Services for July 2009

Sat. 4th 6pm Great Vespers.
Sun.5th 10am Matins; 11am Divine Liturgy.

Sat. 11th 6pm Great Vespers.
Sun.12th 10am Matins; 11am Divine Liturgy.

Sat. 18th Pilgrimage to Croyland: 11am Divine Liturgy and picnic;
2pm Akathist to Saint Guthlac and Veneration of the relic of St. Theodore, martyred abbot of Croyland.
6pm Priestless Vespers at St. Michael's..
Sun.19th 10am Matins; 11am Divine Liturgy.

Sat. 25th 6pm Great Vespers.
Sun.26th 10am Matins; 11am Divine Liturgy.

Namedays in July.

10th Alexandra Joy; Alexandra Warden.
12th Veronica Dobson; Veronica Warden.
17th Rita.
18th Elizabeth Nash; Dara Elizabeth Davidchack
20th Monk Elias; Ghassan Ayoub.
22nd Magdalene.
24th Anca.

Reposed

26th James Arthur.

Patronal Feasts .

17th St. Marina : Longton and Grimsby.

Advance notices.

Saturday 8th August : Pilgrimage to Ilam.
11am Divine Liturgy and picnic. 2.30pm Blessing of the Waters. 4pm Great Vespers.

Saturday 15th August:
Feast of the Dormition of our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-virgin Mary.
11am Divine Liturgy followed by Parish AGM with election of Parish Council.

TIME TO BUILD

This is a sermon from St John the Wonderworker in 1962. He was referring specifically, at that time, to the construction of the "Joy of All Who Sorrow" Cathedral in San Francisco, yet his words are timeless. It is always a time to build.Some people are saying: "The time is not come to build the Lord's house". Among them are many who are buying houses for themselves, who live in their own houses in full satisfaction of their material needs, or who are selling their homes to move into better and better dwellings, increasing their assets. It is understandable when such words are heard from unbelievers. But how can they be repeated by believers who themselves go to church? A church is a place that is consecrated, holy, in which there always dwells the grace of God. At the consecration of Solomon's temple, the glory of the Lord in the appearance of a cloud filled the house of God. So it was in the Old Testament temple. How much more powerfully does the grace of God act in the temples of the New Testament, where there is offered a true cleansing from sin, where we partake of the true Body and Blood of Christ, where, during the Divine Liturgy, the Holy Spirit continually descends upon the Gifts being consecrated and upon the people present? One can pray anywhere, and God hears prayers from anywhere. But it's much easier to pray in a church where everything is conducive to prayer. From there our prayers ascend to God, and the mercies of God are sent down upon us.The construction of a church is a sacrifice to God; to allocate a parcel of land for church services is to sacrifice to God part of your personal possessions, but most of all it is a gift of your love, your zeal.Churches are not needed by God Whose throne is heaven and Whose footstool is the earth; it is we who need them. It is we who benefit from donating towards the building of churches, although the Lord accepts not so much the substance of our alms, as much as He does our zeal; the quality of our effort. Christ approved the widow's mite, saying that she had given more than anybody else, for the rich cast in a great deal from their abundance, but she gave all she had, all her livelihood. Those alms we give in the name of God are received by God Himself. Spiritually, our alms are laid up in the treasuries of heaven, God's treasuries, from which nobody can steal them away. If someone steals any church possession, he steals from God Himself and the Lord God Himself punishes him.At each Liturgy, those who contributed to the building of the church are commemorated. In building churches here on earth, we create for ourselves eternal habitations in heaven. Decades will pass, our bodies will decay, perhaps our very bones will turn to dust, but our souls will live eternally. Happy will they be who prepare for their souls a dwelling in the heavenly mansions. Even if the churches, which are built, fall into ruins, the names of those who contributed to their construction will be written in God's eternal books, and the prayers that arose from within these churches will be sealed.

Copied from the Website of St. George Orthodox Information Service (www.sgois.co.uk).

Parish AGM in August

This will be after the Liturgy of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos on Saturday 15th August. At this meeting we shall elect four members of our parish to serve on the church council for four years.
Our Trustees have done a marvellous job over the last fifteen years and their hard work, generosity and prayerful support have helped in the establishing of a vigorous and friendly family at St. Michael's.
Fr. Samuel, as chairman, the treasurer of the Trustees and two others will be ex officio members of the Council, leaving four others to be elected to serve on the Council. A notice will be posted in the refreshment room on Sunday 28th June and taken down on Sunday 26th July. If you would like to be considered for election, find a proposer and seconder and put up your name indicating your willingness to stand. If more than four names are put up, then there will be an election by ballot at the AGM on 15th August.
To be eligible for election you must be a member of St. Michael's church, twenty-one years of age, a "believer and a devout church-goer, known for his moral conduct and good behaviour" and able to perform effective service to the Parish. We should expect to meet quarterly. The Trustees are still legally responsible for St. Michael's, but, I am sure, will be grateful for extra help.

May God the Holy Spirit guide and protect us all.