Bulletin for 6 December 2015--Feast of St Nicholas the Wonderworker

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 St Nicholas the Wonderworker (Tone 4)

O Father and Pontiff Nicholas, the holiness of your life was set before your flock as a rule of faith,

an example of meekness, and a teaching of temperance.  Wherefore you acquired greatness through humility

and spiritual wealth through poverty.  Pray to Christ God that He may save our souls.

6 December 2015—10^th Sunday of the Holy Cross, 26^th Sunday after Pentecost.  Holy Father Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia.  (Tone 3)

Readings    Apostolos:  Hebrews 13:17-21                                                                                               Gospel:  Luke 13:10-17

10:30 am    Orthros (Morning Prayer)

11 am          Churching of Marita George.  Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom for the health and salvation of Ruth Zarka, Violet Albertson, Ina Samra, Leila Abdallah, Kenneth Wright, Doug Wann, Mona, Zaina, Gary, Charlotte Senno, Fares Eid, Maroun Daher, Dennis Flint, Eleanora Lindo, Max, Angel, Simone, Mikayla Slocum, Raymond Rashid, Bonita Saba, Griffin Barna, Jim Covello, David Georges, Ralph Farhat, Robert Kuri, Isaac Salim, Iva Butler, Alessandra, BJ & Liz, Cam, Janice, Jeanne, Wayne, Lucy, Kelsey, Kathleen Edwards, Edgar & Katherine, Kamal & Eugenie, Clay, Michael Maslowski, Elaine & Eva-Genevieve Scarborough, Antonio Carvalho, Elias Haggar, Marie Dahdouh, Dn. Joe & Marge Daratony, Fr Charles Aboody, Fr Joseph Haggar, Fr Damon Geiger, Fr James Babcock, Fr Basil Samra, Fr Michael Skrocki, Fr Maximos; in memory of Maarouf Khouri (40-day Memorial by Jocelyne & Piere), Janet Sawaya (9^th Anniversary by the Family), Elham Sakr (1^st anniversary by Joe & Latife Khouri), Maroun Daher (by his Family), Awatef Chahine (Edward Chahine), Elias Atallah (Nick & Nicki Joseph), Nickolas Nakfoor (Boutros & Nohad Eid), Louis Zarka (Fayrouz & Nabil Raad & Najla), Virginia Chellino, and Eleanor Graham.

13 December 2015—Sunday of the Ancestors of Christ.  Holy Martyrs Eustrates, Auxentius, Eugene, Mardarius and Orestes; Holy Virgin Lucy.  (Tone 4

Readings    Apostolos:  Colossians 3:4-11                                                                                                 Gospel:  Luke 14:16-24

10:30 am    Orthros (Morning Prayer)

11 am          Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom in memory of Abraham Saba (2^nd anniversary by Bonita Saba), Awatef Chahine (Ihsam Chahine & Family), Maarouf Khouri (Nadia Washington), Elias Atallah (Jenevieve Ferrar), Nickolas Nakfoor (Siham Calille), Louis Zarka (Fayrouz & Nabil Raad & Najla), Douglas Smith, and William Graham.

Music for Today

1.       Troparion of the Resurrection in Tone 3, Liturgikon, page 185.

2.       Troparion of St Nicholas, in Tone 4.

3.       Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.

4.       Kontakion of the Preparation for the Nativity of the Lord, in Tone 4, page 225.

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 $1873 in the ordinary collection, $40 for stole offerings, and $27 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.

Great Vespers for the Maternity of St Ann on 8 December

The Feast of the Maternity of St Ann, celebrating God’s miraculous gift of the conception of a daughter in their old age by Ann and Joachim, falls on 9 December.  We will celebrate the feast (known in the Latin Church as the Immaculate Conception of Mary) with Great Vespers at 6 pm on Tuesday 8 December.

December Parish Council Meeting Cancelled

The meeting of the Parish Pastoral Council, announced for Tuesday 8 December, has been cancelled.  The next meeting will be on Wednesday 13 January 2016 at 6:30 pm.

Help Homeless Women and Children with Giving Tree Gifts

Our Giving Tree this year benefits the City Rescue Mission’s Women and Children’s Shelter.  Please stop in the narthex and take a tag from the tree.  If possible, please purchase and bring the items on the tags by next Sunday, 13 December, so they can be distributed as Christmas gifts.  Just place them unwrapped under the tree.  We will continue to collect these gifts through Sunday, 20 December.  If you have questions, please ask Su Butler.

Saturday 12 December:  Church School Day of Preparation for the Nativity

Our Church School will have a Day of Preparation for the Nativity of Christ on Saturday 12 December with Fr James.  The program will begin at 11 am with a lesson about preparing for the Coming of Christ, followed by lunch at noon, the Holy Mystery of Confession and Repentance at 12:30 pm, and Great Vespers for the Sunday of the Ancestors of Christ at 2 pm.  All Church School students are expected to be present and to participate in this day of preparation.  Sunday 13 December will be the last day of classes until 3 January.

NAMY Meeting 6-8 pm on Sunday 13 December

St Joseph’s NAMY will meet on Sunday 13 December from 6 to 8 pm.  We will plan our concert and Spaghetti Lunch scheduled for 20 December and choose a date for Christmas caroling.  Fr James will lead a discussion about the meaning of Holy Communion.

Bishop’s Appeal:  Give Like Saint Nicholas

St Nicholas, whose feast we celebrate today, is the patron saint of charity because he gave from his own resources to help poor and suffering people.  Let us imitate his loving generosity by making a special gift to the Bishop’s Appeal for the support of our Melkite Church in America and for our suffering and persecuted fellow Christians in the Middle East.  Please give generously so the vital works of our Church can continue and grow.  Extra donation envelopes are available in the narthex.  Please do not mail your contributions.  Instead, give them to Fr James to mail for you.  You will save 49 cents and he will be able to track participation by St Joseph’s parishioners.  God bless you for your generosity.  Last year, we did not meet our $2500 parish goal.  This year, let us be more generous and beat that goal.

 

Feed the Hungry—Bring Donations for our Holiday Food Drive

Our Holiday Food Drive will be coordinated by Our Lady’s Society and NAMY.  From now until the new year, we will collect non-perishable foods to give to a local food bank.  Canned foods, healthy breakfast cereals, dried pasta and beans, peanut butter, powdered milk, baby food, etc. are especially needed.  Toothbrushes and disposable diapers are also always needed.  Our donations will be taken to the food bank today and 20 December.  Anything collected after that will be delivered early in January.

Parish Council Sets Recommended Donations for Weddings, Baptism, Funerals

The Parish Pastoral Council has established standard offerings for Weddings, Baptisms, Funerals, Memorial Services, and the use of the parish hall for mercy meals.  The Council recommends an offering to the church (not to the priest) of $250 for Weddings, Baptisms, and Funerals of active, contributing parishioners.  For those who are not active, contributing parishioners, the recommended offering is $500.  The recommended offering for Memorial Services is $100 to the church.  For use of the parish hall for mercy meals, the Council recommends an offering of $150 to cover supplies, setup, cleanup, etc.  Note that these are not fees; the Church cannot charge for services.  No one will be refused the services of the Church if they are unable to pay.

Every Day in December is Preparation for the Nativity of Christ

Sometimes people ask when Advent begins in our Greek Catholic Church.  The answer is that it doesn’t, because the Byzantine Church does not celebrate Advent (which means the “coming”) as the Latin Church does.  ›  Our preparation for the Nativity of Christ begins 40 days before Christmas, with the Nativity Fast that begins on 15 November.  When the Melkite Church moved the beginning of the fast to 10 December, we lost an aspect of tradition that emphasized the importance of Christmas by giving it a preparatory fast equal to Great Lent before Easter.  ›  But the weeks leading up to the Great Feast of the Nativity of the Lord on 25 Dec. form a pattern of spiritual and liturgical preparation that in some ways resembles the West’s Advent.  From 26 Nov., 30 days before Christmas, we sing the Kontakion of the Preparation for Christmas at every Sunday and feast-day liturgy.  Thi       s Kontakion tells us, “Today the Virgin is on her way to the cave where she will give birth to the Eternal Word of God in an ineffable manner.  Rejoice, therefore, O Universe, when you hear this news, and glorify, with the angels and the shepherds, Him who shall appear as new child, being God from all eternity.”  ›  Commemorating Old Testament Prophets (Nahum on 1 Dec., Habakkuk on the 2^nd, Zephaniah on the 3^rd, Haggai on the 16^th, and Daniel and the Three Holy Youths Ananias, Azarias, and Mizael on the 17^th) and the Ancestors of Christ (on the Second Sunday before Christmas) reminds us that Jesus is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament, the fulfillment of God’s promises to His chosen people.  The feast of the Maternity of Ann (the Conception of the Mother of God) shows us how God uses ordinary humans to fulfill His Plan of Salvation.  The Genealogy of Christ (Matthew 1:1-25) read on the Sunday before Christmas connects Jesus even more intimately with God’s people, all the way back to Abraham, the “Father of Many Nations.”  ›  In the Troparion for the Paramony of the Nativity (24 Dec.), we sing “Christ is born to renew the likeness that had been lost of old.”  The coming of the Son of God as a human person, we sing in the Troparion of Christmas, “has shed the light of knowledge upon the world.  Through it, those who had worshipped stars learned through a star to worship You, O Sun of Justice, and to recognize You as the One who comes and rises from on high.”  We recognize and worship Jesus the Messiah, not as a baby, but as the new Adam, the perfect man, and the Light of the world.