Why was Jesus Baptized? Two things have always confused me 1.) Jesus was without sin 2.) He was Jewish!

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1 Page What we probably already know about the Theophany By. Fr. Jason The Theophany occurred when our Lord was Baptized in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. When this happened, the Spirit in the form of the dove came down from heaven, and God the Father said: This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. The gospels speak of this, and we also hear it explained in the Hymn When you were baptized in the Jordan O Lord. If we have attended a baptism, or an epiphany service, or have had our homes blessed, this should sound familiar! Why was Jesus Baptized? Two things have always confused me 1.) Jesus was without sin 2.) He was Jewish! This has helped me understand things a little better. First of all, because purity was essential for every aspect of Jewish life, they had certain cleansing rituals some of these rituals resembled baptism. Should it be any wonder that John the Baptist, while preparing people for the coming of the Messiah, was concerned with purifying people via ritual immersion? Also, Christ may have been without sin. But remember that, God loved His creation so much that He wanted to become a part of mankind in every way in order to save us: The Lord, was baptized not because He Himself needed cleansing, but rather, having taken our cleansing upon Himself, to destroy the heads of the serpents in the water, to bury human sin through water (St. John of Damascus) Continued on page 7... Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church 501 West 27 th St Cheyenne WY, (307) office@cheyennegoc.org Father Jason Dickey In This Issue: Page 1 Page 3 Page 4 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 THE THEOPHANY OF OUR LORD Good Saints Constantine & Helen STEWARDSHIP Community Snapshots THEOPHANY CONT. It s House Blessing Time

2 Office Hours Fr. Jason s Office Hours are back to the normal time: Mon Thurs (9am 4pm) Father Jason can be reached on his cell phone (219) in the event of a pastoral emergency. Please call the church for all other matters. If you would like to speak with Fr. Jason during the week, please call and set up an appointment. Remember: Fr. Jason has set aside Tuesdays to meet with parishioners at the Church. On Tuesdays, parishioners can receive the sacrament of confession, be anointed, or ask questions about the Orthodox faith, or just come and chat! Sit down For a little chat sometime! Page 2 Pastoral Visits I didn t want to bother the Priest is never a valid excuse for not calling Fr. Jason for a pastoral emergency! Did you ever think that it might bother the priest when you don t call? Pastoral visits and phone calls are not only vital to those who are in need of pastoral care, but they are vital to the life of our parish. Call the Church Office or call Fr. Jason s emergency cell phone number and let him know! You can also ask your family members, a social worker, or your Hospital s Chaplain services to notify the Church so that they can inform Father Jason that you are in need of pastoral care. We must support one another in every way possible. If you know of someone who is in need of pastoral care, please encourage them or their designated caregiver to call the Church office or Fr. Jason s emergency cell phone number. The Sacrament of Confession Confession is a necessary element of our personal healing, and for the repentance and forgiveness of sins. It s also a vital element of our Lord s Commission to us as Orthodox Christians for the life and growth of the Church. Please speak to Fr. Jason in order to make the necessary arrangements for the sacrament of confession. Fr. Jason is also available on Tuesday unless called to a pastoral emergency. Home Visits Do you or anyone else know of someone who needs a home due to health reasons, or just because they need someone to talk to? Please call Fr. Jason or ask our Ladies Philoptochos in order to schedule a Home visit.

3 Page 3 Good Saints Constantine & Helen Philoptochos Annual Turkey Raffle Winner was Aida Fino! Congratulations! To the Fino family and thank you for everyone who supports our Ladies Philoptochos Chapter! A Special Thanks for everyone who has helped with our many local charitable projects throughout the Holiday Season such as the East High School Cares Program, Toys for Tots, our Frozen Turkey Drive for Safe House, Santa s Coats for Kids program, and our Philoptochos Christmas Families Project which was sponsored by our All Saints Foundation Our Orthodox Natural Church Development (ONCD) has gathered the data from the focus groups that have taken place over the past several months in order to present recommendations to Father Jason and the Parish Council we that we can all help improve the health and ministries of our parish St. Macrina s Academy did a wonderful job putting on a Christmas retreat on November 29th and a Christmas pageant on December 21st Father Jason attended another Family Ministry Conference Webinar on December 11th offered by our Archdiocese and the Crisis Trauma Resource Institute A special thank goes out to the entire parish for your generous contributions for the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) and the St. Nicholas National Shrine Thank You for everyone who helped decorate our Church for the Holiday Season! Please help us take them down on January 10th? Congratulations to our new newly elected parish council members: Nancy, Stella, & Bill Join our Lady s Philoptochos on January 10th to bake Vasilopita. We will cut the bread the following day on the solea. Don t forget to bring a donation for St. Basil s academy!!! A special meeting will take place after Liturgy on January 11th to discuss this year s Greek Festival. Festivals are fun but they don t run themselves. If you want to participate please come to this important meeting! A special thanks for our Philoptochos for honoring our three hierarchs on January 25th. All are invited to a special luncheon after Liturgy on that day!

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5 Stewardship Ministries at Saints Constantine and Helen Page 5 It s time to prayerfully discern how we will do our part in cooperating with God in our lives, in order for us to help carry out the mission and purpose of Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church of Cheyenne Wyoming: to strive for our own salvation, but the salvation of every person in Jesus Christ as a parish family. When we speak of stewardship and family we must also consider the stewardship of family. Most often, we stress the importance of stewardship of the great gifts of God s material world, but which of God s gifts is greater than family? When we speak of family, we speak not only of love, and support, but of struggle. Every family struggles. Is every family perfect? Is every family strong at all times? Look to the scriptures, and the lives of the saints, we will see that strength is perfected only in weakness, and a dependence on God and of those who are seeking salvation. As we approach this coming year as a parish family, let us cooperate with the one who has created us, and saved us so that we may pursue salvation together. The Numbers are Coming in As the year came to a close a total of 102 families (160 stewards) have pledged $100, for the year We have almost reached our stewardship goal of $96, We collected $96, in stewardship pledges for the year. We have done so because of the love and dedication of our parish family! The life and ministries of Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church depends on God. However, we need to cooperate with Him in order for His purpose in our lives to be fulfilled here in Cheyenne, and throughout the world. If you have not yet fulfilled you pledged for 2014, please take the time to prayerfully do so. Get Ready for our upcoming Stewardship campaign for 2015! Your Stewardship Committee

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7 ...Continued from page 1 An Inconvenient Truth What we wish we didn t have to know Page 7 After his baptism, our Lord didn t have time for party favors, fun, and festivities. Instead he fasted for forty days in the desert, and confronted the devil. And to think, we have a hard enough time keeping numbers up in our Church even with festivities, and party favors! Imagine, how hard retention rates would be, if we openly talked about demonic temptations? We re certainly not God in the flesh, but isn t the goal for us once we have put on Christ in baptism to confront the adversities of world in light of the lives that we have been given in Jesus Christ? Instead, what happens to us when we are overcome by the temptations that we face? Have we been had? Have we been fooled into not seeing the world as God wants us to see it? At the very least, let s not fool ourselves. The concerns for worldly affairs consume us. But sadly, if everything is relative, and perception is reality, it doesn t matter if our sins and habits are co-dependent on one another. If this is true, don t worry we re all probably doing the right thing anyway, regardless of what God wants us to do! We allow our burdens to over burden us to the point of where we are no longer concerned for one the one who heals us from our burdens, and overcomes the tempter himself by every word that comes from the mouth of God in order for us to know that it is not bread alone that sustains us. God help us! Why are we satisfied with patterns of behavior that we know to be self-destructive? Why is the standard of striking our foot against a stone or casting ourselves from the highest point of the temple acceptable? Remember, just as the Lord is concerned for our salvation so too the murder of men, the devil, strives to lead a man into despair. (St. Seraphim of Sarov) God came upon earth in order to raise us up to heaven. May God who became one of us for our salvation, and identified with our sinful state, heal us, save us, and have mercy on us. In the words of St. John of Kronstadt: It would seem, after this, that even when living upon earth we must live as if in the heavenly kingdom, dwelling there in anticipation by hope. But in reality, for the greater part, the contrary is the case. Men cling with their whole being to the earth and everything earthly.

8 Page 8 Wherefore is this? Because our common enemy, the Devil, endeavours with all his might to oppose the intentions of the God-man, Christ. He endeavours to do everything in opposition to what Christ did and does. Christ wishes to raise men up to heaven, and has given them all the means to attain this; whilst the Devil, who himself for his pride was cast down from heaven into the dominions of the air, wishes by every means to attach men to earthly,- sensual, transitory things, and, in order to attain this end, he employs the most powerful, most prodigious means. Christ taught us truth; the Devil teaches us falsehood, and strives in every way to contradict every truth; devising various calumnies against it. The Devil endeavours by every means to keep men in error, in the enticement of the passions, in darkness of mind and heart; in pride, avarice, covetousness, envy, hatred, wicked impatience and irritation; in evil despondence, in the abominations of fornication, adultery, theft, false-witness, blasphemy, negligence, slothfulness, and sluggishness. When Christ was baptized in the Jordan, he fully identified himself with us, and all of creation was seen as good once again with the manifestation of the Trinity in the world. When we invite God into our homes, our family members, and the very foundation in which we live in are filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit. Here are some ways to prepare for the priest visit to bless our homes: On your dining room table or family altar, place a lighted candle, a Theophany icon or icon of Christ, and a wide bowl (to hold the holy water the priest will bring). -Turn on a light in each room, so the priest can see where he is going. -Turn off all TVs, stereos, and computers. It s House Blessing Time! -Secure any pets that might jump up on the priest or family, or "get underfoot"as you move from room to room. (Pets may be blessed, too!) -Everyone in the house when the priest arrives should gather around the table/family altar and join in the singing of the litany responses and troparion. -The children may lead the priest around the house with a lit candle. Remember that there is a sign up sheet in the fellowship hall downstairs for the Month of January. Another Sign up sheet will be posted in February!