TODAY IS CHEESE-FARE SUNDAY This is the last day to consume cheese and dairy products before the arrival of Holy Pascha, which will be April 19. A rest from certain foods is good for both soul and body and helps us to engage in the necessary work of repentance during Great and Holy Lent. This has been the teaching of the Church from the early days. Let’s encourage one another in the spiritual journey to Pascha.
IT IS OUR GREAT PRIVILEGE AND HONOR to have his Eminence Metropolitan Methodios of Boston with us today, accompanied by his archdeacon. They will be our guests at the meal following morning services. Eis polla eti, Despota!
His Eminence has requested each parish in the Boston Metropolis to offer a Paraklesis to Panagia immediately following the Divine Liturgy today. We will be praying specifically for Fr. Peter Rizos of St. George, Lowell, MA. Fr. Peter was involved in a vehicle accident last week and remains in critical condition. He is married to Presbytera Alexandra and they are parents and grandparents. Please keep them in your prayers. Fellowship hour will follow immediately after.
SUNDAY SCHOOL WILL NOT MEET TODAY
THIS EVENING IS FORGIVENESS VESPERS
Our entry into Great and Holy Lent will begin this evening with Forgiveness Vespers at 6PM. Please come for these prayers, at the end of which, we ask a general forgiveness of one another so we may enter the Lenten season on the right foot.
GREAT LENT BEGINS TOMORROW, MON. MAR. 2
Services This Week
Presanctified Liturgy Wednesday @ 6PM
First Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos Friday @ 7PM
(Yes, the evening services times are different)
Saturday of the Souls Orthros 9AM, Divine Liturgy 10AM, commemorations following. We will remember our departed Orthodox loved ones this Saturday, marking the miracle of St. Theodore and the koliva. This is the day to bring koliva to the church in memory of your Orthodox loved ones. Memory Eternal!
NEXT SUNDAY IS THE SUNDAY OF ORTHODOXY
Be sure to bring a portable icon with you next Sunday morning as we honor the Restoration and Veneration of the Holy Icons as confirmed in the 7th Ecumenical Council.
IF FASTING SEEMS HARD FOR YOU For those who have health concerns and feel that a Lenten diet is too strict, we encourage you to look at the Nutritarian eating plan by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. This is an eating plan that allows a person to stay within the Lenten fasting food options and still maintain very good health and oftentimes recover lost health. Dr. Fuhrman’s plan is a healthy plant-based diet and it is not a fad diet. Lots of science backing up the success of this plan. Learn more here: https://hellonutritarian.com/nutritarian/ Dr. Fuhrman has written a number of books, among them The End of Diabetes and Fasting and Eating for Health. We are not advocating that this is a “must do,” rather it is something you can investigate on your own and possibly adopt during the Lenten season. In short, it is a resource for you.
THE BOOKSTORE – There are some worthy reads on the shelves of the bookstore for our Lenten journeys. Please take some time to review what is there. Prayer books will be back in stock as early as next Sunday. We also have some special Lenten/Paschal items coming in the pipeline. Be looking for new things within the next couple of weeks. Thank you for your continued support of the bookstore ministry!
LEE SPERONIS HONORED Needless to say, we are very proud of our Parish Council President who, at the 2020 Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Dinner, was awarded the Arthur Comstock Professional Service Award. https://www.facebook.com/SutherlandWestonInc/videos/
HOUSE BLESSINGS Fr. Leo will be glad to visit your home to bless it with holy water from the recent great feast. All you need do is call him at 207-385-3000.