QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Jesus said :
“Do not work for the food that perishes,
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you!”
Find the Jesus within you!
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The Truth About the Teeter -Totter: By Kelly McFadden
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior… (2 Samuel 2:22)
One of the classic playground equipment pieces is the teeter-totter. Up and down, a child rides with a partner. Each of them pushes up into the sky. You could try to sit on it alone, but that would get you nowhere. So a child grabs a friend to ride with them, sometimes soaring high and other times hanging low. There is one steady spot on the teeter-totter: the fulcrum. This pivot point does not move but remains stationary. This is just like life. Like the teeter-totter, there are high points and low points. Sometimes you soar high in the sky, laughing and enjoying everything around you. Other times there are lows, when the ride is less fun. But, in all of life there is one thing that remains the same through the highs and the lows: The love of Jesus is our fulcrum, our balance. Whatever is happening in your life, there is a loving God who wants you to know that He is your rock. And take note in this: As you get closer to the fulcrum, the high’s become a little less high and the lows a little less low. When we live our lives with Jesus as our center point – we balance – experiencing the realization that God knows us, loves us, and has a plan for us. Even with Jesus as our fulcrum, we will still have both great days and bad days. But, there is a perspective change. How you view the world changes as you come closer and closer to knowing the saving love of Jesus, who is your rock, fortress and deliverer.
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| Scripture Readings for Sunday, February 4th. |
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Gospel Reading
(John 7:37-52)
On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ ” Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified. When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law–they are accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”
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Epistle Reading
(Titus 1:1-11)
Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that is in accordance with godliness, in the hope of eternal life that God, who never lies, promised before the ages began– in due time he revealed his word through the proclamation with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; To Titus, my loyal child in the faith we share: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. I left you behind in Crete for this reason, so that you should put in order what remained to be done, and should appoint elders in every town, as I directed you: someone who is blameless, married only once, whose children are believers, not accused of debauchery and not rebellious. For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled. He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it. There are also many rebellious people, idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision; they must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for sordid gain what it is not right to teach.
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Gospel Commentary
“The last day of the festival, the great day” is probably the 7th or 8th day of the Feast of Tabernacles, which included a procession from the pool of Siloam, carrying water and pouring it as a libation at the temple, commemorating the water which flowed from the rock which Moses struck in the wilderness and provided the context for the Lord’s words, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me…” Living water is the gift of the Holy Spirit and the new life which springs forth by the power of the Spirit. Christ give the Holy Spirit and the believer’s heart consequently flows with new life. Christ does not force us, but is always available if we desire Him. The enemies of Jesus increasingly scheme to destroy Him in the middle of the Feast. The officers of the temple who were sent to arrest Him return without Him saying, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” The officers were open to Christ’s teachings and were captivated by them. The Pharisees and Scribes, however, witnessed everything also but were not open to it and therefore were preoccupied with removing Him. In order to be able to view our lives through the eyes of faith we need to be filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit. This week pray to our Lord each day that He send His Holy Spirit into your heart so that you may experience your world through the eyes of faith and that everything you think, say and do be guided by the Holy Spirit.
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Parish Announcements!
This Sunday’s Celebrant and Preacher is Rev. Fr. Dajad A. Davidian. We thank Der Hayr for praying with us today.
Bible Study will NOT meet on Tuesday, January 30th or February 6th. We will meet again on Tuesday, February 13th.
Readings for this Sunday’s Badarak: Titus 1:1-11 and John 7:37-52.
Readings for next Sunday’s Badarak: Romans 13:11-14:25 and Matthew 6:1-21.
Please Note: Der Krikor will be away from Thursday, January 25th until Friday, February 9th. I will be checking emails daily, however, if there is an emergency, which cannot wait until I return and you need a Priest please call Robin Palombo at 617-680-8988, so that she can make the necessary arrangements.
Poon Paregentan/ Family Fun Day: Sun., Feb. 11th the ACYOA Jrs. will once again host our Poon Paregentan/ Family Fun Day in preparation of the start Great Lent. More details to follow.
Lenten Interactive Prayer Services: Starting on Wed., Feb. 14th, we will have weekly interactive Lenten Prayer Services (in English) in the Sanctuary, starting at 6:30PM.
Mid-Lenten (Michink) Worship and Dinner: On Wednesday, March 7th, we will gather for a 1/2 hour interactive Lenten Worship Service in English (6:30PM) followed by a Vosbov Kheema Lenten Community Dinner (7:00PM) in order to offer support and encouragement as we continue our Lenten journey, by praying together and sharing a community meal. If you are attending. RSVP to: frkrkor@holytranslators.org.
Parish Outreach: The Outreach program at our parish focuses on activities for our local communities as well as meeting parish-wide needs. Renee Ferraro is the Outreach Coordinator (508-541-6770 or reneegferraro@gmail.com.)
Fellowship Sign-up: Volunteers are needed to sponsor and work at our Coffee Fellowship Hours after Church as well as make donations toward the expense of the Altar Flowers and Candles.
Contact Jaymie Babaian to sign up. (jaymie1754@gmail.com)
Please inform Der Krikor at 774-292-9116 or frkrikor@holytranslators.org of those who may be sick at home, hospitalized or may simply want to talk, so that he can make arrangements to visit.
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Sunday Morning Prayer: 8:30AM
Sunday Divine Liturgy: 9:30AM
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Sun. Feb. 4 Divine Liturgy – 9:30am
Tues. Feb. 6 NO Bible Study
Sun. Feb. 11 Poon Paregentan – Family Fun Day
Mon. Feb. 12 First Day of Great Lent
Tue. Feb. 13 Weekly Bible Study – Fellowship Hall – 10:30AM
Wed. Feb. 14 Lenten Prayer Service (In English) – 6:30PM
Sun. Feb. 18 Sunday of the Expulsion
Tue. Feb. 20 Weekly Bible Study – Fellowship Hall – 10:30AM
Wed. Feb. 21 Lenten Prayer Service (In English) – 6:30PM
Sun. Feb. 25 Sunday of the Prodigal Son
Tue. Feb. 27 Weekly Bible Study – Fellowship Hall – 10:30AM
Wed. Feb. 28 Lenten Prayer Service (In English) – 6:30PM
Sun. Mar. 4 Sunday of the Steward
Tue. Mar. 6 NO Weekly Bible Study
Wed. Mar. 7 Lenten Prayer Service (In English) – 6:30PM
Sun. Mar 11 Sunday of the Judge
Tue. Mar. 13 Weekly Bible Study – Fellowship Hall – 10:30AM
Wed. Mar. 14 Lenten Prayer Service (In English) – 6:30PM
Sun. Mar. 18 Sunday of the Advent
Tue. Mar. 20 Weekly Bible Study – Fellowship Hall – 10:30AM
Wed. Mar. 21 Lenten Prayer Service (In English) – 6:30PM
Sun. Mar. 25 Palm Sunday
Sun. Apr. 1 Easter Sunday
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Far Programs
AYO Launches Game Changer . |
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Our Ayo! platform just launched another ambitious project that will aim to raise the crowdfunding platform to a higher level of engagement in Armenia’s social issues. GameChanger will help the Girls of Armenia Leadership Soccer (GOALS) initiative to build a girls soccer league in Kotayk Province, which will be used as a tool to empower a new generation of independent and self-confident young women.
The spark that started GOALS was first lit when the Football Federation of Armenia (FFA) disbanded the women’s national team program in 2013, citing budget cuts. In reaction, GOALS was created in 2015 with the aim of establishing safe spaces to play soccer as a way to empower young girls from underprivileged and underserved villages to become leaders, speak their minds, and challenge social norms. With the help of Armenian volunteers across the country, they opened the first female soccer league in Armenia, based in Goris. Today, GOALS has soccer leagues in Alaverdi, Goris, Dilijan, and Yeghegnadzor, which impact 284 girls in total.
During 2018, they plan to launch a female soccer league in Kotayk Province and Ayo! plans to help raise money to cover some of the costs. The program will also include trainings and a summer camp for 60 young women. As a result, they will identify a local coordinator and five coaches who will sign a one-year contract and build teams in their communities. Each team will consist of 12 to 15 girls, aged 12-17. The first league season will be launched in September 2018.
“This project is not just about learning how to play soccer. Giving girls the chance to play soccer is not only an opportunity for them to be part of a team and lead a healthy lifestyle, but it will also increase their decision-making skills, leadership skills, self-confidence, and enable them to find their voices. Through this program, we will be able to empower more young women to become future leaders through the power of sport!” said Laura Gevorgyan, Ayo! Program Director. “We love this project. I hope others will love it too.”
Click here to support GameChanger today.
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PARISH COUNCIL 2017-2018
Pastor and President: Rev. Fr. Krikor A. Sabounjian
Chairman: Robin Palombo
Vice Chairman: Karnig Durgarian
Recording Secretary: Neil Ferraro
Corresponding Secretary: Karyn Bilezerian
Treasurer: Marco Ciaffi
Asst. Treasurer: Parkoohi Voskanian
Council Members: Elise Durgarian
Mark Jorjorian
Scott Zaleski
Diocesan Delegates: Laurie Bejoian
Karnig Durgarian
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