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 Sunday of Orthodoxy (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!”
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 for the health and salvation of Fr Charles Aboody, Fr Brendan McAnerney, Nimer Haddad, 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 Iskandar Indraous, Nickolas Nakfoor (Dr
& Mrs Ronald Dewitt), Louis Zarka (Feryal
Raad), Adell Nahom and Emily Gowdy (Wayne
Gowdy).
Procession with the Holy Ikons at
the end of the Liturgy.
Troparia and Kontakion for Today
- Troparion of the Resurrection, in Tone 4, Liturgikon, page 187.
- Troparion of the Sunday of Orthodoxy, in Tone 2, page 202.
- Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.
- Kontakion of the Annunciation, in Tone 8, page 240.28 February 2015—2 pm: Great Vespers.1 March 2015—Second Sunday of Great Lent: St Gregory Palamas, the Holy Relics. Holy Martyr Eudokia. (Tone 5)Readings Apostolos: Hebrews 1:10-2:3 Gospel: Mark 2:1-1210:30 am Orthros (Morning Prayer)11 am Divine Liturgy of St Basil the Great in memory of Nickolas Nakfoor (Leonard & Marilyn Peters), Louis Zarka (Salim Saad), Fr James Straukamp & Fr Philip Azoon (Fr James).
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 60 people attended last Sunday’s Liturgy. Our offering totalled $675 in the ordinary
collection, $50 for liturgy intentions, and $17 for candles.
Memory Eternal: Iskandar Indraous
The servant of God Iskandar
Youssef Indraous, born 1 January 1929 in Al-Bassa, Palestine, slept in the Lord
on 15 February 2015, in East Lansing, MI., at the age of 86. He was buried from St Joseph Church
yesterday. May God have mercy on his soul
and may his memory be eternal. Our condolences
to his wife, Fayrouz, his nine children, his grandchildren and
great-grandchildren, and his many other family members and friends.
Lenten Services on Wednesdays and Fridays at
6 PM
This Wednesday we will
celebrate the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts; come and receive the Holy
Eucharist. On Friday we will sing the
second part of the Akathist Hymn. Lenten
(meatless) suppers will follow the Akathist on 6 March and 20 March. Fr James will be available to hear Confession
after these services.
Church School Lenten Program Next Saturday
A Lenten program for the
Church School will be held next Saturday, 28 February, beginning at 10:30
am. Fr James will present “Bible Basics”
to the junior high and high school classes.
There will be a separate program for the elementary class. After lunch, the students will pray Great
Vespers at 2 pm. All parishioners are
invited to Great Vespers also.
Lenten Evenings of Reflection, 6 & 20 March
Two
evenings of Spiritual Reflection, on the topic “Our Vision: What Our Church Should Be,” will be held on 6
and 20 March after the Akathist. In the first session, Jim deSpelder will
introduce the idea of vision and our parish Vision Statement. In the second session, Fr James will take us
through the Vision Statement and explain what each part means. At each session, there will be time for
questions and discussion.
New Directory Is Here
Our new parish photo
directory, long awaited, has arrived.
Pick up your copy from Su Butler in the parish hall after the Liturgy.
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.
Choir Will Practice on Fridays of Great Lent
On the Fridays of Great
Lent, the choir will have a short practice either before or after the
Akathist. All choir members must join in
the practices, which will concentrate on the chants for Holy Week and
Pascha. People who sing only for those
services also need to come to the practices.
The Prayer of St Ephrem
St Ephrem the Syriac is one
of the greatest theologians of the Church.
He was born early in the 4th Century in Nisibis of
Mesopotamia. When Nisibis became part of
the Persian Empire, many Christians, including Ephrem, moved to Edessa. He spent the rest of his life teaching there,
and died in 373. His prayer has been a
basic part of our Lenten devotions for many centuries. It is recited publicly in the services of
Great Compline, weeknight Vespers, and the daily Hours. It is highly recommended for private prayer
at any time during the Great Fast.
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.
Make a prostration (kneel, touch your forehead to
the floor, and stand, making the sign of the Cross).
Grant instead to me your servant the spirit
of purity and humility, the spirit of patience and neighborly love. Prostration.
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, (Prostration) for You
are blessed at all times, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
O God, be gracious to me, a sinner, and
have mercy on me. (12 times, with a metany [deep bow] and sign of the Cross each time.)
Yes, 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, (Prostration)
for You are blessed at all times, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
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