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Home , John Climacus

EPISTLE: George Antiochian Orthodox Christian The Lord will give strength to His people. Bring to the Lord, O sons of , bring unto the Lord honor and glory. 1250 Oakdale Avenue, West Saint Paul, Minnesota 55118 Parish Website: http://www.saintgeorge-church.org The Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews. (6:13-20) Church Phone: 651-457-0854 rethren, when God made a promise to , since He had no one greater by whom to swear, He swore to Himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus, The Most Reverend Metropolitan , Archbishop of New York, B Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. Men indeed swear by a greater Metropolitan of all North America than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to Right Reverend ANTHONY, Auxiliary show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of His purpose , Bishop of the Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest He interposed with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things—in which it is impossible Right Reverend Archimandrite John Mangels, Pastor that God should prove false, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. We have as this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters Reverend Father John Chagnon, attached Very Reverend Archpriest Paul Hodge, attached into the inner shrine behind the curtain, where has gone as a Forerunner on our behalf, having Reverend John Mikhail, attached become a High Priest “forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Very Reverend Archpriest Thomas Begley, retired Rt. Reverend Archimandrite Duane Pederson, retired Reverend Father Simon, retired GOSPEL: Reader Begley, Music Director The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark. (9:17-31) Pastor’s email: [email protected] Pastor’s Cell: 303-520-0981 t that time, a man came to Jesus, kneeling down and saying unto him, “Teacher, I brought Signing up for services: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0444A8AC23ABF85-stgeorge my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it dashes him down; A and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked Thy Disciples to cast it out, Sunday, April 11, 2021 and they were not able.” And Jesus answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to Me.” And they brought the boy to Him; Fourth Sunday of and when the spirit saw Jesus, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and Commemoration of John Climacus, Author of “The Ladder” rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has he had this?” And Tone 3 Eothinon 11 he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if Thou canst do anything, have pity on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “If you can Commemorations: Hieromartyr Antypas, bishop of Pergamum; Righteous believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out Mothers Tryphaina and Matrona of Cyzicus and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You dumb and deaf spirit, I command THE OF ST. BASIL THE GREAT you, come out of him, and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took RESURRECTIONAL IN TONE THREE him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when Jesus had entered the house, His Dis- Let the rejoice and the earth be glad, for the Lord hath done a mighty act with His own ciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And Jesus said to them, “This kind arm. He hath trampled down death by death, and become the first-born from the dead. He hath cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.” delivered us from the depths of Hades, granting the the Great Mercy. They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And Jesus would not have anyone know it; for He was teaching His Disciples, saying to them, “The Son of man will be delivered into the APOLYTIKION OF ST. JOHN CLIMACUS IN TONE EIGHT hands of men, and they will kill Him; and after He is killed, He will rise on the third day.” The barren wilderness thou didst make fertile with the streams of thy tears; and by thy deep sighing thou hast given fruit through thy struggles a hundredfold. Accordingly, thou hast become a star for HOLY BREAD the universe, sparkling with miracles. Therefore, O righteous Father John Climacus, intercede with Holy Bread is offered for the health and welfare of Tom, Sue, TJ, and Francine, George, Barb, Christ God to save our souls. Paul, Kim, Laura, Dalton, Kayla, Andy, Faylene, Karen, Elaine, Eric, Patsy, all the Ziton families, Health Care Workers, all Covid victims, their families and all St. George parishioners. Now sing the apolytikion of In loving memory of Herb, Bernice, Mose, Thelgy, Norman, Tilly, Irene, Billy, Erma, Bill, Ed- FOR SUNDAYS IN GREAT LENT IN TONE EIGHT ward, Delores and Joe Ziton, Victoria, Kenny and Louie Ayoub, Amelia and Eddie Nusrala, Edna To thee, the Champion Leader, do I offer thanks of victory, O , thou who hast delivered and Fred Salem, Adeline, Charles and Howard Kittleson, Josephine and John Shama, Fouad, the me from terror; but as thou that hast that power invincible, O Theotokos, thou alone can set me newly-departed Charlotte, Garret, Sarah, all Covid victims and all departed members of St. George free: from all forms of danger free me and deliver me, that I may cry unto thee: Hail, O Bride Parish. without Bridegroom.

• Sunday, April 18, Orthros at 9:00am & Divine Liturgy at 10:00am ELCOME to all our guests and visitors. We are delighted to have you visiting and wor- shipping with us this morning and hope that you return soon. We invite you to participate FATHER MANGELS OUT OF TOWN W in the Divine Liturgy, but, sadly, due to the divisions in , only bap- Father John will be away from the parish from after Liturgy today until just before Pre-Sanctified tized/chrismated members of the Orthodox Church who have made their Confession Divine Liturgy on Wednesday. Father Chagnon will be looking after things in Fr. Mangels’ ab- before an Orthodox priest and prepared themselves by fasting may receive Holy sence. If there are any pastoral emergencies, please contact him at 651-230-0181. Communion. Please come forward after Liturgy to venerate the Cross and partake of the Antidoron-Holy Bread. Please turn off your cell phones and all electronic devices. CHURCH SCHOOL CHURCH SCHOOL RESUMES WEEKLY and IN PERSON - Thanks for signing up and joining ANNOUNCEMENTS us for Church School. Families were emailed the new weekly, in person schedule for the rest of the PRAY FOR THE SICK school year and reminders about masks and sanitization. Please bring the children to the Church at Please pray for Niko Newell, Jeffrey Brown, Ibrahim, George Droubie, Helen Katsampes, James 8:45am so that we can say our morning prayer together and Father can greet the students before Awada Sr., Lowell Colliander, Elizabeth Swanson, Ethen Leff, Elizabeth Henry, James and Emily, they go to their classrooms from 9 - 10am. We appreciate your support! So wonderful to be back together again on a regular basis. Corrie Fox, Lauretta Villareal, Genevieve Lehnen, Jim Etoll, Michael Etoll, Dwight Johnson, George & Ellie Saba, Anna Windsor, Peter Hafiz, Fr. Duane, John and John Etoll, Wally, Maria, Allen, Nick, Jackson & Hunter Golden, Yasmin Kakish, Carol Haddad, Camille Goll, Kh. Vergin FALAFEL DINNER 2021 Khoury, Margaret Boalbey, Norm Holmes, Phyllis Hodge, Lamese McDowell, Edgard Siouffy, Thank you all for spreading the word and coming out to the falafel dinner this year. It is with Berhane Haliemichael, Fr. Dan & Eileen Simon, Joseph Kammeyer, Marilyn Perry, Nancy Maker, tremendous joy to report that this was the best year ever and we actually ended up running out of Dawn Tillbury, Joshua & Richard Lang, Eva Etoll, Alan & Mary Poulsen, Natalie Mozey, Mervat falafel dough at about 2pm. We had to send someone to Beirut Restaurant to get whatever raw & Abigail Lotfalla, Samira Shehata. falafel that was on hand to make sure all those who pre-ordered would not be disappointed. After If you are ill or having surgery and wish to be remembered in the Liturgy and daily prayers all counting was done the total sales for this year's event was $2,630.00!! And thanks to a donation of the priest, please contact Fr. Mangels. of $370.00, a grand total of $3000.00 will be donated. We could not do this without the help of George Khoury, Nancy Ayoub, and all those BULLETIN & NEWSLETTER ANNOUNCEMENT PROCEDURE awesome kids putting the meals together like an auto assembly line! ANY announcement in the weekly bulletin and Newsletter is subject to approval by Fr. Man- We consider this an honor, a privilege, and a whole lot of fun to be able to do this and hope we can continue to do this in Father Khoury's honor and name. John Khoury gels/and the Council. It is important to notify Brigitte by e-mail ([email protected]) or phone with all your bulletin information by NOON Wednesday of the week before you offer the N. B. We are tremendously grateful to John Khoury and his family and the Beirut Restaurant Holy Bread in order to print the bulletin in a timely manner. Deadline for MAY newsletter: for the selfless work and for providing this annual event for our parish! May God richly 4/22/2021. bless all of them for their generosity and hard work. HOLY BREAD LIST 2021 LENTEN PAN-ORTHODOX VESPERS SCHEDULE April 18, Pat Burbank One Year Memorial for Sandy Heuer 4/11 St. John Climacus at St. Mary GOC 4:00pm April 24, Tina Rudquist Lazarus Saturday Streaming on YouTube April 25, Jubran/Ferraro Palm Sunday In-person sign-up link: SignUpGenius April 29, Joan Alevizos Holy ursday 4/18 St. Mary of at Twelve Holy Apostles (Duluth) GOC 4:00pm May 01, Rudquist AM Streaming on YouTube Kakish PM 4/25 Bridegroom Matins at St. Herman of Alaska, OCA 4:00pm May 09, Men’s Club Mother’s Day TBA May 16, Bumgarner Family 40 Day Memorial for Garrett Bumgarner May 23, Damian 40 Day memorial for Charlotte Damian THE SPEAK— Let your prayer be completely simple. For both the May 30, Starling Foster publican and the prodigal son were reconciled to God by a single phrase.— St. John Climacus To schedule Holy Bread and/or memorial, contact Joan Alevizos (651-453-1894). It is completely proper to offer more than one memorial or Holy Bread on the same Sunday. Coffee hour, due to ST GEORGE BOOKSTORE is online! Our bookstore offers an array of quality Ortho- the restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic, has been suspended in the Parish Hall. dox Christian books, , jewelry, music, and gifts. Visit our store online and discover the rich- ness and beauty of our Orthodox faith. Go to https://bit.ly/2UHrUno and start shopping! Contact THIS WEEK AT ST. GEORGE Deb Korluka at 612-889-5868 for pricing and to place your order. Arrangements will be made for payment and pickup at St. George Church. Quantities are limited. Your support of our bookstore UPCOMING SERVICES & EVENTS is greatly appreciated. • Wednesday, April 14, Pre-Sanctified Liturgy at 6:30pm th PATRISTIC WISDOM: Some people with a hot temper do not worry about it and ignore the remedies • Friday, April 16, 5 at 7:00pm that would heal them. They forget, unfortunately, what is written:’ Surely anger kills the fool, and jeal- • Saturday, April 17, Great Vespers at 5:00pm ousy slays the simple,’ ( 5:2).”— St. John Climacus Young Adults/Relationship Sundays HELP FOR THOSE IN NEED We have moved our one hour zoom gathering to 2:30pm so as not to conflict with Pan-Orthodox If anyone, particularly our older or shut-in parishioners needs help with anything, please call either Vespers. If you have not joined us, but would like to, contact Cindy or Paul Karos at 612.701.7320 Fr. John or George/Brigitte Khoury. We have a number of parishioners who are willing to help or [email protected]. with bringing food or supplies to you. It is important that we follow the guidelines that have been given us but in an emergency or time of need, don’t hesitate to call. SOYO BIBLE STUDY Every Sunday night at 6:15, SOYO meets for bible study on Zoom. It is a time for fellowship, ANTIOCHIAN WOMEN spiritual nourishment, and connection among the youth at St. George. Right now, we are making Monday, April 12th starting at 9:30 am we will be baking Makaroun for Palm Sunday. If anyone th our way through the Gospels, starting with Matthew. Anyone 8 Grade and up is welcome and would like to help or learn how to make these, please come. encouraged to join… We would love to have you with us! We start each meeting with a prayer, Book Club...New Book! April 15 at 7:00pm is our next meeting. The featured book is then read/discuss together, and close with prayer. Contact Joseph Karos at josephka- THIRTY STEPS TO by Archimandrite Vassilios Papavassiliou, and is available in the [email protected] or 612-500-327 if you are interested! church book store. If you would like to sign up, contact Lisa Hartwig at [email protected] or

THE CHURCH FATHERS SPEAK Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, Cindy Karos at [email protected]. but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly the angel who guards you will honour your Lenten Retreat VIRTUAL RETREAT…Saturday, April 17 at 1pm EST check with Sue patience. While a wound is still fresh and warm it is easy to heal, but old, neglected and festering Perry for information. ones are hard to cure, and require for their care much treatment, cutting, plastering and cauteriza- Palm Sunday… the Ladies will be hosting a Coffee Hour in the Church Pavillon and Covid tion. Many from long neglect become incurable. But with God all things are possible [Matthew restrictions are still in place. Be mindful and respectful of those restrictions. Hand washing, wearing 19:26].”—St. John Climicus masks after your finished eating and social distancing. Ladies, please check with your Circle Leaders if you are able to help. The Circle List is in CHURCH SUPPORT DURING THIS TIME the kitchen taped on the wall if you forgot what circle you are assigned. Plus we have copies in the Ladies Mail Box in the Office. The Assigned Tasks to Set Up / Serve-Vicky Michaels and Joannie ank you so much for your continued support of your parish during this time! We are very much Alevizos, Clean Up- Coco Bombini and Patty Burbank, lastly Cooking - Katrina’s Circle which aware of what a hardship this crisis is putting on people throughout the country. If you are able, Mary Rudquist and Mervat Lotfalla will lead temporarily for this meal. We want to thank Katrina please continue to financially support your Church during this time. Begley for her years of dedication and service to the role of Circle Leader. e Parish Council has approved numerous ways to donate to St. George. 1. Venmo is a free secure app that can be downloaded and installed on a mobile phone. Donors THE CHURCH FATHERS SPEAK—When our praisers, or rather our seducers, begin to praise that install the Venmo app can directly transfer money from their bank account to St. George's us, let us briefly call to mind the multitude of our sins, and we shall find ourselves unworthy of Old National Bank account with no fees incurred. However, if a credit card transaction is used what is said or done in our honor.—St. John Climacus by the donor, the donor will incur a 3% fee. Venmo your donation to @stgeorgeaoc. e church is automatically emailed a notification of your donation. NEIGHBORS Neighbors and MN March Food Share 2. From your online bank account, do an External Transfer directly to the church's Old National Let's all do our part and help Neighbors Inc with their biggest food and fund drive of the year. The Bank account. Info you will need: Routing Number 086300012 Account Num- MN Food Share campaign begins March 1 through April 11. If it is within your means, Neighbors ber 322042. Please send an email to [email protected] so that our Financial prefers funds this year to help them purchase items they need. But know that food donations are Secretary can properly record your donation. always welcome! Make your check out to Neighbors Inc and give to Willy Percy, George Khoury 3. From your online bank account, schedule Bill Pay and a paper check will be written to the or Michelle Apman. Food donations may be dropped off outside the church hall. Thank you for church. helping Neighbors help our neighbors! 4. A paper check can be written and mailed to the church. The Church School children will be passing out donation bags and there will also be bags available 5. When you come to Church, the collection tray will not be passed. Please leave your offering in the Narthex. Please take one and fill it up so everyone can have a blessed !! in the plate on the Candle Table before or after Services. 1 John 3:17: "But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart PROFOUND THANKS TO ALL OF YOU! against him, how does the love of God abide in him.”

FROM THE HOLY FATHERS— If the Holy Spirit is peace of soul, as He is said to be, and as THE CHURCH FATHERS SPEAK—Fire and water are incompatible; and so is judging oth- He is in reality, and if anger is disturbance of heart, as it actually is and as it is said to be, then ers in one who wants to repent. If you see someone falling into sin at the very moment of his nothing so prevents His presence in us as anger.”— St. John Climacus death, even then do not judge him, because the Divine judgment is hidden from men. Some have fallen openly into great sins, but they have done greater good deeds in secret; so their critics were GOOD FRIDAY & PASCHA FLOWER & CANDLE FUND tricked, getting smoke instead of the sun.—St. John Climicus It has been our custom for many years to receive an offering to help offset the cost of flowers and candles to adorn the Kouvouklion and Church for Good Friday & Pascha. Please mark your check

“flowers and candles” and leave it in the offering plate or use one of the apps. Many thanks!

The Forth Sunday in Lent: Sunday of St. John Climacus

On the fourth Sunday of Great Lent, the epistle reading to the Hebrews again is encouraging the faithful people to trust in the promises of God and to patiently endure, as Abraham did when God made the promise to him, that the promise did come, and that God’s promises are made—God swears by his own self when he makes these promises; he wants to show that he himself will keep his word, and therefore we are to trust this word of God and to patiently endure in this world and to have strong encouragements to seize the hope that is given to us by God in Christ and therefore to be able to enter with Jesus together into the presence of God and to have this hope of the salvation that comes through the patient endurance and the faith that is similar to Abraham.

Now on this Sunday, this fourth Sunday of Great Lent when we hear these readings, the Church also has us Orthodox Christians celebrating the memory of a very important saint of the Church, a man named John called “Climacus.” “Climacus” means a ladder, and he is called John of the Ladder. We don’t know what his actual family name was, but we know that this John, who lived in the sixth century, that he was the of the Orthodox Christian on ; he was the abbot of Sinai. And a fellow abbot named John, of a monastery of Raithu, also in the desert there, Egyptian desert, asked his friend John to give him a teaching, to write something for the and how the monks should live and generally speaking how Christians should live in order to be pleasing to God and to keep the commandments and to fight the spiritual warfare and to overcome the devil. And basically, we could say that John was asked by the other Abbot John to write about faith. How does a person of faith live? And about prayer and about fasting and about healing and casting out all these powers of destructive evil that can destroy us that are so powerfully shown in the gospel reading in this young boy who was convulsing and being thrown into fire and water. How do we come to ourselves? How are we actually healed? And this Abbot John, called John of the Ladder, wrote a writing, a book, that probably in Eastern Orthodox tradition, as has been claimed, is the most wide-read book after the Bible itself; that it is a book that became kind of the book for those who live the ascetic monastic life. It was a book that was constantly read by Christians to be inspired and instructed about how to live as Christians, how to live as human beings. The book is technically called The Ladder of Divine As- cent and it exists in English translations and we can read it. It’s available to us.

Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko

Sunday, April 11, 2021 Fourth Sunday of Great Lent Commemoration of John Climacus, Author of “The Ladder”