A Message From Fr. Gregory

Beloved brethren,

Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!

We hope and pray that everyone is doing well at this time. You are all in our prayers and thoughts.

We were hoping that we would be able to soon lift the restrictions on attendance at liturgy. However, yesterday (Friday, May 1), Metropolitan JOSEPH's office issued a statement stating that new guidelines will be coming out next week, and that for this weekend, we must continue as we have been for the past few weeks. So, given that, we will only be able to have our 'skeleton crew' of chanters/servers for liturgy on Sunday, May 3.

Fr. Gregory will serve Vespers this evening at 5:00 PM at St. Catherine Church. We will attempt to live stream the service on Facebook at the St. Catherine Orthodox Church facebook page. We'll do the best we can.

We will serve the Divine Liturgy at St. Barnabas Church (Orthros/Matins begins at 9:00 AM, and Divine Liturgy at 10:00 AM). We will livestream that service on the St. Barnabas Orthodox Church Facebook page. Due to the limitations, we will NOT have a service at St. Catherine on Sunday, May 3. Please participate prayerfully in the livestream, if possible.

Next week, we will receive guidelines from the Archdiocese, God willing, and as things open back up, we'll see what we can do moving forward. We will not plan to have Vespers, however, on Wednesday, May 6. Without guidelines, we're not clear as to what would be appropriate yet.

Remember, if you need anything, please feel free to call me. God willing, things will move to a more 'normal' state soon.

You are all in our prayers!

In Christ,

Fr. Gregory

St. Barnabas Facebook Page
St. Catherine Facebook Page

Holy Week Schedule

Message from Fr. Gregory concerning our Holy Week Schedule:

Beloved brethren,

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ! We trust and pray that you are all well, that God is continuing to strengthen, guide, and build each one of you during this holy season.

Sadly, we will not be able to be together this week for the blessed services of the church, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Metropolitan JOSEPH has directed that no more than five people be present at the services: priest, chanters, altar server, videographer. So, we are forced to find other ways of praying together. We are going to do the best we can to live-stream the services, either on the St. Barnabas Orthodox Church Facebook page (for those services that are held there) or on the St. Catherine Orthodox Church Facebook page, for those services held at St. Catherine.

The schedule is attached. The Metropolitan has also directed that we NOT distribute any physical objects this Holy Week, so we will not distribute palms, have the Unction service on Wednesday evening, or distribute eggs at Pascha. Also, we will not be able to have our annual Paschal feast following the Agape Vespers. All of this is difficult for us, but we are still able to meet our Lord in the midst of this.

Suggestions for participation:

1. Listen, sing, and pray as much as possible as you listen.
2. Put the services on as big a screen as is feasible. 
3. Try to eliminate as many distractions as possible.
4. Light a candle; burn some incense; if these are possible and safe.

I will be doing a brief homily, either in the normal place in the Liturgy, or at the end of the services for the others, to highlight the themes of the service. 

Also, the Metropolitan has directed that we postpone face-to-face confession until after this situation has ended. Nonetheless, if you want to talk with me, I would be happy to do so over the phone.

Please be assured that we love you all, and that you are all in our prayers.

In the Resurrected Christ,

Fr. Gregory

Holy Week Services 2020 Final.jpg
St. Barnabas Facebook Page
St. Catherine Facebook Page

Message From Fr. Gregory

Brethren,


One thing I have discovered this week is that things are changing rapidly with regard to the COVID-19 situation. In that light, Metropolitan Joseph issued new directives today, Tuesday, March 17, regarding the response we are to make for the COVID-19 virus.

Effective immediately, all social events and business meetings at our churches are cancelled until further notice. This, of course, means that we won't have the Parish Council meeting this Sunday, nor will we have coffee hour after liturgy.


We have been directed to NOT have Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday evening; so, we will not have the Presanctified Liturgy tomorrow evening, March 18.

Also, we have been directed to only have altar servers and chanters present at the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, March 22, and in any case, no more than ten people at the liturgy. Having said that, we will not turn anyone who comes away. If you are ill, please stay home and rest. If you decide to stay home, please take advantage of internet resources available for worship, prayer, and learning.

For those who are home, the archdiocese has provided access to Typika services and other prayers for your use. Later in the week, I will send you a link to a livestream of St. John Orthodox Church in Memphis, where our son,  Fr. Philip serves. You can virtually participate in services there, if you would like.If we are able to get a livestream of our services available, we will provide the link for you. Most likely, we will do it via our Facebook page. 

We WILL have the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Annunciation on Wednesday, March 25, with the same stipulations as apply to Sunday's services.

Below is a link to his directive for you to read. The situation is changing by the hour, so we will do our best to keep you all updated as to what we are to do.

Please keep all of our brethren, our community, and our nation in your prayers. We love you all. By God's grace we'll get through this.


Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Gregory Rogers

Metropolitan Joseph's Message