The Saint Andrew News St. Andrew Orthodox Church - Riverside, CA Dear Parishioners, As we launch out into this first week of Great Lent we find our systems shocked and we find that the daily routine and rhythm of life is not at all easy to break. Here is the counsel of the Lord as we find it in the Matins of the 1st day of Great Lent: ―Let us joyfully begin the all-hallowed season of abstinence; and let us shine with the bright radiance of the holy commandments of Christ our God, with the brightness of love and the splendor of prayer, with the purity of holiness and the strength of good courage. So, clothed in raiment of light, let us hasten to the Holy Resurrection on the third day, that shines upon the world with the glory of eternal life." There are two important attitudes that we must have at this time according to this text, and that we must maintain throughout the whole of Lent. These two dispositions Volume 18 Issue 2 & 3 are: 1. A spirit of joy. 2. A courageous resolve to spiritually struggle. February/March 2009 1. "Let us joyfully begin..." Remember my dear ones that Lent is a great gift from Published Monthly God to us! It is an immense honor to keep the Lent, to make spiritual progress towards the Lord and His Kingdom, and to receive so much grace as we do St. Andrew Orthodox Church of during the fast. And remember that this is all so that Riverside is a parish of the Self-ruled Antiochian Orthodox we can authentically and properly embrace and rejoice Christian Archdiocese of North in our Savior's Resurrection from the dead on the America, Diocese of the West, Third Day! Above all this Lent try to fast, to serve, to the See of the Right Reverend deny yourself, to pray, to go to church, with joy and JOSEPH, Bishop of not with sourness. Los Angeles and the West. 2. Let us seek the strength of good courage. We need Saturdays: resolve. Without resolve no one is able to enter into Great Vespers, 5:30 p.m. the Kingdom of God. Our Savior teaches us that "the Sundays: kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take Matins, 9 a.m. Divine Liturgy, 10 a.m. it by force." Here violence means self-violence - Feast Days: meaning not that we hurt ourselves but that we do Liturgy, 6 p.m. violence against our self-centered will and our On Eve of Feast compulsion to always seek our own good instead of Church School follows God's glory and the good of our neighbor. In order to The Divine Liturgy benefit from Lent and to truly change as a person each For additional services and events, and for the latest of us needs courage and resolve to continue Lent until updates, check the end, until Pascha itself. If we do the Lord will www.saintandrew.net raise us with Himself. O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, meddling, 4700 Canyon Crest Drive So as we begin...and as our bodies begin to protest...I lust of power, and idle talk. But give Riverside, CA 92507 rather the spirit of chastity, humility, (951) 369-0309 encourage you all to rejoice in the fast, and to patience and love to Thy servant. Yea, approach it with good courage! O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother; V. Rev. Josiah Trenham, pastor With much love for you all, for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen. Submit articles to the editor at Fr Josiah Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian [email protected] Volume 18 Issue 2 & 3 Page 2 TIPS FOR GREAT LENT By Kh. Krista West St. George Orthodox Church, Portland, Oregon The following are small tips on preparing for or participating in Lent. Wishing you all “Good Lent!” and praying that we all come to the Cross and Resurrection with much prayer and joy. Kh. Krista Tip #1 You Can't Have it All! to school or work). Adults may want to put in for time off on Great and Holy Friday. Lent can be a big time commitment—there are three to five extra services each week, not to mention the daily services Tip #2 Get Me to the Church on Time! during Holy Week. It's a daunting challenge, especially for Well, I'm not always the best example of getting to church families and individuals with already-busy schedules. But, on time, but there are some things that work well. Getting Lent only comes once a year and we want to make the most kids dressed and out the door seems to be a big challenge of it so we can experience its positive effect on our lives for many of us and I've found that keeping some clothes throughout the rest of the year. In this spirit, it is helpful to and one pair of shoes as ―church only‖ helps. Also, while I prepare for Lent by taking the rest of our lives down a do think it's important that children learn to dress up for notch so that we can take our church attendance and prayer church, sometimes the rules need to be relaxed a little life up a notch. during the more frequent services of Lent. If your children Start by looking over your and your family's schedule and are coming from school, they may need to attend services eliminate things that are not absolutely necessary. This is in jeans or more casual clothes. While our attire should the biggie—you just cannot have your kids in every sport glorify God, it should not keep us from His house. And I or special activity AND experience Lent in a meaningful strongly recommend keeping one CD of liturgical chant way as a family. This can sound a little harsh, but a great music in the car—this will soothe even the most harried part of Lent is putting the rest of our lives on the back trip to church and ensure that everyone arrives in a burner, so that we can really concentrate on our spiritual prayerful frame of mind. lives. And in the big picture, Lent is only six Speaking of arriving on time, Lent is a good time weeks. A few weeks before Lent begins, I look to remind everyone that Communion should over all of our schedules and make any necessary never be partaken of without proper preparation. changes. We take a break from swim team and I The ―gold standard‖ of preparation in the don't sign up to teach any knitting classes. We Orthodox Church is to attend Great Vespers on discuss ahead of time any events that might put Saturday evening, read the Pre-Communion extra pressure or stress on our family and set our Prayers (pg. 204 of the red service book) on schedules accordingly. Saturday night or Sunday morning, and then Set a goal of which services you want to attend— attend Orthros and Liturgy. Now, I recognize this is really important for families. For those that this preparation is not feasible for everyone, with young children, you may want to simply add but we need to give thought and make sure that the Akathist service on Friday nights since it's the we are preparing in some way. We don't want to shortest in length. For those with school-age just show up before Communion and receive, children, I recommend adding the Wednesday because in the eyes of the Church, this is night Pre-Sanctified Liturgy since it has a much ―partaking unto condemnation‖ and can be very different tone and feel than a Sunday Divine bad for our souls. Liturgy and it presents to children that not every Liturgy So, what are some ways we can prepare? The bare has the same feel—an important concept. minimum requirement for receiving Communion is that No matter which services you decide to partake of during you arrive for Divine Liturgy at the beginning, or at the Lent, this is also the time to schedule for Holy Week. This very least, before the reading of the Holy Gospel. If you year it is Sunday, April 12th through Pascha on Sunday, arrive after the Gospel, we're always happy to see you, but April 19th. Holy Thursday is the most important day of the do not receive and do not let your children receive. year for Orthodox Christians to receive Communion, so If you've got the bare minimum covered and want to move children will want to plan to miss school for the morning up a ―step‖ in preparation, you can start coming a little (the Liturgy's early on this morning and is followed by a earlier for Orthros. This is a particularly beautiful and pancake breakfast so everyone can eat before they head off Volume 18 Issue 2 & 3 Page 3 prayerful service with many of the hymns providing If your children are school-age, try and provide a small glimpses into the lives of the saints or expounding on our amount of ―quiet time‖, for reading or play or just theology. Either in addition to or in place of Orthros, read unwinding, before you come to church. It will help them the Pre-Communion Prayers before coming to church. transition from their busy day at school to the quietness of They're not long and they are very meaningful prayers.