St. George Orthodox Church of Spring Valley

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St. George Orthodox Church of Spring Valley 211 E. Minnesota St. Spring Valley, IL 61362 www.stgeorgeorthodox.org frandrew@stgeorgeorthodox.org 815-664-4540 (church office) 773-575-3272 (Fr.

1 St. George Orthodox Church of Spring Valley 211 E. Minnesota St. Spring Valley, IL (church office) (Fr. Andrew) Sunday, January 7, 2018 The Sunday after the Theophany of our Lord Jesus Christ Matins, 9:00 am :: Divine Liturgy, 10:00 am Followed by the Blessing of the Holy Water 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

Holy Bread: George and Lynette Forsa Epistle Reader: George Forsa Next Week s Holy Bread: Bev Malooley and family Hymns of the Day, immediately after the Small Entrance: Troparion of the Resurrection

2 Holy Bread: George and Lynette Forsa Epistle Reader: George Forsa Next Week s Holy Bread: Bev Malooley and family Hymns of the Day, immediately after the Small Entrance: Troparion of the Resurrection (Tone 6): When Mary stood at Thy grave, looking for Thy sacred body, angelic powers shone above Thy revered tomb; and the soldiers who were to keep guard became as dead men. Thou led Hades captive and wast not tempted thereby. Thou didst meet the Virgin and didst give life to the world, O Thou, who art risen from the dead, O Lord, glory to Thee. Troparion for Theophany (Tone 1): By Thy baptism, O Lord, in the River Jordan, worship to the Trinity hath made its appearance. For the voice of the Lord did come forth to Thee with the testimony, naming Thee beloved Son. And the Spirit in the likeness of a dove, confirming the truth of the word. Wherefore, O Thou who didst appear and lighted the world, O Christ, glory to Thee! Troparion for St. John the Baptist (Tone 2): The memory of the righteous is celebrated with songs of praise, but the Lord s testimony is sufficient for thee, O Forerunner. Thou wast shown indeed to be the most honorable of the prophets, for in the waters thou didst baptize Him who had been proclaimed. After suffering with joy in behalf of the truth, thou didst proclaim even to those in Hades the God who appeared in the flesh, who taketh away the sin of the world, and granteth us great mercy. 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 Theophany (Tone 4): Today Thou hast appeared to the universe, O Lord, and Thy light hath been shed upon us, we who praise Thee with knowledge, saying: Thou hast come and appeared, O unapproachable Light! Trisagion Hymn: As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia. 2

3 THE EPISTLE For the Synaxis of St. John the Baptist The righteous shall rejoice in the Lord. O God, hear my prayer. The Reading from the Acts of the Apostles (19:1-8) In those days, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said, No, we have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. And he said, Into what then were you baptized? They said, Into John s baptism. And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the One who was to come after him, that is, Jesus. On hearing this, they were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve of them in all. And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, arguing and pleading about the Kingdom of God. THE GOSPEL For the Synaxis of St. John the Baptist The reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John (1:29-34) At that time, John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, After me comes a man who ranks before me, for He was before me. I myself did not know Him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that He might be revealed to Israel. And John bore witness, I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on Him. I myself did not know Him; but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God. Hymn to the Theotokos (Tone 2): Magnify, O my soul, the Maiden who delivered us from the curse. O the wonder of thy superintelligent birth-giving, thou all-pure bride, the blessed Mother through whom we have received perfect salvation, we indite a fitting song, offering as a gift the song of gratitude. Communion Hymn: The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance; he shall not fear evil tidings. Alleluia. 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. Great Blessing of the Waters, at the end of the Divine Liturgy. Theophany holy water will be available for you to take home today and over the next few weeks. If you have holy water bottles from previous years, please return and refill them. If you do not have one already, we have extras. Blessed feast to all! This week: Please contact Father Andrew to schedule your home blessing! (See note below.) Saturday, Jan. 13: Blessing of the Illinois River in Peoria, 12pm. This event is hosted each year by All Saints Greek Orthodox Church in Peoria. All are invited; please contact Fr. Andrew if you have any questions. Next Sunday, Jan. 14: Matins, 9am; Divine Liturgy, 10am. House blessings begin this week! It is customary for the priest to visit each household in the church community at this time every year for a blessing with holy water. 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!) 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. A note from Fr. Andrew and Kh. Patty: Merry Christmas to all of you and many thanks once again for all of the cards and gifts. We thank God for all of your love, compassion, and generosity towards us and we are blessed to be a part of the St. George community! St. George Church 100 th Anniversary: In 2018, our church will be 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 Sunday, Jan. 7 George/Lynette Forsa George Forsa Sunday, Jan. 14 Bev Malooley and family Kenneth Wiltse Sunday, Jan. 21 OPEN Mark Kerasotes Sunday, Jan. 28 Leo/Christina Kapetaneas Georgia Kapetaneas Sunday, Feb. 4 Paul Khoury Memorial Mike Kasap Sunday, Feb. 11 OPEN David Anderson Sunday, Feb. 18 Sunday, Feb. 25 Ron/Dottie Malooley All Church potluck and Annual Meeting 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

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.

31 Wayne Sanders Updated through November, this chart shows our month-by-month cash flow (income and expenses).

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 Updated through November, this chart shows our month-by-month cash flow (income and expenses). As you can see, we tend to do well in the winter and spring, but we struggle in the summer and fall, as more expenses tend to arise and giving decreases. Thank you to George Forsa for providing us with this chart. Please see this as an encouragement to be generous with your tithes (10%) and other offerings. We also need full church support for all of our organizational fundraisers, whether the Ladies Group, the Men s Group, or Teen SOYO! 6

7 Fr. Patrick Reardon, on the reading of Holy Scripture: When the Bible is read, whether proclaimed loudly in the worship of the Church or pondered quietly in the intimacy of our homes, God speaks. His prophetic word of judgment sears into our being laying bare the secrets of our consciences. It is a word of judgment logos kritikos (Hebrews 5:12). It does not lie there inert on the page open before our eyes. We search the Scriptures so that the Scriptures may search us, cutting into our being to expose what we are within. This is what makes the Bible different from all other books. Only here does God speak prophetically, in the sense of placing our whole being radically under judgment. Thus, we do not call the Bible into question. The Bible calls us into question. We imagine that we are alive, and the Bible is inert. On the contrary, the Bible is more alive than we are. It is vibrant and efficacious, because it is the word of God. We open its pages in order to share its life. We do not, then, truly open the Bible unless we open our hearts and invite God s word to penetrate our minds. We come to the Bible, seeking its judgment, because only in being judged by God s all holy word may we share in the redeeming life that is offered there. St. Gregory the Theologian, Oration on the Holy Lights (a homily for Theophany): The Holy Day of the Lights, to which we have come, and which we are celebrating today, has for its origin the Baptism of my Christ, the True Light That lightens every man that comes into the world, and effects my purification, and assists that light which we received from the beginning from Him from above, but which we darkened and confused by sin. Therefore listen to the Voice of God, which sounds so exceeding clearly to me, who am both disciple and master of these mysteries, as would to God it may sound to you: I Am The Light Of The World. Therefore approach Him and be enlightened, and let not your faces be ashamed, being signed with the true Light. It is a season of new birth; let us be born again.... Let us not remain what we are, but let us become what we once were. The Light shines in darkness, in this life and in the flesh, and is chased by the darkness, but is not overtaken by it! I mean the adverse power leaping up in its shamelessness against the visible Adam, but encountering God and being defeated in order that we, putting away the darkness, may draw near to the Light, and may then become perfect Light, the children of perfect Light. See the grace of this Day; see the power of this mystery. Are you not lifted up from the earth? Are you not clearly placed on high, being exalted by our voice and meditation? And you will be placed much higher when the Word shall have prospered the course of my words! 7

Daily Bible Readings January 7-13 Sunday, Jan. 7 Holy Prophet John the Baptist John 20:19-31 / Acts 19:1-8 / John 1:29-34 Monday, Jan.

Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa James 3:11-4:6 / Mark 10:11-16 Thursday, Jan. 11 Venerable Theodosius the Great James 4:7-5:9 / Mark 10:17-27 Friday, Jan.

Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers Ephesians 6:10-17 / Matthew 4:1-11 Videos of sermons and Feast Day services are available on our website, www.stgeorgeorthodox.org. Follow St.

8 Daily Bible Readings January 7-13 Sunday, Jan. 7 Holy Prophet John the Baptist John 20:19-31 / Acts 19:1-8 / John 1:29-34 Monday, Jan. 8 Venerable George the Chozebite James 2:14-26 / Mark 9:42-10:1 Tuesday, Jan. 9 Martyr Polyeuctus of Melitene James 3:1-10 / Mark 10:2-12 Wednesday, Jan. 10 St. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa James 3:11-4:6 / Mark 10:11-16 Thursday, Jan. 11 Venerable Theodosius the Great James 4:7-5:9 / Mark 10:17-27 Friday, Jan. 12 Martyr Tatiana of Rome 1 Peter 1:1-12, 2:6-10 / Mark 10:23-32 Saturday, Jan. 13 St. Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers Ephesians 6:10-17 / Matthew 4:1-11 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

Sunday, January 6, 2019 Orthros, 9:00 am Divine Liturgy & Blessing of the Waters, 10:00 am Theophany of our Lord Jesus Christ

Sunday, January 6, 2019 Orthros, 9:00 am Divine Liturgy & Blessing of the Waters, 10:00 am Theophany of our Lord Jesus Christ Matthew Rowan, chairman Leo Kapetaneas, vice chairman Anysia Medawar, treasurer