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Welcome to Saint George’s today. We are glad to have you! If you are here for the first time, please stay for the coffee social in the parish hall after liturgy so we can get acquainted.
SCRIPTURE READINGS THIS WEEK
Dec 5th Venerable Sabbas the Sanctified; St Gurias Archbishop of Kazan
1 Timothy 1:1-7 Luke 20:27-44
Dec 6th St. Nicholas the Wonderworker; Archbishop of Myra in Lycia
1 Timothy 1:18-14 Luke 21:12-19
Dec 7th St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan; Martyr Athenodorus of Mesopotamia
1 Timothy 1:18-20; 2:8-15 Luke 21:5-7, 10-11, 20-24
Dec 8th Venerable Patapius of Thebes; Holy 362 Martyrs of Africa (477AD)
1 Timothy 3:1-13 Luke 21:28-33
Dec 9th Conception of the Righteous Anna of the Most-holy Theotokos
1 Timothy 4:4-8, 16 Luke 21:37-22:8
Dec 10th Martyrs Menas, Hermogenes, & Eugraphus, of Alexandria
Galatians 3:8-12 Luke 13:18-29
Greeter: Annette Stoianoff Reader: Mikel Hill
Activities/Services this Week
Rossford/Toledo Book Club: Monday, December 5th, 9:30 AM, at the church
Compline/Akathist Service: Wednesday, December 7th, 6:30 PM, at the church
Cookie Walk: Saturday, December 10th, 10 AM to 2 PM, church hall
Great Vespers: Saturday, December 10th, 5 PM, at the church
Last Sunday, November 27th, 46 adults and 22 youth attended Divine Liturgy.
The Sanctuary Lamp is burning this week for the health of members of the Popoff family. There is an opening to sponsor on 12/18. 2012 sponsor forms for both the Sanctuary Lamp and Bulletin are now available in the Narthex to fill out.
Last Sunday, November 27th, we collected $87.00 to go towards the purchase of Gas cards for college students. With some money left over from last month, three cards were purchased and sent to students.
Hygiene Kit Update
As of November 27th, we are in need of Toothbrushes, Hand towels, Nail files/clippers, combs,
and wash cloths. These are lowest in number we have collected thus far. We still have several weeks of to go. So we hope more people can participate who haven’t.
The Rossford/Toledo Book Club will meet next on Monday December 5, at 9:30 AM (note the time change) at the Biernacki home. We will be discussing reflections 33 to 36 of The Winter Pascha by Fr. Thomas Hopko. Copies of the book are available sale at our parish church bookstore for $12.00. The Bowling Green Book Club will meet next on Thursday, December 15th at 6:30 PM at Grounds for Thought on Main St. We will be discussing Psalms 77 to 90 in Christ in the Psalms Fr. Patrick Reardon. The book can be purchased from Conciliar Press or Amazon.com. For more information on either book club, speak with Fr. Paul, or check the weekly bulletin.
Confession during the Advent Fast:
General Confession will be offered on Sunday December 11th right after dismissal at liturgy. For someone to vote at the next Parish meeting, one needs to receive the sacraments of Communion and Confession at least once during the 2011 year. Anyone 70 or older can fulfill the Confession requirement by coming to General Confession on December 11th (One also needs to turn in a signed a pledge card for 2012 as a voting member requirement). During the course of the Advent Fast, Fr. Paul will be available for Confession before or after the Wednesday evening service, before or after Great Vespers on Saturday, or by appointment.
Cookie Walk Information for This Week:
• Cookies can be dropped off on Friday Dec. 9th from 730am until 6pm
• We need people to help with cookie setup/traying of cookies starting around 9am on Friday morning (Dec. 9th)
• On 12/10, help is still needed for cookie replenishment spots, (1 or 2) cashiers and baggers as well as several helpers to cars
• Please call Mary Gresko @ #419-260-3583 if you can help
• If you are helping on December 10th, please try to arrive by 9:00am as the doors are locked after this time
PLEDGE CARDS HAVE BEEN MAILED OUT! As you read the letter and review the card please prayerfully reflect upon what you can offer for the upcoming 2012 year. Secondly there is a new feature on the back side of the card which also has areas of parish life you can check to indicate where you would be willing to donate your time to help out.
December 6 is the feast day of Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of everyone from longshoremen to embalmers, and of places from New York City to Argentina. In fact he is the patron of more occupations, causes, people and places than any other saint we know of.
The stories of his humility and compassion are well-known. He had no ambition to become a bishop, but accepted the office in obedience. When he saved three marriageable and impoverished girls from disaster by providing money, he planned to do it secretly. There are stories of sailors caught on stormy seas, defenseless peasants wrongly accused of crimes, and countless others in need or in danger who were saved by his intercession. His kindness to children helped them to see Christ in him, so that even if their life circumstances were harsh, they knew a Savior cared for them.
But additional aspects of his life give even more luster to his example. Though he was not a martyr, Saint Nicholas suffered greatly in his life, and had to stand up to powerful forces that could have undermined the Church. He became a bishop at the beginning of the fourth century and during the reign of Diocletian, a Roman emperor who detested Christianity as an enemy of Rome's glory. Nicholas, having become a publicly visible leader of the Christians, was imprisoned and tortured. The incarceration was not brief, either. Not until Constantine ascended the throne were the Christian prisoners released. It was not only outward threats that faced the Church during Nicholas' time as bishop. Within the Church the Arian heresy, denying that Christ was truly the Son of God, was widely popular. Bishop Nicholas had to work against its falsehoods, and defend his people against its influence.
At the Council of Nicaea the threat of Arianism was made physically present. Arius had eloquence enough to make his "reasonable" version of the faith appealing to listeners and did so at the Council, speaking to those in attendance in his intelligent and engaging manner. How painful it must have been for Nicholas to hear this smooth talker distort everything for which Christ had died and risen. His memories of his own imprisonment and that of so many others who would not compromise the faith only added to the pain. So Saint Nicholas exemplifies more than loving benevolence. He also shares our experience of suffering, and shows how to carry on without flinching from it. The words of Jesus Christ in Luke 21: 12-19, which are read on this day, apply to Nicholas' life: "...they will lay their hands on you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors...some of you will be put to death; you will be hated by all for my name's sake."
But Christ's final words in this passage are the ones Nicholas would encourage us to remember: "By your endurance you will gain your lives."
Taken from: http://dce.oca.org/page/bulletins
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