ANNOUNCEMENTS
2016 Christmas Services
Friday, Dec. 23: 9 am Royal Hours for the Prefeast of the Nativity of Christ
Saturday, Dec. 24: 9 am Great Vespers & 7 pm Matins & Divine Liturgy for Nativity Feast
NO SERVICES SUNDAY, DEC. 25th
Parish Dinner with Bishop Anthony; Monday, Dec. 12
His Grace Bishop Anthony will be joining our entire parish for dinner on Monday, Dec. 12th. The dinner will be served at 6:30, and is free-of-charge. There will be a Lenten Menu, and with His Grace's Blessing, there will also be meat served for those who are not able to participate in the fast due to health/age reasons. We hope to see everyone there.
Christmas Caroling Next Sunday, Dec. 18
Next Sunday is our annual church Christmas Caroling outing. We will leave from the church parking lot at 3 pm by trolley, and visit the elderly and shut-ins of our community and sing Christmas carols for them. After we return to church, a meal will be provided.
We hope you can join us!
Nativity Fast began on November 15
The Nativity fast is our preparation for the Incarnation of Christ on December 25th. It will help us prepare our bodies and souls for the coming of Christ in the flesh. The general guidelines for the fast are as follows: The fast runs from November 15 until after Liturgy for Nativity and traditionally entails fasting from red meat, poultry, meat products, eggs, dairy products, fish, oil, and wine. Fish, wine and oil are allowed on Saturdays and Sundays, and oil and wine are allowed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. As is always the case with Orthodox fasting rules, persons who are ill, the very young or elderly, and nursing mothers are exempt from fasting. Each individual is expected to confer with their spiritual father regarding any exemptions from the fasting rules, and should never place themselves in physical danger.
2017 Stewardship Update
We were hoping to conclude our Stewardship Drive on Sunday December 4th. However, 16 families/individuals have yet to make a commitment and turn in a pledge card. A big thanks to the thirty-four members who returned their pledge cards. Ten members increased their pledge. Total pledges received to date for 2017 equal $108,747. This is significantly below the proposed budget of $140,694 approved by the Church Council. There are other donations that we receive throughout the year that will narrow the gap and the outstanding pledges will reduce the deficit. A final stewardship report is due to the church council at its December 15th meeting. Please help us be prepared to report our stewardship status by completing your pledge card today. If you have any questions, see Don. Thank you so much for giving back to God what He provides for us.
Bulletin info due by Monday, 11:59 pm to stjohnfortwaynebulletin at yahoo dot com.
PASTOR'S CORNER
The Feast of St. Herman
On December 13th, our Church commemorates the memory of St. Herman of Alaska. St. Herman was a missionary monk who died on Spruce Island near Kodiak, Alaska in 1837. He is the first formally canonized saint of the Orthodox Church in America. His feast day now forms a central part of the liturgical celebration leading up to Christmas for Orthodox Christians in North America.
St. Herman came to America with the first group of Orthodox missionaries from Russia. He survived alone, living for many years as a simple monk on Spruce Island. He taught the native people the Gospel , and attended to their spiritual and physical needs. He defended them against the cruelty of the Russian traders. He was beaten and persecuted by his own people for his condemnation of their sins and injustices. He was faithful to God, and revealed himself from heaven to the faithful after his earthly life.
American Christianity desperately needs the witness of St. Herman, for the American way of life is so radically opposed in so many ways to the life of this man and the Lord Jesus Whom he served. Power, possessions, profits, pleasures: These are the things that Americans are known for. These are the things in which we take pride. But this is not the way of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is not the way of His saints:
“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 rustconsumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matthew 6:19-21.)
By American standards, St. Herman of Alaska, like the Lord Jesus Himself, was a miserable failure. He made no name for himself. He was not in the public eye. He wielded no power. He owned no property. He had no worldly prestige. He played no role in human affairs. He partook of no carnal pleasure. Yet today, more than a hundred years after his death, his icon is venerated in thousands of churches and his name is honored by millions of people whom he is still trying to teach to seek the Kingdom of God and its righteousness which has been brought to the world by the King Who was born in a cavern and killed on a cross. The example of this man is crucial to the celebration of Christmas - especially in America.
O blessed Father Herman of Alaska, North Star of Christ's holy Church, the light of your life and great deeds guides those who follow the Orthodox way. Together we lift high the holy Cross you planted firmly in America. Let all behold and glorify Jesus Christ, singing His Holy Resurrection!
