Pledge Packets-
We have begun our annual pledge drive during which we ask our members and friends to consider what we are able to financially contribute to our church for 2012. If you have pledged in the past, or if Fr. Ignatius thought you may be interested in pledging, you should have received a pledge packet, either in person or though the mail. The Parish Council encourages you to prayerfully consider what you may be able to regularly contribute by way of a pledge, and to return the pledge form to Kristi by next Sunday, November 13, so that a responsible budget can be formed in time to be voted on at our December 4 meeting. Teen SOYO Youth Group Project, Our Teens Need Your Help!- Our fledgling teen youth group, known as Teen SOYO, is collecting various items to be put into care packages and sent to US military personnel serving overseas. All list of items needed is posted and there is a collection box in the narthex at church. The deadline to bring items is Sunday, November 13. Speak with our teen group leader, Alli Rockwell, if you have any questions. Nov. 12-13 is Family Weekend at UI- We have invited the families of Orthodox Christian students attending the University of Iowa to come visit St. Raphael Church during our weekend services on November 12-13. This coincides with Family Weekend at the university. For coffee hour, we would like to have an abundance of food for any guests that come. If you are able to help out the food team that is already scheduled to bring food that day (St. Raphael team) please speak with the team leader, Fr. Ignatius. Choir Practice-
Our next choir practice is scheduled for Saturday,
November 12 at 9AM. The choir will practice music for the upcoming
Nativity season.
Pre-Nativity Fast-
In order to prepare our hearts for the Feast of the
Nativity of Christ, we are about to begin a period of fasting which
begins on November 15 and ends on December 24. During this fast, we
abstain from meat, dairy, eggs, wine and oil. Fish, wine and oil are
allowed on Saturdays and Sundays, and wine and oil are allowed on
Tuesdays and Thursdays and the feast days of certain great saints. For a
visual explanation of what each daily expectation for fasting is, look
at our Novermber/December church calendars, printed up and available in
the narthex.
Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos-
We will commemorate the Feast of the Entrance of
the Theotokos into the Temple with vespers at 6PM on Sunday, November 20
and matins (8AM) and Liturgy (10AM) on Monday, November 21.
Invitation to a Baptism-
Our whole parish is invited to witness the baptism
of Sienna Marie Brown, daughter of Tom Brown and Alethia Pantazis at
10:30AM on Saturday, November 26. Refreshments will be served
afterward. Tom and Alethia request that no gifts be given to Sienna,
but that if you desire, a donation to the church in Sienna's name can be
made.
Our Bishop is Coming!- If all goes according to plan regarding the December episcopal consecrations of the three new auxiliary bishops for our Archdiocese, we are scheduled to receive our new bishop, Bishop Anthony for a parish visit January 6-8. Bishop (elect) Anthony would like to spend some time teaching us while he is here with a talk on a subject yet to be determined, in addition to presiding at the outdoor Blessing of the Waters which we will host, and our regularly scheduled weekend services. Daily Orthodox Study Bible Readings for the Week- Following are the readings for this week: Nov. 6- Deuteronomy 20-22; Psalms 59; Proverbs 12:11-15; Mark 10:32-52 Nov. 7- Deuteronomy 23-25; Psalms 60; Proverbs 12:16-20; Mark 11:1-19
Nov. 8- Deuteronomy 26:1-28:14; Psalms 61; Proverbs 12:21-25; Mark 11:20-33
Nov. 9- Deuteronomy 28:15- 29:28; Psalms 62; Proverbs 12:26-31; Mark 12:1-27
Nov. 10- Deuteronomy 30-31; Psalms 63; Proverbs 13:1-5; Mark 12:28-44
Nov. 11- Deuteronomy 32; Psalms 64; Proverbs 13:6-10; Mark 13:1-23
Nov. 12- Deuteronomy 33-34; Psalms 65; Proverbs 13:11-15; Mark 13:24-37
Nov. 13- Joshua 1-3; Psalms 66; Proverbs 13:16-21; Mark 14:1-31
2012 OCMC Orthodox Mission Team Opportunities Now Available!- Kenya – Teaching (3/2/2012) Uganda – Healthcare (6/2/2012) Mongolia – Teaching (6/5/2012) Guatemala - Youth Work (7/5/2012) Moldova - Youth Work (7/10/2012) Romania - Youth Work (7/19/2012) Tanzania – Teaching (7/22/2012) Korea, South - Youth Work (7/25/2012) Alaska - Youth Work (8/11/2012) Alaska - Youth Work (8/11/2012) Moldova – Teaching (9/11/2012) Tanzania – Healthcare (10/1/2012) Tanzania – Teaching (12/5/2012) Please prayerfully consider your participation on an Orthodox mission team in 2012. Visit www.ocmc.org, or contact OCMC Teams Director Andew Lekos by phone at 1-866-463-6784 ext. 140 or by e-mail at teams@ocmc.org for more information or to apply.
Coffee Hour-
On Sunday November 13, the food for coffee hour and the cleaning of the fellowship hall will be provided by the St. Raphael team. Church Cleaning- During the week following Sunday November 6, the cleaning of the nave, narthex, bookstore/library, stairs, nursery and bathrooms will be provided by the St. Nina team. Choir Leadership- On Saturday November 12 and Sunday November 13, Tania Van Dinter will lead the choir. Food for Thought- Deeply rooted in people is the love of idle talk, i.e., empty,
unnecessary conversations, and it has become a beloved pastime among
them. It seems we don't know and don't believe that idle talk is a sin,
and a serious sin, which gives birth to a multitude of other sins:
quarrels, conflicts, gossip, slander, condemnation, calumny, and the
like. Indeed, all the various confusions which fill human life to
overflowing, all the disturbances of the inner quiet of the soul, have
as their source this same idle talk, which has crept into all of everday
life, as though it were its indispensible property and requirement. If
any sin or any passion knows how to clothe itself in an attractive
form, it is precisely- idle talk.
It begins under the pretext of conversing, of
discussing some business, but then we proceed imperceptibly to an
altogether unnecessary, empty, and sinful conversation. Like a
deeply-rooted infection, this sickness does not easily submit to
healing. It has penetrated all layers of social and private life; it is
active in people of every age and gender, every class and social
position, and has not even spared monasteries.
One deeply thinking pastor, contemporary to
us, writes the following on idle talk, among other things: "How
heedlessly, how carelessly we use our words, which should be highly
valued as a great gift from God! But on the contrary, what do we least
esteem, if not the spoken word? In what are we fickle, if not in the
spoken word? What do we trhow out every minute, as though it were dirt,
if not the spoken word? O Christian! Value your words, be attentive
to them!"
Abbess Thaisia, Letters to a Beginner, "Letter Nine, On Idle Talk and Gossip", p. 70. |
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