News from the Mission of St
A Cloud of Witnesses
October, 2008
Jesus said: Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven
(Matthew 19:14).
All Saints Orthodox Church
Salina, Kansas
All Saints Orthodox Church
2818 Scanlan Avenue, Salina, KS 67401
Church: 823-3735 Home: 309-0858 Cell: (785) 820-0287
E-mail: allsaints95@
Website:
Right Rev’d. Fr. Daniel S. Griffith, pastor
(E-mail: frdaniel@)
Very Rev’d. Fr. Thomas Neustrom, (823-2410)
++++++++++++
And Jesus said: Whosoever shall receive this child in My Name receiveth Me; and whosoever shall receive Me receiveth Him that send Me; for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great (Luke 9:48).
Ours is a society of glitz and glamour. It is a society that offers more means of comfort and ease than any society that has gone before it.
It is a society where the wonders of medical knowledge have greatly extended the life expectancy of the average citizen. Many a disease which previously meant a sure death sentence have now been tamed. And many diseases which took the lived of untold millions have now been eradicated.
Communications are faster and more efficient then ever. Our son or daughter on the other side of the world is a mere click of a button away. We are even able to see him or her as we converse across the airwaves.
Travel is relatively fast and efficient, not only for the privileged few, but for the average man or woman. Entertainment of every kind is at our fingertips.
We could go on forever with this list of the advantages of our modern age, but this should suffice as a reminder of the glamour which surrounds us in the bright and shiny world of progress and achievement. However, we should remember that the word “glamour” has a meaning other than merely a descriptive term for all that is bright and alluring. It was the term used to describe a spell cast by a magician. It meant a delusion, a seeming reality which was naught but smoke and mirrors.
This bright and glamorous world which surrounds us is a deception, a lie; for, like wizard’s magic, it masks the dark, even the bloody, underbelly of the world we have created, a world of progress, a world which has made an idol of self-indulgence and a virtue of selfishness, a world in which we ignore that dark, bloody reality, where the lives of uncounted defenseless millions, the unborn, are crushed beneath the wheel of the juggernaut of progress and modernity. In the words of Pope John Paul II, it is a culture of death.
In line with this examination of the dark underbelly of our culture, I found the following statistical data from the Center fro Bio-Ethical Reform most interesting, especially in that all the data presented has been taken from pro-abortion sources, sources anxious to present abortions in the least offensive way (again we find the wizard’s glamour at work):
The following is a list of useful abortion statistics ... All abortion numbers are derived from pro-abortion sources courtesy of The Alan Guttmacher Institute and Planned Parenthood's Family Planning Perspectives.
WORLDWIDE[1]
Number of abortions per year: Approximately 42 Million
Number of abortions per day: Approximately 115,000
Where abortions occur: 83% of all abortions are obtained in developing countries and 17% occur in developed countries.
UNITED STATES[2]
Number of abortions per year: 1.37 Million (1996)
Number of abortions per day: Approximately 3,700
Who's having abortions (age)? 52% of women obtaining abortions in the U.S. are younger than 25: Women aged 20-24 obtain 32% of all abortions; Teenagers obtain 20% and girls under 15 account for 1.2%.
Who's having abortions (race)? While white women obtain 60% of all abortions, their abortion rate is well below that of minority women. Black women are more than 3 times as likely as white women to have an abortion, and Hispanic women are roughly 2 times as likely.
Who's having abortions (marital status)? 64.4% of all abortions are performed on never-married women; Married women account for 18.4% of all abortions and divorced women obtain 9.4%.
Who's having abortions (religion)? Women identifying themselves as Protestants obtain 37.4% of all abortions in the U.S.; Catholic women account for 31.3%, Jewish women account for 1.3%, and women with no religious affiliation obtain 23.7% of all abortions. 18% of all abortions are performed on women who identify themselves as "Born-again/Evangelical".
Who's having abortions (income)? Women with family incomes less than $15,000 obtain 28.7% of all abortions; Women with family incomes between $15,000 and $29,999 obtain 19.5%; Women with family incomes between $30,000 and $59,999 obtain 38.0%; Women with family incomes over $60,000 obtain 13.8%.
Why women have abortions: 1% of all abortions occur because of rape or incest; 6% of abortions occur because of potential health problems regarding either the mother or child, and 93% of all abortions occur for social reasons (i.e. the child is unwanted or inconvenient).
At what gestational ages are abortions performed: 52% of all abortions occur before the 9th week of pregnancy, 25% happen between the 9th & 10th week, 12% happen between the 11th and 12th week, 6% happen between the 13th & 15th week, 4% happen between the 16th & 20th week, and 1% of all abortions (16,450/yr.) happen after the 20th week of pregnancy.
Likelihood of abortion: An estimated 43% of all women will have at least 1 abortion by the time they are 45 years old. 47% of all abortions are performed on women who have had at least one previous abortion.
Abortion coverage: 8% of all abortion facilities provide services after the 12th week of pregnancy. 9 in 10 managed care plans routinely cover abortion or provide limited coverage. About 14% of all abortions in the United States are paid for with public funds, virtually all of which are state funds. 16 states (CA, CT, HI, ED, IL, MA , MD, MD, MN, MT, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, WA & WV) pay for abortions for some poor women.
Our society can surround the act of abortion with all the trimmings of a clean, shiny and hygienic setting, but it cannot change its reality. Let us call these abortions by their proper name: murders. Make no mistake about it, she who has an abortion and all who support the action, not to mention the most reprehensible criminal of all: the abortionist, are all murderers. One who kills a unborn child in the womb though he/she be but 10 days old is just as much guilty of that heinous crime as one who would kill a breathing child of 10 years of age. No true Christian can possibly hold that the unborn is not yet a full human person or refer to him/her as a thing.
The archangel Gabriel appeared to the all-holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, informing her that she was to bear Immanuel (God with us) (Matthew 1:23), and she, in her turn, uttered the most powerful words ever uttered by a mere mortal, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 21:38). At that very moment, the Holy Spirit descended upon her and the power of the Most High overshadowed her (cf. Luke 1:35), cleansing and hallowing her womb and God the Wisdom, Word and Son of the Father began to be according to the flesh. From the substance of her being He assumed and made His own the entirety of our humanity. Within her womb He Who created all and cannot be contained by time or space itself dwelt. She became the living temple of the Godhead.
This being true, then every woman who bears within her womb life is a temple also carrying him/her who is created according to the very image and likeness of Him Who reigned for 9 months within the temple of Mary’s womb and Who now reigns at the right hand of God the Father.
It is for this reason that no true Christian can look upon abortion with anything but horror. When Cain slew righteous Abel his brother, God said to him, “What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me form the ground” (Genesis 4:10). How much more must the blood of these innocents cry out to God in our day and age.
Abortion is the height of hubris, for it is a clear case of man playing the role of God. Today we seem to have forgotten that simple, basic truth, which, until our modern age, was the self-evident and uncontested truth throughout the Christian world: It is He [God] that hath made us, and not we ourselves (Ps. 99:3). God is the Arbiter of life and death. All life is sacred to Him and he who arrogates to himself that right by taking a life, especially one so innocent and defenseless, commits blasphemy.
While we, as true witnesses (martyrs) of Christ Immanuel, cannot but decry the abomination of abortion and do all that is in our power to bring to an end this unholy holocaust, this genocide, we also must pray with equal fervour for all those who are or have been involved it, that they may come to true and genuine repentance. May those who have shed blood pour forth a fountain of tears of repentance, that they may receive forgiveness of their sins and may be steadfast witnesses for life.
A note of clarification is in order here. When I speak of “our society”, I refer not only to the prevailing culture here in the USA, but of the entire West. Western Europe is certainly as spiritually and morally corrupt as the US and far, far worse. This, of course, is not to make our sins any less, but it is a sure witness to the truth that root of this moral and spiritual rot is modernity itself. When the sovereignty of God is denied or marginalized, then man loses his humanity.
All Saints Parish Council Meeting (Sept. 21st, 2008)
A. Report on ASOC Craft Show – March 7-8, 2009
1. Proposed budget was presented. Needed immediately was a loan of $300.00 to pay for the postage required to solicit venders for the Craft Fair.
Seraphima, Sara Martha, Paula Monica and Justina discussed the recent proceeds of the sale at Seraphima’s house, put on by the St. Sophia Women’s group. It was decided to loan Reader John Lambert the $300.00 necessary from the $506.20 profit from the sale.
2. The Kitchen/Food will be organized by Elizabeth Stephenson
3. The ticket taking and door attendants will be organized by Justina Houchin.
There was no vote necessary to approve the proposed budget, as the committee had already been authorized to do whatever necessary to prepare for and implement the Craft Fair.
B. Anna Jan Mai has resigned as a member of the parish council.
C. The Vineyard Blessing in 2009 will be held on Saturday, August 22nd. Since the newspaper ads paid for this year by Fr. Neustrom were a great contribution to its success, Seraphima requested that the council approve setting aside $1,500.00 from the profit of this year’s event to pay for advertising of the 2009 event.
D. We no longer have any concerns about any possible hail damage to our roof. No damage was found on a second look. The check forwarded to us by the insurance company was destroyed and the insurance company stopped payment, as we requested.
Men’s Group
On Sunday. Sept. 28th, at 6:00pm, the men of All Saints met, ate KC Strip Steak with all the trimming. It was a good time for all. We did decide that an active “Men’s Group” is a good idea. So, out next meeting is Nov. 2nd, at 6:00pm. “Oz” will do a chili supper. Our structure is this: there is none. All men of the parish are de facto members. At each meeting, all attending are assessed $5.00. Then the assessment will be donated to a worthy, local service agency or charity, which will be decided at that time. This month’s assessment, $35.00, has been donated to the Salina Youth Care Home for Girls. A representative will come to a future meeting to explain their program. If there are any men who were unable to attend, but would like to contribute to this worthy cause, please contact me. See you next month.
The Reader John
Reflections on Mother Cassiana’ Visit
By Paula Lambert
September 13 brought a long awaited visit from our beloved Mother Cassiana of the Holy Protection of the Virgin Theotokos Monastery at Lake George, Colorado. It had been nearly three years since Mother’s last visit and anticipation was high among the ladies to see her.
Eight members of All Saints and five from Manhattan, along with Mother Cassiana and Fr. Daniel began the day with an Akathist service to the Holy Cross; followed by a beautiful and light breakfast of fruit and sweet rolls provided by our sister, Seraphima.
Mother Cassiana’s discussion focused on the subject of “my will, Thy will”. The morning was filled with her presenting several interesting and valuable points, two main ones being: (1) Keeping one’s eyes fixed on God and (2) Peace. Mother stated that peace is dependant upon doing God’s will. She offered that husband and wives need to support each other to keep our eyes on God, that God gave us freewill to choose Him or not, and that the purpose of life is to prepare to live with God in Paradise…. or not. The Fathers say that when we are at peace with what we are doing – we are doing God’s will; we might not like what we are doing, but we are at peace with it.
Every thing that is good in the world is God’s will; the bad things are by His permission in order to call us back to Him. God prays for us to come back. Mother Cassiana talked about accepting our trials without complaining for this is our martyrdom. She counseled us to look for and expect the trials for they will come. Accept them joyfully. She acknowledged that there are dry times in our spiritual lives and to overcome them is to do the will of God and accept those times. She advised us to deny ourselves a few earthly things and spend the time with God in prayer and meditation.
Mother also advised us to take to heart the Beatitudes, to practice obedience to the teachings of the Church, to approach Confession as an opportunity and an occasion to come closer to God, and that God will be interested in “did you love ME, did you love your neighbor, did you do MY will”?
After a delicious lunch of hearty bean soup, bread and apple crisp lovingly prepared by our brother Lawrence Gapter, who has served the women in prior years with his wonderful and warm cooking, we return to our discussion by forming three groups with each group discussing different subjects. These discussions focused on three small phrases “I don’t know”, “forgive me” and “as you wish”. Mother asked us to present concrete examples of how these few words could help us diminish our own individual wills, help us keep our eyes on God’s will instead of our own and attain personal humility. It was not easy but brought forth thoughtful results when the groups came back together for sharing.
Throughout the day our Fr. Daniel was present for clarification or elaboration on a comment or question when called upon, and he managed to survive a few remarks about male shortcomings in the beginning of our session.
As usual Mother Cassiana brought her bookstore with a wonderful selection of books, Icons, crosses and other items for our perusal. I believe all those present would agree that Mother’s visit was a blessing and a wonderful opportunity to leave the world for a few hours and share time with our sisters in Christ.
News of the Parish & Diocese
Sun., Oct. 5th: Annual Life Chain, the corner of 9th & Crawford, 2:00-3:00pm
Sat., Oct. 18th : Rummage Sale, All Saints Church
Sat., Oct. 11th-Sun., Oct. 12th: The 75th Annual Lebanese Dinner & Food Sale, St. George, Wichita
Fri.,-Sat., Oct. 24th-26th: Fall Pilgrimage to Kearney, NE, in Honor of Fr. Nicola Yanny
Sun., Oct. 26th: Wedding of Dustin Stovall & Christen Pantle, 4:00pm
Sat., Nov. 8th: Annual Thanksgiving Dinner
Sat, Nov. 15th: Beginning of the Nativity Fast
Fri., Nov. 21st: Feast of the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple
Thurs., Dec. 25th: Feast of the Nativity according to the Flesh of our Lord, God & Saviour Jesus Christ (Christmas)
Thurs., Jan. 1st: Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord & St. Basil the Great (Patronal feast of His Grace Bishop Basil)
Tues., Jan. 6th: Feast of Theophany (Baptism of the Lord)
Mon., Feb. 2nd: Feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple, Presentation.
Mon., March 2nd: Pure Monday (Beginning of the Fast of Great Lent)
Fri. & Sat., March 7th & 8th: ASOC Craft Sale, 4-H Building
Wed., March 25th: Feast of the Annunciation by the Archangel Gabriel to the Theotokos.
Sun., April 19th: Holy & Great Pascha (Easter)
Sat., May 2nd: Annual Big Fat Greek Dinner
June 10th-14th: 5th Parish Life Conference, hosted by St. Mary, Wichita
July, 19th-26th: 49th Biennial Convention of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese, hosted by St. Michael, Van Nuys, CA, at the Palm Springs Resort, Palm Desert, CA.
Sat., Aug. 22nd: Annual Vineyard Blessing
Prayer Requests
• For the health of Steven Crandall, brother of Anne (Jan) Mai.
• For the health of Catherine (Adreinne) Gapter.
• For the health of Paul (Randy) Philips.
• For the health of Billie-Jo Stephenson, mother of Craig Stephenson.
• For the health of Travis Gordy, father of Seraphima Berquist.
• For the health of Samuel Wygal.
• For the health of Joseph Shively.
• For the health of the Very Rev’d Fr. Thomas Neustrom.
• For the health of Fr. Chad Hatfield & Kh. Thekla, Provost of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, 575 Scarsdale Rd., Crestwood, NY, 10707, Phone (914) 961-8313, ex. 339, email: hatfield@svots.edu
• For the repose of the soul of James (Richard) Hale (March 25th).
• For the repose of the soul of Helen Russin (Sept. 27th)
• For the repose of the soul of William E. Craig (Nov. 2nd, sometime priest, Christ Cathedral, & convert
• For the Repose of the soul of Betty Wilson (Nov. 15th), sister of Kh. Lukie Neustrom.
• For the repose of the soul of Mary-Joseph (Rikki) Hale, who fell asleep in the Lord on Mon., Dec. 31st
• For the repose of the soul of Rita Gordy (Jan. 16th), mother of Seraphima Berquist
• For the repose of the soul of Alice Smith, sister of Kh. Lukie Neustrom.
• For the repose of the soul of John Osborn (March 28th), brother of Vernon Osborn.
• For the repose of the soul of Kh. Joanne Abdalah (May 27), wife of Fr. John Abdalah, editor of The Word
• For the repose of the soul of John Maymon (June 19th), father of Bishop Mark of Toledo & the Mid-West
• For the repose of the soul of the Archpriest David Lynche (June 28th), retired Western rite priest from Denver.
• For the repose of the soul of Fr. Bill Wells (Aug. 4th), Beautifier of All Saints’ Temple.
For the repose of the Archpriest Nifon Abraham (Aug. 22nd), retied pastor of St. George, Norwood, MA.
Holy Bread Schedule
Please prepare 3 loaves for Sunday Divine Liturgies. When there is bread needed for a mid-week Liturgy, the individual responsible for the previous Sun. is asked to bake an extra loaf for the upcoming week day. One recipe may be divided into 4 loaves. Bread may be baked ahead & frozen, (1 to 2 weeks ahead, no more) sealed in Ziploc bags with paper towel wrapped around each loaf. Thank you!
Sun., Oct. 5. Johna Walker
Sun., Oct. 12 Seraphima Berquist
Sun., Oct. 19 Justina Houchin
Sun., Oct.. 26 Michelle Stephenson
Sun., Nov. 2 Elizabeth Lindgren
Sun., Nov. 9 Ardyce Bell
God Grant You Many, Many Blessed Years!
Names' Days
Dr. Ray Russin (Venerable Father Roman the Sweet-Singer, Oct. 1st),
Fr. Thomas Neustrom (Holy Apostle Thomas, Oct. 6th),
Allissa Houchin (Holy Prophet Joel, Oct. 19th)
& Chelsea Pantle (Holy Mother Tabatha, Oct. 25th).
Birthdays
Khouriya Thekla Hatfield (Oct. 11th),
Shanon Berquist (Oct. 21st)
& Loys Guest (Oct. 22nd).
Wedding Anniversaries
Fedor & Irene Andreev (Oct. 3rd.)
& Christopher & Jennifer Klapp (Oct. 5th).
-----------------------
[1] Copyright 1996-2008, The Alan Guttmacher Institute. (agi-).
[2] © Copyright 1998, The Alan Guttmacher Institute. (agi-)( © Copyright 1997, The Alan Guttmacher Institute. (agi-)( © Copyright 1995, Family Planning Perspectives( © Copyright 1988, Family Planning Persp
© Copyright 1997, The Alan Guttmacher Institute. (agi-)
© Copyright 1995, Family Planning Perspectives
© Copyright 1988, Family Planning Perspectives
-----------------------
Coffee Hour Schedule
Oct. 5 Lambert-Wygal
Oct. 12 the Osborࠔࠢࠣࠤࠥ࠰ࢢࢣࢳࢴࣃࣄ࣏ࣝࣞ쇘ꮴ鞢ꮢ莐捴剴?ᔤꙨ聍ᘀ읨㔀脈⩂䌁⑊伀J儀J瀀hᔡꙨ聍ᘀ읨䈀Ī䩃4䩏䩑桰ᔠꙨ聍ᘀ읨㔀脈⩂䌁お一ň瀀hᔜꙨ聍ᘀ읨㔀脈⩂䌁お瀀hᔙꙨ聍ᘀ퍛䈀Ī䩃`桰ᔌꙨ聍ᘀ읨ᔔꙨ聍ᘀ읨䌀㙊一ňᔐꙨ聍ᘀ읨䌀㙊ᔐꙨ聍ᘀ읨ns
Oct. 19 the Mai Family
Oct. 26 Houchin-Walker
Nov. 2 Leopold-Stephenson
Nov. 9 Berquist-Lindgren
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