Behold, a virgin shall bear a sonand shall call his name Immanuel,

which means, “God is with us!”— Isaiah 7:14 —

There shall come forth a rodout of the stem of Jesse, and a branch

shall grow out of his roots.— Isaiah 11:1 —

Christ is Born!Glorify Him!

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

“Pray for one another that you may find healing” (James 5:16)

St. Nicholas Orthodox Church

9650 Johnnycake Ridge Rd • Mentor Ohio 44060 • 440-946-957 • saintnicholas-oca.org

Schedule of Divine Services: Nativity - TheophanySunday Dec 24 Sunday before the Nativity / Tone 4 / The Ancestors of Christ 10:00 am Divine Liturgy Coffee Hour 7:00 pm Vigil of the Nativity CarolsMonday Dec 25 TheNativityaccordingtothefleshofourLordandGodandChrist is Born! Savior, Jesus Christ. 10:00 am Divine LiturgyTuesday Dec 26 TheSynaxisoftheMotherofGodChrist is Born! 9:30 am Divine Liturgy Saturday Dec 30 Afterfeast of The NativityChrist is Born! 5:30 pm Great VespersSunday Dec 31 30th Sunday after Pentecost / Tone 5 / Afterfeast of The Nativity Readings: Gal 1:11-19 Matt 2:13-23 10:00 am Divine Liturgy Coffee Hour 2:00 pm Christani WeddingFriday Jan 5 Eve of TheophanyStrict Fast 7:00 pm Vigil / Litya / Great Blessing of WaterSaturday Jan 6 TheTheophanyofourLordandSaviorJesusChrist Readings: Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7 Matt 3:13-17 9:30 am Divine Liturgy 1:00 pm Blessing of Homes Begins 5:30 pm Great VespersSunday Jan 7 31st Sunday after Pentecost / Tone 6 / Afterfeast of Theophany Readings: Eph 4:7-13 Matt 4:12-17 9:00 am Church School 10:00 am Divine Liturgy Coffee Hour

Names for RemembranceFor the Service of House Blessing & Daily Prayer

For the Living

Volumes 31 / 32 2017 / 2018 Christmas - Epiphany

A Community of the Orthodox Church in AmericaWitnessingtotheApostolicFaithinLakeCountyforover44years

For the Departed

Wishing all of our Faithful Members& Friends a Joyous Nativity Season andall of God’s Blessings in the New Year!

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

CONCERNING THE BLESSING OF HOMESThe central sign of God’s sanctification of all things is seen in the coming of Christ and his baptism in the Jordan. When our Lord entered the waters he reclaimed the fallen world for himself. It is within this context that we are to understand the Orthodox Tradition of the Blessing of Homes.During the Feast of Theophany, the Priest visits the members of the parish in order to pray with them in the place where they live and to bless their surroundings with the Newly Sanctified Water. According to the teachings of the Orthodox Faith, the family is considered to be a small church with the family table being the home altar. Here the members gather each day to receive their Daily Bread from God with thanksgiving in the name of Christ. Thus, during the Epiphany Season, the Priest, as the father of the greater family of God, the Church community, comes to each of the small churches bringing the sanctification of Christ to all the family members.When the Priest arrives for his annual visit of prayer and blessing, he asks God to have mercy on the house, to rid it of every evil and to fill it with all that is good and righteous and true. All pray together for the living and the departed family members.Let us be mindful that the Priest is bringing the Blessing of Jordan into our homes, and that unless God protects our home we labor in vain (Psalm 127:1).

GUIDELINES FOR HOUSE BLESSING • A lighted candle, icon (or cross) and a bowl of Holy Water (from this year) should be placed on the table.

• All electronics, TV’s, Cell Phones, etc, should be turned off.

• Everyone in the house should come together at the table to sing the responses.

• The first Christian Name of each household member (living & deceased) should be printed on the form at the back of this bulletin.

• At the conclusion of the Service, Fr Andrew enjoys visiting with each family.

Father Andrew & DebbieMichael & John Clements

Bobby, Juliana, Eliana, Evangeline& Anastasia Kingsbury

David, Maria & Elias KucmanicSteve & Diane Grechny

Ruth Bede Larry, Donna, Cari & Doug Furman

Chad, Meredith, Elena, & Camille NicolettiTintor Family

Mike & Mary ValkoDeeb FamilyRausch Family

Andy, LuAnn & Alex DzuraJenny & Shawn Cunningham

Jared & Betsy LeMaster, Isabelle, George, PeterBarkas Family

Tim & Linda HalliganMaureen Medakovich

Ken & Peggy Walker & FamilyMargaret & David PellackMichael & Laura AbernathyLaurie & Tom Alexander

Linda, Jean, David, Deryn, Tom, Heidi, Jaime, Lino, Jaden Darrah

Jim & Lisa GordonSteve & Diane GallowanSuzanne & Bill GubserNancy & Scott Carlson

Cathy & Ted TheophylactosLisa Ryan

Nick, Debbie, Marcus & Deanna CovelliKevyn & Pamela Roth

Jim & Tina CapitanDianne & Greg Kochan

Christine, Michael, Ashley BrzozowskiThe Schroeder Family

Richard MirauntzAnna Lynch & Bailey Family

Leonard & Dolores HeimZamyatin Family

Dombrovskaya-Kozikov FamilyJanet Ursinyi

Bob, Evelyn & Bobby WickNichole, Evan, Mason & Ben ZaddStephanie, Cristina, Florin Iorga

Bob & Chris JossTJ, Jessica, Anna, Luke & Nina Chongris

Jim, Darlene, Emily, Katie HorabikChristine Cindric

Ted, Megan, Magnus TollefsonJim, Cindy, Timmy, Jimmy, Amy, Merrick & Mia

Paul MazurikKisha Family

Tim, Robyn, Riley, Jairus, Rachel & TessryAnn Sheranko

Joe & Pauline DemanskiGloria Hocevar & Family

Bruno ChristaniJohn & Valerie Christani

Ron & Mary RaySchelkanov Family

Anna GordonElena Gomer & Family

Maria LaguschSue Hoffacker

Peggy Hecht & Children & GrandchildrenLea & Scott Hoffacker

Jim, Kate, Emily, Dana, Tim SchlotzerDeborah Boggess

Bagley FamilyThe Kirouac FamilyElaine Templeton

The Fross & Janek FamiliesRomanciuc & Grajdianu Families

Zasukhin Family

CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM!CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM!

ATTENDANCE / STEWARDSHIP / DEC 17 Attendance—160, Operating—$2,562, OCA Assessment—$65, Cookie, Food Sale—$6,700, Christmas Card—$750, Uganda Children—$101, Icons—$30, Charities—$166, Flowers—$25.WEDDING BANNSJohn Christani & Lindsay Mudrak, Sunday Dec 31 at 2:00 pm.SPECIAL THANKSOur thanks goes out to Jenny and the Choir for all of their time and effort spent preparing for the special services of Advent and Christmas.YEAR END CONCERNSIf you wish to be counted in the Parish Census for 2018 and be considered a

HOUSE BLESSING The blessing of homes will begin on Saturay, January 6 at 1:00 pm. Please sign-up in the foyer if you would like to have your house blessed.

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Voting Member of the Parish, a pledge card with a dollar amount on it must be turned in by December 31. Please remember that our annual assessments to both the Diocese and Central Church are taken out of your pledge. YEAR 2018 ASSESMENTSPlease note our annual per person obligations to the OCA & Diocese for 2018. OCA—$90, Diocese—$86. There are envelopes for this in your packet and your timely response is greatly appreciated. FASTING NOTEThere is no fasting from Christmas until the eve of Theophany on January 5th. The eve of Theophany, Jan 5th is a strict fast day and should be ob-served like Christmas Eve.CHURCH SCHOOL RECESSThe Church School is in holiday recess until Sunday, January 7.FESTAL GREETINGSFrom Christmas to December 31st, Orthodox Christians greet each other with “Christ is Born!” The response is “Glorify Him!” In our greetings to non Orthodox, “Merry Christmas” as opposed to “Seasons Greetings” or “Happy Holidays” offers a better opportunity to bear witness to our faith and the true and original meaning of the season.

P R AY E R C O R N E R + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Eleanor Alexander (Tom’s mom), Perry (Capitan), Sbdcn Leonard, Kathy (Denise F’s sis), Jim (Ruth’s dad), Michael (Chongris nphw), Ted Geletka, (Fr’s frnd), Connie (Linda D’s frnd), Alex Dzura, infant Julian, John Clements, Willie (Elena G’s son), Bob Wareham (Andy d’s frnd), suffering Christians in Ukraine and the Middle East.Aniversaries: Shawn & Jenny Cunningham (12/27), Jim & Lisa Gordon (12/29), TJ & Jessica Chongris (12/30).

Birthdays: Darlene Horabik, Debbie Covelli (12/24), Maggie Stark (12/25).Expecting: Jonathan & Larissa, Brian & Nicole, Cole & Sarah, Matt & Krista, James & Lisa.Our Seminarian: Brian Crivella & Family.Our Missionaries: Peter & Sharon.Newly Illumined: AnastasiaMemory Eternal: John Mazurik (Paul’s bro), Fr John Klembara, Russ Bechowiak.

You have assumed a body of lowly clay, O Christ. By sharing our humble flesh, You have made our race partakers of divinity. By becoming mortal man yet remaining God, You have raised us from death to life. Holy are You, O Lord!

— From Ode 3 of the Christmas Canon —