Saturday, September 5, 2015

Bulletin for Sunday 6 September 2015--15th Sunday after Pentecost


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 the Holy Archangel Michael (Tone 4)
O Captain and Leader of the armies of heaven, unworthy as we are, we beseech you without cease to surround us
with your intercessions and cover us beneath the shelter of the wings of your ethereal glory.
We bend our knees and cry out with perseverance:  “Deliver us from danger, O Prince of the Powers on high.”
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 for the health and salvation of Simone, Elias Atallah, Leila Abdallah, Awatef Chahine, Cameron Maldonado, Nawal, Zaina, Gary, Paul Keriotis, Charlotte Senno, Fares Eid, Maroun Daher, Dennis Flint, Eleanora Lindo, Max, Angel, Mikayla Slocum, 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; in memory of Kamel Fawaz (Fawaz & Awatef Fawaz), Samira Khouri Jadah (Simone Ayoub), Nickolas Nakfoor (Sally Ellis & Susie Cherry), Louis Zarka (Mike & Somaya Siminski), Bashar Jameel, Abdallah Haggar (Fr James), and William M. Graham (23 years by Fr James).
12 September 2015—Great Vespers, 6 pm.
13 September 2015—14th Sunday after Pentecost.  Celebration of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  Commemoration of the Dedication of the Church of the Resurrection; Holy Martyr Cornelius the Centurion. (Tone 7)
Readings    Apostolos:  1 Corinthians 1:18-2:4                                                                                          Gospel:  John 19:6-35
10:30 am    Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11 am          Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom in memory of Nickolas Nakfoor (Nimer Bulos), Louis Zarka (Mike & Somaya Siminski), Margaret Powell and Patricia Graham (Fr James).
Music for Today
1.       Troparion of the Resurrection in Tone 6, Liturgikon, page 191.
2.       Troparion of St Michael the Archangel, in Tone 4.
3.       Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.
4.       Kontakion of the Nativity of the Theotokos, in Tone 4, page 221.
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 80 people attended the Liturgy.  Our offering totalled $1741 in the ordinary collection, $39 for candles, $190 for liturgies and house blessings, and $15 for a t-shirt.  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.
Great Vespers for the Nativity of the Theotokos This Tuesday 8 Sept. at 5 PM
The 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 This Tuesday 8 September at 6:30 PM
The Parish Pastoral Council will meet in the parish hall 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).
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross will be Celebrated Next Sunday
The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross occurs on 14 September every year.  This year we will celebrate the feast one day early, on Sunday 13 September.  The Empress, St Helen, mother of the Emperor, St Constantine, could be called the first Biblical Archaeologist.  She was devoted to excavating the holy sites in and around Jerusalem.  Early in the 4th Century, she uncovered three crosses on the hill of Calvary.  To determine which was the True Cross, each cross was touched to a sick person.  The cross that restored a dying woman to life was declared to be the Holy Cross.  It was preserved and venerated in the Church of the Resurrection, built by St Constantine over the burial place of Christ, until 614, when it was captured by the army of the Persian Empire.  In 628 Emperor Heraclius defeated the Persians and brought the Holy Cross back to Jerusalem.  The Emperor dressed in his most splendid robes to carry the Cross back into the church, but he found that he could not enter the door.  Zachary, Bishop of Jerusalem, told him that his pride, shown by his magnificent garments, was incompatible with the poverty and humility of Christ, preventing him from going into the church.  So the Emperor stripped off his glorious robes and wore a simple cloak to carry the Cross into the Holy Place.  All the people prostrated themselves and sang, “We bow in worship before Your Cross, O Christ, and we praise and glorify your Holy Resurrection.”  This is the song that we still sing when we venerate the Holy Cross.  On this feast, we bless the four directions of the world with the Holy Cross.  We decorate the Holy Cross with fresh basil, the herb whose name means “King.”
Church School Classes Begin Next Sunday; Parents Invited to Class on 20 September
Next Sunday, 13 September, Church School classes will resume for the coming year.  All students should be in the classrooms at 10 am.  Once again, Mrs El-Hage will have the elementary class, Mrs Butler will have the intermediate class, and Mr deSpelder will teach the high school class.  On the following Sunday, 20 September, parents are invited to come to class with their children, to learn about the lessons for this year.
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.


Prayer for Peace and Persecuted Christians at St Joseph’s on 14 September

We have invited 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.

You Can Still Order One of Our Parish T-Shirts

We are taking orders for more t-shirts like those printed for the NAMY Conference, with a Cross and our parish name on the front.  Each shirt costs $15.  Our Lady’s Society members should order shirts to wear at the Fall Food Fest.  To order shirts, give your name, contact information, shirt size, and number of shirts you want to Fr James or to Elison Daher, the President of NAMY.  We will accept orders through Sunday 13 Sept.

Fall Food Fest Set for Thursday 24 September

Be 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 Ordination

Protodeacon Joseph Daratony invites all parishioners of St Joseph’s to celebrate his 40th ordination anniversary at Our Lady of Redemption Church in Warren, at the 11 am Liturgy on Sunday 27 Sept.  (The Liturgy at St Joseph’s will be celebrated at 6 pm on Saturday 26 Sept.)  If you plan to go, notify Fr James so that we can tell them how many people will be coming for lunch.  A second celebration will be at St Joseph’s on Sunday 18 October.  Our Lady’s Society will present a lunch after the Liturgy.  Deacon Joe requests donations for the relief of the suffering people in Syria, both residents and refugees.

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