Just a few things:

1. Great Vespers this Saturday. Divine Liturgy this Sunday. Confessions and the reading of the Hours is at 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

2. Mother’s Day. Holy Cross is accepting donations towards the purchase of 10 comforters for W.I.S.H (Women in Second Stage Housing). W.I.S.H. Inc. is a non-profit charitable organization that provides women and their children affected by domestic violence with secure and safe on-site housing, individual and group therapeutic counselling, support programs, advocacy, and connection with community resources.

You may make your donations to Holy Cross, specifying that you are donating towards the WISH project and a tax receipt will be issued. We will be collecting donations towards our Mother’s Day project all for the month of May. You can give your donation to Dave and he will see that you get your tax receipt.

3. Vestments. Holy Cross recently purchased a set of purple vestments and are purchasing a set of red vestments in recognition of our upcoming 10th Anniversary. Any donations to help off-set the cost of purchasing these items would be greatly appreciated. Holy Cross is, as many of you that read this email bulletin, a small mission parish. We do rely greatly upon the kind generosity and support from not just our membership, but from the friends of our mission as well. We are always extremely greatful for the kindness you have shown our mission in the past and hope you will consider making a donation towards our purchase of the vestments.

You may make your donations to Holy Cross, specifying that you are donating towards the vestments and a tax receipt will be issued. Once again, you can give Dave your donation and he will see that you get a tax receipt.

4. Going to share with you a story about Samuel S. Scull. Mr. Scull settled on a farm in the Arizon desert with his wife and children.

One night a fierce desert storm struck with rain, hail and high wind. At daybreak, feeling sick and fearing what he might find, Samuel went to survery their loss.

The hail had beaten the garden and truck patch into the ground; the house wa partially unroofed; the henhouse had blown away, and dead chickens were scattered about. Destruction and devestation were everywhere.

While standing dazed, evaluating the mess and wondering about the future, he heard a stirring in the lumber pile that was the remains of the henhouse. A rooster was climbing up through the debris, and he didn’t stop climbing until he had mounted the hightest board in the pile. That old rooster was dripping wet, and most of his feathers were blown away. But as the sun came over the eastern horizon, he flapped his bony wings and proudly crowed.

So what is the point of the story? And before I get to it, let me tell you, I am not a fan of chickens. Not since I got cornered by one in the chicken coop on my baba’s farm when I was 7 years old. That mean old chicken had me cornered and I just stood there helpless until my 4 foot tall baba came into the coop, grabbed the chicken by the neck, and the next thing I knew we were having roast chicken for supper that night. I was a delicate flower. My baba rocked.

The point of the story, besides sharing the traumas of my childhood, is this: That old, wet and battered rooster could still crow when he saw the morning sun. And like that rooster, our world may be falling apart at times, we may have lost everything, we may feel like have been tossed around by the storm, but if we trust in God, truly trust in Him, we will always be able to see the light of God’s goodness. We will be able to pick ourselves up out of the wreckage around us, climb up out of the rubble, and still sing God’s praise.

It is easy to say how good and wonderful God is when things are going awesome in our lives. The problem we have is remembering to give glory to God and to say thank you to Him for the blessings in our life. But when things go bad who do we usually blame? I usually blame that mean old chicken. Many others will end up blaming God. God has abandoned them. God has turned His back on them. God is punishing them. The reality is that even in the midst of turmoil and adversity it is still possible to give glory to God. It is still possible to sing God’s praise. It may require us to dig a little deeper into our faith. It may requires us to humble ourselves a bit more. It may require us to accept the fact that life is not always going to work out the way we want it to, but if we put our lives into God’s hands, it will work out the way it is supposed to.

This week’s question:
When the crowds saw the miraculous signs Philip did in the city of Samaria how did they respond?

Answer to last week’s question:
What outward sign did Paul use as the Holy Spirit came on the disciples at Ephesus? He placed his hands on them.

See you in church,

Fr. Evan

Just a few things:

1. Great Vespers this Saturday. Divine Liturgy this Sunday. Confessions and the reading of the Hours is at 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

2. Mother’s Day. Holy Cross is accepting donations towards the purchase of 10 comforters for W.I.S.H (Women in Second Stage Housing). W.I.S.H. Inc. is a non-profit charitable organization that provides women and their children affected by domestic violence with secure and safe on-site housing, individual and group therapeutic counselling, support programs, advocacy, and connection with community resources.

You may make your donations to Holy Cross, specifying that you are donating towards the WISH project and a tax receipt will be issued. We will be collecting donations towards our Mother’s Day project all for the month of May. You can give your donation to Dave and he will see that you get your tax receipt.

3. Vestments. Holy Cross recently purchased a set of purple vestments and are purchasing a set of red vestments in recognition of our upcoming 10th Anniversary. Any donations to help off-set the cost of purchasing these items would be greatly appreciated. Holy Cross is, as many of you that read this email bulletin, a small mission parish. We do rely greatly upon the kind generosity and support from not just our membership, but from the friends of our mission as well. We are always extremely greatful for the kindness you have shown our mission in the past and hope you will consider making a donation towards our purchase of the vestments.

You may make your donations to Holy Cross, specifying that you are donating towards the vestments and a tax receipt will be issued. Once again, you can give Dave your donation and he will see that you get a tax receipt.

4. Um, I don’t have anything really inspiring to share with you this week. So I will just tell you this: At the end of the day, when you question whether or not you have accomplished anything, if you can look in the mirror and truthfully say, “I loved my God today, I loved my family and friends today, I did all that I could to be the best person I could be”, you accomplished something.

This week’s question:
When Paul asked the disciples at Ephesus if they had received the Holy Spirit how did they reply?

Answer to last week’s question:
After Philip had baptized the Ethiopian eunuch why did he not see Philip again? Because Philip was suddenly taken away by the Spirit of the Lord.
See you in church,

Fr. Evan

Just a few things:

1. No Great Vespers this Saturday. Divine Liturgy this Sunday. Confessions and the reading of the Hours is at 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

2. Mother’s Day. Holy Cross is accepting donations towards the purchase of 10 comforters for W.I.S.H (Women in Second Stage Housing). W.I.S.H. Inc. is a non-profit charitable organization that provides women and their children affected by domestic violence with secure and safe on-site housing, individual and group therapeutic counselling, support programs, advocacy, and connection with community resources.

You may make your donations to Holy Cross, specifying that you are donating towards the WISH project and a tax receipt will be issued. We will be collecting donations towards our Mother’s Day project all for the month of May. You can give your donation to Dave and he will see that you get your tax receipt.

3. Vestments. Holy Cross recently purchased a set of purple vestments and are purchasing a set of red vestments in recognition of our upcoming 10th Anniversary. Any donations to help off-set the cost of purchasing these items would be greatly appreciated. Holy Cross is, as many of you that read this email bulletin, a small mission parish. We do rely greatly upon the kind generosity and support from not just our membership, but from the friends of our mission as well. We are always extremely greatful for the kindness you have shown our mission in the past and hope you will consider making a donation towards our purchase of the vestments.

You may make your donations to Holy Cross, specifying that you are donating towards the vestments and a tax receipt will be issued. Once again, you can give Dave your donation and he will see that you get a tax receipt.

4. Since Holy Cross’s Mother’s Day project is W.I.S.H. I thought I would share with you some information about the organization from their website.

Kathy Hallick knows first-hand the effects that violence can have on a family. As a child, Hallick was forced to endure many instances of abuse between her mother and father. Having gone through those experiences served Hallick well during her 25-year career as a social worker, allowing her to relate to clients, as well as making her an ideal board member for W.I.S.H. (Women in Second Stage Housing) Inc.

Hallick, a mother of two grown children, started volunteering with the organization almost three years ago and currently serves as the chairwoman of its board of directors.

The non-profit organization provides women leaving abusive relationships with housing for them and their children, counselling and support programs such as an on-site food bank and parent support groups. Women and their families live in one of the facility’s 14 furnished suites, while learning to rebuild their lives and heal from the abuse they endured. On average, the agency assists 26 families each year.

“I know what it is like from a kid’s perspective so I really support the work that W.I.S.H does for women,” said Hallick. Counselling and therapy programming are also offered to the children who come to the facility. “I wish we would have had that service when we were kids. When the two people you love most in the world are beating on each other and calling each other horrible names and involving you in that and forcing you as a kid to take sides, it just pulls the rug out from under you as a kid. “In terms of trust in the world, trust in your mother to protect you, your father to take care of you, it is really shattered,” Hallick said.

W.I.S.H. Inc. works to break the cycle of violence in families — something that can only be done when a family is free from danger. “One thing we know about violence is that violence breeds violence,” she said, explaining that one in four women is affected by violence at the hands of their partners. “You pass it down from generation to generation to generation. A lot of women have lived through that as children, and have seen their mother go through that, and their grandmothers do that. It becomes almost a normalized process.”

In addition to assisting women exiting abusive and violent relationships, Hallick said she takes great pride in helping the agency to grow and gain new partners.

Not only has the organization been able to attract skilled practitioners willing to work with the clients, but it has also partnered with the University of Manitoba, offering practicum placements to students. Hallick said this helps to build awareness of the issue and helps to prepare future service providers.

W.I.S.H. Inc. is marking its 25th anniversary this year by starting the preliminary planning stages to move to a new, larger facility, better-equipped to handle its needs.

The organization is currently looking for volunteers able to assist with fundraising initiatives. If you would like more information about the non-profit, or would like to become a volunteer, please contact executive director Lori Rudniski at 204-275-2600. You can also learn more by visiting www.wishinc.ca.

Holy Cross, as mentioned before, is donating 10 comforters to this organization. We know it is not a huge donation but it will be appreciated. St. Gregory wrote, “Love can do all things, and if it ceases to be generous and sharing it is no longer love.” Sadly, the women and children that have to use the services of W.I.S.H know that first hand. They know what happens when love ceases to be generous and sharing. Please support us in our Mother’s Day project. 10 comforters may not seem like a lot, but to woman who has to leave everything behind, start all over, it can mean the world to them. It can let them know that there is still generous and sharing love out there. That they are not alone, that they are not abandoned.

This week’s question:
After Philip had baptized the Ethiopian eunuch why did he not see Philip again?

Answer to last week’s question:
Which Old Testament prophet said, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people”? Joel.

See you in church,

Fr. Evan

Just a few things:

1. Great Vespers this Saturday 5:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy this Sunday. Confessions and the reading of the Hours is at 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

2. A huge thank you. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that came out and participated in the cycle of services during Holy Week. A big thank you to St. Andrew’s College for sharing joining in all the services. But I would be remiss if I did not make special mention of our cantor Yurij. Every year for Pascha and the services of Holy Week, Yurij goes above and beyond the call of duty from arranging extra singers for the choir, to preparing the chapel for the Shroud service, and this year he even prepared a new service booklet for the Shroud service. Holy Cross is truly blessed to have you be a part of our family and we are so thankful for your efforts. Thank you to everyone who brought food for the Paschal breakfast. That was just awesome.

It was a beautiful Paschal service. We got to walk outside at midnight and the weather was beautiful. See you all walking with your candles was just beautiful… and I am sure it lessened the chances of us getting lost in the St. Andrew’s parking lot.

3. Holy Cross Parish Executive meeting April 24 at 7:00 p.m. at the Kitzul residence.

4. Since this Sunday is the Sunday of St. Thomas the Apostle, also known as doubting Thomas, I thought I would share this quote with you: “We are born questioners. Look at the wonderment of a little child in its eyes before it can speak. The child’s great word when it begins to speak is “why.” Every child is full of every kind of question, about every kind of thing that moves, and shines, and changes, in the little world in which it lives. That is the incipient doubt in the nature of man. Respect doubt for its origin. It is an inevitable thing. It is not a thing to be crushed. It is a part of man as God made him. … Doubt is the prelude of knowledge.”

Doubt is the prelude to knowledge. I am not sure I like that last statement. I don’t know if having a question about something automatically means you have doubts. A question can just be a question, an exploration, a search for knowledge. It doesn’t mean one is necessarily abandoning their faith or beliefs, it can just mean they want to learn, to grow.

But in St. Thomas’s case, doubt is the prelude of knowledge. His doubt led him to the knowledge that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ had truly risen from the dead. But his doubt allowed Christ to teach His apostles what true faith is.

So that being said, here’s a little experiment: start a sentence with the words “I believe…,” and then finish it with something deeply heartfelt. It is impossible to do without feeling uplifted and stirred.

The need to declare our deeply held beliefs is an irrepressible aspect of being human. In the act of defining what we believe, we define ourselves. I am one who can discern what is true and real and noble and bind myself to it. I believe. One of the most flattering things we can do is ask others their opinion, because what they believe matters.

To be is to believe. One important question to ask ourselves is, what do I really believe, and what do I think I’m supposed to believe? If we make that effort to search our faith, ask the questions, delve deeper into it, we will stand strong against doubt. Maybe that is what is missing in our lives? Regularily saying “I believe…” Not just in church, but in every moment of our lives. I will be honest with you, doubt is powerful. Doubt is crippling. Doubt will shake you and rock you to your very core. What you and I believe can’t just be something told to us. It has to be a living part of us. My dogmatics professor, when I was studying at St. Andrew’s College, told my class, “Faith is personal. Faith is intimate. Faith is an investment. I can not believe for you. You can not believe for me. That is why the Creed begins with “I believe”.”

So doubt can be the prelude to knowledge and for many it is. Many have come to know our loving God because they had questions and wanted answers. Many have come to know God’s loving mercy because whatever their “I believe…” statement was, it wasn’t working for them.

But St. Thomas Sunday shows that faith can overcome doubt. You and I have not had the opportunity to touch Christ’s wounds. To see Him appear in a locked room. And yet we believe in His glorious resurrection.

This week’s question:
Which Old Testament prophet said, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people”?

Answer to last week’s question:
True or false? The New Testament records at least nine miracles associated with Peter? True.

See you in church,

Fr. Evan

Just a few things:

1. Great Vespers this Saturday 5:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy this Sunday. Confessions and the reading of the Hours is at 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

2. Schedule of service for Holy Week. We will be celebrating with St. Andrew’s College.
April 11-Holy Wednesday. Holy Unction Service, All Saints, 7:00 p.m.
April 12—Holy Thursday. Matins with the Reading of the 12 Gospels. 6:00 p.m.
April 13—Holy Friday. Vespers with the procession of the Shroud, 6:00 p.m.
April 14—Holy Saturday. Vesperal Divine Liturgy. 11:00 a.m. Midnight Office, 11:30 p.m.
April 15—Paschal Sunday—12:01 a.m. Matins, Paschal Liturgy, Blessing of baskets.

3. Growing up in Yorkton I loved Palm Sunday. I would go to Sunday School and then when we would come up for the remainder of the service I would make sure that I would sit in the very first pew. Did I want to see what was going on with the service? Nope? Did I want to be closer to the priest? Nope. Did I want to be the first one to venerate the cross at the end of the service and be the first one out of church? Possibly. But on Palm Sunday it was all about the pussy willow. You see, sitting in the front row meant that I would be the first in line to get a pussy willow and in Yorkton, the priest did not hand out the pussy willow, the church elders did not hand out the pussy willows. Nope. It was a free for all. You got to pick your pussy willow branch and my sister and I would compete with one another to see who got the biggest branch. Basically Palm Sunday was all about which of us could drag home the biggest tree to our house.

So that being said, I thought I would share with you a bit of the reason why our church uses pussy willows instead of palms, as well as a bit of the tradition that goes along with it.

Great or Holy Week starts with Willow Sunday /Palm Sunday . The willow is used instead of the palm both in Canada as well as Ukraine, because of the similarity of climates – that is – no palm trees! It honours the triumph of Jesus entering Jerusalem. The pussy willow branches have the additional significance of showing life early in the spring, symbolising the hope of the resurrection. They are gathered and blessed at services. After the service, parishoners gently tap each other with the willows, in imitation of the scourging of Christ while repeating The willow hits, not I; A week from now will be Easter. (I always loved this part of the tradition. Basically it was a license to run around church and beat each other up.)

The tapping with the willow also signifies the wishes for health, happiness and wealth. After Easter, the willow was either stuck in the ground – and legend would have it that if daughters married that their young man would be healthy, strong and a good provider. Otherwise, as with tradition regarding blessed items, the willows would be burned and the ashes scattered on the fields to ensure a good crop.

So there you go. A little bit about the tradition and history. But my favorite tradition is the one that we do here at Holy Cross. The pussy willows are blessed at the beginning of the service, the priest hands them out, (you know, just in case there are any little Evan Maximiuk wannabes in the congregation) and the laity hold the pussy willow branches for the service and when the priest reads the Holy Gospel and comes to the part: “So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! How blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel!”, the faithful wave the branches along with the joyous crowd we hear in the Gospel reading. That is the beauty of our faith. We participate in that joyous event. We are not removed from it. It is not just something that happened in history. It is now. It is present. It is real. Yes we commemorate the event. Yes we remember the moment. But by the grace of God we are present. We are standing with that crowd. Our voices join with theirs. Our eyes see our Lord and Saviour triumphantly enter His city.

This Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. We have a wonderful opportunity before us. We can truly be present at every stage of the last week of our Lord and Saviour’s earthly life. We can be present and truly appreciate every moment and if we do that, if we walk along side our Lord and Saviour in these last few days, be there when He institutes the Holy Eucharist, be there when He prays in the Garden and accepts His fate, be there when He is betrayed, falsely accused, tried, beaten, hung up on the Cross and dies, just imagine the joy we will feel on Holy Pascha when we walk with the women to the tomb and find it empty.

This week’s question:
True or false? The New Testament records at least nine miracles associated with Peter?

Answer to last week’s question:
When the Jews asked Jesus for a miraculous sign to validate his authority, how did Jesus reply? Jesus said that he would destroy the temple and build it again in three days.

See you in church,

Fr. Evan

Just a few things:

1. Great Vespers this Saturday at Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church. 643 Manitoba Ave. 4:00 p.m.

Divine Liturgy this Sunday. Confessions and the reading of the Hours is at 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

2. Devoted to You Street Ministries. Holy Cross collected $760.00 towards our backpack project. The cost of purchasing and filling the 20 backpacs was $389.39. The remaining 361.61 remaining money to be donated to Devoted to You Street Ministries, this will help Devoted to You Street Ministries reach a goal of 2000.00. When they reach this goal it will trigger a major contribution by Giant Tiger. Giant Tiger will then provide full backpacks at 3.00 per backpack.

Once again, thank you to everyone who donated and supported this project. God bless you all.

4. Passia Service – March 25 – 6:00 p.m. St. Ivan Suchava on Main St.

5. Schedule of service for Holy Week. We will be celebrating with St. Andrew’s College as they will still be having classes. March 28—Matins and Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, 6:00 p.m.
April 11-Holy Wednesday. Holy Unction Service, All Saints, 7:00 p.m.
April 12—Holy Thursday. Matins with the Reading of the 12 Gospels. 6:00 p.m.
April 13—Holy Friday. Vespers with the procession of the Shroud, 6:00 p.m.
April 14—Holy Saturday. Vesperal Divine Liturgy. 11:00 a.m. Midnight Office, 11:30 p.m.
April 15—Paschal Sunday—12:01 a.m. Matins, Paschal Liturgy, Blessing of baskets.

6. As you are all aware, we are called to come to confession. Some find the process pointless as they believe they can confess to God and then everything is hunky dory (I bet you never thought you would find someone that actually still uses the term “hunky dory”). There are those that fear confession because they don’t want to talk about what is bothering them, what they might have done wrong, etc. There are those that come to confession and when asked, “Do you have anything to confess?” the answer is no. There is nothing like that awkward pause that ensues afterwards. On more than one occasion I have been tempted to ask, “Why did you come here then?” I know what the answer will be. “I can’t participate in Holy Communion unless I come to Holy Confession.” Sadly, many have reduced Holy Confession to being just a pre-requisite to coming to the Holy Chalice and don’t realize that it stands as it’s own seperate sacrament.

But I am not going to go into a long discussion about Holy Confession. You know it is good for you. But if you are really struggling for something to say, here is a list of the Passions by Saint Peter of Damaskos. There may be some that you have no idea what they are, but I can guarantee you that there will be some that we are all guilty of. Maybe this list will give you something to think about.

By Saint Peter of Damaskos
The passions are:
harshness,
trickery,
malice,
perversity,
mindlessness,
licentiousness,
enticement,
dullness,
lack of understanding,
idleness,
sluggishness,
stupidity,
flattery,
silliness,
idiocy,
madness,
derangement,
coarseness,
rashness,
cowardice,
lethargy,
dearth of good actions,
moral errors,
greed,
over-frugality,
ignorance,
folly,
spurious knowledge,
forgetfulness,
lack of discrimination,
obduracy,
injustice,
evil intention,
a conscienceless soul,
slothfulness,
idle chatter,
breaking of faith,
wrongdoing,
sinfulness,
lawlessness,
criminality,
passion,
seduction,
assent to evil,
mindless coupling,
demonic provocation,
dallying,
bodily comfort beyond what is required,
vice,
stumbling,
sickness of soul,
enervation,
weakness of intellect,
negligence,
laziness,
a reprehensible despondency,
disdain of God,
aberration,
transgression,
unbelief,
lack of faith,
wrong belief,
poverty of faith,
heresy,
fellowship in heresy,
polytheism,
idolatry,
ignorance of God,
impiety,
magic,
astrology,
divination,
sorcery,
denial of God,
the love of idols,
dissipation,
profligacy,
loquacity,
indolence,
self-love,
inattentiveness,
lack of progress,
deceit,
delusion,
audacity,
witchcraft,
defilement,
the eating of unclean food,
soft living,
dissoluteness,
voracity,
unchastity,
avarice,
anger,
dejection,
listlessness,
self-esteem,
pride,
presumption,
self-elation,
boastfulness,
infatuation,
foulness,
satiety,
doltishness,
torpor,
sensuality,
over-eating,
gluttony,
insatiability,
secret eating,
hoggishness,
solitary eating,
indifference,
fickleness,
self-will,
thoughtlessness,
self-satisfaction,
love of popularity,
ignorance of beauty,
uncouthness,
gaucherie,
lightmindedness,
boorishness,
rudeness,
contentiousness,
quarrelsomeness,
abusiveness,
shouting,
brawling,
fighting,
rage,
mindless desire,
gall,
exasperation,
giving offence,
enmity,
meddlesomeness,
chicanery,
asperity,
slander,
censure,
calumny,
condemnation,
accusation,
hatred,
railing,
insolence,
dishonour,
ferocity,
frenzy,
severity,
aggressiveness,
forswearing oneself,
oathtaking,
lack of compassion,
hatred of one’s brothers,
partiality,
patricide,
matricide,
breaking fasts,
laxity,
acceptance of bribes,
theft,
rapine,
jealousy,
strife,
envy,
indecency,
jesting,
vilification,
mockery,
derision,
exploitation,
oppression,
disdain of one’s neighbour,
flogging,
making sport of others,
hanging,
throttling,
heartlessness,
implacability,
covenant-breaking,
bewitchment,
harshness,
shamelessness,
impudence,
obfuscation of thoughts,
obtuseness,
mental blindness,
attraction to what is fleeting,
impassionedness,
frivolity,
disobedience,
dullwittedness,
drowsiness of soul,
excessive sleep,
fantasy,
heavy drinking,
drunkenness,
uselessness,
slackness,
mindless enjoyment,
self-indulgence,
venery,
using foul language,
effeminacy,
unbridled desire,
burning lust,
masturbation,
pimping,
adultery,
sodomy,
bestiality,
defilement,
wantonness,
a stained soul,
incest,
uncleanliness,
pollution,
sordidness,
feigned affection,
laughter,
jokes,
immodest dancing,
clapping,
improper songs,
revelry,
fluteplaying,
license of tongue,
excessive love of order,
insubordination,
disorderliness,
reprehensible collusion,
conspiracy,
warfare,
killing,
brigandry,
sacrilege,
illicit gains,
usury,
wiliness,
grave-robbing,
hardness of heart,
obloquy,
complaining,
blasphemy,
fault-finding,
ingratitude,
malevolence,
contemptuousness,
pettiness,
confusion,
lying,
verbosity,
empty words,
mindless joy,
daydreaming,
mindless friendship,
bad habits,
nonsensicality,
silly talk,
garrulity,
niggardliness,
depravity,
intolerance,
irritability,
affluence,
rancour,
misuse,
ill-temper,
clinging to life,
ostentation,
affectation,
pusillanimity,
satanic love,
curiosity,
contumely,
lack of the fear of God,
unteachability,
senselessness,
haughtiness,
self-vaunting,
self-inflation,
scorn for one’s neighbour,
mercilessness,
insensitivity,
hopelessness,
spiritual paralysis,
hatred of God,
despair,
suicide,
a falling away from God in all things,
utter destruction

This week’s question:
When the Jews asked Jesus for a miraculous sign to validate his authority, how did Jesus reply?

Answer to last week’s question:
When Jesus turned water into wine at Cana, John says that the master of the banquet was unaware of this. But who was aware? The servants who had filled the six stone water jars.

See you in church,

Fr. Evan

Just a few things:

1. Great Vespers this Saturday at Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Church. 732 Alfred Ave. 4:00 p.m.
Divine Liturgy this Sunday. Confessions and the reading of the Hours is at 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

2. WOCA Lenten Vespers—24, 2012. 4:00 p.m. Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Church. 732 Alfred Ave.

3. Devoted to You Street Ministries. At the WOCA Vespers host by St. Andrew’s College we had as our guest speaker the director of Devoted To You Street Ministries. Ron Eldridge talked about his life and the fact that he spent 13 years as a homeless person himself. He stated that there are an estimated 3000 homeless people in Winnipeg. Nationally there are around 300,000 homeless people. His ministry focuses on providing basic necessities to the homeless. As some of you may know, Holy Cross has been fundraising to purchase and fill 20 backpacks for Ron’s ministry. Holy Cross was asking for $25.00 a backpack. Thanks to kind generosity of those that attended the WOCA Vespers hosted by Holy Cross, we raised over $500.00. That, added to the $175.00 previously raised put us well over what we needed and the additional funds will be donated to Ron’s ministry. Thank you to all that came out and donated to this worthwhile cause.

4. Holy Cross perogies are back. Potato/Cheddar $4.00/doz. Sauerkraut: $4.50/doz. Order Deadline: March 25th. Delivery in time for Easter. Contact: Sylvia 256-8370

5. Passia Service – March 25 – 6:00 p.m. All Saints in Transcona.

6. Schedule of service for Holy Week. We will be celebrating with St. Andrew’s College as they will still be having classes. March 28—Matins and Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, 6:00 p.m.
April 11-Holy Wednesday. Holy Unction Service, All Saints, 7:00 p.m.
April 12—Holy Thursday. Matins with the Reading of the 12 Gospels. 6:00 p.m.
April 13—Holy Friday. Vespers with the procession of the Shroud, 6:00 p.m.
April 14—Holy Saturday. Vesperal Divine Liturgy. 11:00 a.m. Midnight Office, 11:30 p.m.
April 15—Paschal Sunday—12:01 a.m. Matins, Paschal Liturgy, Blessing of baskets.

7. Fr. Ted from St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church here in Winnipeg posted this on his Facebook page and I thought I would share it with you. It is no secret that our Ukrainian Orthodox Church here in Canada is facing a bit of a crisis in terms of membership. To say anything to the contrary would be a lie and I respect those of you who chose to read this horribly written email bulletin on a regular basis to lie to you. We have an aging membership. We have many churches that have now stand virtually empty. And the question is always asked…”Where are they? Where are the young people?” I don’t have the answer but this article, written by Christian Piatt, that Fr. Ted posted might give something food for thought. Enjoy.

From time to time I revisit the question: why are young adults walking away from religion? Although the answer(s) vary from person to person, there are some general trends that I think apply in most cases.
In the list below, when I refer to “we,” “I” or “me,” I’m referring to younger adults in general, and not necessarily myself.

We’ve Been Hurt: I can actually include myself in this one personally. Sometimes the hurtful act is specific, like when my youth leader threw a Bible at me for asking the wrong questions. Sometimes it’s rhetorical, either from the pulpit, in a small group study or over a meal. Sometimes it’s physical, taking the form of sexual abuse or the like. But millions claim a wound they can trace back to church that has never healed. Why? In part, because the church rarely seeks forgiveness.

Adult Life/College and Church Don’t Seem to Mix: There are the obvious things, like scheduling activities on Sunday mornings (hint: young people tend to go out on Saturday nights), but there’s more to it. In college, and before that by our parents, we’re taught to explore the world, broaden our horizons, think critically, question everything and figure out who we are as individuals. Though there’s value in this, it’s hyper-individualistic. But Church is more about community. In many ways, it represents, fairly or not, sameness, conformity and a “check your brain at the door” ethos. This stands in opposition to what the world is telling us is important at this time in life.
Perhaps an emphasis on a year of community service after high school would be a natural bridge to ameliorate some of this narcissism we’re building in to ourselves.

There’s No Natural Bridge to Church: Most teenagers leave home, either for college, to travel, work or whatever after high school. With the bad economy, this number is fewer, but it’s a general trend. But the existing model of church still depends on the assumption that communities are relatively static, and that the church is at the center of that community. Not so anymore. When I went to college, I was contacted by fraternities, campus activity groups and credit card companies, but not one church. The only connection I had with religion was the ridiculous guy who (literally) stood on a box with a bullhorn in the union garden and yelled at us about our sinful ways. I could have used support in how to deal with my own finances for the first time. I could have used a built-in network of friends. I would have loved a care package, an invitation for free pizza at the local restaurant or help with my laundry. What I got was the goof with the bullhorn.

We’re Distracted: I shared a video by Diana Butler Bass in a recent post about a priest who took his Ash Wednesday service out onto the street. When people saw him, they reacted as if they had been shaken out of a deep sleep. “It’s Ash Wednesday!” they said with surprise as they asked for the ashes. “Lent is starting!” It simply wasn’t on their radar. It’s not that we don’t care; we have so many things competing for our limited time and attention that the passive things that don’t offer an immediate “interrupt” get relegated to the “later” pile. And we rarely ever get to the “later” pile, which leads me to the next point.

We’re Skeptical: We’re exposed to more ad impressions in a month today than any other previous generation experienced in a lifetime. I’m sitting in a hotel room writing this, and in this room (which I paid for in part to have privacy), I see more than a dozen marketing messages. If I turn on the TV, they’re there. Pick up my phone, they’re there. Online…you get the point. So whereas generations before us expended energy seeking information out, now it comes at us in such overwhelming volumes that we spend at least the same amount of energy filtering things out. This leads to somewhat of a calcifying of the senses, always assuming that whoever is trying to get your attention wants something, just like everyone else.

We’re Exhausted: I was lumped in as pat of the Generation X group, also known as the Slacker Generation. This implied, of course, that we were lazy and unmotivated. But consider how many of us go to college, compared to generations before us. And consider that the baseline standard for family economics requires a two-income revenue stream to live in any level of the middle class. Debt and credit are givens, and working full-time while also trying to maintain a marriage, raise kids, have friends and — God forbid — have some time left for ourselves leaves us with less than nothing. We’re always running a deficit. So when you ask me to set aside more time and more money for church, you’re trying to tap already empty reserves.

I Don’t Get It: Young adults today are the most un-churched generation in a long time. In many cases, it’s not that we’re walking away from church; we never went in. From what I can tell from the outside, there’s not much relevance to my life in there, and I’m not about to take the risk of walking through the door to find out otherwise.

I’ve tried to offer insight into what might be done about a few of these issues as I went, but I invite you also to sit with the tension of not having the answers. Better yet, seek some young adults out, ask them if they relate to these. And see if they have ideas about what you (maybe not even “church” but you) can do to help relieve some of the challenges.
I think the conversation that follows might pleasantly surprise you.

This week’s question:
When Jesus turned water into wine at Cana, John says that the master of the banquet was unaware of this. But who was aware?

Answer to last week’s question:
How old was the man who was the first person to be healed in the Book of Acts? Over 40 years old.

See you in church,

Fr. Evan

1. There is no Vespers or Divine Liturgy at Holy Cross this weekend. I know I made it a little bold but I just want to make sure everyone knows. St. Andrew’s College will be having their Divine Liturgy at 8:00 a.m. if you wish to go. If not, there are lots of other parishes to go visit.

2. St. George Orthodox Church is hosting a presentation about the Cross from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. Following that will be the WOCA Vespers. Please join them for that. We had a really amazing turnout for our Vespers and it is only right that we support the other parishes.

3. Sylvia Ptashnik asked me to convey her thanks to everyone that helped support her son Alexander either through donating to the Cerebral Palsy Stationary bike race or came out to be there to cheer Alexander on. But I figure her words are better than mine so….

Dear Father Evan,

Alex, Dennis and I would like to thank everyone who generously pledged Alex for this year’s 2012 Cerebral Palsy annual Stationary Bike Race.

Alex’s team of 14 members, named “CP Pedalers” raised a little over $10,000. 00 as he pedaled 18.9 kms. This put the CP Pedalers in third (3rd) place in raising the most funds. The entire event for the full day raised over $152,000.00. Many thanks to everyone who supported him for this worthy annual event.

Your generous pledges gave Alex the goal to pedal that much longer and this year Alex was filmed on CBC while getting his bike adjusted for the race. If you wish to view the clip here is the link for your viewing. http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Canada/Manitoba/1304130959/ID=2209687428 The Stationary Bike Race is on page 5.

Many thanks to everyone!

All I can say is way to go Alex! 18.9 kms. That is just beyond fantastic.

4. Passia Service – March 18 – 6:00 p.m. St. Mary the Protectress. Please make every effort to come out for it. I cannot repeat enough how beautiful a service it is and how necessary it is for us to be part of it. To hear the gospel readings of the betrayal, the false accusations, the humiliating of Christ, the beatings, and finally His crucifixion and death upon the cross is humbling and necessary for us to truly appreciate what will happen for us on Holy Pascha. Do we know the story? Yes. But that doesn’t make it any less powerful.

See you in church,

Fr. Evan

5. Keep getting those perogy orders in.

Just a few things:

1. Great Vespers this Saturday. 4:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy this Sunday. Confessions and the reading of the Hours is at 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

2. WOCA Lenten Vespers. March 10, 2012. St. Andrew’s College. 4:00 p.m. Holy Cross is hosting the WOCA Great Vespers service. Following the service will be a lenten meal in the dining room. Please come out and participate as it is a wonderful opportunity to visit with some of our brothers and sisters in Christ from the other Orthodox parishes here in Winnipeg.

3. Devoted to You Street Ministries. Our Mission purchased 20 backpacks, which need to be filled with items such as: shampoo, deodorant, combs, hair brushes, facecloths, hand towels, shave cream, disposable razors, socks; “etc” for distribution end of March. $25.00 donation towards a filled backpack (receipt issued) OR any items listed would be greatly appreciated. More information: Contact: Sandra or Sylvia.

4. Holy Cross perogies are back. Potato/Cheddar $4.00/doz. Sauerkraut: $4.50/doz. Order Deadline: March 25th. Delivery in time for Easter. Contact: Sylvia 256-8370

5. Passia Service – March 11 – 6:00 p.m. Holy Trinity Cathedral.

6. I thought I would share something with you that I came across about prayer. One of the things we are called to do more of during Great Lent, (and before and after Great Lent), is to pray more. But we will sometimes get caught up in just the words, going through the repetition and never getting the real benefit we should be. So I wanted to share a few paragraphs from an Orthodox writer/theologian named Dumitru Staniloae.

“Pure prayers is concerned with the reuniting of the mind and the heart. Neither mind nor heart can be allowed to remain alone. Prayer that comes only from the mind is cold; prayer that comes only from the heart is sentimental and ignorant of all that God has given us, is giving us now and will give us in Christ. It is prayer without horizon or perspective, prayer in which we do not know what to thank God for, what to praise him for, what to ask him for. The man who prays in this way has the feeling of being lost in an impersonal infinity. Such a feeling knows nothing of encounter with a personal God. And thus it is not prayer.

We must be quite clear that this meeting between mind and heart is not brought about by the ascent of the heart into the mind, but by the descent of the mind into the heart. In other words, it is not in the mind that the heart finds rest; but it is in the heart (or rather where the the depths of the heart meet the depths of God) that the mind finds rest for which it is searching.

In the heart (the mind) finds the infinity of God. It is not the heart that comes to rest in the mind, for that would mean that the feeling of the infinity of God had become a theory, chilled by thought. It is not feeling that must chilled by thought, but thought which must warm itself in the feeling of the heart in real contact with the infinity of God, and thus give this feeling a definite content.”

This week’s question:
How old was the man who was the first person to be healed in the Book of Acts?

Answer to last week’s question:
At what time of day did the first miracle recorded in the book of Acts take place? At three in the afternoon.

See you in church,

Fr. Evan

Lenten Schedule 2012
The Cross in Art, History and Theology

Just a few things:

1. Great Vespers this Saturday. 5:00 p.m. Divine Liturgy this Sunday. Confessions and the reading of the Hours is at 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

2. Sunday of Orthodoxy – March 4 – St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church. 6:00 p.m. Please come out and participate in this wonderful and joyous celebration with our brothers and sisters in Christ from the various Orthodox churches from across the city. If you have children that will be coming out to participate please have them bring and icon to carry during the procession.

3. WOCA Lenten Vespers. March 10, 2012. St. Andrew’s College. 4:00 p.m. Holy Cross is hosting the WOCA Great Vespers service. Following the service will be a lenten meal in the dining room. Please come out and participate as it is a wonderful opportunity to visit with some of our brothers and sisters in Christ from the other Orthodox parishes here in Winnipeg.

4. Devoted to You Street Ministries. Our Mission purchased 20 backpacks, which need to be filled with items such as: shampoo, deodorant, combs, hair brushes, facecloths, hand towels, shave cream, disposable razors, socks; “etc” for distribution end of March. $25.00 donation towards a filled backpack (receipt issued) OR any items listed would be greatly appreciated. More information: Contact: Sandra or Sylvia.

5. 2012 Cerebral Palsy Bike Race. Once again, our very own Alexander Ptashnik will be cycling in the CP stationary bike race on March 10, 2012 at the Wellness Institute at Seven Oaks Hospital. Alexander will be accepting pledges and pledges $10.00 or more will get a tax receipt. Alexander and his team did awesome last year and I am sure will do fantastic this year.

6. Holy Cross perogies are back. Potato/Cheddar $4.00/doz. Sauerkraut: $4.50/doz. Order Deadline: March 25th. Delivery in time for Easter. Contact: Sylvia 256-8370

7. A huge thank you. I don’t know if you have had the chance to stop by our webpage/blog. If you haven’t, please check it out. But I really want to give a huge thank you to Bob Kaminsky. Bob takes care of our webpage and does a fantastic job. Want to know how fantastic? If you go there and take a look at the last posting the list/schedule for the WOCA Lenten Vespers is posted there. That is pretty cool in itself. But Bob went a few steps further. Not only did he link up google maps for each parish, he also has pictures of what the churches look like from Google maps as well. Basically there is no excuse for us not to go to these Vespers services. We know where the churches are and we know what the churches look like.

All I can say is that Bob rocks. And I am not saying that because he also gave me a super awesome Saskatchewan Roughriders Christmas ornament. Thank you so much for your hard work on the website Bob. God bless you.

8. Since this Sunday is the Triumph of Holy Orthodoxy, the triumph of the use of Holy Icons and the continued truth that our Lord and Saviour was both man and God, I wanted to share this article/explanation about icons with you. It was written by George Patsourakos.
Icons are customary in all Eastern Orthodox Churches, and are often called “windows to heaven,” because they offer us a glimpse of what awaits us in eternity with Christ.

The word icon is derived from eikon, the Greek word meaning “image.” An icon can be defined as an image created for religious veneration that provides a space for the mystical encounter between the person before it and God. Icons usually represent Christ, the Virgin Mary, the saints, and angels. Since the sixth century, they have been considered to be a means to assist the worshipper in making his prayers heard by the holy figure represented in the icon.

The icon developed from the mosaic and fresco tradition of early Byzantine art. Unfortunately, early examples of this art have been lost mainly because of their destruction during the iconoclastic controversy (726-843).

Iconoclasm—that is, the opposition and destruction of icons— began in 726, when Emperor Leo III and a group of traditionalists believed misinterpretation of religious images could lead to heresy. Consequently, the iconoclasts banned all pictorial representations and began a systematic destruction of holy images.

To counter the iconoclasts, the iconodules (defenders of icons) argued that icons were not worshipped, but venerated, and that veneration was not idolatry. The most influential spokesman for the support of icons, St. John of Damascus (627-749), argued that icons of Christ may be made because of the incarnation of the Son of God. Therefore, to prohibit icons is in effect a denial that God became man in Christ.

Although St. John’s argument appeared to be persuasive, the attack on icons continued. Finally, the iconoclasts were defeated once and for all in 843 during the reign of Empress Theodora. The day of their defeat is celebrated in the Orthodox Church each year on the first Sunday of Great Lent known as the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

Following the triumph of the icon defenders, Byzantine icons were produced at a rapid pace. This was the case until 1453 when Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire.

Thereafter, Russia became the center of iconography until 1917 when the Bolshevik Revolution occurred. This Revolution resulted in a godless communist government ruling Russia, until its collapse in 1991.

Icons are a glorification of the incarnation of the Lord, since they remind us that Christ rescued man from his sins and death. Because Christ took on human flesh, we can see Him. His face can be portrayed on wood with paint. Iconography is a sacred art created with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Painting an icon requires prayer, humility, repentance, fasting, humility, and Holy Communion on the part of the iconographer. An iconographer is usually a pious monk and devout Christian whose primary objective is to serve the Lord and to glorify His Church.

The creation of an icon is a stylized art based upon Holy Tradition. St. Luke is credited with painting the first icons of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Each subsequent iconographer has used the original icon as a guide. Therefore, even today an iconographer may not change the shape of Christ’s face.

The painter of an icon must abide by certain rules and regulations concerning the execution of his work. These guidelines have been established by the Orthodox Church and one is not allowed to deviate from the norms which the Church has sanctioned.

Almost everything painted on an icon has a symbolic meaning. Christ, the Virgin Mary, the saints, and the angels all have halos which represent the presence of the Holy Spirit. Color also plays an important part. Gold represents heaven and eternity; red, divine life; blue, purity; and white, the divine energies used only for the Resurrection and Transfiguration of Christ.

As links between Heaven and earth, icons continue to evoke for Orthodox Christians the invisible presence of the Kingdom of Heaven. Indeed, icons are “windows to Heaven,” because they allow us to venerate Christ and His saints and to look forward to His Kingdom.

This week’s question:
At what time of day did the first miracle recorded in the book of Acts take place?

Answer to last week’s question:
What was distinctive about the healed leper who returned to thank Jesus? He was a Samaritan.

See you in church,

Fr. Evan