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WELCOME! If you are a first time visitor to Saint George’s today. We are glad to have you! Please stay for the coffee social in the parish hall after liturgy so we can get acquainted.
SCRIPTURE READINGS THIS WEEK
Dec 21st Virgin Martyr Juliana of Nicomedia with 500 men and 130 women
Hebrews 3:5-11, 17-19 Mark 9:42-10:1
Dec 22nd Fore feast of the Nativity; Great martyr Anastasia
Hebrews 4:1-13 Mark 10:2-12
Dec 23rd Fore feast of the Nativity; Holy Ten Martyrs of Crete
Hebrews 5:11-6:8 Mark 10:11-16
Dec 24th Eve of the Nativity of Christ; Nun Martyr Eugenia of Rome
Hebrews 1:1-12 Luke 2:1-20
Dec 25th NATIVITY ACCORDING OF THE FLESH OF OUR LORD GOD & SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST
Galatians 4:4-7 Matthew 2:1-12
Dec 26th Second Day of the Nativity Feast; Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos
Hebrews 2:11-16 Matthew 2:13-23
Activities/Services this Week:
Rossford/Toledo Book Club: Monday, December 21st, 10 AM, at Mary Dedes’ home
Compline: Wednesday, December 23rd, 6:30 PM, at the church
Royal Hrs/Nativity: Thursday, December 24th, 10 AM, at the church
Caroling: Thursday, December 24th, 7:30 PM, at the church
Vesperal Liturgy for the Nativity: Thursday, December 24th, 8 PM, at the church
Great Vespers: Saturday, December 26th, 5 PM, at the church
Happy Birthday this week to: Aleksy Russin (Dec 21st); Blessed Name day greetings to Julianne Olmstead (Dec 21st), God grant you many years!
The Sanctuary Lamp is burning this week for the health of the Miners, Koroloff and Costoff families.
Last Sunday, December 13th, 30 Adults and 10 Youth attended Divine Liturgy.
For the month of December, please bring tea, and/or instant, or regular coffee in whatever amount you can afford to donate for the All Saints Food Pantry. Thanks to all for being so generous.
Thanks to Annette Stoianoff for donating the snack for church school on December 13th.
The next meeting of the Rossford/Toledo Book Club will be on Monday, December 21st, 10 AM at the home of a parishioner. We will discuss Chapters Seven and Eight of “Bread, Water, Wine, & Oil; an Orthodox Experience of God”. Please read the material so we can properly discuss it. Contact Fr. Paul to inquire about where we are meeting.
His Eminence the Very Rev. Job, Archbishop of Chicago and the Diocese of the Midwest of the Orthodox Church in America, suddenly fell asleep in the Lord Friday, December 18th. Cause of death may have been due to heart attack or pneumonia. May his memory be eternal! Go to www.oca.org to learn more about his back round and funeral arrangements.
A Men’s Christmas Dinner will be held at the Beirut Restaurant 4804 Monroe St. on December 29, 2009 at 5:30 PM. If interest is shown, perhaps we could meet monthly or every other month. Please Let Stan Pentsos know if you will be attending as He needs to confirm the reservation count by December 24th. You can reach Stan at 419-698-1884.
John Malene is at a new address in Bowling Green. His new address is: John Malene c/o Sterling House, 121 N Wintergarden Rd. Apt 109, Bowling Green, OH 43402. There is no phone as of yet. Furthermore Mike Kristoff is in a new apartment at Oakleaf Village. The street address is the same but his apartment number is now #13. His phone number remains unchanged. Please make these changes to your photo album directory.
There are new Bulletin & Sanctuary Sponsorship Sheets for 2010 in the narthex. Please don’t confuse the two sheets. The bulletin sponsor sheet is first, followed by the sanctuary sponsorship sheet. Don’t forget to pick up a 2010 calendar as well.
After Nativity services on Thursday evening, December 24th please remember to bring Christmas goodies to share afterwards in the hall for fellowship and celebration. Coffee, Eggnog and other refreshments will be provided.
All Divine Liturgies in the Orthodox Church are preceded by the chanting of the Hours services, consisting of psalms, hymns and prayers. But in the great cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, the Byzantine Emperor was present each year at the service beginning the celebration of the Nativity of Christ. Therefore, the Hours preceding the Vespers and Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great on Christmas Eve are given the name "Royal Hours."
The Emperor's attendance at the service was in part a demonstration of his humble acknowledgment that Jesus Christ reigns over all mortal beings. The third psalm is Psalm 45: "My heart overflows with good tidings as I sing my ode to the King; my tongue is like the pen of a skillful scribe. Thou art the fairest of the sons of men; grace is poured upon Thy lips; therefore God has blessed Thee forever. Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O mighty one, in Thy splendor and beauty. Draw Thy bow, ride forth in triumph and reign, for the sake of truth, and meekness, and righteousness." Such words could apply to only one Sovereign.
The verses of the Royal Hours make no attempt to conceal the human confusion and anguish of Joseph. He tells Mary, "I am troubled; what can I say to you? Doubt clouds my mind; depart from me! What has happened to you, O Mary? Instead of honor, you bring me shame. Instead of joy, you fill me with grief. Men who praised me will blame me."
The verses also chillingly describe the effect of one powerful man's jealousy and fear. Herod was willing to kill innocent children to keep his unique position as ruler: "Herod was filled with alarm when he saw the righteous wise men. Overcome by fury, he determined precisely when the child was born. Mothers were robbed of their infants: Their tender lives were reaped as a bitter harvest."
Mary could not stop the terror and sorrow created by Herod. But she could lovingly reassure Joseph. In the verses she says: "Why are you so troubled? Why are you in misery seeing me with child? Do you not understand at all? I bear a fearful mystery! Cast your fears away, and learn a strange wonder: God in His mercy descends from heaven to earth. Within my womb He has taken flesh! When He is pleased to be born, you will see Him. You will rejoice, and worship Him, your Creator."
The Royal Hours give us a whole atmosphere surrounding the birth of Our Lord: the venality of Herod who fears being supplanted; Joseph's fear of disgrace; Mary's faith, which leads her to inspire Joseph—and us—with words like "mystery" and "wonder" to describe the event she does not fully understand but has fully accepted.
Father Alexander Schmemann has rightly called the Royal Hours "one last meditation on the cosmical meaning of the Nativity, on the decisive and radical change it performed in the entire creation."
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