Special points of interest: Epistle Reading : Galatians 1:11-19 Gospel Reading: Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28 Tone: 3 Liturgical Color: Blue October 14, 2018 61 Canada Road Painted Post, NY 14870 Schedule for Week Sunday, October 14, 2018 8:30am Divine Liturgy Feast of the Protection (POKROV) Starting time for today s Divine Liturgy was changed to allow those traveling to hear Sister Vassa in St. Michael s Church Binghamton to arrive in time for her presentation at 2:00pm S A I N T M A R Y ' S O R T H O D O X C H U R C H The Theotokian Saturday, October 20, 2018 5:00pm Vespers/Confession Sunday, October 21, 2018 9:30am Divine Liturgy Panachida in memory of +Charles and +Vicky Kozey offered by Nancy, Chris and Stacy Gabel Potluck Social and Pantry CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING 5:00PM 45th DDD DINNER Riverdale Banquet Hall 2901 Watson Blvd Endicott, NY 13760 WELCOME! Welcome to all our visitors and guests who participate in our celebration of the Divine Liturgy today. We are glad you are here. While Holy Communion may only be received by prepared Orthodox Christians, our guests are welcome to join us in venerating the cross and receiving blessed bread at the conclusion of the Liturgy. We also hope you will join us for the Coffee Social afterward. Parish Contact Information Rev. Father Daniel Mahler Presiding Priest Parish Office: 607-962-5285 Father s Cell: 607-377-0587 Canada Road: 607-936-0689 Charles (Chuck) Coons Council President/Cantor: 607-368-1309
Page 2 Epistle Reading: Hebrews 9:1-7 THE THEOTOKIAN Brethren, The first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. For a tent was prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence; it is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain stood a tent called the Holy of Holies, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, which contained a golden urn, holding the manna, and Aaron s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. These preparations having thus been made, the priests go continually into the outer tent, performing their ritual duties; but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood which he offers for himself and for the errors of the people. Gospel Reading: Saint Luke 10:38-42, 11:27-28 Let us attend, At that time, Jesus entered a village; and a woman called Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord s feet and listened to hois teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving; and she went to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve you alone? Tell her then to help me. But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her. As he said this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked! But he said, Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!
THE THEOTOKIAN Page 3 By Stanley S. Harakas NON-BELIEVERS Q: Would you call a person who does not go to Church a non-believer? A: A good question! I suppose the way to go about answering your question is to first ask what it means to be a believer. A minimal kind of response would be that a believer is someone who identifies himself as a Christian, and who would be offended if you called him or her a non-believer. The belief of such a person, however, is certainly very weak, and probably not worth too much, though only God can judge that. But we are challenged by the New Testament itself: You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe and shudder (James 2:19) The point is that faith apart from works is barren (James 2:20). True faith is when the love of Christ controls us (2 Corinthians 5:14). Thus, when St. Paul wrote to his disciple Timothy, whom he had ordained to become a Bishop of the Church, he said to him...set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. And he added, Till I come, attend to the public reading of scripture, to preaching, to teaching (1 Timothy 4:12-13), that is, to the public worship of the Church. It seems to me, since you asked me my own opinion, that believers who never attend Church really don t show evidence of that belief, and in fact, act precisely as do the unbelievers. People who claim to be Christians should behave in ways that witness to their belief. Going to Church regularly is one of them. PRAYERS OF JESUS Q: If Jesus was alone praying how could people know his prayers to write them in the Bible? A: You are referring to the passage in the Gospel of Mark (14:32-43) as well as in Matthew (26:36-46), which describes the prayer of Jesus on the Mount of Olives in the garden of Gethsemane. According to these accounts, Jesus went there with some of His disciples and he withdrew from them about a stone s throw, and knelt down to pray. We know also that as Jesus prayed for a long time, the Scriptures record that the disciples fell asleep. There are two possible answers to your question. The first is that as Jesus began to pray, He prayed aloud with a strong voice so that the disciples heard the first part of His prayer. AS Jesus voice became softer, and it could not be heard the disciples could no longer pay attentions, and finally, dozed off. They would have remembered the first words, which are recorded, but those short sentences would not have been enough for all that is described by the Bible (His agony and great drops of blood falling down upon the ground ). What a stone throw is, is not clear, but if the disciples could see the great drops of blood, they could just as well have heard the beginning words of the prayer. The second explanation is that after the rebuke, when Jesus spoke to them, he could have easily told them what His prayer was about. That the Scriptures do not record such a conversation is not at all unusual. Only selected portions of Jesus conversations were recorded in the Gospels, not everything. The Bible itself teaches us this: But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that woulb written (John 21:25).
Page 4 THE THEOTOKIAN THE THINGS WE DO NOT KNOW! For we are the (true) circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God, and glory in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh. Though I myself have reason for confidence int the flesh also. If any other man thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more circumcised on the eighth day, for the people of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews, as to the law a Pharisee, as to zeal a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord (Phil 3: 3-8.) Once again, St. Paul pleads with us not to have confidence in the flesh, but in knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. What does it mean to have confidence in the flesh? It means focusing soley on the externals of Tradition, passed down to us by those from whom we learned the faith, while disregarding their Author and His Spirit. For example, I may indeed be blessed by having been born into an Orthodox church-going family, and baptized, and taught to live the beautiful rhythm of feasts and fasts, according to our church-calendar. But I am not to become (self-) confident in these blessings., as if I own or have salvation, as other have nots do not. Even as I am blessed by the wonderful rites and customs of my Church and tribe, they are not worth anything if they are all bout us and our identity-politics, and not about knowing Christ and His glory in our hearts. So this morning let me pay attention to my heart, and open it up to the Spirit of God. As I thank God for my Church and tribe, I refocus on His loving Presence among us, that I may be present to Him as He is to us. Come and Abide in us, and cleanse us from all impurity, and save our souls, O Good One! TODAY!!! Sister Vassa will be visiting and speaking at SAINT MICHAEL S CHURCH BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK AT 2:00PM ALL ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND!!
THE THEOTOKIAN Page 5 CONTACT US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Church Website: Saintmarysorthodoxchurchcorning.org Follow our Diocese On-Line Diocesan Website acrod.org Camp Nazareth campnazareth.org Facebook: facebook.comacroddiocese Twitter: twitter.com/acrodnews YouTube youtube.com/archdiocese 2019 LOTS OF LUCK CALENDARS ARE NOW HERE! Our supply of 2019 Lots of Luck Calendars are have arrived. Buy your calendar now and have a chance at winning a prize based on PICK 3 of the Pennsylvania Lottery drawn at 7:00pm. All winners will be paid by check, mailed within one week of the day drawn and for the amount listed on calendar for that day. This fund raiser is sponsored by the National ACRY with proceeds benefiting Diocesan programs. DONATION: $25 See Pani Joan during the coffee social for your calendar. SOUTHERN TIER DDD DINNER NEXT SUNDAY!!!! Riverdale Banquet Hall 901 Watson Blvd Endwell New York 13760 DONORS RECEIVED THEIR INVITATIONS IN THE MAIL THIS PAST WEEK!
018 College Student Sunday Encyclical October 7, 2018 Who do you say that I am? Beloved Clergy and Faithful, We greet you with joy as we announce the date for College Student Sunday, benefiting Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF). To support the incredible efforts of our students, College Student Sunday will be the first Sunday of October, running in conjunction with OCF s Orthodox Awareness Month. This year the date falls on OCTOBER 7. Orthodox Christian Fellowship continues to provide students with opportunities to encounter Jesus Christ and grow in their Orthodox faith through a growing network of on campus OCF chapters led by talented students, clergy, and lay advisors as well as through programs such as Regional Retreats, College Conference, Real Break, and the Summer Leadership Institute. OCF continues to make every effort to connect new freshmen to campus chapters and local parishes through the First Forty Days Initiative, which involves extensive effort from our student leaders and spiritual advisors who contact every incoming freshman within the first forty days on campus. We wholeheartedly pray for and strongly encourage your support of these noble efforts by ensuring that the contact information for your parish s graduating high school seniors is sent each and every year to the OCF National Office for dissemination to our dedicated local chapters. Additionally, with the greatest sincerity and earnestness, we encourage your committed financial support of this fundamental ministry which functions completely on the contributions of caring Orthodox faithful like yourselves. We are asking that a special collection be taken on College Student Sunday in support of the good work of OCF, and we encourage the entire faithful family clergy, parents, grandparents, godparents, aunts, uncles, and friends of our treasured college students to be generous in your offering of support to this ministry on their behalf. If for some reason October 7 is not a good date for your parish, please make the collection on another Sunday in October. Donations may be sent to the OCF National Office at 50 Goddard Avenue, Brookline, MA 02445 or online at www.ocf.net/donate. May our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ who calls all of us to contribute to the ministry of His Church guide and strengthen all of our cherished and blessed Orthodox college students. Working in His Vineyard with much love, +Bishop Gregory of Nyssa Liaison to OCF for the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America
Page 8 THE THEOTOKIAN FALL EDITION PANTRY CORNER 2018 Fall is slowly beginning to reveal its colors, while the days seem to shorten and the pace slows. Since our October 2017 move to our new pantry location at 11715 East Corning Rd., Corning (4 houses north of Crystal Bowling Lanes), we have had an increase in activity at our pantry. This new larger location and complex has enabled us to expand our outreach int the area through our projects. Plus, it has enhanced our ability to serve those who come to us with food insecurity issues. Since January 1, 2018 to July 31, 2018, our numbers have slowly begun to climb as the food insecure folks find their way to our new location. Stats during this period of time are as follows: 2,848 Households served 860 Senior Citizen (age 65+) served 6,168 Adults (18-64) served 3,262 Children (birth-17) served Total Number of Individuals served during this time frame: 10,290 WAYS YOUR COMMUNITY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE Please consider ADDING AN ITEM to your routine grocery cart each time you shop. SHOP AND DONATE TO A LOCAL PANTRY. We recommend these special items which are needed this time of the year: canned soups, tuna and canned fruit. These items help to keep folks nourished and healthy. Please save your clean plastic grocery bags and donate to our pantry. We can always use bags. We also have a book shelving unit, so consider donating clean and gently used adult or children s books to our shelves. Folks love the books. We also routinely have a shelving unit available full of clothing for free. Check your closets for items that are no longer being used. Clean and gently used please. If you wish to make a monetary donation send your check to: CCFP, Box 1255, Corning, New York 14830. For additional information regarding our established agency (Member Agency of the Food Bank of the Southern Tier), please visit our website at: Corningfoodpantry.com or call (607-962-6750.
Page 7 THE THEOTOKIAN Birthdays: October 13 Katerina H 19 Tyler Colburn 24 Rdr. Charles 28 Tetteh Quayenortey Anniversaries October 22 Fr. Dan (Ordination Priesthood) 30 Rodney & Elaine Kerrick God grant your servants good health, peace, and salvation for many blessed years! TODAY we will have a special collection basket in support of OCF (Orthodox Christian Fellowship) an organization that helps our college bound sons and daughters live and practice their Orthodox faith along with their Orthodox classmates by providing them activities to participate in, providing them with information to local Orthodox Churches and their service schedules giving them the opportunity to participate when they are able. Our Bishop Gregory is the Spiritual Overseer for the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America. Please be as generous as possible for this very important and vibrant organization in their mission to serve our College Students. His Grace, Bishop GREGORY; Protopresbyter Frank Miloro; Protopresbyter John Duranko; Protopresbyter Jim Dutko; Protopresbyter Luke Mihaly; Protopresbyter Lawrence Barriger; Protopresbyter Kenneth Bachofsky; V. Rev. Thomas Kadlek; V. Rev. Michael Kleban; Very Rev. John Baranik; V. Rev. Michael Psenechnuk; Rev. James Gleason; V. Rev. Jason Kappanadze; Rev. Basil Hutsko; Deacon Charles Ellis; Deacon Donald Koch; Mother Ralphaela; Pani Joan; Pani Kathleen Dutko; Pani Patricia Duranko; Pani-Matka Julia Romanchak; Sally Ellis; Judy Koch; Michael Banik; Helen Verno; Eleanor Adzima; Stan Lewek; Michael & Delores Kundrat; Vasyl & Lyudmyla Hayova; Helen Coons; Mary Benyo; Anna Chudanic; George Officer; Michael Matzkevich; Marlene Wheet; Mae Mary Shonak; Helen Molson; Donna Blazosky; Art Gallant; Nancy Murphy-Teed; Joyce Nissen; Chelsea Roman; Gloria Ewsuk; Andrew Chudanic; Tammy Pierson; Jeanne Zimmer; Denise Topichak; John Cowherd; Raymond Corbett; Erica Tibeau; Sylvia Serdula; Malcolm Clarke; Stephen Brancho; Carole Herrlich; Gary Herrlich; Joyce Merletti Stanley Lewek To Jonathan Share who is serving in the United States Navy; Tyler Colburn serving in the United States Army; Douglas Linsey serving in the United States Army, Jordan Worobey serving in the United States Navy and to all of our men and women who are serving and protecting our country both at home and abroad.
Workshop on Raising Believing Children Saturday - October 27 Schedule 9:30 am Arrival and Registration (Snacks Provided) Main Lodge 10:00 am Prayer Sts. Cyril & Methodios Church 10:30 am What s Most Important?: Parenting as a Vocation The ARK 11:45 am Moderated Small Group Discussions: Prayerful Parenting The ARK, Rec Room, Main Lodge 12:30 pm Lunch Main Lodge 1:30 pm What s the Goal?: What s a Believing Child Look Like? The ARK 2:30 pm Question and Answer Session The ARK 3:00 pm Departure 3:00-5:00pm Free-time (optional) 5:00 pm Vespers (All are welcome!) Sts. Cyril & Methodios Church NEWS FROM LADIES ALTAR SOCIETY The Ladies Altar Society would like to thank everyone who made monetary and item donations to the Birthday Bags project, for the Corning Community Food Pantry. It allows these kids to have a birthday party that they wouldn t be able to have. Halloween is around the corner. Stores are stocking up with candy treats that we need for the project. Please pick-up snack-sized bags of treats, such as Kit Kats, Hershey, Twix, and Three Musketeers. Please make sure you do not pick-up anything that has peanuts, peanut butter, or coconut. Cake mixes are also needed. Chocolate, yellow, or white are all acceptable, along with vanilla or chocolate frosting. Again, we thank you. God Bless your hearts!
Saint Mary's Orthodox Church OCTOBER 2018 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 6 5pm Vespers/ Confess 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 9:30am Divine Liturgy Mem: Serdula Coffee Social Birthdays 5pm Vespers/Litja POKROV Feast 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 8:30am Divine Liturgy 2pm Sister Vassa 5pm Vespers/Conf 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 9:30am Divine Liturgy Pantry/Potluck COUNCIL MTG 5pm Vespers/Conf 28 29 30 31 Notes: 9:30am Divine Liturgy Mem: Serdula Coffee Social