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 the Ascension of
the Lord (Tone 4)
You ascended in glory, O Christ our God, and
gladdened your Disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit.
Through your blessing they were confirmed in their
belief that You are the Son of God,
the Redeemer of the world.
10
May 2015—Fifth Sunday after Pascha: the
Man Born Blind. Holy Apostle Simon the
Zealot. (Tone
5)
Readings Apostolos: Acts of the Apostles 16:16-34 Gospel: John 9:1-38
10:30
am Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11
am Divine Liturgy of St John
Chrysostom for the health and salvation of Our
Mothers, Maroun Daher, Dennis Flint, Floyd Chonos, Eleanora Lindo, Mikayla Slocum, Samira El-Chaer, Awatef
Chahine, Raymond Rashid, Bonita Saba, Griffin Barna, Jim Covello, David
Georges, Elias Atallah, Ralph Farhat, Robert Kuri, Pam Nakfoor, Isaac Salim,
Iva Butler, 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, Michael Harmuth, Antonio Carvalho, Elias Haggar,
Marie Dahdouh, Josephine Faris, Dn. Joe & Marge Daratony, Fr Joseph Haggar,
Fr Damon Geiger, Fr James Babcock; in memory of Our Departed Mothers, Fr
John Leonard, Fr Michael Jolly,
Nickolas Nakfoor (Patricia Farhat),
Louis Zarka (Mr & Mrs Mitri Souri),
and Diane Siegfried (Fr
James).
16 May 2015—6 pm: Great Vespers.
17
May 2015—Sixth Sunday after Pascha: the
Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council at Nicea. Holy Apostles Andronikos and Junias. (Tone 6)
Readings Apostolos: Acts of the Apostles 20:16-18, 27-36 Gospel:
John 17:1-13
10:30
am Orthros (Morning Prayer)
11
am Divine Liturgy of St John
Chrysostom in memory of Fr John Leonard, Nickolas Nakfoor (Najah & Rita
Alshoufani), Louis Zarka (Mr &
Mrs Mitri Souri), and Douglas R. Smith (Fr
James).
Music
for Today
Antiphons
and Little Entrance Hymn (Eisodikon) of Pascha.
- Troparion of the Resurrection, in Tone 5, Liturgikon, page 189.
- Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone 4, page 30A.
- Kontakion of the Blind Man, in Tone 4.
- Kontakion of Pascha, in Tone 2, page 214.Hirmos and Kinonikon (Communion Hymn) of Pascha.
Special Collection Today
for the Victims of the Earthquake in Nepal
The bishops of the USA have asked all Catholic churches to take a special
collection to help the people of Nepal, devastated by a huge earthquake two
weeks ago. We will take this collection
today, Sunday 10 May. The earthquake in
Nepal was 350,000 times more violent than the earthquake last week in
Michigan. Three-hundred-fifty-THOUSAND times stronger! Please give generously to help the people of
Nepal.
Thursday is the Feast
of the Ascension of the Lord
Forty days
after Pascha, the Feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, we celebrate His
Ascension into Heaven. Come to the
Divine Liturgy for this Great Feast on Thursday 14 May at 7 pm.
Al-Bassa Community
Mother’s Day Party Cancelled
The Mother’s Day Party
presented by the Al-Bassa Community, scheduled for tonight, 10 May, has been
cancelled, owing to various circumstances.
Cedar Club Hafli Will
Benefit Veterans, St Joseph’s
The Ladies Cedar Club of
Lansing will present their Spring Hafli on Saturday 16 May at 7 pm at the Grand
Ledge Country Club, 5811 E. St Joe Highway.
Tickets at $35 each are available from Simone Ayoub, Lamia Haddad, Kay
Nakfoor, and Dalida Raad. The proceeds
from the hafli will benefit Wounded Warriors, a veterans’ support organization,
and the New Roof Fund of St Joseph Church.
Thanks for the
Success of the 23rd Annual Food Festival
Our Lady’s Society of St
Joseph Church presented their 23rd Annual Middle Eastern Food
Festival on Thursday and Friday, after weeks of intense preparations. Preliminary figures show gross proceeds of
more than $11,000. Many, many thanks to
everyone who contributed to this successful event, especially the women who
dedicated many hours of hard work cooking, serving, welcoming, cleaning, and
doing everything to make sure our guests were happy, that the parish would
benefit, and that God would be glorified.
Ten percent of the profits will be donated to support the Special
Olympics.
Memorial Service for
Sandy Oade and All the Departed, Saturday 23 May
The Melkite Greek Catholic
Church and other Byzantine Churches celebrate two Memorial Saturdays (or All
Souls days) every year, on the Saturday before Meatfare Sunday and on the
Saturday before Pentecost Sunday. On 23
May at 11 am the Memorial Service for all the departed, especially the deceased
members of our parish family, will be celebrated. At this service we will especially remember the
beloved departed servant of God Sandy Oade, at the request of Hala Wakim, Dana
Ayboud, and all of her family, who will offer a mercy meal in the church hall
following the Memorial Service.
St
George the Great Martyr
Saint George was born circa
280 in Lydda, Palestine (now Lod). His
father was Gerontios, a Greek Christian from Cappadocia, an area in central
Turkey. It is said that he once lived in
al-Khadr near Bethlehem, on land owned by his mother’s family.
George became an officer in the Roman army in
the guard of Emperor Diocletian who was persecuting Christians during the 3th
century. Diocletian attempted to convert
George, even offering gifts, money, and slaves, but George never accepted. Then the emperor ordered George to be tortured
in many terrible ways and finally beheaded. His body was returned to Lydda for burial.
Witnessing his suffering
convinced Empress Alexandra and Athanasius, a pagan priest, to become
Christians as well. Later they joined
George in martyrdom.
In 494, George was canonized as a saint by Pope Gelasius I. His feast day is 23 April. Because of the errors in the Julian (Old)
Calendar, which is still used by some Orthodox Churches, 23 April on the Julian
Calendar is 6 May on the Gregorian (New) Calendar, which is astronomically
accurate.
Palestinians have particular
reason to honor this early Christian martyr and to display his symbols. For them he is a local hero who opposed the
persecutions of Christians in the Holy Land. Greek Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna of
Jerusalem says, “We believe he was a great martyr for his faith who defended
the Christian faith and values. By
making sacrifices for his faith he was able to defeat evil. We take St George as a patron for people
living here—as he was born in historic Palestine. We pray to him to remember us and this Holy
Land.”
The best-known story about St
George tells of a dragon living in a lake near Silena, Libya, that was eating
people of the region and was about to eat the king’s daughter when George
intervened. The princess tied her belt
around the dragon’s neck and led it back to the city, where George killed it by
a single blow with his spear. The king
and all his people were baptized and became Christians. St George is presented as a knight full of
peace and grace, riding his white horse and always fighting evil, symbolized by
the dragon.
In the medieval period,
legends developed that St George travelled to England as a military delegate of
Emperor Diocletian. Local stories
claimed that he visited Glastonbury and other locations, even alleging that he
killed the dragon at Brinsop. By the 14th
century the Saint had been declared both the patron saint and the protector of
the royal family in England. He is also
said to have killed a dragon near the sea by Beirut and is considered a Patron
Saint of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and many other countries.
A service is held to honor St George at
al-Khadr on 6 May, bringing worshippers from the Bethlehem area to light
candles and say prayers. Some appealing
to the Saint for help also give sheep to the church so that it can distribute
meat to the poor.
Christians of the East see St
George as having set a powerful example for helping the needy and bravely
standing up for one’s beliefs, which made him popular around the world.
Nimer Haddad, Chair of St Joseph’s Evangelization Committee
