Christ is among us!
This week’s vigil light is offered to God’s by Halia Lodynsky and family in memory of Stefan Jurchak.
All donations and contributions must be received by Wednesday December 25th to be recorded on the annual statement for the year 2019.
PHILIP’S FAST, ПИЛИПІВКА, the pre-Christmas fast which began on November 15, the day after the feast of St. Philip, is a 40 day period of spiritual preparation for the celebration of the Nativity/Theophany cycle of the church year. Once a period of strict fasting, it has now been changed to a period of voluntary fasting and works of penance.
The Ukrainian Ridna Shkola invites children young and old to its annual St. Nicholas pageant on Sunday, December 29th at 12:30 p.m. in St. Michael’s church hall. Come greet St. Nicholas on the eve of the Christmas holidays. Refreshments and gifts for all. Meet our teachers and visit our classrooms during our open house.
Ukrainian Women’s League of New Haven, Branch 108 will be holding their annual Christmas Bazaar, Saturday December 14 and Sunday December 15, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. On December 14 and 15 we will have baked goods. Pshenytsia (wheat) for kutia will also be available (new source, more tender). Donations of Ukrainian items would be greatly welcome. (please bring to church hall.) For more information, contact Anna Salemme (203) 934-6520 or Larissa S. (203) 248-9767.
A note on some parish maintenance projects: Various parts of the driveway by the rectory and the front sidewalks are being repaired and at the other buildings. We need to re-point the church stairs. Please be careful walking around and avoid the work areas.
The Connecticut State Ukrainian Day Committee has announced a net profit of $14,986.65 from the 2019 Ukrainian Day Festival. All those who volunteered their time and efforts made this possible. Thank you to the pyrohy workers who donated the pyrohy. Thank you to Joe Oleschuk, who transported the pyrohy to Stamford, and Thank you to all the volunteers who worked at the festival. We, as a parish, can be proud to have helped make the festival a success!
REMINDER: Please don’t forget to donate to the Charities Appeal. Kindly make checks payable to the Byzantine Rite Eparchy of Stamford. DO NOT MAIL THIS FORM TO THE CHANCERY OFFICE. We sincerely ask all parishioners to make generous contributions.
STAMFORD CHARITIES APPEAL
REMINDER: Please don’t forget to donate to the Charities Appeal. Kindly make checks payable to the Byzantine Rite Eparchy of Stamford. DO NOT MAIL THIS FORM TO THE CHANCERY OFFICE. We sincerely ask all parishioners to make generous contributions.
Adult Faith Formation
From a sermon given on October 28, 2019
“Christians from ancient times wanted to learn to love. The great disaster of the modern world and culture is that sometimes we know how to fly to the Moon, but we do not know how to love,” the Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church His Beatitude Sviatoslav said this during his homily at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ.
“Where can you take the strength to do what Christ calls us in His teachings? At times, the answer to these words was very ironic – utopian. It’s a good idea, but it’s impossible for a person to do it. But if we listen to the Word that God is speaking to us today, we will hear that it is not so much about the human capacity to love. In those words of the Sermon on the Mount, Christ proclaims to us the good news of God’s love for us. Because it is God Who loves His enemies. His love for man is unconditional. He Himself is love,” said His Beatitude Sviatoslav.