Holy Week and Bright Week Schedule at St Nicholas, 2020

All Livestreamed services will be at http://www.youtube.com/orthodoxnet/live.

We have set up a PayPal link which allows you to donate to our Mitey Mites Cause of the week.

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=FHWE4PALUPG7U&source=url

Keeping watch at the Tomb signup *Good Friday, 9:30PM through Holy Saturday 11:00 PM, with breaks for services:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090c4ba8af2fa1ff2-keeping1

Agape Vespers Gospel language sign up:

Read the Gospel in the language of your choice at a Virtual Agape Vespers, Pascha Sunday, 3pm.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W4fxpROY3-JkxgIHd3OY6P9Qek9rObUnP30Nk9K3W1c/edit?usp=sharing

We have set up a form so that you can enter people to be commemorated in all the liturgies.

Normally we you would submit these names or your commemoration book when you come to liturgy, but this is not possible now. Please do not add yourself or any other person that you know we regularly commemorate.

https://forms.gle/BWAuBWXxQvRsSRLD7

Everyone should read Archbishop Peter’s guidance about Holy Week and Pascha. When I read his letter, I could hear his voice and his heart speaking to me. I hope that everyone understands how difficult it was for him to make these decisions, and how much care and prayer he put into them. In a smaller way, all priests are making difficult decisions that are wrenching our hearts. Sometimes we must give directions that our heart recoils against even though we know they are the proper things to say. We have an opportunity to obey our bishop, and gain great grace. Remember, obedience is not just that we do what we are told, but that we do it cheerfully and without complaining or bitterness, and with increased prayer.

https://chicagodiocese.org/news_200414_1

With the blessing of Archbishop Peter, we will be able to venerate the tomb on Good Friday. Please see the schedule for Good Friday, and sign up for a timeslot here: https://signup.com/go/GjNtTHB

Lazarus Saturday

9 am Liturgy livestreamed, Choir: Parks

5pm Vigil livestreamed, Choir: Parks

6:30-9 pm Pick up blessed palms and blessed candles

Everyone must stay in their car, and the items will be brought to them by Zoticus. This is to stay in compliance with our bishop’s and local directives. Please put a blessed candle in your Pascha basket (Holy Saturday), and be ready to light it early in the morning on Pascha, when we will bless the baskets via zoom VIDEO (See below).

Palm Sunday

10 am Liturgy livestreamed, Choir: Parks

7 pm Bridegroom Matins livestreamed, Choir: Mat Marina & Christina

Holy Monday

9AM – Presanctified Liturgy livestreamed, Choir: Deborah

7 pm Bridegroom Matins livestreamed, Choir: Mat Marina & Christina

Holy Tuesday

7 pm Bridegroom Matins livestreamed, Choir: Mat Marina & Christina Reader: Peter

Holy Wednesday

4 pm last Presanctified Liturgy of the year, livestreamed, Choir: Deborah, Reader: Peter

5:30 pm Matins for Institution of the Eucharist livestreamed, Choir: Parks

Holy Thursday

10 am Liturgy Institution of the Eucharist livestreamed, Choir: Parks, Reader: David

6 pm 12 Gospel Matins livestreamed, Choir: Parks, Reader: David

Holy Friday

10 am Royal Hours livestreamed

1pm Taking Down From the Cross Vespers livestreamed, Choir: Parks, Reader: David,Peter

2:30-5PM Veneration of the TOMB

With the blessing of Archbishop Peter, we will be able to venerate the tomb on Good Friday.

You MUST sign up for a 15 minute time-slot. Arrive on time, and wait in the parking lot IN YOUR CAR until someone calls you. There may be other families that may be sharing the timeslot with you, but each family will go in separately.

Sign up here: https://signup.com/go/GjNtTHB

In order for things to be orderly, you must stay in your car until someone asks you to get out.

You will go into the temple only. You cannot get a drink of water or go to the bathroom. This also applies to children.

You are required to sanitize your hands immediately after you come in the church.

You and your children can venerate and kiss the tomb and light any number of candles you wish by the tomb. Please do not venerate the other icons.

After you finish venerating the tomb, you must go directly back to your car and not linger in the parking lot.

There will be a person assigned to clean the tomb afterwards between each group, and also a person to get people out of their cars and make sure that they follow the directions above.

Please understand that we have a significant responsibility to the community to do things correctly. These rules might seem strict and to some of you, unnecessary, but we are responsible to be good citizens, as our bishop wrote in his recent pastoral letter.

Please be patient. We are following our bishop’s directives, and with obedience there is always grace from God.

If there are not enough timeslots, we will consider allowing people to venerate the tomb after the Lamentations.

These directions are directly from Fr Seraphim and Fr Nicholas.

5pm Lamentations livestreamed Choir: Parks Reader: David,Peter

(sing along with text sent by separate email, and here: https://www.orthodox.net//services/lamentations-of-holy-saturday.html )

9:30PM Friday – 11:30 PM Saturday (Remote) Watch at the Tomb

We will still have a watch at the tomb! People will conduct this watch at home. You may read from the Psalms or from the Acts of the Apostles. Maybe just say the Jesus prayer the entire time. It will be hard to do a handoff like we did in the past, so just read whatever chapters you wish.

The sign-up sheet is at : https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090c4ba8af2fa1ff2-keeping1. Let’s do this as a parish! We may be separated physically, but we are united spiritually. This is a way for everyone to keep watch at the tomb.

Holy Saturday

Until 11am The watch at the tomb will be interrupted only by the services. It will resume after each service.

11am Vesperal Liturgy (Fr Seraphim’s favorite liturgy of the year!) livestreamed, Choir: Parks. Reader David,Peter

2:30pm- 11:30pm – Resume the watch at the tomb

11:20 PM Nocturns (Midnight Office) livestreamed, Choir: Parks Reader:David,Peter

Exactly Midnight Paschal Matins, the Divine Liturgy livestreamed, Choir: Parks Reader David,Peter

3AM Blessing of Paschal Baskets!

We will have a Zoom meeting, and your baskets will be blessed remotely, and we can meet and greet each other, and eat from our baskets. We hope EVERYONE will join the meeting!

Pascha Sunday

3pm Paschal Hours and Paschal Vespers, by Zoom.

We are doing a zoom meeting instead of live streaming because we want as many people as possible to be able to read the Gospel in the language of their choice.

Here is the signup sheet, organized by Natalie King: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W4fxpROY3-JkxgIHd3OY6P9Qek9rObUnP30Nk9K3W1c/edit?usp=sharing

Bright Monday

8am Matins livestreamed, Choir: Parks

9am Paschal Liturgy livestreamed

Bright Thursday

7pm ZOOM Paschal Vespers

Bright Friday

8am Matins livestreamed, Choir: Parks

9am Paschal Liturgy livestreamed

7pm ZOOM Paschal Vespers

Bright Saturday

8am Matins livestreamed, Choir: Parks

9 am Paschal Liturgy livestreamed

5PM Vigil for Thomas Sunday, Choir Parks

Thomas Sunday

Liturgy 10am Divine Liturgy livestreamed, Choir: Parks

Info:

If you happen to shop at KROGER (or anywhere!), please check for clearance roses. They mark them down to half price. We need roses for the petals that get showered around the church on Holy Saturday Liturgy. Please let Matushka Marina know ( 972 658-5435) and nobody if you will bringing some, and to make arrangements for drop off.

Lamentations:

https://www.orthodox.net//services/lamentations-of-holy-saturday.html

https://www.orthodox.net//services/lamentations-of-holy-saturday.pdf

https://www.orthodox.net//services/lamentations-of-holy-saturday.doc

Natalie King: 972 658-5473

Matushka Marina: 972 658-5435

Priest Seraphim: 972 658-5433 seraphim@orthodox.net

Priest Nicholas: 972 839-2439 frnicholas@orthodox.net