Weekly Liturgical/Service Schedule 2 nd Sunday of the Great Fast March 3-4, 2012 Sat. Mar. 3 5:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy (+Steve Rivak, req. by Agnes Rivak & David, Stephanie, and Abby Schmidt) Sun. Mar. 4 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy (+Charles Levkulich, req. by John & Sylvia Bender) 3 rd Wednesday of the Great Fast Wed. Mar. 7 7:00 p.m. Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts 3 rd Friday of the Great Fast Fri. Mar. 9 7:00 p.m. Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts + Panachida 3 rd Sunday of the Great Fast Veneration of the Holy Cross March 10-11, 2012 Sat. Mar. 10 5:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy (+Rosemarie Zifchak, req. by Don & Patricia Paslowski) Sun. Mar. 11 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy (+Norbert T. Detig, req. by Lois Griffith) Upcoming Retreats & Programs at Mt. St. Macrina House of Prayer Spiritual Reading Series Mar. 6, 13, 20, 27, 9:30 a.m. 11:00 a.m., Presented by Sr. Carol Petrasovich and Sr. Barbara Jean Mihalchick, Free Will Offering, Registration Due: Mar. 5; Lenten Day of Prayer Mar. 10, 9:15 a.m. 12:30 p.m., presented by Fr. Tom Wesdock, Offering: $25, Registration Due: Mar. 5; Morning of Personal Prayer March 26, 28, 30, 9:30 11:30 a.m., Presenter to be announced, Free Will Offering, Register by Mar. 23. Monthly Sixth Hour and Soup and Bread Luncheon The monthly sixth hour service and soup and bread luncheon will be held on Thursday, Mar. 15. The sixth hour service will be celebrated in church at 12 noon and the soup and bread luncheon will follow in our church hall. All are invited to attend! New 7-Branched Candelabra Donated In Memory of +Theresa Hudock by Pat Schultz For the Health & Welfare of the Pillar/Williams Families by Mike, Nancy, & Elizabeth Pillar In Memory of +Charles Levkulich by the Levkulich Family O Joyful Light ByzanTEEN Youth Rally 2012 This year s ByzanTEEN youth rally will be held July 12-15 at the University of San Diego in San Diego, California. Total rally cost per teen is $275 (airfare not included). The deadline to register is June 1. For more information about the rally please go to www.byzanteen.com. To register for the event, please contact Fr. Tom for registration forms. Sunday Evening Lenten Vespers The Byzantine Catholic churches of the Pittsburgh area are hosting Sunday evening vespers throughout the season of the Great Fast. This Sunday s (Mar. 4) vespers will be held at Sts. Peter & Paul Church in Braddock beginning at 4 p.m. The homilist will be Msgr. Russell Duker. Confessions will be heard from 3:30 4 p.m. and a Lenten soup and bread dinner will follow the vespers service. Pre-Lenten Kitchen & Lenten Kitchen St. Elias St. Elias Church s Lenten Kitchen is being held every Friday from February 24 through March 30, from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sorry, no Lenten Kitchen on Friday, April 6. Menu will include: Soup, pirohi, noodle haluski, baked or fried fish (sandwiches or dinners), shrimp dinner, crab cake dinner, and potato pancakes, and, of course, a bake sale. Dine in or take out. We deliver in the Steel Valley and West Mifflin Area. Please call 412-461-9271 for takeout or delivery. St Gregory Easter Kolbasa Sale Once again our parish is selling kolbasa during the Easter Season. We are again asking that St Gregory parishioners buy kolbasa personally and also sell some of this fine product to friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Sign up sheets are available in the Church vestibule for placing orders. The price is $5.00 per pound. Alternatively, kolbasa can be ordered by accessing the St Gregory home page at www.stgregoryusc.org and then clicking the order link on the right side of the page. The kolbasa will be available for pickup during Palm Sunday weekend (March 31 and April 1). Thanks to all St Gregory parishioners for your continued support of this important fundraiser. All Souls Saturdays Anyone wishing to have deceased family members commemorated by name at the Friday evening Panachidas during the season of the Great Fast is asked to write them on a sheet of paper and give them to Fr. Tom.
WEEKLY COLLECTION 2012 February 26 Category Amount 1. Envelopes $ 1,213.00 2. Loose 35.00 3. Candles 35.00 4. Debt 1,215.00 5. B.C.W. 5.00 6. All Souls 5.00 7. Initial Offering 4.00 8. Helen Stasiuk Memorial 480.00 9. Fundraiser-Comedy Night 60.00 TOTAL Deposited $ 3.052.00 Envelopes Debt 3@50 =150.00 6@50 =300.00 5@40 =200.00 3@40 =120.00 1@35 = 35.00 1@35 =35.00 3@30 =90.00 6@30 =180.00 14@25 =350.00 18@25 =450.00 9@20 =180.00 4@20 =80.00 3@15 =45.00 5@10 =50.00 12@10 =120.00 8@5 =40.00 Total 43 envelopes $ 1,215.00 1@3 =3.00 Average donation = $ 28.25 Total 59 envelopes $ 1,213.00 Average donation = $ 20.56 Pilgrim Vocation Icon Program Our Pilgrim Vocation Icon Program has begun. This program is being conducted in every Byzantine Catholic Parish in the United States. Everyone in every Byzantine Catholic parish in the United States is invited to pray for and encourage others within the Church that they might respond generously to God s call in their lives. We need generous women and men to minister among us as priests, deacons, monastics and sisters. We need people like you to pray for and encourage them. Please sign up today to have the Pilgrim Vocation Icon in your home. You may sign up on the sheet in the narthex (vestibule) of the church. For more information or to volunteer to help, please contact Fr. Tom. Comedy Night Thank you to all who attended and sold tickets to our annual comedy night. It was a huge success and this year s profit was $3716.00 plus the GCU matching funds of $1000.00 for a total of $4716.00. Quite a few people who attended this event were guests of our parishioners and we thank them for supporting our get out of debt fundraising efforts. Special thanks to the event s volunteers who not only gave of their time but also underwrote the snack and food expenses. Your generosity and support of our parish is greatly appreciated! Super Bingo St. Elias Byzantine Catholic Church, 4200 Homestead-Duquesne Road, Munhall, is holding a Super Bingo on Sun., April 15. The doors open at 12 noon. Early Birds start at 1 p.m. with regular games to follow. $20 package of 9 cards includes specials (does not include Jackpot or Lucky 7 ) Extra 9-card packages cost $10. Pre-Sale tickets are available and seating will be limited. For more information and tickets, please call 412-462-7625 or 412-466-5395. Lenten Bible Study on the Gospel of St. John Fr. Tom will be offering a Lenten Bible Study on the Gospel of St. John every Monday from Feb. 27 to April 2 at 7 p.m. in our church hall. All are invited to attend. Average needed per week to meet expenses prior to fund-raising (based on last year s total expenses including debt reduction expenses) = $2612.70 Easter Basket Covers for Sale Lisa Astalos of N. Huntingdon is offering embroidered Easter Basket covers (English or Slavonic) for sale. Price is $42.50 (includes tax and shipping and handling). To order, call 724-331-9462 or go to www.hugsandstitchesonline.com Traditional Slovak Music Concert On Monday, March 12 at 7 p.m. at St. Bernard Roman Catholic Church in Mt. Lebanon, a group of young musicians from the Bratislava State Conservatory will perform both traditional Slovak music, as well as sacred music. The concert is free and open to the public. Good will offerings will be accepted to help cover their expenses.
This Week s Reflection St. Gregory Palamas Our father among the saints Gregory Palamas (1296-1359), Archbishop of Thessalonica, was a monk of Mount Athos in Greece (at Vatopedi Monastery and Esphigmenou Monastery), and later became Archbishop of Thessalonica. He was a preeminent theologian and a proponent of hesychastic theology. His feast days in the Church are November 14 and the second Sunday of Great Lent as the Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas. He was probably born at Constantinople of a noble Anatolian family. From his youth, he was attracted to the monastic ideal, and successfully persuaded his brothers and sisters, along with his widowed mother, to take up the monastic life. Around 1318 he and his two brothers went to Mount Athos, where they learned firsthand the traditional hesychastic way of contemplative prayer. With the encroachment of the Turks, he was forced to flee to Thessalonica, being ordained a priest there in 1326. Afterward, he took up the eremetic life at a mountain near Beroea, and eventually returned to Athos in 1331. Six years later, he became involved in a controversy with Barlaam, a Greek monk from Calabria, Italy. He was initially asked by his fellow monks on Mount Athos to defend them from the charges of Barlaam. Barlaam believed that philosophers had better knowledge of God than did the prophets, and he valued education and learning more than contemplative prayer. He stated the unknowability of God in an extreme form, having been influenced by a reductionist interpretation of the writings of St. Dionysius the Areopagite. As such, he believed the monks on Mount Athos were wasting their time in contemplative prayer when they should instead be studying to gain intellectual knowledge. When St. Gregory criticized Barlaam's rationalism, Barlaam replied with a vicious attack on the hesychastic life of the Athonite monks. Gregory's rebuttal was the Triads in defense of the Holy Hesychasts (c. 1338), a brilliant work whose teaching was affirmed by his fellow Hagiorites, who met together in a council during 1340-1341, issuing a statement known as the Hagioritic Tome, which supported Gregory's theology. A synod held in Constantinople in 1341 also supported St. Gregory's views, condemning Barlaam. Later, in 1344, the opponents of hesychasm secured a condemnation for heresy and excommunication for Gregory, the saint's theology was reaffirmed at two further synods held in Constantinople in 1347 and 1351. Collectively, these three synods in Constantinople are held by many Orthodox Christians and several prominent theologians to constitute the Ninth Ecumenical Council. Between the latter two synods, Gregory composed the One Hundred and Fifty Chapters, a concise exposition of his theology. Contrary to Barlaam, Gregory asserted that the prophets in fact had greater knowledge of God, because they had actually seen or heard God himself. Addressing the question of how it is possible for humans to have knowledge of a transcendent and unknowable God, he drew a distinction between knowing God in his essence (in Greek, ουσία) and knowing God in his energies (in Greek, ενέργειαι). He maintained the Orthodox doctrine that it remains impossible to know God in his essence (God in himself), but possible to know God in his energies (to know what God does, and who he is in relation to the creation and to man), as God reveals himself to humanity. In doing so, he made reference to the Cappadocian Fathers and other early Christian writers. Gregory further asserted that when the Apostles Peter, James and John witnessed the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ on Mount Tabor, that they were in fact seeing the uncreated light of God; and that it is possible for others to be granted to see that same uncreated light of God with the help of repentance, spiritual discipline and contemplative prayer, although not in any automatic or mechanistic fashion. He continually stressed the Biblical vision of the human person as a united whole, both body and soul. Thus, he argued that the physical side of hesychastic prayer was an integral part of the contemplative monastic way, and that the claim by some of the monks of seeing the uncreated light was indeed legitimate. Like St. Simeon the New Theologian, he also laid great stress in his spiritual teaching on the vision of the divine light. (Excerpt from the OrthodoxWiki article, St. Gregory Palamas, at www.orthodoxwiki.org) Rachmaninoff: Vespers Concert The Pittsburgh Concert Chorale presents Rachmaninoff: Vespers, an exquisite work of breathtaking beauty sung in a cappella in Church Slavonic. Two performances are scheduled: Sat., March 3 at 8 p.m. at Ingomar United Methodist Church, 1501 W. Ingomar Rd., Pittsburgh, and Sun., March 4 at 4 p.m. at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church, 384 Fox Chapel Road, Pittsburgh. Cost of tickets: $20 Adults, $8 Students, children 12 and under free. To order tickets, please go to www.pccsing.org or call 412-635-7654. 40 Days for Life Christians throughout Pittsburgh are invited to take part in the international 40 Days for Life effort from February 22nd April 1st. Our church of St. Gregory Nazianzus will participate on Friday, March 30 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. In addition to 40 days of peaceful prayer and fasting for an end to abortion, please consider volunteering to pray any time outside of the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, located at 933 Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh during the 40 days, and spread the word to others about this important life-saving effort. To get more information, or to volunteer to help, please contact Nikki Bruni at nbruni@40daysforlifepgh.com, or 412-926-9413. To receive daily devotional prayers, register at www.40daysforlife.com/pittsburgh. ***Note: If you are suffering from the choice of abortion, please contact Abi Koller at 412-977-9521 or rachelsvineyard.westernpa@yahoo.com for confidential information about attending the next Rachel s Vineyard retreat. Help for Those Who are Grieving Family Hospice and Palliative Care is pleased to offer Growing Through Grief Rebuilding Hope, a free 6-week educational/support program for those dealing with the death of a loved one. One program will begin on Wednesday afternoon, April 18 th (1 3 p.m.) at Southminster House in Mt. Lebanon. The evening program will begin Tuesday, April 9 th (6:30 8:30 p.m.) at Jefferson Regional Medical Center. Attendance at all six sessions is requested. Pre-registration is required. For further information, please call the Bereavement Dept. at 412-572-8829. Spaghetti Dinner Planning Meeting A meeting for all those who would like to help plan a spaghetti dinner to be held at our parish in late April/early May are asked to attend an organizational meeting on Sun., Mar. 11 in our church hall, immediately following the 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy.
St. Gregory of Nazianzus Byzantine Catholic Church 2005 Mohawk Road Upper St Clair, PA 15241 412-835-7800 724-317-6986 (cell) Church Slavonic Divine Liturgies, and ecumenical presentations featuring Byzantine Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant choirs. For more info: 330-825-2979 or by e-mail: rbenya@neo.rr.com Please Take Care of Pew Books Just a reminder to take care of our church s pew books. Please do not allow children to rip pages and pull and fray ribbons. These books are expensive, so please take care of them! Pastor: FATHER THOMAS J. WESDOCK Website: www.stgregoryusc.org Email: saintgregorychurch@gmail.com or frthomas2000@gmail.com ECF Classes: Sundays 10:45-11:45a.m. Confession: By appointment & Saturday at 3-4 p.m. Marriage: at least six months notice; Pre-Cana classes from the Archeparchy Cantors: George Tichi, Michael Pillar, Sylvia Bender, Jeremy Mayernik ECF Coordinator: Carol Planitzer at cplanitzer@comcast.net or 724-969-4122 Youth Ministry: Michael Kiss at jandmkiss1@comcast.net or 724-693-8983 Church Founding & Historical Committee: Barb Stasiuk (412-885-2140) Bethany Ministry: Jennifer Kehm at nkehm@aol.com or 724-941-5352 Parish Nurse: Dorothy Mayernik at dorothymayernik@comcast.net or 412-310-0521 Fr. Tom s Communion Visitation List If you know of any parishioners who are sick and unable to come to church for an extended period of time, please inform Fr. Tom, so he can call them up and see about putting them on his home communion visitation schedule. Thank you. Slavjane Folk Ensemble Recruiting Youth Dancers Do you like to sing and dance and perform for people? Are you interested in learning the songs, dances, and traditions of your relatives that reside in Eastern Europe? Do you want to make friends that will last a lifetime? If you are between the ages of 5-18 then you can do so. The Slavjane Folk Ensemble, which is the official cultural representative of the Rusyn culture for the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh is accepting applications for the 2012 season. Learn traditional Rusyn song and dance as well as those of other Slavic and non-slavic cultures. For more information about Slavjane, please call Dean Poloka, Program Director at 412-877-9351 or email rusyn31@verizon.net. St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church Choir Recordings St. Nicholas B. C. Church choir in Barberton, OH is selling recordings of Byzantine Catholic liturgies and hymns. CD s for sale include seasonal chants of the Eastern church, Eastern Christian Publications Eastern Christian Publications, the company that produces our weekly bulletin covers, has a wide variety of Eastern Christian spiritual, liturgical, and historical books, CD s, and DVD s available for purchase. They have an online catalog available at their website: ecpubs.com. To request a catalog by mail, please call 703-691-8862 or write to Eastern Christian Publications, P.O. Box 3909, Fairfax, VA 22038-3909. Afterschool Volunteers Needed South Hills Interfaith Ministries is looking for volunteers for an after school program in Baldwin-Whitehall that works with a multi-cultural population grades K-5. Shifts are available M-F 4:30-7:00 p.m. All volunters must have Act 33/34 clearances. Call SHIM program director - Doris Nagel at 412-854-9120 ext. 20. Extra Help for People with Medicare Insurance Do you know someone on Medicare, and who has a low income and limited assets? If so, it is possible that they may qualify for financial assistance with their Medicare expenses.there are two programs that help: The Medicare Savings Program, which helps with Part B premiums for individuals with monthly income that is below $1,226 (for a married couple, $1,655); and The Low Income Subsidy, which helps with the Part D premiums and prescription drug copayments for individuals with monthly income below $1,361 (for a married couple, $1,839). To find out more, to obtain an application, or for assistance in completing an application, please call the Allegheny County Department of Human Services at 412-350-7079 or email kburk@alleghenycounty.us St. Gregory Byzantine Catholic Church Did you know? (financial)
St. Gregory s financial board has recently released the 2010 financial report and set financial goals for 2011. It is important that our Parishioners understand the facts and goals set forth. Weekly and Holiday Offerings Weekly offering (white envelopes) are able to sustain regular monthly debts. Average envelopes offered each week 65 If you only use a white envelope from the offering box and are contributing all you can please continue to do so in that manner since we are making projections from the amounts you offered in the 2010 white and holiday envelopes. Mortgage payments are $3600.00 a month and applied to the 1 st mortgage until completed. Then applied to the interest free mortgage when the balance in completed Current 1 st mortgage balance $240,000 but after 5 years $68,603. In 80 months the entire first mortgage will be paid in full 21 months later the $75,000 second mortgage will be paid in full Air Conditioner: Debt Reduction Offering Monthly offering needed for payment on the two outstanding mortgages is $3600.00 Monthly offering needed for the Air Conditioning loan is $1300.00 for a term of five years Monthly average offered from 2010 was $1891.00 Average envelopes offered in 2010 was 45 Shortfall in 2011 debt payments can be made up in several ways and will be published in the Debt Reduction 5 year plan document Terms of the debt payments are determined by the Archeparchy Original Mortgages FIVE YEAR DEBT REDUCTION PLAN (1 st Mortgage balance of $240,000 @ 5.5% and 2nd Mortgage of $75,000 @ 0%) The terms of this loan are estimated at $1300.00 a month for 60 months How we bridge the GAP: Increase the average debt envelopes collected but not at the expense of the weekly envelopes offering reducing in any way. A blend of an increase in debt reduction offerings and fund raising 2010 debt offering equaled $22,700 ($1891.00 a month) 2011 projected debt payments $58,800 ($4900.00 a month) GAP $36,100 or ( $3008 a month) Fundraising goal $36,100 (without any new debt offerings) Fundraising through Easter is projected to be $16,500 and nearly half way to our goal and it s only April See Annual fundraising ideas and goals for the closing of the GAP potential to be published in a future bulletin
Donations for the Poor Collection Container During the four fasting seasons of the Byzantine Catholic Church Year, a blue specially marked container will be located in the narthex (vestibule) of the church to collect donations (non-perishable food items, winter clothing, especially infant clothing, or monetary donations) for the Pittsburgh-area poor. Items and monetary donations collected will be forwarded to the South Hills Interfaith Ministry for distribution in the South Hills and Greater Pittsburgh area. Your help in this endeavor is greatly appreciated! Sponsor a Pro-Life Billboard To help sponsor Pregnancy HELP hotline billboards around Pittsburgh and on the Pennsylvania turnpike, please contact or make a donation to Pennsylvania Foundation for Life at P.O. Box 12741, Pittsburgh, PA 15241. Volunteers Needed at South Hills Interfaith Ministries South Hills Interfaith Ministries, 5301 Park Ave., Bethel Park, is looking for volunteers in the following areas: Food Pantry, Thurs., 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or Fri., 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. (twice a month for two hours); Receptionist, Mon. Fri., 9 to 12 or 12 to 3; and Tax Preparation, Feb. 4 Mar. 10. Whether you re looking to give an hour a week or an hour a month, South Hills Interfaith Ministries needs you! For more information, please contact Natalie at 412-854-9120. Clothing Collections Taken Year Round at SHIM Families who use SHIM s Food Pantry also are able to shop in the Community Clothing Room, selecting donated clothing items for members of their household. Donated clothing must be clean and free of rips, holes, etc. All sizes are welcome, though there is a particular need now for boys clothing (infant and youth). Clothing donations are accepted seasonally, as follows: Spring/Summer April 1- August 31, Fall/Winter September 1- March 31. Drop off your clothing at the SHIM offices (5301 Park Ave., Bethel Park) between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. St. Vincent de Paul Seeking Household Items and Usable Clothes The St. Vincent de Paul Society Pittsburgh Council is seeking all types and sizes of clothes, shoes, boots, housewares, appliances, etc. To donate call 412-321-1071. Donate Your Car Help Needy Receive Tax Deduction of $500+ Cars for Help, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit charity, is working to strengthen individual churches and various Catholic charities through vehicle donations. The process is fast, easy, and requires just a phone call or visit to our website. If you would like to donate a vehicle in any condition, even severely broken or crashed, or just have questions, please call us directly at (630)595-9272. You can also donate your vehicle at www.carsforhelp.com. With mention of this bulletin, 25% of your vehicle donation proceeds will go directly to St. Gregory Nazianzus parish.