Parish Bulletin – April 21, 2013

SUNDAY OF ST. MARY OF EGYPT

5th SUNDAY OF GREAT LENT

TONE 5

Hebrews 9:11-14, Galatians 3:23-29
Mark 10:32-45, Luke 7:36-50

st_mary_of_egypt


Choir Director: Veronika


 

Welcome

We welcome you to the Orthodox Church. Please feel at ease and free to participate in the singing. As a visitor you are welcome to come forward at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy and venerate the Cross offered by the priest. Additionally you may receive the blessed bread (Antidoron) that is offered at that time. If you have questions or would like further information, the priest or one of the members of the parish will be pleased to help.

A word to our visitors on Holy Communion

The Orthodox Church does not practice open Communion. Therefore, only members of Canonical Orthodox Churches exercising jurisdiction in America may approach the Chalice for Holy Communion. The Orthodox do not regard Holy Communion solely as an act of personal piety, but also as an expression of union with the Orthodox Church’s faith, doctrine, and discipline. Orthodox visitors wishing to receive Holy Communion should make their intention known to the priest in advance — ask any member of the parish for help in relaying your intention to the priest. Orthodox Christians should prepare themselves to receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion through recent Confession, prayers of preparation for Holy Communion, and fasting (at minimum, from midnight before receiving).

“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.” – I Corinthians 11:27


TROPARIA AND KONTAKIA

Troparion from the Triodion, in Tone VIII:

In thee, O Mother, was preserved unimpaired that which is according to God’s image, / for thou hast taken up the Cross and followed Christ. / By thine actions thou hast taught us to despise the flesh, for it passes away, / but to care for the soul, which is a thing immortal; // and so thy spirit, O holy Mary, rejoices with the angels.

Kontakion from the Triodion, in Tone III:

Once thou wast defiled with every impurity, / but today through repentance thou hast become the Bride of Christ. / Desiring the life of the angels, / thou hast cast down the demons with the weapon of the Cross: / therefore, O glorious Mary, // thou wast made a bride of the Kingdom.

 


Opportunities to give:

➢ Food donations to the Ashland Food Project

Announcements:

  • Please sign up for coffee fellowship/kitchen cleanup.
  • There will not be a Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts this Wednesday (as Fr. Andreas will be out of town), but there will be a Liturgy on Saturday morning (Lazarus Saturday).
  • We are in need of a large bookcase for the fellowship hall, as we are expanding our library. If you have one, please contact Fr. Andreas.
  • Parish Council meeting following Divine Liturgy today.

 

Confession are heard around services or by appointment!

 

Other Activities Next Week:

  • Saturday, 3.00 PM – Choir practice, the Bloms’ house

 


Service Schedule this Week

 

Friday, 7.00 AM – Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

Saturday, 8.00 AM – Divine Liturgy, 6.00 PM – Great Vespers

Sunday, 8.30 AM – Akathist, Hours, Divine Liturgy


Is Tithing Orthodox?

“Honor the Lord with your substance, and with the firstfruits of all your produce.” (Proverbs 3:9)

In ancient Israel, the Church of the Old Testament, the Law of Moses instituted the “tithe,” also called the offering of the “first-fruits.” “Tithe” is merely the Old English word for “tenth.” Israel’s tithe was an assessment of one-tenth of all produce. Usually this portion was rendered from the first harvested of the crop, hence the tithe of “firstfruits.” The proceeds were devoted to the maintenance of the Temple, and support of the priesthood, and the sustenance of the poor (Num. 18:24, Deut. 12:11, and 26:12).

These activities are still necessary parts of Church life. Parishes need suitable places for worship, education, and fellowship; we are still responsible for our priest’s livelihood; and the Lord continually reminds us of our obligation to the needy. Therefore, the practice of good stewardship, represented by the tithe, retains its importance.

The motive behind the Old Testament tithe, however, was not purely pragmatic. For the ancient Hebrews tithing was never merely an efficient way to raise money. Rather, they understood that their relationship with God required them to dedicate a substantial portion of the fruit of their labor to His purposes.

St. Apollinaire in Classe - MelchizedekOur basic understanding as Orthodox Christians, derived from the Old Testament, is that everything comes from God. All that we have or hope to possess, beginning with life itself, is His gift. We acknowledge this fact in our spiritual life through prayer and fasting and through our struggle to follow His commandments. With regard to our material blessings, we confess that He is their true source by returning a portion to Him, to be used for His purposes in this world. These works include the maintenance of worship, the support of those called to His special service, and aid for the poor. By thus giving a portion of our wealth for His purposes, we sanctify the remainder. Through offering a part, we bring the whole of our lives into harmony with God’s will.

The Old Testament Law embodied this admission of God’s sovereignty in the tithe. Nothing in this is changed by the coming of Christ. Tithing is not a purely Old Testament observance revived by Protestants and, therefore, a thing we Orthodox Christians need not worry about. It is true that many Old Testament practices are now understood in a spiritual way fulfilled, transformed, or displaced by Christ’s coming, death, and Resurrection. It is also true that, in recent times, some Protestants have stressed tithing as the norm of giving. But in reality, neither of these objections applies to the tithe or denies its “validity.”

Our Lord criticized the way in which His opponents tithed, but in so doing, He confirmed the tithe itself: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe your mint, dill and cumin, but have omitted the weightier matters of the law judgment, mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without omitting the others.” (Matthew 23:23)

Likewise, one of the earliest witnesses to Holy Tradition, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (sometimes called The Didache), applies the firstfruits to the Church. “Every firstfruit of the produce of the wine-vat and of the threshing-floor, of cattle and flocks, you will take and give as the firstfruit to your prophets; for they are your chief priests…If you prepare food, take and give the firstfruit according to the commandment. Likewise, when you open a jar of wine or oil, take and give the firstfruit to the prophets. Take also the firstfruit of money and clothing and every possession, as it may seem right to you, and give according to the commandment.”

Saint Irenaeus, writing toward the end of the second century, notes that Christ Himself “gave directions to His disciples to offer the firstfruits of His own created things not as if He stood in need of them, but that they might be themselves neither unfruitful nor ungrateful.”

Saint John Chrysostom contends that the tithe is more binding on us than on the Jews. In one of his sermons, he notes that under the Old Testament tithing was the norm. Among Christians, however, it has become a cause for amazement; we exclaim in wonder, “Why so-and-so tithes!” Saint John finds this a sad reflection on our piety and ends with the warning, “If it was a danger to neglect the tithe then, imagine how serious it must be now!”

As we said, the Old Testament saints did not see the tithe merely as a way for organizing fundraising for the Temple and clergy, but as part of their relationship with God. Similarly, we cannot regard our giving merely as providing for our parish’s material needs. We must appreciate the spiritual importance of tithing, as the return to the Lord of a portion of His blessings through which we sanctify the remainder for our own use. Thus we acknowledge the Lord’s claim upon the whole of our life and affirm that the focus of our existence is not this world but the Kingdom to come.

The tithe, one-tenth, is the ideal of stewardship set forth in Scripture in the Old Testament tithe, and in Tradition, represented by The Didache, Saint Irenaeus, and Saint John Chrysostom. At first, for those not used to the idea of tithing, this amount may seem staggering. The best way to begin is to adopt a lower percentage and then increase it over time. First, we should accept the underlying principle behind tithing: That we should not give an arbitrary amount, but that our contribution should represent a proportion, a percentage, of our income. Once we establish a certain percentage (for example 3-5%) as our starting point, we can then increase it by one percent a year until we reach the tithe.

From the beginning, however, we must adopt the idea that we give a percentage of our treasure; we cannot base it on impulse, giving “a little something” from what we “have left over.” Instead, our offering should represent “the firstfruits of our produce” offered because we feel the need to “honor the Lord with our substance,” because we want to show our gratitude to Him for His blessings, and because we acknowledge our part in His work of redeeming the world.

– Fr. Dimitri Cozby, Rector of St. Anthony Orthodox Church in San Antonio, TX.

 


Holy Week Schedule

LAZARUS SATURDAY (April 27th) 8.00 am – Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, 6.00 pm – Great Vespers, blessing of palms

PALM SUNDAY (April 28th) 8.30 am – Akathist to the Mother of God, 9.00 am – Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great

HOLY MONDAY (April 29th) 7.00 am – Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, 6.00 pm – Bridegroom Matins

HOLY TUESDAY (April 30th) 6.00 pm – Bridegroom Matins

HOLY WEDNESDAY (May 1st) 6.00 pm – Bridegroom Matins

HOLY THURSDAY (May 2nd) 7.00 am – Vespers with Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, 6.00 pm – Matins with Passion Gospels

HOLY FRIDAY (May 3rd) 8.00 am – Royal Hours and Typica, 4.00 pm – Vespers with the Shroud, ca. 6.00 pm – Matins with the Lamentations

HOLY SATURDAY (May 4th) 9.00 am – Vespers with Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, 11.30 pm – Midnight Office (Nocturn)

PASCHA! (May 5th) 12.00 am – Paschal Matins and Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, followed by the blessing of baskets and the Paschal meal!, 4.00 pm – Agape Vespers (at Helen’s house)

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