December 9, 2007 Church Bulletin
Read the December 9, 2007 bulletin in PDF format
Sunday, December 9, 2007
TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
CONCEPTION OF ST. ANNE, MOTHER OF THE THEOTOKOS
St. Ignatius Sunday/Choir Sunday
VARIATION IN TODAY'S DIVINE LITURGY
At the entrance (Service Book page 97):
1) TROPARION OF THE RESURRECTION - Tone 3: Let the Heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad, for the Lord hath done a mighty act with His own hand. He has trampled death by His death and has become the first born from the dead. He has delivered us from the depths of Hades, granting to the people of the world His Great Mercy.
2) THE ENTRANCE HYMN: O Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ. O son of God, who art risen from the dead save us who sing unto thee: Alleluia.
3) Repeat #1 above.
4) TROPARION OF ST. ANNE - Tone 2: Today have the bonds of barrenness been loosened, God, having heard the prayers of Joachim and Anne, promised them openly that they should give birth, against hope, to the Maiden of God, from whom he, the infinite One was to be born, becoming man, commanding the angel to shout to her, Hail, O full of grace, the Lord be with thee.
5) TROPARION OF ST. GEORGE - Tone 4: As deliverer of captives and defender of the poor, healer of the infirm, champion of kings, victorious, Great Martyr George, intercede with Christ our God for our soul's salvation.
6) KONTAKION FOR THE PREPARATION FOR THE NATIVITY - Tone 3: Today the Virgin cometh unto the cave, to give birth to the Word, who was born before all ages; begotten in a manner that defies description. Rejoice, therefore, O Universe, if thou shouldst hear, and glorify with the angels and the shepherds, (glorify) Him who by His will shall become a new born babe, and who is our God before all ages.
Prokeimenon: The righteous shall rejoice in the Lord.
O God, hear my prayer.
The Epistle is from St.Paul's Letter to the Galatians, 4:22 - 27.
Brethren, Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, the son of the free woman through promise. Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children from slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in travail; for the children of the desolate one are many more than the children of her that is married."
THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE (13:10-17.)
And it came to pass, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And there was a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your infirmity." And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and she praised God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the sabbath day." Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger, and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?" As Jesus said this, all his adversaries were put to shame; and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
Special note: Except for those who are elderly and/or disabled, please remain standing during Holy Communion.
NEXT WEEK'S HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT: Colossians 3:4-11; Luke 14:16-24.
"I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being."
(Psalm 103:33-44)
On this Choir Sunday, special prayers are offered for the health and happiness of Pat Ayoub, our Choir Director, and all members of our Choir and our Chanters, in thanks, for their dedication and service to the church. May God bless you all. Special prayers are also offered in beloved memory of all our choir members and chanters who have fallen asleep in the Lord. May their memory be eternal!
CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK
Sunday, December 9th -CONCEPTION OF ST. ANNE, MOTHER OF THE THEOTOKOS
-Matins - 8:45AM
-Divine Liturgy - 10:00AM
-Louise Joseph (1 yr.)
-Dorothea E. Salem (1 yr.)
-Choir Sunday
-St. Ignatius Coffee Hour
Monday, December 10th -Parish Council Meeting - 7:30PM
Tuesday, December 11th -AA Meeting - 7-8:30PM
Wednesday, December 12th -St. Spiridon, the Wonderworker
-Parents Guild Trim-a-Tree Party - 7PM
-Adult Fellowship Meeting - 7:30PM
Thursday, December 13th -St. George Seniors - 11AM-3PM (featuring @ 1:15p.m., John Rampino)
Friday, December 14th -Teen Overnight Retreat here w/Visit to LaSalette Shrine - 5PM
-Evening Hall Rental
Saturday, December 15th -Arabic School - 10AM-12Noon
-GREAT VESPERS - 5:30PM
Sunday, December 16th -29TH SUNDAY AFT. PENTECOST
-SUN. OF THE HOLY FOREFATHERS
-Matins - 8:45AM
-Divine Liturgy -10:00AM
-Christmas Pageant & Luncheon
Mitch Corey is looking for someone to take on the responsibility of the St. George Seniors. If anyone is interested please see Mitch or call him at 617.325.7956.
If you haven't already picked up your 2007 Business/Church Directory, please see Jim Peters during Coffee Hour. The Directory is also available in the church office.
Please call to make arrangements to pick one up.
Teen SOYO Advent Retreat , Friday Dec 14 - Saturday Dec 15
All teens in the parish are invited to join us for the annual Advent Retreat at the church. We will begin with a trip to the LaSalette Shrine in Attleboro, followed by an evening of fun & activities at the church. The retreat will end Saturday morning around 10 am. Please RSVP to Carolyne Moussa or Khalil
**Please note that the date and time is wrong in the messenger.
The retreat will begin on Friday at 5:00 pm.
Winter Camp @ Antiochian Village - January 18-21
It's just like summer camp, but in the winter! A weekend of fun, friends, and spiritual growth at the Village. Winter Camp begins Friday at 7 pm, and ends Monday morning, and is open to anyone in grades 7 to 12.
Visit www.antiochianvillage.org/camp for more info.
If a group from our church is interested in going, Khalil will look into renting a van to drive to the Village as a group. Please let Khalil know if you are interested or if you have any questions.
Join the Teen SOYO Email List
Parents and teens are asked to sign up for the Teen SOYO email list to receive updates and announcements of all activities. Follow this link to join:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StGeorgeBostonTeenSOYO/
Calling all College Students!
All College Students are asked to email their current contact information (address, email, phone, school, graduation year) to our Youth Director Khalil at khalilsamara@gmail.com. This will help us keep an accurate record of where our students are attending college, and to keep them up to date on any activities and programs for college students. College students can also join the "St. George Boston College Students" group on Facebook. Thank you!
Looking Ahead...
Jesus Youth Fan Club - next event will be on Saturday, January 12 - more details to follow.
Teen SOYO Diocese Retreat: March 21-23, 2008 - Contoocook, NH
Summer Camp @ Antiochian Village: Session 3, July 13-25, 2008 - for ages 9-17
PLEASE NOTE THE CHRISTMAS CAROLLING HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THIS YEAR.
"Canned Food Drive" extended one more week. Please bring back your bags during office hours this week. Distribution of food for Christmas will be Tuesday, December 18th.
Subdeacon Khalil G. Samara, Youth Director, khalilsamara@gmail.com
The Coffee Hour today is sponsored by the Order of St. Ignatius.
Votive Candles (5 day) are offered for the health of:
- Deacon Elias Hamaty and Stephen Galambos by their family.
- Gregory Hanna by Eleanor Hanna.
Votive Candle (5 day) is offered in beloved memory of Joseph and Alexandra Maalouf by their children.
Today's bulletin is offered in beloved memory of John, Jamelia, Nicholas, George, Michael, Sophie, Johnny, Elias (Louie), Laura, Gladys and Prof. S. John Guson.
Hospitalized Brethren: Let us remember in our prayers our hospitalized brethren, especially: Maryanne Malone (at home), Josephine Nicholas (German Home Rehab, W. Rox.); Najla Saba (Park Avenue Rehab, Arlington), Richard Salem (Southwood, Norwell); Vicky Laham (at home); Eva Hamaty (Emerald Court, Norwood); Evanglie Qaqish (Sunbridge, Lexington); George Fares (at home); Mary Jabbour (Highgate Manor, Dedham); Mary Abboud (Wingate at Silver Lake, Kingston); Edward Maloof (Charlwell House, Norwood). If a member of your family is sick at home or in the hospital, please call the church and let us know as soon as possible.
ARABIC TRANSLATOR NEEDED
We would like to have several volunteers to translate articles for our new WEB PAGE from English to Arabic. Must be computer literate with Arabic text in Unicode. Please contact Father Timothy if you can assist with this important task. Thank you.
ST. GEORGE CHURCH PARENTS GUILD TRIM-A-TREE PARTY, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12TH FROM 7:00-8:30PM
Agenda: Help with trimming the tree and preparations for the Church School Luncheon & party on Sunday, December 16th. Many elves are needed! RSVP: Katie Lynch 781.329.5473/Darlene Cronin 508.359.4304.
CHURCH SCHOOL "HELPING HANDS" PROJECT - There's still time! There are a few more "hands" left on the tree. Please feel free to take one as you leave church today. We have extended the return date to Friday, December 14th. Please do not wrap these gifts. Just attached the "Helping Hand" Tag to the gift and bring the gift to the Church during office hours. Thank you and God bless you for your help and support. --Elizabeth and Deborah
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING - There will be a display of Christmas items and gifts this morning during the coffee hour. You are welcome to browse and purchase your Christmas gifts. Today will be the last day we will have this display.
ORTHODOX CHRISTMAS PLANNERS are in! They will be at the Religious items table and Bookstore until we run out. A must have for every Orthodox Christian, this little planner includes all Feast and Fast Days and places for you to write your appointments. They go fast so get your today. $2.50 each
PROJECT MEXICO/St. Innocent Orphanage - Our thanks to everyone who participated in this project. We have been told over and over again how much the children appreciate our interest in them and how they look forward to receiving these gifts. Some of the newer children have never received Christmas gifts before. Because of your generosity, we have been able to send each child a pair of jeans, six pair of socks, a belt and a polo style shirt, undershirts, a volley ball net, soccer bags, several basketballs, and four sets of soccer scrimmage shirts. We ask God's blessings on all of you and your families for your generosity and help.
URGENT!
St. George Orthodox Church of Boston is made possible through the generous contributions of faithful people like you.
We are thankful for all the families who support St. George Parish through our Annual Pledge Program - our Pledge is the foundation of our budget and all that we are able to accomplish here at St. George. This year, unfortunately, our Pledges are lagging behind and, as it looks now, we will not meet our needs by the end of the year. Please help out now.
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If you made a Pledge and haven't contributed on it yet - we ask you to please do so now - we urgently need your commitment and financial support before the close of the year [just a few weeks away].
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If you are contributing on your Pledge and have a remaining balance - now is the time to send it in.
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If you did not made a Pledge and appreciate and benefit from all the community has to offer you and your family - we urge you to make a donation of support now - your assistance is urgently needed.
Total Pledged $218,479.16
Total Received $191,612.05
Difference $ 26,867.11
Percent Received 88%