Jesus Christ taught us to love and serve all people, regardless of their ethnicity or nationality. To understand that, we need to look no further than to the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Every time we celebrate the Divine Liturgy, it is offered "on behalf of all, and for all." As Orthodox Christians we stand against racism and bigotry. All human beings share one common identity as children of God.

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatian 3:28)

Weekly Services
Tuesdays at 8:30a - Daily Matins
Wednesdays at 6:00p - Daily Vespers (The Church is open at 4:30p for "Open Doors" - confession, meditation and reflection).
Thursday at 8:30a - Daily Matins
Saturday at 5:30p - Great Vespers
Sunday at 9:30a - Divine Liturgy

Members of our Parish Council are:
Greg Jankura - Council President  
Natalie Kucharski - Council Treasurer 
Kyle Hollis - Member at Large
Glenn PenkoffLidbeck - Council Secretary
Michael Kuziak - Council Vice President 
Roderick Seurattan - Member at Large 

• Emergency Sick Calls can be made at any time. Please call Fr Steven at (860) 866-5802, when a family member is admitted to the hospital.
• Anointing in Sickness: The Sacrament of Unction is available in Church, the hospital, or your home, for anyone who is sick and suffering, however severe. 
• Marriages and Baptisms require early planning, scheduling and selections of sponsors (crown bearers or godparents). See Father before booking dates and reception halls!
• Funerals are celebrated for practicing Orthodox Christians. Please see Father for details. The Church opposes cremation; we cannot celebrate funerals for cremations.

Church Directory

You will be receiving an electronic copy of a new church directory that Susan Egan is working on complete. Please review your contact information and send any corrections to Susan Egan (lsb@snet.net). There is also a copy of the directory at the candle desk that you can review as well.

2019 Pledge Analysis
2018
The pledge budget was $99,250. Pledges totaled $83,840 or 85% of budget.  Total parish income was $88,205 or 89% of budget.  Shortfall was $11,045.  Overall we ended the year with a $7400 deficit which was funded from savings.

2019
The pledge budget is $93,300. To date we have received $56,300 in pledges from 22 members or 60% of budget.  If we assume that the other 12 who pledged last year, but have not submitted a 2019 pledge, will give at their 2018 level,  that will add in another $25,700.  Then we have the habitual 12 non-pledgers of whom 8 gave check contributions in 2018 that totaled $2,225.  The other four may have put cash in the basket, but since it’s anonymous it then gets counted as cash/candle not pledge.

Of the 22 pledgers, 2 decreased while 6 increased their pledges.  That resulted in a net loss of $1,040 in pledges over 2018.

2019 pledgers(22)                         $56,300
2019 implied pledgers(12)              $25,700
2019 non pledgers(12)                   $ 2,225

Total projected                              $84,225 or 90% of budget, leaving us with a potential shortfall of $9,075.

William, Sophia, Robert, Ann, Evelyn, Nina, John, Alex, Luke, Kathryn, Anastasia, Malcolm, Veronica, Darlyne, Irene, Nancy, Elena, Jevon, the new born Stella Anna, Ivan and Joscean.

And for... Sofie, Katrina, Olena, Valeriy, Olga, Tatiana, Dimitri, Alexander and Maxim.

All of our College Students: Alex, Kaitlyn, Jack, Sam, Connor, Nadia, Isaac and Matthew.

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 Many Years! to: Matthew Kuziak on the occasion of his birthday.

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Pray for: All those confined to hospitals, nursing homes, and their own homes due to illness; for all those who serve in the armed forces; widows, orphans, prisoners, victims of violence, and refugees;

All those suffering chronic illness, financial hardship, loneliness, addictions, abuse, abandonment and despair; those who are homeless, those who are institutionalize, those who have no one to pray for them;

All Orthodox seminarians & families; all Orthodox monks and nuns, and all those considering monastic life; all Orthodox missionaries and their families.

All those who have perished due to hatred and intolerance and all those departed this life in the hope of the Resurrection.

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Today we commemorate:

Sunday of Orthodoxy. Ven. Aleksy (Alexius) the Man of God (411). Ven. Macarius, Abbot and Wonderworker of Kalyázinsk (Tver’—1483). Martyr Marinus. St. Patrick, Bishop of Armagh, Enlightener of Ireland (ca. 461).

Tone 1 Troparion  (Resurrection)

When the stone had been sealed by the Jews,
while the soldiers were guarding Your most pure ^body,
You rose on the third day, O Savior, granting life to the world.
The powers of heaven therefore cried to You, O Giver of Life:
“Glory to Your Resurrection, O Christ!
Glory to Your ^Kingdom!//
Glory to Your dispensation, O Lover of mankind!”

Tone 2 Troparion  (Sunday of Orthodoxy)

We venerate Your most pure image, O Good One;
and ask forgiveness of our transgressions, O Christ our God.
Of Your good will You were pleased to ascend the cross in the flesh
and deliver Your creatures from bondage to the Enemy.
Therefore with thankfulness we cry aloud to You:
“You have filled all with joy, O our Savior,//
for You alone have come to save the world.”

Tone 8 Kontakion (from the Lenten Triodion)

No one could describe the Word of the Father;
but when He took flesh from you, O Theotokos, He accepted to be described,
and restored the fallen image to its former state by uniting it to divine beauty.//
We confess and proclaim our salvation in words and images.

Prayers by the Lake by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich

LIX

How many, many times, my soul, you have sobbed for someone who knew the way, had seen the truth, and possessed life.
You thirstily used to entrust yourself to many expert runners, who would lead you along every way to a certain point, and would then take you back.
You used to listen to many who told tales about the truth, my soul. But when you would pose certain questions to them, questions which burned deep within you, their words would get stuck in their throats. And saddened, you would go to other story-tellers, and would hear the same tale over again --a tale which, like all the others, only went so far, like a stretched rubber band.
And those who used to try to explain life to you, would only succeed in opening your eyes to death.
But behold, the One who resurrects is coming, and all-terrifying death flees in terror before Him. Here is a story for you about Life, one which death does not shorten, but lengthens.¹
Here is a story for you about Truth, one which provides answers to all your guestions before you even pose them.
Here is the Guide for you, whose Way never ends; and once He begins to guide you, He does not go back.
Here is the Good Shepherd,² who values the life of one sheep above all the Sabbaths of the Jews.³ And here is the Healer, to whom the life of a penitent sinner is more valuable than Solomon's temple.⁴
Do not worry, my soul, about any of the sheep in your sheepfold -- not one of them will perish. Neither need you fret over the wolves around the sheep -- not one of them will escape. For your Shepherd has a sharp two-edged sword.
All the sheep are within you, and all the wolves are within you -- the progeny of your marriage with heaven and earth --and behold, my Favorite is coming in with a sharp two-edged sword.
Do not wail, if He hurts you with His sword. He is the Good Physician and He cuts out of you only that which is not you. Do not wail for the strangers who brought you disease, and shame, and grievous wounds. Do not be afraid of the in-extinguishable fire, that He brings into you. For a long time the junk accumulated within you has been in need of a bonfire. The bonfire will last a long time, because the old junk within you has rotted.
The pain that you feel is not your own, my soul, but is the pain of your other marriage and its -- illegitimate children.
Do not lament, if He separates you from a father and a mother, and brothers and sisters.⁵ He will not separate you from anything that is of heaven. He would not even consider cutting a single heavenly bond. Indeed, He is only separating and purifying you from earth, and is cutting your bonds with earth.
If you were a chaste virgin, my soul, and saw with the unconfounded eye of celestial innocence, even you yourself would easily break these bonds, for you would see that in truth they do not even exist.
Hurry, my soul, and unite yourself with the Son of the Living God, for He is not waiting for me. Once you unite yourself with Him, behold, neither His sword nor His fire will be frightening to you, but will be as sweet as honey.

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1. Cf. Luke 7:11-17, Mark 5:21-24, 34-43, and John 11:1-44.
2. Cf. John 10:1-30.
3. Cf. Luke 15:3-7.
4. Cf. John 9.
5. Cf. Gen. 12:1, Matt. 10:37 and 19:29.