Welcoming in the New Year ~ A Message from Fr. Robert

Transcription

1 January Phillips Road, Tallahassee, Florida (850) Rev. Fr. Robert J. O Loughlin Welcoming in the New Year ~ A Message from Fr. Robert With the welcoming of a new calendar year many of us are considering what our New Year s resolution(s) will be. It s so common in our culture that people may often ask each other around this time, about resolutions. The underlying theme of the New Year s resolution is the desire to start over or start something new. The Feast of Theophany, which we celebrate on January 6 th is all about starting a new life. It is the Feast of Christ s baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist and it celebrates the purification of the waters by the divinity of Christ and through the water, the renewal of all of creation. In preparation, God wants us to be renewed and let go of our past sins. A sin is any thought, word or action that causes us to move away from Christ Himself. In other words, everything we think, say or do can either bring us closer to Christ or it can take us further away. So, in baptism God let s go of our past sins. He does not hold them against us. At the same time, we must let go of our sins. We should continue to try to release the bad habits that lead to sin. This is repentance, the literal change of heart, mind, soul and body. This is the starting over, the resolution to live a new life. St. Mark the Evangelist, describes the ministry of St. John the Baptist, as he quotes from the prophet Isaiah 40:3 saying that he is the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight. Our lives may seem difficult at times as it is full of ups and downs. God wants us to let go of our sins that makes our journey in life difficult at times. As we begin the new year, one of the ways we often try to make our lives fuller and better is again making resolutions. The problem is, the average life span of a new year s resolution is about 3 weeks! The key to a full life does not depend on our resolutions, our plans, or our dreams. A full life depends on following the resolutions that God has made for us in His Word. The more our thoughts, actions, and words focus on Christ, the fuller, the better our lives will be. When we look at God s plan for our lives through the preaching of John the Baptist, the clear message is to repent. Repent means to change our mind. It means to be a different person in the way we think and act. As much as we try to improve our lives, we are to realize that sin keeps us separated from God. St. John the Baptist did not teach improvement but taught repentance as the way to a full life. He taught that to have a full life we need to empty ourselves. We need to get rid of our sins. We are to understand that God is far more interested in our future than He is in our past as that s where we are going to spend the rest of our life. So this year let s attempt at making a change for the better. We can refocus our thoughts in changing our lives. In Proverbs (4:23) it says "Be careful how you think. Your life is shaped by your thoughts." The focus can include God s Word as it says in Psalm 1 Blessed are those who are always meditating on God s word. They re like trees along a river that do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do. As we fill our minds with God s Word, it begins to change our mind. As we begin the new year with opportunities to deepen our relationship in Christ, let us commit ourselves to strengthen our witness to others and reflect on His love and forgiveness on our journeys throughout the year. Wishing you a blessed, joyful and healthy 2019! Fr. Robert The 2019 Ecclesiastical Calendars are here and available in the Narthex.

2 Page 2 If an emergency or special need should arise, please contact Fr. Rob immediately at Our next ECHO Sundays are January 6th and February 4th. Please drop off your nonperishable food donations into the bins located in the Hellenic Center and Patmos Hall. The Orthodox Christian Service of the Blessing of the Waters By Fr. Mark Sietsema Home Blessings Please call the to schedule a home blessing which will begin after the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. What is happening when we sprinkle Holy Water around the Church and our homes? What do you mean by this service? This was the question that little Israelite children were taught to ask at the Passover seder ritual (Exodus 12:26). This same question we too should ask in the month of January as we celebrate the Baptism of Christ. Through the liturgies of Epiphany and the blessings of homes, we also re-celebrate our own Baptisms, which are simply reenactments of His Baptism. In the early Church the feast of Epiphany (also called Theophany) was the big holy day apart from Pascha: Christmas as we know it was not celebrated at first. But the commemoration of Christ s Baptism was observed, and with grand festivities. Nowadays we hang up our lights for December 25, but in the early centuries January 6 was the Feast of Lights, when candles and lamps were hung aloft in joyous remembrance. Christ s Baptism was a theological goldmine, and one of the few events that all four Gospels recount (whereas the birth of Christ is found in only two, Matthew and Luke). The Gospels paint a fairly simple picture of the scene: Jesus Christ enters the Jordan River with John the Baptist; He is immersed in its flow; as He comes out of the waters, the heavens open, a dove descends, and a voice of approval resounds from the skies. The significance of these details is not apparent at first reading. It might seem perhaps like just another extraordinary day in an extraordinary life. But to comprehend the deeper meaning, you must cast your mind back to the book of Genesis. There we read of how God made all things, drawing forth the Creation from a dark and watery Chaos. We read then of how the Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters. Here the verb in Hebrew connotes the behavior of a mother bird brooding over her nest, protecting and nurturing her offspring. The Spirit of God at the Creation was caring for the young world like a hen over her chicks. Day by day the Lord shaped and developed His world, forming the light, the heavens, the oceans, and the dry land, as homes respectively for the stars, the birds, the fish, and the animals. And finally, as the crown of His creation, He formed man. Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, speaks the Triune Godhead. And resting from His work, the Lord pronounces His approval on the brand-new heaven and earth: And behold, it was very good. But this world fell into brokenness and disharmony through the sin of our first parents. The Lord could have destroyed humanity and all His creation with them He could have let it all slip back into the dark watery chaos from which it came back in the time of Noah s flood. But this was not His will. His desire is to redeem His world, to transform this universe into a new heaven and a new earth. And this He would do by joining His imperishable nature to our broken and perishable nature, so that we might live with Him in harmony forever. What we see on Epiphany, then, is a re-staging of the Creation: the Spirit hovering like a mother bird, in the form of a dove; the approval of the Father thundering from the open heavens; and out of the dark waters emerges the new creation but this time God starts from the end and works backward! The first creature to emerge from the waters is a man Jesus Christ. And so it begins the healing of our nature, the re-harmonization of all creatures, the reconciliation of all living things to God. In time the New Creation will embrace the whole Universe (or the whole Multi-verse, if your physics so dictate). For in [Christ] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His Cross (Colossians 1:19-20). This is the meaning of the Baptism of Christ. And this is the meaning of our baptisms as well. For God chooses to populate His New World one person at a time, by drawing us out of the waters together with Christ, and citizens of the new creation with Him. But just as Baptism is first step and not the last in God s plan of re-creation, so to for our spiritual lives. Think of your parents or grandparents on Ellis Island. They were people betwixt and between. They were in America but not yet Americans. They had a choice they could press on through hardship to win their citizenship in the New World, or they could turn around and get back on the ship that brought them. Baptism is our Ellis Island. It brings us into the Kingdom of God, but much, much is required for us to become real citizens there. In the wake of the feast of Epiphany, when you receive the waters of Agiasmo, the waters of chaos turned into the waters of life, the waters of the new creation when you bring it into your houses and businesses and offices, for drinking and for sprinkling, you declare your intention to become a part of the new creation yourself, and to bring your family and your home and your work into the Kingdom of God, which makes all things new. It is an ongoing commitment that is to be renewed yearly, and even daily. When you receive the spray of divine presence that comes from the River Jordan upon you through the Holy Water, you declare your intention to live no longer as a citizen of this world, according to its customs and habits, according to the laws of survival and self-advancement and pride. You declare your desire to live as a citizen of the New World, according to the rule of love, of mercy and justice and humility before God and man. This is the meaning of the service we do at Epiphany and in the house blessings of January. It is our Christian Fourth of July, our declaration of Independence, our acceptance of Christ as our way of life and our commitment to following our leader and king into the new creation of God. A Blessed Epiphany to you and your loved ones, and to all.

3 Calendar Symbol Key + = Strict Fast = Wine and Oil allowed Page 3 January Feast Day of New Year s Eve Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St. Basil 5:00 pm 1 No Fast 2 No Fast 3 No Fast 4 No Fast 5 + SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT Epiphany/ Theophany Orthros 9:30 a.m & 10:30 a.m Followed by the Blessing of the Waters Echo Sunday No Church School Orthros 9:30 a.m & 10:30 a.m Church School Vasilopita Sunday GOYA Meeting Orthros 9:30 a.m & 10:30 a.m Youth Sunday Church School Orthros 9:30 a.m & 10:30 a.m Church School 7 Feast Day of St. John The Baptist 9:00 am 14 Parish Council Meeting 5:30 pm HAPPY NEW YEAR! Choir Practice 5:00 p.m. Choir Practice 5:00 p.m. Choir Practice 5:00 p.m. 16 Catechetical Class (Newcomers/Inquirers) :30 pm Orthodox Life Class 5:30 pm Feast Day of the Three Hierarchs 9:00 am Catechetical Class (Newcomers/Inquirers) 5:30 pm 17 Philoptochos Meeting 5:30 pm Feast Day of St. Anthony the Great 9:00 am Young Adult Gathering s = Fish Allowed 31 Pangari Schedule for January 2018 *9:15 a.m., **10:15 a.m start time & (c) Coffee = Dairy & eggs allowed = Father Away 01/06 - Kanelidis*/MGavalas**/Catsimpiris (c) 01/13 - VGavalas*/Parmer**/EJoanos (c) 01/20 - Perrigan*/Rabbath**/Drzewiecki (c) 01/27 - MGavalas*/Burrell**/Perrigan (c) 02/03 - Parmer*/EJoanos**/MGavalas (c)

4 Page 4 Thanks to our generous Holy Mother of God community for donating over $600 at the St. Nicholas Pancake Breakfast in which all proceeds will benefit St. John the Theologian Greek Orthodox Church in Panama City as they continue to recover from Hurricane Michael Thank-you for all the toys donated to the Toys for Tots Giving Tree. Your support will help local families. Feast of St Nicholas Pancake Breakfast The parish St. John s Oratorical Festival will take place in March. Junior Division (Grades 7 9) 1. Martyrs of the Church and some of the early monastics are both described as athletes. What does it mean to be an athlete for Christ? 2. On January 30 th, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Three Hierarchs: St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. John Chrysostom. Select one of these Church Fathers and discuss his contribution to the Church. 3. Discuss the significance of water in the Church Baptism, Theophany, holy water, etc. and what this suggests about our responsibility for the natural world. 4. Discus the new commandment of John 13:34: Love one another, even as I have loved you What does it mean to love one another as Christ loved us? 5. In 1 Timothy 6:10, St. Paul writes, For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. How should Orthodox Christians relate to money and wealth? Senior Division (Grades 10 12) 1. Many of the Church s services employ objects from the natural world (such as wheat, wine, oil, or water) in order to confer a blessing upon the faithful. Why does the Church do this, and what does this suggest about our responsibility for the natural world? 2. From ancient Greece to the present, politicians have aligned themselves with religious concepts and constituencies. How is an Orthodox Christian to discern whether today s politicians do this out of genuine piety or in order to manipulate the electorate? 3. The hymns of the Church contain the whole of its theology. Pick one hymn from the Lenten or Holy Week period and describe how it speaks to you personally. 4. Describe how science and technology should always be at the service of humanity and, ultimately, of God, in harmony with His purposes. 5. In view of St. Paul s exhortation in Colossians 3:16, Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, discuss the importance of being biblically literate today.

5 Page 5 Saturday, February 16, :30 pm 11:30 pm Music includes DJ Dinner Menu: Appetizers Prime Rib, Greek Style Oven Potatoes, Green Beans, Greek Salad & Dessert $25.00 for Adults $12.00 for Students Children of Church Members 12 & Under FREE Cash Bar for Wine, Beer and Sodas Tickets will be presold in the Hellenic Center following Liturgy or see any AHEPA member Join the fun with music, prizes, dancing Profits from this event go towards scholarships For upcoming qualified high school seniors, plus philanthropic purposes AHEPA News On December 2, AHEPA Patmos Chapter 317 elected the following officers for 2019: President - Pete Koikos Vice President - Stelios Manias Secretary - Manny Joanos Treasurer - Victor Gavalas Tentative dates for our 2019 annual events are as follows: Valentine's Dinner Party - Saturday, February 16, 2019 Greek Independence Day Celebration, Sunday March 31 Best Wishes to all for a Happy New Year! Dear Fellow Parishioners, It has been my pleasure to be your Parish President this year and thank you for allowing me to serve again on the Parish Council. We have made many improvements to the Church and grounds and have more to come. The festival was a great success and I hope everyone had a good time helping make that happen. God has blessed me and our community in so many ways and I am glad he gave the chance to be apart of it. May you all have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year. Yours in Christ, Mike

6 Page 6 January 2019 Wishing Everyone a Happy New Year NEXT MEETING Thursday, Jan. 5:30 pm Guest Speaker Elizabeth Markovitch, DNP Integrative Healthcare Nia Parmer is providing a light dinner for all attending. Please RSVP to Connie Mathes at or mathesseadog@gmail.com. For more information and if you would like to donate a Vasilopita for Sunday, January 13, 2019, please see or call Vicky Gavalas at All proceeds from the Vasilopita benefit St. Basil s Academy and the children. St. Basil the Great - Feast Day - January 1st Saint Basil the Great was born about the end of the year 329 in Caesarea of Cappadocia, to a family renowned for their learning and holiness. His parents' names were Basil and Emily. His mother Emily (commemorated July 19) and his grandmother Macrina (Jan. 14) are Saints of the Church, together with all his brothers and sisters: Macrina, his elder sister (July 19), Gregory of Nyssa (Jan. to), Peter of Sebastia (Jan. 9), and Naucratius. Basil studied in Constantnople under the sophist Libanius, then in Athens, where also he formed a friendship with the young Gregory, a fellow Cappadocian, later called "the Theologian." Through the good influence of his sister Macrina (see July 19), he chose to embrace the ascetical life, abandoning his worldly career. He visited the monks in Egypt, in Palestine, in Syria, and in Mesopotamia, and upon returning to Caesarea, he departed to a hermitage on the Iris River in Pontus, not far from Annesi, where his mother and his sister Macrina were already treading the path of the ascetical life; here he also wrote his ascetical homilies. About the year 370, when the bishop of his country reposed, he was elected to succeed to his throne and was entrusted with the Church of Christ, which he tended for eight years, living in voluntary poverty and strict asceticism, having no other care than to defend holy Orthodoxy as a worthy successor of the Apostles. The Emperor Valens, and Modestus, the Eparch of the East, who were of one mind with the Arians, tried with threats of exile and of torments to bend the Saint to their own confession, because he was the bastion of Orthodoxy in all Cappadocia, and preserved it from heresy when Arianism was at its strongest. But he set all their malice at nought, and in his willingness to give himself up to every suffering for the sake of the Faith, showed himself to be a martyr by volition. Modestus, amazed at Basil's fearlessness in his presence, said that no one had ever so spoken to him. "Perhaps," answered the Saint, "you have never met a bishop before." The Emperor Valens himself was almost won over by Basil's dignity and wisdom. When Valens' son fell gravely sick, he asked Saint Basil to pray for him. The Saint promised that his son would be restated if Valens agreed to have him baptized by the Orthodox; Valens agreed, Basil prayed, and the son was restored. But afterwards the Emperor had him baptized by Arians, and the child died soon after. Later, Valens, persuaded by his counsellors, decided to send the Saint into exile because he would not accept the Arians into communion; but his pen broke when he was signing the edict of banishment. He tried a second time and a third, but the same thing happened, so that the Emperor was filled with dread, and tore up the document, and Basil was not banished. The truly great Basil, spent with extreme ascetical practices and continual labours, at the helm of the church, departed to the Lord on the1st of January, in 379. at the age of forty-nine. His writings are replete with wisdom and erudition, and rich are these gifts he set forth the doctrines concerning the mysteries both of the creation (see his Hexaemeron) and of the Holy Trinity (see On the Holy Spirit). Because of the majesty and keenness of his eloquence, he is honoured as "the revealer of heavenly things" and "the Great."

7 Page 7 The poinsettias that adorned our solea during the Christmas 2018 season were Donated by: In Memory of Eliza Abraham Frances & Walter Abraham Emmanuel Athitakis & Christine Athitakis Mary Athitakis Andy & Cyndi Balogh Yianilos/Parish/Balogh Family loved ones Mark & Bonnie Burrell Christopher Mike and Mandi Burmester All our loved ones Gary & Olibia Drzewiecki Angela & Apostolos Coumanis; Max & Marie Drzewiecki Justin & Jennifer Edge & Michael, Margie Lowery Michael Lowery & William Michael Lowery Angela Drzewiecki Enis Carl R. Fetzko Cynthia Armel Michael & Vicky Gavalas & family Dionisios & Elleni Dimopoulos; Nicholas G. Gavalas Victor, Mary, & Nicholas Gavalas Nicholas G. Gavalas Bob & Athena Gill & Angelo Mihalis, Alexa & Adam Erasmia Mihalis & John Mihalis The Gonatos Family Adelaide Gonatos Rima Hatoum Joseph & Claire Hatoum Chrisie & Steve Hughes Apostolos & Angela Coumanis, Bill & Ilse & Carl Emanuel & Laura Joanos Mike, Popi, Steve, Curt & Evelyn Stamie Joanos Mike, Popi, & Steve Joanos, Eva Kypreos & Eugenia Christie Harriet Kanelidis Peter Kanelidis, Angelo & Theodora Kanelidis, Athan & Harriette Stambolis Pete & Faye Koikos In memory of our parents Corinne LaPointe Abraham & LaPointe families Vesselka McAlarhey Krasimira Shtereva Fr. Paul & Presvytera Joan Mayernick Our parents Alexandra Nick and Family Antonie Corcau Julie Naylor-Nolas & Vasilios Nolas Demetrios Nolas Fr. Robert & Presvytera Joy, Jaclyn & Krista O Loughlin Charles and Dorothy O Loughlin and Mary O Loughlin; Jim Soufleris Keith, Nia, Maria & Magnolia Parmer George & Kathy Vrachnos & George Vrachnos, Jr. Nina & Claud Rabbath Svetlana Anderson, Alexander, & Ivan Kathleen Talantis James Nicholas Talantis Donated by: Don Erickson & Joanna Angelos Rhonda (Ronnie) Fetzko Michael & Vicky Gavalas & family Victor, Mary & Nicholas Gavalas Harriet Kanelidis Billy & Julie Naylor Nolas In Honor of: Mom and family Ron & Jackie Fetzko, Sheri & Jeff Fetzko, Matthew P. Michael & William F. Janet T. Gavalas Janet T. Gavalas Mary Kanelidis Helen Nolas

8 Holy Mother of God Greek Orthodox Church 1645 Phillips Road Tallahassee, Florida Return Service Requested Holy Mother of God Greek Orthodox Church 1645 Phillips Road Tallahassee, FL Office: Hall: Fr. Rob s Cell: St. Anthony the Great Celebrated January 17th Website: Addresses: Father Rob: fr.robert@comcast.net Church Secretary: hmog@comcast.net Secretary Hours: Mon./Wed./Fri. 9am-2pm