Because of circumstances beyond our control, today’s Sunday School Pool Party at the Ramada Inn has been rescheduled for Sunday, May 6, 2018. See you there!
Celebrate the Forefathers
Icon of the Sunday of the Forefathers (courtesy oca.org)
On Sunday, December 17, the Church celebrates the Holy Forefathers of Christ. All parishioners whose patron saint is a forefather/foremother are invited to bring an icon of their patron saint. There will be a table set aside so that all may venerate the icons.
Ministry Groups to Prepare for the Nativity
Several of Holy Trinity’s ministry groups will spend the weekend of December 16-17 engaging in activities together in preparation for the Feast of the Nativity.
On Saturday morning, the men of the parish will have breakfast; in the afternoon, the Altar Society will decorate the church, and the Choir and the Church School will conduct rehearsals.
On Sunday, after the Church School Christmas Play, the women of the parish will exchange cookies and recipes in Trinity House. For a full schedule of events, see the parish calendar.
One Day at a Time This Year
by Dn. Mark Oleynik
Dn. Mark teaches Vacation Bible School participants about the Hours (1st, 3rd, 6th, and 9th) that can be prayed to sanctify the day.
Do you make a checklist of all the things you want accomplish each day? Have you ever noticed that by the end of the day the list seems to be longer than when you started? You’re not alone—overdoing is a social epidemic from which people of all ages can suffer. It seems to me that “do not overdo” may be a healthy commandment which could be added to deal with our modern lifestyle.
Because we want to do so many things so quickly, much of our worry is due to our mistaken view of things. We look too far ahead. The magnitude of life daunts us. We add tomorrow’s task to today’s and then of course the burden becomes too heavy. If we think about it, we truly never have anything to do on any given day but just the bit of God’s will for that day. But what part of daily lives do we dedicate to do God’s will?
Related: Register online for Sunday School.
Starting with the understanding that we must take care of our families, perform the work that our employer expects, eat, take care of our home, and so forth, we are reminded that the “heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” (Matthew 6:32). These take up the abundance of the day and fill it with activity. But we also must consider the sin of omission in our daily lives. In Matthew 25, we read that at the Judgement Seat of Christ we will need to account for those things which we did not do. It is not the big things we may have done (and for which we have sought forgiveness) but rather the little things we did not do that leads to our peril.
These could be the calls or visits of help we did not make, the words of cheer we did not speak, the letters we did not write, or the hungry we did not feed—all lost opportunities to do His will due to our inactivity.
Why do we leave so many things undone in our lives? Partly through sheer thoughtlessness, no doubt. Many omit the good deed not through want of heart but through want of thought. And yet it is just that very thoughtlessness which God calls for us to account. However, even more critical may be the emphasis we put on this life. We magnify the insignificants, pour out our energy on things which perish, and ignore the realities that alone count in the eternal scale. We spend our days “working our list” but not working God’s will—the things which call for our most constant care and deepest thought.
As we begin this ecclesiastical New Year, let’s make our resolution to “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). Put the emphasis in your daily life on His service and glory and leave nothing undone which the Lord commanded.
Happy New Year!
EXTRA SCOOPS
- New School Year. Sunday School begins on September 10. We look forward to sharing the teachings and Tradition of the Church to build a firm foundation for our students to lead a life in God’s image. Sunday School supplements and reinforces the work of our parents in the Christian formation of their children. Many thanks to our staff of dedicated teachers for their ministry each week throughout the year. (NOTE: Registration will be conducted online this year. You are asked to enroll your child early for planning purposes.)
- Sunday School Picnic. Our annual picnic is planned for September 17,
4:30 p.m., at Circleville Park. All families are encouraged to join in fellowship (and s’mores!). - “Youth Equipped to Serve” Mission Trip. For the middle/high school students, there is a YES (Youth Equipped to Serve) mission trip planned in Pittsburgh this September 29-October 1. Please mark your calendars, as the number of participants may be limited. More details will be provided via the bulletin and website once registration opens.
Some Advice from our Parents Sessions
by Dn. Mark Oleynik
Advice: You can hardly go anywhere without getting it from someone or something, whether it be from the magazine rack at the checkout line, the millions of self-help books, the television shows that are on 24/7, or your co-workers, neighbors, and family. Just open the browser on your computer or phone and you could miss several meals getting immersed in trying to find the best way to get a fast start in the morning to how to get a good night’s rest—and everything in between. Even more, we are mostly being given advice without asking. (Good thing most of the time, it’s free.)
The right place to start looking for good advice is in your Bible since Paul tells Timothy that all scripture is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). You can also look to your elders, clergy, and to people whom you respect and have something in common.
During one of our Parents Sessions, parents were asked to provide what advice they would give to other Orthodox Christian parents for raising a child. Here are some of their pearls of wisdom:
- Pray more for them and with them every day.
- Support your spouse.
- Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know what you are doing.
- Look for comfort and answers in the Bible.
- Pause: you don’t need to answer every question immediately.
- Stay in touch with the Church, your faith, and trust God.
- Teach by example.
- There will be many bumps in the road. Think ahead.
- Make the Church relevant and alive to them every day.
- Don’t worry about small things worry about eternal things.
- Listen carefully to everything kids say and teach them to listen to others.
- Go to church as much as possible and as often as possible.
- When bad things do happen, assess if it will be important in ten minutes and/or in ten years.
- Use the saints as examples of real heroes.
- Love regardless.
- Trust your kids.
- Make every opportunity an opportunity for kids to realize others needs before their own.
- Simplify your life and enjoy your children.
- Read Scripture at mealtime.
- You create normal for your children. Icons, prayers, church aren’t weird or counter-cultural when your child is immersed in the life of the Church.
- Let your children be themselves.
- God’s love is unending—make sure you child understands no matter what God will still love him or her—and so will you.
Editor’s Note: Parents Sessions are held monthly after the Liturgy. Topics discussed focus on the challenges and joys of raising Orthodox Christian children in a secular world. All parents are invited (your child need not be enrolled in Sunday School.)
Parishioners Join a Half Million in Promoting Life
Year after year every January hundreds of thousands come to the nation’s capital to give a voice to those who do not have one—the unborn.
This year’s March for Life was historic, however, as for the first time ever, the sitting vice president appeared in-person. Quoting Philippians 4:5, Vice President Mike Pence shared his optimism for the pro-life cause, exhorting the crowd to “Let this movement be known for love, not anger; … compassion, not confrontation… [T]here is nothing stronger than gentleness.”
Following the rally, more than a dozen from Holy Trinity and the Chapel joined His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon, head of the Orthodox Church in America, and several Orthodox hierarchs, clergy, and laity in praying for the victims of abortion, before making the two-mile trek from the White House to the Supreme Court.
Holy Trinity’s support of life doesn’t end with this annual event. Throughout the year, our parish partners with the State College Pregnancy Resource Clinic to educate and encourage men and women to make informed life choices.
View photographs of Holy Trinity’s and the Chapel’s participation in the March.
View a time lapse of the approximately 500,000 people to attend the March.
Ministry Groups to Enjoy Fellowship this Weekend
Several of Holy Trinity’s ministry groups will spend this Friday and Saturday engaging in several activities together in preparation for the Feast of the Nativity. On Friday night, teens and preteens in the Orthodox Youth Association will wrap gifts as a service project. Then on Saturday, men will have breakfast; women will decorate the church, exchange cookies, and have lunch; and the Choir and the Sunday School will conduct rehearsals in the afternoon. Scroll down for the complete schedule and for more information.
Christmas: Will it Be a Joy or a Letdown?
by Dn. Mark Oleynik
Many years ago, I had a conversation with a friend the day after Christmas and he said something which surprised me. He sadly said, “There is nothing more done than Christmas.” This was surprising because he was the most joyful and outgoing person you would ever want to meet—and a real ambassador of Christ. I learned much later that it was at that precise time he was going through a personal tragedy and that year Christmas was quite difficult for him. Fortunately, in time his pain eased and he was back to his old self. But I never forgot his words and what they meant to him that day.
In preparing for the Nativity of our Lord, most parents try to teach their children to be joyful givers. But we all know a child’s focus on Christmas is on “getting the gifts” and it’s probably likewise true for many adults. Most assuredly, parents do their best to provide at least some of items from their child’s wish list not to mention gifts for their spouse, parents, and friends. But when the presents are all unwrapped, the Christmas meal is over, and the house is probably turned upside down from the children and all the guests—do you feel kind of let-down? Do you feel Christmas is done?
In just the few short weeks preceding Christmas emotions are built up to a fever pitch: the shopping and baking, the plans to be made, and the endless commercials for the latest-and-greatest, all mixed in between the innumerable Christmas movies. To top it off, research shows that for many Christmas is one of the saddest times of the year. Not only sad memories of those who are no longer with them—but often the tragedies witnessed both in their families and in the world at large provide stark contrast to joy of the season. So, given the combination of too much emotion, too much excitement, too much to eat and to drink, and just the general chaos of the season…is it any wonder you might feel a slight letdown?
Certainly you and your family will receive wished-for presents, but will you receive the real gift at Christmas—the gift of Christ Himself? His peace, and joy, and presence in whom we find the only lasting source of Life. The true gift giver on this and every day is Christ, but you must include Him on your Christmas list—invite Him to be the most important part of your life and your family’s life. Amidst all of the worship and singing of our grace and our customs, plan to take personal and family time and ask the Savior, “Lord, come and dwell with my family and me this day. Be by our side so that we may know and walk with you throughout all our days.”
If you have eyes to see it, the world is flooded with His joy. If you have the heart to receive it, your life will be touched by His. And if you have faith to live it, He will be with you all your days, and all your hours. For behold, truly we all have been given good news of great joy – for unto us, if we will receive Him, is born into our hearts Christ the Savior. And if we will receive this gift for Christmas, all our days will be blessed.
So what do you really want to receive this Christmas? What will you allow God to give you this Christmas? Will it really be the gift of Himself—or in all the busyness of the season will you not take the time and really ask Him.
It’s up to you. At the end of it all, Christmas can just be “done” … or it can be done rightly.
Angels Appearing this Month
Plan to stay after the liturgy on Sunday, December 18 for the annual retelling of the story of Christ’s birth by our Church School. Our students will once again present a living icon based on the Nativity scriptures, complete with angels, shepherds, wise men, and assorted animals. You will not want to miss it!
Sunday School Begins this Week
Sunday School will commence this Sunday, September 11 for children in Kindergarten through grade 12. Classrooms are located in multiple locations on the church’s campus, but all classes begin with prayer in the Parish Hall at 9 a.m.
Volunteers are needed to assist teachers in one of the five classes (grades K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, and 9-12); those interested should plan to attend the first teacher meeting this Wednesday before Vespers and Litiya for the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos.
To register your child(ren) or for more information, please contact Dn. Mark Oleynik, Director of Christian Education.
Sunday School to Enjoy Day at Amusement Park
The Sunday School will enjoy a day at Delgrosso’s Amusement Park in Tipton (about 25 mins from State College) for a Sunday School Fun Day on Thursday, June 30!
All Sunday School student admission tickets to the park will be paid for from our Gertrude Hawk Candy Sale conducted earlier this year. All students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and are responsible for their children at all times.
The park is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Our group will meet at the entrance at 12:30 p.m. and enter the park together.
There are variety of rides and a water park. For more info you may visit the DelGrosso website or contact Deacon Mark Oleynik, Director of Christian Education.
