Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost
The Beheading of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John
August 29, 2010 Tone 5
Epistle: Acts 13:25-32 Gospel: Mark 6:14-30
Today’s Schedule
9:00AM Hours:
Greeters: Dot Federinko
9:30AM Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
Prosfora: Dot Federinko
Epistle: Chapel Cleaners:
Communion Aides:
11:00AM Memorial for Simegnish Hunegnaw’s mother, Yeshi
11:05AM Fellowship Hour
Today’s Hymns
Resurrection Hymn [Tone 5]: Let us, the faithful, praise and worship the Word, coeternal with the Father and the Spirit, born for our salvation from the Virgin; for He willed to be lifted up on the Cross in the flesh, to endure death and to raise the dead by His glorious Resurrection.
Forerunner Hymn [Tone 2]: The memory of the righteous is worthy of praise, but you, O Forerunner, are well pleased by the Lord's own witness. You were revealed as greater than the prophets, for you baptized in the waters Him, whom they foretold. Therefore, having fought and suffered for the Truth, you proclaimed to those in the tombs the gospel of the incarnate God, who takes away the sins of the world, and grants us great mercy.
Resurrection Hymn [Tone 5]: Thou didst descend into hell, O my Savior, shattering its gates as almighty; resurrecting the dead as Creator, and destroying the sting of death. Thou hast delivered Adam from the curse, O Lover of Man, and we all cry to Thee: "O Lord, save us!"
Forerunner Hymn [Tone 2]: The beheading of the Forerunner was an act of Divine providence: the occasion for him to announce the coming of the Savior to the souls in Hades. Let then Herodias lament and weep, for she has asked for murder, preferring the present life and its pleasures to eternal life and God's law.
Prokeimenon [Tone 7]: The righteous man will rejoice in the Lord, and shall set his hope on Him.
Epistle: In those days... Acts 13:25-32
As John was finishing his course, he said, 'Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.' "Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent. For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead. He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. And we declare to you glad tidings; that promise which was made to the fathers."
Gospel: Mark 6:14-30
At that time, King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." But others said, "He is Elijah." And others said, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old." But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised." For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife." And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you." And he vowed to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom." And she went out and said to her mother, "For what should I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist." And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.
TRUTH Orthodoxy proclaims that St. John the Baptist suffered for the Truth joyously. So, what is truth? “If man in his religious life adopts the course of rational research, his approach to the world will inevitably be pantheistic. Every time the theologizing mind essays of its own strength to know the truth about God, whether or not it understands, fatally it falls into the same error in which science and philosophy and pantheism are sunk—intuiting truth as ‘WHAT’. Truth as ‘WHO’ is never arrived at through reason. God as ‘WHO’ can be known only through communion in being—that is, only by the Holy Spirit Staretz Silouan constantly emphasized this. The Lord spoke Himself of it thus: ‘If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him … The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things.’” (Archimandrite Sophrony, St. Silouan the Athonite, pg. 112)
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST In John 3:29, John the Baptist calls himself “the friend of the Bridegroom.” Jesus said no man was greater than John the Baptist (Luke 7:28). “For there is no higher calling and no higher dignity for a man than to be the friend of the Bridegroom. The Lord wishes to find in man a friend who would be a god according to grace, a creaturely image and likeness of God. But since the fall, when man stopped being God’s friend and became a child of wrath (see Eph. 2:3), his return to God’s friendship, his reconciliation with God, has become the express task of the divine economy of our salvation.” (Sergius Bulgakov, The Friend of the Bridegroom, pg. 9) John the Baptist was able to consider himself a best friend to the son of God. “John preached that God’s promises to the descendants of Abraham were in danger if they did not immediately commit themselves to a whole-hearted return to observance of the Covenant; and it did not matter if they were priestly aristocrats with long, distinguished genealogies preserved in the archives of the Temple or simple peasant farmers who traced their birth-rights all the way back through their families, clans, and tribal ancestors to the Patriarch Abraham … John saw his mission to call the people out into the wilderness of purification and renewal, out to the Jordan across which they had entered the land that God had promised them in the first place, to renew their Covenant with Him. In the course of their daily lives, in an era of increasing economic tensions and apprehensions about the future, they had lost sight of the only way they could survive: a return to the observance of the Covenant that God had made with their forefathers at Sinai … John the Baptist was offering crowds of people who lived under the shadow of Rome and under the burden of Herodian control and taxation a new way to end the pain and uncertainty that plagues their daily lives. John’s baptism was not a panacea but a symbol of something much more important: a personal pledge to return to the way of life that God had decreed for the People of Israel. (Richard A. Horsley and Neil Asher Silberman, The Message and the Kingdom. pgs. 33-34)
GOD GRANT THEM MANY YEARS
Birthday: Nick Wagner, Megan Pearson, Adam Federinko, Ted Rusen
Anniversary: Jan & Olga Leszkiewicz, Brian & Wendy Garber
WELCOME BABY SAYRE Evelyn Mae Sayre was born on Sunday, August 22, at 6:49 AM to John and Jen Sayre and brother, Patrick. Mother and baby are doing well. Please remember the family in your prayers and may God grant little Evelyn many years!
NO MATINS, OFFICE HOURS, OR EVENING SERVICES this week as Fr. Ted will be out of town through Thursday, September 9.
BIBLE STUDY AND ADULT EDUCATION
· FINDING HAPPINESS discussion group will not be meeting this week or next, but will be meeting Wednesday, September 15 at 11:00AM when we’ll be discussing pages 145-160, the chapter on “Vanity.”
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 TODAY 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!
ICON EXHIBIT PHOTOS are available for viewing at: http://frted.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/icon-exhibit-photos/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/frted/sets/72157624787322648/
REQUESTING VOLUNTEER FOR CHURCH SECRETARY As many of you know, Mary Kay Smith volunteered her time the last two years as the Church Secretary. She is now ready to pass this on to a new person. The position requires working at the church office Monday, Wednesday and Friday starting at 8:30 or 9:00 a. m. through 12 Noon (start time to be set by the Rector), for a total of 10 hours per week. The prime duty is formatting and publishing the Church Bulletin. This requires knowledge of Microsoft Windows, Word, Excel and to a lesser degree, Publisher. Please contact Mary Kay (office@stpdayton.org) or Brad Miter. for more information and a detailed description of the requirements.
GREEK FESTIVAL Would you like to volunteer to work at the Greek Festival? Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church will be holding their annual Greek Festival, September 10, 11 and 12. If you would like to participate and work in a booth please call their church office at 224-0601. Someone will then contact you to schedule a shift. There is a $2 admission fee this year and anyone who works will get a pass for free admission. Your help would be greatly appreciated.
GREETER/WELCOME COMMITTEE MEETING to be held Sunday, September 12 following Liturgy. All interested are welcome to attend. If you have any questions, please speak with Wendy McGlaun. Thank you in advance for helping make our parish one that our members can be proud of and visitors want to visit again!
SEPTEMBER CHARITY This month we will be giving our charity donation to local Dayton agencies which provide aid and social service to the poor and homeless: St. Vincent de Paul and CityHeart. Please do remember the homeless poor in your prayers for Christ too came into the world among the homeless poor, born in a manger because the world would make no room for Him. We can still see Christ in the least of His brothers and sisters, the homeless poor children of Dayton.
FROM FR. TED’S BLOG
Orthodoxy in the World & Light to the World A new blog series: an introduction to the Orthodox Church
Diocesan Clergy Convocation and the Election of a Bishop A few thoughts from Fr. Ted on meeting the diocesan episcopal candidates
Reading About Reading the Scriptures Fr. Ted reviews a couple of books dealing with reading St. Paul and the bible
This Week’s Schedule
Monday, August 30 Ss. Alexander, John, & Paul the New, Patriarchs of Constantinople
Gal. 2:11-16 Mark 5:24-34
NO Matins
NO Office Hours
Tuesday, August 31 Hieromartyr Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage (258)
Gal. 2:21-3:7 Mark 6:1-7
Wednesday, September 1 Church New Year
St. Simeon the Stylite and his mother, Ven. Martha (ca. 428)
Gal. 3:15-22 Mark 6:7-13
NO Matins
NO Office Hours
NO Adult Discussion
Thursday, September 2 Ven. Anthony & Theodosius of the Kiev Caves (10th-11th c)
Gal. 3:23-4:5 Mark 6:30-45
Friday, September 3 Hieromartyr Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedia,
and those with him (302)
Gal. 4:8-21 Mark 6:45-53
NO Matins
NO Office Hours
Saturday, September 4 Holy Prophet and Godseer Moses (16th c. B.C.)
1 Cor. 4:17-5:5 Matthew 24:1-13
NO Vespers
Sunday, September 5 Holy Prophet Zachariah and Righteous Elizabeth (1st c.)
2 Cor. 4:6-15 Matthew 22:35-46
9:00AM Hours: Brad Miter
Greeters:
9:30AM Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
Fr. Zachariah Trent will be the celebrant
Prosfora:
Epistle: Stephen Richey Chapel Cleaners:
Communion Aides:
11:00AM Fellowship Hour
11:15AM Clean-out Sunday School Class Rooms (Teachers)