We will celebrate the Feast of All Saints on Sunday, November 1. Even as we celebrate individual saints on their feast days throughout the year, this yearly observance is an opportunity to celebrate all the saints, known and unknown, whose lives and virtues we emulate and who intercede for us in heaven. At coffee hour after Liturgy, we will continue our celebration of the lives of the saints by giving short presentations about our patron, favorite, or an interesting saint.
To commemorate lives of our departed loved ones, we will celebrate a Requiem Mass on All Souls Day, Monday, November 2 with Vespers at 6:30pm, Liturgy at 7 and pot-luck supper following. Please give Fr. Nicholas the names of any departed loved ones you wish to have mentioned by name in this service.
We will remember many things on Sunday, November 8. The liturgical celebration is of the Patriarchs and Prophets of the Old Law. This is not an ancient feast day but one which was created by Fr. Alexander Turner and Fr. Paul Schneirla, the first two Vicars-General of the Antiochian West Rite. As most of the Old Testament saints were not included in the Western calendar of saints (but many are in the Byzantine calendar), this service was intended to correct that under one commemoration. We honor and give thanks for all those through whom God prepared His people to receive the Incarnate Christ.
On November 8, we will also remember Lauren Housley, who departed this life on November 9, 2025. New icons of the holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel have been given by many donors in her memory and they will be blessed at this service. Icons of St. Gregory the Great, our patron, and St. John the Baptist, which have been given in memory of Subdeacon Jerry (Jerome) Chiles, will also be blessed. These new icons were painted by iconographer Borislav Zivkovic of Houston (see agapeicons.com).
The feast of the Presentation of the Theotokos in the Temple will be celebrated on Saturday, November 21 with Matins at 9:30am, Mass at 10 and a pot-luck brunch following. Sunday, November 29 marks the beginning of the Western liturgical year with the First Sunday in Advent when we are more intentional about fasting, alms-giving, confession, and preparing to celebrate the Incarnation of Our Lord.
Read the full November Newsletter here.