Saturday, May 23, 2015

Bulletin for Sunday 24 May 2015--Holy and Glorious Pentecost Sunday


SAINT 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
Website:  www.MelkiteChurch.org            Facebook:  www.facebook.com/MelkiteChurchLansing
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 Pentecost (Tone 8)
Blessed are You, O Christ our God, who have filled the fishermen with wisdom by sending down the Holy Spirit
upon them, and who through them have caught in your net the whole world.  O Lover of Mankind, glory to You!
24 May 2015—Seventh Sunday after Pascha:  Holy and Glorious Pentecost.  Holy Father Simeon the Younger.  (Tone 7)
Readings    Apostolos:  Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11                                                                         Gospel:  John 7:37-8:12
10:30 am    Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11 am          Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom for the health and salvation of Maroun Daher, Dennis Flint, Floyd Chonos, Eleanora Lindo, Mikayla Slocum, 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, BJ & Liz, Cam, Janice, Jeanne, Wayne, Lucy Palmer, Kelsey, Kathleen Edwards, Edgar & Katherine Fickenscher, Kamal & Eugenie Neimat, Clay Thomas, Michael Maslowski, Elaine & Eva-Genevieve Scarborough, Antonio Carvalho, Elias Haggar, Marie Dahdouh, Dn. Joe & Marge Daratony, Fr Joseph Haggar, Fr Damon Geiger, Fr James Babcock; in memory of Fr John Leonard, Nickolas Nakfoor (Carol Ann Abdo), Louis Zarka (Simone Ayoub), Charles Saba (Nick & Nickie Joseph), Sandy Oade (Hala Wakim), and Josephine Faris and Michael Harmuth (Fr James).
F  Kneeling Prayers for Pentecost after the Dismissal of the Divine Liturgy  E
30 May 2015—Great Vespers.  6 pm.
31 May 2015—First Sunday after Pentecost:  Sunday of All Saints.  Holy Martyr Hermios.  (Tone 8)
Readings    Apostolos:  Hebrews 11:33-12:2                                                        Gospel:  Matthew 10:32-38, 19:27-30
10:30 am    Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11 am          Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom in memory of Fr John Leonard, Nickolas Nakfoor (Abdo & Nadia Eljbeily), Louis Zarka (Simone Ayoub), Sandy Oade (Dana Aybout), and Michael Harmuth (Fr James).
Music for Today
Antiphons and Little Entrance Hymn (Eisodikon) of Pentecost.
1.       Troparion of Pentecost, in Tone 8, Liturgikon, page 218—Three Times.
2.       Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.Kontakion of Pentecost, in Tone 8, page 219.
Trisagion:  “All of you who have been baptized into Christ . . .”
Hirmos and Kinonikon (Communion Hymn) of Pentecost. 
After Communion, Troparion of Pentecost instead of “We have seen the True Light . . .”
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 70 people attended the Liturgy.  Our offering totalled only $774 in the ordinary collection and $22 for candles.  Not everyone can make an equal gift, but everyone can make an equal sacrifice.  Please make a generous sacrifice to support your church in proportion to the many blessings God has given you.
NAMY Honors Parents with Lunch Today
Our NAMY chapter (youth group) decided not to compete with family celebrations of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, but instead to celebrate Parents’ Day today, in between the other two holidays.  They will present a light lunch after the Liturgy, offering chicken salad and tuna salad croissant sandwiches, fresh fruit salad, potato chips, and soda, coffee, or water.  There is no charge for lunch, but donations will be gratefully accepted.  They are already looking forward to the 2016 NAMY Conference and National Melkite Convention, which will be hosted by the Annunciation Cathedral of Boston, MA.
Good Attendance at the Great Lakes Regional Clergy Retreat
Clergy of the Great Lakes Regional Protopresbyterate (Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and western New York) gathered last week at the Capuchin Franciscan Retreat Center in Washington, MI, for their annual retreat.  In addition to Fr Michel Cheble from Our Lady of Redemption, Warren, MI, who is the Protopresbyter, priests attending were Fr Philaret Littlefield (St George, Milwaukee, WI), Fr Ezzat Bathouche (St John the Baptist, Chicago, IL, and St Michael, Hammond, IN), Fr James, Fr Elie Eid (St Michael, Plymouth, MI), Fr Robert Kerby (retired, South Bend, IN), Fr Ignatius Harrington (Holy Resurrection, Columbus, OH).  Not attending were Archimandrite Eugene Mitchell (St Joseph, Akron, OH), Fr Naim Khalil (St Elias, Cleveland, OH), and Fr Christopher Manuele (St Nicholas, Rochester, NY).
Our Lady’s Society Officer Installation Next Sunday
The newly-elected officers of Our Lady’s Society—President Nohad Eid, Vice-President Rabiah Eid, Secretary Charlene Jones, Treasurer Pat Kuri, and Corresponding Secretary Awatef Fawaz—will be installed in a short ceremony after the Divine Liturgy on Sunday 31 May.
Our Lady’s Society Will Meet on Tuesday 2 June
Our Lady’s Society will meet on Tuesday 2 June at 7 pm in the parish hall. 
Parish Pastoral Council Will Meet on Monday 8 June
The meeting of the Parish Pastoral Council scheduled for tomorrow night, Monday 25 May, has been cancelled because of the Memorial Day holiday.  The Council will meet on Monday 8 June at 6:30 pm in the parish hall.  Discussion will include nominations for elections at the end of summer.
Bishop Nicholas Visits Exarchate of Mexico This Week
Bishop Nicholas is making his first visit as Apostolic Administrator of the Melkite Exarchate of Mexico from 23 May through 29 May.
Melkite Association of Young Adults Plans National Retreat 1-5 July
The Melkite Association of Young Adults (MAYA) invites Melkites from around the country between the ages of 18 (and at least one year out of high school) and 30 to their 20th annual national retreat, at St. John’s University in Queens, NY, July 1-5.  This retreat offers an opportunity to grow in faith and fellowship.  The cost is $299, which includes a $25 membership fee, meals, transportation, and accommodations.  June 10 is the deadline for registration.  Register on the website, http://www.usmaya.org/events/retreat.  Online payments accepted.

 


Kneeling Prayers on Pentecost Mark the End of the Paschal Season

Today we celebrate the Great Feast of Pentecost—the sending of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles so that they could begin the work of the Church in the world.  On this 50th day after Pascha, some changes in our services mark the end of the Paschal season.  We once again begin our prayers with the Hymn to the Holy Spirit, “Heavenly King, Consoler, Spirit of Truth,” which we have not said since Pascha.  During Pascha, kneeling in church is forbidden because we are in the joy of the Risen Lord.  Normally, at Vespers on the Pentecost Sunday evening, we can again kneel.  Since we will not celebrate Vespers tonight, we will say the Kneeling Prayers at the end of today’s Divine Liturgy.

New Facebook Page Connects Great Lakes Melkites

At the recent Clergy Retreat, it was decided to establish a Facebook page for news of all ten parishes in the Great Lakes Region.  The page went up on Friday evening and in its first day was liked by almost 200 people.  Find it and like it at https://www.facebook.com/GREATLAKESMELKITES.  We hope that it will help develop closer relationships among our parishes and people in this large area.

St Anne Church, North Hollywood, CA, Designated Co-Cathedral

At the request of Bishop Nicholas, Pope Francis has named St Anne Melkite Greek Catholic Church in Los Angeles, CA, as Co-Cathedral of the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton.  The Divine Liturgy for the Solemn Inauguration of the Cathedral of St Anne will be celebrated by Bishop Nicholas on 1 August.  Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches in Rome, will preside at the Divine Liturgy and will read the decree of Pope Francis elevating the Church as a Cathedral for the Eparchy of Newton.  St Anne Cathedral was founded in 1909 when Fr Gerasimos Sawaya, the first Melkite missionary priest, traversed the west coast visiting and ministering to the Melkites in the Western United States.  St Anne Cathedral was the Mother Church of the following Melkite communities founded from it: Holy Cross Church in Placentia, CA; Virgin Mary Mission in Temecula, CA; St Jacob Mission in San Diego, CA; St Philip Mission in San Bernardino, CA; St Paul Mission in West Los Angeles, CA; and Annunciation Mission in Covina, CA. In addition, St Anne Church was also involved with the foundation of the following communities: St George Church in Sacramento, CA; St Elias the Prophet Church in San Jose, CA; St John of the Desert Church in Phoenix, AZ; and St Joseph Mission in Seattle, WA.  The Eparchy of Newton has jurisdiction over all the Melkites in the entire United States.  Because of the vast extent of the Eparchy, Bishop Nicholas requested the naming of a Co-Cathedral on the West Coast in order to express to the Melkite faithful there the unity of the Church and the solicitude of its bishop. The Eparchy of Newton presently has 45 parishes and missions, 60 active and retired priests, and 62 deacons, with several priests and deacons on special assignment outside the Eparchy.

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