Last weekend Metropolitan Saba and Bishop John were at our sister churches for services, deanery meetings, and induction into the Order of St. Ignatius, with clergy from the Diocese of Worcester and New England. Read more at Antiochian.org
Category: Photos
White Elephant Boutique & Bake Sale – Thank You!
Thanks to all who baked, manned tables for the sale, donated items, purchased items and to those who fed volunteers: Katya, Julia, Anastasia, Galina, Michelle, Colleen, Anya, Chris, Pauline and her sister Martha, Annie, Natalie, Soraya, Hadley, Aubrey, Aurora, Max, Ben, Alli, Rick, Subdeacon Joe, Fr. James & Kh. Valerie. Thanks to Ana Procopeuco who donated a beautiful handmade wool shawl for the raffle – congratulations to Julia Shanghina Petitt who won this item. Thanks to Pauline Rassias who donated an original oil painting by Cape Cod artist Sandra Sedell – congratulations to Soraya Bandeli who won this item.
Special thanks to Pauline, Chris, Mary, Natalie and Soraya for organizing the tables and pricing all the items during the week leading up to the event. Thanks to Eric Ayoub who drove down from Boston to direct traffic in the rain. To Chris Rassias and Eric for getting our signs in from the rain. Thanks to Judy Crocker and Oscar Crocker for creating our flier and advertising.
GREAT thanks to all who stayed Sunday to help pack everything up and get the hall back in order: Pauline, Chris, Alex, Colleen, Max, Aurora, Michelle, Hadley, Olga, Sophia, Jacob, Rick and Soraya. Thanks to Rick & Soraya who filled their cars with lots of boxes. We have a bit to go. If you can grab a few boxes or fill your truck to take to your local donation center or swop shop, we will be back to normal by Sunday Nov 26.
This was an amazing group effort and we are grateful for all your support. May God bless you all.
Bishop John – November 7, 2023 Sermon for the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael & other Bodiless Powers
On the evening of November 7 the Bishop and clergy from around New England came to St. Michael’s to celebrate the feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel, Patron Saint and protector of our church. We gathered for Orthos, Liturgy, and a meal. Clergy in attendance were Bishop John, Fr. Leonard Faris from Lowell, Fr. Joseph Kimmet from Norwood, Fr. Antony Hughes from Cambridge, Fr. Milad Selim from Worcester, Fr. Ephraim Hastings from Lawrence, Fr. Michael Heningham from Ludlow, Fr. Timothy Curren from Centerville, and Dn. David Galambos from W. Roxbury.
Photos
Many Thanks to Zoya Sheglov for the New Icon
A new icon has been added to the St. Michael iconostasis. Many thanks to our own iconographer Zoya Sheglov! Bishop JOHN blessed the icon on September 30t, 2023. The icon has been placed above the Royal Doors. The side with the Mystical Supper is facing the congregation, and the other side with the Trinity is facing the altar.
Ordination of Dn. James Irving to the Holy Priesthood – September 30, 2023
Axios! He is worthy! Moustahiq!
On Saturday, September 30, 2023, Deacon James Irving was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by His Grace Bishop JOHN at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Cotuit. Fr. James is assigned as the Pastor of St. Michael’s by His Eminence Metropolitan Saba. AXIOS to Fr. James, Kh. Valerie and their children Alison, Paul & Ben. May God grant them many years!
Blessing of Church School – September 17, 2023
Fr. John Bacon blessed church school children, their teachers, and their parents.
Backpack Blessings 2023 Thank You!
Backpacks for kids from Cataumet Village Shelter were filled with supplies and delivered along with trash cans. Thank you so much for donating time, supplies, and money.
Vacation Church School 2023 Photos
Vacation Church School 2023 was held July 31-August 2, concluding with a family potluck picnic party before Paraklesis on Wednesday evening. We focused on Genesis 1:26, being created in God’s image and likeness, and what that means as we live out our lives as Christians. In addition to praying and learning together, we had time for fun, outreach, working to beautify the outside of the church, team building, talking about church etiquette, and growing in our relationships with one another.
PLC 2023 Competitions
Our youth did an outstanding job at the diocesan competitions at this year’s PLC! The theme for 2023 has been, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26). Our youth participated in the Creative Arts Festival, the Bible Bowl, and the Oratorical Festival. Their hard work and dedication to learning and sharing the faith is inspirational. Here is a recap of the festivals and competitions:
Creative Arts Festival:
There were 50 creative festival entries (112 students) from seven of our twelve Church Schools throughout the region. The judging took place at St. John of Damascus Church and each entry was rated on four criteria: adherence to the theme, craftsmanship, composition and creativity. We had three volunteer judges – a clergy member, a marketing/communications specialist, and a project manager/choir director.
Judging categories were Gold, Silver, and Bronze. The breakdown of awards were 9 Gold,12 Silver, and 29 Bronze.
St. Michael submitted 12 entries that were created by the youth in our Saint Michael Homeschool Community. Six entries received silver awards, 5 entries received bronze, and Benji’s was not given a score because of his age.
Be sure to see these projects on display at the church and ask the children about them!
Bible Bowl:
Our teen team consisting of Erika, Mary, and Nicholas Kjendal, with Alison Irving as an alternate, once again won the regional Bible Bowl competition and will be heading to Phoenix, AZ at the end of July to compete with teams from around the country. Our pre-teen team (Sophia Chatelain, Paul Irving, Max Stewart, and Peter Kjendal) also did a phenomenal job, placing THIRD in the competition against the other teen teams and even a team of adults! Many, many thanks to their coaches, Ned and Kristin Chatelain, and their faithful manager/mascot Sam Chatelain for pouring so much love, time, and enthusiasm into our youth!
Oratorical Festival:
Anders Kjendal won the senior division of the regional Oratorical Festival and will also be traveling to Phoenix to compete with the winning orators from around the country.
Diocesan Scholarship:
Additionally, Erika Kjendal won a diocesan scholarship, awarded to outstanding high school graduates, that was presented to her at the PLC.
Saint Michael has had at least one winning orator every year we have had a competitor. Our Bible Bowl teams have been winning since our debut in 2016. Many people asked, “How do they keep winning? What are you doing?” The answer is not easy to articulate in a sentence or two, but if you come to any of the services at St. Michael throughout the week and notice that there are usually as many, if not more, youth than adults present, the answers to what sets our youth apart begin to be made clear.
