Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church
21 Evergreen Road
Lyndora, PA 16045
PeterAndPaulOCLyndora.5u.com
Rector: Father Paisius McGrath
Parish Board President: Keith McCarthy
Choir Director: Robert Shott
Cantor: Hope Burka
Reader: John Franchuk
May 17, 2009
THE FIRST EVANGELIST
The story of the Samaritan Woman is one that is familiar to all of us. While
passing through the town of Sychar, Christ is weary from His journey and sits at
the town well while His Apostles go into the city to buy food. He strikes up a
conversation with a woman and before their verbal exchange is completed, she fully
understands that she is speaking to the Messiah: the One Who can offer her “living water.”
The tradition of the Holy Orthodox Church is that this Samaritan Woman, later
baptized and given the name “Photini” meaning “the enlightened one,” was the first person
to evangelize, or spread the news about Christ. This is based on the words of John 4:39:
“And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the
woman who testified: “He told me all that I had ever done.” Along with her two sons and
five daughters, Photini went to Carthage, where she preached the Good News of Christ’s
Resurrection. They were soon arrested and taken to Rome, where the emperor Nero placed
the men in prison and had Photini and her daughters enslaved in his imperial court.
Photini and her family were tortured relentlessly by the ruthless ruler. Still, their faith
never wavered, and their examples caused others to convert to Christianity as well.
Eventually, Photini and her children were all martyred. Ironically, Photini met her end by
being thrown down a well, refusing until her dying breath to renounce the Savior she had
met at a well many years before.
The Orthodox Weekly Bulletin........Vestal, Cliffwood, New Jersey........Litho in U.S.A.
Xристос Воскрес! Воістину воскрес!!
Today’s Commemorated Feasts and Saints: 5th Sunday of Pascha- Tone 4 and Sunday of the Samaritan Woman
TROPARION FOR THE RESURRECTION- TONE 4
When the women Disciples of the Lord learned from the Angel the joyous message of the Resurrection, they cast away the ancestral curse and elatedly told the Apostles:
“ Death is overthrown! Christ God is risen, granting the world great mercy!”
TROPARION FOR THE MIDFEAST OF PENTECOST- TONE 8
In the middle of the feast, O Savior, fill my thirsting soul with the waters of piety as You cried to all: “ If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink!” O Christ God, Fountain of our life, glory to You!
KONTAKION FOR SUNDAY OF THE SAMARITAN WOMAN- TONE 8
The Samaritan Woman came to the well in faith; she saw You, the Water of wisdom and drank abundantly. She inherited the Kingdom on high, and is ever glorified!
KONTAKION FOR THE MIDFEAST OF PENTECOST- TONE 4
Christ God, the Creator and Master of all, cried to all in the midst of the feast of the Law: “ Come and draw the water of immortality!” We fall before You and faithfully:
“ Grant us Your mercies, for You are the Fountain of our life!”
PROKEIMENON- TONE 3
Sing praises to our God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King sing praises!
V: Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
Sing praises to our God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King sing praises!
TODAY’S EPISTLE READING IS FROM THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 11:19-26, 29-30
Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenecia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number turned to the Lord. Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch
When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
TODAY’S GOSPEL READING IS FROM ST. JOHN 4:5-42
So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “ Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “ How is that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
Jesus answered and said to her, “ If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘ Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock. Jesus answered and said to her, “ Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” The woman said to Him, “ Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw water.” Jesus said to her, ‘ Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered and said, “ I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “ You have well said, ‘ I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship. Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. The woman said to Him, “ I know that the Messiah is coming”(who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
Jesus said to her, “ I who speak to you am He.” And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “ What do you seek?” or “ Why are You talking with her?” Then the woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city and said to the men, “ Come, see a Man who told me all the things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” Then they went out of the city and came to Him. In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “ Rabbi, eat.” But He said to them, “ I have food to eat of which you do not know.” Therefore the disciples said to one another, “ Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”
Jesus said to them, “ My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘ There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: ‘ One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”
And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “ He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, “ Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”
We welcome all who are worshiping with us this morning. We offer a reminder that this morning following Divine Liturgy we will enjoy together our annual Mother’s Day Luncheon.
Please continue to pray for all our parish shut-ins and all those who are unable to be with us this morning. If anyone needs Father Paisius for any reason, please call him at
724-287-4448 or 724-549-6651(cell).
Please remember in your prayers:
- A blessed reposed for the newly departed servant of God, Helen Medwid.
- The newborn servant of God, Marlenna Rosalia Hassler, her parents Chad and Adrianne, and her brother Caden.
- Helen Boss as she continues to recover after surgery to repair a blocked artery.
- John Napora as he continues to recover at Sunnyview.
- Gloria Lonchena for recovery of her health.
- Rostyslav Dowbenko for recovery of his health.
- Ann Lenyk for her continued good health.
- Lovie Tymkiw as she continues to recover at home.
- Rose Hnatko for the continued recovery of her health.
- Stephen Sheptak for the recovery of his health.
- Our parishioners living at Sunnyview: Katherine Duke, Mary De Marco, Marian Wetick, Helen Sewanich and Ann Miller.
- Hope Burka for her continued recovery.
- Dorothy Cygan for her continued good health.
- Kathryn Tymkiw for her continued good health.
- Helen Lonchena for her continued good health.
- Harry Hnatko for his continued good health.
- Patty Prokopchak for her continued good health.
- Helen Olenic for her continued good health.
- Mary Boss for her continued good health.
- Carolyn Cehily for her continued good health.
- Eva Bilowich for her continued good health.
- Marie Howryla for her continued good health.
- Helen Wasilk for her continued good health.
- Michael Romanyshyn for his continued good health.
- Emil and Ann Russo for their continued good health.
- Rhea Jean Roxbury for her continued good health.
- All others in our extended families who are sick and suffering.
- For the continued spiritual growth and health of our parish.
SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING DIVINE SERVICES
Saturday, May 23, NO GREAT VESPERS
Sunday, May 24, 6th Sunday of Pascha and Sunday of the Man Born Blind
- Divine Liturgy 10 am
SCHEDULE OF OTHER UPCOMING PARISH EVENTS
Wednesday, May 20, Ladies Guild Dinner
- 6:30 pm
COFFEE HOUR SCHEDULE FOR MAY
Sunday, May 24, Mary McCarthy and Barbara Lesney(Junior UOL)
Sunday, May 31, Senior UOL Chapter Group(Senior UOL)
Parish news and updates
This morning we offer a special thanks to all those who worked together to provide the Mother’s Day Luncheon we will be enjoying today. We encourage everyone to join us following Divine Liturgy as we honor the mothers of our parish in this very special way.
This morning we call everyone’s attention to the change in our Ladies Guild Dinner this week from Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm to Wednesday evening at 6:30 pm.
This morning we offer our thanks to everyone who joined us this past week for our Parish Pirohi Sale. Many thanks to all who worked very diligently once again to help with this very important part of the life of our parish. Our next Pirohi sale- the last before our summer break- will be on Thursday-Friday, May 28-29 and we encourage everyone to join us once again as we work and have fellowship together for the good of our parish.
Every year there is an opportunity for each of us to express something about our faith in writing by taking part in the Annual Ukrainian Orthodox League Essay Contest. In past years numerous members of our community have been honored to take part in this endeavor. This year’s deadline is fast approaching and we’ve received a reminder that, as previously announced, these essays need to be postmarked by May 30, and those who want to take part in this please speak with Father Paisius or Rose Raith for further information.
While we are thinking about the UOL, we offer a reminder that this year the Annual UOL Convention will be hosted by Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Youngstown, Ohio from July 22-26. We encourage more participation from our members at this wonderful event and those who are interested in attending, please see Father Paisius for a registration form. This is a wonderful and inspiring way in which we can continue to participate in the life of our Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA.
This morning as we are drawing closer to the summer months, we offer a reminder that beginning on Sunday, June 7 our Divine Liturgy on Sundays will start at 9 am through the first Sunday in September. Please make a note of this and plan accordingly.
As we head into the summer months, we also remind everyone that we need volunteers to help with keeping the grounds of our parish beautiful and well kept.
This morning we again urge everyone to consider joining us when we offer Divine services during the week. These are opportunities given to us by our Holy Orthodox Church to help us to grow spiritually as we practice our faith through the rich liturgical heritage which we have as Orthodox Christians. COME AND JOIN US!!
This morning we wish to announce that we are looking for volunteers to join us when we have divine services during the week to help our choir to sing responses. We really need everyone to be willing to participate in this aspect of the life of our parish as we are able. As we seek to continue the liturgical life of our parish we need everyone who is able to participate and not just imagine that “others” will do this for us. PLEASE COME AND HELP!!!!
As we continue in the Paschal season, we offer a reminder to everyone that because of the joyous nature of this season there is no kneeling in Church until Pentecost on Sunday, June 7.
MAY THE LORD OUR GOD GRANT TO HIS SERVANTS, ALL THE FAITHFUL OF SS. PETER AND PAUL UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND ALL OUR VISITORS TODAY, PEACE, HEALTH AND SALVATION AND MAY HE SAFEGUARD AND KEEP US ALL FOR MANY YEARS.
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE FOLLOWING UPCOMING EVENTS
WEDNESDAY, MAY 20
ST. MARY MAGDALENE LADIES GUILD ANNUAL DINNER
6:30 PM UKRAINIAN HALL 2ND FLOOR
We invite all members of our Ladies Guild to set aside this evening to join us for our Annual Ladies Guild Dinner. Come join us for an evening of electing new officers, good food and wonderful fellowship as we mark the end of another year for our beloved St. Mary Magdalene Ladies Guild.
