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
July 12 / July 25, 2010
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
No. 601
Remember to listen to the parish radio broadcast each Sunday afternoon at 12:15
on WMBS, 590 AM, Uniontown.
Matthew 14:31
And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him,
"O your of little faith, why did you doubt?"
Recent Services
- July 18
- Matins and First Hour were read.
- Third and Sixth Hours were read followed by Divine Liturgy.
Twenty-two people attended. One communicant.
- July 19
- Matins and First Hour were read. One person came.
- July 20
- Matins and First Hour were read. One person came.
- July 22
- The Akathist to the Holy Trinity was read at Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church
in Fairmont, W.Va. One person was present.
- July 23
- Matins and First Hour were read. One person came.
- July 24
- One person came for Matins and First Hour.
Services This Coming Week - Always Call to Confirm Weekday Schedule
- Today
- Matins, First Hour. Third and Sixth Hour followed by Divine Liturgy.
- Akathist at the Cross at 2:00 PM.
- Mornings
- 5:30 AM on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
- Afternoons
- 4:00 PM on Monday, Wednesday.
- Tuesday
- 6:30 PM Akathist followed by Adult Class at 7:00 PM.
- Thursday
- Vespers at Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church, Fairmont, W. Va.
- Next Sunday, August 1st
- 5:30 AM Matins and First Hour.
- 9:30 AM Third and Sixth Hours followed by Divine Liturgy at 10:00 AM
Akathists and prayers for special needs will be done during the week on request.
Remember Monastery Marcha with Prayers and Contributions
Important Dates
Today - St. George Parish Outdoor Religious Program and Picnic
July 26 - Synaxis of St. Archangel Gabriel
July 31 - Monastery Marcha Slava celebrated.
August 2 - St. Elijah
August 8 - Diocese Day, Shadeland. Consecration of Monastery Church. Parish churches closed.
August 9 - St. Panteleimon, Parish Nurse's Office Slava
August 10 - Parish Healthcare Seminar "Examining Pain from Different Perspectives."
August 14 - Dormition Fast Begins
August 19 - Feast of Transfiguration
August 26 - Apodasis of the Transfiguration
August 28 - Dormition of Mother of God. KSS Federation Slava
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
- · A warm welcome to all visitors to the church today.
- · Thank you to all helping with the Outdoor Religious Program and picnic.
- · Inform Father Rodney if you plan to attend Diocesan Day at Shadeland.
- · Adult Class will be held this week on Tuesday at 7:00PM. Plan to attend.
- · If you have a question about Church practices,
come to Adult Class or ask the priest.
- · 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.
- · Honor your Slava every year!
- · Read your Bible everyday. Come to the St. George Church during the week to pray.
- · Honor the feasts and fasts throughout the year.
- · Read the Church calendar daily to learn of the feasts, fasts, saints and martyrs.
- · If your house has not been blessed and you would like it done,
please make a request.
- · If you have not been married in the Orthodox Church and would like to have
your marriage blessed, please ask to arrange for this.
- · Share the love of Christ with everyone you meet.
A Thought from Proto Stavrofor Radovan Milkovich
Slava is a wonderful way for the family, first to feel the sacredness of home and feeling
of being united in a holy oneness not only with themselves but with the ancestors departed
this life---all in the Lord! Secondly Slava brings our relatives and friends closer to us
in wider family circle and that "under God." They come on a sacred occasion to share in our
joy of being a family-church, in having a special powerful friend near the Lord, our Patron
Saint. Him we honor that day, whose Holy Picture, Icon, is the focal point of our home and
in front of which we bow our heads to the Lord in prayer.
("Your Family Patron Saint-Slava." The Path of Orthodoxy
October 1968, p. 1.
)
Remember the Students at St. Sava School of Theology, Libertyville, Illinois
To Consider
· Being at peace in your home.
· Experiencing love among family members in the home.
· Having Christ as the foundation, focus and head of the family home.
Recent Activities of Parish Priest
July 18 - Attended Serb National Federation Picnic,
Holy Trinity Picnic Grounds, Castle Shannon.
July 19 - Went to Morgantown for printing purposes.
July 19 - Attended a family celebration at the home of friends of St. George Church.
July 20-22 - Attended "Faces of Leadership Conference" in Charleston, W.Va.
July 23 - Accompanied parishioner to Morgantown, W.Va.
Psalm 70/71:4
Let all those that seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee;
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
Matthew 14:22-34
Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side,
while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the
mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in
the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the middle of the
fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw
Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for
fear. Abut immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying: "Be of good cheer! It is I, do not be
afraid." And Peter answer Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the
water." So, He said, "Come," and when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the
water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and
beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched
out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and
worshipped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God." When they had crossed over, they came
to the land of Gennesaret.
Maintaining faith at the highest level on a daily basis is a challenge for believers.
Much in society and within ourselves tests our faith and threatens to weaken it.
Christ needs to be dominant in our hearts, minds and souls. Christ needs to be the
principle thought every moment of our lives. Repentance, prayer and fasting are necessary
for Christ to increase in our lives and for other than Christ to be eschewed.
Life is a daily struggle against evil and for Christ. Each individual is faced with
the constant choice of living in Christ or rejecting the way of Christ.
Believers need the nourishment of Christ and interest in Christ to remain strong
and faithful. In the present Gospel Peter would have remained walking on the water had
he not become fearful. Christ casts our fear. Christ is the singular source for confidence
in all circumstances. Believers need to constantly remind themselves of the power of Christ
over adversity. Christ offers triumphant hope and fulfilling joy. The life in Christ is
life without want. Sufficiency always exists in Christ. Christ is always enough for every
moment, every circumstance. We know from the words of Christ in the Gospel of St. Matthew
that if we seek first the Kingdom of God, our needs will be met.
(Mt. 6:33)
Centuries before the Lord Jesus Christ walked the earth, Abraham experienced the
certainty of God helping the faithful. Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his only son
Isaac in faithfulness to God. God spared Isaac and revealed His power to change situations
for the better at the very last and unexpected moment.
(Gen. 22:1-15)
God exceeds the full comprehension of the mind but is accessible to every person.
We learn from the Holy Apostle Paul of the closeness of God. The Holy Apostle said:
"He is not far from us. For in Him we live and move and have our being."
(Acts 17:27-28)
Reaching out in prayer to the ever-present God is an act of faith.
We experience God in prayer. Prayers can be simple. Certainly the Jesus Prayer has
enduring value and is very short: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me."
The prayers of the Church are beneficial because they put into words many inner most
thoughts and feelings in an organized way. Believers do well to become familiar with
the prayers in the Church. Believers unfamiliar with the various prayer books of the
Church often are pleasantly surprised by the extensiveness of prayers available for
use in almost every thinkable situation.
The Lord Jesus Christ teaches the value of prayer by example. The current Gospel
message states: "When He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by
Himself to pray."
(Mt. 14:23)
The Holy Apostle Peter's plea to the Lord Jesus Christ as he began to sink was a plea for help
and in a way, a personal prayer. The Holy Apostle Peter said to Jesus: "Lord, save me!"
(Mt. 14:30).
Each believer does well to ask Jesus to "Save me!" The Lord Jesus Christ can save us from
us from drowning in a sea of sinfulness. The Lord Jesus Christ can save us from being
overcome by anxiety, sorrow or despair. The Lord Jesus Christ can save us during periods
of stress and in times of trauma.
Prayer is an entry into the presence of God. Prayer is a prostrating of the self before
God. Prayer is an acknowledgement of need for God. Individuals do not live independently
of God. Individuals are free to make choices regarding their relationship with God.
Certain aspects of the relationship with God are unchanging and remain constant.
God is the giver of life. God is the giver of breath. God controls the working of the heart
and the mind. God gives and maintains life. The way a person lives and the choices a person
makes determine the relationship with God. The relationship with God is reflected in
relationships with the people in our lives...our family members...our co-workers...our
friends...our neighbors.
Our relationship with God reflects the interest we have in ourselves. If we are concerned
about our relationship with God, we will be concerned about the condition of our soul.
If we strive to maintain a love for God, we will strive to maintain a love for family members,
friends, co-workers and neighbors. If we care about our relationship with God, we will
take care in our relationships with the sick, the suffering, the stranger, the hungry
and thirsty and the imprisoned.
(t. 25:31-46)
The Holy Apostle Peter had the opportunity to draw near to Christ as Christ drew near
to the disciples. The father drew near to the returning prodigal son.
(Lk. 15:11-32). The Lord God is joyful especially when sinners take
the opportunity to draw near. The Lord Jesus Christ said: "There will be more joy in heaven
over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance."
(Lk. 15:7)
Individuals have the responsibility of being faithful to Christ and benefit immeasurably
when making the choice and the effort.
St. George Serbian Orthodox Church, Carmichaels, Pennsylvania.
July 12 / July 25, 2010
Icon of the Mother of God, Three Hands.
Fr. Rodney Torbic
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