From the Weekly Bulletin (Week of 6/8/2008)

Special Voters’ Meeting

We are planning on holding a Special Voters’ Meeting after Liturgy on Sunday June 15 to discuss and vote on some issues regarding the possibility of purchasing the Christian Science Church located at 722 E College St.  We also will hold our Parish Council elections at this same meeting.  An agenda has gone out to all voting members.  Please plan on attending and voting or have your vote cast by proxy by contacting Fr. Ignatius.  If you have questions or comments about anything related to what we are voting on, please check with a Parish Council member or Fr. Ignatius.

Summer Prayer Vigil

During past summers, members of St. Raphael Church have committed to praying an Akathist service every day for several weeks in order to ask God to bless this mission and our future in Iowa City.  We will be starting a Prayer Vigil on Sunday June 8th.  This year, we will be adding the Akathist to St. Nektarios the Wonderworker to our collection.  Look for the sign-up sheet soon and join in by signing up for a day or several days so that at least one member of St. Raphael Church is praying every day during the whole time.

Parish Council Meeting

The next Parish Council meeting is Monday June 9th at 7PM.  Anybody is welcome to attend.

Teen Movie Night at St. George Church

This Friday June 13, the teens (age 12 and up) of St. Raphael Church are invited to join the teens of St. George Church and St. John the Baptist Church for vespers at St George Church at 6PM, followed by potluck dinner and a movie. 

Office Hours

Until further notice, Fr. Ignatius will be available at church by appointment only.  Please call 400-7522 to contact him.  Because he needs to attend to Kh. Maria’s recovery at home in the near future, he is not able to regularly keep his posted hours.  As soon as he is able, he will resume keeping his normal hours.

Do You Have a Prayer Request?

Please give it to Fr. Ignatius and he will distribute it by email to all those on the Prayer Chain.

Holy Bread and Coffee Hour

On Sunday June 15, the holy bread will be provided by the Valentine family.  We do not yet have a volunteer to bring food for coffee hour next Sunday.  Do we have a volunteer?  Thank you in advance.  Anybody who would like to host the coffee hour or bake the holy bread can sign up at church to do so.

Last Update: 06/09 at 03:56 PM  

Food for Thought (6/1)

Just as it is impossible to cross the sea without a boat, so it is impossible to repulse the provocation of an evil thought without invoking Jesus Christ.

St. Hesychios the Priest, “On Watchfulness and Holiness” from the Philokalia, vol.1, p. 186.

Last Update: 06/02 at 08:32 AM  

From the Weekly Bulletin (Week of 6/1/2008)

Summer Prayer Vigil

During past summers, members of St. Raphael Church have committed to praying an Akathist service every day for several weeks in order to ask God to bless this mission and our future in Iowa City.  We will be starting a Prayer Vigil on Sunday June 8th.  This year, we will be adding the Akathist to St. Nektarios the Wonderworker to our collection.  Look for the sign-up sheet soon and join in by signing up for a day or several days so that at least one member of St. Raphael Church is praying every day during the whole time.

Feast of the Ascension Liturgy

We will celebrate the Feast of the Lord’s Ascension into heaven on Wednesday June 4 at 6PM with a Vesperal liturgy.

Iowa City Arts Festival

St. Raphael Church will have a table outside of our building to coincide with the Iowa City Arts Festival on June 7-8.  We are asking for help to staff the table at which we will be selling some baked goods, distributing information on our church, and possibly having a display on the icons and iconography.  We also need volunteers to prepare items such as baklava and other treats.  There is a sign-up sheet at church.

Special Voters’ Meeting

We are planning on holding a Special Voters’ Meeting after Liturgy on Sunday June 15 to discuss and vote on some issues regarding the possibility of purchasing the Christian Science Church located at 722 E College St.  Also, we hope to be able to hold our Parish Council elections at this same meeting.  An agenda will go out soon to all voting members.

Office Hours

Until further notice, Fr. Ignatius will be available at church by appointment only.  Please call 400-7522 to contact him.  Because he needs to attend to Kh. Maria’s recovery at home in the near future, he is not able to regularly keep his posted hours.  As soon as he is able, he will resume keeping his normal hours.

Paschal Season Fasting

Our usual weekly Wednesday and Friday fasting resumes this Friday June 6th.

Thank you’s

Thank you to Todd Wiblin and Karen Kuntz for the beautiful flowers in church recently.  Also, Kh. Maria would like to thank all those who have prayed and offered their concern, all those who provided rides and cooked meals and helped in other ways, while she was and is recovering from her illness.  She says that she is blessed to be a part of this church family and is thankful to God to be surrounded by so many loving and caring people.

Chapel Cleaning

We have not had very consistent help to clean the chapel yet this year.  In order to keep our costs down and our chapel as beautiful and clean of a space as possible, we rely on you to sign-up to volunteer to clean for a particular month.  This means a time commitment of at least a few hours in a month and is a very helpful way to contribute to the well-being of our community.  The sign-up sheet is always posted on the bulletin board.

Parish Council Meeting

The next Parish Council meeting is Monday June 9th at 7PM.  Anybody is welcome to attend.

Do You Have a Prayer Request?

Please give it to Fr. Ignatius and he will distribute it by email to all those on the Prayer Chain.

Holy Bread and Coffee Hour

On Sunday June 8, the holy bread will be provided by the Branch/Peterson family.  The food for coffee hour will be brought the Johnson family.  Thank you in advance.  Anybody who would like to host the coffee hour or bake the holy bread can sign up at church to do so.

Last Update: 06/02 at 08:31 AM