NOVEMBER 2016 VOLUME 17.11 T HE P ARISH P RESS St. Philip Orthodox WISDOM FROM FR. B: IT'S NOT TIME YET. WAIT UNTIL ... NEWS ~ N ~ NOTES A Message from Fr Noah Mark Your Calendar: Dear Philip’s Family, GIVING UPDATES Introduction to I want you to read, ponder, and enact Saturdays, 4:30 pm MONTHLY OUTREACH COLLECTION: this beautiful, simple teaching of Saint Thank you for your generosity to the through November 19 Paisios on love: needy of our community! In Naturally, every person Services for St Philip November, we are collecting will be paid by the boss Sunday, November 13 Turkeys & Hams. for whom he had Vespers & Artoklasia 6 pm, 7 pm worked. Those who NON-PERISHABLE FOOD COLLECTION: Monday, November 14 work for Christ shall We continue to collect non- 10 am receive an hundredfold perishables of all kinds for the food now in this time and in ADVENT FAST pantries. the world to come, November 15 - December 25

NEWSPAPERS: Salfid Rescue Kennel, eternal life; and those who work for the black boss will receive Visit of Myrrh-Streaming from our neighbor on Clearview Road, is darkness even now. Taylor PA always in need of old newspapers. Those who work for Christ but are Friday, November 18, 6 pm Look for the box in the hallway. prideful pollute their virtues, just as fried Advent Paraklesis & to the MAY GOD BLESS ALL OUR eggs are contaminated when bird’s , Nurturer of Children

FAITHFUL GIVERS! droppings fall on them. They then can only be thrown in the trash along with the Nativity Services (Special Schedule!) Holy Mysteries frying pan. Friday, December 23 Fr Herman Acker was ordained to the Our lives have become so complicated. 10 am Royal Hours Holy Priesthood on Sunday, October 9. We've lost our first love. We've Saturday, December 24 Daniel Marquardt was baptized into 9 am Divine Liturgy Christ here at St Philip’s on Saturday, imported stones and thorns into the October 15. good soil of our hearts. We've become 6 pm Vespers, Artoklasia, & Orthros

Daniel and Olena (Kulbachna) lukewarm. We've chosen to have our Sunday, December 25 Marquardt were united in Christ by the reward now. Help us! Save us! Have 9 am Divine Liturgy of Marriage here at St Philip’s on Saturday, October 22. mercy on us! And keep us, O God, by We live Pascha to Pascha! MAY GOD GRANT THEM MANY YEARS! Thy Grace! Lord, have mercy! April 16, 2017 Missions Minute When you stand to pray, remember that God is the boss, the overly Practical Wisdom Where do OCMC missionaries generous boss, who lets us choose and serve? Albania, Guatemala, always gives us a second chance. From the Kenya, Mongolia, New Zealand, Do not ask for love from your neighbor, Romania, USA, & in multi- To Him be all the glory unto ages of ages! Amen. for if you ask and he does not respond, country situations. Read about you will be troubled. Instead, show your the unique ministry of the In Christ, love for your neighbor and you will be at Colburn Family (translation, +Fr. Noah rest, and so will bring your neighbor to software development, & more) love. at https://www.ocmc.org/about/ - St. view_missionary.aspx? OUR SYMPATHY IN CHRIST MissionaryId=20. Let us not grieve when we make a slip, is offered to the Moore but when we become hardened by it. family upon the passing of Everyday Evangelist - St. Isaac the Syrian “As the Father has sent me, so I send Kristi’s mother, Margery you.” (Jn 20:21) Brom, who reposed at the The ignorance of Scripture is a great cliff end of October. The funeral was held in and a deep abyss; to know nothing of Volunteer with community Waterloo, Iowa. MAY HER MEMORY BE the divine laws is a great betrayal of organizations. ETERNAL! salvation. - St. St. Philip Parish Press 2 Vol. 17.11 - Nov. ‘16 Did You Know? Book Recommendation Ask Abouna  Victoria Psomiadis was one of four Orthodox Spirituality: A Brief Previous Question: Another Fast? medical students at her medical school Introduction Really??? How can I improve my to have their writings chosen for the by Metr. Hierotheos Vlachos attitude toward fasting? new book, in-Training: Stories from Tomorrow’s Physicians. The book The spiritual person is Answer: I have heard this weary presents first-person accounts by he who partakes of an reaction many times. Too many times. medical students of their experiences participates in the “Father, its all we do... It seems that its always a fast day...” I've had it in while becoming physicians. Learn energies of the Most more at https://hscweb3.hsc.usf.edu/ Holy Spirit; he, who has my heart too many times, too. awardsblog/2016/10/25/usf-medical- himself become a I invite you to rethink fasting. It isn't s t u d e n t s - i n c l u d e d - in- b o o k - of- dwelling place of the just physical deprivation; it is also reflections-from-medical-school/ Holy Spirit. This does not spiritual feasting. Don't think solely of Congratulations Victoria! constitute an abstract, the food you can't eat and the entertainment and recreational  Fr Noah recently prayed for the emotional or intellectual spirituality. The bearer of Orthodox activities you should postpone. Think parishioners of St Philip’s before the instead of the Lord Christ calling relics of St John Maximovich in San spirituality par excellence is the Saint who is revealed through his teaching to you from the Holy , the Holy Francisco and at the resting place of St Scriptures, the Saints and the Raphael at Antiochian Village. and his relics. The non-spiritual individual, who is deprived of the Holy . He is chasing us down ...  Your Amazon purchases can benefit St Spirit, is the psychological and carnal to strengthen us to act on our Philip’s! Simply start your shopping person. redemption from spiritual slavery. from the link at the top of every page It is precisely the above distinction I'm still thinking of our Lord's parable of the St Philip’s website. which points out the differences of Lazarus and the rich man. Our  Your pledges and special offerings between Orthodox spirituality and other Church is in our face, not allowing us to keep our parish doing God's work! "spiritualities." Orthodox spirituality have our reward now. Thanks to all our faithful stewards. differs markedly from the "spiritualities" I'm also thinking of my doctor who  Coffee hour is a vital ministry of of the East and West. The difference in reminds we about the need to lose a hospitality. Please help us keep this the dogma generates the difference in couple pounds, eat more vegetables, tradition of fellowship strong in our ethos as well. The essence of Orthodox less rich foods, etc. parish. Remember, it doesn’t have to spirituality lies in its therapeutic effects. Embrace the disciplines be a meal; just a refreshing snack is It cures a person's infirmities and that our mother, the sufficient. The 2017 schedule is now renders him an integrated person. Church, dictates! Embrace available on the Ministry Fair table! them as opportunities for a  AncientFaith.com offers hundreds of A heavenly perspective on change of heart, a change talks on dozens of topics. Visit, learn, earthly goods of mind, a change of habits, to direct and grow! all our lives more purposefully into by St. Paisios Christ's warm embrace! There is no man more intelligent than the New Question: Do you believe in merciful one who gives away earthly, Santa Claus? Challenge for 2016: perishable things and buys imperishable, heavenly things. Likewise, there is no great SEE YOU IN CHURCH! Pray Without Ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5) fool in the world than the greedy one who Saturday: VESPERS, 6 p.m.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, gathers things continually and yet is Sunday: MATINS, 8:45 a.m. in everything give thanks; deprived continually, finally buying hell DIVINE LITURGY, 10 a.m. for this is the will of God in Christ with his collected savings. Those, naturally, Wednesday: AKATHIST, 7 p.m. (unless a festal service supersedes) Jesus for you. who are lost in material things are totally 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 lost, for they have lost Christ. Check our calendar for special services! Wisdom from Fr. B. embracing the fast with (almost-) patient trust in God and then re-embracing the “It's not time yet. Wait until ... ” decision with a refreshed, repentant I heard Fr. Boniface give this advice to perspective. It doesn't guarantee the correct others, and myself, many times. “wait until... Pascha” course of action will be chosen or completed perfectly, “until... Christmas.” “until... the fast is over.” He used but it does help us swim out the tide of impulsiveness this in many situations, delicate as well as simple, joyful that our hyper-connected one-click consumerism has and sorrowful, to help people slow down by prayerfully thrown us into.