April 2023 Announcements

Agape Meal and Blessing of Pascha Baskets

The main Resurrection Service this year will begin Saturday night, April 15, at 11:30 pm and end at approximately 2:30 am on Sunday morning, April 16.  Immediately after the service we will enjoy the traditional Agape Paschal Meal.  A sign-up sheet is now available in the hall for people to indicate what foods they will be able to bring.  Donations are also welcome.  We ask that everyone arrive “prior to 11:30 pm” so that everything and everyone will be in place for the start of the service, at which time all lights in the building will be turned off.

In addition, after the Midnight Service we will bless Pascha Baskets.  Tables will be made available in the back of the hall on which to place the baskets.  Traditionally these are filled with foods from which people have fasted during Lent:  various cheeses and meats, wine, butter, homemade bread, etc.  The baskets may also be adorned with Pysanky, ribbons or decorative cloth coverings. Food from the baskets is either shared with others during the Agape Meal and/or are taken home and eaten during Bright Week (the week following Pascha).  For more information, please see Fr. Basil.  

Bright Week and Services

The week immediately after Pascha is an extended celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection. Although we enjoy a 40-day Paschal season (April 16 - May 24), the services of Bright Week are uniquely joyous, reflecting the specific tone and spirit of Pascha night.  Divine Liturgies and Vespers celebrated during this time are very similar to those of April 16.  There is, as well, no fasting during Bright Week.  We look forward to celebrating Pascha with Church members and friends. 

During Bright Week we will celebrate an additional Paschal Liturgy at St. Barbara’s on Thursday, April 20 (10:00 am).  Resurrection Vespers will be celebrated on Wednesday, April 19 (7:00 pm).  In addition, other Orthodox Churches throughout the Metroplex will celebrate Bright Week services also, as their schedules allow.  We invite you to check out their websites and avail yourselves of these opportunities.  Christ is Risen!

Holy Week and Early Confessions

Holy Week begins on April 10 with Pascha celebrated on April 16.  We invite all members and friends of St. Barbara’s to set aside this special time for entering the celebration of the central mysteries of our Faith.  Since we will be preparing for, and celebrating services each day during Holy Week, we ask that appointments for confessions be made early so that Lenten confessions can be concluded by Palm Sunday, April 9.  Thank you.

Palm Sunday and Pascha Flower Collection

Currently we are receiving donations for Palm Sunday and Paschal flowers.  A designated box may be found on the candle table, or simply note the purpose of the contribution on a check or envelope.  As always, thank you in advance for your generosity.  

March 2023 Announcements

Pan-Orthodox Lenten Vespers

During the Great Fast, Pan-Orthodox Vespers will be celebrated at 6:00 pm, Sunday evenings at various parishes throughout DFW. Each service concludes with a brief sermon, as well as a Lenten meal and fellowship. We note the following service and sermon schedules. 

  • March 5 – Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Dallas – “What Do We Mean by Discipleship?” Christina Andresen, OCF Director of Ministries.

  • March 12 – St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, Ft. Worth – “Alumni Testimony: Cultivating Vocation, Talents, and Leadership” - Katie Andrews, Holy Trinity Youth Director.

  • March 19 – St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, Euless – “Student Testimony: Where Two or Three Are Gathered” - Paisios Woodcock, Current A&M Student. 

  • March 26 – Sts. Constantine & Helen Antiochian Orthodox Church, Carrollton – “Higher Education and Spiritual Formation” – Jesse Cone, Adjunct Professor at University of Dallas.

  • April 2 – St. Seraphim OCA Cathedral, Dallas – “The Fields Are White: Missionary Work at Home” - Alexandros Pandazis, A&M Campus Missionary.

Church School & Adult Classes

Church School will meet on Saturday, March 11, at 4:30 pm.  Holy Unction will be the focus.

In addition, we continue our adult classes which will meet on Saturday evenings after Vespers during Lent. The temporary change is desirable so that Wednesday evenings will not end so late.  

General Confession

General Confession will be conducted on Saturday, March 18 at 5:00 pm.  

Congratulations

We congratulate Daren and Amanda Beames and the entire family on the birth of Andrew Timothy Beames.  God grant them all many blessed years in service to the Lord!

The Feast of Annunciation

(Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko): “The feast of the Annunciation. . . comes nine months before Christmas on the twenty-fifth of March. It is the celebration of the announcing of the birth of Christ to the Virgin Mary as recorded in the Gospel of Saint Luke. The services of the feast of the Annunciation… stress again and again the joyous news of the salvation of men in the birth of the Savior. . . The celebration of the Annunciation. . . is the feast of our own reception of the glad tidings of salvation, and our own glorification of the Maiden Mary who becomes the Mother of God in the flesh.

“Because (this feast) normally comes during the season of Great Lent, the manner of celebration varies from year to year depending upon the particular day on which it falls. If the feast comes on a weekday of Lent, which is the most common case, the Divine Liturgy of the feast is served in the evening with Vespers and thus is celebrated after a full day of total abstinence. When this ­happens, the fasting rules for the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts are followed. The Divine Liturgy of the Annunciation is the only celebration of the Eucharistic Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom allowed on a weekday of Great Lent.”

2023 Calendars

A few 2023 Orthodox Wall Calendars are left in stock and are available for $5.00 each. The Calendars contain helpful information for the year, including lists of fasts and feasts, as well as daily Scripture Readings. Remaining Calendar will be placed on a side table in the Church.