Weekly Liturgical/Service Schedule

Transcription

1 Weekly Liturgical/Service Schedule Sunday of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council June 4-5, 2011 Sat. June 4 5:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy (+Dr. Michael Culyba, req. by Dorothy & Dave Mayernik) Sun. June 5 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy (+Alice & Michael Charochak, req. by Jodi Hernandez) Pentecost (Green) Sunday June 11-12, 2011 Sat. June 11 5:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy (+George & Ann Checque, req. by Robert Checque) Sun. June 12 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy (+Hilda Metzger, req. by Joan & Andrew Sakmar) Seminarian Thomas Slosky Blogspot Sem. Tom Slosky has set up a blog site to keep everyone updated on his seminary progress. The blog site is Congratulations to our Parish Graduates Our parish of St. Gregory Nazianzus congratulates the graduates of our parish and prays for many more years of success and blessings from the Lord. Our parish graduates are Kyle Dudzinski (high school), Eric Forrester (high school), Antonio Wolfe (high school), and Kyle Lyn Coval (college). God grant them many happy and blessed years! New Altar Servers Training Class Any boy (having completed the second grade) who is interested in becoming an altar server at our parish, is asked to attend a training session on Sunday, June 12, immediately following the 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy. Fr. Tom and our current St. Gregory altar servers will conduct the training session. Parish Bible Study Adult Religious Education Classes Our parish will be beginning a series of adult education classes on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. at our parish beginning June 2 (and running 8 weeks) using a program entitled, A Quick Journey Through the Bible. For more information, contact Fr. Tom. A Night at the Ballpark with Fireworks Friday August 12, 2011 Come celebrate St. Gregory night at the Washington Wild Things game followed by Fireworks at Consol Energy Park in Washington, PA on Friday August 12, Cost is $13.00 per ticket (The Men s Club is subsidizing the remaining cost of each ticket; they will also be subsidizing total cost of tickets for the altar servers). The game starts at 6:35pm, but show up at 5:15 and enjoy an all-you-can-eat buffet complete with soft drinks, an outdoor bar and comfortable deck seating. Fireworks will start at the end of the game. The sign up sheet is located at the back of the church. The deadline to sign-up is Sunday July 10, Payment by cash or check can be made to David Schmidt or put in an envelope marked Washington Wild Things and then placed in the collection basket. Please make checks payable to St. Gregory Church. If you have any questions, please contact David Schmidt at Cars for Help Donate your old car and help the needy. In addition receive a tax deduction of $500+. It s fast, it s easy, and it requires only one phone call or visit at the Cars for Help website. Cars for Help, a 501(c)3 not for profit charity, is working through various Catholic charities to help alleviate human suffering. If you would like to donate any vehicle of yours in any condition, or just have questions, please call (630) You can also visit the Cars for Help website at With mention of this bulletin, 10% of your vehicle donation will go directly to benefit our parish of St. Gregory Nazianzus. Archieparchial Faith and Fun Day for Altar Servers Friday, July 8 Attention all altar servers! Meet and spend time with guys from other Byzantine Catholic Churches in the Archeparchy who love the Lord and enjoy serving as much as you do. The day will begin at 9:15 a.m. at the Cathedral in Munhall with registration, followed by a brief prayer service and a few interesting speakers. You ll then head over to the Cathedral Center for a hearty lunch, and board the shuttle buses for Pittsburgh s North Shore to spend several hours at the Carnegie Science Center, USS Requin (submarine) and SportsWorks. Next stop is PNC Park, where you ll see the Pirates play the Chicago Cubs from your all-you-can-eat seats! You also will receive a promotional stadium souvenir as well as a new Roberto Clemente jersey. After the 7 p.m. game, you ll bus-it back to the Cathedral for pickup by your parents/chaperones. Sign up with your pastor by June 12. Open to servers elementary through high school. Cost: only $35 per server for a day of Faith and Fun!

2 Category Amount 1. Envelopes 1, Debt 1, Loose Candles Ascension 5.00 TOTAL Deposited $ 2, WEEKLY COLLECTION 2011 May 29 Envelopes Debt 3@ 50 = @ 50 = @ 40 = @ 40 = @ 35 = @ 35 = @ 30 = @ 30 = @ 25 = @ 25 = @ 20 = @ 20 = @ 10 = @ 10 = @ 7 = @ 5 = @ 5 = @ 2 = 2.00 Total 43 $ 1, Average = $ Total 61 $ 1, Average = $ Average needed per week to meet expenses prior to fund-raising (based on last year s total expenses including debt reduction expenses) = $ Looking for Old Editions of the Byzantine Catholic World 1992: All Issues, 1993: All Issues, 1994: All Issues, 1998: Issues 13 through 25, 1999: All Issues, 2000: Issues 15 through 24, 2001: Issues 1, 2, 3, and 14, 2002: Issue 6, 2003: Issues 7 and 22 St. Gregory Flea Market Fundraiser On Saturday, August 27 th from 8 am 3 pm St. Gregory s is hosting a Flea Market Fundraiser in the church hall. With your support this will be a major fundraiser for our church s needs. We are asking everyone to clean out your closets, garages, playrooms and basements and donate items to this fundraiser event. You may bring your items to church before and after Liturgy beginning Saturday, July 9 th. The last day to bring your items to church is Sunday, August 21 st. Please bag the items by categories (books, toys, holiday, tools, etc.) and place them in the back of the church basement where category signs will be posted. Following is a list of possible items: books (NO encyclopedia sets) lamps jewelry small furniture puzzles DVDS games CDS toys baby items (strollers, etc.) kitchen items (dishes, glassware, etc.) sports equipment small electrics linens (tablecloths, bedding, etc) tools home décor (pictures, frames, knickknacks, etc.) purses holiday items (NO Christmas trees) household items infant & children s clothing ONLY electronics (sound systems, musical, TV s) **All items must be clean and in working condition If you have any questions or would like to volunteer for this fun event, please contact Michele D Angelo at or jdangelo5@verizon.net. Thank you in advance for your support! St. Gregory Nazianzus 40 th Anniversary Meeting Anyone who would like to help plan the 40 th anniversary celebration for our parish for later this year is asked to please attend a meeting in our church hall on Sunday, June 5 immediately following the 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy. Fudge for Sale Our parish still has some unsold fudge left over from the Upper Saint Clair Community Day. Flavors include Belgium chocolate, Chocolate with Walnut, and Chocolate Peanut Butter. The price is $6 for a half pound. Please call Fr. Tom or see him after one of the weekend liturgies.

3 This Week s Reflection The Role of the Christian Today A current television ad asks What if you went to church and it changed your life? My first reaction was And what if it didn t? If you are familiar with the 21-minute sit-com set-up or the 2-hour feature film format, most human-interest circumstances can be resolved almost immediately with an eye-opening event or a dramatic, heartfelt speech. If you have spent any time in the real world (not watching reality television), you know that many situations or relationships have highs and lows that span decades. The best homily we ever heard may not be even a faint memory. Time colors those memories and a recent bad experience may erase all good intentions. Church can only change you - like anything else - over a lifetime. We are after all, ONLY human - we live in a fallen world and we can all think of many examples of that. Even Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a kind of modern day saint for the everyman, had her doubts and her dark nights of the soul. So, we may ask ourselves, what is the role of the Christian? And, therefore, what is the role of the Church? We can be led to believe that any type of religious expression is quaint, at best, and antiquated and out-of-touch and even ridiculous for the thinking person, in some people s exalted opinion. It was good enough for our uneducated, immigrant ancestors but does the Church truly speak to the men and women of today? Can we truly embrace the Gospel and put it into practice? I don t think these are only third millennium questions. I think they have been contemporary to everyone in every place at every time. Perhaps they haven t been articulated and perhaps they don t seem relevant in our own lives - but we ve all had our doubts and we ve all had our dark nights. The Gospel story of Saint Thomas (Second Sunday of Pascha) shows us that even those intimately connected to Jesus didn t have all the answers to all their questions. The Gospel of the Myrrh-bearing Women (Third Sunday) conveys to us that if we are committed to our relationship with Jesus, we will witness the essence of His message - resurrection. The Gospel of the Paralytic (Fourth Sunday) tells us we all require healing and we may need to get up out of our comfort zone or sick bed and get moving. The Gospel of the Woman at the Well (Fifth Sunday) reminds us that Jesus also heals our human relationships and then makes us preachers of His Good News, in our words and in our deeds. The Gospel of the Man Born Blind (Sixth Sunday) says that Jesus can take away our spiritual blindness and shows us the truth. As we come to celebrate the Ascension, we are reminded that Jesus left the earthly Church and left us in charge, as it were. The Church has become His abiding presence on the earth and we have all become His abiding presence on the earth by virtue of our membership in the Church through Baptism. Therefore, anything we can say about Jesus, we can say about the Church; anything we can say about Jesus and the Church, we can say about ourselves and each other. Try this on for size. I am committed to being and becoming the healing presence of Jesus in the world; I can heal my relationships and bring people to God and I can open my eyes and their eyes to His truth. (written by Fr. Steve Wahal, pastor of St. Michael s (Donora, PA) and St. Mary s (Monessen, PA) Byzantine Catholic Churches) Camp Healing Hearts Family Hospice and Palliative Care is pleased to announce Camp Healing Hearts, a day camp for grieving children, ages 6-12, and their parents and guardians. Camp Healing Hearts is offered free of charge and held at the Center for Compassionate Care at 50 Moffett Street in the South Hills. The camp will be held on Sat., June 11, from 9 a.m. 3:30 p.m. Space is limited. Pre-registration is required and applications are currently being accepted. For registration or further information, please contact the Bereavement Department at Slavic Food Festival 2011 Holy Resurrection Byzantine Catholic Church, 455 Center Road, Monroeville, PA will hold its 13 th annual food festival on Friday, June 17 and Saturday, June 18 from 4 to 10 p.m. Friday s menu will feature the church s popular fish fry entrees which include the best-of-its-kind fish sandwich and crab-stuffed haddock along with Slavic foods. Saturday s menu: roasted pig served sandwich style, stuffed chicken breast dinner, holubki (stuffed cabbage), pirohi, haluski, and spanakopita (spinach pie). Ethnic baked goods include: nut rolls, nut and apricot horn cookies, lady locks, baklava, cheese pockets, and more! Entertainment Friday: Radost at 7 p.m., Saturday: Rus ky Musikanty at 7 p.m Orthodox Men s Retreat All men, single, married, and of all ages are welcome to participate in the upcoming Orthodox Men s Retreat led by Fr. Meletios Webber. Participants will enjoy a weekend of fellowship, learning, worship and relaxation (not to mention Chef Tim s Fabulous Grilled Salmon cookout on Saturday evening!) with a schedule that is intentionally designed to provide a balance of all of these elements. The atmosphere is casual and there will be free time to explore the woods, shoot some hoops, or even take in a round of golf at nearby Champion Lakes Golf Course. The theme of this year s retreat is From Thinking to Praying: from the head to the heart. The retreat will be held at Antiochian Village in Latrobe, PA from Friday evening, June 17 to Sunday noon, June 19. Call Widows and Widowers Luncheon The Widows and Widowers Luncheon will be held on June 15 at Bravos in the Galleria. Please call Gerri Luchok ( ) or Nancy Romza ( if you plan to attend. Thank You Thank you to all those who helped with the food preparation and food booth sales at the recent Upper St. Clair Community Day. Total profit from the food booth was $

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. Single, 21 & Over (or know someone who is) Looking for a new way to meet people, make friends, and share good times with others? Check out the Catholic Alumni Club. The group offers parties, picnics, hiking, volleyball, tennis, softball, dinners, trips, scripture study, community service, bowling, cultural and many other great events. For more information, visit our website: or call 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 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. Greatly needed items include: spaghetti sauce, macaroni and cheese, canned vegetables (green beans, peas, corn, carrots, spinach etc.), cereals and diapers. Your help in this endeavor is greatly appreciated! St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church Choir Recordings St. Nicholas B. C. Church choir in Barberton, OH is selling recordings of Byzantine Catholic liturgies and hymns. CD s for sale include seasonal chants of the Eastern church, Church Slavonic Divine Liturgies, and ecumenical presentations featuring Byzantine Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant choirs. For more info: or by rbenya@neo.rr.com 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 Afterschool Volunteers Needed South Hills Interfaith Ministries is looking for volunteers for an after school program in 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

5 St. Gregory Byzantine Catholic Church Did you know? (financial) St. Gregory s financial board has recently released the 2010 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 65 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 2010 white and holiday envelopes. Debt Reduction Offering Monthly offering needed for payment on the two outstanding mortgages is $ Monthly offering needed for the Air Conditioning loan is $ for a term of five years Monthly average offered from 2010 was $ Average envelopes offered in 2010 was 45 Shortfall in 2011 debt payments can be made up in several ways and will be published in the Debt Reduction 5 year plan document Terms of the debt payments are determined by the Archeparchy Original Mortgages FIVE YEAR DEBT REDUCTION PLAN (1 st Mortgage balance of 5.5% and 2nd Mortgage of 0%) Mortgage payments are $ a month and applied to the 1 st mortgage until completed. Then applied to the interest free mortgage when the balance in completed Current 1 st mortgage balance $240,000 but after 5 years $68,603. In 80 months the entire first mortgage will be paid in full 21 months later the $75,000 second mortgage will be paid in full Air Conditioner: The terms of this loan are estimated at $ a month for 60 months How we bridge the GAP: Increase the average debt envelopes collected but not at the expense of the weekly envelopes offering reducing in any way. A blend of an increase in debt reduction offerings and fund raising 2010 debt offering equaled $22,700 ($ a month) 2011 projected debt payments $58,800 ($ a month) GAP $36,100 or ( $3008 a month) Fundraising goal $36,100 (without any new debt offerings)

6 Fundraising through Easter is projected to be $16,500 and nearly half way to our goal and it s only April See Annual fundraising ideas and goals for the closing of the GAP potential to be published in a future bulletin Parish Website Under Construction Our parish of St. Gregory Nazianzus has a website currently under construction. To view the parish website go to Thanks to Nick Kiss for getting our parish website online and for updating it with the latest information (including the most recent bulletin editions). This website will help our parish to continue to reach out to our local community and to the world with the Light of Christ shining through our Byzantine Catholic Faith and Tradition.