The Annunciation Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church 950 N. 63rd Street • Lincoln, NE 68505 • 402 464-4422 Fr. Mark Curtright • 402 770-7520 • annunciation.ne.goarch.org April 2015 Holy Week and Pascha Services and Events April 4 LAZARUS SATURDAY 9:00 a.m. - Orthros 10:00 a.m. - Divine Liturgy Following Liturgy - Luncheon & folding palms, everyone is invited to attend and help. Lunch provided. 5:30 p.m. - Great Vespers April 5 PALM SUNDAY 9:00 a.m. - Orthros 10:00 a.m. - Divine Liturgy Following Divine Liturgy - fish dinner Tulle will be given out at the dinner to wrap eggs in for Pascha. If you would like to help dye eggs, please take tulle to wrap them in. 7:00 p.m. - Service of the Bridegroom (Nymphios) April 6 HOLY MONDAY 10:00 a.m. - Presanctified Liturgy 7:00 p.m. - Service of the Bridegroom (Nymphios) April 7 HOLY TUESDAY 10:00 a.m. - Presanctified Liturgy 7:00 p.m. - Service of the Bridegroom (Nymphios) April 8 HOLY WEDNESDAY 10:00 a.m. - Presanctified Liturgy 2:00 p.m. - Holy Unction (once a year) 7:00 p.m. - Service of the Bridegroom April 9 HOLY THURSDAY 10:00 a.m. - Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St. Basil 7:00 p.m. - Holy Passion (12 Gospels) April 10 HOLY FRIDAY 9:00 a.m. - Royal Hours 9:00 a.m. - Decorate Epitaphio 2:00 p.m. - Lenten Retreat for children and parents Retreat: The meaning of Holy Friday, then & now 3:00 p.m. - Descent from the Cross 7:00 p.m. - Epitaphion/Lamentations Myrrh Bearers - GIRLS, please wear long white dresses (with shoulders covered) and white shoes. More info on page 2. April 11 HOLY SATURDAY 10:00 a.m. - Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St. Basil 11:30 p.m. - Resurrection/Vigil 12:00 midnight Orthros & Divine Liturgy Paschal Lamb Dinner to follow April 12 GREAT AND HOLY PASCHA 11:30 a.m. - Pascha Agape Vespers Need people to read the Gospel in different languages The Sacrament of Holy Unction will be celebrated only once at 3 p.m. on Holy Wednesday. Holy Oil may be administered after the Bridegroom Service on Wednesday evening and on Holy Thursday morning following Divine Liturgy. Church Happenings & News Saturday, April 25th Treasurer’s Report Income/Expense Summary Hiking at Indian Caves State Park We will leave the church parking lot at 8:30 am, and return at 4:30 pm. We will have a picnic with campfire (if it is not too dry) and outdoor games. Sign up by contacting TJ Kripal at (402)617-2738 or email him at [email protected]. Additional drivers may be needed base on numbers, so if you can drive, let TJ know. Children under the age of 12, must have a parent with them. FEBRUARY 2015 Income $13,869 Expenses 12,285 Remaining $ 1,584 We praise God for the ministries of: April 5 April 12 May 3 Iulia Curtright Despina Kazas Charlene Gondring Greeters If you would like to Greet those entering church on Sundays, please contact Kirsten at [email protected] or 975-9897. Mowers Paul Barnes April 26 Prosforo (altar bread) Coffee Hour Randy & Nina Johner April 19 Please sign up downstairs Mowing will begin this Spring. If you can help, please contact Jim Hametis at [email protected] or 770-5614 Children & Youth News As we have entered the halfway point of Great Lent, it is time to start thinking and preparing for the services of Holy Week, in particular Good Friday. As we know, during Good Friday evening services, our young girls, the Myrofores, represent the myrrh bearing women who anointed the body of Christ in the Tomb. All girls of our parish are welcome to participate in the evening Lamentation service. Girls are asked to dress in all white (dress/shoes/stockings or socks) during the service on Holy Friday. White crowns, baskets and rose petals will be provided. Please also remember that given our weather it may be cold that evening as we walk outside. Please make sure your child brings a coat, does not need to be white. We will have a rehearsal at the end of the 2:00 p.m. retreat on Holy Friday. If any child needs an excuse letter for school on this day, please contact Fr. Mark. 2 2015 Camp Emmanuel Junior Session: June 7-13 (Ages 11-14) Senior Session: June 14-20 (Ages 15-18) Each year Camp Emmanuel offers participants ages 11-18 an opportunity to retreat away from the everyday and experience life in a nurturing Orthodox Christian community. For more information, check out http:// youth.denver.goarch.org/events/2015events/2015-camp-emmanuel-home. Icon Painting Workshop June 25 - July 1, 2015 Lincoln, Nebraska The John XXIII Diocesan Center Join us on this six-day intensive course where we will immerse ourselves in the painting techniques of Byzantium. The subject of the icon of "Jesus Christ" (at left), will come alive before you as the instructor, Theodoros Papadopoulos, guides you, step by step, through the ancient techniques of Byzantine Iconography. Let us journey together to discover new secrets in this traditional artistic expression of theology and spirituality, in this meeting place of the Divine. Whether you are a beginner or a professional, this workshop offers an opportunity to learn and/or refine your techniques in this sacred art. The course focuses on the art of egg tempera painting. Our goal is for students to understand and learn the artistic practices as well as the philosophy of Orthodox Iconography. The coursework is divided into individual steps; the instructor explains the principles and then demonstrates each phase in detail, answering all questions. Through the process of demonstrations the stages as well the whole method of painting an icon will be presented. The students will then put into practice these skills under the guidance of the instructor Theodore Papadopoulos. The techniques of painting will be taught in a clear and concrete way enabling the students to apply what they have learnt once the workshop is completed. Great emphasis is placed on the student acquiring "hands-on"experience, in order to be able to comprehend and put into practice the techniques Byzantine icon painting requires. From the very beginning to the completion of the course, every student will work on his or her painting with assistance by the instructor. The courses will be in daily basis from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. Day 1 - An introduction to Byzantine iconography and its characteristics so that students understand the principles of this art. We begin the painting of the icon of “Jesus Christ Pantocrator”, starting with drawing the icon on a prepared board. We make the colors of the face and garments. Next, local colors within the painting are applied to the panel. At the end of the day We'll begin the painting of the garments. Day 2 - We continue with the painting of the garments. Students will learn the process from the first layers to the final highlights in a very clear and understandable way. Day 3 - We continue working on the garments. At the end of the day we will have completed the painting of the garments. Day 4 - We have completed the painting of the garments, and we start the painting of the face, applying the first layers of the face. Day 5 - We continue working on the face, painting the half tones of the face. Day 6 - We put the last highlights and complete the painting of the face. Instructor: Theodoros Papadopoulos Tuition: $680. The price includes the materials which will be used by the students, (brushes, pigments, boards). A non-refundable deposit of $230 is required to reserve a place in this workshop. The balance is due on June 25, 2015. Location: The John XXIII Diocesan Center, Lincoln, Nebraska. For enrollment or information contact Mr. Terrence St.Hilaire tel: 402-817-8996 email: [email protected] 3 Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church 950 North 63rd Street Lincoln, NE 68505-2286 Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church Priest: Fr. Mark Curtright, 770-7520 Parish Council: Galen Erickson, President, [email protected], 486-1114 Dinos Giannakas, [email protected], 328-0009 Charlene Gondring, Treasurer [email protected], 489-4621 Dimitrios Hametis, [email protected], 770-5614 Randy Johner, [email protected], 202-460-6289 Dori Nelson, Secretary [email protected], 438-0953 Kirsten Warren-Carrell, Vice-President, [email protected], 975-9897 Stewardship Daniel Ciobanu, Stewardship, [email protected], 488-3330 Paul Barnes, Stewardship, [email protected], 525-2778 Sunday School/GOYA Iulia Curtright, [email protected], 770-7520 Greek Dancing/Festival Fay Deligiannis, [email protected], 770-5158 Head Chanter Paul Barnes, [email protected], 525-2778 Sunday Bulletin/Monthly Calendar/Website Joel Davies, [email protected], 745-0146 Newsletter Editor Kirsten Warren-Carrell, [email protected], 975-9897 Facebook Jennifer Hartz, [email protected] 4 Every Saturday: 5:30 p.m. Great Vespers Every Sunday: 9:00 a.m. Orthros 10:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy Coffee hour following 5 Palm Sunday GREAT AND HOLY PASCHA Thomas Sunday 10a - Divine Liturgy 9a - Orthros Sunday of the MyrrhBearing Women 26 5p - Dance rehersal, downstairs 28 Holy Thurs. 30 23 7p - Vespers 16 7p - Holy Passion (12 Gospels) 10a - Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St. Basil 9 2 Thursday Holy Friday Lazarus Saturday Holy Sat. 12 midnight Orthros & Divine Liturgy 11:30p - Resurrection/Vigil 10a - Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St. Basil 11 5:30p - Great Vespers Luncheon and Palm preparation following 10a - Divine Liturgy 9a - Orthros 4 Saturday 25 5:30p - Great Vespers 18 6p - Divine Liturgy St. Mark the Evangelist 5:30p - Great Vespers 24 10a - Divine Liturgy 9a - Orthros Theotokos of the LifeGiving Font 17 7p - Epitaphion/Lamentations Paschal Lamb Dinner to follow 3p - Descent from the Cross 2p - Lenten Retreat for children & parents 9a - decorating the Epitafio 9a - Royal Hours 10 3 Friday The week of April 27-May 3 Metropolis of Denver Clergy-Laity Meeting to be held in Houston, TX. 29 7p - Parish Council, loft 22 The Feast of St. George Festival meeting, loft Bright Week... 21 6p - Divine Liturgy 27 20 14 13 15 7p - Service of the 2p - Holy Unction Bridegroom 7p - Service of the Bridegroom 7p - Service of the Bridegroom Holy Wed. 10a - Presanctified Liturgy 8 1 Wednesday 10a - Presanctified Liturgy Holy Mon. 7 Holy Tues. Tuesday 10a - Presanctified Liturgy 6 Monday 10a - Divine Liturgy 9a - Orthros 19 Need people to read the Gospel in different languages 11:30a - Pascha Agape Vespers 12 7p - Service of the Bridegroom Fish dinner following 10a - Divine Liturgy 9a - Orthros 5 Sunday Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church - April 2015 PASCHA Joy, or not "Holy Nativity is growing! We had 68 for PASCHA. It was glorious. Or was it? Why is it that two people can share what appears to be the exact same experience, but each come away with very different impressions of it? One comment I heard from a visitor was "You just keep repeating the same thing over and over again" [Christ is risen]. We certainly do! I can see how that could seem rather empty to someone for whom "Christ is risen" is just a piece of information, a datum: "O yes, it is Easter, Christ is risen, yes, so what else is going on?" The Paschal homily of St. John Chrysostom, the sermon read in every Orthodox Church at the PASCHA Liturgy, encourages everyone to come to the Feast--the ascetics and the negligent, those who kept the fast and those who disregarded the fast. God receives both the labor (for those who strove to prepare themselves through repentance during the Fast) and the intention (for those who did not but wish they had). The Feast is the same for everyone. The difference is not on God's side. God receives all who come to Him. God offers the same Feast to all. The Feast cannot be any different because the feast is God Himself. Christ is the "fatted calf" sacrificed for the Feast at the prodigal son's return. But some do not keep the feast. Maybe they just are not hungry. Maybe, like the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son, they are too distracted to feast, worrying about what is fair or not fair, what is their due versus what is due others. Maybe, like many of us, all of life has been reduced to data and feelings (passions) and the rational processes they have found useful to manipulate the data to stimulate or get relief from the feelings. It reminds me of Jeremiah 17:2 [17:6 in Protestant Bibles]: "For he shall be like a shrub in the desert. He shall not see when good things come." This passage compares a shrub, that doesn't even notice when the rains come, to a tree with deep roots that continues to bear fruit in a drought. The difference between the two is not rain vs. drought. They both experience both. Rather, the difference is the plant itself. The shrub, dead even while it lives (c.f. 1Tim. 5:6), doesn't even notice when God showers blessings. The man who trust in the Lord, however, is a tree with root that reach down to the water. When drought comes, as it does to every life at various seasons, this man continues to bear the fruit of virtue, the fruit of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Self Control. However, returning to the experience of PASCHA Joy, the shrub just doesn't notice much. It's important that you do not misunderstand me. First, and most important, this in not a criterion by which we can judge others. The passage in Jeremiah goes on to say, "The heart is deep and beyond all things, and it is the man. Even so, who can know him? I the Lord, examine the heart..." (OSB Septuagint translation). Only God knows the heart, which is the man. I cannot judge another man's heart, ever. Second, the amount of Paschal Joy we experience or don't experience is only an indicator, it only suggests that all is well or that something may be amiss in our relationship with God. Learning to live in God, to walk in the Spirit, to pay attention to the inner man of the heart is a life-long process. Our experiences in prayer are important indicators, but they are only partial indicators. They are not irrelevant, but neither are they very reliable. Just like the seasons of the year, the seasons of the spiritual life are sometimes dry and sometimes rainy (except in BC where it is sometimes warm rain and sometimes cold rain). If you didn't seem to experience much Joy in PASCHA, you should examine yourself. It may be that you were a little sick in body or mind. It may be that you were disturbed by a relationship problem. It may be that you have been ignoring God. Whatever it is, look to God. Christ receives us, the last and the first, the strong and the weak, the spiritual giant and the spiritual chicken. I often remind myself when I am overwhelmed with my own weaknesses that although I am a mess, I am God's mess. Whatever we are or are not, it is good to be God's." [from Fr. Michael Gillis' blog] 6
© Copyright 2024