Saturday 17 June / 4 June
3rd Sunday after Pentecost
6:00 PM Vigil
Sunday 18 June / 5 June
9:00 AM Divine Liturgy
Saturday 24 June / 11 June
4th Sunday after Pentecost
6:00 PM Vigil
Sunday 25 June / 12 June
10:00 AM Divine Liturgy
Please confirm the schedule on our website for short term changes
Saint Onuphrius flourished in the fourth century, first in the cenobium near Hermopolis of Thebes in Egypt, and later as a solitary in the desert, where he was discovered by Saint Paphnutius. When Paphnutius first encountered him deep in the desert, he was affrighted at the Saint's appearance, seeing him covered with hair like a wild beast and naked except for a garment sewn of leaves covering his loins. After relating his life and the bitter conflicts he had endured as a hermit, Onuphrius told Paphnutius that he was about to die, and that Paphnutius had been sent to bury him, which soon came to pass. Although Paphnutius desired afterwards to remain in the Saint's cave, as soon as he had buried him, the cave fell in and the palm tree, which had furnished the Saint with dates withered up, indicating that it was the will of God that Paphnutius return to his monastery and make Saint Onuphrius known to all.
Saint Peter was born of noble parents in Constantinople in the ninth century. Sent forth with the Roman army against the Saracens, he was taken captive and shut up in the prison of Samarra in Syria; this is no doubt the same prison in which the Forty-Two Martyrs of Amorion were kept (see Mar. 6). Released from prison through the prayers of Saint Nicholas of Myra and Saint Symeon the God-receiver, he fled to Rome, where he became a monk, and later came to the peninsula of Athos, where he lived in a cave as a solitary, suffering many temptations from the evil one, but also enjoying the manifest help of the most holy Theotokos. After many years, he reposed in peace.
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.
Third Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from Mark 16:9-20
When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.
After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.
Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they sat at table; and he upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Amen.
Prokeimenon. 2nd Tone. Psalm 117.14,18.
The Lord is my strength and my song.
Verse: The Lord has chastened me sorely.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 5:1-10.
BRETHREN, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man -- though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
3rd Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 6:22-33
The Lord said, "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well."
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.
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 we will take a special collection for this purpose. Please mark checks accordingly.
Sunday Divne Liturgy
Please note that the Divine Liturgy this Sunday will already begin at 9AM.
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:
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.
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
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.