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

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Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost ~ September 27, 2020 ~

Epistle: 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 Gospel: Luke 5:1-11

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 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 . 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 Sept. 27 – Oct. 4 (Fast: Wed. & Fri.)

Sunday -Teen Group, 1pm -PreTeen Movie Night Monday -First Hour, 6:45am MEMORIALS Tuesday -Third Hour, 9am September 27: Mary Allison -Orthodoxy 101, 7pm, Creation Calloway (9/18), Damon Boiles, Sr. (9/22), Martin Elmo Wednesday -Third Hour, 9am Thompson (9/28) -AWSJ Teaching, 10am -Bible Study, 7pm BAPTISM Thursday -Third Hour, 9am October 4: Teddy Ichniowski Friday -First Hour, 6:45am -Third Hour, 9am -Sixth Hour, 12pm Saturday -Ninth Hour and Great , 6pm Sunday -Atrium Prayer Table, 9:30am -, 9am -Divine Liturgy, 10am ______

Birthdays, Anniversaries, & Namedays Sunday, 9/27 Thursday, 10/1 Reem Mansour Kathryn McWhorter, Don Sanderlin Anniversary: Philip & Mawusi McKelroy Anniversary: Don & Crystal Eastman St. Aquilina: Chelsea Yadron St. Romanos: Tom Ashworth

Monday, 9/28 Friday, 10/2

Tuesday, 9/29 Anniversary: Justin & Anne Katherine Vanlandingham

Kate Kumar, Jay Knight Saturday, 10/3 Anniversary: Damon & Madeleine Boiles

Wednesday, 9/30 ______

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS September 27 – October 4 Sunday 2 Corinthians 2:16-20 Luke 8:34-38; 9:1 Monday 2 Corinthians 4:6-15 Luke 6:17-23 Tuesday 1 Corinthians 15:39-45 Luke 5:17-26 Wednesday 1 Corinthians 16:13-24 Matthew 24:42-47 Thursday Acts 9:10-19 Luke 6:12-19 Friday 1 Timothy 1:12-17 Luke 6:17-23 Saturday Acts 17:16-34 Luke 5:17-26 Sunday 2 Corinthians 6:16-18; 7:1 Luke 6:31-36

ST. JOHN COMMUNITY

AWSJ Knitting Circle is going to give an outdoor event a try...Friday, October 2nd at 6:30 p.m. at Meribeth Harvey’s home. There will be backyard deck seating that will allow us to spread out. As always, please bring a drink or snack if you will want one...this get together is about fellowship and handiwork (all kinds, not just knitting). Please join us even if you just want to chat and catch up! Please bring your mask if unable to socially distance and if you need to enter the house. **Friday, October 9th will be our rain check date if the weather does not cooperate.

Small Groups – All of us need some type of social interaction. While we cannot have large group gatherings at the church at this time, you are encouraged to form small groups. Perhaps invite a family or two for an outdoor visit with coffee following the Divine Liturgy. As we send out our educational videos with discussion questions you may want to form a small group to watch the video and discuss it together. This can also be done over zoom or some other virtual platform. It is good for all of us to have our “bubble” of people that we are comfortable interacting with. May God provide us with the relationships that we need!

Confessions – Fr. Philip has returned to hearing confessions following the services. If you would like to have your confession heard, please make a line outside the door on the west side of the nave. This will allow for privacy for each person making their confession. If you are not staying for confession, please venerate the icons and exit the nave to allow for the confessions to be heard.

Parish Council Update: The new council had their first meeting on Thursday, September 10. The minutes and the financial documents for the September meeting are included in this week’s bulletin email. The new members were brought up to speed on the ongoing business of the Church. In addition, the council agreed to donate $378/month ($1 for every member of our church) to the MIFA Plus 1 program that helps those who are in danger of having their utilities cut off. Lord willing, this small amount can help people who are in special need during these particularly difficult economic times. In addition, the council is working on understanding the needs of the Memphis community and see where our Church can help with greater outreach in a profound way. If you have suggestions, you can speak to any council member or Fr. Philip. Lord willing, the Church will also be closing on the refinance of the mortgage on St. Raphael Hall within the next couple of weeks.

DOMSE 3rd Annual Fall Retreat – The Diocese of Miami and the Southeast will hold the annual Fall Retreat virtually October 2-4. All are invited to attend free of cost! The link to the registration can be found on the St. John website, as well as the new Diocese website, www.DOMSE.org ______

SPECIAL SERVICES IN OCTOBER Mon., Oct. 5 6pm St. Innocent/Apostle Thomas Thurs., Oct. 29 6pm St. Zenobia ______

Remember in Your Prayers Our catechumen: Page Walley; Austin Brown; Rhy Williams; Fabio Martin; Joel Gulledge; Travis, Maggie, Sophie, Kenneth, Nate, & Bella Harms; Carole Sneed Prayer Requests: Nicholas Hill, Ernestine Pruitt (Nicholas Hill’s mother), Lisa Catlett (Fr. Don & Kh. Martha’s daughter), 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: Sophia Garrison, Chelsea Yadron, Sarah Ortwein Women of St. John Calendar 9/30 (Wed.) Teaching, 10am We will be beginning our next book, All is Well by Dr. Al Rossi.

10/2 (Fri.) Knitting Circle, 6:30pm We will meet at Meribeth Harvey’s home to work on the craft of your choice and/or to chat and catch up. Please bring you mask, and food and beverage of your choice.

10/10 (Sat.) AWSJ Righting Group, 4pm The Zoom will start at 4 for a short visit before the writing portion which will begin at 4:15. Feel free to contact Kh. Susan with any questions, [email protected]

10/12 (Mon.) AWSJ Book Club, 7pm October 5 - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman. Nov 2 Educated: A Memoir, by Tara Westover

Youth Calendar Teens: Sunday, 9/27 – Teen teaching, 1pm PreTeen: Sunday, 9/27 – Movie Night on Sun.

Wednesday Game Night (all youth) We’ve decided to move all weekday activities to Wednesday night beginning this week. Friday Oct 16 - Sat Oct 17 - We will be heading out to Shelby Forest to enjoy some socially distanced camping for a night! Families are welcome and encouraged to join. We will reserve a few sites close together so there is plenty of room to space out. Food and fire pits will be provided! Please rsvp asap so we can plan accordingly!

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LIBRARY LINES We remember St. Wenceslaus at least four times during the year. A couple of weeks ago we commemorated his grandmother Ludmilla. We sing about him at Christmas and remember him on the feast day (12/27) of St. Stephen. Monday (9/28) is his own feast day. Read about him in Good King Wenceslaus (KID STS WEN).

We commemorate saints this first week in October who glorified God through miraculous events in their lives; two quietly and two dramatically.

We often don’t associate miracles with music, but they came together in the life of St. Romanos (10/1).The simple monk possessed a voice unfit for singing or reading in church and was made fun of by those around him. The Theotokos appeared to him and told him to eat a scroll she carried in her hand. His voice then offered beautiful praise to God. St. composed nearly 1000 hymns before his repose. In fact, one of our favorite Nativity hymns, "Today the Virgin gives birth to the Transcendent One" was composed by him. Look for his story in Poets and Hymnographers of the Church (HAG - - -TAR), in Grandmother’s Spiritual Stories (KID STS HRO), in Orthodox Saints, October-December (HAG - - - POU), and in Sweet Song: a Story of Saint Romanos the Melodist (KID STS ROM).

St. John Koulouzelis the Hymnographer was gifted as a child with a beautiful voice. He found a position as court singer in but left to escape the life of extravagance there. He became a monk on and was given the job of tending the goats. He tried to keep his singing talent a secret but was found out. Once the Theotokos appeared to him during an , gave him a coin, and told him to continue using his voice to glorify God. She later appeared to him and healed his legs which pained him because of the long time he stood in church. He composed and published many troparia and kontakia and is honored by many church singers as their patron.

Sts. Cyprian and Justina (10/2) endured spells and powerful black magic. Cyprian was a sorcerer and used his power to help a young, pagan man to court the pious Justina. She rebuffed him, and Cyprian turned the suitor into a large, black bird so he could fly into her room. Next, he conjured up demons to trick her. St. Cyprian saw the futility of his tricks, repented and struggled to live a life of virtue. They were both eventually martyred and are intercessors for the faithful against the powers of darkness. See their stories in A Child’s Paradise of Saints (KID STS MCL).

Saturday, we commemorate St. Dionysius the Areopagite (10/3), a scholar who first knew of Christ in Athens by seeing the sun darkened from His death at the Crucifixion. He became a Christian and traveled with St. Paul for three years. He was also blessed to be present at the Dormition of the Theotokos in 57 A.D. Only some of his letters and four of his books are known to us today: On the Celestial Hierarchy, On the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, On the Names of God, and On Mystical Theology. The OCA website tells us that, according to the saint, the first two tell us that the ranks of angels and humanity exist in a "spiritual light-bearing hierarchy." On the Names of God tells us of knowledge of God through a progression of Divine Names. On Mystical Theology shows us the theology of our Faith comes to us through "experience of divine knowledge" by drawing close to God with a pure heart in pure prayer. Read these books and more about his life in Pseudo-Dionysius: the Complete Works (PAT DIO LUI).

COMMEMORATIONS Sept. 27: Martyr Kallistratos; the Apostles Aristarchos, Zenon and Mark of the Seventy; New-martyr Aquilina; Venerable Ignatios, abbot in Asia Minor; Venerable Savvatios of Solovsky. Sept.28: Venerable Chariton the Confessor, abbot of Palestine; Venerable Neophytos and Auxentios; Martyr Heliodoros; Prophet Baruch; Martyr Wenceslaus, prince of the Czechs. Sept.29: Venerable Kyriakos the hermit of Palestine; Martyr Petronia; Venerable-martyrs Malachi and those with him. Sept.30: Hieromartyr Gregory, bishop and enlightener of Greater Armenia; Martyrs Rhipsime and Gaiana and companions of Armenia; Michael, first metropolitan of Kiev; Venerable Gregory of Pelshma River. Oct. 1: The Protection of the Theotokos; Apostle Ananias of the Seventy, first bishop of Damascus; Martyr Domninos; Romanos the Melode; Venerable John Koukouzelis of the on Athos; Venerable Gregory the Domestikos of the Great Lavra on Athos; Venerable Sabbas of Vishera. Oct. 2: Hieromartyr Cyprian the confessor; Virgin-martyr Justina; Venerable Theophilos; New- martyr George; Blessed Andrew, fool-for-Christ; David and Constantine, prince-martyrs of Georgia; Anna, princess of Kashin. Oct. 3: Hieromartyr Dionysios the Areopagite, first bishop of Athens; Martyrs Eleutherios and Rustikos. Oct. 4: Hieromartyr Hierotheos, bishop of Athens; Apostle Krispos of the Seventy; Martyrs Domina and her daughters of Syria; uncovering of the relics of Gurios, first archbishop of Kazan; Barsanouphios, bishop of Tver; Stephen (Stiljanovich) and Elizabeth.

From the Fathers:

You remember how you were taught to write. Your mother put a pencil in your hand, took your hand in hers, and began to move it. Since you did not know at all what she meant to do, you left your hand completely free in hers. This is like the power of God in our lives. ~Metropolitan Anthony Bloom

"Keep from prying into other people's affairs, for such prying gives occasion for slander, judgment, and other grievous sins. Why do you need to be concerned about others? Know and examine your own self." ~St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

When someone is free, he has rights and responsibilities. When he marries, he has few rights and very many responsibilities. However, when he has children he doesn’t have any rights at all, but only responsibilities. ~Elder Epiphanios

Imagine how marvelously changed this awful world would be if you and I entered this competition of doing good. For instance, if every day we eagerly tried to be more pious than some other pious people, more forbearing, more merciful, more peaceful, more sympathetic, more constructive, more forgiving, more loving than others. And all this not for pride’s sake but for Christ’s sake. ~St Nikolai Velimirovich

I realized that we all worry about ourselves too much and that only he who leaves everything to the will of God can feel truly joyous, light and peaceful. ~Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

There are three ways through which thoughts arise in you: Through the senses, through the memory, and through the body’s temperament. Of these, the most irksome are those that come through the memory. ~St. Thalassios the Libyan

Every holy church is a piece of Heaven on earth. And when you’re in church, look—you’re already in Heaven. When the earth torments you with its hell, hurry to church, go inside, and behold—you have entered into Paradise. And if it happens that you are attacked by entire legions of demons, then run to church—stand among the holy angels, for the church is always full of angels, and the angels of God will protect you from every demon of this world. And nothing will be able to hurt you. Do not forget, brothers: We, Christians, are strong by God. Who then can be stronger than us? No one, no one! ~St. Justin Popovic

Send your treasures to the heavenly storage room. Deposit your wealth in God’s Bank, distributing it to the poor, the orphans and the widows, so that you can receive a million times more in the Second Coming of Christ. ~Elder Joseph the Hesychast