SAINT JOHN S ORTHODOX CHURCH 3180 Morefield Road Hermitage, PA 16148 Office: 724-981-0571 Rectory: 724-346-4457 Fax: 724-308-6615 Website: www.stjohnacroc.org Clergy: Rev. Father David Mastroberte Very Rev. Protopresbyter Michael Polanichka Rev. Deacon John Anderson A Parish of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Bulletin for March 18-31, 2018 Orthodox Church on the Site of the Annunciation in Nazareth (The Holyday of the Annunciation is on March 25th)
CALENDAR OF SERVICES & EVENTS SUN 3/18/2018 4TH SUNDAY OF THE GREAT FAST; ST. JOHN OF THE LADDER 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy Panachida: +Andrew & +Agnes Karas (Perpetual) +Vasil & +Melania Hercha (Perpetual) +John Belous (Perpetual) WED 3/21/2018 5:30 PM Confessions 6:00 PM Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts Lenten Pot-Luck Meal FRI 3/23/2018 5:30 PM Confessions 6:00 PM Akathist to the Mother of God SAT 3/24/2018 OUR LENTEN MISSION 2:00 PM Confessions 4:00 PM Great Vespers for the Annunciation with Homily by Fr. Mihaly Lenten Fish Dinner SUN 3/25/2018 ANNUNCIATION TO THE MOTHER OF GOD 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy Panachida: +Paul, +Ruth & +Paul Denny Pavlick +JoAnn & +Eric Burprich Communion Breakfast and PTO Easter Raffle WED 3/28/2018 4:30 PM Potato Prep for Pirohi Making 5:30 PM Confessions 6:00 PM Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts THURS 3/29/2018 6:00 PM Filling Prep for Pirohi Making
FRI 3/30/2018 8:00 AM Pirohi Making and Sale 6:00 PM Deanery Lenten Mission Presanctified Liturgy St. Nicholas, 1115 East Avenue, Erie Meal to Follow (No Services at Our Church) SAT 3/31/2018 LAZARUS SATURDAY 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy (Chapel) 2:30 PM Palm and Willow Preparation for Palm Sunday 4:00 PM Great Vespers for Palm Sunday SUN 4/1/2018 PALM SUNDAY THE ENTRANCE OF OUR LORD INTO JERUSALEM 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy, with Blessing of Palms and Willows You are Invited to Our Lenten Mission Saturday, March 24th Clergy will hear Confessions beginning at 2:00 PM Vespers at 4:00 PM Homily by Fr. Nicholas Mihaly Fish Dinner to Follow AND Communion Breakfast & PTO Easter Raffle Sunday, March 25th
Congratulations to CHESTER EVERETT who turned 90! Chester, we wish you all the best, and pray that God grant you many, blessed years! Na mnohaja i blahaja l ita! ANNOUNCEMENTS Envelopes for Patriarchal Pence are included in this bulletin. This is our annual contribution for the work and ministry of His All-Holiness, our Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Please return your gift NO LATER than Sunday, April 1st. Our last Lenten Pot-Luck Meal will follow the Wednesday Presanctified Liturgy on March 21. Bring something to share with those assembled. Call for Desserts for Our Mission: If you can make a cake or other dessert for our Lenten Mission dinner, please add your name to the sign-up sheet. Don t Forget: Camp Nazareth Registration is Open! Parents, if you did not get the registration code from Fr. David, please speak to him directly. Our next Pirohi Sale will take place on Friday, March 30th. An order form is on the back page, and more are available in the hall. Deadline is March 25th. The final Youngstown Deanery Lenten Mission for this season will be held at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, 1115 East Avenue, Erie on Friday, March 30th. The Presanctified Liturgy will be at 6:00 PM, with a homily by Fr. Stephen Loposky. Dinner to follow in the hall. All are invited!
Reminder About the Eucharistic Fast: Those receiving Communion at an evening Liturgy are to fast for a minimum of 3 hours prior to the service. (Ideally, if we are able, we should not eat after lunch.) Fasting from midnight is still observed before receiving Communion at any morning Liturgy. PTO Easter Raffle will take place this year on March 25th, in conjunction with our Lenten Communion Breakfast. Donations of items can be brought to the church hall. Items do NOT need to be Easter-themed or only for children be creative! Monetary donations are also accepted. Deadline for donations is March 18th. Please see Pani Vikkie or Shannon Baker if you have questions. Bring in willows! Please cut them as soon as they are ready and bring them to the church. We do have ONE request: do not put them in plastic bags. Please use paper bags. Related to this Palm and Willow Preparation for Palm Sunday will take place on Lazarus Saturday, March 31st, at 2:30 PM in the Church Hall. Your help is greatly appreciated! We are accepting donations of candy for the Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday, April 8th. They must be individually wrapped and small enough to fit inside the plastic eggs. Donations may be brought to the church hall. A Diocesan Senior Citizen Retreat (65+) will be held April 23-25 at Camp Nazareth. His Grace, Bishop Gregory is the keynote speaker. The cost is $110. To register, visit acrod.org or call 724-662-4840. Save The Date: The FIFTH Annual Diocesan Young Women's Encounter which will take place from Sunday, July 1st to Wednesday, July 4th, 2018 at Saints Peter and Paul Church in Windber, PA. We encourage our young women, ages 12 to 18 to attend. Registration will be primarily online like last year and will be open soon. A link will be placed on the home page at www.acrod.org when registration opens. Registration Deadline is Friday, June 8, 2018.
We extend condolences to Dolores Christy on the passing of her husband, DONALD CHRISTY, on March 4th. Blessed repose eternal memory! THOUGHTS ON STEWARDSHIP by Dan Hromyak "I will be their God and they shall be my people." - Jeremiah 31:33 What does it mean to be God's people? It means we recognize that everything we have and everything we are belongs to God. We aren't "owners" of anything, we are merely "stewards" of the gifts God has given us. It means we are willing to use our gifts and our lives to care for our neighbors and the world, just as God cares for us. "Pilate again said to them, 'Then what shall I do with the man whom you call the King of the Jews?' And they cried out again, 'Crucify him.'" - Mark 15:12-13 Jesus told us "whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me." Every day we are presented opportunities to help someone. Every day we have the opportunity to see the face of Jesus in others and be the face of Jesus to others. Pray for the strength and courage to stand up for those in need of our help.
HOLY WEEK AND PASCHA 2018 Some Notes from Fr. David By this point in Lent, we can see Holy Week and Pascha on the horizon. Our Lenten spiritual preparation helps us enter Holy Week and Pascha with full, conscious, and active participation. The greatest harvest of the fruits of Holy Week and Pascha is received through attending services. Please take a moment to review the Holy Week service schedule on the facing page, then look at your personal schedule. Don t ask yourself What is the least I have to do during Holy Week? but What is the most I can do to accompany Our Lord to His Passion, Cross, and Tomb? Life presents many demands upon us: work, school, family. Even our physical condition and our health take their toll. Some things are unavoidable: your employer may be less than accommodating; your doctor may only have one appointment available; you don t see well at night. But for every valid reason, there are plenty of excuses that are given for lack of participation in Holy Week services. Yes, we have to clean the house; cook and bake; and welcome our guests. But all of these are secondary to the mystery that unfolds within the church s services. For those who can t drive at night, don t be shy: if you need a ride just ask! Fr. David and our Church Board members will find a way to get you to church and back home. Since there is a one-week difference between the Orthodox and Western dates of Easter this year, our children will be on their Easter Break from school and extracurriculars for the Western date. Parents, I am more than happy to write a letter of excuse for your child s school for Holy Thursday or Good Friday just ask! As Orthodox Christians, we must make every effort to be in church throughout Holy Week, and most especially on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Our doors will be open, Our Lord will be waiting come and worship!
Divine Services for Holy Week & Pascha 2018 Holy Monday, April 2 5:30 PM Confessions 6:00 PM Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts Holy Tuesday, April 3 5:30 PM Confessions 6:00 PM Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts Holy Wednesday, April 4 5:30 PM Confessions (Last Scheduled Time for Confession before Easter) 6:00 PM Sacrament of Holy Unction Holy Thursday, April 5 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy of St. Basil (Commemorating the Institution of the Eucharist) 6:00 PM Matins with the Reading of the Passion Gospels Holy (Good) Friday, April 6 9:00 AM Royal Hours (A Morning Prayer Service) 6:00 PM Vespers and Procession with the Holy Shroud Holy Saturday, April 7 9:00 AM Divine Liturgy of St. Basil (The First Proclamation of the Resurrection) 7:00 PM Procession, Resurrection Matins, & Blessing of Paschal Food Baskets PASCHA, April 8 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy, Festal Anointing, & Children s Easter Egg Hunt We Worship Your Passion, O Christ Show Us Also Your Holy Resurrection!
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Stay up-to-date on happenings throughout our Diocese! Diocesan Website: http://www.acrod.org Camp Nazareth: http://www.campnazareth.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acroddiocese Twitter: https://twitter.com/acrodnews You Tube: https://youtube.com/acroddiocese Don t forget to like our parish on Facebook: MARCH 30TH SALE PIROHI SCHEDULE Please add your name to the sign-up sheet in the Hall! Wed., March 28 at 4:30 PM (Hall setup; Potato prep) Thurs., March 29 at 6:00 PM (Filling prep) March 30, 2018 Pirohi Order Form Order Deadline: March 25, 2018 724-981-0571 Name: Phone Number: Potato @ 8.00/dozen $ Butter Only Butter and Onions Friday, March 30 at 8:00 AM (Pirohi Making and Sale) Total Amount Due: $ Remember: Get your orders in by March 25! Pick-Up on Friday, March 30, 2018 12:00 Noon 2:00 PM (Doors Open at Noon)
BIRTHDAYS March 18 Marge Holmes March 21 Karen Hynes March 23 Jessica Nameth March 24 Michael Saluga March 25 Mary Hynes March 26 Grace Cataloni March 28 Stephanie Shumkaroff March 29 Megan Holmes March 31 Brandon Moon MEN TO HOLD CANDLES Sunday, March 25th Gary Yonchak Bob Amos Bob Andras Jason Baker Robert Banas Sunday, April 1st John Bauer Dennis Burprich John Cataloni Jerry Chupak Chester Everett Belated Birthday wishes to: March 8 Mary Jane Repasky March 16 Michael Yonchak B S S, M 18 I M H S : R$, S " R$ P S, M 25 IN L M W T" S. S : K% " D K * Coffee Hour Volunteers for Sunday, March 18 are Marge Serb & Pauline Koval Thank You for Volunteering Sunday, March 25 is the Communion Breakfast All are welcome to attend