Orthodox Church in America

ALL ARE INVITED to attend, play and be merry at the Children's Christmas Party on Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 3:00PM. Refreshments follow. The last day to reserve a seat and a present for your children is December 27, 2009.

Father Michael presented the flyer for the Yolka on January 10, 2010.  The menu will be Turkey and the prices will be kept the same as previous years. A ticket person was selected and tickets will be mailed after stuffing envelopes on Sunday, December 6.  The raffle tickets will also be available.

Because of the assessment payment, the report was in the Red by $16,000.00. The figures for the utilities were not available for the report, therefore the item was left blank.  They will be available for the next report. The $700.00 under miscellaneous was the for the Bishop's visit.

Carpeting and floor samples were looked at for the church, but tabled for now to see more samples.

The parking lot next to the church will be worked on Saturday, December 5, starting between 8 and 9 a.m. The parking lot will be cleaned up and gravel will be added to the big holes.

The kitchen needs to be remodeled. Thoughts to include part of the men's room and the hall are being considered.

The children will again have a Christmas Party in the church hall and they will try to have a song or skit ready for the Yolka.  Parishioners are welcome to come to the children's party.

Poinsettias will be purchased for the church for Christmas. Pascha flowers will be ordered soon.  It would also be nice to see parishioners decorating the church with window decorations, garlands and wreaths.

We are having the Cookie and Bake Sale.  It will be open to the public starting at 11:30 a.m. A sign will be available and put up outside the church.

Other things discussed are the following: replacing tiles in the ladies room, check on why the ceiling is starting to peel again - is it the roof? Also, children give flowers when greeting the Bishop the next time he comes to visit.

"Of all Holy works, the education of children is the most holy", said St. Theophan the Recluse. We, who are blessed by knowing the light of teaching of the Holy Orthodox Church, must feel great aspiration to pass it onto our children, for they could grow up in this Holy light!

The Church School meets every Saturday at 4:30PM. in the Church hall located downstairs in the Church. Our priest offers age-appropriate religious instruction in the Orthodox faith, in the English and Russian language. With God's help, we hope our youth will progress in wisdom, reason, and every good deed for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ and magnification of His Holy Church.

All learning materials, as well as a snack, will be provided at no charge, though donations, of course, are always welcome.

Parents, please make a commitment to bring your children regularly, while the program goes on they miss many important things!

All are welcome to attend.

The next day that the non-perishable food for Open Pantry will be collected is December 20. Suggested items are: paper goods, personal care items, canned meats, canned pasta meals, cereal, cake and other baking mixes, jelly, peanut butter, instant dry milk, pancake mix and syrup, macaroni and cheese, tuna fish, Jell-O and pudding, cookies and crackers, spaghetti sauce, paper products, laundry and dish soap etc. Place items in the barrel in the narthex.

Bible Study Class is every other Wednesday at 7:00PM in the church hall. Anyone interested in learning more about the Holy Scripture is welcome to attend. Next class will be December 23.

Inquiry Class on the Orthodox Faith is every other Wednesday at 7:00PM next time we meet December 16. Anyone interested in learning about the Orthodox Faith, its basic theology and history is welcome to ask questions.

Беседы о Православии для желающих изучать православную веру: учение, историю, традицию проходят по пятницам, каждую вторую неделю, в 19:00 в трапезной храма. Следующее занятие 18 декабря. Следите за расписанием.

For more information, please contact Fr. Michael at (413) 734-8472.

ARE YOU A MEMBER OF ST PETER AND ST PAUL ORTHODOX CHURCH? JOIN OUR PARISH FAMILY!By joining us, you show your visible support of the parish, which nourishes you and your family spiritually. We all hope the parish will be there when we need it (for baptisms, marriages, funerals, etc.) By joining the parish, we support it both spiritually and financially. To renew your membership or to become a new member, please, contact Fr. Michael. We cordially invite you to join our parish family!

Please remember that usually the choir meets for rehearsal every Saturday at 5:00PM. All choir members should make every effort to attend. New members are always welcome, so please, feel free to join us at the services. If you have any questions, please call Pamela Parsons at (413) 584-5024.

PREPARATION FOR CONFESSION is on its regular schedule – every other Saturday after Vigil. Next time – December 19.

Private confession is held after each Vigil or upon request.

As the academic as well as the Church year begins, we would like to welcome all Orthodox Christians to support our activities. The Five College Orthodox Fellowship is a group of students, faculty and staff from the five colleges in the Pioneer Valley (Smith, Mount Holyoke, Amherst and Hampshire colleges, and University of Massachusetts). We are Pan-Orthodox, and sponsor a variety of activities related to enriching the faith and life of Orthodox in the five colleges, and extending knowledge of our faith.

Do you know of a student, or someone else, at the colleges who might be interested in our activities?  Would you like to find out more about our ministry?  Please contact either Nicholas Groves (773-682-5545) or Helena Lake (413-549-5726).

Please join us downstairs after the Liturgy for the fellowship meal, hosted this week by Mary Phillips and the Korolev's family. If you would like to host or to volunteer to help at coffee/tea hour, please sign up on the blackboard downstairs. Next week's coffee/tea hour will be hosted by: Gregory Fishtik.

Coffee Hour is an opportunity for our community (members and non-members) to express hospitality in a spirit of fellowship. Hospitality is expressed in the fact that everyone is welcome, everything is donated, there is no minimum (or maximum) donation required. All proceeds go directly to the Church and in this sense, Coffee Hour is also a fundraising event.

Please sign up on the blackboard downstairs

• Please prepare coffee for 50 - 70 people.
• Please do not use flavored coffees. Please keep coffee hours simple. Bagels and fruit are acceptable. Please check the freshness and availability of milk (or nondairy creamer during the fasting periods). You are welcome to make it as elaborate as you would like but it is not necessary.
• Money collected at coffee hour should be given to the Treasurer or assistant Treasurer (or any member of council) and is deposited in the church's general fund.
• Please clean up the kitchen, serving counter, wash the dishes after coffee hour and take out the trash. Please wipe down the tables in the hall.

WE WELCOME EVERYONE TO PARTICIPATE!