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
Rev. Protodeacon Joseph Daratony
248-719-5169
Phone or email Fr James with items for the
bulletin by Thursday night.
Troparion of the Holy Fathers (Tone 8)
O Christ our God, You are above all glory, for you have
established our Holy Fathers as radiant stars on earth,
and through them You have guided us all to the True
Faith. O Most Merciful One, glory to You!
19 July 2015—Sunday of
the Holy Fathers of the First Six Ecumenical Councils. Venerable Mother
Macrina, Sister of St Basil the Great; Holy Father Dios. (Tone 7)
Readings Apostolos: Titus 3:8-15
Gospel: Matthew 5:14-19
10:30 am Orthros
(Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine
Liturgy of St John Chrysostom for the health and salvation of Theresa Ramsey, Elias Atallah, George
El-Hage,
Cameron Maldonado, Nadia Badawi, Zaina, Gary, Charlotte Senno, Fares Eid,
Maroun Daher, Dennis Flint, Eleanora Lindo, Max, Angel, Simone, Mikayla Slocum, Awatef Chahine, Raymond
Rashid, Bonita Saba, Griffin Barna, Jim Covello, David Georges, Ralph Farhat,
Robert Kuri, Pam Nakfoor, Isaac Salim, Iva Butler, Alessandra, 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, Fr
Basil Samra, Fr Maximos, Dn.
Robert Spencer, Dn. Daniel Klockowski; in memory of Samira El-Chaer, John and Nassib Badawy (Nemri Badawy & Family), Nickolas Nakfoor (Joe & Tammy Daley),
Louis Zarka (John & Saideh Bulos), Mary
Walker, and Diakonissa Mary Lawler.
Blessing of Cars following the
Divine Liturgy
25 July 2015—Holy
Crowning of Matthew Mekhayel and Reem Abawi, 3pm.
26 July 2015—Ninth Sunday after Pentecost. Holy Hieromartyrs Hermolaos and his Two Companions;
Holy Martyr Paraskeve. (Tone 8)
Readings Apostolos: 1 Corinthians 3:9-17 Gospel: Matthew 14:22-34
10:30 am Orthros
(Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine
Liturgy of St John Chrysostom in memory of Benjamin Russell (the Eid Family), Nickolas Nakfoor
(Thom & Ruth Hourani), Louis
Zarka (John & Saideh Bulos), and Samira
El-Chaer.
Music for Today
1.
Troparion of the Resurrection in
Tone 7, Liturgikon, page 193.
2.
Troparion of the Holy Fathers, in
Tone 8.
3.
Troparion of St Macrina, in Tone
8.
4.
Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone
4, page 30A.
5.
Kontakion of the Theotokos, in
Tone 2, page 31.
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 85 people attended the
Liturgy. Our offering totalled $1066 in
the ordinary collection, $230 for stole offerings, and $100 in new roof pledges. 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.
Memory Eternal:
Samira Badih El-Chaer
The beloved servant of God, Samira Badih El-Chaer, slept in the Lord on
Thursday 16 July. The Trisagion prayers
will be sung at 7 pm on Tuesday 21 July at the Gorsline-Runciman Funeral Home,
900 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. The
funeral will be celebrated at 1 pm on Wednesday 22 July in St Joseph Church. The burial will follow. Our deepest sympathy to her family. May God have mercy on her soul and may her
memory be eternal!
Memorial Panel
in the Narthex Will Be Brought up to Date
The Memorial Panel in the narthex of the church has
not been brought up to date in several years.
The Parish Pastoral Council has approved a plan for engraving additional
plaques for memorial gifts. The names of
parishioners who have died since the panel was last updated will be added and
other memorials may also be requested. A
form will soon be available for providing the information for each plaque. There is an absolute limit of 26 characters
per plaque for names and messages. The
deadline for submitting information will be 1 October. At that time, all the requested plaques will
be removed, engraved, and replaced. If
anyone wishes to make an additional memorial gift, please contact Fr James to
find out what church items are available for sponsorship.
Melkite Priest and Driver Abducted in Syria
His Grace Nicolas Antiba, Greek-Melkite Archbishop of Bosra and Hauran in
Syria, told Agenzia Fides, the information service of the Pontifical Mission
Services, “I can confirm that Father Antoine Boutros and his collaborator Said
Al-Abdun, who have been missing since last Sunday, were actually stopped and
seized by one of the several armed rebel groups that are in the area. Since their disappearance we have not received
any news or demands from the kidnappers.” Rumors of the kidnapping circulated since the
first hours after the disappearance of Father Antoine and Said on 12 July. The two, in a car, were traveling from the
city of Shahba to Sama Hinadat, where Fr Antoine was supposed to celebrate
Sunday liturgy. Fr Antoine Boutros, 50
years old, married and father of a daughter, pastor of the Church of St Philip
the Apostle in the city of Shahba (50 miles southeast of Damascus), is also
known for his charitable and humanitarian initiatives in the Syrian province of
Suwayda, and for helping to maintain civil peace, committing himself in
operations of mediation among the warring factions. “All twenty priests of the archdiocese are
peacemakers, and always try to work for reconciliation and for the benefit of
all, in the situation of suffering and pain experienced by the Syrian people,”
Archbishop Antiba told the news agency.
Archbishop Nicolas Antiba served in the USA for many years and was at
one time pastor of St Ann Melkite Church in West Paterson, New Jersey.
Blessing of Cars and Potluck Lunch After the Liturgy
this Sunday
It is customary to bless cars on the feastday of St Elias the Prophet, 20
July, because he was taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot, and automobiles are
modern “fiery chariots.” Father James
will bless cars after the Liturgy t0day, 19 July, the day before the feast of
St Elias. Everyone is also invited to
stay for a potluck lunch.
The Deck at the Rectory Needs to be Refinished; Can You
Help?
The deck at the back of the rectory needs to be sanded and
repainted. Beshara Geadaa, Chair of the
Property Council, is seeking volunteers to help, especially with stripping the
old paint, sanding the wood, and making any repairs that might be needed. Please contact Beshara if you can help with
this project.
Come to our Parish Picnic on Saturday 1 August
The Parish Pastoral Council invites everyone to St Joseph’s annual Parish
Picnic on Saturday 1 August. It will be
held on the lawn under the trees at the home of Chuck and Dalida Raad, 3061
Sandhill Road, Mason, starting at 12 noon.
Hamburgers and hotdogs will be provided.
Please bring a dish to share and drinks of your choice. Enjoy games for children, teens, and
adults. For directions, call Dalida at
home, 517-337-9110, or on her mobile phone, 517-331-6113
Something to Think About: The Bible was Written for Us
Last Sunday we heard this sentence from St Paul’s Letter to the
Romans: “For whatever things were
written before were written for our instruction, that we through the patience
and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). Sister Vassa Larin, an Orthodox nun and
theologian in Vienna, Austria, reflected on this verse on her Facebook page,
writing, “Here St Paul states the obvious about the Scriptures: that they were written for us. That is, for us actually to read them, and to
be instructed and comforted by them. And
that we might have hope; the hope of His Kingdom. They are not written as some kind of legal or
political system, to be imposed as the plan for an earthly kingdom. Today I remind myself of the gifts I receive
through a daily reading of Scripture, even if it’s just a little bit: instruction, patience, comfort, and hope. And I thank God today, from the bottom of my
heart, that He did not leave me without instruction, without consolation, or
without hope, in this world. He
accompanies me with His Word, reminding me daily that I am not alone.” Too often, we think of the Bible as something
apart from us or imposed on us, but as Sr Vassa says, it is a gift to us. You can follow Sr Vassa on Facebook and see
her podcasts, “Coffee With Sister Vassa,” on YouTube, to learn more about the
Bible, the Christian faith, the Church, and Christian life.
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