Three Week Edition. Reverend Father Matthew Dutko, Pastor. St. Elizabeth s Orthodox Mission Church. Glory be to Jesus Christ!!!

Transcription

1 T h e S t. E l i z a b e t h s p a r i s h n e w s St. Elizabeth s Orthodox Mission Church 2265 E. Cherokee Dr. Woodstock, GA A Parish of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Glory be to Jesus Christ!!! Reverend Father Matthew Dutko, Pastor Phone: fatherdutko@gmail.com Three Week Edition Sunday July 23rd th Sunday after Pentecost Epistle: Romans 15:1-7 Gospel: Matthew 9:27-35 Sunday July 30th th Sunday after Pentecost Epistle: 1 Cor. 1:10-18 Gospel: Matthew 14:14-22 Sunday August 6th th Sunday after Pentecost Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ Epistle: 2 Peter 1:10-19 Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9 Schedule of Divine Services 7/24-8/15: Tuesday 7/25 6:30pm: Moleben (prayer service) to the Mother of God & Orthodoxy Class Thursday 7/27 9am: Divine Liturgy Saturday 7/29 10am: Divine Liturgy Sunday 7/30 8am: Divine Liturgy Tuesday 8/1 Dormition Fast Begins Sunday 8/6 10am: Divine Liturgy: Feast of The Transfiguration of our Lord Wednesday 8/9 6:30pm: Parakalis (prayer service) to the Mother of God & Orthodoxy Class Saturday 8/12 4:30pm: Great Vespers Sunday 8/13 10am: Divine Liturgy Monday 8/14 6:30pm: Great Vespers w/ Litiya for the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God If you have never been to an Orthodox Church before you are about to participate in the Divine Liturgy. The Liturgy is the work of the people and that means that all of your prayers are necessary! We hope you will stay and join us for coffee hour in the atrium. Please feel free to ask Fr. Matthew any questions you might have! May God s blessings be upon all of you! 7th, 8th, and 9th Sundays After Pentecost 7/23 Tropar and Kondak Tone 6 Blue Book pg. 96 Red Book pg /30 Tropar and Kondak Tone 7 Blue Book pg. 99 Red Book pg /6 Transfiguration: Antiphons, Tropar, Kondak, Glorification and other Special Hymns Blue Book pg. 166 Red Book pg. 187 NOW AND EVER AND FOREVER. AMEN. Kondak Tone 6 O unashamed intercessor of Christians, * ever loyal advocate before the Creator, * do not disregard the prayerful voice of sinners * but in your goodness* hasten to assist us who trustfully cry out to you: ** Intercede always, O Mother of God, in behalf of those who honor you! Tuesday 8/15 9am: Divine Liturgy - Dormition

2 Blessing of Automobiles Think about how much time we all spend in our cars...how often we see an accident on the side of the road How quickly and easily we can become consumed with anger and road rage With all this time spent in our cars, they should become for us a holy place. A place where as we travel the roads of life we can find peace and prayerfulness; a place where we can find Christ. This past Thursday, July 20th, the Church celebrated the Feast Day of St. Elias the Prophet. In honor of this feast day, the Orthodox Church has in recent history blessed cars on and around this day. Please stick around after the meeting in the Church if you would like to have your car blessed. All the cars in the parking lot will be blessed, if you would like inside of your car blessed please come out and join us and open your car doors. If you are reading this and did not have your car blessed on 7/23, please let Fr. Matthew know and your car can be blessed at anytime! Prayer for the Blessing of Cars O Lord our God, Who makes the clouds Your chariot and Who walks on the wings of the wind, Who has sent to Your servant, the Prophet Elias, a chariot of fire, Who has guided man to invent this (car, truck, motorcycle, etc.) which is as fast as the wind, we render thanks to You; for You have provided Your servants with these cars to serve in their different needs. Therefore, O Master, pour out now upon them Your heavenly blessings; assign to them guardian angels to preserve them against all evil. And as You have granted faith and grace by Your deacon Philip to the man from Ethiopia who was sitting in his chariot and reading holy Scripture, show the way of salvation to Your servants. So that helped by Your grace and always intent on doing good works, they may after all the trials of their pilgrimage on earth, attain to everlasting joys, through the intercessions of our Most-pure Lady, the Birthgiver of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, by the power of the precious and life-giving Cross; through the prayers of the holy Angels; of St. Elizabeth and of all the Saints: For you are the Provider and Sanctifier of all things and we give glory to You, and to Your Only-begotten Son, and Your All-holy, good, and life-creating Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen. This Car (Truck, etc.) is blessed by the sprinkling of this holy water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

3 It s Summertime. Summertime, and the living is easy Fish are jumping, and the cotton is high. One of these mornings, you re gonna rise up singing You re gonna spread your wings and take the sky Ira Gershwin, from Porgy and Bess (1935) Glory to Jesus Christ! In the stories from the Desert Fathers there is one in which Abba Anthony defends some young monks who are just fooling around together from the puritanical judgment of some visiting ascetics. He compares the ascetic life to the string of a bow and arrow. If a bow is kept tightly strung it looses its sproing and is useless. Relaxing the bow when not in use ensures that the sproing is there when it is needed. We don t need to make any apology for relaxation, even if our Orthodox faith has an ascetic imperative and celebrates ascetic achievement as an ideal Christian life. Following Abba Anthony, St. John Climacus writes in The Ladder of Divine Ascent: there is a time for struggle, and a time for safe relaxation. Safe relaxation, in spiritual terms, is relaxation that is grounded in the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and perhaps above all, gratitude. From a grateful heart springs a song of thanks. May our summertime and our holiday time be just such an opportunity to rise up singing to the Lord! Will our recreation be that kind of relaxation that will sustain the sproing of our spiritual life? Fr. Andrew Morbey

4 Camp Nazareth Next week thee of our young people will be traveling to Camp Nazareth for a week of fun and memories in Christ! For a week our kids will be able to lay aside there earthly cares and see what it like to live a full week with Christ at the center of everything they do. For one week cell phones, video games, and bright screens will be put aside and replaced with a more simple life. A life where the joys of the Holy Spirit are ever present and the worries of our complicated world fall by the way side. If you would like to see the joys that our kids experience at Camp Nazareth check out their photos, which are updated daily at: Please pray for our kids this week that they make the best of this opportunity to grow in their faith and make friends that understand the Orthodox Christian lifestyle who will be with them throughout their lives. Pani s brother Aaron will be with her here at home during the week, and I will be with the kids at Camp. If you have a pastoral emergency from 7/30-8/5 please contact Fr. Paul Lundberg at

5 The Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord Transfiguration is one of the major Feasts of our Lord that are celebrated throughout the Church year. As one of the 12 major Feasts, you can find this Icon on the Iconostasis, it is the second to last one on the right hand (Christ) side. Before the Transfiguration, Christ told his disciples He would suffer many things, die, and on the third day be raised (Matthew 16) He then asked Peter, John, and James to come with Him to the top of Mount Tabor. Christ then revealed the splendor of His Divinity to those chosen few disciples, and commanded them that they tell no one about what they witnessed until after His Resurrection. Christ did this so that when the apostles beheld Him suffering the crucifixion they would know that He is the Son of God, and that He suffered willingly on the Cross for the sins of the world. At the Transfiguration we see the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven present in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Besides Peter, James and John also present on Mount Tabor that Day were Moses and Elijah. Moses and Elijah represent the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) and the fact that Christ is the fulfillment of everything promised in the Old Testament. Christ is the fulfillment of everything contained in the Laws given to Moses; Jesus is the only Perfect One, the only Holy One who could fulfill the Law. Christ is also the one whom the prophets foretold of and so it is fitting to have the presence of these great Old Testament figures present at Christ Transfiguration to show us that Jesus Christ is truly the promised Messiah. Each of us is called to be transfigured in the exact same way! Christ is our ultimate example. He came to open to us the doors of Paradise and show us how to get there. We are called to be transfigured, both in this life and in the life to come. How can we be transfigured now? We can start with the passions that plague us. We can transfigure pride into humility. We can transfigure greed into cheerful generosity. We can transfigure anger and resentment into forgiveness. We can transfigure our sinfulness into repentance. Ultimately we must all transfigure our hate into love. If we do this than the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven that shone through Christ at His Transfiguration will shine through each of us, just as it shines through the Saints now, in the Kingdom of Heaven! We bless fruits and vegetables on this day in remembrance of the Transfiguration. As the seedlings are transfigured into fruits and vegetables we eat, so too are we in our sinfulness, because of Christ, able to be transfigured into his likeness!

6 Announcements Parish Wide Meeting today after the Divine Liturgy. On Sunday 7/30 the Divine Liturgy will begin at 8am. Car Blessings In honor of the Feast of St. Elias (7/20)- After the meeting, during Coffee Hour in the Parking Lot. Thanks to everyone for Cleaning up From the Garage Sale over the past few weeks! Garbage Take Out Following the Garage Sale, we have lots of extra garbage out by the side of the Church. Anyone who is able to bring a few items up to the top of the road by the rectory please do! Some bigger items may need to go to a larger dumpster, if anyone is able it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! Camp Nazareth Some of our kids and myself will be at Camp Nazareth from 7/30-8/5. In the event of a pastoral emergency please contact Fr. Paul Lundberg at If you have an emergency and you need to speak with me you may contact the camp at (724) Please Bring Fruit: on Sunday 8/6, the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord to be blessed following the Liturgy. Back to School: Sunday School Classes will start up again following the Divine Liturgy on 8/13. We will be baking Prosphora (Church Bread) in the Kitchen and learning about why it s done a particular way. If any adults would like to participate you are welcome to, just let me know before hand to ensure we have enough ingredients for everyone to make one. The Dormition Fast begins on Tuesday, August 1st and ends on Tuesday August 15th. Prayer List Evelyn Melnikoff, Fr. John and Pani Betty Jean Baranek, Fr. James Gleason, The Paccio Family, Kara, Johanna, James, Herbert and Mary Schleining, Patricia+ (Blessed Repose), James+ (Blessed Repose), Anna, Basil, David, Dianna, Denise, Alex, Jason, Athanasia, Ethel, Kathy, Lester, Sally, Jack, Angela, Tyler, Maria, Jeff, Lesley, Page Family, Stephen (Blessed Repose), The Blanar Family, Anna+ (Blessed Repose), Louise, Emma Rae, The Floyd Family, Phillip (Blessed Repose), Zachary, George, Fred and Helen Mileshko, Robin, Michael, Dean, Margaret, Jenny+ (Blessed Repose) and Keith, Peter (blessed repose), Bishop Gregory and his family, Bryan +(Blessed Repose), Rick, the James Family, Fr. Scott, Rebecca Cooper+ (Blessed Repose), Fr. Paul Herbert+ (Blessed Repose), Joseph, Boris, Maria+ (Blessed Repose), Maria Starcova, Ernie + (Blessed Repose), Fr. Hazuda+ (Blessed Repose), Janis, John Haddad, David Novak, Suzette Gardenhour, Bob, David. Michelle, Stephen, James, Brian Paul, George Smisko+ (Blessed Repose), Kathy, Mike, Helen S+ (Blessed Repose), Bob+ (Blessed Repose), Debbie, Alma+ (Blessed repose), Ken, The Hayes and Boucher families, Bo+ (Blessed Repose), Sadie+ (Blessed Repose), Peyton & the Gully Family, John, Alexandra, Benjamin, John, The Hazuda Family, Fr. William George+ (Blessed Repose), Pani Amy George and the George Family, Violet+ (Blessed Repose), Madeline, Eddie, Fr. Kozar+ (Blessed Repose), Mary, Benjamin+ (Blessed Repose), Cathy, Jay Brackin Through the prayers of the Birthgiver of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, St. Elizabeth, The Holy Fathers, and all the Saints, may our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ have mercy on us and save us!