The Trisagion - December 2009
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The Monthly Newsletter of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church December 2009 Vol. 14, Number 12 GIVING THE GIFT OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE THIS CHRISTMASWe hear much about God's unconditional love, especially at Christmastime. But do we really know what unconditional love is? If we are not careful, we might miss the message of this season, lost midst visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads. This is no time for fairy tales, to be sure. As Dr. Ashley Null reflects, it all depends upon what "unconditional love" truly is. - Fr. John
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Rev. Dr. Ashley Null is canon theologian in the Episcopal Church. He is currently the Scaife-Anderson Fellow at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary in New York. RELIGIOUS LEADERS RELEASE HISTORIC DECLARATION- "We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right-and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation-to speak and act in defense of these truths. We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence." - "We recognize the duty to comply with laws whether we happen to like them or not, unless the laws are gravely unjust or require those subject to them to do something unjust or otherwise immoral." - "We will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriage or the equivalent or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family." On November 20, 2009, Metropolitan JONAH and Fr. Chad Hatfield, Chancellor of Saint Vladimir's Seminary, joined a group of more than 150 prominent Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christian clergy, ministry leaders and scholars in signing the Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience, a landmark document addressing the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and religious liberty. Signers of the 4,700-word proclamation pledged to adhere to their convictions, informing civil authorities that they will not - under any circumstance - abandon their consciences if the federal, state, and local government mandates abortion or any other anti-life act. The full declaration can be read at manhattandeclaration.org. Visitors to the Web site also have an opportunity to co-sign the statement. To date, more than 235,000 people have done so. ST. NICHOLAS GIFT TREE RETURNSBeginning this Sunday, December 6 we will again have the St. Nicholas Gift Tree in the Narthex adorned with ornament tags with gift requests from 40 people. The deadline for purchasing and dropping off gifts is Sunday, December 20. Thank you for your generous participation! Together, we can help brighten this Nativity season for needy families in our area. MATTHEW 25 THANKSGIVING DRIVE SPONSORS 28 FAMILIESBy God's Grace and your generosity, Holy Trinity provided a full-menu Thanksgiving meal to all 28 families (120 people in all) identified by our partner, Strawberry Fields. During the three week food drive, more than $1,400 in cash and $200 in food items were donated, enough to pay for the entire order and a grocery gift card for each family. Thank you to all those who donated food items, money, and their time to share with those less fortunate. GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS...Last month, Fr. Daniel Sysoyev, an active missionary, preacher, and writer, was brutally murdered at his parish church in Moscow. The day after his death, Patriarch KIRILL presided at his funeral and praised his missionary work, which was known throughout Russia. It is widely believed that Fr. Daniel will join the ranks of the new Russian martyrs, murdered by Islamic radicals as revenge for converting many Muslims to Orthodoxy. In a recent interview, Fr. Daniel spoke openly of his goal to convert non-Christians to Christ, which he admitted offended many: "The news that Orthodoxy is the universal faith, to which all nations are called, is still considered scandalous... [A missionary] should never hesitate to say that [he is] right and they are wrong... There should be rejection of falsity, but love for man." Speaking of her husband's death, Mat. Yulia Sysoyev echoed this sentiment: "Those who shot him wanted, as usual, to spit in the face of the Church, as once before they spat in the face of Christ. They have not achieved their goal, because it is impossible to spit in the face of the Church... They killed him like the prophet of old - between the temple and the altar and he was indeed found worthy of a martyr's calling. He died for Christ, Whom he served with all his strength." The forty-day memorial service takes place on December 29, the eve of Fr. Daniel's namesday and the patronal feast of the missionary church he was building in Moscow to minister to the large non-Christian, non-Russian expatriate community that lives there. COME CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS AT THE CHAPELA little more than two weeks after their second-ever Divine Liturgy on the Feast of St. Nicholas this Sunday, Chapel of the Holy Spirit members will gather once again for another Eucharistic commemoration on December 24. The service, which takes place at 2pm, begins a new tradition in the life of the community while holding fast to the Church's Tradition, which prescribes that the Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great be performed in the afternoon on the eve of Our Lord's three greatest Feasts (Nativity, Theophany, and Pascha). If you have not had an opportunity to experience this beautiful celebration, consider making a pilgrimage to 350 Old Orchard Road in Beavertown this Christmas Eve. It begins with the chanting of Vespers with its powerful "Lord, I Call" hymns ("The wall which divided God from man has been destroyed...") and eight prophetic readings from the Old Testament, culminating with Prophet Isaiah's account: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel." Immediately following the readings, the Divine Liturgy begins and we hear St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews ("...He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent Name than [the angels]"), announced by Psalm 2 ("The Lord said to me: Thou art my son, this day have I begotten Thee"), and followed by the Christmas narrative from St. Luke's gospel. Later, at the conclusion of Liturgy, the celebrant takes a lighted candle to the very center of the church and, surrounded by the entire congregation, intones the Festal Troparion and Kontakion. Visit the Chapel of the Holy Spirit's Web site (www.holyspirit-oca.org) for more information and directions. MEN'S BREAKFAST MINISTRY CONTINUESEach month, Holy Trinity hosts a breakfast in the Parish Hall for all of the men in the church to grow in fellowship with one another and meditate on the disciplines of a godly man. The gathering is free and open to newcomers. This month's event takes place on Saturday, December 12, at 9am. CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES!Many years to Katie Radomsky and Kat Atty, members of the Class of 2009 who will graduate Penn State this month. We wish you great success in all your future endeavors! DECEMBER SCHEDULES
HOLY DAYS IN DECEMBER
YOUR PRAYERS REQUESTEDPlease continue to fervently pray for the sick and suffering servant of God, Clay (Mark) Bond. POINSETTIAS FOR NATIVITYYou may offer poinsettias for the Nativity by signing the list in the narthex. Each plant is $10.00. FOR THE RECORDBaptisms
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