St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church
Publish Date: 2025-03-30
Bulletin Contents
Hymns of the Day
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Holy Bread Offering:
Announcements
Birthdays and Anniversaries
Calendar
Saints and Feasts
Wisdom of the Fathers
Weekly Bulletin Inserts
service schedule

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St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • (316) 264-1576
  • Street Address:

  • 344 S Martinson St.

  • Wichita, KS 67213-4044

Contact Information

Parish Priest: Fr Aaron Warwick


[email protected]

Fr. John Baize, Attached



Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of all North America His Eminence Metropolitan Saba



Archiepiscopal Vicar Fr Calinic Berger



Past Bulletins


Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Seventh Tone

Thou didst shatter death by thy Cross; thou didst open paradise to the thief; thou didst turn the sadness of the ointment-bearing women into joy, and didst bid thine Apostles proclaim warning that thou hast risen, O Christ, granting the world Great Mercy.

Apolytikion for Sun. of St. John Climacus in the Eighth Tone

The barren wilderness thou didst make fertile with the streams of thy tears and by thy deep sighing thou hast given fruit through thy struggles a hundred-fold. Accordingly, thou hast become a star for the universe, sparkling with miracles. Therefore, O righteous Father John, intercede with Christ God to save our souls.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Eighth Tone

To thee the champion leader, I thy servant offer thanks for victory, O Theotokos, thou who hast delivered me from terror. And as thou hast that power invincible, from all dangers thou alone can set me free, that I may cry unto thee: Hail, O bride without bridegroom.
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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Seventh Tone. Psalm 28.11,1.
The Lord will give strength to his people.
Verse: Bring to the Lord, O sons of God, bring to the Lord honor and glory.

The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 6:13-20.

BRETHREN, when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore to himself, saying, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you." And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. Men indeed swear by a greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he interposed with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God should prove false, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

Gospel Reading

Sunday of St. John Climacus
The Reading is from Mark 9:17-31

At that time, a man came to Jesus kneeling and saying: "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; and wherever it seizes him it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." And he answered them, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me." And they brought the boy to him; and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, "How long has he had this?" And he said, "From childhood. And it has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us." And Jesus said to him, "If you can! All things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again." And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, "He is dead." But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting." They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he would not have any one know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise."

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Holy Bread Offering:

HOLY BREAD

03/30/2025

Holy Bread (Prosphora) and Coffee Hour are offered by: Megan & Luke Taylor Gilstrap

Orthodox servants of God, that they may have mercy, life, peace, health, salvation and visitation: Megan, Luke, Beverly, Fr. Gabriel, Barbara, Melanie, Michael, Luke, Megan, Oliver, Nicholas, Jeff, Kirsten, Jacob, Doug, Ronda & Family, Kimi, Autumn, Jason & Family, Nicholas, Moriah, Nyleen, Eric, Ryan, Robyn, Clark

The Orthodox servants of God departed this life in the hope of resurrection unto life eternal: Yvonne, Debra, Gabriel, Francis, Barbara Lee, Evelyn, Lydia, Louis, Frank, Mary, Anita, Ray, Eli, Terry, Janice

Trisagion Prayers of Mercy: will be offered today for the repose of the soul of the servant of God, Yvonne Nassif. May their memory be eternal!

 

Your prayers are requested: 

Nadia Abdelmaseh, Joan Aboud, George Augst, Kh. Cindy Baize, Dawneen Banks, Karl Beal, Dn. Stephen Beasley, Jim Buckler, Teresa C., Deana Carothers, Roy Clark, George Cochran, Elisabeth Esquivel, Maria Greene, Weine Habtemariam, Jacqueline Howk, Edwin Kerley & family, Mary Ann Khoury, Michael and Robin Khoury and family, Marlo and Sue Kinsey, Sean and Valerie Lehl & family, Matthew and Erica Lockwood, Linda Love, Donna Namee, Robbie Namee, Barbara Nassif, Ken Shaheen, Annalise Shearer, Bonita Somerhalder, Jacob Taylor, Corina, Cristian, and Iulian Todorache, Autumn and Kim Volhein, Glen Willett, Jadallah Wolf, Kouri Wolf, Marcia Pinkerton-Wolfe, Elena Zamfir, Aidan, Anthony, Briana, Carlynne, Emily, Luciana, Samantha, Valerica, Xenia 

May God remember all of them and us in His Kingdom.


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Announcements

TEXT UPDATES/REMINDERS

Our new text message system through tithe.ly is now up and running. We need anyone who wants to receive text messages from the church to sign up for this service (even if you had already signed up using our previous Remind system). You can join by following these quick steps: 
 
- Text the phone number 855-516-9861 with the following phrase in the message box: STMARYTEXT 
 
- Click on the link sent back to you via text and fill out your name (having your name will make it much easier for us in the future to create separate groups, such as the Parish Council, the Belles of St Mary, etc.).

- Check the box giving permission to receive texts.

- Click the "Submit" button. 

Once you have done this, you should be automatically added to our text message list. Contact Fr Aaron if you have any issues. 


ST MARY GUIDEBOOK

We recently released a St Mary Guidebook for our parishioners. The Guidebook helps to provide insight into our practices, traditions, and expectations at St Mary. A hard copy of the Guidebook is available in the church foyer. If you prefer an electronic copy, let Fr Aaron know and he will email it to you. Each week we will provide a brief snippet from the Guidebook to help familiarize everyone with it. See below for this week's section. 

 

THE DIVINE SERVICES

 

While Prayer can take many forms, the two basic categories are: corporate and personal. Corporate prayer at St. Mary is centered around the weekly celebration of our Lord's Death & Resurrection with Saturday night Great Vespers and Sunday morning Matins and Divine Liturgy. The Great Feasts of the Church Year are also celebrated along with certain celebrations of feasts of the Saints. The schedule for services and all activities can be found in the weekly Sunday bulletin, a monthly calendar printed and distributed via email, and on our website at www.stmarywichita.org.

 

In some communities, many believers attend services either exclusively or primarily on Sunday morning, but Orthodox Christianity does not lend itself well to a "once a week," minimalist approach to living the Faith. Here at St. Mary all are encouraged to attend as many of the scheduled services as possible. Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also," (Matthew 6:21) and in today's busy world, one of our most valuable treasures is time. If we put the treasure of our time in attending the services offered, we will find our heart planted more firmly in our Faith in God. While attending services outside of Sunday morning is increasingly difficult amid the complex schedules of work, school, activities, and other responsibilities, we look for solace in our Lord's promise that when we seek His Kingdom first, all we need will be given to us (Matthew 6:33).

 

Clearly, each person and each family's schedule are different, and we live differing distances from the church. There are some services that simply are not practical for every one of us to attend. While unavoidable conflicts exist, we should never fall into a mindset where one plans on not attending certain services unless, as already stated, an unavoidable conflict exists. Having an "I don't go to Vespers" or "I don't do Matins" type of attitude simply due to lack of desire to attend denies the reality that our Orthodox faith is the most important part of our lives. Our faith is lived and breathed every day and is not an activity or program one participates in weekly as one might do in a club. While the Divine Services are by no means the full extent of our Orthodox Christian life, they are the principal source for living that life even when we are not in church.


CATECHUMENS & COMMUNIION

Recently, a number of catechumens have been approaching the chalice at Holy Communion to receive a blessing. This practice seems to be spreading in other churches as well, and I am not sure why, as it is not a tradition in the Orthodox Church. Please note that catechumens should not approach the chalice at Holy Communion. The reasons for this are numerous, and I will highlight a few here to help you understand why this is not a practice in our Church. 
 
First, it should be noted that all people present in the church following Holy Communion receive a blessing from the chalice when the Priest transfers the chalice to the Prothesis Table. Immediately following Holy Communion, the Chalice is returned to the Holy Table, the Priest censes the Gifts saying, “Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens, and Thy glory above all the earth; for blessed is our God…” At that time, the Priest lifts the Chalice, turns around with the Chalice and blesses the people, making the sign of the Cross over them with the Chalice, concluding the blessing: “Always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.” Approaching the Chalice to receive a blessing during Holy Communion is, thus, redundant. You will receive a blessing by being present following Holy Communion. 
 
Second, it should be noted that historically, catechumens were not even present in the church during Holy Communion, as they had left following the sermon for catechism. At St Mary, we still follow this practice, albeit only on a monthly basis for the catechism class (usually the 3rd Sunday of the month). From this ancient practice, we can see historically that catechumens never approached the Chalice for a blessing. They were not even present during Holy Communion! 
 
Third, at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, the people come forward to venerate the Cross and to receive “antidoron” (which we often refer to as "holy bread"). Antidoron is the combination of two Greek words: “anti,” meaning “instead of”; and “doron,” meaning “gifts.” “Antidoron,” then, means: “instead of the Gifts.” To be clear, the antidoron is received by catechumens or others who have not communed “instead of Communion/the Gifts.” There is no word or phrase for one approaching Holy Communion for a blessing because there is no such historical tradition in the Church. 
 
With these points in mind, our catechumens will now understand they should not approach the Chalice at Holy Communion. Rather, when they are present, they should remain standing reverently and wait to receive the blessing from the Chalice with everyone else at the appointed time (i.e. following Holy Communion). 

PASCHAL BANQUET

For this year’s Paschal Banquet, the parish will be providing cabbage rolls and fried chicken. We ask all our parishioners to bring a side dish and/or dessert to share with others. As always, people are also welcome to bring their own basket of some of their favorite goodies. Please make sure to pick up after yourself when you leave. 


FAMILY PROMISE

03/30/2025

FAMILY PROMISE March 30 to April 6

St. Mary is the host parish for FAMILY PROMISE the week of March 30 to April 6. Please use the link below to volunteer to help. Sign up opportunities include providing food for the church's FP pantry, evening meals, transportation to and from the Day House, laundry, and spending night with the guests at the church. Thanks for your support of this important ministry. Contact Vicki Jones, 650-0658, or Father Aaron with any questions.  

 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A49AAAF2BAAF94-55409468-family


MEDITERRANEAN FESTIVAL

03/16/2025

Mediterranean Festival 2025!

 

***TICKEST AVAILABLE!!! SEE PAULA ZARICH IN THE CHURCH HALL TO GET YOURS!!! WE ASK EVERY FAMILY TO TRY AND SELL 10 TICKETS! ***

 

The Mediterranean Festival is our parish’s largest fundraiser. Please help us make this year’s festival our best yet! We need EVERYONE’S help to pull off this huge event. There are lots of ways to help, including baking for the Mediterranean Market, joining us on cooking days, taking time off work to help the week prior to the festival (there is SO much to do the week of the festival that any extra hands are a big help!,) planning to work the day of the festival and, last but not least, selling tickets, sharing our Facebook posts and spreading the word.


PRE-SANCTIFIED SERVICES

03/23/2025

Below is the schedule for Pre-Sanctified services.  The ministry teams listed will be responsible for setup and cleanup for the potluck dinner after the service. 

April 2- Education/Humanitarian


2025 MED FEST WORKDAY

03/23/2025

 

  MED FEST WORK DAY  

Saturday April 5  Making Baklawa Sticks 

8 am – 12 pm - 20 people –assembling baklawa sticks, baking and cleanup

 12 pm – 2 pm – 6 people – IF NECESSARY – finish baking and clean up


TEEN SOYO PANCAKE COFFEE HOUR

03/23/2025

Please allow Teen SOYO to cook for you! On Sunday April 6, 2025, we will host a Lenten Pancake Breakfast for coffee hour.  We will have a variety of fruits and syrups for toppings. Freewill offerings will be accepted.


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Birthdays and Anniversaries

Celebrations this week

03/30/2025

Taylor McMillin (3/31), Ronan Bragg (4/1)

May God grant them many years!


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Calendar

  • St. Mary Parish Calendar

    March 30 to April 13, 2025

    Sunday, March 30

    Family Promise Host Week

    9:00AM Matins

    10:00AM Divine Liturgy

    11:00AM Church School

    Monday, March 31

    6:00PM Great Compline

    Wednesday, April 2

    6:00PM Pre-Sanctified Liturgy w/Potluck Following

    Thursday, April 3

    6:00PM Little Compline w/Great Canon of Repentance

    Friday, April 4

    6:00PM Little Compline w/Akathist Hymn

    Saturday, April 5

    9:00AM MF Prep: Make Baklawa Sticks

    4:30PM Confession

    5:00PM Great Vespers

    6:00PM Biblical Greek Class

    Sunday, April 6

    9:00AM Matins

    10:00AM Divine Liturgy

    11:00AM Church School

    11:30AM Teen SOYO Pancake Fundraiser

    Monday, April 7

    6:00PM Great Compline

    Wednesday, April 9

    6:00PM 9th Hour & Typika @ St George Cathedral

    6:30PM Pre-Sanctified Liturgy w/Meal Following @ St George Cathedral

    Friday, April 11

    6:00PM Little Compline w/Canon of St Lazarus

    Saturday, April 12

    LAZARUS SATURDAY

    8:15AM Festal Matins

    9:00AM Divine Liturgy

    10:15AM Brunch & Decorate the Church

    12:30PM Children's Day @ The Chancery

    4:00PM Confession

    4:00PM Men's Prayer Group

    5:00PM Great Vespers

    6:00PM Biblical Greek Class

    Sunday, April 13

    PALM SUNDAY

    8:45AM Festal Matins

    9:00AM Church School

    10:00AM Divine Liturgy

    5:00PM Confession

    6:00PM Bridegroom Matins

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Saints and Feasts

March 30

Sunday of St. John Climacus

The memory of this Saint is celebrated on March 30, where his biography may be found. He is celebrated today because his book, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, is a sure guide to the ascetic life, written by a great man of prayer experienced in all forms of the monastic polity; it teaches the seeker after salvation how to lay a sound foundation for his struggles, how to detect and war against each of the passions, how to avoid the snares laid by the demons, and how to rise from the rudimental virtues to the heights of Godlike love and humility. It is held in such high esteem that it is universally read in its entirety in monasteries during the Great Fast.

March 30

John Climacus the Righteous, author of The Divine Ladder of Ascent

This Saint gave himself over to the ascetical life from his early youth. Experienced both in the solitary life of the hermit and in the communal life of cenobitic monasticism, he was appointed Abbot of the Monastery at Mount Sinai and wrote a book containing thirty homilies on virtue. Each homily deals with one virtue, and progressing from those that deal with holy and righteous activity (praxis) unto those that deal with divine vision (theoria), they raise a man up as though by means of steps unto the height of Heaven. For this cause his work is called "The Ladder of Divine Ascent." The day he was made Abbot of Sinai, the Prophet Moses was seen giving commands to those who served at table. Saint John reposed in 603, at eighty years of age. See also the Fourth Sunday of the Fast.

April 01

Mary of Egypt

When Mary was only twelve years old, she left her parents and departed to Alexandria, where she lived a depraved life for seventeen years. Then, moved by curiosity, she went with many pilgrims to Jerusalem, that she might see the Exaltation of the venerable Cross. Even in the Holy City she gave herself over to every kind of licentiousness and drew many into the depth of perdition. Desiring to go into the church on the day of the Exaltation of the Cross, time and again she perceived a certain invisible power preventing her entrance, whereas the multitude of people about her entered unhindered. Therefore, wounded in heart by this, she decided to change her way of life and reconcile herself to God by means of repentance. Invoking our Lady the Theotokos as her protectress, she asked her to open the way for her to worship the Cross, and vowed that she would renounce the world. And thus, returning once again to the church, she entered easily. When she had worshipped the precious Wood, she departed that same day from Jerusalem and passed over the Jordan. She went into the inner wilderness and for forty-seven years lived a most harsh manner of life, surpassing human strength; alone, she prayed to God alone. Toward the end of her life, she met a certain hermit named Zosimas, and she related to him her life from the beginning. She requested of him to bring her the immaculate Mysteries that she might partake of them. According to her request, he did this the following year on Holy and Great Thursday. One year after this, Zosimas again went thither and found her dead, laid upon the ground, and letters written in the sand near her which said: "Abba Zosimas, bury here the body of wretched Mary. I died on the very day I partook of the immaculate Mysteries. Pray for me." Her death is reckoned by some to have taken place in 378, by some, in 437, and by others, in 522. She is commemorated also on the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent. Her life was recorded by Saint Sophronius of Jerusalem.

April 03

Joseph the Hymnographer

Saint Joseph was from Sicily, the son of Plotinus and Agatha. Because Sicily had been subjugated by the Moslems, he departed thence and, passing from place to place, came with Saint Gregory of Decapolis (see NOV. 20) to Constantinople, where he endured bitter afflictions because of his pious zeal. Travelling to Rome, he was captured by Arab pirates and taken to Crete, whence he later returned to Constantinople. He became an excellent hymnographer and reposed in holiness shortly after 886 (according to some, it was in 883). The melismatic canons of the Menaion are primarily the work of this Joseph; they bear his name in the acrostic of the Ninth Ode. He also composed most of the sacred book known as the Paracletike, which complements the Octoechos For this reason, Joseph is called par excellence the Hymnographer.

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Weekly Bulletin Inserts

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