Take the Summer Challenge

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1 1 H O L Y T R I N I T Y S E R B I A N O R T H O D O X C H U R C H Пут Крста - Вести Цркве Свете Тројице The Way of the Cross Holy Trinity News 1910 Serbian Drive St. Louis, MO J U N E htseoc.stl@gmail.com Parish Priest Take the Summer Challenge Rev. Father Ljubomir Krstic Father s Phone Board President Dragan Acamovic Kolo President Ljubica Acamovic Youth Ministry Leader Gaby Mandrapa Jez & Ema Causevic Choir President Risto Kekich Sunday School Director Position needs to be filled Stewardship Committee Chair- Kris Chkautovich Cemetery Manager Ljubomir Lausevich Church Hall Manager Zoran Kurtuma The News of the Holy Trinity is sent out monthly. Please contact Father Ljubomir or the Church office with any suggestions for future articles. All ideas are certainly welcome It s so easy to get caught up in our vacation plans and grow lazy in our church attendance and spiritual life during the summer months. As the following story reveals, God never goes on vacation and we shouldn t find excuses to take a vacation from church. How can we continue on our journey with Christ during the summer months? Try implementing some of the ideas below and use them for inspiration in finding additional ways to keep your family close to Christ! Where does God go for summer vacation? A little girl I know pondered that same question not too long ago. Sarah loved Sunday School; she went every Sunday. She liked being in church with her parents but when summer came- it would all end! Why wasn't there church? Why wasn't there any Sunday School? Where did her friends go? She really was concerned. She wondered why the choir stopped singing on Sundays. Even worse, she wondered why there wasn't church in the summer when in actuality, her parents would just stop going to church in the summer! The summer was their "time off". Time to lounge in the sun. Time to plan family vacations and weekends away. It was time to concentrate on rest and relaxation. But for Sarah, it was strange not to go to church, see her friends, or be with God. On the day that her family piled into the station wagon to visit their grandmother, Sarah asked her mother, "Mom, where does God go for summer vacation? " Continued on page 2

2 2 Continued from page 1 Her mother chuckled at the question, and told her God doesn t go on vacation. Sarah wondered, "Why don't we go to church then? Why isn't there any Sunday School? Why don't I get to see my church friends?" Her parents weren't really prepared to deal with questions like this! What could they say? After all, God wasn't on vacation they were! Imagine her parents' surprise when they realized their little daughter had "stumped them." They just didn t know how to answer her question. But what was really great was that they were worried enough about it to look for an answer! Until now, her parents thought: Church was only a 2-hour responsibility on Sunday mornings. For Sarah though, it was a different story. She lived what she learned. Church wasn't just an obligation for her. No way! In fact, it was a way of living a way of being! So, where does God rank in your family's summer plans? Will He go with you on vacation, or will a break from school and work mean a break from God? This summer we want to invite you to take the Summer Challenge. Instead of taking a rest from your spiritual life, we want your family to use the summer to grow closer to God. Be creative! Be committed! Be with Christ! Here are some ideas to get you started: Go to Church! Summer is a wonderful time to worship with your family. Attend Divine Liturgy as well the other services offered throughout the season. If you are vacationing, visit different Orthodox churches. To find an Orthodox church close to you, visit: Don't forget to check the calendar of the church for special fasting periods and other celebrations. Camp Out! No, not the kind where you pitch a tent in the middle of the wilderness (although that can be fun); we re talking about sending your children to one of the many wonderful Orthodox summer camp programs. It is a great way for them to experience the faith. Take a Hike! Summer is a great time to really appreciate the beauty of God s design. So hike, bike, fish, and swim-- just get out there! While you're there, consider pausing to read Psalm 104, which is a beautiful poem of God s creation. Next time you attend a Vespers service, take notice that it begins with this Psalm. Be an Explorer! Decide on something you want to learn about Christ and His Church this summer and explore! Perhaps you want to learn how to chant or you want to learn more about the Gospel? Consider ordering Where Does God Go for Summer Vacation?; a workbook to guide your children in their summer s spiritual journey. This book can be ordered at: Help Out! Christ was a servant to all and He wants us to be the same. Consider projects you can do to help others both in your neighborhood and globally. Check with your local parish and social agencies for ideas. Also check with the following: International Orthodox Christian Charities ( and Orthodox Christian Mission Center ( if you want to help people outside your community. For something really different, consider volunteering your time with Project Mexico ( and build a house for some very special families. Listen Up! We are surrounded daily by so much noise. Why not try listening to something different? Orthodox Christian Network ( has music and interviews that edify the soul. Also, check out Ancient Faith Radio ( another Orthodox Internet broadcast. Have your children listen to their weekly children's story time called Under the Grapevine. FROM THE FISH FRY TEAM. Congrats to our parish for making the St. Louis Post Dispatch Readers Pick 2018 under the category Best St. Louis Lenten Fish Fry coming in 3rd Place. Lets try to make #1 next year! Big thank you to all of our workers and supporters! Yeah!!!

3 Свети цар Константин и царица Јелена Наша Света Црква слави Свете Цара Константина и Царицу Јелену 3. јуна по новом, а 21. маја по старом календару.

3 3 Свети цар Константин и царица Јелена Наша Света Црква слави Свете Цара Константина и Царицу Јелену 3. јуна по новом, а 21. маја по старом календару. Овим светитељима посвећен је велики број храмова у нашој Цркви. Поменућемо - Вождовачку цркву у Београду, цркву Светог Цара Константина и Царице Јелене у Великом Трновцу која је пред три године уочи славе оскрнављена од стране албанских екстремиста, црква на Љубишу, на Сељашници код Пријепоља, у Коретишту код Гњилана, Ивањици, Стекеровцима код Гламоча, Томини код Санског Моста... Према народном предању, које је записано у 17. веку, манастир Тврдош су подигли византијски цар Константин и његова мајка - света царица Јелена у четвртом веку. Овај празник се, као градска слава, посебно свечано прославља у Нишу - граду где је и рођен овај многозаслужни утемељивач хришћанства. Као еснафску славу овај празник прослављају кујунџије и железничари. По Божјем промислу, као покровитељ Цркве Христове, појави се цар Константин Велики, рођен 274 године, у нехришћанској породици. Још за живота добио је назив: РАВНОАПОСТОЛНИ. Много пута му се јављао сам Господ и излазио му је у сусрет у његовим молитвама. Пред борбу са Максенцијем, по старом предању, на небу му се указао сјајан крст као знак победе. Издао је едикт (закон) у Милану, 313 године, којим је престао дотадашњи прогон хришћана. Након победе над Византијом, саградио је диван престони град, назвавши га Константинопољ (Цариград). И као што Божјем промислу би изабран за борца против незнабожачких и христоборних царева, тако исто би, ради свога кршења бачен у постељу, од опасне и неизлечиве губе. Трудише се многи да га излече, али без успеха, те напослетку му рекоше да једини спас и његово излечење лежи у томе да се окупа у крви мале деце. Нареди цар Константин да се ухвате и покољу сва деца. Закукаше мајке, а он устукну и по цену сопственог живота, горко се покаја и пусти децу. То беше мило Богу који га је тиме само кушао, те му посла два апостола, Петра и Павла, да га упуте на прави пут спасења. Он нареди епископу Силвестеру да га крсти и тог часа ишчезну његова болест. Сматрајући се недостојним да оде на поклоњење Христовом гробу, уместо себе спреми и посла своју мајку, царицу Јелену. Оде она на поклоњењехристовом Гробу, и са тог пута се врати са честицом часног Крста, који понесе свом сину на дар. Света царица Јелена урадила је много тога што је корисно за хришћанску веру. У Јерусалиму је пронашла Часни Крст који су незнабожци бацили изван града и засули ђубретом; подигла је многе цркве, од којих треба напоменути: цркву над пећином Рождества Христова (на Гори Маслинској); цркву на месту Вазнесења Христова у Гетсиманији; цркву на месту Успења Пресвете Богородице и још 18 храмова. Пронашавши Часни Крст и ископавши га, света царица Јелена га стави на једног мртваца, јер управо тада пролазила је једна посмртна поворка, јер беше умро неки човек из града, те он васкрсну на очиглед свих присутних. Од тог дана Православна Црква празнује тај догађај 14 септембра као Крстовдан. Многи незнабожци приђоше хришћанској вери, а Часни Крст би стављен у сребрни ковчег ради чувања и поклоњења. Ова света царица се упокојила 327 године у 80. години живота. Свети цар Константин, благочестив и дарежљив, поживео је још 10 година од упокојења своје мајке, те се и он представи Богу 337 године у 65. години живота. Његово свето тело пренето је у Цариград и сахрањено по његовом завештању у цркви Светих Апостола у Цариграду. И данас, после толико година, Свети равноапостолни Цар живи бесконачним животом у вечном Царству Христовом, помажући многима који ишту од њега и Јединога Бога помоћ и исцељење. Continued page 4

4 4 Continued from page 3 На савет неких дворана, цар је тражио од Георгија да се поклони пред кипом бога Аполона да би му поштедео живот. Силан свет се скупио у храму да види како ће Георгије да се одрекне Хришћанства. Он је пришао статуи Аполона и прекрстио је, нашта се статуа срушила, а са њом и све друге статуе у храму. Видевши то жена цара Диоклецијана, царица Александра викнула је: "И ја верујем у Бога који Ђорђу даје толику снагу." Цар Диоклецијан најзад изда наређење да се одруби глава, и Георгију и царици Александри. Војници поведоше Георгија и Александру на губилиште, ван града. Малаксала и слаба царица Александра, на путу до места погубљења, замоли војнике да мало одмори и ту на губилишту издахну, пре посечења. Стигавши на губилиште, Георгије стаде на одређено место и помоли се. А онда, Георгије положи своју главу, и би посечен дана 23. априла (тј. 6. маја по новом календару) 303. године. Према завештању тело Георгија пренето је у Лидију, а на његовом гробу касније је подигнута црква. По црквеном учењу 16. новембар је дан када је обновљен храм светог Великомученика Георгија у Лидији, где је положено његово тело - и Срби га прослављају као празник под именом Ђурђиц. Мало шта се, заиста поуздано, зна о његовом животу. У иконографији Православне цркве, Свети Георгије је још од 7. века приказиван као војник (без коња, у стојећем ставу) и са копљем или мачем. Од 9. века се појављује још један приказ Светог Георгија - на коњу, у војводском оделу, како копљем убија аждају. Мало даље од њега стоји једна женска прилика у господском оделу. Сматра се да аждаја коју убија светац симболизује многобоштво. Жена која је на икони је царица Александра и она, како се верује, представља младу хришћанску цркву. Приказ Светог Георгија који убија аждају је заснован на популарној легенди хришћанске митологије - " Георгије и Аждаја". Забележена су бројна чуда која су се догодила на гробу светог Георгија као и његова бројна јављања у сну и на јави многима који су његову помоћ тражили. Култ Светог Георгија се зачео доста рано. На месту његовог гроба у Лидији, за време владавине цара Константина I ( ), подигнут је храм њему посвећен. Током 4. века, култ Светог Георгија се из Палестине проширио на цело Источно Римско Царство. У 5. веку се култ овог свеца проширио и на Западно Римско Царство године, Георгије је проглашен за свеца, од стране Папе Геласијуса Првог ( ). Храм Светог Георгија у Лидији је срушен године али су га Крсташи обновили. Године и током Трећег крсташког рата, храм је поново уништен, од стране исламских снага султана Саладина. После крсташких ратова у 12. веку, култ Светог Георгија је пренет у Енглеску. За време краља Едварда III од Енглеске, који је основао витешки ред Гартера, Свети Георгије је постао и заштитник Енглеске државе. Свети Георгије или на каталонском Сант Ђорди (катал. Sant Jordi), такође је светац заштитник шпанске аутономне покрајине Каталоније. Слави се по новом календару, 23. априла. Веома је слављен код Срба, и најчешће га називају Свети Ђорђе или Свети Ђурађ. Многи га славе као крсну славу. Српска православна црква га слави два пута годишње. Главни празник је Ђурђевдан и празнује се 6. маја по грегоријанском календару (23. априла по црквеном), а други је пренос моштију и обновљење Храма Светог Георгија - Ђурђиц, који се слави 16. новембра (3. новембра по црквеном). На икони везаној за Ђурђевдан је свети Георгије приказан на коњу како убија аждају. Други приказ је свети Георгије као војник са копљем у руци. У нашем народу се оваква представа зове Ђурђиц и везана је за славу Ђурђиц. Посвећени су му многи манастири, међу којима најпознатији манастир Ђурђеви Ступови. Свети Георгије је поштован као заштитник многих држава и градова у Европи. Поштован је и као заштитник коњице, витезова и витештва и крсташких похода. Прослављају га Грци, Руси, Бугари, Срби, Енглези, Французи, Немци, Италијани, итд. Нови

5 5 Tips for a Blessed Summer Vacation Travel Blessings Take advantage of God s grace covering your summer trips and vacations. Shortly before you go, have the traveling prayers (land or air!) prayed over you and have your car (owned, borrowed or rented) blessed. The priests and I are ready and waiting. Keep on Blessing Once on the road, the driver can bless the vehicle with the sign of the cross and/or a short prayer, Lord, bless this vehicle and keep us safe. Amen. If you see any accidents, make the sign of the cross and pray for those involved. When you arrive safely at your destination, give thanks to God. Family Prayers These days, there are few opportunities like a vacation (whether extravagant or just camping in the back yard) to have the whole family on the same schedule. Use this togetherness as a time to pray together, simple prayers in the morning or evening or both. Take some little icons and set them up. Their presence alone will bless your time together, and they are a good reminder to pray before meals, etc. Make Memories Shared experiences are the foundation stones of friendship and memories. Make the effort to fulfill a little something for each member of the family. Enjoy whatever ends up happening and make the best out of everything. Some of the best memories are made out of enduring humorously through things going wrong and keeping an attitude of camaraderie. Downtime If we keep busy all the time, vacation plans can sometimes become more demanding than just staying at home. Plan the ideal do it all vacation and then cut the activities in half; less is more. Build in personal downtime for each family member so that the vacation doesn t end up being more work than it is relaxing. Worship Find out from your priest, the church office, or friends what churches are in the area you are vacationing in. This is a good opportunity to visit another parish. If you are not going to be near a church on a Sunday or feast day, prepare ahead of time to have a Typica service or at least a set time of prayers and devotion. Prayer List Put the names of your family members on the prayer list for the time you are gone. Include start and return dates so that you may be remembered among those traveling by land, air or sea. Stewardship With school out, summer activities underway, and family vacations in the works, it is easy to miss a regular tithe here and there. We can all help the parish get through this summer financial slump by planning ahead and getting our tithes to the church office before an absence. May Church Attendance 05/06/ /13/ /20/ /27/ Avg. - 92

6 Message from the Board President Dear Brothers and Sisters We recently celebrated our Church Slava along with our honored guest Fr. Serafim Baltic.

6 6 Message from the Board President Dear Brothers and Sisters We recently celebrated our Church Slava along with our honored guest Fr. Serafim Baltic. I thought his sermon was very interesting and accurate as it described todays society with its perceived norms. I know from my own daughters experience that he was very well liked by our camp children. Thank you to Goran and Milena Mitrovic for their Kumstvo and congratulations to Nik and Rachel Chkautovich for accepting to be Kumovi for next years church Slava. I thought our Slava celebration was very nice and compliments go to our Kolo ladies. There were doubts that it would be well attended but that was not the case. Hats off to you! Within the month of June we have a couple of things to prepare for. One is our six-month assembly and the other is going to be the start of preparations for our SerbFest celebration. In short and as usual we hope to have our books ready and audited for the assembly. SerbFest I would hope to be a different event, an event with new volunteers ready to step in and help make it a new success. Predrag Vukadinovic again will be playing a key role in organizing this years event so please show your interest and volunteer your help. With your help we have had improved success with our Lenten fish frys so lets do the same with our SerbFest celebration. Unlike fish frys SerbFest is an event that will showcase who we are culturally so please make yourself a part of this effort. In closing I would like to thank all of you for making our church a priority. In doing so church life prospers for all of us. Thank You! Dragan Acamovic JOIN US FOR VESPERS AT 4:30 ON SATURDAYS The service of Vespers takes us through creation, sin, and salvation in Christ. It leads us to the meditation of God s word and the glorification of his love for men. It instructs us and allows us to praise God for the particular events or persons whose memory is celebrated and made present to us in the Church. It prepares us for the sleep of the night and the dawn of the new day to come. On the evening before the Divine Liturgy, it begins our movement into the most perfect communion with God in the sacramental mysteries.

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8 8 June Kolo Korner Dear sisters in Christ! This past Sunday we celebrated our church Slava, Duhovi (Pentecost) with our honored kumovi Goran and Milena Mitrovic with their family as well as Father Serafim who came from our New Gracanica monastery to celebrate this very special day with us. It was a real pleasure to have him with us. It took a lot of hard work, time and planning and many volunteers to put this event together and I believe we had achieved just that. A big thank you goes out to our chair person Milka Marincic and her kitchen crew who worked very hard in the kitchen and produced a delicious meal for all to enjoy. We all appreciate their tremendous effort for our church and our kolo organization. Thank you to all who helped in any way from cooking, setting up, serving the food and bringing deserts for all to share. Thank you to those who helped cleaning up afterwards. Many of you do not realize how much work and time goes into planning some of these events, they do not simply happen by just snapping our fingers like magic, if only that were possible. I wish more of you would volunteer and offer your services at least once a year so that the work does not fall on the shoulders of the same few, especially our senior members, they have truly done their share over the course of many years and it would be very nice if we could lighten their load for them. In spite of being the memorial day weekend, our attendance was much better than we anticipated and we all enjoyed the day and each other s company. I would like to say thank you to a few ladies who helped serve the luncheon the day after our Slava to a group of St. Louis Orthodox clergy and their families the day after our Holy Liturgy, it was very much appreciated. In the very near future we are going to start the preparations for our SerbFest and once we pick the date all will be notified well in advance via . So dear sisters get some rest, there is a lot of work in front of us and we will truly need the whole village and all hands on deck so make your selves available in any way possible. I know we can do it! We hope for a speedy recovery to Nada Relich and hope to see her in church very soon, she has been missed!! To Suzana Arnaut and Jadranka Kurtuma with their families we hope they have a very safe trip overseas. Happy belated birthday to those of you who celebrated April and May birthdays! Enjoy the summer with your families and friends and stay safe and hopefully find some time for your church as well. Pray and reach out to our sick sisters and their family. As always, I look forward to seeing in church very soon! In Christ Ljubica Acamovic Kolo president

9 Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church Српска Правосалвна Црква Свете Тројице June/Јуни 2018 Calendar/Kалендар Saturday 2 Sunday 3 Saturday 9 Sunday 10 Saturday 16 Sunday 17 Saturday 23 Sunday 24

9 9 Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church Српска Правосалвна Црква Свете Тројице June/Јуни 2018 Calendar/Kалендар Saturday 2 Sunday 3 Saturday 9 Sunday 10 Saturday 16 Sunday 17 Saturday 23 Sunday 24 Wednesday 27 Thursday Saturday p.m. Vespers 10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy St. Emperor Constantine and his mother Helen Света Литургија- Свети Цар Константион и Царица Јелена 4.30 p.m. Vespers 10:00 am Divine Liturgy Света Литургија 4:30 p.m. Vespers 10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy Света Литургија 4:30 p.m. Vespers 10:00 am Divine Liturgy Света Литургија 5.00 p.m. Vespers 10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy St. Lazarus and Martyrs of Kosovo 4:30 p.m. Vespers Света Литургија Видовдан SPOMENKA S NEWS Congrats to our parish for making the St. Louis Post Dispatch Readers Pick 2018 under the category Best St. Louis Lenten Fish Fry coming in 3rd Place. Lets try to make #1 next year! Big thank you to all of our workers and supporters! Yeah!!! Thank you May coffee hour sponsors: Nada Buha, Alexis Mihic, Stephanie Milich, Sharon Wade, Melanie Relich and Isaac Crabtree s Team. Congratulations to our Graduates! We are so proud of all of you!! High School Zach Levy, Noah Martin and Aleksander Mitrovic College Pavle Chkautovich, Gina Glogovac, Sasa Marjanovic and Jelena Mitrovic

10 JUNE YOUTH GROUP FAMILY BARBECUE Thank you Cika Zoran for showing us how to cut the grass for Duhovi!

Пут Крста - Вести Цркве Свете Тројице The Way of the Cross Holy Trinity News

1 H O L Y T R I N I T Y S E R B I A N O R T H O D O X C H U R C H Пут Крста - Вести Цркве Свете Тројице The Way of the Cross Holy Trinity News 1910 Serbian Drive St. Louis, MO 63104 www.serbianchurchstlouis.org