Just a few things:

1.  Vespers at 5:00 p.m. this Saturday.

2.  Divine Liturgy: Hearing of confessions and the reading of the hours at 9:30 a.m.  Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

3.  In honor of Mother’s Day, Holy Cross will be collecting baby layette items for new mothers in need for the Thelma Wynne Project located in Winnipeg.  The Thelma Wynne Project has been in existence in one way or another for over 50 years. For much of that time it has been located within St. Matthew’s church building. Dedicated women from Anglican churches in the city make or collect items and then prepare layettes for newborns. The layettes are distributed through social agencies in the city to new mothers who need them. The project has evolved somewhat over the years but originally was started by Thelma Wynne after whom it is named.  The items are to be new and include:  diapers, blankets, sleepers, caps, booties, baby soap, lotions, etc.  Holy Cross will be collecting these items for the month of May until May 30.  You can bring your donation to Holy Cross on Sundays or you can contact either Fr. Evan or Sylvia Kitzul at 256-8370 and we can arrange a pick up.

4.  “As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, ⁷but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. ⁸We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. ⁹Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.”  (1 Thessalonians 2:6-9)

This Sunday is Mother’s Day, or, as I like to refer to it, the day I thank my mom for bringing me home from the hospital instead of a puppy like my sister Tania asked for.  Although, she did teach me to fetch, roll over, and play dead…except she never really wanted me to come back alive.  “Roll over Evan.  Play dead.  Stay…stay… oooo, Flintstones are on.  See you later.”  I would still be there to this day if my mom had not come by and said, “Evan, you know you are not a dog, right?”  Thanks mom.

The scripture passage is from St. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians.  St. Paul compares the work done by the Apostles to the the role of a mother. St. Paul is talking about how the Apostles treated and acted among the faithful and states that they were gentle like a mother caring for her little children.  St. Paul talks of the joy that comes from sharing the Gospel of Christ, which is a message of sacrificial love, much like the joy a mother must feel about sharing their love with their child’s.  A mother’s love for her children, for her family, is a sacrificial love.

St. Paul talks about the toil and hardship, how they worked night and day.  Much like a mother who has to stay up until 3:00 in the morning typing up a social studies report on Hawaii (thank you for that mom), a mother will toil, will suffer hardships, and do so willingly and in silence for her child.  The sacrifices are done out of love.  The toil and the hardship, the working day and night, is a mother’s preaching of God’s gospel of love to her children.

So, to all the mom’s that read this bulletin, happy Mother’s Day.  Thank you for everything you have done for us, given us, sacrificed for us.  Thank you for showing us God’s love through your love teaching us that we are valued—no matter what.

God grant you all many years.
(Love you mom, thanks for bringing me home)

Answer to last week’s question:
True or false?  Jesus was sold into slavery by His brothers.  False.  That was Joseph in the Old Testament.  (And believe me, my brother would regularily quote this passage to my dad about getting rid of me.)

This week’s question:
True or false:  Jesus told a story about a housewife who lost her ring.

See you in church.

In Christ,

Fr. Evan

The Way of the Cross – May 9,2010

Just a few things:

1.  Vespers at 5:00 p.m. this Saturday.

2.  Divine Liturgy: Hearing of confessions and the reading of the hours at 9:30 a.m.  Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

3.  Mother’s Day is fast approaching.  In honor of that, Holy Cross will be collecting baby layette items for new mothers in need for the Thelma Wynne Project located in Winnipeg.  The Thelma Wynne Project has been in existence in one way or another for over 50 years. For much of that time it has been located within St. Matthew’s church building. Dedicated women from Anglican churches in the city make or collect items and then prepare layettes for newborns. The layettes are distributed through social agencies in the city to new mothers who need them. The project has evolved somewhat over the years but originally was started by Thelma Wynne after whom it is named.  The items are to be new and include:  diapers, blankets, sleepers, caps, booties, baby soap, lotions, etc.  Holy Cross will be collecting these items for the month of May until May 30.  You can bring your donation to Holy Cross on Sundays or you can contact either Fr. Evan or Sylvia Kitzul at 256-8370 and we can arrange a pick up.

4.  So, driving home from my banjo lesson, I passed by a church and the message it had on the outside announced the upcoming Sunday’s sermon topic:  “Encounter Christ – Walk away changed”.  It got me thinking as I was driving home and thankfully took my mind off the fact that I did not play the “Stitches in my britches” polka very well.  Although my banjo instructor said I played very well.  His words of encouragement were, “You have improved Evan.  It doesn’t sound like you are hurting the banjo anymore.”

If one encounters Christ, do they walk away different?  Does something change?

The answer, at least from a scriptural point of view, is yes.  Take a look at the Sundays that follow the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
St. Thomas Sunday - Thomas won’t believe until he can physically see and touch Christ.  Once he does, he is changed.
Sunday of the Myrrhbearing Women - They encounter Christ as they make their way back from the empty tomb.  They get to share the good news of the resurrected Christ with the Apostles.  These women, after encountering Christ, their lives are changed.
Sunday of the Paralytic - The man encounters Christ and is healed, his life is changed.
Sunday of the Samaritan woman - She encounters Christ at the well, and she comes to realize that she has met the Messiah and she shares that information with her fellow people.  Her life and the lives of those around her are changed by their encounter with Christ.
Sunday of the Blind Man - A man who had been blind since birth, encounters Christ, and his sight is restored.  His life is changed.

Anyone who encounters Christ in Holy Scripture walks away changed.  Every healing Christ did changed a life.  Every sermon He gave changed a life.  Every parable, every action, all of these encounters changed lives.

In each of these Sundays listed we can find ourselves.   We are like Thomas who doubts.  We are like the myrrhbearing women who walked with fear and uncertainty of the unknown.  We are like the paralytic when we become paralyzed by sin, by fear, by anger.  We are like the samaritan woman who did not understand why this man she encountered at the well would talk to her, a “second class citizen”, that she believed herself not worthy.  We are like the blind man, except our blindness to God’s love and mercy is a result of us looking at everything else instead of God.

But in each case, an encounter with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ changed all that and it can be the same for us if we truly open our lives to God’s love, to God’s commandments, to the teachings of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Doubt is erased.  Fear is overcome.  The spiritual, emotional, and mental paralysis as a result of sin on our part is healed.  We learn that in God’s eyes, we do have a value, we do have worth.

I sometimes wonder if we try and avoid Christ.  We try to do everything in our power to not encounter Him.  Get lost in the crowd, hide away at home, try to avoid where He will be.  Truth is, we can’t hide from Christ.  We can choose to ignore Him, close our eyes and pretend He is not there, close our ears and not listen to anything He says, but the reality is that we are just fooling ourselves.  We can’t hide from Christ.  And the awesome thing about that is that it is a good thing.  We are so loved by God, that He sent His only begotten Son among us for the sole purpose that we would encounter Him and we have the evidence of what the results of those encounters were like.

Make that effort to encounter Christ.

Answer to last week’s question:
What sin was Jesus condemning in His parable about the Pharisee and the tax-collector?  Pride

This week’s question:
True or false?  Jesus was sold into slavery by his brothers?

See you in church.

In Christ,

Fr. Evan

May 2010 Calendar

The Way of the Cross – May 2, 2010

Just a few things:

1. Vespers at 5:00 p.m. this Saturday.

2. Divine Liturgy: Hearing of confessions and the reading of the hours at 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

3. Thank you all that came out for Fr. Michael’s farewell barbecue. Fr. Michael will be making his way back to Australia next week. Please keep him in your prayers. It was a joy and a blessing to have him visit our mission and pray with us and hear his words of encouragement for us.

4. Mother’s Day is fast approaching. In honor of that, Holy Cross will be collecting baby layette items for new mothers in need for the Thelma Wynne Project located in Winnipeg. The Thelma Wynne Project has been in existence in one way or another for over 50 years. For much of that time it has been located within St. Matthew’s church building. Dedicated women from Anglican churches in the city make or collect items and then prepare layettes for newborns. The layettes are distributed through social agencies in the city to new mothers who need them. The project has evolved somewhat over the years but originally was started by Thelma Wynne after whom it is named. The items are to be new and include: diapers, blankets, sleepers, caps, booties, baby soap, lotions, etc. Holy Cross will be collecting these items for the month of May until May 30. You can bring your donation to Holy Cross on Sundays or you can contact either Fr. Evan or Sylvia Kitzul at 256-8370 and we can arrange a pick up.

5. On the Sundays that follow Holy Pascha we have our Provody or Graveside services. On these Sundays, the priest will go out to the cemeteries, do a Panakhyda/Litia service during which the deceased members of that congregation, of that cemetery are commemorated. Growing up, I always had mixed feelings about it. It meant that the service would go longer, that we would have to drive to the cemetery, it would be hot, and I would just want to go home. But then my baba would give me a plastic bag and I would make my way with my sister and we would go and get “goodies” from the different memorial offerings: cookies, candies, fruit. It was almost like…Orthodox trick or treating.

As I have “matured” (I know, I couldn’t even write that with a straight face), and have had
the opportunity to serve these services, I have a real deep appreciation for the spiritual and emotional importance of these services.

The Holy Orthodox Church teaches that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the body. We are against cremation.

If anyone wants to know how we, as Orthodox Christians, are to understand death, the value of the body, all one has to do is attend the services of Great Friday, the commemoration of our Lord and Savior’s death. Christ’s body is taken down from the Cross with great care, His body is wrapped in linen, anointed with tears, placed in a new tomb.

The Orthodox Church has unequivocally taught since Christ’s crucifixion that the proper way to treat the dead is a reverent burying of the body in the ground, in the context of a proper funeral and prayers for those who have fallen asleep in the Lord. We are called to be imitators of Christ, to live as Christ did, and that includes His death as well. We follow the template that Christ established with His own death.

And like the myrrh-bearing women who came to the tomb to anoint Christ’s body, to pay respect to one whom they loved, we too return to the cemeteries and pay respect. We pray for those who no longer can pray for themselves. That is true love. That is how we honor those who have passed away. That is how we keep their memory alive, keep on loving them. We pray for them and ask our Lord and Saviour to grant them peace.

Graveside services are a communal event. It should be attended by all the members of a parish regardless if you have a deceased family member resting in the cemetery or not. We join with those who have lost someone dear to them and by our presence and our prayers we pay respect and testify to the victory of Christ over death.

Answer to last week’s question:
True or false: In Chapter 9 of John’s Gospel, Jesus says He is the light of the world? True. John 9:5

This week’s question:
What sin was Jesus condemning in His parable about the Pharisee and the tax-collector?

See you in church.

In Christ,

Fr. Evan

The Way of the Cross – April 25, 2005

Just a few things:

1. Vespers at 5:00 p.m. this Saturday.

2. Divine Liturgy: Hearing of confessions and the reading of the hours at 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

3. This Saturday is the WOCA Sponsored Youth Bowling Tournament at Roxy Lanes on Henderson Hwy. 2-4 p.m. Please come and join us for a really fun afternoon. If you have any carpentry work to be done, let Fr. Evan know, because he will be hammering pins all afternoon long.

4. Mother’s Day is fast approaching. In honor of that, Holy Cross will be collecting baby layette items for new mothers in need for the Thelma Wynne Project located in Winnipeg. The Thelma Wynne Project has been in existence in one way or another for over 50 years. For much of that time it has been located within St. Matthew’s church building. Dedicated women from Anglican churches in the city make or collect items and then prepare layettes for newborns. The layettes are distributed through social agencies in the city to new mothers who need them. The project has evolved somewhat over the years but originally was started by Thelma Wynne after whom it is named. The items are to be new and include: diapers, blankets, sleepers, caps, booties, baby soap, lotions, etc. Holy Cross will be collecting these items for the month of May until May 30. You can bring your donation to Holy Cross on Sundays or you can contact either Fr. Evan or Sylvia Kitzul at 256-8370 and we can arrange a pick up.

5. I often wonder what it must have been like, those first few days after Christ’s crucifixion. The confusion, the sense of despair, the fear. The disciples going into hiding, wondering if the man they chose to follow was truly the Messiah, the Son of God or did they “back the wrong guy”? I understand the going into hiding. They were scared. They knew they would be “guilty by association”. Heck, even Peter, they disciple who answered Christ’s question,”Who do you say I am?” with “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” would end up denying that he knew Christ. Everything in their world was turned upside down and the feelings of comfort and understanding that they might have had from the words we hear in the Gospel of John, chapters 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 were forgotten. The very words Christ spoke to His apostles, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” John 14:1 Their hearts were troubled, they could not trust.

But Christ’s death and burial affected not only His apostles, but all those who followed Him. And we see a contrast between the actions of the apostles and the myrrh-bearing women whom we commemorate this Sunday. The apostles ran and hid. The myrrh-bearing women, on the other hand, went to the tomb to anoint Christ’s body, to fulfill the traditions of anointing the dead, to give Christ the honor and respect due to Him. These women show great courage, great love and great devotion to Christ.

Often in life, when we are faced with troubles, the fight or flight instinct kicks in. One of two things will happen. We will face the problem or we will run from it. We will lock ourselves behind a big door, with a big lock, and hope the problem will not get to us, that it won’t find us. That is what the apostles did.

Or we can fight. We can be like the myrrh-bearing women and we can walk that path to the tomb of Christ. I don’t know if they were scared. I think they were. All the events that preceeded the crucifixion, the arrest, the trial. I believe it was not an easy journey. To go to the tomb of the man they believed was the Messiah, the Saviour, and they were going to annoint His dead body. It required courage to go to that tomb.

And their courage was rewarded. They were the first to hear the good news, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.”

We will all face troubles in our life. We will have the choice to run or fight. We can face those difficulties because we have heard the angel’s voice, “He is risen. He is not here.” Every day of our life is a journey to the tomb of Christ, and the path will not always be easy. There will be dangers in many different forms, dangers that will challenge our faith and our conviction, undermine our trust. But we carry the knowledge and the comfort of knowing the tomb is indeed empty. That our trust has been rewarded, like that of the myrrh-bearers. “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death. And upon those in the tombs, bestowing life.” That, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, is where we get our courage from.

Answer to last week’s question:
How many times is Jesus called “Son of David” in Matthew’s Gospel? 10 times.

This week’s question:
True or false: In Chapter 9 of John’s Gospel, Jesus says He is the light of the world?

See you in church.

In Christ,

Fr. Evan

Just a few things:

1. Vespers this Saturday at 5:00 p.m. We are back to our regular schedule. Just a thank you to all of you that came out and participated in the visiting of the other parishes for Great Vespers at the various other parishes. Every Saturday saw more and more people coming out. It was truly wonderful thing.

2. Divine Liturgy this Sunday. Reading of the Hours and hearing of confessions at 9:30 a.m. We will be having a memorial litia served after the Divine Liturgy for Lyle Kitzul’s mother on the one year of her falling asleep in the Lord. After the service the Kitzul family has kindly invited all for a luncheon in the dining room of St. Andrew’s College.

3. WE ARE GOING BOWLING!!! It is on Alexander. The rematch that everyone has been waiting for, the Clash of the Titans! Fr. Evan and Alexander! This one is for all the marbles. (I better go buy some marbles). Alexander, I want you to know that I have been in training and I am willing to share picture of how it has been going:

bad hair from kingpin the movie with bill murray bowling

WINNIPEG ORTHODOX CLERGY ASSOCIATION cordially invites all Orthodox parishes to its BOWLING EVENT to be held Saturday, April 17th from 2 – 4:00 pm at ROXY BOWLING LANES on Henderson Hwy.

Admission is free! Snacks provided! Fellowship guaranteed! Bring your family and friends for a fun-filled frolic of frivolity! RSVP to Fr. Ted Paraskevopoulos at fr.ted@me.com

4. Sometimes watching/reading the news is difficult. It seems that more often than not, the bad stuff gets the bigger headline or is the top story on the television news. The more tragic, the more horrifying the better. Good news seems…weird somehow. News programs will have 29 minutes of the bad stuff and then one minute of postive, touchy feely, heart warming story about a rescued puppy from a storm drain and that should make us somehow forget about all that bad stuff.

This past Wednesday was the Feast of the Annunciation. On this day, the Archangel Gabriel announced to Mary that she had been chosen by God to bear the Saviour into this world. It was the announcement of the greatest news mankind has ever heard/known. It was “good news”.

Fr. Anthony Conairis in his book “Daily Vitamins for Spiritual Growth Vol. 1″ has this to say about this day: “If there is bad news of a world gone mad, take heart, there is also the good news of One who can restore it to sanity. If there is bad news of man’s sin, guilt and anxiety, there is also the good news of a loving Saviour who says, “Him that cometh to me I will in no way cast out.” If there is bad news of suffering, there is also the good news of a God who loves and cares; a God who comes to be with us in our suffering to strengthen, comfort and support us. If there is the bad news of death, there is also the good news of the Resurrected Christ, by His death trampling upon death to grant those in the tombs life.”

We as Orthodox Christians have a choice: We can be like the newspapers and the news programs and focus on the “bad news”, focus on the negative, focus on the darkness or we can do something a bit “radical” and tell the world of the Good News of the Resurrected Christ. The greatest news in the world was never meant to be a secret. Never meant to be announced in the “last minute” of the news program. Christ’s resurrection from the dead always has been and will always be the lead story.

Answer to last week’s question:
Complete the sixth Beatitude, “Blessed are the pure in heart…” For they will see God.

This week’s question:
How many times is Jesus called “Son of David” in Matthew’s Gospel?

See you in church!

In Christ,

Fr. Evan

1.  Holy Pascha:  Paschal Matins: 5:15 a.m., Divine Liturgy to follow.  We will be breaking the fast after the Divine Liturgy in the multi-purpose room at St. Andrew’s College.  You are all invited to join us.

2.  Agape Vespers:  April 4th, 4:00 p.m. at Holy Trinity Metropolitan’s Cathedral.

3.  Usually this is where I try and share some inspired words of wisdom with you.  I am going old school on this one letting St. John Chrysostom take this one:

If any man be devout and love God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast. If any man be a wise servant, let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord. If any have labored long in fasting, let him now receive his recompense. If any have wrought from the first hour, let him today receive his just reward. If any have come at the third hour, let him with thankfulness keep the feast. If any have arrived at the sixth hour, let him have no misgivings; because he shall in nowise be deprived therefor. If any have delayed until the ninth hour, let him draw near, fearing nothing. If any have tarried even until the eleventh hour, let him, also, be not alarmed at his tardiness; for the Lord, who is jealous of his honor, will accept the last even as the first; he gives rest unto him who comes at the eleventh hour, even as unto him who has wrought from the first hour.

And he shows mercy upon the last, and cares for the first; and to the one he gives, and upon the other he bestows gifts. And he both accepts the deeds, and welcomes the intention, and honors the acts and praises the offering. Wherefore, enter you all into the joy of your Lord; and receive your reward, both the first, and likewise the second. You rich and poor together, hold high festival. You sober and you heedless, honor the day. Rejoice today, both you who have fasted and you who have disregarded the fast. The table is full-laden; feast ye all sumptuously. The calf is fatted; let no one go hungry away.

Enjoy ye all the feast of faith: Receive ye all the riches of loving-kindness. let no one bewail his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one weep for his iniquities, for pardon has shown forth from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Savior’s death has set us free. He that was held prisoner of it has annihilated it. By descending into Hell, He made Hell captive. He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh. And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry: Hell, said he, was embittered, when it encountered Thee in the lower regions. It was embittered, for it was abolished. It was embittered, for it was mocked. It was embittered, for it was slain. It was embittered, for it was overthrown. It was embittered, for it was fettered in chains. It took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen.

O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are overthrown. Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and life reigns. Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages. Amen.

4.  To all the members and friends of Holy Cross, to all of you that read these bulletins, I greet you with the joy of this day.  The feast of feasts.  The triumph of our Lord and Saviour.  The victory of life over death, of truth over deceit, of love and forgiveness over anger.

If someone were to ask me what I want for my parish, for the members, their families, the friends of Holy Cross, it is just one thing:  Carry the joy of Holy Pascha with you in your heart.  It is my hope and prayer that you will carry the joy of today with you every day.

Answer to last week’s question:
What are the final words of Jesus, as recorded in the Book of Acts?
“You will be My witnesses…to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:7-8)

This week’s question:
Complete the sixth Beatitude, “Blessed are the pur in heart…”

See you in church!  www.holycrosswpg.ca

In Christ,

Fr. Evan

The Way of the Cross – April 4, 2010

April 2010 Calendar