• On both Saturdays, January 10th and 17th, Great Vespers and Confessions will be celebrated as normal beginning at 5pm..
• On Sundays, Divine Services will take place as normal with Matins beginning at 8:50am followed by Divine Liturgy at 10am.

• 2009 Offering Form  We have been asking all of our 249 families to fill out their form and send it to the church.  The minimum suggested offering should be at least 3% of your income with the understanding that the goal for Orthodox Christians is to follow our Lord's command of offering 10% of our income to His Church!  Please remember this when filling out your form.  We have 54 families who have responded with an offering total of $58,975.  Our Offering Goal and 2009 Budget is $219,810 -- we have a long way to go to reach this -- please fill out your form today -- thank you! .  
• Restoration/Improvement Fund   Everyone received a letter about this new fundraiser.  All families are asked to offering a minimum of $100 each for needed upkeep of our Church Complex.  When making this offering, please remember it is above and beyond your regular offerings.   
• This year, we remembered St. Basil the Great with the traditional of making (thank you Deacon Mike and Pam!) and giving a piece of St. Basil's Bread (Vasilopita in Greek) to all present last Sunday.  Many blessings to Suad Gantous and Ramzi Abueita who received St. Basil's coins
• Our Book Club is meeting tomorrow, Thursday, January 8 at 7pm.  They are reading the book On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius.  For more information, contact Deacon Mike at FrDnMike@chartermi.net.
• Our Church School classes are getting together with Fr. Joe on Saturdays this year beginning at 3:30pm.  This coming Saturday, January 10th, I will be with the 8th Grade Class and the following Saturday, January 17th, I will be with the 7th Grade Class  Those you have not had confession in the last 2 months, can do so at this time.
• Our Altar Society will be having their annual Zalabee Sunday this coming Sunday, January 11th, as we continue to celebrate the feast of our Lord's Epiphany (Theophany or Baptism).  After Coffee Fellowship, members will be taking down the Christmas decorations.Our Parish Council will be having their monthly dinner meeting next Thursday, January 15th beginning at 6:15pm.  Just a reminder for members to bring ideas of cutting costs and also items for the Wish List. 

Announcements

• International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC)  This coming Sunday, January 11, Metropolitan Philip and Bishop Mark have requested we have a 2nd Offering Tray for the victims of the violence in Gaza and to send it to IOCC.  IOCC has been working in a number of areas, including Gaza, for a number of years.  Please keep all those who are suffering in your prayers and be as generous as possible to help those in need.  
• Tonight, and every Wednesday, is SOYO Wednesday from 7-9pm.  Our teens have a great time being with each other, playing games, watching TV or a movie, and/or doing their homework.  For more information, please contact our SOYO president, Tamer Abuaita (tabuaita@aim.com).
• St. George Web Page at http://www.forministry.com/USMIAOCARSGSGS/!  Deacon Michael has been spending a lot of time getting this up and running -- thank you Dn. Mike!   It's a work in progress, but all of our church Departments and Organizations are encouraged to send him information (FrDnMike@chartermi.net) and he'll add it to our page.  There are a few interesting things up there already -- check it out and visit as often as you can!
• I have begun House Blessings.  Please fill out the form in The VOICE or call the office as soon as possible to be added to the list.
• Below is a summary of yesterday's Great Feast of the Theophany (Epiphany or Baptism) of our Lord which we continue to celebrate until January 14th.

Love,

Fr. Joe

Theophany is the Feast which reveals the Most Holy Trinity to the world through the Baptism of the Lord (Mt.3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22). God the Father spoke from Heaven about the Son, the Son was baptized by the St John the Forerunner, and the Holy Spirit descended upon the Son in the form of a dove. From ancient times this Feast was called the Day of Illumination and the Feast of Lights, since God is Light and has appeared to illumine "those who sat in darkness," and "in the region of the shadow of death" (Mt.4:16), and to save the fallen race of mankind by grace.

In the ancient Church it was the custom to baptize catechumens at the Vespers of Theophany, so that Baptism also is revealed as the spiritual illumination of mankind.

The origin of the Feast of Theophany goes back to Apostolic times, and it is mentioned in The Apostolic Constitutions (Book V:13). From the second century we have the testimony of St Clement of Alexandria concerning the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, and the night vigil before this Feast.

There is a third century dialogue about the services for Theophany between the holy martyr Hippolytus and St Gregory the Wonderworker. In the following centuries, from the fourth to ninth century, all the great Fathers of the Church: Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, Ambrose of Milan, John of Damascus, commented on the Feast of Theophany.

The monks Joseph the Studite, Theophanes and Byzantios composed much liturgical music for this Feast, which is sung at Orthodox services even today. St John of Damascus said that the Lord was baptized, not because He Himself had need for cleansing, but "to bury human sin by water," to fulfill the Law, to reveal the mystery of the Holy Trinity, and finally, to sanctify "the nature of water" and to offer us the form and example of Baptism.

On the Feast of the Baptism of Christ, the Holy Church proclaims our faith in the most sublime mystery, incomprehensible to human intellect, of one God in three Persons. It teaches us to confess and glorify the Holy Trinity, one in Essence and Indivisible. It exposes and overthrows the errors of ancient teachings which attempted to explain the Creator of the world by reason, and in human terms.

The Church shows the necessity of Baptism for believers in Christ, and it inspires us with a sense of deep gratitude for the illumination and purification of our sinful nature. The Church teaches that our salvation and cleansing from sin is possible only by the power of the grace of the Holy Spirit, therefore it is necessary to preserve worthily these gifts of the grace of holy Baptism, keeping clean this priceless garb, for "As many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ" (Gal 3:27).

On the day of Theophany, all foods are permitted, even if the Feast falls on a Wednesday or Friday.

• Our Bible Studies (Monday mornings in English 10am-12pm and Tuesday afternoons in Arabic/English 12:30pm-2pm) will take place as normal.  This year we are studying the Gospel of St. John.  All are welcome to attend!