Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost
The Dormition of Our Most-Holy Lady, Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary
August 15, 2010 Tone 3
Epistle: Phil. 2:5-11 Gospel: Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28
Today’s Schedule
9:00AM Hours:
Greeters:
9:30AM Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
Epistle: Mark Pearson
Communion Aides:
Chapel Cleaners:
Treas. Aides:
11:00AM Blessing of fragrant herbs and flowers
11:15AM Fellowship
Today’s Hymns
Resurrection Hymn [Tone 3]: Let the heavens rejoice! Let the earth be glad! For the Lord has shown strength with His arm! He has trampled down death by death! He has become the first born of the dead! He has delivered us from the depths of hell, and has granted the world great mercy!
Dormition Hymn [Tone 1]: In giving birth, you preserved your virginity! In falling asleep you did not forsake the world, O Theotokos! You were translated to life, O Mother of Life, and by your prayers you deliver our souls from death!
Resurrection Hymn [Tone 3]: On this day Thou didst rise from the tomb, O Merciful One, leading us from the gates of death. On this day Adam exults as Eve rejoices; with the prophets and patriarchs they unceasingly praise the divine majesty of Thy power!
Dormition Hymn [Tone 2]: Neither the tomb, nor death, could hold the Theotokos, who is constant in prayer and our firm hope in her intercessions. For being the Mother of Life, she was translated to life by the One who dwelt in her virginal womb!
Prokeimenon [Tone 3]: My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
Hymn to the Theotokos: The angels beheld the entrance of the Pure One and were amazed! How has the Virgin entered into the Holy of Holies? As you are a living Temple of God, let no impure hand touch you, O Theotokos! But let the lips of all believers sing, constantly magnifying you in joy with the angelic salutation: Truly you are above all creatures, O Pure One!
Epistle: Brothers and Sisters Phil. 2:5-11
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Gospel: Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!""Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you." He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."
THE DORMITION In a sermon from 730 AD given on the Feast of the Dormition by St. Germanus of Constantinople, the Bishop has Christ speak to His Mother about her impending death. Christ says to her, “Nor let it trouble thee, that thou must end thy care of earthly things. For thou art returning to a life that is more than life: to a rest of joy, to serene most perfect peace, to freedom from all care, to happiness without end, to light that never fades, to a day without evening, to Me, to thy Creator, and the Creator of all things…Entrust thy body to Me, as I once entrusted My Godhead to thy womb.”
(The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers, Vol. 4, pg. 419)
DEATH AS SLEEP “Even if righteous people come to the end of their days, you see, they have not died but gone to sleep: the one who is on the point of passing on to a better life is going to sleep, whereas the one who is on the point of being carried off to undying death has come to the end, even if alive, and is already dead.”
(St. John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Psalms, Vol 2, pg. 89)
THE SALVATION OF THE WORLD “The Mosaic religion was born along with the idea of salvation. the first commandment of the Decalogue reminds us that Yahweh liberated his people from the slavery in which they languished. The general masses always understood salvation entirely concretely, as liberation from enemies and natural disasters. the Prophets inspired this hope, inserting into it eschatological contents. According to the Bible, the world has long existed in a fallen state and stands in need of healing. Human life is as short as a dream, and it is spent in fruitless struggle. People are immersed in vanity. ‘Being born in sin,’ they are drawn inexorably to destruction. This kingdom of darkness and suffering is most unlike the consummation of God’s will. Many philosophers of the West and East came to similar conclusions. In their opinion, mortal man is a plaything of blind passions and circumstances; implacable fate lords it over all, condemning the Universe to struggle along in a closed circular path. Awareness of the imperfection of the world led to the development of ‘salvation doctrines,’ which can be grouped into three types. For some (Plato), the exit consisted in the best organization of society, for others (the Buddha), in mystical reflection and flight from life. Both solutions, however, were united by a common assumption: neither man nor God is capable of introducing radical changes in the structure of the world. It is only possible to achieve a partial easing of suffering and hope for the annulment of existence itself. The third type of soteriology arose in Israel and in Iran. only in those places did there exist a confidence that evil is surmountable, that there would come a great change, which is the highest goal of human life.”
(Father Alexander Men, Son of Man, pg. 120)
GOD GRANT THEM MANY YEARS
Birthday: Fr. George Nedelkoff, Wendy McGlaun,
Ann McLarnan, Jacob Gresh, Bill Glushko
Anniversary: Bruce & Diane Garber
Name’s Day: Sam Osman
BIBLE STUDY AND ADULT EDUCATION
· FINDING HAPPINESS discussion group will next be meeting Wednesday, August 18 at 11:00AM where we’ll be discussing pages 127-145, the chapter on “Sadness.”
PARISH COUNCIL MEETING this Monday, August 16 following 7:00PM Vespers.
AUGUST CHARITY This month's charity is being given to a local Dayton woman who was paralyzed in an accident - she has reached the life time maximum of her health insurance policy, and so the policy was terminated. Both her car and home have been repossessed by the bank. She is in need of some funds to help her with purchasing some personal items for her day to day life in a nursing home. Please do remember in your prayers, those made destitute because of illness or injury, those in nursing homes who are wards of the state, those impoverished by disasters of any kind.
SUNDAY SCHOOL REGISTRATION The school year for our Sunday School and Jr./Sr. Youth Groups will be kicking off Sunday, September 12. To make sure we have an accurate accounting of the students who are planning on participating in the classes throughout the year we are asking that each student be “registered” by Sunday, August 29. To register, please visit your student’s classroom and sign-up on the sheet posted on the door. Thank you.
YOUTH GROUP NEEDS YOUR HELP if you have converted to Orthodoxy. We will be enjoying a yearlong lecture series exploring various faiths (Christian or otherwise) and would love to have you come and speak to us about your former faith, why you converted, similarities/differences, etc. If you are interested, please speak with Mary Kay or Shane Smith or email office@stpdayton.org. Thank you!
DONATIONS FOR ST. VINCENT DE PAUL Elizabeth Wiese is working on her Girl Scout bronze award and is collecting donations. The bronze award is the highest award a junior girl scout can earn. Her bronze award project is to help St. Vincent de Paul Women’s and Family Shelter by providing their residents with personal health care kits. She is asking for donations of items she needs to assemble the health care kits that will contain a small size soap, shampoo, shower shoes, razor, washcloth, etc. She is posting a complete list of items she needs on the bulletin board. There will be a box in the coat room. Collection will end in the end of August, Aug 29th. If you have any questions please ask Elizabeth or her mom Kerrie.
****************************************************
Icon Exhibit: The Gift of Transfiguration: Changed Life and Lives
Representing more than five centuries of a unique artistic tradition, St. Paul The Apostle Orthodox Christian Church will be hosting an exhibition of more than 100 icons, both ancient and new, on display in its sanctuary, located at 4451 Wagner Road in Sugarcreek Township, August 20-22, 2010. The exhibition is free and open to the public from 10 AM to 6 PM on Friday, August 20th and Saturday, August 21, and from 12- 5 PM on Sunday, August 22.
We sincerely hope you will be able to join us.
The exhibition entitled “ The Gift of Transfiguration: Changed Life and Lives” features 40 historic icons, dating from 1650 to the present, from Russia, Greece, Ukraine, Ethiopia as well as the United States. Among the treasures, taken from private collections (and on public display for the first time in Ohio) are a 17th century Russian miniature iconstasis, or “icon screen” with more than 20 individual figures, as well as a large 18th century Icon of the Virgin Mary entitled “ The Joy of All Who Sorrow”.
The historic icons will be surrounded by 36 large icons recently installed on the walls of St. Paul’s, commissioned by the parish from noted Russian-American iconographer Dmitri Shkolnik. Born in Moscow, now based in San Francisco, Shkolnik’s original icons for St. Pauls’ detail scenes from the life of Christ, the life of St. Paul, as well saints of the 20th century - including several martyrs from the Midwest who were executed in Russia for their faith during the years of Soviet oppression.
In keeping with the theme, “The Gift of Transfiguration: Changed Life and Lives”, the exhibition concludes with a number of recent icons by Daryl Cochran, an American iconographer who is currently an inmate at the London Correctional Institute in London, OH. Daryl became an Orthodox Christian a few years ago while in prison. A talented artist, Daryl is in the process of becoming a unique iconographer as well.
The exhibition will take place during a weekend of celebration that will also see a visit by the Orthodox Bishop of Pittsburgh to bless and consecrate the parish’s new icons. His Grace, Bishop Melchisedek (Pleska) of Pittsburgh, a native Daytonian, will preside at a choral vespers on Saturday evening, August 21, at 7 PM at St. Paul’s. That same evening at 8 PM the Bishop will offer a reflection on the meaning of icons. On Sunday August 22, the Bishop will celebrate the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom at 9:30 AM, followed by a service of blessing for the new icons at 11:00 AM, and a reception in the parish hall at 11:30 AM. We would welcome all to join us for services as well.
*********************************************
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO: (sign-up sheets on bulletin board)
ADDITIONAL VOLUNTEERS needed to copy and collate our new directory. Please speak with Mary Kay Smith or email office@stpdayton.org.
FROM FR. TED’S BLOG
Scripture and Tradition and The Canon of Scriptures Two blogs in the series on Scripture reading and interpretation with links to the other blogs
PDF: Reading the Bible Means Opening a Treasury Links to the Scripture series as PDF documents rather than as blogs
The Demonic Truth Meditation on the startling events of Mark 1:23-28
This Week’s Schedule
Monday, August 16 Martyr Diomedes the Physician of Tarsus (298)
2 Cor. 8:7-15 Mark 3:6-12
8:30AM Matins
9:15AM Office Hours
7:00PM Vespers
7:40PM Parish Council Meeting
Tuesday, August 17 Martyr Patroclus of Troyes (3rd C)
2 Cor. 8:16-9:5 Mark 3:13-19
Wednesday, August 18 Martyrs Florus and Laurus of Illyria (2nd c)
2 Cor. 9:12-10:7 Mark 3:20-27
8:30AM Matins
9:15AM Office Hours
11:00AM Adult Discussion: FINDING HAPPINESS pgs. 127-145
Thursday, August 19 Martyr Andrew Stratelates & 2593 soldiers with him(4th C)
2 Cor. 10:7-18 Mark 3:28-35
Friday, August 20 Prophet Samuel (11th c. B.C.)
2 Cor. 11:5-21 Mark 4:1-9
NO Matins
9:00AM Office Hours
10:00AM-6:00PM ICON EXHIBIT
Saturday, August 21 Apostle Thaddæus of the Seventy (ca. 44)
1 Cor. 2:6-9 Matt. 22:15-22
10:00AM-6:00PM ICON EXHIBIT
7:00PM Great Vespers
8:00PM “Reflection on Icons” - Bishop Melchisedek
Sunday, August 22 Virigin Martyr Eulia of Barcelona (ca. 303)
1 Cor. 16:13-24 Matt. 21:33-42
9:00AM Hours:
Greeters: Dot Federinko
9:30AM Hierarchical Divine Liturgy
His Grace Melchisedek, Bishop of Pittsburgh Presiding
Prosfora: Niki Galiatsatos
Epistle: Mark Pearson Chapel Cleaners:
Communion Aides:
11:00AM Blessing of Icons
11:15AM Memorial Ruse Topalov
11:20AM Fellowship—Topalov Family
Noon-5:00PM ICON EXHIBIT