THE CANON The rich man is not one who has much But one who gives much. For what he He gives away remains his forever. St.

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1 ST. NICHOLAS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH November 2015 Volume 43 Issue 11 THE CANON ` The rich man is not one who has much But one who gives much. For what he He gives away remains his forever. St. John Chrysostom The Gifts of the Magi The Gifts of the Magi presents the Wise Men offering gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the Christ Child. These wealthy scholars and priests of the East endured numerous dangers, traveled great distances to offer their treasures to Christ, the new born king. What a beautiful and meaningful example of stewardship they set for all future generations, helping us to understand the blessing of properly using and sharing God s gifts. To begin with, the Magi represents a since desire to seek after God, searching their science, nature, and their cultural traditions to communicate with their Creator and discover His will for them, even when it was something so unexpected. Imagine their long, arduous journey, possibly a 1500 mile expedition from Persia to Bethlehem, over mountains and deserts, a journey that took many months. Surely on such a trip they faced numerous dangers from nature, from bandits, and from the fear of the unknown. What faith, determination and sacrifice they must have had. They surely faced questions and skepticism at the start. During their journey, unexpected challenges and discouraging setbacks would have been commonplace. Yet they persevered. They overcame the difficult trials and tests of their journey, and persisted in their search for God s truth. When they finally met the Christ Child, they bowed down in worship. They offered Jesus the most precious of their gifts. Although they were the wise men of their day, they didn t allow their ego to interfere with their unexpected discovery. Even when the journey surprisingly took them beyond the king s palace in Jerusalem to the insignificant village of Bethlehem, they went forward in faith. Everything seemed so astonishing, and yet in humility they approached the Christ Child to worship Him and offer the best of their gifts gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Continued on page 3)

2 11 November 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 10:00 AM 2 3 AHEPA 6:30 PM 4 Choir 5 Seniors 5:00 PM 6 7 General Assembly 8 Feast of the Archangels D. Lit. 10: Philoptochos 11 Choir 12 Parish Council :00 AM 16 Night with Fr. 17 AHEPA 18 Choir Entrance of the Theotokos Orthros 9:30 am 10:25 am 22 Metropolitan Sava Visitation 10:00 am THANKSGIVING DAY 27 Office closed :00 am

3 3 (Continued from page 1) Parish Christmas Cards The church once again will be printing the annual parish religious Christmas card with the names of participating parishioners. If you wish to have your family s name or the name of your Organization printed on the card, we ask that you submit your names and a donation to the church no later than December 10 th Name Donation $ The Story of the Magi is not simply a cute part of Christmas, but it represents central characters who model a path of faith and stewardship worthy of imitation. They offer an example of a sincere search for God using the intellectual gifts they possessed; a willingness to overcome any obstacles or challenging inconveniences in their journey towards God; and the witness of offering the best they had once they encounter the Christ Child. In connection with this inspiring story of the Magi, we can also reflect on St. John Chrysostom s words: The rich man is not the one who has much, but the one who gives much. For what one gives away, he keeps for all eternity. Both the Magi and Chrysostom offer a challenging perspective of Christian Stewardship. We are called to understand that all we have in life from life itself, to our intellectual abilities and specific talents, as well as to our faith experiences and material possessions all we have in life is a gift from God, and each of us is called to act as a proper and good steward of these gifts. Think about how the Magi were conscientious stewards with their knowledge, experience and wisdom, as well as stewards of their time and effort, which culminated in their good stewardship of their treasure. St. John Chrysostom highlights that true wealth comes through sharing what we have first received from God Himself. Ultimately, whatever we have isn t ours! All is God s, and we are simply caretakers of His riches. As we earn to generously give of ourselves, of our time, talents and treasure, we only increase our wealth and make eternal investments. Christian Stewardship is all about becoming good caretakers of all that God has given us. Think about that that God has given us our health, our family, our opportunities in life, our intelligence, our talents. God has given each of us special and unique gifts. And through Holy Scripture He teaches us all that we have is a loan. He lends everything to us, and reminds us that one day He will ask us to give a detailed accounting of what we have done with the gifts He has given us. How have we used our time, our talents and our treasure? Have we used them in a self-centered way or God-glorifying ways? Archbishop Anastasios of Albania has noted that we find ourselves by offering ourselves. Have we learned the blessedness of generously giving to others of all we have? One day, a person complained to his priest that the Church and Christianity is one continual give, give, give. To which the priest replied, Thank you very much for the finest definition of Christianity I have ever heard. You re right, Christianity is all about a constant give, give, give. God giving His only Son to the world to show His unconditional love. His Son Jesus giving His life on the cross to forgive our sins and destroy death. Then our Lord s disciples giving all they had to make sure God s Good News of love was preached to all people everywhere. They not only gave away their homes and businesses, but even gave up their lives as martyrs in gratitude to God! And after all that giving of God to the world, yes, God does ask His followers of today to imitate His own generosity by giving by offering back from all that He ultimately has given each person! So, yes, the Church and Christianity is one continual give, give, give, but from a good and holy perspective. The Gifts of the Magi and the words of St. John Chrysostom help clarify our understanding of Christian Stewardship and what it means to act as a faithful follower of Jesus Christ.

4 9 Sunday, November 22, 2015 Metropolitan Savas of Pittsburgh My Dear Spiritual Children, As we commemorate Thanksgiving Day, a special holiday in the history and life of this nation, we do so with grateful hearts to the One who blesses us abundantly with grace and life. We praise our great and mighty God who knows and provides for our needs, who fills our lives with joy and hope, who brings us comfort in our times of struggle, and who assures us with the promises of eternal life. When we commune with Him and offer our prayers of thanksgiving for all that He gives us, we have no need for anxiety or worry. From day to day and year to year the circumstances of our lives will change. Challenges will come. Great joy and happiness will be experienced. Dear family members and friends will leave this temporal life. New relationships will begin. Through all of this, we are encouraged by the Apostle Paul to have no anxiety about anything because our trust is in our Creator and Redeemer. The response to both the joys and struggles of life is this: in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. In faith we respond to all of the circumstances and events of life with prayer and supplication. We turn to God. We seek His will and His guidance. We overcome the fear of the unknown with prayer of the heart. We vanquish the anxiety of uncertainty by calling on the name of the Lord. May we also be thankful in each moment, offering our prayers and gratefulness to God, joining with the heavenly hosts offering blessing Will celebrate the am 10:00 am and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might to our God for ever and ever! Amen. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

5 Friday October 30 M/M George Georgas Mrs. Ketty Atheneos HOME BLESSING SCHEDULE 2015 On Monday September 5, Father will begin blessing homes. Monday Friday 4:00 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Saturday 1:00 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Please prepare the following for Father s Visit Miss Sofias A table with a table cloth M/M Tony Chargaros M/M Dean Shelley -A lit candle -An Icon - And a list of names of the immediate family for health (living) If you do not see your name on the list and want your home blessed or if you will not be home on your scheduled day and wish to reschedule, or do not wish to have your home blessed Please contact the Office. (440) LIST NOT IN THE ORDER OF VISITATION!!! Tuesdays November 3 M/M Gus Marzavas Mrs. Thespo Szanto 5 [Community É NEWS] Seniors Thanksgiving Dinner On Thursday November 5 the Seniors will have their Thanksgiving Dinner here at the Church at 5:00 p.m. The Turkey will be provided; we are asking everyone to bring a side dish to add to our feast of Thanksgiving. MARK YOUR CALENDARS St. Nicholas Feast Day Celebration December 5: December 6: Great Vespers 7:00 pm Orthros 9:30 a.m 10:15 a.m. St. Nicholas Church Dance: December 12 Philoptohos: Christmas Dinner: December 8 6:30 p.m. (Place- to be announced) Vasilopeta Dinner: January 24, 2016 Godparent Sunday: March 6, 2016 A.H.E.P.A Christmas Dinner: December 13 th 3:00 p.m. Seniors Christmas Dinner: December (To be announced) CHURCH DIRECTORY: We will be publishing a New Church Photo Directory. We are making plans to have your pictures taken here at the Church on January 8 & 9, (More details to follow). don T FORGET TO CHANGE YOUR CLOCKS DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ENDS NOVEMBER 2:00 AM M/M Apostolos Makris M/M Kostas Foularis Monday November 2 M/M Ted Pappas Dr/M Peter Stamatis MINIMUM CONTRIBUTION DUES GUIDELINES FOR St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Miss Valerie Adkins Mrs. Elaine Georgas M/M Zisis Kalivas Saturday October 31 M/M Dave Karolak M/M Doug Bowman Demetria Lieb Mrs. Amalia Karaboyias Mrs. Alexandra Deskins M/M Regis Smith M/M Petros Nicolaou M/M Albert Matlin M/M Kenny Asimou M/M John Marzavas M/M Jim Marzavas Miss Sevi Tsarnas FAMILY $350 Married couple Married couple with children SINGLE FAMILY $300 Individuals who are not married and have children SINGLE $200 Individuals who are not married and do not have children Retired $175 Married couple who are no longer employed* Retired Single $135 Individuals who are retired and single or widowed* Mr. Peter Mellio M/M Mike Karniotis * if you are retired, but still working in some capacity or your spouse is employed, you are NOT eligible for Retired status.

6 7 Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and the othr Bodiless Powers: Gabriel, Raphel, Uriel, Salaphiel, Jegudiel and Barachiel November 8 All the Angels, according to the Apostle Paul, are ministering spirits, -sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation (Heb. 1:14). God set them as overseers of every nation and people, and guides to that which is profitable (Deut. 32:8) and while one Angel is appointed to oversee each nation as a whole, one is also appointed to protect each Christian individually. He commands them to guard them that hope on Him, that nothing should harm them, neither should any evil draw nigh to their dwelling (Ps 90:10-12). In the Heavens they always behold the face of God, sending up to Him the thrice-holy hymn and interceding with Him in our behalf, seeing they rejoice over one sinner that repents. (Isaiah 6:2-3, Matt. 18:10l; Luke 15:7). In a word, they have served God in so many ways for our benefit, that the pages of Holy Scripture are filled with the histories thereof. It is for these reasons that the Orthodox Church, wisely honoring these divine ministers, our protectors and guardians, celebrates today the present Synaxis that is our coming together in assembly for their common feast to chant their praises, especially for the Archangels Michel and Gabriel, who are mentioned in the Scriptures by name. The name Michael means Who is like God. And Gabriel means God is mighty. The number of Angels is not defined in the divine Scriptures, where Daniel says that thousands of thousands ministered before Him, and then thousands of ten thousands attend upon Him. (Dan. 7:10). But all of them are divided into nine orders which are called Thrones, Cherubim, Seraphim, Dominions, Powers, Authorities, principalities, Archangels, and Angels. Β ΠΡΟΣ ΚΟΡΙΝΘΙΟΥΣ Θ 6-11 Τούτο δέ πρέπει νά ξέρετε, ότι εκείνος πού σπέρνει μέ τσιγγουνιά, μέ τσιγγουνιά καί θά θερίσει. Κι εκείνος πού σπέρνει μέ απλοχεριά, μέ απλοχεριά καί θά θερίσει. Ο καθένας άς δίνει όπως τού λέει η καρδιά του όχι μέ λύπη ή από ανάγκη. Γιατί ο Θεός αγαπά εκείνον πού δίνει μέ ευχαρίστηση καί χαρά. Ο Θεός είναι δυνατός νά σάς δώσει μέ τό παραπάνω κάθε δωρεά, ώστε σέ καθετί πάντοτέ νά έχετε κάθε αυτάρκεια καί νά δίνετε μέ τό παραπάνω γιά κάθε καλό έργο. Καθώς ειναι γραμμένο : «Σκόπισε, έδωσε στούς φτωχύς. Η αγαθοεργία του μένει αιώνια». Εκείνος δέ πού δίνει σπόρο στό σποριά καί ψωμί γιά νά τροφεό, θά δώσει καί θά πλυθήνει τό σπόρο σας καί θά αυξήσει τούς καρπούς τής αγαθοεργίας σας. Ώστε νά γίνεστε πλούσιοι σέ καθετί, σέ κάθε είδος γενναιοδωρίας η οποία διά μέσου ημών τών αποστόλων συντελεί στό νά εκφράζονται ευχαριστίες στό Θεό. Apolytikion of the Synaxis of the Archangels: O Commanders of the Heavenly Host, we the unworthy beseech you, that through your entreaties you will fortify us, guarding us in the shelter of the wings of your ethereal glory, even as we fervently bow before you crying: deliver us from all danger, as Commanders of the Power on high!