Orthodox Church in America
Diocese of Washington
7124 River Road
Bethesda, MD 20817
Church Office: 301-229-6300
/ Rector
V. Rev. Gregory Safchuk
Office: 301-229-6300
Home: 301-320-0739
/ Parish Council President:
Michael Thompson
Home: 703-204-9092
ST. GREGORY PALAMAS MARCH 8, 2015
EPISTLEHeb. 1:10-2:3
Heb. 7:26-8:2 /
GOSPEL
Mark 2:1-12John 10:9-16 / Tone 6
DIVINE LITURGY OF ST. BASIL
SECOND Sunday of Lent – ST. GREGORY PALAMAS. St. Theophylactus, Bishop of Nicomedia (ca. 842-845). Ven. Lazarus (1391) and Athanasius (15th c.), of Murom (Olonets). Apostle Hermas of the Seventy (1st c.). Hieromartyr Theodoretus of Antioch (4th c.). Ven. Dometius (363). The “KURSK-ROOT” Icon of the Most-holy Theotokos.
Sunday / Mar / 8 / 9:30a / Divine Liturgy – St. Gregory Palamas
11:30a / Coffee Hour
11:30a / Choir Rehearsal
11:30a / Rummage Sale Meeting
Tuesday / Mar / 10 / 7:00p / Parish Council Meeting
Wednesday / Mar / 11 / 6:30p / Presanctified Liturgy & Lenten Lecture
Saturday / Mar / 14 / 3:00 -
5:00p / Lenten Discussion with John Hudak in parish hall, on “Introduction to Orthodox Prayer”
5:00p / Private Confession
5:30p / Great Vespers
Sunday / Mar / 15 / 9:30a / Divine Liturgy – Veneration Of the Cross
11:30a / Coffee Hour
11:30a / Church School
11:30a / Basics of Orthodoxy Class
Monday / Mar / 16 / 7:45p / Choir Rehearsal
Tuesday / Mar / 17 / 10:30a / Bl. Mat. Olga Prayer Group - Akathist
Wednesday / Mar / 18 / 6:30p / Presanctified Liturgy & Lenten Lecture
CONTINUED ON LAST PAGE
Saturday / Mar / 21 / 3:00 -
5:00p / Lenten Discussion with John Hudak in parish hall, on “Introduction to Orthodox Life”
5:00p / Private Confession
5:30p / Great Vespers
6:30p / FOCA Chapter Meeting
TheAltar Candles are donated by Drs. Anna and Mary Nemesh. In loving memory of parents Charles and Annie Nemesh and brother Dr. Walter Nemesh.
TheSanctuary Candles are donated by Drs. Anna and Mary Nemesh. In loving memory of parents Charles and Annie Nemesh and brother Dr. Walter Nemesh.
Coffee Hour
Date
/Hosts/Hostesses
/ Donuts/BagelsMar 8 / Taylor / Shiller / Husak / Datch
Mar 15 / Balamaci / R. Zabela / Cacic / Zabela
Choir Directors, Readers, Preparers, Greeters, Altar Servers and Handmaidens
Date / Director / Reader / Preparer / Greeter / AltarServers / Hand-Maidens
Mar 8 / W.
Tatusko / P.
Sielinski / Dn.
Phelps / C. Williamson
M. Hydock / A. Ahmadi
A. Datch
P. Dillon
T. Dillon
F. LeFors
V. Lutes
L. Prentice
J. Sedor
M. Sedor / Ad. Cacic
Al. Cacic
E. Henning
S.R. LeFors
Mar 15 / C.
Berencz / M.
Ahmadi / C.
German / N. & K.
Kumar / A. Hardy
S. LeFors
R. Malatesta
J. Rudin
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE RODAKFAMILY on the arrival of newborn baby Isaiah Gabriel, son of David and Susan Rodak. Isaiah was born on February 27th, weighing in at 7lbs-12oz. Mom, Dad and baby are all well; thanks be to God! Please keep them in your prayers. God Grant Them Many Years!
FR. TIM PERRY’S BASICS OF ORTHODOXY CLASSis cancelled for today. Class will resume next Sunday following Liturgy.
CHOIR REHEARSAL SCHEDULE: In preparation for Pascha, the choir will have rehearsal TODAY following Liturgy. Future rehearsal dates are: Monday, March 16th at 7:45 PM; Monday, March 23rdat 7:45 PM; and Monday, March 30that 7:45 PM. Choir members, please mark your calendars!
RUMMAGE SALE MEETING TODAY FOLLOWING LITURGY: There will be an open meeting to discussour annual rummage saleTODAY following Liturgy. Topics for discussion include: Should we continue to have the rummage sale?When to have the sale?Who can commit themselves to participate BEFORE the sale to price and sort items? What has worked well and what needs improved? New ideas? Comments and questions, please contact Marsha Zellem at: 301-881-3407.
TOWN-HALL MEETING TO DISCUSS PROPOSED REVISIONS TO OCA STATUTES:
The Archdiocese of Washington D.C. will be holding a “town-hall” meeting for all interested parishioners to discuss a draft of the proposed revisions to the Statutes of the Orthodox Church in America. The purpose of the town-hall is to broadly solicit input so as to refine the draft revisions prior to voting on them at the upcoming All American Council. The town-hall will be held from 4-6 PM, Sunday, March 8th at St. Luke Orthodox Church at 6801 Georgetown Pike in McLean, VA. The original Statutes were adopted in 1971 and revisions are meant to better reflect our current needs and structure. An explanation of the changes, and comparison of original and proposed statute revisions can be found here: . We welcome your participation and feedback in this upcoming town-hall meeting.
PARISH COUNCIL MEETING will take place on Tuesday, March 10th at 7:00 PM in the fellowship hall. The meeting is open to anyone interested in attending.
LENTEN LECTURE SOUP AND BREAD:The Lenten Lecture series continues this year following Wednesday Pre-Sanctified Liturgies. The St. Mark tradition of bringing a sack "lunch" continues as well, but for those who are visiting, those who forget their dinner, those who are moved at the last minute to attend the Pre-Sanctified, and those who are just plain hungry, we will have peanut butter, jelly and bread to make sandwiches, and at least one pot of hot soup. Anyone who might be able to make soup or bring a loaf of bread on Wednesday evenings Mar 18 and Apr 1, please let Matushka Sasha know either in person, on the phone at: 301-320-0739, or by email at: . All Lenten soups and bread gratefully accepted. Thank you.
PRESANCTIFIED LITURGY & LENTEN LECTURE will be held this Wednesday, March 11th at 6:30 PM. The third of our 2015 Lenten Lectures will take place following Presanctified Liturgy in the fellowship hall, where Karen & Mark Phinney and Barbara & George Freimann will speak to the topic of"Reflections on an Orthodox Pilgrimage to the Holy Land". Future Lenten Lecture dates/topics are listed below; all start immediately after PresanctifiedLiturgy. Please bring a sack dinner; soup and bread will be served as well.
WED. MARCH 18:
Speakers: Nick Kosar & Larisa Looby
Topic: "The Orthodox Church in Japan, from Inception to the Present Time"
WED. MARCH 25:
ANNUNCIATION Divine Liturgy 10:00 AM
NO Presanctified Liturgy & NO Lenten Lecture
WED. APRIL 1:
Speaker: Fr. Basil Summer
Topic: “Prayer, A Holy Mystery"
SATURDAY LENTEN DISCUSSIONS AT ST. MARK: Save the date for two presentations by John Hudak (of St. Matthew in Columbia, MD) on Saturday, March 14th and Saturday, March 21st. Both talks will take place from 3-5 PM in our fellowship hall and may be attended independently of each other. Light refreshments will be served. The March 14th topic will be an“Introduction to Orthodox Prayer” and discusses the following: What is the Orthodox view of salvation (Theosis)? Why is prayer important? How should we pray? What should we pray for? We will pray six Orthodox prayers and discuss their meaning. The March 21st topic will be an “Introduction to Orthodox Life” and discusses the following: Review of Salvation, Seeing with Spiritual Eyes, Confession, Repentance, Communion & Forgiveness, Personal Ministry, Witnessing, and Praying for our Enemies. How can we discern God's will? What is Orthodox life? Everyone is invited to attend!
BLESSED MAT. OLGA OF ALASKA WOMEN’S PRAYER GROUP will meet at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, March 17thfor Akathist prayer. If you would like the group to remember someone in prayer, please give their name to Debbi Dillon, Marcella Hydock, or Mat. Alexandra.
ST. MARK FOCA CHAPTER meeting will be held on Saturday, March 21st following Vespers.
2015 COLONIAL DISTRICT FOCA STOCK AWARDS: George Freimann will be selling Stock Awards tickets during coffee hour at $2.00 each. 1st prize = $200;2nd prize = $100;3rd prize = $50.The drawing will be held on Saturday, April 18th at St. Mark.
BAKE SALE AT ST. LUKE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH: The Sisterhood of St. Luke Serbian Orthodox Church at6801 Georgetown Pike in McLean, VA is sponsoring a bake saleon Saturday, March 28th from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM. Items for sale include: Breads & Braided Easter Breads, Nut & Poppyseed Rolls, Apricot Rolls & Prune Rolls, Apple Strudels, Serbian Sarma, & Bohemian Sausage. Some items may be pre-ordered. For more information, please visit the St. Luke website at: or call: (703)-893-1759.
ST. MARK COFFEE HOUR HOSTS NEEDED: Our list of volunteers for coffee hour is in need of more families willing to help lighten the load. Please consider helping with this valuable ministry that not only provides light refreshments & coffee after Liturgy, but encourages fellowship at church. You will not have to do it alone; we will place you on the schedule as part of a 3 person/family team. Please talk with either Daniela Mihailov or Debbi Dillon after Liturgy or email Debbi at: . Thank you.
KARA YAKUBIK MISSION TRIP TO UGANDA:For two weeks in June, I will be participating in the OCMC medical mission team in Uganda as a physical therapist. This team will visit Orthodox communities and set up rural health clinics and minister to the spiritual needs of patients. The regions we will be serving have suffered because of civil war and uprisings in neighboring areas. While health care in Uganda has improved in this time span, many villages are reliant onnon-governmental agencies to cover health care gaps that the Ministry of Health cannot fill due to lack of finances and manpower. I ask for you to please consider partnering with me in this ministry by helping fund my mission. The expense of this mission trip is a minimum of $1350/person, not including airfare. Your tax-deductible contribution can be made by going online to: need to ensure that 50% of the money is raised by April 1st, 2015 to pay for the airline tickets, with remaining donations having a collectiondeadline of May 10th, 2015. Please keep my fellow team members and me in your prayers. Thank you for your support, both financial and spiritual, to furtheringGod’s Kingdom. – In Christ, Kara
JOB OPPORTUNITIES: The Washington Christian Academy is looking for Godly men and women interested in coaching at the school. We are looking for a golf coach this spring as well as volleyball and soccer coaches for next fall. Previous coaching experience is a plus but is not required. If you are interested, please contact our Athletic Director, Tim Bratt, at: . To learn more about the school, please visit
FOCUS NORTH AMERICA 2015 INTERNSHIP PROGRAM: For 2015, there will be multiple full-time internship opportunities (see bulleted internships below) that typically last 10-12 weeksover June-August. All interns will receive stipends. All interns are responsible for their own housing. A detailed action plan will be developed for each intern. To be eligible, the applicant must be an Undergraduate, recent college graduate, or advanced degree student and must be 18 years of age or older. The application deadline is April 15th. Successful candidates will be informed of their acceptance by April 30th.
National Program Intern at the FOCUS Pittsburgh headquarters with some travel to FOCUS operations nationwide.
Research & Planning Intern at the FOCUS Pittsburgh headquarters. This position will work primarily with the Youth Equipped to Serve (YES) Program field office with some possible travel to FOCUS NA or YES events.
Application Process:
1. Download and complete the internship application form at:
2. Submit,via e-mail, the below listedPDF or Word Formatted documents to FOCUS North America at with "FOCUS Internship" in the email subject line:
Completed internship application form.
Current resume.
One letter of recommendation.
EVANGELIZER REMINDER: Please submit your articles and photos no later than Sunday, March 22nd for the April-May-June 2015 edition of the Evangelizer to David Rodak at: . Thank you!
MEMORY ETERNAL to Paula Zabela’s cousin, Barbara, andJim Orban’s daughter Rebecca’s baby, Cramerwho recently fell asleep in the Lord. Please keep the Zabela and Orban families in your prayers.
HAPPY MARCH BIRTHDAYS!
1John Daniels
3Mat. Tamara Cowan
Mark Kern
4Gwyneth Berry
Samantha Sokich
7Eileen Holovac
9Maximilian Baklikov
Selam Bezuneh
Stephen Lee Morgan
10Debra Yakubik
11Jerry Lutes
12Arianna Cacic
13Nadia Burns
Catherine Mikuluk
14Beth Tucker
15David Hardy
Sean Peter McHugh
Emily Strong / 16Patricia Ihnat
17Matthew Looby
20Vera Bumbak
21Kieran Lee Perdue
23Daria Victorov
25Michael Mihailov
26Kellie Holovac
27Alice Krenitsky
30Michael Ahmadi
31David Rodak
Rachel Sieff
Zachary Sieff
PRAYER REQUEST– O Christ, You alone are our Defender: Visit and help Thy servants who are in need of your help, protection and healing. Among them: JohnMarti Badila; Arvid and Justin Daniel; Paul Dean; Zachary Firestone;Julie Flick;Marge German; Juretta Heckscher; Alice Krenitsky; Evelyn Leleck; Larisa Looby; Marina McKee; Catherine Mikuluk; Karen Nichols; Matthew, Stacy and Baby Nimmer; Timothy Parrish; David, Susan and Baby Rodak; Alexandraand JohnSedor; KatieSheppard; Peter Sielinski; Cathy Tatusko; Andrea Ticich; and Peter Truitt.
Please pray for Margaret, Mary Carol Ashley’s mother; Christine Cacic’s aunt, Catherine Stauder; Debbi Dillon’s mother-in-law, Charlotte; Julie Flick’s son, James Shimer, and her stepdaughter, Jeanie Folton; MargeGerman’s brother, John, her grandson, Joshua, and her friend, Kema; JurettaHeckscher’s husband Ken, niece, Anna, and friend Jacob; Olga, friend of Helen Kerch; Mat. Jan and Fr. Mark Koczak’s friend, Metropolitan Isaiah (Georgian Patriarchate), John Ekaterine, theparents of departed infant Damian, and Alla, Alexey, Svitlana (and their families); Mary Everhart, mother of Ted Koopersmith; Rachel LeFors’ friend, Ilene, who has been diagnosed with cancer, and her uncle, John who is fighting cancer; LarisaLooby’s friend, Valentina; MichaelLungociu’s father, Nicholas Lungociu and friend’s mother, Gitta Finch; Paulina Masick’s brother, Philip; Judi, JoanMitchum’s sister; Jim Orban’s daughter, Rebecca; KylaPrentice’s friend, Ashley; KathyRudin’s friend, Ben Crawford; GaleRutan’s father-in-law, Joseph; JuliaShiller’s father, Vadim Pyatovolenko; DebbiSieff’s aunt, Sophie; PeterSielinski’s friends Brenda Jim Hall, Kelly, Samuel, Ron, Pat, Bailey, Jenn and Matt; Olga & SlavinaSkenderska’s cousin, Stanislav,and friends CatherineJustin; Ellen Thompson’s daughter, Sonya; Jan Don Truitt’s parents; LindaWeir’s mother, Ruby; PaulaZabela’s daughter Kathleen, and her cousin, Frances,who is afflicted with cancer; and Zachary (Zecchaeus) Jensen, member of St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in Thurmont, MD, who is recovering from severe head injury.
Deliver them from sickness and grievous pains. Raise them up that they may sing to Thee and praise Thee without ceasing, through the prayers of the Theotokos and all your Saints!