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 the
Nativity of John the Baptist (24 June, Tone 4)
O Prophet and Forerunner of the coming of Christ,
in spite of our eagerness
to render you due honor, we fall short when
singing your praise.
Your glorious birth saved your mother from the
shame of barrenness,
returned to your father the power of speech, and proclaimed
to the world
the Incarnation of the Son of God.
22 June 2014—Second
Sunday after Pentecost. Holy
Hiero-Martyr Eusebios of Samosata. (Tone
1)
Readings Apostolos: Romans 2:10-16 Gospel:
Matthew 4:18-23
10:30 am Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom for the health &
salvation of Michel Skouri, Samira El-Chaer, Griffin Barna, Jim Covello, David Georges,
Elias Atallah, Ralph Farhat, Robert Kuri, Nick Nakfoor, Pam Nakfoor, Isaac Salim,
Iva Butler, Wayne Gowdy, Kelsey Andrews, Elaine & Eva-Genevieve
Scarborough, Michael Maslowski, Clay Thomas, Michael Harmuth, Elias Haggar, Dn.
Joe Daratony, Fr John Leonard, Fr James Babcock; in memory of Abraham Saba (Naemi Badawi), John
Rashid (Rosette Kalouche), Louis
Zarka (Elias & Minerva Haidamous), Joseph
& Mary Saad (Nadia Washington), James
F. deSpelder (Khalil Rahme & Family), John Badawy, Samir Zarka, Susan & Habib Badawy (Rosette
Kalouche), and George Farah (Wayne
Gowdy).
28 June 2014—Great Vespers for the Holy Apostles Peter
& Paul, 5 pm
29 June 2014—3rd
Sunday after Pentecost. Holy and
Glorious Princes of the Apostles, Peter and Paul. (Tone 2)
Readings Apostolos: 2 Corinthians 11:21-12:9 Gospel:
Matt. 16:13-19
10:30 am Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom in memory of Louis Zarka (Larry & Georgette Haeck), John Rashid (Madeline Saab & Family), and Abraham Saba (Jane & Paul Wei).
Troparia and Kontakion for Today
- Troparion of the Resurrection in Tone 1, page 181.
- Troparion of the Nativity of John the Baptist, in Tone 4.
- Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.
- Kontakion of the Theotokos, in Tone 2, page 32.Troparia and Kontakion for Next Sunday
- Troparion of the Resurrection in Tone 2, page 183.
- Troparion of the Holy Apostles, in Tone 4.
- Hypacoi of the Holy Apostles, in Tone 8.
- Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.
- Kontakion of the Theotokos, in Tone 2, 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, more than 100 people attended
the Liturgy. Our offering totalled $919
in the ordinary collection, $320 for liturgies and memorials, $33 for books, $24
from the coffee hour, and $20 for candles.
Apostles’ Fast Lasts Until Saturday Night
Traditionally,
our Church observes a fast from the Monday after All Saints Sunday until the
Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (29 June). Try to keep the fast and pray for peace and
justice in the Middle East.
Welcome Fr Tom Marick Next Sunday
Fr Tom Marick will return to St Joseph’s next Sunday
to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. Five
members of our NAMY group, along with Fr James and NAMY Advisor Dalida Raad, will
travel that morning by train to Lisle, Illinois, for the annual conference of
the National Association of Melkite Youth, returning to Lansing on Thursday 3
July. Pray for their safe travel and an
inspiring time.
Call Fr James to Come and Bless Your Home or
Business
Although
the traditional time for blessing homes is right after Theophany (6 January),
the winter weather made that very difficult.
Fr James would like to visit with people and bless their houses and
businesses. Please contact him to make
an appointment to have your home and/or business blessed.
Take a Look at our Reactivated Facebook Page
St Joseph’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/MelkiteChurchLansing) is now very active, with fresh postings of announcements, daily
reflections on selected Bible quotations, photos, and other parish news. Like us (165 people do so far) and invite
your friends to friend us. See what’s
happening in your church!
The Holy
Apostle Barnabas
By
Nimer Haddad, Chair of St Joseph Parish Evangelization Committee
Barnabas’ original name was
Joseph. He was a Jew, a Levite, born in
Cyprus. He spent much time in Jerusalem
even before Christ’s crucifixion and appears to have settled there where his
nephew, Mark, the future Evangelist, likewise lived.
He converted to Christianity
shortly after Pentecost and immediately sold his property and gave the money to
the Apostles, who gave him a new name, “Barnabas,” which means in Aramaic Son of the Prophet and in Greek Son of Encouragement. He is also sometimes called by the Hebrew
name Nathanael.
When the church was scattered
after the initial persecution, some believers went as far as Antioch and
settled in various gentile cities. They
witnessed to Jews only, until some of them preached also to Greeks. God rewarded their efforts, and “a great
number believed” (Acts 11:19-21).
The church leaders heard this
and sent Barnabas to Antioch. He arrived
and found the work of God among the Greeks was genuine. Then he thought of Saul (Paul), who was struck
blind on the road to Damascus and brought to repentance by Christ himself (Acts
9:1-22). Barnabas went to Tarsus to seek
Paul. They returned to Antioch, staying for a year preaching the Word of God.
Paul, Barnabas, and his nephew
John Mark then sailed to Cyprus, where they preached the Word of God at Salamis
and crossed the island to Paphos. Later they
preached at Lystra in Lycaonia where they were mistaken for gods because of
miracles they worked and the physical beauty of Barnabas. Ultimately, they were stoned out of the city
and fled back to Antioch in Syria. (Acts
13-14)
Barnabas and Paul were willing
to welcome into the church people other than Jews and proposed to the council
in Jerusalem that Gentiles be allowed into the community without being
circumcised.
Tradition holds that Barnabas
preached in Alexandria and Rome before he was martyred at Salamis, Cyprus, in
61 A.D. He is identified as the founder
of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus and venerated as the patron saint of Cyprus.
Barnabas is also identified as
one of the seventy disciples mentioned in the Gospel of Luke, ch. 10. In Acts 11:24, Luke mentions Barnabas with affection,
“for he was a good man full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” His title to glory comes not only from his
kindness of heart and missionary labors, but his readiness to lay aside his
Jewish prejudices, his large-hearted welcome of the Gentiles, his early
perception of Paul’s worth, and his tenderness towards John Mark seem to have gained
him rewards from the Church.
At the same time, it must be
emphasized that the so-called Gospel of
Barnabas was not written by Barnabas, or by anyone who knew him. In fact,
it was written in the 16th century in Italian and Spanish, probably
by an Italian Muslim convert, in accordance with the Islamic view that Jesus
was not the Son of God, but a prophet and a messenger. It has been condemned by the Church as false.
The feast day of the Apostles Barnabas
and Bartholomew is celebrated on June 11.
