Sunday, January 28, 2018 Matins, 9:00 am :: Divine Liturgy, 10:00 am

Transcription

1 Sunday, January 28, 2018 Matins, 9:00 am :: Divine Liturgy, 10:00 am Sunday of the Pharisee and the Publican Pastor: Father Andrew Kishler Parish Council officers: Parish Council members: Chair, Michael Kasap Vice Chair, Matthew Rowan Secretary, Lynette Forsa Treasurer, Anysia Medawar Genie Sanders Jennifer Harshman Leo Kapetaneas

2 Today s holy bread and coffee hour: Leo and Christina Kapetaneas Epistle reader: Georgia Kapetaneas Next week s holy bread and coffee hour: Paul Khoury memorial Hymns of the Day, immediately after the Small Entrance: Troparion of the Resurrection (Tone 1): The stone being sealed by the Jews, and Thy pure body being guarded by the soldiers, Thou didst rise on the third day, O Savior, granting life to the world. Wherefore, the heavenly powers acclaimed Thee, O Giver of life. Crying: Glory to Thy Resurrection, O Christ! Glory to Thy kingdom! Glory to Thy gracious providence, O Thou only lover of mankind. Troparion for St. George the Great-Martyr (Tone 4): Since thou art a liberator and deliverer of captives, a help and succour of the poor and needy, a healing physician of the sick, a contender and fighter for kings, O great among martyrs, the victory-clad George: Intercede with Christ God for the salvation of our souls. Kontakion for the Presentation (Tone 1): Thou, O Christ God, who by Thy Birth, didst sanctify the Virgin s womb, and, as is meet, didst bless Simeon s arms, and didst also come to save us; preserve Thy fold in wars, and confirm them whom Thou dost love, for Thou alone art the Lover of mankind. 2

3 THE EPISTLE For Sunday of the Pharisee and Publican Make vows to the Lord thy God, and perform them. In Judah God is known; His Name is great in Israel. The Reading from the Second Epistle of St. Paul to St. Timothy (3:10-15) Timothy my son, you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, and my sufferings; and what befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra. What persecutions I endured; yet from them all, the Lord rescued me. Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. THE GOSPEL For Sunday of the Pharisee and Publican The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke (18:10-14) The Lord spoke this parable: Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank Thee that I am not like other men, extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to Heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me a sinner! I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. 3

4 Announcements and Upcoming Events For a full calendar of events and services at St. George, see our website, Today: Children s Sunday school, downstairs immediately after Holy Communion. January parish council meeting, upstairs during coffee hour. This week: Please contact Father Andrew to schedule your home blessing! (See note below.) Thursday, Feb. 1: Divine Liturgy for the Presentation of the Lord, 6pm. Saturday, Feb. 3: Vespers, 6pm. Next Sunday, Feb. 4: Sunday of the Prodigal Son. Matins, 9am; Divine Liturgy, 10am. House blessings have started! It is customary for the priest to visit each household in the church community once a year for a blessing with the holy water that was blessed at Theophany. Please see Fr. Andrew to set up a date and time. (Also note that you are under no obligation to feed or pay your priest for this service!) Due to Father Andrew s house blessing schedule, there will be no Wednesday evening prayers or book study for the next few weeks. Mark your calendars: Our annual all-church meeting will take place Sunday, Feb. 25 after Divine Liturgy. All voting members of St. George Church should be present! All households, please bring a dish or dessert to share for a potluck meal. Mark your calendars: We will be hosting the ecumenical Prayers for the Valley service here at St. George on Tuesday, Feb. 27. This is a great opportunity to bear witness to the Orthodox faith in our community! The 2018 Holy Bread and Coffee Hour list is downstairs by the food tables. Please take a look at when your family appears on the list, and make any necessary corrections. Our 2018 Orthodox calendars have arrived, and are available on the bulletin shelf by the front door. Special thanks again to Barto Funeral Home for their sponsorship. St. George Church 100 th Anniversary: In 2018, our church turns 100 years old! Save the date: Bishop Anthony plans to visit us the weekend of November 2-4, 2018 to help us celebrate. Do you have an announcement for the bulletin? Please contact Fr. Andrew no later than Friday each week for inclusion in the Sunday bulletin. 4

5 Sunday Volunteer Schedule Holy Bread/Coffee Hour Epistle Reader TODAY Leo/Christina Kapetaneas Georgia Kapetaneas Sunday, Feb. 4 Paul Khoury Memorial Mike Kasap Sunday, Feb. 11 Meatfare Sunday Sunday, Feb. 18 Cheesefare Sunday Sunday, Feb. 25 Orthodoxy Sunday OPEN Ron/Dottie Malooley All Church potluck and Annual Meeting David Anderson Maggie Kishler and Keeley Thompson Alan Harshman Sunday, March 4 Ladies of St. George The Ladies of St. George Sunday, March 11 Ron/Dottie Malooley The Ladies of St. George Sunday, March 18 Bill/Mary Miller The Ladies of St. George Regarding HOLY BREAD, you are welcome to bake your own, or use the bread provided by the church (donations of any amount are appreciated). On your Sunday, please also provide to Father Andrew a list of names (living and departed) for prayers during the Liturgy. COFFEE HOUR may be as simple or elaborate as you want. While CLEAN UP is primarily the responsibility of those who provide coffee hour, all of us should help by bussing our own tables and cleaning up as we are able! * SHADED DATES indicate fasting. No meat should be served on these dates. 5

6 January Birthdays and Anniversaries May God grant you many years! (Please let Father know if we are missing anyone!) Jan. 9 Efy Trilikis Jan. 10 Mitch Kaleel Jan. 10 David Kaleel Jan. 11 Judy Abraham Jan. 14 Angelo Fousekas Jan. 16 Nicholas Leonard Jan. 22 Alan Harshman Jan. 23 Sally Favia Jan. 24 Christopher Leonard Jan. 31 Wayne Sanders Words of Wisdom from St. Ephraim of Syria (commemorated today, Jan. 28): Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance. Prayer suppresses anger. Prayer prevents emotions of pride and envy. Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit, and raises man to Heaven. Imagine that someone, while standing before a king and conversing with him, at the summons of a servant like unto himself leaves the king and begins to converse with that servant; such also is he who engages in conversation and gives himself over to distraction during the divine service. When you begin to read or listen to the Holy Scriptures, pray to God thus: Lord Jesus Christ, open the ears and eyes of my heart so that I may hear Thy words and understand them, and may fulfill Thy will. Always pray to God like this, that He might illumine your mind and open to you the power of His words. 6

7 Continuing our series on American Orthodox history, today we give you part 1 of a story on the life of St. Raphael of Brooklyn, founder of many of the original Syrian-Lebaneses Orthodox churches in America. The Life of Our Father among the Saints Raphael Hawaweeny, Bishop of Brooklyn "Good Shepherd of the Lost Sheep in America" whose sanctity was officially proclaimed by the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America on Wednesday, March 29, 2000 In the last decades of the nineteenth century, America received into her open arms a steady flow of immigrants from the Middle East. Known generically as "Syrians," many of these immigrants, Orthodox in faith and Arab in culture, left their ancestral towns and villages to seek new and brighter horizons for themselves in the New World. As their numbers increased in America, so too did their need for spiritual leadership. Although we do not quite know how, these struggling new Americans learned of a young, pious Syrian priest, Father Raphael (Hawaweeny), at the time an archimandrite and professor of Arabic language at the Kazan Theological Academy in Imperial Russia. Through the auspices of their lay leader, Dr. Ibrahim Arbeely, they contacted the young priest with the request to come to America to be their shepherd and spiritual father. Several themes emerge as the story of St. Raphael's life unfolds. The first is the mysterious way in which God led him from his native homeland to the shores of the American continent. The second is his submissive attitude to the providence of God. And the third is his love for the people of God. Though during his lifetime he was neither a wonder-worker nor a clairvoyant elder, St. Raphael embraced a life of total abandonment of self for the service of God and his fellow man: a life of true spiritual asceticism. His message for us as we approach the end of the twentieth century is as simple and profound as the Man who first uttered it: "if anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24). St. Raphael reveals for us the royal path to salvation. He did not seek honor for himself. What is most striking is the total lack of concern for self which is evident through his life and ministry. He followed his Master. Whatever the cost, whatever the price, he followed. However heavy the Cross, however few the rewards, he followed. A brilliant man, capable of conversing in several different languages and educated in both Greek and Russian theological schools, St. Raphael does not strike us primarily as a deep thinker or theologian, but as a good shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep. His writings and his sermons are eminently practical, based on Holy Scripture and his own experiences of life. He followed Christ. In the words of the Prophet Isaiah, devoid of any personal agenda, he simply said at every time and in every place: "Here I am, send me" (Isaiah 6:8). 7

8 Daily Bible Readings January 28 Feb. 3 Sunday, Jan. 28 Sunday of the Pharisee and Publican Matthew 28:16-20 / 2 Timothy 3:10-15 / Luke 18:10-14 Monday, Jan. 29 St. Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch Hebrews 10:32-38 / Mark 9:33-41 Tuesday, Jan. 30 The Three Holy Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom Deuteronomy 1:8-17 / Deuteronomy 10:14-21 / Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9 John 10:9-16 / Hebrews 13:7-16 / Matthew 5:14-19 Wednesday, Jan. 31 Holy Unmercenaries Cyrus and John 1 Corinthians 12:27-31, 13:1-8 / Matthew 10:1-8 Thursday, Feb. 1 St. Bridget of Ireland Romans 8:28-39 / Luke 10:19-21 Friday, Feb. 2 The Presentation of our Lord in the Temple Isaiah 6:1-12 / Hebrews 7:7-17 / Luke 2:22-40 Saturday, Feb. 3 St. Symeon the God-receiver, and Anna the Prophetess Hebrews 9:11-14 / Luke 2:25-38 Videos of sermons and Feast Day services are available on our website, Follow St. George Orthodox Church of Spring Valley on Facebook for daily Bible readings and lives of the saints. Please be aware that photographs and videos from our church appear on our website and Facebook page. Please feel free to let us know if you would prefer not to have your pictures online. 8