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 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 . 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 beneft 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 Offce 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 Sacrifce. 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 sacrifced 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, , and , 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 fed to where they became . John became a 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 refect the glory of the Kingdom of God and the monastic calling . We are not all called to be monks and , 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, sacrifcing their very lives for Christ. So, maybe all of us aren’t called to offer all of our skills and sacrifce our livelihoods since we live in the world, but we can emulate the Unmercenary Healers willingness to sacrifce so much, so freely and not be of the world. As Unmercenary Healers, John and Cyrus exemplify what it means to sacrifce. A sacrifce 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 sacrifcial 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.

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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 flling 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 refnancing 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 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 flled 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 flled 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. With this in mind, don’t wait, have your home blessed now and again later in the year. Follow this link to sign up for a home blessing.

The St. Elizabeth News Christ is Among Us! 4 ST. ELIZABETH ORTHODOX CHURCH St. Elizabeth Orthodox Church Woodstock, GA January 31, 2021 PARISH MEETINGS ANNOUNCEMENT 2265 East Cherokee Drive Woodstock, GA 30188 Phone: 404-268-6359 Email: [email protected] Fr. Matthew Dutko Pastor/Administrator www.stelizabethga.org January 23, 2021

Dear Parish Members,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

I'm writing to announce that we will have an additional Special Meeting prior to our Annual Winter Parish Meeting.

The date of the Special Meeting will be on Sunday, February 7, 2021 at the church after Divine Liturgy.

The purpose of the Special Meeting will be focused on the renovation of the rectory house. We will need to decide if we want to proceed with the renovation of the house by refnancing the existing church mortgage to secure the funds to do the renovation work.

Winter Parish Meeting. Our new bylaws call for us to have two Parish Member meetings each year. Our next meeting will approve the 2021 budget, elect 3 members to the parish council, and discuss other general business of the Parish.

The bylaws state that the Winter Parish Meeting can take place anytime in the January to March time frame with 30 days advance notice. The meeting will be on Sunday, February 14, 2021 at the church after Divine Liturgy.

Your attendance in these meetings are important and greatly valued. Please ask Fr. Matt or any of the Parish Council members if you have any questions about the meetings. In addition to me and Fr. Matt, the members of the Parish Council are Cathy Sparks, Cora James, Charlie Bezerra, and Julia Pineda.

If you would like to attend either of the meetings via a Zoom call, please contact Fr. Matt in advance and a link will be provided to you.

Thank you for your participation in the life of our Parish. We all have had a lot of challenges in 2020 and as we look forward to positive changes, hopefully we will see one another more in 2021.

In Christ,

John Marion

Parish Council President

The St. Elizabeth News Christ is Among Us! 5 St. Elizabeth Orthodox Church Woodstock, GA January 31, 2021 St. Elizabeth’s Parish Family Prayer List For the Health of: Evelyn & the Melnikoff Family, Pani Betty Jean Baranek, Fr. James Gleason, The Paccio Family, Kara, Johanna, James, Anna, Basil, , Dianna, Denise, Alex, Jason, Athanasia, Ethel, Kathy, Lester, Sally, Jack, Tyler, Maria, Page Family, Blanar Family, Emma Rae, Floyd Family, Zachary, George, Robin, , Dean, Margaret, Metropolitan Gregory and his family, Rick, James, David Family, Fr. Scott, , Maria Starcova, Janis, David & Paulette Novak, Suzette, Bob, David. Michelle, Stephen, James, Brian Paul, Kathy, Mike, Debbie, Ken, The Hayes and Boucher families, John, Peyton & the Gully Family, John, Alexandra, Benjamin, John, The Hazuda Family, Pani Amy George and the George Family, Eddie, Mary, Cathy, Drew, Pani Connie & Family, Marilyn & family, Mark, Fr. John Zboyovski & family, Kasi, Judy, George, Scarlett, Athena, Jay, Tim, George, Chris, Joy, Fr. Dcn. Stephen, Michelle, James, Rachel, Kate, Fr. Blaschak & Family, Larry, Alexandra, Tammy, Trahan & Skiba Family, Michelle, Ashley, The Hood Family, Fr. Jonathon, Rachel, Anna, Steve, Mary Kay. Mileshko Family, The Franklin Family, Caroline, Jon, Milton, Bob, Beatrice, Alexandra & Elizabeth, Jerry, Burt, Sandy, Stephanie, Caroline, Mariana, George , Xenia, Pani Kathy, Mary , Tommy, Stephen, Emilia, Alisha, & Aaron Zak, George, James, Joanna & the Puziculiks Family, Jenny, Mike & Family, Rodney, George, Phillip, George, Audri, Irinia, Elizabeth, Joanna, Fr. Dcn. Andy, Davina, & Family, Stan, Fr.Dcn. Charlie & Sally Ellis Fr. Ken, Justin, Charlie, Herbert and Mary Schleining, Fr. Tony Jospeh & Family, Spencer, Julie, Baby Maverick, James & Joanna, Anna, Fr. Larry & Pani Linda, Sherry, Steff, Galina & Family, Fr. Jim & Pani Kathy Dutko, Rick, Katlain, Elenor, Mark, Robert & Cindy, Melissa, Ben, Anthony, Rachel, Christine, Cora, Rick, Michelle, Tim, Robert, Tripp, Rachel & Family, Ashley & Family For the Departed: Patricia+, James+, Stephen+, Anna+, Charles+, Robert+, Loraine+. Helen+, Lewis+, Jeane+, Vera+, George+, George+, Ernie+, Eddie+, Maria+, Carl+, Mark+, Barry+, Jospeh+, Phillip+, Jenny+, Peter+, Bryan+, Rebecca+, Fr. Paul+, Maria+, Fr. Hazuda+, George Smisko+, Helen Spanovich+, Bob+, Alma+, Bo+, Saddie+, Fr. William George+, Violet+, Fr. Kozar+, Benjamin+, John Haddad+, Fred & Helen Mileshko+, Anna+, Natalie+, Lilly+, Christine+, Anna+, Tamara+, Anastasia+, Yvonne+, John+, Betty+, Ada+, Peter+ & Wanda+, George+, Jerry+, Barb+ & Harry+, Beth+, Louise+, Nikolay+, Boris Melnikoff+, Pani Patsy, David+, Fr. Michael+, Natalie+, Helen+, Ted+, Tom+, Mike+, Madeline+, Tim+, Fr. John Baranek Through the prayers of the Birthgiver of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, St. Elizabeth, The Holy Fathers & Mothers, and all the Saints, may our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ have mercy on us and save us!

Holy Saint Elizabeth Pray for us! Eternal Memory!

Keep Your Parish Family in Your Prayers! God is with us!

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A PRAYER TO THE MOTHER OF GOD DURING THIS TIME OF THE CORONAVIRUS

Most-Holy Ever-Virgin Mary, Birthgiver of God: receive this heartfelt supplication from us, your unworthy servants. We run Oto you tearfully, O Sovereign Lady, as this dreadful illness spreads through the whole world. Listen to the much-afflicted sighs of your ailing people and grant healing of soul and body. As a loving Mother, cover your suffering children everywhere with your protecting veil. In times of despair, console the faint-hearted, strengthen the weak, and enlighten those with embittered hearts. Guide the minds and hands of our doctors and nurses, that they may serve as instruments of the all-powerful Physician, Christ our Savior. You are the strong intercessor for our city, our country, and the whole world, O Queen of All. Present our prayers before the throne of the King of Glory, your Son and our God, that He may be merciful towards us and grant His grace to those who honor you and bow before your holy with faith and love. O joy of the sorrowful and consolation of the afflicted, stretch out your hands which are full of health and cures, so that having quickly received your wondrous help, we may glorify the Life-giving and Undivided Trinity: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen. 3-31-2020

The St. Elizabeth News Christ is Among Us! 7 St. Elizabeth Orthodox Church Woodstock, GA January 31, 2021 Diocesan Coronavirus Prayer List

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