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February 2010

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Akathist Service

Father Harrison reads prayers in front of the Icon of the Virgin.

In some Orthodox Churches of the Russian Tradition the Presanctified Liturgy is celebrated both on Wednesday and Friday. Churches of the Greek Tradition celebrate the Akathist (salutations) to the Virgin Mary of Friday. An Akathist Hymn is a liturgical prayer of praise written about Christ, a certain saint or a need such as thanksgiving. The Akathist Hymn to the Virgin Mary portrays her as a compassionate mother who cares for us through her prayers. During Lent this is necessary because of the spiritual battle which we have undertaken.

We invite all to join us at St. Luke's on our lenten journey to Pascha. If you are unable to attend in person please visit "Journey To Pascha" on our website to follow along and for more information on the faith and services. Each year we try to update this part of our site with new pictures so you can look ahead or follow along as we progress towards Pascha.

Presantified Liturgy

Parishioners prostrate before the Light Of Christ.

On Wednesdays during Lent the Presanctified Liturgy is celebrated. The word Presanctified refers to Holy Communion which has been consecrated on the Sunday before and distributed at the Presanctified Liturgy. One of the special features of this liturgy is the solemn blessing with a single lighted candle by the Priest who announces "The Light of Christ illumines all!" The faithful make a prostration. The scriptural readings are from Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah and Proverbs signifying the preparatory nature of this service.

Fr. Andrew will be teaching from the Lenten Synaxarion , which is a volume of sermons written by the Church Fathers that describe the significance of each Presantified Liturgy and its role in our Lenten preparations for Pascha

Following the service all are invited to join in a pot luck lenten meal.

Sunday Of Orthodoxy

On the first Sunday of Lent, Orthodox Christians celebrate the official declaration of the 7th Ecumenical Council 787AD that the veneration of Icons is not the worship of images as the 2nd commandment describes. To celebrate the event, the parishioners of St. Luke held a procession of Icons, ( See Iconography) which circled the interior of the sanctuary while the choir sang the hymn of the event. At its conclusion the proclamation of Orthodoxy and Creed were recited.

Proclamation of Orthodoxy:

As the Prophets beheld, as the Apostles have taught, as the Church has received, as the Teachers have dogmatized, as the Universe has agreed, as grace has shown forth, as Truth has revealed, as Falsehood has been dissolved, as Wisdom has presented, as Christ awarded; Thus we declare, thus we assert, thus we preach Christ Our True God, and honor His Saints in words, in writings, in thoughts, in sacrifices, in Churches, in Holy Icons; On the one hand worshipping and reverencing Christ as God and Lord, and on the other, honoring the Saints as true servants of the same Lord of All, and offering them proper veneration.

This is the Faith of the Apostles,
This is the Faith of the Fathers,
This is the Faith of the Orthodox,
This is the Faith which has established the Universe.

The Reading of the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

Father Harrison reads the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete.

A canon is a liturgical poem divided into verses with a refrain. The Canon of St. Andrew, written in the 7th century, is divided into four sections, which are read on Monday through Thursday during Compline of the first week of Lent. St. Andrew, in composing the canon, traces the lives of people in the Bible who lived according to God's commandments with those who failed. By doing this, St. Andrew reminds us of our failings and need of repentance. An example of a verse with refrain is the following:

Solomon was carried away by gratification of his lust. Alas, he who loved wisdom now makes love to prostitutes and finds himself estranged from God. But in your every thought you have imitated him, O my soul, through your disgraceful love of luxury.

Refrain: Have mercy on me O God, have mercy on me.

During the reading the faithful make prostrations (a bow with the head to the floor)

Forgiveness Vespers

The first service of Great Lent is called Forgiveness Sunday Vespers. It is a standard Lenten weekday evening service. The verses sung refer to beginning Lenten fasting (Parish Info: Fasting) overcoming sin and of spiritual growth. The service ends with the prayer of St. Ephriam the Syrian that asks God to take away various passions and give various virues with a special emphasis on forgiveness. At the dismissal Father Andrew spoke about his own personal failings and asked for forgiveness and the parishioners asked each other for forgiveness while the choir sang the Paschal hymns.

St. Lukes Welcomes New Members

We had seven new members this year. At the new members ceremony, Fr. Andrew presented each new member with an Icon of St. Luke and then read a prayer of thanksgiving.

All of our new members were welcomed and introduced to the congregation with the words: "These new members are given to your care. Love them as Christ loves you. Help them mature in the faith so they may fulfill Christ command to preach the gospel."

This year we combined our new members dinner with a special fund raising event to support our mission team who will be going to Mexico to support St. Innocent's orphanage and to build houses for poor families. Here Fr. Andrew blesses the food.

So far we have 10 members, both teens and adults on the team. Michaelyn is the team leader and Fr. Andrew will be going as spiritual advisor. The team will be organizing additional fund raising events to cover Air Fare and expenses. They plan to leave for Mexico at the end of June.

The Seal Of The Holy Spirit

During the Liturgy Ambrose was Chrismated. He received the anointing of Holy Chrism which is the Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit. He converted from the Presbyterian Confession. He has been attending St. Luke regularly for almost two years and is a active participant in our Church school program. He is working on his Eagle Scout project at St. Luke.

St. Lukes Holds Annual Meeting And Elections

This week St Luke Parish held it's Annual Meeting. There were three items on the agenda which were all completed : the election of Parish Council officers, the acceptance 2010 budget and a motion the support ten missioners to travel to Mexico during the month of June.

Children's Sermon For February

In celebration of the feast of the Meeting of Our Lord, Fr. Andrew blessed candles and gave instructions on the use of candles and their meaning in Orthodox tradition.

He explained how candles symbolize the light of Christ and how we should have the light of Christ in us. The vigil candle which hangs in front of Icons tell us that the Saints have shown the light of Christ in their lives.

After the sermon Fr. Andrew gave blessed candles to all the children to remind them that they should show the light of Christ in their lives by doing works of charity like giving food and shelter to the poor. This was the theme of today's gospel on Meat Fare Sunday.

Saints Of America Iconography Project

Cheryl Pituch completed our new Icons shrine with twelve individual icons of American saints surrounding the Icon of St. Luke who is painting the Icon of the Theotokos of Tikvin. Each Icon will be blessed on the up-coming feast of the American Saint. The first one will be Saint Raphael of Brooklyn donated by the Kopulos family.

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