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. 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 John the Baptist (Tone 2)
The memory of the just is mentioned with praise.
As for you, O Forerunner, the Lord’s witness is enough:
indeed, you were greater than the prophets since you were
found worthy
to baptize in the water the One they could but announce.
You have fought for the sake of truth and proclaimed to
those in Hades that God who appeared in the flesh
has taken away the sins of the world and bestowed His
great mercy upon us.
30 August 2015—14th Sunday after Pentecost. Holy Fathers Alexander, John, and Paul the
Latter, Archbishops of Constantinople. Second
Day of the Commemoration of the Beheading of John the Baptist. (Tone 5)
Readings Apostolos: 2 Corinthians 1:21-2:4 Gospel: Matthew 22:2-14
10:30 am Orthros
(Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine
Liturgy of St John Chrysostom for the health and salvation of Elias Atallah, Leila Abdallah, Cameron
Maldonado, Nawal, Zaina, Gary, Paul Keriotis, Charlotte Senno, Fares Eid,
Maroun Daher, Dennis Flint, Eleanora Lindo, Max, Angel, Simone, Mikayla Slocum, Awatef Chahine, Raymond
Rashid, Theresa Ramsey, 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 Patricia
Graham (4 years, by Fr James), Samira Khouri Jadah (Adel & Nadia
Badawi), Bashar Jameel, Nickolas Nakfoor (Cynthia
Adado), and Louis Zarka (Dr &
Mrs Michael Raad).
5 September 2015—Great
Vespers, 6 pm.
6 September 2015—15th Sunday after Pentecost. Commemoration of the Miracle of the Archangel
Michael at Colossus. (Tone 6)
Readings Apostolos: 2 Corinthians 4:9-16
Gospel:
Matthew 22:35-46
10:30 am Orthros
(Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine
Liturgy of St John Chrysostom in memory of Nickolas Nakfoor (Sally Ellis &
Susie Cherry), Louis Zarka (Mike
& Somaya Siminski), Bashar Jameel, Samira Khouri
Jadah, Abdallah
Haggar (Fr James), and William M. Graham (23 years by Fr James).
Music for Today
- Troparion of the Resurrection in Tone 5, Liturgikon, page 189.
- Troparion of John the Baptist, in Tone 2.
- Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.
- Kontakion of the Nativity of the Theotokos, in Tone 4, page 221.Our Offerings to the LordThe 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, only 50 people attended the Liturgy. Our offering totalled $499 in the ordinary collection, $13 for candles, $20 for liturgies, and $10 for our Church School. 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.Our Lady’s Society Meets This Tuesday; “Ask Abouna” NightOur Lady’s Society will meet at 7 pm on Tuesday 1 September in the parish hall. The program will feature Fr James in “Ask Abouna”—your chance to ask about our Faith, our Church, the Bible, and so on. Bring your questions and Fr James will answer them as well as he can.Choir Rehearsal This ThursdayIn preparation for the Ecumenical Service of Prayer for Persecuted Christians and Peace in the Middle East on 14 September, the choir will rehearse this Thursday evening, 3 September.Great Vespers for the Nativity of the Theotokos, Tuesday 8 Sept. at 5 PMThe Great Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos (the Birthday of Mary) is celebrated on 8 September. We will celebrate Great Vespers of the Feast at 5 pm on Tuesday 8 September. The story of this feast, like many feasts of the Mother of God, comes from the Proto-Gospel of St James, written around the year 105. After learning of the miraculous conception of a child in their old age (celebrated in the Feast of the Maternity of St Anne on 9 December), Joachim and Anne rejoiced when she was born and dedicated her to the Lord.Parish Pastoral Council Will Meet Tuesday 8 September at 6:30 PMThe Parish Pastoral Council will meet on Tuesday 8 September at 6:30 pm, immediately following Great Vespers for the Feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God (5 pm). In addition to regular business, the Council will welcome and install new members Natalie Hazel and Piere Khouri. Many thanks to them for their willingness to serve the community on the Parish Pastoral Council!NAMY Works (For You)The members of our NAMY group are available to work for you! Yard work, house work, garage cleaning, window washing—whatever projects you need help with. Even a private violin concert. This is a fundraising project; all proceeds will go into the NAMY bank account, not to the individuals doing the work. The minimum rate is $15 per hour. NAMY members will have a sign-up sheet available today after the liturgy, or contact any youth group member to schedule the work you want to be done.Did You Like the NAMY T-Shirt? You Can Order OneA number of people have asked if we have any more of the t-shirts printed for the NAMY Conference, showing a Cross and the name of our parish on the front of the shirt. We do still have a very few NAMY shirts, and we are accepting orders for more t-shirts (which will not have the NAMY Conference printing on the back). The cost for each shirt will be $15. To order shirts, give your name, contact information, shirt size, and number of shirts you want to Fr James or to Elison Daher, thePresident of NAMY. We will accept orders through Sunday 6 Sept.Prayer for Peace and Persecuted Christians at St Joseph’s on 14 SeptemberWe have invited Christians from many different churches in Lansing to an ecumenical service of prayer for persecuted Christians and peace in the Middle East on Monday 14 September at 7 pm. Speakers will inform people about what is really happening to Christians in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. Our Lady’s Society will offer coffee and cookies after the prayer. Be sure to invite everyone you know to this community prayer service.Fall Food Fest Set for Thursday 24 SeptemberBe sure to invite your friends, neighbors, and co-workers to the Fall Food Fest sponsored by Our Lady’s Society on Thursday 24 September from 11 am to 7:30 pm. The limited menu will feature a kafta plate and a mujaddara plate. The dessert table will be a joint project of NAMY and Our Lady’s Society.Deacon Joe Daratony Will Celebrate 40th Anniversary of his OrdinationProtodeacon Joseph Daratony will be honored at two celebrations of the 40th anniversary of his ordination. The first will be at Our Lady of Redemption Church in Warren, at the 11 am Liturgy on Sunday 27 Sept. Deacon Joe invites all parishioners of St Joseph’s to this celebration. (The Liturgy at St Joseph’s will be celebrated at 6 pm on Saturday 26 Sept.) If you plan to attend, notify Fr James so that we can tell them how many people will be coming to the lunch. We will host the second celebration at St Joseph’s on Sunday 18 October. Our Lady’s Society will present a lunch after the Liturgy. There will be no charge for the lunches, but Deacon Joe requests donations for the relief of the suffering people in Syria, both residents and refugees.
