SPIRITUAL

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

By Ann Giardino I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season. (2Tim. 4:1-2 ) We are charged by the Apostle Paul to preach the word, but was does it mean to be ready in season and out of season? We should be ready whenever and wherever the Lord presents us with the opportunity to share His Gospel. Whether at work, or in the doctor's oce we should always be ready to talk about Jesus and the sacrice He made for us. In order to do this we must invest me. We invest me in learning the Gospel and studying the Bible. We invest me in the people we share the gospel with. We should also invest me learning about people from dierent walks of life in order to be able to reach them on the level that they are at. Having a basic knowledge of what trials a person may be experiencing is an excellent way to share the gospel. God will always meet us on whatever level we are on so knowing how to understand relate every person and open up more opportunies to share God's word with more people. The Apostle Paul summed it up beaufully in 1 Corinthians 9:19-22: For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all that that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became a Jew, that I might win the Jews; to those that are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without the law, as without law, (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to those who are weak, as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some.

First, Paul became a servant, willing to humble himself before all men in hope of persuading them with the gospel. When he says I became all things to all men he was expressing how he met people on the level that they were at. If a Jew, he could converse with them as a Jew, Speaking about things a Jew would understand. Paul was able to speak on many dierent levels with many dierent people. He never put himself above them, but made himself equal or on the same level as them. This is why he was successful. He found common ground, a place where there could be a meeng of the minds. We should follow the example of Paul when sharing the gospel. We should be humble and ready to listen and to meet the person we are sharing the gospel with on common ground. It could be by relang to family, kids, jobs, educaon, or even the Bible. The important thing is that become in a sense, as Paul did, whatever they need for us to be in order to reach them. So like Paul we might hope to save some. May God be with you all!

THEOTOKOS
VIRGIN MARY AND ARCHANGEL MICHAEL COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH January 2014 Newsletter

THE WORD BECAME FLESH

Meditaons on the Feast of the Navity By Josh Giardino As we prepare to celebrate the Feast of the Navity we may want to stop and ask ourselves, what is the Feast of the Navity, and what does it mean to us as Orthodox Chrisans? The Feast of the Navity is one of the Seven Major Feasts of the Lord in the Copc Orthodox Church. Like all the major Feasts of the Lord, the Navity invites us to deepen our understanding of the Mystery of Salvaon and the indescribable Grace which is oered to us through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. It does this by helping us explore the Incarnaon, which is one of the greatest mysteries of our faith. It is this mystery that St. John describes in his Gospel when he writes: And the Word became esh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begoen of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) During this Feast, even the hymns and readings are structured to help remind us of the Mystery of the Incarnaon, where the Son of God, the Logos took esh from the Holy Theotokos, and became man; uning the fullness of his divinity to humanity. It invites us to consider the amazing truth that the uncontainable creator of Heaven and Earth was contained in a manger, for the sake of our salvaon. Above all, the Navity is a reminder of God's love for humanity. God's love is revealed to us

H.G. Bishop David

LITURGY SCHEDULE
Sunday Liturgy 8:30 AM11:30 AM Wednesday Liturgy 6:00 AM 7:30 AM Friday Liturgy 9:00 AM10:30 AM Saturday Vesper 6:00 PM 8:00 PM

Have something to say? Want to share a story or a good message? Anyone wishing to add, request, or comment on the newsleer can do so by contacng Ann at agiardino2001@yahoo.com.

ANNUAL SKI TRIP

January 2nd to January 4th is the annual college and young adult ski retreat! The cost is $25.00 for everyone. To ski, an addional $10.00 for the li and $35.00 to rent equipment. Contact Riham Kalta for more informaon and to be part of the fun and Chrisan fellowship.

For unto us a child is bor

Isaiah 6:9

Virgin Mary and Archangel Michael Copc Orthodox Church 87 Benham Street, Hamden, CT 06514 Fr. Abraham Azmy (203) 887-8865 Fr. Isaac Salib (203) 999-5043 Archdeacon Ibrahim Hefzallah (203) 258-1906

the redeeming work of our Lord, because without the Incarnaon, there could be no Crucixion or Resurrecon. And as Moses lied up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lied up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:14-15) The Incarnaon also oers us a lesson in virtues of submission, humility, & obedience: Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputaon, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8 )

oers. With everyone trying to be happy, there sll seems to be so much controversy looming and its disturbing to some who celebrate Christmas in earnest. This me of year, Chrisans somemes become easily outraged by greengs such as, Happy Holidays! Ive seen people become annoyed that the public Christmas tree must share real estate with a Hanukah menorah (if they are allowed in public at all). We cant forget to menon that never ending bale with wretched consumerism! Christmas isnt about presents! Jesus is the reason for the season! Keep Christ in Christmas! And so the anger builds. How exhausng. If we let the worlds aempt at fairness get to us, it surely will take the peace and joy that should be swelling by the me Christmas comes. This year, I urge that we not focus on these things. Rather than start an angry crusade, use what Jesus has taught us to truly experience joy. If your joy has been depleted by inner irritaon toward the worlds treatment of Christmas, or your joy is buried in the stress of preparing that big family get-together, I believe its best to start over. Not sure where to start? Begin with the simplicity of obedience to God. What is joy aer all? And how does obedience bring us joy? Joy is our response when we draw close to God, a gladness that is unparalleled by any other source but God. It has also been described as a reward for serving Christ and merely seeking Christ. St. John Chrisostom said, Enter then, all of you, into the joy of our Lord. First and last, receive alike your reward. Rich and poor, dance together. You who have fasted and you, who have not fasted, rejoice today. The table is fully laden; let all enjoy it. The calf is faened; let none go away hungry. Imagine searching high and low for something valuable that was lost. When it is found we receive joy. Knowing God is that and so much more. Psalm 16:11 says, You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. King David could not have been plainer. In order to expe-

rience joy, David knew he must submit to God and be in his presence. This is how we nd joy. Our doubt, confusion and lack of joy do not compare to what others have dealt with. The Bible gives us plenty of examples of people who were obedient to God and who were forever joyful for it. Abraham did not queson God when he was told to sacrice his son. (How terrifying!) Noah did not hesitate to build a giant boat and gather animals into it. (How absurd!) St. Mary, how grateful we are to her for her simple obedience, agreed to be the mother of God though she was a virgin and did not understand how that could happen. (Thats impossible! Right?) Their joy began with simply doing as God asked and communicang with Him through prayer. During this Christmas season, lets be especially aenve to what God is telling us. Pray, concentrate during the liturgy and be mindful in our daily lives of how God would want us to glorify Him. Lets be prepared to jubilantly say with the angels on Christmas Day, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men! Lets remember that goodwill is an atude of kindness toward people. It is for everyone on this earth, even those who wish us a Happy Holiday and not a Merry Christmas. Aer all, a sign that we are truly joyful with God is a happy spirit toward others and the uncontainable wish to share the good news of the gi Christ has given us. When we see our children opening presents, dont fret or feel guilty. As adults we understand that these gis and the happiness they bring wont last long. Be joyous in knowing that we have been given grace and knowledge to discern this point and to know that on this day weve all been given the greatest gi of all. The gi of a savior! Someday, God willing, your children will have the same revelaon and, hopefully, pray that same thought in thanksgiving. In short, forget the world and all its misconcepons. Now is the me to be thankful and celebrate! Put spiritual disciplines rst, and the joy will follow.

OH CHRISTMAS TREE!

SANDWICH RUN
The Sandwich Run is sll accepng donaons for the following items:

Each year, the Christmas tree makes for a wonderful tradion of harmony for our church members. Together, both young and old come to choose a tree from, then head back to the church where the children had the task of creang their own decoraons to adorn the tree.

Adult Winter Coats Hats Gloves Boots (in good condion) Jeans Sweaters or Sweatshirts

WINTER VBS

*Unacceptable donaons include sandals, summer clothes, and dressy are. * Contact George Keryakos to make a donaon or to help out in any other way.

CHRISTMAS JOY
By Kae Conigliaro Christmas is a season like no other. Both in church and in the secular sphere, Christmas takes a lot of me and eort. Even those who do not believe that Jesus is our Savior seek the joy that Christmas

On December 28th, the middle and elementary students spent a poron of their winter break learning about the temple. The children shared their presentaons and answered quesons regarding the meaning of temple arfacts.