The Apostles Joy. Issue # 28 Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania + Orthodox Church in America. Spring 2008

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1 Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania + Orthodox Church in America The Apostles Joy Issue # 28 Spring 2008 Dear Family & Friends in Christ: Glory to Jesus Christ! As long as I can remember the feast of the 40 Holy Martyrs of Sebaste has always intrigued me. For those of you who don t know the story let me fill you in: At the time of the Edict of Milan there were 40 Cappadocian soldiers in the services of the Evil co-emperor Licinius. When it was found out that they were Christians, and would not give any tribute to the pagan gods, they were stripped and thrown into a icy lake near the city of Sebaste. The 40 martyrs suffered in the frigid water terribly, and tempted by a warm bathhouse on the shore, they were bribed to deny Christ and to The Holy 40 Martyrs of Sebaste renounce their faith. Sadly, one soldier gave in and left the 39 and ran for the comfort of the warm bath. As soon as he crossed the threshold of the bathhouse he fell down dead. A soldier keeping watch saw the one flee, and also saw a miraculous light shine upon the 39 and saw what looked to be crowns descending from heaven for the martyrs, he announced to his compatriots, I too am a Christian! and joined the 39 in the lake. Eventually the saints bodies were taken, burned and then their holy relics were strewn into the lake to make sure the Christians could not give them a proper burial. Warned in a dream, St. Peter of Sebaste, came and collected their holy remains by night and buried them with honor. Dear ones, although we live in a world today where we are thankfully not outwardly persecuted by the authorities or the society, we still fight a more subtle battle. And many times sadly, we can be tempted by the easy route, the warm bath on the shore, so to speak, and not endure the hardships we face for the sake of Christ. It is times like these that we should especially remember the valiant 40 martyrs of Sebaste, and ask for their intercessions that we could follow their example; To be true witnesses of Christ in all places, at all times! Let s make this challenge our focus during this Lenten struggle, and when we reach the Holy Day of Pascha, rejoice at the foretaste of the Kingdom to come that we celebrate on that All-Bright Day! O Holy 40 Martyrs of Sebaste Pray unto God for us! Please be assured of my prayers during the Great Fast, With Much love, & God s blessing,

2 PAGE 2 Our a glance: Nativity 2007: This year our Christmas celebration was extra special as this was the first year in our new facility. What a wonderful experience it was to decorate and celebrate in our own spiritual home! The highlight of the feast was the surprise finish of our Ikonostas doors! (see picture below). Glory to God for all things! Donations: Thank you to everyone who so generously donated towards our Mission during the Christmas Holiday! May God bless you all and reward you for the goodness you have shown us! Please remember us in your charitable donations this Pascha. Thank you! Parish Website: Recently one of our Newly Illumined parishioners, Timothy Herman, has taken on the responsibility of updating and maintaining our parish website. If you have not seen it in a while check it today, and check it often. Tim updates it constantly! Visit of the Bishop: On the weekend of February 2-3, His Grace, our Bishop TIKHON made his annual Archpastoral visit to Holy Apostles. Prior to the Divine Liturgy, His Grace tonsured Seraphim Reynolds to the order of Reader, and then blessed the newly completed Ikonostas. Following the Liturgy, thanks were offered to good friends of the parish, Robert and Nancy Wingert, for their generosity in helping complete the Ikonostas. Parishioner Joseph Kurtz was presented with a Diocesan gramota for his efforts used to create the newly installed Altar doors. It was a wonderful celebratory weekend. Pascha Bread: It s bread time again! Holy Apostles will be making Pascha Breads on Saturday, March 8. Newly- Illumined Timothy Herman (Dec. 16) Tonsure of Rdr. Seraphim Reynolds (February 3) Our Chapel - Christmas 2007 The Baptism of Matthew Dollins (Feb. 24)

3 PAGE 3 Breads will be available for pick-up for those who need them for Western Easter on March 16 & 22, at the Mission. For those who want them for Orthodox Pascha, pick-up will be available after Liturgy on Sunday, April 20. For more information, or for bread orders, please contact Mary Sak at (717) , or Tim McMahon at (717) Pysanky workshop: On Lazarus Saturday, April 19, following the Divine Liturgy, Pysanky expert Rosalie Hogg will be offering a free one-day seminar on the ancient Ukrainian art of Pysanky. Anyone interested, ages 8 and up, please contact Fr. Timothy, as space is limited and we need to plan for supplies. Mission Council Meeting: The Monthly meeting of the Mission Council is always held on the third Thursday of every month at 7:00 pm. All parish members are invited to participate in this important administrative ministry of the Church Pilgrimage to Macedonia: May 10 May 18, 2008: For more information regarding this wonderful spiritual opportunity, please contact Gina LeVan at (717) Special Presanctified Liturgies: On Friday, April 11, the clergy and Faithful of Christ the Saviour Church in Harrisburg, will be joining Holy Apostles for a combined Presanctified Liturgy. The Wednesday before this, April 9, we are invited to worship with them at Christ the Savior Church. A Lenten Potluck with fellowship will follow each service. This has become a wonderful annual tradition where the words of Scripture come to life: Behold how good and pleasant it is when brethren dwell in unity. Schedule of Frackville Deanery Lenten Mission Services March 16: Sunday of Orthodoxy: St. John Chrysostom Church, York, PA: 5:00 pm Bishop THOMAS (Antiochian Archdiocese) presiding March 23: St. Gregory Palamas: Christ the Saviour Church, Harrisburg: 5:00 pm March 30: Veneration of the Cross: Sts. Peter & Paul Church, Minersville: 5:00 pm April 6: St. John Climacus: St. Mary Church, Coaldale: 5:00 pm Bishop TIKHON presiding April 13: St. Mary of Egypt: St. Herman of Alaska Church, Shillington: 5:00 pm Don t worry about results. We must be faithful, and do our work. If we have fruit, thank God! If we don t have fruit, thank God. Don t worry about results. Just be joyful and faithful. - Archbishop ANASTASIOS of Albania Prayers for the Health & Salvation of those who are in need: Metropolitan THEODOSIUS (retired Primate of the OCA), Archbishop GREGORY (retired OCA Archbishop of Alaska), Archimandrite Jerome (Newville), Priestmonk Ambrose (Young), Archpriest John Perich, Archpriest Michael Mihalick, Archpriest Pavel Soucek, Priest Innokentios Byakatonda, Presbytera Pearl Veronis, Mat. Mary Geeza, Mat. Olga Kovach, Joseph & Pauline Fetsko, Margaret Balog, Leo & Marlene Washburn, Lubov (Lillian) Husted, Michael & Margot Katchur, Ludmilla Kern, Clare Brown, Metro Petrosky, Steven Kneiss, Melania Kosty, Amelia Kuzmiak, Mary Burke, the child Christopher Elliot, Matushka Tamara Cowan & the Child Kyrill to be granted to her, Nina Carson & the Child to be born of her, Hannah Gordon, Harry Sysak, Sharon Hanna, Mary Lou Grove, Janice Fields, Mary Kneiss, Ryan Matthew Pron, Peter Melnik, Charles Hier, Julie Harb, Beth Arneson, Subdeacon Richard Hathaway, John DellaMonica, Carol Allen, Gregory Geeza, Carol Durkish, Anne Merlina, Daniel, Pei, Lydia, Joshua, & Anna Medill, Francis Waldrop, the child JaNae, Kathleen Cavanaugh, Almaz Alemu, Klare Sunderland, Maurice Pennock, Jane Hall, Josiah Michaels, Rick Ally, the infant Liam Hepplewhite, the infant Nora Benner, the infant Elenora Waisanen, John Hormovitis, Becky, Lauren, and Samantha Buddenbaum, Fay Hernley, Phyllis Hershey, Laura Philemonof, and for our Catechumens: Dana, Hannah, Wesley, Jonathan, Grace, Elizabeth & Samuel Pope; Criss & Wade Kerkendall; & Laura Ritchey. Prayers for the newly Departed: Memory Eternal! His Beatitude, Archbishop CHRISTODOULOS of Athens (+1/28), Thomas Clee (+1/19), Paul Dotsey (+1/21), Anna Martin (+1/27), Emily Hayes (+2/3), Dragica Slepcevic (+2/8), Mary Skordinski (+2/8) & Anna Wyslutsky (+2/24)

4 PAGE 4 Visit of the Chair of the OCA Department of Evangelization On the weekend of February 16-17, Fr. Eric Tosi, the Director of Evangelization for the Orthodox Church in America made a site visit to Holy Apostles Mission in Mechanicsburg, PA. Holy Apostles is a second year recipient of the OCA Mission Planting Grant. One of the stipulations of the grant is that once during its tenure a member of the Department of Evangelization come and visit. Fr. Eric met with Fr. Timothy Hojnicki, Rector of Holy Apostles, and the Mission Council before Great Vespers on February 16, encouraging them for their good work, and challenging them for the future goals they are striving for as a mission parish. Father Eric served the Divine Liturgy with Fr. Timothy on Sunday morning with 84 souls present and offered the sermon. During Fellowship Hour, Fr. Eric gave an energetic PowerPoint presentation on the work of Missions for us all in the Church today. 2nd Annual Lenten Day Retreat Saturday, March 15, :00 AM Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation 2500 Pine Grove Road York, PA (717) March 15th, 2008 is the 2nd annual YAF Day Retreat. This year s theme is "Orthodoxy in the 21st Century: Keeping and Sharing the Faith," with guest speaker Fr. Daniel Kovalak. Join us in York, PA at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. Families, Couples, and Singles are all welcome! Feel free to come and go as your schedule allows. 9:00 AM Orthros / Divine Liturgy 11:30 AM Lunch 12:30 AM Ice Breaker 12:45 PM Session 1 1:45 PM Break/Snacks 2:00 PM Session 2 3:00 PM Q&A 3:30 PM Thanksgiving Akathist Check out the OCCSCP Young Adult Group s website for more information: A Great Lent Reminder: All Orthodox Christians are called to prepare for the celebration of Pascha during this Lenten Fast. In addition to increased prayer, fasting, and charitable deeds, we are also called to come to Holy Confession. All members of Holy Apostles Mission should take the time to come and make their confession in preparation for the Paschal celebration. Father will be available for Confession before or after every service during Great Lent. Please make every effort to take advantage of this! Also, for those preparing to receive Holy Communion for a Presanctified Liturgy, please begin your fast after the noon hour, as well as saying your usual pre-communion prayers.

5 PAGE 5 Lenten Schedule of Services Forgiveness Vespers: (3/9): 6:00 pm Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete: (3/10-3/13): 7:00 pm Presanctified Liturgies: Wednesdays & Fridays of Lent: 6:30 pm SPECIAL SERVICES: - Wednesday, April 2, Deanery Presanctified: St. Peter & Paul Church, Minersville: 6:00 pm - Wednesday, April 9, Harrisburg area Presanctified: Christ the Saviour Church, Harrisburg: 6:30 pm Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete: (4/10): 7:00 pm Akathist to the Theotokos following Vespers: (4/12) Matins of Lazarus Saturday: (4/18): 7:00 pm Lazarus Saturday Liturgy: (4/19): 9:00 am Holy Week Schedule of Services Palm Sunday (4/20): Bridegroom Matins: 7:00 pm Holy Monday (4/21): Bridegroom Matins: 7:00 pm Holy Tuesday (4/22): Bridegroom Matins: 7:00 pm Holy Wednesday (4/23): Holy Unction To be Announced... Holy Thursday (4/24): - Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil: 7:30 am - Matins of Holy Friday with Passion Gospels: 7:00 pm Holy Friday (4/25): - Vespers: 3:00 pm - Matins of Holy Saturday with Lamentations: 7:00 pm Holy Saturday (4/26): - Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil the Great: 9:00 am - Nocturnes: 11:30 pm Holy Pascha: - Matins of Pascha, Divine Liturgy, & Agape: 12:00 am - Agape Vespers of Holy Pascha: 2:30 pm

6 Holy Apostles Orthodox Mission Holy Apostles Orthodox Mission 5006 E. Trindle Rd. - Suite 101 Mechanicsburg, PA Spring 2008 Address service requested Non-Profit Organization U. S. Postage P A I D Mechanicsburg, PA Permit No. 228 Holy Apostles Orthodox Mission 5006 E. Trindle Rd. Suite 101 Mechanicsburg, PA (717) Parish Administration Fr. Timothy Hojnicki, Rector thoj@hotmail.com (717) Mary Sak, Parish Council President marysak@comcast.net (717) Timothy McMahon, Parish Council Vice President tim0116@hotmail.com (717) Elizabeth Gaither, Parish Council Treasurer eagaither@hotmail.com (717) Mark Linnehan, Parish Council Secretary marklinnehan@comcast.net (717) Angela Costas, Council Member Joseph Fetsko, Council Member Joseph Kurtz, Council Member Sally Anne Marasco, Council Member Barbara Linnehan, Choir Director Subdeacon Nathan Rush Subdeacon Richard Hathaway Reader Seraphim Reynolds Reader Matthew Souder