BINGHAMTON, NY – To ensure that the emerging mission community in Beavertown has a focused vision for outreach to Snyder County, a selected group from the Chapel of the Holy Spirit news will attend an intensive church growth and evangelism workshop here on August 1-3. In addition to developing a working plan for the future, team members will also learn about the many factors that affect church health from a variety of experts, including Fr. Jonathan Ivanoff, Holy Trinity’s Natural Church Development coach, Fr. Sergius Halvrosen, Director of Field Education at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, and Fr. Alexander Atty, Dean of St. Tikhon’s Seminary.
Team from Chapel to Attend “Boot Camp”
Archdiocese Sponsors Pirates Baseball Outing
Watch the Pirates take on the Cincinnati Reds with fellow Orthodox Christians from the Archdiocese on Monday, July 18, at 7:05 p.m. The cost is only $19 and includes a Pirates Ball Cap! To order tickets or learn more, contact John Schultz at (304) 479-5071 or email jpswv@comcast.net by July 11. The event is being co-sponsored by the Archdiocesan Youth Committee and F.O.C.A.
July is “Chapel of the Holy Spirit Month”
All this month, we are featuring the Chapel of the Holy Spirit (CHS), as this Snyder County mission organization prepares to purchase land in Beavertown and enter the next stage of its development.
We invite you to become involved in outreach by: catching up on some of the latest news about the Chapel,helping us raise funds to buy the half-acre lot, attending the all-parish meeting at Holy Trinity on July 31 to discuss and approve its purchase, and checking the progress at its new Web site, holyspirit-oca.org.
Quarters from Heaven (via Holy Trinity)
by Melody Thompson
In thinking about our quarter collection effort for Centre House ministry news (the local homeless shelter) my mind was “nudged” into one of those strange connections and I thought of the old song “Pennies from Heaven” (see lyrics here). Oldsters like myself will remember the title of the song, but how many of us ever focused closely on the lyrics?
Believe it or not, the old Bing Crosby song has a strong theological message. It first talks about not appreciating what we have until it’s covered by clouds. But the lyrics also remind us that blessings can come from those clouds. Today, the residents of Centre House are likely feeling that their skies are pretty cloudy. But we can help them see the “silver lining”—that there are people who care about them in their distress—by contributing quarters for their laundry needs or for parking when they go for job interviews.
Inflation may have necessitated changing pennies to quarters, but the meaning is still the same. Please help your neighbors at Centre House by depositing quarters in one of the two collection receptacles (one in the Narthex and one in the Parish Hall), which can be identified by the photograph of Centre House.
Summer Schedule Changes
Please note the following schedule changes and additions to the following ministries this summer:
- To accommodate our growing group of new catechumens now preparing for Holy Illumination, Orthodoxy 2.0 will join forces with Orthodoxy 101 this summer to offer specialized instruction. The combined group will meet on the second and fourth Saturdays in July and August at 4 p.m. All are welcome.
- The Junior Orthodox Youth Association (Jr.OYA) for children in grades 5-8 will meet on July 24 this month; the high school group (OYA) is postponing its July meeting to plan an overnight August retreat.
- Vespers is canceled on Wednesday, June 13 so the altar and nave can be repainted. An oil-based primer will be applied to remove and limit future soot buildup.
For the Record: June 2011
Baptism
- Heidi Elizabeth Wagner, daughter of Andre and Megan Wagner, baptized June 4, sponsored by Vincent and Camala Mazeski.
Farewell
- Reader Willis (Mark) Mwangola moved to Statesboro to study Supply Chain & Operations Management at the Georgia State University.
Your Generosity
- $726.85 given to rebuild the Konevets Monastery on Lake Lagoda, Russia from a freewill offering collected after the Konevets Quartet concert. Thank you!
Our Calling to Evangelize
The Church is not a museum for historical nostalgia. Nor is the Church an archeological site from the time of Justinian. The Church is indeed the living body of Christ. She is dynamic and always permeated by the power of the Holy Spirit who descended on the disciples like a mighty wind. The Church must live with the conviction that She is always sent. Therefore, we must “go” and never stop until the end of time… [As] the Perfect Missionary our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ [said], “lift up your eyes and see how the fields are already white for harvest” (John 4:35).
— Metropolitan Philip (Saliba) of New York
Join us in Supporting the Chapel
The Chapel’s choir completely fills the back of their current worship space making finding a new home more necessary.
There’s now even more good news about spreading the Good News in Snyder County!
Last month, the Chapel of the Holy Spirit made an offer on a half-acre parcel of land in Beavertown. It was everything we were looking for: central to our mission field, attractive, easily accessible, visible, with plenty of street parking. Our offer of $40,000 was accepted (the asking price was $56,000), and we now have 90 days to close.
Already about $24,000 has been saved since the Chapel first started earmarking funds in April of 2008, a few months after the community’s first reader’s service. Last month, Chapel members immediately gave another $9,200, leaving us only $7,000 shy of the total we will need (not including closing costs).
Here is how you can help: Prayerfully consider a one-time donation/pledge to the Chapel of the Holy Spirit Building Fund to help us raise the remaining funds.
The entire month of July is being dedicated as “Chapel of the Holy Spirit Month” at Holy Trinity. Each Sunday a special offering will be taken to receive your gifts toward this work. We would really hate for this deal to fall through. Can we count on your support?
Think about it: we can make this happen by God’s Grace if only:
- one (1) donor gives $1,500,
- two (2) donors give $1,000 each,
- four (4) donors give $500 each,
- eight (8) donors give $250 each,
- ten (10) donors give $100 each, and
- twenty (20) donors give $50 each.
This would give us more than enough to meet the sale price and the costs of closing. Of course, each person’s circumstances are different, and anything you can donate helps our cause. If need be, your offering may even be made in six installments, one per month through the year’s end.
We pray God’s blessings on you and earnestly hope that you will join us in spirit and in prayer in this undertaking. To give, simply detach the enclosed form in the July Trisagion Download now and return it (and your check, if possible). Specify “Chapel of the Holy Spirit Building Fund” in the memo line.
Thank you in advance!
– Fr. Basil and the Chapel of the Holy Spirit Community
* August 2, 2011 Update: We have reached our initial goal of $40,000 plus closing costs. Thank you for your generosity!
Vacation Bible School Gallery Posted
Be sure to check out the gallery of pictures from the 2011 Holy Trinity Vacation Bible School: “I’ve Got the (Fruit of the) Spirit in Me!” You can view a slideshow highlighting the many activities of the week, download pictures from current and past VBSes, and learn more about our annual summer learning program.
This year, 48 children embarked on an educational and fun journey learning about the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives through activities, songs, and crafts.
OCA Bishop of N.Y. and N.J. Affirms Sanctity of Marriage
NEW YORK, NY – On June 24, the same day public officials redefined the meaning of marriage to include unions between same-gendered persons, Bishop Michael of New York and New Jersey issued a statement on the sanctity of marriage.
Repeating the affirmations of marriage, family, sexuality, and the sanctity of life adopted by the Orthodox Church in America’s (OCA) Holy Synod of Bishops in 1992 and echoed by all the canonical bishops of North America (SCOBA) in 2003, his archpastoral letter states, “As children of God, we are called to conform our sexual behavior to the commandments of Christ. As Christians, whether single or married, we are called to a life of chastity, pleasing to the Lord. This means struggling against those passions that incline us to “fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)—fornication, homosexual activity, or adultery…
“No matter what the prevailing pressure of the culture or the legislation of the state may proclaim, the timeless teaching of the Church echoes the rule of marriage revealed to us by the Lord, written in the Scripture, and re-affirmed by the wisdom and examples of the Saints. Gay marriage or any other unblessed sexual activity is not the love that the Lord extols…
“Let us bear witness to the truth taught by Our Lord and lived by His Saints, in our daily conversations with our families, our fellow Christians, our neighbors and co-workers. Let us teach the Orthodox Christian vision of marriage, as a path to salvation shared by husband and wife… Let us join in prayer that the people of faith across the states of New York and New Jersey will continue to stand fast in the divinely revealed truth of what marriage means. And let us by our example witness to the life of chastity to which every human person, made in the image and likeness of God, is called.”
You can view the full text of His Grace’s letter here.
