Saturday, January 30, 2016

Bulletin for 31 January 2016--Meatfare Sunday


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 SS Cyrus and John (Tone 5)

O Christ our God, You granted us your holy martyrs’ miracles as a stronghold and protection.

Through their prayers, strengthen our public authorities in every good deed,

for You alone are merciful and the Lover of All People.

31 January 2016—Third Sunday of the Triodion:  Meatfare/The Last Judgement.  Holy Moneyless Wonderworking Healers Cyrus and John.  (Tone 3)

Readings    Apostolos:  1 Corinthians 8:8-9:2                                                                                 Gospel:  Matthew 25:31-46

10:30 am    Orthros (Morning Prayer)

11 am          Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom for the health and salvation of Wayne Gowdy, Eleanora Lindo, Ralph Farhat, Nemri Badawy, Ann Rashid, Laina Graham, Ruth Zarka, Violet Albertson, Ina Samra, Leila Abdallah, Nadia Badawi & Family, Dan & Nancy Logan, Glen Gardner, Mona, Zaina, Gary, Charlotte, Laure, Fares Eid, Maroun Daher, Dennis Flint, Max, Angel, Simone, Mikayla Slocum, Raymond Rashid, Bonita Saba, Griffin Barna, Jim Covello, David Georges, Robert Kuri, Isaac Salim, Iva Butler, Alessandra, BJ & Liz, Cam, Janice, Jeanne, Kelsey, Kathleen Edwards, Edgar & Katherine, Kamal & Eugenie, Clay, Michael, Elaine & Eva-Genevieve Scarborough, Antonio, Elias Haggar, Marie Dahdouh, Dn. Joe & Marge Daratony, Fr Dennis Howard, Fr Charles Aboody, Fr Joseph Haggar, Fr Damon Geiger, Fr James Babcock, Fr Basil Samra, Fr Michael Skrocki, Fr Maximos; in memory of Awatef Chahine (Fayrouz Andrawes & Family), Maarouf Khouri (Nimer & Lamia Haddad), Elias Atallah (Mr & Mrs Sami Fawaz), Nickolas Nakfoor (Yvonne Rahme), Louis Zarka (Mary Randal), Lucy Palmer, and Fr Howard Hall.

7 February 2016—Fourth Sunday of the Triodion: Cheesefare/Forgiveness Sunday.  Holy Father Parthenios of Lampsacos.  (Tone 4)

Readings    Apostolos:  Romans 13:11-14:4                                                                                       Gospel:  Matthew 6:14-21

10:30 am    Orthros (Morning Prayer)

11 am          Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom in memory of Awatef Chahine (George Ayoub), Maarouf Khouri (Leftar Manuel), Elias Atallah (Adnan Jahshan), Nickolas Nakfoor (Khalil & Violet Rahme), Louis Zarka (Antoinette Raad), Michael P. Garten, and Terry Parsons.

                     The Rite of Mutual Forgiveness will be celebrated at the end of the Divine Liturgy.

Music for Today

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

2.       Troparion of SS Cyrus and John, in Tone 5.

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

4.       Kontakion of the Last Judgement, in Tone 1, page 200.

5.       Kontakion of Hypapanty, in Tone 1, page 238.

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 90 people attended the Liturgy.  Our offering totalled $1091 in the ordinary collection, $100 in donations, $180 for stole offerings, $249 for Disaster Assistance Collection, and $19 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.

 

Vespers for Hypapanty Before Our Ladies Society Meeting Tomorrow

On 2 February the Church celebrates the Feast of Hypapanty or the Encounter of the Lord with His People when He was presented in the Temple at the age of 40 days.  We will celebrate Vespers for the Feast this Monday, 1 February, at 6 pm, before the monthly meeting of Our Ladies Society.  Note that Our Ladies Society meeting has been changed from Tuesday evening to Monday evening for this month only.

 

Season of Preparation for Great Lent Has Begun

Because Pascha will be very early this year—on 27 March—we have already begun the time of preparation before Great Lent.  This Sunday is Meatfare Sunday, the last day before Pascha when eating meat is permitted.  But during this week other foods, such as milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, olive oil, and wine, are still allowed.  After Cheesefare Sunday (February 7), Great Lent begins and, according to the strict traditional fast, no meat, animal products, olive oil, or wine should be consumed until Pascha.

 

Great Lent Will Begin Monday 8 February

During Great Lent we are called to practice even more the three main disciplines of our Christian faith:  prayer, fasting, and works of charity.  To help us pray more intensely, the Church celebrates three services on the weekdays of Great Lent:  Great Compline, the Pre-Sanctified Liturgy, and the Akathist Hymn.  The parish council decided to schedule services on Wednesdays and Fridays at 4 pm so that parishioners who do not like to drive after dark can more easily come and pray.  We apologize that this will be more difficult for others, especially those who are working or going to school.  Great Compline and Pre-Sanctified Liturgy will be celebrated on alternate Wednesdays starting 10 February, and the Akathist Hymn will be sung every Friday beginning 12 Feb.  During Great Lent, we will also celebrate Great Vespers every Saturday at 5 pm.

 

NAMY Thanks You for Your Support of Concert and Soup Lunch

St Joseph NAMY members and friends thank the community very much for supporting last Sunday’s concert and the Third Annual Soup Lunch.  Your generous donations added $346 to NAMY’s savings for the annual NAMY Conference, which will be held in Manchester, NH, at the end of June, just before the beginning of the 50th National Melkite Convention hosted by the Annunciation Cathedral.  If our NAMY members and their families will not be attending the convention, we hope to have a day for sightseeing around Boston.

 

Get Tickets for Interfaith Day 2016; Fr James Will Be a Speaker

Now is the time to buy your tickets for the 46th annual Interfaith Day program, “Superheroes of our Faiths, Past and Present,” hosted on Tuesday 23 February by Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 1701 E. Saginaw Street, Lansing.  The event will begin at 9 am and will be completed by 2:30 pm.  The cost is $10 per person, which includes lunch.  Please also bring a box of healthy breakfast cereal for the Greater Lansing Food Bank.  For more information and tickets, see Kay Nakfoor or Su Butler downstairs after the Divine Liturgy.  We will be sending in our count at the end of the week.

Interfaith Day is an annual event helping people of various religious traditions in the Lansing area understand one another better.  Each year Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Jewish speakers (and sometimes Muslim and others) address a chosen theme and explain how each faith tradition approaches it.  This year our own Fr James, the first Melkite priest to address the group, will  represent the Catholic faith, speaking about two Melkite “super-heroes,” Patriarch Maximos IV Sayegh and Archbishop Joseph Tawil.

Prayer Breakfast Honoring Dr Martin Luther King Next Saturday

Last year the tickets sold out, so get yours now for the Dr Martin Luther King Prayer Breakfast on 6 February from 9 to 11 am.  The breakfast is organized by ACTION of Greater Lansing.  The main speaker will be the dynamic director of the Gamaliel National Network, Ana Garcia Ashley.  ACTION will be celebrating accomplishments in areas of immigration, children’s health, disabilities rights, and more.  The breakfast will take place at Union Missionary Baptist Church at the corner of St Joseph Hwy and MLK Blvd.  Tickets and more information are available online at www.actionofgreaterlansing.org.

Make an Appointment with Fr James to Have Your Home Blessed

According to the tradition of our Church, the priest blesses the homes and businesses of parishioners with the holy water from Theophany.  Weather permitting, Fr James will be very happy to come to bless your home or business.  Please see him or call him (517-575-6264) to make an appointment.  If you wish to make an offering for your house blessing, please make the offering to St Joseph Church, not to Fr James personally.

Holy Water from Theophany Still Available to Take Home

The Holy “Jordan” Water blessed at the Great feast of Theophany is still available for you to take home for drinking, using in cooking, blessing your family, etc.  You will find small holy water bottles on the cabinet at the rear of the church.  If necessary, you can fill empty bottles from the Holy Water urn on the cabinet.

50th National Melkite Convention in Boston 30 June-3 July

The 50th National Melkite Convention will run from Thursday 30 June through Sunday 3 July at the Boston Quincy Marriott Hotel in Quincy, MA.  This Convention marks 50 years of the Melkite diocese in the USA. For hotel reservations ($124 per night, up to 4 people per room), call (888) 236-2427 and ask for “50th National Melkite Convention.”  For event tickets and packages use the forms in SOPHIA.

 

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