St. Nicholas Orthodox Church Monthly Parish Bulletin

Transcription

1 St. Nicholas Orthodox Church Monthly Parish Bulletin Orthodox Church in America 2143 S. Center Road Burton, Michigan Website: Fr. Matthew s lanscoal@sbcglobal.net Home: Church: Fax: Services: Sunday - 9:30 a.m. Third Hour 10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy Holydays, Vigil and Vespers as announced Confessions are heard before all morning services and after all evening services. But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. St. Jude: 20 APRIL 1-30, 2010

2 Schedule for Holy Week, Pascha & Bright Week PALM SUNDAY, March 28 9:30 AM Third Hour 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy with procession 7:00 PM Vespers GREAT & HOLY MONDAY, March 29 10:00 AM Bridegroom Matins 6:00 PM Presanctified Divine Liturgy/Lenten potluck GREAT & HOLY TUESDAY, March 30 10:00 AM Bridegroom Matins 6:00 PM Presanctified Divine Liturgy/Lenten potluck GREAT & HOLY WEDNESDAY, March 31 10:00 AM Bridegroom Matins 7:00 PM Holy Unction Service GREAT & HOLY THURSDAY, April 1 9:00 AM Vespers/Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great at St. George with Bishop MARK of the Antiochian Diocese of the Midwest 7:00 PM Matins of Great and Holy Friday with the reading of the Twelve Gospels GREAT & HOLY FRIDAY, April 2 9:00 AM Royal Hours 3:00 PM Great Vespers of Great and Holy Friday 7:00 PM Matins of Great and Holy Saturday with Lamentations and Procession GREAT & HOLY SATURDAY, April 3 10:00 AM Vespers/Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great 12:00 PM Simple Blessing of Paschal Foods 10:30 PM Nocturnes 11:00 PM Myrrhbearers Rush Procession, Matins of the Resurrection 12:00 AM Divine Liturgy followed by the blessing of Paschal eggs, food, and fellowship in the parish hall HOLY PASCHA, April 4 11:00 AM Paschal Vespers and procession BRIGHT MONDAY, April 5 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy with procession and Gospels Paschal brunch by Fr. Matthew & Matushka Lisa BRIGHT TUESDAY, April 6 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy (Slavonic) BRIGHT WEDNESDAY, April 7 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy at Saint George BRIGHT FRIDAY, April 9 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy at Assumption BRIGHT SATURDAY, April 10 4:30 PM Great Vespers THOMAS SUNDAY, April 11 9:30 AM Third Hour 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy Easter Egg Hunt 2:00 PM Paschal Commemoration of the Departed at St. Nicholas Cemetery

3 ORDER OF PROCESSION FOR GREAT FRIDAY AND PASCHA Processional Cross Processional Fans Torches Instruments of the Passion Wooden Clappers Girls with flower petals Incense Censer Holy Tomb of our Lord Gospel Procession Wardens Matins on Great Friday Subdeacon 2 Altar Servers Altar Servers Church School Students Subdeacon Church School Students Altar Servers Deacon 8 Men Gabriel Paul, Phil Brown, Steve Nicoloff, Matt Economou, Ralph Neely, Dennis Jernigan, Kraig & Mark Houser Priest Dave Houser & Stojan Prusac Processional Cross Processional Fans Torches Banners and Icons Our Savior The Theotokos Paschal Banner Holy Theotokos Icon Myrrhbearers Icon St. Catherine Icon St. Juliana Icon Resurrection Icon Gospel Assistants to Priest Censer Resurrection Candle Choir and People follow Procession Wardens Church Set-Up Resurrection Procession on Pascha Subdeacon 2 Altar Servers Altar Servers Bill Zelenko Tim Seeley Church School Student Sharon Jernigan Linda Branoff Allison Borkovich Shari Nicoloff Diane Todorovsky Milan Stikovich Subdeacon Deacon Priest John Zelenko, Bob Russell, John Goodman, Joe Oginsky Dave Houser, Stojan Prusac & David Vuckovich PLEASE inform the office if you are unable to participate in the processions.

4 PASCHA, THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST, a television program produced by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, will be broadcast locally on Pascha, April 4 at 5:00 am on NBC 25 (WEYI). SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF SAINT NICHOLAS Your help will be needed twice on Great and Holy Friday. First, after the morning Royal Hours your help will be needed to set up and decorate the Tomb of our Lord for Vespers. Second, after the Lamentations that evening your help will be needed to change over all the candles from purple to white. Please stay and lend a hand! PASCHAL VESPERS It is customary at this service to read the Gospel in various languages. If anyone would like to read the Gospel in a language other than English at this service, please contact the office as soon as possible. FAST FREE WEEK: We continue the celebration of the Feast of Feasts with a fast free week, April PASCHAL GREETING When we greet one another we usually say Hello or How are you. For the celebration of the Lord s Resurrection we have a special greeting to offer one another (and no, it s not Happy Easter ). Our greeting for the forty days from the Resurrection to the Ascension is: Christ is Risen! and we respond with: Indeed, He is Risen! When we come to venerate the Cross after the Divine Services Father Matthew will offer this greeting and we respond: Indeed, He is Risen! PASTORAL VISITATION Bishop Melchisedek, locum tenens of our Diocese, will make a pastoral visit to our parish on May 29 and 30. Reserve the dates on your calendar. FROM FATHER S DESK Beloved faithful in our Lord Jesus Christ, On April 4 we Orthodox Christians celebrate the Pascha of the Lord, His passing over from death to life, His triumph over death. As we celebrate the feast of our Lord s Resurrection we are called to reflect on this great gift which has been won for us by His death and resurrection: salvation. He came to liberate us from the servitude to sin and death and raise us up with Himself. His resurrection is the sign and the promise of the future resurrection of all the dead. The joy with which we celebrate this triumph of Christ is evident in the forty days which follow the feast: we do not kneel but stand aright in the resurrection, we sing the Paschal troparion often, Christ is risen from the dead, and we greet one another with the words Christ is risen! These also reveal the centrality Christ s resurrection has for our faith. If Christ is not risen then we celebrate and believe in vain. We have the testimony of the apostles and the saints, and we have the words of our Lord Himself, He Who is Truth: I am the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25). Let us celebrate the feast not in overindulgence but in true recognition of what has been won for us by the only Son of God, our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. With love in the Risen Christ, Father Matthew Pastor

5 PASCHAL EGGS AND FOODS After the Divine Liturgy of Pascha, red eggs are blessed. The color red is symbolic of Christ s Passion during which He shed His blood for us. The egg also is a symbol of the tomb which had been completely sealed but was opened by the Resurrection of Christ. It is customary to take an egg and knock it against another s egg while exclaiming: Christ is Risen! and the person responds: Indeed, He is Risen! There also exists the custom of blessing meats, cheeses, eggs, breads and other items from which we fasted during the forty days Lent. Please bring your breads and Paschal baskets to the church hall for Pascha and they will all be blessed following the Divine Liturgy of Pascha. The foods are blessed, in three different groups with three different blessings. The bread products are blessed first, then the dairy products, and finally the meat products. There are traditional foods among every Slavic group: Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Ruthenian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Romanian, Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian, Montenegrin, etc. Following is a list of foods commonly included in the basket. It is not necessary to include every item, nor are Pascha baskets restricted to the items listed below. PASCHA/KULICH/KOUZINAK: Pascha and Kulich and Kouzinak normally refer to the same thing. However, there are ethnic groups where they are quite different foods. In fact, among those groups, the Kulich becomes the bread and the Pascha becomes a cheese similar to the Sirets or Hrutka. Here, Pascha, Kulich and Kouzinak will be used to refer to bread, a sweet yeast bread rich in eggs, butter and other condiments. This bread is symbolic of Christ Himself, He Who is our Bread of life. It is usually baked as a round loaf with a golden crust decorated with some symbol indicative of Christ, such as a braided cross, a lamb or something similar. Sometimes a cross of dough is placed on top, and the entire loaf rimmed with a braided plait of dough giving it a crowned effect. Sometimes the abbreviation XB is used (in Cyrillic writing - XB are the initials for Христос Воскресе! - Christ is Risen! ). CHEESE (Hrutka or Sirets): A custard-type cheese shaped into a ball which has a rather bland but sweet taste, and is intended to indicate the moderation that Christians should have in all things. Also, creamed cheese is sometimes placed in a small dish and decorated with initials or patterns by placing peppercorns or cloves. PORK (HAM, SAUSAGE, BACON): This flesh meat popular as the main dish for several reasons: a) the richness of its meat is symbolic of the great joy and abundance of Pascha and b) of the richness of the joy in Christ we ought to have, and c) our freedom from the Old Law, now that all things have been made clean in Christ (as indicated to the apostle Saint Peter in the dream on the rooftop at Joppa [Acts 10:9-16]). Being freed from the Old Law and from the curse of death, which is the wage of sin, all things are now permissible to eat - and pork, the most forbidden of all the unclean foods is now symbolic of our total redemption. Included with ham is usually sausage (kielbasa), a spicy, garlicky sausage of pork, veal, beef and other products. This is indicative of God s favor and generosity to us sinners. Also, a piece of uncooked bacon cured with spices is usually included symbolizing the lavishness and overabundance of God s mercy toward sinners. Many of the faithful will include meats like roasted veal, roast beef, and other foods prepared well ahead of time - foods which can be enjoyed without a lot of last-minute preparation. Those who have been preparing all week are already exhausted, but, being filled with joy at Our Lord s Resurrection from the dead, are looking forward to sitting down to a celebratory feast.

6 BUTTER: The butter is usually shaped into a figure of a lamb or of a three-barred cross and decorated in much the same fashion as the sirets (cheese) above. Butter is to remind us of the goodness of Christ that we are to demonstrate to all men by our lives in Him. SALT: A condiment necessary for flavor reminding Christians of our duties toward others to flavor the world, to be the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). EGGS (Py-san -ky): These are highly decorated eggs with symbols and markings made with colored dyes and beeswax. Covered with extremely complicated and intricate designs, some of these eggs take a full week to complete. The word pysanky derives from the verb pysat, meaning to write. A pysanka, then, is an egg which has been written (drawn) upon. Eggs represent the new life and Resurrection. There are some fascinating pious legends concerning the origin of these pysanky. HORSERADISH: Horseradish is commonly mixed with grated red beets to give this a rich, blood red hue. This is symbolic of the Christ s Passion which is still in the minds of the faithful, but which is now sweetened with some sugar because of the Resurrection. A bittersweet red-colored mixture which reminds us of the blood and suffering of Christ, at which great price was purchased the astonishing gift of our Redemption WINE: In some places, it is also customary to include a bottle of wine. Poorer areas of Eastern Europe tended to ignore this element of the basket (e.g. Southern Poland, Northern Czechoslovakia, Northeastern Hungary), but American descendants are beginning to include them once again. All the food articles are placed in a wicker basket, and a ribbon or bow is tied to the handle. A decorated candle is placed in the basket at the time of the basket blessing. A linen cover, normally quite intricately embroidered with various Resurrection themes and symbols of Christ, or simply an intricate multicolored border and the words CHRIST IS RISEN in English or other languages is placed over the food when it is brought to the church. It is customary to break ones Lenten fast with foods blessed at this time and only then proceeding to the foods now ready on groaning tables, foods which have been in process of preparation for the past few days. Throughout Greece and the Balkans, it is customary to break the Lenten fast with a light soup that will settle well on the stomach after a long period of abstention from meat This shows the practical wisdom of our elders, and also how Orthodox cultures adapted their traditional cuisines to the Church s cycle of fasting and feasting. READER SCHEDULE April May 4 Shari 2 Johnny 11 Kathy 9 Kathy 18 Alexander 16 Shari 25 Esteban 23 Esteban 30 Alexander EASTER EGG HUNT We are in need of wrapped candies for our Easter Egg Hunt. All money donations and candy can be dropped off at the church office by Bright Wednesday, April 7. Any and all donations are appreciated. REMINDER: The Orthodox Book Club meets on Thursday, April 8 at 7:00 at St. George Church. For more information please contact Deacon Michael Bassett at frdnmike@chartermi.net

7 The Parish Council will meet on Monday, April 19 at 6:45 pm. Please call the parish office if you are unable to attend this meeting. ST. CATHERINES S WOMEN S LEAGUE The league will meet on Wednesday, April 7 at 6:30pm. New members are welcome. Rummage Sale will held Thursday, April 29 and Friday, April 30 from 9:30-3:00. MEMORY ETERNAL The parish family would like to extend its deepest sympathy to Boyka Polymeros and her family on the passing of her brother Louis Radick (Radakovich) who fell asleep in the Lord on January 27. Funeral services were held in Wisconsin. May God grant his servant Louie a Blessed Repose and Memory Eternal. The parish family would like to extend its deepest sympathy to Georgiana Adkisson and her family on the passing of her father Gheorghe Satruc who fell asleep in the Lord on Saturday, February 20 in Utica, MI. May God grant his servant Gheorghe a blessed repose and memory eternal. Veşnică pomenire! Dumnezeu sa'l ierte! The parish family would like to extend its deepest sympathy to Shelley Nikoloff and her family on the passing of her husband John Nikoloff. +John fell asleep in the lord on Wednesday, March 17. Funeral services were held in church on Saturday, March 20 with interment at Evergreen Cemetery. May God grant his servant +John a blessed repose and memory eternal. CHURCH SCHOOL NEWS Pysanky Decorating Class will be rescheduled for a later date. Easter Egg Hunt on Thomas Sunday, April 11 following the Divine Liturgy. PARISH PRIDE PROJECT UPDATE The donations to the Parish Pride Project now total $61, Of that amount $22, has been spent for the handicap restroom project and $2, has been spent for the beautification of the grounds. There is now $37, left in the Parish Pride fund for the other projects that need to be done: new sign and furnaces. We are still in need of $38, to reach our goal of $100,000 for Parish Pride. NEW CHURCH SIGN The parish is moving ahead with the new sign for Center Road. This sign will be illuminated and have a scrolling message for services and for events such as the cookie walk, rummage sale, etc. We are in need of more donations to the Parish Pride fund to cover the total cost (cost, installation, electronics hook-up, etc.) Please make your donation today! Coffee Hour Volunteers April 4: PASCHA April 11: April 18: Elieff Family/6 months for Lewis Elieff April 25: We are in need of volunteers to pick up the donuts once a month. If you are able to assist please see Debbie to sign up.

8 U.S. CENSUS The decennial federal census takes place this year. It is important to fill out the form that you receive in the mail. This assures an accurate count and affects federal funding for our county. If you need any assistance filling out your U.S. Census form, please call the Flint office of the U.S. Census at April Birthdays 7 Danni Burns Kris George David Houser Nancy Krigner Aretoula Nedanis 11 Majd Helal 13 Amanda Vázquez 16 Dimitrios (Jimmy) Nedanis Bob Steiner 19 Anne Smith 22 Jenna Paul-1st Birthday 24 Sharon George 28 George Brown Timothy Seeley 29 Tammy Sapardanis 30 Fred Paul April Wedding Anniversaries 11 Larry & Millie Bladecki VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for outside fundraising. If you are interested in helping to raise money for the church please see Mike Stikovich. VISITATIONS TO THE SICK Please inform Fr. Matthew about any sick members of our parish. Please remember that most hospitals do not inform parishes about the sick. Father Matthew brings Holy Communion every week. If you would like to be added to his scheduled visits, please call the office. Remember that we pray for all the sick at every Divine Liturgy. CREDIT CARDS We have begun to accept credit cards. You may use your credit card for your weekly, monthly or yearly pledges. You may also use your card for Kiosk items. Please see Debbie if you have any questions or would like to make an offering. MANY THANKS Mira Prusac wishes to thank everyone for their cards, candles and well wishes during her recent surgery and recovery. LENTEN PRAYER PARTNER Please let your partner know you were praying for them. Upcoming Events *Assumption will hold their Greek Festival June 25-27, 2010 on the grounds of their new Church. All are invited. If any parishioner is interested in assisting the please call Pat Pavlis at or *St. Nicholas Parish Festival will be held on Sunday, July 18. More information will follow. YOUR HELP IS NEEDED TO MAKE OUR FESTIVAL A SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISER!!!!! Choir Rehearsal Schedule April 10 April 17 April 24 All Rehearsals are at 5:30pm or following the 4:30 Vespers All rehearsals are subject to change if needed. Please call me on my cell phone if you cannot attend at

9 Hey Kids; Boy have I missed all of you. It has been a long time since I ve seen you. I hope that all of you have been reading your Bible, doing your Sunday handouts and being extra good in church. I know that all of you did this crossword puzzle with no trouble, because you are so smart. But just in case you had a little bit of trouble here is the answer. Chester Good Luck with next week s puzzle.

10 Daily Intercession for our Sick and Homebound: The following are our brothers and sisters of St. Nicholas who are currently homebound, suffering from chronic illness, in recovery or in need of special prayers. Please remember them in your prayers and reach out to them with a card, a phone call or a visit! Holy Communion is available upon request. Anna Allen Domna Batzos Bogdon Beslac Helen Bibilikow Mary Lou Brayan Joe Eckert Gladys Edwards Mickey Gonser Mary Harrison Bill Haw Olga Haw Maria Ilijev Goldie Johnson Nick Karayanis Mary Karayanis Daisy Karkoski Alfred Keeler Lydia Keeler Athena Kosman Daisy Marvosh Julie Michalsky Elva Paul Anne Smith Aspasia Stathopoulos Luba Stevens Walter Sudia Marion Sztaba Evdokia Naumoff Bill Tadrick Wendy Tadrick Helen Todorow Gloria Zelenko To aid in your outreach, here is a listing of the addresses and phone numbers of our Homebound: Anna Allen 4444 Court St. # 4113 Flint, MI Bogdon Beslac 3005 Blue Grass Lane Swartz Creek, MI Joseph Eckert 5080 E. Baldwin Rd. #A6 Holly, MI Gladys Edwards 2 Harbor Dr. St. Clair, MO Olga Haw 1085 Oak Rd Davison, MI Daisy Karkoski 3011 N. Center Rd Flint, MI Lydia & Alfred Keeler4104 Squire Hill Dr. Daisy Marvosh Julia Michalsky Walter Sudia Flushing, MI Almost Home 305 Furlong Ct. Fenton, MI Bay Medical Care Facility 564 W. Hampton Rd Essexville, MI Clare Bridge 5130 E. Baldwin Rd A-1 Holly, MI 48442

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12 St. Nicholas Orthodox Church 2143 S. Center Road Burton, MI Sponsored by St. Catherine s Women s League Thursday, April 29: 9:30am 3:00pm Friday,, April 30: 9:30am 3:00pm Set-Up will be on Thursday, April 10am. Your help is greatly needed for the setup and on both Friday and Saturday. Please see Allison Borkovich if you are able to assist. Please have all of your donations at church by Wednesday, April 27.

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15 April 2010 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu 1 Great & Holy Thursday 9 am Vesperal Liturgy at St. George 7 pm Passion Matins w/ 12 Gospels Fri Sat Great & Holy Friday 9 am Royal Hours Set-up of the Tomb 3 pm Great Vespers 7 pm Matins w/ Lamentations 3 Great & Holy Saturday PASCHA Bright Monday 10 am Divine Liturgy 11 am Paschal & Paschal breakfast by Fr. Matthew & Vespers Matushka Lisa 6 11 St. Thomas Sunday Bright Tuesday 10 am Divine Liturgy (Slavonic) am Divine Liturgy at St. George St. Catherine s League Meeting at 6:30 pm 14 9:30 Third Hour 10 am Divine Liturgy 10 4:30 Great Vespers :30 Great Vespers Choir Practice Parish Council 6:45 pm :30 Great Vespers Choir Practice 2 pm Baptism of Myah Rose Fisher am Divine Liturgy at Assumption 9:30 Third Hour 10 am Divine Liturgy Easter Egg Hunt 2:00 Grave Blessings at St. Nicholas Cemetery 18 9:30 Third Hour 10 am Divine Liturgy 10 am Vesperal Liturgy 12 pm Simple Blessing of Baskets 10:30 pm Nocturnes 11 pm Procession & Matins 12 am Divine Liturgy Rummage Sale Set-Up Rummage Sale 9:30-3 Rummage Sale 9:30-3

16 May 2010 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 4:30pm Great Vesper Choir Practice Dates & Times are subject to change. 2 9:30 Third Hour 10am Divine Liturgy 1yr Parastas for +Stella Branoff Church School Mother s Day Konevets 7pm 4:30pm Great Vespers Choir Practice Church & Lapeer Property Clean-Up Ascension of Our Lord 9:30 Third Hour 10am Divine Liturgy Church School 16 Parish Council 6:45 pm 17 6pm Vesperal Liturgy Location to be determined :30 Third Hour 10am Divine Liturgy Church School 23 Holy Pentecost 9:30 Third Hour 10am Divine Liturgy Church School 30 Pastoral Visitation Bishop Melchisedek 9:30 Third Hour 10am Divine Liturgy 4:30pm Great Vespers Choir Practice :30pm Great Vespers Choir Practice 24 Holy Spirit Day Apostles Fast Begins A complete schedule for the grave blessings will be posted in the May bulletin. 29 Pastoral Visitation Bishop Melchisedek Great Vespers Time to be determined