NATIVITY OF THE HOLY VIRGIN RUSSIAN ORTHODOX

CHURCH
JACKSON, NEW JERSEY

JANUARY 2017 NEWSLETTER

NEWSLETTER SPONSOR:
MS. SUSAN GUZ
IN LOVING MEMORY OF BELOVED FATHER
JOHN GUZ

CHRIST IS BORN!

GLORIFY HIM!

JANUARY FEAST DAYS:

FRIDAY: January 6th: Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great at 10
AM. Great Compline for the Eve of the Nativity at 5PM.
SATURDAY: January 7th: Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ: Divine Liturgy at 10 AM.
SATURDAY: January 14th: Feast of the Circumcision of Our
Lord and Savior: Divine Liturgy at 10AM: Happy New Year
(Old Calendar)

THURSDAY: January 19th: Feast of Theophany: Divine

Liturgy at 10 AM followed by Great Blessing of Water.
During the month of January we have many special Feast days.
We ask you the faithful to make every effort to attend these
services. The Feast of the Nativity and the Feast of Theophany
are an important part of our Orthodox Faith and we would
hope that you are with us to celebrate these joyous feasts.
THE CLERGY and Parish Council extend to you our faithful,
benefactors and friends of our Parish community a Most
Blessed Feast of the Nativity. We extend our prayers and
blessings for a wonderful New Year and we pray that Our Lord
will Grant you Peace, Health and Prosperity for Many Blessed
Years!
HOME BLESSINGS: It is our tradition as Orthodox
Christians to have our homes blessed in conjunction with the
Feast of Theophany that will be commemorated on January
19th. If you would like to have Father John come bless your
home this year please sign up on the sheet that is provided for
you on the candle desk.
PLEASE BRING YOUR CONTAINERS TO CHURCH to
bring home the fresh Blessed water on January 18th and 19th.
NOW WHERE DO WE GO FOR 2017: Discussion will
continue by the Parish Council and you the faithful at the
Annual Parish meeting in 2017. Tithing is now the call of our
Orthodox Church in America and has been passed by our
Diocesan Assembly for the support of our Diocesan Ministries.
We will through the course of discussions and the guidance of

our Lord will find a way in which our Parish will succeed in
this plan. So far we are starting with our Annual Dues!
FRIENDLY REMINDER: Annual Dues for 2017 will now be
$175.00. If you would like to pay your dues for 2017, please see
Matushka Ludmila at the candle desk to do so! Your help in
this matter is greatly appreciated. For those who would like to
become members of our Parish please see Matushka Ludmila
to sign up.
ITEMS NEEDED FOR 2017: Each Year we ask our faithful to
help and support the different liturgical items that are needed
for our services. This year again we need your support to
purchase the following items:
Charcoal:

$250.00

Paraffin for candles: $250.00

Incense:

$350.00

HEAT: Winter donations are accepted continuously.

Please see Matushka Ludmila at the candle desk to support
these liturgical items.
FEAST OF THE NATIVITY: Please be reminded that on our
Feast of the Nativity held on Saturday, January 7th we will hold
our traditional dinner. This year The Feast of the Nativity will
be on a Saturday. We hope that you the faithful will be with us
by attending the Divine Liturgy and then come over to the
parish Hall to enjoy the dinner that is beautifully prepared by
our Sisterhood. If you would like to contribute to defray the

cost of the dinner, please see Matushka Ludmila at the candle

desk.
CHURCH SCHOOL: Church School Classes are held every
Sunday beginning at 9:15 AM. There will be no Church School
Class on Sunday, JANUARY 1st. Please plan on attending
these classes and learn about Orthodoxy 100. This year we will
be studying the Gospels and the message the Apostles
delivered in the Gospel lessons.
GENERAL CONFESSION: Please note that the service of
General Confession will be held on Sunday, JANUARY 1st.
This service will begin at 9:30 AM. Private Confessions are
held at 9AM on Sunday before the Divine Liturgy and Holy
days.
PARISH COUNCIL UPDATE: It is important to inform you
the faithful about the happenings around our church. So in
every newsletter we are going to begin a new section called
Parish Council Update:
Please continue to support our Retaining Wall Project if you
havent done so yet? We are a few dollars short of our $50,000
goal. If you can help in any way please send your donation to
our Parish address or see Matushka Ludmila at the candle
desk to help out.
CONGRATULATIONS to our Choir Director Tatiana and
Husband Dmitrii on the birth of their daughter Emilia who
was born on December 10th. May God Grant to their family
peace, health, prosperity for Many Blessed Years!

THANK YOU FOR A JOB WELL DONE: Special thanks go

out to Parish Trustee Michael Morvay and his friend Michael
of Good Tree Service who cut down, cleaned and chipped our
two big trees on our Parish Home property. We are grateful for
your kindness and we pray that the Good Lord will shower His
Blessings on you both! Many Blessed Years!
The Parish Council is still going to cut down the trees in front
of the Parish Home and we will definitely need help to remove
them!
ORTHODOX CHURCH TO BE BUILT IN SLOVAKIA:
Archbishop Michael has asked the Parishes of our Diocese to
hold a special collection in order to raise funds to help defray
the cost of the building of this church in Slovakia. A special
Second Collection will be taken before the distribution of Holy
Communion on the Feast of the Nativity and also on the
Second Day of the Feast that is Sunday. Whatever you can
donate to help this cause will greatly be appreciated!
FLOWER DONATIONS FOR THE FEAST OF THE
NATIVITY: With the rising cost of flowers to adorn our
church we are asking you the faithful to be generous and
support this initiative. Please see Matushka Ludmila at the
candle desk to help out! Your help in this matter is greatly
appreciated.
JOIN ARCHBISHOP MICHAEL on a Pilgrimage beginning in
Nazareth and ending in Jerusalem. A pilgrimage has been
planned from June 4th to June 17th to the Holy Land with
Archbishop Michael. If you would like more information
please visit our Diocesan Website details for more information.