2017 ST. NECTARIOS ORTHODOX CHURCH

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1 March 2017 ST. NECTARIOS ORTHODOX CHURCH 405 Marcum Road, Lakeland, FL Rev. Fr. Nicholas Wyborski Rev. Fr. Frederick Watson Subdeacon Joseph Brown Subdeacon Peter Flynn Phone: (863) Rectory: (863) Cell: (863) Website: March 25 ANNUNCIATION OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS PRAYER ON ENTERING THE CHURCH I will come into Your House in the multitude of Your mercy; and in Your fear I will worship Your Holy Temple. Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies make Your way straight before me, that with a clear mind I may glorify You forever, One Divine God worshiped in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. We welcome to our parish all visitors, guests, relatives and friends of parishioners & all those visiting for the first time or have not been with us for some time.. We sincerely hope that the celebration of the Divine Liturgy with us is spiritually rewarding for you and that you will return often to worship with us.

2 Schedule of Services for March 2017 Saturday Vespers: (No Vespers on March 18) Sunday Matins Divine Liturgy: 5:00 pm 8:30 am 9:30 am Schedule of Services for the First Week of the Fast Mon, Tues Feb 27,28 and Thurs Mar 2 Great Canon of St. Andrew Wednesday March 1 Great Canon of St. Andrew Pre-Sanctified Liturgy (Lenten meal following) Friday March 3 - Pre-Sanctified Liturgy Moleben to the Holy Cross Saturday March 4 Pilgrimage to Monastery 9:30 am Noon 8:30 am Saturday March 11 and 18 (All Souls Saturdays) Divine Liturgy with Panachida 9:30 am Schedule of Lenten Services After the first week: Mondays during Great Lent Great Compline Tuesdays during Great Lent Lenten Vespers (except on March 21) Wednesdays during Great Lent Pre-Sanctified Liturgy (Lenten meal following) Thursdays during Great Lent Great Compline (except on March 23) Fridays during Great Lent (except Mar 24) Pre-Sanctified Liturgy Moleben to the Holy Cross Friday, March 24 Vespers for Feast of the Annunciation Saturday March 25 (Feast of the Annunciation) Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom Vespers Noon Confessions: Before/After Services or by Appointment Schedule of Epistle Readers for March 2017 Sunday Saturday Sunday Saturday Sunday Saturday Sunday 9:30 am 5:00 pm March 5 Arlene Tonjes March 11 Natalie Pope March 12 Pani Wanda March 18 Natalie Pope March 19 Subdeacon Joseph Brown March 25 Natalie Pope March 26 Ellen Flynn Special Days Birthday: Anniversary: Nameday: Paul M. Tomachesky Konstantin Wolfe Patrick Connor Lewis Marek Wolfe Mary Elizabeth Flynn Subdcn Joseph and Cynthia Brown Subdcn Peter Flynn (Ordination to Subdiaconate) Patrick Connor Lewis Kevin (Tikhon) Justice 3/12 3/12 3/14 3/19 3/21 3/8 3/14 3/17 (St. Patrick, Enlightener of Ireland) 3/25 (St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow) May God grant you many Blessed years!! ANNOUNCEMENTS Lenten Services: Please note that most evenings during Great Lent a Lenten Service will be served according to the above schedule. In addition, each Sunday evening during the Fast, a Vespers Service will be served in several Orthodox Churches in the Tampa Bay area according to the attached schedule. You are encouraged to attend at least one or more of these Lenten Services each week as a part of your Lenten discipline this year.

3 On the first Saturday of Great Lent, March 4, we will be making our pilgrimage to the Pangia Vlahernon Men's Monastery and Annunciation of the Theotokos Women's Monastery. Plans are to meet at the church between 8 and 8:30 and carpool to the Monasteries. The monks will provide lunch and we will have a short service before proceeding to the women's monastery to visit their bookstore/giftshop before heading back home. We should be back before 4:30pm. In keeping with the tradition of giving alms during Great Lent, our food drive Stewardship project is being revitalized and will be launched on March 1, Parishioners are asked to bring an item or items of NonPerishable Food every time they come to the Church. These items will be collected and distributed at the end of each month. Health Kits: As we did in Great Lent last year, we will again be assembling Hygiene Kits for Those In Need. All that is needed is a one-gallon plastic bag with a zipper closure filled with the following items: one hand towel, one washcloth, one comb, one metal nail file or nail clipper, one bar of soap (bath size), one toothbrush, and six (6) Band-Aids. Bring the items to church in the plastic bag and we will take care of packing and shipping them. Since this is a Lenten project, last day will be Palm Sunday, April 9. Thank you for your generosity. Pledges. If you have submitted your pledge for the year, many thanks. If not, please remember that since we do not have a 'dues system', stewardship is the primary manner in which the parish is funded, both for operating expenses and for growth. Please help. Pledge forms are on the cabinet in the Narthex (Entryway). Reach Youth Where Youth Ministry is Emerging-- Empower youth and teens in countries where youth ministry is emerging and opportunities for youth leadership exist. Orthodox Mission Teams to Alaska, Kenya, and Albania will offer programs for students and adult leaders, giving them the opportunity to develop vision for their youth groups, as well teach the Biblical basics of youth ministry and what it means to be a leader. These teams will model servant leadership by assisting in small groups, recreation, and worship. OCMC invites you to join these opportunities in youth ministry. For more information, please visit teams@ocmc.org, or call GO FORTH (ext 141). Liturgy Commemorations. In addition to the general prayers for the dead on All Souls Days, if you wish to have a relative, friend or loved one (living or departed) remembered during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, please fill out the Special Intention Form next to the basket of breads as you enter the Chapel. You may also offer one of the loaves for this purpose as well. A free-will offering may be made for the bread. If you have not approached the Mystery of Confession recently, now is the time to repair or enhance your relationship to Christ. A good rule of thumb is to participate in this Sacrament every 8 10 weeks unless there is a desire to do so more frequently. This is especially important for those who frequently approach with fear of God, with faith and with love to receive the Body and Blood of Christ Panachidas (Memorial Services). In addition to the general commemorations for the departed made on All Souls Saturdays, it is customary to remember our loved ones on the anniversary of their departure from this earthly life. If you would like to have a Memorial Service for a loved one after the Liturgy, let Father Nicholas or Pani Wanda know. Koliva (sweetened boiled wheat) may also be prepared and shared with the congregation, if desired. Check with Pani if you need the recipe or we can prepare it for you. MATINS is a morning service of prayer which is served prior to the Divine Liturgy on Sunday and occasionally on the eve before a Holy Day. It begins with six Psalms, has a Gospel reading, a series of odes (hymns) called the Canon, and ends with the Great Doxology (Praise to God) On Sundays the hymns all emphasize the Resurrection of Christ. It can vary in length but at St. Nectarios it lasts about 45 minutes beginning at 8:30am followed by the 3 rd Hour. Adjacent to the tithing basket on the counter in the Narthex are two stacks of envelopes for your convenience. In addition to the usual envelopes provided for your stewardship offering are envelopes for the children to use. It would be good to teach our children how to give back to God out of their resources. Remember to pray for our God-loving Bishop Gregory, all the members and friends of our parish family especially the sick, those who are away, those who have no one to pray for them, and all in need of God's mercy. May the Lord God bless them, protect them and grant them length of days

4 MARCH 25 - FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE THEOTOKOS When the most holy Virgin had lived and served in the Temple at Jerusalem for eleven years, and was by then fourteen years old entering on her fifteenth year the priests informed her that, according to the Law, she could no longer remain in the Temple but must be betrothed and marry. But, to the great surprise of all the priests, the most holy Virgin replied that she had dedicated herself to God and wished to remain a maiden until death, entering into wedlock with no one. Then, by God's providence and under His inspiration, Zacharias, the high priest and father of St. John the Forerunner, in consultation with the other priests, chose twelve unmrarried men from the tribe of David so that they might entrust the Virgin Mary to one of them to preserve her virginity and care for her. She was thus entrusted to Joseph, an old man from Nazareth and a kinsman of hers. In his house, the most holy Virgin contiued to live in the same manner as in the Temple of Solomon, passing her time in the reading of the sacred Scriptures, in prayer, in pondering on the works of God, in fasting and in handiwork. She scarcely ever left the house, nor took an interest in worldy matters or events. She generally conversed very little with anyone, and never without a particular need. She was intimate only with the two daughters of Joseph. But when the time prophesied by the Prophet Daniel had come and when God was pleased to fulfil the promise made to Adam when He drove him out of Paradise, and to the prophets, the mighty Archangel Gabriel appeared in the chamber of the most holy Virgin, at the precise moment (as some priestly writers have related) that she was holding open on her lap the book of the Prophet Isaiah and pondering on his great prophecy: 'Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son'. Gabriel appeared to her in angelic light and said to her: 'Rejoice, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee!, and so forth, just as is related in the Gosepl of the divine Luke. With this angelic greeting and the descent of the Holy Spirit, the salvation of mankind and the renewal of creation were set in motion. The Archangel turned the first page of the story of the New Testament with the word 'Rejoice!', to show by this the joy that the New Testament signifies for mankind and for all things created. And therefore the Annunciaton is looked upon as a joyous, as well as a great, feast. Since it comes in the solemn time of Great Lent it is like the sign of our joy in the midst of repentance. God, Father and Creator of all, renews the world He has made by sending His Son, born of Mary, to be our Savior. To Him be the glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, to the ages of ages. From The Prologue from Ochrid For Consideration: The absolute minimum requirement to be considered a practicing Orthodox Christian is to approach the Mysteries of Confession and Holy Eucharist at least once a year, usually during the period prior to or following Pascha. This does not mean that you should refrain from coming more often. In order to fully participate in the Divine Liturgy, coming to Holy Communion is desirable, even essential, to your progress in sanctity, assuming you have fasted from Midnight and are not in a state of serious sin. If fasting is not possible (for example, for medical reasons), you should discuss this with Father rather than arbitrarily staying away. Follow Our Diocese On-Line Diocesan Website: Camp Nazareth: Facebook: Twitter: You Tube:

5 For the Record Liturgy Attendance Adults ChildrenComm Income Stewardship Outgo $ Feb Candles Feb Book Store Feb Memorial Feb Amazon Smile Natalie Pope (Loan Payment ) (627.64) Diocese (Loan payment) (416.60) Water Electric ADT (Security) (55.17) Brighthouse (Internet) (39.23) Sam's Club (Supplies) (45.51) Webstaurant Store (cups) (29.09) Diocesan Priests Pension Fund (457.00) Guide One Insurance (425.67) Priest's Salary - Fr. Nicholas ( 14.54) (173.39) ( ) Totals: $ Give Glory to God for all things! ($ )

6 On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life We cannot forgive enough Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? (Matthew 18:21 RSV) Our society is filled cannot with numbers and statistics. Everything has a price, for example. Newspapers are filled with ads that reveal costs as well as pages of economic data that are in reality, just numbers. The sports pages are crammed with box scores and player statistics. Professional sports teams are now relying heavily on what they call analytics defined as, the discovery and communication of meaningful patterns in data, that is, in the statistics and numbers. In an interesting exchange between the Apostle Peter and Our Lord in Matthew 18, numbers play an important part. The Apostle wants to know the answer to a question about How many? How many times should I forgive my brother for sinning against me? The Apostle suggests that it be seven times. Our Lord, however, replies with an obviously exaggerated expectation: seventy times seven is the number of times to forgive that brother. Perhaps Jesus reply caused some laughter among those listening to this exchange. Seventy times seven? The numbers are simple enough to figure out: 490 times! The laughter might come in the understanding that this figure is a suggestion that no one can ever run out of times to forgive someone else. Forgiveness here is essentially infinite it never, ever runs out. Our Lord is saying in effect, You don t need to bother counting. True forgiveness does not keep score. We have all heard the saying To err is human; to forgive divine. There is truth to that saying. Forgiveness is, to put it simply, God s way. God has devised a way to offer full and complete forgiveness for all of our sins. For those of us who live in the state of this forgiveness, we then offer our brothers and sisters that forgiveness. It is a rather simple stewardship: we have been fully forgiven, and we share that forgiveness with everyone else. Such forgiveness actually costs us nothing. It does not reduce the amount we are forgiven by God, nor do we need to find a store of materials to use in order to forgive. Forgiveness does not keep score. Forgiveness is an opportunity to restore broken relationships. Forgiveness is an opportunity to begin again, from the start. The words of Jesus: forgive, and you will be forgiven good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back (Luke 6:37-38 RSV). It's Up To Us You received without paying, give without pay. (Matthew 10:8 RSV) The only way that Christ has left to us to support the cause of the Church has been the generosity of His followers. We are required to give to God according to the proportion that we have been blessed. When we look at the Cross and see our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ having made Himself poor that we might become rich, it should be easy to see that we are not to lay up for ourselves treasures on earth, but in heaven. Such a bank as heaven is for us to hold our treasures, it will never stop return payments. God sent His Son to this earth for our salvation and restoration, what can we possibly give back to Him? We are to give our all. All we have

7 is required of us: our gifts and offerings, our lives and families, our time and our varied talents: You received without paying, give without pay. In fact, how can one ever consider reducing the amount of his or her offerings and gifts? Every faithful steward will want to always be increasing those gifts and offerings! We are dependent upon God for every good thing we enjoy. Not one of us who is receiving the great gifts of God should ever let God be ashamed of our lack of responsive giving back. Withholding from God, who owns all that we have anyway, is simple ingratitude. Those who stand before the open tomb of the Risen Christ; those who sing of Christ trampling down death by death ; those who say to each other Christ is Risen! with joy and fervor: those ought never question how much he or she returns to Christ in gifts and offerings. Rather those who have received salvation through the Resurrection of Christ will feel that even the richest offering is all too meager. Even the greatest offering that someone gives can never be compared to the great Gift God has given to humankind in the Resurrection of the Only-begotten Son! The Holy Apostle Paul: But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:20-22 RSV). With those words ringing in our ears, from the poorest to the richest, each of us made alive in Christ will find a way to say Thank you with all generosity. Self-Denial If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23 RSV) No one can practice true stewardship without practicing genuine self-denial. Self-denial and the Holy Cross lie directly in the path of every Christian who is truly following Christ. Christian life, thus Christian stewardship, includes self-denial, self-sacrifice, even to the laying down of life itself, if need be, for the sake of Christ who has given His life for the life of the world. We who view Christ on the Cross are bound by our obligation to God in return for that marvelous gift from God. We are to withhold nothing that we possess, no matter how dear it may be to us. If we possess anything that can help with the work of bringing another soul to the Church, no matter how rich or poor, we are to use such possessions for this purpose. Our Lord has employed us as co-workers with Him for the salvation of the world. If we have professed to be truly Orthodox Christians, that we are truly saved by the Holy Cross and Resurrection of Christ, and then do not let that light shine before others, we are neglecting doing what the words of Christ explicitly command: If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. We often find ourselves arguing about how much we should give to the cause of Christ and His Church. Rather, let us consider how much we have kept back from His treasury and rather devoted to the indulgence of self in pleasure-seeking and self-gratification. We often find ourselves arguing about who is going to do the work around our parishes. Let us rather consider how we have closed our own eyes of understanding and not see our own duty to use the talents and abilities we have been given by God. It is selfishness that keeps funds in our pockets. It is selfishness that keeps talents from being used in the vineyard of the Lord. After all, it was selfishness that caused Adam and Eve to sin in the Garden. They had all they could possibly want except what they selfishly desired. That selfishness set the history of salvation through Christ into action. Now that our salvation is assured it is time to put away selfishness and practice self-denial: If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

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