ST. GEORGE ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH THE DECEMBER 2014 NEWSLETTER …and unto them a child was born…and he was called Jesus St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church 1073 Saunders Settlement Rd., Niagara Falls, NY 14305 Office: 716-297-2668 email: [email protected] Fax: 716-524-2261 Website: www.stgeorgenf.com Our new mailing address is: P.O. Box 1073, Grand Island, NY 14072 ~~~ THE PARISH COUNCIL ~~~ VERY REV. FR. PAUL R. SOLBERG, PASTOR OFFICERS Chairperson: Scott Slaiman; Vice Chairperson: Colline Doyle Recording Secretary: Kathy Fadel; Corresponding Secretary: Rose Kargatis; Financial Secretary: Dot Lombardi; Treasurer: Scott Slaiman OTHER MEMBERS Juris Arajs, Raymond Bailey, James Filosofos, Edward Haddad, James McPhall, Lorraine Pealer, Steve Sargent Supervising Hierarch: +JOSEPH Archbishop of New York, Metropolitan of All North America Auxillary Bishop: +ALEXANDER Bishop of Ottawa and Assistant to the Metropolitan Subdeacons: Thomas Slaiman, Paul (Regis) Woodward, Kevin (Elias) Kensinger Chanter: Samir Haddad - Lifetime Parish Council Member: Daniel Bishara PARISH ORGANIZATIONS Altar Servers Elias Kensinger 804-3010 Antiochian Women Lorraine Pealer 285-6449 Catechist & Educ. Coord. Gregory Derek Witty 585-245-1733 Choir Director Drew Burke Church School Margaret Ewing 282-6579 Jackie Fadel 282-8243 Church Store Ann Salhany 754-1657 Gayle Fadel 284-1771 Custodian Michael Slaiman 754-4417 Endowment John Moshides 741-4790 Flowers Joyce Haick 731-3328 Food Pantry FSJD 628-4730 Parish Council Scott Slaiman 417-6565 Photographer Ken Salhany 754-1657 St. Ignatius Sob Haick 731-3328 St. John the Divine Sexton Ushers Beth & Juris Arajs 628-4730 Tom Sharpe 352-5972 Ron Chambers 297-7241 The Newsletter is published by St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church each month of the year EDITOR Very Rev. Fr. Paul R. Solberg Business Advertising in the Newsletter is patronized by members and friends of our community. Advertising rates are available upon request. Contact the church office at 297-2668 or email [email protected] to submit your news. Deadline for the next issue is: January 25, 2015 How to submit articles, text, photos, and advertisements for the Newsletter: Limit articles, reports, and features to one page if possible. All articles should be submitted in electronic format as WORD, or text file. Graphic arts, digital photos and ads should be submitted in jpeg, WORD or pdf. Material submitted for publication maybe edited for brevity, space and errors. Materials received after the deadline will not be accepted for that issue. Coordinator: Denise Filosofos No Waiting on Register 8! On Black Friday there were long lines of people waiting to buy gifts. Just the other day, 4 people plus myself were waiting for 1 cashier at Walgreens to handle an issue with a confused customer. Earlier that day numerous cars were waiting for a multiple-car pile-up on the Grand Island bridge to clear … some even running out of gas. Soon our children will be waiting for the green light to open up their presents accumulating under our Christmas trees. Waiting is a fact of life. For many people, waiting seems to be only a time waster as our impatience grows by the minute. Looking down the road to Christmas when we’ll be gathering with family and friends to celebrate the birth of our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ, is a different kind of waiting. This type of waiting isn’t being simply passive. Rather, it’s a very active affair. Our waiting is a time for being and doing. It’s acknowledging that what really counts in life is Memory Eternal December 2 December 4 December 6 December 7 December 9 December 17 December 18 December 19 December 20 December 21 December 22 December 23 December 25 December 26 December 28 December 29 Edward Milkie Samir Abdo Charles A. Kinan Sheba N. Aswad Bessie Sargent Rachel Mokhiber Peter Menegato John Moshides Natalie Anne Zaleski Carl A. Bishara Irene Kargatis Miladie Nassif Fahada Aswad Christine Poulos Amelia Moranis Gus Demakis George Slaiman Bernard Galabinski Helen Christus Voula Vlahopoulos Alice E. Bishara Samuel Batrouny Mary Gebran Frank S. Bishara Viola Fadel Habib Yacou b 1993 2011 2003 1965 1975 1966 1993 1998 1985 2001 2008 2004 1971 2000 2008 1988 1959 1996 1989 2009 1994 2008 1961 1995 2010 2011 our walk of faith with the Lord … and also, doing what we can do, having the Lord working in us and through us. Advent is a time of reflective vigilance. It’s hearing the familiar words of St. John the Baptist telling us to repent, turning back to the Lord, seeking to have Him increase in our lives, and then, anticipating Jesus’ coming again to gather His own. Every year in December, we’re being distracted away from allowing His grace to move fully in our hearts … being bombarded with messages in quest of sidetracking us from seeing Advent as a season for making Christ and His Church our top priorities. So our vigilant, attentive waiting will be allowing the Lord’s grace to be coming to us and to be moving in our hearts, so that once again by His grace, He’ll be moving in us according to His will. Join the faithful believers in worshipping the Holy Trinity here at St. George, every Sunday, during this special time of year. Then we and our children will be tasting and seeing and experiencing the goodness of the Lord as His presence will be filling us with hope and joy and peace. After that on the 25th of this month, may we be gathering together, celebrating ever more beautifully Christ’s coming into the world to be one of us, to be among us and to freely offer us His love. Father Paul ~~ F.Y.I. ~~ Father Paul: cell phone: 983-1145 email: [email protected] Church Office: 297-2668; fax 716-524-2261 Church Email: [email protected] Website: www.stgeorgenf.com Bulletin: [email protected] Newsletter: [email protected] MOPS: [email protected] Our new mailing address is P.O.Box 1073, Grand Island NY 14072. Antiochian Women News The Antiochian Women will be having their Annual Christmas Party on Sunday, December 7th. The day will begin by going to the play, “A Meowy Christmas!” presented at the NACC on Pine Avenue. A few of St. George’s parishioners - Sam Fadel, Tom Slaiman and Tom’s granddaughter, Kate Cosen - will be among the cast members of the play. Following the play, which begins at 2:30pm, the group will travel down the road a bit, to The 755 Restaurant in the City Market, where there will be a delicious meal served to those who attend. Holiday songs will be sung and a great festive time will be had by all. See Kathy or Shelli Fadel for more information. The Ladies will continue their regular meetings in January with a whole new slate of things to do. They will be seeking ways to fundraise for the annual project for the archdiocese and for the club in general. Ideas are being had for the upcoming Annual Basket Auction in the Spring. Make sure you are a part of this great fundraiser. The Ladies also continue to bake bread for the various services in the church. See Lorraine Pealer if you would like to help out or want to learn how to bake bread. ALL women are members of the Antiochian Women’s club and are encouraged to attend all meetings and gatherings to show their support. There are no membership fees to join, just show up to a meeting and become part of the joy in serving God’s Good Will! From Your Family at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church May you have a Blessed Holiday Season Fillled with Love & Joy Sunday School Christmas Pageant St. George’s Sunday School will hold its annual Christma s Pa geant on Sunday, December 14th immediately following the Divine Liturgy. All the Sunday School children are encouraged to be a part of this great event. Parents, please make sure your children are available to participate. Our Sunday School children are a very busy group of young children doing amazing things. Please support their efforts! Don’t forget Fellowship the Divine is accepting its mitten that the of St. John still mittens for tree. They are also still accepting donations of gently used coats and boots. We will find a home for them, probably through the Magdalene Project or local schools. The Food Pantry is also accepting donations of PB&J, canned fruit, fruit juices, boxed dinner items and paper products like toilet paper, paper towels, also plastic zip lock bags of varying sizes. See Beth or Juris Arajs if you would like to help out! Patriarch from Syria Coming to Enthrone New Head of Antiochian Church in America The head of one of the oldest churches on earth will come to America to enthrone the new head of one of the largest Orthodox Christian Churches in North America. The Patriarch of Antioch, Patriarch John X, will come from Damascus, Syria, to enthrone Metropolitan Joseph as new head of the Antiochian Orthodox Church in North America. The enthronement will take place Sat. Dec. 6 at 4:30 p.m. at the Church’s St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brooklyn, NY. Metropolitan Joseph was selected by the Holy Synod of Antioch on July 3 to succeed Metropolitan Philip, who died March 19. Metropolitan Joseph was formerly the Bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles and the West. He now heads the entire Antiochian Orthodox Church in America, with nine bishops, over 400 clergy, and 266 parishes and missions throughout the United States and Canada. The Antiochian Orthodox Church worldwide is headed by the Patriarch of Antioch John X and is the largest Arab Christian church in the world, with churches in the Middle East, Europe, North and South America and Australia. It was founded by Ss. Paul and Barnabas in 42 A.D. and its first bishop was St .Peter the Apostle, who later went on to be Bishop of Rome. Friendly Reminder… As a friendly reminder, all Organizational Meetings should be following the normal parish protocol which is: * All meeting times are to be coordinated with the priest in order to insure that there are no parish-wide scheduling conflicts including the availability of the priest’s attendance. * According to the Antiochian Or thodox Archdiocese, ‘the priest is the presiding officer for every organization.’ * Agendas are to be submitted to the priest in advance for his inputs and approval. * Reasonable efforts should be extended to notify the priest within 24-48 hours concerning the organization’s deliberations. This may be accomplished via written correspondence, email or verbal communication. If you have any questions, please contact Father Paul in person or call him at 297-2668 or 983-1145 or email him at [email protected] . The Bible states in Acts 11:26 “And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” The Patriarchate is one of the four ancient Patriarchates within the Orthodox Church today – the others being the Patriarchates of Jerusalem, Alexandria (Egypt) and Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey). The Orthodox Church is the second largest Christian Church in the world with over 250 million adherents. The Enthronement of Metropolitan Joseph December 5 - 7th, 2014 St. Nicholas Cathedral, Brooklyn, NY Christmas Services This year there will be a Royal Hours of Christmas Service held on Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24th at 9:00 am. There will also be a Vesperal Divine Liturgy at 5:00 pm that same day. On Thursday, Christmas Day, there will be Orthros of the Nativity at 10:00 am followed by the Divine Liturgy for the Nativity at 11:00 am. Please try and make these services if you can. May you all have a Blessed Christmas Season! St. George Wish List * * * * * * * * * Platitera (Icon of the Theotokos and the Christchild) 30 Quart mixer for the kitchen Ceramic tile (marble in appearance) for the altar Dome icons of Gospel writers and Archangels New festal icons (11 x 14 inches) Trim around wall festal icons Drapery Artistry under wall festal icons Children’s playground Storage shed and /or Garage At Home: Clara Bishara - 934 James Ave., Niagara Falls, NY 14305 Souad Bitar - 2250 N. French Rd., Getzville, NY 14068 HOLY BREAD Jim McPhall - 560 Riverwalk Dr.,Youngstown, NY 14174 In Nursing Homes: Elaine Baia - Our Lady of Peace, 5285 Lewiston Rd., Lewiston, NY 14092 Lorraine Bialek - Crestwood Health Care Center, 2600 Niagara Falls Blvd., Niag. Falls, 14304 Shirley Daniels - 2680 N. Forest Rd. Unit 226, Getzville, NY 14068 Stephen Daniels - 2700 N. French Rd.,Unit 210, Getzville, NY 14068 Nellie Kensinger - Schoelkopf Nursing Home, Tenth St., Niagara Falls, NY Eleanor Kinan - Northgate on Nash Road, Wheatfield George Pappas - Our Lady of Peace, 5285 Lewiston Rd., Lewiston, NY 14092 Marguerite Aswad - Alterra Sterling, 6741 Nash Rd., Wheatfield, NY 14120 December 7 December 14 December 21 December 28 Bailey/Moshides Family St. Ignatius Dot Lombardi No Sponsor Contact Lorraine Pealer 285-6449 if you would like to be a Holy Bread sponsor. COFFEE HOUR December 7 December 14 December 21 December 28 Bailey/Moshides Family St. Ignatius Sunday School Robert & Sherry Mokhiber Contact Patty Chown 283-3037 if you would like to sponsor a coffee hour. The Challenges of Orthodox Youth Ministry by Protopresbyter David Cownie One of the most pressing questions posed by Orthodox pastors and parents in these times is, "How can we motivate our young people to embrace Orthodoxy and carry it into their adult lives." The question is a valid one, but I fear that those who pose it are often not being honest with themselves. Children rarely go off in odd directions without taking some clues from those around them, especially their parents. Children follow and learn from our example, whether that example happens to be good or bad. We form them into what they become by how we live our lives. Sometimes they rebel against what they have learned, but even that rebellion is shaped by the very attitudes against which they choose to rebel. What are our responsibilities as parents or even as adults in the parish community? What kind of witness are we giving to our children? Do we model the behavior which we wish them to emulate? Do we spend enough time talking and interacting with them to have any influence in their lives? Or do we allow the screenwriters in Hollywood and the nihilistic punks who make and sell CD’s to dictate the world-view our children accept. How much time is spent watching television or listening to pop music as opposed to the time spent in conversation or reading spiritually profitable material? Michael Medved recently revealed the sad statistic that "by the age of six, for instance, the average American child has spent more hours watching the tube than he will spend talking to his father in his lifetime." So what is the alternative to this chaos? The answer is both deceptively simple and extremely difficult. If we truly wish to see our children grow up to be pious and responsible Orthodox Christians, then we must show them what that means. The only way we can do that is to become pious, responsible Orthodox Christians ourselves. A blueprint has been given by the Church Fathers as to how we should live our lives. This blueprint is called Holy Tradition. There is a whole pattern of life which was developed by Orthodox Christians over the past two thousand years. Only in this century, more specifically the second half of this century, has that way of life been challenged and overthrown with disastrous results. In Russia and Eastern Europe, this way of life was destroyed by force. In the West, Orthodox Christians simply abandoned Tradition because it got in the way. But this pattern of life still works, if only people will seek to make use of it. For more of this article, please visit: http:// orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/youth_ministry.aspx Teen SOYO News The teens would like to thank everyone who donated to the Special Olympics during Youth Month in October. We were able to collect $215 for this worthy cause. In November several of our teens helped the Sunday School at the Magdalene Project soup kitchen. Besides serving lunch to the large crowd we were able to help organize the food pantry and books for the Kids Club that meets at the center. On Sunday, December 28th the teens will have a fun bowling event after church in Lewiston. We hope that some of the visiting college students will be able to join us and share their college experiences. Look for invitations in the mail! During the month of January we hope to sponsor a Family Movie and Game night. This will be a fun event to help us get through the long winter! Look for details in next month's newsletter. Finally, we would like to wish our St. George family a blessed Advent Season and a Happy New Year! House Blessings and Theophany/Epiphany On January 6 the faithful attend a Divine Liturgy and the Great Blessing of the Water service to celebrate Theophany, also called “Ton Photon” (“Feast of Lights”) with reference to the spiritual illumination of the Holy Spirit. The service commemorates the baptism of Christ and the manifestation of God in three persons. Large numbers of people attend church to be be blessed and to receive holy water which they take home in small bottles provided by the church. Some parishioners bring their own bottles specifically for holy water. In most churches in America, the blessing is held indoors, and the water is contained in a l a r g e b a s i n . S o m e co m m u n i t i e s h o l d o u t d o o r celebrations by a body of water. Blessing of the Home: It is customary to invite your priest to bless your home with holy water within a few weeks following Theophany. Prepare by cleaning the Catechism Program Unveiled Derek Gregory Witty is one of four St. George parishioners who is a student in the St. Stephen’s Course of Study. His St. Stephen’s Project Outline is as follows: house and opening and lighting all the rooms. The items needed for a house blessing are an Icon of Christ and a candle or merely gather at the Family Home Altar. After praying for the entire household, the priest will be using a basil sprig or the Liturgical Holy Water Sprinkler and then going to each room and sprinkle it with the grace of the Holy Spirit which also protects you from evil spirits. Although ideal, all family members do not deed to be present for the house blessing. House Blessings are a yearly tradition. Personal Use of Holy Water: According to Orthodox doctrine, holy water has the power to sanctify and heal. Have each family member drink a small amount of the holy water from Epiphany or the home blessing. Keep the unused holy water ion your home altar for future use: times of adversity, before starting a new venture or trip, to give thanks, or when someone is ill. You may drink it or anoint yourself when you feel spiritually afflicted. To rid the house of evil spirits, it should be sprinkled in the four walls of each room, so no one will step on it. In rural Orthodox countries, the holy water is sprinkled in the fields and on the animals. Coming Up in January Happy New Year to Everyone! The time has come to reveal my Saint Stephen's Course of Study project: Thursday, January 1 - 10am 11am Orthros Divine Liturgy I will be developing a course of catechetical instr uction for Saint George Orthodox Church. Working with Miguel Rodrigues, we will develop a course that will provide a monthly retreat-based lesson that will explain why we, Orthodox Christians, do the things that we do. This course will benefit children, inquirers into Orthodoxy, and Catechumens. Furthermore, the topics that we will discuss will also be helpful for those of us who have grown up Orthodox who wish to get a deeper understanding of our Faith. Keep your eyes open for opportunities beginning in Januar y to participate. There will be no cost associated with the program. If you would like to inquire into the course, please contact me at the e-mail address below or by talking with me after Sunday Divine Liturgy. In Christ, Monday, January 5 - 9am Great Hours of Epiphany followed by the Vesperal Divine Liturgy of “St. Basil for the Pre-Feast of the Divine Epiphany of Our Lord and God Jesus Christ. Tuesday, January 6 - 9am Orthros for the Feast of The Divine Epiphany of Our Lord and God Jesus Christ Divine Liturgy and the Great Blessing of the Water Gregory Derek Witty Catechist and Christian Education Coordinator [email protected] 10am House Blessings will begin after this event. Please contact Fr. Paul if you would like hime to bless your home. DECE MBER SUNDAY 2014 MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 2 MOPS 9:15-11:15 3 Evening DL commemorating St. Barbara 6pm (please fast from noon meal on) 4 5 6 Chanters Prac 4pm GV 5pm 7 Matins 9:15am DL - 10:30am Antochian Women’s Christmas Party 8 9 10 Daily Vespers 6pm 11 12 13 Chanters Prac 4pm GV 5pm 14 Matins 9:15am DL - 10:30am Christmas Pageant following DL 15 16 MOPS 9:15-11:15 17 Daily Vespers 6pm 18 19 20 Chanters Prac 4pm GV 5pm 21 Matins 9:15am DL - 10:30am 22 PC Mtg 7pm 23 24 Royal Hours of Christmas 9am Vesperal Divine Liturgy 5pm 25 MERRY CHRISTMAS Orthros of the Nativity 10am DL for the Nativity 11am 26 27 Chanters Prac 4pm GV 5pm 28 Matins 9:15am DL - 10:30am 29 30 31 NEW YEAR’S EVE Evening DL 6pm Feast of Circumcision in the Flesh of our Lord Let’s start something new for the kids! Each month we will try and put a picture in the newsletter for the kids to color and then Mom and Dad can hang it in the home somewhere for all to enjoy - this month, of course, A Nativity Scene.
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