St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America Diocese of Los Angeles and the West Mailing Address: 4718 Horsehaven, Post Falls, Idaho 83854-6668 - Church Phone: (208) 777-1128 Fr. Basil Caldaroni: (208) 818-2646 Email: frbasil@caldaroni.net Church Website: http://www.stjohnorthodox.org Parish Directory: http://www.stjohnorthodox.org/directory.html User: Faithful Password: TheWay Send announcements to members@stjohnorthodox.org October 18, 2015 The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke, was a native of Syrian Antioch, a companion of the holy Apostle Paul (Phil.1:24, 2 Tim. 4:10-11), and a physician enlightened in the Greek medical arts. Hearing about Christ, Luke arrived in Palestine and fervently accepted the preaching of salvation from the Lord Himself. As one of the Seventy Apostles, St Luke was sent by the Lord with the others to preach the Kingdom of Heaven during the Savior s earthly life (Luke 10:1-3). After the Resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to Sts Luke and Cleopas on the road to Emmaus. Luke accompanied St Paul on his second missionary journey, and from that time they were inseparable. When Paul s coworkers had forsaken him, only Luke remained to assist him in his ministry (2 Tim. 4:10-11). After the martyric death of the First-Ranked Apostles Peter and Paul, St Luke left Rome to preach in Achaia, Libya, Egypt and the Thebaid. He ended his life by suffering martyrdom in the city of Thebes. Tradition credits St Luke with painting the first icons of the Mother of God. Let the grace of Him Who was born of Me and My mercy be with these Icons, said the All-Pure Virgin after seeing the icons. St Luke also painted icons of the First-Ranked Apostles Peter and Paul. St Luke s Gospel was written in the years 62-63 at Rome, under the guidance of the Apostle Paul. In the preliminary verses (1:1-3), St Luke precisely sets forth the purpose of his work. He proposes to record, in chronological order, everything known by Christians about Jesus Christ and His teachings. By doing this, he provided a firmer historical basis for Christian teaching (1:4). He carefully investigated the facts, and made generous use of the oral tradition of the Church and of what the All-Pure Virgin Mary Herself had told him (2:19, 51). In St Luke s Gospel, the message of the salvation made possible by the Lord Jesus Christ, and the preaching of the Gospel, are of primary importance. A Note Regarding Holy Communion Since we understand Communion to mean that we have all things in common, sharing an identical Faith, only those who are members of the Orthodox Church who have prepared themselves through prayer, fasting and recent confession may participate in Holy Communion. (We invite all, however, to partake of the blessed bread which is distributed at the dismissal.) Please see the pastor for inquiries on how to become a member.
St Luke also wrote the Acts of the Holy Apostles at Rome around 62-63 A.D. The Book of Acts, which is a continuation of the four Gospels, speaks about the works and the fruits of the holy Apostles after the Ascension of the Savior. At the center of the narrative is the Council of the holy Apostles at Jerusalem in the year 51, a Church event of great significance, which resulted in the separation of Christianity from Judaism and its independent dissemination into the world (Acts 15:6-29). The theological focus of the Book of Acts is the coming of the Holy Spirit, Who will guide the Church into all truth John 16:13) until the Second Coming of Christ. The holy relics of St Luke were taken from Constantinople and brought to Padua, Italy at some point in history. Perhaps this was during the infamous Crusade of 1204.
RESURRECTIONAL APOLYTIKION IN TONE THREE Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad, for the Lord hath done a mighty act with His own arm. He hath trampled down death by death, and become the first-born from the dead. He hath delivered us from the depths of Hades, granting the world the Great Mercy. APOLYTIKION OF ST. LUKE THE EVANGELIST IN TONE THREE O holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke, intercede with the merciful God, to grant our souls forgiveness of sins. KONTAKION FOR ORDINARY SUNDAYS IN TONE TWO O protection of Christians that cannot be put to shame, mediation unto the Creator most constant, O despise not the suppliant voices of those who have sinned; but be thou quick, O good one, to come unto our aid, who in faith cry unto thee: Hasten to intercession, and speed thou to make supplication, thou who dost ever protect, O Theotokos, them that honor thee. THE EPISTLE His voice has gone out into all the earth. The heavens declare the glory of God. The Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Colossians. (4:5-11, 14-18) Brethren, conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone. Tychicus will tell you all about my affairs; he is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, and with him Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place. Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions if he comes to you, receive him), and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you. Give my greetings to the brethren at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you read also the letter from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, See that you fulfill the ministry which you have received in the Lord. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my fetters. Grace be with you. Amen. THE GOSPEL The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (10:16-21) The Lord said, He who hears you hears Me, and he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me. The Seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Thy Name! And Jesus said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. In that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the spirit and said, I thank Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was Thy gracious will.
ANNOUNCEMENTS Sisterhood Meeting, Sunday October 18th Dear Sisters in Christ, We will be having a sisterhood meeting this Sunday, October 18, 2015 to elect new officers. This meeting will take place during coffee hour. The floor will be open for nominations. I will be stepping down from my position as President. It has been my blessing to serve as the Sisterhood President. Thank you all for your love, support and good works. All my love in Christ, Tiffani Gallatin Fellowship of the Cross - Youth & Young Adult Gathering Friday-Saturday, October 23-24, 2015 beginning at 6:00 PM with dinner on Friday, and ending at 1:00pm on Saturday Orthodox Christian Young Adult Gathering @ St. Andrew Antiochian Orthodox church - 230 E. Burke Ave. Arlington, WA 98223. Join, Fr. David Hovik, Fr. David Sommer, Fr. Michael Shanbour, Fr. Paul Moses Jaroslaw, and our special Fellowship of the Cross speaker, Fr. Seraphim Majmudar & many young people your age! For a time of teaching, discussion, fellowship, food, prayers and a work project on Saturday @the new church building-to-be in Snohomish! If you are interested in joining us, please RSVP to Fr. Paul (soon!) @ frpaulmoses1111@gmail.com or call (907) 299-1087 so we know how much food to prepare, and to find you a place to spend the night!!! Thanks! Pledge Cards Dear Brethren, Christ is in our midst! As our Annual Meeting, at which we must approve the parish budget for 2016, is fast approaching (November 8), we still need to receive the pledge cards from all the member of the parish. Without these pledge cards we cannot realistically determine how much income we can expect for the upcoming year which greatly hinders the efforts of the Financial Team to develop the budget for the new year. If you haven t retuned your pledge card please do so as soon as possible. And please be generous in your support of the work of our Lord s Kingdom here in North Idaho. God bless you! Love, +Fr. Basil "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Luke 6:38 October is Youth Month - October is here and we are now at the start of Youth Month across our Antiochian Archdiocese. During the month of October we give our teens more opportunities to serve in Church: Reading the Epistles, Taking the Collections, Ushering in Church, Chanting, Singing in the Choir. We are blessed to have many youth involved in the worship and activities of our parish! October is also a time for you to share your love and concern for the youth of your parish. Take a moment to thank a teen for being present in Church. Thank them for their good works. Let them know that they are welcome and wanted in your parish.
ANNOUNCEMENTS Study Group on Christian Parenting Dear Brethren, Christ is in our midst! I plan to begin the Study Group again beginning Wednesday, November 11, following Vespers. The topic will be a great series on Christian Parenting led by myself as well as excellent video material produced by our brethren, Mark & Maureen Sandford. I will do some short teaching, probably based on the book by St. Theophan the Recluse, Raising Them Right, and then Mark & Maureen will show their excellent series of presentations followed by Q and A. We have so many young families in our parish and this is a great opportunity to provide some tools for them in the parenting of their children in a Christian manner. It will be a series of 8-9 sessions on Wednesday evenings. The Townsends have graciously agreed to host these sessions so that we can make use of their large screen TV for the videos of Mark & Maureen/s teachings. Be sure to mark your calendar! Love in Christ, +Fr. Basil Making a Habit out of Helping the Poor Last week, at our St. Theophan Homeschool Coop, the children learned about the life of St. Philaret the Merciful. (You can read about his fascinating life here.) He is a Saint from the 8th Century who was famous for his generosity to the poor, regardless of his own circumstances - both in times of plenty and even when he was completely impoverished himself. We saw in the example of his life that he made a habit of helping those in need. To this end, with the blessing of Fr. Basil, we are starting our own habit of collecting canned food for the poor at the church. This is not a holiday food drive, and we're not asking anyone to clean out their pantry. What we are endeavoring to do is to develop the regular, ongoing habit of bringing a small offering, as God enables us, of food when we come to the Church. When we gather to pray and worship together, we bring an offering, first of our hearts, but also of our lives and our resources. The children of the Homeschool Coop will be taking a field trip together in a few weeks to deliver our first collection of canned food to the Post Falls Food Bank and to take a tour to see how they distribute the donated food to those in need. In this simple way, we hope to develop the habit of helping the poor in our area, much like St. Philaret. Let us all purpose to bring a can of food from time to time when we come to the Church. There will be a Food Bank tub in the Narthex where you can drop your canned goods. We pray this will be a great blessing for all of us as we develop a habit of generosity. But mostly we pray it will be a pleasing offering to Christ and a blessing to our neighbors in need. Sisterhood Dues It is that time of year again when the Sisterhood needs to send in dues to the diocese. Please give your dues of $10 to Barbara Garbinski. Each parish is expected to send in their dues by November 1, 2015. Thank you!
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES & EVENTS Saturday, October 17: Great Vespers 6:00pm Sunday, October 18: Orthros 9:00am; Divine Liturgy 10:00am; Sunday School and Lunch Following Tuesday, October 20: Youth Swing Dance 7:00pm Wednesday, October 21: Vespers 6:00pm Friday October 23: Spiritual Circle 9:30am Saturday, October 24: Great Vespers 6:00pm Sunday, October 25: Orthros 9:00am; Divine Liturgy 10:00am; Sunday School and Lunch Following EPISTLE READERS Oct 18 Andrew Schaefer Oct 25 Sarah Ebert Nov 1 Reader Mark Fellegy Nov 8 Owen Rush POTLUCK LUNCHEON CLEANUP TEAM Oct 18 Team 3: Joy Corey, Tecca family, Roth family, John Holmen & Morey Ransom Oct 25 Team 4: Kelly Peterson, Sandford family, Rush family & Foster Caldaroni Nov 1 Team 1: Schaefer family, Gallatin family, Ebert family & the Phillips family. Nov 8 Team 2: Victoria Purviance, Dale Ayoub, Lydia Gross, Marina Williams, Bardwell family & the Ott family PRAYERS FOR THE LIVING: Reader Matthew Gallatin, Jack (Fr. Basil & Kh. Tilda s grandson), Allyson Gross, Stephanie Welzig, Bill Davis (friend of Jenny Dancy), Kathy Krajic (friend of the Peterson s), Suffering Christians throughout the Middle East, Metropolitan Paul Yazigi and Metropolitan Youhanna Ibrahim (hostages in Syria) PRAYERS FOR THE DEPARTED: Victims of the Oregon UCC shooting. Sweet Ways to Support Our Kids! There are now three new, sweet ways to support our St. Theophan Homeschool Co-Op. SEE s candy will be available for sale during lunch following Liturgy, and a Yumraising.com website is being setup as well. You can: 1. Purchase a SEE s Lollypop for $1.00. 2. Purchase a SEE s Classic Candy Bar for $2.25 (either Milk chocolate with toffee nuggets or Dark Chocolate with almonds) 3. Go to yumraising.com and make a purchase (More details on this option coming soon.) We will have new and different fundraising ideas throughout the upcoming year. Candy Sale to Benefit the Home School Co-op This coming Sunday there will be a candy sale to benefit our St. Theophan Home School Co-op! A case of suckers regularly $31.00 will be only $24.00 and a case of candy bars regularly $54.00 will only be $30.00. Lisa Gencarella and Esther Phillips will be giving a presentation this Sunday on the fun projects that the kids have been doing and what is coming up.. exciting stuff! We surely appreciate all those who are purchasing the candy for the kids. These candies would make great stocking stuffers and gifts!