Looking Ahead at St Mary (May 26 – June 2)

Beloved in Christ,

Christ is risen!

Below you will find this week’s schedule, as well as some important notes about upcoming events.

THIS WEEK: May 19 – May 25, 2025

This Week: Following the Ascension service, we abstain on Wed/Fri from meat & dairy products, but fish & wine still allowed.       

Mon, May 26: Fr Aaron on Vacation (see Note 2 below)

Wed, May 28 at 6:00 pm – Divine Liturgy ~ Ascension

Sat, May 31 at 4:30 pm – Confession

Sat, May 31 at 5:00 pm – Great Vespers

Sat, May 31 at 6:00 pm – Chant Class (see Note 4 below)

Sun, June 1 at 9:00 am – Matins

Sun, June 1 at 10:00 am – Divine Liturgy

Sun, June 1 at 11:30 am – Potluck Coffee Hour

Mon, June 2 at 1:00 pm – Vacation Bible School Begins @ St George Cathedral (see Note 1 below)

Other Notes

(1) VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL: will be held June 2-5 from 1-4pm each day. Our theme for VBS this year is “Feasts of Christ the Lord”. We invite all those age 4 by September 2024 – those completing 5th grade to register! Registration for this year’s VBS can be found here: St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral. If you are interested in teaching or volunteering, please contact Ben Mosley at ben@stgeorgecathedral.net.

(2) FR AARON OUT OF OFFICE: I will be out of the office May 19 – 26 on vacation. If, during my absence, you have any pastoral emergency, please contact Fr Paul O’Callaghan (316-209-4676) or Fr Mark Sultani (248-207-7631) of St George Cathedral. Also, due to my absence on Memorial Day, we will have the Blessings of the Graves at Old Mission on Saturday, June 7 (Saturday of Souls), immediately following the Divine Liturgy.

(3) SATURDAY OF SOULS: Our pre-Pentecost Saturday of Souls service, at which we commemorate all of the departed from time immemorial, is scheduled for Saturday, June 7, at 9:00 am. If you wish to submit names of departed loved ones to be remembered, please submit their FIRST and LAST names to me (not to the parish office) by Wednesday, June 4. If you sent me your list of names previously, they have been saved and will be used on June 7. You only need to submit any new names you wish to be commemorated.

(4) CHANT CLASS: Following Great Vespers on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month (and the 5th Saturday, when applicable), Tony Jacobs will be leading a chant class for those interested in learning Byzantine chant. Everyone interested is welcome to attend. 

(5) TEXT MESSAGE GROUP: Our new text message system through tithe.ly is now up and running. We need anyone who wants to receive text messages from the church to sign up for this service (even if you had already signed up using our previous Remind system). You can join by following these quick steps:

– Text the phone number 855-516-9861 with the following phrase in the message box: STMARYTEXT

– Click on the link sent back to you via text and fill out your name (having your name will make it much easier for us in the future to create separate groups, such as the Parish Council, the Belles of St Mary, etc.).

– Check the box giving permission to receive texts.

– Click the “Submit” button.

Once you have done this, you should be automatically added to our text message list. Contact Fr Aaron if you have any issues.

(6) METROPOLITAN SABA’S WEEKLY TEACHING: This week His Eminence shares his message “The Bus to heaven.” See the link for the teaching. Also, you might be interested in reading the summary of the recent Spring Meeting of the Archdiocese Board of Directors here: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

(7) 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.

(8) 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