St. George Church
Publish Date: 2024-03-17
Bulletin Contents
St. George Church
General Information
- Phone:
- (207) 945-9588
- Email:
- church@mestgeorge.net
- Street Address:
- 90 Sanford St
- Bangor, ME 04401
- Mailing Address:
- 90 Sanford St
- Bangor, ME 04401
Contact Information
Services Schedule
ORTHROS: 9:00
LITURGY: 10:00
Past Bulletins
- Publish Date:
- 2024-03-24
- Publish Date:
- 2024-03-10
- Publish Date:
- 2024-03-03
- Publish Date:
- 2024-02-25
- Publish Date:
- 2024-02-18
- Publish Date:
- 2024-02-11
News, Events and Announcements
National Anthum at coffee hour, Sunday
Monday Feast - no Orthros - Liturgy @10
No Presanctifird
HERE'S A RESOURCE FOR THE SEASON Stay on track during the weeks of the Triodion and Great Lent with "Our Journey to Pascha:" https://www.bulletinbuilder.org/system/pdfs/journey-to-pascha-2024-0.pdf?1706130893
STUCK WITH FEELINGS OF RESENTMENT OR LACK OF FORGIVENESS? Wise guidance for the soul's illness can be found here: http://orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/resentforgive.aspx. It's an excellent read as we approach Forgiveness Sunday.
WE HAVE A PSALM READING GROUP ASSEMBLED Great and Holy Lent (which starts tomorrow, Clean Monday, March 18) is a time of reflection, prayer, repentance and offerings of love. It is a time to atune ourselves more closely to the Lord and His example for us. A tradition in many churches is to read the Psalter through twice during the Lenten season. It is a beautiful and blessed tradition to participate in this way.
We have assembled a group of 20 Psalter readers who will offer the reading of the Book of Psalms in its entirety (as a group) each day during Great and Holy Lent. This is done from home and will be a special offering from our church this season. The Psalter reading group is comprised of St. George parishioners and other Ortho friends of our church. May God bless all those who participate this season!
WEEKLY SERVICES AT ST. GEORGE DURING GREAT LENT Pre-sanctified Divine Liturgy generally every Wednesday evening at 6PM, please fast from noon to receive Holy Communion. Friday evening Salutations service to the Mother of God, 7PM, on 3/29, 4/5 and 4/12. Full Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, at 7PM on Friday evening, 4/19.
TODAY is the Sunday of Orthodoxy Please bring a portable icon of your own to use in procession. Let us proclaim our Faith with images and hymns!
PRAYER REQUESTS Please lift up prayer for parishioners' loved ones and friends: Seraphima (Maria Flanzala's daughter) who suffered a stroke recently and is now recovering. Maria will remain close by, assisting her as she recovers. Thank you to all who have responded to the Meal Train request to assist their family. Update: Sasha's father, Dimitri, recently suffered a fall resulting in a broken hip, requiring surgery. However, cancer has also been diagnosed and he is now undergoing radiation treatments. Please keep him and all the family in your prayers. God grant him both strength and grace to recover. Kindly keep Jaye Goulet in your prayers who is recovering from a stroke. Her recovery has been slow, but she is making good progress and is grateful for your continued prayers.
A MEAL TRAIN for the Flanzala family has been created. Please visit this link for details: https://www.mealtrain.com/potlucks/dn3r36. Consider providing a main dish (to serve four persons) for the family. They are adjusting to the care of a family member who's recovering from a stroke. Main dishes for the family can be brought to St. George tomorrow (3/17). Suggested: frozen dish that can be re-heated (in a disposable container) as needed. Please no spicy food. Thank you.
SOMEONE TO HELP THIS SEASON Fr. Leo and Pres. are aware of an Orthodox family being cared for by a single parent. This family is known to them, personally. The mother has three young ones and is caring for them the best she can but there are some acute needs that we've learned about. Our Lenten focus will be toward assisting this family. More info to come.
EXTRA LOAVES OF PROSFORA APPRECIATED Now is the time to be stocking our church freezer with extra loaves of the Bread of Offering. If you have been / are a prosfora baker, your ministry is especially appreciated for the upcoming Lenten season when more breads are regularly needed and used. Thank you and God bless the ministry of your heart and hands!
COOKING DURING GREAT LENT There are now so many resources available to help anyone manage cooking in a suitable way for the fasting season. Any recipes you find under the "VEGAN" category should fit the fasting guidelines. Check the library or bookstores for plant based or vegan cookbooks. Here is just one source you can start searching for new recipes or ideas to cook for your family: https://plantbasedcookingshow.com/.
PLEASE HELP ST. GEORGE RAISE A BIT OF EXTRA INCOME by turning in bottles and cans for redemption at Damon's Beverage and Redemption Center at 700 Hogan Road in Bangor. Last year St. George received just shy of $400 for the year by this redemption method--every little bit helps. Thank you!
GOD NOTICES The upkeep of our church shows love for God and the beauty of His house. When we walk in and see a well kept area, it adds to the reverence we feel for our spiritual home and the welcome it affords those who enter. Each week after services, vacuuming of the nave and narthex needs to be done. Would volunteers step up and do the vacuuming on Sunday when it's obvious it's not already been done? It does not need to be the same person every week and can be done before leaving for home. This ministry is much appreciated. Most know that the church does not have a janitor and relies on the goodwill of parishioners to keep things looking nice. Thank you to all who will participate.
SPECIAL THANKS to our young adults who often tidy up our sacred space. We're always grateful for your ministry!
FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE - Donations can be made online.
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Epistle Reading
Προκείμενον. Eighth Tone. ΨΑΛΜΟΙ 75.11,1.
Εὔξασθε καὶ ἀπόδοτε Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν.
Στίχ. Γνωστὸς ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ ὁ Θεός, ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ μέγα τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ.
τὸ Ἀνάγνωσμα Πρὸς ῾Ρωμαίους 13:11-14, 14:1-4.
Ἀδελφοί, νῦν ἐγγύτερον ἡμῶν ἡ σωτηρία ἢ ὅτε ἐπιστεύσαμεν. Ἡ νὺξ προέκοψεν, ἡ δὲ ἡμέρα ἤγγικεν· ἀποθώμεθα οὖν τὰ ἔργα τοῦ σκότους, καί ἐνδυσώμεθα τὰ ὅπλα τοῦ φωτός. Ὡς ἐν ἡμέρᾳ, εὐσχημόνως περιπατήσωμεν, μὴ κώμοις καὶ μέθαις, μὴ κοίταις καὶ ἀσελγείαις, μὴ ἔριδι καὶ ζήλῳ. Ἀλλʼ ἐνδύσασθε τὸν κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, καὶ τῆς σαρκὸς πρόνοιαν μὴ ποιεῖσθε, εἰς ἐπιθυμίας. Τὸν δὲ ἀσθενοῦντα τῇ πίστει προσλαμβάνεσθε, μὴ εἰς διακρίσεις διαλογισμῶν. Ὃς μὲν πιστεύει φαγεῖν πάντα, ὁ δὲ ἀσθενῶν λάχανα ἐσθίει. Ὁ ἐσθίων τὸν μὴ ἐσθίοντα μὴ ἐξουθενείτω, καὶ ὁ μὴ ἐσθίων τὸν ἐσθίοντα μὴ κρινέτω· ὁ θεὸς γὰρ αὐτὸν προσελάβετο. Σὺ τίς εἶ ὁ κρίνων ἀλλότριον οἰκέτην; Τῷ ἰδίῳ κυρίῳ στήκει ἢ πίπτει. Σταθήσεται δέ· δυνατὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς στῆσαι αὐτόν.
Prokeimenon. Eighth Tone. Psalm 75.11,1.
Make your vows to the Lord our God and perform them.
Verse: God is known in Judah; his name is great in Israel.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 13:11-14; 14:1-4.
Brethren, salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains pass judgment on him who eats; for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for God is able to make him stand.
Gospel Reading
Forgiveness Sunday
Κατὰ Ματθαῖον 6:14-21
Εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος· ᾿Εὰν γὰρ ἀφῆτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ παραπτώματα αὐτῶν, ἀφήσει καὶ ὑμῖν ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀφῆτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ παραπτώματα αὐτῶν, οὐδὲ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ἀφήσει τὰ παραπτώματα ὑμῶν. ῞Οταν δὲ νηστεύητε, μὴ γίνεσθε ὥσπερ οἱ ὑποκριταὶ σκυθρωποί· ἀφανίζουσι γὰρ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ὅπως φανῶσι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύοντες· ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἀπέχουσι τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν. σὺ δὲ νηστεύων ἄλειψαί σου τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπόν σου νίψαι,ὅπως μὴ φανῇς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύων, ἀλλὰ τῷ πατρί σου τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ, καὶ ὁ πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ ἀποδώσει σοι ἐν τῷ φανερῷ. Μὴ θησαυρίζετε ὑμῖν θησαυροὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅπου σὴς καὶ βρῶσις ἀφανίζει, καὶ ὅπου κλέπται διορύσσουσι καὶ κλέπτουσι· θησαυρίζετε δὲ ὑμῖν θησαυροὺς ἐν οὐρανῷ, ὅπου οὔτε σὴς οὔτε βρῶσις ἀφανίζει, καὶ ὅπου κλέπται οὐ διορύσσουσιν οὐδὲ κλέπτουσιν· ὅπου γάρ ἐστιν ὁ θησαυρὸς ὑμῶν, ἐκεῖ ἔσται καὶ ἡ καρδία ὑμῶν.
Forgiveness Sunday
The Reading is from Matthew 6:14-21
The Lord said, "If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
"And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Saints and Feasts
March 17
Patrick the Enlightener of Ireland
Saint Patrick, the Apostle of the Irish, was seized from his native Britain by Irish marauders when he was sixteen years old. Though the son of a deacon and a grandson of a priest, it was not until his captivity that he sought out the Lord with his whole heart. In his Confession, the testament he wrote towards the end of his life, he says, "After I came to Ireland - every day I had to tend sheep, and many times a day I prayed - the love of God and His fear came to me more and more, and my faith was strengthened. And my spirit was so moved that in a single day I would say as many as a hundred prayers, and almost as many at night, and this even when I was staying in the woods and on the mountain; and I would rise for prayer before daylight, through snow, through frost, through rain, and I felt no harm." After six years of slavery in Ireland, he was guided by God to make his escape, and afterwards struggled in the monastic life at Auxerre in Gaul, under the guidance of the holy Bishop Germanus. Many years later he was ordained bishop and sent to Ireland once again, about the year 432, to convert the Irish to Christ. His arduous labours bore so much fruit that within seven years, three bishops were sent from Gaul to help him shepherd his flock, "my brethren and sons whom I have baptized in the Lord - so many thousands of people," he says in his Confession. His apostolic work was not accomplished without much "weariness and painfulness," long journeys through difficult country, and many perils; he says his very life was in danger twelve times. When he came to Ireland as its enlightener, it was a pagan country; when he ended his earthly life some thirty years later, about 461, the Faith of Christ was established in every corner.
March 17
Forgiveness Sunday
The Holy Fathers have appointed the commemoration of Adam's exile from the Paradise of delight here, on the eve of the holy Forty-day Fast, demonstrating to us not by simple words, but by actual deeds, how beneficial fasting is for man, and how harmful and destructive are insatiety and the transgressing of the divine commandments. For the first commandment that God gave to man was that of fasting, which the first-fashioned received but did not keep; and not only did they not become gods, as they had imagined, but they lost even that blessed life which they had, and they fell into corruption and death, and transmitted these and innumerable other evils to all of mankind. The God-bearing Fathers set these things before us today, that by bringing to mind what we have fallen from, and what we have suffered because of the insatiety and disobedience of the first-fashioned, we might be diligent to return again to that ancient bliss and glory by means of fasting and obedience to all the divine commands. Taking occasion from today's Gospel (Matt. 6:14-21) to begin the Fast unencumbered by enmity, we also ask forgiveness this day, first from God, then from one another and all creation.
March 17
Alexis the Man of God
Saint Alexis was born in old Rome of illustrious parents named Euphemianus and Aglais, and at their request was joined to a young woman in marriage. However, he did not remain with her even for one day, but fled to Edessa, where he lived for eighteen years. He returned to Rome in the guise of a beggar and sat at the gates of his father's house, unknown to all and mocked by his own servants. His identity was revealed only after his death by a paper that he had on his person, which he himself had written a little before his repose. The pious Emperor Honorius honoured him with a solemn burial. The title "Man of God" was given to him from heaven in a vision to the Bishop of Rome on the day of the Saint's repose.
Hymns of the Day
Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Eighth Tone
From on high You descended, Most Merciful; for us You condescended to a threeday burial to set us free from the passions. O Lord, our Resurrection and our Life, glory to You!
Ἐξ ὕψους κατῆλθες ὁ εὔσπλαγχνος, ταφὴν καταδέξω τριήμερον, ἵνα ἡμᾶς ἐλευθερώσῃς τῶν παθῶν. Ἡ ζωὴ καὶ ἡ Ἀνάστασις ἡμῶν, Κύριε δόξα σοι.
Seasonal Kontakion in the Sixth Tone
O Master, Prudence, Guide of Wisdom, Instruction to the foolish and Defender of the poor, strengthen my heart and grant it discernment. Give me words, Word of the Father, for behold, I shall not keep my lips from crying out to You, "O Merciful One, have mercy on me who has fallen."
Τῆς σοφίας ὁδηγέ, φρονήσεως χορηγέ, τῶν ἀφρόνων παιδευτά, καὶ πτωχῶν ὑπερασπιστά, στήριξον, συνέτισον τὴν καρδίαν μου Δέσποτα. Σὺ δίδου μοι λόγον, ὁ τοῦ Πατρός Λόγος· ἰδοὺ γὰρ τὰ χείλη μου, οὐ μὴ κωλύσω ἐν τῷ κράζειν σοι· Ἐλεῆμον, ἐλέησόν με τὸν παραπεσόντα.