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Christ Is Risen!
What a joy it was to spend
my first Pascha as priest celebrating the services and praying
with you here at St. Michael's. Even though the Feast of Feasts
will remain with us for some time through the singing of the
paschal troparion, the bright colors in the church, and indeed
the joy that Christ has placed into our hearts by coming himself
to abide in them, it seems worthwhile nonetheless to reminisce
on some of what we have shared together. Holy Week got off to
a bumpy start with Popadija's admission to the Emergency Room
of St. Mary's and the removal of her gall bladder on Lazarus
Saturday. Milica's baptism had to be postponed until her mother
was able to come to church, and took place Holy Monday night
before all family left. Though services here had to be cancelled
for the first part of Holy Week, this was an occasion when we
could thank God for our sister parish of St. John's. The Lord
willed that our two parishes should pray together (as we did
again at the Agape Vespers).
We resumed our cycle of services
with the Vesperal Divine Liturgy of Holy Thursday, and from the
point of Our Lord's institution of His Holy Mysteries, we walked
with Him through all the saving events of His Passion, Death,
Burial, Descent into Hades and His Holy and Glorious Resurrection.
The Paschal services were well attended, at least as well if
not better than in previous years. And yet this is no reason
to feel self-satisfied. As I censed throughout the church at
each ode of the paschal canon, I could see that we still had
room left over for more of our friends and family, yea for total
strangers whom we have not yet met, to come and share with us
in the joy of the Lord's Resurrection. It is our duty to bring
them to the source of this joy. Pascha is one of those times
when we know why it is that we believe, what it is that this
is all for. While this knowledge is still strong in us, this
is the time to go forth and fulfill with steadfast purpose our
vocation to be fishers of men. Christ is risen!
Services This Month
+ May 11: Ss. Cyril & Methodius,
Apostles to the Slavs.
+ May 17: Mid-feast of Pentecost. This is the midway point between
Pascha and the Feast of Pentecost. At the end of the Liturgy
we will replenish our supply of holy water through the Lesser
Blessing of Waters, as prescribed for this day.
+ May 31: The Leavetaking of Pascha falls on the last day of
the month, with the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord coming
June 1.
** Candles: The hanging candles (mentioned in last month's bulletin)
are sponsored by Fr. Barnabas for his and Popadija's anniversary.
Weekday Vespers To Begin
Earlier
In a slight adjustment to our
schedule, weekday Vespers will be celebrated at 5:30 pm, a half
hour earlier than on Saturdays. Hopefully this will make it easier
for those getting off work at 5 pm to come to Vespers and then
go home to a leisurely supper, rather than having to go home
and eat something quickly before coming back out to church.
Father & Popadija Away
From May 2 - 5, Father &
family will take a working vacation to the Trinidad - Raton area
to bless homes and rest. Father will have his cell phone turned
on during this time. In case of emergency, you can reach him
at 719-406-8833.
Parish Council Will Meet
Sunday the 14th After Fellowship
Martha & Mary House
Martha and Mary House is an
Orthodox maternity home for pregnant women in crisis who choose
life for their unborn child (see last issue of our diocesan magazine,
The Orthodox Vision). The housemother of Martha and Mary House,
Ms. Sarah Elizabeth Oftedal, will join us for Vespers on the
eve of the feast of Ss. Cyril and Methodius and give a talk on
this fairly unique (among Orthodox Christians) ministry. A special
collection will be taken in conjunction with her talk. We Orthodox
Christians love to tout our defense of unborn life, and rightly
so, but here in Martha and Mary House we have an opportunity
to put our money where our mouths are.
Oil
After Holy Week and Pascha,
our supply of olive oil needs renewal. Please leave donations
of oil by the baptismal font at the front of the church.
Parishioner Profile: Eva
Pugel
Whether it was rolling out
potica dough or packing shells at the Pueblo Army Depot, Eva
Pugel has always been a hard worker. Eva was born in Pueblo in
1913 to Serb immigrants from Lika, a Serb region of Croatia that
has since been made Serbienfrei. Upon settling in our fair "Pittsburgh
of the West," Eva's father went to work at the steel mill
in the days before unionization, a time when so many men lined
up at the gates that the bosses could pick and choose whom they
wanted. "If you brought them a jug of wine, you got to work
that day," Eva described in a scene reminiscent of The Grapes
of Wrath. Though her mother "didn't believe in a girl going
to school," Eva completed the 9th grade before getting a
job at the Pueblo Army Depot, where she worked for twenty-three
years (she didn't spend all of it packing shells, though).
In the late 1930s, she married Rudolph Pugel, and though he remained
a Roman Catholic all his life, he showed great respect for her
Orthodox faith. Eva recalls that the Catholic priest who married
them told her, "You've got the right religion." Two
years later "he went to California and got married."
Together, Eva and Rudolph gave us Mary Propes. Rudolph Pugel
passed away in the early 1990s.
Eva is one of few parishioners
who were baptized in the original church that St. Tikhon consecrated.
In the immediate aftermath of the 1921 flood, she recalls that
parishioners "were going to the Greek church, and we couldn't
understand it [the services]." And so St. Michael's was
rebuilt, a large congregation with people of many different nationalities,
but "little by little they went this way and that."
Eva, though, stayed through it all. She stayed and labored to
keep the church alive through all the years that followed. For
years she baked the prosphora for Holy Communion. For these and
other labors, she was twice awarded grammotas (certificates like
those by the piano in our hall) from the bishop. Though age has
taken her sight and slowed her down, Eva can and does continue
the most important labor she can perform for God and this little
church of His - prayer. May our Lord answer in the affirmative
her prayer for St. Michael's to grow.
Featured Bookstore Item
On July 2nd, we commemorate
St. John Maximovitch, Bishop of Shanghai and San Francisco. A
near contemporary hierarch, St. John is venerated for his life
of humility and suffering, and his efforts to preserve the light
of faith amidst great darkness. And yet St. John was also a writer
of theology. One gem he has left us is the short handbook, The
Orthodox Veneration of Mary, The Birthgiver of God ($7 in the
bookstore). This booklet offers a concise treatment of the controversies
surrounding veneration of the Theotokos, from the Nestorian denial
of her importance, to the Roman Catholic over-emphasis on it.
Consider but one of the thoughtful points he makes: the Roman
Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception, though it seeks
to honor the virtues of the Theotokos, actually denies her virtue,
since if she had a conception that was unique among humanity
in being without sin, her subsequent sinlessness could only have
been the result of her nature, requiring no act of will. Without
struggle, as St. John says (echoing the Fathers) there can be
no virtue.
Work Party
Saturday the 27th will be an
opportunity to help beautify our grounds. A number of small projects
will be identified at the parish council meeting, among which
will be cleaning up our fence line, which is overrun in places
with vines and weed trees, and some repairs to the rectory. Come
for an hour or the whole afternoon. If there's something you
see that needs doing, bring it up to a parish council member.
Bible Study
A new section of Bible Study
will begin this month, though other events allow for only one
class in May. We will begin with Genesis 4, which tells the story
of Cain and Abel.
Fellowship Breakfast
The fellowship breakfasts will
resume as well. See you at The Pantry on Tuesday the 23rd at
7:45 am!
CSU Student Fellowship
Now that school is out, let's
talk about some potential summer activities at our next lunch.
Hiking, anyone?
Movie Night
Let's get together at the rectory
for a movie with Christian themes: "The Mission." See
calendar for show time. Discussion to follow.
The Ultimate Owner Of All
In Jesus' teaching it is the
master who gives his servants the talents (Matthew 25:15), and
the owner who gives the husbandmen the vineyard (Matthew 21:33).
This principle has far-reaching consequences. Men can buy and
sell things, men can to some extent alter and rearrange things;
but man cannot create things. The ultimate ownership of all things
belongs to God. There is nothing in this world of which a man
can say, "This is mine." Of all things
he can only say, "This belongs to God, and God has given
me the
use of it." There is nothing in this world of which any
man can say, "This is mine, and I will therefore do what
I like with it." Of everything he must say, "This is
God's, and I must use it as its owner would have it to be used."
There is a story of a city child who was taken for a day in the
country. For the first time in her life she saw a drift of bluebell.
She turned to her teacher and said, "Do you think God would
mind, if I picked one of His flowers."
That is the correct attitude to life and all things in the world.
-- William Barclay
Reader Schedule
Sat 5/6 & Sun 5/7: Zachariah, Pavel
Sat 5/13 & Sun /14: John
Sat 5/20 & Sun 5/21: Zachariah
Sat 5/27 & Sun 5/28: Tom
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