ST. GREGORY S DIVINE SERVICES FOR THE WEEK

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1 ST. GREGORY S DIVINE SERVICES FOR THE WEEK Tuesday, December 5 Our venerable father Sabbas the Sanctified 7:00 P.M. Vesperal Divine Liturgy Friday, December 8 The Conception by Righteous Anna of the Theotokos 7:00 P.M. Divine Liturgy Saturday, December 9 Venerable Patapius of Thebes 5:00 P.M. Vigil Divine Liturgy Supplications will be offered for +John Bodnar, given by William Bodnar Sunday, December 10 Twentyseventh Sunday after Pentecost 9:10 A.M. Third Hour 9:30 A.M. Divine Liturgy The Epistle Reading will be Ephesians 6:10-17 and the Gospel Luke 17: Supplications will be offered for +Richard Salera, given by John & Rosemary Tomko. Please join us in the Church hall following the Divine Liturgy for a time of fellowship and refreshments. Wisdom for the day If a man doesn t start to work on himself, then the devil will find another job for him to seek for flaws in others. - St. Paisius of Mt. Athos If but ten among us lead a holy life, we shall kindle a fire which shall light up the entire city. - St. John Chrysostom

2 St. Gregory s Book Club #8: The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers: The Spiritual Insight from the World s Most Beloved Neighbor The Library Ministry s next Book Club will soon be preparing to read The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers: The Spiritual Insight from the World s Most Beloved Neighbor, by Amy Hollingsworth. Won t you join in exploring the life of one who was truly our neighbor over WQED, TV? What do you remember about what he said? Does, I like you as you are sound familiar? In this book, the author focuses on Mr. Roger s spiritual legacy, and shows us a man who, to paraphrase the words of St. Francis of Assisi, preaches the gospel at all times; when necessary he used words. Who was this man of amazing influence? Educator? Philosopher? Minister? Come to the eighth Book Club meeting on Wednesday, January 10 th, at 10:30 a.m. or 6:30 p.m. for great conversation and enlightenment about this true neighbor of ours, Fred Rogers. The newsman Tom Brokaw is quoted as saying: Mister Rogers was an ordained Minister, but he never talked about God on his program. He didn t need to. To prepare, please sign the list in the Church vestibule indicating your wish to read this book and then copies will be gathered for you to pick up soon, giving you time to read by Wednesday, January 10 th. Divine Services for the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ Sunday, December 24, 2017: Eve of the Nativity of Christ (Christmas Eve) 4:30 P.M. Christmas Carols 5:00 P.M. Vesperal Divine Liturgy, Anointing with Holy Oil (Mirovanije) Monday, December 25, 2017: Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Christmas Day) 9:00 A.M. Third Hour, Christmas Carols, Service of Artoclasia (Blessing of Bread) 9:30 A.M. Divine Liturgy, Anointing with Holy Oil (Mirovanije) Announcements Big Thank You! Our Taste of Heaven Cookie Sale was a great success! Sincere thanks to all who worked very hard organizing this fundraiser event. We are grateful to all who provided the great variety of delicious cookies we had! As we continue our journey to Bethlehem, we ask Our Lord to bless you for your dedication and hard work for our parish family! Welcome New Member! As a parish family we welcome to St. Gregory s Aimee S. Jacks. We ask Our Lord to bless her as we together continue this journey of faith with many happy and blessed years! Bethany Ministry As part of our Nativity Fast-Advent journey, a Bethany Ministry meeting will take place following the Sunday Divine Liturgy. This meeting will take place in the Mother of God Chapel. If you are interested in becoming part of this parish ministry, please come and join us for this meeting. Feast of St. Nicholas On Wednesday, December 6 th, we commemorate our holy father Nicholas the Wonderworker. To celebrate this feast day and to honor this great Saint we will have Tuesday evening, December 5 th, a Vesperal Divine Liturgy at 7:00 p.m. Please come to honor one of the greatest and famous Saints in our Holy Church. Thursday: Chant Group Practice On Thursday evening, December 7 th, starting at 6:30 p.m., we will have our Chant Group rehearsal in Church. Join us on Thursday evening as we practice together our liturgical chant in preparation for the Nativity of Christ - Christmas. Prayers for the Living & Deceased In preparation for the year 2018, we ask that if you have any special dates throughout the year on which you would like to have prayers offered for the living, or for the blessed repose of your loved ones, you please contact the parish office now to reserve that day. Friday: Conception by Righteous Anna

3 On Friday, December 8 th, we celebrate the feast of the Conception by Righteous Anna of the Theotkos-Mother of God. To celebrate this feast day, Divine Liturgy will be celebrated Friday evening, December 8 th at 7:00 p.m. Please come! Bethany Ministry Speaker: God's call to volunteer changed my life. Please join us next Sunday, December 10 th, to welcome Alexis Weber, RN, MSN. Alexis was recognized by Catholic Charities as Volunteer of the Year in 2014, selected from among 300,000 volunteers nationally. She is recently retired as Director of the School of Nursing at UPMC Mercy. For the past 23 years, Alexis has volunteered every week as a nurse at St. Joseph House of Hospitality, providing health assessments, blood pressure screenings, and care for those with diabetes, cardiac, and breathing problems. We hope you will stay after the Divine Liturgy as Alexis shares her experiences about how listening to God's call to help others changed her life. Perhaps it can change our lives as well, to follow Pope Francis' call to act with charity and love and go and meet those in need." Christmas Basket of Cheer St. Gregory s Men s Club is again sponsoring the Annual Christmas Basket of Cheer, winning ticket will be selected at our St. Nicholas party on Sunday, December 17 th. We are asking that each parishioner participate by taking tickets to sell to friends and family, and of course a chance or three themselves. Tickets are $5 each or 3 for $10. For more information please contact Ken Coval at or any Men s Club member with questions. St. Gregory Christmas Kolbasa Sale Once again our parish will sell kolbasa during the Holiday Season and we are again asking that parishioners buy our kolbasa personally and also sell some of this fine product to friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Sign-up sheets are available in the Church narthex for placing orders and kolbasa can also be ordered on the St. Gregory home page ( The price is $6.00 per pound and orders will be available for pickup during the weekend of December 16 th and 17 th. Thanks to all St. Gregory parishioners for the continued enthusiastic support of this important fundraiser. Our St. Nicholas Party The annual parish St. Nicholas party will be held in our Church Hall on Sunday, December 17 th following the 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy. At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, our parish children will come forward to welcome St. Nicholas to our parish (parents may accompany the smaller children). Following the welcome in Church we will continue in our Church hall with our parish celebration. Sign-up sheets have been placed in the Church vestibule for parishioners to indicate their intention to attend the party. Anyone wishing to contribute a salad, dessert, or traditional Christmas ethnic dish can also indicate this on the sign-up sheet. We are looking forward to filling the hall with happy parishioners. Collection- May God bless you The total for Sunday, November 26 th, 2017 was $ (Envelopes: $ ; Loose: $44.00; Candles: $28.00; Debt: $940.00; Flowers: $99.00). Sincere thanks to all of you for your kindness and generosity! Order of Confession: Saturday & Sunday, December 16 th -17 th As we continue our Advent journey, our Holy Church invites us, through the Sacrament of Holy Confession, to prepare ourselves worthily to celebrate the Nativity of Christ-Christmas. Next Saturday and Sunday, December 16 th -17 th, Very Rev. Brian J. Welding, priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, will be here with us to administer the Mystery of Reconciliation as part of our Nativity Fast-Advent journey. God forgives our sins and cleanses us from our trespasses, when we confess to God in the presence of the priest, with humility and contrite hearts. St. Athanasius the Great said, As the Baptized is enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit, by means of the priest, the repentant is granted forgiveness of his sins by the grace of Christ, also through the priest. Bible Study with Seminarian Nathan In preparation for the Nativity of our Lord, we at St. Greggory s will be going the extra mile and learning about the Birth of his Mother. Please join us this winter for a four week time of study and prayer through the Protoevangelium of James. We will be studying the birth of Mary, the holy Mother of God, and very glorious Mother of Jesus Christ. The story of the birth of our Mother, Mary, plays a great role in our liturgical tradition, which is why we will not only study this marvelous story but pray it together as well.

4 The dates of our study are as follows: Thursdays, December 21 st & 28 th ; and Thursdays, January 4 th & 11 th. Classes will take place in the Church hall and begin at 6:30 p.m. To be part of this exciting Bible Study, please register in the Church vestibule.

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