First Sunday after Pentecost
All Saints Sunday
The first Sunday after the Feast of Holy Pentecost is observed by the Orthodox Church as the Sunday of All Saints. This day has been designated as a commemoration of all of the Saints, all the Righteous, the Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, Shepherds, Teachers, and Holy Monastics, both men and women alike, known and unknown, who have been added to the choirs of the Saints and shall be added, from the time of Adam until the end of the world, who have been perfected in piety and have glorified God by their holy lives
Background
Honoring the friends of God with much reverence, the Prophet-King David says, “But to me, exceedingly honorable are Thy friends, O Lord” (Ps. 138:16). And the Apostle Paul, recounting the achievements of the Saints, and setting forth their memorial as an example that we might turn away from earthly things and from sin, and emulate their patience and courage in the struggles for virtue, says, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every burden, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1).
This commemoration began as the Sunday (Synaxis) of All Martyrs; to them were added all the ranks of Saints who bore witness (the meaning of “Martyr” in Greek) to Christ in manifold ways, even if occasion did not require the shedding of their blood.
Therefore, guided by the teaching of the Divine Scriptures and Apostolic Tradition, we honor all the Saints, the friends of God, for they are keepers of God’s commandments, shining examples of virtue, and benefactors of mankind. Of course, we honor the known Saints especially on their own day of the year, as is evident in the Menologion. But since many Saints are unknown, and their number has increased with time, and will continue to increase until the end of time, the Church has appointed that once a year a common commemoration be made of all the Saints. This is the feast that we celebrate today.
Read more on the Orthodox Church in America website.
Bishop Nicholas Attending Sts. Peter and Paul Feast Day Liturgy on Friday, June 28, 2019
As is our custom, we get together with St. Paul Orthodox Church to celebrate our Feast Day of Sts. Peter and Paul. This year St. Peter’s will host.
Bishop Nicholas will be attending this important day. I encourage everyone to make every effort to attend. It is important to welcome our Bishop, our Brothers and Sisters in Christ from St. Paul’s, to honor the Great Apostles Peter and Paul, and most important to worship Christ in the Divine Liturgy. When we worship, we invite God to enter our lives.
Orthros begins at 6:00pm and Divine Liturgy at 7:00pm. The minimum preparation should be a light lunch and no food following until after the Divine Liturgy.
Refreshments will be served following the Liturgy.
Thank you Tom and Marlene Haley and the Barbecue Crew!
Hats off to Tom and Marlene Haley and their entire barbecue crew for the Father’s Day Barbecue they gave us last Sunday on Father’s Day!
What a great time it was. The energy was high, the fellowship rich, the joy deep, and the food good. We are blessed!
Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make last Sunday the success it turned out to be.
Liturgies for the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, St. John of San Francisco (Maximovitch), and St. Paisios of Athos
On Monday, June 24 at 9:30am we will celebrate the Liturgy of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. Why? Because we we worship God and honor the Saints we draw ourselves closer to God and thus draw heaven closer to us. Worshiping God attracts grace. When we hold these extra liturgies, God and His Saints are more active among us.
On Tuesday, July 2 at 9:30am we will celebrate the Liturgy commemorating St. John of San Francisco (Maximovitch). Why? Because St. John has quietly worked miracles for some of the families in our parish. God is glorified through His Saints.
On Friday, July 12 at 9:30am we will celebrate the Liturgy commemorating St. Paisios of Athos. Why? Because St. Paisios has also worked miracles for some of the families in our parish. God is glorified through His Saints.
Please note these are morning Liturgies starting at 9:30am.
Pledge Report – May 2019
In order to meet our operating Budget goal for 2019 we need to take in $16,666.00 each month.
Please pledge in order to meet our goal. Pledge forms are available on the table in the narthex.
Interfaith Charities Needs Our Help
Interfaith Charities, the local agency St. Peter’s partners with to help working poor families in our immediate area needs these items:
- Rice
- Lentils
- Tuna
- Mac and cheese
- Soup
- SpaghettiOs
- Jelly
- Used clothing
- Used housewares
St. Peter’s is committed to helping the poor among us. If each family could bring some of these items to church this Sunday and the next, then we will get them to Interfaith Charities and the families who need them.
Icons Available in the Social Hall
St. Peter’s has a large selection of Icons available for sale and donation. They come in various sizes — mini, small, medium and large.
The Icons are generously donated by Theo Palis and therefore all proceeds go directly to St. Peter’s.
If there is a specific icon you are looking for and we don’t have it, Theo might be able to make it for you.
Bible Studies
Bible Studies resume on Wednesday, May 8.
Schedule:
- Wednesday, June 19 — Men’s/Women’s Bible Study at 7:00pm
- Wednesday, June 26 — Community Bible Study at 7:00pm
Calendar At A Glance
JUNE
- Wednesday-Saturday, Jun 12-15 — Parish Life Conference in NC. (Fr. Hans out of town)
- Wednesday, Jun 12 — CANCELED Community Bible Study at 7:00pm (Fr. Hans out of town)
- Thursday, Jun 13 — CANCELED St. Demetrios Brotherhood at 7:00pm (Fr. Hans out of town)
- Sunday, Jun 16 — PENTECOST
- Sunday, Jun 16 — Father’s Day Barbecue following Liturgy
- Monday-Saturday, June 24-29 — St. Peter and Paul Fasting Period
- Monday, Jun 24 — Divine Liturgy for Nativity of St. John the Baptist at 9:30am
- Wednesday, Jun 26 — Men’s/Women’s Bible Study at 7:00pm
- Thursday, Jun 27 — St. Demetrios Brotherhood at 7:00pm
- Friday, June 28 — St. Peter and Paul Feast Day. Orthros at 6:00pm. Divine Liturgy at 7:00pm
JULY
- Tuesday, Jul 2 — Divine Liturgy St. John of San Francisco at 9:30am
- Wednesday, Jul 3 — Men’s/Women’s Bible Study at 7:00pm
- Thursday Jul 4 — St. Demetrios Brotherhood at 7:00pm
- Wednesday, Jul 10 — Community Bible Study at 7:00pm
- Thursday Jul 11 — St. Demetrios Brotherhood at 7:00pm
- Friday, Jul 12 — Divine Liturgy of St. Paisios of Athos at 9:30am
- Wednesday, Jul 17 — Men’s/Women’s Bible Study at 7:00pm
- Thursday Jul 18 — St. Demetrios Brotherhood at 7:00pm
- Monday-Saturday, July 22-26 — Fr. Hans Out of Town Attending Antiochian Convention
- Wednesday, Jul 24 — CANCELLED Community Bible Study (Fr. Hans out of town)
- Thursday Jul 25 — CANCELLED St. Demetrios Brotherhood at 7:00pm (Fr. Hans out of town
- Wednesday, Jul 31 — Men’s/Women’s Bible Study at 7:00pm
AUGUST
- Thursday Aug 1 — St. Demetrios Brotherhood at 7:00pm
Wisdom From The Elders
Our life on earth is a perpetual struggle with our passions. As such, it is not understood by people of this world, who are given to serving their flesh and their earthly idols. Nonetheless, this inner struggle of a man with himself, with his moral deficiencies and weaknesses, with his evil thoughts, the passionate impulses of his soul, the wickedness of his heart, the lusts of his body, and the like — this struggle is every Christian’s duty. It is the law of a Christian’s life. A. Calmet
Let us renounce self-will and the tumult of passions, and entirely submit to the will of God. Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt
God’s saints are great merchants, who have enriched themselves with all spiritual treasures, with all virtues : meekness, humility, abstinence, patience, great faith, hope, and love. This is why we ask their holy prayers, as poor men of rich, that they may help us in our spiritual poverty; that they may teach us how to pray and to progress in all Christian virtues. Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt
It is necessary to repent for not sufficiently loving others and for not being sensitive enough to the misfortunes of others. Elder Sergei of Vanves
“But I say to you,” the Lord says, “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute you.” Why did he command these things? So that he might free you from hatred, sadness, anger and grudges, and might grant you the greatest possession of all, perfect love, which is impossible to possess except by the one who loves all equally in imitation of God. St. Maximus the Confessor
Remember in Your Prayers
Mary
Jonathan
Alaina
Connie
Baby Luke
George
Priest Kyprianos
Presvytera Charlotte
Savannah (Jonson)
Bud
Silvana
Nicole
Evan
Megan
Bill R.
Pat R.
Aglaia
George
Hieromonk Serapion
Priest Kyprianos
Presvytera Charlotte
Bryan, Carolina, their unborn baby
Athanasia
Alexandra
Constantina
Maryanne (E)
Ron (E)
Tim
Robert (J)
Mary (J)
Patricia
Gregory
Doug Spencer
Kathy Spencer
Andreas
Sofia Tešanovic
Paul
Dennis H. and Family
Victor Evan
Ann
James
Vasiliki
Efstratia
Alexandra
Nikos
Georgia
Ioannis
Costandino
Jeffrey
Vaso
Dave
Dimitri – Presbyter
Vassiliki
Octavio
Tom
Carl
Rena
Nikolay (5 year old boy in Bulgaria whose parents asked us to pray)
David
Rosie
Kathryn
Jeremy
Constantine
Robert
Jane
Theodora
David
Gina
Micheal
Haralambos
Lillian
Presbytera Rosy
Valentina
Eva W.
Barbara
Angela
Carol Ann
Matthew
Chrysostom
Tim
Pat
Christina
Maria Louise
Maximos
Marian
Photini
Nicholas
Sarah
Constantine Houpis
Anna Marie Smith Baker
Katerina
Mary Kassis
Baby Maximus
Christine
Maria
Annette Star
Claire Livaditis
Eva Chandilles
Baby Dani
Scott Nedoff
James Hord
Tom
How should we pray for the sick? Remember them daily. Say their names (first names are sufficient) and ask God to bestow mercy and grace on them.
Add or remove names and print this list for easy reference during your prayer time on the St. Peter website.
Sunday Readings
Epistle
God is wonderful among His saints.
Bless God in the congregations.
The Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews. (11:33-12:2)
Brethren, all the saints through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and scourging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were killed with the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated — of whom the world was not worthy — wandering over deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
And all these, though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Therefore,since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfection of our faith.
Gospel
The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (10:32-33, 37-38; 19:27-30)
The Lord said to His disciples, “Everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father Who is in heaven; but whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny before My Father Who is in heaven. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.”
Then Peter said in reply, “Lo, we have left everything and followed Thee. What then shall we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the New World, when the Son of Man shall sit on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My Name’s sake, will receive a hundred fold, and inherit eternal life. But many that are first will be last, and the last first.”
