September 4, th Sunday after Pentecost Tone 3 ~ Eothinon 1

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1 ORTHODOXY & MEDICAL BIOETHICS PART THIRTEEN OF FOURTEEN The understanding and discussion of contemporary medical bioethical issues is, for Orthodox Christians, predicated on the tenets of the Orthodox Church. These tenets help us to frame the right questions for consideration from the very beginning. Organ Donation There are two opposing theological viewpoints within the Orthodox Church regarding the donation of one s body organs upon death. First there is the view which maintains that since we are all created in the image of God, the harvesting of organs should be considered a form of mutilation and be thereby prohibited by the Church. The other perspective is that there is no greater gift that a dying person can give than to donate a vital organ(s) so that someone s life may be improved and/or prolonged. In fact, it might even be said that we are morally obligated to provide these organs, which we will no longer need, as a gift of unconditional brotherly or sisterly love for our neighbor. St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church A Parish of the Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, Diocese of the West 2098 Benson Avenue Upland, CA stgeorgeofupland@ymail.com Website: Very Reverend Father George Manneh- Parish Priest Elisha Khoury- Sub-Deacon WORSHIP SCHEDULE: Sunday Orthros (Matins) 9:00am Divine Liturgy 10:00am Sunday School Will Resume in the Fall Some express the fear that the bodies of humans will be viewed as simply a source of spare parts. This is hardly the situation, at least in this country, whereby Hospital and Medical Centers go to great lengths to insure informed consent; that is to say, a person s organs upon death are not be taken without the expressed written consent of the patient. If an Orthodox Christian has died without leaving written consent to remove his/her organs, they should not be removed. September 4, th Sunday after Pentecost Tone 3 ~ Eothinon 1 Epistle: I Corinthians 15:1-11 Holy Gospel: Matthew 19:16-26

2 Sunday, September 4, 2011 Page 2 Page 15 Sunday, September 4, 2011 Troparion of the Resurrection- Tone 3 Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad; for the Lord hath done a mighty act with his own arm. He hath trampled down death and become the First-born from the dead. He hath delivered us from the depth of hades, granting the world the Great Mercy. Lord, You are the physician of our souls and body. We pray You grant the following parishioners good health and blessings: Charbel Kabbouche Nicholas Kokkinias Mouin Farraj Um-Ibrahim Zarour Troparion of St. Babylas- Tone 4 Thou best become like the Apostles in their states, a successor to their throne, finding indeed the intelligential ladder, O thou God-inspired. Therefore, thou best followed the Word of God in righteousness, and striven unto blood for the Faith. O Martyr among Priests Babylas, intercede with Christ God to save our souls.

3 Sunday, September 4, 2011 Page 14 got news you would like to share? If you would like to submit names for our church bulletin, please the church: or Suzann Fakhoury: or (909) Please remember that this section is reserved for : Page 3 Sunday, September 4, 2011 Troparion of St. George- Tone 4 As deliverer of captives and defender of the poor, healer of the infirm, champion of kings, victorious Great Martyr George intercede with Christ our God for the salvation of our souls. Births Churching Baptisms Holy Oblations Prayer Requests Memorials Graduations Weddings Birthdays Celebrations The deadline to submit names: Wednesday by NOON Kontakion of The Nativity of the Theotokos Buy SCRIP every Sunday- Your church gets September Birthdays May God Bless all of you with good health and happiness for Many, Many Years!!! Soraya Husain 9/17 Alexis Manneh 9/20 Sabrina Sayegh 9/24 money and you shop where you usually do your shopping. It s easy & your church benefits. Just fill out the SCRIP form and let St. George s Giving Tree Advisors do the rest! By thy holy birth-giving, O pure one, Joachim and Anne were delivered from the reproach of barrenness; and Adam and Eve were delivered from the corruption of death; thy people do celebrate it, having been saved from the stain of iniquity, crying unto thee, the barren doth give birth to the Theotokos, who nourisheth our life.

4 Sunday, September 4, 2011 Page 4 Page 13 Sunday, September 4, 2011 The Epistle The Reading from St. Paul s First Letter to the Corinthians. (15:1-11) St. George s Giving Tree NEWS Sing praises to our God, sing praises. O Clap your hands, all ye nations. BRETHREN, I would remind you in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold it fast--unless you believe in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. PLEASE SEE ONE OF OUR YOUTH LEADERS FOR SIGN-UP FORMS!!!

5 Sunday, September 4, 2011 Page 12 Sunday, September 4, 2011 Page 5 Looking for a Good orthodox christian book to read? an icon to add to your home? Possibly even a gift? our icon/bookstore is here!!! come visit the store every other sunday after the divine liturgy. Pa!" News COFFEE HOUR Would you like to sponsor a coffee hour or luncheon? You can offer it in memory of a loved one, in celebration of an event, or in support of a church ministry. Contact: Feiruz Ayoub (909) Jacob Hilo (909)

6 Sunday, September 4, 2011 Page 6 Page 11 Sunday, September 4, 2011 The Gospel The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew (19:16-26) At that time: One came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good? If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which?" And Jesus said, "You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have observed; what do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples. "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle then for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." SUNDAY SCHOOL WILL COMMENCE FOR THE YEAR SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH AFTER THE DIVINE LITURGY. PLEASE REGISTER YOUR CHILDREN. registration will occur today after the divine liturgy!!! cost is $10 per child.

7 Sunday, September 4, 2011 Page10 Sunday, September 4, 2011 Page 7 English & Arabic Choir & Chanters practices will be taking place every saturday at 7:30pm at church, with Gabriel Malouf. Hope to see all of you there!

8 Will the World Really End on December 21, 2012? Chris Andreas (OrthodoxyToday.org) Remember back fifteen years ago and how the Y2K scare was supposed to throw your world into chaos? The calendar would turn into the new century and computers would break down. Planes were supposed to fall out of the sky, dams would break, and many would die. It didn t happen. Go back even further and we discover doomsday predictions have a rich legacy. Remember Nostradamus? He s trotted out whenever a modern prophecy needs some instant credibility. Most people don t even know that he wrote under the Julian calendar which shifts his predictions to four years earlier anyway. Even then, he thought the world would still be kicking well in the 38th century. It looks like we have some time left! Next up is the date December 21, While it s true that many of us maintain some foreboding concerning next year with all of the world s economic and political woes, much of this concern has been reinforced by the calendar of the long gone Mayan Indian culture of Central America. Their calendar, in looking toward the future, ended on the above date with no explanation. Yet, this hasn t quelled our doomsday thought processes. Thus, once again we face disaster: the world will be struck by an asteroid or comet bringing most if not all of life to an abrupt end; missiles with atomic warheads will be launched during a Third World War; celestial alignments, black holes, magnetic pole shifts, solar storms, apocalyptic events of biblical proportions, alien invasions well, you get the point. We are all doomed, say the soothsayers. Hollywood is at it again having already made a blockbuster sci-fi film with the name you guessed it Once again, there are books being sold by the millions, and the internet is swamped with websites, all talking about the subject. New survival kits are just around the corner! But getting back to the ancient Mayans, certainly they were a brilliant people who had delved into mathematics, astronomy, engineering and architecture. They built great cities from 200 AD on, and had developed into the greatest civilization of the New World well before the Conquistadors finally arrived in the 16th century. Their greatness, however, didn t prevent them from committing some egregious errors in their belief systems nor temper their horrific dark side within their character. For instance, while the accuracy of their calendar remains beyond question, they also believed that the world was created on what we would calculate to be August 13, 3114 BC! We know that too didn t happen. And any possible prophecies that would have come from the Mayans would have come from a pagan people who practiced human sacrifice, even that of children! Yet, we of the western world, the world of Christendom, seem to be more willing to accept what the Mayans had to say or didn t actually say than what our own Holy Scriptures have, through the ages, transmitted to us especially from among the Prophetic books of both Testaments, Old and New. I strongly suggest that we cease worrying about what the Mayans and Nostradamus had to say or didn t say and to begin once again to focus our attention on the Good Book that came from the Lord Himself to all people of all epoch periods, a book that is 110% accurate in all its Prophecies. We should ask ourselves who we would rather trust, pagans and astrologers who are wrong more often than right, or the Lord Jesus Christ Himself before Whom we should be bending our knees. The answer should be clear to all of us!