The season of Lent and our more intentional preparations for the Paschal celebration begin on Ash Wednesday, March 9. That evening, Vespers will be sung at 6:30 and Mass, with the blessing and imposition of ashes (made from the palms of last year’s Holy Week observances), will be at 7pm.
On Saturday, March 12, we will celebrate the feast day of our patron saint, St. Gregory the Great. Matins will be at 9:30am, Mass at 10, followed by a Lenten pot-luck brunch.
We will celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation on the Eve, Thursday, March 24, with Vespers at 6:30 and Mass at 7pm.
Our Lenten practice of offering the service of Stations of the Cross and Litany of the Cross will begin on Friday, March 18, at 6:30pm and continue on each Friday through April 15. An additional Mass will be offered during Lent on Wednesday mornings at 7:30am.
Pan-Orthodox Vespers for the Sunday of Orthodoxy (March 13) will be held at St. Mark Church, 7124 River Rd., Bethesda, MD at 5:30PM. The speaker this year will be Metropolitan Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America. Although the iconoclastic controversy was officially ended at the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787, subsequent emperors again prohibited the use of icons and it was not until 843, when the Empress Theodora finally brought the controversy to an end. This “Triumph of Orthodoxy” is what we celebrate on the First Sunday in Lent.
Thanks to the Caldwell family for delivering our 216 pounds of canned and packaged food to the Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg, and thank you to all who contributed to help the needy in our area. As we fast during Lent, the Church encourages us to offer the money we otherwise would have spent on meat to help the needy.
Our annual Parish Meeting, which was postponed from January at the request of the bishops, is now scheduled for Sunday, March 20, after Mass. Please plan to stay for this opportunity to hear from the Parish Council on matters pertaining to our property, to hear a financial report from our treasurer, Karl Tsuji, and for any discussion of other matters which pertain to parish life. New Council members will be elected at this time. Coffee Hour will be a Lenten pot-luck brunch that day.
Mark your calendars now for the episcopal visit of Bishop JOHN on the weekend of May 21-22, when we celebrate the anniversary of the dedication of our church. Since we were unable to have a 25th anniversary celebration of the parish in 2021 due to the covid pandemic, this will be an opportunity to review our history and give special thanks to God for his blessings on our parish.
Read the full March newsletter here.