Sunday after the Theophany of Christ
Martyr Tatiana of Rome and those with her; Martyr Peter Absalom of Palestine
Thought for Today: “We mustn’t despair when we struggle and continuously see nothing but the slightest progress. We all do nearly nothing, some a little more, some a little less. When Christ sees our little effort He give us an analogous token, and so our nearly nothing becomes valuable, and we can see a little progress. For this reason, we mustn’t despair, but hope in God.” – St. Paisios the Athonite
Resurrectional Apolytikion – Tone 4
Having learned the joyful message of the Resurrection from the angel the women disciples of the Lord cast from them their parental condemnation. And proudly broke the news to the Disciples, saying: Death hath been spoiled; Christ God is risen, granting the world Great Mercy.
Apolytikion of the Theophany of Christ – Tone 1
When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, worship of the Trinity wast made manifest; for the voice of the Father bore witness to Thee, calling Thee His beloved Son. And the Spirit in the likeness of a dove confirmed the truth of His word. O Christ our God, Who hast appeared and enlightened the world, glory to Thee.
Kontakion of the Theophany of Christ – Tone 4
On this day Thou hast appeared * unto the whole world, * and Thy light, O Sovereign Lord, * is signed on us who sing Thy praise * and chant with knowledge: Thou hast now come, * Thou hast appeared, O Thou Light unapproachable.
Receiving the Eucharist:We invite you to receive the Holy Eucharist if you are an Orthodox Christian who has prepared yourself through fasting, prayer, and recent confession. If you are not Orthodox, or are Orthodox but have not prepared, we invite you to receive a piece of the blessed bread in the wooden bowls held by the altar servers at the front of the church.
EPISTLE and GOSPEL READINGS
The Epistle
Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us. Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous.
The Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians. (4:7-13)
Brethren, grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore, it is said, “When He ascended on high He led a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that He had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is He who also ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) And His gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
The Gospel
The reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (4:12-17)
At that time, when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth he went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulon and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “The land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
Fr Peter Jon will be traveling beginning Monday and will return late Wednesday night. Please reach out to Thomas Andrew if you have a need while Father is out of town.
House Blessings: Father Peter Jon has begun blessing homes and will continue reaching out to families for the next couple of months. Feel free to reach out to him to request a specific time or date.
This Week
Today, Sunday: Myrrh Bearers’ will meet following Divine Liturgy
Monday, January 13: 3rd Hour Prayers at 9:00 am.
Tuesday, January 14: 3rd Hour Prayers at 9:00 am. St. Nina the Enlightener of Georgia.
Wednesday, January 15: Readers Vespers at 6:00 pm. Pitch-in to follow. No teaching tonight.
Thursday, January16: Divine Liturgy at 9:00 am. Chains of St. Peter.
Friday, January 17: Divine Liturgy at 9:00 am. Anthony the Great.
Saturday, January 18: Bible Study 9:00 am at Webb’s home; Great Vespers at 5:00 pm. Ask Abouna to follow; Junior and Teen SOYO at 6:30 pm.
Sunday, January 19: Matins at 9:00 am, Divine Liturgy at 10:00 am.
Ladies Christmas party: rescheduled to Saturday, January 24th, 11:30am at Johanna Hsu’s home. RSVP at mrsarcfide@gmail.com. All women and daughters are invited.
Names Days: Sarah Carter, St. Tatiana (12th); Nina Gillquist, Nina Rogers, St. Nina (14th); April Blair, Macrina the Elder (14th); Anthony Gillquist, Jax Schulz, Jacob Gill, Anthony the Great (17th).
Birthday Celebration: Sarah Carter (13th); Rachel Barber (14th).
Prayer List: Jim and Lisa; Tammera; Taylor and infant Houston(congenital heart defect);Durlin family; Fr. Matthew; Marvin; Nectaria;Shu-Mei,Charlie;Shirley; Jim;Jan; Don and Dee; those suffering the effect of Hurricanes; those suffering the war in Ukraine, and the Middle East; Peace talks; our nation and all nations’ leaders; those suffering the effect of wild fires in California; schools: children, youth and personnel across the nation; Mary Ann; Emma; Bob & Bonnie Thelen; Megan; Josiah; Fr. Athanasius; Jack; Christopher; Fr. Jerome; Fr. Basil; Catherine; Wadia; Jayci; Patricia; Kitsa; Apthrodite; Kim; Kristy; Vicki;Kenzie; Dusty; Cari; Betsy; Josh; Allison; Andrew; Isaac; Leanne; Heather; Nancy; Sharon Catherine; Neumann Seraphim; Michael, Olga, Eileen, Soren, Kathy; Lexi, Ross, Vivian; Theo; Jeremy; Dn. Lawrence, Marcia; Missy; Elias; Waded; Seraphima; Lilly’s family; Jennifer; Christy; John; Stanley; Macrina with child; Ann and child born to her; Allen; Linda; Allison and children; Kip; Anna with child; Amanda with child, Erica with child; Taylor with child; Penny with child; Dixxe with child; Megan with child; Evan; Catherine with child; Victoria with child; Macrina with child; Whitney and children.
Memory Eternal: Yvonne; David; Jeremy, Christopher.
All Saints’ Sunday Meal: 2nd Sunday Host Gillquist – LeFlore; with Elizabeth Carter as lead Hostess.
Next Week: 3rd Sunday Host Lewis – Schneider; with Nina Rogers as lead Hostess.
Available in the Narthex: 2025 fasting calendar, Church monthly guidelines, contact and celebration days booklets, and offering envelopes.
Giving Opportunities:
Food Pantry: Thank you for the generous support.Our in-houseFood 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.
Benevolence Fund: Donations may be made to this fund throughout the year and are mainly used to support families in need of help with rent and utilities payments.
Donations to the church are being made online at www.allsaintsbloomington.org and by U.S mail. Many thanks to all who continue supporting All Saints.