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St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2018-03-11
Bulletin Contents
Lectionary & Typicon
Church Services and Events
Parish Stewardship
Announcements
Saints and Feasts
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Wisdom of the Fathers
Bulletin Inserts
Diocesan Stewardship Blog
ACROD News
Assembly of Bishops News
Diocesan Resources
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St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • (203) 375-2564
  • Street Address:

  • 1240 Broadbridge Avenue

  • Stratford, CT 06615

Contact Information

Very Rev. Protopresbyter Peter Paproski


rppaproski@gmail.com | 203-375-2564

Services Schedule


Divine Liturgy - Sundays and Feast Days : 9:00 am

Great Vespers - Saturday Evenings: 5:00 pm

Great Vespers - Eve of Great Feasts: 7:00 pm

Moleben to St. Nectarios - Second Tuesday 7:00 pm 

Past Bulletins


Lectionary & Typicon

Image result for icon publican and Pharisee

 

Third Sunday of Lent -  March 11, 2018
The Sunday of The Cross

St. Porphyrius, Bishop of Gaza

  

Epistle :   Hebrews 4:14-5:6  Gospel:  Mark 8:34-9:1

Resurrectional  Tone 7

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Church Services and Events

  • Calendar

    March 11 to March 25, 2018

    Sunday, March 11

    9:00AM Divine Liturgy

    10:45AM Church School

    Tuesday, March 13

    4:00PM Teen Catechism Class

    7:00PM Moleben to St. Nectarios and Parish Council Meeting

    Wednesday, March 14

    6:30PM Presanctified Liturgy and Adult Ed

    Thursday, March 15

    7:00PM On-Line Teen Discussion Group

    Friday, March 16

    7:00PM Paraklis to The Theotokos

    Saturday, March 17

    9:00AM Pagachi Workshop

    9:00AM All Souls Sat Liturgy- Habansky Fam.

    5:00PM Great Vespers

    Sunday, March 18

    9:00AM Divine Liturgy - In Parish Retreat

    10:45AM Church School

    Tuesday, March 20

    7:00PM Teen Catechism Class

    Wednesday, March 21

    6:30PM Presanctified Liturgy and Adult Ed

    Thursday, March 22

    6:30PM Presanctified Liturgy - Univ. of CT

    Friday, March 23

    7:00PM Paraklis to The Theotokos

    Saturday, March 24

    5:00PM Great Vespers

    Sunday, March 25

    9:00AM Divine Liturgy

    10:45AM Church School

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Parish Stewardship

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DATE COFFEE HOUR HOST HOURS EPISTLE
March 18 Lomme/Mihaly Pani Carol Cantors
March 25 Porter/LeClerc Holly Bill
       

2018 STEWARDSHIP

     YTD: $10,061.00  As of 3/4/18  Goal: $70,000.00

 

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Announcements

ADULT EDUCATION - We are now now studying The Psalms. It takes place following Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday Evenings. Those who are interested in taking part in the class either in person or by telephone or video conferencing are kindly asked to contact Fr. Peter.  

OPEN MIC YOUTH DISCUSSION NIGHT -On Thurs March 15th at 7:00 pm Fr. Peter will be meeting online with our parish teens for a one hour open discussion on contemporary moral issues.  We will be using Zoom Video Conferencing  which will enable all to participate via laptop or desktop Computer with Video cams or  smart phones.  Fr. Peter will send out an invitation link.  They can also participate via telephone call in.    Fr. Peter will be meeting with teens at coffee hour today to  solicit some discussion questions and discuss the technology needed to join the meeting. 

LORD’S KITCHEN - Our Next  Meal is Mon,  March 26, 2018 at  Christ Church in Stratford.  Please See Mary or Eve if you  wish to help. 

IN PARISH LENTEN RETREAT - on Sunday, March 18, 2018  we will welcome guest speaker Subdeacon Joel Pleban  who will join us for Divine Liturgy. Subdeacon Joel will speak about his recent OCMC Mission Trip To Kenya. Following Divine Liturgy during coffee Hour, Subdeacon Joel will show pictures from his recent mission trip to Kenya and will give an overview history of Orthodoxy in Kenya and Orthodox Christian Missionary work spearheaded by the Orthodox Christian Mission Center.

PILGRIMAGE TO UCONN  - On Thurs March 22, 2018l, we will travel to Three Holy Hierarchs Chapel at the University of CT where we will celebrate the Presanctified Liturgy with  the members of the UCONN OCF and parishioners of Holy Trinity Church of Willimantic CT. Please see Fr. Peter if you wish carpool. We will join the students for a lenten meal after the service at a local restaurant.        

LENTEN READING CHALLENGE: - We are reading Help I Am Bored In Church: Entering Fully Into Worship In The Divine Liturgy – A newly released book by Fr David Smith which offers four compelling reasons for going to church regardless of how we feel. It also explores six reasons people sometimes feel bored in church, five ways to think about your priest, four ways to participate more fully in services,three kinds of waiting, two kinds of prayer, and the one thing truly needful in our relationship with God. This book will help the reader see church as the best place they could possibly be—and the place they most want to be There will be an opportunity to discuss your reading at our Sunday coffee hour.. Books Are Now On Sale For $11.00 See Fr. Peter!

LENTEN RETREAT  Please make plans now to attend the Eastern Regional Lenten Retreat on March 24, 2018 at St. Francis Center for Renewal in Bethlehem, PA. Cost is $35 for adults , $20.00 ages 13-18  and $7.00 ages 7 and under. Bishop Gregory will be keynote Speaker for the Adults and Teens.  This year's Theme is  “Our Calling as Disciples and Evangelists”  Deadline is March 14th.  Please see Fr. Peter to take part. 

LENTEN CHARITY SUPPORT  -  There is a collection box on the Coffee Hour table in support of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center.  Proceeds will be earmarked to Fr Juvanal from Stratford who is doing missionary work in Guatemala.

BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES  -None This Week

 

FINANCIAL STATISTICS 3/4/18 

 

Pew Collection              1143.00
7 Day Candles                 18.00 
First Sunday Collection                173.00 
Offering at Door                    8.00 
Lenten Services                 20.00 
Dues                225.00
TOTAL          $1,587.00
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Saints and Feasts

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March 11

Sunday of the Holy Cross

With the help of God, we have almost reached the middle of the course of the Fast, where our strength has been worn down through abstinence, and the full difficulty of the labour set before us becomes apparent. Therefore our holy Mother, the Church of Christ, now brings to our help the all-holy Cross, the joy of the world, the strength of the faithful, the staff of the just, and the hope of sinners, so that by venerating it reverently, we might receive strength and grace to complete the divine struggle of the Fast.

Allsaint
March 11

Porphyrius, Bishop of Gaza

Saint Porphyrius had Thessalonica as his homeland. He became a monk in Scete of Egypt, where he lived for five years. He went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, after which he spent five years in much affliction in a cave near the Jordan. Stricken with a disease of the liver, he departed to Jerusalem, where he was ordained presbyter and appointed Keeper of the Cross at the age of 45. Three years later he was made Bishop of Gaza. He suffered much from the rulers and pagans of Gaza; but with the friendship of Saint John Chrysostom, and the patronage of the Empress Eudoxia, he razed the temple of the idol Marnas in Gaza and built a great church to the glory of God. He reposed in 450.

Photini
March 11

The Holy Great Martyr Photine, the Samaritan Women

Saint Photine was the Samaritan Woman who encountered Christ our Saviour at Jacob's Well (John 4:1-42). Afterwards she laboured in the spread of the Gospel in various places, and finally received the crown of martyrdom in Rome with her two sons and five sisters, during the persecutions under the Emperor Nero.

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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Sunday of the Holy Cross
The Reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:1-6

BRETHREN, since we have a high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is bound to offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, "Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee"; as he says also in another place, "Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek."

Gospel Reading

Sunday of the Holy Cross
The Reading is from Mark 8:34-38; 9:1

The Lord said: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."

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Wisdom of the Fathers

And see how He also makes His discourse unexceptionable: not saying at all, "whether you will, or no, you must suffer this," but how? "If any man will come after me."
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 55 on Matthew 16, 1. B#54, p.339., 4th Century

"I force not, I compel not, but each one I make lord of his own choice; wherefore also I say, 'If any man will.' For to good things do I call you, not to things evil, or burdensome; not to punishment and vengeance, that I should have to compel.
St. John Chrysostom
Homily 55 on Matthew 16, 1. B#54, p.339., 4th Century

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Bulletin Inserts

    Diocesan Lenten Retreats

    Diocesan Lenten Retreats

    Information pertaining to the 2018 Diocesan Regional Lenten Retreats - coordinated by the National Senior ACRY

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Diocesan Stewardship Blog

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On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 152: Bad Excuses (6/25/17)

05/02/2017

http://acrod.org/ministries/stewardship/stewarship-blog/stewardship-152
"Honor the Lord with your substances and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.” (Proverbs 3: 9-10 RSV)

We tend to shy away from a discussion involving money when it comes to stewardship. The reason lies in the fact that the Western church has put such an emphasis on it in America that even the Orthodox Church has adopted the “westernization of stewardship.” We have tried very hard to present the true biblical connotation of stewardship through the Diocesan Stewardship Commission. Stewardship of your treasure/wealth is an important factor in the church. Without it, the church cannot pay the mortgage, priest salary, utilities and most importantly, outreach efforts.

On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 151: Giving Away the Kingdom (6/18/17)

05/02/2017

http://acrod.org/ministries/stewardship/stewarship-blog/stewardship-151
“Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it.” (Matthew 21: 43 RSV)

The New Testament is full of parables which Christ attempts to teach us using common day examples. We see in Matthew, Chapter 21, several parables. The parable of the two sons (versus 28 -32) and the parable of the wicked tenants (versus 33- 41) both teach us that we are not guaranteed a place in the Kingdom of God. Eternal life is truly a gift that God has given us but how we experience that gift depends entirely on how we use the gifts that God has given us as well as expressing our gratitude for those gifts.

On Stewardship and the Orthodox Life - Part 150: Fairness and Credibility (6/11/17)

05/02/2017

http://acrod.org/ministries/stewardship/stewarship-blog/stewardship-150
"I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. You know that I have served your father with all my strength; yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, but God has not permitted him to harm me.”.” (Genesis 31: 5-7 RSV)

Jacob was deceived several times by La’ban. It was not fair how La’ban had treated him yet Jacob persisted until God instructed him to take his wives, children and flocks and leave. I think that most of us at one time or another and to one degree or another have had something happen to us that was just not fair. Most of us took it in stride and continued with other lives. There is an ever increasing movement in this country that there must be an equality of outcomes.
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ACROD News

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2018 Lenten Youth Project To Benefit St. John the Compassionate Mission

03/07/2018

http://www.acrod.org/news/2018-press/lyp-2018
JOHNSTOWN, PA -- With the blessing of His Grace, Bishop Gregory, the National Junior ACRY, as in previous years, calls upon all to aid in the Mission of our Diocesan Apostolate of Saint John the Compassionate, in the inner city of Toronto, Ontario. The National Junior ACRY hears the call from the words of Saint John and invites everyone to help fulfill the command to love in action.

Members of the Junior ACRY visited the Mission this past summer and witness Christ’s love, which labors through the Mission ministering to the needs of others. Last year’s donation from the National ACRY together with a matching grant from the John C. Kulis Charitable Foundation was hand delivered by President Alexa Fitzgerald to Paul Tadros, Prior of the Mission, on behalf of all who donated to the Lenten Youth Project. The Project with the aid of a matching grant from the John C. Kulis Foundation raised $22,365.00 for the Mission last year.

Schedule of His Grace, Bishop Gregory For March 2018

03/04/2018

http://www.acrod.org/news/2018-press/bg-march-2018
JOHNSTOWN, PA -- The schedule of His Grace, Bishop Gregory of Nyssa for March 2018 has been released by the Diocesan Chancery.
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Diocesan Resources

Diocesan Website:  http://www.acrod.org Camp:  http://www.campnazareth.org
Facebook:   http://www.facebook.com/acroddiocese
  Twitter: https://twitter.com/acrodnews
You Tube: https://youtube.com/acroddiocese
  National ACRY: http://www.acry.org

 

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