“THE PROTOMARTYR” WEEKLY BULLETIN OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF ST. STEPHEN away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ SERVICES & EVENTS THIS WEEK Oct. 19, 2014 – 19th Sunday after Pentecost – Tone 2 Holy Prophet Joel 2 Corinthians 11:31-12:9 (Epistle) The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me; but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands. It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago – whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows – such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows – how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities. For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me. And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Luke 8:5-15 (Gospel) A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold. When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?” And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall Oct. 18, Saturday Slavonic Divine Liturgy Great Vespers 10:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Oct. 19, Sunday Hours Divine Liturgy Church School follows 9:10 a.m. 9:30 a.m. Oct. 23, Thursday Seniors at Willow Tree Café 11:00 a.m. Feeding Homeless at St George 5:00 p.m. Oct. 24, Friday Oct. 25, Saturday Movie Night Great Vespers 4:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. Oct. 26, Sunday Hours Divine Liturgy Church School follows 9:10 a.m. 9:30 a.m. to all our visitors and guests who have participated in our celebration of the Divine Liturgy this morning! While Holy Communion may only be received by prepared Orthodox Christians, our non-Orthodox guests are welcome to join us in venerating the Cross and receiving blessed bread at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy. We invite all of our guests to join us for our Fellowship Hour and to visit our Bookstore. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ REMINDERS & ANNOUNCEMENTS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Last week’s financials unavailable. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Senior Group is planning a luncheon on Oct. 23, 2014. Plans are to go to Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Café for “October Fest”. The menu has an assortment of sausages, appetizers, sandwiches, salads, desserts, not to mention the many selections of beer. We plan to meet there at 11am. Please RSVP by Monday, the 20th so I can make reservations. You can email me at [email protected] or call 407-831-1512 and leave a message. Directions to Willow Tree going North on 17-92 turn right on First Street, go through one traffic signal, restaurant on right just past the stop sign. Hollerbach’s Willow Tree Café, 205 East First Street, Sanford, FL 32771 Phone 407-878-4942 If you are coming from I-4, get off at SR 46 exit and go East. Continue straight at 17-92, go through One traffic signal, Restaurant on right, after stop sign. Parking lot at the corner of Palmetto and First Street. (Palmetto is first street past Restaurant) You may also go on their website to check menu, www.willowtreecafe.com Anyone is welcome to join us, it should be a fun lunch. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Movie Night as St. Stephen’s: We will meet on Saturday October 25th at the church at 4pm, take a break for Vespers at 5 and be done by 8pm. We are grateful for all the support, love, and prayers from our brothers and sisters at St. Stephen’s over the years, and thank you for your continued support. With love in Christ, Monk James ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Ephraim Project's monthly pan-Orthodox feeding of the homeless will take place on Friday, Oct. 24, at St. George Orthodox Church. The meal is being prepared at First Alliance, but we are needed to help serve the food. The meal is served at 5:30 p.m., but please plan to come earlier to help set up. Please see Anne van den Berg if you would like to help. Anyone is also welcome to serve other Friday's at 5 pm. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ephraim Project needs toiletries to distribute to the homeless. We are also collecting underwear for men and women as well as men's work socks. There is a container for donations in the narthex. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PRAYER REQUESTS Please keep Sue Mamula in your prayers. She will be having surgery on Oct. 22nd for a hysterectomy with her ovaries removed. She has some cysts on her ovaries requiring surgery and analysis. Please pray that the cysts are benign requiring no further treatment, and that she recovers well from her surgery. Sue and Mark were active members of St. Stephen's for seven years prior to their job relocation. Sue and Mark were choir members, Sue worked with the ladies group on the church cookbook, and Mark was our parish council warden. Thank you for your prayers for Sue. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PRAYERS FOR THE HEALTH & SALVATION OF THOSE IN NEED ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NEWS FROM SS. COSMAS AND DAMIAN COMMUNITY: It’s that time of year again! The monks are launching our annual fund raiser to benefit St Francis House, our outreach to homeless men with HIV/AIDS. The delicious Terry Lynn nuts, candies, and goodies (often heart healthy) are available two ways: some as cash and carry and the rest as advance orders. Both Marilyn and Mary Kay have catalogs for you to browse and will be happy to take orders. Ar.Bp. Nikon, Pr. Alexander Jasiukowicz, Monk James, Stacy (Tonjes), George Russell, Jennifer Oliver, Mardi (Santos), Lila (Concelman), Ludmilla (Lubov), Deonisy (Lubov), Fydor (Murphy), Stoyanka Russell, infant Nadia Reese, Leona Vaughn, Mary Jean Zarick, Gwendolyn Hansen, Lavinia Welch, Martha Serpa, Jason (Reudelhuber), David Higginbotham, Anatoly Yatjenko, Dee Elser, Betty Kemp, Katya Belaya. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PRAYERS FOR THE NEWLY DEPARTED: MEMORY ETERNAL! Maureen Hickman, Ronald Williams, Joy Atkinson, Silas Hays. Please let Father know if there is anyone you would like to have prayed for and added to these lists. Please use these lists in your daily prayers to remember those in need, and the faithful departed. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ BIRTHDAYS OCT. 19 – OCT. 25 20th 20th 20th James Cowgill Alexander Meinhardt Vladimir Solonari 22nd 22nd 22nd 22nd 25th 25th Erin Concelman MaryKay Chester Julie Dimas Angela Poupart Mary Jane Allegro Dr. Dimitry Palceski 24th Ronnie & Alison Marsh ANNIVERSARIES OCT. 19 – OCT. 25 MAY GOD GRANT THEM MANY YEARS! _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Holy Prophet Joel - Celebrated Oct. 19 Joel is second in the line of the minor prophets. St. Joel was the son of Phanuel, from the tribe of Reuben. He lived eight hundred years before Christ. Joel prophesied the misfortunes of the people of Israel, and the Babylonian Captivity because of the sins they had committed in the sight of God. He called the people to fasting and the priests to tearful penitential prayer, that God would have mercy on them: Sanctify ye a fast … and cry unto the Lord (Joel 1:14); Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar (Joel 2:17). Joel also foretold the Descent of the Spirit of God upon the apostles and the pouring out of the grace of the Spirit of God upon all Christians: Then afterward I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh (Joel 2:28). He prophesied and described the Dread Judgment of God, and also prophesied the glory of God's Holy Church. The Prologue from Ohrid © Serbian Orthodox Church Diocese of Western America _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Holy Great Great--martyr Artemius - Celebrated Oct. 20 This glorious saint was an Egyptian by birth and the chief commander under Emperor Constantine the Great. When the victorious Cross, surrounded by stars, appeared to Emperor Constantine, Artemius also saw that Cross, believed in the Lord Christ and was baptized. Later, during the reign of Emperor Constantius, this emperor sent him to Greece to remove the relics of St. Andrew from Patras and St. Luke from Thebes, and to take them to Constantinople. Commander Artemius carried this out with joy. After that, Artemius was appointed as augustalis and imperial prefect in Egypt. He remained in this position during the reign of Constantius, and for a period of time under Emperor Julian the Apostate. When the apostate emperor went to war against the Persians, he came through Antioch and commanded Artemius to come to Antioch with his army. Artemius came. Then the emperor subjected two Christian priests, Eugenius and Macarius, to torture. Seeing this, Artemius became greatly disturbed and, facing the emperor, said: ``Why, O Emperor, why do you inhumanly torture these innocent and dedicated men of God, and why do you force them to renounce the Orthodox Faith?'' Artemius continued, prophesying: ``Your death is near.'' The enraged emperor sent those two honorable priests into exile to Arabia, where they died shortly thereafter. He then stripped Commander Artemius of his military rank and ordered him to be flogged and torn asunder. Thoroughly wounded and bloodied, Artemius was thrown into prison, where the Lord Jesus Christ Himself appeared to him, and healed and comforted him. Then the emperor commanded that he be spread out on a stone, and that another heavy stone be placed upon him, so that his body would be smashed flat as a board. Finally, St. Artemius was beheaded. It was the year 362. Emperor Julian went out against the Persians and perished dishonorably, as St. Artemius had foretold. The Prologue from Ohrid © Serbian Orthodox Church Diocese of Western America _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Holy Apostle James, Brother of the Lord – Celebrated Oct. 23 James is called the Lord's brother because he was the son of the righteous Joseph, the betrothed of the Most-holy Theotokos. When the righteous Joseph was near death, he divided his estate among his sons, and wanted to leave a portion to the Lord Jesus, the son of the Most-holy Virgin, but all the other brothers opposed this, not regarding Jesus as their brother. James greatly loved Jesus and declared that he would include Jesus in his share. That is why he is called the Lord's brother. From the beginning, James was devoted to the Lord Jesus. According to tradition, he traveled to Egypt with the Most-holy Virgin and Joseph, when Herod sought to slay the newborn King. Later, as soon as he heard Christ's teaching, James lived by it. It is said of him that he never ate fat or oil, but lived on just bread and water, and was a virgin to the end of his life on earth. He often kept vigil at night and prayed to God. The Lord numbered him among His Seventy Apostles. Following His glorious Resurrection, the Lord appeared to him especially, as the Apostle Paul testifies (I Corinthians 15:7). He was Bishop of Jerusalem for thirty years and zealously governed the Church of God. At the instruction of the Lord, James compiled the first Liturgy, which seemed very long for later Christians, and St. Basil and St. John Chrysostom shortened it. He converted many Jews and Greeks to the Christian Faith, and even the unbelieving Jews were amazed at his righteousness, referring to him as ``James the Just.'' When Ananias became High Priest, he and other Jewish elders determined to kill James for being a preacher of Christ. Once, during the feast of Passover, when many people had gathered in Jerusalem, the elders forced James to climb onto the roof of the Temple, and tried to make him speak against Christ. He climbed up and spoke to the people of Christ as the Son of God and the true Messiah, of His Resurrection and His eternal glory in the heavens. The infuriated priests and elders pushed him off the roof; he fell and was severely injured, but was still alive. Then, one man ran up and struck him on the head with a fuller's club with such force that his brains spilled out. Thus, this most glorious apostle of Christ died a martyr's death, and went to live eternally in the Kingdom of his Lord. James was sixty-six years old when he suffered for Christ. The Prologue from Ohrid © Serbian Orthodox Church Diocese of Western America _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Give Me a Word: Book Review In a New York Times opinion piece earlier this year, Arthur C. Brooks wrote about what constitutes true happiness. He concluded that our society does us a disservice by encouraging us to seek luxury and wealth, to look for physical pleasure with numerous partners, and to strive for fame or even the fleeting celebrity of a reality show. These things, he stated, do not bring happiness. Brooks offered a simple formula for happiness: rather than love things and use people, we can love people and use things. Among his closing words are these: "Of course you are driven to seek admiration, splendor and physical license...Declaring war on these destructive impulses is not about asceticism or Puritanism. It is about being a prudent person who seeks to avoid unnecessary suffering." Abba Poemen "There is no greater love to be found than for somebody to lay down his life for his neighbor" (Jn 13:15) Abba Poemen taught that "if someone is being browbeaten and bears it without paying [his adversary] back, such a person is laying down his life for his neighbor." Desert ascetics could overdo it. Abba Sisoes, attempting to conquer the need for sleep, suspended himself from the precipice of Petra. An angel promptly detached him and forebade him to do or suggest to anyone else ever to do such a thing. Over-zealousness is a dangerous temptation. A glossary, good notes, and a wealth of stories make this book rewarding for any reader This weekly bulletin insert complements the curriculum published by the Department of Christian Education of the Orthodox Church in America. This and many other Christian Education resources are available at http://dce.oca. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The phrase "declaring war on these destructive impulses" will strike a chord with anyone who has read sayings of the desert fathers and mothers— people who set out deliberately to fight that very war head on. Brooks' statement that the war is "not about asceticism" reminds us that the desert dwellers, who were indeed ascetics, are not the only ones called to the war—it is for all human beings to engage in. "Give Me a Word: The Alphabetical Sayings of the Desert Fathers" (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2014) is a collection of sayings (in alphabetical order according to the Greek alphabet) from desert-dwelling fathers and mothers. It offers the reader "some impression of the amazing life and sound teachings of those pioneers who abandoned 'the world' to live with Christ in the wilderness..." as the translator John Wortley writes in his helpful introduction. The sayings offer many insights. One story gives a helpful way of thinking about a well-known passage, "There is no greater love to be found than for somebody to lay down his life for his neighbor" (Jn 13:15) Abba Poemen taught that "if someone is being browbeaten and bears it without paying [his adversary] back, such a person is laying down his life for his neighbor." We may not all get the chance to "lay down our lives" literally for another person, but the forebearance described by Poemen is something we can practice. Sometimes desert dwellers didn't know their own power. Amma Sarah, while out walking, leaped over a stream. A passing stranger laughed at this, and she, not knowing God's grace had come upon her, said, "Be quiet, you are going to burst." When she turned, she saw the stranger's intestines spilling out. She fearfully prayed, "My Jesus, bring him back to life and I will never say such a thing again." We really do need to be careful about asking God for things. Please contact Fr. Daniel Hickman for all pastoral issues, hospital visits, emergencies, etc. Please keep him abreast of any issues that come up. GENERAL INFORMATION Orthodox Church of St. Stephen the Protomartyr Orthodox Church in America, Diocese of the South 1895 Lake Emma Road, Longwood, FL 32750 Phone: 407-260-6003 Website: www.ststephenoca.com Mail Address: Orthodox Church of St Stephen P.O. Box 950209 Lake Mary, FL 32795 Priest: Fr. Daniel Hickman Cell Number 407-388-4241 Email: [email protected] Deacon: Fr. Protodeacon Michael Malanowski Home Number 386-626-9232 Cell Number 386-848-5301 Email: [email protected]
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