September 2024
Greetings to all!
As we come to the end of Summer and we enter into the church New Year which is Sunday September the 1st. We need to thank God for all that has gone on the past year and ask for His blessings for the upcoming year. Because it is a beginning, and with any beginning we have the ability to start anew. The Church New Year is a good time to look at ourselves to see what we have done in our church, and ourselves, but it is also a good time to make a commitment for the upcoming Church year.
We are at the beginning of a couple things that will take place, such as the All-American Council will be held here in Phoenix next July, and we will begin to implement the Thriving Parish Grant next month after the Diocesan Assembly. These 2 events will give us the opportunity to labor a little more for Christ and His Church.
During the month of September we will begin the new Church year, and on the 8th we have our first Great Feast, which is the Nativity of the Theotokos. The Nativity of the Theotokos, being the first Great Feast of the New Year, is the very beginning. The Nativity of the Theotokos is celebrated because she would be the woman who would bring forth Christ Who was truly God and truly Man, the Saviour of the world. She made a commitment to God and never wavered in her commitment, and we too must do the same.
On September 14th we have the second Great Feast which is the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross. On this Great Feast Day we celebrate Constantine and Helen finding the Cross that our Lord was crucified on. Saint Helen took part of the Life-giving Wood and nails with her to Constantinople. Saint Constantine ordered a majestic and spacious church to be built at Jerusalem in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, also including under its roof the Life-giving Tomb of the Lord and Golgotha.
And on the 24th, which is the anniversary of the arrival of the Russian missionaries in Alaska (1794), this celebration is known as the Synaxis of All-Saints of Alaska, especially the New Martyrs Juvenaly and Peter the Aleut.
We should look forward to this New Church Year by following the words of St Herman of Alaska who said; ‘For our good, for our happiness at least let us make a vow that from this day, from this hour, from this minute we shall strive to love God above all else and to fulfill His holy will.’
Fr. Mikel
Regular Services
Saturday: Vespers, 5:00 pm
Sunday: Divine Liturgy, 9:00 am
Address
1614 E. Monte Vista Rd.
Phoenix, Az 85006
Phone / Email
Fr. Mikel: 907-444-8545
Church: 602-253-9515
Directions To Saints Peter & Paul
This Week...
September 14, 2024
This Weds Sept 18th Bible study will begin at 6pm in the church hall.
Monday we have the Lucan jump for the Gospel reading. For those who have the green Orthodox Bible the Epistle will be for the 13th week and the Gospel will be for the 18th week. Please see the wall calendars for the correct readings.
David Bieber and Jonah Anderson are in the process of putting together a current contact list. There will be forms available in the Church Hall at Coffee hour. There is a box in the narthex and a box in the hall to put them in, or you can turn them into David or Jonah. Everyone should fill them out and return the form whether you are new to the parish or been here a long time.
Collections for Project Mexico are on the 1st Sunday of the month, next collection will be October 6th.
Foca is having the Tailgate Party on October 27th.
The Myrrhbearers Altar Society is looking for volunteers to help with making their holiday nut, apricot, and poppy seed rolls. Volunteers are needed to help roll out the dough, fill the dough, bake the bread, and with other baking related tasks. All baking days are on Saturday and volunteers usually arrive at the hall between 8 and 8:30 am and the day usually finishes between 1 and 2 pm. The bake dates are: September 21 and 28, October 12 and 19, and November 2 and 9. Lunch is provided on all bake dates. Any responsible individuals over 12-years in age are welcome to volunteer and hours can be used to meet school volunteer requirements. If you are interested and available to bake on one or more of these days, please see Heather Pfeiffer, Marty Gala, or Rita Mudrenko to sign-up or get more information.
The order form for the nut rolls are on the tables in the church hall and are attached as well.
In July of 2025 Phoenix will host the All American Council for the OCA. Dcn John Weiss is the clergy delegate and Lydia Osolinsky is the lay delegate. They will be asking people to fill positions on different local committees from all the local OCA parishes. The AAC is a large undertaking and will take somewhere in the range of 40 - 50 people to fill all the spots. All the OCA Bishops and clergy will be here as well as lay delegates and observers from each church. If you would like more information please see Dcn John or Lydia.
Whittier School Christmas Gift Outreach: We are very thankful to have Christine Sanchez and Shayla Felix volunteer to be Co-Coordinators of our Whittier School Christmas Outreach this year! We will be kicking off this outreach beginning in October with more detailed information to follow on how each of you can participate in making Christmas brighter for many children and families in our local community. As the Christmas Season approaches please keep those in need in your thoughts and prayers and help Saint Peter and Paul spread the “Sacrificial Love of Christ this Nativity Season.”
Alex and Anastasiia Yurchenko are asking if there is anyone who would like to sponsor a friend of theirs, Oleg Sidelev, through the Uniting for Ukraine program. If you would like more information please let me know.
Please note as reported in the newsletter that for the months of July and August we did not collect as much as we spent. We should always remember to tithe, as this is very important to keep the church running, and it is also an offering to God.
The OCA clergy wives have taken on the responsibility of purchasing a reliquary for the Canonization of Mat. Olga. The goal is to reach $10,000 to purchase the reliquary, The Myrrbearers here at St P & P are taking collections to assist. Please see attached flier.
Humility and suffering free a man from all sin; for the first cuts out spiritual passions, and the latter bodily. St. Maximus the Confessor
