St. George
Serbian Orthodox Church
Carmichaels, PA

Bulletin 199 - October 14/October 27, 2002


Chronicle of St. George Serbian Orthodox Church
Diocesan Bishop - His Grace Bishop Dr. MITROPHAN
Parish Priest - Fr. Rodney Torbic
296 Old Route 21
Carmichaels, Pennsylvania 15320

October 14 / October 27,2002
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
No. 199


Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Services This Past Week

October 19-Ten people came for Matins and First Hour.
October 20-Thirty seven people came for Vespers.
October 21-Three people came for Matins and First Hour. Two people came for Ninth Hour and Vespers.
October 22-Three people came for Matins and First Hour. Two people came for Akathist to St.Sava and Molieben to St.Sava. Seven people came to Holy Trinity Mission in Fairmont for Ninth Hour and Vespers.
October 23-Three people came for Matins and First Hour. One person came for Ninth Hour and Vespers.
October 24-Three people came for Matins and First Hour.
October 25-Three people came for Matins and First Hour. Three people came for Ninth Hour and Vespers.
October 26-Three people came for Matins and First Hour.

Services This Coming Week - Always Call To Confirm Weekday Schedule

Today - Divine Liturgy
Matins and First Hour - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday-8:30 AM.
Ninth Hour and Vespers - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday-4:30 PM.
Vespers and Akathist - Wednesday-7:00 PM.
Divine Liturgy Holy Trinity, Fairmont - Saturday-10:00 AM.
Akathist for Departed - Saturday-3:00 PM.

Remember Monastery Marcha with Prayers and Contributions

Important Dates

October 27 - St. Petka - Paraskeva - Parish Anniversary Dinner
October 31 - St. Luke
November 2 - Memorial Saturday
November 5 - St. James the Apostle
November 8 - St. Demetrius.
November 14 - Sts. Cosmas and Damian, Unmercenary Healers
November 16 - Renovation of St. George the Great Martyr Church

If you are too busy to pray...you are too busy!

Parish Life

1. Thank you to all supporters, friends, and parishioners of St.George Church during the past forty-eight years.
2. Thank you to all working for, supporting and participating in the current Anniversary celebration.
3. Thank you to the bakers this past week. Bakers needed this coming week.
4. Thank you to each person attending divine services this past week.
5. Three people attended Adult Class on Thursday which focused on books available on Orthodox health care concerns and helps. Also a video was shown on the International Orthodox Christian Charities. Class again this Thursday following the Matins and First Hour service.

A Thought From +Bishop NIKOLAI (Velimirovic)*

Good will be with the just man. Who ever searches for the grave of an unjust man? But everyone seeks the grave of the just man. They encircle it with a fence and erect a monument for it. What purpose will it serve them? It is an acknowledgement by the world that the just man lives even after death, but that the unjust man perishes like the ripple in the water of the sea! You are the justice of the just, O Living God. His justice is not found in the laws of men, laws which people write hastily but implement lazily. Your presence is his justice, and Your every breath---is his new law. A great just man has no old laws, nor does he care about laws written on paper. From the dawn of each morning h perceives You writing on his heart and his mind and he reads. *(Prayers by the Lake Free Serbian Orthodox Diocese of the United States and Canada, Grayslake, Illinois. Translated by Archimandrite Todor Mika and Very Rev. Dr. Stevan Scott)

To Consider

1. The selection of the ground for the St. George Church.
2. The decision to proceed with building the St. George Church.
3. The faith of the men and women wanting the St. George Church built.
4. The sacrifices and contributions made to construct the St. George Church.
5. The prayers at the beginning of construction and at the consecration of the St. George Church.
6. The first Divine Liturgy in the St. George Church.
7. The first baptism, wedding, ordination and funeral at St. George Church.
8. The blessing of the St. George Cemetery and first burial.
9. The hope existing due to the St. George Church.
10. The joy existing due to the St. George Church.

Remember St. Sava School of Theology-Libertyville with Prayers and Contributions

Activities of the Parish Priest

1. October 15 - Attended Christian education meeting-Holy Trinity Cathedral-Pittsburgh.
2. October 19 - Travelled to French Creek, WV for Blessing of Slavski Kolac' and Kolivo.
3. October 20 - Attended dinner at St. Mary Orthodox Church-Masontown.
4. October 22 - Served Vespers-Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Mission-Fairmont.
5. October 24 - Attended Diocesan Council Meeting-Mars, Pa.
6. October 25 - Visited with parishioners.

From the Desert fathers

He (Abba Poemen) also said, 'A man who stays in his place in life will not be troubled.'

Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Luke 5:1-11

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fisherman had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, H e said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word I will let down the net. And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." For he all and who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men." So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You have given Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come toYou, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth, Your word is truth."

The St. George Serbian Orthodox Church in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania is located in southwestern Pennsylvania far from the land of St. Sava. The St. George Church is far from Serbia where the founders of the St. George Church first learned of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Orthodox way of life.

For forty-eight consecutive years believers in Jesus Christ have come to the St. George Church to be nourished in the Orthodox Faith, to partake of the Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and to glorify God.

Priests and parishioners of St. George Church have remained faithful to the original reason for the establishment of the Church here on this continent. The Holy Gospel has been preached with consistency Sunday after Sunday, week after week, year after year.

Babies have been brought to the St. George Church to be baptized in the Faith, to "put on Christ" and to renounce Satan. Men and women have come to the St. George Church to be united as husband and wife, to have their relationship established "in Christ", to build on the foundation of Christ as the basis for their future.

When illness would strike, when the crises of war or mining accidents or the hardships of unemployment were keenly felt in this area, the St. George Church has been a ready refuge and haven for protection, for prayer and for hope.

People seeking God find God in the St. George Church. People seeking to rebuild their lives find help from God in the St. George Church. People seeking to live the faith of the Holy Apostles, to be part of the Church of Christ, to experience the fruits of the Holy Spirit, come to the St. George Church.

The Bishops serving at the St. George Church come as successors to the Holy Apostles. The priests serving and being ordained at the St. George Church are canonical priests in the Holy Orthodox Church.

Communicants at the St. George Church partake of the Precious Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. At each Divine Liturgy believers express and reaffirm the tenets of Faith summarized in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.

The Holy Orthodox Church is the Church of the Ecumenical Councils. The Holy Orthodox Church is alive in the blood of the martyrs, is alive in the prayers of the saints. The Holy Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast of Pentecost year after year, century after century. The Holy Spirit is at work in the Holy Orthodox Church.

Believers coming to the St. George Church on a regular basis are enriched by the Holy Scriptures. Believers coming to the St. George Church daily learn of the countless saints and their works through the centuries. Believers coming to the St. George Church regularly find value in the structure and liturgical life of the Church.

Centuries are bridged today when the Holy Gospel is read and the words and works of Jesus Christ are heard. We know from St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Heb. 13:8) Believers experience Jesus Christ today in the St. George Church and throughout the world.

The Gospel messages for today reveal the love of Jesus Christ for His followers. The Gospel messages for today reveal the joy of Jesus Christ.The troparion for the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council proclaims the compassion of Christ.1

Year after year, century after century, seekers and believers find nourishment in the present Gospel messages. The Holy Gospel has been preserved in Orthodox Churches through the centuries. The Holy Gospel has been proclaimed in Orthodox Churches through the centuries. The Holy Gospel has been taught in Orthodox Churches through the centuries.

The St. George Serbian Orthodox Church in Carmichaels is part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. The St. George Serbian Orthodox Church in Carmichaels is part of the Eastern American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The St. George Serbian Orthodox Church is part of the Serbian Orthodox Church having Dioceses throughout the world.

In this small corner of southwest Pennsylvania, the Holy Orthodox Church is present as the Holy Orthodox Church is present in Jerusalem, in Antioch, in Constantinople, in Kosovo, in Moscow, in Bosnia, in Buenos Aires and elsewhere throughout the world.

God has blessed the St. George Serbian Orthodox Church during the past half century. God has provided for the St. George Church through the years. Just as the faith of Abraham was rewarded when he went to the mountain with his son Isaac (Genesis 22:1-18), God has provided for the believers at the St. George Church through the years.

In this Divine Liturgy and each Divine Liturgy, we give thanks to God and we pray unto God. At this time when the Forty-Eighth Anniversary of the building of the St. George Church is being celebrated, many reasons exist to give thanks to God.

Thanks be to God for the founders, the benefactors, the faithful parishioners and friends of the parish through the years. Thanks be to God for the workers, the singers, the altar servers, the teachers, the cooks, the cleaners and all who helped in any way. Thanks be to the bishops and priests and deacons who served, the people who visited, to all who prayed. Thanks be to those those known only to God who helped the St. George Church. "This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." (Ps. ll8:24)

1Menaion of the Orthodox Church. Vol.ll. October. Liberty, Tennessee: St.John of Kronstadt Press, 1999.p. 76.

St. George Serbian Orthodox Church, Carmichaels, Pennsylvania. October 14 / October 27, 2002.
Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils.

Fr. Rodney Torbic

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