{"id":5605,"date":"2016-11-29T05:00:52","date_gmt":"2016-11-29T10:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/?p=5605"},"modified":"2016-11-29T05:00:52","modified_gmt":"2016-11-29T10:00:52","slug":"st-peter-newsletter-november-29-2016-st-barbara-st-nicholas-pot-luck-st-nicholas-liturgy-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/st-peter-newsletter-november-29-2016-st-barbara-st-nicholas-pot-luck-st-nicholas-liturgy-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Peter Newsletter November 29, 2016 &#8212; St. Barbara, St. Nicholas Pot-luck, St. Nicholas Liturgy, and more&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Tenth Sunday of Luke<br \/>\nSt. Barbara<\/h2>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/st-barbara-facebook.png\" alt=\"st-barbara-facebook\" width=\"475\" height=\"356\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5606\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Holy Great Martyr Barbara lived and suffered during the reign of the emperor Maximian (305-311). Her father, the According to the hagiographies, Barbara, the daughter of a rich pagan named Dioscorus, was carefully guarded by her father who kept her locked up in a tower in order to preserve her from the outside world. Having secretly become a Christian, she rejected an offer of marriage that she received through him.<\/p>\n<p>Before going on a journey, he commanded that a private bath-house be erected for her use near her dwelling, and during his absence, Barbara had three windows put in it, as a symbol of the Holy Trinity, instead of the two originally intended. When her father returned, she acknowledged herself to be a Christian; upon this he drew his sword to kill her, but her prayers created an opening in the tower wall and she was miraculously transported to a mountain gorge, where two shepherds watched their flocks. Dioscorus, in pursuit of his daughter, was rebuffed by the first shepherd, but the second betrayed her and was turned to stone and his flock changed to locusts.<\/p>\n<p>Dragged before the prefect of the province, Martinianus, who had her cruelly tortured, Barbara held true to her faith. During the night, the dark prison was bathed in light and new miracles occurred. Every morning her wounds were healed. Torches that were to be used to burn her went out as soon as they came near her. Finally she was condemned to death by beheading. Her father himself carried out the death-sentence. However, as punishment for this, he was struck by lightning on the way home and his body was consumed by flame. Barbara was buried by a Christian, Valentinus, and her tomb became the site of miracles.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Golden Legend, her martyrdom took place on December 4 &#8220;in the reign of emperor Maximianus and Prefect Marcien&#8221; (r. 286&ndash;305); the year was given as 267 in the French version edited by Father Harry F. Williams of the Anglican Community of the Resurrection (1975).<\/p>\n<p><em>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Saint_Barbara\">Wikipedia<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div>\n<h2>Mark you Calendar for the St. Nicholas Pot Luck December 3<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/st-nicholas-500x352.png\" alt=\"st-nicholas-500x352\" width=\"500\" height=\"352\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2910\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Celebrate St. Nicholas Day with a pot luck on Saturday, December 3 starting at 6pm. Sign up to bring a dish in the social hall following Divine Liturgy on Sunday. We are in the Christmas Fasting season so all dishes should be meatless.<\/p>\n<p>Tina and Doug Kucera will be our speakers. They will talk about Tina&#8217;s donation of a kidney to save Doug&#8217;s life. We will see a video produced about their journey that has brought them closer to God and each other.<\/p>\n<p><em>Please bring an unwrapped toy to the pot luck for needy children in the area. We will donate them to Toys for Tots.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>St. Nicholas Divine Liturgy on Monday, December 5 at 6:30pm<\/h2>\n<p>St. Nicholas Diving Liturgy will be held on St. Nicholas Day Eve on Monday, December 5, 2016 at 6:30pm. <\/p>\n<h4>Who Was St. Nicholas?<\/h4>\n<p>Find out who <a href=\"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/the-real-santa-claus\/\">The Real Santa Claus<\/a> was on the St. Peter website.<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<h2>We&#8217;ve Entered the Christmas Fasting Period<\/h2>\n<p>The Christmas fasting period runs from November 15 to December 24. Guidelines for proper fasting during the Christmas fast can be found on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.antiochian.org\/node\/18518\">Antiochian Archdiocese website.<\/a>. Look at the schedule, conform to the fast as you are able, and if you have questions consult Fr. Hans.<\/p>\n<p>Fasting is important but sometimes circumstances require adjustments to the directions. We are not bound to directions (fasting is voluntary) but we should not use our liberty as an excuse for slackness or negligence either.<\/p>\n<p>Why fast? It helps us focus on Christ more in our interior lives. As we learn to master our interior life, our exterior life changes for the better too. We fast faithfully and in secret, not judging others, and not holding ourselves up as an example.<\/p>\n<p><em>From the Antiochian Archdiocese Website:<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Purpose of Fasting<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The purpose of fasting is to focus on the things that are above, the Kingdom of God. It is a means of putting on virtue in reality, here and now. Through it we are freed from dependence on worldly things.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fasting in itself is not a means of pleasing God. Fasting is not a punishment for our sins. Nor is fasting a means of suffering and pain to be undertaken as some kind of atonement. Christ already redeemed us on His Cross. Salvation is a gift from God that is not bought by our hunger or thirst.<\/li>\n<li>We fast to be delivered from carnal passions so that God&rsquo;s gift of Salvation may bear fruit in us.<\/li>\n<li>We fast and turn our eyes toward God in His Holy Church. Fasting and prayer go together.<\/li>\n<li>Fasting is not irrelevant. Fasting is not obsolete, and it is not something for someone else. Fasting is from God, for us, right here and right now.<\/li>\n<li>Most of all, we should not devour each other. We ask God to &ldquo;set a watch and keep the door of our lips.&rdquo;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Do Not Fast<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>between December 25 and January 5 (even on Wednesdays and Fridays);<\/li>\n<li>if you are pregnant or nursing a newborn;<\/li>\n<li>during serious illness;<\/li>\n<li>without prayer;<\/li>\n<li>without alms-giving;<\/li>\n<li>according to your own will without guidance from your spiritual father<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<h2>Stewardship Letters for 2017 Coming<\/h2>\n<p>Responsibility towards God includes taking responsibility for His Church. We love God because He first loved us. He established the Church as His body, as the way we find Him and draw closer to Him. We are responsible for maintaining it so that the work of Christ can continue in the world. That&#8217;s how it works.<\/p>\n<p>You will be getting letter next week asking for your commitment to St. Peter&#8217;s. Prayerfully consider your support of St. Peter&#8217;s. The Church is not a charity. The Church is the Body of Christ. It needs to be high on our list.<\/p>\n<h2>May Their Memory Be Eternal<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/crosses-500x144.png\" alt=\"May Their Memory Be Eternal\" width=\"500\" height=\"144\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5453\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Upcoming Memorials at St. Peter&#39;s include:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Sunday, December 4<\/strong>: Bea (Panagiota) Chionis (40 days) by husband George and the entire Chionis family.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<h2>Women&#8217;s Group News<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Women&#8217;s Group set up tables on Tuesday, November 29 at 7:00pm for St. Nicholas Pot Luck.<\/li>\n<li>Label and stuff envelopes for Parish Christmas Cards on Sunday, December 11 during Social Hour following Liturgy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Thank you to our faithful women of St. Peter&#8217;s. Their work keeps the train moving!<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<h2>Christmas Season Food Drive for NAMI<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/nami-logo-500x245.png\" alt=\"NAMI Logo\" width=\"500\" height=\"245\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5567\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Every Christmas season St. Peter&#8217;s runs a food drive for NAMI (National Association for Mental Illness)serving local people in need. NAMI helps people with serious and persistent mental illnesses, as well as their parents, children, spouses, siblings and friends.<\/p>\n<p>St. Peter&#8217;s has contributed to NAMI emergency food bank care for six years. Donations go to the Sarah Ann Drop In Center in Naples, FL. Three categories of items are needed:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Canned and dry goods<\/li>\n<li>Toiletry articles (The small hotel type items work very well)<\/li>\n<li>Diabetic foods<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Bring them to church and we will get them to NAMI. The drive will run through Christmas.<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<h2>Choir Practice on Tuesday, December 6, 2016<\/h2>\n<p>Choir practice this Tuesday, November 29, 2016.<\/p>\n<h2>Bible Study on Wednesday, December 7, 2016 at 7pm<\/h2>\n<p>Bible study also this Wednesday, November 30, 2016.<\/p>\n<h2>Calendar At A Glance<\/h2>\n<p>Choir Practice&nbsp;every Tuesday at 6:00pm and&nbsp;Bible Study every Wednesday at 7:00pm&nbsp;unless cancelled as noted below. Divine Liturgy every Sunday at 9:30. Extra services noted below.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>November 15 &#8211; December 24<\/strong> Christmas Fast Period<\/li>\n<li><strong>November 29<\/strong> (Tuesday) Women&#8217;s Group setup tables for St. Nicholas Pot Luck 7:00pm<\/li>\n<li><strong>December 3<\/strong> (Saturday) St. Nicholas Pot Luck 6:00pm<\/li>\n<li><strong>December 4<\/strong> (Sunday) Memorial Bea Chionis<\/li>\n<li><strong>December 5<\/strong> (Monday) St. Nicholas Liturgy 6:30pm<\/li>\n<li><strong>December 11<\/strong> (Sunday) Women&#8217;s Group pepares Parish Christmas Card during social hour<\/li>\n<li><strong>December 23<\/strong> (Friday) Nativity Royal Hours 9:00am<\/li>\n<li><strong>December 24<\/strong> (Saturday) Nativity Eve Divine Liturgy 9:00am<\/li>\n<li><strong>December 25<\/strong> (Sunday) Nativity Divine Liturgy, Hours 9:00am, Liturgy 9:30am<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<h2>Wisdom From The Elders<\/h2>\n<p>Moreover, because the slothful mind is typically brought to its downfall gradually, when we fail to control our speech, we move on to more harsh words. Thus, at first, we are happy to speak of others kindly; afterwards, we begin to pick at the lives of those of whom we speak, and finally our tongues break into open slander against them. <br \/>\n<strong>&mdash;St. Gregory the Great<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Even if we perform upon thousands of good works, my brethren: fasts, prayers, almsgiving; even if we shed our blood for our Christ and we don&rsquo;t have these two loves [love of God and love of brethren&#93;, but on the contrary have hatred and malice toward our brethren, all the good we have done is of the devil and we go to hell. But, you say, we go to hell despite all the good we do because of that little hatred?<\/p>\n<p>Yes, my brethren, because that hatred is the devil&rsquo;s poison, and just as when we put a little yeast in a hundred pounds of flour it has such power that it causes all the dough to rise, so it is with hatred. It transforms all the good we have done into the devil&rsquo;s poison.<br \/>\n<strong>&mdash;St. Kosmas Aitolos<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It seems that we do not understand one thing: it is not good when we return the love of those who love us, yet hate those who hate us. We are not on the right path if we do this. We are the sons of light and love, the sons of God, his children. As such we must have His qualities and His attributes of love, peace, and kindness towards all.<br \/>\n<strong>&mdash;Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When your faith in the Lord, either during your life and prosperity, or in the time of sickness and at the moment of quitting this life, grows weak, grows dim from worldly vanity or through illness, and from the terrors and darkness of death, then look with the mental eyes of your heart upon the companies of our forefathers, the patriarchs, prophets, and righteous ones.<\/p>\n<p>Those Christian communions who do not venerate the saints and do not call upon them in prayer lose much in piety and in Christian hope. They deprive themselves of the great strengthening of their faith by the examples of men like unto themselves.<br \/>\n<strong>&mdash;St. John of Kronstadt<\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<h2>Remember in Your Prayers<\/h2>\n<p>\nJames<br \/>\nLori<br \/>\nBaby Kyriake<br \/>\nMaximos<br \/>\nMarian<br \/>\nPhotini<br \/>\nNicholas<br \/>\nBrad William<br \/>\nRyan<br \/>\nSarah<br \/>\nRobert Jarvis<br \/>\nPetronia (Wife of Phil Pappas)<br \/>\nAnna Marie Smith Baker<br \/>\nHarry Zifiris<br \/>\nIris Kuring (Bettina Zifiris&#39; mother)<br \/>\nConstantine Houpis<br \/>\nGerhard Kuring (Bettina Zifiris&#39; father)<br \/>\nRon Chromulak<br \/>\nBeverly Chromulak<br \/>\nKaterina<br \/>\nDianne<br \/>\nLoucine Kassis<br \/>\nMary Kassis<br \/>\nBaby Maximus<br \/>\nAnnette Star<br \/>\nChristine<br \/>\nMaria<br \/>\nClaire Livaditis<br \/>\nEva Chandilles<br \/>\nBaby Dani<br \/>\nScott Nedoff<br \/>\nAnthony Mourgis<br \/>\nJohn Hansen<br \/>\nConstandina James<br \/>\nJames Hord<br \/>\nBob Smith<br \/>\nTom and Jean, parents of Patty and Jerry.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><em>Add or remove names and print this list for easy reference during your prayer time <a href=\"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/prayer-list\/\">on the St. Peter website<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<h2>Sunday Readings<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/pantokrator-blessing.png\" alt=\"Christ Giving Blessing\" width=\"500\" height=\"275\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3509\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>Epistle<\/h4>\n<p>For St. Barbara<\/p>\n<p>God is wondrous in His saints. Bless God in the congregations.<br \/>\nThe Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians. (3:23-4:5)<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Brethren, before faith came, we were confined under the Law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. So that the Law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian; for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.<\/p>\n<p>There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ&rsquo;s, then you are Abraham&rsquo;s offspring, heirs according to promise. I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no better than a slave, though he is the owner of all the estate; but he is under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. So with us; when we were children, we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe. But when the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h4>Gospel<\/h4>\n<p>For the Tenth Sunday of Luke<\/p>\n<p>The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (13:10-17)<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>At that time, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And there was a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. And when Jesus saw her, He called her and said to her, &ldquo;Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.&rdquo; And He laid His hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and she praised God.<\/p>\n<p>But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, &ldquo;There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.&rdquo; Then the Lord answered him, &ldquo;You hypocrite! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger, and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?&rdquo; As Jesus said this, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by Him.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tenth Sunday of Luke St. Barbara The Holy Great Martyr Barbara lived and suffered during the reign of the emperor Maximian (305-311). Her father, the According to the hagiographies, Barbara, the daughter of a rich pagan named Dioscorus, was carefully guarded by her father who kept her locked up in a tower in order to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5604,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}