JANUARY 2021 SAINT GEORGE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE DESERT 74-109 LARREA ST., PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA THE SACRED GIFT OF LIFE I was blessed to have Fr. “former freedom" is in humanity, Himself still Inside this issue Stanley Harakas as my fact life with God. In as being sinless, and drown- professor of Orthodox much as water is the ing them in the Jordan. The Sacred Gift Christian Ethics at Holy “material” for life, it is the Thus, He began His min- of Life…………...pg. 1 Cross Seminary. He con- Spirit of God Who actual- istry leading to His life- Encyclical for sistently taught that Or- ly gives us life. We have giving Cross and Resur- the New Year….pg. 2 thodox Christian Ethics no right to destroy God’s rection from the dead, are centered on the sancti- gift of life. through which we are Church & ty of human Life. This is granted Eternal Life, be- Wellness; clearly evident as prayers Nicholas Cabasilas, in his ginning here and now. Spiritual are read for the “Blessing book, The Life in Christ, Indeed, God so loves the Thoughts………pg. 3 writes that both the Bap- of Waters” for Epiphany, world that He gives us St. Basil & which are similar to those tism of Christ in the Jor- His Only-Begotten Son so dan and our own personal Kindness read at the Sacrament of that we would not perish. Counts…………pg. 4 Holy Baptism. We pray baptism in the Church are As we celebrate the Bap- for the waters to be “a re- "Epiphany events," at Sunday School; tism of Christ our God newal of spirit...that in pre- which all three Persons of Philoptochos….pg. 5 in the Jordan and at the serving the gift of Your Holy the Trinity are manifested: same time begin a new AHEPA; Spirit... [we] may attain un- "The Father has set us free Stewardship to the prize of our high call- [from the consequence of sin year, let us consider 2021 Parish ing, being accounted among --which is death], the Son to be “A Year for Prayer,” Calendar……….pg. 6 the number of the first-born, was the ransom by which we since one lesson of this whose names are written in were freed, but the Spirit is Covid-19 pandemic is the heaven.” freedom, for St. Paul says, need to cherish the life of ‘Where the Spirit of the Lord others around us, as well In the Prayer attributed to is, there is freedom (2 Corin- as our own and to have the Patriarch Germanos thians 3:17).’ The Father has sincere faith in God as we we hear : “You condescend- re-shaped us; by means of the live the gift of our lives. ed to receive baptism in the Son we were re-shaped; 'but Mailing Address Jordan,...so that, in sanctify- The Baptism and ministry St. George Church it is the Spirit Who gives P.O. Box 4755 ing the nature of waters,... life' (St. John 6:63.") (pg. of our Savior teaches us, Palm Desert, CA 92261 You might open the way 64). as John Breck notes in his Tel: (760) 568-9901 book, The Sacred Gift of FAX: (760) 568-9492 for our rebirth by water and Email: pdsaintgeorge@gmail the Spirit, and thus restore Our Savior washed away Life, that, “Human life by Website:www.go-stgeorge.org our former freedom.” This our sins by absorbing its very nature is sacred… -Fr. Theodore Pantels, Pastor-- them into His own hu- [and] all human lives -Dcn. Euthym Kontaxis, M.D. Page 2 are of equal value, at whatever stage of their develop- ENCYCLICAL FOR THE NEW YEAR ment from conception to death. This implies that all O All-Good Master, by Your ineffable long- human lives have the same ‘right’ to life.” (pg. 209). suffering You have vouchsafed us to enter +FR. THEODORE into the New Year, bless this entrance with Your Di- WELCOME YOUR GRACE, BISHOP vine Grace. (Prayer of the Doxology for the First of the SPYRIDON OF AMASTRIS New Year) The parish of St. George welcomes His Grace, Beloved Brethren in the Lord, Bishop Spyridon of Amastris, who celebrated the We are greeting the New Year of the Grace of our Divine Liturgy at our parish on Sun- Lord, even as we share the longsuffering of our day, December 6th, the Feast of St. Nicholas the Lord that has strained our hearts and souls in the Wonderworker. Fr. Ted, on behalf of the entire year that is behind us. We salute the New Year parish, welcomed His Grace to his new home in with faith, with hope for a brighter tomorrow. We Palm Desert with a liturgical vestment welcome the New Year with the same confidence (epigonation). Rhonda Latkovic, Philoptochos which knows that each passing day now possess- Chapter President, Tina Veroulis, Philoptochos es just a shard, just a hint of more light, even Chapter Treasurer, and Alexandra Dymond, though the days of January seem darker than ev- Philoptochos Chapter Board Member presented er. Likewise, we know that the pandemic will house-warming gifts to His Grace. come to an end, and that we shall return to our Fr. Ted noted that the epigonation is a gift given lives, but perhaps not as exactly as they once with a special spiritual purpose -- that being, so were. May this re-entry into our lives be blessed! that parishioners of St. George could welcome His My dear Christians, the past year has prepared us Grace into our parish family by exclaiming for this New Year of 2021; that we might never “Axios” for His recent ordination. Fr. Ted also again take our families and friends for granted, noted that, since His Grace will be living in Palm that we might think of the suffering of others Desert, St. George is His home “away from His above our own, that we might see in the midst of house,” where He can enter our church at will for the obstacles to our way of worship, the light of His personal prayers and liturgical requests; re- Christ that lights our hearts, if we would but turn search for any personal and/or Ecclesiastical pro- our attention there. jects that He will be undertaking in service for our Holy Archdiocese. On this First Day of the New Year, eight days af- ter the Nativity, we commemorate the Naming of Pictured to the the Lord, and Saint Basil the Great. The Lord was left, welcoming given the Name that is above every other name, His Grace, Bishop Spyri- Jesus, as was revealed by the Angel. This is the don of Name by which we have been appointed to be Amastris to our saved from sin, fear, and death. Saint Basil the St. George parish - from Great reminds us that it is through manifest love left to right: for our fellow human beings and compassion for Fr.Ted, Alax- andra Dy- the suffering of others that our faith works unto mond, Tina this salvation in our hearts, and awareness in our Veroulis, Rhon- minds. Thus, the Holy Archdiocese continues this da Latkovic, saving work institutionally at the Saint Basil Academy, where love and compassion are ex- tended to those in need. Continued on the page ---------> Page 3 ENCYCLICAL FOR THE NEW YEAR, Continued SPIRITUAL THOUGHTS By Deacon Euthym As we enter this New Year of the Grace of our “I admire your proposing questions not for the Lord, may we truly be blessed by His love that sake of testing, as many now do, but to discover we may be a blessing to others, and thus may we the truth itself.” ― Basil the Great, On the Holy all be granted a healthy, safe and fulfilling New Spirit Year of 2021. With paternal love in Christ Jesus, Very profound. How many of us actually ask to † ELPIDOPHOROS seek truth? Most of the time our questions are Archbishop of America either to reaffirm what we already believe or to undermine another individuals point of view, CHURCH AND WELLNESS rarely to we, with humility, seek truth. The test is The Coronavirus pandemic of 2020 sparked in whether we are asking out of humility. If so then me an interest in Viktor Frankl's classic book en- we are honestly seeking the truth. Christ said, " I titled, Man's Search for Meaning. The fear and un- am the truth, the way and the life". So in all of our certainty that we have experienced under the explorations if we truly want the truth, we seek cloud of the Coronavirus is greatly surpassed by the one God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit...who took the fear and uncertainty experienced by Jewish flesh in the person of Jesus Christ and who is the People imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps icon of absolute truth, creator of all things out of under Hitler. As a prisoner himself, Frankl found nothing, the Holy Wisdom, the healer of body that the key to survival and sanity is for one to and soul and the Savior of the world. Let us stop find meaning in his or her life -- even if that and pause the next time we ask a question or meaning is found in suffering for the dignity and search for an answer, what is my motive? Is it to welfare of others. truly seek truth in humility or to elevate our- selves in pride? Let us move forward as we take Our Christian martyrs, for example, found mean- leave of the feast of the Nativity and approach ing in their lives by standing up for the truth that this coming year as a newborn baby, innocent Jesus Christ is True God, Who loves every per- and humble, and make it the year of truth, re- son born in the world.