Sunday, February 4, 2018 Matins, 9:00 am :: Divine Liturgy, 10:00 am

Transcription

1 Sunday, February 4, 2018 Matins, 9:00 am :: Divine Liturgy, 10:00 am Sunday of the Prodigal Son Pastor: Father Andrew Kishler Parish Council officers: Parish Council members: Chair, Michael Kasap Vice Chair, Matthew Rowan Secretary, Lynette Forsa Treasurer, Anysia Medawar Genie Sanders Jennifer Harshman Leo Kapetaneas

2 Today s holy bread and coffee hour: Paul Khoury memorial Epistle reader: Michael Kasap Next week s holy bread and coffee hour: Matt and Olly Rowan Hymns of the Day, immediately after the Small Entrance: Troparion of the Resurrection (Tone 2): When Thou didst submit Thyself unto death, O Thou deathless and immortal One, then Thou didst destroy hell with Thy Godly power. And when Thou didst raise the dead from beneath the earth, all the powers of Heaven did cry aloud unto Thee: O Christ, Thou giver of life, glory to Thee. Troparion for the Presentation of the Lord (Tone 1): Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, full of grace, for from thee arose the Sun of justice, Christ our God, lighting those who are in darkness. Rejoice and be glad, O righteous elder, carrying in thine arms the Deliverer of our souls, who granteth us Resurrection. Troparion for St. George the Great-Martyr (Tone 4): Since thou art a liberator and deliverer of captives, a help and succour of the poor and needy, a healing physician of the sick, a contender and fighter for kings, O great among martyrs, the victory-clad George: Intercede with Christ God for the salvation of our souls. Kontakion for the Presentation (Tone 1): Thou, O Christ God, who by Thy Birth, didst sanctify the Virgin s womb, and, as is meet, didst bless Simeon s arms, and didst also come to save us; preserve Thy fold in wars, and confirm them whom Thou dost love, for Thou alone art the Lover of mankind. THE EPISTLE For Sunday of the Prodigal Son Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us. Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous. The Reading from the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians (6:12-20) Brethren, all things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything. Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food; but God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. 2

3 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, The two shall become one flesh. But he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him. Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God s. THE GOSPEL For Sunday of the Prodigal Son The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke (15:11-32) The Lord spoke this parable: There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of property that falls to me. And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, How many of my father s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to make merry. Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound. But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf! And he said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found. 3

4 Announcements and Upcoming Events For a full calendar of events and services at St. George, see our website, Today: Children s Sunday school, downstairs immediately after Holy Communion. This week: Please contact Father Andrew to schedule your home blessing! (See note below.) No evening vespers on Wednesday or Saturday this week. Next Sunday, Feb. 11: Sunday of the Last Judgment. Matins, 9am; Divine Liturgy, 10am. House blessings continue through the beginning of Lent (Feb. 18). It is customary for the priest to visit each household in the church community once a year for a blessing with the holy water that was blessed at Theophany. Please see Fr. Andrew to set up a date and time. (Also note that you are under no obligation to feed or pay your priest for this service!) Mark your calendars: Our annual all-church meeting will take place Sunday, Feb. 25 after Divine Liturgy. All voting members of St. George Church should be present! All households, please bring a dish or dessert to share for a potluck meal. Mark your calendars: We will be hosting the ecumenical Prayers for the Valley service here at St. George on Tuesday, Feb. 27. This is a great opportunity to bear witness to the Orthodox faith in our community! The 2018 Holy Bread and Coffee Hour list is downstairs by the food tables. Please take a look at when your family appears on the list, and make any necessary corrections. Our 2018 Orthodox calendars have arrived, and are available on the bulletin shelf by the front door. Special thanks again to Barto Funeral Home for their sponsorship. St. George Church 100 th Anniversary: In 2018, our church turns 100 years old! Save the date: Bishop Anthony plans to visit us the weekend of November 2-4, 2018 to help us celebrate. Do you have an announcement for the bulletin? Please contact Fr. Andrew no later than Friday each week for inclusion in the Sunday bulletin. 4

5 Sunday Volunteer Schedule Holy Bread/Coffee Hour Epistle Reader TODAY Paul Khoury Memorial Mike Kasap Sunday, Feb. 11 Meatfare Sunday Sunday, Feb. 18 Cheesefare Sunday Sunday, Feb. 25 Orthodoxy Sunday Matt/Olly Rowan Ron/Dottie Malooley All Church potluck and Annual Meeting David Anderson Maggie Kishler and Keeley Thompson Alan Harshman Sunday, March 4 Ladies of St. George The Ladies of St. George Sunday, March 11 Ron/Dottie Malooley The Ladies of St. George Sunday, March 18 Bill/Mary Miller The Ladies of St. George Sunday, March 25 Michael Kasap The Ladies of St. George Regarding HOLY BREAD, you are welcome to bake your own, or use the bread provided by the church (donations of any amount are appreciated). On your Sunday, please also provide to Father Andrew a list of names (living and departed) for prayers during the Liturgy. COFFEE HOUR may be as simple or elaborate as you want. While CLEAN UP is primarily the responsibility of those who provide coffee hour, all of us should help by bussing our own tables and cleaning up as we are able! * SHADED DATES indicate fasting. No meat should be served on these dates. 5

6 February Birthdays and Anniversaries May God grant you many years! (Please let Father know if we are missing anyone!) Feb. 3 Bob Abraham Feb. 3 Elias Kapetaneas Feb. 5 Wayne and Genie Sanders (anniversary) Feb. 6 Patrice Nimee Feb. 7 Mary Majerus Feb. 8 David Anderson Feb. 9 Joey Kishler Feb. 12 Nick Medawar Feb. 13 Mike and John Bachio Feb. 19 William Rowan Feb. 24 Brianna Kaleel Feb. 25 Kenneth Welgatt Continuing our series on American Orthodox history, today we give you part 2 of a story on the life of St. Raphael of Brooklyn, founder of many of the original Syrian-Lebaneses Orthodox churches in America. This article appeared in the May 2000 edition of the Word Magazine. The Life of Our Father among the Saints Raphael Hawaweeny, Bishop of Brooklyn "Good Shepherd of the Lost Sheep in America," Part 2 [St. Raphael] exemplifies the image of a truly traditional Orthodox bishop. He received the faith from his forefathers and he sought faithfully to hand that faith over to his spiritual children. He was a great man of prayer. He loved and lived the liturgical life of the Church and it was his spiritual support. He was not an innovationist; he did not "change" anything. He brought to his pastoral work no agenda other than to be faithful to the charge which he had received. It was the people he served who consumed his every thought and every scheme. How to reconcile enemies? How to restore the lapsed? How to raise the children? How to plant a mission? How to educate a priest? The legacy of his accomplishments is outstanding: he founded thirty parish churches, authored or translated fourteen books, including both the Small and the Great Euchologion, founded St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brooklyn, created and authored many articles in The WORD, etc. But these accomplishments do not reveal the true sanctity of his soul nor do they give us the measure of the man. These are to be found rather in the lives of the people he led to Christ and 6

7 His Church. The thousands who attended his funeral and paid their last respects all recognized in St. Raphael the image of the God he loved and served. Like his Chief Shepherd, St. Raphael laid down his life for his sheep. Like the great pastor, the Apostle Paul, he made up in his body that which was lacking in the sufferings of Christ (Colossians 1:24). He was not a hireling; having loved his own, he loved them to the end. It is this love which united him to God and it is this love which unites him to us, his spiritual children. It is this love which sanctified him and it is this love in which he dwells in the heavenly Kingdom. The words of our venerable and God-bearing Father John Climacus find their embodiment in St. Raphael: "Love grants prophecy, miracles. It is an abyss of illumination, a fountain of fire, bubbling up to inflame the thirsty soul. It is the condition of angels and the progress of eternity." St. Raphael was born on or near the Synaxis of the Archangels, November 8, 1860, to pious Orthodox Damascenes, Michael and Mariam Hawaweeny. Due to the violent persecution of the Christians of Damascus in July, 1860, which saw the martyrdom of the Hawaweeny family's parish priest, the New- Hieromartyr Joseph of Damascus, and hundreds of their neighbors (all are commemorated on July 10), Michael and his pregnant wife Mariam fled from Damascus to Beirut. It was in that city that the future saint first saw the light of day. Indeed as the child's life unfolded, it was evident that he would have no continuing city in this world, but would seek the city which is to come (Hebrews 13:14). St. Raphael received his primary and secondary education in the parochial schools of Damascus, and his first theological training at the Oecumenical Patriarchate's Theological School at Halki in the Princes Islands [near Istanbul]. He later studied at the Kiev Theological Academy in Imperial Russia. During this time, the Syro-Arab community in the United States was growing at an increasing rate. A Syrian Orthodox Benevolent Society was organized in New York City and the president, Dr. Ibrahim Arbeely, contacted St. Raphael, then a priest, about coming to the United States. St. Raphael met with Bishop Nicholas in St. Petersburg and in 1895 returned with him to the United States to serve the Syro-Arab community. St. Raphael was placed in charge of the entire Syrian Orthodox Mission. He was assigned to New York City and organized the parish which later became St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brooklyn. He supervised the development of other immigrant communities, traveling widely through the United States in 1896 to organize parishes. By 1898, St. Raphael published an Arabic language translation of the Great Euchologion for use in his churches. Later in the same year, he was to be the ranking representative of the American Mission to greet St. Tikhon (Bellavin), the new diocesan bishop. At the Liturgy on December 15, 1898, he spoke of St. Tikhon's mission in his sermon. "He has been sent to tend the flock of Christ Russians, Slavs, Syro-Arabs, and Greeks which is scattered across the entire North American continent." 7

8 Daily Bible Readings February 4-10 Sunday, Feb. 4 Sunday of the Prodigal Son Mark 16:1-8 / 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 / Luke 15:11-32 Monday, Feb. 5 Holy Martyr Agatha of Sicily 1 John 2:18-29, 3:1-8 / Mark 11:1-11 Tuesday, Feb. 6 Photius the Great, Patriarch of Constantinople John 10:1-9 / Hebrews 7:26-8:2 / John 10:9-16 Wednesday, Feb. 7 St. Parthenius, Bishop of Lampsacus 1 John 3:21-4:11 / Mark 14:43-15:1 Thursday, Feb. 8 Great-Martyr Theodore the Commander Ephesians 2:4-10 / Matthew 10:16-22 Friday, Feb. 9 Hiero-Martyr Haralambos Luke 21:12-19 / 2 Timothy 2:1-10 / John 15:17-16:2 Saturday, Feb. 10 Saturday of Souls 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 / Luke 21:8-9, 25-27, Videos of sermons and Feast Day services are available on our website, Follow St. George Orthodox Church of Spring Valley on Facebook for daily Bible readings and lives of the saints. Please be aware that photographs and videos from our church appear on our website and Facebook page. Please feel free to let us know if you would prefer not to have your pictures online. 8