St. Alexis of Wilkes-Barre Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2022-06-19
Bulletin Contents
Welcome
Announcements
Prayers, Intercessions and Commemorations
Parish Calendar
Saints and Feasts
Hymns of the Day
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Bible Cross Reference
Wisdom of the Fathers
Beyond the Sermon
Bulletin Inserts
Holy12ap
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St. Alexis of Wilkes-Barre Orthodox Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • 860-664-9434
  • Street Address:

  • PO Box 134, 108 E Main St

  • Clinton, CT 06413-0134

Contact Information

Fr Steven Hosking
Rector

frsteve@stalexischurch.org | 860-866-5802 (Message)
Dn Timothy Skuby
Attached

dntimothy@stalexischurch.org | (808) 341-1813

Services Schedule

Please see our online calendar for dates and times of Feast Day services.

Past Bulletins


Welcome

Gospel1

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)

Members of our Parish Council are:
Joseph Barbera - Council Member at Large
Susan Davis- Council Member at Large
Carolyn Neiss - President
Marlene Melesko - Vice President
Susan Egan - Treasurer
Dn Timothy Skuby - Secretary

Parish Shared Folder - http://bit.ly/St-Alexis
Parish Members' Directory - https://stalexischurch.sharepoint.com (See Fr Steven for login information)

Pastoral Care - General Information

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.

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Announcements

Apostles' Fast - Begins Monday, June 20th

THE APOSTLES FAST IS FOR THOSE WHO PREPARE TO GO AND PREACH THE GOOD NEWS WITH SIGNS AND WONDERS, COMPASSION AND LOVE.

“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” — Jesus Christ
According to the early Christian tradition, after Pentecost the Apostles fasted and prayed as a preparation to go out to the nations. We are calling all to pray and fast for those with the apostolic call, forerunners and pioneers. Pray for revival, renewal, clarity and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in our lives, our families, churches and cities.

Early Christians practiced four fasts yearly: Nativity, Lent, Apostles and Dormition. Today, mostly Eastern Christians (Orthodox, Eastern rite Catholics, Antiochian, Copts) still observe all four. The Apostles fast starts week after Pentecost and ends on June 28, day before the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul.

“After the long Feast of Pentecost, fasting is especially necessary to purify our thoughts and render us worthy to receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit … Therefore, the salutary custom was established of fasting after the joyful days during which we celebrated the resurrection and ascension of our Lord, and the coming of the Holy Spirit”
— POPE ST. LEO THE GREAT, +461

 

A Journey to Fullness: An Introduction to the Fullness of the Original Christian Faith.

Throughout the upcoming Fast, I will be hosting a video series produced by Fr Barnabas Powell. You may find more specifics about this series at  www.faithencouraged.org. You may watch each video session at your own pace. Each video is approximately 40 minutes long (except the Intro). At the end of each week of the Fast, I will host a video discussion via Zoom so that we may discuss the video contents and ask questions. The Zoom meetings will be held on Friday, June 24th and July 1st beginning at 6:30p. To begin each day of the Fast, I will send out some "key points" that you may use as reflection points about each video. Of course, you will need a copy of the electronic bulletin to access the links. It is always available on the church's website.

Week 1

An Introduction
Is this Trip Really Necessary?
What is the Orthodox Church?
When Did Orthodoxy Begin?
Characteristics of Orthodox Christianity
Midset Matters
A Healing Purpose
Truth and Tradition
How Do I Understand the Bible?

Week 2

When We Say God, Pt 1
When We Say God, Pt 2
God With Us
Our Ultimate Purpose
Salvation as Participation
Orthodox Worship
A Beautiful Rhythm
The Journey Continues

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Prayers, Intercessions and Commemorations

Christ_forgiveness

Priest Ceraphim, Deacon Timothy, Evelyn, Katheryn, Anne, Aaron, Veronica, Richard, Nancy, Susanne, Gail, Kelley, Nina, Ellen, Maureen, Elizabeth, Christopher, Joshua, Jennifer, Petra, Olivia, Jessica, Sean, Sarah, Justin, Kyle, Dayna and Maria.

Please pray for our catecumen David.

___

  • 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, intolerance and pestilence; all those departed this life in the hope of the Resurrection.

___

Holy Apostle Jude, the brother of the Lord (ca. 80). All Saints. Ven. Barlaam of Shenkursk (1462). Martyr Zosimas the soldier at Antioch in Pisidia (2nd c.). Ven. Paisius the Great (5th c.). St. John the Solitary of Jerusalem (6th c.). Ven. Paisius of Chilandari (Bulgarian—18th c.). Repose of St. Job, Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus (1607).

Prayer for family and friends in the Ukraine and Russia

Hope, Myron, Daniel, Stepan, Galina, Maria, Vladislav, Juliana, Oksana, Novel

If you have specific names of anyone you would like to have included here, please send them to Fr Steven.

 

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Parish Calendar

  • Schedule of Services and Events

    June 1 to June 27, 2022

    Wednesday, June 1

    Noahic Covenant Month

    Sunday, June 19

    The Sunday of All Saints

    9:30AM Divine Liturgy

    Monday, June 20

    Methodios the Martyr, Bishop of Olympus

    Apostles Fast

    Repose of Ann Cooke

    Church Cleaning: Sarah Gaulin

    Tuesday, June 21

    Julian the Martyr of Tarsus

    8:30AM Daily Matins

    6:00PM Parish Council Meeting

    Wednesday, June 22

    Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata

    4:30PM Open Doors

    Thursday, June 23

    Tina Roman

    Agrippina the Martyr of Rome

    John Krawchuk

    8:30AM Daily Matins

    Friday, June 24

    Nativity of the Forerunner John the Baptist

    Nativity of St John the Baptist

    8:30AM Akathist to John the Baptist

    6:30PM Journey to Fullness p1

    Saturday, June 25

    Leavetaking of the Nativity of the Forerunner John the Baptist

    Olga Kucharski

    5:30PM Great Vespers

    Sunday, June 26

    2nd Sunday of Matthew

    9:30AM Divine Liturgy

    Monday, June 27

    Samson the Hospitable

    St. Joanna the Myrrhbearer

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Saints and Feasts

Holy12ap
June 19

Thaddeus (Jude) the Apostle & Brother of Our Lord

The Apostle Jude was of the choir of the Twelve, and by Luke was called Jude, the brother of James the Brother of God (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13), and therefore also a kinsman of the Lord according to His humanity. But by Matthew (10:3), he is called Lebbaeus, surnamed Thaddeus (he is not the Thaddeus who healed the suffering of Abgar, as Eusebius says in his Eccl. Hist., 1:13; see Aug. 21). Saint Jude preached in Mesopotamia, Arabia, Idumea, and Syria, and, it is said, completed the path of his divine apostleship by martyrdom in Beirut in the year 80. Written after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, his is the last of the Catholic (General) Epistles to the believing Jews in the Diaspora. His name (a variant of Judah) means "Praise."

Allsaint
June 19

The Sunday of All Saints

Honouring the friends of God with much reverence, the Prophet-King David says, "But to me, exceedingly honourable are Thy friends, O Lord" (Ps. 138:16). And the divine Apostle, recounting the achievements of the Saints, and setting forth their memorial as an example that we might turn away from earthly things and from sin, and emulate their patience and courage in the struggles for virtue, says, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every burden, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (Heb. 12:1).

This commemoration began as the Sunday (Synaxis) of All Martyrs; to them were added all the ranks of Saints who bore witness (the meaning of "Martyr" in Greek) to Christ in manifold ways, even if occasion did not require the shedding of their blood.

Therefore, guided by the teaching of the Divine Scriptures and Apostolic Tradition, we the pious honour all the Saints, the friends of God, for they are keepers of God's commandments, shining examples of virtue, and benefactors of mankind. Of course, we honour the known Saints especially on their own day of the year, as is evident in the Menologion. But since many Saints are unknown, and their number has increased with time, and will continue to increase until the end of time, the Church has appointed that once a year a common commemoration be made of all the Saints. This is the feast that we celebrate today. It is the harvest of the coming of the Holy Spirit into the world; it is the "much fruit" brought forth by that "Grain of wheat that fell into the earth and died" (John 12:24); it is the glorification of the Saints as "the foundation of the Church, the perfection of the Gospel, they who fulfilled in deed the sayings of the Saviour" (Sunday of All Saints, Doxasticon of Vespers).

In this celebration, then, we reverently honour and call blessed all the Righteous, the Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, Shepherds, Teachers, and Holy Monastics, both men and women alike, known and unknown, who have been added to the choirs of the Saints and shall be added, from the time of Adam until the end of the world, who have been perfected in piety and have glorified God by their holy lives. All these, as well as the orders of the Angels, and especially our most holy Lady and Queen, the Ever-virgin Theotokos Mary, do we honour today, setting their life before us as an example of virtue, and entreating them to intercede in our behalf with God, Whose grace and boundless mercy be with us all. Amen.

Allsaint
June 19

Pa?sius the Great of Egypt

Our righteous Father Païsius the Great was born in Egypt about the year 300 and was consecrated to God as a monk at a young age. He together with Saint John the Short (commemorated Nov. 9) was trained in the ascetical life in Scete by the great Abba Pambo (July 18). He practiced extreme fasting and vigil beyond the limits of human strength, and received many revelations of mysteries. The Saviour often appeared to him; once He appeared to him with two Angels, as He had to Abraham, and allowed him to wash His immaculate feet. When he was asked which virtue was the highest of all, he would answer, "That which is done in secret." He reposed in peace in deep old age; his relics are found in the monastery of Amba Bishoy in Wadi Natrun (the ancient Nitria of Egypt), and to the present day they work healings and miracles.

24_stjohnb
June 24

Nativity of the Forerunner John the Baptist

He that was greater than all who are born of women, the Prophet who received God's testimony that he surpassed all the Prophets, was born of the aged and barren Elizabeth (Luke 1: 7) and filled all his kinsmen, and those that lived round about, with gladness and wonder. But even more wondrous was that which followed on the eighth day when he was circumcised, that is, the day on which a male child receives his name. Those present called him Zacharias, the name of his father. But the mother said, "Not so, but he shall be called John." Since the child's father was unable to speak, he was asked, by means of a sign, to indicate the child's name. He then asked for a tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And immediately Zacharias' mouth was opened, his tongue was loosed from its silence of nine months, and filled with the Holy Spirit, he blessed the God of Israel, Who had fulfilled the promises made to their fathers, and had visited them that were sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, and had sent to them the light of salvation. Zacharias prophesied concerning the child also, saying that he would be a Prophet of the Most High and Forerunner of Jesus Christ. And the child John, who was filled with grace, grew and waxed strong in the Spirit; and he was in the wilderness until the day of his showing to Israel (Luke 1:57-80). His name is a variation of the Hebrew "Johanan," which means "Yah is gracious."

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Hymns of the Day

Angel_design

Tone 8 Troparion (Resurrection)

You descended from on high, O Merciful One!
You accepted the three day burial to free us from our sufferings!//
O Lord, our Life and Resurrection, glory to You!

Tone 4 Troparion (All Saints)

As with fine porphyry and royal purple,
Your Church has been adorned with Your martyrs’ blood shed throughout all the world.
She cries to You, O Christ God:
“Send down Your bounties on Your people,//
grant peace to Your habitation and great mercy to our souls!”

Tone 8 Kontakion (All Saints)

The universe offers You the God-bearing Martyrs
as the first fruits of creation, O Lord and Creator.
By their prayers keep Your Church, Your habitation, in abiding peace//
through the Theotokos, O most Merciful One!

Tone 8 Prokeimenon (Resurrection)

Pray and make your vows / before the Lord, our God! (Ps. 75:10a)

V. In Judah God is known; His Name is great in Israel. (Ps. 75:1)

Tone 4 Prokeimenon (All Saints)

God is wonderful in His saints, / the God of Israel. (Ps. 67:35a)

Communion Hymn

Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise Him in the highest! (Ps. 148:1)
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous; praise befits the just! (Ps. 32:1)
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. 4th Tone. Psalm 67.35,26.
God is wonderful among his saints.
Verse: Bless God in the congregations.

The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 11:33-40; 12:1-2.

Brethren, all the saints through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and scourging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were killed with the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated - of whom the world was not worthy - wandering over deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

Gospel Reading

The Sunday of All Saints
The Reading is from Matthew 10:32-33; 37-38; 19:27-30

The Lord said to his disciples, "Every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny him before my Father who is in heaven. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." Then Peter said in reply, "Lo, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many that are first will be last, and the last first."

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Bible Cross Reference

Chronicler

confess me.
Ps 119:46 Lu 12:8,9 Joh 9:22 Ro 10:9,10 1Ti 6:12,13 2Ti 1:8 1Jo 4:15 Re 2:13

deny me.
Mt 26:70-75 Mr 14:30,72 Lu 9:26 12:9 2Ti 2:12 2Pe 2:1 1Jo 2:23

that loveth father.
22:37 De 33:9 Lu 14:26 Joh 5:23 21:15-17 2Co 5:14,15 Php 3:7-9
not.
22:8 Lu 20:35 21:36 2Th 1:5-7 Re 3:4

Mat 10:38 - Take up your cross
16:24 27:32 Mr 8:34 10:21 Lu 9:23,24 14:27 Joh 19:17

Mat 19:30. - The First and the Last
8:11,12 20:16 21:31,32 Mr 10:31 Lu 7:29,30 13:30 18:13,14 Ro 5:20,21 9:30-33 Ga 5:7 Heb 4:1

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Wisdom of the Fathers

For in a contest there is much labor needed--and after the contest victory falls to some, to others disgrace. Is the palm ever given or the crown granted before the course is finished? ... Therefore no one can receive a reward, unless he has striven lawfully; nor is the victory a glorious one, unless the contest also has been toilsome.
St. Ambrose of Milan
Chapter 15, Three Books on the Duties of the Clergy, 4th century

AT all times indeed, but especially then when I reflect upon the achievements of the saints, it comes over me to feel despondency concerning my own condition, because we have not even in dreams experienced the things among which those men spent their whole lives, not paying the penalty of sins, but always doing rightly and yet always afflicted...For "God" (he says) "has provided some better thing for us." In order that they might not seem to have the advantage of us from being crowned before us, He appointed one time of crowning for all; and he that gained the victory so many years before, receives his crown with thee. Seest thou His tender carefulness?
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 28 on Hebrews 11, 4th Century

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Beyond the Sermon

Burnbush

The Apostles’ Fast
The Orthodox year has a rhythm, much like the tide coming in and going out – only this rhythm is an undulation between seasons of fasting and seasons (or a few days) of feasting. Every week, with few exceptions, is marked by the Wednesday and Friday fast, and every celebration of the Divine Liturgy is prepared for by eating nothing after midnight until we have received the Holy Sacrament.

It is a rhythm. Our modern world has lost most of its natural rhythm. The sun rises and sets but causes little fanfare in a world powered and lit by other sources. In America, virtually everything is always in season, even though the chemicals used to preserve this wonderful cornucopia are probably slowly poisoning our bodies.

The Scriptures speaks of the rhythms of the world – “the sun to rule by day… the moon and stars to rule by night…”

The rhythm of the Church does not seek to make us slaves of the calendar nor does it treat certain foods as sinful. It simply calls us to a more human way of living. It’s not properly human to eat anything you want, anytime you want. Even Adam and Eve in the Garden initially knew what it was to abstain from the fruit of a certain tree.

Orthodox do not starve when they fast – we simply abstain from certain foods and generally eat less.

At the same time we are taught to pray more, attend services more frequently, and to increase our generosity to others (alms).

But it is a rhythm – fasts are followed by feasts. The fast of the Apostles begins on the second Monday after Pentecost and concludes on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul on June 29. Most of Christendom will know nothing of any of this – that Eastern Christians will have begun a Lenten period while the world begins to think of vacations.

The contemporary God is much the same as the contemporary diet – we want as much of Him as we want – anytime, anywhere. There is no rhythm to our desire, only the rise and fall of passions. There is no legalism in the Orthodox fast. I do not think God punishes those who fail to fast. I believe that they simply continue to become less and less human. We will not accept the limits and boundaries of our existence and thus find desires to be incessant and unruly. It makes us bestial.

For those who have begun the fast – may God give you grace! For those who know nothing of the fast – may God give you grace and preserve from a world that would devour you. May God give us all the mercies of His kindness and help us remember the work of His blessed apostles!

About the Author
Fr. Stephen Freeman is the priest at St. Anne Orthodox Church (OCA) in Oak Ridge, TN.

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Bulletin Inserts

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