Nativity Sunday

Scripture Lesson for this week                                             Nativity – Tone 3

Epistle: Gal 4:4-7                                                           Gospel: Matt 2:1-12

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

• No Coffee Hour: There will be no Coffee Hour today after Liturgy.
• New Years Services: There will be no special new year service, only our normal Sunday Divine Liturgy at 10am.
• Weekly Envelopes: You may pick up your new Church envelopes today. Please see the printed list that has your name with a number next to it. That number next to your name is the number on the box that holds your envelopes. 
• Church Calenders: Please feel free to take home a Church calendar for the new year!

 

Thoughts on the Nativity from the Church Fathers

If the Word has been made man, it is so that men may be made gods. —St. Irenaeus

The Christmas tree reminds us of the tree of knowledge as well as the tree of life, but especially the latter. It underlines clearly the truth that Christ is the tree of life and that we cannot live or fulfill the purpose of our existence unless we taste of this tree, "the producer of this life." —Met. Hierotheos Vlachos

O Lord, give us leave this day to celebrate Your true birthday, of which our annual festival puts us in mind. This day is like Yourself: it is the friend of man. Year by year it returns throughout the centuries, growing old with the aged, renewing itself with the newborn child. Year by year it comes to us, passes, and then returns, full of the old magic. —St. Ephrem the Syrian

The Ancient of Days is become a Child, to make us children of God. From glory in the Heavens, because of His love for mankind, He now lies in a manger. He has taken on my body, so that I am made capable to have within myself His Spirit. He has taken unto Himself my nature, being garbed in my body, and gives me His Spirit, so that I, giving and in turn receiving, might discover the treasure of life. —St. Gregory, Wonderworker of Neo-Ceasarea

He who is God by nature converses with those whom he has made gods by grace, as a friend converses with his friends, face to face. —St. Symeon the New Theologian

The child in that distant Bethlehem cave has no desire that we fear him; he enters our hearts not by frightening us, by proving his power and authority, but by love alone. He is given to us as a child, and only as children can we in turn love him and give ourselves to him. The world is ruled by authority and power, by fear and domination. The child God liberates us from that. All he desires from us is our love, freely given and joyful; all he desires is that we give him our heart. And we give it to a defenseless, endlessly trusting child. —Fr. Alexander Schmemann

On this great day now celebrated, of shattered chains, of Satan shamed, of all demons put to flight, the all-destroying death is replaced by life, paradise is opened to the thief, curses be transformed into blessings, all sins forgiven and evil banished, truth is come, and they have proclaimed tidings filled with reverence and love for God, traits pure and immaculate are implanted, virtue is exalted upon the earth, angels have greeted people, and people make bold to converse with angels. From where and why has all this happened? From this, that God has descended into the world and exalted mankind unto Heaven. —St. Gregory Thaumatourgos

SUNDAY, December 1^st, 2011

Popadia Toni: Health of Martha and for a speedy recovery after a fall.

Health of family and parishioners. Memory of Nancy Boville's mother – 40

days.

Mary Perch: Christmas Donation

Donna Kimevski: Health of family for Christmas.

Carol & George Karakis: Health of Olga Perch, Martha and a speedy recovery,

Matushka Kobbs. Memory of Nancy Boville's mom & son & our family who

passed.

Alex & Raisa Minev: Memory of Rosa Karataeva.

Nicholas Kostoff: Health of parents Chris & Sophia Kostoff.

 

 

 

 

Sunday before the Nativity

Scripture Lesson for this week                      Sunday before Nativity – Tone 2

Epistle: Heb 11:9-10,17-23                                            Gospel: Matt 1:1-25

 Scripture Lesson for next week                         Nativity of Christ– Tone 3

Epistle: Gal 4:4-7                                                  Gospel: Matt 2:1-12

 ANNOUNCEMENTS:

·        Nativity Services:

o   Christmas Eve: Saturday, December 24^th Vespers, 5pm

o   Christmas Day: Sunday, December 25^th Divine Liturgy, 10am

• Poinsettias: If you would like to order poinsettias in health of memory of a loved one, you may do so through the Candle Table. Thanks!
• Prayers: Please keep in your prayers Martha Spanovich, who is recovering from a fall, Steve Dailey, Ann Fry's nephew-in-law who just has his leg amputated after an accident. Also, please keep in your prayers Joeseph Seif, who is a very close friend to Sub-Deacon Dan. He has a brain bleed and has suffered through a few strokes. He is currently in ICU. As always, please keep Sub-Deacon John Dodovich's brother, Philip, Diana Clance's father, Bernard, and Nadejda Hunter in your prayers.

MOTHER OF GOD AND EVER-VIRGIN MARY
"The child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit"

The veneration of the Virgin Mary as Mother of God is firmly rooted in the doctrine of the Incarnation – that is, the human birth of the eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ - which is the central message of Christmas. In the very word 'Theotokos' is revealed the mystery of the Incarnation. The Virgin Mary gave birth to God in the flesh (Jesus Christ), one person with two natures – human and divine. We venerate the Mother of God always in the light of her role in the Incarnation. We do not venerate her simply on account of her own virtue, but in virtue of the fact that Christ entered the world through her. This is why most icons of the Mother of God show her with Christ in her arms. The veneration of the Mother of God is something that some non-Orthodox Christians are not comfortable with. Does not all this veneration of the Virgin Mary overshadow Jesus Christ? This is almost the knee-jerk reaction of such people when looking upon the significant position of the Virgin Mary in Orthodox worship. But is it not odd that the idea of revering the Mother of God can seem strange, while the idea of worshipping someone who has a mother does not strike us as equally strange? The simple fact of the matter is this: there would be no Jesus without Mary. To venerate the Virgin Mary is to revere Christ becoming a man for our salvation, to fall down in awe before the great mystery of the Incarnation. He Whom heaven itself, even the highest heaven, could not contain is contained in the womb of a young woman! The Ancient of Days becomes a newborn child! He Who existed before the world began is born of a virgin! How can we worship God without revering His coming to earth and revealing Himself to us as flesh and blood? But how can we remember this without remembering the woman from whom He took flesh? And how can we remember her without wonder and adoration? This is why we have such a profound reverence for the Mother of God. For in this very word, 'Theotokos', is contained the whole mystery of the Incarnation and the salvation of the human race! The Mother of God is hailed also as Ever-virgin (aeiparthenos). The Church Fathers and hymns refer repeatedly to this paradox: virginity and motherhood are in nature mutually exclusive, but in the Mother of God the two opposites meet and are joined together. Christ was born not of man but of the Holy Spirit, and Orthodox Tradition holds that the Mother of God remained a virgin after the Birth of Christ as well as before. Some Christians contest this, quoting as their argument a passage in the Gospel of Matthew (13:54-56): "When Jesus had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" Orthodox Tradition understands these brothers and sisters as 'siblings' from a former wife of Joseph, and not from Mary. Furthermore, "The terminology of Israel… made no distinction between brothers and cousins but referred to all as "brothers". "Mary had become the mother of all mankind through giving birth to God. She belonged completely and utterly to Him: "Becoming the vessel for the Lord of Glory Himself, and carrying in the flesh Him whom heaven and earth cannot contain, surely would have been grounds to consider her life, including her body, as fully consecrated to God and sexual relations as unthinkable. Even in the comparatively minor (and strikingly parallel) incident of the Lord's entry through the East gate of the Temple in Ezekiel 43-44, prompts the call: "This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut" (44:2)". Whenever we revere the Mother of God, we remember Christ; we venerate His divine humility and condescension: "Today the Virgin gives birth to him who is above all being, and the earth offers the cave to him whom no one can approach; Angels with shepherds give glory, while Magi travel with a star; for to us there has been born a little Child, God before the ages".

Sunday, December 11

Scripture Lesson for this week               Sunday of the Forefathers  – Tone 1

Epistle: Col 3:4-11                                                   Gospel: Luke 14:16-24

 

Scripture Lesson for next week                  Sunday Before Nativity– Tone 2

Epistle: Heb 11:9-10,17-23                                    Gospel: Matt 1:1-25

 

BIRTHDAYS: Larry Boville (13), Jonathan Halchak (13), Aaron Kimson (16)

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

• Memorial/Coffee Hour: Nance Boville is having a Memorial and sponsoring Coffee Hour today for her mother, Esther, on the 40 days of her Falling Asleep in the Lord. Alex Mivev is also having a Memorial for the one year anniversary of Raisa's sister, Rose.  Memory Eternal!
• Prayers: Please keep in your prayers Martha Spanovich, who took a nasty fall last Sunday while leaving church. Her family took her to the City Hospital and found out she fractured a couple of bones in her hand, mashed her nose and cut her lips. Fortunately, there were no signs of a concussion. She is home and recovering! Cards are welcomed! Please pray for the health of Steve Dailey, Ann Fry's nephew-in-law who just has his leg amputated after an accident. Also, please keep in your prayers Joeseph Seif, who is a very close friend to Sub-Deacon Dan. He has a brain bleed and has suffered through a few strokes. He is currently in ICU. As always, please keep Sub-Deacon John Dodovich's brother, Philip, Diana Clance's father, Bernard, and Nadejda Hunter in your prayers.

 

Sunday of the Holy Forefathers

"On this Sunday the Church commemorates the Holy Forefathers. What connection is there between them and us? In general, the Church brings them to our attention now, right before Christmas, largely because of their faith – their belief in the promise given by God to Adam during his expulsion from the garden of Eden; that in the end a Saviour will come into the world and will redeem mankind from original sin. All the forefathers – who lived on earth long before the birth of Christ – lived and burned with this faith, never allowing it to be extinguished. They are a shining example to us, who are living on earth after the incarnation of our Lord. Just like those ancient people we, too, have never actually seen Christ: they only knew that He would come into the world, while we know that He did come into the world. But they firmly believed in His coming and their faith was justified. We are expected to have even greater faith. We must believe that the Lord was, and is, and will be; that He lived on earth as a man; that through His Church He remains with us constantly; and that He will again return to earth to judge mankind. But for such a faith the Lord Himself promises us eternal bliss. When Jesus Christ appeared before the doubting Apostle Thomas, who could not believe in the Lord's resurrection unless he actually touched Christ's wounds, and upon touching them cried out: "My Lord and my God!", then the Lord said to the apostle: "Because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed; but blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

 

But apart from faith there is something else that binds us closely with the ancient forefathers – and that is their faithfulness to the awaited Messiah. They lived surrounded by a pagan world – a world which did not yet know Christ, but which had already rejected God. We too, dear brethren, live in a similar and even worse situation. For nineteen centuries after the birth of Christ the world lived with Christ and the Christian culture, but in the 20th century an abrupt change took place. We now live in a post-Christian era, in a world that has once again become totally immersed in paganism.

 

We often hear mention of the arrival of a "new age." However, there is nothing new in this "new age" except for its more modern form. It is the same old rejection of God and even negation of God, and moreover – a complete rejection of Christ and profanation of Christ. Most Christians do not even see how they are perverting their Christian faith in trying to modernize it, and how they are betraying Christ in attempting to unite with the religions of His persecutors and abusers. And so, dear brethren, against the background of this horrifying world, let us remember not only the faith of the Holy Forefathers, but also their faithfulness to Christ the Saviour; and as we prepare very soon to celebrate His Nativity, let us turn away from the paganism that surrounds us, and let us witness our total devotion and loyalty to the One Who said: "Lo, I am with you until the end of time." Amen.

(www.holy-transfiguration.org)

Sunday, December 4th

Scripture Lesson for this week          25^th Sunday after Pentecost   – Tone 8  

Epistle: Gal 3:23-29                                                  Gospel: Mark 5:24-34

 

Scripture Lesson for next week                  Sunday of Forefathers– Tone 1

Epistle: Col 3:4-11                                                   Gospel: Luke 14:16-24

 

BIRTHDAYS: Elisabeth Kimson (8)

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

• Memorial/Coffee Hour: Ivan Ivanov is holding a Memorial Service and sponsoring Coffee Hour for his daughter, Michelle on the year anniversary of her Falling Asleep in the Lord. Also, Sandra Anderson passed away on Friday; Fr. Lou will be holding the memorial for her on Wednesday with a Mercy Meal to follow at St. Thomas. Please call St. George at 330.666.7116 for more details. Memory Eternal!
• Advent: Please fast according to you conscience; the fast will end December 25^th.  
• St. Luke's Advent Dinner: Today St. Luke's has invited us to their advent dinner from 5-7pm here at St. Thomas. They ask that families bring two side dishes & individuals bring one side dish.
• Prayers: Please pray for the health of Steve Dailey, Ann Fry's nephew-in-law who just has his leg amputated after an accident. Also, please keep in your prayers Joeseph Seif, who is a very close friend to Sub-Deacon Dan. He has a brain bleed and has suffered through a few strokes. He is currently in ICU. Alex & Jean Sombaty would like to thank their church family for their thoughts and prayers during their time of need. Yet another surgery has been completed on Wednesday Nov. 30 of which they won't know the results for another ten days. As always, please keep Sub-Deacon John Dodovich's brother, Philip and Diana Clance's father, Bernard in your prayers.

St. Nicholas Archbishop of Myra, December 6^th

More than 1,600 years ago, in the year 270 AD, St. Nicholas was born not far from Myra, in a land that is now part of the country of Turkey. In those days Orthodox Christians were persecuted for their faith. It wasn't easy to be a Christian. Many of them were tortured and executed because they believed in Christ.

Nicholas was taught by his parents to love the Lord with his whole mind, heart, soul, and with ail his strength. When they died he inherited their money. He used this to help the poor, the hungry, and the sick. Whenever he helped anyone he did it secretly, so that only God would know, He did not want praise from people; he wanted his reward to be only in Heaven.

After he gave away the money his parents had left him he decided to become a monk. He went to a monastery where he lived and worked and prayed, intending to spend the rest of his life repenting of his sins. But soon it became clear that God wanted him to be a priest, and so he began to study the Law of God.

St. Nicholas became the parish priest of a village church after his ordination. He worked very hard, instructing his flock and helping those in need. He also performed all the Divine Services and was a spiritual father to all.

One day the Archbishop of Myra died. The other bishops, as well as the priests and people of the town, gathered to choose a successor. They couldn't decide who should be their new archbishop. They kept a vigil and prayed all night long in the cathedral, begging God to guide them. God revealed to one of the bishops that the first priest to enter the church in the morning should be chosen as the new archbishop. At sunrise, a simple priest, Father Nicholas, came quietly into the cathedral to say his morning prayers. In this way, the Lord God revealed His choice for archbishop.

In the year 325 a great Council of the Orthodox Church was held in the city of Nicea. 317 bishops from all over the world came. At this Council part of the Creed we sing in every Divine Liturgy was written down and St. Nicholas had a wonderful opportunity to defend the teachings of the Church against Arius who denied that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh and was leading many people astray by his false teaching. 

St. Nicholas followed the words of our Lord, Lay up treasure for yourself in Heaven, by saying his prayers every day, by fasting, and by performing many good deeds. God was so pleased that He worked many miracles through him. Because he was able to calm storms on the sea he became known as the patron saint of sailors. Because he protected children (he even raised 3 children from the dead!), he is also a patron of young people. He was able to multiply food, just as our Saviour did with the fish and loaves, and in this way he once kept a whole city from starving. People began to call him a "wonderworker". They were so inspired by his life of service to others that many of them, too, began to lead holy lives, filled with good deeds.

After a long life, God called his slave home to heaven on December 6, 343. He was buried in his cathedral, but in the year 1087, his relics were taken to Italy to save them from the Turks who were persecuting Christians and destroying churches and holy objects, and they remain to this day in the city of Bari. The Orthodox Church celebrates this translation of his relics on May 9. St. Nicholas led a life so pleasing to God, that God glorified His saint even after his death. As a sign of God's grace, myrrh comes from the relics of St. Nicholas and many sick people anoint themselves with it and receive healing.