Weekly Update - December 19, 2022
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PEACE AND GRACE
Commemoration of the Archangel Gabriel (Dec. 30/ Kiahk 22)
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.’”
1 Peter 5:5
SERVICES THIS WEEK
Wednesday:
Divine Liturgy: 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Sunday:
Earlier Liturgy: 7:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
No Sunday School: December 25th
Monday:
Preparation for Baptism (Catechism) Class: 8:00 p.m. (online)
January 15, 2022 - Annual St. Basil Formal Banquet & Silent Auction
Click Here to Buy Tickets Now!
Mark your calendars for 5:00PM, on January 15th for St. Basil’s annual banquet in celebration of St. Basil’s annual commemoration (January 14th) for a wonderful night with family and friends!
This will be a formal dinner with presentations on the past accomplishments of our church and goals for the future. There will also be fundraising events such as a silent auction and raffle giveaways and other presentations! Contact Silvia Guirguis for more information at (858) 248-0708.
Consider donating items for the silent auction, such as:
Gift Baskets: either prepare them or sponsor the preparation of a basket!
Service Vouchers: tutoring, limousine rides, boat rides, fishing, babysitting, etc.
Entertainment tickets: sports events, movies, etc.
Black Friday items: iPads, computers, etc.
Got an old car you are thinking of selling? Why not have it be a highlight of the auction?
Keep your receipts because all donations used for the auction are tax deductible! More info to follow!
A Visit From Santa!
The Departure of St. Nicholas, the Confessor, Bishop of Myra is Commemorated on December 18th (10 Kiahk)
On this day also the righteous St. Nicholas, Bishop of Mora (Myra), departed. He was from the city of Mora, his father's name was Epiphanius and the name of his mother was Tona. They were rich, as well as God-fearing, people. They had no children to bring joy to their hearts and to inherit their wealth after their deaths. They remained without a son until they grew old and they were enveloped with despair. God had pity on them and gave them this saint. He was filled with the Divine grace since his young age. When he reached school age, he demonstrated, through intelligence and knowledge, that he learned far more from the Holy Spirit than he did from his teachers. He learned all the doctrine and the teachings of the church since his young age and was ordained deacon.
Then he became a monk in a monastery wherein his cousin was the abbot. He lived an ascetic and a righteous life,and was ordained a priest when he was 19 years old. God gave him the gift to work signs and wonders and to heal the sick.
St. Nicholas is too illustrious to describe all the signs that were performed by his hands, but an example of his good deeds and benevolent works follows:
There was a very rich man in the city of Mora who lost all his wealth. He had three daughters who had passed the age of marriage, and he could not marry them because of his poverty. Satan tempted the man to think that he should make his daughters live in sin so that they might get their food by means of fornication. God revealed to St. Nicholas the thoughts which were in this man's head, and what he intended to do. St. Nicholas took 100 dinars of his father's money and tied it up in a sack. During the night, secretly and without anyone seeing him, he threw the money into the window of that poor man's house. When the man found the gold, he was astonished and rejoiced exceedingly and was able to give his eldest daughter away in marriage. During another night the saint threw another hundred dinars into the man's house and the man was able to give his second daughter away in marriage. The man wanted to know who this charitable person was. The third time when the saint threw the gold into the house, the man was watching and immediately when he felt the drop of the sack, he ran out of his house to see who was throwing the gold to him. He found the kind bishop St. Nicholas and the man bowed down at his feet and paid him great homage and thanked him because he saved his daughters from poverty and from a life of sin. The saint refused to accept any thanks and asked them to thank the Lord Who put this thought in his heart.
St. Nicholas drove out the devil and his angels from people, he healed many sick people, and he blessed little bread to satisfy many people, with much more left over.
Before being selected bishop, he saw in a vision, a great throne and magnificent vestments placed on it and a man said to him, "Put on these vestments and sit on this throne." Another night he saw our Lady, St. Mary, giving him the vestments of the priesthood and our Lord Jesus Christ gave him the Gospel.
When the Bishop of Mora departed, the Angel of the Lord appeared to the Archbishop and told him the one who was chosen for this rank was Nicholas and described his virtues to him. When he woke up he told the bishops what he had seen, and they all believed that vision. They knew that it was from the Lord Jesus Christ. They took St. Nicholas and made him Bishop over the city of Mora.
Shortly thereafter, Diocletian reigned, and incited the pagan worship. When Diocletian arrested many of the believers, he heard about this saint. He seized him and tortured him severely for many years. The Lord Christ strengthened him, protected him, and raised him whole from all these tortures so that he might become a mighty branch of the tree of faith. When Diocletian was tired of torturing him, he cast him into prison. Saint Nicholas wrote to his congregation from prison to teach, encourage and confirm them in the faith. He remained in prison until God perished Diocletian and established the reign of Constantine the Just. Constantine brought out all the confessors from prison, among them was St. Nicholas, who returned to his city.
When the Council of Nicea convened in the year 325 A.D. to judge Arius, he was one of the 318 fathers assembled there. Having finished his course and guarded his flock, he departed to be with the Lord. He sat on the episcopal throne for more than 40 years, and all the days of his life were about 80 years.
His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
Used Clothing Drive!
Keeping in mind these colder evenings, we will be gathering some used (but usable) blankets, jackets, socks and other clothing that might be lonely and unused in the closet. A bin will be on the first floor next to the stairs until the end of December. We will be distributing these to our brothers and sisters who have need of them on the streets this season. May God bless you all. (If the bin is full, kindly place your item on the floor next to the bin.)
AGAPE MEAL AFTER THE LITURGY!
Hello St. Basil’s family! We’re happy to continue our weekly Agape meal, but we can’t do it without your help!
You can help in the following ways:
Sign up to bring food (Please refrain from excessive sweets).
Sign up for the coffee cart: set up and clean up the coffee cart on Sunday morning.
Hall clean up following the Agape meal.
Please CLICK HERE to sign up.
God bless your efforts!
PREPARATION FOR BAPTISM (CATECHISM) CLASSES
Join us on ONLINE on Monday nights at 8:00 PM for Baptism preparation classes. Visit www.stbasil.net/baptism for more information. These classes are open for:
Anyone interested in becoming members of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria,
Those recently baptized (within the last few years), or
Simply anyone else seeking to better understand the basics of the Christian Faith and History.
Together, we will review the importance of baptism and its impact, the Sacraments, the inspiring church history, the Orthodox Creed, the Holy Bible, Orthodox Prayer and Spiritual life, and Church traditions. Reading material will be provided for those who wish to attend. To register for this class, please contact Fr. Michael at 949-378-0350 or FrMichael@stbasil.net
PROFESSIONAL NETWORK
As a reminder, the Professionals LinkedIn group is an easy way to connect and network with fellow members of our community. Also, if you have job openings you’d like to advertise, this is a great venue to do so!
ST. BASIL WELCOME PORTAL
Do you know about our Welcome Portal? You can use it to register as a member, update existing contact information, volunteer for a church service, make a donation, contact Father Michael, or provide private comments/questions/suggestions. Try it out and visit our Welcome Portal.
FAMILY HOME VISITS
Father Michael is offering home visits for anyone who is interested. Please reach out to him directly to schedule a visit.
Phone: 949-378-0350
Email: FrMichael@stbasil.net
HELP WITH AMAZON SMILE
If you are looking into other ways to support our church, the AmazonSmile Foundation offers an easy way to give while browsing the Amazon shop. It will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases, at no cost to you. To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to smile.amazon.com (you may want to add a bookmark to make it easier to return). You will see eligible products marked “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on the product detail pages. If you already own an Amazon account you can use the same account for AmazonSmile. On your first visit, please select “Saint Basil American Coptic Orthodox Church” as your charity of choice. Amazon will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make will result in a donation for our church. Thank you so much for your love and support.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Please let us know if you have any upcoming important events for us to share with our fellow congregants. Special events are best shared among our family, and we encourage you to share your special news with us.