St. Michael s Orthodox Christian Church

Transcription

1 St. Michael s Orthodox Christian Church 1182 Ashland St., Greensburg, PA Diocese of Charleston, Oakland and the Mid-Atlantic Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. (See the back cover for detailed contact information.) Sunday, September 27, 2015 To all who are present with us this morning, Welcome! Thank you for being here. Please join us for coffee and... in the Fellowship Hall following Divine Liturgy. You May Find the Text of the Divine Liturgy beginning on the bottom page 91 of the Service Book (gold embossed cross on the reddish brown cover) or in the greenspiral-bound book; sheet music can be found in the 8.5 x 11 large, spiral-bound booklet. At the Kiss of Peace our practice is for each of us to greet the person to our right and left with the bowing of our head, hands held in a prayerful clasp or crossed on the chest, while offering each other the Christian greeting, Christ is in our midst! and responding, He is and shall be! Please remember that Holy Communion is reserved for those Chrismated Orthodox Christians who have appropriately prepared themselves through prayer, fasting and Confession to receive the Holy Mysteries of the Church. The bread (anti doron, which means in place of the gifts) which we share after Communion and at the end of the Liturgy is for all. Being mindful we are in church, let us always remember to...be quiet and attentive. Let us sing, pray, stand, sit, kneel and respond where responses are indicated. Let us not talk, look around, text message, play games, etc. Especially let us work at this in the Communion line and when in line to venerate the Cross and depart. If we cannot hear the post-communion prayers being chanted during our church departure, we are way too noisy....refrain from eating, drinking or chewing gum. (most obviously and especially if you will be receiving Holy Communion)....stay put. Except in rare cases, there are few of us who cannot stay in one location for two hours (actually less, for most of us).

2 The Mission of Our Church The mission of St Michael s Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church is to tend the flock of our Lord Jesus Christ and to spread the Good News of Christ to those outside the flock. This mission is to be accomplished by a) living a full liturgical and sacramental life, b) proclaiming the Orthodox Christian faith to all people, c) providing effective charitable and social programs, and d) establishing strong spiritual leadership and resources. SYRIAN CHRISTIAN RELIEF As the Syrian crisis continues with little change, we continue to accept donations to do what we can to help ease the suffering there. Checks may be written to St. Michael s with the note Syrian Relief. The following link to a CBS 60 Minutes program will offer some deeper understanding of what is transpiring: /the-last-Christian-village-in-the-holy-land/

3 Sunday, September 27, 2015 Greeting: Christ is in our midst! Response: He is and shall be! Tone: 8 Eothinon: 6 Martyr Kallistratos and the 49 Martyrs with him; The Apostles Aristarchos, Zenon and Mark of the Seventy; New-martyr Aquilina of Thessalonica; Venerable Ignatius, abbot in Asia Minor; Venerable Savvatios of Solovky. THE EPISTLE READING St. Paul to the Corinthians (2Cor:6:16-7:1) RETHREN, we are the temple of the living God; as God said, I will live in them and move among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore come out from them, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and make holiness perfect in the fear of God. B THE HOLY GOSPEL According to St. Luke (5:1-11) T THAT TIME, Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. And He saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon s, Jesus asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when Jesus had finished speaking, He said to Simon, Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. And Simon answered, Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at Thy word I will let down the nets. And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish, which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men. And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him. A

4 October is our Pledge Month This is the 10th year of our formal Stewardship effort at St. Michael s. Our pledges show commitment and help maintain our fiscal health. Let us make our 10th year a memorable one for generosity and participation. You should receive your packet in the mail this week. Our pledge supports the budget, which includes both everyday expenses and the mortgage. Our average monthly expenses are $23,300, which includes $4,400 for Mortgage payment. The current mortgage balance is about $260,000. (We also just took out a $30,000 loan to repave the parking lot.) Please be generous and return your pledge card as soon as possible. The day s work of our fundraising Buffet is complete, but the Bake Sale aspect of that event continues (see the order form on the inside bulletin back cover). If you still have ticket money or other funds to turn in, please do so as soon as possible so that the accounting reports can be accurately closed.

5 Food on the Hill Lunch Ministry The next Food on the Hill lunch is scheduled for Tuesday, October 6, 2015 from 12:00 to 1:00 PM. Anyone who would like to support Food on the Hill in any capacity you would like, should contact Dan Davis or Gust Flizanes. Please make checks out to St. Michael s Church with Food on the Hill on the memo line. Let s hear it for Brant, FNB and donors! Brant Asphalt and Paving Company arrived on Monday morning and completed lot repainrs and patching that day. Tuesday and Wednesday saw the resurfacing completed and topped off with the bright, new lines. On Friday, the deal was sealed when we signed for a $30,000 loan at FNBank that would complete the $40,000 transaction. Your generous contributions will make for a beautiful ending. Thank you to those who have already contributed to this project and to those who soon will. BIBLE STUDY TO BEGIN ON OCTOBER 7 Beginning on Wednesday evening, October 7 at 7:00 PM, and continuing on the remaining three Wednesdays in October, we will gather for a Bible Study on the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Philippians. There may be no book of the Bible that is so upliftingly joyful, deeply Christological, doctrinally informative, yet short than Philipplians. So none of us need fear the task to be too daunting. Comments or questions? Contact Fr. John. CALEB S CUPBOARD Bring something every week! Caleb s Cupboard is the large, tan plastic box at the front entrance to our church which is intended to be a collection bin in which we may leave canned goods and other non-perishable items for people in need. Let us regularly fill it to the brim! FELLOWSHIP HOUR coffee

6 REMEMBER, the Second Week on this schedule May Change: ALWAYS USE THE MOST CURRENT BULLETIN! September 27 thru October 3 October 4 thru October 10 Sunday, Sept. 27-8:45 AM - MATINS - 9:30 AM - Choir Rehearsal For the peace from above - 10:00 AM - FESTAL DIV. LIT. God grant you many years - 12:00 PM - Prayers for Victims of Abortion - (rescheduled to October 11 Inquirer/Catechumen Class) Monday, September 28-9 to 11:00 AM - Priest Office Hours - (rescheduled to October 12 Inquirer/Catechumen Class) Tuesday, September 29-4 to 6:00 PM - Priest Office Hours - 7:00 PM - small Evangelism group meeting with Fr. Ken Wednesday, September 30-6:00 PM - VESP. DIV. LITURGY Romanos the Melode Thursday, October 1-7:00 - St. Michael s Menservants (of God) Meeting Friday, October 2-1:00 to 3:00 PM - Priest Office Hrs Saturday, October 3-9:00 AM - DIVINE LITURGY Dionysios the Areopagite - Bell Team Training - all are welcome, come join us (could be great family activity) - 6:00 PM - GREAT VESPERS Sunday, October 4-8:45 AM - MATINS - 9:30 AM - Choir Rehearsal...let us pray (beseech) :00 AM - DIVINE LITURGY God grant you many years - Quarterly Meeting with Buffet Wrap-Up Report Monday, October 5-6:00 PM - VESP. DIV. LITURGY Apostle Thomas of the 12-7:00 PM - MOVIE NIGHT The Master Designer Come avail yourself to a beautifully insightful and thought provoking presentation regarding God and His Creation. Tuesday, October 6-12:00 noon - Food on the Hill - 7:00 PM - small evangelism group metting with Fr. Ken Wednesday, October 7-6:00 PM - PARAKLESIS to the Theotokos - 7:00 PM - Bible Study Philippians Chapter 1 Thursday, October 8-6:00 PM - VESP. DIV. LITURGY Apostle James, son of Alpheos Saturday, October 10 (9:00 to 1:00 PM - AA Workshop) - 6:00 PM - GREAT VESPERS PRAYERS FOR VICTIMS of ABORTION Thank you to the Michelle Gajewski and Today, Sunday, September 27 the Antiochian Women for the icon 12:00 noon studio field trip to the workplace of iconographer Cheryl Pituch. Following a Icon Field Trip Thanks delicious lunch at Dave and Carol s, just north of the diamond in Ligonier, the sixteen attendees set out to Cheryl s studio for an enlightening question and answer session led by Cheryl. Thanks again, Ladies. Where to next? ALTAR SERVER TRAINING Sunday, October? following Church School (pizza) until 2:00 PM

7 START DATE CHANGE TO CATECHUMEN CLASS DOUBLE HEADERS On Sunday morning and Monday evenings that do not fall on movie Monday weekends, the Sunday/Monday timeslots will be repeats of each other so that those who would like to begin to learn about the Orthodox Faith, whether with the intent to join it or not, will have some flexibility regarding their schedules and keeping up with the course work. Copies of The Faith by Clark Carlton are on their way to our bookstore and will constitute our text for the fifteen to twenty sessions it will require for us to cover the material presented in the book. The beginning date for the class(es) will be Sunday/Monday, October 11 and 12. USED BOOK SALE $5 per bag full Kallistratos the Martyr and His 49 Companions St Kallistratos was a native of Carthage. Neochoros, an ancestor of St Kallistratos, has served under the emperor Tiberius in Palestine, under the command of Pontius Pilate, the procurator of Judea, and was a witness to the suffering on the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, His voluntary death and glorious Resurrection. St Kallistratos' father was a Christian, and he raised his son in faith and piety. Also like his father, he became a soldier and excelled among his pagan military comrades by his good conduct and gentle disposition. At night when everyone slept, he usually stayed up at prayer. Once, a soldier sleeping nearby heard St Kallistratos invoking the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he reported this to the military commander, who in turn summoned Kallistratos, interrogated him and wanted to make him offer sacrifice to idols. To this, the Saint answered firmly with a resolute refusal. The military commander gave orders to beat the Saint and then, covered with wounds, to drag him over sharp stones. The beating and the torments did not sway the firm will and brave endurance of the sufferer. The torturer then gave orders to sew up the Saint in a leather sack and drown him in the sea. By Divine Providence, however, the sack struck a sharp rock tearing it, and he, carried by dolphins, came to dry land unharmed. Viewing such a miracle, 49 soldiers came to believe in Christ. Then the military commander threw St Kallistratos together with the believing soldiers into prison. Before this, all of them were subjected to innumerable floggings. In jail St Kallistratos continued to preach the Word of God to the soldiers and he bolstered their spirits for martyrdom. Summoned again to the military commander, the sufferers firmly confessed their faith in Christ, after which they bound them hand and foot and threw them into a dam. However, there their bonds broke, and with bright faces, the holy martyrs stood in the water, rejoicing in their Baptism, which coincided with the act of martyrdom. Above them were beautiful bright crowns, and all heard a voice, "Be brave, Kallistratos, with your company, and come rest in the eternal habitations". At the same time, the earth shuddered and an idol standing nearby fell down and smashed. Seeing this, another 135 soldiers also believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. The military commander, fearing a mutiny in the army, did not put them on trial, but again imprisoned St Kallistratos with the others, where they fervently prayed and gave thanks to the Creator, for giving them power to endure such sufferings. At night, they cut the martyrs to pieces with swords by order of the military commander. The 135 soldiers who remained alive buried their holy relics. Later, a church was built on the spot of their sufferings, as St Kallistratos had foretold.