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PEACE AND GRACE, PARISHIONERS!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Do you fast? Give me proof of it by your works.
If you see a poor man, take pity on him.
If you see a friend being honored, do not envy him.
Do not let only your mouth fast, but also the eye and the ear and the feet and the hands and all the members of our bodies.
Let the hands fast, by being free of avarice.
Let the feet fast, by ceasing to run after sin.
Let the eyes fast, by disciplining them not to glare at that which is sinful.
Let the ear fast, by not listening to evil talk and gossip.
Let the mouth fast from foul words and unjust criticism.
For what good is it if we abstain from birds and fishes, but bite and devour our brothers and sisters?
May He who came to the world to save sinners strengthen us to complete the fast with humility, have mercy on us and save us.

+St. John Chrysostom (commemorated on the 17th of Hathor)

FOR YOUR EDIFICATION

 "The Deep Meaning of Fasting" by Abouna Matta El-Meskeen

DIVINE LITURGY ON THANKSGIVING

God willing, we will be praying the Divine Liturgy together on Thursday morning. This will be in place of our weekly Friday Liturgy, so we can celebrate Thanksgiving together. We would like to share a short time of fellowship together afterwards, so if you are willing to bring a small dish to share, please let us know.

NATIVITY FAST BEGINS FRIDAY

November 25th marks the first day of the "Little Fast," also known as the Nativity Fast. It's also sometimes called "the Winter Lent". Fasting is not just about changing ingredients; it should be a real spiritual discipline with goals. Technically, all the faithful are supposed to be fasting the fast if they wish to partake of Eucharist. At the same time, I know that I am not everyone's spiritual father, and I know that there are limitations to people fasting that need to be considered. I encourage each of you to take the discipline seriously and to consult with your spiritual father for an appropriate prescription for your fasting period, as well as what spiritual disciplines to partake of during this blessed time. If you want to sit with me to talk about it, no problem! We can arrange a program for each to follow. We'll be discussing the fast during the Sermons and possibly take on a book study for this period. May the Lord bless this fast for all of us and let it be a source of fruit to all of us. -Abouna Antony

SERVICES & EVENTS THIS WEEK

Wednesday: FOCUS service: 3:00 p.m. - 8 p.m. (come anytime!)

Thursday: Divine Liturgy: 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Fellowship: 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. 

Saturday: Vespers & Midnight Praise: 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Adult Education Class: 6:45 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. (Practical Spirituality, Chapter 4)

Sunday: Divine Liturgy: 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

FOCUS SAN DIEGO

Each Wednesday, volunteers from all of the Orthodox parishes in San Diego county work together through FOCUS at God's Extended Hand to help provide meals for the hungry. God's Extended Hand has been providing food and shelter to people in downtown San Diego since 1924 at 1625 Island Ave., San Diego, CA 92101. Teenagers and young adults from all parishes are asked to volunteer the 1st Wednesday of every month, and all the congregants of St. Basil's are asked to serve on the 3rd and 4th Wednesdays of the month; for months that have a 5th Wednesday, FOCUS asks all parishes to volunteer on that day. Help is needed with preparing and cooking the food from 3:00-6:00pm and serving the food and cleaning up from 6:20-7:00pm. Children are welcome to help their parents serve. Please stop by for any amount of time you can serve each week! If you have any questions, please contact Mary Jensen.

WEBSITE & HYMNS

We encourage all congregants to take some time to check out the parish website.

All are also encouraged to listen to the liturgical hymns as they are chanted at St. Basil, which can be found here.

FOOD & CLEAN-UP

To sign up to bring food for the agape meal on Sundays, please see the bulletin board at church or contact Erene Hanna. We need as many volunteers as possible to keep the church clean on Sundays after the Divine Liturgy. Please consider this important expression of stewardship.