Forefeast of & Sunday before Theophany of Christ
Synaxis of the Seventy Holy Apostles; Venerable Theoktistos of Sicily
Resurrectional Apolytikion – Tone 5
Let us believers praise and worship the Word; coeternal with the Father and the Spirit, born of the Virgin for our salvation. For, He took pleasure in ascending the Cross in the flesh to suffer death; and to raise the dead by His glorious Resurrection.
Apolytikion of the Forefeast of Theophany – Tone 4
Be thou ready, Zabulon; prepare thyself, O Nephthalim. * River Jordan, stay thy course and skip for gladness to receive * the Sovereign Master, Who cometh now to be baptized. * O Adam, be thou glad with our first mother, Eve; * hide not as ye did of old in Paradise. * Seeing you naked, He hath appeared now * to clothe you in the first robe again. * Christ hath appeared, for He truly willeth to renew all creation.
Kontakion of the Forefeast of Theophany – Tone 4
In the running waters of * the Jordan River, * on this day the Lord of all * crieth to John: Be not afraid * and hesitate not to baptize Me, * for I am come to save Adam, the first-formed man.
EPISTLE and GOSPEL READINGS
The Epistle
O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thine inheritance. Unto Thee will I cry, O Lord my God.
The Reading from St. Paul’s Second Epistle to Timothy. (4:5-8)
Timothy, my son, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing.
The Gospel
The reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark. (1:1-8)
The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes He Who is mightier than I, the strap of Whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Thought for Today
“In a society where each one sees himself as the first no one makes any progress. If, however, one always considers oneself to be the last, meeting someone else becomes each time an opportunity for spiritual profit and progress. So it is best to be the last. If I am the first, life is infernally tiresome. If I am the last, life is continual joy, because I am always learning something useful. -Saint Sophrony of Essex
Approaching the Holy Chalice
The young children of Little Lambs and their teachers receive first, unless there are newly illumined, in which case the children go second. Infants to toddlers may follow with their parents or godparent. Everyone else in the parish family is asked to file toward the periphery, toward the narthex, and proceed down the center aisle. As we approach the chalice, we fold our arms, right over left. This is both a posture of submission and confession of Christ’s victory over death. Those who commune are asked to open their mouths wide with their heads slightly tipped up and receive the Gifts directly from the spoon. This eliminates confusion and reduces the risk of spillage.
Looking Ahead
House blessing Please EMAIL Fr. Peter if you would like to have your home blessed, placing “house blessing” in the subject line. As usual, he will cluster homes by geography.
Annual Parish Meeting.
This Week
Today, Sunday Forefeast of the Theophany of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Myrrh Bearers will meet following Divine Liturgy,
Monday, January 5 Hours of Theophany 9am, Vesperal Liturgy with the Great Blessing of the Waters 5:00 pm.
Tuesday, January 6 Festal Matins of Theophany 9:00 am, Divine Liturgy for the Feast with the Outdoor Blessing of the Waters 10:00 am
Wednesday, January 7 Daily Vespers at 6:00 pm, Inquirers and Catechumen classes to follow a Pitch-in meal. ? will be provided. Salads, bread, hummus and fruit are needed. Contact Juliana Schulz for suggestions of sides or of items you are bringing at 812- 360-5975 or Jennifer.schulz3ttj@gmail.com.
Thursday, January 8 Divine Liturgy at 9:00 am.
Friday, January 9 3rd Hour Prayers at 9:00 am.
Saturday, January 10 Divine Liturgy for St. Gregory of Nyssa at 9:00 am; Bible study 11:00 am at the Webb’s home; Tween and Teen SOYO at 3:30 pm. Great Vespers at 5:00, ‘Ask Abouna’ to follow.
Sunday, January 11 Matins at 9:00 am; Divine Liturgy at 10:00 am,
Family News
Name Day Celebrations Micah Finchum, Prophet Micah (5th); Macrina Robertson, St. Macrina the Lesser (5th); John Labban, John Alexander jr, Forerunner and Baptist John (7th); Gregory Gillquist, Michael Gill, St. Gregory of Nyssa (10th).
Birthday Celebrations John Alexander (5th); Sami Koutares (5th); Macrina Robertson (5th); Alex Koutares (6th); Ian Yeager (7th); Charles Coats (8th); Hal Sabbagh (9th).
Prayer List Joel; Wendy; Dnsa. Robyn Freeman; Mary Ann; Rita; Kelsey and the born of her; Heather; Kh. Paraskeva; Hal; Jacquie; Jim and Lisa; Taylor; Fr. Athanasius; Fr. Jerome; Fr. Basil; Fr. Matthew; Marvin; Nectaria, Shu-Mei. Charlie, Shirley; Gregory; Jim; Jan; Don and Dee; those suffering from the war in Ukraine and the Middle East; our Nation; all school children, and personnel across the nation; Emma; Josiah; Jack; Christopher; Wadia; Patricia; Kitsa; Apthrodite; Kim; Kristy; Vicki; Kenzie; Dusty; Cari; Josh; Allison; Dn. Lawrence, Marcia; Missy; Andrew; Isaac; Sadie and the child she bears; Nancy; Sharon Catherine; Neumann Seraphim; Michael, Olga, Eileen, Soren, Kathy; Lexi, Ross, Vivian; Theo; Jeremy; Elias; Leanne Seraphima; Lilly’s family; Sarah; Jennifer; Christy; John; Stanley; Allen; Linda; Allison and children; Kip; Evan; Anastasia and family; Dorthea; Mary; Marina; Patrick; Seraphima, Anna and the child she bears, Mary and the child she bears; Williams family.
Memory Eternal Creighton, Christopher, Amanda, Jared, Kh. Carol, Robert, Pauline.
Your Help Helping Those in Need: We pray, fast and offer charity to those in need, fulfilling the Lord’s command to love our neighbor as ourselves. During this season the Church has had a beautiful response. Collection for Saint Nicholas Tree, Hannah House, and Community Shelter will continue during the 12 days of Christmas (until Theophany). There are opportunities for almsgiving throughout the year:
Benevolence Fund: Donations are used to support families in need of help with rent and utilities payments.
Food Pantry: Our in-house Food Pantry is available to parish members as well as families and individuals in the community of Bloomington. Donations of nonperishable items of pasta, marinara sauce, peanut butter, canned chicken and Tuna, canned vegetables, canned fruit and soups are always a great blessing.
Mission Donations: We send monthly support to two missionary units in Albania, the Hoppe family and Hannah Valentine. We welcome and encourage you to contribute to their ongoing support.
All Saints’ Sunday Meal
SUNDAY FELLOWSHIP MEAL In order to best serve our growing congregation, instead of the usual alphabetical meal teams, we ask that everyone who is able bring a food donation of a pot, bowl, casserole or loaf of something* to share at the meal. If you are unable to bring a donation, please come anyway and help with cleaning up after the meal. Place your donations ready to be served on the serving buffet prior to Holy Communion. After the meal, remove your containers and clean up any church items you used. Thank you.
Donations to the church are being made online to www.allsaintsbloomington.org and by U.S. mail. Many thanks to all who continue supporting All Saints.