St. Ignatius of Antioch 10th Sunday of Pentecost July 22, 2018
In preparing for the relics of St. Sharbel, I reflected on the role of St. Sharbel and other hermits in the life of the Church. He did not preach, he did not teach, he did serve food, he did not even work at the parish festival - and yet he is a saint. Prayer must be a central element of all that we do, not only seeking God's guidance and blessing, but also that our hearts may be changed.
Following the example of St. Sharbel, and Paul's exhortation to, "pray without ceasing," ( 1 Thessalonians 5:17) I propose two actions: 1) for people to sign up to pray and light a candle one day between now and the festival - and 2) for each of us to pray the following prayer every day between now and the festival.
Festival prayer
Lord God, you direct all things. Grant us success in our parish festival. May the festival be for your glory and not our own. May all of our work be for you, and draw us closer to your love. May we work together with love, peace, and joy, that others may know you by our love. May the festival be a light of your love to the world. May our festival be peaceful and safe. Lord, open the hearts of our parish to relationship with you that we may work not out of obligation, guilt or stress, but out of love for you and your church. Lord, grant financial success to our festival, that we may direct the money for your service. God of creation, we entrust the weather to your providence. If it is your will give us pleasant weather, if not grant us the perseverance, faith, hope, and patience to accept all things from you as gift. We thank and glorify You, Your Son, and Your Holy Spirit now and forever. Amen.
St. Ignatius, pray for us. Mary, our Mother, pray for us.
St. Sharbel, pray for us. Blessed Massabki brothers, pray for us.
- Summer camp update, 1 day only July 31 9 am - 4 pm.
- Volunteers needed for the kids summer camp, volunteer all or part.
-Initiatives- To what is God calling you? What are your hopes, dreams, and ideas for our parish? What do you want to do? Mission, charity, prayers, work, fundraisers, or maintenance? How can we support you?
- Veneration and welcome of the relics of St. Sharbel Sunday, July 22 and Monday, July 23 7pm.
-House of Bread Monday, July 23 9 am - 2:30 pm.
- Parish council Tuesday, July 24 7 pm.
- Free college level Syriac course. July 16 - Aug 3 Monday - Friday 6 - 9 pm. contact info@stiparish.org or 937-428-0372 for more information. Syriac, the most widely written dialect of Aramaic, is a language of great theological importance, both as the language of study to read 10 Aramaic chapters of the Old Testament and as the theological and liturgical language of the Maronite, Syriac, Malankara, and Malabara Churches as well as Eddesan and Antiochian Christianity. Syriac unlocks some of the most profound poetry of the Christian tradition.
- Our condolences to the family of John Elias Dagher brother of parishioner, Malik Dagher. 40 day Liturgy will be offered for John Elias Dagher at 11 am on July 29. May he rest in peace.
- Join us in praying for Hoda Abou Jaude, mother of Hilda Abou Jaude on July 29 at 11 am Liturgy on the one year anniversary. May she rest in peace.
- Anyone interested in a attending a minor league baseball game? Let's go watch the Dayton Dragons- July 30th 7pm. $10 includes a hat and $5 goes to support a good cause.
- We have a great opportunity for our $15,000 matching grant, we are are at $2300 and can accept donations of $250 or more. The donations can go towards naming rights for any part of our building project.
- St. Vincent de Paul 1st Saturday of every month 6:30 pm at Men's shelter on Gettysburg.
- Pilgrimage trip to Our Lady of Lebanon Shrine and Basilica August 15. The approximate Schedule will be 12:30 pm until 1am.
- We are 30 days away from hosting The Greater Dayton Lebanese Festival. Sign up sheet will be available in the hall. With 250 volunteers, we only need to volunteer 3 hours each the weekend of the festival. With 125 volunteers, we only need to volunteer 6 hours each the weekend of the festival. We also need to volunteer for the preparation of the festival.
- Women's sodality- Please see Rita Najem for more information.
- Please turn in your pledges. The majority of votes have been for building a $600,000 to $700,000 project on the property to include new church, parking, and upgraded to kitchen and hall. However, we are still short on firm commitments of pledges.We are at $1250 in committed monthly pledges with an additional $500-$1000 in soft pledges, "Father, you know we will pledge." There is much reason for optimism.
- Church-wide garage sale small fundraiser. Tentative date August 18, 8am -3 pm under the tent. We will collect furniture and household donations to sell to benefit the Church. Coordinators and volunteers needed for pricing and selling.
Weekly events:
-Syriac class Monday-Friday 6-9 pm
- Tuesday Young adult meet up 8 pm
- Children's Arabic class Saturday 10 am
- Adult Arabic class Saturday 11am
- Children's Dabke class Saturday 11 am
- Adult Dabke class Sunday 8 pm
- Children's Art class Saturday noon
- Bible Study Sunday 10am
- English class this Wednesday from 7-9 pm.
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