The Saint George News

Transcription

1 The Saint George News Volume 21, Issue 2 Holy Week/Paschal Season 2015 St. George Orthodox Church of Indianapolis is a parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. See the enclosed calendar for our Holy Week schedule, and check for the latest updates E. 116th Street Fishers, IN IN (317) V. Rev. Nabil L. Hanna, Pastor V. Rev. Radoslav Filipovich, Attached Rev. James Childs, Deacon Joseph Hazar, Pastoral Assistant & Youth Director Walking with Jesus Together with Dr. Tony Nasser and Wanda Nasser, Kh. Elaine and I were privileged to make our first pilgrimage to the Holy Land in January, thanks to the generosity of certain parishioners, as a gift last year for my 25th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. It was amazing to walk in the very footsteps of Christ along the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Passion, in Jerusalem. Beginning in the Praetorium, where Jesus was tried before Pontius Pilate and mocked with the crown of thorns and purple cloak, on to Golgotha and finally to the Empty Tomb, the Gospel accounts really come to life, and I will share some more of this with you during the meditations at Holy Week services. At right you see the chapel at Golgotha, the top of the hill where the Cross was planted. You can see the actual cleft in the exposed rock. The lower photo shows the slab where the body of Christ was laid and whence He rose. There we prayed and lit candles, as we did at the other holy sites. Even without leaving Indiana, let us walk with Him this Holy Week through all the church services. Fr. Nabil

2 Page 2 The Saint George News Fr. Thomas Hopko s 55 Maxims On Living a Christian Life 1. Be always with Christ, and trust God in everything. 2. Pray as you can, not as you think you must. 3. Have a keepable rule of prayer done by discipline. 4. Say the Lord's Prayer several times each day. 5. Repeat a short prayer when your mind is not occupied. 6. Make some prostrations when you pray. 7. Eat good foods in moderation, and fast on fasting days. 8. Practice silence, inner and outer. 9. Sit in silence 20 to 30 minutes each day. 10. Do acts of mercy in secret. 11. Go to liturgical services regularly. 12. Go to confession and Holy Communion regularly. 13. Do not engage intrusive thoughts and feelings. 14. Reveal all your thoughts and feelings to a trusted person regularly. 15. Read the scriptures regularly. 16. Read good books, a little at a time. 17. Cultivate communion with the saints. 18. Be an ordinary person, one of the human race. 19. Be polite with everyone, first of all family members. 20. Maintain cleanliness and order in your home. 21. Have a healthy, wholesome hobby. 22. Exercise regularly. 23. Live a day, even a part of a day, at a time. 24. Be totally honest, first of all with yourself. 25. Be faithful in little things. 26. Do your work, then forget it. 27. Do the most difficult and painful things first. 28. Face reality. 29. Be grateful. 30. Be cheerful. 31. Be simple, hidden, quiet and small. 32. Never bring attention to yourself. 33. Listen when people talk to you. 34. Be awake and attentive, fully present where you are. 35. Think and talk about things no more than necessary. 36. Speak simply, clearly, firmly, directly. 37. Flee imagination, fantasy, analysis, figuring things out. 38. Flee carnal, sexual things at their first appearance. 39. Don't complain, grumble, murmur or whine.

3 Volume 13, Issue 1 Page Don't seek or expect pity or praise. 41. Don't compare yourself with anyone. 42. Don't judge anyone for anything. 43. Don't try to convince anyone of anything. 44. Don't defend or justify yourself. 45. Be defined and bound by God, not people. 46. Accept criticism gracefully and test it carefully. 47. Give advice only when asked or when it is your duty. 48. Do nothing for people that they can and should do for themselves. 49. Have a daily schedule of activities, avoiding whim and caprice. 50. Be merciful with yourself and others. 51. Have no expectations except to be fiercely tempted to your last breath. 52. Focus exclusively on God and light, and never on darkness, temptation and sin. 53. Endure the trial of yourself and your faults serenely, under God's mercy. 54. When you fall, get up immediately and start over. 55. Get help when you need it, without fear or shame. Fr. Tom expounds further on this at: lent_the_tithe_of_the_year Memory Eternal! Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko 3/28/39 3/18/15 Let s all take par t in Praising and Thanking Him We want everyone to share in the privilege of offering the Holy Gifts for Pascha. We have enclosed special Holy Week forms on which to write names of the living and departed you want remembered. We will remember the names of all those who have given, those for whose health they are given, and those in whose memory they are offered at the proskomide for the Resurrection Liturgy, 11 p.m. on April 11. Enclose any offering that you can, according to your gratitude for God s love, manifested on the Cross, and your ability. It s more important to participate, regardless of amount. So we can print all the names in the bulletin for that service, please return your offering by noon Thursday, April 9. You may also enter your Holy Week offering online via the Donate link at the top of our website, Parish Life conference 2015 This year s Parish Life Conference will be hosted by St Nicholas Church in Grand Rapids, MI June To get more information or to register, please visit 52 nd Antiochian Archdiocese Convention, Boston, MA Sunday, July 19-Sunday, July 26, 2015 Hosted by St. Mary Orthodox Church, Cambridge, MA at the Sheraton Boston Hotel, Boston. 70% of rooms are already sold out for this historic convention. Go to to register for hotel rooms, events and Boston excursions and the Souvenir Journal and for information about family activities and events.

4 Page 4 The Saint George News HOLY WEEK & PASCHA 2015 St. George Orthodox Church Indianapolis/Fishers LAZARUS SATURDAY APRIL 4 Matins 9 AM Divine Liturgy, 10 AM Children s Retreat Great Vespers, 5 PM Confessions Follow Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead shows He can raise all mankind. Please also join us after Liturgy for a Falafel and spaghetti brunch, and help us prepare for the Feast by preparing and decorating the Lord s house, while our children also enjoy a special time of learning about Holy Week. PALM SUNDAY APRIL 5 Matins and Confession, 9 AM Divine Liturgy, 10 AM In the triumphant entry of our Lord into Jerusalem to face his voluntary death, We like the children carry the palms of victory, in Procession. Adults and children may also bring decorated candles. A Fish Dinner follows Liturgy. PALM SUNDAY EVENING APRIL 5 Bridegroom Matins, 7 PM Confessions Follow The Procession with the icon of Christ, the Bridegroom of the Church, takes place, and we remember the righteousness of Joseph who, like Christ, suffered unjustly with patience and was exalted. GREAT MONDAY APRIL 6 Presanctified Liturgy, 10 AM Bridegroom Matins, 7 PM Confessions Follow We remember the example of the ten virgins waiting for the Bridegroom. GREAT TUESDAY APRIL 7 Presanctified Liturgy, 10 AM Bridegroom Matins, 7 PM Confessions Follow We remember the woman who anointed the head and feet of our Lord, wiping them with her hair, in contrast with Judas and his betrayal of Christ. The Hymn of Kassiane expresses these contrasts with profound poetry and majesty. GREAT WEDNESDAY APRIL 8 Presanctified Liturgy, 10 AM Sacrament of Holy Unction, 7 PM We are anointed for healing of soul and body as Christ was anointed in anticipation of his burial. All should have made their confession before this point.

5 Volume 13, Issue 1 Page 5 GREAT THURSDAY MORNING APRIL 9 Liturgy of St. Basil, 10 AM On this day, when Jesus first said to his disciples, Take, eat; this is my Body, Orthodox Christians make it a point to participate in Holy Communion. Children may be excused from school. Breakfast will follow. GREAT THURSDAY EVENING APRIL 9 Matins with the Twelve Passion Gospels, 7 PM We walk with our Lord through the Passion. A procession with the Cross commemorates Christ s voluntary Crucifixion. GREAT FRIDAY APRIL 10 Royal Hours, 10 AM Church School Chat, 2 PM Un-nailing Vespers, 3 PM We try to spend this day in Church, heeding our Lord s words to watch and pray. During Vespers, Christ is taken down from the Cross and placed in the decorated tomb. Children may be excused from school for the day for services and for a chat with Father before the afternoon service. GREAT FRIDAY EVENING APRIL 10 Resurrectional Matins of Christ s Funeral, 7 PM Teens Keep All-night Vigil We join Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and the Myrrh-bearing Women to sing in Praise of the buried Christ, and we process with the Bier and passing under it as if joining Christ in the tomb. GREAT SATURDAY MORNING APRIL 11 Liturgy of St. Basil, 10 AM As we keep vigil, the Victory of Christ over death and his Resurrection explode with throwing of the leaves of victory. Please bring your children to this service. Breakfast will follow. THE RESURRECTION SATURDAY, APRIL 11 / SUNDAY, APRIL 12 RUSH/MATINS/LITURGY, 11 PM We receive the new Light and the Good News that Christ is Risen. Please bring dyed-red eggs. You may also bring Easter Baskets to be blessed for enjoyment and sharing after Liturgy. Our parish council will also serve additional food to break the Fast. AGAPE VESPERS SUNDAY, APRIL 12 Love Vespers, 3 PM Egg Hunt Pitch-in Feast The Good News (Gospel) of the Resurrection will be proclaimed in as many languages as possible. A sign-up list will be posted during Holy Week for you to read any language you know (we might have the text available, if you don t). Bring your family and something to share, and let s all enjoy food, music and dancing together! We will also have the Egg Hunt for the children.

6 Page 6 The Saint George News Immediately Following the Liturgy and Palm Sunday Procession Adults $10 Children $5 Tickets can be purchased from Patrick Koers. Please purchase your tickets in advance to help us in our planning. MENU Baked Cod Salad Bread Lima Beans Glazed Carrots Roasted Potatoes Fruit Dessert Beverage Hosted by Alex & Jennifer Azar, Jim & Kristi George, Mina & Eloisa Khoury, Patrick & Diane Koers, and Dr. Tony Nasser, with ALL proceeds going toward the procurement of icons. Next Year in Jerusalem! Part of the purpose of Fr. Nabil s trip to the Holy Land was to prepare for taking a group from the parish on a pilgrimage something we ve been talking about and many parishioners have been asking for for a long time. Tentatively, we are looking at a 12-day trip, in October Cost is expected to be approximately $3,000 per person, including airfare, hotels, tours and food a fantastic price that we could not achieve in the summer, when costs would be double. Also, summer can be very hot in the Holy Land. Please let Fr. Nabil know if you re interested, and he will keep you posted as we formulate plans. Send him a message at pastor@stgindy.org to let him know. We hope that a year and half will provide many the opportunity to arrange vacations and to save up for the trip. Note that you will need to be in reasonable physical condition, as there will be walking and rough stairs to go up and down.

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8 Saint Geo rge O rthodox C hrist ian Church Indianapolis/ Fi sh er s E. 116th Street Fishers, IN Non-Profit Org. U. S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No Indianapolis, IN Phone: Fax: Address Service Requested Dated Printed Matter Palm Sunday is April 5 Pascha is April 11/12 Eve of Feast of St. George is April 22 See Full Schedule Inside Annual Parish Meeting is April 26 We shall hold our Annual Meeting SUNDAY, APRIL 26, following the Divine Liturgy and breakfast. Please plan to attend. If you are possibly interested in serving God through the parish council, please talk to our nominations committee, Duke Haddad, Elaine Eckhart and Thomas Kiritsis, and come to the workshop on April 18 (see below). All nominees must be Orthodox Christians in exemplary spiritual and temporal standing, at least 18 years of age, and members of this parish for at least one year. Workshop on the Ministry of the Church 1 pm on Saturday, April 18.Why are we here? What is the purpose of having a church? How do we operate? What is the structure of the Church? We will address these questions at the workshop. Everyone is invited. It is a mandatory prequalification for serving on the parish council, but it will be informative for everyone.