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CHURCH SERVICES: MAY
Sunday Matins: 8:30 am
SUNDAY DIVINE LITURGY: 9:30 am
Saturday Vespers: 5:30pm
Early Risers Bible Study
Every Saturday 6:30am - 7:30am
Studying the Gospel of Matthew
Noon Day Bible Study
Every Wednesday 12:00 noon -1:00 pm
Studying Stories from the Old Testament
Orthodoxy 101
An 8-Week Study on Orthodoxy
Mondays 6:30pm
Women's Bible Study
"Esther: It's Hard to Be a Woman"
Saturdays, 6:30pm-8:00pm at home of Sophia Bethune
Women's Book Study Group"
Next Meeting June 9, 8:30am-10:00am
Reading "Girls Like Us" by Rachel Lloyd
May 2 - 6:30 Paraclesis Service
May 4 - 2:00-9:00pm Pictures for new Church Directory
May 5 - 9:00am-5:00pm Pictures for new Church Directory
May 6 - 11:30am after Divine Liturgy: Youth BIBLE BOWL
12:30 Greek Dance Practice
May 9 - Mid-Pentecost
9:30 Divine Liturgy
12:00 Bible Study
6:30 Paraclesis Service
May 13 - His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios' Pastoral Visit to our Community
9:30 Divine Liturgy May 14 - 6:30 Parish Council Meeting
May 15 - 6:30 Philoptochos Meeting
May 16 - 6:30 Paraclesis Service
May 19 - 3:30 Greek Dance Practice (Older Group) May 20 - 6:00pm - Church Nameday Celebration: Vespers and Dinner
May 21 - Sts. Constantine and Helen Feastday
9:30 Divine Liturgy
May 23 - Close of Pascha
May 24 - Feast of the Ascension
9:30 Divine Liturgy
May 26 - 9:00-12:00 Fr. Luke will offer Trisaghion Prayers at Mt. Zion Cemetary for Memorial Day Weekend
June 2 - Greek Dance Group Performs at Southbridge Cultural Festival
Mark Your Calendars:
4th Annual Church Golf Tournament - 1:00pm, June 30th at Dudley Hill Golf Course
Metropolis of Boston Summer Camp - July 16-22
Vacation Church Camp "Son World Adventure Park" - August 5-11
Fr. Luke's Monthly Message
OUR LOVING FAMILY
A beautiful description of the early Church is given in the Acts of the Apostles, the part of Holy Scripture we read during this Paschal season. Following the transformative experience of our Lord’s Resurrection, the first Christians were described as, “Those who were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.” (Acts 4:32-33) What was the great power with which the apostles gave witness to the Resurrection? It was the power of divine love and heavenly joy! At the core of Christ’s Paschal victory over death was Divine Love itself! Jesus died on the Cross because of His love for the world. Christ journied into Hades to free those held captive there because of His love for fallen humanity. And now with the joyous spirit of the Resurrection living richly in the hearts of His followers, they naturally share this same spirit of love and joy with one another, and with everyone they meet! In fact, the love and joy found in their community is so infectious that it overwhelms any newcomer by its presence.
The apostles lived out the new life that Jesus had given them: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, that you have love for one another.” (Jn 13:34-35)
Loving like Jesus means joyfully welcoming the “other into your life (even when it’s inconvenient), caring for those in need (including those who are not a part of our family), encouraging and comforting those who face challenges and struggles, getting involved in the lives of others, and concretely sharing the love, joy and peace which our Lord has first given to us, with everyone we meet. Such welcoming and embracing love and joy always need to be central characteristics of our own Sts. Constantine and Helen Church family! Over the past seven years I have been here, I have heard wonderful comments from visitors and new members alike: “I felt so welcomed and loved from the first time I entered this church. I remember when I first came here, parishioners sat with me during the coffee fellowship, asked who I was and where I was from, and made me feel loved. I haven’t experienced this type of loving welcome in other churches I visited.” Others have gratefully expressed how “children friendly” our Church is. “In other churches I attended, my children didn’t feel as welcomed and as comfortable as they do here. They really feel this is their home. I thank God I found this Church!”
Isn’t it such a privilege to act as ambassadors of our Lord Jesus Christ, and welcome everyone we meet with His love. Whether it’s a newcomer in our Church, an acquaintance at work, a friend in the neighborhood, a stranger on the street, or a family member in our home, we have the great honor to represent our Lord and act as an ambassador of His love and joy! As we travel through the 40 days of the Paschal season, let nothing diminish that joy which His Resurrection has placed in our hearts. And long after the Easter season ends, let nothing take away that divine love bubbling within our souls! Let us continue to reach out to one another so that everyone will know that we are Christ’s disciples by the love we have for everyone we meet. And remember, whenever you hear of someone in our community who is sick, or struggling, or facing some special challenge, call them up, drop them a note, say a prayer for them and then go visit them. Let’s make our love as concrete as possible. My deepest prayer for every member of our beloved Church family is that we all continue to open up our hearts to the joy of the Lord and come to a deeper understanding of His unfathomable and passionate love for us. And as we fill our lives, more and more, with Christ’s daily presence, we cannot but be conduits radiating His love and joy onto others! Christ is Risen! Christos Anesti!
With love in our Risen Lord, +Luke
BOOK REVIEW GO FORTH:
Stories of Mission and Resurrection in Albania
by Fr. Luke A. Veronis Here you will find one of the most interesting and engaging collections of real life personal experiences ! The stories engage you with all of the drama and pathos of a contemporary struggle against the real and violent forces of evil and for the astounding rebirth of an almost extinguished Christian community in a small nation of southeastern Europe - Albania. Most Orthodox Christians are unaware of the rich history of missions in their Church. An even more closed door is the actual life of Orthodox missionaries. What in fact do Orthodox missionaries do? Well, if you are curious enough to find out, I heartily recommend to you this book, which is a collection of very human, very inspiring, very interesting, and very attention- grabbing missionary stories. After reading this book, you will have most of your questions answered, and will have entered into the real life experiences and reflections of a modern day Orthodox missionary. Perhaps the reason for most Orthodox Christian indifference to Orthodox Christian missions , is that following the fifteenth century, most Orthodox Churches found it almost impossible to do what Jesus Christ told us to do: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). The reason for this lack of mission sensitivity was the stifling conditions of the Muslim oppression of the Church that reached to the beginnings of the 19th century . When, at long last the Ottoman Empire came to an end, there was, with the exception of Orthodox Russia, an almost total lack of comprehension of anything related to missions by Orthodox Christians. Four centuries in the self-preservation mode had left the Orthodox, clergy and laity, without a missionary consciousness. All this began to change radically about 50 years ago in the minds and hearts of a small number of clergy and laity in Greece . One of the leading figures in this tiny movement was a young Greek clergyman, Anastasios Yannoulatos. He and his associates began a revival of Orthodox mission consciousness with the publication (at first mimeographed and only later printed) of a magazine titled “ Porefthendes .” The periodical was also issued in English, with the title, “ Go Ye!” which essentially is also the title of this book, “Go Forth!” In one sense, Fr. Veronis’ book is a fruition of the aspirations of that first effort in re-kindling Orthodox interest in mission. Fr. Luke Veronis, the son of one of the most distinguished missionary minded Priests of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese , Fr. Alexander Veronis, has moved forward in advancing the sense of mission in the Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada . In Go Forth he has provided a beautiful, moving and truly inspiring collection of personal stories describing both the triumphs and successes, as well as the painful failures and disappointments of a modern day missionary. It is almost impossible to stop reading these stories, one after another, that describe realistically his missionary experiences. Page after page describes real life efforts, real human encounters, real suffering, real victories and real experiences of God in the mundane realities of a dirt poor nation struggling to overcome and realize a spiritual reawakening. Fr. Luke became interested in Orthodox missions as a student at Holy Cross School of Theology in Brookline , MA . Soon after graduation he responded to the missionary calling by serving as a missionary in Africa where he got to know Archbishop Anastasios. Later, in 1994 he followed Anastasios to Albania . The Albanian Orthodox Church , along with all religious expression had been almost exterminated by the four decade ruthless, atheistic communist rule of Enver Hoxha . With the end of the communist rule in 1992, the resurrection of the church commenced, hence, the sub-title of this engaging book “Stories of Mission and Resurrection in Albania . One of the most inspiring characteristics of this volume is how effortlessly and unobtrusively Fr. Luke garners spiritual lessons from the multitude of authentic stories of the struggles and ordinary yet courageous and uplifting relationships of his and his family’s life as missionaries.
You will not be able to put this book down easily once you start reading. A goodly number of photographs adorn the volume giving it a concrete and human context. On the cover of the book is a photograph of Fr. Luke offering the Paschal light at a Resurrection Service held outdoors at one of the main boulevards of the capital city of Tirana with 20,000 people joyfully receiving the light of the resurrection with the candles in their hands.
If you look very carefully at the front cover, pictured in the bottom corner there is a woman receiving the light, She is smiling with radient joy in sharing in Christ’s Resurrection. I predict if you read this book, you will share in that same joy!
(order at http://www.conciliarpress.com/go-forth.html or www.amazon.com)
Review by Fr. Stanley S. Harakas
Archbishop Iakovos Professor of Orthodox Theology, Emeritus
Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline , MA
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