Volume 30, No.4 Awaiting the Holy Spirit Father David Subu 46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. 49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." Luke 24:46-49 (NKJV) During the month of May, I ve been asking you all in my sermons to ponder the wonder of the incredible marvel of the Resurrection, and to put yourselves in the shoes of those who were the first to encounter the risen Lord. How would that change you? What would that mean for your life? What would your next steps be? For the disciples, it changed everything, transforming them from scared, doubting, imperfectly faithful followers into fearless evangelists to the ends of the world. But not immediately. Ironically, even though they had been given the marching orders to preach repentance and forgiveness to all nations, making disciples and baptizing, their first order of business was to tarry. The New Testament Greek word is kathiste, literally to sit, stay in place (e.g., The Akathist hymn means the standing hymn, where you don t sit.) Most of us might assume that the expected response to something wondrous is to jump and proclaim it to the world. Yet we see that in the wisdom of Christ that is not always, or even usually the case. Very often, when Jesus healed someone, He advised them not to share the wondrous thing that happened. And of course, they usually didn t listen. And often enough this caused them much trouble. They were not yet ready for the role of an evangelist, so to speak. Having been cleansed and healed, they had not yet been illumined or empowered with the Holy Spirit that is the only source of true evangelism. Thus it is not surprising that the disciples were told to wait to stay in place, like students still sitting at the feet of their teacher, awaiting instruction. Continued... Page 1
Our own response to the Resurrection in our lives is best served by following their example. We may feel the exuberant rush of Pascha each year and want to share it with others who do not know it as we do. Some may receive it, but soon enough, we see that the world still lurches on in pain and confusion, and the light which is never overtaken by night that we once received begins to feel dimmer, or father away. This is because we have drawn ourselves farther away from our heart s true home. This time of the year we will benefit if we remember to tarry in the New Jerusalem of the Church which still shines in the Resurrection. We will remain close to the Lord and prepare ourselves to receive that power from on high on the blessed feast of Pentecost. As beautiful as Pascha may be for us, it is incomplete without the capstone of Christ sending down the Holy Spirit on us. That is exactly what He did for His disciples and it is exactly what He wishes to do for us but we must be where He commanded us to be at His feet, in His Church, on His day, each Lord s Day. For the disciples, even when Christ had ascended, they still experienced this shared awaiting as nothing but heavenly. Let us do likewise: 50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen. Luke 24:50-53 The Way of a Pilgrim: Book Review Dionne Manos Scripture combined with the contemplative topics of The Philokalia offers the Pilgrim an insightful journey in the search for accomplishing continuous internal prayer of the heart. The Pilgrim lives precisely in the present moment, embraces silence and solitude, and explores the deep heart in union with God. He both instructs others in the way of prayer, and learns techniques from those more experienced. The Pilgrim inspires readers to persevere in the discipline of unending prayer, telling of spiritual treasures and inexpressible joy. A fantastic read overall, and I encourage everyone to check it out this summer. Page 2
Page 3
Becoming Transfigured by Serving God and our Neighbor Lauren Cooper In the first chapter of the Epistle of St. James, we are exhorted to be doers of the word, and not hearers only (James 1:22). These are some challenging words. What does it mean to be a doer of the word? Fortunately for our church family, we have a wonderful opportunity to live out our faith right in our very own community, just in time for the feast of the Transfiguration of Christ. FOCUS North America and St. Mary s has partnered together, along with Fairfax County, to provide a summer feeding site for children in need. From August 1-5, 2016, we will be serving breakfast and lunch along with providing fun activities and games for children in the surrounding neighborhoods. But we need your help! We will need at least 15 adult volunteers each day. Are you ready to become transfigured? Please join us, and to live out your faith with our neighbors! CLICK HERE: http://focusnorthamerica.org/programs/summerfeeding/fairfax-county-2/ What? Summer feeding is a government sponsored initiative to provide nutritious meals to children who might otherwise experience food scarcity during the summer months. When? August 1-5, 2016. Volunteers are needed from 7:30 am - 2:30 pm each day, and will assist with serving food, leading games and activities for the children, and cleanup. Where? St. Mary Orthodox Church, 7223 Roosevelt Ave, Falls Church, Virginia 22042 How many? At least 15 adult volunteers per day. Teens over the age of 14 are also welcome to volunteer! (All adult volunteers will be required to submit to a background check) Questions? Please don't hesitate to contact Lauren Cooper at stmarysummerfeeding@gmail.com. Page 4 Protection of the Holy Mother of God Orthodox Church in Falls Church, VA
IOCC KIT PROJECT SUCCESSFUL! On Saturday May 7, 2016, Church School Students, parents and parishioners gathered at St. Mary to assemble IOCC kits. Our goal was 500 kits this year and we sent 518. In addition, thanks to the generous contributions, we were able to send a cash donation that will help ship these kits around the world to refugees and natural disaster victims. This was the third successful year of IOCC kit making and we are hoping to do another 500 kits in 2017. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE! Page 5
God Grant You Many Years! June Birthdays: Alex Woglom Alexis Masick Andrew Tan Boris Coleman Daniel Jacobson Grace Subu Ioana Lutai John Dujmovic Jonathan Chaves Julia Yuskavage Mallory Stripling Mariel Tan Maximus Masick Mihai Rosca Nathalie Spita Nathan Birchfield Nina Apodaca Paula Rosca Rachel Jacobson Rafael Andrino Psa. Stephanie Subu Stephen Zimmerli Congrats Grad! Alexander Beranek, son of Jeff Beranek and Eva- Marie Fadel, graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia on May 5th with a B.S. in Architectural Design. He began work at M. Cohen and Sons in Broomall, PA, on May 16 as a detailer/designer. Coming Soon to a Computer Near You THE CITY! The City is the online social news and event hub where you can join discussions, volunteer for events or church duties, and build relationships with your church family. You will receive an email invitation this month. If you have any questions, please contact Psa. Stephanie. Welcome to The City! Page 6
June Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 29 Samaritan Woman 9am - 10am Choir Practice/ Matins 11:45am - 12pm Memorial Day Service 30 Memorial Day 31 1 St. Justin Martyr 7pm - 7:30pm Daily Vespers 7:30pm - 8:30pm Adult Education 2 12pm - 1pm Book Study 3 4 9am - 10am Choir Practice/ Matins 12pm - 12:15pm Presentation: "The City" 5pm - 7pm Holy Unction (Potomac, MD) with Hawaiian Icon 5 6 7:30am - 9:30am NAMI Meeting Byzantine Chant Class 7 8 Leave-taking of Pascha 7am - 8am Bright Liturgy Great Vespers with litya Ascension St. Columba 10am - 11am 11am - 12pm Brunch 9 10 12pm - 1pm Book Study Martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion 5pm - 6pm Vespers 11 12 9am - 10am Choir Practice/ Matins 11:40am - 12pm Church School Recognition Day 13 Byzantine Chant Class 14 15 St. Jonah of Moscow 7pm - 7:30pm Daily Vespers 7:30pm - 8:30pm Adult Education 16 17 12pm - 1pm Book Study 18 Memorial Saturday 10am - 11am Liturgy with memorial/parastas 5pm - 6pm Vespers with Group Confession 19 Holy Pentecost 9am - 10am Choir Practice/ Matins 11:30am - 12pm Kneeling Vespers 20 D.Min Intensive: Office Closed June 20-25 Holy Spirit Day Byzantine Chant Class 21 7:30pm - 9pm Women's Bible Study 22 St. Alban of Britain 7pm - 7:30pm Daily Vespers 23 24 25 26 All Saints 27 Apostles' Fast (June 27-28) 7pm - 8:30pm Parish Council 28 Great Vespers with litya 29 Apostles Peter and Paul 10am - 11am 7pm - 7:30pm Daily Vespers 30 12 Apostles 1 (Summer Hours Start July 3) Ss. Cosmas and Damian 2 *Please view the website calendar for the most up to date information* Page 7
Monthly Journal Protection of the Holy Mother of God Orthodox Church Romanian Orthodox Episcopate, OCA Archbishop NATHANIEL of Detroit, Hierarch Rev. David G. Subu, Pastor Protodeacon Peter Danilchick, Parish Deacon Nicholas Dujmovic, Parish Deacon Eugene Huang, Parish Subdeacon Nicholas Jones, Parish Subdeacon and Interim Choir Director Marian Maxim, Parish Subdeacon Ken Liu, Parish Council President Irene Liu & Renee Lerner, Church School Principals 7223 Roosevelt Avenue Falls Church, Virginia 22042 703.280.0770 (Office) 703.254.8914 (Cell) www.stmaryorthodox.org Editor-in-Chief: Fr. David Subu, Pastor Newsletter Coordinator: Dionne Manos For comments or suggestions, please contact veilnewsletter@gmail.com. THE VEIL JOURNAL St. Mary Orthodox Church 7223 Roosevelt Avenue Falls Church, Virginia 22042