Our parish seeks to help people:
v maintain a meaningful union with God
v become active members of His family
v grow up to be spiritually mature, Christ-like people
v minister within the Church and to the world
v glorify and worship the Holy Trinity
Words of Welcome: Welcome to our Orthodox Christian community. We are an Antiochian Orthodox Christian parish with roots traced directly back to first century city of Antioch where the disciples were first called “Christians” (Acts 11:26). The Orthodox Church is the oldest and second largest Christian group in the world living out the unchanging ancient Christian faith.
Please note that the reception of Holy Communion is for those who have spiritually prepared themselves by being reconciled with all people and having recently participated in the Sacrament of Repentance (Confession). At the end of our worship time together, everyone is encouraged to come forward to receive the priest’s blessing and the Holy Bread. If you have questions concerning the Holy Orthodox Faith, please speak with Fr. Paul. We hope you will worship with us again and again.
Sunday, March 29, 2009:
Today is the Sunday of the commemoration of St. John of the Ladder and the fourth Sunday of Lent. Today we commemorate Mark, bishop of Arethusa; Martyr Cyril the deacon of Heliopolis; Martyrs Jonah and Barachisios; Eustathios the Confessor, bishop of Bithynia.
Today, and every Sunday of Great Lent, we will be celebrating the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great. Please follow along in the white service books in the second column. In the red service books, the changes in the liturgy are listed at the end of the end of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.
Resurrectional Apolytikion (Tone 8): From the heights Thou didst descend, O compassionate One, and Thou didst submit to the three day burial, that Thou might deliver us from passion; Thou art our Life and our Resurrection, O Lord, glory to Thee.
Apolytikion for St. John Climacus (Tone 8): The barren wilderness thou didst make fertile with the streams of thy tears; and by thy deep sighing thou hast given fruit through thy struggles a hundred-fold. Accordingly, thou hast become a star for the universe, sparkling with miracles. Therefore, O righteous Father John Climacus, intercede with Christ God to save our souls.
Troparion of St. George, the patron saint of the parish: As deliverer of captives and defender of the poor, healer of the infirm, champion of kings, victorious great martyr George, intercede with Christ our God for our souls’ salvation.
Kontakion for the Annunciation (and Great Lent) (Tone 8): To thee, the Champion Leader, I thy servant offer thanks of victory; O Theotokos, thou who hast delivered me from terror. But as thou that hast that power invincible, O Theotokos, thou alone can set me free; from all forms of danger free me and deliver me, that I may cry unto thee: “Rejoice, O Bride without bridegroom!”
The reading is from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews. (6:13-20)
Prokeimenon: The Lord will give strength to His people. The Lord will bless His people with peace.
Brethren, when God made a promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater by whom to swear, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. Men indeed swear by one greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of His purpose, He interposed with an oath. So that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God should prove false, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
The reading of the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark 2:34- 9:1: At that time, a man came to Jesus, kneeling down and saying unto him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked Thy Disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” And Jesus answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to Me.” And they brought the boy to Him; and when the spirit saw Jesus, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has he had this?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if Thou canst do anything, have pity on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when Jesus had entered the house, His Disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And Jesus said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.” They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And Jesus would not have anyone know it; for He was teaching His Disciples, saying to them, “The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and after He is killed, He will rise on the third day.”
Bulletin Notice: The weekly bulletin, which you are now reading, is prepared 3-4 weeks in advance. Therefore, if you want an activity, meeting, or other event put into the bulletin, please think ahead at least 4 weeks. If you don’t, you should prepare your own flyer, ready to be printed to the church office as early in the week as possible.
People to Pray for and Visit:
At Home:
v Samir Abdo (45 Summerview Rd, Williamsville 14221)
v Grace Aswad (2210 E. River Rd, Gr. Island 14072)
v Elaine Baia (377 Brentwood Dr., Youngstown 14175)
v Patricia Howitt (20A South Lane, N. Tonawanda 14120)
v Esma Kinan (804 College Terrace, NF 14035)
v Lotti Meterko (248 69th St. NF 14034)
v Dorie Mezhir (3047 Madison Ave, NF 14305)
In Nursing Homes:
v Lorraine Bialek (Crestwood Health Care Center, 2600 Niagara Falls Blvd)
v Agnes Fadel (Our Lady of Peace, 5385 Lewiston Rd, Lewiston 14092)
v Raymond Fadel (Beechwood Continuing Care, 2235 Millersport Hwy, Getzville, 14068)
v Ted Filosofos (Schoellkopf Health Center, 621 Tenth Street, NF 14301)
v Najla Mokhiber (Alterra Sterling House, 6741 Nash Road, Wheatfield 14120)
SUPERVISING HIERARCH: Archbishop Metropolitan PHILIP Saliba, Primate of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian
Archdiocese of North America.
Diocesan Bishop: His Grace Bishop ALEXANDER, Diocese of Ottawa, Eastern Canada, and Upstate New
York State.
Rev. Fr. Paul A. Solberg, Pastor Church Office Phone: 297-2668
Voice Mail & Cellular Phone: 983-1145 FAX: 297-2668
Home: 754-1641 E-mail: saintgeorgeorthodox@yahoo.com
Email: frsolberg@yahoo.com Website: www.st-george.squarespace.com
V. Rev. Fr. George R. Aswad, Pastor Emeritus
Home: 773-3896
Subdeacons: Tom Slaiman, Paul (Regis) Woodward, & Todd Justin Mokhiber
Parish Council Officers: Ricco Slaiman (Chair), Steve Sargent (Vice Chair), Todd Mokhiber
(Corresponding Sec.), Tom Slaiman (Financial Sec.), Kathy Fadel (RecordingSec.), Judith Mokhiber (Treasurer)
Trustees: Awni Alsous, Richard Chown, Laura Haddad, Eka Harke, Stan Krassopoulos, Zino
Kowal
Lifetime Trustee: Daniel Bishara
Schedule for the week of March 29 – April 20, 2009:
Mar 29: 9 am Matins
10am Divine Liturgy
Holy Bread Sponsor: Samir & Laura Haddad
Coffee Hour Sponsor: Agnes Clark Moretti Family
5 pm Pan Orthodox Vespers and Program
Location: St Stephen’s
April 1: 5:15 pm Typica Service
6 pm Divine Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts
7:15 Lenten Pot Luck Dinner & Study
April 3: 6 pm Lenten Dinner
7 pm Akathist Hymn
April 4: 3 pm Confession
4 pm Chanters practice
5 pm Great Vespers
6 pm Catechemen’s (Membership) Class
April 5: 9 am Matins
10am Divine Liturgy
Holy Bread Sponsor: Vince & Liz Lia
Coffee Hour Sponsor: Katie Bubick
5 pm Pan Orthodox Vespers and Program
Location: Church of the Annunciation
April 8: 5:15 pm Typica Service
6 pm Divine Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts
7:15 Lenten Pot Luck Dinner
April 10: 6 pm Lenten Dinner
7 pm Little Compline with the Canon of St. Lazarus
April 11: Saturday of Lazarus
9 am Matins
10 am Divine Liturgy
Holy Bread Sponsor: Sponsor Needed
Coffee Hour Sponsor: Sponsor Needed
3 pm Confession
4 pm Chanters practice
5 pm Great Vespers
6 pm Catechemen’s (Membership) Class
April 12: Palm Sunday
9 am Matins
10am Divine Liturgy & Procession with Palms
Holy Bread Sponsor: Elias & Camilla Saba
Coffee Hour Sponsor: Mickey Mokhiber Family
7 pm Bridegroom Service
Apr 13: 7 pm: Bridegroom Service
Apr 14: 7 pm: Bridegroom Service
Apr 15: 7 pm: Holy Unction Service
Apr 16: 10 am: Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St. Basil
7 pm: Footwashing rite and Service of the 12 Passion Gospels
Apr 17: 9 am: Royal Hours
3 pm: Vespers with the taking down of Christ from the Cross
4 pm: Vigil Begins
7 pm: Lamentations Service
Apr 18: 10 am: Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St. Basil
10 pm: Rush Service, Matins, and Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
Apr 19: Pascha
3 pm Agape Vespers
3:45 pm Easter Egg Hunt
Coming Events:
Apr 11: Saturday of Lazarus
Apr 12: Orthodox Palm Sunday/Western Easter
Apr 19: Pascha (Orthodox Easter)
Apr 25: Basket Auction 2-8 pm
May 17: Chicken BBQ sponsored by St. Ignatius 11:30 – 3 pm
May 28: Ascension
Jun 6: Saturday of Souls
Jun 7: Pentecost
June 25-28: St. George Niagara Falls will host the Parish Life Conference
July 19-26: Antiochian Archdiocese Convention in California
July 31-Aug 2: MedFest
Aug 9 – 15: St. George Summer Camp
Please schedule all upcoming events through the Church Office and the Church Calendar, also all correspondence is to be sent to the Church address of 1073 Saunders Settlement Rd.,NF, NY 14305. We no longer have a PO Box.
Confession Times: Sunday 8:30 – 9 am, Wed 5-5:45 pm, Sat. 3-3:45 pm
Fr. Paul’s Day off: Routinely Fr. Paul’s day off will be Mondays.
Office Hours: The church office is staffed by volunteers Tuesday, and Thursday from 10 am to 1 pm. We are looking for a volunteer or volunteers to staff the office Monday, Wednesday & Friday.
Today’s Saints: Our Righteous Father Mark the Confessor, Bishop of Arethusa; Cyril the Deacon, and others martyred during the reign of Julian "Saint Mark was Bishop of Arethusa in Syria. In the days of Saint Constantine the Great, Saint Mark, moved with divine zeal, destroyed a temple of the idols and raised up a church in its stead. When Julian the Apostate reigned, in 361, as the pagans were now able to avenge the destruction of their temple, Saint Mark, giving way to wrath, hid himself; but when he saw that others were being taken on his account, he gave himself up. Having no regard to his old age, they stripped him and beat his whole body, cast him into filthy sewers, and pulling him out, had children prick him with their iron writing-pens. Then they put him into a basket, smeared him with honey and a kind of relishof pickled fish, and hung him up under the burning sun to be devoured by bees and wasps. But because he bore this so nobly, his enemies repented, and unloosed him.
"Saint Cyril was a deacon from Heliopolis in Phoenecia. During the reign of the Emperor Constantius, son of Saint Constantine, he had also broken the idols in pieces. When Julian came to power, Saint Cyril was seized by the idolators and his belly was ripped open. The other holy Martyrs celebrated today, martyred in Gaza and Ascalon during the reign of Julian, were men of priestly rank and consecrated virgins; they were disemboweled, filled with barley, and set before swine to be eaten. The account of all the above Saints is given in Book III, ch. 3, of Theodoret of Cyrrhus' Ecclesiastical History. (Great Horologion)
St. Ignatius Annual Chicken BBQ: will be held on Sunday, May 17 from 11:30 am to 3 pm on the church grounds. Tickets are now on sale. See Sob Haick or any member of St. Ignatius. Tickets are $7.50 now and $8 at the door.
THE GREAT LENT - A Week by Week Meaning by Rev. George Mastrantonis: FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT - ST. JOHN OF THE CLIMAX (Mark 9:17-31).
This Sunday commemorates St. John of the Climax (6th century) who is the writer of the book called The Ladder (climax) of Paradise. This book contains 30 chapters, with each chapter as a step leading up to a faithful and pious life as the climax of a Christian life. The spirit of repentance and devotion to Christ dominates the essence of this book, along with the monastic virtues and vices. He was an ascetic and writer on the spiritual life as a monk-abbot of Sinai Monastery. These steps of the ladder as set forth by St. John are to be practiced by the Christian especially during this period of the Great Lent. Each step leading to the top step of the ladder, is the climactic essence of the true meaning of a Christian life.
A Spiritual Springtime for American Orthodoxy: Reflections on the last 40 Years by
– Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, Orthodox Monastery of the Transfiguration, Ellwood City, Pennsylvania September 27, 2008
Publications & Resources When I entered the seminary fifty-one years ago one could count all the books about Orthodoxy in English on one’s fingers. Forty years ago there were a bit more educational resources. Today there are more publishers and publications, books, journals, educational materials and audio and video recordings in English than can possibly be counted, let alone carefully read and listened to. The quality and content of these publications, of course, varies greatly – as do that of the music and icons and architecture already noted, but products of highest quality are available to inform, instruct and inspire their users in the truth, goodness, beauty and power of God.
In recent years we also have radio and television programs in many parts of North America with serious and relevant content and quality. We think of Ancient Faith Radio and Come Receive the Light and Orthodoxy Now, and other such programs and projects.
Theological & Spiritual Education Theological education in North American has never been better organized, presented and accomplished, with more and better qualified teachers and students, than it is today. And there has never been more effective cooperation among those engaged in this crucial work. Competition and mutual criticism still exist, as is to be expected. This is not surprising, and is even quite beneficial when done with love and respect.
The competence and cooperation among the greatly increasing number of Orthodox scholars in North American theological schools and institutes, and, more and more, in colleges and universities, has never been greater and richer. The Orthodox Theological Society in America, now more than thirty years old, is a splendid witness to this wonderful achievement, as are other gatherings of scholars in various areas and disciplines.
It may also be noted that among the most marvelous facts of the last seventy years of American Orthodox history (the one dearest to my heart) is that no major disagreement or animosity ever occurred during this whole time between the faculties of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA and St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, in Crestwood, NY, our first graduate theological schools in America. And today harmony and good will exists among all of our Orthodox theological seminaries in the US and Canada, without exception.
Virtually every Orthodox church in North America today has some sort of educational program to instruct people of all ages in the Orthodox Faith, and not simply to introduce them to a language and cultural heritage of an old world country. Plentiful and dependable materials and resources exist for these programs produced by the Orthodox Christian Education Commission and the various jurisdictional and diocesan educational departments, as well as our Orthodox theological schools and publishing houses. This work was just beginning forty years ago.
In addition to parochial and diocesan educational programs, a number of full-time Orthodox schools (such as our Three Hierarchs Eastern Orthodox School in Pittsburgh) have been established. This work, once again, is largely being done by small groups of extraordinarily courageous and gifted people in a fully cooperative “inter-Orthodox” way. Forty years ago no such schools existed.
Until just a few years ago there were virtually no supra-parochial or supra-diocesan activities for American Orthodox high school students that were not of a solely social, cultural or athletic character. Now there are such programs, almost all of an inter-Orthodox nature, whose purpose is to deal directly with the spiritual lives of teen-agers in order to assist them in seeing themselves, their studies, their vocations and their relationships in the light of Christ and the Gospel. Foremost among such activities is the CrossRoad program located at Hellenic College/Holy Cross in Brookline, MA in which qualified Orthodox students from all over the country, from all Orthodox “jurisdictions,” are brought together for strictly spiritual reasons (though they also have a very good social time while they’re at it) under the leadership of well trained and carefully selected teachers and counselors. Other programs on more modest (and less well-organized and well-funded) levels also exist for this purpose at our seminaries, and at places like Project Mexico. There are sure to be more of them as time goes by.
The greatly increased number of church camps and summer programs for children and young people, first among which is the oldest, largest and best organized camp at Antiochian Village in Ligonier, PA must also be noted. Leaders of these camps, most of which are operated in the highest professional manner, regularly meet to share their knowledge and experience. The fruits of these camping efforts are already visible in the relatively large number of church leaders that they have already produced.
Mentioning Antiochian Village, one must also mention the rather large number of retreat houses and conference centers that now exist in virtually all of the Orthodox “jurisdictions” in North America. Forty years ago there were almost none.
The wonderful work of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) must also be noted at this point. The OCF exists to serve Orthodox students and young adults in all aspects of their spiritual lives. The Fellowship was extremely strong and influential on American campuses forty years ago under the leadership of Jim Couchell, later Bishop Dimitrios of Xanthas (now retired) who as a priest edited the Orthodox Observer newspaper and directed the Orthodox Christian Mission Center. The OCF movement all but disappeared in the 1980’s and 90’s when huge numbers of my generation’s college age children were lost to the Church. It has now reemerged, renewed and reorganized, to do marvelous work among the Orthodox young people of my grandchildren’s generation.
Holy Bread Baking Available: Have you wanted to offer the Holy Bread, but don’t know how to bake it, or don’t have the time to bake it? Mickey Mokhiber is offering a great service. He is willing to bake 7 loaves of holy bread and deliver it to church for you. See him for price.
Coffee Hour Refreshments available for people who want to be a sponsor: See Mickey Mokhiber. He’s willing to bake sweet rolls, plain bagels (includes butter and jelly), donuts, seasoned breads (8 pieces per loaf – choice of anise, sesame, and zahtra. Also available is a Lebanese breakfast (see him for price) Prices include delivery to church and set up for Coffee Hour. Now how easy is that?
Pastries are available: Mickey Mokhiber is selling pastries. He has a flyer on the bulletin board in the social hall. Among the choices are bird’s nests, baklawa, and others. See him for price. A donation is made to the church for each order.
Stephanie’s Angels: Race for a cure team: The Antiochian Women will be forming a team, Stephanie’s Angels in memory of Stephanie Petrakis, to participate in the Race for a Cure on June 5-6 at the Grand Island High School Track. They are trying to raise at least $2500 for the American Cancer Society. Please help them out by donating, joining the team, or attending the event. See Lisa Dudley for more information.
Help! Help! Help! We are sponsoring two important events this summer which are important presentations to the community as well as important fund raisers for t he parish. We don’t want to get caught flatfooted, so we need the help of everyone. People are needed to help with the planning of the Parish Life Conference and the Med Fest. If you have not been approached yet, do not wait on getting an invitation. Step up and help your parish represent itself well in both the Orthodox community and the local community. See Ricco Slaiman or Fr. Paul to point you in the direction of the chairpeople of these two events.
Head covering: It is always appropriate for a woman to wear a head covering in church, especially if receiving Holy Communion.
A PRAYER FOR LENT:
The Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian is traditionally said many times through out each day during Great Lent, in addition to our daily prayers.
O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, faintheartedness, lust of power, and idle talk. (+) But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to your servant. (+) Yes, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sin and not to judge my brother, for You are blessed from all ages to all ages. Amen. (+) (The “(‘+)“ indicates that those praying make a deep bow or prostration at this point.)
Prayer undergirds Lent from beginning to end. That’s why there are so many services. They provide us with the strength to make it through the Lenten journey, just as it’s prayer that will get us through life. It is prayer that places all things before God, and prayer that transforms us and our world.
Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian – For Children: While there is no official version of this Lenten Prayer for children, we would like to offer this version so that your children can learn and understand the ideas of this prayer.
O Lord, help me not to want to have my own way all of the time (Prostration)
Help me to love others. (Prostration)
Keep me from being jealous, and help me to know when I am wrong. (Prostration)
Confession and Communion: Orthodox Christians should avail themselves of these mysteries (sacraments) during the Lenten season. If you haven’t already prepared yourself with fasting, prayer, and examination of conscience, please do so. Don’t wait for the last minute to strengthen your Lenten journey with repentance, confession, and communion. Confession is available after any of the Lenten services.
Specific Preparation before receiving Holy Communion
Our preparation must include sincerely praying the ‘Orthodox Prayers before Holy Communion’. These prayers can be found in various Orthodox Prayer Books. The are also found in the Red Service book in the pew on page 204. The prayers can also be found in the White Divine Liturgy book on page 115.
Of course, the general preparation for receiving Holy Communion should include practicing the regular spiritual disciplines of the Christian life itself which also includes a sincere participation in the Mystery (Sacrament) of Confession (Repentance/Penance) at least once a year.
Parents are to model spiritual preparation for Holy Communion and then instruct their children to practice an age-appropriate behavior.
Thoughts from the church fathers:
"Faith and hope are not merely casual or theoretical matters. Faith requires a steadfast soul, while hope needs a firm will and an honest heart." -- St. Theognostos
"Humility is as it were a treasure that cannot be stolen, which is formed in the mind that bears a conviction that only by the power of grace received from Christ are there any good qualities to be shown in oneself - that is, truth, meekness, and righteousness." -- St. Simeon the New Theologian
"For our neighbors' sake, don't refuse to do any of the tasks that seem lowly and troublesome. Although we have to do the service for someone small and shabby, although the work is hard and we must pass over mountains and valleys, endure everything for your neighbor's salvation. For a soul is so important to God that 'He spared not His own Son'" -- St. John Chrysostom
"Of course it would be easier to get to paradise with a full stomach, all snuggled up in a soft feather-bed, but what is required is to carry one's cross along the way, for the Kingdom of God is not attained by enduring one or two troubles, but many!" -- Elder Anthony of Optina
Abba John said, "If a king wishes to subdue a city belonging to enemies, he first of all keeps the enemy without bread and water, and the enemy being in this way harassed by hunger becomes subject to him; and this it is in respect to hostile passions (which serve pride), and if a man endures fasting and hunger regularly, his enemies become stricken with weakness in the soul." -- The Paradise of the Father, On Fasting and Abstinence
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
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