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Sunday, May 28, 2023

Tone 6 / Eothinon 10

Sunday of the After-feast of the Ascension

Commemoration of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council

Saints of the Day: Hieromartyr Eutychios, bishop of Melitene; Martyr Heliconis of Thessalonica

TO OUR VISITORS

Welcome to Saint Mary of Egypt Orthodox Church.  We are a multi-cultural church of the Self Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.  We invite you to receive the Holy Eucharist (Communion) if you are an Orthodox Christian, having prepared yourself by Sunday morning fasting, plus prayer and recent confession.  If you are not an Orthodox Christian, we invite you to receive, at the dismissal, a piece of blessed bread from the altar servers.  Our priest will be pleased to explain to you why only Orthodox Christians may commune.

Donations can be mailed to the address above or given electronically via Zelle at give@stmaryegypt.org

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THE EPISTLE

Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the God of our Fathers.

For Thou art just in all Thou hast done to us.

The Reading from the Acts of the Holy Apostles. (20:16-18, 28-36)

In those days, Paul was determined to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening, if possible, to be at Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the priests of the church. And when they came to him, he said to them: “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you bishops, to shepherd the church of the Lord and God, which He purchased with His own blood.  For I know that after my departure ravenous wolves will enter among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore, remain watchful, remembering that for three years I did not cease to admonish every one, night and day with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by such laboring we ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” And when he had spoken thus, he knelt down on his knees with them all, and prayed.

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THE GOSPEL

 The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John (17:1-13)

At that time, Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son that the Son may glorify Thee, since Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom Thou hast given Him.  And this is eternal life, that they know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent.  I glorified Thee on earth, having accomplished the work which Thou gavest Me to do; and now, Father, glorify Thou Me in Thy own presence with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was made. I have manifested Thy Name to the men whom Thou gavest Me out of the world; Thine they were, and Thou gavest them to Me, and they have kept Thy word.  Now they know that everything that Thou hast given Me is from Thee; for I have given them the words which Thou gavest Me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from Thee; and they have believed that Thou didst send Me.  I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom Thou hast given Me, for they are Thine; all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine, and I am glorified in them.  And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to Thee.  Holy Father, keep them in Thy Name, which Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, even as We are one.  While I was with them, I kept them in Thy Name, which Thou have given Me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled.  But now I am coming to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.”

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After Communion, in place of “We Have Seen the True Light”, we will sing the Troparion of the Ascension

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UPCOMING AT ST MARY OF EGYPT

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Monday May 29

7:00 PM Book Study via Zoom

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Friday June 2 

5 – 7 PM Community Dinner

 

Saturday, June 3 

5:00 PM Great Vespers for the Feast of Pentecost

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Sunday, June 4

Sunday of the Pentecost

9:05 AM Matins

10 AM Divine Liturgy

12:30 Kneeling Vespers of Pentecost

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Monday June 5

7:00 PM Book Study via Zoom

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Saturday, June 9 

5:00 PM Vespers

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Sunday,  June 10

Sunday of All Siants

9:05 AM Matins

10 AM Divine Liturgy

12:30 PM Bible Study

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Upcoming Feast Days: This year, we will be celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost on Sunday, June 4th. We will have more information upcoming about schedule of services for those two Great Feasts of the Church.

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Confession: Confession for Orthodox Christians should be done at least 4 times a year; especially during the major fasting seasons (Lent, Apostle’s Fast, Dormition, and Nativity.) Fr Athanasius is available for this sacrament on Saturdays after Vespers or by appointment during the week.

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Monastery Retreat: From August 4 – 6, a group from our parish will be going up to Holy Dormition Monastery in Rives Junction, MI for a retreat and pilgrimage. If you are interested in going, please speak with Bobbi Cornelius or Dasha Zolotareva.

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Coffee Hour: Coffee hour is our time of fellowship after the Liturgy. Parents, please, in the interest of maintaining sanitation, take care of your children’s plates. We are now scheduling who helps with coffee hour by last name. The families handling coffee hour this week are: Seyoum, Thelen, Ventura, Wincel, and Zaharako. Next week, the families in charge of Coffee Hour will be Zolotareva, Alexeev, Blanchard, and Brown.

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Freedom Fest: We will be having a booth at the annual Greenwood Freedom Fest on the last Saturday in June. As part of that, we will be needing volunteers to assist with the booth, set-up, and breakdown. Contact Barry Craig if you are interested in helping.

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Parish Festival: We have scheduled our Parish Festival for the first Saturday in October of this year. Please start now to consider how you may best be able to support the parish in this endeavor that is both a fundraiser and an outreach to the community, and to ensure that you are available to be here on that day. More information will be forthcoming as we approach the date.

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Adult Classes: Sunday Bible Study with Subdeacon Mark is cancelled this week. The book study is Mondays at 7 PM (currently reading Byzantine Theology by Fr John Meyendorff) will continue, again exclusively on Zoom. If you are interested in joining us virtually, please contact Patrick at davidpatrickharry@gmail.com.

 

Sunday School: Sunday School for our parish children is as follows: the younger class (ages 3-6) will leave with Ms. Duncan after Communion, while the older class (ages 7-13) will meet with Mrs. Cornelius during coffee hour. However, it will not be meeting this week.

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COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Community Dinner:  We will be having our community dinner on June 2nd from 5 – 7 PM with the menu to be determined. Anyone willing to assist with this or future meals, please contact Amal at (317)445-3508 with your availability.

Blessing Box:  We continue to be grateful for everyone who assists us with the blessing box pantry. However, recently we seem to not be receiving many donations from within the parish. The most pressing needs continue to be chicken ramen, dry pasta, pasta sauce, canned meats, mac & cheese, helper meals, canned vegetables, canned pastas, dry rice or beans, canned soup, peanut butter, and rice or noodle sides. Please remember those in need as you do your grocery shopping, as this is one of our (to date, very successful) projects for our community at large. If you are very busy and cannot get food to donate, there is a basket in the narthex where you can give money earmarked for this ministry of our parish.

Horizon House: Even though we are entering the warmer months of spring and summer, the need to collect things for the homeless doesn’t end.  Kendra Blanchard is heading this project, and the needs this month are travel-size toiletries, rain ponchos, umbrellas, and rain jackets. Please feel free to bring things in and place them in the hallway across from the kids’ playroom or place them in the red tote in the narthex.

Clarity Pregnancy Center: Our women’s group is starting an outreach to the Clarity Pregnancy Center here in Greenwood (almost right across the tracks on Main Street, in fact). There are paper bags with lists of items they need. See Kendra Blanchard for more information.

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REFLECTION FOR THE DAY

Do not forget prayer —— it is the life of the soul

 St Nikon of Optina

PARISH PRAYER REQUESTS

LIVING: Metropolitan Saba, Archpriest Athanasius, Archpriest Jerome, Archpriest John Koen; Dn Sergius Vlas (Evansville); Fr. Isaac & Kh Jo; Sdn Mark & Bobbi Cornelius; Austin Rush; Cassie Ward; Nina & Vasili (mother & brother of Tatiana Craig); Steve Anderson (the parish’s plumber); Kathy Evans; Mary Williams (friend of Charles Blanchard); Maya Shebeshi; Connie Heermann; Lenora & Fred (friends of Eve Wincel); Darren Glasscock; Joel & Jagger Saxton; Joshua Leffew; Gleb & Charlee Alexeev; Christopher & Jabran Soubeih (Lee Soubeih’s sons); Anna Michael; Joanne (Bonnie Thelen’s sister); Carol (Eve Wincel’s friend), Wyatt Sobczyk & Family; Katya Alexeeva, Evgeni & Elena Alexeev (Sdn Alexander’s parents); Eileen Cornelius (Sdn Mark’s mother); Natalia (friend of the Alexeevs); Dennis & Lynn Ciurej; Crystal; Reggie Jeffries (Christopher’s dad); Demetrios & Joanna Zaharako; Robert & Bonnie Thelen; Carl & Becky Cafouros; Khalil & Amira Saba; those suffering due to the conflict in Ukraine and those who have lost loved ones to disease, natural disasters, and violence

  

Please notify Charles or Amal of any new prayer requests by Wednesday for inclusion in the bulletin.

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SAINTS OF THE DAY

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St Nicetas the Confessor, bishop of Chalcedon (9th c.)

 He entered monastic life in early youth, and in time rose to the rank of Bishop in Chalcedon. As a hierarch, he showed outstanding compassion for the poor, caring for many orphans, widows and beggars. When the Emperor Leo the Armenian attacked the holy icons, Nicetas stood against him, and was driven into exile, where he reposed after much hardship and suffering.

 

The Holy Female Martyr Heliconis

 Heliconis was born in Thessalonica and was educated in Christian piety. During the reign of Gordian and Philip, she moved to Corinth where she openly denounced all those who offered sacrifices to the idols. When Perinus the mayor urged her to offer a sacrifice to the idol Aesculapius, this martyr of Christ said to him: "Hear me, I am a handmaiden of Christ, and I do not know who Aesculapius is. Do with me what you will." For this, she was brought to trial and endured terrible tortures. She was cast into fire, but a great quantity of blood poured from her body, extinguishing the fire, and she remained alive. She was thrown to lions, but the lions did not touch her, fawning around her instead. Admitted into the temple allegedly to offer sacrifices to the idols, she destroyed the idols, and by this she embittered the torturer even more. As she lay wounded in prison, the Lord Himself appeared to her with the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. The Lord healed her wounds, comforting and strengthening her. Afterward she was led to the scaffold to be beheaded. Before her beheading, Heliconis raised her arms high and prayed that God receive her and unite her with His lambs in the heavenly sheepfold. When she completed her prayer, a voice was heard from heaven: "Come daughter, a crown and a throne are prepared for you!" Finally, she was beheaded and received the wreath of glory from the Lord, for Whom, out of love, she sacrificed herself as an innocent and pure lamb.

 

Saint Ignatius Of Rostov

 As a hierarch, he governed the flock of Christ for twenty-six years with great love and compassion. When he died and as his body was being placed in church, some of those who were present witnessed him rise from the coffin into the air above the church and bless the people and the town from the heights. Then his body returned to his coffin. Many other miracles occurred at his grave. He presented himself to the Lord on May 28, 1288 A.D.