Saturday 2 September / 20 August
13th Sunday after Pentecost
6:00 PM Vigil
Sunday 3 September / 21 August
10:00 AM Divine Liturgy
Saturday 9 September / 27 August
14th Sunday after Pentecost
6:00 PM Vigil
Sunday 10 September / 28 August
10:00 AM Divine Liturgy
Please confirm the schedule on our website for short term changes
The Apostle Thaddaeus was from Edessa, a Jew by race. When he came to Jerusalem, he became a disciple of Christ, and after His Ascension he returned to Edessa. There he catechized and baptized Abgar (see Aug. 16). Having preached in Mesopotamia, he ended his life in martyrdom. Though some call him one of the Twelve, whom Matthew calls "Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus" (Matt. 10:3), Eusebius says that he is one of the Seventy: "After [Christ's] Resurrection from the dead, and His ascent into Heaven, Thomas, one of the twelve Apostles, inspired by God, sent Thaddaeus, one of the seventy disciples of Christ, to Edessa as a preacher and evangelist of Christ's teaching" (Eccl. Hist. 1: 13).
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.
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.
Prokeimenon. 4th Tone. Psalm 103.24,1.
O Lord, how manifold are your works. You have made all things in wisdom.
Verse: Bless the Lord, O my soul.
The reading is from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 16:13-24.
Brethren, be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. Now, brethren, you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints; I urge you to be subject to such men and to every fellow worker and laborer. I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicos, because they have made up for your absence; for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such men. The churches of Asia send greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. All the brethren send greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. If any one has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
13th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 21:33-42
The Lord said this parable, "There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit; and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them. Afterward he sent his son to them, saying 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.' And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons." Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?'"
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 Fr. Anthony
Bookstore
Our bookstore moved! We moved the bookstore in a more spacious space. It is now located at the entrance vestibule of the house (side entrance of the house). Please check it out. Many items that were sorta hidden before are now on display. For your extra time at the beach bring a good spiritual book to read!
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.
Patronal Feast Day September 23/24
Our patronal feast day of Sts. Sergius & Herman of Valaam will be at a weekend this year. His Emminence Archbishop Peter will preside and we will God willing have a ordination to the diaconate. The meal for the feast will be coordinated by Melissa Naasko and will take place in the township hall in South Range. Melissa will provde a list with tasks that she needs help with. (setup, cleanup things like that ..). Please contact Melissa with any question you might have regarding this and your help is greatly appreciated.
August 2017
Income: $3,197
Expenses: $2,221
Difference: $976
YearToDate Difference: -$2,912
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.
As you can see we are all over the year still in the red. Reason for this are the two points mentioned under announcement: the new deacon vestments and the unexpected high repair cost for the a/c. We need your help to recover those cost, mainly by your regular tithing to the church and secondly through extra contributions if you are able to. Tithing is a Christian duty and gives back to God what is righly His. It is a scriptual and with that a truely Orthodox principle. In short tithing means that we are giving the 10th of our income back to God., which is actually considered the minimum. It is absolutley fair, because if we have a little income we will give less, if we have more we will give more. God bless everyone who already follows this command, and helps us to keep this church functioning.
If you want to read more about tithing in the Orthodox Church please follow here: http://fatherjohn.blogspot.com/2017/01/stump-priest-tithing.html
Sick:
Hieromonk Timothy, 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, Juliana, Seraphim, Matushka Joanna
In time of distress:
Hieromonk Alexander (Frizzell), Silouan, Amy, Pani Ami
New Reposed:
Maximus
If you have prayer requests you would like announced, please e-mail rector@ss-sergius-herman-valaam.org
9/1 Sophia Naasko's birthday
Wednesday and Friday wine and oil are allowed.
All other days are fast free.