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Church Bulletin 01-31-2021

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Church Bulletin 01-31-2021 St. Elizabeth Orthodox Church Woodstock, GA January 31, 2021 THE ST. ELIZABETH NEWS A Loving Community of Orthodox Christians St. Elizabeth Orthodox Mission Church Reverend Father Matthew Dutko Pastor/Administrator 2265 E. Cherokee Drive Woodstock, GA 30188 Father Deacon Steven Hanes A parish of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese Phone: 404-268-6359 Email: [email protected] Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Ruling Hierarch: His Eminence Metropolitan Gregory of Nyssa www.stelizabethga.org 34th Sunday After Pentecost Epistle: Colossians 3:12-16 Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30 Glory be to Jesus Christ! If you have never been to an Orthodox Church before, you are about to participate in the Divine Liturgy. The Liturgy is the work of the people and that means that all of your prayers are necessary! We hope you will stay and join us for coffee hour in the atrium. Please feel free to ask Fr. Matthew any questions you might have! May God’s blessing be with all of you! This week’s music… Tropar & Komdak Tone 1- Pew Book Page Kondak Tone 6 - O unashamed intercessor of Christians, * ever loyal advocate before the Creator, * do not disregard the prayerful voice of sinners * but in your goodness* hasten to assist us who trustfully cry out to you: ** Intercede always, O Mother of God, in behalf of those who honor you! Saints Cyrus & John The St. Elizabeth News Christ is Among Us! 1 St. Elizabeth Orthodox Church Woodstock, GA January 31, 2021 Do not do evil to your neighbor, do not upset him, do not slander him, do not belittle him, do not reproach him. Thus you will begin to do Weekly Schedule good to your brother Monday 2/1 6:30 pm- Great Vespers for The little by little, by Feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple comforting him with Tuesday 2/2 10 am- Divine Liturgy- For The words, being Feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the compassionate to him, Temple & The Blessing of Candles or by giving him what he Wednesday 2/3 6:30 pm- Orthodox needs. Climbing from one step to another, you Christian Catechism Class will reach the top of the ladder with God’s Saturday 2/6 4 pm - Great Vespers help. By helping your neighbor, little by little, Sunday 2/7 10 am- Divine Liturgy you will reach the point where you will desire Tuesday 2/9 6 pm- Parakalis to the Mother of his benefit as your own and his success as your God own. That is what it means to love your Wednesday 2/10, Thursday 2/11, & Friday 2/12 - Pirohi Prep - See Announcements neighbor as yourself. -Holy Abba Dorotheus The St. Elizabeth News Christ is Among Us! 2 St. Elizabeth Orthodox Church Woodstock, GA January 31, 2021 Cyrus & John: Unmercenary Healers Before every Divine Liturgy there is a special set of prayers offered to God called the Proskomedia. This special Office takes places at the holy table to the left of the Altar known as the Table of Preparation. This is where the holy gifts are prepared to be offered in the Holy Sacrifice. The bread and wine are prepared in a special way and placed on a special plate called a Discos and special cup called a Chalice. The main piece of bread that is offered is stamped with the letters IC XC NIKA which means Jesus Christ Conquers, this bread is called the Lamb; because the Lamb of God is sacrificed for the life and salvation of the world. Other smaller pieces of bread are cut and offered as special commemorations for the Mother of God, the angels, prophets, martyrs, and saints, along with commemorations for the living as well as the departed. One of the commemorations in the Proskomedia is offered for the Unmercenary Healers: Cosmas and Damian, Cyrus and John, Panteleimon and Hermolaus, and of all the holy Unmercenaries. It just so happens that today is the feast day of Saints Cyrus & John, so it seems like the perfect time to talk about just what exactly an unmercenary healer is and how we can emulate them for the glory of God in our own lives. Saints Cyrus & John lived in the third century. Cyrus was a doctor by trade and John a solider. To avoid persecution they both fled to Egypt where they became monks. John became a disciple of Cyrus and they both practiced the art of healing through prayer and their God given talents; that’s why they are known as healers. The Unmercenary part means that they served all who came to them for healing free of charge. So an Unmercenary Healer is a person who treats medical conditions at no cost to the suffering patient. So what can we learn from Cyrus and John? If we all followed their example to the letter and offered our gifts to one another freely, we might end up with lots of hungry children on our hands. What Cyrus and John where able to offer the world is holy and laudable. Cyrus and John’s saintly lives reflect the glory of the Kingdom of God and the monastic calling . We are not all called to be monks and nuns, but Christ is calling us to His Kingdom and He tells us that his faithful servants “are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world” (John 15:19). Cyrus, John, and all the Unmercenary Healers teach us by their example how to live in the world, but not be of the world. Saints Cyrus and John followed Christ’s example and poured out everything they had of themselves, sacrificing their very lives for Christ. So, maybe all of us aren’t called to offer all of our skills and sacrifice our livelihoods since we live in the world, but we can emulate the Unmercenary Healers willingness to sacrifice so much, so freely and not be of the world. As Unmercenary Healers, John and Cyrus exemplify what it means to sacrifice. A sacrifice is unconditional - it means that we offer all of ourselves cheerfully and joyfully to the service of God and our fellow man, not expecting anything in return. When we serve God by loving our neighbor and caring for the Church we should do so with no reservations, expecting nothing in return, giving freely because God so wills it. Saints Cyrus and John lived their lives as a sacrificial offering - giving freely and with faith in God’s mercy back to their fellow man that which God had so richly blessed them with. Let us pray that in our lives we can do the same; returning to God freely and joyfully that which he has given to us as unmercenary healers in this age. The St. Elizabeth News Christ is Among Us! 3 St. Elizabeth Orthodox Church Woodstock, GA January 31, 2021 A Few Announcements… • Important Pirohi Making Dates for the Remainder in February: 2/10 after 5 pm: Peeling, Boiling, & Mixing Potatoes for Filling - 2/11 after 5 pm: Prepping potatoes into filling balls and making dough 2/12 10 am morning shift & 5 pm evening shift: rolling dough, cutting circles and pinching pirohi - The Friday 2/12 pinching day has two times that are open for volunteers; in the morning or in the evening. If you can’t work at these times please consider volunteering to help clean up on Saturday 2/13. • At last years annual meeting we approved new by-laws that will be resulting in a change in the way we run our meetings throughout the course of the year. The pandemic already through a few bumps into the way in which we have implemented these by-laws. Moving forward there will be at least two parish wide meetings in the course of the calendar year:: a winter meeting and a summer meeting. The dates of these meetings will be announced at least 30 days prior to the meeting. A special parish meeting can also be called by the hierarch, priest, or parish council with 14 days advanced notice. With this in mind - A Special Meeting will be Held on February 7th after the Divine Liturgy for the purpose of discussing renovations to the rectory and refinancing our mortgage. The Winter Meeting with the election of parish council members will be held on February 14th after the Divine Liturgy. The winter meeting is what used to be referred to as the annual meeting prior to this year and the approval of the new bylaws. • Members of Saint Elizabeth’s who have been in quarantine due to COVID-19 are invited to participate in the Winter Meeting as well the Special Meeting on renovating the rectory (Priest’s Parish House). I cannot promise that the technology will cooperate or the integration between in person attendants and zoom participants will be smooth but as with everything over this past year, we will certainly do our best. Please email me in advance to insure that your in good standing and receive an invitation to the meeting. • Please Prepare your 2021 Stewardship Offering Card. Thank you to those who have turned in their offering card already. Your offering card can now be filled out online here. Once submitted it will be sent directly to Fr. Matthew’s email account. In order to participate in the annual meeting, a Stewardship Offering Card must be filled out. This Year Because of the Coronavirus, You Can Sign Up to Have the Exterior of Your Home Blessed. We can still enjoy some time together outside, but meals together in your homes with me and my family are postponed until later in the calendar year.
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