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.
Kontakion of the
Holy Fathers (Tone 8)
The Apostles’ preaching and the Father’s teaching
established in the Church
a single and unified faith; wherefore this Church,
robed in the truth of a heaven-inspired theology, explains and declares with
certainty the great mystery of Christ.
1 June 2014—7th
Sunday of Pascha: Holy Fathers of the
First Ecumenical Council. Holy Martyr
Justin the Philosopher and his Companions.
(Tone 6)
Readings Apostolos: Acts 20:16-18, 27-36 Gospel: John 17:1-13
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, Pam Nakfoor, Isaac Salim, Louise Hajj, Iva Butler, Kelsey
Andrews, Elaine & Eva-Genevieve Scarborough, Michael Maslowski, Clay
Thomas, Michael Harmuth, Elias Haggar, Fr John Leonard, Fr James Babcock;
in
memory of Danny Rahall (1 Year by
Gloria Rahall and Family), Jalila Nakfoor
Hourani (1 Year by Her Family), Louis Zarka (Yvonne Rahme),
John Rashid (Nemri Badawy), Abraham
Saba (Samir Mekhayel), Rizk Eid Haddad,
and James Francis deSpelder.
7 June 2014—Memorial Service for the Saturday of the
Dead, 4:30 pm
Great Vespers for Pentecost Sunday, 5 pm
Great Vespers for Pentecost Sunday, 5 pm
8 June 2014—Holy and
Glorious Pentecost Sunday. The Transfer
of the Remains of the Holy Great-Martyr Theodore. (Tone 7)
Readings Apostolos: Acts 2:1-11 Gospel:
John 7:37-8:12
10:30 am Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom in memory of Abraham Saba (6 months by Bonita Saba), Louis Zarka (Ed & Ruth Zarka), John Rashid (Georgette Haeck), Rizk Eid Haddad, and
James Francis deSpelder.
Church School Year-End Ceremony
after the Liturgy, then
Kneeling
Prayers to mark the end of the Paschal Season
Troparia and Kontakion for Today
- Troparion of the Resurrection in Tone 6, page 191.
- Troparion of the Ascension, in Tone 4, page 217.
- Troparion of the Holy Fathers, in Tone 8..
- Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.
- Kontakion of the Ascension, in Tone 6, page 217.
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 $939 in
the ordinary collection, $15 for the bookstore, and $40 for
candles.
Memory Eternal: James F. deSpelder
The
servant of God James Francis deSpelder, father of Jim deSpelder, father-in-law
of Therese, and grandfather of James, Joel, and Jeoffrey, fell asleep in the
Lord at the age of 90 years on 22 May. May God have mercy on his soul, and may his memory be
eternal! Visitation on Monday 2 June, 6 to 9 pm at VanZantwick, Bartels and
Kammeraad Funeral Home in Grand Haven, MI.
Funeral mass at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Grand Haven, on Tuesday 3
June at 11 am, mercy meal following. Share
memories and condolences on-line at http://www.vbkfuneralhome.com/obituaries/James-De-Spelder/
Volunteers Complete Ceiling Reconstruction in the Hall
After part of the ceiling in the parish hall collapsed
last month, Metri Souri at once volunteered to rebuild it. Luis Kuri, Joe Fawaz, James Fawaz, Bechara
Geada, and Deeb Mekhayel joined him on the job.
Many, many thanks for the gift of your skill and labor and the
materials! God bless you all!
Ladies Society Meets Tuesday
The
Ladies Society will meet at 7 pm on Tuesday 3 June in the parish hall to
discuss new projects and to celebrate June and July birthdays. No meeting in July.
NAMY Meeting at 3 PM Next Saturday, 7 June
Members
of St Joseph’s NAMY group should make sure to attend the next meeting, Saturday
at 3 pm. We will discuss travel arrangements
and other details for the National Conference 29 June-3 July, and plan future
events.
Saturday of the Dead Memorial Service 7 June
at 4:30 PM
Our
Church celebrates two Memorial Saturdays each year, on the day before Meatfare
Sunday and on the day before Pentecost Sunday.
This year, the second Saturday of the Dead falls on next Saturday, 7
June. The Memorial Service for all the
departed of our parish and our families and friends will be celebrated at 4:30
pm, immediately before Great Vespers for Pentecost.
Coming Events
The Vision Committee will meet at 7 pm on
Monday 2 June and 16 June in the parish hall.
The Parish Pastoral Council will meet on
Wednesday 18 June at 7 pm in the parish hall.
Blessings
By Fr
James
In our Eastern Christian
tradition, we talk a lot about BLESSINGS.
The Liturgy begins, “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” In the
Anaphora of the Liturgy we thank God “for all these blessings, both known and unknown, manifest and hidden, that were
lavished upon us.” The Hirmos begins,
“It is truly right to call you blessed,
O Theotokos.”
After Communion, we sing, “blessed is He who comes in the name of
the Lord.” The ambon prayer at the end
of the Liturgy begins, “O Lord, who bless
those who bless You.” Psalm 102 says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”
At various feasts during the year, we have
the blessing of basil leaves, of water,
of homes, of flowers, of palms, of cars, of grapes, of olive oil, and so
on. When we eat, we bless our food. In families,
parents and grandparents bless their
children.
The common idea in all this is the central
place of God in our lives—everything we have comes from God and we return
praise and thanks to God in words and actions.
God is the source of all blessings.
When we talk as though we are blessing things, what we really mean is
that we are asking God to bless them. When we say that we bless God, what we really mean is that we are recognizing how much
God has blessed us.
The Greek word for “bless” (composed of words
for beautiful and word) originally meant simply “praise”;
in English it survives in the word “eulogy,” which is usually a speech in
praise of someone who has died.
In Latin, the word for “bless” means “speak
well” and survives in the English word “benediction,” which means blessing.
So when God blesses us or gives us blessings, God is in a sense speaking
well to us; God is giving us His good words and His grace to strengthen our
spirits and to give the right orientation to our lives.
When we bless
God, we are speaking well of God for all that He has done for us.
And when we bless ourselves, others, or material things, we are asking God to
speak His good words and fill them with his love and grace and mercy and
strength.
