Volume 23 Issue 11 A Publication of St. Andrew Orthodox Church November 2014 4700 Canyon Crest Drive, Riverside, California 92507 Dear Parishioners The Lord’s blessing be with you and your families. In just a few short weeks we will be celebrating our Patronal Feast in honor of St. Andrew, the patron saint and protector of our parish. St. Andrew, our patron, was the first-called disciple of our Savior. He was the younger brother of St. Peter and was born in Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee. The brothers were fishermen by trade. St. Andrew was originally a disciple of St. John the Baptist. When the Forerunner pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” Andrew understood that Jesus was greater and immediately left John to follow Jesus. He later brought his brother Simon Peter to see and hear Jesus. Jesus called both St. Andrew and St. Peter to be his disciples by saying that he would make them “fishers of men.” When Jesus called, these two great apostles immediately left everything behind to follow him. After Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, St. Andrew the Apostle preached the gospel in Asia Minor and in Scythia as far as Kiev. St. Andrew was martyred in the city of Patras (Greece). The Proconsul Aegeates' family believed in the miracles and preaching of St. Andrew. For this the enraged Proconsul tortured and then crucified St. Andrew, who deeming himself unworthy to be crucified on the same type of cross on which Christ had been crucified, asked to be tied to an X shaped cross. The Apostle Andrew did not die right away, but instead he suffered for two days while he continued to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. The believers in Christ wanted to remove him from his cross, but the saint would not allow them. Instead, he comforted them from the cross as he prayed and preached. For about a half hour before he died an extraordinary light encompassed him. When it left, he gave up his soul. It was the year 62 AD. Saint Andrew is commemorated worldwide on November 30th. Throughout the year, we at Saint Andrew parish remember our patron through hymnody in our worship services and in our private prayer. We also venerate him through his icons displayed in our temple. Two hymns commonly sung in our services are: Apolytikion to St. Andrew “O Andrew first-called of the Apostles, brother of Peter the first-enthroned, intercede with the Master of all to grant peace to the world and great mercy to our souls.” Megalynarion for St. Andrew “Since thou was the first to approach the Lord, thou O Andrew was revealed as the First-Called Apostle. Divine visionary of Christ God's resurrection, do thou now quell the ragings of the passions.” V. Rev. Josiah Trenham, Pastor Church Phone (951) 369-0309 ● Fax (951) 369-6609 For information and schedule of services, go to www.Saintandrew.net To submit articles contact Lucy Hanna, editor, at [email protected] Volume 23 Issue 11 Page 2 This year we are blessed to have a special guest for our patronal celebrations: Hieromonk Innocent, Superior of the Monastery of St John of San Francisco in Manton, California. Fr Innocent was a parishioner of St. Andrew parish for many years while he was a graduate student at UCR, and later working locally before he embraced his monastic vocation. It is a delight to have an esteemed son of our parish return to be with us and edify us. Fr. Innocent will serve the Divine Liturgy Saturday morning, November 29th at 8am in the St. John Chrysostom Chapel. He will concelebrate Great Vespers for the Feast of St. Andrew on Saturday evening and deliver the Keynote Address at the St. Andrew Banquet on that Saturday evening. The title of the keynote address will be: "Our Story: the Apostolic Witness of St. Andrew and Our Personal Witness of the Experience of God and the Truth of Our Faith" Fr. Innocent will also preach at the Patronal Liturgy on Sunday morning. The schedule for our weekend of celebration in honor of our patron, St. Andrew, is as follows: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29TH: 8am: Divine Liturgy in the St. John Chrysostom Chapel 5pm: Great Vespers with Liti and Artoklasia for St. Andrew 6pm: Cocktails and Social Hour 7pm: Patronal Banquet SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30TH: 9am: Orthros 10am: Divine Liturgy for Patronal Feast of St. Andrew. Mark your calendars dear ones! As usual several generous parishioners have provided scholarships for parishioners to attend the Patronal Banquet. If you would like to come but need some assistance please contact Martha in the Church Office. In Christ, Father Josiah Volume 23 Issue 11 Page 3 ST. ANDREW COMMUNITY NEWS... Congratulations and many years to the newly-weds! Three St. Andrew couples were united in Holy Matrimony on three Sundays in a row. Kristi Guerrero & Douglas Shumway, October 19, 2014. Sponsors are Pete and Linda Giannakakos. Hannah Stoltenberg and Teddy Laurman, October 26, 2014. Sponsors are Maximus Diaz and Elizabeth Beck. Michael Osachuk & Erin Bernard, November 2, 2014. Sponsors are Sbdn. Tomas and Leanne Hernandez. Volume 23 Issue 11 Page 4 His Eminence, Metropolitan JOSEPH’s West Coast Enthronement Gala Saturday, January 31, 2015 As many of us on the West Coast are not able to travel to New York to attend the Enthronement of His Eminence Metropolitan JOSEPH in December, a special Gala celebration is planned by St. Nicholas Cathedral in Los Angeles to give us an opportunity to participate in this very special event in the life of our Archdiocese. The following announcement from the Cathedral outlines the details: SAVE THE DATE: By the grace of the Holy Spirit, we are prayerfully anticipating the upcoming Enthronement of His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph. Since many will not be able to attend the event in New York, we are blessed to announce an official West Coast Diocese event celebrating the Enthronement on Saturday, January 31, 2015 in Los Angeles, California, with the proceeds to benefit Camp St. Nicholas and Youth Education Programs. We are praying for enthusiastic participation by all churches in the Diocese to honor our beloved Metropolitan Joseph. This is the only celebration taking place on the West Coast - do not miss this historic celebration in the life of our Archdiocese. Please note that there will be a Commemorative Program Book that will include memorable images from the actual enthronement. Ticket and program book information will be available shortly. For further information, contact co-chairs: Rose Samore: [email protected] or Jasminka Gabrie: [email protected] Blessing for St. Nicholas Shrine at the World Trade Center A Ground Blessing ceremony for the Saint Nicholas National Shrine at the World Trade Center took place on Saturday October 18, 2014. The ceremony included a combined prayer service of blessing of the site and a doxology (a service of thanksgiving). Established in 1916, the small Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas was the only house of worship destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001 when the South Tower fell and completely obliterated the old church edifice. The new Saint Nicholas National Shrine will be rebuilt only a short distance away from its original location and will be overlooking the 9/11 Memorial. Archbishop Demetrios of America, primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America presided at the historic event with the participation of the hierarchs of the Holy Eparchial Synod of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and officials from the City of New York, officials of the States of New York and New Jersey, chaplains and interfaith representatives, family members of victims of 9/11, representatives of Archdiocesan institutions and organizations as well as many Hierarchs, Clergy and faithful Orthodox Christians from around the country. His Eminence Metropolitan JOSEPH attended the event and signed his name on the wall at ground zero (see photo to the left). Volume 23 Issue 11 Page 5 Update from the Hartungs ... To all our beloved and faithful friends at St. Andrew in Riverside, Greetings in Christ from Walla Walla, Washington! We hope this short note finds all of you in good health and the grace of God. It’s hard to believe that almost 7 months have already passed since our big move to the Northwest. Since leaving Riverside, we Hartungs have been very busy. Upon our initial arrival, our new parish family at St. Silouan Orthodox Church was very zealous in helping us unload the moving vans, however it was then up to us to unpack and we spent the next several weeks working hard to settle into our new home. As soon as things were somewhat arranged, we began adventuring. Our first trip was out to the Oregon Coast where we spent 7 days exploring some of our favorite spots and found a couple of new favorites as well. Next was a trip to Eastern Oregon where we hiked through the Wallowa Mountains, forded a rushing river, picked enough wild blueberries and raspberries to last for days, and enjoyed pristine views atop many a mountain peak! The final days of summer were spent here in Walla Walla where we swam at the local swim- ming hole, caught snakes, frogs and salamanders, and foraged for wild edible mushrooms in the Blue Moun- tains, right here in our own backyard. Since the beginning of September, the 3 oldest children, Theophano, Yanni and Mariam, have been at Saint Basil Orthodox Academy 5 days a week. Saint Basil’s is the K-8th Academy which is attached to and run by our new parish. The children like their new school very much although it would be a lie to say that they love it.