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 Cheesefare Sunday (Tone 6)
O You who guide men towards wisdom and give them intelligence
and understanding, Instructor of the Ignorant and Helper of the Poor,
strengthen and enlighten my heart,
O Lord! O Word of
God, grant that I may speak, for behold, I will not keep my lips
from crying out to You:
“O Compassionate One, have mercy on me who have fallen!”
15 February
2015—Cheesefare Sunday: Sunday of
Forgiveness. Holy Apostle Onesimos. (Tone 3)
Readings Apostolos: Romans 13:11-14:4 Gospel: Matthew 6:14-21
10:30 am Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine
Liturgy of St John Chrysostom for the health and salvation of Joseph Mondalek, Maarouf Khouri, Dennis Flint, Eleanora Lindo, Mikayla Slocum, Michel Skouri, Samira
El-Chaer, Awatef Chahine, Raymond Rashid, Bonita Saba, Griffin Barna, Jim
Covello, David Georges, Elias Atallah, Ralph Farhat, Robert Kuri, Pam Nakfoor,
Isaac Salim, Iva Butler, Cam, Janice, Jeanne, Wayne Gowdy, Lucy Palmer, Kelsey,
Kathleen Edwards, Barbara Fager, Edgar & Katherine Fickenscher, David &
Sandi, Kamal & Eugenie Neimat,
Clay Thomas, Michael Maslowski, Antonio Carvalho, Elaine & Eva-Genevieve
Scarborough, Michael Harmuth, Elias Haggar, Dn. Joe & Marge Daratony, Fr
Joseph Haggar; in memory of Archbishop
Joseph Tawil, Nickolas Nakfoor (Huda Wakim), Louis Zarka (Bob & Anita Herr), Fr Julien Eliane, Joseph Zakher, and Julia Spencer (Fr James).
At the end of the Liturgy, we
will celebrate the rite of Mutual Forgiveness.
21 February 2015—2 pm:
Great Vespers and Memorial Service.
22 February
2015—First Sunday of Great Lent: The
Triumph of Orthodoxy. Discovery of the
Relics of the Holy Martyrs at Eugenios. (Tone 4)
Readings Apostolos: Heb. 11:24-26, 32-12:2 Gospel: John 1:43-51
10:30 am Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine Liturgy of St Basil the Great in
memory of Nickolas Nakfoor (Dr & Mrs Ronald Dewitt), Louis Zarka (Feryal Raad), Adell
Nahom and Emily Gowdy
(Wayne Gowdy).
Troparia and Kontakion for Today
- Troparion of the Resurrection, in Tone 3, Liturgikon, page 185.
- Troparion of the Apostle Onesimos, in Tone 3.
- Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.
- Kontakion of Cheesefare, in Tone 6, page 201.
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. About 75 people attended last Sunday’s Liturgy. Our offering totalled $1128 in the ordinary
collection, $150 for roof pledges, and $23 for candles.
Cheesefare Potluck Cancelled
The Cheesefare Sunday
potluck planned for today has been cancelled and will be rescheduled on a
Sunday in Great Lent.
Great Lent Begins Tomorrow, Clean Monday
The 40-day fast of Great
Lent begins tomorrow, Monday 16 February.
That day is a day of strict fasting (no food or drink until noon, no
meat or dairy products, no alcohol).
During the weeks of Great Lent, we will have services on Wednesdays and
Fridays at 6 pm—Great Compline or Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesdays and the
Akathist Hymn on Fridays. Lenten
(meatless) suppers will follow the Akathist on 20 February, 1 March, and 20
March. Fr James will be available to
hear Confession after these services. Two evenings of Spiritual Reflection, on the
topic “Our Vision: What Our Church
Should Be,” will be held on 20 and 27 February after the Akathist. The Church School Lenten program, “Bible
Basics,” will be Saturday 28 Feb.
Set Aside Money for The Shepherd’s Care
The Shepherd’s Care is our
nationwide diocesan Lenten charity collection.
All of the money donated to The Shepherd’s Care is distributed to
charities here and overseas. Please use
the Mite Box enclosed with this bulletin to give something every day in Great
Lent for charity. A dollar a day—less
than the price of a cup of coffee—will add up to a $40 contribution at the end
of the Great Fast. Remember, the Mite Boxes are not just for children.
Books About Great Lent Now Available
We have two excellent books
about Great Lent available in our bookstore at the amazing price of $1
each. Great Lent, by Fr Alexander Schmemann, looks at the history,
practices, and spirituality of the season.
The Lenten Spring, by Fr
Thomas Hopko, offers reflections on the services and hymns of Great Lent. These classic books are informational and
inspirational.
New Directory Is Here
Our new parish photo
directory, long awaited, has arrived.
Pick up your copy in the parish hall after the Liturgy.
Memorial Service Rescheduled on Next
Saturday
Twice a year, the Church
observes a Saturday of the Dead on which we pray for all the departed,
especially of our families, friends, and parish community. The Memorial Service scheduled for yesterday
was cancelled because of bad weather. It
will be celebrated next Saturday at 2 pm before the singing of Great Vespers
for the First Sunday of Great Lent. To
have people particularly mentioned in the Memorial Service, give the names to
Fr James by Friday.
Parish Pastoral Council Will Meet Tuesday
The Parish Pastoral Council
will meet on Tuesday 17 February at 6:30 pm in the Parish Hall. The meeting has been moved from Wednesday the
18th because Great Compline will be celebrated on Wednesday evening.
Choir Will Practice on Fridays of Great Lent
On the Friday evenings of
Great Lent, beginning 20 February, the choir will have a short practice either
before or after the singing of the Akathist Hymn. All members of the choir must make every
effort to participate in the practices, which will concentrate on the chants
for Holy Week and Pascha. Those people
who join the choir only for those services also need to come to the practices.
Procession with Ikons next Sunday
Each of the five Sundays in Great Lent
commemorates an event in the life of the Church or a saint. In addition, the Gospel readings for these Sundays
emphasize Jesus as the Son of God with the full authority of God, who must
suffer, die, and rise in order to complete His work of salvation. We who are His followers must live in the
same way—with faith, humility, and sacrifice.
The First Sunday of Lent is called the
Sunday of Orthodoxy. Originally established
to commemorate the victories of the Orthodox faith over the Iconoclasts,
especially at the Second Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 787, the celebration
has been expanded to honor the triumphs of the True Faith over all heresies. The Gospel reading (John 1:43-51) describes
the call of the first disciples and the promise to Nathanael that “you will see
the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of
Man.” On this Sunday a procession with
the holy ikons usually follows the Divine Liturgy. People bring their favorite ikons and carry
them in the procession, and everyone venerates all the ikons. At St Joseph’s the students from the Church
School will carry a number of new ikons purchased for the church, but everyone
is invited to bring a favorite ikon from home and carry it in the procession
also.
The Prayer of St Ephrem
O Lord, Master of my life, grant that I may
not be infected with the spirit of slothfulness and inquisitiveness, with the
spirit of ambition and vain talking.
Grant instead to me your servant the spirit
of purity and humility, the spirit of patience and neighborly love.
O Lord and King, bestow upon me the grace
of being aware of my own sins, and of not thinking evil of those of my brothers
and sisters, for You are blessed at all times, now and ever and unto ages of
ages. Amen.
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