The Saint Andrew News

St. Andrew Orthodox Church - Riverside, CA

On the Inseparable Beauty of Worship and Almsgiving...

Dear and Pious Parishioners, The Lord bless each of you during these very warm days of Inland Empire summer. It is sometimes asked of us: Volume 20 Issue 7 "Why should we spend on building beautiful churches instead of feeding the Judas. It is the voice of a thief who July 2011 poor?" feigned interest in the poor but really Published Monthly was a greedy man himself. (By the St. John Chrysostom both served in a way, it is of interest to me that of the St. Andrew Orthodox Church of gorgeous Cathedral, and he oversaw the few who have complained to me about Riverside is a parish of the Self- care of 3000 widows and orphans. There building a beautiful church- none of ruled Antiochian Orthodox is no "instead of" for those who heed the Christian Archdiocese of North them are involved in our services call of God. There is only a "both-and." America, Diocese of Los Angeles projects to the poor!) and the West, the See of the Right Christians have a responsibility to both Reverend Bishop JOSEPH. This kind of criticism is exactly what adorn the worship of God, which also Judas delivered to our Lord (can you Saturdays: leads to the salvation of individuals and imagine the presumption!) when Mary Great Vespers, 5:30 p.m. rescue of the poor. The beauty of the broke the urn of myrrh worth tens of Sundays: Church is not for us, but for the glory of thousands of dollars and poured it out Matins, 9 a.m. the Holy Trinity and the propagation of Divine Liturgy, 10 a.m. on Jesus' feet. Judas, being bereft of our faith. It is both a witness to our love Feast Days: her extravagant love, could not for God and for His worship, and a Liturgy, 6 p.m. comprehend such an offering and he On Eve of Feast public call to men. chided the Lord and the woman by Church School follows Some small-souled persons decry the calling their attention to the poor who The Divine Liturgy building of beautiful churches for the could have been helped by the money. For additional services and glory of God. In the last two years I have Our Savior rebuked Judas. He events, and for the latest accepted Mary's love offering as a updates, go to received a few comments like this from www.saintandrew.net individuals bothered at the construction token of her love and a most meaningful preparation for His burial, 4700 Canyon Crest Drive of our church temple. Their judgmental Riverside, CA 92507 spirits cannot be contained when they and He said, "The poor you have (951) 369-0309 see what appears to them to be sinful always with you, but you do not V. Rev. Josiah Trenham, pastor extravagance. This is more a always have Me." commentary on their lack of love for Submit articles to the editor at [email protected] God than anything else. It is the voice of (Continued on page 2) Volume 20 Issue 7 Page 2

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Even a poor young man works very hard to buy his invest more in the house of God than in any earthly bride a beautiful wedding ring for their wedding. It house. It is why St. Andrew Church has done so. may be completely irrational for a young man with A church temple that expresses the beauty of the little funds who is barely making it to buy a diamond Orthodox faith speaks the Gospel to all men, and or a gold ring for his beloved, but only one who is not makes the poor rich. It becomes a mighty magnet struck with intense love for his own beloved would drawing the downcast to eternal life and everlasting decry it. Such singular extravagance is what you do to ennoblement. honor the special one you have chosen to love forever. It is this same divine love which impels the parish to open our doors to all, to serve in the homeless shelter Orthodox Christians have always embraced the call to so often, and to give generously to the needy love the worship of the Lord above all and to serve multiple times a year. the poor as Christ in our midst. Faithful Christians must imitate St. John Chrysostom "O Lord I have loved the beauty of Thy house and the and both exalt the worship of the Holy Trinity and place where Thy glory dwelleth" (psalms). This verse serve the cause of the needy. Worship and is about to be placed in stone into the floor of the almsgiving are inseparable. narthex! May we be zealous for both! This is the cry of the heart of the believer. This is why faithful Orthodox Christians sacrifice so much to Fr Josiah build holy houses for the glory of God. It is why we

Father Josiah received the following email a few days ago from a visitor to our parish:

"Father, bless! I had the benefit of briefly visiting your parish's beautiful temple this past Saturday. After having the oppor- tunity of perusing the website and the newsletters, yours is a community that is truly Alive in Christ! May I congratulate the parish community of being a shining (literally and figuratively) example of Eastern Christiani- ty to the Riverside community. In my trips to the Los Angeles area I came to notice the gold dome and roofs from Highway 60 a number of months ago, and had vowed to one day to see the building. Thanks to Providence, last Saturday was the day. I must admit I was more than pleasantly surprised to discover that the building was in fact a Byzantine temple. I had the occasion to meet a gentleman who graciously invited me to look inside. WOW, what a beautiful floor plan and exquisite iconography. The mosaic aetos/orletz is magnificent...With a daughter attending USC, and a son who will begin studies also at USC in August, I travel through the area often. If it's not an inconvenience, may I contact you in order to make a longer visit on a future trip? May the Lord God grant you many years! Sincerely, Visitor X Volume 20 Issue 7 Page 3

His Eminence, Metropolitan EPHREM of Tripoli visits St. Andrew Church...

At the invitation of His Grace Bishop JOSEPH, His Eminence Metropolitan EPHREM of Tripoli and two accompanying monks visited St. Andrew Church on Monday, July 4th. It was a great blessing for the many parishioners who came to receive him on this national holiday and listen to his teaching. Known for their loving hospitality, the parishioners of St. Andrew put on an elaborate lunch at a very short notice. This historic visit of His Eminence along with His Grace Bishop JOSEPH is captured in the pictures below.

Touching the relics...

Admiring the Bishop’s Throne and trying it out!!! Volume 20 Issue 7 Page 4

St. Andrew Church Iconostasis is being installed!!!

Mr. Fayez Khachok, the artisan from Syria whose talented hands crafted our beautiful new iconostasis, is putting it all together as Deacon Elie watches. Completion is expected within the next few weeks. May God bless his hands.

The iconostasis on the left was also made by Fayez for a church in Latakia, Syria. When ours is completed, it will look much like this one but with different icons. Volume 20 Issue 7 Page 5

Another son of St. Andrew Parish, Daniel Meyer, was ordained to the Holy Priesthood on Sunday, June 12, 2011 by His Grace Bishop THOMAS of the Diocese of Charleston, Oakland and the Mid- Atlantic. Axios, Axios, Axios. Fr. Daniel was assigned to the pastorate of the Glorious Ascension Orthodox Church, West Chester, PA. We also congratulate Fr. Daniel and Khouriya Elizabeth on the birth of their son, Paul Cepha, on July 6, 2011.

On the lighter side…. Some Reasons Why Not to Mess With Children!

A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales. The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small. The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible. The little girl said, 'When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah'. The teacher asked, 'What if Jonah went to hell?' The little girl replied, 'Then you ask him'.

A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see each child's work. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was. The girl replied, 'I'm drawing God.' The teacher paused and said, 'But no one knows what God looks like.' Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, 'They will in a minute.'

One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast on her brunette head. She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, 'Why are some of your hairs white, Mum?' Her mother replied, 'Well, every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white.' The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and then said, 'Mummy, how come ALL of grandma's hairs are white?'

A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood. Trying to make the matter clearer, she said, 'Now, class, if I stood on my head, the blood, as you know, would run into it, and I would turn red in the face.' 'Yes,' the class said. 'Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the ordinary position the blood doesn't run into my feet?' A little fellow shouted, 'Cause your feet ain't empty.’ Volume 20 Issue 7 Page 6

St. Andrew Community News... the kids’the faces??? wondering!!!Just he saying that caused this intense look on Listening Fr. to Josiah speak. was What SOYO Annual Camping trip...

Congratulation to Warren and Barbara Gregory Roum’s Eagle Scout project completed! Ball who celebrated The benches look great Gregory. Thank you! 25 years of marriage They have already been put to good use! on July 10th. God grant you many years!

Congratulations to Neal and Valerie Watson on the birth and naming of their baby boy who was churched on July 17, 2011. Volume 20 Issue 7 Page 7

Congratulations to Adam and Nour Alassad on the birth of their baby Miriam who was named on June 18 (left) and churched on July 10, 2011 (below). Also shown in photo is grandma Haifa Alassad.

St. Andrew parish was well represented at the Parish Life Conference in Irvine, CA. Many families including the Trenhams, Roums, Krammeses, Jorises, Yellands, Andersons, Youneses, Claypools, Milkies, Daruties, as well as Antony Ashie, Teri Stevens, Elizabeth Beck, Leigh Cordery and Lucy Hanna. (Forgive me if I missed anyone). Lucy led her final Diocesan Antiochian Women Meeting ending a 4-year run as president.. The newly –elected President, Melinda Bentz from Holy Cross Church of Palmdale has appointed our own Beth Krammes to be the Spring Retreat Coordinator. Congratulations Beth. Also, 5 of our Sunday School children have won at different levels in the Creative Arts Contest. What we didn’t have this year is representation at the Bible Bowl or the Oratorical contest. Come on people, let’s work on this for next year! Remember, we are hosting the PLC in 2015. Let’s practice!

St. Andrew Monthly Income and Expense Report for May & June 2011

May General Fund May Building Fund June General Fund June Building Fund

Income $28,666.00 Income $16,760.05 Income $18,121.00 Income $7,825.05 Expense $29,117.49 Expense $18,129.97 Expense $27,413.63 Expense $12,179.99 St. Andrew Orthodox Church

4700 Canyon Crest Drive Riverside, CA 92507