September 2, 2012 Tone 4, Eothinon 2 13th Sunday after Pentecost On this day, we commemorate: Martyr Mamas and his parents, Martyrs Theodotos and Rufina; John the Faster, patriarch of Constantinople Divine Liturgy Epistle I Corinthians 16:13-24 (13th Sunday after Pentecost) O Lord, how magnificent are your works. You have made all things in wisdom. Bless the Lord, O my soul. The Reading is from St. Paul s First Letter to the Corinthians BRETHREN, be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. Now, brethren, you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints; I urge you to be subject to such men and to every fellow worker and laborer. I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicos, because they have made up for your absence; for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such men. The churches of Asia send greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. All the brethren send greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. If any one has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. Gospel Matthew 21:33-42 (13th Sunday of Matthew) The Reading of the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew The Lord spoke this parable: There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit; and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them. Afterward he sent his son to them, saying, They will respect my son. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance. And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants? They said to him, He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus said to them, Have you never read in the scriptures: The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Orthodox Thought for the Day The following little nugget from St. John Climacus (Ladder 9.17) is pithy description of the parable of the lack of forgiveness that our Lord tells us in the gospel for this 13th Sunday after Pentecost, Matthew 21:33-42. The forgetting of wrongs is a sign of true repentance. But he who dwells on them and thinks that he is repenting is like a man who thinks he is running while he is really asleep. - St. John Climacus
On Cain s and Abel s Offerings by St. Macarius the Great From Genesis, Creation, and Early Man: The Orthodox Christian Vision, by Fr. Seraphim Rose, edited by Hieromonk Damascene, 2nd ed., p. 292. I always remember that it was Abel who offered a sacrifice to God of the fat and firstlings of his flock, while Cain offered gifts of the fruits of the earth, but not of the firstfruits. It is said: And God looked upon Abel and his gifts, but Cain and his sacrifices He regarded not (Gen. 4:4-5). This teaches us that everything that is done in fear and in faith is pleasing to God, and not that which is done for display and without love. Holy Bread The Holy Bread is offered before the Altar of God by Father Atty for the living servants of God: Theresa McAllister; Assad Families; Pavlick Families; John, Kate and Joshua Assad; Afaf and Shaza Salloum; Amjed Saigh and Family; Elias and Seham Nanoah, their children and grandchildren; Michael and Mary Jo Makoul; John, Joann, Catlyn, Meredith, Kelsey Makoul; Steve and Esther Courtright; Naife Khalouf; Youssef and Nour Atiyeh; Rahmeh Hanna; George, Hiyam, Rehab, Resam, Simon, Rahmeh Tabchi; Melissa Dib; Janet Hanna; Nicola Skaf and Family; Samia, Teo, Nujie Al Haddad; Lameh, Taghrid, George and Julie Sabbagh; Fuylit Hanna; Shukri Family; Naziha Assad; Georges Bitar and Family; Sulieman Bitar and Family; Michael, Mona, Wail, Heather, Mitchell, Mallory, Abeer, Elyssa and Eyanna; Albert, Shadia and Christian Bitar; The Mousa, Daiyoub, Bitar and Rafka Families; for the departed servants of God: Fr. George Khouli; Damah Saigh; John Ray and Sameer Assad; Karimah Deeb; Doris Makoul; Brahim, Rasmih, Nawal, Marianna, Sueliman and Hanna Tabchi; Zaki Skaf; Faraj, Shakip, Fouzi, Fariadah Al Haddad; Mtanios Youssef Hanna; Fouad Assad; Elias and Danny Khalouf; Wajih Hanna; Badih Bitar; Bassam Bitar; Khalil and Nizha Bitar; Youssef, Georges, Klaudine, Anthony, Othman and Josephine Moussa; Nijmi; Nadim Daiyoub; Milad, Elias and Maher Bitar; Mariam; Michael and Nasima Rafka; Bassam Al aji. Special donations to the Church We acknowledge families and friends who have honored dear ones with monetary gifts given in the spirit of loving kindness. $ Theresa McAllister to the Building Fund for her good health. $ Abe Assad to the Church for the good health of the Assad and Pavlick Families and our children; John, Kate and Joshua Assad; in loving memory of John Ray and Sameer Assad. $ Afaf and Shaza Salloum to the Church in loving memory of Karimah Deeb. $ Amjed Saigh and Family to the Church in loving memory of Damah Saigh; for the good health of Amjed Saigh and Family. $ Elias Nanoah to the Church for the good health of Elias and Seham Nanoah; their children and grandchildren. $ Mike Makoul to the Church in loving memory of Doris (Emily) Makoul; for the good health of Mary Jo Makoul; Mona Makoul. John, Joann, Catlyn, Meredith, Kelsey Makoul; Steve, Esther Courtright. $ Naife Khalouf to the Church in loving memory of Elias and Danny Khalouf; for the good health of Youssef and Nour Atiyeh. $ Rahmeh Hanna to the Church in loving memory of Wajih Hanna. $ George and Hiyam Tabchi to the Church in loving memory of Fr. George Khouli; Brahim, Rasmih, Nawal, Marianna, Sueliman and Hanna Tabchi; for the good health of Rehab, Resam, Simon, Rahmeh Tabchi; Melissa Dib; Janet Hanna. $ Nicola Skaf and Family to the Church in loving memory of Zaki Skaf. $ Samia Al Haddad to the Church for the good health of Teo, Nujie Al Haddad; Lameh, Taghrid, George and Julie Sabbagh; in loving memory of Faraj Al Haddad (15 years); Shakip, Fouzi, Fariadah Al Haddad. $ Fuylit Hanna to the Church in loving memory of Mtanios Youssef Hanna. $ Anonymous to the Church for the good health of the Shukri Family. $ Naziha Assad to the Church in loving memory of Fouad Assad. $ Georges Bitar and Family; Sulieman Bitar and Family to the Church in loving memory of Bassam Bitar; Khalil and Nizha Bitar. $ The Bitar Family to the Church in loving memory of Badih Bitar and for the
50 good health of Michael, Mona, Wail, Heather, Mitchell, Mallory, Abeer, Elyssa and Eyanna; Albert, Shadia and Christian Bitar. $ The Moussa Family to the Church in loving memory of Youssef, Georges, Klaudine, Anthony, Othman and Josephine Moussa; Nijmi; Nadim Daiyoub Milad, Elias and Maher Bitar; Mariam; Michael and Nasima Rafka; Bassam Al aji; for the good health of Families of Mousa, Daiyoub, Bitar and Rafka. $200 Amjed Saign and Family to the Ladies Altar Society in loving memory of Damah Saign. St. GeorGe orthodox ChurCh Thank You We wish to acknowledge with appreciation a donation of beautiful scarves for use in our Church from Howeida Deeb. Thank you Howeida. 50 Anniversary Welcome to Bishop Nicholas church building We are honored and humbled to have with us Bishop Nicholas as we observe the 50th Anniversary of our present St. George Church. We offer our deepest gratitude to Bishop Nicholas for being with us during this special weekend and for blessing us with his presence, support and guidance. May the blessings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be with him always. th invites you to celebrate the th 1962 2012 of our present Sunday, Sept. 2, 6 pm Holiday Inn, Fogelsville, PA Tickets $60 adults $30 children age 6-12 Age 5 and younger (free) Call (610) 439-9972 (Church) or Following Divine Liturgy our church family is invited to lunch with Bishop Nicholas in the Church Hall. (610) 972-1195 (Elias Gharzouzi) Entertainment by Lebanese Superstar Shadi Naddaf & Band Keynote Speakers Bishop Nicholas Assistant to Metropolitan Philip Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese Dr. Bashar Jaafari UN Ambassador to Syria
Within the Church We wish each parishioner and friend of St. George Church a Happy Birthday or Anniversary. May God s blessings shine down upon them throughout the coming year. Please keep the church office (610) 439-1232 informed of birthdays, anniversaries and special family events. Best wishes for a wonderful Birthday/Anniversary and a year filled with good health and happiness! May happiness be yours on this special day and in the year ahead! Happy Birthday Happy Anniversary 9/2 Maria Youwakim 9/2/67 Delores & Robert Edwards Elias Saliby 9/2/06 Shadi & Tiffany Albert 9/3 Anthony Gharzouzi 9/2/90 Antoun & Salwa Saliby Rita Berro 9/3/00 Mario & Roula Mokbel Michael Davis 9/4/05 Lucian & Jennan Salleet Angel Ibrahim 9/5/99 Patrick & Cecelia McCarty 9/4 David Moses 9/5/10 Jeffrey & Rana Khalil Rami Salloum 9/6/09 James & Shaza Henshaw Rawad AlBassit 9/5 Simon Tabchi 9/6 Cleopatra, Mark and Angelina Nehme 9/7 James Wilford Kayal Dana Mauro 9/8 Norma Hadeed Upcoming event: Falafal Lunch Fundraiser Mark your calendar for Sunday, October 7 when ur Teen SOYO will hold a Falafal Lunch. Come and support our teens! Registeration begins next week for Church School Our Church School is open to children in kindergarten through 7th Grade and will begin in late September. Please consider your children for this wonderful opporunity. The curriculum provides your child with the essential concepts of the Christian faith and practices while reinforcing basic Orthodox teachings. It will be a pleasure to help your children grow in Christ. Registeration opens next week, Sept. 9. Sign up during Coffee Hour or mail this registration to the Church. Registration fee is $10 per child or $25 per family. Please remit payment by cash or check (payable to St. George Church). Please print Church School Registration Please remit with registration fee of $10 per child or $25 per family. Name of Parent(s) Street address City State Zip Phone Email Names of children to attend Church School Check here if you are interested in helping. Volunteers are needed. St. George Orthodox Church 1011 Catasauqua Ave., Allentown, PA 18102
Come to the St. Thekla Pilgramage, Sept. 21-23 Journey to Antiochian Village and set aside your earthly cares for a spiritual renewal on the weekend of Sept. 21-23. Come for sessions for learning and sharing as well as time to enjoy the spiritual oasis of Antiochian Village, nestled in the foothills of the Laurel Highlands of western Pennsylvania in the city of Bolivar. There will be time to read, fellowship with friends and pray. The library will be open and priests will be available to meet or for confession. Guest Hierarch is His Grace Bishoop Thomas. Reserve your space for this wonderful event by September 1. For more information: www.antiochian.org/sainttheklaconvent. or call (724) 238-2102. 20th Anniversary Annual Retreat Orthodox Women in the Healing Ministries Orthodox Women in the Healing Ministries hosts their annual retreat for Orthodox women who are in the medical and other healing professions. The retreat will be held Oct. 12-14 at Holy Dormition Monastery in Rives Junction, Michigan. Frederica Mathewes-Green, keynote speaker, will speak on Mary and the Early Christians. In addition, OWHM recognizes that most women minister to others and welcomes them to this retreat for prayer, rest, reflection, opportunities for networking and lectures given by outstanding speakers. More information: www.owhm.org or (517) 414-3829. Retirement banquet planned for Father Elias Bitar Join the Parish of St. George Church, Little Falls, NJ, for a Banquet to celebrate the life and Priesthood of the Very Rev. Elias Bitar. Known as The Voice of the Archdiocese, Father Elias is the former Vicar General of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese, a faithful Priest, husband, father, teacher, advisor and friend. The Banquet will be held Saturday, Oct. 27 at Crowne Plaza, Fairfield, NJ. Ticket price is $100 and a group will be leaving from our Church. If you would like to reserve a seat, please call Donna in our Church Office (610) 439-1232 or talk to FatherAnthony. New booklet presents church s teaching about Memorials In the booklet, Boiled Wheat Used for Holidays and Memorials in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Archpriest Alexandros El-Far presents the Church s essential teaching about the soul or spirit of each human being after death. After describing the meaning of the memorials traditionally kept on the third, ninth, and fortieth days as well as the half year and one year anniversaries after the death of an Orthodox Christian, Fr. Alexandros provides the reader with the patristic and scriptural foundations for understanding death as the doorway to eternal salvation. Through excerpts from the lives of the martyrs, St. Theodore the Tyro (d. 297 A.D.) and his contemporary St. Barbara (d. 291), Fr. Alexandros tells the story of how wheat was established in the earliest Christian tradition as the symbol of death and resurrection. The booklet concludes with the Church s admonition against cremation as a substitute for burial and an admonition against modern heretical ideas that can lead astray the Christian believer. In a letter included as a forward to the booklet, Archbishop Joseph of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Diocese of Los Angeles and the West describes the work as a perfect example of what we seek through our prayers to the departed. May Fr Alexandros pastoral dedication to the Church for over 50 years deepen our understanding of wheat as the icon of dying for Christ s sake and rising with Him. The booklet is available in English or Arabic Ordering Information www.orthodoxiaradio.org Email orthodoxiaradio@kelfar.net Call Subdeacon Karim El-Far: 707-664-9892
Children s Relief Fund Ladies Altar Society receives update from our sponsored children The St. George Church Ladies Altar Society currently supports three children through the Children s Relief Fund of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese. Kindly consider sponsorship in this humanitarian effort through the Church by writing a check payable to St. George Church (memo: Children s Relief Fund). The Ladies Altar Society remains steadfast in our commitment to providing education scholarships to some of the poorest children in Lebanon and Palestine. Dear Ladies Altar Society: On behalf of the Children s Relief Fund, we thank you for your continued support and generosity. Your pledge and financial support are extremely important to the success of our CRF. Thank you for all you do. Please read thank you letters from two of your sponsored children. May God continue to bless you. Edward Bitar, CRF Administrator. Dear members of St. George Ladies Altar Society, Once again I would like to thank you for your generous donation that makes a lot of difference every time I receive it. Nowadays are a very crucial and nervous time in Syria. There are a lot of uprisings, people are dying and killing each other for some extremist. It is in the Name of God. However, my family and I are well so far because we live in a Christian area and hope things will go better. I repeat my thanks and hope that Jesus Christ, our Savior, keeps you and your families under His protection. Michael Walid Yazigi Dear Ladies Altar Society, I hope you are well. THANKS. It is a strange word to begin a letter but, in fact, I m writing what I feel. I am now 15 years old and in eighth grade. My sister, China, is 11 years old in 5th grade; my brother, Nour, is eight years old in second grade. My father, Haisam, is working as a priest s helper in a church called Youhanna Dimachki. My mother and grandmother are staying at home in a small house divided into a living room and bedroom. It is a small house, but it brings us peace. May God bless you and stay the light of your lift. Ghazal Shamieh Learn more about the Children s Relief Fund New website! www.thecrf.net The Children s Relief Fund, a ministry of the Antiochian Archdiocese, has launched a new website enabling online donations via PayPal, and allowing potential sponsors to apply directly for sponsorship online. A helpful FAQ section of the website explains all aspects of sponsorship, including how to communicate with the child, and how the funds from sponsors are distributed. The Children s Relief Fund (CRF) is a non-profit, charitable and humanitarian organization dedicated to providing education scholarships to needy children in Lebanon and Palestine. CRF is one of many charities of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. Since its inception in 1983, the Children s Relief Fund has distributed over 2.3 million dollars to several thousand needy children in Lebanon. CRF is currently sponsoring 341 children in Lebanon and 84 in Palestine. The necessity to continue our work is now more challenging as more and more children are in need of financial assistance (we have some 100 applications of children waiting to be sponsored in Palestine and Lebanon). One hundred percent (100%) of your contribution (a minimum of $300/year) will get to the sponsored child. When we receive your contribution, we will send you a photo and background information on the child and his/her family on our waiting list. A very special thanks to all those who have helped us in the past. As a Christian organization, we know our success depends on our humble obedience to God, who has called whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me -Matthew 18:5 Thank you and God bless. Fr. George M. Rados, National Director