Looking Ahead at St Mary (March 17 – 24)
Beloved in Christ,
Below you will find this week’s schedule, as well as some important notes about upcoming events.
THIS WEEK: March 17 – 24, 2025
This Week: No meat/dairy/wine on any day of the week; wine allowed on Sat/Sun.
Mon, Mar 17 at 6:00 pm – Great Compline
Tues, Mar 18 at 7:30 am – Belles Making Holy Bread
Wed, Mar 19 at 6:00 pm – Pre-Sanctified Liturgy w/Potluck Following
Thurs, Mar 20 at 8:30 am – MF Prep: Marketplace Baking (see sign up below)
Thurs, Mar 20 at 5:30 pm – Parish Council Meeting
Fri, Mar 21 at 8:30 am – MF Prep: Marketplace Baking (see sign up below)
Fri, Mar 21 at 6:00 pm – Little Compline w/Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God
Sat, Mar 22 at 8:30 am – MF Prep: Marketplace Baking (see sign up below)
Sat, Mar 22 at 4:30 pm – Confession
Sat, Mar 22 at 5:00 pm – Great Vespers
Sun, Mar 23 at 9:00 am – Matins
Sun, Mar 23 at 10:00 am – Divine Liturgy
Sun, Mar 23 at 11:00 am – Church School
Sun, Mar 23 at 11:30 am – Speed Friending
Mon, Mar 24 at 6:00 pm – Great Vespers ~ Annunciation
Other Notes
(1) FESTIVAL PREP: Our annual Mediterranean Festival is coming up on Saturday, May 3. We have several prep days to ensure we are ready to open our doors and welcome our visitors on May 3. In addition to being a major help for this fundraiser, volunteering at these prep days is a wonderful way to get to know your fellow parishioners. Please see the current sign-up sheet for upcoming prep days and sign up for slots when you can make yourself available. You can sign up here: St Mary/Wichita, KS: Mediterranean Festival Prep Dates – 2025
(2) FAMILY PROMISE HOST WEEK: St. Mary is the host parish for Family Promise the week of March 30 to April 6. Please use the link below to volunteer to help. Opportunities for those who would prefer to sign up in person will be available after liturgy on March 9 and March 16. Sign up opportunities include providing food for the church’s FP pantry, evening meals, transportation to and from the Day House, laundry, and spending night with the guests at the church. Thanks for your support of this important ministry. Contact Vicki Jones, 650-0658, or Father Aaron with any questions. Sign up here: St. Mary Orthodox Christian Church: Family Promise March 2025
(3) SPEED FRIENDING: On Sunday, March 23, during Coffee Hour, we are going to have a “Speed Friending” event. Similar to “Speed Dating,” parishioners will have five minutes to talk with the person across the table from them. We will have questions to guide the conversation. After five minutes, everyone will move down the table to speak with someone else. We hope this will be a fun way to help people get to know each other. Lunch and childcare will be provided. Adults (age 18 and over) are encouraged to participate. See the flyer linked below for more details.
(4) LENTEN RETREAT: Our annual Lenten Retreat is scheduled for Friday, March 28, and Saturday, March 29. Fr Calinic Berger will be our retreat speaker. Further details can be found on the linked flyer.
(5) VISITATION: Mary Ann Khoury has moved to CedarHurst Senior Living (11820 W 29th St). She is in Apt 12 and would love visitors anytime. If you wish to call in advance, she can be reached at 316-640-7077.
(6) SUNDAY OF ORTHODOXY COLLECTION: Today we collected funds for the Archdiocese to be used to help educate our Archdiocesan Seminarians. Thanks to your generous support, our Archdiocese is able to cover tuition, room, and board for its sponsored seminarians. If you wish to contribute, you may write a check to St Mary or make a donation online (Donate to St. Mary), earmarked: Seminarians. We will forward all collected funds to the Antiochian Archdiocese.
(7) METROPOLITAN SABA’S WEEKLY TEACHING: This week His Eminence shares his message “On Destructive Criticism.” See the link below to read it. In addition, please see an update on our Antiochian Patriarch’s commentary on the current situation in Syria here: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.
(8) TEXT MESSAGE CHANGES: Due to recent changes with the Remind program/app, we are in the process of changing our text message provider to tithe.ly, the same organization we use for online giving. However, for regulatory reasons, it takes 3-4 weeks for this new service to work (we are given our own phone number from which we can send and receive text messages). Once the program is ready to use, we will be sure to reach out to you about it.
9) TEACH ME THY STATUTES PODCAST: If you would like to listen to this week’s Teach Me Thy Statutes podcast (with Fr Aaron & Jason Ewertt), you can find it here: Teach Me Thy Statutes.
(10) PASTORAL VISITS: If you would like a pastoral visit for any reason, or if you know of a family member/parishioner who needs a visit, please feel free to contact me via cell phone at 204-6725.
Yours in Christ,
Fr Aaron
