December 7, 2025

26th Sunday after Pentecost

 

TO OUR VISITORS

Welcome! We hope your time with us is healing and worshipful. Please note that, although we have much respect for other Christian traditions, Holy Communion is reserved for properly prepared members of the Orthodox Church. Everyone is invited to partake of the blessed bread after the conclusion of the Liturgy. May God’s blessing be upon you!

​

Hymns in Today’s Liturgy

​

Resurrectional Apolytikion (Tone 1)

While the stone was sealed by the Jews, and the soldiers were guarding Thy most pure body, Thou didst arise on the third day, O Savior, granting life to the world. For which cause the heavenly powers cried aloud unto Thee, O giver of life. Glory to Thy Resurrection O Christ, glory to Thy kingdom, glory to Thy providence, O Thou Who alone art the lover of mankind.

​​

Apolytikion of Mary of Egypt (Tone 8)
Through thee, the divine likeness was securely preserved, O mother Mary; for thou didst carry the cross and follow Christ. By example and precept thou didst teach us to ignore the body, because it is perishable, and to attend to the concerns of the undying soul. Therefore, doth thy soul rejoice with the angels.

 

Kontakion of the Preparation of Christ’s Nativity (Tone 3)

On this day, the Virgin cometh to the cave to give birth to God the Word ineffably Who was before all the ages. Dance for joy, O earth, on hearing the gladsome tidings; with the Angels and the shepherds now glorify Him Who is willing to be gazed on as a young Child Who before the ages is God.

​

THE EPISTLE

Ephesians 5:8–19

Brethren, walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret; but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.” Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart.

​

THE GOSPEL

Luke 13:10–17

At that time, 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 hypocrite! 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.

​+ + +

​

UPCOMING AT ST MARY OF EGYPT

 

Sunday

Setup 08:30 @ Friedens

Orthros & Divine Liturgy 09:00 @ Friedens

Fellowship 11:30 @  Friedens

Sunday School  11:45 @  Friedens

Takedown 12:15 @ Friedens 

​​​​​​​​

​​​Monday

Book Study: “Church World Mission” 19:00 @ Google Meet

​​

Tuesday

Adult Education / Catechism 19:00 @ Scotts'

 

Saturday

Are You Prepared? 09:00 @ Flanner Buchanan Washington Park North

​

​​​​Sunday

Setup 08:30 @ Friedens

Orthros & Divine Liturgy 09:00 @ Friedens

Fellowship 11:30 @  Friedens

Sunday School  11:45 @  Friedens

Takedown 12:15 @ Friedens 

Parish Council1 3:00 @ Browns'​

​

+ + +​

​​​​​​

Stewardship: Please complete your 2026 pledge form as soon as possible. We only have four responses so far which will not be enough to keep our doors open next year, much less help move us forward with our building program.

​

On the Road: We are now meeting in Hayden Hall at:

Friedens United Church of Christ

8300 S Meridian St
Indianapolis, IN 46217
///fluent.cheaply.scrawl

for Orthros & Divine Liturgy at our normally scheduled time of 09:00. Please arrive at 08:30 to help set up. 

 

Our mailing address is:

St. Mary of Egypt Orthodox Church
480 N Town Center Rd PMB 210
Mooresville, IN 46158-1379

​​​

Parish Christmas Card: This year, we will be sending out a parish-wide Christmas card; sign up here to have your name(s) to appear inside. We ask a $5 minimum donation per person with the proceeds going towards the purchase of a headstone for Maggie Heermann. So far, only 10 people have signed up to have their names in the card.

​​​

Messages for Bob: If you would like to record a short video message for Bob Thelen, Connie Heermann will be available in the narthex for the next three Sundays to record it. Everyone is encouraged to go visit Bob at Homeview Health & Rehabilitation Center in Franklin.

​

Christmas Market: The December meeting of the Ladies of St. Mary will be a trip to the Christmas Market at Joy of All Who Sorrow. Greenery can be ordered in advance using this form.

​

Are You Prepared?: In cooperation with Flanner Buchanan, we will have a workshop on how to plan for the inevitable. Topics covered will include:

• Estate & Legal Planning

• Hospice Care

• Organ Donation

• Funeral Planning

The workshop will be held Saturday, 2025‑12‑13 09:00–14:30 at Flanner Buchanan — Washington Park North, 2706 Kessler Blvd W Dr, Indianapolis, IN 46228. The workshop is free; please register here to attend.

​​​

​​​​Volunteer Opportunities:

• We weren't able to stream the last two Sundays because we still need at least one more person to back Zach up.  Please let Fr. Peter know if you're interested.

• We need content for our newsletter other than reports and meeting minutes. Some of you have sent pictures but, if you have any articles you're seen or written that you would like included, please send them for Fr. Peter to review.

If you would like to step up, please contact Fr. Peter.

​​

Realm: Giving in Realm has now been implemented. There are presently three ways to give via Realm:

1. Log into Realm and select “Giving”

2. Visit https://onrealm.org/StMaryEgyptOrth/Give in your browser

3. Text STMARYINDY to 73256, followed by your gift amount, to give online through text.*.

At present, we have 5 people who have received Realm invitations who have yet to respond. If you have not yet received a Realm invitation or have misplaced yours, please contact Fr. Peter. If you need help signing in or have general questions, please contact Kendra.

​​

Building Program: We are currently working on obtaining easements for sewage, water, and stormwater drainage. More updates will be issued as work progresses.

​

Youth Protection Policy: ​ Michael Frank is our Youth Protection Coordinator and is in the process of creating the comprehensive list of individuals who we know will need to complete the background check and training at this time. If you need to know whether you need to complete the training and background check at https://www.ncsrisk.org/antiochian; please let him know. Thanks to all of you in advance for your help in getting this completed.

​

Coffee Hour: Coffee Hour is our time of fellowship after the Liturgy. This week, group A (led by Amal Hanania) will oversee coffee hour; next week, group B (led by Bobbi Cornelius) will oversee coffee hour. If you are not currently in a coffee group and would like to join or would just like to bring something when you're not scheduled, please contact Amal. Please also remember that, as guests of Friedens UCC, we do not currently have the use of a kitchen so everything we bring in must be taken out when we leave. We must also be finished in plenty of time to clean up and take down so that we are out of the building by 12:30 sharp.​

​

Following Along: When you enter the church, please be sure to pick up a service book and follow along with the Liturgy. Our goal is that everyone will be familiar with the music and everyone will participate in the Liturgy to the fullest extent possible.

​​

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Canned Food:  Kathy Evans is collecting “no sugar added” or “packed in their own juice” canned fruits and “no salt added” canned vegetables on Sundays to take to Johnson County Senior Services. Individual cans can be brought inside while cases can be transferred directly to her vehicle. If neither Kathy nor the donation box are present, please bring your donation on the following Sunday. For more information, please contact Kathy.

​

Benevolence:  In these increasingly tough economic times, we are constantly being approached by those in and around the community asking for financial help. If you would like to donate towards this cause, please contact Amal.

 

DATES TO REMEMBER

​​​​​​​​

5–6 Dec   Christmas MarketJoy of All Who Sorrow

6 Dec   Hymns to St. Nicholas   Holy Trinity

11 Jan   Annual Parish Meeting   Friedens UCC

13  Dec   Are You Prepared?  Flanner Buchanan Washington Park North

31 Dec–2 Jan   Winter Retreat   Martinsville, IN

****

2–5 Jan   Upstream — OCF   Wewoka, OK 

15–18 January      Ancient Faith Singles Retreat 30+   Antiochian Village​

16–19 Jan   Winter Family Camp   Antiochian Village

23–24 Jan   Teen SOYO Retrea   tSt. George

17–21 Jun     Parish Life Conference   North Royalton, OH

20–23 Aug   Do You Want to Be a Priest?    Antiochian Village

4–6 Sep   DoxaMoot  Raleigh, NC

8–11 Oct   Centennial Celebration    St. George

​

​

PARISH PRAYER REQUESTS

​

Living: Archpriest Athanasius, Archpriest James, Archpriest Petar, Archpriest Philip, Archpriest Zachariah, Priest Gabriel (01‑02), Sdn. Alexander, Aaron (01‑02), Abraham, Alexander, Amber (12‑08), Amira, Andrea (01‑02), Barbara (12‑11), Demetrios (12‑08), Elen, Elena, Evgueni, Hannah (12‑31), Hannah, Ioanna, Joanna (12‑08), Judy (12‑10), Katya (01‑02), Lee, Lynette, Mary (12‑11), Meriana, Michael (01‑09), Nikolai, Robert (12‑11), Robert, Senayet (01‑02), Tanya, Wanda (12‑11)

​

Departed: Jared (12‑19)

​

​​Please,   notify Fr. Peter  of any new prayer requests by Wednesday for inclusion in the bulletin.

​

+ + +  - - - + + +  - - - + + +​

​

SYNAXARION
 

On 7 December, in the Holy Orthodox Church, we commemorate our father among the saints Ambrose, bishop of Milan

Ambrose, having shed his corruptible body,

hath fitly partaken of divine ambrosia.

On the seventh, Ambrose came upon immortal terrain.

His father was the imperial governor of Gaul and Spain, and a pagan, while his mother was a Christian. On the death of his father, the Emperor made him governor of Liguria, of which province Milan was the chief city. When the bishop of Milan died, there was great dissension about the choice of a new bishop. Ambrose went into the church to keep order. Thereupon, a child at its mother’s breast cried out: “Ambrose for bishop!” All the people took this to be the voice of God, and unanimously elected Ambrose as their bishop, although it was against his will. Ambrose was baptized, and passed through all the necessary ranks in one week. As bishop, he strengthened the faith of the Orthodox, restrained heretics, adorned churches, spread the Faith among the pagans, wrote many instructive books and was an example of a true Christian and a true shepherd. Ambrose died peacefully at daybreak on Pascha in 397.

On this day, we also commemorate the Martyr Athenodoros of Mesopotamia; and Venerable Gregory, founder of Gregoriou monastery on Athos. By the intercessions of Thy saints, O Christ God, have mercy upon us. Amen.