April Services

+Wednesdays: Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.  We should prepare for Holy Communion by saying our pre-Communion prayers and keeping a strict fast from noon onward.  The Presanctified Liturgy begins at 5:00 pm with the Ninth Hour, and a potluck meal will follow.  Please bring a Lenten dish to share.  We will view a series of short documentaries during each meal depicting the struggles of Orthodox Christians in Kosovo.

+Apr. 10: The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete will be served in its entirety, accompanied by the reading of the Life of St. Mary of Egypt and either Matins or Compline.
+Apr. 11: The Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos will be offered the following evening, together with Small Compline.

+Sundays: Pan-Orthodox (Mission) Vespers.  The remainder of the schedule is as follows:
*St. John Klimakos (Apr. 6): Archangel Michael, 2215 Paseo Rd. in Colorado Springs.  Homilist: Fr. Lawrence Gaudreau.
*St. Mary of Egypt (Apr. 13): St. Mary’s, 19485 N. Calhan Hwy. in Calhan.  Homilist: Fr. Dennis Schutte.

+Apr. 19: Lazarus Saturday celebrations this year will be marked by four baptisms: Sava Powell, Haley Pantleo, Riley Perry and Sophia Edwards.  Divine Liturgy will follow immediately afterward.  The combination of the Liturgy with multiple baptisms will require no small amount of ascetical endurance, particularly given that we will be fasting.  The families of the newly baptized invite everyone to a reception in the hall following the service.  Even then, our work will not be finished, as we will put together the palms and willows for Palm Sunday following the meal.  Think of it as a Lazarus Saturday Liturgical Marathon!

+Palm Sunday: Palms/willows will be blessed and distributed at Vespers of the Feast.  Remember to bring them back Sunday morning for a Palm Procession at the conclusion of Liturgy.

+Bridegroom Matins takes its name from the parable of ten virgins who go to wait for the bridegroom.  Five take sufficient oil for their lamps.  Five do not.  At midnight, while these are gone to buy more, the bridegroom comes and the virgins who are prepared enter the bridal hall with him to begin the marriage feast.  The bridal hall is the Kingdom.  The Bridegroom is Christ.  This service is focused on the coming Judgment, which will take place at a time we cannot predict.

+We will celebrate the final Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Holy Wednesday, when the Prayer of St. Ephrem is said for the last time.  There will be no potluck following this service.  It is the custom in some Churches to administer the sacrament of Holy Unction on this day.  Those who have need may attend this service at St. John’s if they have gone to confession during Lent.

+The Mystical Supper is a Vesperal Liturgy that marks the institution of the Eucharist.  The reserve sacrament (particles of communion set aside for the sick) is prepared at this time and placed in the tabernacle.  Fast for Holy Communion by abstaining from lunch and having only a light breakfast.  The tomb is moved to the center of the church following this service.

+Matins of Holy Friday is also known as The Passion Gospels.  This service centers around twelve Gospel readings that take us from Christ’s last discourse with his disciples to His being laid in a tomb by Joseph and Nikodemos.  Traditions connected with this service include: 1) ringing the bell before each gospel reading (once for the first, twice for the second, etc.).  The bell is rung after the priest announces the gospel and as the choir sings “Glory to Thy Passion, O Lord!”, 2) kneeling during each gospel reading, and 3) holding candles throughout the service.  If you wish to hold a candle, please use one of the wax guards available in the narthex.

+Royal Hours of Holy Friday are the First, Third, Sixth and Ninth Hours celebrated in succession.  Each Hour contains a prophecy, epistle and gospel reading, together with thematic hymnography.  In accordance with Byzantine custom, the women of the parish are invited to bring flowers to decorate the tomb during this service.  Consider also this note from the Typikon: “No meal is served in the refectory, and on this day of the Crucifixion we eat nothing, according to the words which the Lord spoke to the Pharisees: ‘The day will come when the Bridegroom shall be taken from them and then they shall fast’ (Mt. 9.15).  But if, as frequently happens, anyone is weak or very old and cannot keep the fast, let him be given bread and water after sunset.”

+Vespers of Holy Friday is also known as the Vespers of the Descent from the Cross.  At the conclusion of this service, the burial shroud of Christ (known as the Epitaphion in Greek or Plashchanitsa in Slavonic) is brought out from the altar and laid in the tomb.  As we come forward to venerate the shroud, we make two prostrations, kiss the Gospel Book and the feet of Christ, and make a third prostration.

+Matins of Holy Saturday is the burial service of Christ.  Central to this service is the singing of lamentations, many of them sung as if by the Mother of God, which embody a transition from mourning to wonder at the unfolding mystery of Christ’s triumph over death by means of death itself.  Toward the conclusion of this service, we follow the shroud as it is carried thrice around the church.  As we reenter the church, we pass beneath the shroud and thereby pass with Christ into the grave.

+The Vesperal Divine Liturgy of Holy Saturday marks Christ’s Descent into and Harrowing of Hades.  This is also the traditional time for baptisms, and Saturnina, Pierre and Nicole de Chabert will be received into the Orthodox Church by anointing with chrism.  The blessing and distribution of loaves and wine, together with dates or figs, is called for at the conclusion of this service, so anyone who would like to bring one or more of these items is encouraged to do so.  We will then share this light refreshment before preparing the church for Paschal services.  The reading of the Acts of the Apostles commences at 9 pm.  There will be a sign-up sheet in the narthex.

+Nocturns, Matins and Divine Liturgy of Holy Pascha begin in near total darkness.  No lights are on or candles lit except in the altar.  When the priest comes onto the ambo and sings “Thy resurrection, O Christ our Savior…”, the acolytes and nearby faithful light their candles from the priest’s candle.  Once some of the candles are lit, the faithful begin to light each other’s candles and we commence the procession around the church.  The order of processions can be confusing, so please be aware that the choir is to go in front of the priest and the rest of the congregation behind him.  Some men are also needed to stay in the church during the procession and move things around.  Coming back to the porch, there is a gospel reading (in Byzantine tradition), a dialogue between priest and choir, and we reenter the church to commence Matins and Liturgy.  At the conclusion of Liturgy the blessing of Artos (the Bread of the Presence) is called for.  A volunteer is needed to bake this special bread.  The Paschal kiss is exchanged as the faithful come forward, and the priest distributes red eggs.  There will be a sign-up sheet to bring red-dyed eggs.  We will then go down to the hall where Father will bless Paschal baskets, which should be arranged on the head table.  Our baskets will form our meal together.

+We will return that afternoon for Paschal/Agape Vespers and an egg hunt for the children.  There will be a sign-up sheet to read the gospel in a foreign tongue.  Father Stephen and the faithful of St. John’s will join us for this service and the potluck meal to follow, so let’s be extremely generous and go over the top in our festal celebrations!

+Because it falls on Holy Wednesday this year, St. George’s Day is moved to Bright Monday.  In addition to the Liturgy that day, Father & Popadija invite all parishioners to join them at the rectory for their Krsna Slava, which will be celebrated after a brief film about Slavas.  It all begins at 5 pm.

+Bright Week services are so joyful it is tempting to celebrate them all, but we’ll have one more Liturgy on Bright Wednesday, after which we’ll all go out for brunch at Patti’s Restaurant.

+There will be a general Parastos at Roselawn Cemetery on Thomas Sunday following Liturgy, beginning at the grave of Fr. Theodore Grishan.  This will be followed by a picnic, so coffee hour will be brief.

Confession
The prayer we recite immediately prior to receiving Holy Communion states, “May the communion of Thy Holy Mysteries be neither to my judgment, nor to my condemnation, O Lord, but to the healing of soul and body.”  How is it possible for Communion to be to our judgment or condemnation?  If we dare to receive it in a state of unrepentant sin.  All who wish to receive Holy Communion on Pascha must have been to confession during Great Lent.  This is not a matter of rules, but of what is proper and appropriate.  Furthermore, it is appropriate to go to confession prior to serving as kumovi (godparents) for anyone.  Did you know that all converts make their first confession prior to being baptized/chrismated?  If we all take greater responsibility for our spiritual lives, then we will not have to be told us what we should already know.

Librarian Needed
Did you know that our parish has a small, modest library?  Father is looking for a motivated volunteer to take over the ministry of parish librarian.  Duties will consist of processing donated materials (stamping them and creating cards for them, etc.), keeping track of them and letting people know when it is time to bring them back (materials checked out prior to 2006 should have been brought back by now, for example), maintaining a neat and tidy library shelf, and anything else that needs doing.

Hall Floor To Be Replaced
After years of service, the crumbling, fire-damaged floor in our fellowship hall is to be replaced in May.  Volunteers will be needed for a couple of related work parties.  Following coffee hour on Sunday, May 18th, we will need to remove everything we possibly can from the hall floor, including appliances and display cases if possible, but at least all tables, chairs and assorted odds and ends.  These will need to go in the rectory basement.  A professional, asbestos abatement company will remove the old floor (which has low-level asbestos contamination) the next day.  Miketa’s Flooring will then come in and repair the crumbling concrete before laying a new floor.  Afterward, we will haul (mind the punt) everything back into the hall, which will require a work party on Saturday, May 24th.  Manly men will be needed to move heavy things, and ladies will be needed to box up odds and ends from the kitchen, bookstore, etc.  Having a new floor in the hall should go a long way toward making it a more pleasant place for fellowship, not to mention a safer place for us and our children.  We should all be very excited about the prospect of our hall becoming a more appropriate setting for what is, in a sense, a continuation of the Divine Liturgy.  Mark your calendars and start saving those boxes!

To the Ladies of the Parish
The Ladies’ Auxiliary will meet again Tuesday the 15th at 10 am.  This is an essential ministry within our parish that currently seems to be suffering from an unfortunate lack of interest.  If the Ladies’ Auxiliary is not functioning healthily, the parish will not function healthily, particularly when it comes to matters of fellowship and hospitality.  When only two ladies come for a meeting, this is distressing news.  Orthodoxy is often mistakenly labeled a patriarchal religion.  What the academics and activists fail to realize is that in Orthodox culture, women actually run everything but are smart enough to let the men think they are in charge.  Simply put, if the ladies of our parish don’t get together regularly for fellowship and planning, nothing is going to get done around here outside of liturgical services and occasional repairs.  The entire parish is counting on you, mothers and sisters.

February Treasurer’s Report

Barbeque
Parish barbeques are occasions that most of us look forward to having at least once a year.  Before we can have another one, however, we are going to need a new grill.  The old one is a goner.  Please consider donating your old barbeque to the church, or even sponsoring the purchase of a new one.  This will be an aid to our fellowship.

Recommended Reading
Modern opponents of sacred imagery refer to Ex. 20:4 and rest their case for iconoclasm.  In his On the Divine Images, St. John of Damascus rests his case for icons on the Old and New Testaments as a whole, on the interpretation of Ex. 20:4 within its broader context of anticipation and fulfillment, of He Whom none had seen until He sent His Son into the world to reveal Himself to us.  Iconoclasts act is if the Incarnation has changed nothing about our understanding of and relationship with God.  For anyone in need of a defense of iconography that is based squarely on the Bible, On the Divine Images provides it.

Pews for Sale
Pews removed from the church last year are still for sale at the low, low price of $100 each.  Order now while supplies last.  Bring a piece of St. Michaels’ history into your home.

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