Bulletin for 18 October 2015--Third Sunday of the Holy Cross

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 Saint Luke (Tone 3)

O holy Apostle Luke, intercede with God all-merciful

that He may grant us the remission of our sins.

 

18 October 2015—Third Sunday of the Holy Cross, 21^st Sunday after Pentecost.  Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke. (Tone 4)

Readings    Apostolos:  Galatians 2:16-20                                                                                                    Gospel:  Luke 7:11-16

10:30 am    Orthros (Morning Prayer)

11 am          Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom for the health and salvation of Protodeacon Joe & Marge Daratony (40^th Ordination Anniversary), Ruth Zarka, Elaine, Chris, Simone, Elias Atallah, Leila Abdallah, Awatef Chahine, Cameron Maldonado, Nawal, Zaina, Gary, Eric, 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, 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, Fr Charles Aboody, Fr Joseph Haggar, Fr Damon Geiger, Fr James Babcock, Fr Basil Samra; in memory of Tawfik Haddad (40 days by Fahdeh Haddad), John El-Ashkar (John Mansour), Pam Nakfoor, Suaad Matti (Ablahad Ibrahim), Nickolas Nakfoor (Nemri Badawy), and Louis Zarka (Mr & Mrs Boutros Ajini).

24 October 2015—Great Vespers, 6 pm

25 October 2015—Sixth Sunday of the Holy Cross, 22^nd Sunday after Pentecost.  Holy Martyrs Marcian and Martyrios.  (Tone 5)

Readings    Apostolos: Galatians 6:11-18                                                                                                     Gospel:  Luke 8:27-39

10:30 am    Orthros (Morning Prayer)

11 am          Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom in memory of Suaad Matti, Nickolas Nakfoor (Nadia Washington), and Louis Zarka (Nemri Badawy).

 

Music for Today

1. Troparion of the Resurrection in Tone 4, Liturgikon, page 187.
2. Troparion of St Luke the Apostle, in Tone 3.
3. Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.
4. 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 75 people attended the Liturgy.  Our offering totalled $1507 in the ordinary collection, $19 for candles, $150 in pledges for the new roof, and $40 for liturgy intentions.  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.
   Congratulations to Protodeacon Joe and Diakonissa Marge
   When Archbishop Joseph Tawil became the second Melkite bishop for the USA in 1968, he restored the office of Deacon to a place of prominence and honor in the life of our Church.  Joseph Daratony was one of the first deacons he ordained, on 12 October 1975.  Today, we honor Protodeacon Joe and his wife and co-minister, Diakonissa Marjorie, for 40 years of service to the People of God, and especially for leading St Joseph parish from September 2011 to March 2013.  Join us after the Liturgy for a lunch celebrating this great anniversary.  Instead of gifts to him, Deacon Joe asks that you make a gift to help the suffering people of Syria.  There is a box near the buffet table and you can put your donations in it.  If you write a check, please make it to St Joseph Church; we will send one check for all the donations to a relief agency chosen by Deacon Joe.
   Collection for Missions Today
   We join all Catholic churches in the US today in taking a special collection to support missionary work—taking the Faith to places where the Catholic Church has few people and supporting the priests and people who serve such communities.  Eastern Catholic Churches, such as our Melkite Church, also receive help from the Missions collection.  Please give as generously as you can.
   Get Your Flu Shots at our Clinic Next Sunday, 25 October
   After the Divine Liturgy on Sunday 25 October, St Joseph Church will sponsor a Flu Shot Clinic, in cooperation with Rite Aid Pharmarcy, 1004 E. Michigan Avenue.  Personnel from the pharmacy will be at St Joseph’s from 12:30 to 2:30 pm that day to give flu shots.  The shots are covered by most insurance plans; bring your insurance cards for processing.  If you are not insured, you can get your flu shot for around $25.  Skip the hassle of a doctor appointment or finding a clinic; just come downstairs after Liturgy and get your flu shot.
   The Bishop’s Appeal Brings All Parishes Together to Support our Church
   The annual Bishop’s Appeal is an important way in which our parish fulfills its duty to our larger Melkite family throughout the US.  Bishop Nicholas asks every Melkite household in the US to give at least $100-$200 each year to support our Church in America.  By contributing to the Appeal, each of us responds to Christ’s call to support His Church and to assist our suffering brothers and sisters in the war-torn Middle East.  Please send your gift today.  Last year, unfortunately, we did not meet our parish goal of $2500.  This year, let us be more generous and not only meet, but beat, that goal.
   Tickets Now Available for Parish Dinner on 15 November
   Our third annual St John Chrysostom Banquet will be held in the parish hall following the Divine Liturgy on Sunday 15 November.  Tickets for this catered dinner cost $12 for adults over 12, $6 for children 5 to 12, and nothing for children under 5 years old.  Buy your tickets now from Pat Kuri or Kay Nakfoor.  A special program will be presented before the dinner by the members of St Joseph’s NAMY group.
   Would You Come to a Weekly Bible Study?
   Fr James wants to start a weekly Bible Study.  Are you interested?  It would last for one hour and each week the topic would be the readings for the next Sunday.  He is thinking of Wednesday or Thursday at 10 or 11 am.  It could be in the church, at the rectory, or in someone’s home.  Please let him know if you are interested.

 

St Elias Parish in Cleveland Will Host Regional Conference on 7 November

Archimandrite Mark Melone, Deacon Paul Leonarczyk, and Deacon Sabatino Carnazzo will present a regional conference on “Living in Christ” from 9 am to 2:30 pm on Saturday 7 November at St Elias Church in Brooklyn (Cleveland), Ohio.  It will also be broadcast live at https://melkite.org/live-broadcast .  Deacon Sabatino writes, “For too long we have experienced the Church as a place we go on Sunday.  Our Eastern tradition offers us something more.  By restoring our lives in Christ, we learn to live our Christian calling in our daily lives, and renew it when we return to our parish family each week.  Join us as we explore pos­si­bilities of renewing our lives in Christ.”

Holiday Food Drive Begins Next Sunday

Our Holiday Food Drive will be coordinated by Our Lady’s Society and NAMY.  Starting next Sunday, and continuing until the new year, we will collect non-perishable foods that will be taken every two weeks to a local food bank for distribution to people in need.  Canned foods, healthy breakfast cereals, dried pasta and beans, peanut butter, powdered milk, baby food, etc. are especially needed.  Disposable diapers are also always needed.  The items we collect will be delivered to the food bank on 8 and 22 November and 6 and 20 December.  Anything collected after that will be delivered at the beginning of January.

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.  Contact any youth group member to schedule the work you want to be done.

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 line on each 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.  Please contact Fr James to find out what church items are available for sponsorship.

Read the Bulletin and Homily on our Website

The bulletin and the homily for each Sunday are posted on our parish website, www.MelkiteChurch.org, every week, for reference and (we hope) inspiration.  Remind those who don’t come to church to check the website.