1994-2014 20Th Anniversary of the Glorification of Bishop St
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CHURCH OF ALL RUSSIAN SAINTS NEWSLETTER VOLUME 2 NUMBER 4 JULY/AUGUST 2014 1994-2014 20th Anniversary of the Glorification of Bishop St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco MESSAGE FROM FATHER STEFAN 7th) and the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (July 12th). The latter is the patronal Feast Day of the Santa Rosa Church. If you are in the wine country on that date, be sure to attend. e are in the midst of summer vacation with children home from school and families taking time off from W In addition, there are services for the Holy Royal Martyrs work to relax, spend time together and travel. Recently, we (July 17th) and Saint Sergius of Radonezh (July 18th) at the celebrated Pentecost (Troitsa), followed by our Church Feast Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco. Our Diocesan Kazan Day. Then, many of us attended Holy Virgin Cathedral to Summer Church on the Russian River located at Vacation commemorate the 20th anniversary of the glorification of Beach near Guerneville celebrates its Feast Day commemorating Bishop Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco. The Holy Kazan Icon of the Theotokos(July 21st). We should also not forget Equal to the Apostles Saint Vladimir After so many important Church holidays, there’s a tendency Enlightener of the Russian Lands (July 28th). to start skipping church during the summer months. I urge everyone to try their best to avoid this “summer slacking”. The Monterey/Seaside Church celebrates its Feast Day of Saint Summertime is rich with Feast Days commemorating important Seraphim of Sarov (Aug. 1st). Other important dates are saints, icons, and holy events. Make a point of attending Prophet Elijah (Aug. 2nd), Saints Boris and Gleb (Aug. 6th), church at home or wherever your vacation plans take you. and Holy Healer Great Martyr Pantelemon (Aug. 9th). When selecting a vacation destination, it’s always best to pick Procession of the Life Giving Cross (Aug. 14th) is the first day a location where an Orthodox Parish is available. As Russian of the two week long, strict Dormition Fast. Two important Orthodox, we share our faith with Greeks, Serbs, Bulgarians, Feast Days that should not be missed no matter where you’re Antiochians, Romanians and other Orthodox Christians. traveling are the Holy Transfiguration of the Lord (Aug. 19th) Search out Orthodox Churches located in the area you are and The Dormition of the Holy Virgin (Aug. 28th). visiting and make a laudable effort to attend Saturday Night Vigils, Sunday Divine Liturgies, and Holy Day services. (See Check our Parish Church Schedule to see when we have Andrei Roudenko’s article under Choir News to learn the services in July and August and make a supreme effort to attend importance of attending Saturday Night Vigils.) Keep in mind church here in Burlingame or on the road. that some Orthodox parishes are on the Gregorian Calendar so be careful not to miss important Orthodox holidays. Final Note: There will be a special joint commemoration of the 80th year anniversary of our Western American Diocese, the Coming up in July are the Nativity of John the Baptist (July 700th anniversary of the birth of Saint Sergius of Radonezh, 1 and the 50th anniversary of the AUTOMATIC PAYMENTS FOR PARISH DUES, canonization of St. John of Kronstadt STEWARDSHIP AND DONATIONS on Friday evening, October 3 and - Alexei Baranoff Saturday morning, October 4. The services will be held at the Saint to track with a copy of the check Seraphim Russian Orthodox Church in eing a parish member is a or reference number for your files. Monterey/Seaside. Keep an eye out for Bwonderful way to partake in the details. day to day care of our church’s needs. Copies of your checks are generally Along with the month to month available from your bank’s website at Have a grace-filled and joyful summer! support of the priest, choir director, no cost. God bless you. DON’T FORGET utilities, overhead expenses, and other TO ATTEND CHURCH THIS general incidentals, steady payments of PayPal is another very popular SUMMER! current memberships allow the Parish method of payment. This option Council to forecast and manage these uses either a credit card or your BAPTISED rising costs. checking account to process a payment. Once again, recurring APRIL Whether you are a parish member or payments can be established at your None not, you can also participate in the direction. One does not require a Stewardship program which focuses PayPal account to use this service. MAY on larger more involved projects and Even though a minimal fee for this Melania Fetisova specific obligations such as the recently service is charged to the church, completed cupola repairs. the peace of mind with automatic payment is worthwhile. The link Of course, the church cannot exist on to the church’s PayPal account can MARRIED just membership dues and Stewardship be found on our church’s website pledges. It is also dependent on regular under “Donations / Membership” There were no donations, especially those donated or directly at http://www. marriages during Nativity and Pascha. allrussiansaintsburlingame.org/eng/ in the months of donationsEng.php. april and may. All of these raise the question of how do I pay? Aside from writing checks Whether you decide to pay monthly or annually, either option mentioned REPOSED IN THE LORD or giving cash at the candle counter in church, an easy and alternative way above can help streamline and create is to set up automatic payment on a a more efficient process for all. Don’t APRIL recurring basis. forget to fill in the memo line on Maria Martynkevich your checks whether they are manual Leonid Karpenko There are several options available for or automatic payments. Of course, receipts are available for monthly and MAY your consideration. Two examples are None Automatic Check Payment and PayPal. annual donations sent via automatic payments, as well as manual payments. Automatic Check Payment is the same as writing a personal check and If you’re interested or need assistance in NEW PARISHIONERS placing it in the mail. Most banks establishing an automatic payment for offer this service free of charge and either membership dues, Stewardship, Katherine Andruha even cover the postage. You can set or any other donation, please call me at George Lysenko 916-799-0898 or ask me after church Susanna Motoviloff a recurring date, and a check will be sent automatically from your bank services. As Parish Council Treasurer, I to the church. This method is easy am ready to help. 2 SISTERHOOD SEEKS COFFEE HOUR THEOLOGICAL QUESTION VOLUNTEERS FOR FATHER STEFAN - Matushka Tanya Pavlenko fter intense preparations for Aour Parish Feast Day, the 20th Anniversary of the Glorification of Bishop St. John of Shanghai and San IS YOGA HARMFUL TO THE SOUL? Francisco, and the All Diaspora Youth Conference, the Burlingame Sisterhood hen I was asked whether the practice of Yoga was something Orthodox has decided to take a break for the WChristians could safely engage in, my first thought was sure, if it’s done to stay summer. There will be no Sisterhood limber, burn calories, lose weight or exercise. But before trusting my personal opinion, lunches or events during July or August. I decided to find out what experienced Orthodox Christians said on this subject. In addition, there will be no pelmeni- What I discovered made me feel it is my duty as Parish Priest to warn the Orthodox making session in July. The next session faithful of the serious dangers that Yoga and other so-called Eastern Meditations can will be on August 7, starting at 10 a.m. cause. and ending approximately at 4 p.m. You can come at any time. For more information, call Luba Gauschieldt at The Orthodox Church engages all our senses when we come to services and draw near 650-591-1605. to God. Our eyes see the Holy Icons and follow the movements of the clergy and altar attendants. We hear the singing and the church bells. We smell the incense. We At the last Parish Council Meeting, the humbly partake of the Holy Communion in the Eucharist and savor the large pieces subject of Coffee Hours was brought of bread soaked in wine at holiday Vigils. We bless ourselves with the sign of the cross up. Many parishioners would like to and make various prostrations, sometimes bowing down to the ground. We bring our have a regular after-liturgy coffee hour, body and our senses into the act of worshiping God in Church and at home. This is similar to those held at other churches. a very important aspect of the Orthodox Christian life. Our whole being, body, soul Our wonderful Gilchrist family hosted and spirit, is active in our spiritual development and worship of God. this event for many months. Now we need other people from the parish to Yoga and various Hindu practices touch on certain activities that include contorting volunteer to do so. the body into various positions and stances, along with specific breathing exercises. Coffee Hours can be done by an At first, these activities seem innocent and harmless enough but when esoteric depths individual, a family, or a small group. are realized, it becomes apparent these stances, movements, and breathing methods Volunteers would be responsible for are part of an ancient pagan ritual that was expressly developed not only to limber bringing breakfast or snack items, and develop a healthy physique, but to create a powerful channel to “spirits” and providing the coffee, sugar and milk “gods” associated with the pantheon of the Hindu Religion.