Schedule of Events and Services for May 29 – June 5

Tuesday, May 31
8:30 AM
– Hours

Wednesday, June 1
7 PM
– Catechism Class

Thursday, June 2
8:30 AM
–Akathist Service

Friday, June 3
9:30 AM
– Old Testament Class

Saturday, June 4
3 PM
– Vespers

Sunday, June 5
10 AM
– Divine Liturgy
11:30 AM – Graduate Sunday
12 noon – Parish Picnic

Readers Schedule
 6/5 – Bob Faubel
6/12 – Paul Toaso
6/19 – Susan Paltauf
6/26 – Susan Sulich

Coffee Hour
6/5 – Parish Picnic
6/12 – OPEN
6/19 – Father’s Day
6/26 – OPEN

Sunday of the Samaritan Woman

Samaritan.Woman.PhotineOne of the most ancient cities of the Promised Land was Shechem, also called Sikima, located at the foot of Mount Gerazim. There the Israelites had heard the blessings in the days of Moses and Jesus of Navi. Near to this town, Jacob, who had come from Mesopotamia in the nineteenth century before Christ, bought a piece of land where there was a well. This well, preserved even until the time of Christ, was known as Jacob’s Well. Later, before he died in Egypt, he left that piece of land as a special inheritance to his son Joseph (Gen. 49:22). This town, before it was taken into possession by Samaria, was also the leading city of the kingdom of the ten tribes. In the time of the Romans it was called Neapolis, and at present Nablus. It was the first city in Canaan visited by the Patriarch Abraham. Here also, Jesus of Navi (Joshua) addressed the tribes of Israel for the last time. Almost three hundred years later, all Israel assembled there to make Roboam (Rehoboam) king.

When our Lord Jesus Christ, then, came at midday to this city, which is also called Sychar (John 4:5), He was wearied from the journey and the heat. He sat down at this well. After a little while the Samaritan woman mentioned in today’s Gospel passage came to draw water. As she conversed at some length with the Lord and heard from Him secret things concerning herself, she believed in Him; through her many other Samaritans also believed.

Concerning the Samaritans we know the following: In the year 721 before Christ, Salmanasar (Shalmaneser), King of the Assyrians, took the ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel into captivity, and relocated all these people to Babylon and the land of the Medes. From there he gathered various nations and sent them to Samaria. These nations had been idolaters from before. Although they were later instructed in the Jewish faith and believed in the one God, they worshipped the idols also. Furthermore, they accepted only the Pentateuch of Moses, and rejected the other books of Holy Scripture. Nonetheless, they thought themselves to be descendants of Abraham and Jacob. Therefore, the pious Jews named these Judaizing and idolatrous peoples Samaritans, since they lived in Samaria, the former leading city of the Israelites, as well as in the other towns thereabout. The Jews rejected them as heathen and foreigners, and had no communion with them at all, as the Samaritan woman observed, “the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans” (John 4:9). Therefore, the name Samaritan is used derisively many times in the Gospel narrations.

After the Ascension of the Lord, and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the woman of Samaria was baptized by the holy Apostles and became a great preacher and Martyr of Christ; she was called Photine, and her feast is kept on February 26.

– See more at: http://lent.goarch.org/sunday_of_the_samaritan_woman/learn/#sthash.WhMVV6J2.dpuf

Schedule of Events and Services for the week of May 22 – May 29

Monday, May 23
6 PM – Prayer Group
7 PM – OCMC presentation by Kenny Kidde, Development Director

Tuesday, May 24
8:30 AM
– Hours

Wednesday, May 25
7 PM
– Catechism Class

Thursday, May 26
8:30 AM
–Akathist Service

Friday, May 27
9:30 AM
– Old Testament Class

Saturday, May 28
4 PM
– Wedding of Nicholas Fong and Jenny Bostic

Sunday, May 29
10 AM
– Divine Liturgy

Readers Schedule
5/22 – Harry Fong
5/29 – Paul Sulich

Coffee Hour
5/29 – Chow Family
6/5 – Parish Picnic
6/12 – OPEN
6/19 – Father’s Day
6/26 – OPEN

Schedule of Services and Events for the Week of May 15 – May 22

Monday, May 16
7 PM
– Spirituality Class

Wednesday, May 18
7 PM
– Catechism Class

Thursday, May 19
7 PM
– Monthly St. Nectarios Service

Friday, May 20
9:30 AM
– Old Testament Class
7 PM to 10 PM – Teen SOYO dance at St. George’s for ages 13-18

Saturday, May 21
8 AM
– ASP Work Day in Danbury
5 PM – Vespers

Sunday, May 22
9 AM
– Church school
10 AM – Divine Liturgy

Monday, May 23
7 PM – OCMC presentation by Kenny Kidde, Development Director

Readers Schedule
5/22 – Harry Fong
5/29 – Paul Sulich

Coffee Hour
5/22 – Chow Family
5/29 – OPEN
6/5 – Parish Picnic
6/12 – OPEN
6/19 – Father’s Day
6/26 – OPEN

Schedule of Services and Events for the week of May 8 – May 15

Saturday, May 14
5 PM
– Vespers

Sunday, May 15
10 AM
– Divine Liturgy
12:30 PM – Rectory/office committee Meeting
2 PM – Parish Council Meeting

Fr. Luke will be out of town this week for an OCMC Board meeting and a Diocesan Clergy Convocation. Please call the rectory if there are any emergencies.

Readers Schedule
5/8 – Suzanne Molineaux
5/15 – Susan Paltauf
5/22 – Harry Fong
5/29 – Paul Sulich

Coffee Hour
5/8 – Mother’s Day – see Harry Fong and Paul Sulich
5/15 – Young
5/22 – Chow Family
5/29 – OPEN
6/5 – Parish Picnic
6/12 – OPEN
6/19 – Father’s Day/Bishop Gregory’s Visit
6/26 – OPEN

Antipascha: St Thomas Sunday

thomassunday[1]Some icons depicting this event are inscribed “The Doubting Thomas.” This is incorrect. In Greek, the inscription reads, “The Touching of Thomas.” The Slavonic inscription is, “The Belief of Thomas.” When St Thomas touched the Life-giving side of the Lord, he no longer had any doubts.

This day is also known as “Antipascha.” This does not mean “opposed to Pascha,” but “in place of Pascha.” Beginning with this first Sunday after Pascha, the Church dedicates every Sunday of the year to the Lord’s Resurrection. Sunday is called “Resurrection” in Russian, and “the Lord’s Day” in Greek.

http://oca.org/saints/lives/2016/05/08/34-antipascha-st-thomas-sunday

 

Bishop Gregory’s Paschal Letter

Protocol 14/2016

To the Very Reverend Protopresbyters, Very Reverend and Reverend Fathers, and the Faithful of our God-Protected Diocese:

 CHRIST IS RISEN!    INDEED, HE IS RISEN!

On this great and glorious Feast of Pascha – the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, our hearts are filled with tremendous joy, our souls are transformed and we bask in the Light of the Truth.  This year I want to share with you some Paschal thoughts from St. Gregory the Theologian.

THE PASCHAL HOMILY OF ST. GREGORY THE THEOLOGIAN

It is the Day of the Resurrection! Let us then keep the Festival with splendor, and let us embrace one another.  Let us say Brethen, even to those who hate us, Let us forgive all offenses for the Resurrection’s sake; let us give one another pardon.  Yesterday, I was crucified with Him; today I am glorified with Him.  Yesterday, I died with Him; today I am made alive in Him.  Yesterday, I was buried with Him, today I am raised with Him.

Let us offer ourselves to Him who suffered and rose again for us. Let us become divine for His sake, since for us He became human.

He assumed the worst that He might give us the better. He became poor that by His poverty we might become rich.  He accepted the form of a servant that we might win back our freedom. He came down that we might be lifted up.  He was tempted that through Him we might conquer.  He was dishonored that He might glorify us.  He died that He might save us.  He ascended that He might draw to Himself us, who were thrown down through the fall of sin.

Let us give all, offer all, to Him who gave Himself as a ransom and reconciliation for us.  We needed an incarnate God, a God put to death, that we might live.  We were put to death together with Him that we might be cleansed.

We rose again with Him because we were put to death with Him.  We were glorified with Him because we rose  again with Him.

May we all be one in Christ Jesus our Lord, to Whom be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.

Personal Greetings:

May all the Priests and Panis, Deacons, Parishioners, Friends and Supporters of our American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese experience the joy, excitement and wonder of the early followers of Christ when they first saw Him following His Resurrection. Christ is Risen!

Working in the Risen Lord’s Vineyard with much love,

+His Grace Bishop Gregory of Nyssa

To be read as the sermon in all churches of the Diocese at the Paschal Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ

Protocol N.14-2016 -Paschal Archpastoral Letter

 

Commemoration of The Great and Holy Feast of Pascha

Pascha IconHoly Week comes to an end at sunset of Great and Holy Saturday, as the Church prepares to celebrate her most ancient and preeminent festival, Pascha, the feast of feasts. The time of preparation will give way to a time of fulfillment. The glorious and resplendent light emanating from the empty Tomb will dispel the darkness. Christ, risen from the dead, cracks the fortress of death and takes “captivity captive” (Psalm 67:19). All the limitations of our createdness are torn asunder. Death is swallowed up in victory and life is liberated. “For as by a man came death, by a man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (I Corinthians 15:21-22). Pascha is the dawn of the new and unending day. The Resurrection constitutes the most radical and decisive deliverance of humankind.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the fundamental truth and absolute fact of the Christian faith. It is the central experience and essential kerygma of the Church. It confirms the authenticity of Christ’s remarkable earthly life and vindicates the truth of His teaching. It seals all His redemptive work: His life, the model of a holy life; His compelling and unique teaching; His extraordinary works; and His awesome, life-creating death. Christ’s Resurrection is the guarantee of our salvation. Together with His Ascension it brings to perfection God’s union with us for all eternity.

The Resurrection made possible the miracle of the Church, which in every age and generation proclaims and affirms “God’s plan for the universe, the ultimate divinization of man and the created order.” The profound experience of and the unshakable belief in the risen Lord enabled the Apostles to evangelize the world and empowered the Church to overcome paganism. The Resurrection discloses the indestructible power and inscrutable wisdom of God. It disposes of the illusory myths and belief systems by which people, bereft of divine knowledge, strain to affirm the meaning and purpose of their existence. Christ, risen and glorified, releases humanity from the delusions of idolatry. In Him grave-bound humanity discovers and is filled with incomparable hope. The Resurrection bestows illumination, energizes souls, brings forgiveness, transfigures lifes, creates saints, and gives joy.

The Resurrection has not yet abolished the reality of death. But it has revealed its powerlessness (Hebrews 2:14-15). We continue to die as a result of the Fall. Our bodies decay and fall away. “God allows death to exist but turns it against corruption and its cause, sin, and sets a boundary both to corruption and sin.” Thus, physical death does not destroy our life of communion with God. Rather, we move from death to life – from this fallen world to God’s reign.

– See more at: http://lent.goarch.org/holy_pascha/learn/#sthash.WBcVw5Xg.dpuf

Schedule of services and events for the week of May 1 – May 8

Sunday, May 1
12 noon – Paschal Vespers

Monday, May 2
9 AM – Divine Liturgy
7 PM – Vespers/Spirituality Class

Tuesday, May 3
9:30 AM – Paschal Matins
7 PM – Vespers

Wednesday, May 4
7 PM – Catechism Class

Thursday, May 5
9 AM – Divine Liturgy
4 PM to 7 PM – Monthly Food Sale
7 PM – Vespers

Friday, May 6
9:30 AM – Old Testament Class
1 PM to 5 PM – Dorothy Day Soup Kitchen

Saturday, May 7
9 AM – Church Grounds planting day
7 PM – Vespers

Sunday, May 8
10 AM – Divine Liturgy
11:30 AM – Mother’s Day Breakfast

Readers Schedule
5/1- Paul Sulich
5/8 – Suzanne Molineaux

Coffee Hour
5/1 – PASCHA
5/8 – Mother’s Day Breakfast
please see Harry Fong and Paul Sulich