Falls Church, Virginia

Transcription

1 The Road of Happy Destiny Dear Beloved in Christ, Christ is born! Glorify Him! As we celebrate the birth of Life and Light, as well as the beginning of a new year (may it be blessed!), I thought I would share with you a little behind the scenes information and give you a preview of the next three months or so. Many of you know that I have been enrolled at St. Vladimir s Orthodox Theological Seminary in New York to pursue a Doctor of Ministry degree over the last two and half years. This experience has been one of the most personally enriching I ve had in my priesthood but it has not been primarily for me. But to equip me better to serve you. I hope it has already been of some benefit to you in some way, and I am grateful for the parish s support in this worthy pursuit. Currently I am in the final and most difficult stage, writing the final project. I humbly ask for your moral support and invite you to inquire with me regularly as to my progress it will help me keep on track if I know I must give an account! Do not be afraid to be specific and ask me how many pages have I written each week! Remember, this is your investment as well as mine! My final project is concerned with developing an approach to ministry which combine the spiritual insights of the Holy Fathers such as St. John of the Ladder and the writers of the Philokalia with the experience, strength and hope of the 12 Step recovery fellowships, the first of which is Alcoholics Anonymous. You may recall that in 2009 I began a series of sermons over the course of nine weeks, beginning on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son and ending on Palm Sunday that dealt with the 12 Steps as a roadmap for Christian repentance. That was the beginning of my investigation of this theme and I hope those of you who were present have found much benefit in them. 8 years later, there are many of you have not heard these sermons (nor remember them particularly even if you had!) and also, my own experience with both the Fathers and the 12 steps has deepened. Therefore, I am pleased to announce the return of the Sinaholics Anonymous series in 2017, in a new and expanded form beginning January 8 and running all the way to Palm Sunday, April 9. With your feedback, this series will eventually provide a major portion of the applied ministry component of the final project. (The other major component was the Adult Education course offered last Fall, Defense Against the Dark Arts. ) My prayer is that this may be a cooperative, community effort for the building up Christ s Holy Church and the equipping of the saints, starting with our own parish family. You may not be sure if this topic will have anything to say to you I encourage you to have an open mind and come anyway. Sometimes you have to bring the body first and the spirit follows. Again, I beseech your prayers and input throughout the weeks to come. May God enrich us all through the words of the Scriptures and the lives of those who have repented, even those considered lost and least among us! Fr. David Protection of the Holy Mother of God Orthodox Church Falls Church, Virginia

2 2016 Nativity Flower Donations In Memory of Fr. George and Psa. Adriana Calciu Cecilia, David, Ivan, and Tsvetanka Joseph Sikorski, John and Kathryn Sikorski, Stephen and Anna Salask, Peter and Florentina Kozemchak Barbara, Martin, George, Florence, Martin, Martha, Karl, Luise, Douglas, Otto, Edith, Mary, Dmitri, Anna, Bogdan, Nicholas, Richard, Clinton, Eleanor, Margaret, and Elaine Julie, Mary, and Raymond King Sue Lettow Ovidiu, Dimitrie, and Ionut Julietta, Antoneta, Niculaie, and Adriana Andrew, Elizabeth, Lydia, Sonia, Mary, Michael, Andrew, Tekla, Nicholas, Constantine, Ann, Alice, Mary, Nellie, Frederick, Earl, Carol, Fred, Lulabelle, Jeannette, Lonzo, Kent, and all of the departed members of the Sweet and Konon families Esperanza, Vesaline, Nicholas, Stephan, all of the departed members of the Sarenac family, and those who have no one else to pray for them Mother Theodora, Julia, Paul Members of the Yuskavage and Tapyrik families In Honor of Grandmother Eugenia The Veil A Ministry of The Protection of the Holy Mother of God Orthodox Church Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America, OCA Archbishop NATHANIEL of Detroit, Hierarch Parish Priest: Rev. Fr. David G. Subu, Parish Deacons: Prodn. Peter Danilchick, Dn. Nicholas Dujmovic Sub-Deacon Nicholas Jones, Int. Choir Dir. Ken Liu, Parish Council President Irene Liu & Renee Lerner, Church Principals 7223 Roosevelt Ave, Falls Church, Virginia (Office) veilnewsletter@gmail.com January Birthdays: Greg Zimmerli Christina Jatras Armand Scala II Dionne Manos Demitri Apodaca Mina Coleman Rodica Morosanu Adrian Apodaca Maria Lerner Luna Asghedom Anne Wright Kristine Lorentz Toni Robertson January Anniversaries: Sarah & Arthur Zimmerli January Saint s Name Days 7 St. John the Baptist: Ioana Lutai 12 St. Tatiana, Martyr in Rome-Dsa.Tanya Danilchick 14 St. Nina the Enlightener of Georgia: Nina Apodaca 21 St. Maximus the Confessor: Maximus Masick 21 St. Agnes: Ursula Rij February Birthdays: Nick Jones Elaine Devine Ursula Rij Forest Thola Nishan Asghedom Hayden Birchfield Susan Zimmerli Matelski Lauren Chadwick Eugene Ephraim Huang Alethea Tan Gregory Lutai Maria Rosca George Codrea Jr. Thomas Robertson Jonathan Jacobson Paula Yuskavage February Anniversaries: Christopher & Marilyn Marie Thomas Protection of the Holy Mother of God Orthodox Church Falls Church, Virginia 2

3 THANK YOU to all who supported St. Juliana Fellowship Soup Luncheon Due to your generosity, we collected $2,340.00! 50% will be donated to Floyd Frantz in Romania who started a 12- step program and trains others to lead meetings. 50% will be donated to Jennifer Rice, a recent graduate of Holy Cross Seminary. Jennifer is fund raising to begin her first year in Guatemala. Thank you to the soup cooks, the servers, those who cleaned up afterwards, those who attended the luncheon and those who made a donation. We couldn t have had a successful event without YOU. Next St. Juliana Fellowship Meeting: January 8, 2017 Everyone is encouraged to attend. The Fellowship invites new members to bring new and exciting ideas and new life to the Fellowship. Please join us for election of officers and setting the calendar for 2017 activities. Twice a year, during lent we hold a soup luncheon with all proceeds given to designated OCMC missionaries. Proceeds earned from this year s annual yard sale this year was donated towards church renovations to accessibility for parishioners and visitors to our church. Carolyn Pritchyk, Auxiliary President Call to Order of the Annual Parish Assembly Protection of the Holy Mother of God Orthodox Church 7223 Roosevelt Ave., Falls Church, VA FY 2016 Parish Assembly Agenda (Proposed) Sunday, January 29, :00 PM until completion of business Opening Prayer Roll Call Approval of Parliamentarian and Tellers Review and Approval of January 2017 Parish Council Minutes Pastor s Report Deacons Reports Parish Council President s Report St. Juliana Fellowship Report Church Report Group Ministry Reports Strategic development Report Auditors Report Treasurer s Report Recommended 2017 Budget Proposal from the Parish Council Recommended 2017 Parish Council Slate and Election of the Parish Council Election of Delegates to the Episcopate Congress Adjournment and Closing Prayer parishioners must be officially enrolled as a member 6+ months and be in good standing in order to vote at the Assembly. Protection of the Holy Mother of God Orthodox Church Falls Church, Virginia 3

4 Road to Inner Stillness Anna Caraveli (From our on Fridays at noon. ) St. John of Karpathos For the Encouragement of the Monks in India who had Written to Him: One Hundred Texts The Fathers tell us that every sin and path to despair begins with a single thought. It is in this realm of uncontrollable thoughts that flood us at every moment of the day that the scene of our spiritual warfare is located. Engaging with these thoughts even for a minute opens the floodgate and, before long, they become habits and drive our lives. Dwelling on perceived insults against us, jealousy, career advancement, self- pity over wrongs suffered, control of our children or spouses, etc. can become addictive. The more we indulge the angrier or more envious we become and despair sets in. John alerts us to the danger but fills us with hope and courage. Why should the devil be the tormentor and we his passive victims? he asks. Have we considered that we can reverse roles and become his tormentors instead? 79. We are aware of the torment that the enemy frequently inflicts upon us visibly or invisibly. But we do not perceive the torment and anguish that we inflict upon him, when we sometimes succeed in practicing the virtues, when we repent over our transgressions or show long-suffering and perseverance in our difficulties, pierce him to the heart John empowers us to be fierce warriors using as weapons is discipline, war and hope. When in despair, our clouded vision fails to recognize God s mercy and love. 81. Sometimes our soul grows despondent at the huge swarm of its sins and temptations, and says, Our hope is gone and we are lost (Ezek. 37:11 LXX). Yet God, who does not despair of our salvation, says to us: You shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord (Ezek. 37:6). But our God-given nature aims at goodness. If we maintain hope, no amount of adversity can derail us. 84 But if you do fall, get up again at once and continue the contest. Even if you fall a thousand times because of the withdrawal of God s grace, rise again each time, and keep on doing so until the day of your death. He illustrates this point through the contrast between Judas and Peter--two men who sinned against Christ by denying him, and who came to a point of painful recognition of the nature of their sin. Yet Judas despaired of forgiveness and salvation and hence was incapable of true repentance. Without the hope of forgiveness and renewal motivating you to change your ways, there can be no real repentance; and without repentance, there is way out of darkness and into a new life. Unlike Judas, Peter grieved but did not lose hope. Instead of giving up, he repented and transformed his life, becoming the rock of the church. 85. The traitor Judas was a defeatist, inexperienced in spiritual warfare; as a result, he was reduced to despair by the enemy s onslaught, and he went and hanged himself. Peter, on the other hand, was a firm rock: although brought down by a terrible fall, yet because of his experience in spiritual warfare he was not broken by despair, but leaping up he shed bitter tears from a contrite and humiliated heart. And as soon as our enemy saw them, he recoiled as if his eyes had been burnt by searing flames, and he took to flight howling and lamenting. It is hard to block out the noise that has become part of the way we think and become impervious to anger, envy or praise. Yet in a beautiful passage John reassures us that the holy place of God and all the glory of the king s daughter is within. It is within our power to resist evil and to pull ourselves up from the depths of despair no matter how many times we fall. In the end, the ultimate destination that makes our spiritual warfare worthwhile is love. Freed from passions and nourished by hope we can experience God s love in its fullness. And when our heart is open and filled with love, there is no room for hopelessness and despair. Judas is tortured by his betrayal of *The Philokalia (in Greek "love of the beautiful, the good") is a collection of texts written between the 4th and 15th centuries by the Fathers of the Orthodox Church. They are the foundation of Hesychasm ("quietness" or stillness ), a spiritual tradition based on the practice of prayer, contemplation and the repetition of the Jesus prayer to journey from noise to inner stillness. By emptying ourselves from passions and the tyranny of destructive thoughts and habits that embed them in our souls, we can experience divine love and union with God. Protection of the Holy Mother of God Orthodox Church Falls Church, Virginia 4

5 January 2017 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 St. Basil/ Circumcision of the Lord Theophany Eve (strict fast) 6pm - 8pm Vesperal Liturgy with blessing of water 6 Theophany 10:30am - 11:30am Festal Liturgy with blessing of waters 7 St. John Baptist 10:30am - 11:30am 12pm - 4pm Youth group/ St. John Dinner prep 5pm - 6:30pm with Group Confession 8 Sunday after Theophany St. John Dinner/ SJF Meeting St. Nina 10am - 11am 15 St. Paul of Thebes 11:40am - 12pm Visit of M. Maria of Uganda St. Anthony the Great St. Maximus Confessor 22 5:30pm - 7:30pm Young in Faith Women's Bible Study Zaccheaus 12pm - 2pm Parish Assembly Three Hierarchs 7am - 8am 31 1 St. Brigid of Kildare Great with litya 2 Meeting of the Lord 10:30am - 12pm Festal Liturgy with Blessing of Candles 3 Righteous Simeon and Anna with Group Confession 4 5

6 February 2017 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Zaccheaus 12pm - 2pm Parish Assembly Three Hierarchs 7am - 8am 31 1 St. Brigid of Kildare Great with litya 2 Meeting of the Lord 10:30am - 12pm Festal Liturgy with Blessing of Candles 3 Righteous Simeon and Anna with Group Confession 4 5 Publican and Pharisee Prodigal Son St. Nicholas of Japan Last Judgment/ Meatfare St. Polycarp of Smyrna Cheesefare First Day of Great Lent Great Canon 27 Great Canon 28 10:30am - 11:30am Pre-sanctified Liturgy Great Canon 1 Great Canon 2 10:30am - 11:30am Pre-sanctified Liturgy 3 St. Theodore Saturday 10am - 11am 5pm - 6:30pm with Group Confession 4 6

7 Protectio n of the Hol y Mother of God Orthodox Church FALLS Church, Virginia Home Blessings/Liturgy Commemorations Please fill out the form below in preparation for house blessings. Those named will also be remembered in the throughout the year. First names only. Please Print. Family Name: Year Submitted: Health and Blessings for: (Living) In honor and memory of: (Departed) At the Home Blessing: Have this list, a lit candle, an Icon, and a medium sized bowl of fresh water on a clean table ready. The head of the household should lead the priest through the house with the candle at the appropriate time. 7

8 Happy New year! St. John s Dinner SUNDAY, JANUARY 8th Join us and the St. Mary s Youth group as we celebrate the Mew year with traditional Eastern European Foods to support the Pro Vita Orphanage in Valea Plopului, Romania. Menu Sarmale (Romanian Stuffed Cabbage) Schmidt s New Year s Sausage (Artisan made, straight from Harrisburg, PA) Mamaliga cu Branza (Polenta with Cheese) Fasole Frecata (Refried Northern Beans) Apa Minerala (Mineral Water) THE VEIL St. Mary Orthodox Church 7223 Roosevelt Avenue Falls Church, Virginia