St. George Serbian Orthodox Church

Monroe, MI

Sunday, July 9, 2017 / June 26 2017

5th Sunday after Pentecost

† ST. GEORGE SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH †

A Parish of the Diocese of New Gracanica and Midwestern America

His Holiness Irinej, Archbishop of Pec,

Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovci, Patriarch of Serbia

His Grace, The Right Reverend Bishop Longin, Bishop of New Gracanica and

Midwestern America

The Very Reverend Protopresbyter Radomir Obsenica

Reverend Deacon Joseph Appling

Reverend Deacon Herman Webb

Church Address: 2330 N Monroe St, Monroe, MI 48162

Phone: (734) 241-1169

e-mail: frrade@stgeorgemonroe.org

web site: stgeorgemonroe.org

Sunday July 9, 2017 / June 26, 2017 Venerable David of Thessalonica (540).

New Hieromartyr Gregory priest (1918).

St. Dionysius, archbishop of Suzdal (1385).

Translation of the relics (1569) of Venerable Tikhon of Lukhov (1503).

Venerable John, bishop of the Goths in Crimea (ca. 787).

The Holy Martyrs John and Paul, and Gallicanus

Venerable Serapion of Kozha Lake.

Translation of the relics of St. Brannock (Brynach) of Braunton, England (Celtic & Brit-

ish).

New Martyr David of St. Anne's Skete, martyred in Thessalonica (1813).

Anthion, monk.(Greek).

(If you have to leave worship, please do so during the Litanies)

Saturday, 4:50 PM Ninth Hour

Saturday, 5:00 PM Great Vespers

Sunday, 9:40 AM Third & Sixth Hours and Confessions

Sunday, 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy

Epistle: For the Sunday: Rom. 10:1-10

Gospel: For the Sunday: Matt. 8:28-9:1

† THE DIVINE LITURGY †

† SUNDAY SERVICE INFORMATION †

WELCOME The St. George Community, Monroe’s Orthodox Church welcomes you to today’s

celebration of the Divine Liturgy. We are delighted to have you worship with us, and we

pray that you will be blessed through your participation in our services. While Holy

Communion may only be received by prepared Orthodox Christians, our non-Orthodox

guests are welcome to join us in venerating the Cross and receiving blessed bread at the

conclusion of the Divine Liturgy. Literature about the Orthodox faith can be found in

the vestibule. Feel free to ask questions before or after the services. Please sign our

guest book and join us for refreshments and fellowship in the social hall after Liturgy. If

this is your first visit to our parish, we welcome you and invite you to return as often as

you are able. For those interested in learning more about Orthodoxy, please contact Fr.

Rade about our Adult Bible Study.

Troparion, Octoechos, Tone 4, When the women disciples of the Lord learned from

the angel the joyous message of Thy 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, Great-Martyr George, Tone 4, As a liberator of captives and a

defender of the poor, a physician for the sick and a champion for kings, O triumphant

Great Martyr George, pray to Christ our God that our souls may be saved.

Kontakion, Octoechos, Tone 4, My Savior and Redeemer , as God, rose from the

tomb and delivered the earthborn from their chains. He has shattered the gates of hades,

and as Master, He has risen on the third day.

† Epistle: Romans 10:1-10

10 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be

saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to

knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish

their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For

Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does

those things shall live by them.” 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do

not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ

down from above) 7 or, “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up

from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in

your heart”[e] (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with

your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the

dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with

the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ~NKJV

(Please do not leave worship during the reading of the Epistle or the Gospel.)

Prokeimenon, Tone 4, How magnified are Thy works O Lord! / In wisdom hast

Thou made them all.

v. Bless the Lord, O my soul; O Lord my God, Thou hast been magnified

exceedingly

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;

Kontakion, Great-Martyr George, Tone 4, God raised you as a pious and honored

gardener, O George, for you have gathered for yourself the sheaves of virtue. Having

sowed in tears, you now reap with joy; you shed your blood in combat and won Christ

as your crown. By your holy intercessions you grant forgiveness of sins to all.

Now and Ever, and Unto the Ages of Ages. Amen.

Theotokion, Tone 6, O Protection of Chr istians that is not put to shame,

unchanging Meditation before the Creator, despise not the voice of the sinners’ prayer,

but in that you are good, come quickly to help us who call upon you in faith; make

speed to inter-cede and make haste to supplicate, O Theotokos, who ever protects those

who honor you.

Alleluia, Tone 4,

v. Go forth and prosper and reign, because of truth and meekness and

righteousness.

v. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity.

† Gospel: Matthew 8:28-9:1 28 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met

Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no

one could pass that way. 29 And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do

with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

30 Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. 31 So the

demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of

swine.”

32 And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of

swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the

sea, and perished in the water.

33 Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything,

including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, the whole

city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from

their region.

9 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. ~NKJV

Happy Anniversary to: Judy and Sam Kachar (7/12)

Happy Birthday to:

† Prayers & Remembrance †

Robert

Steve

Tamara

Nadezda

Danica

Zivadin

Mike

Dianne

Helen

Eric

Steve

Protonica

Desa

Rade

Svetislav

Betty

Branko

Kelsi

Justin

Josh

Michael

Eugene

Elizabeth

Rodney

Brenda

Elizabeth

John

Alexander

Angeliki

Anne

Janice

Sam

Randy

Christopher

Michael

For The Health Of: For the Repose Of:

† Announcements † We are currently in the Apostle’s Fast. (June 12-July 12)

As previously announced, St. George will be serving at God Works again on Friday,

July 21st. Those able to help out should arrive by 5:00 pm to serve. If you have any

questions please contact Ken Howard.

† Stewardship Days † As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the

manifold grace of God. (1 Peter 4:10) And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the

Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the

inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. (Colossians 3:23-24)

As Christ entrusted the building up and care of the Church into the hands of the

Apostles, so too have we received this same commission. As part of this care is the

tending and beautification of our Parish Buildings and Grounds. Thus, we have

established a regularly scheduled Parish Stewardship Day to be held on the first

Saturday of each month from 9:30am to 12:30pm.

The next Stewardship Day will be on Saturday, August 26th. Tasks and projects

will vary each month. We will be sprucing up the grounds and making other

preparations for our Annual Labor Day Picnic.

Many hands make light work. Come join the fun and fellowship! If you have any

questions please contact Fr. Deacon Joseph.

† St. George Ministries - God Works † ‘For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a

stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you

visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ (Matthew 25: 35-36)

As Orthodox Christians, we are called not to be mere spectators of the world around

us, nor to be ambivalent to our neighbors, but rather to act out our love of Christ through

deeds of mercy, service and ministry to those around us especially those less fortunate

than we.

With this in mind, our parish will be assisting in the Monroe Area God Works

program which provides meals to the needy on Friday evenings. St. George has been

assigned three Fridays for which we will be responsible for preparing, serving, and

cleaning up the meal. The second date will be Friday, July 21st. We are in need of 10-

15 volunteers to fulfill all the tasks. The meal will be prepared and served at St. Mary’s

Catholic Church. Volunteers will need to arrive by 5:00 PM and should expect to finish

by 8:00 PM. If you are able to volunteer or if you have any other questions please

contact Ken Howard.

5th Sunday after Pentecost Our Lord Jesus Christ has numerous

encounters with those who have been

possessed (indwelt) by the demons, whom the

demons torment and control, forcing them to

do their bidding and destroying themselves and

others, ultimately leading to their death, both

spiritual and physical. Today’s Gospel is one

such account.

Now, there are two errors that we can commit

in our thinking as regards the demonic: One is

that we teach others that demons and those

who worship Sa-tan are just scary but innocent

fun, that there’s really no such thing as

witches, demons, and the devil himself; the

other is to attribute too much power to Satan and his minions, the demons, and those who

serve them—in other words, to be afraid of them and attrib-ute more power to them than to

God.

Holy Tradition clearly teaches us that Satan and his demons are a spiritual force to be

reckoned with, that we have to contend with, fight and struggle against. St. Paul reminds us

of this when he says, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against princi-palities,

against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of

wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).

The two men, the Gergesene demoniacs, are possessed by a whole legion of demons who

torment them. We read, that the men are violent, “exceedingly fierce,” so that no one could

“pass that way.” Appropriately, these men live among the tombs because they are truly

among the living dead. They are enslaved by the demons and their God-given faculties, the

beautiful nous (eye of the soul) that God placed in them has been dark-ened, obscured by

the spiritual confusion and paralysis that surrounds them by this host of demons.

We don’t know how they came to be possessed. There are many sins and practices that can

give the devil a foothold. All of us can come under demonic influence. Some people

actually come to be possessed by the demons if they do not have the Holy Spirit in-dwelling

them instead.

Likewise, certain sinful practices can make a foothold for demonic influence or pos-session

as well: pornography, drugs, even video games when played to excess can altar one’s reality

and become an entry point for demomic activity.

With regard to demonic possession, we have no reason to believe that it does not contin-ue

in our own day; in fact, we can be sure that it does. The same demons active in Christ’s day,

are still active today and will be until the Second Coming of Christ.

And while medical science may treat the symptoms of demonic possession—some of which

may be mistakenly labeled under the generic title of “mental illness,” it cannot

cure that possession or influence with drugs. There is a mystery here: What we do know is

that only the healing in Christ through the new life in Him, the exorcism of the de-mons,

and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and our continued “Yes” to God’s healing work in our

lives, can drive them away.

Exorcism is the first part of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism and a necessary precursor to

putting on Christ. We expel the demons and their influence from the neophyte (the newly

illumined) so that Christ may come and make His abode with him through the indwelling of

the Holy Spirit at Chrismation.

Christ came that we may be free of the demons, free of their control and influence, that we

may not be enslaved by them. This freedom is given us by virtue of our choos-ing life with

Him who is the Life over the living death that Satan and his minions give those whom they

enslave. Christ came to equip us by the Holy Spirit to do battle against those spiritual forces

of wickedness so that we may overcome our passions and their temptations that wage war

against our life with God and so that those footholds of the demons may be healed by Christ

God, the Great Physician of our souls and bodies.

As Orthodox, we’re not afraid of the demons: “He who is in you is greater than he who is in

the world” (I Jn. 4:4), St. John assures us. At the same time, as Orthodox we don’t

downplay the reality of the evil we are fighting against. Satan is described by Christ as the

“murderer of man.” He and his demons are bent on our destruction. We certainly don’t

pretend that witches and demons and ghosts are innocent fun or make them look ‘cute’, nor

do we participate in activities that may make others think that this is what we believe as

Orthodox Christians.

As for the Gergesene demoniacs, Christ cast out those demons and sent them into a herd of

swine and they drowned at sea. The men went their way, freed of their demonic

enslavement and proclaimed through the whole city what great things Jesus had done for

them. The destruction of the herd of swine shows us the incomparable value of human life,

whose salvation, as the Orthodox Study Bible puts it, “is worth every sacrifice.”

While those indwelt by the Holy Spirit may not be indwelt by the demons, their influ-ence

can still wreck havoc on our lives IF we let them. We must exercise great disci-pline and

vigilance to fight against them through our “No!” to sin and our “Yes!” to God, which is

manifested in the cross of our daily repentance and our humbling our-selves through

sacramental confession. By keeping short accounts with God in His Church, we allow

Christ God to step in to heal those places most susceptible to the in-fluence of the prince of

this world and enable us to gain the victory by God’s grace.

This is the good news inherent in today’s Gospel. There is nothing in this world or of this

world that can destroy us if we avail ourselves of our God-given life in Him, strug-gling for

healing from our passions and learning to recognize the dangers of those habits and

practices so often accepted or even encouraged these days in our culture, but which lead us

away from Him who is life and who calls us to holiness, being transformed into His likeness

more and more. This is the journey of salvation from this world and the prince of this world

that Christ God leads us on. Remember: “He who is in you is great-er than he who is in the

world.” ~ Fr. Robert Miclean ~orthodoxannapolis.org

† St. George Hall and Picnic Grounds†

Let St. George host all

your special events !!!

Graduations

Birthdays

Anniversaries

Weddings

Bridal Showers

Baby Showers

Family Reunions

Corporate Parties

Holiday Parties

Meetings

Wakes

Fundraisers

And more…!!!

To schedule a consultation

please call:

(734) 243-2712

St George Hall

and Picnic Grounds 2326 N Monroe St.

Monroe, MI 48162

Schedule of Upcoming Services Saturday, July 8, 5 PM Great Vespers

Sunday, July 9, 10 AM Divine Liturgy

Saturday, July 15, 5 PM Great Vespers

Sunday, July 16, 10 AM Divine Liturgy

Saturday, July 22, 5 PM Great Vespers

Sunday, July 23, 10 AM Divine Liturgy

Saturday, July 29, 5 PM Great Vespers

Sunday, July 30, 10 AM Divine Liturgy

Schedule of Upcoming Events Friday-Sunday, July 14-16 St. Mardarije Glorification in Chicago

Friday, July 21, 5:00 PM God Works Meal served at St. Mary’s

Please refer to http://stgeorgemonroe.org/church/calendar/ for updates.

BULLETIN ITEMS AND PRAYER REQUESTS: Have anything you want to mention in the WEEKLY bulletin? People to pray for?

Birthdays? Anniversaries? To submit items for the bulletin, see Gloria (Gordana)

Appling or e-mail bulletin@stgeorgemonroe.org and copy frrade@stgeorgemonroe.org.

Please submit bulletin items by at least Noon, the Wednesday prior.