Sts. Peter & Paul Greek Orthodox Church 5640 Jay Road, Boulder, CO 80301 Office: 303-581-1434 www.stspeterandpaulboulder.org Reverend Father Jordan Brown frjordanbrown@gmail.com Weekly Bulletin Sunday, January 20th, 2019 Welcome To Sts. Peter & Paul! We welcome visitors worshipping with us today. Please introduce yourself to our priest and members of our community. Thank you for joining us this morning for prayer and fellowship. Sts Peter and Paul is a Greek Orthodox Church. We are proud of our cultural heritage, but please do not think that one must be Greek, Arab or Russian to be part of the Orthodox Church. The foundation of the Orthodox Church are the teachings and Holy Tradition of Jesus Christ. We follow the first Christians who began to worship Jesus Christ after the Crucifixion and Resurrection. Please join us for our fellowship after services in the parish hall. We invite you to visit our bookstore which is located in the parish hall. Our diverse church family encompasses many converts to the Orthodox Christian Faith, as well as Greek, Arab, Romanian, Serbian and Russian Orthodox Christians. If you are interested in learning more about the Orthodox Christian faith, please visit with our priest, Fr. Jordan (see contact info above) The sacrament of Holy Communion is reserved only for baptized and / or chrismated Orthodox Christians who have properly prepared by prayer, fasting and confession. The Orthodox Church understands the reception of Holy Communion to be the highest expression of our faith. Everyone is invited at the end of the Divine Liturgy to receive the blessed bread antidoro.
Service Schedule & Parish Activities Week of January 20th, 2019 Wednesday, January 23 Paraclesis Service 6 pm Orthodox Spirituality Class 7 pm Friday, January 25 St. Gregory Divine Liturgy 8 am Saturday, January 26 Great Vespers 5 pm News & Events Ukraine Autocephaly Please see the details below regarding a very informative Virtual Town Hall Meeting of Ukraine Autocephaly. This online meeting is sponsored by the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle in support of our Mother Church in Constantinople and its position on this matter. The faithful are encouraged to participate in this gathering. This is a free-event which is being held via teleconference. Saturday, January 26 from 1:00-3:00 pm EST For more than a century, the question of autocephaly (self-governance) has divided the sacred unity of Orthodox Christianity in the Ukraine. The situation is complex, and, for English-speakers, made even more so by an onslaught of misinformation circulated through social media. Please join us for an in-depth discussion with experts who can explain the most important issue confronting the Orthodox Church today. Fellowship Host Ushers Myrrhbearers Epistle Reader Hosts & Volunteers Marose-Swiszcz Family Manny & Candy Soulakis Alexandra, Elizabeth, Sophie, Cassie Georgia Panelists: His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel of France Rev Nicholas Denysenko, PhD, Valparaiso University Vera Shevzov, PhD, Smith College, Professor of Religion, Russian & European Studies The Town Hall will be conducted via telephone conference call. Participate live and ask questions to the panelist via telephone. Toll - Free International 1-888-902-6588 Youth Ministry GOYA Winter Retreat There will be GOYA Retreat at the YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch located in Granby, Colorado, February 1-3. The retreat is open to all middle and high school age students. Young people from the Cathedral, St Catherine, St Spyridon, Wyoming, Colorado Springs will be participating. Please contact Father Jordan with any questions and registration material. Offertory Prayer O Lord our God, You created us and brought us into this life. You showed us the way to salvation and have granted us the revelation of the heavenly mysteries. Accept our Stewardship Offering as an acceptable sacrifice and in return send down upon us the grace of your Holy Spirit. Look down on us, O Lord, and accept our Stewardship Commitment as You accepted the gifts of Abel, the offerings of Noah, the burnt offerings of Abraham, the priestly sacrifices of Moses and Aaron and the peace offerings of Samuel. Accept also now, in your goodness, O Lord, these gifts from the hands of us sinners, making us worthy of the reward of the faithful and wise stewards on the fearful day of Your just judgment. For You are the God of mercy, love and salvation and we glorify You, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen OCF Mountain Spring Retreat Attention all college students! Register today for the OCF Mountain Retreat scheduled for February 8-10. The retreat will take place at the YMCA of the Rockies located in Estes Park. You can register at OCF.Net/Events. If you any questions go to MOUNTAINSTUDENT@OCF.NET The cost for the entire weekend is $30 (includes lodging & meals). You can contact Father Jordan with any questions.
News & Events Special Announcement for Sunday School The Sunday School is undergoing major repairs. Please note that the Sunday School rooms are closed today, but we will continue to have classes. The younger students will meet in the parish hall. The middle and high school class will meet Father Jordan s office. Memorial Service Today s memorial service is offered Cleo (30 years), Teddy (3 years), and John (2 years) Marose, (parents and brother of Jan Marose-Swiszcz and Marilyn Marose. May their memories be eternal. Orthodox Spirituality: Spiritual Awakening Wednesday, January 23, 7 pm - 8 pm Please join Father Jordan as we read the book by St Paisios, Spiritual Awakening. If you are interested in joining this class, please contact Father Jordan. The cost of the book is $30. (the check can be made out to Sts Peter Paul). This class will be lead in a discussion manner. Father Jordan will be leading the class. The class will meet in the Quiet Room, located in the church. Philoptochos Fellowship February 10, 10:30 am Please join the Philoptochos for fellowship at Nicole Tsiouvaras's house! We will provide coffee, tea, and some treats! This is a community event so please come, bring a friend, and come even if you are not a member of the Philoptochos. If you have any questions please see Nicole or Ashley Dzilvelis. Church Cleaning Can you offer 30 minutes with keeping our church clean and beautiful? Please see Presbytera Kedrann after services today. A handful of faithful stewards can get the work done in less than an hour. Thank you for your Stewardship. House Blessings Father Jordan will be blessing homes the month of January, and the first week of February. Please contact Father Jordan at frjordanbrown@gmail.com or 720-329-5212 to schedule your house blessing. In addition, there are House Blessing form located in the Church Narthex. If you have any questions, please contact Father Jordan. Blessed New Year! Hymns for Sunday, January 20th 2018 Resurrection Hymn (1st Tone, p. 80-81 Green Hymnal) The stone that had been sealed before Your tomb by the Jews and the soldiers guarding did watch over Your pure and sacred body O Savior the third day You arose, and unto all all the world did You give life where by all the heavenly powers did proclaim that You are the giver of life Glory unto our resurrected Christ. Glory unto Your Kingdom Glory to Your dispensation O You alone who loves all. Hymn for St Euthymios Sing, O desolate land that did not bear; be encouraged, you who have not been in labor. For a man, greatly beloved of the Spirit, has multiplied your children. He planted them in godliness, he reared them in self-control, and he raised them to perfection in virtue. At his intercession, O Christ our God, grant peace to our lives. Hymn for Saints Peter and Paul O leaders of the Apostles, and teachers of the world, intercede with the Master of all that He may grant peace unto the world, and to our souls His great mercy. Kontakion Hymn You sanctified the virginal womb by Your birth, O Lord, and blessed the hands of Symeon fittingly, O Christ God; and even now You came and saved us. Now, give peace to our Nation in time of war, and empower our Leaders, so loved by You, the only one who loves humanity. Epistle Reading St. Paul s Second Letter to the Corinthians 4: 6-15 The saints shall rejoice in glory. Verse: Sing to the Lord a new song. Brethren, it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. Since we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, "I believed, and so I spoke," we too believe, and so we speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God
12th Sunday of Luke The Gospel According to 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: "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." St. Euthymios the Great As a Model for Our Lives By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas Saint Euthymios the Great was the fruit of the prayers of his pious parents Paul and Dionysia. He was born in Melitene, Armenia in 377 A.D. and received the name Euthymios, because his birth caused cheer and joy to his parents [euthymia, or εὐθυμία, in Greek means "cheer"], but also because the angel of the Lord who announced the birth to his parents told them "be cheerful, be cheerful". That is, be happy, because God has heard your prayer and you will become parents. And Saint Euthymios, like another Samuel, was dedicated to God from the womb of his mother. The father of Venerable Euthymios departed this vain world when his son was three years old, so his mother was entirely responsible for his upbringing. Bishop Eutroios, who appreciated the gifts of the child, took care that he undertook his studies, and always followed his progress and success, and at the right time ordained him Deacon and Presbyter. Indeed, he instructed him to guide the monks of the Monastery of Melitene. After some time the desire of the venerable Euthymios to visit the Holy Land became a reality. After his pilgrimage, however, he wanted to stay in those parts and retire to a deserted spot where he could dedicate himself to the worship of the Triune God, asceticism and prayer. Later, many monks gathered around his hermitage, whom he nurtured and regenerated through his inspired words and especially by his bright example. He also helped in many ways the people who lived in the surrounding areas and led many of them to the true faith. At the age of 90 he reposed in peace. His life and disposition give us the opportunity to highlight the following: First, the occasion of the coming of a child into the world is an occasion of joy to their parents, as well as their relatives and friends. The mother, at the time of the birth of her child, certainly experiences great pain, but after rejoices just as much, and she forgets her prior pain. Moreover, Christ refers to this fact while speaking with His disciples, and among other things said: "A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world" (Jn. 16:21). But this joy is greater when St. Euthymios the Great As a Model for Our Lives the child comes into the world after several years and especially after persistent and arduous prayer. However, a great truth should be emphasized, that the joy over the birth of a child, with the passage of time, depending on the development and progress of the child, either grows or reduces and is eliminated completely, and it is replaced with bitterness and pain. The last takes place when the method of the child's development is not as expected. This is why great struggle is required in the raising of children, as well as constant vigilance and especially prayer when it comes to parents with reverence and the fear of God. Parents who love Christ and the Church should strive to raise their children in the "education and admonition of the Lord" and take care to offer them proper standards. Namely, they should connect them to the Church and with spiritual people, who are proven people of God. Besides, parents are not simply those who bring children into the world, since this is also done by irrational animals, but because they raise children. Of course, parents are not always responsible if their children go astray, because interaction also plays an important role in the life of a child. As the folk saying says: "Tell me with whom you are going and I will tell you who you are". However, parents must always try, as much as they can, make their children successful, especially during the period when their children are young, because it makes it easier to steer them on the path of God, namely the path of spiritual progress. Second, the sacred hymnographer, in the Dismissal hymn composed for Saint Euthymios, writes among other things the following: "Be glad, O barren one, that has not given birth; be of good cheer, you that have not travailed; for a man of desires has multiplied your children of the Spirit..." Here he encourages the desert, which neither suffers nor gives birth, to rejoice, because the man who desires the Holy Spirit and the works of the Holy Spirit, namely Saint Euthymios, has given it a multitude of children. When the sacred hymnographer speaks of the desert, he means the deserted place where the Saint set up his hut, and where a multitude of people settled, who came near him to be taught in order to live the life in Christ. And so the childless desert emerged with many children. As with the desert, something similar happens with the heart of man. Just as the desert, thanks to the presence of the saints, from barrenness and childlessness emerges with many children, so the heart of man, which is deserted and barren of virtues when it lacks the Grace of the Holy Spirit, is changed to bear many children when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within them. In other words, when someone decides to initiate repentance in their life and struggles to live within the Church according to the commandments of God, then they enter into the prospect of the purification of their heart from the passions. And when this is achieved, by the Grace of God and our own personal struggle, then the Holy Spirit dwells within the heart, and from barrenness it is changed to a mother of many children, namely the virtues, and this brings gladness and cheer. Everyone can change the desert into a place of many children. It suffices that a person has a disposition to struggle and to have conscious zeal. Source: Ekklesiastiki Paremvasi, "Ὅσιος Εὐθύμιος ὁ Μέγας", December 2015. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
Stewardship Ministry 2019 In the early church, the faithful Christians would support the Church by offering the products of their labor - oil, for example, to keep the kandylia, the lamps, burning before the icons. Today, we primarily support the Church through our financial donations. But the principle is the same. Our contributions make it possible to maintain the church building and the parish center, to make improvements to our facilities - and to keep our parish programs and ministries going. Our support helps keep the Light of Christ burning brightly in our Church, in our hearts, and even in the larger community. The Lamp of Christian Stewardship symbolized that light, and our commitment to Christ Himself. It costs approximately $800 per day to operate the church. Stewardship of our faith in Jesus Christ calls us to do those things that reflect our faith to others, living our faith though our actions. Please prayerfully make a Stewardship pledge for at least the cost of operating the church for 2 days. Please give prayerful consideration to the commitment you are making. Giving to the Church is a way to thank God for His grace and generosity. The question we must ask ourselves, How can I thank God for my many blessings? Do I love my church? Will I make the commitment to take care of at least one day - two days - three days, of the church operating budget? And the most important stewardship question, Will I make a commitment to thanking God every Sunday and faithfully participate in the Divine Liturgy? You as a Christian Steward can make a huge impact in the life of the church. If you are new to our parish, please pick up your 2019 Stewardship Packet. They are located in the church narthex. Stewardship strengthens the parish, allows for sharing the Gospel of Christ and for offering a spiritual home. Thank you for your dedication to our parish and your participation in Christ s work of salvation.