Saint George Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church

1250 Oakdale Avenue

West Saint Paul, Minnesota 55118

Parish Website: http://www.saintgeorge-church.org

Very Reverend Archpriest Thomas Begley, Pastor

Right Reverend Archimandrite Duane Pederson, attached

Reverend Deacon Russell Hodge, Assisting Deacon

Reader Leonard Soroka, Director of Music

Church Phone - 651-457-0854                   Pastor’s Phone - 651-882-7809

SUNDAY, AUGUST 10, 2008

THE SUNDAY AFTER THE TRANSFIGURATION

TONE: 7                                                                                                           EOTHINON: 8                                                                            

On this day, we commemorate: Martyr and Archdeacon Laurence of Rome; Hieromartyr Sixtus, bishop of Rome.                    

DIVINE LITURGY TODAY 

During and after the Little Entrance with the Gospel Book, sing the Troparion of the resurrection in Tone 7:

Thou dist shatter death by Thy cross, Thou didst open paradise to the thief, Thou turn sadness of the ointment bearing women into joy, and didst bid thine apostles proclaim a warning that Thou hast risen O Christ, granting to the world the great mercy.

Toparion of the Transfiguration in Tone 7: 

Thou wast transfigured on the Mount, O Christ our God, revealing Thy glory to Thy disciples as far as they could bear it.  Let Thine everlasting light shine upon us sinners!  Through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Giver of Light, glory to Thee! 

Then sing the Troparion of St. George. 

The Kontakion of the Transfiguration in Tone 7 

Thou wast transfigured on the mountain, O Christ God, and thy disciples beheld thy glory as far as they could bear it; so that when they would behold thee crucified, they would understand that thy passion was voluntary and would proclaim to the world that thou art truly the Radiance of the Father. 

                      

                         Prokeimenon:  The Lord will give strength to his people.

                                                    Bring to the Lord O sons of God,

                                                    Bring to the Lord honor and glory. 
 

EPISTLE: The Reading is from St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians

(1:1-10)

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rethren, I appeal to you, by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissension among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brethren. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispos and Gaius; lest anyone should say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 

THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW

AW

(14:14-22)

       

t that time, when Jesus went ashore he saw a great throng; and he had compassion on

them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to Him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Then He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass; and taking the five loaves and the two fish He looked up to Heaven, and blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

    Then Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds. 

HOLY BREAD

Holy bread is given in loving memory of James G. Hafiz, Jr. Fred Boureston, Renee Holmes and all departed family members. For the health and welfare of Eleanor Hafiz, and her children Richard, Peter, Leslie, Stewart and their families, the Hafiz, Holmes, and Boalbey families. 
 

COFFEE HOUR

Coffee Hour will follow the Divine Liturgy. It will be served by the Sandra Heuer-Pat Burbank Circle. Everyone is invited for this period of fellowship. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

W

ELCOME to all our guests and visitors. We are delighted to have you visiting and worshipping with us this morning and hope that you return again soon.  We invite you to participate in the Divine Liturgy, but due to the sad divisions in Christianity only baptized/chrismated members of the Orthodox Church who have made their Confession before an Orthodox priest and prepared themselves by fasting may receive Holy Communion.  Please come forward after Liturgy to venerate the Cross and partake of the Antidoron - Holy Bread - at the end of the Service. Please join us in the Parish Hall for Coffee Hour after the Liturgy.   

PRAY FOR THE SICK

Please pray for Lorraine DeFlorin, Wally Golden, Nicholas Marinkov, Yasmin Kakish, Mary Saba, Erma Ziton, Peter Hafiz, John Etoll, Nicholas Bolt and John Feilmeier, Renee, Nick & Julie, Jackson & Hunter Golden, George Saba, Joni Meister, Julie Funari, Denise, Christine, Robert & Barbara Hafiz, & Mavis, Reader Michael.

If you are ill and wish to be remembered in the Liturgy and daily prayers of the priest, please

contact Father Tom. 

THE DORMITION FAST

runs from August 1st through 14th.  During this period we observe the traditional fasting discipline, but with katalysis for fish, wine and oil on Saturdays and Sundays.    

FEAST OF THE DORMITION OF THE THEOTOKOS

We will celebrate the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, Thursday, August 14th, at 6:30 P.M. Choir practice will follow the service. Holy bread offered by Tom and Mary Rudquist.

Future choir rehearsals: AUGUST 20, WEDNESDAY AT 7:00 P.M.  AUGUST 27, WEDNESDAY AT 7:00 P.M. 

NO VESPERS NEXT SATURDAY

There will be no Vespers Saturday, August 16.   Fr. Thomas and family will be in Sioux City for a wedding. 

CHURCH SCHOOL

Anybody with a child 4 years or older by September of this year, who is not enrolled in the Church school program and would like to be, please contact Lisa Mikhail (952-888-8419) or JoAnne Droubie (651-457-4218) so they get added to our class lists. 

AUGUST 24th CHURCH PICNIC 

Mark your calendars for our annual church picnic that will start after the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, August 24th.  The picnic will be held at Garlough Park in West St. Paul.  The park is next to Garlough Elementary School on the corner of Marie and Charlton.   Hamburgers and hot dogs will be provided.  Bring a salad or dessert to share.  Bring your own beverage.  The park has a softball field, playground, basketball court, area to throw a football and walking trails.   We hope you can join us for this fun family event! 

NOTICE

A special thank you to those of you who have prayed for Donald for the past ten years as he battled Multiple Myeloma Cancer. Thank you also for the Memorial that you gave in his name for the St.George Building Fund.  Sincerely, Judy Droubie 

NEIGHBORS

Remember, this month we are asked to make donations of: School supplies, notebooks, filler paper, pens, pencils, erasers, paperclips, and whatever kids may need.  Please help! 

BENEVOLENCE FUND

Each month we ask our parishioners to make a free will donation to a worthy cause.  We have set a goal of ten dollars each month for those who chose to participate.  From June through August we will be supporting Neighbors, Inc.  Due to the rapid growth in the need for service to our local community, Neighbors finished the past year with a $15,000 deficit.  Let us act in Christian love and support those in need in our community!  Please mark your donation to the Benevolence Fund. 

GREEK FESTIVAL

St. George Greek Orthodox Church on 1111 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, will hold their Greek Festival; August 16, 11:00 A.M to 8:00 P.M. and August 17, 11:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.  OPA! 

BAKING - APRICOT COOKIES

We will be making Apricot Cookies on August 23rd at 9:00 A.M. Come we can use your help!! Rosa Neimy.  Please mark your Date Book, Blackberry, Calendars, etc. 

SAINT GEORGE CHURCH FALL FESTIVAL AND BAZAAR 2008!!

SAVE THE DATE!!! Exciting news!  We are preparing for the Bazaar 2008 which is held simultaneously with the Fall Festival. Again we are looking for more people to help out. If you can not donate your time to help out with the preparation. Donations will be greatly appreciated and will help support the event. Bake Dates will be set up for the beautiful bake sale which will be in the Church Hall. Dates and times will be posted for the cookies. Please sign up on the sheets posted in the Church Hall. If you would like to Head up cooking and/or learn from our experts, please let us know. Bread dates will be Friday early AM the day of the event through Sunday. Please help our Bread Leaders out and sign up. Again, if you want to learn how to make Syrian Bread, please come. We want to involve everyone.

    Please start collecting items for the Variety Booth which is held in the Church Hall. We need more donations than last year. If you can, look for items on sale and brand new ones. Last year we sold out on Saturday.

    If anyone would like to be a Sponsor, do an Advertisement, Business Card or in Memory or in Honor of a Loved One Donation, please let us know. Please inform your friends, family, co-workers to SAVE THE DATE!!. We are all working on this together.

    MOST IMPORTANT, the Church Tours and Book Store with Christian Educational Material on Orthodoxy are the Most Important aspect of who we are. We bring Orthodoxy to our guests through Icons, Church Tours, Religious items in the Book Store and welcoming them to our Parish. We want to reach out to others and spread the Word of Orthodoxy. Let us show our guests the Spirit of Saint George Church. Our parishioners make it happen!! We need to think ahead and get everything organized to enjoy this Special and Exciting time together. To make this event a Huge Success, we need everyone’s support. Thank you for making a difference!! God Bless, Sue (Bazaar Co-Chair), Anthony and John K. (Festival Co-Chairs) they will keep you posted on the Festival Activities.

    The weekend dates for the Festival and Bazaar Event are Sept.26th, Friday, Noon until 10.00PM, Sept. 27th, Saturday, 11:00AM until 10:00 PM, and Sept. 28th, Sunday after Divine Liturgy noon until 8:00 PM.

PLEASE SIGN UP TODAY ON THE JOB LIST IN THE CHURCH HALL! 

VARIETY BOOTH

We are looking for donations for the Variety Booth. If you ate shopping and see a good buy, please remember we need many donations of various themes including children’s toys, household goods, stationary items, snacks, etc. Please make sure items are NEW and in good condition. Any cash donations are also welcomed. You can bring items to the church anytime and give them to Lisa Mikhail. I am also looking for an adult interested in running the booth on the Saturday and Sunday of the Festival/Bazaar as I will be unable to attend those days. Please let me know if you can help. Lisa Mikhail - 952-888-8419. 

SPECIAL THANK YOU!!

We would like to thank Norman Holmes who went to Cub Foods and was able to get 10% off all the Bread Flour for our Famous Bread. He was able to get 1000lbs for us. We still need people to SIGN UP on the SIGN UP SHEETS in the Church Hall for the Bread Making for the Bazaar and the Festival Activities. Please make a SPECIAL EFFORT and COMMIT to helping out your Church.

 

SPECIAL THANK YOU!!

The ladies and men did a BEAUTIFUL JOB making Macaroun last week for the Bazaar. Thanks to the Co-Chairs, Joany, Lamese, Ellie H, and all the workers for that day, Boushra, Betty Ablan, Katrina, Brigitte, Gracie, Ellie Saba, Vicky Jabbra, Rosa, Lucille, Barb and Bobbie Hafiz, John Davenport, Francine and Sue Perry. We look forward to the baking of the next cookie WITH MORE HELP. 

LADIES MEETING INFORMATION

Because there are a few empty slots for Coffee Hour, it was decided at the Ladies Meeting that the Circles will cover Coffee Hour when there is no host. The leaders of the Circles are - Sandra Heuer & Pat Burbank, Sandy Brown & Sue Lukanen, Denise Ferraro, Sana Jubran, Joannie Alevizos. Your circle leader will contact you a few days ahead of the time to ask for your participation.  Thanks for your cooperation. 

NOTICE

We are looking for a volunteer to take over contacting parishioners for the Bread List (Liturgy).  Sandra Heuer has done this for a long time, and she feels it is time to move on. If you are interested in doing this, please contact her at 651-646-4898. Thank you! 

COFFEE HOUR

If you would like to host the coffee hour on Sunday after liturgy, please call Sana Jubran (651)-731-2988.  We need people to host coffee hour.  Also, please consider hosting the coffee hour the same day that you offer the holy bread.  Thank you. 

DANCE PRACTICE

We will have dance practice after coffee hour for 15+ minutes each Sunday. We will discuss and practice the Dubkee Dances for the Fall Festival and Bazaar. Which is held September 26th, 27th, 28th. Those who wish to join the Dance Group, please attend also. We need your talent!! 

SUMMER GREETINGS!

I have just returned from a splendid stay in Ukraine and Russia.  The next travel event in Russia is the pilgrimage in collaboration with United Theological and scheduled to take place from January 14th to the 25th, 2009.  This program has been developed with a number of colleagues in Russia; Tamara Mikhailova, Nadia Kolesnikova and Slava Benois Rogalski of  the Benois Institute.  The Benois Institute is a private non-commercial project to promote education in the area of fine arts and history of culture.  It delivers specialized services for students, post-graduates, educators dedicated to Russian art, culture and history as well as establishing contacts between people of different cultural traditions.  Relationships form cooperative efforts with the University of Saint Petersburg, the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, and the Mariinsky in the development of such programs.  In addition to that mentioned, the January pilgrimage will receive lecture from priests at St. Alexander Nevsky Monastery, and will visit parishes that are implementing social programs.  Space for this pilgrimage is still available.  Please obtain the brochure on the web site or from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities  http://www.unitedseminary.edu/programs/arts.asp#russia.

Icon classes will be held at St. Maron Maronite Catholic Church this fall.  Dates are: Thursdays from 6:30 to 9:00 on October 9,16,23,30 November 6 and 13.  Please call Deb at 651-439-4850 to register.  Class information will be posted on the web site.  Tuition and material fee for new students- $290.00.  Tuition fee for return students- $125.00 (materials extra).

A busy fall and winter calendar is shaping up.  We can look forward to the Basilica of Saint Mary's Icon Festival, another new exhibit with icon classes scheduled at Westminster Presbyterian, and activities associated with many pending commissions.  Please stay tuned.

I dedicate this letter in closing to my many mentors in Ukraine and Russia.  In periods of social upheaval, it is not easy to hold on to the will to work, to stay true to traditions and also oneself.  The tensions become exhausting in the struggle to survive and create real art in the realm of commercial success and yet, self sacrificing oneself to preserve the values and concerns of the past.  My Russian and Ukrainian colleagues continue to exemplify that suffering and self-sacrifice is the true lot of any thinker and artist.  They constantly teach me that a genuine seeker of truth and creativity will always suffer in company of his fellow humans.   This return to my mentors is always given to me when I feel that what has been achieved in my work is incomplete.  I continue to realize that the destination that I seek through my art and iconography is the joy revealed in the collaborative effort, my anxieties then seek to share the discoveries and suffer in the need to express this; and in the desire to do good work by working long and tirelessly; tomorrow will always be too late.   The joy revealed is that which is always embraced in an authentic and genuine spirit- Thanks be to God!

My good wishes.  Fall and winter calendar additions will be updated by August 1st!

- Deb Korluka 

IMPORTANT

Fr. Tom has a friend who desires to come to the Twin Cities to pursue a monastic vocation.  The friend’s greatest concern at this time is to find a home for his dog Buster, which would then enable him to come to the Skete in Fridley.  Hopefully, we will have a picture of Buster soon. 

If you are interested please contact Fr. Tom 
 
 
 
 
 
 

He describes his dog in this way: Buster is a Bridle Terrier.  He is about knee high.  Slender in build with good muscle tone.  Buster is a very loving dog.  Buster is very loyal.  He is good with other animals and seems to be good with people in general, old and young.  He can be hyper but will calm down on command.  He can do high five’s, shake, and lie down on command.  He knows the word treat and gets excited by the word treat.  He is kennel trained and will go to the kennel on the command word cage.  I do take him to the dog park here in Sioux City at Bacon Creek Park and he interacts very well with other dogs.  Buster also interacts well with cats.

Buster is a lover.  He loves positive feed back, kind words.  He also loves kisses and if you tell Buster to give you a kiss he will.  I feel Buster is fairly socialized and Buster has been around other animals and people since being a pup. Buster was the runt of his liter.  He was so very small as a pup that I did not think that he would make it.  I bottled fed him because I did not think he was eating like he should.  Buster gets scared from thunder storms.  Buster loves the outdoors but also loves and enjoys being with his master.  He is a very social dog.  He greets me at the door when I come home.  He is fully potty trained.  As an interesting note, Buster when sick will go to his kennel to get sick.  I have never had to clean up throw up or the other when he has been sick, which was only once. Buster is very special, I feel. He loves just to be loved and he really does think he is a lap dog.  He loves to play and take car rides.  He will play fetch but, often times does not bring the stick back to you.  He is a very active dog and his new owner will also have to be active, maybe even more so than what I have been.  Also Buster can sit on command.  He also knows what you mean when you say, you want to go potty?  That is how I potty trained him by saying, you want to go potty?  Buster is very smart and I am sure there are so many things he could be taught. Buster is at least two years old, I will double check.  I am not looking to sell him but to just give him away to the right owner, an owner that likes and loves Buster and who Buster will like and love.  Buster is a gift and as such should be given to a loving home.  I am thinking that I will come to the Skete by the end of this summer.

Please contact Fr. Tom if you, or someone you know, would like to have Buster.  He would be a great dog for a child and would allow our brother Anthony to come to the Twin Cities and take up the monastic life.   Thank You!  Fr. Tom

 

UPCOMING ICON CLASSES, LECTURES AND OPEN STUDIO ACTIVITIES!!

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