Weekly Liturgical/Service Schedule

Transcription

1 Weekly Liturgical/Service Schedule Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women April 21-22, 2012 Sat. Apr. 21 5:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy (+Paul Yanak, req. by Arletta & Ron Lutka) Sun. Apr. 22 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy (+Helen Stasiuk, req. by Naomi Cherup & Family) 7:00 p.m. Vespers for the Feast of St. George, Great Martyr Sixth Hour Service Thurs. Apr noon Sixth Hour Sunday of the Paralytic Man April 28-29, 2012 Sat. Apr. 28 5:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy (+Marie Volcheck, req. by Elaine Richardson) Sun. Apr. 29 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy (+John Bender, req. by Don & Pat Paslowski) Congratulations Congratulations to newly-enthroned Metropolitan William Skurla, who was enthroned as the 5 th Metropolitan Archbishop of Pittsburgh for Byzantine Catholics! May God grant him many blessed and happy years as chief shepherd of our church! Sixth Hour Service and Soup and Bread Luncheon The next Sixth Hour service and soup and bread luncheon will be held this Thursday, April 26. The sixth hour service will begin at noon in the church and the luncheon will follow in the church hall. All are invited to attend! New Ripidia The new ripidia (altar fans) were donated in memory of +Helen Stasiuk. May her memory be eternal! Spaghetti Dinner Our parish of St. Gregory Nazianzus will be hosting a spaghetti dinner and icon show on Sunday, May 20 from 12 noon to 5 p.m. Eat in or takeout available spaghetti (by our Chef John D Angelo!), meatball, salad, and dessert. Adults - $9, Children 6 to 12 - $4. Iconographer Michael Goltz will give 2 talks on What do Icons Mean? For ticket information, please call Rosemary Tomko at or Fr. Tom at Allegheny County Department of Human Services Meeting With County Residents The Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) is once again hoping to hear recommendations from county residents about how best to provide services for individuals and families in Allegheny County. Services include those for individuals with mental health concerns; substance use disorders and/or intellectual disability; as well as those related to child welfare; older adults; and basic needs. We will also use these opportunities to talk about developments at the federal and state level, including information related to the governor s proposed human services block grant and funding reductions. You will have an opportunity to talk directly with DHS Director Marc Cherna, and the administrators of the DHS offices that oversee the services listed above. Please join us. These meetings will be held at the Human Services Building (HSB) One Smithfield Street,15222 Lower Level, Liberty Conference Room on Monday, April 23 at 6 p.m. and on Wednesday, April 25 at 1:30 p.m. Call the Director s Action Line at , weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., if: You are in need of special accommodations. Please make arrangements at least one week before the meeting date. You have general questions about the community meetings. You have a concern about a specific case. The DAL will also be available at the meetings. *** Limited parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 4:45 p.m. on April 23 in the lot behind the HSB. No parking is available at the HSB on April 25. The HSB is on several bus routes. Other routes have stops within walking distance. Visit for details. Slovak Genealogical Workshop The Western Pennsylvania Slovak Cultural Association is hosting a seminar on Slovak genealogical research on Sat., May 12 at the Mt. Lebanon Public Library located at 16 Castle Shannon Boulevard in Mt. Lebanon. The workshop will run from 1 to 5 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. Admission fee is $5. Reservations are required and can be made by calling Pam at Participants are encouraged to bring documents, photographs, and a laptop or tablet computer (not required) for the networking session. Attendance is limited to 35. Pittsburgh Folk Festival The 55 th International Pittsburgh Folk Festival will take place at the Monroeville Convention Center Friday, May 18 th, through Sunday, May 20 th. Festival Hours are Friday, 4 10 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. 10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Advance tickets are available at $8 each ($10 at the door). Children under 10 are free. Larry Richert and the KDKA prize wheel will be at the festival Saturday from 12 2 p.m. For tickets, make checks payable to Pittsburgh Slovakians, 234 Ilion St., Pittsburgh, PA

2 WEEKLY COLLECTION 2012 April 15 Category Amount 1. Envelopes $ 1, Loose Candles Debt Easter Special Offering 1, Fundraiser Pens Playoff Tix Raffle 1, TOTAL Deposited $ 4, Called By Name Vocation Awareness Program Every parish throughout the Byzantine Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh (every Byzantine Catholic parish in the United States) is participating in Called By Name, a program of vocation awareness that begins this weekend. This program offers an opportunity for us to pray for vocations; to recognize gifts and potential for leadership and service in members of our parish; and finally, to call forth and encourage these members to share their gifts in the priesthood, the consecrated life, the diaconate and monastic life. Perhaps you know a man or woman (senior high school age or older) who would, in your opinion, have the qualifications to become a priest, a deacon, a religious sister or a monk. Please recommend this person by filling out the nomination form found in today s bulletin and drop it in the collections basket or send it directly to the Very Rev. Archpriest Dennis Bogda, Director of Vocations, Office of Vocations Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, 66 Riverview Ave., Pittsburgh, PA Envelopes Easter 4@50 = @100 = @40 = @75 = @35 = @50 = @30 = @20 = @25 = @10 = @20 = @15 =15.00 Total 7 envelopes $ @10 = Average donation = $ @5 =5.00 1@4 =4.00 1@1 =1.00 Total 64 envelopes $ 1, Average donation = $ Average needed per week to meet expenses prior to fund-raising (based on last year s total expenses including debt reduction expenses) = $ Save the Dates Upcoming events at St. Gregory Church include: First Reconciliation April 28; Upper St. Clair Community Days May 19; Spaghetti Dinner May 20. Ballet Performance at St. John Chrysostom Church (Greenfield) St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church, 506 Saline St., Pittsburgh (Greenfield), PA is hosting the Mid-Atlantic Contemporary Ballet Company s performance of The Redemption of Bathsheba. The performance will take place on Fri., April 27 at 7:30 p.m. Donations are appreciated. A reception will follow in the church hall immediately after the performance. Ninth Annual Day of Reflection for Women The Archeparchy of Pittsburgh Office of Religious Education is sponsoring the Ninth Annual Day of Reflection for Women at St. John the Baptist Cathedral, 210 Greentree Road, Munhall on Sat., April 28 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The theme of this year s day of reflection is Living Here and Beyond. Speakers at this year s event include KDKA-TV reporter, Mary Robb Jackson, A. Barbara Coyne, founder of The Dwelling Place, Center for Health, and Anne Kertz-Kernion, owner and artist for Cards by Anne, international greeting card company. The registration deadline for this event is April 18. Cost is $25 (lunch included). To register, please contact Fr. Tom. Widows/Widower s Luncheon The Widows/Widowers luncheon will be at 11:30 on April 25, 2012 at the Silk Road Chinese Restaurant in Caste Village Shops. Please make your reservation by calling Magda DeZubay at Spaghetti Dinner Planning Meeting A meeting will be held immediately after the Sunday liturgy in our hall. All are invited.

3 This Week s Reflection Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women The Sunday of Myrrh-bearing Women falls on the second Sunday following Pascha. The myrrh-bearers had brought funeral spices and ointments to finish commiting Christ's body to the grave. They were the first to see the empty tomb and were instructed by the risen Lord to bring the joyful news to the apostles. Ss. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus are also commemorated on this day. There are eight women who are generally identified as the myrrh-bearers. Each of the four Gospels gives a different aspect of the roles of these eight women at the cross and at the tomb on Easter morning, perhaps since the eight women arrived in different groups and at different times. The eight are: Mary Magdalene Mary, the Theotokos (the Virgin Mary) Joanna Salome Mary the wife of Cleopas (or Alphaeus) Susanna Mary of Bethany Martha of Bethany Of the eight, the first five are the more prominent and outspoken. The last three are included according to tradition. Five of these women were also very wealthy; the women of means were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and Mary and Martha of Bethany. A confusing aspect in Gospel references to these women is that two of the Marys had a son named James. Mary, the wife of Alphaeus, was the mother of James, one of the Twelve Apostles; the Virgin Mary was the step-mother of James, the Lord's brother (Matthew 13:55, Galatians 1:19). In Western tradition, James, the son of Alphaeus, and James, the Lord's brother, have sometimes been identified as the same person. In Eastern tradition, James, the Lord's brother was Bishop of Jerusalem from AD and never left the vicinity of Jerusalem. He is the James who rendered the decision of the council of Jerusalem in 48 AD (Acts 15:13-19). Eastern Tradition links James, the son of Alphaeus, with evangelism abroad, especially in Egypt where he was martyred. One helpful tip that can clear up the confusion between these two Marys is the passage that refers to the Virgin Mary as the mother of James and Joseph (Matthew 13:55). This Joseph is also called Barsabas, Justus, and Judas (Acts 1:23 and 15:22). Therefore, in Matthew 27:56, the women looking on from afar at the cross were Mary Magdalene, the Virgin Mary (that is, Mary the mother of James and Joseph), and Salome (the wife of Zebedee and the Virgin Mary's step-daughter). Matthew refers to Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary," who is probably the Virgin Mary also from the context (Matthew 27:61 and 28:1). Such Church Fathers as St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Gregory Palamas support this interpretation. Similarly, St. Gregory of Nyssa identifies "Mary, the mother of James" (Mark 16:1 and Luke 24:10) as the Virgin Mary also. These eight women had been together a lot during Jesus' three-year public ministry. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and others (Luke 8:3) are described as providing for Jesus out of their possessions (that is, acting as deaconesses). These same women had faithfully followed him from Galilee and had come up with him to Jerusalem (Matthew 27:55, Mark 15:40-41, and Luke 23:55). (Excerpt from the Orthodoxwiki article, Sunday of Myrrh-Bearing Women, at PENS PLAYOFF TICKET UPDATE THE THIRD ANNUAL PENGUINS RAFFLE is completed and we would like to thank everyone who participated this year. Special thanks to Mike Kiss for organizing this important fundraiser for our church. Many had taken the 10 tickets we asked parishioners to take or more but we fell short of our goal of selling every ticket. The good news is there were more tickets sold to people outside of the Church than in previous years. This helps when we have a small Church that we can rely on outside funds for fundraising. The final tally of income generated from the raffle is not completed due to accounted for outstanding ticket stubs still to be returned but we have determined that the winning ticket was among the unsold tickets (estimated less than 70). Unsold tickets revert back to the property of the Church. Therefore since the Church actually buys the Penguins Tickets for the prize we were able to avoid the purchase of those tickets thus putting every FUNDRAISING dollar on the Mortgage to reduce the balance. The final accounting of the raffle will be made available once the stubs and money is returned. Father Tom and the financial committee can't thank all of you enough for supporting the ANNUAL COMEDY NIGHT (most attended ever) and THE PENGUINS TICKET RAFFLE. The Church has scheduled other fundraising events throughout the remainder of the year and your attendance and participation would be appreciated. The financial committee is dedicated to reducing our debt and to eliminate our mortgage payment of $3600 a month. Within that payment the interest expense is (estimated $ ) and use your tithings for the Ministry of the Church instead of the interest expense. Lenten Bible Study on the Gospel of St. John Fr. Tom s Monday night Bible Study will continue this week on Monday, April 23 at 7 p.m. in our church hall. Building Bridges for our Neighbors in Need South Hills Interfaith Ministry is hosting a dinner and speaking event entitled, Building Bridges for our Neighbors in Need. The dinner/event will be held on Wed., May 9 beginning at 6 p.m. at the Southpointe Hilton Garden Inn, 1000 Corporate Drive, Canonsburg, PA. The featured speaker is Suzie McConnell-Serio, Duquesne University Women s Basketball Coach. Cost per person is $100 ($50 will benefit SHIM s outreach to the underprivileged in the South Hills area). Tickets can be purchased online at

4 St. Gregory of Nazianzus Byzantine Catholic Church 2005 Mohawk Road Upper St Clair, PA (cell) Pastor: FATHER THOMAS J. WESDOCK Website: or ECF Classes: Sundays 10:45-11:45a.m. Confession: By appointment & Saturday at 3-4 p.m. Marriage: at least six months notice; Pre-Cana classes from the Archeparchy Cantors: George Tichi, Michael Pillar, Sylvia Bender, Jeremy Mayernik ECF Coordinator: Carol Planitzer at or Youth Ministry: Michael Kiss at or Church Founding & Historical Committee: Barb Stasiuk ( ) Bethany Ministry: Jennifer Kehm at or Parish Nurse: Dorothy Mayernik at or Fr. Tom s Communion Visitation List If you know of any parishioners who are sick and unable to come to church for an extended period of time, please inform Fr. Tom, so he can call them up and see about putting them on his home communion visitation schedule. Thank you. Please Take Care of Pew Books Just a reminder to take care of our church s pew books. Please do not allow children to rip pages and pull and fray ribbons. These books are expensive, so please take care of them! Eastern Christian Publications Eastern Christian Publications, the company that produces our weekly bulletin covers, has a wide variety of Eastern Christian spiritual, liturgical, and historical books, CD s, and DVD s available for purchase. They have an online catalog available at their website: ecpubs.com. To request a catalog by mail, please call or write to Eastern Christian Publications, P.O. Box 3909, Fairfax, VA Baldwin-Whitehall that works with a multi-cultural population grades K-5. Shifts are available M-F 4:30-7:00 p.m. All volunters must have Act 33/34 clearances. Call SHIM program director - Doris Nagel at ext. 20. Extra Help for People with Medicare Insurance Do you know someone on Medicare, and who has a low income and limited assets? If so, it is possible that they may qualify for financial assistance with their Medicare expenses.there are two programs that help: The Medicare Savings Program, which helps with Part B premiums for individuals with monthly income that is below $1,226 (for a married couple, $1,655); and The Low Income Subsidy, which helps with the Part D premiums and prescription drug copayments for individuals with monthly income below $1,361 (for a married couple, $1,839). To find out more, to obtain an application, or for assistance in completing an application, please call the Allegheny County Department of Human Services at or kburk@alleghenycounty.us Donations for the Poor Collection Container During the four fasting seasons of the Byzantine Catholic Church Year, a blue specially marked container will be located in the narthex (vestibule) of the church to collect donations (non-perishable food items, winter clothing, especially infant clothing, or monetary donations) for the Pittsburgh-area poor. Items and monetary donations collected will be forwarded to the South Hills Interfaith Ministry for distribution in the South Hills and Greater Pittsburgh area. Your help in this endeavor is greatly appreciated! Sponsor a Pro-Life Billboard To help sponsor Pregnancy HELP hotline billboards around Pittsburgh and on the Pennsylvania turnpike, please contact or make a donation to Pennsylvania Foundation for Life at P.O. Box 12741, Pittsburgh, PA Volunteers Needed at South Hills Interfaith Ministries South Hills Interfaith Ministries, 5301 Park Ave., Bethel Park, is looking for volunteers in the following areas: Food Pantry, Thurs., 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or Fri., 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. (twice a month for two hours); Receptionist, Mon. Fri., 9 to 12 or 12 to 3; and Tax Preparation, Feb. 4 Mar. 10. Whether you re looking to give an hour a week or an hour a month, South Hills Interfaith Ministries needs you! For more information, please contact Natalie at Afterschool Volunteers Needed South Hills Interfaith Ministries is looking for volunteers for an after school program in Clothing Collections Taken Year Round at SHIM Families who use SHIM s Food Pantry also are able to shop in the Community Clothing

5 Room, selecting donated clothing items for members of their household. Donated clothing must be clean and free of rips, holes, etc. All sizes are welcome, though there is a particular need now for boys clothing (infant and youth). Clothing donations are accepted seasonally, as follows: Spring/Summer April 1- August 31, Fall/Winter September 1- March 31. Drop off your clothing at the SHIM offices (5301 Park Ave., Bethel Park) between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. St. Vincent de Paul Seeking Household Items and Usable Clothes The St. Vincent de Paul Society Pittsburgh Council is seeking all types and sizes of clothes, shoes, boots, housewares, appliances, etc. To donate call If you only use a white envelope from the offering box and are contributing all you can please continue to do so in that manner since we are making projections from the amounts you offered in the 2012 white and holiday envelopes. Debt Reduction Offering Monthly offering needed for payment on the two outstanding mortgages is $ Monthly average offered from 2012 was $ (decrease by $107.00) Donate Your Car Help Needy Receive Tax Deduction of $500+ Cars for Help, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit charity, is working to strengthen individual churches and various Catholic charities through vehicle donations. The process is fast, easy, and requires just a phone call or visit to our website. If you would like to donate a vehicle in any condition, even severely broken or crashed, or just have questions, please call us directly at (630) You can also donate your vehicle at With mention of this bulletin, 25% of your vehicle donation proceeds will go directly to St. Gregory Nazianzus parish. St. Gregory Byzantine Catholic Church Did you know? (Financial 2012) St. Gregory s financial board has recently released the 2012 financial report and set financial goals for It is important that our Parishioners understand the facts and goals set forth. Weekly and Holiday Offerings Weekly offering (white envelopes) are able to sustain regular monthly debts. Average envelopes offered each week 61. ( reduction of 4 from 2011) Average envelopes offered in 2012 was 58 (increase by 12) In 2011 after borrowing $46,853 for the heat and cooling system we paid $56,940 in payments for a result of a new year balance $ higher than last January. Principal balance Jan 2012 = $318,098 minus principal GOAL REDUCTION PRINCIPAL 2012 ( $31,045 ) = January 2103 projected balance $287,053 At current interest portion balance $243,098 and payment of $3600 the loan will be completed in 80 months (6.67 years) and the interest free portion $75,000 will be completed 21 months later a total of (8.42 years) JULY 2020 IS OUR OUT OF DEBT DATE Shortfall in 2012 debt payments can be made up in several ways and will be published in the Debt Reduction 5 year plan document ST. GREGORY FUNDRAISING GOALS 2011 FIVE YEAR PLAN (2012 Year 2) To reach the goals of becoming debt free and creating an emergency fund for future repairs the following is being proposed. Organize the Men s club to include all adult men and have them participate with the debt reduction and emergency fund creation IMPLEMENTED

6 Meet monthly to strategically plan the fundraising events IMPLEMENTED Create a annual calendar to distribute to the Parishioners IMPLEMENTED Spaghetti Dinner ($ ) Projected 2012 Christmas Cookie Sale ($ ) Projected 2012 We need your help with suggestions to bring in an additional $11,000 Create several groups of Parishioners to organize events IMPLEMENTED Quarterly diligence done to determine results are on target. IMPLEMENTED ANNUAL EVENTS: Annual debt payments are $43,200. On average the debt envelopes cover $21,500. The shortfall will be taken from the 2012 completed and projected fundraising amounts ( Completed $4800, projected $11,130 ) Still short $ Kolbasi: Easter and Christmas is our largest fundraiser ($14,000) please help to sell or increase the amount you sell. In 2011 the Men s club paid $6,000 towards the shortfall. The primary goal of the men s club is to fund repairs and unplanned expenses from their general fund thus taking the burden from regular contributions. Year 1: St Gregory Byzantine Catholic Church Financial Vision Plan (Five Years) YEAR 2 (2012) Indentify deficiencies in current budget COMPLETED Set goals for Debt Reduction and Fund Raising COMPLETED Examine current envelope contributions COMPLETED Educate Parishioners on financial status and plans for financial stability End 2011 fiscal year without a deficit (accomplished without AC unit) Meet with Liturgical board to plan community days COMPLETED Plan annual Church picnic COMPLETED Super Bowl Pool 2012 ($500.00) COMPLETED Comedy Night: 167 people in 2012 ($ ) Event will happen annually on the last Friday before LENT. GOAL for 2013 in 200 attending. Anyone who has not experienced this event we ask to support it. COMPLETED Penguins playoff ticket raffle: Tickets will be available on March 1 st. Projected revenue for 2012 ($ ) each family is asked to take 10 tickets to sell. On years where the Penguins may not make the playoffs we will consider a cash prize Upper St Clair Community Days ($500.00) Projected 2012 Rummage sale ($ ) Projected 2012 Year 3: Repeat year 1 due diligence Begin additional principal payments on debt to reduce term to goal of 12 years by year 5 ALREADY REDUCED Weekly Envelopes are average 25% more than year one both in number of envelopes (17 more) and average given from 2011 (8.00 more week) Year 5:

7 12 years remain on the outstanding debt Prepare the next 5 year plan Discuss improvements needed to the property??? O Joyful Light ByzanTEEN Youth Rally 2012 This year s ByzanTEEN youth rally will be held July at the University of San Diego in San Diego, California. Total rally cost per teen is $275 (airfare not included). The deadline to register is June 1. For more information about the rally please go to To register for the event, please contact Fr. Tom for registration forms. Orientale Lumen XVI Conference on Laity The Orientale Lumen XVI Conference this year will be held June 18-21, 2012 at the Washington Retreat House in Washington, DC on the theme of Theology of the Laity. We will be honored with the presence of several outstanding speakers. More details about the conference and online registration can be found at the Future Conferences page