Sunday Services: Orthros-8:45 a.m. Divine Liturgy-10:00 a.m. Sunday School after Distribution of Holy Communion. Holy Day Services As announced in weekly bulletins.
Ushers:
12/4 - Michael Fowler & Michaele Glisson
12/11 - Brian Farr & L. Papademitriou
12/18 - C. Zouboukos & Chuck Odom
12/24 - Christmas Eve Service - Chris Cora & T J Hare
Altar Servers: (Please note that if any altar servers are in church and see that no alltar servers are here you are of course asked to serve in the altar).
Epistle Reader:
12/4 Erynn Sturgon
12/11 - John Mark Harris
12/18 - Adam Farr
12/24 - Christmas Eve - Carl Boschert
Prosphoro:
12/4 -
12/11 - Betta Miller
12/18 -
12/24 -
The sign up page is updated and all Sundays in Dec 25th are available.
To sign up to bake prosphoro click on this link. https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/266988023009644063/false#/invitation
Orthros starts at 9:00 a.m.
Liturgy starts at 10:00 a.m,
Coffee Hour: Fresh Brewed coffee and snacks.
Sunday school classes meet after the dirstribution of Holy Communion.
Philoptochos and our Sunday School ministries are collecting hygiene/homeless care items and canned goods to donate to the Gateway Rescue Mission Center in Jackson..Please bring the items to church and place them in the bin allocated for the Gateway Rescue Mission Center.
Parish Christmas card : We invite every family to participate and have your name included in this year's Holy Trinity-St. John the Theologian Community Christmas Card. Please see the e mailed form or pick up a form at the candle stand at church on Sunday. A minimum donation of $15.00 is suggested to include your name on this attractive card. Let’s try for 100% participation. Our Community Christmas Card is a beautiful card to send to your fellow parishioners and to also keep as a keepsake. You can mail the forms (and donations) to us. Wishing you and your families a Blessed Nativity Fast! Thanking you in advance and may God Bless us all.
Looking Ahead-Mark Your Calendars:
11/15 - Nativity Fast Began
12/2 - Sunday School outing to see the Bellhaven Singing Christmas Tree
12/6 - Feast of Saint Nicholas - Liturgy at 5:30 pm
12/8 - The movie "Smyrna" one night only Grandview Theaters at 7 pm.
12/9 - Pastry sale pick up 4:30 - 6:00 pm
12/10 - Pastry Sale pickup 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
12/10 - GYRO Drive through 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
12/13 - Philoptochos Christmas Party - time and place TBA - Dirty Santa (bring an ornament or decoration - $10-$15 limit)
12/18 - Sunday School Christmas Program - Parish Council Elections
Parish Council Elections - Sunday December 18th after Liturgy - for four seats on the Parish Council - the terms of Michael Fowler, Toula Odom, L. Papadimitriou, expire on December 31st 2022 The terms of Parish Council members: Chris Cora, Brian Farr, Michaele Glisson, Constantine Zouboukos, & T. J Hare expire on 12/31/2023. ALL candidates must attend the Parish Training Seminar on November 30th at 6:00 pm (Central time). This is a zoom meeting. The information on this meeting will be provided to each candidate. Candidate Pedge Forms were sent out in a separate mailing. As of12/2 only one person has been submited. Due date is December 7th.
12/24 - Eve of Nativity of Christ - Services
12/25 - Nativity of Christ - Christ is Born - Glorify Him!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/269685419794311/ or go to our church web page
www.holytrinitysaintjohnjackson.org and click on the link
We are grateful to those who have contributed and continue to contribute their donations through the mail or by the two secure on-line options both of which can be found on our web page. The light a candle say a prayer link below or the Donate Button on the bottom of the home page https://holy-trinity-st-john-the-theologian-greek-orthodox-church-jac.square.site
Please let us know of any errors or omissions.
Our December Birthday List: Chris Grillis-December 1st, Panayiotis (Pat) Zouboukos-December 2nd, Hutson Hontzas-December 3rd, Heather Hontzas-December 5th, Alexis Valsamakis Hood-December 9th, Nicholas Nelson-December14th, Sammie Baggett-December 26th, Chris Zeppos-December 30th, Christina Valsamakis Childers-December 30th, Anthony Panos-December 30thPlease let us know of any errors or omissions.
Our Holy Trinity-St. John the Theologian Prayer List:
"Remember Lord, those whom each of us calls prayerfully to mind" John Mosley(Theo Mavridoglou"s friend), Lexi Kountouris, Stella Grivas (Father Andrew's mother in Dunnsville VA), Andrea & Kevin Brown (Father Andrew's sister and brother in law in New Hampshire), Chuck Odom, Nicholas & Dianna Psaris, Chris Grillis, Lambryne Angelo, Paula Fowler, Victoria Lepsa (Cristina Nica's mother in Romania), Tatianna Koufopoulos Quick of Phoenix Arizona, Maria Costas, Dot P
Saint Barbara was from Heliopolis of Phoenicia and lived during the reign of Maximian.
She was the daughter of a certain idolater named Dioscorus. When Barbara came of age, she was enlightened in her pure heart and secretly believed in the Holy Trinity. About this time Dioscorus began building a bath-house; before it was finished he was required to go away to attend to certain matters, and in his absence Barbara directed the workmen to build a third window in addition to the two her Father had commanded. She also inscribed the sign of the Cross with her finger upon the marble of the bath-house, leaving the saving sign cut as deeply into the marble as if it had been done with an iron tool. (When the Synaxarion of Saint Barbara was written, the marble of the bath-house and the cross inscribed by Saint Barbara were still preserved, and many healings were worked there.) When Dioscorus returned, he asked why the third window had been added; Barbara began to declare to him the mystery of the Trinity. Because she refused to renounce her faith, Dioscorus tortured Barbara inhumanely, and after subjecting her to many sufferings he beheaded her with his own hands, in the year 290.
Saint John was born in Damascus about the year 675, the son of wealthy and pious parents, of the family of Mansur. He was reared together with Saint Cosmas (see Oct. 14), who had been adopted by John's father Sergius, a man of high rank in the service of the Caliph of Damascus. Both of these young men were instructed by a certain monk, also named Cosmas, who had been taken captive in Italy by the Arabs and later ransomed by John's Father. Saint John became a great philosopher and enlightener of the age in which he lived, and was honoured by the Caliph with the dignity of counsellor.
When Emperor Leo the Isaurian (reigned 717-741) began his war on the holy icons, John wrote epistles defending their veneration. Since the Saint, being under the Caliph of Damascus, was beyond Leo's power, the Iconoclast Emperor had a letter forged in John's handwriting which invited Leo to attack Damascus, saying the city guard was then weak; Leo then sent this letter to the Caliph, who in his fury punished John's supposed treason with the severing of his right hand. The Saint obtained the Caliph's Permission to have his severed hand again, and that night prayed fervently to the most holy Theotokos before her icon. She appeared to him in a dream and healed his hand, which, when he awoke, he found to be healed in truth. This Miracle convinced the Caliph of his innocence, and he restored John to his office as counsellor. The Saint, however, with many pleadings obtained his permission to withdraw from the world to become a monk. He assumed the monastic habit in the Monastery of Saint Sabbas. Then he had as elder a very simple and austere monk who commanded him neither to write to anyone, nor to speak of the worldly knowledge he had acquired, and John faithfully obeyed. A monk grieving over his brother's death, however, after insisting vehemently, prevailed upon John to write a funeral hymn to console him for his brother's death. When John's elder learned of his transgression of the rule he had given him, he cast him out of his cell, and would only accept him back after John had humbly, with much self-condemnation and without murmuring consented to clean all the latrines in the lavra. After his elder had received him back, our Lady appeared to the elder and sternly charged him not to hinder John any longer from his writings and composition of hymns.
In his writings he fought courageously against the Iconoclasts Leo the Isaurian and his son Constantine Copronymus. He was also the first to write a refutation of Islam. The time he had spent as a counsellor in the courts of the Moslems of Damascus had given him opportunity to learn their teachings at first hand, and he wrote against their errors with a sound understanding of their essence. Saint John was surnamed Chrysorroas ("Golden-stream") because of the eloquence of his rhetorical style and the great abundance of his writings; this name - Chrysorroas was also the name of the river that flows by Damascus. In his writings he set forth the Orthodox Faith with exactness and order. In his old age, after his foster-brother Cosmas had been made Bishop of Maiuma, John also was ordained presbyter by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Having lived eighty-four years, he reposed in peace in 760. In addition to his theological writings, he adorned the Church of Christ with metrical and prose hymns and composed many of the prosomia used as the models for the melodies of the Church's liturgical chant; he also composed many of the sacred hymns for the feasts of the Lord Saviour and the Theotokos. The life of Saint John of Damascus was written by John, Patriarch of Jerusalem. See also June 28.
Divine Liturgy at 5:30 pm
This Saint lived during the reign of Saint Constantine the Great, and reposed in 330, As a young man, he desired to espouse the solitary life. He made a pilgrimage to the holy city Jerusalem, where he found a place to withdraw to devote himself to prayer. It was made known to him, however, that this was not the will of God for him, but that he should return to his homeland to be a cause of salvation for many. He returned to Myra, and was ordained bishop. He became known for his abundant mercy, providing for the poor and needy, and delivering those who had been unjustly accused. No less was he known for his zeal for the truth. He was present at the First Ecumenical Council of the 318 Fathers at Nicaea in 325; upon hearing the blasphemies that Arius brazenly uttered against the Son of God, Saint Nicholas struck him on the face. Since the canons of the Church forbid the clergy to strike any man at all, his fellow bishops were in perplexity what disciplinary action was to be taken against this hierarch whom all revered. In the night our Lord Jesus Christ and our Lady Theotokos appeared to certain of the bishops, informing them that no action was to be taken against him, since he had acted not out of passion, but extreme love and piety. The Dismissal Hymn for holy hierarchs, The truth of things hath revealed thee to thy flock ... was written originally for Saint Nicholas. He is the patron of all travellers, and of sea-farers in particular; he is one of the best known and best loved Saints of all time.
This Saint was born in Gaul in 340, and was a member of the Roman Senate. After the death of Auxentius, the Arian Bishop of Milan, a violent dispute arose among the Orthodox and Arians about who would succeed him. Ambrose, desiring as Governor of the province to restore the peace, attempted to mediate between them. As he spoke to the people, eloquently persuading them to elect a new bishop without tumult and disorder, a young child, inspired from on high, suddenly cried out "Ambrose, bishop!" To his astonishment and dismay, the people immediately took up this cry themselves, and over his many protests, he was raised to the episcopal throne of Milan on December 7, 374. A great Father of the Church, he wrote many works in Latin, and was both an unwearying opponent of Arianism, and a fearless accuser of emperors when they transgressed the law of God. Having lived fifty-seven years, he reposed on April 4, on the eve of Pascha, in the year 397.
Third Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from Mark 16:9-20
When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.
After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. After this He appeared to the eleven themselves as they sat at table and He upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw Him after He had risen. And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."
So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Amen.
Prokeimenon. Fourth Tone. Psalm 67.35,26.
God is wonderful among his saints.
Verse: Bless God in the congregations.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 3:23-29; 4:1-5.
Brethren, before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. So that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian; for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no better than a slave, though he is the owner of all the estate; but he is under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. So with us; when we were children, we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe. But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
10th Sunday of Luke
The Reading is from Luke 13:10-17
At that time, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your infirmity." And he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and she praised God. But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the sabbath day." Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?" As he said this, all his adversaries were put to shame; and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
In the Old Testament, the Prophet Isaiah had said, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20). This is in essence what the ruler of the synagogue did at that moment, when he, presuming himself to be the representative of God and upholder of religious exactness, went so far as to consider the healing of a tormented woman a sin. And it is to the Prophet Isaiah that the Lord makes reference when he answers the ruler of the synagogue, saying, “Hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or ass from the manger, and lead it away and give it drink?”.
Now that we draw near to Christmas, you will notice that every traditional Byzantine icon of the Nativity features two animals: an ox and an ass. These animals aren’t actually mentioned in either of the Nativity stories in the Gospels, but are instead a reference to the very beginning of the Book of Isaiah: “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, ‘I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s manger: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider’” (Isaiah 1:2–3).
And so, when the Evangelist writes that, “all those who opposed him were put to shame, but the whole crowd was rejoicing”, this was because they knew this prophecy and understood the point the Lord was trying to make.
Hearing these readings, then, let us not forget that all the things Christ said to the Pharisees and Scribes — the religiously observant of his day — applies just as much to us church-going Christians, if not even more. Let us not forget that all the commandments of God are summarised in the two commandments of love — love for God and for our fellow man (Matthew 22:40) — and that the meaning of the Law is found in “justice, mercy and faith” (Matthew 23:23). At every moment, let us remember the two exhortations of St Paul — “Consider thyself [and] keep on bearing one another’s burdens” — and thus fulfil the law of Christ.
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