Epiphany Shining Forth of God

We celebrate the great feast of Epiphany and Theophany on January 6, 2016. Epiphany means “shining forth” or “manifestation”. The feast is often called “Theophany”, which means the shining-forth and manifestation of God. The emphasis in the present-day celebration is on the appearance of Jesus as the human Messiah of Israel and the Divine Son of God, One of the Holy Trinity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. It is there at the baptism of Jesus that all three Persons of the Holy Trinity appeared together for the first time. The God the Father testified that Jesus is the God. The Son Jesus accepted the testimony, and the Holy Spirit was seen descending from the Father in the form of a dove.
What I would like to focus on is how the Holy Trinity plays an important part in our daily worship. We make the sign of the cross with the thumb and first two fingers representing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We bring these three fingers together to signify that we believe in, not three Gods, but in One. We say that God’s grace comes to us from God the Father, in the saving actions of Jesus Christ and in the ongoing works of the Holy Spirit. We are baptized in the name of the Trinity, we are forgiven in the name of the Trinity, we are married in the name of the Trinity; every liturgy begins with the name of the Trinity; we even bless the name of the Trinity; “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit…” We even named our church the Holy Trinity.
In our personal devotions there are two beautifying prayers to the Trinity that you may choose to use:
My Hope is the Father
My refuge is the Son
My protection is the Holy Spirit
All-Holy Trinity, glory to Thee.

The Father loves me.
The Son saves me.
The Holy Spirit dwells in me
Blessed Trinity, glory to Thee.

May the Holy Trinity Bless you and protect you always.
In the service of the Holy Trinity,
Fr. John
 
Parish News and Events

Christmas Party

The fifth Annual Christmas party was a huge success! The food was amazing and the fellowship was fantastic! We had a very special visitor from the North Pole and his sack was filled to the very top with gifts for all of the youngsters. Thanks to all of you who pitched in and made this event a wonderful success. A special thank you to Dave and Tina Faigl and Sweetwater Storage for donating the gifts for the children!

Stewardship Packets

Stewardship packets went out with the November/December newsletter. To date we have received only 0 of the 75 information pages back. Please, we cannot stress how important it is for you to return them to the secretary. This helps us to keep our church records accurate. Again, please take a moment to fill them out and return them. For those who choose to receive your newsletter by e-mail, you can simply print your information sheet from the attached documents of the September/October newsletter and either mail it back or e-mail it to gedproperties@outlook.com. For those who receive a printed copy of the newsletter, you will find a copy of the information sheet in this mailing. Please mail it to PO Box 14, Rock Springs, WY 82901.

Construction Projects

Our kitchen is well on its way. Given the holiday season, some electrical work and painting may begin this week. We anticipate beginning demolition on January 9 and 10. Please clear your calendars and be prepared to get your hands dirty in the service of our church! The cost of the kitchen sink has now been donated. There are still plenty of appliances that need sponsoring. Again, you can do this via our website at http://holytrinityrs.org.

Earn Money for Our Church

We have an opportunity to earn money for our church with very little effort on our part. For computer users, please go to www.goodsearch.com and download the search engine. When asked to choose your charity, type in Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church-Rock Springs. There is a mobile application available also for the smartphone users. Every time you search with the Goodsearch engine, our church gets a penny. If you choose to purchase off of the internet via the Goodsearch website (literally thousands of common retailers) we get a percentage of the purchase price from participating retailers. Last year we received a check for $16.00. However, if every single computer user from the church downloads and uses this search engine, that amount could be significantly higher.

Remember to utilize our connection to the Smith’s Rewards card. You can now donate to the church through Smith’s Community Awards program. The only effort on your part will be connecting your Smith’s rewards card to the church. Directions went out with the September/October newsletter. However, if you have misplaced the directions, drop Jen an e-mail (georgeggeorgeg@msn.com) and she will forward them to you! Again, this is a very easy way to earn money for our church.