ORTHROS: 9:00
LITURGY: 10:00
SATURDAY EVENING VESPERS Vespers will be prayed this evening at 6PM.
ICE FORCASTED! The weather service is predicting an ice storm for our area beginning around 11PM tonight and extending through 7PM Sunday. We will not hold services tomorrow morning. Ice creates conditions too hazardous for travel and it is likely that a travel advisory cautioning against travel will be issued should the storm manifest as predicted.
THIS IS THE THEOPHANY SEASON Fr. Leo will be glad to visit your home to bless it with holy water from the recent great feast. All you need do is call him at 207-385-3000.
BLESSED NEW YEAR 2020 TO ALL! Church wall calendars are available in the narthex. Please take one or more calendars, according to your needs.
BIG THANK YOU TO ALL PARISH COUNCIL MEMBERS for your consistent, faithful and prayerful service in our St. George community. Installation of members will occur this month.
NEXT SUNDAY No formal Sunday School class. We will be cutting the parish Vasilopitas in honor of the miracle of this bread. Students are encouraged to help serve Vasilopita and Presbytera will share the history of the feast during the fellowship time. This will remind and help us appreciate the miracle of the bread that much more. Also, next Sunday is:
SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE SUNDAY is January 19, 2020. In the USA, the third Sunday of January is known as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. It is a day that Christians and all those with a God prompted conscience are reminded of the necessity to remember and champion the unborn.
What is the Christian teaching about the unborn? From one of the most ancient documents of the Church, The Didache, the Teaching of the 12 Apostles, “The second commandment of the teaching: You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not seduce boys. You shall not commit fornication. You shall not steal. You shall not practice magic. You shall not use potions. You shall not procure [an] abortion, nor destroy a newborn child,” (Didache 2:1-2 [A.D. 70]). http://otftd.blogspot.com/2012/12/commemorating-14000-holy-innocents.html
Does the Orthodox Church care about the unborn and women with crisis pregnancies? Yes, we do! All are called to pray and tangibly support, according to God’s leading within, the ministries which give direct assistance to women and their unborn babes. Visit here to learn about a beautiful, effective, Orthodox Christian ministry in the Chicago area, the Martha and Mary Maternity House: https://www.marthamarychicago.org/ Good news! You needn’t live in Chicago to undergird this work. On their site they have a Get Involved page which lists many options to actively help this Orthodox Christian ministry. It consisently makes a difference in the lives of vulnerable women and their babies. Please consider supporting them.
BE SEEN AND BE COUNTED Orthodox Christians Walking Together at the March for Life in Washington, DC, Friday, January 24: https://www.oclife.org/events
ZOE FOR LIFE is yet another Orthodox Christian pro-life organization that practically ministers to women with crisis pregnancies and their babes. They are located in Ohio and Michigan, currently. If you shop on Amazon, you can set up an Amazon smile account to support their ministries with your purchases. See https://zoeforlife.org/
THE ONES WHO HAVE LEFT US ARE STILL COUNTED Since the passage of Roe Vs Wade in 1973, they United States, alone, has lost nearly 62 million people through abortion. It’s sobering and should be. One can follow the statistics by visiting http://www.numberofabortions.com/
Apostoliki Diakonia
Diptixa 2020 PDF
FACEBOOK PAGE Pat Claus is happy to receive items you’d like to have posted on the church’s FB page. You can submit items to her at patclaus@roadrunner.com.
IS THIS YOUR FIRST VISIT TO ST. GEORGE? If you are visiting our parish this morning, welcome! Orthodox Church tradition encourages Orthodox Christians in good standing with the Church to approach the Holy Chalice for Communion... however, if you are not Orthodox, we ask that you please refrain. All worshipers are welcome to receive antidoron (a piece of blessed bread) immediately following the Divine Liturgy. Please stay for fellowship hour that we might get to know you.
WORSHIPING THE TRUE & LIVING GOD Worshiping the Living God, the All-Holy Trinity, is a witness of our faith in and love for Him. The Divine Liturgy is the service of thanksgiving to God. The Divine Liturgy is also the service of particular nurture for the Orthodox Christian--Christ is Present in the elements of Holy Communion. He nurtures those who approach with fear (reverence), faith and love. Those who partake of Communion receive God within. This is a great Mystery, not to be taken lightly, but one that the Orthodox Christian is bid to COME. Please avail yourself of the opportunities to worship the Lord and to receive Him in faith.
JOIN US FOR FELLOWSHIP HOUR DOWNSTAIRS Everyone is encouraged to come downstairs after service for refreshments. If you’re visiting, please let us treat you. We’re a family here and we all contribute toward the table weekly. So, thank you to all who have made fellowship time possible again today!
VALET PARKING Some parishioners have difficulty walking distances and find it hard to park near enough to the church on Sunday mornings. If this applies to you, please do the following: park in the loading zone in front of the church, and come indoors with your car key and ask in the office for someone to park the car for you and you will be assisted. We are here to help one another. Please ask for help if needed. Thank you.
ROUTINE SERVICE TIMES AT ST. GEORGE Orthros/Matins (morning prayers) 9AM; Divine Liturgy 10AM.
NAME DAYS If you would like to participate in a Divine Liturgy on your Name Day, please let Fr. Leo know to arrange this beforehand.
SPECIAL PRAYER SUPPORT WHEN NEEDED Fr. can meet you here at the church and offer particular prayers for you if you are going to be traveling or are preparing to have medical procedures done (hospitalization, etc.) He is available to make hospital visits and will routinely visit those in convalescent care. Please arrange with him according to need. Thank you.
OCN Get to know the Orthodox Christian Network
http://myocn.net/
FR. LEO'S CONTACT INFORMATION
cell: (207) 385-3000, call or text
Mail: 252 14th St., Bangor ME 04401
home: (207) 307-7852
email: 57frleo@gmail.com, frleoschefe@mail.goarch.org
Personal website:glt.goarch.org
Church website & Newsletter: http://www.stgeorge.me.goarch.org/
Weekly Bulletin: http://www.bulletinbuilder.org/stgeorgebangor/current
I am available to parishioners whenever needed; please don't hesitate to contact me. Thank you. +Fr. Leo
Icons documented
Saint Tatiana was the daughter of a most distinguished consul of Rome. She became a deaconess of the Church, and for her confession of the Faith of Christ, she endured many torments. As she was suffering, angels punished her tormentors with the same torments they inflicted on her, until they cried out that they could no longer endure the scourges invisibly brought upon them. She was beheaded during the reign of Alexander Severus (111-135).
Προκείμενον. First Tone. ΨΑΛΜΟΙ 32.22,1.
Γένοιτο, Κύριε, τὸ ἔλεός σου ἐφ' ἡμᾶς.
Στίχ. Ἀγαλλιᾶσθε δίκαιοι ἐν Κυρίῳ
τὸ Ἀνάγνωσμα Πρὸς Ἐφεσίους 4:7-13.
Ἀδελφοί, ἑνὶ ἑκάστῳ ἡμῶν ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τῆς δωρεᾶς τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Διὸ λέγει, Ἀναβὰς εἰς ὕψος ᾐχμαλώτευσεν αἰχμαλωσίαν, καὶ ἔδωκεν δόματα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. Τὸ δέ, Ἀνέβη, τί ἐστιν εἰ μὴ ὅτι καὶ κατέβη πρῶτον εἰς τὰ κατώτερα μέρη τῆς γῆς; Ὁ καταβάς, αὐτός ἐστιν καὶ ὁ ἀναβὰς ὑπεράνω πάντων τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἵνα πληρώσῃ τὰ πάντα. Καὶ αὐτὸς ἔδωκεν τοὺς μὲν ἀποστόλους, τοὺς δὲ προφήτας, τοὺς δὲ εὐαγγελιστάς, τοὺς δὲ ποιμένας καὶ διδασκάλους, πρὸς τὸν καταρτισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων, εἰς ἔργον διακονίας, εἰς οἰκοδομὴν τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ· μέχρι καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως καὶ τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
Prokeimenon. First Tone. Psalm 32.22,1.
Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us.
Verse: Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians 4:7-13.
BRETHREN, grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it is said, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." (in saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Sunday after Epiphany
Κατὰ Ματθαῖον 4:12-17
Τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς ὅτι ᾿Ιωάννης παρεδόθη, ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν, καὶ καταλιπὼν τὴν Ναζαρὲτ ἐλθὼν κατῴκησεν εἰς Καπερναοὺμ τὴν παραθαλασσίαν ἐν ὁρίοις Ζαβουλὼν καὶ Νεφθαλείμ, ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ ῾Ησαΐου τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· γῆ Ζαβουλὼν καὶ γῆ Νεφθαλείμ, ὁδὸν θαλάσσης, πέραν τοῦ ᾿Ιορδάνου, Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὁ λαὸς ὁ καθήμενος ἐν σκότειεἶδε φῶς μέγα, καὶ τοῖς καθημένοις ἐν χώρᾳ καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτουφῶς ἀνέτειλεν αὐτοῖς. ᾿Απὸ τότε ἤρξατο ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς κηρύσσειν καὶ λέγειν· μετανοεῖτε· ἤγγικε γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.
Sunday after Epiphany
The Reading is from Matthew 4:12-17
At that time, when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth he went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."