Holy Trinity’s Adult Study Group returns to its regular time slot this week (first and third Tuesdays at 7 p.m.). Fr. John will lead us in examining Chapter 8 of Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives. If you are new to the group or Holy Trinity, please come: Each session is self-contained and open to newcomers.
Make Plans to Attend “Mission Alaska” Fish Dinner
The Men’s Fellowship will be holding a mission luncheon after the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of Annunciation this Sunday, March 25. On the menu will be Russian-Alaskan pirok, a delicious fish pastry dish. There will be no charge but a free-will offering will be received. All proceeds will go to support the Holy Trinity men’s construction mission to Marshall, Alaska. Our goal for this dinner is $2,000. Make plans to attend, enjoy a wonderful taste-treat, and help our missionaries get to Alaska.
March 11: A Day of Worship, Goodwill, and Fellowship
Please join us throughout the day on Sunday, March 11 for a packed day of worship, service, fellowship, and food.
After the Divine Liturgy, the Church School will be hosting “Souper Sunday”, its annual Lenten charity luncheon. Students will prepare, serve, and host the meal. All proceeds from the free-will offering will be given to Housing Transitions, a local shelter and housing resources provider. All Sunday School children are asked to come to the church Saturday, March 10 at 4 p.m. to prepare.
That evening, students from St. Vladimir’s Seminary will sing responses at the weekly Deanery-wide Vespers service hosted by Holy Trinity this week. A complimentary catered pasta dinner will follow. Volunteers from the parish will make salad and desserts to accompany the meal. If you are interested in providing this hospitality, please coordinate with Dn. Alexander Cadman.
Also, Daylight Saving Time begins that same Sunday at 2 a.m. Set your clocks forward an hour the evening before.
OCF and Young Adult Fellowship to Attend Retreat
Penn State Orthodox Christian Fellowship members will join Holy Trinity’s Young Adult Fellowship in traveling to Holy Apostles Orthodox Church in Mechanicsburg for the Seventh Annual Young Adult Retreat on Saturday, March 17. Our very own Fr. John Reeves will speak on the topic “Lord, Increase Our Faith.”
The day begins with a Memorial Service and will include a free Lenten luncheon (bring money for a fellowship dinner afterward), and two sessions with Fr. John. Our van will depart from the Holy Trinity parking lot at 8 a.m.
For more information or to register, please contact youngadults@holytrinity-oca.org or orthodox@psu.edu.
Tentative Schedule
11:00 – Memorial Saturday Service
11:30 – Registration
12:00 – Lunch
1:00 – Session 1
2:00 – Break
2:15 – Session 2
3:15 – Q&A and Closing
4:00 – Dinner and Fellowship
6:00 – Vespers at Holy Apostles
Christian Pastor Sentenced to Death for Converting
IRAN [via FoxNews.com] — A trial court in Iran has issued its final verdict, ordering a Christian pastor to be put to death for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity, according to sources close to the pastor and his legal team.
Supporters fear Youcef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old father of two who was arrested over two years ago on charges of apostasy, may now be executed at any time without prior warning, as death sentences in Iran may be carried out immediately or dragged out for years.
It is unclear whether Nadarkhani can appeal the execution order.
“The world needs to stand up and say that a man cannot be put to death because of his faith,” said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).
Related:
Sign an ACLJ Petition to Save Pastor Nadarkhani from his Iranian Death Sentence
“This one case is not just about one execution. We have been able to expose the system instead of just letting one man disappear, like so many other Christians have in the past.”…
“This is defiance,” Sekulow said. “They want to say they will carry out what they say they will do.”
The order to execute Nadarkhani came only days after lawmakers in Congress supported a resolution sponsored by Pennsylvania Rep. Joseph Pitts denouncing the apostasy charge and calling for his immediate release.
“Iran has become more isolated because of their drive for nuclear weapons, and the fundamentalist government has stepped up persecution of religious minorities to deflect criticism,” Pitts, a Republican, told FoxNews.com. “The persecuted are their own citizens, whose only crime is practicing their faith.”
The ACLJ has been a major driving force in keeping Nadarkhani’s case in the international spotlight. Many other advocacy groups and human rights organizations also have mounted global campaigns and petitions against the Iranian government, and experts credit Nadarkhani’s international support for keeping him alive.
The ACLJ recently launched a Twitter campaign to publicize Nadarkhani’s case, asking participants to dedicate a daily tweet to “Tweet for Youcef,” stating the number of days he has been imprisoned (currently 863) and ending the tweet with “ViaOfficialACLJ,” sending readers back to the organization’s website where they could learn more about his case.
Tweets have reached 157 countries and over 400,000 people.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and 89 members of Congress, along with the European Union, France, Great Britain, Mexico and Germany, have condemned Iran for arresting Nadarkhani and have called for his quick release.
Nadarkhani was arrested in October 2009 and was tried and found guilty of apostasy by a lower court in Gilan, a province in Rasht. He was then given verbal notification of an impending death-by-hanging sentence.
His lawyers appealed the decision under the premise that Nadarkhani was never a Muslim at the age of majority, and the case was sent to Iran’s Supreme Court, which upheld the lower court’s decision of execution, provided it could be proven that he had been a practicing Muslim from the age of adulthood, 15 in Islamic law, to age 19, which was when he converted.
The lower court then ruled that Nadarkhani had not practiced Islam during his adult life but still upheld the apostasy charge because he was born into a Muslim family.
The court then gave Nadarkhani the opportunity to recant, as the law requires a man to be given three chances to recant his beliefs and return to Islam.
His first option was to convert back to Islam. When he refused, he was asked to declare Muhammad a prophet, and still he declined.
Iran’s judiciary had delayed in issuing a final verdict, fearing the decision would have far-reaching political implications.
Sources say Nadarkhani has been advised by family members, lawyers and members of his church to remain silent throughout his ordeal, out of fear that authorities may use his statements against him, a strategy commonly employed by the regime.
Read More:
Iran Court Convicts Christian Pastor Convert to Death
Annual Blini Luncheon: A Cheesefare Tradition
Join us in the Parish Hall following this Sunday’s Divine Liturgy for a delicious pancake breakfast provided by the church. Bring your favorite blini toppings to share, along with cheese, herring and/or caviar, for that last “splurge” before Lent begins. All are invited. There is no charge.
Elementary Lenten Retreat to Benefit Charity
It’s not too late to register your children for our elementary school (Pre-K/5) retreat on Saturday (registration @ 8:45 a.m.). Registration is simple; simply contact Dn. Mark Oleynik. There is no fee to participate.
As part of the retreat, we will be doing a charity activity for the benefit of the residents of Ss. Cosmas and Damian Adult Home in Staten Island, NY and your help is needed.
Participants will prepare some toiletry bags for the residents. Parents are asked to bring some trial size items such as hand cream/sanitizer, combs, brushes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, Emory boards, shampoo, deodorant, q-tips, band-aids, etc. (no tissues, please). The children can bring many of the same thing or a mix of items and will putting the many various items (from what each child brings) into small bags.
Orthodox Bishops Join in Opposition to Mandate
The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America, which is comprised of the 65 canonical Orthodox bishops in the United States, Canada and Mexico, join their voices with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and all those who adamantly protest the recent decision by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and call upon all the Orthodox Christian faithful to contact their elected representatives today to voice their concern in the face of this threat to the sanctity of the Church’s conscience.
In this ruling by HHS, religious hospitals, educational institutions, and other organizations will be required to pay for the full cost of contraceptives (including some abortion-inducing drugs) and sterilizations for their employees, regardless of the religious convictions of the employers.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion. This freedom is transgressed when a religious institution is required to pay for “contraceptive services” including abortion-inducing drugs and sterilization services that directly violate their religious convictions. Providing such services should not be regarded as mandated medical care. We, the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops, call upon HHS Secretary Sebelius and the Obama Administration to rescind this unjust ruling and to respect the religious freedom guaranteed all Americans by the First Amendment.
The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America is only one of twelve such assemblies around the world working for the good of the holy Church of Christ.
Related:
Sign a petition calling for the repeal of the HHS mandate
Retreat to Prepare Children for Lenten Season
Holy Trinity’s younger students (Pre-K through fifth grade) will participate in a pre-Lenten retreat designed especially for them. Entitled Ready…, Set…, Lent!, the retreat will be held on Saturday February 11, beginning at 9 a.m. and concluding at lunchtime. Participants of the retreat will “journey” through the various disciplines of Great Lent: fasting, prayer, charity, reconciliation/confession, and going to Church (more often). The retreat is intended to help younger students understand how to prepare and spiritually grow during this season.
The retreat will conclude with a pizza lunch for the participants.
Choir to Host Afternoon Clinic Saturday
On Saturday, February 11, from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m., Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in State College (119 S. Sparks St.) will sponsor a liturgical music clinic for all current and potential choir members. Dr. Nicholas Reeves, Assistant Professor of Liturgical Music at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, will work with the group on vocal technique, pitch, intonation and balance, singing from the text and sight reading, and the role of the choir in Orthodox worship. For more information, contact choir@holytrinity-oca.org.
