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SCHEDULE OF SERVICES & EVENTS FOR HOLY WEEK & PASCHA

MON 4/26/2021 HOLY MONDAY

6:00 PM Confessions

6:30 PM Presanctified Liturgy

TUES 4/27/2021 HOLY TUESDAY

6:00 PM Confessions

6:30 PM Presanctified Liturgy

WED 4/28/2021 HOLY WEDNESDAY

6:00 PM Confessions (Last Chance Before Pascha!)

6:30 PM Sacrament of Holy Unction (Anointing)

THURS 4/29/2021 HOLY THURSDAY—THE INSTITUTION OF THE EUCHARIST

9:00 AM Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great

6:30 PM Matins with the Reading of the Passion Gospels (Live Stream)

Preparation of the Tomb for Good Friday after Services

FRI 4/30/2021 HOLY FRIDAY—CRUCIFIXION, DEATH AND BURIAL OF CHRIST

9:00 AM Royal Hours—Morning Prayer Service

6:30 PM Vespers of Holy Friday (Live Stream)

Procession with the Holy Shroud (Outdoors, Weather Permitting)

SAT 5/1/2021 HOLY SATURDAY—AWAITING THE RESURRECTION

9:00 AM Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great

Decorating of Church After Liturgy

—Church Open All Day for Visits to the Holy Tomb—

8:00 PM Chrismation of Anna-Marie Shears (Live Stream)

Resurrection Procession (Outdoors, Weather Permitting)

Resurrection Matins Service (Live Stream)

Blessing of Easter Food Baskets

SUN 5/2/2021 PASCHA—THE GREAT DAY OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

10:00 AM Divine Liturgy (Live Stream)

Blessing of Easter Food Baskets

Children’s Easter Egg Hunt (Weather Permitting)

HOLY WEEK AND PASCHA ANNOUNCEMENTS 2021 Holy Week is the high point of the Christian year. We liturgically celebrate in a chrono-logical manner the saving events of Our Lord’s Suffering, Death and Resurrection. Our church becomes the Upper Room of the Last Supper, Calvary and the Tomb. All those things done by Christ are re-presented—made present again.

Services There is at least one service a day during Holy Week, with two on Holy Thursday, Holy Friday, and Holy Saturday. If you have to prioritize church attendance, gravitate to-wards the services of the last three days of Holy Week—Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. (For those who are still unsure about attending services with a larger group of people, consider attending the services on the mornings of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. These are typically attended only by a small number of parishioners.)

Service Times Please pay close attention to the times of services! None of the evening services will be at our “usual” 6:00 PM time-slot. Holy Monday through Holy Friday, our evening services will begin at 6:30 PM. We hope that this extra half-hour will be of assistance to those who work and have com-mutes, students who have homework, etc. Resurrection Matins will begin on Holy Saturday at 8:00 PM. Since the early days of the Christian Church, the Paschal Night has been an important time. Resurrection Mat-ins itself speaks of “this holy, radiant, and saving night.”

Chrismation—Welcoming a New Member This year, at the start of our Resurrection Services on Saturday evening, we will celebrate the Sacrament of Chrismation for Anna-Marie Shears, to receive her into the Holy Or-thodox Church.

Holy Week Fasting Holy Week, as the most solemn week on the Church’s calendar, is observed as a week of fasting. A minimum fast from meat and meat products is to be observed on Holy Mon-day, Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday and Holy Thursday. (If you are able, you can do more and keep a strict fast all week.) All are enjoined to strict fast from meat and dairy products on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, ending after Liturgy on Easter Sunday.

Reminder About the Eucharistic Fast Those receiving Communion at an evening Liturgy are to fast for a minimum of 3 hours prior to the service. (Ideally, we should not eat after lunch.) Fasting from midnight is still observed before receiving Communion at any morning Liturgy. (Also, remember that only services called “Liturgy” have the distribution of Holy Communion. Other services—like Vespers or Matins—do not have Communion.)

Confessions During Holy Week, Confessions will be heard before the services on Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, and Holy Wednesday from 6:00 PM until the time of the service. Con-fessions will not be heard Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, or on Pascha itself. If the sacristy door is open and the light is on, you can walk into the Confessional.

Perpetual Commemorations of the Departed Perpetual Remembrances will not be made during Holy Week and Bright Week, in or-der to focus on Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. All commemorations will be made after St. Thomas Sunday.

Vigil at the Tomb on Holy Saturday Our church will be open all day on Holy Saturday for prayer and for visits to the Holy Tomb. This is an old tradition, and it is wonderful that we are able to keep it going. Take a moment out of your busy schedule and come quietly to pray in preparation for Pascha.

Decorating for Good Friday and Pascha We will arrange the church for Good Friday after services on Holy Thursday evening; and decorate the church for Pascha after services on Holy Saturday morning.

Easter Egg Hunt for all children (under 12) will take place after Divine Liturgy and the second Blessing of Baskets on Pascha Sunday, May 2nd.

Congratulations to Melinda and Tom Ristvey who celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary on April 24th! We offer a special Blessing for their anniversary on Palm Sunday, April 25th. May God continue to grant them many, blessed years in the union of holy matrimony!

Our deepest condolences are expressed to Pani Eleanor and Fr. Michael Polanichka on the passing of Pani Elea-nor’s sister ANNA THEAR on April 7th. May the Lord grant her blessed repose. Eternal memory!

2021 Patriarchal Pence Envelopes for “Patriarchal Pence” are included in this bulletin. This is our annual contribution for the work and ministry of His All-Holiness, our Ecumenical Pa-triarch Bartholomew and the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Please return your gift as soon as possible!

Congratulations to parents Elise and David Salu-ga and grandparents Cyndi and Steve Saluga on the birth of DAVID ALEX SALUGA, JR. on April 20th. May God grant David many, blessed years!

Stewardship By Dan Hromyak

"Pilate again said to them, 'Then what shall I do with the man whom you call the King of the Jews?' And they cried out again, 'Crucify him.'" - Mark 15:12-13 Jesus told us "whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me." Every day we are presented opportunities to help someone. Every day we have the opportunity to see the face of Jesus in others and be the face of Jesus to others. Every day we pass by someone in need. Pray for the strength and courage to be the answer to someone's prayer.

A PRAYER AS WE BEGIN HOLY WEEK... My Lord Jesus Christ, You made the journey to die for us with unspeakable love, yet I have many times unworthily abandoned You. Now I love You with my whole heart, and because I love You, I repent sincerely for having sinned against You. Pardon me, my God, and permit me to accompa-ny You on this journey to Your Passion, Cross and Burial, that I may witness Your glorious Resurrec-tion. You went to die out of Your love for me; I wish also, my beloved Redeemer, to die to sin and live out of love for You. My Jesus, I will live and die always united to You. Amen.

Step by Step through

the Holy Week and Paschal Services by Fr. David

Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, and Holy Wednesday cover a number of motifs. The Gospel readings are often taken from the final teachings of Jesus Christ. Holy Monday includes the theme of Joseph from the Old Testament, as well as the fig tree that was cursed and with-ered by Jesus. Holy Tuesday centers on the parable of the Ten Virgins. Holy Wednesday points to the anointing of Christ by the sinful woman in the house of Simon the leper. On Holy Wednesday, it has become customary in many places to offer the Sacrament of Ho-ly Unction (Holy Anointing) for the entire parish community. As this sacrament is offered for the healing of soul and body and the forgiveness of sins, it is received by Orthodox Chris-tians who have confessed during Lent as a spiritual preparation to enter into the final days of Holy Week and Pascha. The Vesperal Divine Liturgy on Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, the Institu-tion of the Holy Eucharist, the Institution of the Priesthood, and Christ’s humble act of wash-ing the feet of His disciples. Today’s Gospel reading is actually the longest of any Divine Liturgy. The Matins of Holy Friday (typically anticipated on Holy Thursday evening) includes twelve readings from the Gospels. These readings relate Jesus’ final discourse to the disciples; Jesus’ agony in the garden; His betrayal and arrest; His trial, mocking and scourging; His journey to Golgotha; His crucifixion; and His burial. This service helps us to begin our ob-servance of Holy Friday having heard all that the Scriptures tell us about Our Lord’s Passion and Death. The full Royal Hours service is actually an aggregate of five shorter services: 1st Hour, 3rd Hour, 6th Hour, 9th Hour, and Typika. Each of the hours includes Psalms, hymns, an Old Testament reading, an Epistle reading, and a Gospel reading related to the Passion and Death of Christ. The Vespers on Holy Friday again shares the narrative of the Passion and Death of Christ. At the conclusion of this service, the Shroud (epitaphios; plashchanitsa) depicting either the dead Christ or the entire scene of Christ’s burial is solemnly carried in procession and “buried” in the Tomb in the middle of the church where it remains until Resurrection Matins. The Vesperal Divine Liturgy on Holy Saturday directs our attention to the Resurrection. In the early church, it was at this time that new members of the church were baptized, thus being joined to the Death and Resurrection of Jesus in a personal way. This Liturgy includes

two readings from the Old Testament, one with the Hymn of Moses from the book of Exo-dus, and the other with the Hymn of the Three Youths from the book of Daniel. Instead of the singing of “Alleluia” before the Gospel, a Psalm verse “Arise, O God, and judge the earth, for all nations belong to You” is sung. During this time, the black vestments and altar covers are removed, and all vestments and covers in the church are changed to white. The Gospel reading from Matthew proclaims the Resurrection for the first time, as well as Jesus’ instruction to baptize all nations. The festal blessing of bread, wheat, wine, and oil takes place at the end of the Liturgy, a hold-over from the days when this Liturgy was celebrated in the evening and people needed a “blessed snack” to tide them over until after the Pascha Liturgy. Resurrection Matins begins with the removal of the Shroud. The Shroud is placed on the altar until the Ascension. After the candles of the congregation are lit, all go outside the church in procession for the beginning of the service. Before the closed doors of the church, the Paschal Tropar “Christ is risen from the dead…” is sung for the first time. The doors of the church are blessed with the sign of the cross before all proceed back inside. The main body of the service consists of a Canon written by St. John of Damascus, the re-frain being “Christ is risen from the dead!” During the special Paschal Stichera, all come forward to venerate the Cross, Gospel, and Icon of the Resurrection. A homily by St. John Chrysostom is read at the conclusion of the service. Paschal Foods are blessed at some point, according to parish custom. These meat– and dairy-rich foods are a sampling of the type of foods from which we abstained during Lent. They are the first foods that are eaten after Liturgy on Pascha, symbolizing the richness of the heavenly banquet in God’s Kingdom. The Divine Liturgy of Pascha is the culmination of the Paschal services. The tropar “Christ is risen…” is sung many times, even in place of other regular hymns. It is customary to read the Gospel from John (1:1-17) in twelve sections in several languages, symbolic of the apos-tles going to preach to the whole world. At the end of the Liturgy, the “artos” (a leavened bread) is blessed; in parish practice, it is distributed on Thomas Sunday. The full celebration of Pascha extends for an entire week, known as “Bright Week.” The doors of the ikonostas remain open, a sign that the kingdom of God has been opened to us through Christ’s resurrection. We do not kneel for prayer during Bright Week or the rest of the Paschal season, as kneeling is a sign of penance. On Bright Monday, after Liturgy, a procession around the church includes four Gospel readings—one from each evangelist—and share the story of the Resurrection.

Don’t Forget Your Basket! If you think Easter baskets are just about chocolate and marshmallows, think again! Included in this bulletin is information about the custom of blessing Paschal foods, a practice of many in and from Eastern and Central Europe (Carpatho-Rusyns, Russians, Ukrainians, Slovaks, Poles, Romanians) as well as elsewhere. This information in-cludes lists of the traditional Carpatho-Rusyn foods that many in our parish know and love. If you bring a basket faithfully every year—great! Keep it up! But if you stopped bringing one (either because you can’t eat the foods anymore, or making those foods is too la-bor intensive), or if you have never brought one (because you didn’t grow up with this custom), please consider bringing one this year! EVERYONE is invited to bring a basket of foods that are representative of those things which were given up during the Lenten fast. You are not required to only bring the “traditional” foods—bring the food you will eat as your Easter feast! If you need a little guidance, bring something from each of these categories: Bread: usually sweet and rich. Hardboiled eggs in the shell, usually dyed (These are symbols of Christ “breaking” out of the tomb.) Dairy: cheese, butter. (You need something to put on that bread!) Meat: pork or lamb or chicken or turkey or beef or… (The possibilities are endless.) Seasonings: Salt and horseradish are customary. Other Foods: chocolate, sweets, wine, whatever! The most important thing is that you bring for God’s blessing the “first fruits” of your meal that will break the Fast after Pascha Liturgy. This is a way of extending the feast—and God’s blessing—from the church into your home. If you’re still not sure, here are a couple anecdotes about some creative Easter foods: In one parish, a man faithfully brings two chili dogs from Sheetz to be blessed on

Pascha, because he gives up meat—and his favorite chili dogs—for Lent. In one family, the wife couldn’t have ham or kolbasi anymore. The solution? A

roasted turkey breast was added to the basket. It is now a family tradition! This year, we will offer the Blessing of Baskets twice: after the 8:00 PM Resurrection Matins ser-vice on Saturday, May 1st and after the 10:00 AM Divine Liturgy on Pascha Sunday, May 2nd.

Blood Drives at Our Hall This Summer We are excited to announce a new collaboration between our parish and the American Red Cross! Over the past few years, the Red Cross has utilized our parish hall on some occasions when our neighbors across the street at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church were unable to host a blood drive. Recently, we were approached by the Red Cross with a broader request: to host blood drives throughout the warmer months of the year (as our hall is “climate controlled”). After considering this request at our March Board Meeting, we agreed that this would be a great way to live out our Christian stewardship as a parish. We will be opening our doors and providing space for the Red Cross in June, July, August and September this year. We hope that this will lead to a fruitful cooperation in years to come! If you would like to donate blood during one of these drives, go to www.redcrossblood.org and sign up. (You can find the blood drives at our church by searching by zip code.) Spots fill up quickly! As we like to have 1 or 2 people from our church on site throughout the blood drive, please let Fr. David or Dennis Bur-prich know if you’d like to volunteer in this capacity.

2022 Diocesan ACRY Bowling Tournament—Can You Help? Recently, Pani Daria Loposky from Camp Nazareth submitted a request to our

parish: to co-host the 2022 Bowling Tournament with Camp Nazareth. The event would be over Memorial Day Weekend 2022, and take place at several lo-cal venues: Camp Nazareth, our church/hall, the designated hotel, and 10 Pin Alley. In order for this to happen, Fr. David and Pani Daria determined that we would need at the very least 10-12 committed volunteers to help with various aspects of the event: set-up, clean-up, food preparation, activities, and so on. This request was discussed at our last Board Meeting. The consensus was to reach out to our parishioners and determine if we have enough volunteers to efficiently staff the weekend, and base our final decision on that response. (Several individuals have already stepped forward—thank you!) We need YOUR help to make this happen! If you would be able to assist in any way with this event, please contact with Fr. David. An initial informational meeting for interested volunteers will be held on Monday, May 10th at 7:00 PM at our parish hall.