YouTube. More than
100 people have viewed it. Many thanks
and congratulations for this successful project!
Time to Bring Items for Food Fest Flea Market
This week, please bring in your items for the Food Festival flea
market. Suggestions: books, toys, puzzles,
knicknacks, jewelry, scarves, purses, decorative doilies, placemats, dishes, pictures.
No clothing, please. Thanks!
Pray With Other Churches for Healing of Our
Land
All church congregations in the Lansing area are being asked to pray
for the healing of our land, according to the words of the Lord in the Second
Book of Chronicles, chapter 7, verse 14:
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my
face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear them from heaven, and
will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Please pray for this healing in your homes also.
You Can Help Promote Our Food Festival
Our Food Festival, the main annual fund-raising event of our parish, is
scheduled for Thursday and Friday, 1-2 May.
If everyone in the church invites someone who has never been to the Food
Festival, about 100 new people will participate. On the Food Festival days, St Joseph
parishioners should park at the church down the street, to leave parking in our
lot for our guests.
The
Meaning of Palm Branches
By
Nimer Haddad, Chair of St Joseph Evangelization Committee
In Christianity, the palm branch is
associated with Palm Sunday, when according to tradition palm branches were
waved at the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem as foretold by the prophet
Zechariah. Palm Sunday marks the
beginning of Great and Holy Week and always falls on the Sunday before Pascha.
On this day, the crowds hailed Jesus as a king
who would overthrow the Romans, shouting “Hosanna” save us. They threw palm branches down in front of the
donkey he was riding, just a week before these cries turned into “crucify Him.”
The symbolism of the palm tree is one of
the more interesting facts about Christianity.
After the death and resurrection of Jesus, Christians took the palm as a
symbol of the victory that martyrs won over their oppressors and the victory of
the spirit over the desires of the flesh.
In ancient Mesopotamia (today’s Iraq) as
well as in ancient Egypt, the palm represented a symbol of triumph, eternal
life, and peace. The palm was a symbol
of Phoenicia that appeared on Punic coins. In ancient Greece, a palm branch was presented
to winning athletes.
The use of palm branches to welcome Christ
into Jerusalem, described in the Gospels and now associated with Palm Sunday,
came from a Jewish festival known as Sukkoth.
Again at the end of the Bible, people from every nation raise palm
branches to honor Jesus (Revelation 7:9)
The palm is richly significant in Middle
Eastern culture, where it symbolizes rest and hospitality. Today, the palm is a symbol that appears on
the flags and seals of several places where palms are native.
Many Christian churches bless and distribute
palm branches to worshipers on Palm Sunday.
In this way, we imitate or identify with those ancient inhabitants of
Jerusalem who welcomed Jesus with branches.
At the end of the liturgy, parents carry or
walk with their children holding palm branches and walk in procession outside
the church if the weather allows it. If
palm branches are not available, branches of olives or willows are also used. We sing, “Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is the One who comes in the Name of
the Lord.”
Worshipers need to remember Christ’s
sacrificial death on the cross, praise Him for the gift of salvation, and look
expectantly to His second coming.
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