SAINT
JOSEPH THE BETROTHED
Melkite-Greek Catholic CHURCH
725 W. Mt.
Hope Ave, Lansing, MI 48910 517-575-6264
FMailing Address: 921 Westover
Circle, Lansing, MI 48917E
Rev. Protodeacon Joseph Daratony
248-719-5169
Phone or email Fr James with items for the
bulletin by Thursday night.
Troparion of the Entrance of the Theotokos in the Temple (Tone 4)
Today is the prelude of the benevolence of God,
and the announcement of the salvation of men.
In the Temple of God, the Virgin is seen openly
foretelling to all the coming of Christ.
Wherefore, let us cry to her in a loud voice, “Hail! O
fulfillment of the Creator’s plan.”
22 November 2015—Celebration of the Feast of the
Entrance of the Theotokos in the Temple.
26th
Sunday after Pentecost. Holy Apostle
Philemon, his wife Apphias, his son Archippos, the slave Onesimos, and the Holy
Martyrs Cecilia, Valerian, and Tiburtius.
(Tone 1)
Readings Apostolos: Hebrews 9:1-7 Gospel: Luke 12:16-21
10:30 am Orthros
(Morning Prayer)
11 am Divine
Liturgy of St John Chrysostom for the health and salvation of Ruth Zarka, Violet Albertson, Ina Samra, Leila
Abdallah, Kenneth Wright, Doug Wann, Mona, Zaina, Gary, Charlotte Senno, Fares
Eid, Maroun Daher, Dennis Flint, Eleanora Lindo, Max, Angel, Simone, Mikayla Slocum, Raymond Rashid, Bonita Saba,
Griffin Barna, Jim Covello, David Georges, Ralph Farhat, Robert Kuri, Isaac
Salim, Iva Butler, Alessandra, BJ & Liz, Cam, Janice, Jeanne, Wayne, Lucy,
Kelsey, Kathleen Edwards, Edgar & Katherine, Kamal & Eugenie, Clay, Michael Maslowski, Elaine &
Eva-Genevieve Scarborough, Antonio Carvalho, Elias Haggar, Marie Dahdouh, Dn.
Joe & Marge Daratony, Fr Charles Aboody, Fr Joseph Haggar, Fr Damon Geiger,
Fr James Babcock, Fr Basil Samra, Fr
Michael Skrocki, Fr Maximos;
in memory of Nickolas
Nakfoor (1-Year Memorial by Kay Nakfoor
& Family), Awatef Chahine, Maarouf
Khouri (Khalil & Violet Rahme),
Elias Atallah (Ralph & Dee Farhat),
Louis Zarka (Fayrouz & Nabil Raad & Najla), and Fr David Schuyler.
Blessing of the Holy Cross on the Church and
of the Ikon of St Mammas.
29 November 2015—13th Sunday of the Holy
Cross, 27th Sunday after Pentecost.
Holy Martyrs Paramon and Philumenes. (Tone 2)
Readings Apostolos: Ephesians 6:10-17 Gospel:
Luke 18:18-27
10:30 am Orthros
(Morning Prayer)
11 am Churching
of Dominic Simon Haddad. Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom in
memory of Awatef Chahine, Maarouf Khouri (Siham
Calille), Elias Atallah (Nadia
Washington), Nickolas Nakfoor (Joe & Latife Khouri), Louis Zarka (Fayrouz &
Nabil Raad & Najla), and Shirley Powell.
Musical Reminder
From 26 November through 24 December, we will sing the
Kontakion of the Preparation for the
Nativity of the Lord (page 225).
Music for Today
1.
Troparion of the Resurrection in
Tone 1, Liturgikon, page 181.
2.
Troparion of the Entrance of the
Theotokos, in Tone 4, page 224.
3.
Troparion of St Joseph, in Tone
4, page 30A.
4.
Kontakion of the Entrance of the Theotokos,
in Tone 4, page 224.
Our Offerings
to the Lord
The collection taken in the Liturgy is part of our
worship. We offer the Lord our lives,
our prayers, our gifts of bread and wine, and our financial gifts. Last Sunday, about 100 people attended the
Liturgy. Our offering totalled $1539 in
the ordinary collection, $1345 for stole offerings, $21 for candles, and $813 for
Parish Banquet.
Celebration of the Entrance of
the Theotokos in the Temple Today
The feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos in the
Temple is based on an ancient tradition that the parents of Mary, Joachim and
Ann, presented her in the Temple in Jerusalem at a very young age to be brought
up in the service of the Lord. The
actual feast day is 21 November, but we have transferred the celebration to
today.
Traditional Nativity Fast Has Begun; Shortened Fast
Begins 10 December
Traditionally, our Church
observes a 40-day fast before the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas), just like
the 40 days of Great Lent. The Nativity
or Christmas Fast is sometimes called “St Philip’s Fast,” since it begins the
day after the feast day of St Philip, which is 14 November. In contemporary practice, Melkites are not
bound to fast until 10 December.
Whenever you begin your fast (and, yes, it is OK not to fast on
Thanksgiving Day), remember that we fast to remind ourselves that “every good
gift and every perfect grace comes down” from God, including God’s great
Christmas gift to us—His only-begotten Son as our Lord, God, and Savior!
Our Lady’s Society Will Meet 1 December, Celebrating St
Barbara’s Day
Our Lady’s Society will meet
on Tuesday 1 December. The meeting will
begin half an hour earlier than usual, at 6:30 pm, with a short Vespers for the
Feast of St Barbara (actually 4 December).
After Vespers, there will be a short business meeting, followed by a
White Elephant gift exchange. Do not buy
new items for the gift exchange; bring something nice from home that you don’t
need and someone else might like. Also, please bring a nice, new, warm gift for
someone who is poor or homeless—such as warm socks, gloves, scarves, or
hats. These gifts will be taken to the
women’s shelter for distribution to those in need.
The Bishop’s
Appeal: Give Thanks by Giving Back
At this time of year when we offer thanksgiving for all
God’s blessings, Our Lord speaks to us in the Gospel about storing up treasure
in Heaven and about being rich in the things of God. Let us give back to the Lord in return for all
the blessings He has bestowed upon us. Let us give thanks to God for the precious
gift of our Melkite Church and pay a tribute of thanksgiving for the labor and
sacrifice of our ancestors in the faith who have gone before us. Offer your thanks to God by giving a generous
gift to the Bishop’s Appeal. Extra
donation envelopes are available in the narthex. Please do not mail your contributions. Instead, give them to Fr James to mail for
you. You will save 49 cents and he will
be able to track participation by St Joseph’s parishioners. Thank you for your generosity. Last year, we did not meet our $2500 parish
goal. This year, let us be more generous
and beat that goal.
Feed the Hungry—Bring Donations for our
Holiday Food Drive
Our Holiday Food Drive will be coordinated by Our Lady’s Society and
NAMY. From now until the new year, we
will collect non-perishable foods to give to a local food bank. Canned foods, healthy breakfast cereals,
dried pasta and beans, peanut butter, powdered milk, baby food, etc. are
especially needed. Toothbrushes and
disposable diapers are also always needed.
Our donations will be taken to the food bank today and on 6 and 20 December. Anything collected after that will be
delivered early in January.
Parish Council
Sets Recommended Donations for Weddings, Baptism, Funerals
The Parish Pastoral Council has established standard
offerings for Weddings, Baptisms, Funerals, Memorial Services, and the use of
the parish hall for mercy meals. The
Council recommends an offering to the church (not to the priest) of $250 for
Weddings, Baptisms, and Funerals of active, contributing parishioners. For those who are not active, contributing parishioners,
the recommended offering is $500. The
recommended offering for Memorial Services is $100 to the church. For use of the parish hall for mercy meals,
the Council recommends an offering of $150 to cover supplies, setup, cleanup,
etc. Note
that these are not fees; the Church cannot charge for services. No one will be refused the services of the
Church if they are unable to pay.
The Story of St Mammas and His Ikon
St Mammas was born in Asia Minor in the 3rd Century, to devout
Christian parents, Theodotos and Rufina.
At that time, Christianity was not yet legal in the Roman Empire. They were arrested and imprisoned in Caesarea
for refusing to give up Christianity and died in prison when Mammas was about
12 years old. A wealthy Christian widow
adopted him and raised him in the faith, making sure he had a good
education. He was so mature in his mind
and heart that by words and example he converted many of his classmates to the
Faith. For this he was arrested, but
instead of torturing him, the governor sent him to be questioned by the Emperor
Aurelian (270-275 AD). Failing to
persuade Mammas to renounce his faith, the Emperor had him tortured. He was almost drowned, but an angel saved him
and told him to go live in the mountains.
Mammas built a small chapel and lived a life of prayer, fasting, and
work. The wild animals gathered around
him and listened to him read the Holy Gospel.
He lived on milk from wild goats and deer, and also made cheese, which
he gave to the poor. When he was 15, the
governor heard of his reputation and sent soldiers to arrest him. They did not recognize him and thought he was
just a shepherd boy until he invited them to his cave, fed them milk and
cheese, and told them his name. He
promised to come into the city and surrender, knowing that he would be killed
for being a Christian. Mammas arrived at
the city gates, where the soldiers were waiting, riding on a lion and carrying
a lamb. He was thrown to the wild beasts
to be killed, but they refused to attack him.
Finally, a pagan priest ran him through with a trident and he died. He is most honored in Lebanon, Cyprus,
Portugal, and France. Contrary to
popular legend, he did not live in Deirmimas, but the monastery there is named
for him. His ikon, painted for us by Fr
Mark Melone, shows a young man riding a lion and carrying a lamb, with olive
trees in the background to represent the olive groves of Deirmimas. The lion has a human-looking face, like most
lions in ikons. This shows that all
creation shares in the image of God. It
may also reflect that Scripture refers to Christ as the Lion of Judah.
