Announcements for October 2008
Announcements for October 2008 - 10/01/08
Last updated: 2011-12-26 00:09:56

News about the Potential New Church Property
Our patience is being rewarded. We have received news that indicates a positive reception by the Christian Brothers to our request. We are in communication with them and, God willing, will be able to meet with them and others and gain access to St. Joseph’s chapel for a complete evaluation of the needs and form estimates of what it will take to make the property ready for us. Please pray! Now would be a good time to begin to attend our Wednesday evening moleben to the Holy Apostles as part of your increased prayer effort.

The New Hymn Honoring our Heavenly Patrons
Since we now have a hymn that honors “Paul and the assembly of the twelve” (from our festal Kontakion), and because things are happening that suggest the need, our Wednesday moleben (prayer service) will be dedicated to the Holy Apostles for a time. Please join us to help intensify our prayer together, to further bind us as a family and as a body of “prayer warriors” so that the realization of God’s potential for us can be brought to pass with our willing participation. There are no simple coincidences. There is much for which we should thank God concerning our brother, Reader Isaac, the composer of this hymn. Without his gifts, our worship in our own language would be impossible. For this reason and because of his willingness to share his gifts with our parish, we can and should all remember Reader Isaac in our daily prayers.

Father John Townsend to Visit Us
Father John has been completely supportive of our parish from the beginning. He is a priest of great experience and dedication and, even in the midst of his very busy life as Rector of St. Mary of Egypt parish in Atlanta, Georgia, from time to time he has made the time to be with us and encourage us. His visit will extend from the evening of Friday, 10/17, through the morning of Monday, 10/20. God willing, he will be part with us for our visit to the chapel property. Let’s all make a point to be in attendance this weekend to meet him and hear his words.

Visiting the Sick and Shut-ins
Our sister, Elisabeth Chisholm, and is not able to easily get to Church. Please keep her in your prayers. Please call her when you can. She would also appreciate a visit.

Parish Groups and Activities
Holy Apostles welcomes participants in a number of groups and activities. Please see the leader or coordinator listed for more information.
Choir – Take this opportunity to be the “voice of the Church” – Rehearsals are on Thursday evenings at 7 – Please contact the director, Reader Christopher Johnson, to find out more.
Sunday School and other catechesis - There are three classes for children and young people. Adult catachesis will be taught by Father George. Adult catechesis is regularly available after the regular Wednesday evening Moleben. This will be tailored to the needs of those in attendance.
Sunday Luncheon Signup – Every Sunday after Divine Liturgy, we sit down together for a communal meal. This is a traditional and vital part of our community’s life and everyone regularly participating should take a turn to prepare the meal for us all. Please speak to Matushka Anastasia for further details.
Cleaning the church - If you would like to help with church cleaning, please speak to Matushka Anastasia. Please volunteer to help out with cleaning the church.

St. Joseph the Patriarch Young Adults Group - Please contact reader Christopher Johnson if you would like to find out more about this group which was founded for young adult Orthodox Christians from the greater DC metropolitan area, ages approximately 18-35.
Special Prayers for St. Joseph’s Young Adults
Our young people are in the process of establishing an OCF chapter at the University of Maryland College Park campus. OCF stands for Orthodox Christian Fellowship, a nation-wide student-supporting organization that envelops all Orthodox jurisdictions. It is designed to provide opportunity for Orthodox young people to gather on campus for prayer, Bible study and other activities that will help them to enhance and maintain their own Faith as well as provide a witness to others. Our young people are inspired to make this effort by the example of the UMBC OCF chapter at Catonsville, some of whose members are part of SJYA. They need our prayers for a speedy and positive outcome to their efforts.

Sunday School Development Program – Matushka Deborah, Matushka Anastasia and Dorothy Dillon are attending a course based on the philosophy of Sofia Cavalleti contained in her book “The Religious Potential of the Child.” Work has already been done elsewhere that demonstrates the adaptability of her work to Orthodox catachesis. The course sessions will be for ten months, one Saturday per month, starting Saturday the 20th of September. Please make a donation to support this effort (indicating so with a note accompanying cash, or on a check’s memo line). Please also keep the Matushkas and Dorothy in your prayers for this effort.

Confession
We take very seriously the apostolic admonitions regarding preparation for receiving Holy Communion, or the Holy Mysteries. This is manifested in the tradition of making a confession at Church the evening before we intend to receive the Holy Mysteries as part of that preparation. This practice coincides with another part of our preparation: attendance at the All-Night Vigil. If, however, because of distance or other considerations (pre-arranged with Father George), it is necessary to confess on Sunday morning before the Liturgy, we should arrive at church for this purpose no later than 9:15. Also, it is necessary if one is unable to attend vigil, that Saturday evening be spent quietly and prayerfully, preparing for confession and reading the pre-Communion prayers. We should do our best to preserve the traditions of our Church and to be considerate of others by not causing a delay in the beginning of Divine Liturgy.

Dressing for Church
While it is important to feel at home in one’s parish, it is also important to remember that when we gather for services, we are here for prayer and the worship of God. In this light, there are traditional customs of dress that should be observed. No one who is not a small child should wear shorts. Girls and women should wear head coverings and skirts. Shirts and blouses should cover the shoulders. Any clothing that is revealing or on the borderline of modesty is not appropriate. Slogans should not appear on apparel. A Church service is neither the time nor the place for advertisement or self-promotion.

Purchase of Candles, Prosphora and Other Items
Please remember when buying anything from the church to record the item, quantity, and $ amount on the columned paper at the candle stand. Also indicate on the check memo line, or on a slip of paper with your name attached to cash, what a donation is for. By so doing, you will be helping our Treasurer immensely in the accounting.

Good Stewards, Good Neighbors – Membership at Holy Apostles
A standard element of the Orthodox Christian life is membership in an Orthodox parish. Parish membership is the way to demonstrate the seriousness of our commitment to maintain not only our individual or household Orthodox life, but to maintain our mutual Orthodox life as a parish community, or, as the Holy Apostle puts it, to “bear… one another’s burdens.” By committing to keeping the parish supplied and in place, we are instruments of God’s providence. At the same time that we give of our substance, we provide the proper circumstances to supply each other’s spiritual needs.

If you regularly attend services, please consider also that being one of the living stones that St. Peter speaks of entails material contribution. We read in the Acts of the Holy Apostles, that time when the spiritual temperature of the new-born Church was at its height, that the members gave very generously of their substance, in fact, they gave everything. While we do not live in their circumstances and are not now called upon to pool everything for the sake of physical survival, we do live in a time of great spiritual incoherence and frequent hostility to the Christian Faith.

We each need, therefore, to do all we can to secure, maintain and grow our parish so that it may continue to serve as a harbor for those who seek spiritual peace and refuge from the stormy sea of this life.

A good foundation for stewardship is the tithe - 10% of our income. Some of us are doing this already. Those who tithe can testify that God takes care of such benefactors. First of all, they are remembered in prayer at every Divine Service. Let all who read this be stimulated to become one among the choir of benefactors. To become a member of the parish, please see our Treasurer, Damian Dantinne.

Our Building Fund
We have a building fund. We hope and pray, that one day with God’s help, we will build a beautiful church dedicated to our patron saints, the Holy Apostles, to the glory of God. To this end, we ask that our parishioners and friends keep this prayer in their daily prayers. We also ask that contributions targeted for the building fund be made, over and above our regular pledging, indicating so on the memo line of a check, or through a note attached to other means of giving. According to His will, may God grant us to see the day of the dedication of a new church.

A Flyer to Invite Visitors
We have a flyer available for you to hand out or post on bulletin boards, regarding our newly remodeled church. One is included in this monthly bulletin, and more are available at the candlestand. Please invite a friend to come visit our church. We want to fill our new space!

Share This:



< PreviousNext >
You might also like:
Support Our Palm Sunday Matching Grant Fundraiser!

DOUBLE YOUR CONTRIBUTION

THROUGH OUR MATCHING GRANT!

Now through Palm Sunday, April 28

 

Help us build our new Parish Hall,

and move to our historic Chapel Campus!

 

LEARN MORE HERE!

We've raised
$11,054.95

(Want to contribute to our General Fund?

Please scroll down ~ Thank you!)


Watch our Video!

Become a Church Builder!

 

From 'St John of Shanghai and San Francisco, Zealous Builder of Churches'

Everywhere he went he either oversaw the building of churches or supported the same with his attention and prayers... He wrote about the godly work of building churches: 

"In building churches here on earth, we create for ourselves eternal habitations in heaven."

 

Read the full article here...

Become a Church Builder!
Become a Church Builder!
Become a Church Builder!

General Fund Contributions

Historic Chapel Restoration

Since 2009 we have been restoring our beautiful chapel, gifted to our parish that year by the Christian Brothers. We have received and administered grants of approximately $400,000 so far, and continue to apply for the grants as they become available.

Chapel Restoration Funds
We've raised
$400,000.00

ALL DONATIONS TO OUR 

BUILDING FUND 

Are DOUBLED, up to $38,000

Now through Palm Sunday, April 28

 

 

EPISTLE BOOK, published by Holy Apostles Orthodox Church

 

The only Orthodox Epistle Book using the KJV text.

Includes the Acts and the Epistles, arranged for liturgical use according to Russian Orthodox practice. An appendix features all relevant prokeimena and readings for the whole year. Rubrics, introductory notes and monthly calendar for the Church Year are also included. Hardbound with full color dust cover, 632 pages. Published by Holy Apostles Orthodox Church and St Polycarp Press.

Full info and links to order on this special page.


St Romanos the Melodist Society

 

The St. Romanos the Melodist Society produces and publishes English language music of the Russian Orthodox Church.

 

The St. Romanos website is the online extension of A Church Singer's Companion, a project started in 1998 with the blessing of Metropolitan (then Archbishop) Laurus. Inspired by the Russian Sputnik Psalomshchika, the Companion is envisioned to contain the music necessary for every service a parish choir might need to sing, while staying simple enough so that any parish choir can sing it.

The St. Romanos Society produces music in both printed and recorded formats, and conducts seminars and workshops on the proper performance of that music. The Society is a sodality of Holy Apostles Orthodox Church, Beltsville, Maryland.

To get started looking at music, proceed to the Church Singer's Companion and begin familiarizing yourself with the content. You'll find there are a few more challenging settings mixed in, marked “difficult” or “very difficult”. Audio or video examples accompany some of the music. In addition, the Introduction provides valuable advice about proper church singing and related topics.

Detailed Reviews and Endorsements by clergy and choral professionals are provided for your consideration.