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
May 10 / May 23, 2010
Feast of Pentecost
No. 592
Remember to listen to the parish radio broadcast each Sunday afternoon at 12:15
on WMBS, 590 AM, Uniontown.
Acts 6:7
Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem,
and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.
Recent Services
- May 12
- Ninth Hour and Vespers were read.
- Two people came for the Akathist for the Ascension and a Moleben of Thanksgiving.
- May 13
- Matins and First Hour were read.
- Six people came for Divine Liturgy. One communicant.
- Three people were present for the Akathist for the Ascension
and for the Akathist of Thanksgiving.
- One person came for Ninth Hour and Vespers.
- May 14
- Matins and First Hour were read.
- Ninth Hour and Vespers were read.
- May 15
- Midnight Office was read.
- Ninth Hour and Vespers were served. Five people came.
- May 16
- Matins and First Hour were read.
- Third and Sixth Hours were read followed by Divine Liturgy and Parastos.
- Thirty-one people attended. Four communicants.
- May 17
- Matins and First Hour were read.
- Ninth Hour and Vespers were read.
- May 18
- Matins and First Hour were read.
- Two people came for the Akathist to St. Sava.
- May 19
- Matins and First Hour were read at St. George Church.
- Three people attended the Akathist for St. Sava
at Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church in Fairmont, W.Va.
- May 20
- Matins and First Hour were read.
- One person came for the reading of the Akathist to Cross,
Akathist to St. Panteleimon and Akathist for the Ascension.
Services This Coming Week - Always Call to Confirm Weekday Schedule
- Today
- Matins, First Hour. Third and Sixth Hours followed by Divine Liturgy and Kneeling Prayers.
- Mornings
- 5:30 AM Matins on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
- Afternoons
- 4:00 PM on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
- Tuesday
- 6:30 PM Akathist followed by Adult Class at 7:00 PM
Remember Monastery Marcha with Prayers and Contributions
Important Dates
May 23 - Feast of Pentecost
May 24 - 5:00 PM Vespers, Slava for Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church in Fairmont.
May 25 - Pentecost Tuesday.
May 29 - Leavetaking of Pentecost
May 31 - Apostles Fast Begins
June 3 - Holy Equal to the Apostles Emperor Constantine and Helen
June 4 - St. John Vladimir
June 7 - Third Finding of the Head of St. John the Baptist
June 17 - St. Metrophanes
If you are too busy to pray...you are too busy!
Remember the Suffering Serbian People in Kosovo and Metohijia
and All Suffering People Everywhere
Parish Life
- · Sympathy extended to family and friends of retired Sheriff/Warden
Remo Bertugli recently departed this life.
- · Congratulations to Maria Peredera and her parents. Maria is graduating
from high school in Morgantown and has been accepted to the United States
Air Force Academy in Colorado. She and her father Dr. Anatoli Peredera
recently were at the St. George Church.
- · Vince Khartley came to visit the St. George Church
as he does when he is here from Atlanta, Ga.
- · Betty Matovich and daughters Michelle and Andrea came
from the Harrisburg area last week.
- · During National Emergency Medical Services Week, let us give thanks
for ambulance services provided.
- · Thank you to parishioners taking a turn providing baked goods
for coffee hour each week.
- · Happy Slava to Holy Trinity Cathedral in Pittsburgh
and Holy Trinity Church in Fairmont, W.Va.
- · Rosemary Krivosky Lewis of Clarion came to the church this week
as she does when in the area.
- · Remember the sick, the suffering, the imprisoned, those in rehab centers,
the homebound, the mentally ill, their caretakers and the institution staffs.
- · Remember the men and women serving in the military and their families.
- · Remember the workers in mines, law-enforcement, corrections, probation
and parole and firefighters, all working in dangerous occupations.
- · Surveyors for the new bridge construction were on the church property this week.
- · Shawn and Melissa Miciotto are keeping the grass well-trimmed.
- · Two people came to Adult Class on Tuesday. Class again this week.
A Thought from Protopresbyter Stephen Zaremba
While there is a great number of example which we can present, this is sufficient enough
for it to be clear that unity means oneness of will, but unity of will is impossible
without love, for it is the will of God that we submit our will to His will, not of necessity,
but willingly, for if anything is done out of necessity, there is no love. But God is love
and desires that we abide in His love. For this were we created. This is our calling:
To abide in the Love of God, to be communicants of the Holy Trinity.
(From a recent sermon at St. Sava Church, St. Petersburg, Florida.
)
Remember the Students at St. Sava School of Theology, Libertyville, Illinois
To Consider
· The Feast of Pentecost.
· The Holy Spirit in our lives.
· Our attentiveness to the Holy Spirit
Recent Activities of Parish Priest
May 12 - Went to Morgantown, W.Va for printing purposes.
May 15 - Visited parish family in Clarksville.
May 15 - Went to viewing for retired Sheriff Warden +Remo Bertugli in Jefferson.
May 16 - Went to Holy Ascension Church Slava dinner in Youngwood, Pa.
May 17 - Went to funeral for retired Sheriff/Warden +Remo Bertugli in Rices Landing.
May 18 - Went to parish family home in Vestaburg.
May 19 - Went to Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church in Fairmont, W.Va.
From Psalm 59/60
Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies.
Feast of Pentecost
John 7:37-52, 8:12
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying,
"If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture
has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning
the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given,
because Jesus was not yet glorified. Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this
saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet." Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said,
"Will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes
from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" So there was a
division among the people because of Him. Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one
laid hands on Him. Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to
them, "Why have you not brought Him?" The officers said, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"
Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the
Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."
Nicodemus(he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our
law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?" They answered and
said to him, "Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen
out of Galilee." Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.
He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
God's Holy Church celebrates the Feast of Pentecost today. The Holy Spirit is in
the forefront of the minds of serious believers. The Holy Trinity-Father, Son and Holy
Spirit are in the forefront of the minds of serious believers.
Life is different for serious believers with the arrival of each great feast.
Each great feast impacts the lives of believers in ways known and unknown.
The celebration of each great feast has an effect that is far reaching.
The effects of festal celebrations are immediate and long term. The immediate
effects are felt by the believers celebrating. The immediate effects also impact
the lives touched by celebrating believers as they go into the communities.
Memories of the celebrations are formed in the minds and hearts of believers.
The memories are carried with the believers and will influence their thoughts and
actions well into the future.
Parents pass on their memories to their children. Parents make decisions on the
way their children will celebrate feasts of the Church. Each parish church has
responsibility to treat the major feasts with the deserved attention.
Parishioners benefit by being informed about the reasons for celebrating feasts.
Parents set good examples for their sons and daughters when they take time to observe
the feasts of the Church.
Children and adults are enriched and strengthened when taking to heart the meaning
of each feast of the Church. At this time in the liturgical period of the Church,
believers think about the descent of the Holy Spirit.
The Lord Jesus Christ spoke about sending the Holy Spirit. Jesus said: "When the
Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth,
who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me."
(Jn. 15:26)
The words of the Lord Jesus Christ are life-transforming words. Individuals savoring
and meditating upon the words of the Lord Jesus will be empowered by His words and their
lives will become different.
Believers appealing to the Holy Spirit in prayer will experience an inexhaustible
source of strength and love. Prayer draws believers into a more complete relationship with God.
Intensive and extended prayers are identified with the Feast of Pentecost. Believers
benefit by being attentive to the prayers of the Church. Attentiveness enables a believer
to increase the value of the personal religious experience.
Believers do well at each major feast to carefully examine their personal relationship
with God and seek to improve the relationship. Major feasts intensify the experience of
the believer in the Divine services.
The Divine services, always very rich in content, at the time of great feasts,
incorporate new content specific to the feast. Believers benefit by findings ways
to make the celebration of feasts an intended part of their lives.
The Lord Jesus Christ went to the Cross voluntarily. He suffered, died and rose
from the dead. Certainly the death and resurrection of Christ are central to referencing
all other feasts. Pascha is called the Feast of Feasts.
The great feast of Pentecost comes fifty days after Pascha. The celebration of the
feast of the Ascension of Christ has been concluded. The period from Holy Week through
the concluding celebration of Pentecost is laden with meaning.
The lives of serious believers cannot be divorced from the liturgical life of the Church.
The daily liturgical life of the Church provides nourishment for the soul. The hunger of the
soul is satisfied only when authentically fed.
The feeding of the soul requires constant and proper attention. The way a person lives
and uses the time of life will affect care of the soul and will reflect interest in the
care of the soul.
A person wasting the time of life in frivolous activities and interests neglects the soul.
The soul has incomparable value. Jesus said: "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the
whole world and loses his own soul?
(Mt. 16:26)
The celebration of each great feast is an opportunity to nourish the soul.
In the Gospel for the current feast, the Lord Jesus Christ extends the timeless invitation:
"If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink..."
(Jn. 7:37)
On this great feast and all great feasts, the wise believer will focus exclusively
on being fed in accord with the words of the Lord Jesus Christ.
On this great feast, the wise believer will take to heart the prayer: "O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere and fillest all things,
Treasury of Blessings and Giver of life, come and abide in us, and cleanse us of
every impurity and save our souls O Good One."
St. George Serbian Orthodox Church, Carmichaels, Pennsylvania.
May 10 / May 23, 2010
Feast of Pentecost
Fr. Rodney Torbic
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