Looking Ahead at St Mary (September 8 – 14)
Beloved in Christ,
Below you will find this week’s schedule, as well as some important notes about upcoming events.
THIS WEEK: September 8 – 14, 2025
This Week: Regular Wed/Fri fasting; Sunday is also a fast day for the Exaltation of the Cross, with wine allowed.
Sun, Sept 7 at 5:00 pm – Great Vespers ~ Nativity of the Mother of God
Mon, Sept 8 at 8:00 am – Divine Liturgy ~ Nativity of the Mother of God
Mon, Sept 8 at 6:30 pm – Belles Meeting @ St Mary
Wed, Sept 10 at 6:00 pm – Daily Vespers
Wed, Sept 10 at 6:30 pm – Bible Study & Kids Night
Sat, Sept 13 at 4:00 pm – Men’s Prayer Group
Sat, Sept 13 at 4:30 pm – Confession
Sat, Sept 13 at 5:00 pm – Great Vespers ~ Exaltation of the Cross
Sat, Sept 13 at 6:00 pm – Chant Class
Sun, Sept 14 at 8:45 am – Matins ~ Exaltation of the Cross
Sun, Sept 14 at 10:00 am – Divine Liturgy ~ Exaltation of the Cross
Sun, Sept 14 at 11:00 am – Church School
Sun, Sept 14 at 5:00 pm – 20/40 Fellowship @ Fr Aaron’s (16005 W Sheriac St)
Other Notes
(1) BIBLE STUDY & KIDS NIGHT: Beginning on Wednesday, September 10, we will begin a Fall Bible Study each Wednesday evening around 6:30 pm, following Daily Vespers. The Bible Study will begin with an examination of the Epistle of St Paul to the Galatians and will be led by our own biblical scholar, Blaise Webster. While the adults are in Bible Study, the kids will have an opportunity to gather with me in our Teen Room to play games, interact, and talk. We will also make time for a Q&A with the kids. If enough of our kids attend, we will eventually break into more than one class by age. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact me.
(2) CHURCH SCHOOL: Once again this year, our Church School will meet on Sunday mornings immediately following the reception of Holy Communion. Because of that, teachers and children should line up to receive Holy Communion before the rest of the congregation so they may be dismissed to their classrooms. Parents, please do not disrupt class to pick up your children after church. When their class is finished, the children will be dismissed to coffee hour.
(3) ROLLING GRAPE LEAVES: We will be making grape leaves for our upcoming Holiday Bake Sale on Saturday, September 20th. We will start at 9:00 a.m. We’d love to have a good crew so we can get them finished quickly. Please know that you don’t have to have any experience in rolling! We will show you how it’s done!! We should be done by noon if we have enough help. You can sign up here: St Mary/Wichita, KS: Holiday Bake Sale Prep Dates – 2025
(4) 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.
(5) METROPOLITAN SABA’S WEEKLY TEACHING: This week His Eminence shares a teaching entitled “Questions & Thoughts.” Read it here >
(6) 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.
(7) 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
