When we reflect upon our lives, we usually remember the good, the benefits we have experienced. As Time passes, even our sadness and any burdens we have borne seem to lighten. Living our Orthodox Christianity is a life journey. It passes through mountains of joy and valleys of despair, but through itall is the promise of eternal salvation as gifted to us through the sacrifice of Golgotha and the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Our heavenly Father in His ultimate boundless expression of love did exactly that. He “gifted” us His Son. He made a gift of Himself in the person of the Godman, His Son Jesus Christ, to live on this earth and walk through the same type of life journey that each one of us lives on a daily basis. God did this out of His life for humanity. He had no ulterior motives, no material gains but to give the opportunity of eternal life to His children, who He loved so deeply.

What is our response to this gift? Can there be any response this gift? Is there any way in which we can attempt a response to His love? An immediate thought is there is no way a human being can respond to our heavenly Father’s love. There is the need for each person to attempt his plan and to do whatever is possible within his own life. Our Lord offered a gift of His life; we can follow His example by offering our lives. Our Lord offered His life through death which destroyed death and gifted eternal life; we then can follow His example by offering our lives through living in a “Christ-like” manner.

The “living a Christ-like life” portion of the formula means a 24-hour, experiential, Christian lifestyle, sharing one’s love the same way as Jesus Christ. We do this in our lives as members of a family, as parents, children, grandparents, relatives, at our jobs, at school, while at recreation. We do this by giving of ourselves in service to charities, to our church, to friends, relatives, that who have a need. We do this by giving of our resources to charities, philanthropies, and the church.

In this lifestyle, we need to incorporate a plan of giving. Setting aside a portion our times and resources, both material and human, to the church and to those social programs we find meaningful. The church, hopefully, has the highest priority.It is our response to our Lord’s life in which we try to respond. Within our humanity, there is little that can be done in responding to our Lord’s gift, but we can try and do all that we can.
In Christ’s service,

Fr. John

Parish News

Thanksgiving Bake Sale

It is that time of year again! Preparations for the bake sale are in full swing. Our bakers have broken out their aprons and are diligently hard at work. Please contact Christine Faigl (307-354-8283) and she can give you information on helping with this event. As we all know, it takes the entire community to make this bake sale a success. Last year we were, once again, supported by just a few key bakers. We ask everyone to please, please, find time to lend a hand in some respect. For those who work during the week, there are opportunities on Saturdays to get involved. Up to this point, we have only had a few helpers and we are desperately in need of more help! Several of our key senior bakers are in poor health, some are not here to help this year, and it will take everyone’s participation to make this event a success. Dates that we know for sure that we are going to need extra help are November 12 and 13. On the 12th we will be putting together pre-orders and the 13th is the date that pre-orders will be picked up.

The bake sale will be November 17from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and if we have any product left over we will sell on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until the product is gone. We will need a full crew all day Friday to help with the sell. Please make whatever arrangements you can to be available to help all day and again on Saturday if necessary.

At our last board meeting our financial report is showing a deficit of $14,378.99. We count on the bake sale to make up that deficit and help get us through the following year.

FIRST CALL FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING AND PARISH COUNCIL ELECTIONS

The General Assembly Meeting and Parish Council Elections will be held on Sunday, November 5. Five seats are open for election. If you are interested in serving on the Parish Council*, please contact Mike Gaviotis or Father John for the application and instructions.

For those who are willing to vote, but cannot attend the meeting on November 5, there is a process to vote by absentee ballot. A ballot may be obtained from the Election Board Chairperson and must be received in the church mailbox before November 5, 2017. Proxy votes are not allowed. If a quorum of parishioners in good standing is not present on November 5, the General Assembly and Election will be held on November 19.

2007 UPR Article 31, Parish Assembly:
Section 2: Notice of a Parish Assembly shall be mailed to all Parishioners in good standing at least ten (10) days prior to the Assembly.

2007 UPR Article 31, Parish Assembly:
Section 4: The quorum for a Parish Assembly under local By-laws shall be as high as possible in such number of parishioners in good standing as its By-laws may determine. If a quorum cannot be achieved, no vote can be taken. If a quorum is not present, the Parish Assembly shall be called a second time within twenty-one (21) days. At such time, decisions may be taken by the number of parishioners in good standing present, with the exception of matters pertaining to the purchase, sale or encumbering of Parish property, in which case a quorum of parishioners in good standing shall be required.)

Please mark your calendars and attend. In addition to elections, we will be approving a budget for 2018.In light of our current financial standing, this meeting is important.

*Please recall the requirements that need to be met to be considered a member in good standing.

At a minimum, a parishioner in good standing must: be eighteen years of age or over; be current in his or her stewardship and other financial obligations to the Parish, abide by all theUniform Parish Regulations and the Parish Bylaws; and cooperate in every way towards the welfare and wellbeing of the Parish. (2007 UPR Article 18, Section 1)

(1) Stewardship is recommended to be ten percent (10%) of one’s annual income as stated in Holy Scripture to help meet the financial obligations of the Parish, the Metropolis and the Archdiocese. (2007 UPR Article 18, Section 1)

(2) A member in good standing is expected to submit the proportional share of his or her stewardship pledge on a weekly basis to the Parish.
c. Any person wishing to be a parishioner in good standing in more than one Parish must remit his or her Stewardship financial obligation to each Parish as stated above. A parishioner wishing to move from one Parish to another must present a letter of transfer from the Priest of the Parish from which he or she is moving stating that he or she is in good standing. (2007 UPR Article 18, Section 2)
d. No person shall be deemed a parishioner in good standing while: not adhering to the standards outlined above; retaining affiliation in an Orthodox Parish which defies the jurisdiction or the ecclesiastical authority of the Archdiocese; being a member of or practicing a non-Orthodox faith or other religion; and deliberately disregarding and transgressing the moral law of the Church. (2007 UPR Article 18, Section 3)

If you have any questions, please call Father John.