Weekly Schedule of Services/Events

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ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST ORTHODOX CHURCH Sunday December 23, 2018 The Martyr Mennas Epistle: Colossians 3:12-16 Gospel: Luke 17:12-19 Weekly Schedule of Services/Events Sunday, December 23 9:00AM Divine

Gregory Morrison Church School - Coffee: Moore Family The Martyr Mennas Saint Menas, according to the Synaxaristes, had Athens as his homeland.

1 ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST ORTHODOX CHURCH Sunday December 23, 2018 The Martyr Mennas Epistle: Colossians 3:12-16 Gospel: Luke 17:12-19 Weekly Schedule of Services/Events Sunday, December 23 9:00AM Divine Liturgy - Epsitle: Jennifer Morrison + Kudravy Church School - Coffee: Karafa Family Wednesday, December 26 7:00PM Moleben to the Mother of God Sunday, December 30 9:00AM Divine Liturgy - Epsitle: Gregory Morrison Church School - Coffee: Moore Family The Martyr Mennas Saint Menas, according to the Synaxaristes, had Athens as his homeland. He was a military officer, an educated man and skilled in speech, wherefore he was surnamed Kallikelados ( most eloquent ); Eugraphus was his scribe. Both had Christian parents. The Emperor Maximinus (he was the successor of Alexander Severus, and reigned from 235 to 238) sent Saint Menas to Alexandria to employ his eloquence to end a certain strife among the citizens. Saint Menas, having accomplished this, also employed his eloquence to strengthen the Christians in their faith, which when Maximinus heard, he sent Hermogenes, who was an eparch born to unbelievers to turn Menas away from Christ. But Hermogenes rather came to the Faith of Christ because of the miracles wrought by Saint Menas. Saints Menas, Eugraphus, and Hermogenes received the crown of martyrdom in the year 235. Service Schedule Divine Liturgy 9am Weekday Eve Service 7pm General Information Street Address 384 Mill Hill Ave Bridgeport, CT Mailing Address 40 Beaver Dam Road Stratfor, CT Contact Information Fr. David Cochran H: C: pauldcochran@gmail.com Carol Feduik, President carolcfeduik@yahoo.com John Galpin, Choir Dir choir@stjohnsmillhill.com Diocesan Resources Diocesan Website Camp Nazareth Facebook Twitter YouTube

2 Weekly Announcements CHURCH CALENDARS AND ENVELOPES: Calendars for 2019 are available in the Church Auditorium. Many thanks to Adzima Funeral Hole for once again sponsoring the calendars. Church envelopes are also in the Church Office and should be available for pickup either today or next Sunday. NATIVITY OF OUR LORD: The Feast of the Nativity of our Lord falls on Monday, January 7. We will celebrate with the following services: Sunday January 6: Nativity Eve service at 8PM; Monday January 7 Christmas Day Divine Liturgy 9AM; Tuesday January 8 Synaxis of the Mother of God Divine Liturgy 9am; Wednesday January 9 St. Stephen Divine Liturgy 9am. CONFESSIONS: Confession for the Nativity Season will be offered the following times: After any Wednesday Service; Saturday December 29 and January 5 at 10am. Please plan to have your confession heard prior to The Nativity. MONTHLY PIROHI: Many thanks to the small but dedicated group of people who came Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to make pirohi. We made close to 380 doz pirohi to sell. God bless you for your work for the Church Scripture Readings for Sunday Epistle Reading Colossians 3:12-16 Brethren, put on as God s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Gospel Reading Luke 17:12-19 At that time, as Jesus entered a village, He was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said: Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. When He saw them He said to them, Go and show yourselves to the priests. And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus s feet, giving Him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then said Jesus:

3 Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? And He said to him: Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well. Gifts in Silence by Vasie-Leigh Andriotis As a person in the Facebook era, I am showered by daily status updates and photographs of my friends children. There is such a great joy and anticipation when a child comes into the world or just your world. Family and friends are so happy to see those new little faces that they have been anticipating. It is hard to contain the excitement. It must have been unimaginable for Mary and Joseph, preparing to give birth to the Son of God. There were however, no baby showers, decorating nurseries or registering for gifts, just a long donkey ride to Bethlehem to register for King Herod s census. This mother and father were not greeted by numerous Tweets or Facebook messages within seconds of His birth. They were alone in that cave in Bethlehem, except for a few simple animals and the far away star to tell of His birth. We are only told of three gifts offered to the new baby. Sometimes God s greatest gifts come initially with relative silence and little fanfare. About five years ago, my husband and I decided to become foster parents. We both just kept being drawn to the idea, but had many concerns running through our heads. We hoped we would meet expectations to be accepted by our agency. We wondered how we would feel if a child or children placed with us would then have to be eventually returned to their birth family. We hoped for a younger child or children, how long would we wait to get our wish? We did our training, passed the background checks, completed the home inspection and then we waited to get approved. In the process of being approved, I did feel a bit like Mary getting bounced around on the donkey during that long journey, taking one step at a time, never knowing when we would get counted in. It was about a year and a half after we started training that we got our first placement, a sibling group of two girls. With just 3 hours notice of the placement from our case worker, two became four. My husband and I, were in our house, with the two kids, with no clothes for them to wear, no idea of what they ate, what they were allergic to or what their life was like, however, we had totally fallen in love. Any of the worries we had during that process, were over shadowed by the awesome joy of parenthood. It was one of the greatest gifts that we had had up to that point as a married couple and no one we love knew, just my husband, and I and God. There are so many gifts that the Lord brings us that come quietly and go without little notice. Last year, my oldest friend came from across the country for a visit. Lisa and I grew up together and we have been like sisters. There was not a stage in our lives that we did not trudge through together. Like girlfriends do, we chatted till late in the night by ourselves, reflecting on our three decades of friendship. We confessed our thoughts to each other as if we would not see each other again. We told each other how much we loved and cared for each other. Telling someone what you mean to them is such a simple act, but is one of the most precious gifts you can give.

4 At this time of the Christmas, we often reflect on the best or biggest Christmas gift we have given or received. We think about a special Christmas we had as a child and want to do that for our own children. What if we also took a moment during all of the excitement that is this season to thank God for our best or biggest non-gift? This is the kind of gift that has no packaging, no receipt, no one may even know about it and it may have come in relative silence. Maybe this gift was your first confession at summer camp in when you felt the Grace of God? Perhaps it was the day you found out you where expecting and only you and God knew, if just for a few hours. There may have been someone who noticed you had a financial or physical need and stepped in to help as if they were an angle sent by God. God brings us gifts in silence, so that we can hear Him and know He is present. The Grace of God does not have wrapping or ribbons, but is covered in love. While you are in traffic coming back from the mall, on your way to church or coming back from a holiday event, this would be a great time to share with your children some of these gifts. Tell them about the people who did kind things for you in silence. Share with them a special moment when you felt our Lord in your life. You may have felt that star shine down and you knew God was with you, just like He was on that first Christmas. Take the opportunity while children are on break from school to encourage them to emulate St. Nicholas and Saint Basil, who showed their generosity to others in secrecy. Challenge your children to give gifts in silence. They could draw a picture and put it on the doorstep of an elderly neighbor, ask Baba and Papa to spend time with them, rake leaves or shovel snow for someone in need or they can pray about it and just let God be their guide. Sometimes these moments just present themselves. So why does God proceed quietly sometimes? Why did he bring the King of Man into the world in a manger? We learn later in the story of the Nativity, that Herod did not have honorable intentions for the baby Jesus. The Magi were warned of this in a dream. Christ was born under simple circumstances, because the gift of the Messiah, would be a threat to power of people like King Herod. You may have asked yourself, what ever happened to the children we fostered. They were returned home and our hearts were broken. We couldn t understand it at the time, but before too long, our daughter was born. She is the love of our lives and our most precious gift. Lastly, why did I mention my friend Lisa? Six weeks after her visit, she unexpectedly passed away. Out of nowhere, she was gone. I believe that God prepared me for losing her, by giving us that time together and those three simple words, I love you. Her friendship is one of most priceless gifts in my life. God s silent gifts often prepare us for what is to come. These gifts are not presents, but the Grace of the Holy Spirit. His Grace brings us comfort, strength and guidance. God quietly brought his Son into the world to prepare us for His greatest gift, forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. What silent gift has He brought you and your family this year that is the most cherished? Did you acknowledge it? What silent gift can you offer in return that will bring His presence and grace to someone in preparation of Christmas, or in the coming year?

5 On Stewardship: #109 How Are We Judged? for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. (John 12: 43 RSV) The secular world judges us in many ways. Our managers at work judge and evaluate us on performance; our families judge us on our success; and we judge ourselves by how successful we are, by our accumulated wealth, by how many things we possess or, maybe even, the number of friends who see life the way we do. We define ourselves by cars, houses, boats, and money in the bank. I am sure you have heard the mantra, He who has the most toys, wins! How many times have you seen somebody drive-by in a new Mercedes and think: Wow, that person is successful! There is nothing wrong with material success is this world. God has never objected to us having material things which come from the fruits of our labor. Indeed, the Holy Fathers tell us that having material things is not evil. But having the material things simply for the sake of possessing them is wrong. God gives us all that we have so that we might use our wealth, but never to hoard. I don t know about you, but I have never seen a U-Haul truck filled with earthly possessions awaiting burial with someone. That Mercedes is not going to your tomb so that you may drive it in heaven! On the contrary, all of our possessions are on loan from God. Possessing or loving something so much that you could not part with it is a sin. Christianity, as practiced in the early church, included generosity. Those Christians that were closest to Christ shared in gratitude their time, talents and resources with the Christian Community. The secular world drives us to believe that wealth is the barometer on which we are judged and praised. However, as Christians, generosity and gratitude are the metrics by which God will judge us. Do we spend our time in the service of God and our community? Do we use the skills that God has given us for Him and the service of His community? How much of our time do we spend in providing support to the various ministries of the church? A mantra that one hears is, I would rather be judged by 12 than be carried by six! Know that you will be carried by six, only if you are blessed! The Christians mantra should be: I pray to be judged by God for the generosity and gratitude I have given to His Church and community than be judged by the secular world as to how much wealth I have accumulated. Being judged by this secular world in which we live is ephemeral. Being judged by God is eternal! This weekly series of brief thoughts on stewardship and Orthodox life is brought to you by your Diocesan Stewardship Commission.

7 Camp Nazareth Family Camp May 31 June 2, 2019 Being a Believing Family Believing in God as a Family seems to get more and more difficult these days. There are examples of Families that kept believing even when it was difficult. Come and Learn about them and help your Family believe and rejoice in God. Come enjoy time at Camp with your Family! Enjoy the Camp s peaceful environment, have some fun and be rejuvenated as a Family! Register Online at campnazareth.org campnazareth@acrod.org or call for more information

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Christ is Born! Glorify Him! Christos Razdajetsja! Slavite Jeho! ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST ORTHODOX CHURCH January 7, 2019 The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ Epistle: Galatians 4:4-7 Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12