Christ is in our Midst!

He is and ever shall be!

September 6th to September 20th

Church School begins tomorrow, Sunday, September 7th!

Fasting Discipline

The traditional fasting discipline of no meat (including chicken/poultry and their by-products), cheese, eggs, milk and other dairy products, fish, wine and oil is observed on the Wednesdays and Fridays. On Sunday, September 14th because it is the Great Feast of the Elevation of the Life-giving Cross, the fasting discipline is the same as on Wednesdays and Fridays except that we can have wine and oil.

Divine Services

Saturdays, September 6th, 13th, and 20th, Great Vespers and Confessions will take place as normal beginning at 5pm.
On all Sundays, Divine Services take place as normal with Matins beginning at 8:50am followed by Divine Liturgy at 10am.

Events

Today, Saturday, September 6th, Samir and Nashwa Meshraky will have their marriage blessed at 4pm. Please keep them, along with those listed in the Daily Prayer section of the The VOICE, in your prayers.
This Sunday, September 7th, our Church School Education Program begins. A Parent Open House will take place after Divine Liturgy. Our Ladies Auxiliary will be hosting a Kick-Off Pancake Breakfast. All staff and students are free, while the cost for everyone else is a cheap $5. Thank you, Ladies!

Announcements

Our Bible Studies (Monday mornings in English 10am-12pm and Tuesday afternoons in Arabic/English 1pm-2:30pm begin on September 8th/9th. This year we are studying the Gospel of St. John. All are welcome to attend!
Our SOYO Wednesdays have begun and go from 7-9pm. It's a great time to be with each other, play games, watch TV or a movie, and/or do homework. For more information, please contact our SOYO president, Tamer Abuaita (tabuaita@aim.com).
Our Altar Servers will be having their annual MANDATORY meeting on Saturday, September 13th at 3pm. All boys 7 years and older are invited to participate. If you want to serve God's Holy Altar this year, you MUST attend the meeting. For more information, contact me, Fr. Joe (njja@aol.com).
Our Men's Fellowship begins on Monday, September 15th at 7pm. This is a new group that was started last year. ALL OF THE MEN of St. George are invited and encouraged to attend. We have a great time learning about our Orthodox Faith and enjoying each other's company.
Our Altar Society will meet on Tuesday, September 16th beginning with dinner at 6:30pm. This is a group that gets together once-a-month to learn about our Orthodox Faith, have fellowship, and during the year cleans and decorates for our Church's Feast Days. Anyone is invited to participate. For more information, please contact our coordinator, Sue Salomon (mishsks@AOL.com).
On Thursday, September 18th, we have our monthly Parish Council Dinner Meeting beginning at 6:15pm. Any parishioner is welcome to observe and make comments according to the agenda. For more information, please contact our chairman, Roger Isaac (dodger614@comcast.net).
Again, for your information and urgent attention, is Fr. David Barr's article on "Sunday Dress". Remember the time when people put on their “Sunday best” to go to church? In fact, dress clothes were often referred to as "church clothes". In some parts of the country, this is not common today. In fact, all too often, dress in church has become too casual. In all areas of our lives, we should offer Christ our best. And the same is true of our dress. We should offer Christ our “Sunday best”, not our everyday or common wear. And we should dress modestly, not in a flashy way that would bring attention to ourselves. Our dress should always be becoming of a Christian - especially at church. Here are some specific guidelines we should use in our parishes:
- Children: Only young children (under 10) should wear shorts to church — and then only dress shorts. Athletic shorts, cut-offs, and spandex shorts are never appropriate church wear (for children or adults!). Shoes or sandals should be clean and tied. No one should wear T-shirts with any kind of writing on them (“This Bud’s for You!” is definitely out).
- Women: Dresses should be modest. No tank tops or dresses with only straps at the shoulders, no short skirts (mini-skirts), and no skin-tight dresses. Dresses should have backs and not be cut low in the front. If women wear pants to church, they should be dress pants (not jeans, leggings, etc.). Shorts of any type are not appropriate for church.
- Men: Men should also dress modestly. While coat and tie are not mandatory, shirts should have collars and be buttoned to the collar (the actual collar button may be left undone, but two or three buttons undone is inappropriate). Slacks should be cleaned and pressed. Jeans (of any color) are usually too casual for church, especially ones with patches or holes. Again, shorts are not appropriate church wear. If you're going somewhere after church where you need to dress casually, bring a change of clothing with you and change after coffee hour. Remember, use your best judgment and good taste when dressing for church. After all, you don’t go to be seen by everyone else — you go to meet and worship God.

Below is a summary of our celebration of the The Miracle of the Holy Chief Commander Archangel Michael at Colossae which we remember on this day.

God bless you and be with you always!

Love,

Fr. Joe

The Miracle of the Holy Chief Commander Archangel Michael at Colossae.

In Phrygia, not far from the city of Hieropolis, in a place called Cheretopos, there was a church named for the Archangel Michael, built over a miraculous spring.

This church was built by a certain inhabitant of the city of Laodicia in gratitude to God for healing his mute daughter. The holy Chief Commander Michael appeared to this man in a dream and revealed to him that his daughter would receive the gift of speech after drinking from the water of the spring. The girl actually did receive healing and began to speak. After this miracle, the father and his daughter and all their family were baptized. In fervent gratitude, the father built the church in honor of the holy Chief Commander Michael. Not only did Christians begin to come to the spring for healing, but also pagans. In so doing, many of the pagans turned from their idols and were converted to the faith in Christ.

At this church of the holy Chief Commander Michael, a certain pious man by the name of Archippus served for sixty years as church custodian. By his preaching and by the example of his saintly life he brought many pagans to faith in Christ. With the general malice of that time towards Christians, and especially against Archippus, the pagans thought to destroy the church in order to prevent people from coming to that holy place of healing, and at the same time kill Archippus.

Toward this end they made a confluence of the Lykokaperos and Kufos Rivers and directed its combined flow against the church. St Archippus prayed fervently to the Chief Commander Michael to ward off the danger. Through his prayer the Archangel Michael appeared at the temple, and with a blow of his staff, opened a wide fissure in a rock and commanded the rushing torrents of water to flow into it. The temple remained unharmed. Seeing such an awesome miracle, the pagans fled in terror. Archippus and the Christians gathered in church glorifying God and gaving thanks to the holy Archangel Michael for his help. The place where the rivers plunged into the fissure received the name "Chonae", which means "plunging."