March 2021 Bulletin
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THE LIGHT Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church Webster, Massachusetts www.schwebster.org Vol. 17, No. 3 March 2021 We miss and love OUR LENTEN JOURNEY our Church Family “O Lord, as we begin this spiritual deserts. That is why sacred and holy season of the Church offers us specific LENT BEGINS Great Lent, and as we strive to reminders in the church calen- discover You anew, help us to dar to help us refocus, to reori- CLEAN MONDAY make the prayers of our ent our lives toward the March 15 hearts, the thoughts of our straight and narrow path that minds, the words of our + Forgiveness lead into the Kingdom of mouths, and our daily actions Heaven. That is why the Vespers: March 14 always pleasing to You. Help Church year is full of fasts be- at 6:30pm us to sincerely struggle to fore our feasts, preparation be- keep this season of the Holy fore our celebrations. + Great Compline Fast with a serious desire to CLEAN MONDAY (March every Monday grow closer to You and to experience the joy and hope of 15) marks the beginning of 6:30pm Your Resurrection in a our Lenten journey and for the + Pre-Sanctified glorious new way.” followed seven weeks the Church challenges all Chris- Liturgies every As Orthodox Christians, we tians to try and develop their Wednesday 6:00pm are preparing to enter the holi- spiritual lives. We are prepar- est season of the Year - Great ing ourselves to celebrate the + Salutation Service Lent. For any serious believer greatest event in world history. Fridays 6:30pm this season is a time when we Our Lord Jesus Christ’s Res- try to make extra efforts in our urrection from the dead spiritual struggle and disci- marked the beginning of new ALL SERVICES ON pline. Of course, every day we hope and life for all humanity. LIVE STREAM should be praying, reading the Death no longer has the final Bible, striving to grow spiritu- say in our lives. Through our Connect at website ally, doing good deeds of love, Christ’s death and resurrec- www.schwebster.org and offering an overall Christ- tion, our own death becomes like witness to the world but a doorway into an eternal ONLINE GIVING around us. The Church, how- union with God. (Read the ar- ever, understands the cycles of ticle on page 2) https://my -site-108326- life well, and knows how we 103062.square.site/ all have our ups and downs, Yet to truly celebrate this mag- our times of spiritual highs and nificent feast of Pascha, we Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church 37 Lake Parkway, PO Box 713 Webster, MA 01570 Church Telephone: (508) 943-8361 website: www.schwebster.org Facebook: St Constantine Helens (Church) Church Office Hours: Monday, Fridays 9:00 am - 12:00 pm The mission of Sts. Constantine and Helen Church is to proclaim the Good News of Salvation through the Orthodox Christian Faith for the glory of our Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are a community of believers who journey towards our Lord Jesus Christ and one another through our WORSHIP, FELLOWSHIP, SPIRITUAL GROWTH, WITNESS, and SERVICE. We invite all people to join us on this journey in the Kingdom of Heaven. We are under the jurisdiction of His Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew His Eminence, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America His Eminence, Metropolitan Methodios of Boston Father Luke A. Veronis Telephone: (508) 949-7623 (h) (774) 230-6985 (cell) email: [email protected] 2021 PARISH COUNCIL Sunday School Teachers: President: Michael Chito Anton Cojocaru, Sara Darlagiannis, George Vice President: Joseph Gliniecki Dunning, Anesti Jordanoglou, Evis Secretary: Marie McNally Jordanoglou, Pauline Mueller, Stephanie Quill, Rayne Purcell, Pres. Faith Veronis Treasurers: Leah DiDonato & Bill Thompson Ecclesiarchs: Rayne Seraphim Purcell Kathy Bilis Chris Geotis and Charlie Chito Lisa Healy Sandi Kunkel Neal Neslusan Evelyn Pappas Cantors: Anestis Jordanoglou, Demetrios Jared Quill Debby Raymond Milios, Joseph Gliniecki, Annalisa Dunning Nick Seferi Festival Chair: Lisa Healy & Marie McNally PHILOPTOCHOS President: Evelyn Pappas Vice President: Sara Darligiannis & Gyro Fest Chair: Michael Chito, Joey Gliniecki Deborah Raymond Secretary: Marie McNally Golf Tournament Chair: Arthur Bilis Treasurer: Sandi Kunkel Choir Directors: Tony and Nike Beaudry GOYA: President: Louisa Foisy, Vice President: Panayiota Veronis, Greek Dance Group: Nike Beaudry Secretary: Kara Bilis Bookstore: Tina Colello Church Secretary: Mary Seferi Sexton: Mike Kokoszka Social Media : Kristina Mironidis Grounds: Nick Popiak The Light - March 2021 done in the past. OUR LENTEN Of course, fasting is only one aspect of JOURNEY our Lenten journey. Fasting has value only if prayer is a companion - both need to prepare. And how do we prepare? personal prayer, as well as communal First of all, we need to focus ourselves, to- prayer through Church worship. And wards spiritual things. The secular world in going to the Sacrament of Confession which we live often dominates our time, our can be a cleansing and essential type of attention, and our lives with temporal and ma- prayer for this season. Can you make a terial things, with the here and now. This holy commitment to attend one extra Church season challenges us to pull ourselves away service a week throughout the 40 day pe- from our “normal” and secular lifestyle, and riod of Lent, and also go to Confession reminds us to concentrate on what is most im- before the end of the Fast? portant and essential in life, on what should become our new normal! And the Lenten triad is complete with acts of mercy and love. Consciously try We begin this reorientation towards God to help those in need, through making by first creating time in our busy schedules donations, offering of your time, and and making room for the Holy Spirit to serving others in some way. Think of come and abide within us. This isn’t easy to something kind you can do for others. do. It means we need to change our typical Visit someone in need. Perform some hectic schedules. It means slowing down the anonymous act of love. Do more than tempo of our lives and limiting our usual what you typically do. forms of entertainment. It means putting down our phones, fasting from social media, In this issue of The Light, you will find and evaluating anew all that takes up our two powerful articles related to for- time. It means consciously making room in giveness. We cannot progress towards our schedules to attend more Lenten Church God without a forgiving spirit. That is services, to read some spiritual and edifying why the Sunday before Lent begins is books, to attend a spiritual retreat, and to sur- called Forgiveness Sunday. I realize this round ourselves with positive, holy, and godly is one of the great obstacles for some influences. Great Lent is a time when our people and yet forgiving one another and daily and weekly lives should change!!! seeking out the forgiveness of God is in- During this season of change, we want to dispensable for anyone serious in their journey toward our Lord. try and create ways that we can constantly connect with God. This is where fasting I pray that these next two months leading plays a central role. When we fast and are up to Pascha on May 2 will be spiritually hungry, or when we don’t eat certain foods edifying for each one of us, and will help and we crave them, we can remember why all of us draw closer to our Lord Jesus we are fasting and turn our attention toward Christ and to one another. God. Throughout Church History our saints have always shown us what an extremely im- With much love and hope in Christ Jesus, portant tool fasting can play in making us aware of God. This year, why don’t you try +Luke and fast in a more serious way than you have 1 The Light - March 2021 WHY WE PRAY FOR THE DEAD Understanding “Saturday of the Souls” At no matter what age of life we die, we always remember the dead continuously, and pray for them. see death as a distortion of our existence. Death Although death is the culmination of evil in our world, portrays a horrible tragedy because it is the fruit of for Christians our faith in Christ transforms death. For evil in the world. We were not created to die. one who is united to our Lord here on earth, death is no When Almighty God created the first man and longer a fearful and tragic conclusion of one’s life. It is woman in his own image and likeness, he meant but an entranceway into a new beginning! for all humanity to live for eternity with Him. Since God has no end, He desired for His beloved I remember a story my parents told me about their first creation to dwell in His infinite love forever. This travel abroad. My father and mother had only been is why, deep within each of us, we all sense an in- married for half a year, and my mother was several nate desire for life! months pregnant, when both got on a boat heading to- wards Greece so that my father could study at the Uni- From this perspective, death is fearful, and some- versity of Athens. Both my parents remember vividly thing we despise. And yet, although we can see the scene of their farewell, as they leaned on the rail of death as the greatest evil, St. Paul counsels us “not the ship waving goodbye to tearful family and friends.