St. John the Baptist, Parish Bulletin
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA. Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Parish Council President: Mr. Robert Onysko (607) 755-4085
Choir Directors: Mrs. Melodye Onysko (607)754-4085 melCNM@yahoo.com
Mrs. Nancy Tarcha (607)798-7591

Diocesan Website: www.uocofusa.org
Parish Web Page: www.stjohnuoc.org
Eparchial Archpastor: Archbishop Antony (732) 356-0090, Email: uocofusa@aol.com
Parish Priest: Rev. Fr. Zinoviy - John Zharsky (607) 797-1584, Email: stjohnuoc@yahoo.com

Ñåðäå÷íî â³òàºìî íàøèõ ãîñòåé, ÿê³ ìîëèëèñü ñüîãîäí³ ç íàìè. Áóäåìî ðàä³ áà÷èòè Âàñ ó íàñòóïíó íåä³ëþ. Íåõàé Âàñ îáåð³ãຠÃîñïîäü

Sun. Jan 27, 2007, 8:20 - 8:50 am. Reading of the Hours/Confession. 9:00 am. Divine Liturgy. Tone 2. Final day of Theophany. St. Sava I, enlightener and first archbishop of Serbia. St. Nina, Equal-to-the Apostles, Enlightener of Georgia. Prayer for travelers. Prayer for travelers. 10:45-11:30 am. Blessing of the classrooms with the holy water before Sunday School. Coffee Hour.

Mon. Jan. 28-Hebrews 11:17-23, 27-31 Mark 9:42-10:1 Venn. Paul of Thebes

Tue. Jan. 29 - Hebrews 12 -25:26, 13-22-25. Mark 10:2-12. New Hieromartyr Damascene of Chilandar on Mt. Athos.

Wed. Jan. 30 - Hebrews 13:17-21. Luke 13:19:27. Ven. Anthony, the Great. Emperor St. Theodosius the Great. Fast Day.

Thu. Jan. 31 - 9:30 am. Panahida in memory of Gerald Buckingham. James 1:19-27. Mark 10:17-27 St. Anastasius the Great and St. Cyril of Alexandria

Fri. Feb. 1 - 9:30 am. Akathist to Our Lord Jesus Christ. James.2:1-13. Mark 10:23-32Venn Macarius the Great Venn Macarius of the Kyiv Caves Fast Day

Sat. Feb. 2 - 9:00 am. Akathist to the Mother of God. Sr. and Jr. UOL executive board members will participate, everyone is welcome. 10:00 am. Panahida in memory of John Dudack. 4:30 pm. Great Vespers /Confession. Martyrs Inna, Pinna, and Rimma, disciples of Apostle Andrew in Scythia (I-II cent) Colossians 1:3-6. Luke 16:10-15.

Sun. Feb. 3 - 8:20 - 8:50 am. Reading of the Hours/Confession. 9:00 am. Divine Liturgy. Tone 3. Venn. Maximus the Confessor. Martyrs Eugene, Valerian, and Aquila. Prayer for travelers. 10:45 -11:30 am. Sunday School.

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Priest: Let us be attentive! Peace be with you all!

Reader: And with your spirit! Priest: Wisdom!

Reader: The Prokimen in tone 2. The Lord is my strength and my song / He has become my salvation.

Verse: The Lord has chastened me sorely, but He has not given me over unto death.

Priest: Wisdom!

Reader: The reading from the first letter of Apostle Paul to Timothy.

Priest: Let us be attentive

Reader: Brothers, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Priest: Peace be with you reader.

Reader: And with your spirit. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.

Verse: The Lord answer thee in the day of trouble! The Name of the God of Jacob protect thee!

Verse: Save the king, O Lord and hear us on the day we call!

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Happy Birthday: Jan. 29 Rose Hatala, 29 Alexandewr Wasylko,

30 Archbishop Antony, 31 Tina Kocak. Feb. 1 Nadia Kit.

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Thank you our sisterhood members who worked at the kitchen work session this past week.

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Sunday, February 3 - "Souper" Bowl Sunday - annual Sr. UOL collection to benefit the soup kitchens at St. Andrews Society soup kitchens in Ukraine.

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Parish members pleas remember to renew your club membership for 2008 - $4.00. Please see Jayne Maliwacki or Lesia. Your financial support is needed and appreciated.

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Mary Ann Klish would like to know if anyone is interested in participating in an ethnic event that Union Endicott High School is putting on. It's Saturday, Feb 9, 2008 from 10 AM to 3 PM. There will be dance groups at 12:00 N and a fashion show of ethnic costumes at 1:30 PM. They also have booths for setting up a display or pysanky. If you would like to participate then please contact Mary Ann at 797-5043 or let her know at church this week.

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Patron ads for the convention yearbook are $5.00 and can be given to Julie

Old Testament Study Bibles are available for a discounted price through the Sr. UOL. There are 12 bibles in a case and the pre-purchase price is $30.00 each. Reserve your copy today with Pam Scannell 754-1554. Purchasing the Study Bible on your own will cost $58.90 when it is available. The Bibles will be shipped in February.

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***************************************************************Please let Father know who is in need of visiting, prayers or receiving of

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At an emergency if you can’t reach Father at the rectory, you can call him on his cell phone 245-9988

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In our daily lives, we sometimes find ourselves in situations - uncomfortable ones, no less-where our relationships with others are tested. We face the question, “How will I react towards the other person?” This can be especially difficult to answer if we are trying to live a Christian life, and yet face someone who might gossip about us, appear to stab us in the back, say something sarcastic to or about us, neglect us, or simply hurt us by their actions.

The quick solution might be one of the following: ignore them, say something hurtful back to them, gossip about them, tell them off, be mean or hurtful in return, or trade sarcastic remarks endlessly back and forth. We might even consider violence or picking a fight. Yet, Christ calls us to something higher: “But I say to you hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you.” Luke 6:27-28.

Let’s be honest. What Christ teaches us is radical. It is so different than what we are used to seeing on TV or at the movies. We live in a society that teaches us to look out for ourselves first; Christ teaches us to put the other person first. Society teaches us to love our friends; Christ says to love our enemies, too. Society says not to let anyone get the best of us; Christ says to turn the other cheek.

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Love is an action that we choose. We may not like someone because of something they may have said or done to us, but we can choose to love that person by not doing evil in return, and, in fact, doing good. We can make a decision to be kind and to do good towards those who may not do the same to us. Our efforts to be peaceful and kind may even begin to change their behavior towards us. Also, it is important to ask our Lord to forgive those who offend us, as He asked of those who persecute and even crucified Him.

Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you. Initially, our first thought might be to ’curse those who curse you’. Realizing that even someone who curse us is made in the image and likeness of God, we ultimately curse God when we curse them in return. One of the simplest, yet most significant, things we can do is to pray for those who are cruel to us. When we ask God to bless someone, we recognize that even though they may not be acting like it, they were made holy, good and by God, and we look for that goodness in them - in spite of the evil that they may choose to show us.

The world we live in today pushes us towards a self-centered life where only “I”, “me”, and “my” matter, often at the expense of others. Christ challenges us to a higher calling, to live a life filled with peace, joy, kindness, and goodness. This kind of life is only possible through God’s help, and our willingness to cooperate with Him, doing that quoted above from the Gospel. The quote begins by Christ saying, “But I say to you who hear…” Are we listening?

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“Parents must be helped to understand that television dulls their children’s mind. They lose the ability to think on their own, to think critically-not to mention the damage it causes to their eyesight. And we are talking about manmade television. But there is another kind-a spiritual television. When people uproot their old self, and the eyes of the soul are cleansed, they can see into the future without the aid of any machines. Have they told their children about this other kind of television? If they won’t, these boxes will make our children dumb.”

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Future Event. Please mark your calendars

Sun. Feb. 3 - Following Liturgy Parish Annual meeting.

Feb. 1, 2, 3 - Our parish UOL chapters will host Sr. and Jr. National U.O.L. Executive Board Meetings.

Sat. Feb. 9 - Work session for dinner.

Sat. Feb. 16 - Work session for dinner

Sun. Feb. 10 - Following Liturgy Sisterhood Annual meeting.

Sun. Feb. 17 - Following Liturgy meeting with the parents whose children will attend first confession this year.

Mon. Feb. 18 - 7:00 pm. Parish Counsel meeting.

Tue. Feb. 19 - Volunteers to Sarah Jane’s Soup Kitchen, to help people of need in our area Jennifer and Mark Hatala and kids.

Sat. Feb. 23 - Work session for dinner.

Sun. Feb. 24 - It is a day when all of the youth of our church are to bring a friend to church in order to spread knowledge about our faith. This is not limited to one friend. Please do not limit this event only to the juniors. Encourage the whole church to get involved. The more people involved the better.

Sat. March 15 - 11:00 am. - 1:00 pm. Sisterhood Bake Sale.

Tue. March 18 - 5:00 pm. Volunteers to Sarah Jane’s Soup Kitchen, to help people of need in our area Carolyn, Adam and Benjamin Hatala, Phil Harendza. If you would like to be added to the list of volunteers please call Beth Harendza 321-3685

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Pray for the sick: The Lord said: “Do unto others as you would want them do unto you.” So if we will be sick, we will ask help from God, we will ask priests and people to pray for us. In order for the Lord to listen to us when we are sick, we need to pray for those who are sick. O Lord our God, Who by Your Word alone healed all diseases; Who cured the Mother-in-law of Apostle Peter; Who chastises with pity and heals according to Your goodness; Who are able to put aside every malady and infirmity: Do You the same Lord, now relieve Your servants: Fr. Michael Michalopolos, John Tylko, Helen Rucky, Paul Chebiniak, John Glowa, Evelyn Kanazawich, Robert Kocak, Audrey and Eugene Klym, Michael Hovancik, Kevin Terpak, Mildred Charnetsky, Mary & Walter Gulachok, Mary Gormish, Olga Gooley, Mary Ford, John and Mary Mihalko, Margaret Klish, Marlyn Klish, Cypryan Klish II, Sophia Malowicky, Genevieve Sadowitz, Michael Sr. Duby, Anne and Karen Girnis, Julie Sadowitz, Catheri! ne Dobransky, Pelahia Kit, Stephania Moroz, Mildred Bogdan, Wasyl Krawecki, Meghan Scannell, Olga Drost, Marion Kaspryk, Nicholas Corba, and cure them of the sicknesses which grieves them; lift them up from their beds of pain, sending down upon them Your mercy; and if it be Your will, give to them health and a complete recovery. For You are the Physician of our souls and bodies, and to You we ascribe glory: to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit now and ever and unto ages of ages Amen

And, ‘tis the season for Parish Council elections. Every year as December and January roll around, many Orthodox parishes hold elections for their parish councils. In my ten year ministry, I’ve had parish council members who are shining examples of what it is to be an Orthodox Christian, who genuinely care for the mission of the church, who made a weekly habit of receiving Holy Communion, who came to confession, in addition to coming to parish council meetings, serving on committees and organizing community events. I’ve also had parish council members who did not attend church, who laughed when I told the parish council that all members should go to Confession at least once a year, who came to church each Sunday only in time to pass the tray, who weren’t faithful in keeping the fasts of the church and who generally did not set a good example.

In my parish, in addition to a seminar for Parish Council candidates held in the local area, last year I instituted an additional one hour private session in my office so that I could have an opportunity to dialogue with each candidate one on one. The other day, in conducting one of these meetings, a candidate asked me “Father, what is your number one goal for next year?” Without even thinking about it, I replied, “To have 11 parish council members (the number of my parish council) who will worship in church each Sunday.” This person replied, “Do I have to come on time?” I guess a priest can dream, but as we approach another year of parish council elections, I scratch my head and wonder is it really that hard to find 11 people for a parish council who will commit to coming to church on time each Sunday? And is our method of choosing our parish leaders something that needs to be revised?

Picking versus Electing

History shows that leaders have traditionally picked those who work closest with them. Kings chose their men of court, presidents choose their cabinets, hierarchs choose their councils, coaches choose their assistant, managers hire their own secretaries, but the parish priests have their councils voted in. (In fact, the priest isn’t even allowed to cast a vote for the parish council.) Why is that? Some say, this is to serve as a check and balance for the priest, to make sure he doesn’t get too much power. If we are worried that a priest will wield power in a dictatorial and oppressive way, perhaps that person is not an appropriate candidate for ordination and should be screened out during seminary. However, the priesthood is a position of authority. The priest serves as the Icon of Christ at the altar in his community.

The priest serves as the leader of his community. Many parish council members will argue that the priest leads only the spiritual part of the community, with the parish council doing the business part. To which I counter, is there any part of the community life that isn’t to be considered spiritual? Just look at your own personal life. Is there a separation between the spiritual and secular parts of your life? Does Christ only lead part of our lives, or is He supposed to be leading at all times, even when we are engaged in “secular” things like sports or socializing? Likewise, there is no secular part of a church. Christ, through the priest, leads all aspects of community life. If there is a sinful or ungodly segment to community life, like running a bingo business, that aspect of community life needs to be eliminated, not have the

priest turn a blind eye to it.

And what happens more often than not, is that rather than serving as a check and balance to temper a priest who “wields too much power,” a parish council serves as an obstacle and handicaps the enthusiastic priest who is trying to grow his parish in the image and likeness of Christ.

What is the purpose of an Orthodox Church?

The Orthodox Church has but one purpose, to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As subgoals under this overarching theme are mission statements taken directly from the Gospels themselves. “To seek and to save the lost,” (Lk. 19:10); To call sinners to repentance (Mt. 9:13) ; and “to baptize all nations.” (Mt. 28:19) Every priest, parish council member and parishioner should be actively working towards these goals in their own lives and in the lives of their peers. Some have distorted the purpose of the church to include providing a social life and preserving a certain culture and language. There are certainly social and cultural elements present in every parish, but should not be the focus of that parish. The focus of every parish is Jesus Christ.

What is the role of the Parish Council?

Archdiocese regulations in various Orthodox jurisdictions provide a legal job description of the parish council which is to ostensibly help administer the parish in cooperation with the parish priest. Some interpret that as making sure the parish is on solid financial footing, counting money in the tray, running the parish festival, or selling raffle tickets. But if the primary focus of the parish is supposed to be furtherance of the Gospel, then the primary focus of the parish council member is supposed to be assisting the priest to further the Gospel. This means that first and foremost, the parish council member must be a supportive example of what it means to be an Orthodox Christian. If parish council members are not worshipping in church or receiving the sacraments or going to Confession, what kind of message does this send? That these things are important for the “regular people” of the parish but not for its leadership? By no! t being a good example IN the church, not only does the parish council member not further the message of Christ or work in cooperation with the priest, but actually works in opposition to the priest. Because the regular member of the church is going to think, “If our priest can’t convince his own parish council that worship and the sacramental life are important, he must be a real Bozo.” Yes, the parish council has an administrative role in the church. The church festival is generally organized by someone on the parish council. Someone on the parish council is usually in charge of the buildings and grounds, the stewardship committee, the outreach committee and acts as a liaison to the various ministries of the church. But the primary role of the parish council is to be leading by example, in worship, in

speaking positively about the future spiritual growth of the church.

What constitutes a Member in Good Standing? A hypothetical case study

In the parish of Holy Trinity, in Anytown, USA, there was a rule that to run for the parish council, one had to be a member for one full year prior to the election. So, if the election was December 9, 2005 for the parish council

of 2006, in order to run, one had to be a member on December 9, 2004. It turns out that one year, George Smith wanted to run for parish council. He was a very pious man, in church every Sunday, one of the top stewards of the parish, who also did a lot of volunteer work at the parish festival. In November 2005,

George Smith was nominated for parish council and was very excited about the prospect of serving his church. George had moved to the area in January of 2005 from a parish where he had served on the parish council, and filled out

his membership form on January 2 of 2005. George was disqualified from running because he hadn’t been a member of the parish for a full year (he was three weeks short of a full year), and hence wasn’t a member in good standing. Mike Johnson, on the other hand, who rarely attended church, who pledged only a nominal amount, was nominated and elected. His great-grandfather, after all, had been one of the founding members of the parish. And for the 90 year history of the church, a Johnson had always been on the Parish Council. Perhaps it is time to redefine what is a member in good standing.

An Uninformed Electorate

In most parishes, members of the congregation do not know all the members who are running. Since we don’t have debates or public forums for candidates to introduce themselves before the elections (hmm, there’s an idea, a debate on the stage in the parish hall after church), members are told to vote for a slate of candidates they may not even know. And so the voting goes like this. Nick Jones picks up his ballot. It says vote for 6 of these 8 candidates. Nick knows five of the candidates, so he votes for them. He evaluates which of the other three to vote for and finds one of the remaining candidates is named Nick Smith. So he thinks, “My name is Nick, that’s a good name, I’ll vote for him.” And so Nick Smith is qualified in the eyes of Nick Jones merely because his name is Nick. Then you have a good number of parishioners who show up only to vote -- they don’t even attend church on election Sunday but come afterward to vote. They br! ing their checkbooks to make sure they are caught up on their membership for the year, filling out their stewardship form or paying their dues in December, just so they can vote. You have parishioners who themselves are not members in good standing, because they don’t live an Orthodox Christian life, voting for people they don’t know. An uninformed electorate voting for people they don’t know -- is this a functional system?

What motivates people to run for the Parish Council?

need to be good with numbers and balancing checkbooks, should understand stewardship and fund-raising and will be doing administrative jobs like making sure the church roof gets repaired. But the primary job of the parish council member is to be a good example of a faithful Orthodox Christian, and being faithful to this role must be a motivating factor for the parish council candidate.

What we need on the Parish Council?

Committed Christians, plain and simple. We need people who will serve as examples to the rest of the community, who will come faithfully and punctually to church each Sunday, who will receive Communion, who will

go to confession, who will attend a Bible study or religious retreat, who can talk with some competency about Orthodoxy. What we do NOT need are people who spend the liturgy in the hall, who come at 11:00 a.m. in time to pass the tray, who discourage parishioners from going to confession, who engage in gossip about the priest, or each other. How do these things help in spreading the Gospel of Christ?

Several years ago, at summer camp, one of the staff members also happened to be the parish council president of her church community. One morning, as we were beginning the Orthros (Matins) service before the Divine Liturgy, there was one person in our camp chapel (a tent outdoors covering a slab of concrete). In the back row of the chapel, it was this woman who was kneeling on concrete and praying. After Liturgy, I told her how moved I was to witness this scene of a parish council president on her knees praying at the beginning of Orthros in an empty church. I told her thank you for giving me a healthy image of a parish council member to have in my mind. At a time when many parish council members are the last ones in church, it was refreshing to see one be the first. We always picture the parish council members passing the tray, taking sign-ups for something, or hawking tickets to the dinner-dance. It’s time for parish council members to step up and change that image,! into images of holiness rather than images of business. After all, what is a church, a place of holiness or a place of business? And as Orthodox Christians, we are supposed to be being led by our priests and parish council members to become images of holiness, not merely consumers, customers and constituents.

Camp for the Metropolis of Atlanta. /Source Ukrainian Orthodox Word/

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April 4-6 “Grant me to see my own transgressions and not to judge my brother” All Saints Camp, Emlenton, PA. Speakers Metropolitan Constantine, Fr. John Nakonachny, Fr. John Haluszczak.

UOL Lenten Retreat April 11-13. St. Francis Retreat House, Bethlehem, PA. Retreat will focus on the Services of Holy Week. Speakers Archbishop Antony and Archimandrite Daniel. A subsidy is available for those Junior and Young Adult UOL members who apply for the subsidy. Registration must be

postmarked by March 1. For applications please see Father or Pam Scannell.

Ukrainian Orthodox Church Camping Programs. Diocesan Church School Camp: June 21 - July 5,Children age 9-13. Teenage Conference 50^th Anniversary Year, July 6 -19, Teenagers Ages 13-18. Mommy & Me/Daddy & Me Camp August 4-8, Children 4-8 and Parents. Staff members needed for all encampments. Consecration Celebration of All Saints Camp Chapel June 22

2008 College and Young Adult Mission Trip to Ukraine. Sponsored by the UOC of USA and Children of Chornobyl Relief and Development Fund. The dates to serve Christ and His Church are May 28 - June 15.

Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. The High School Mission Trip to St. Johns the Compassionate Mission in Toronto, Canada will take place August 10-17. Applications Deadline March 1.

JULY 30 - AUGUST 3, 2008. 61 ANNUAL UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX

LEAGUE CONVENTION AT ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN JOHNSON CITY, NY. “THE LIGHT OF CHRIST ILLUMINES ALL” COME AND ENJOY SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES.

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Please give Father any information or announcements that you would like to publish in the Sunday’s bulletin, before Friday of that week. This way all parishioners will know about St. John’s events. Thank you.

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Dear brothers and sisters for those who do not attend confession (repentance)

and Holy Communion, please participate in these sacraments. This is for your own salvation, for the remission of sins and life everlasting. Please do not wait till the last minute, it could be too late. We never know when God will call us.

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