PASCHA IS THIS SUNDAY, 19 APRIL Kalo Pascha! Kali Anastasi! On Sunday we will proclaim, Xristos Anesti! Alithos Anesti, O Kyrios! God grant us all to reach this blessed day with rejoicing. Xronia Polla to Lambros, who celebrates his Name Day on Holy Pascha—what a beautiful day!
We regret that we are prohibited from holding communal services at this time. It is a hardship, especially during this most sacred time of year. We will still proclaim the Lord’s Resurrection on Holy Pascha at St. George as is meet and right. If you would like to receive Holy Communion to celebrate this Bright Feast, please contact Fr. Leo to make an arrangement.
We encourage all of you to tune in to any of the beautiful churches where services are being broadcast https://www.goarch.org/live-broadcasts. When Holy Pascha arrives, the joy will be shed abroad regardless of where we are. Let us simply choose to not neglect prayer and worship, lifting our hearts to God in faith, while we are apart physically. Numerous Holy Days, including Great and Holy Pascha, have been celebrated in the most austere circumstances—in prisons and other solitary and/or harsh places. Let us thank God for all He has given us and let us commit ourselves to lives of Faith and love regardless of our circumstances.
NEXT WEEK IS BRIGHT OR RENEWAL WEEK Remember, Pascha is celebrated all next week as one, long, happy day! No fasting, just feasting, and if you’re a kid (or a kid at heart), you have permission to eat ice cream every day!
NEXT THURSDAY (Bright Thursday) IS THE FEAST OF ST. GEORGE Xronia Polla to all our Georges and Georgias!
JUST A REMINDER--PRAYERS ARE OFFERED DAILY for all our parish families. Fr. sees it as a sacred duty to pray for us all in the daily services and we thank him for that. Please keep him in your prayers, too.
BIG THANKS FOR PRAYER SUPPORT for all our health care workers from St. George. So far, thank God, everyone working in the field that we’re aware of has remained well. This is certainly a mercy! Let’s continue to ask God to grant all our health care workers health, safety, and discernment to make wise decisions for those entrusted to their care. May each of them and their families continue to be preserved from illness and adversity.
PARISH COUNCIL REQUEST: PLEASE REMEMBER YOUR STEWARDSHIP during these weeks of uncertainty due to Covid-19 concerns. Without the weekly stewardship or tray donations and candle sales, our ability to continue to meet our standing obligations for bill paying is hampered. Please, either mail your stewardship by post or use the Paypal or credit card option (call either Lee or Ambrose for how-to details if you’ve not used this method in the past). We hope and pray that we will be able to worship again in our beloved St. George Church. In the meantime, we only ask that you keep the financial concerns of the parish in mind while we are yet physically separated. Thank you! Special thanks to all of you who have already responded to this call—God bless you and reward your faithfulness!
WE’RE NEARING THE 11TH HOUR—EVEN SO: Can I make red eggs for Pascha without commercial dye? Yes, you can! There is a time honored way to dye eggs without packaged dye. That is to use onion skins—in quantity. Please check this link for details: https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Dye-Easter-Eggs-With-Dried-Onions-Skins/ Christ’s Holy Resurrection will be celebrated with the breaking of the red eggs even in the time of the covid-19 because God is great and we are not left without resources.
CANDLE LIGHTING AVAILABLE Fr. is willing to light a candle(s) for your prayer intentions during his morning prayers. It would be as though you had lit them yourself. See the candle lighting option below the bulletin text.
WAYS TO NOURISH YOURSELF SPIRITUALLY AT HOME Use your prayer book regularly, read both morning and night time prayers. After morning prayers, have a little holy water, a piece of dried antidoron (if you have kept some on hand) and anoint yourself with holy oil if you have some. This will help you meet the demands of the day with greater serenity. Read the Scriptures for the day (Daily Scripture Readings app here: https://www.goarch.org/-/daily-reading-app) or find readings at GOA On-line Chapel: https://www.goarch.org/chapel/.
In times of distress, it’s recommended to read the book of Psalms aloud. We should also use the Jesus Prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” throughout each day. Go before the icons and offer this prayer, quietly, for 10 or 15 minutes and put yourself and all that concerns you into the Lord’s care. One of the consistent messages of Great Lent is “God is with us,” as noted in the Great Compline prayers. Indeed, He is. Have no worry or despair—and if you do, actively turn each worry into a prayer you lift up to God. As a result, your faith will be more grounded in reality as, in challenging times, we learn that God is there for us in ways we might not otherwise realize.
Dear St. George Family,
Please know we are here for you during this virus crisis time in our nation. Feel free to contact me or Presbytera to share any needs or prayer requests you might have while we are unable to meet at the church. Here is how to reach us (as a quick reminder)
Fr. Leo 207 385 3000 57frleo@gmail.com
Pres. 207 949 2913 doxa141@gmail.com
I encourage you all to pray at home. We can pray together (while yet apart) at our usual service times. This will be our offering this evening since we cannot hold person to person services at this time.
RESOURCES:
If you are looking for complete services for Bright Week in English, please send me an email and I will make them available to you: 57frleo@gmail.com
If you prefer having the Bright Week services in Greek, you can find them at: http://glt.goarch.org find the file under «Καθημερινὲς ἀκολουθίες γιὰ τοὺς Ψάλτες».
Some might prefer to watch the church broadcasts suggested by the Archdiocese https://www.goarch.org/live-broadcasts. Another church not found on the live broadcasts link is Holy Transfiguration GOC in Marietta, GA. Search for them on YouTube. Beautiful services, very fine Byzantine chanting, nice balance of Greek and English.
If these churches are not able to broadcast at some point, we will still be able to offer prayers at home. Remember that prayer is both a protection and a weapon—a weapon against sin and evil. In a very real way we are soldiers in God’s army. We have the imagery in the Epistle to the Ephesians, chapter 6, verse 11 and following.
It is easy to give way to fear in times of uncertainty. Let us not do that.
Let us pray for one another, for our nation, our leaders, and our world.
Our prayers matter.
GOD IS WITH US
If you want service texts, please let me know. If you have other needs or want to otherwise reach out, we are here for you.
You remain in our prayers.
+Fr. Leo & Pres. Candace
FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE - Donations can now be made online.
If you want Fr. Leo to light a candle for you, as though you lit it, during his daily reading of Orthros, click on the candle below.