Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

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1 Christ is Born! Glorify Him! Christos Razdajetsja! Slavite Jeho!

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST ORTHODOX CHURCH January 7, 2019 The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ Epistle: Galatians 4:4-7 Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12 Weekly Schedule of Services/Events Monday,

Stephen Divine Liturgy Saturday, January 12 9:00AM Monthly Memorial and Confession Sunday, January 13 9:00AM Divine Liturgy Epistle: Lynne Goetz Coffee: Goodwin/Chirsky Church School

com Street Address 384 Mill Hill Ave Bridgeport, CT 06610 Mailing Address 40 Beaver Dam Road Stratfor, CT 06614 Contact Information Fr.

2 ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST ORTHODOX CHURCH January 7, 2019 The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ Epistle: Galatians 4:4-7 Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12 Weekly Schedule of Services/Events Monday, January 7 9:00AM Nativity of our Lord Divine Liturgy Tuesday, January 8 9:00AM Synaxis of the Mother of God Divine Liturgy Wednesday, January 9 9:00AM St. Stephen Divine Liturgy Saturday, January 12 9:00AM Monthly Memorial and Confession Sunday, January 13 9:00AM Divine Liturgy Epistle: Lynne Goetz Coffee: Goodwin/Chirsky Church School Rescue Mission Service Schedule Divine Liturgy 9am Weekday Eve Service 7pm General Information Street Address 384 Mill Hill Ave Bridgeport, CT Mailing Address 40 Beaver Dam Road Stratfor, CT Contact Information Fr. David Cochran H: C: pauldcochran@gmail.com Carol Feduik, President carolcfeduik@yahoo.com John Galpin, Choir Dir choir@stjohnsmillhill.com Diocesan Resources Diocesan Website Camp Nazareth Facebook Twitter YouTube

3 Scripture Readings for Sunday Epistle Reading Colossians 3:12-16 Brethren, But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, Father! Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Gospel Reading Matthew 2:1-12 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel. Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also. When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. Weekly Announcements CHURCH CALENDARS AND ENVELOPES: Calendars for 2019 are available in the Church Auditorium. Many thanks to Adzima Funeral Hole for once again sponsoring the calendars. Church envelopes are also in the Church Office and should be available for pickup today. PLEASE NOTE: A new Envelope Voluntary Contribution Towards Dues, has been added to each month of the year. You may use this envelope to make monthly donations towards your Church dues. This is meant as a way to make paying your dues easier as you can spread it out through the year.

4 CHRISTMAS ARCHPASTORAL LETTER December 25, 2018 / January 7, 2019 Protocol No. 21/2018 CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM! Dear Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I greet you with joy and love in the Name of our Incarnate Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Let us give thanks to Almighty God, by whose grace we have been given the opportunity to celebrate the Birth of His Son. If we look around, we find hatred, mistrust, suffering, and the absence of peace and love in our homes, neighborhoods, cities, country, and in fact the whole world. This reality in life makes us cry out for God s help, assistance, and intervention. My beloved ones, despite all the suffering, sorrow and injustice in our world, today joy and hope comes to us once more. That s why at this blessed time of the year we look forward to the arrival of the new born King. Therefore let us celebrate the miracle of His Birth. Let kindness come with every gift. Let compassion, forgiveness and love come with every greeting. Let our hearts be filled with prayer, charity, and reconciliation for one another. May all of us, Priests, Panis, Deacons, Sub-Deacons, Readers, Archons, Parish Officers, Parishioners (young and old), Friends and Supporters of the God-protected American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese experience the joy and wonders of the Shepherds and the awe and respect of the Three Wise Men at the arrival of the Messiah, our new born King. Christ is Born! Greetings from Johnstown with much love, +Metropolitan Gregory of Nyssa To be read as the sermon and distributed in all the churches of the Diocese at the Divine Liturgy on the Feast Day of the Nativity of our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ.

5 Greetings on the Nativity of Christ On behalf of myself, Pani Andrea, Jacob and Sara, I would like to extend to all of you our wish that you have a most joyous Nativity celebration! Also, many thanks for all of the beautiful cards, generous gifts and wishes for Christmas! May the new-born Christ bring you peace and joy now and throughout the year! Christ is Born! Glorify Him! Thank you to everyone for doing all you do for our wonderful Church Family. May you all have the most Blessed Christmas Season in the New-Born Christ and the Healthiest and Happiest New Year. Yours in Christ, Carol Feduik - Church President On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to extend to Our Church family and friends a most joyous Christmas and a blessed New Year. May we all rejoice in the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Dennis Kaputa - Chairman, Board of Directors On behalf of St. John s Sunday school families we would like to wish you a very happy and healthy Christmas. May the light of the Newborn Christ Child guide you through each day. Wishing you peace, love and joy at Christmas and always! Chrissy Adzima and Lynne Goetz - Chairpersons The Junior R Club would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, Blessed New Year! We would like to thank you parishioners for your support for our activities throughout the year, such as our involvement at Prospect House and the Appalachia Service Project. Chris and Jenna Greenhill and Lynne Goetz - Advisors On behalf of the members of St. John s R CLub, we would like to wish all of you a blessed Nativity Feast and joy throughout the year. Come join the R Club this year! Colleen Dobosz and Lynne Goetz - Co-Presidents On behalf of the St. John s Choir I would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a happy new year. We are always looking for new members so please come and join us! John Galpin - Choir Director

The incomprehensible and inexplicable Nativity of Christ came to pass when Herod the Great was reigning in Judea; the latter was an Ascalonite on his fathers s side and an Idumean on his mother s.

6 The incomprehensible and inexplicable Nativity of Christ came to pass when Herod the Great was reigning in Judea; the latter was an Ascalonite on his fathers s side and an Idumean on his mother s. He was in every way foreign to the royal line of David; rather, he had received his authority from the Roman emperors, and had ruled tyrannically over the Jewish people for some thirty-three years. The tribe of Judah, which had reigned of old, was deprived of its rights and stripped of all rule and authority. Such was the condition of the Jews when the awaited Messiah was born, and truly thus was fulfilled the prophecy which the Patriarch Jacob had spoken 1,807 years before: A ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a prince from his loins, until there come the things stored up for him; and he is the expectation of the nations (Gen.49:10). Thus, our Saviour was born in Bethlehem, a city of Judea, whither Joseph had come from Nazareth of Galilee, taking Mary his betrothed, who was great with child, that, according to the decree issued in those days by the Emperor Augustus, they might be registered in the census of those subject to Rome. Therefore, when the time came for the Virgin to give birth, and since because of the great multitude there was no place in the inn, the Virgin s circumstance constrained them to enter a cave which was near Bethlehem. Having as shelter a stable of irrational beasts, she gave birth there, and swaddled the Infant and laid Him in the manger (Luke 2:1-7). From this, the tradition has come down to us that when Christ was born He lay between two animals, an ox and an ass, that the words of the Prophets might be fulfilled: Between two living creatures shalt Thou be known (Abbacum 3:2), and The ox knoweth his owner and the ass his master s crib (Esaias 1: 3). But while the earth gave the new-born Saviour such a humble reception, Heaven on high celebrated majestically His world-saving coming. A wondrous star, shining with uncommon brightness and following a strange course, led Magi from the East to Bethlehem to worship the new-born King. Certain shepherds who were in the area of Bethlehem, who kept watch while tending their sheep, were suddenly surrounded by an extraordinary light, and they saw before them an Angel who proclaimed to them the good tidings of the Lord s joyous Nativity. And straightway, together with this Angel, they beheld and heard a whole host of the Heavenly Powers praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men (Luke 2:8-14).

The Synaxis of the Mother of God This Synaxis - which is to say, our coming together to glorify the Theotokos - is celebrated especially in her honour because she gave birth supernaturally to the Son

Ont his day we also commemorate together with Her Saint Joseph the Betrothed, King David (an ancestor by flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ), and Saint James the Brother of the Lord, a son of the first

7 The Synaxis of the Mother of God This Synaxis - which is to say, our coming together to glorify the Theotokos - is celebrated especially in her honour because she gave birth supernaturally to the Son and Word Of God, and thus became the instrument of the salvation of mankind. Ont his day we also commemorate together with Her Saint Joseph the Betrothed, King David (an ancestor by flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ), and Saint James the Brother of the Lord, a son of the first marriage of Saint Joseph the Betrothed. Saint James accompanied his father Joseph and the Mother of God and the Divine-Infant Jesus on the Flight into Egypt St. Stephen the First Martyr Saint Stephen was a Jew, by race, and, as some say, a disciple of Gamaliel, the teacher of the Law mentioned in Acts 5:34 and 22:3. He was the first of the seven deacons whom the Apostles established in Jerusalem to care for the poor, and to distribute alms to them. Being a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, he performed great signs and wonders among the people. While disputing with the Jews concerning Jesus, and wisely refuting their every contradiction, so that no one was able to withstand the wisdom and the spirit whereby he spake, he was slandered as a blasphemer and was dragged off to the Sanhedrin of the elders. There with boldness he proved from the divine Scriptures the coming of the Just One (Jesus), of Whom they had become the betrayers and murderers, and he reproved their faithless and hardheartedness. And finally, gazing into Heaven and beholding the divine glory, he said: Lo, I see the Heavens opened and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God. But when they heard this, they stopped up their ears, and with anger cast him out of the city and stoned him, while he was calling out and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then, imitating the long-suffering of the Master, he bent his knees and prayed in a loud voice for them that were stoning him, and he said, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge, And saying this, he fell asleep (Acts 6, 7), thus becoming the first among the Martyrs of the Church of Christ..

10 Camp Nazareth Family Camp May 31 June 2, 2019 Being a Believing Family Believing in God as a Family seems to get more and more difficult these days. There are examples of Families that kept believing even when it was difficult. Come and Learn about them and help your Family believe and rejoice in God. Come enjoy time at Camp with your Family! Enjoy the Camp s peaceful environment, have some fun and be rejuvenated as a Family! Register Online at campnazareth.org campnazareth@acrod.org or call for more information

11 American Carpatho-Russian Youth Empowering the Saints for Ministry November 15th, 2018 to January 15th, 2019 Academic Scholarships - Support of Camp Nazareth Missionary Projects - Promotion of Orthodox Faith Lenten Retreats - Campus Ministry Aiding Children with Serious Illness and Special Needs Deadline is February 10th For more information visit ACRY.org

12 Preparation for Blessing of Homes The central sign of God s sanctification of all things through the feast of Theophany is the act of blessing the homes of faithful Christians. The priest visits all members of the Church to pray with them in the place where they live, and to bless their surroundings with Holy Water. He asks God to have mercy on the house, to rid it of every evil and to fill it with every blessing. Thus the house itself, together with the living persons of the family, is filled with all the fullness of God. To prepare for the priest visit: On your dining room table or family altar, place a white tablecloth, a lighted candle, an icon, and a wide bowl for holy water. Have a list of the living and dead members of the family from your for whom you would like the priest to pray for. family Turn on a light in each room, so the priest can see where he is going. Turn off all TV s, stereos, and computers, and take the telephone off the hook. There should be as few distractions as possible when the priest is blessing your home. Refrain from smoking, drinking or eating until after the service is over. Secure any pets that might jump up on the priest or family, or get underfoot as you move from room to room. When the priest arrives, everyone in the house should gather around the table and join in the singing of the service. House Blessing Form Blessing of Homes Anyone who is interested in having your home blessed please fill out the form below and give it to Father David, return it to the church office on Sunday or on Tuesday at Seniors. Fr. will call to set-up an appointment Name: Phone Numner: Address: City:

Weekly Schedule of Services/Events

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST ORTHODOX CHURCH January 13, 2019 Sunday before Theophany Epistle: 2 Timothy 4:5-8 Gospel: Mark 1:1-8 Weekly Schedule of Services/Events Sunday, January 13 9:00AM Divine Liturgy Epistle: