January 5, 2014 Bulletin St. Nicholas Orthodox Church Orthodox Church in America 2143 S. Center Rd, Burton, MI 48519 Served by: Fr. Matthew-Peter Butrie – Rector Deacon Kerry Luke Gonser Web Page: www.saintnicholasburton.org Church: 810-744-0070 Fr Matthew: 810-247-4265

SUNDAY, JANUARY 5, 2014 28th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST — Tone 3. EVE OF THEOPHANY. Sunday before Theophany. Hieromartyr Theopemptus, Bishop of Nicomedia, and Martyr Theonas (303). Ven. Syncletica of Alexandria (ca. 350). Prophet Micah (9th c. BC). Virgin Apollinaria of Egypt (ca. 470). Ven. Phosterius the (9th c.). Ven. Menas of Sinai (6th c.). Ven. Gregory of Crete (ca. 820). Ven. Romanos, Martyr (1694).

TROPARIA (Tone 3) Let the heavens rejoice! Let the earth be glad! For the Lord has shown strength with His arm. He has trampled down Death by death. He has become the first-born of the dead. He has delivered us from the depths of Hell, and has granted to the world great mercy. (Tone 4) Of old, the river Jordan / turned back before Elisha’s mantle at Elijah’s ascension. / The waters were parted in two / and the waterway became a dry path. / This is truly a symbol of baptism / by which we pass through this mortal life. / Christ has appeared in the Jordan to sanctify the waters! (Tone 4) In truth you were revealed to your flock as a rule of faith, a model of meekness, and teacher of abstinence, so you won the heights by humility, and riches by poverty, O Holy Father Nicholas, intercede with Christ God to save our souls.

KONTAKION (Tone 4) Today the Lord enters the Jordan and cries out to John: / “Do not be afraid to baptize me. / For I have come to save Adam, the first-formed man.”

The Prokeimenon in the Sixth Tone: O Lord, save Thy people / and bless Thine inheritance! v. To Thee, O lord, will I call. O my God, be not silent to me!

THE SECOND EPISTLE OF THE HOLY APOSTLE PAUL TO TIMOTHY (4:5-8) Timothy, my son: as for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Alleluia, Tone 8 v: O God, be bountiful to us and bless us, show the light of Your countenance upon us, and have mercy on us. v: That we may know Your way upon the earth, and Your salvation among all nations.

THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK (1:1-8) The beginning of the gospel of Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare the way’ the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight –“John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

COMMUNION HYMN Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise Him in the highest! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

On January 10, four days after the Feast of Theophany on which we remember the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan, the Church celebrates the memory of Saint .

Gregory was born into an extraordinary family; history is not sure of his exact birthdate. His maternal grandmother Macrina is a saint of the Church. Her husband was, in Gregory's words, "killed by imperial wrath" – the deadly wrath of the pagan emperor Maximinus. Therefore Gregory believed that his grandfather could rightly be called a martyr for the faith. As for Gregory's own generation, four of his siblings, in a family of nine children, are as he is.

But most biographers don't describe Gregory as a singularly devout child. An experience he had when he was almost twenty seems to have been a decisive one. Some relics of the saints known as the Forty Martyrs of Sebastea were brought to a chapel near the family home, and Gregory's contemplation of these relics led him to understand that it is possible to give one's whole life to God. He took his own spiritual life more seriously then, and began on his personal path of serving God with all he had.

Gregory was emotionally close to his siblings. He had been through difficulties with his older brother Basil, who all but forced him to become a bishop. It was a position to which he was ill-suited and which he was not able to handle well, even being falsely accused of mishandling funds. Nevertheless, when Basil died in 378 at just forty, Gregory was devastated. He put his grief into a huge but important task—finishing Basil's great work "The Six Days of Creation" (Hexaemeron), which Basil had not yet completed at the time of his death.

The next year brought another terrible blow, when Gregory's beloved older sister Macrina died. She had been his mentor and teacher, as he freely acknowledged. He wrote a beautiful tribute to her that describes the ways in which her noble character affected him, and also tells us a great deal about the life of the Church at that time.

Gregory continued to write, developing his conviction that God has created us to grow constantly closer to Him. One of his best-known works is based on 2 Corinthians 3: 18, in which Saint Paul writes that we are being transformed "from glory to glory".

Gregory relates this growth to baptism, which he calls Troparion - Tone 4 "regeneration". He writes that in baptism "we shall not, according to the Jew Nicodemus and his somewhat dull O God of our Fathers, intelligence, change the old man into a child, nor shall we always act with kindness towards us; form anew him who is wrinkled and gray-headed to take not Your mercy from us, tenderness and youth...but we do bring back, by royal but guide our lives in peace grace, him who bears the scars of sin, and has grown old in through the prayers of the hierarchs Gregory and evil habits, to the innocence of the babe." Dometian.

This "royal grace" makes baptism a way for us to grow--to become as innocent as babes, which means being completely dependent on God. In so doing we become stronger than giants.

January 5, 2014

CANDLE INTENTIONS FOR THE HEALTH & BLESSINGS OF Health & God’s Blessings Macy Lemmen Gigi & Dedo Continued good health & speedy recovery for Joseph Goodman Evanka & Family Special Intention Joe Tome Health & God’s Blessings Joe Goodman, Helen Bibilikow, Evanka Elieff, Macy Lemmen Dorothy Goodman Fr. Ilya, Fr. Lawrence, Fr. Joe, Deacon Anthony, Anna, Reggie, Evanka, Aretoula, Dorothy & Joseph, Walter & Zina, Harold, Mira, Bosa, John & Gloria, Peter & Olga, Elaine, Helen, Rosemary, Jeanette, Ted & Marlene, Fr. David, Gladys, My family & friends Joe Tome Health & God’s Blessings Helen Bibilikow Peter & Jo Sredich

CANDLE INTENTIONS FOR ALL THOSE IN BLESSED REPOSE Blessed Repose Olga Gavroski, Lena Zhvirbla, Lepa Trpcevski, Maria Kolnash, Tanya Khait, Ivan Zhvirbla, Alex Zhvirblya, Anton Zhvirbla, Nina Zhvirblya, Pavel Zhvirbla, Lazar Kirovski, Anna Krasko, Stepan Krasko Memory Eternal-Lewis Elieff Evanka Elieff & Family Blessed Repose Evdokia Ponomarenko, Max Bradley Rosemary Vuckovich Blessed Repose Evdokia Ponomarenko-Memory Eternal Joe & Dorothy Goodman

We welcome all of our friends and visitors to St. Nicholas. Please join us for coffee and donuts in the parish hall.

Coffee and Pastries are being donated today in memory of +Stella Kantor by her children.

INSTALLATION OF THE NEW PARISH COUNCIL and auditors will be held today, following the Divine Liturgy.

ST. CATHERINES LEAGUE DINNER OUT will be held on Tuesday, January 7 in Frankenmuth. The dinner out is open to all the ladies of the parish. If you are interested in attending, please see Stephanie Stikovich or Christine Panoff. The Dinner out has been rescheduled for next Tuesday, January 14.

THEOPHANY BANQUET Our traditional outdoor blessing of water and Theophany Banquet will take place next Sunday, January 12, 2014. His Grace Bishop Alexander will be celebrating with us. The banquet will consist of lamb, rice, coleslaw, bread, beverage/coffee and dessert. The cost for the meal is $12 for adults and $6 for children 12 and under. Tickets will be available at the hall entrance from church the day of the banquet.

PARISH COUNCIL will meet on Monday, January 13 at 6:45 pm. Please be in attendance.

ANNUAL MEETING will be held on Sunday, January 19. The following will be giving reports: Treasurer, Auditors, Endowment Committee, Council President, St. Catherine’s, St. Juliana’s, Church School, Cemetery, Choir and Acolytes & Altar Boys. Be prepared with your written report. A Cévap dinner including: scalloped potatoes, salad, bread, beverage/coffee and dessert. The cost for the meal is $10 for adults, $5 for children 12 and under. Tickets will be available in the hall on January 12

2014 OFFERING ENVELOPES are available in the parish hall. Please take yours and those of your family members.

2014 MEMBERSHIP/PLEDGE CARDS have been mailed out. To be considered a member of St. Nicholas you must fill out and return a membership card. You do not have to pledge a dollar amount. Please do not send any money with your pledge card or it will be credited to your 2013 pledge. We sent out 150 pledge cards, 72 have been returned.

2014 CHURCH CALENDARS are available in the vestibule. Please, only one per family at this time.

HOPE IN A BOX for the month of January is toilet paper. Please place the item in the blue Hope in a Box container located in the parish hall. The toilet paper will be distributed by Catholic Charities Community Closet.

FOOD DRIVE Our next pick up is Monday, January 20. A list of food items is located next to the Hope in a Box.

ENDOWMENT COMMITTEE There is an opening on the Endowment Committee. If you or a parishioner you know would be willing or able to serve on the committee, please see Fr. Matthew or Subdeacon Johnny Kantor.

MEMORIAL LUNCHEON On January 12th, St. George will be having a 40 Day service and Memorial Lunch for the late Sylvia Sophiea who was their former parishioner, Choir Director and secretary. Please RSVP by calling St. George (810-732-0720) with the number of Adults who will be attending along with any children under 12. The deadline for RSVP is Tuesday, January 7th.

Schedule of services and events for the Week of January, 5:

Monday, January 6 THEOPHANY 9:00 am Divine Liturgy

Wednesday, January 8 9:00 am Divine Liturgy

Saturday, January 11 5:00 pm Vespers Bishop Alexander will be in attendance

Sunday, January 12 9:30 am Third Hour 10:00 am Divine Liturgy w/outdoor blessing of water Theophany Banquet No Church School

Sunday Offerings for December 29, 2013

Weekly Offering Envelope $1,275.00

Children’s Offering $ 0.00 January 1 – December 30, 2013*

Cemetery Maintenance $ 5.00 *No deposits were made after the th Charity Envelope $ 0.00 30 of December. Credit Union was closed. Love Inc $ 0.00 Actual Income Diocesan Support $ 0.00 $ 206,488.57 OCA Envelope-Charity $ 0.00 Actual Expense $ 196,890.84 Candle Fund $ 151.05 +/- to date $ 9,597,73 Coffee Hour $ 36.65 Seminarian Fund $ 0.00 65 people were in attendance on Sunday December 29, 2013. Loose Offering $ 69.00

Kiosk $ 0.00 Christmas Offering $ 355.00 Total Sunday Income Dec. 29, 2013 $1,891.70 Estimated Average Weekly Expenses $ 3,496.10