SUN AUG 2 9th Sunday after Pentecost. Tone 8 

• 9тa неділя після П’ятидесятниці. 
• Liturgy. Святa Літургія @ 9:00 AM
• Apostle 1 Cor. 3:9-17 
• Gospel Mt. 14:22-34 

SAT AUG 8 No services. Служби немає.

SUN AUG 9 10th Sunday after Pentecost. Tone 1

• 10тa неділя після П’ятидесятниці.
• Liturgy. Святa Літургія @ 9:00 AM
• Apostle 1 Cor. 4:9-16
• Gospel Mt. 17:14-23

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СЛАВА ІСУСУ ХРИСТУ! СЛАВА НА ВІКИ! GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST! GLORY NOW AND EVER!

DUE TO NEW CARPET installation this week, there will be no services for the feast day of the Holy Transfiguration in our church. Please also consider that there could be a certain smell from new carpet and pews refinishing. Anyone who is sensitive to these smells can join the services via live stream on YouTube.

 З ПРИЧИНИ встановлення нового килима у нашій церкві цього тижня, богослужінь не буде у день свята Святого Преображення. Будь ласка, також врахуйте, що після встановлення нового килима та оновлення, лавок може бути певний запах в церкві. Кожен, хто має чутливість до таких запахів, може приєднатися до служб через пряму трансляцію на YouTube, поки запах не вивітриться. 

CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING: The regular meeting will be held next Sunday, August 9, after services in the parish hall. Council members are requested to make every effort to attend this meeting. 

FROM THE SISTERHOOD: We are raising funds for a wounded Ukrainian hero, Hryhorii “Garfield” Andreev, who lost his leg while defending his homeland. He urgently needs a powered wheelchair or mobility scooter to move freely and rebuild his life. The donation box is placed in the church. You can also give your donations to Ann Bailey, Natalia Kirichenko, or Fr. Andrii. Our goal is to raise $1500 by the end of this month. So far, we have raised $ 1,234. Please help!

THE DORMITION FAST started yesterday and will continue until Friday, August 14. It is a strict spiritual preparation for the feast day of the Holy Dormition of the Mother of God, August 15. We abstain from meat, dairy, fish, wine, and oil. Exceptions are made for weekends, when wine and oil are permitted, and on the Feast of the Transfiguration (August 6), when fish, wine, and oil are allowed. Daily Fasting Breakdown: Monday, Wednesday, Friday – strict fast (no meat, dairy, fish, oil, or wine); Tuesday, Thursday – cooked foods are allowed, but without oil or wine. Saturday and Sunday: wine and oil are permitted. August 6 (Transfiguration) – fish, wine, and oil are allowed regardless of the day. Let’s honor it in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Orthodox Church and dedicate it to the Most Holy Mother of God, the Protectress of our parish. It’s a proper time to clean our souls through heartfelt Confession, especially for those who receive Communion regularly.

“LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION” (Matthew 6:13). These are the words of Jesus Christ when He teaches His disciples how to pray using what is now known as the Lord’s Prayer (Mt.6:9-13). In the Scriptures, the word ‘temptation’ only appears 16 times, and all in the New Testament. The dictionary defines ‘temptation’ as “to entice or allure to do something often regarded as unwise, wrong, or immoral.” The question then is: Can God, Who is love, lead anyone into temptation? The short answer is, of course, NO. The long one – let’s ponder: 

The Greek (the original language of the New Testament) word peirasmos, rendered in English with “temptation,” comes from the verb peirazo, which means “to test [hard], to probe, to prove, to put someone on trial”. The Scripture is clear: “Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted with evil and He Himself tempts no one; but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” (James 1:13-14) We nevertheless know that this life is a test, full of temptations/trials. God allows them in order to strengthen us. How else will we merit the eternal crown unless we become victorious over the temptations of life? We know that God does sometimes subject us to testing in order to lead us to salvation, but we know also that He does not permit us to be tested beyond our capacity, for, “No temptation comes upon you, which is not common to man. But God is faithful and will not allow that you be tempted beyond your ability, but with every temptation, He provides a way to overcome it…” (1 Cor. 10:13)

We do not ask God not to trick us with distraction in order to make us fall into sin – that’s Satan’s work! With this prayer we confess our weakness, that we cannot overcome with our own strength alone the tests God puts in our way in order to strengthen us and test us like gold in the fire, but that we need His help, mercy and grace.

Temptation, as a test, strengthens us and gives us endurance and perseverance. It proves that our faith is real and strong. God knows it, but we need to know it too, so that when the devil tries to tempt us, we will be ready to fight. As long as we are in this life, we are to expect trials and suffering. As St. Anthony the Great († A.D. 356) said, “Take away temptation, and nobody will be saved.” Therefore, temptations/trials of our faith and our faithfulness to God are good! They started a long time ago with the patriarch Abraham, righteous Job, and many other righteous ones. They continue to this day with each of us, as well… One translation of “lead us not into temptation”, which better reflects the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer words, is the Good News Translation: “Do not bring us to hard testing”. 

УСПЕНСЬКИЙ піст розпочався і триватиме до п’ятниці, 14 серпня. Він є суворою духовною підготовкою до свята Успіння Пресвятої Богородиці, 15 серпня. Ми утримуємося від м’яса, молочних продуктів, риби, вина та олії. Винятки робляться на вихідні дні, коли дозволені вино та олія, а також на свято Преображення (6 серпня), коли дозволені риба, вино та олія. Розклад щоденного постування такий: понеділок, середа, п’ятниця — строгий піст (без м’яса, молочних продуктів, риби, олії чи вина); вівторок, четвер — варена їжа дозволена, але без олії чи вина. Субота, неділя — дозволені вино та олія. 6 серпня (Преображення) — риба, вино та олія дозволені незалежно від дня.

Coffee and… Thank you to Joanne Szwez and Teresa Linck for helping last Sunday for coffee and.. and Clergy Appreciation celebration!! Natalia Sashchenko is hosting today, and Natalia Kuzmych is hosting next Sunday. 

+ + + CHURCH SCHOOL NEWS + + +

Church School and Youth Ministry News

Happy birthday to Henry, who will be celebrating his birthday in the coming week.  May God grant Henry MANY BLESSED YEARS! MNOHII LITA!

The Youth Ministry mini-golf event will be held on Sunday, August 30 from 11:30 – 1:30 at Safari Golf, 2340 Berlin Turnpike, Berlin.  All parish children, K through 12, and young adults are invited to participate in this annual end-of-summer activity.  The deck has been reserved, so families are encouraged to bring snacks or picnic lunches.

TODAY through September 6, your donations in the red bowl for “Coffee and…” will go to the Youth Ministry.  This group is only funded through donations.  Among its activities are the Mother’s Day and Father’s Day treats, placing flags on veterans’ graves, Christmas caroling, and bowling.  Activities like these give children and young adults an opportunity to work together and get to know one another.  Please be generous.