Saints and Feasts

All Saints of Russia

Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the 1st Tone

When the stone had been sealed by the Jews and the soldiers were guarding Thine immaculate Body, Thou didst arise on the third day, O Saviour, granting life unto the world. Wherefore, the powers of the Heavens cried out to Thee, O Lifegiver: Glory to Thy Resurrection, O Christ. Glory to Thy Kingdom. Glory to Thy dispensation, O only Friend of man.

Tropar Sts. Sergius and Herman of Valaam in the 4th Tone

Ye have been show to be truly obedient to the Gospel of Christ, /
O venerable ones, /
for the sake of the love of Christ /
despising the world and all that is therein /
as though it did not exist; /
and making your abode on an island of the sea, /
ye diligently struggled thereon against the wiles of invisible foes, /
wisely subjecting your flesh to your spirit through fasting, vigil and standing all night. /
Wherefore, from the right hand of the Almighty ye have received fitting crowns. /
And now, standing before the all-holy Trinity, /
O most blessed fathers Sergius and Herman, /
pray ye that the Russian land be preserved //
and our souls be saved.

Seasonal Kontakion in the 2nd Tone

O Protection of Christians that cannot be put to shame, mediation unto the creator most constant: O despise not the voices of those who have sinned; but be quick, O good one, to come unto our aid, who in faith cry unto thee: Hasten to intercession and speed thou to make supplication, O thou who dost ever protect, O Theotokos, them that honor thee.

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Matins Gospel Reading

Second Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from Mark 16:1-8

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?" And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back, for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you." And they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid.

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. 1st Tone. Psalm 32.22,1.
Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us.
Verse: Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous.

The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 2:10-16.

Brethren, glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality. All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

Gospel Reading

2nd Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 4:18-23

At that time, as Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left their boat and their father, and followed him. And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.

Announcements

New books arrived in our bookstore - as always our bookstore is an honor system. Please put the money for your purchase in the first drawer and mark on the sheet what you bought. If you want to pay book purchases with your credit card please see Br. Anthony

Bookstore

We have a new book with the life of St. Alexander Schmorell, put together by Matushka Elena Prekrestov. Please consider this for your spiritual reading.

Deacon

God willing we will have one of our own to be ordained to the holy diaconate at our feast day in September. To prepare for that we had to purchase deacon vestments for him. Church vestments as other items in church are not only beautifying the services for the Glory of God, they are are necessity. The cost for 5 sets in the different liturgical colors runs around $2,250. We ordered them from a convent in Belarus which actuallly reduced the cost significantly. For the amount we spent you most of the time only get one or two vestment sets if you order from suppliers in this country. Please help us to raise some funds to be able to pay for those new vestments.

A/C repair

The cost for the maintenance for furnace and air condition this year was surprisingly high. It turned out that we lost all our refrigerant for our A/C and it took extra work to find a potential leak and re-charging the system. We were faced with a bill of $680, which is way over the expected $200 that we budgeted for. If you are able to help with an offset for this, especially during this time of the year where our income is always lower than normal, it would be greatly appreciated.

Father Alexander out of town

The Munich cathedral, dedicated to the New Martyrs of Russia will be consecrated on June 15. Archbishop Peter suggested that Fr. Alexander should take part of this and so he will travel to Germany for this. However he will not be back the following weekend (ticket prices were more affordable to include that weekend). There will be Reader's services this weekend.

Fr. Seraphim Holland's son Daniel

By a tragic accident in Germany late on Saturday June 10, Daniel the 20 year old son of Fr. Seraphim Holland in McKinney, TX reposed in the Lord. Fr. Seraphim had to travel to Germany to order the return of the body of his son to the US for the funeral. The unbearable pain that Fr. Seraphim and his family have to go through, we all should support by prayer for the repose of his son and comfort in the Resurrection of Our Lord for Fr. Seraphim and his family. But also some finanical needs arose through this, travel on short notice and the transfer of the body and the funeral are unexpected costs for the Holland's on the small budget of a priests family. This Sunday and the following we will take a special collection for this purpose. Please mark checks accordingly.

Stewardship

May 2017

Income: $1,500

Expenses: $1,426

Difference: $74

YearToDate Difference: -$1,706

We are raising funds for our biggest projects in the near future:

The renewal of our siding, and improving our insulation on church and rectory to save on heating costs.
The install of the dome and three-bar cross we were given the year before last.

To easily contribute to these fundraisers please go to our website ss-sergius-herman-valaam.org

In your charity please remember us to your ability and help this small community.

Wisdom of the Fathers

But mark both their faith, and their obedience. For though they were in the midst of their work (and you know how greedy a thing fishing is), when they heard His command, they delayed not, ... but "they forsook all and followed," ... Because such is the obedience which Christ seeks of us, as that we delay not even a moment of time.

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 14 on Matthew 4, 4th Century

Prayer, fasting, vigil and all other Christian practices, however good they may be in themselves, do not constitute the aim of our Christian life, although they serve as the indispensable means of reaching this end. The true aim of our Christian life consists in the acquisition of the Holy Spirit of God.

St. Seraphim of Sarov

The Acquisition of the Holy Spirit: Chapter 3, The Little Russian Philokalia Vol. 1; Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood pg. 79, 19th century

Prayer Requests

Sick:

Priest Joseph, Alexander, Valery, Philip, Eric, Suzanna, Matushka Anna and her newborn child Irene, Luoba, Katherine, Kevin, Demetra, Judy (non-orthodox), Pat (non-orthodox), Heather (non-orthodox), Catherine, Mary, Hannah (non-orthodox), Irene (non-orthodox), Krista, George, Vera

In time of distress:

Hieromonk Alexander (Frizzell), Silouan, Amy, Pani Ami

New Reposed:

Daniel

If you have prayer requests you would like announced, please e-mail rector@ss-sergius-herman-valaam.org

Fasting in the upcoming week

On Monday we began this years Apostles Fast which will last until the feast of Sts. Peter & Paul on July 12.

Tuesday and Thursday wine and oil are allowed.

Saturday and Sunday fish, wine and oil are allowed.

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