SAINT JAMES ORTHODOX w CHURCH 195 N. Main Street Milpitas, Ca 95035 www.sjorthodox.org Sundays Matins 8:00 a.m. Sundays Liturgy 10:30 a.m. The Very Reverend Fr. Jiris Hanna (408) 509-8802 Fr. Dcn. Joseph Kawar (408) 398-6357 Issue No. 674 Sunday January 8 (12/26), 2017 29 th Sunday after Pentecost Sunday after the Nativity Commemoration of the Most Holy Theotokos Commemoration of the Holy Righteous Ones: Joseph the Betrothed, David the King, and James the Brother of the Lord St. Euthymius, bishop of Sardis (840) األحد التاسع والعشرون بعد العنصرة األحد الذي بعد ميالد المسيح عيد جامع لوالدة األله الفائقة القداسة نقيم فيه تذكار القديسين الصديقين يوسف الخطيب. وداود الملك. ويعقوب اخي األله تذكار القديس افتيميوس اسقف سرديس Matins (Eothina VII): John 20:1 10 Epistle: Galatians 1:11 19 Gospel: Matthew 2:13 23 Nativity Prayer Services Wednesday January 4 th 2017 The Royal Hours for the Nativity (First, Third, Sixth, and Ninth Hours) starting at 4:00pm Divine Liturgy of St. Basil at 7:00pm Friday January 6 th, 2017 The Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Matins starting at 5:00pm Nativity Divine Liturgy 7:30pm Followed by Potluck Dinner اوقات صالة عيد الميالد المجيد 2017 األربعاء 4 كانون الثاني السواعي الكبيرة لميالد المسيح )الساعة االولى والثالثة والسادسة والتاسعة( الساعة 4:00 مساءا قداس باسيليوس االلهي الساعة 7:00 ليال الجمعة 6 كانون الثاني 2017 قداس عيد الميالد المجيد صالة السحر الساعة 5:00 مساءا القداس االلهي لعيد الميالد المجيد الساعة 7:30 مساءا يتبع بعشاء العيد
CHRIST IS BORN GLORIFY HIM المسيح ولد... مجد وه CHRISTOS GENATE DOXASATE Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. المجد هلل في العلى وعلى األرض السالم وفي الناس المسرة. Δόξα εν Υψίστοις Θεώ και επί γης ειρήνη εν ανθρώποις ευδοκία. Period January 7 January 17 The Orthodox church prohibits fasting during this period after the Nativity including Wednesdays and Fridays Wednesdays & Fridays fasting resumes on Wednesday 1/18 If you plan to have confession with Fr. Giris, please arrive early on Friday so we can start our Nativity service on time at 7:30pm. Thank you for your understanding. كل عام بخير وأنتم
1 Sunday before the Nativity January 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 2 3 4 5 7 4pm Nativity Royal Hours 7pm Vesperal Liturgy 6 7:30pm Nativity Divine Liturgy Potluck Dinner CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM! 8 9 Sunday after the Nativity 10am St. Stephen the St. Joseph the Betrothed Archdeacon David the King St. James the Brother of the Lord 10 11 12 7:30 pm Board of Trustees Meeting 13 7pm Vespers for the Circumcision of the Lord 14 10am Circumcision of our Lord St. Basil the Great 15 16 17 4pm Theophany Royal Hours 7pm Vesperal Liturgy 18 7pm- Theophany Divine Liturgy & the Blessings of the Waters Strict Fast 19 Holy Theophany of Our Lord 20 21 عيد الغطاس 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 General Parish Meeting 30 10am St. Anthony the Great Liturgy 31 Notes: Please call Hanan Aboujudom (408) 204-6441 after January 19 th to schedule Fr. Giris for house blessings.
2017 Board of Trustees Nominations Nominations for 2017 Board of Trustees have started. If you are interested in joining the church board in 2017 please talk to Nomination Committee members: George Swaiss, Samer Aboujudom, Georgette Isied, or Ghada Khoury before January 5 th 2017. The board will evaluate each candidate per the church by-laws. Thank you in advance for your help and support to your church. ing November 28 January 6 Wine and Oil allowed this Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday Nativity Potluck Dinner Friday January 6 th Right after the Nativity Divine Liturgy on Friday night January 6 th. End your Nativity fasting with your favorite potluck dish and bring it to church. Please contact Georgette Isied (408) 406-3546 to sign-up. Mark Your Calendar Saturday February 11 th Strict Fast (No Oil or Wine Allowed) This Wednesday Please talk to the priest if you cannot fast for health reasons or for other reasons. Have a Blessed Fast! Lunch This Sunday January 8 will be provided by St. James Church Ladies Thank you and God bless you. Majdi & Hanan Aboujudom 1/4 Dn. Joseph & Lilian Kawar 1/5 For Many Years! St. James Annual Crab Feed dinner. Please see attached flier for more details! Happy Birthdays Fady Keilo 1/2 Laura Marji 1/3 Eleana Daoud 1/3 Aria Hina 1/4 Alexandra Nijmeh 1/5 Andrew Khadder 1/6 Arabella Nijmeh 1/7 Francis Nijmeh 1/7 Ilham Sarsam 1/8 Anna Keilo 1/8 David Toma 1/8 Samira Al Twal 1/8 عقبال المئة سنة!!! E-mail sjoc@earthlink.net for your bulletin personal announcements, comments, or feedback.
How to Talk to Children about Demons, Hell and Death By Nun Magdalene It is a serious educational mistake to talk to young children in detail about demons, because if a child hears once how they are, it is impossible to not stop imagining them. Adults may be warned of the danger they risk by allowing images of demons invade their minds, but a young child, even if they are warned, can't easily stop thinking about something that torments them, and this can result in a dangerous state of mind or, at least, to suffer from nightmares. When young children ask about the devil or the existence of evil spirits, it is preferable not to make a thorough analysis, but to say that you should not give them more attention than they have in dreams or something similar. Generally we should turn the minds of children to Christ, the saints and the angels. It is better to teach children about the Christian struggle without direct reference to the battle against the demons. Children can learn quite naturally to make the sign of the cross before sleep (on themselves and onto the bed or the pillow) as a blessing for the night, to use the prayer of Jesus (Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me), or to talk to the Lord and the saints in their own words, whenever they want. So when they experience a temptation (eg. a fear of nightmares), they will use completely naturally the right weapons. Children can sleep with a prayer rope in the hand underneath the pillow and say the prayer of Jesus (even only a few times in their daily prayers). The idea of hell scares children. Of course it scares us also, but our fear is not pathological, rather it stems from our love for God and from our fear of being estranged from Him. What we need to cultivate in children is not the fear of hell but love for God. Children can seriously consider the metaphysical problem and God's love. When we talk about hell (not, of course, to young children) we must stress that hell is not a place God wants to send bad people, rather hell is the pain we impose on ourselves by rejecting God's love. Hell is the vision of God's light that burns those who do not become like Him. Or we can even say that if a sick person refuses to take the medicines prescribed by a doctor, they should not blame the doctor if they remain untreated. As always, there are no recipes, I will only give a few examples. There are many cases of adults who rejected Christianity because they thought this was the best way to be liberated from the suffocating fear of hell into which they were raised. Even when we talk about the evil deeds people commit, it is important for the child to be assured that Christ is always ready to forgive any sin. When children talk about heaven, they often express different ideas of what will be found there, ideas which theologically might seem incorrect. But we must be very careful not to destroy their desire to go to heaven. Can you imagine a child would want to go to a place where there is no food or toys or their favorite animals? We have to give the impression (and not a false impression) that heaven is incomparably better than anything we could imagine. Some children, when they hear this, will spontaneously ask: "Better than the night of Easter? Better than ice cream? Better than when mommy puts me to sleep?" The Bible teaches us that there is heavenly food, heavenly joy, etc. In regards to animals, children want to know if their favorite animal will have a place in heaven. There is no reason to explain this theologically to a child, by explaining the difference between the soul of an animal and the soul of a human being. It is better to remind them that God cares for every little sparrow (Matt. 10:29). When we speak theologically, we should never destroy an idea someone has within them, unless we replace it with a more mature idea which does not exceed the level of their comprehension. In the Gerontikon (Sayings of the Desert Fathers) there
is a story about a monk who was an anthropomorphite (he interpreted literally the biblical expressions of God's hands, God's eyes, etc.). Orthodox monks corrected him. But he was visited by another monk who found him crying. The visitor asked him: "Why are you crying, Father? Are you not happy that you returned to the correct faith?" The monk replied: "I'm crying because they took my God away from me, and now I don't know who to worship." We do not want our children fearing death. We must speak of it as a part of our life - the threshold of a heavenly life, a stepping stone to our eternal life with Christ, the saints and the angels. Sometimes there are children who so much want to go to heaven, that they express the desire to die or even put an end to their own lives. We must not put into these children a morbid fear of death in order to mitigate this desire, but we should explain that death is only a blessing if we leave from this world at the time God calls us, because He only knows when we are ready. We do not travel to heaven unless He first sends us the ticket. There are no recipes for what we should say to each individual child, but we must try to adapt our response to each case. This is a problem that often finds parents unprepared. It is regrettable that young children have even heard of suicide, but it is a reality which Christian catechists must face. Questions about hell and heaven, evil and good, demons, death, suicide, etc. will come up many times during childhood. Our answers to these (as well as the question as to how children are born) should be proportionate to the child's level of development. Do not respond to a child of five in the same way that we would respond to a ten year old, even if they present the same question. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Monday 1/2 (12/20) Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer The stirring celebration of your victorious fight Is an announcement of the One who is to be born of the Virgin. In your eagerness to possess Him forever, You hastened to be devoured by the wild beasts. Therefore, O glorious Ignatius, you were called the bearer of God! ان يوم جهاداتك المنيرة الالمع تقدم كارزا للكل بالمولود من العذراء. وإذ كنت متلهفا الى التنعم فيه. اسرعت الى الوحوش لتطحن وتفنى. لذلك لقبت بالبس الالهوت ايها المجيد اغناطيوس. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ TEMPTATIONS Do not grieve that it has become difficult to live, do not despair, do not be troubled! It is impossible for a young person to cross the stormy sea of the passions without disturbances and the hourly fear of threatening destruction. But this is all temporary: the storm will subside, the glorious sun will begin to shine, and we will reach the cozy, quiet, and always green island. You must be patient! - St. Anatoly General Parish Meeting Sunday January 29, 2017 Immediately after liturgy in the church to present the Budget Forecast for 2017, and to present the 2017 Board of Trustees. Please do your very best to stay in the church and listen to the latest updates about the church and meet the new Board Members.