Bulletin 12-13-2009
St. John's Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
УКРАЇНСЬКА ПРАВОСЛАВНА ЦЕРКВА СВ. ІВАНА ХРЕСТИТЕЛЯ В С.Ш.А.
Diocesan Website: www.uocofusa.org Parish Webside: www.stjohnuoc.org
Eparchial Archpastor: Archbishop Antony (732) 356-0090 uocofusa@aol.com
Parish Priest: Fr. Zinoviy John Zharsky 797-1584 cell 245-9988. Parish council
president Alfred Gorick 775-0922. Vice Pr. Scott Shirk 775-4630 cell 343-5580
Welcome all visitors of St. John's. Please come again.
СЕРДЕЧНО ВІТАЄМО НАШИХ ГОСТЕЙ ЯКІ МОЛИЛИСЬ СЬОГОДНІ З НАМИ. БУДЕМО РАДІ БАЧИТИ ВАС У НАСТУПНУ НЕДІЛЮ. НЕХАЙ ВАС ОБЕРІГАЄ ГОСПОДЬ
Schedule of the Church Services
Sun. Dec. 13 - 8:30 - 9:00 am. Hours/Confession. 9:30 am. Divine Liturgy. Prayer for travelers. Coffee Hour. 11:15- 12:00 noon. Sunday School. Fast Day
Mon. Dec. 14 - 2 Tim. 2:20-26. Luke 19:37-44. Fast Day.
Tue. Dec. 15 - 2 Tim. 3:16-4:4. Luke 19:45-48. Fast Day.
Wed. Dec. 16 - 6:00 pm. Akathist to the Mother of God. 2 Tim. 4:9- 22. Luke 20:1-8. Fast Day.
Thu. Dec. 17 - Titus 1:5-2:1. Luke 20:9-18. Fast Day.
Fri. Dec. 18 - Titus 1:12-2:10. Luke 20:19-26. 6:00 pm. Festal Vespers.
Sat. Dec. 19 - 9: 30 am. Divine liturgy. St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. 4:30pm Great Vespers /Confession Heb. 13:17-23. Luke. 10:19-21. Fast Day.
Sun. Dec. 20 - 8:30-9:00 am. Hours/Confession. 9:30am Divine Liturgy. Prayer for travelers. Coffee Hour. Fast Day.
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Priest: Peace be with you all
Reader: And with your spirit.
Priest: Wisdom!
Reader: The Prokimen in tone 2. The Lord is my strength and my song. /
He has become my salvation.
Verse: The Lord has chastened me sorely, but He has not given me over unto death.
Priest: Wisdom! Reader: The reading from the letter of Apostle Paul to Ephesians.
Priest: Let us be attentive. Reader: Brothers, finally be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
Priest: Peace be with you reader. Reader: And with your spirit. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. Choir sing: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia! Reader: The Lord answer thee in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect thee!
Verse: Save the king, O Lord, and hear us on the day we call!
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Happy Birthday: Dec. 13 Nicholas Jr. Tarcha, 14 Natalie Matson, 15 Peter Charnetsky, 17 Irene Kanazawich, 18 Grace Hopkins.
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Thank you Robert and Diane Cibulsky for their donation of $500 toward the iconography fund, in memory of their parents Vera and John Cibulsky. Memory to them eternal!
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Thank you all for your donations last Sunday, towards our UOC mission parishes in the US. We collected $313.47
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Thank you everyone who worked and helped out in the kitchen in preparation for and during the dinners at our Memorial Center. Незрячий, але не сліпий паломник пішки вирушив до Єрусалима. Незрячий священик із Івано-Франківська отець Ігор Іванів пішки вирушив до Єрусалима. Паломницька дорога, що сягає трьох тисяч кілометрів, проляже через Бучач на Зарваницю, далі - Тернопіль, Чернівці, Молдова, Одеса, а далі через море аж до Єрусалима. Прибути туди паломники планують вже на Різдво Христове. Священик та його провідник – парафіянин церкви Святої Параскевії в місті Болехові Андрій Калюжний - вирушили у пішу прочанську дорогу до Єрусалима в свято Введення до храму Пречистої Діви Марії, 4 грудня. «Я незрячий, але не сліпий. Бог і кожен, кого зустріну у своїй паломницькій дорозі, є моїми очима, - сказав священик. - Будь-яка проща, то проща до Бога. І цю дорогу я вимірюю не кілометрами, а силою щирої молитви»
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ELDER PAISIOS ON SPIRITUAL STUDY What books should be read by those who are beginning their spiritual search? First, they should read the New Testament to learn the meaning of Christ, to be shaken up a little; later they can read the Old Testament. Do you know how hard it is when they have read nothing and yet they come to ask for help? It is like an elementary school child going to a university professor and saying, “Help me.” What can the professor tell him? “One plus one equals two”? Others, again, are not spiritually restless; they come and say, “Father, I have no problems and I am just fine; I only dropped by to see you.” Man can never say that he has no problems, no concerns; he will have something. The struggle for the spiritual life never ends. Or some people come and tell me, “Tell us spiritual things.” It is as if they went to the grocery store and said, “Give us some groceries.” The grocer is at a loss and needs to know what they need. They need to say, “I want so much sugar, so much rice, and so on, but they only say, ‘Give us groceries.’ “It is like going to the pharmacy and saying, “Give us medicines,” without first saying what their illness is, or whether or not they went to the doctor, and what he advised them to do. Go figure! You see, whoever is seriously concerned over his spiritual condition knows, more or less, what he is lacking, and once he seeks it, he benefits. As a novice, when I read something I liked, I wrote it down so as not to forget it, and I would try to apply it to my life. I didn’t readjust to pass my time pleasantly. I had a spiritual restlessness and, when I could not understand something, I would ask for an explanation. I read relatively little, but I checked myself a great deal on what I read. “What point am I at? What must I do?” I would sit myself down and go through such a self-examination. I did not allow what I read to pass me by untaxed. Today with so much reading people end up like tape recorders, filling up their cassettes with superfluous matters. Some worldly people read newspapers, others romantic literature or an adventure novel, still others watch a football game at the stadium and pass their time. The same thing is done by some people who read spiritual books. They may spend the whole night reading spiritual books with great intensity and be content. They take a spiritual book, sit comfortably, and begin reading. “Oh, I profited from that,” they say. It would be better to say, “I enjoyed myself, I spent my time pleasantly.” But this is not profit. We profit when we understand what we read, when we censure ourselves and discipline ourselves by applying it: “What does this mean? Where do I stand in relation to this spiritual truth? What must I do now?” After all, the more we learn, the more responsibility we have to live up to what we have learned. I am not saying that we should not read so that we can plead ignorance and therefore be free of responsibility, for this is a cunning deception; I am saying that we should not read merely to pass our time pleasantly. The bad thing is that if someone reads a lot and has a strong memory, he may remember many things and may even talk a lot about what he has read, and thus deceive himself into thinking that he also personally observes the many things he reads. So he has created an illusion toward himself and others. So don’t be comforted by the thought that you read a lot. Instead, turn your attention to applying what you have read. Much reading alone will only educate you encyclopaedic-ally. Isn’t that what they call it? The goal, however, is to be transformed in a God-centered manner. I am not aiming to be a university professor where I would need to know many things. But if I ever need something from this worldly knowledge, I can easily learn it once I have acquired the God-centered knowledge. Do you see what I mean? We do not need great knowledge to be devout. If we concentrate and meditate on the few things we know, our heart will be spiritually embroidered. One may be profoundly affected by a single hymn, while another may feel nothing, even though he may know all the hymns by heart, as he has not entered into the spiritual reality. So, read the Fathers, even one or two lines a day. They are very strengthening vitamins for the soul.
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Today we commemorate St. Andrew the First-Called Apostle: Andrew was a first a disciple of St. John the Baptist along with St. John the Theologian. When the Forerunner pointed out on Jesus as the Messiah, they both became His disciples. After Pentecost, Andrew taught in Byzantium (Constantinople) and Kyiv-Rus (Ukraine) from which Christianity spread over all of Rus. He converted the Jews in the temple, baptized them, healed their sick, built a church, and left a priest for them. In Sinope, he prayed for the imprisoned Apostle Matthias, and his chains fell from him and the cell door opened. The people beat Andrew, breaking his teeth, cutting his fingers, and left him for dead in a dung heap. Jesus appeared to him and healed him, telling him to be of good cheer. In Patras, Andrew healed the wife of the proconsul Aegeates of an incurable disease of the eyes. He healed a paralytic, lepers, and all manner of disease. Aegeates heard all of this and arrested Andrew. He tried to compel him through beatings to sacrifice to idols and so restore idolatry to his country. When Andrew refused, he was tied to a cross upside down so that he would live longer and suffer more. Twenty thousand of the faithful stood by and mourned. Even then, Andrew taught them and exhorted them to endure temporary sufferings for the kingdom of heaven. Suddenly, a heavenly light illumined Andrew for about half an hour. When it left, Andrew had given up his spirit. The prelate's wife prepared Andrew's body for burial, and a demon fell upon Aegeates and tormented him until hi died. Andrew's relics are in Constantinople (Istanbul) along with those of the Apostle Luke and Timothy, the disciple of Paul, in the Church of the Apostles.
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Volunteer List Sarah Jane Soup Kitchen. Sarah Jane Johnson Memorial Church, 308 Main St., JC. Enter through back door. 3rd Tuesday of the month, 5:00 - 6:30PM be on time. Casual clothes, hat or hair net to cover hair. December 15th - Steve and Lisa Ferrante and family. If you would like to be added to the list of volunteers please call Beth Harendza @ 321-3685
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Basketball Season. Our girls team will play today at 3:30 pm. Junior Varsity will play at 4:45 pm. Good luck to our Basketball teams.
Our Sr. and Jr. Ukrainian Orthodox League decorated church yesterday.
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If you would like to purchase a 2010 Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA calender please see Father.
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Dear parishioners and visitors of St. John's if you would like to commemorate in prayers someone living or deceased, please write their names on the commemoration list at the front of the church and give it to Father.
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Dear parishioners next Sunday, December 20th we will have a special collection in the church. With this collection we will show our support towards the Harendza family. They need our prayers and support, since Philip Harendza studies at the St. Sophia Seminary.
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Jail Ministry Christmas Project. Support our Jr. UOL as they collect new children's books which can be used as gift for inmates to read to their children while in jail over the Christmas season. We also need small puzzle books, candy canes and some gift wraps. Those who would like to make a donation for the Jail Ministry please see Jody Dimitriou.
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Future Events. Please mark your calendar. Wed. Dec. 16 - 6:00 -7:00 pm. Ukrainian Dance practice. Sun. Dec. 20 - Following Divine Liturgy St. Nicholas Play with breakfast.
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A wonderful way to help your relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ is to read each daily piece of The Prologue from Ohrid. www.stjohnuoc.org/po/
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Volunteer List Sarah Jane Soup Kitchen. Sarah Jane Johnson Memorial Church, 308 Main St., JC. Enter through back door. 3rd Tuesday of the month, 5:00 - 6:30PM be on time. Casual clothes, hat or hair net to cover hair. December 15th - Steve and Lisa Ferrante and family. If you would like to be added to the list of volunteers please call Beth Harendza @ 321-3685
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Dear parishioners all the members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA can receive the Ukrainian Orthodox Word magazine. If you don't receive one please see Father.
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Dear children at the front of the church near the icon of the Mother of God, you will find candles. These are gifts for all the children from kindergarden to high school. When you enter church please go up and take a candles, cross yourself, say a prayer (you will find prayers near the candles) venerate icon and light the candle near the icons. May God's light enlighten you!
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Dear parishioners, those who cannot attend the church services and would like to receive the Church bulletins by mail, please see Father. Дорогі парафіяни якщо Ви не можете бути присутні у церкві, і бажаєте отримувати церковний бюлетень поштою будь - ласка повідомте отця настоятеля.
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Internet based Orthodox and Ancient faith radio. Timeless Christianity 24 hours a day: music, teaching, interviews, features, convert, testimonies conference recording and more www.ancientfaithradion.com
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Dear children and parents, you are welcome to visit Maria's Memory game. A healthy place for kids to explore, create, play, learn, discover and grow in the Orthodox Faith. http://games.goarch.org
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Are you going on vacation, or traveling? To find a church near you, learn more about the true faith, visit Orthodoxy in America www.orthodoxyinamerica.org