First Sunday of Lent

A contemporary Coptic monk has said: “My doctor is Jesus Christ, my food is Jesus Christ, and my fuel is Jesus Christ.” The main theme of the spiritual diary of St. John of Kronstadt, a nineteenth-century Russian saint, is expressed through these words: “The Lord is everything to me. He is the strength of my heart and the light of my mind. He inclines my heart to everything good; He strengthens it; He also hives me good thoughts; He is my rest and my joy; He is my faith, hope, and love; He is my food and drink, my raiment, my dwelling place.”

The icons, hymns, prayers, worship, and liturgy of the Orthodox Church unceasingly focus our attention on Christ, His person, saving work, and present lordship. One could say that the heart of Eastern Christianity, the inner mystery of its radian beauty, the source of its true worship and true teaching, is the glorification of the living Christ through whom we know the Father and from whom we receive the Holy Spirit.

The first Sunday of Lent, the Sunday of Orthodoxy, is an impressive reminder of the centrality of Christ in the Orthodox Church. This Sunday is a spiritual fest during which Orthodox Christians reaffirm their confession of faith in Christ and His saving work. It is a day when we lift up Christ in praise and glorification. One hymn of the prayers of the Sunday echo three related themes:

1. The fervent expectation of the Old Testament prophets and righteous people for the coming Christ.
2. The Incarnation of Christ, that is, the real presence of Christ in history, in the Church, and our personal lives.
3. The corporate joy of the Church in confessing, proclaiming, and glorifying Christ and His lordship overall.

One of the hymns of this Sunday express the joyous glorification of Christ as follow;
Rejoice, O honored prophets,
Firm and unshaken pillars of faith,
Who proclaimed aright the laws of the Lord.
You served as messengers of the New Covenant
Of Christ. Now, dwelling in heaven,
Pary to Him for peace in the world
And for the salvation of our souls.
Vesper Hymn
Sunday of Orthodoxy

With Paternal Love & Blessings,
Rev. Fr. John Cusulos
Protopresbyter

Vasalopita

We will be doing the cutting of the Vasalopita on January 26, 2020. This is a beautiful tradition and hope that everyone will be able to attend.

Monthly Fellowship Potluck

Now that the holidays are over, we would like to resume the monthly potluck. Our first gathering will be on February 9, 2020.

Monthly Board Meeting

We will not have a monthly board meeting in February 2020. We are unable to gather a quorum of the board members. The monthly board meeting for March will be on the 19th. This will be one month from Holy Pascha.

Holy Week will begin on April 12, 2020. Please watch for more Holy Pascha details in the April/May newsletter as well as the Holy Week bulletin.

Holy Pascha Dinner

Tickets for the dinner will be available for purchase beginning March 22, 2020. They will be available at church or by calling Jenny Gaviotis. Jenny cannot accept personal phone calls between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday. If those hours are the most convenient for you, please leave a message and she will get back to you. Text is also an option of communication.

Dine-in seating is limited to 122 people. We will give parish members the first opportunity to purchase tickets; however, ticket sales will be opened to the public on Aril 14th. We are also offering 15 take-out tickets. ALL TICKETS MUST BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE! There will not be any tickets available at the door! To obtain an accurate count for food purchase, sales will STOP on April 10th and no more tickets will be sold after this date. All tickets must be paid for before April 10th. We will not be making any exception to this rule as it makes it very difficult for our cooks and preparation committee. Prices are $25.00 per adult; children from 6-12 years old are $10.00 and children 5 and under are free. When purchasing tickets please advise if you have children 5 & under attending as they must be counted in our seating total. PLEASE GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY!! We cannot stress enough that if you have not purchased your tickets by the deadline, you will not be able to attend the dinner.