St. George
Serbian Orthodox Church
Carmichaels, PA

Bulletin 494 - June 23 / July 6, 2008

The Orthodox Faith

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
June 23 / July 6, 2008
Second Sunday after Pentecost
No. 494
Remember to listen to the parish radio broadcast each Sunday afternoon at 12:15 on WMBS, 590 AM, Uniontown.
I Timothy 5:11-12

But as for you, man of God, shun all this; aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Recent Services
June 29
Midnight Office was read.
One person came for Matins and First Hour.
Eighteen people came for Divine Liturgy. One communicant. Parostos held.
June 30
Two people came for Midnight Office.
Three people came for Matins and First Hour.
Three people came for Akathist to Holy Trinity and Akathist to St. Herman of Alaska.
Two people came for Ninth Hour and Vespers.
July 1
Two people came for Midnight Office.
Three people came for Matins and First Hour.
Two people came for Ninth Hour and Vespers.
July 2
Midnight Office was read.
One person came for Matins and First Hour.
Ninth Hour and Vespers were read.
July 3
Midnight Office was read.
One person came for Matins and First Hour.
Ninth and Vespers were read.
July 4
Midnight Office was read.
One person came for Matins and First Hour.
July 5
Midnight Office, Matins and First Hour read at St. George Church.
Five people came to Divine Liturgy at Holy Trinity Church in Fairmont, W.Va. One communicant.
Poemen held at funeral home in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania for Milan "Ted" Kostich.

Services This Coming Week - Always Call to Confirm Weekday Schedule

Mornings
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday at 5:30 AM, Midnight Office. Matins at 6:30 AM.

Afternoons
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 4:00 PM. Tue at 4:30 PM.

Monday and Saturday
Divine Liturgy at 8:00 AM.

Remember Monastery Marcha with Prayers and Contributions

Important Dates

July 7 - Nativity of St. John the Baptist
July 12 - Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul
July 26 - Synaxis of Archangel Gabriel, Monastery Marcha Slava.
August 2 - Holy Prophet Elijah
August 3 - Diocese Day at Shadeland-Diocesan parish churches closed.
August 9 - St. Panteleimon

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

Pray for the Suffering Serbian People in Kosovo and Metohija

Parish Life

· Thank you to all participating and staying for the Vidovdan program.

· The Apostles Fast continues until the Divine Liturgy on July 12.

· All Diocesan parish churches will be closed on August 3 for Diocese Day.

· Plan to attend Diocese Day at Shadeland on August 3.

· If you do not have an Orthodox prayer book to use at home, please obtain one.

· If you have not been to Holy Confession or Communion recently, it is time to prepare.

· If you do not celebrate your Slava, please begin this year.

· You help the parish when you are a faithful Orthodox Christian each day.

· Monetary donations are being accepted immediately and will continue to be accepted to help the needy in Kosovo. When donating, please designate the contribution for Diocesan Relief Fund. The situation is urgent and of great importance.

· Remember the men and women working in dangerous occupations including those in the mines and criminal justice agencies, the police, correctional officers and parole agents.

· Remember the sick, the suffering, the imprisoned, those in rehab centers, nursing homes, jails and prisons. Remember the staff members and caretakers.

· Remember the men and women serving in the military and their families.

· To receive proper credit for cash donations, please put your name on the envelope.

· May God comfort the family, kumovi and friends of +Milan "Ted Kostich.

A Thought from Father Milan Savich

The greatest sin of our time is the feeling of indifference and insensitivity for sin. This represents the greatest danger for the age in which we live. We are not that much disturbed by sin as much as man's insensitivity for sin which is spreading faster than any epidemic or AIDS infecting the lives of modern man. A Christian is a person who knows there are two ways-a way of life and a way of death, he is able to distinguish light from darkness, good from evil, and God from the devil. When a Christian becomes insensitive to sin, he ceases to be a Christian and a man, because there is only one step separating spiritual and physical death.

(1999 Calendar of the Serbian Orthodox Clergy Brotherhood of the United States and Canada, p. 89 )

Remember the Students at St. Sava School of Theology, Libertyville, Illinois

To Consider

· Seeing God at work in daily life.
· Sensing the presence of God throughout the day.
· Turning to God in prayer in complete confidence.

Recent Activities of Parish Priest

June 29 - Participated in parish Vidovdan program.
July 3 - Went to Diocesan Center in Mars.
July 5 - Went to Fairmont, W.Va. for Divine Liturgy. Attended wedding in Carmichaels of family member of parishioners. Held pomen in North Huntingdon, Pa.

Wisdom of Sirach
11:1

The wisdom of a humble man will lift up his head and seat him among the great.

The Third Sunday After Pentecost

Matthew 6:22-33

The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore you eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness. No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing. Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil or spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

The present Gospel speaks about the eye being the lamp of the body. The Lord Jesus Christ said: "If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light...if your eye is bad, you whole body will be full of darkness." (Mt. 6:22-23)

We look at the world around us through our eyes and our experiences. The depth of our faith influences what we see and how we interpret what we see. Our past experiences and history affects our view of the world.

The Lord Jesus Christ said: "I say unto you unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Mt. 18:2)

My youngest grandsons are two and a half years old. They like to kiss icons and crosses. When they go into the church, they kiss all the icons and crosses they see. When they are here on the church grounds, they go from grave marker to grave marker in the cemetery, kissing each cross.

These young boys in their innocence know there is something special about icons and crosses. Recently, they went to the front of my car and kissed the manufacturer's distinct emblem which to them was a cross. The emblem on the car was a cross like all the other crosses they have kissed.

I have been driving for almost fifty years and have had many cars with same manufacturer's emblem. I have seen countless other cars with this same emblem.

I never associated the car manufacturer's emblem with the Cross of Christ. These two young boys, because of the purity of their eyes, were able to see on the car, a cross worth venerating.

The actions of these two young boys was an important lesson. We can see God at work in the community, in our homes, in our schools, in our workplaces, if we have the same childlike purity of heart.

St. Nikolai (Velimirovic) in his Prayers by the Lake used nature to contemplate and describe the presence of God all around him. In the present Gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ uses the birds of the air and the lilies of the field to illustrate the presence of God (Mt. 6:26-30)

In this complex world of electronics and mega-complexes, abundant stress and too much violence, keeping our eyes on the Kingdom of God is absolutely necessary if we are to enter God' heavenly Kingdom.

Few people enter the narrow gate to the Kingdom (Mt.7:13-14). Peril is everywhere. Diversions exist in abundance. When God dominates the heart and mind and we intently focus on God, our efforts will be toward the Kingdom.

Vigilance is necessary at each moment. Commitment to Christ is necessary at each moment. Jesus provides assurance in the present Gospel, that if we seek first the Kingdom of God, our needs will be met. (Mt. 6:33)

Placing our complete and total confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ is the soundest of actions. The Lord Jesus Christ does not disappoint those putting their trust in Him.

The actions of God through the centuries are recorded in Holy Scripture. The steady, sure presence of God is recorded. Readers of Holy Scripture draw strength and security from the written record of God.

A new vision of the God's creation expands for firm believers. The nourishment God provides daily for the body and for the soul is evidence of God's love and enduring presence.

Centuries ago the Psalmist said: "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting thou art God." (Ps. 89/90:2)

Beholding God's creation and God's love, believers appreciate the freshness and opportunity to seek and serve God each day. Each day is a source of joy for those who believe and seek God. Each day is a gift from God to be used for the glory of God.

God gives us creative powers and gifts to use for His glory. We are stewards of these gifts and have a responsibility to use them well and in ways pleasing to God.

Lovers of God will use talents and gifts from God for the glory of God. The Church is the beneficiary of talented and richly blessed believers.

Individuals hiding their light under a bushel (Mt. 5:15) or failing to invest their gifts from God(Mt.25:14-29) deprive themselves of God' s multiplying power.

Use every day for the glory of God. Use every moment of time for the salvation of the soul. Choose Christ always and follow Him.

St. George Serbian Orthodox Church, Carmichaels, Pennsylvania.
June 23 / July 6, 2008
Third Sunday after Pentecost.
Holy Martyr Agrippina.

Fr. Rodney Torbic

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