The Saint Andrew News

Transcription

1 The Saint Andrew News St. Andrew Orthodox Church - Riverside, CA Dear Parishioners Blessings of the Lord! Those who were in the darkness of the shadow of death, enslaved to the evil one, tyrannized by the demons, worshippers of idols, venerators of the creature instead of the Creator, torn persons, ripped human beings, upside down with our flesh dominating our spirits, shamed, grieved, fearful, powerless, hopeless, alienated from the life of God, enemies, under the wrath of the Lord, awaiting a frightful judgment and the undying worm, the unquenchable fire, and the whole force of justice pressing down upon us demanding that we be discarded upon the cosmic trash dump called Gehenna...and then in the black night... The star moved in the heavens, the angelic choirs appeared, the shepherds stood in awe, the magi-kings bowed low in adoration and unspeakable wonder, the cave opened, and the animals hovered because the unthinkable had taken place. He who fashioned the world from nothing, Who upheld the entire universe by the word of His power, was seen nursing on the breast of the Holy Virgin- God the infant. God the child. The Theanthropos- the God-Man. Everything changed that first Christmas night. Jesus has changed everything. "If any man is in Christ, behold, a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold the new have come." 2 Cor. 5:17... God has become man, the chasm bridged, the mediation effected, righteousness perfected and modeled on the earth, death slain, the devil defeated, sin atoned for, the curse annulled, Hades destroyed, Christ resurrected, the God-man ascended, Paradise opened, human flesh enthroned in heaven, the throne of David occupied, the Kingdom established, the demons trampled, and man dignified. God is with us! Understand a l l ye n a t i o n s a n d s u b m i t yourselves! The Great Mystery of the Birth of Christ. Listen to the words of St. Nikolai Velimirovich, who labored in America, "The only-begotten Son of God, brethren, begotten in et ernity of th e Father without a mother, was born in time of a mother without a father. That first begetting is an unfathomable mystery of the Holy Trinity in eternity; and the second is the unfathomable mystery of God's power and love for mankind in time. The greatest mystery in time corresponds to the greatest mystery in eternity. Without entering into this greatest mystery with the small taper of our understanding, let us be content, brethren, with the knowledge that our salvation had its origin not from man or from earth, but from the greatest heights of the divine invisible world. So great is God's mercy, and so great is the dignity of man, that the Son of God Himself came down from eternity into time, from heaven to earth, from the throne of glory to the shepherd's cave, solely to save mankind, to cleanse men from sin and to return them to Paradise. I came forth from the Father, where I had everything, and am come into the world, which cannot give Me anything. The Lord was born in a cave to show the whole world is one dark cave, which He alone can illumine." This, my parishioners dear to Christ, is why we will gather in the middle of the night and in the thick darkness and cold to join the angelic chorus in hymning the birth in the flesh of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord God grant you all to be worthy to be in that chorus. With much love, Fr Josiah December 2009 Published Monthly St. Andrew Orthodox Church of Riverside is a parish of the Selfruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, Diocese of Los Angeles and the West, the See of the Right Reverend Bishop JOSEPH. Saturdays: Great Vespers, 5:30 p.m. Sundays: Matins, 9 a.m. Divine Liturgy, 10 a.m. Feast Days: Liturgy, 6 p.m. On Eve of Feast Church School follows The Divine Liturgy For additional services and events, and for the latest updates, go to Canyon Crest Drive Riverside, CA (951) V. Rev. Josiah Trenham, pastor Submit articles to the editor at lucy.hanna@sbcglobal.net

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3 Page 3 The St. Andrew Temple Construction Progress... As the slab was being poured, Father Josiah looked on, envisioning what it will look like when completed......while some parishioners seized the opportunity to engrave the initials of their family members in the slab before it dried! The next step... Erection of the steel frame

4 Page 4 The St. Andrew Feast Day Celebration, November 30, The morning Divine Liturgy was presided over by His Grace Bishop BENJAMIN (OCA). Father Timothy Pavlatos, pastor of Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church in San Bernardino, was the homilist. Vespers was held right on the new slab in front of the steps of what will be the solea, followed by the Blessing of the Foundation.

5 Page 5 The evening banquet Following Vespers and blessing of the foundation, a fabulous banquet was enjoyed by some 200 adult and teen attendees. Everyone enjoyed the catered dinner prepared by Roger Layoun and his uncle Robert Ghossein of Mama Layoun Catering, who donated their time and labor. The food was completely underwritten by several families which helped bring the net profit from the fundraising banquet to approximately $14,000. The children were treated to their own celebration prior to the banquet and they got to spend time with Their Graces Bishops JOSEPH and BENJAMIN. The banquet attendees were also treated to beautiful selections sung by our own St. Andrew Choir directed by our choir director, Teri Stevens. After feeding our bodies, we feasted on a wonderful spiritual banquet served to us by our own father in Christ, His Grace Bishop JOSEPH, followed by the keynote speaker, His Grace Bishop BENJAMIN. Our building project chairman, Mr. Saba Saba, then gave a brief update on the status of the construction of our new temple, followed by an exciting auction of some very special items donated by different parishioners.

6 Page 6 St. Andrew Community News, November On Sunday, November 1st, Catechumen Jason Covarrubias was received into the Church prior to Divine Liturgy by the sacrament of Chrismation. Jason and St. Andrew parishioner Lauren De Lara were wed later that afternoon at 4pm at St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church in Covina, CA. Saba and Shirley Saba are proud grandparents, again! Shirley reports that their son, Seraj and his wife Bea, had their little boy at 12:45 p.m. pacific time on November 10. He was 7 lbs, 1 oz and 19 inches long, and a real cutie! Already he is letting them know who is boss. Seraj says he has an excellent pair of lungs. They could hear him crying when they were bringing him down to their room after he had been weighed. Update on Anastasia Payne from Subdeacon Christopher Received on November 22, 2009 Greetings, Hope all is well with you. Anastasia was discharged form Loma Linda on 22 October 2009 and we drove back to Salt Lake City on the of October. She was in inpatient rehab at Holladay Healthcare until 11 November 2009, when she was discharged to home care. She was able to attend Divine Liturgy at Saints Peter and Paul on 1 November 2009 and 8 November 2009 which was amazing. She is now at home and is done with Occupational Therapy and only has Physical Therapy to deal with. She still has a bit of a long road to go, but the doctors are pleased with her progression. She will go in for a follow up CT Scan this Wednesday, November 25. She would like to thank everyone for their prayers and concerns. Thank you for all your support and prayers. Subdeacon Christopher

7 Page 7 Please pray for our new Catechumens... Justin Austin Jakob Baker Brittany Berlino Joshua Bowman David Buckley Sharon Buckley Samantha Buckley Ashley Castro Velvet Castro Samaria Castro Bethany Castro Alison Ruth Defrese Gilbert DeLeon Andrew Fothergill Giovanna Escobar-Gougeon Paul Lewis Robert Wachter Karen Wachter Lily Wachter Prayer for Catechumens O Lord our God, Who dwellest on high and regardest the humble of heart; Who hast sent forth as the salvation of the race of men, Thine Onlybegotten Son and God, our Lord Jesus Christ: Look down upon Thy servants the catechumens (NN.), who bow their necks before Thee; make them worthy in due season of the laver of regeneration, the remission of sins, and the robe of incorruption. Unite them to Thy holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, and number them with Thine elect flock: that with us they may glorify Thine allhonorable and majestic Name: of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. St. Andrew Monthly Income and Expense Report General Fund October 2009 Income $19, Expense $25, Building Fund October 2009 Income $157, Expense $00.00

8 St. Andrew Orthodox Church 4700 Canyon Crest Drive Riverside, CA 92507