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St. John Orthodox Church A Parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America 1663 Tutwiler Ave. Memphis, TN 38107 www.stjohnmemphis.org 901.274.4119 “…the Disciples were called Christian first in Antioch!” Acts 11:26 His Eminence Metropolitan JOSEPH V. Rev. Fr. Philip Rogers, Pastor Archbishop of New York & V. Rev. Fr. John Troy Mashburn, Jr., Metropolitan of all North America Pastor Emeritus His Grace Bishop NICHOLAS V. Rev. Fr. Basil Cushman, Associate Pastor Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Miami V. Rev. Fr. Don Berge, Attached and the Southeast _____________________________________________ 32nd Sunday after Pentecost Commemoration of Anthony the Great ~ January 17, 2021 ~ Epistle: Hebrews 13:17-21 Gospel: Luke 17:12-19 The Holy Bread for Eucharist is offered by Anne Castrodale. Welcome to all those visiting St. John Orthodox Church. We are honored by your presence. It is our sincere desire that your participation today in the Divine Liturgy will draw you closer to Christ and His Church. If you are from a non-Orthodox background you may see new things such as icons, incense, the sign of the cross, the veneration of saints, and a great deal of standing. These can be perplexing to the uninitiated eye. Rest assured that everything we do has a solid biblical foundation and a long history among Christian people. Please feel free to participate where you feel comfortable and feel equally as free only to observe when you prefer. The Orthodox Church understands the Eucharist, or Lord’s Supper, to be – among other things – the paramount expression of Christian unity. While it is our deepest hope that Christendom will one day fulfill Christ’s desire for true unity among all those who claim His name (John 17:21), the unfortunate reality of our day is that the various segments of Christendom are not unified with the historic Orthodox faith. Since participation in the Eucharist expresses a unity with all the dogma and practice of the Orthodox Church, non-Orthodox guests do not receive Holy Communion. The Holy Eucharist is reserved for those members of the Orthodox Church who have prepared themselves by prayer, fasting, and recent confession. All visitors and unprepared Orthodox are invited to partake of the blessed bread as they come forward to venerate the cross at the end of the Liturgy. Thank you for your understanding. ST. JOHN CALENDAR January 17-24 (Fast: Wed & Fri.) Sunday -Youth Group (Middle & High), 1pm Monday -First Hour, 6:45am CHRISMATION Tuesday -Third Hour, 9am Jan. 17: Rhy Williams -Orthodoxy 101, 7pm, Sanctification of Time Wednesday Third Hour, 9am MEMORIAL -AWSJ Teaching, 10am Jan. 17: Sue Ingram -Divine Liturgy for St. Maximos, 6pm Jan. 24: Hani Ibrahim, 40 days Thursday -Third Hour, 9am (Rana Ibrahim’s father) Friday -First Hour, 6:45am ENROLLMENT -Third Hour, 9am Jan. 31: Emily Nuckolls -Sixth Hour, 12pm Saturday -Ninth Hour and Great Vespers, 6pm BAPTISM Sunday -Atrium Prayer Table, 9:30am Feb. 14: Julian McGee -Orthros, 9am -Divine Liturgy, 10am DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS Birthdays, Anniversaries, Namedays Sunday Hebrews 13:17-21 Sunday, 1/17 Thursday, 1/21 Luke 17:12-19 Dashiell Ortwein Musa Khlaifat, Mike Monday Hebrews 13:7-16 St. Anthony the Great: Hill, Mike Jackson Matthew 5:14-19 Nawar Mansour, St. Maximos: Max Tuesday Galatians 5:22-26:6:1-12 Michael Redmond Mendenahll, Max Matthew 22:2-14 Monday, 1/18 Wallace, John Sneed, Wednesday 2 Corinthians 4:6-15 Clare Freeman, Zach Ervin Romero Luke 6:17-23 White, Rana Khlaifat Friday, 1/22 Thursday Philippians 1:12-20 St. Athanasius: Austin Brown Apostle Timothy: Dn. Luke 12:8-12 Tim, Tim Elliott, Tim Friday 2 Timothy 1:3-8 Tuesday, 1/19 Stanek Matthew 10:32-33; 37- Luke Heisig Saturday, 1/23 38; 19:27-30 St. Makarius: Mickey Saturday Philippians 3:20-21; 4:1-3 Hodges Mark 2:23-28; 3:1-5 Wednesday, 1/20 Sunday 1 Timothy 1:15-17 Ella White Luke 18:35-43 Carlos & Jodi Yzaguirre Remember in Your Prayers Our catechumen: Page Walley; Austin Brown, Joel Gulledge; Travis, Maggie, Sophie, Kenneth, Nate, & Bella Harms; Carole Sneed; John Pecoraro; Jake Sparks; Jeff Bennett Prayer Requests: Nicholas Hill, Ernestine Pruitt (Nicholas Hill’s mother), Chris Hodges, Mickey Hodges, Elizabeth Allie (Buddy Bowick’s mother/Lawson’s grandmother), Brenda Thomas (Tupelo), Shukurat Nasanga Kisakye, Jay Brownlow, Bill Thomas (Kathryn McWhorter’s father), St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, victims of the wildfires in CA, those suffering in the Middle East, most especially the Christians. Expecting: Chelsea Yadron, Sarah Ortwein, Sally Boyle, Hillary Klimksowski, Whitney Klimkowski ST. JOHN COMMUNITY Annual St. John Parish General Assembly Meeting – We will be holding our annual parish meeting via Zoom on Sunday, February 21 immediately following liturgy. Please plan to attend! As a community, we encourage all to stay informed and engaged in the business of our parish. DOMSE Winter Retreat: The Diocese will be hosting a virtual retreat January 29 – 31. The retreat will offer 4 tracks: clergy; Teen SOYO; Antiochian Women, Amen (Antiochian Men), Young Adults; Kids Club. Registration is free and con be found on DOMSE.org. Theophany House Blessings – Fr. Philip will be blessing houses through the beginning of Lent. If you would like for him to bless your home, please email him with the most convenient days of the week and times for your family. He will then contact you to set the specific date and time. Metropolitan JOSEPH has asked that priests only do 2 blessings a day to lessen any potential spread. Out of an abundance of caution, Father will stay only long enough for the blessing. If you would like to wait to har your home blessed until later in the year, that is perfectly fine. St. John Cookbook 2021 The deadline for submissions to the new cookbook has been extended to January 31. We invite all parishioners – long-time members, new members, young adults, men & women- to submit their favorite recipes! -appetizers -veggies/sides -soups -salads -desserts -main dishes -drinks/cocktails -liturgical Send your recipe submissions to Anne Castrodale, [email protected] by Jan. 31, 2021! Stay Vigilant – Thank you for your continued respect and love and adhering to all of the current guidelines for attendance. Please continue be mindful of those around you. In particular, please be mindful of congregating on or around the stairs after the services as people leave the building. Thank you! Parish Council Update The Parish Council was unable to meet in person this past week because of a schedule conflict. However, the council corresponded via email about the end of 2020 financials and updates on ongoing projects. To help with the HVAC replacement, the council decided to bring in a mechanical engineer to look at the system and our building and help us to determine exactly what is needed. Lord willing, we will have a report soon. The parish General Assembly Meeting will be held on Sunday, February 21. The meeting will be immediately following the Divine Liturgy and there will be a zoom link for anyone interested in participating in the meeting virtually Women of St. John Calendar St. John Youth Group 1/20 (Wed.) Teaching, 10am Today: joint meeting via Zoom @ We will be continuing All is Well by Dr. Al 1pm Rossi. 1/11 (Mon.) AWSJ Book Club, 7pm Coming Up: We will be discussing The Tattooist of Auschwitz Jan. 29-31: DOMSE Winter Retreat by Lale Sokolov Feb. 12-13: Winter Camp! LIBRARY LINES This week we commemorate a group of “the Great Saints.” Today is the feast day of St. Anthony the Great (1/17), the father of monasticism. His pious parents brought him up to be serious about church services and the Holy Scriptures. From his youth, he engaged in strict asceticism and was attacked by demons, sometimes in the form of wild beasts. At age thirty-five, he began his monastic life as a hermit, which was unheard of at the time. He lived in the desert eighty-five years and died peacefully in 356 A.D. at age105. According to the OCA website, The Life of Anthony (PAT ANT ATH) by St. Athanasius of Alexandria is the first biography of a saint who was not martyred. St. John Chrysostom urged every Christian to read the book. Also, take a look at The Letters of Saint Anthony the Great (PAT ANT), Athanasius…The Life of Anthony and the Letter to Marcellius (HAG ATH ANT), Talks on St. Anthony, CDs, (HAG ANT HOP) and Saint Anthony the Great: Angel of the Desert (KID STS ANT). Athanasius the Great and St. Cyril were both bishops of Alexandria. They share a feast day (1/18) because their writings upheld the truth of Scripture and reject heresy. St. Athanasius was born in 298 to pagan parents. He declared himself Christian after seeing a group of students at school acting out the services of the Church. Before reaching the age of 20, he wrote the treatise On the Incarnation (PAT ATH), affirming and explaining that Jesus Christ was both God and man thus beginning Christianity’s fight against the heresy of Arianism. Athanasius participated in the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 325, which was the first of two councils that produced the symbol of faith commonly called the Nicene Creed. It was finalized in 381 at the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople. At Nicea, Athanasius surpassed everyone there in his zeal to uphold the teaching that Christ is consubstantial with the Father. Athanasius was also the first person to identify the same 27 books of the New Testament that are in use today.