Our Offerings to the Lord
The collection taken during the Liturgy is part of our worship. In the liturgy, we offer ourselves totally to the Lord—our lives, our prayers, our gifts of bread and wine, and our financial gifts. Last Sunday, 58 people were in church. Our offering was $419 in the collection, $240 in donations, $500 in stole offerings, $11 for candles, and $150 by mail. Not everyone can make the same size gift, but everyone can make the same size sacrifice. Many thanks for your generosity.
Good Attendance at Vespers for the Dormition
Fifteen people came to pray Great Vespers on the evening of 14 August in cele-bration of the Great Feast of the Dormition (“Koemesis” in Greek, “Falling Asleep” in English) of the Mother of God. The story of this feast is found in the Protoevangelion of St James, which is not included in the canon of the Bible. The Latin Church celebrates this feast under the name of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Congratulations to Lena Zaatri and Family
We congratulate Lena Zaatri, daughter of Suheil and Amira Zaatri, who received the Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist at the Divine Liturgy on 3 August 2008. In the United States we follow the ancient tradition of receiving all three of the Holy Mysteries of Christian Initiation (Bap-tism, Eucharist, and Chrismation) at the same time, but when Lena was baptized in Nazareth, this was not done. Many thanks to Diakonissa Nadera Bshouty, who prepared Lena to receive the Holy Eucharist.
Congratulations to Newlyweds
Mr & Mrs Ramsey Zeidan and Mr & Mrs John Massoud
We congratulate Ramsey and Janan Zeidan, who were married in Nazareth on 3 August 2008 and are living in San Jose. Ramsey is the son of Samir and Nadia Zeidan of St Elias parish. We also congratulate John and Leah Massoud, who were married by Fr James in Houston, Texas, on 8 August 2008. John is the son of Fathi and Maro Massoud of St Elias. John and Leah will live in Quincy, Mas-sachusetts; both of them are dental students at Tufts University in Boston. May God grant them all long life, good health, strong children, and deep faith!
Get Your Copy of The Melkite Handbook Now
Do you ever wonder how to explain to people that the Melkite Church is like the Orthodox Church but Catholic? Do you want to know where to find a Melkite church when you travel in the United States? Would you like to have a brief summary of key beliefs of our Church? The Melkite Handbook, a new publication of our diocesan Office of Educational Services, can answer these and many other questions for you. Illustrated with many color photographs, this little book describes our common church practices, such as what to do when a child is born, how to go to confession, what to do when someone is sick, how to plan for marriage, preparing for a Christian end to life, and what to do when someone has died. The Melkite Handbook also explains where the Melkites come from, with a brief history of our church in the Middle East, in America, and around the world. It describes our approach to evangelization, prayer, fasting, and charity, as well as the Divine Liturgy and other church services. It includes a list of resources for those who would like to learn more. Every household in our church should have a copy of The Melkite Handbook. Get yours from Fr James for only $5 each.
St George Church 30th Anniversary August 31
St George Melkite-Greek Catholic Church in Sacramento will celebrate its 30th anniversary on the last weekend in August with many special guests, including Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros. It will also be the celebration of the 30th anni-versary of priesthood of Archimandrite Mark Melone, pastor of St George Church. Father James will attend the festivities; St George’s is where he joined the Melkite Church and where he was ordained Deacon and Priest. Abouna George Khoury will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at St Elias Church while Fr James is in Sacramento. St George parish was founded in 1978 by Archiman-drite Maximos Chalhoub. After him, priests serving the parish have been Ar-chimandrite Maximos Mardelli, Fr August Deasio, Archimandrite James Bab-cock, Fr Basil Adcock, Fr Kenneth Sherman, and Archimandrite Mark Melone.
Good Steward Bakes Holy Bread for Liturgy
The bread we offer in our celebration of the Divine Liturgy is made specially, not purchased from a bakery or supplier. Many thanks to Elham Khoury, who has baked the special Holy Bread (qurban) for the Divine Liturgy. Because the bread becomes the pure and holy Body of Christ, it must be made only from wheat flour, water, and yeast, without flavorings, fats, or sweeteners. It also is stamped or sealed with a special design to guide the priest in cutting it and pray-ing for the Church, living, and dead. In our Byzantine tradition, we understand the bread as the body of the Living God, so it must be raised by the action of living yeast. In the Latin tradition, the bread is unleavened like the Passover bread Jesus used at the Last Supper.
Be Careful of Our Neighbors’ New Fence
Our neighbors on Hyland Avenue have erected a new fence to replace the damaged fence. When parking your cars, please be very careful not to hit the new fence. We want to respect our neighbors and to enjoy their friendship.
Planning Begins for Our 25th Anniversary Celebration
St Elias Church was founded in January 1984 (as St Joseph Mission) by Ar-chimandrite Maximos Mardelli, who was assigned by Archbishop Joseph Tawil to move from St George Church in Sacramento to San Jose to take care of the Middle-Eastern Christians in the Santa Clara Valley. In January 2009, St Elias will celebrate our 25th Anniversary. Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros will join us for this happy event, which will include the service of Great Vespers on Satur-day 31 January 2009 in the Cathedral Basilica of St Joseph in downtown San Jose. The Most Rev. Patrick J. McGrath, Latin Catholic Bishop of San Jose, and other clergy will join our celebration. Following the Vespers service will be our Anniversary Banquet at the Fairmont Hotel. Archbishop Cyril will cele-brate the Divine Liturgy at St Elias Church on the next day, Sunday 1 February 2009. Make your plans now to be part of this joyful celebration. We will also publish a commemorative book featuring a photo history of our parish. If you have photos from the history of St Elias—liturgies, weddings, baptisms, din-ners, construction projects, etc.—dig them out and share them in the book.
About Offerings for Services
It is customary to make an offering to the church in thanksgiving for the cele-bration of services such as Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals, and Memorial. The Parish Advisory Council and the Pastor have established guidelines for these offerings in two categories: one for members of the parish (those who are reg-istered and contribute regularly), and another for non-members. The offering to the parish should be made whether the service is celebrated in St Elias Church or in another church. It is also customary and appropriate to give the priest a gift in appreciation of his time and effort, but this is in addition to the donation to the church. The following offerings are recommended: for active, contributing members—$150 for Baptisms, $150 for Funerals, $300 for Wed-dings, and $50 for Forty-Day Memorials; for non-members—$300 for Bap-tisms, $300 for Funerals, $600 for Weddings, and $100 for Memorials.
Pray for Your Church Every Day
When we talk about supporting our church, it is easy to think only of financial support. And that is important, of course. But another important way to sup-port your church—maybe an even more important way—is to pray for it every day. It will help our parish and it will change your life.
14th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. HOLY MARTYR MYRON. CELEBRATION OF THE DORMITION OF THE MOST HOLY THEOTOKOS. (Tone 5)
Apostolos: 2 Cor. 1:21-2:4 Gospel: Matthew 22:2-14
ORTHROS (MORNING PRAYER)
DIVINE LITURGY OF OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM for the parish family; for Christian unity; for peace in the world; for the priests GEORGE, RON, CONRAD, DENNIS, JAMES, JIM, JUSTIN, PETER, BERNARD, MICHAEL, HOWARD, DAVID, KEN; for the deacons CARL, NADER, JAMES, KYRILL, MOSES, GERALD; for SISTER JOAN PANELLA SND and SISTER MARY ANN SOCHA CMGT, celebrating 50 years of Re-ligious Life; for JOSEPHINE FARIS, SARAH GEORGE, YOLANDE DAWALIBY, SALWA, MARGE, MILDRED, AMANDA, ADELINE, GENEVIEVE, NAOMI, FRAN, MARY, MARGARET, JANET, DONNA, LAILA ZAKHER, SHAWN, SAMI, MICHEL, HILDA & JERRY, ROSE, LUCY, GHASSAN, CLAIRE, CHESTER & GLORIA, BR. JOHN, SR NINA, ABU-HALIM, JOSEPHINE, SAMIRA, RAY & NADIA, ELIAS HAGGAR & FAMILY; MIMI, ROBERT & PETER; JULIET, VICTORIA, VERONIQUE & GEORGES BOSERET, JOSEPH & SOUAD, SAMIR & SUZAN, EDDIE & NANCY, NADA, GEORGE HADDAD & FAMILY; JOSEPH, JACK, the infant MICHAEL, DOROTHY, STEPHEN & PATTI, GEORGETTE; MARY, AMAL & GEORGE & FAMILY; OPHELIA, LAURE; JEANETTE; DEANNA, ANTOINETTE, ADEL, MONIQUE, ABDALLAH, GEORGE & ISIS, RAFIK, MAHER & THERESE, KAMAL & EUGENIE, BENJAMIN, YOLANDE, FATHI & MARO, GINO, JOHN, MARK, ADAM, FRANCIS, GENE & ERIKA, EVA, ELAINE, SHIRLEY, MARGARET, JASON, MICHAEL, DONALD & NORA, WAYNE, DOUGLAS, ROSEANNE, ROSE, MARIAN, LINDA, ZAIDA, DOROTHY & MILLARD, ANDY, SUSAN, HELEN, VIRGINIA & BILL, DEBORAH, NADJA HADDAD & FAMILY; NABIL DAMOUNY & FAMILY. .
15th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. HOLY HIERO-MARTYR EUTYCHES, DISCIPLE OF ST JOHN THE THEOLOGIAN. (Tone 6).
ORTHROS (MORNING PRAYER)
DIVINE LITURGY OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM for the health and salvation of SISTER MARY ANN SOCHA (Golden Jubilee in Religious Life) and JOHN & LEAH MASSOUD (newly married).
Apostolos: 2 Cor. 4:6-15 Gospel: Matthew 22:35-46
