Weekly Bulletin

Sunday April 5, 2020, Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt (5th Sunday of Lent)

This Week's Services and Events

April 9, Thursday
  + Virtual Psalm Discussion, 7:00PM

April 12, Sunday (Palm Sunday)
+ Matins, 8:45AM
+ Divine Liturgy, 10:00AM followed by Virtual Coffee Hour, 1:00PM

Upcoming Events and Announcements

Important!- Regarding Lazarus Saturday, Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Pascha
We have received preliminary instructions from Metropolitan Joseph regarding what can we do liturgically and sacramentally for Lazarus Saturday, Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Pascha. All of this may be altered as the constantly changing situation with the pandemic warrants. Moreover, if public health declarations further prohibit anything that we have been allowed to do by the Metropolitan, then we are instructed to abide by the decisions of the civil authorities and modify our practice accordingly.

Brothers and sisters, this special and holy time of year will be very different from what we are used to. I am sad to have to share the following news with you. There will be no public services during these holy days. Unfortunately, it so happens that Holy Week and Pascha will be falling just at the point when the virus may be peaking and strict social distancing and isolation will be so important. Services which will be performed will be limited to no more than five people and should be done with fewer if possible. Attendance must not rotate as the homogeneous nature of the group lowers risk of infection. In other words, only a very small group of the same people will be allowed to be present for all of the services. Compared to what we are used to from previous years, the number of services will be limited. This is due both to the situation dictated by the pandemic, and in consideration of my own health. I am still not at full strength, and may have to pace myself and/or have help. The exact schedule will be determined in the next week or so. We will live stream to the Facebook page as much as possible.   facebook.com/straphaeliowacity/ Most of you will have to pray at home.

There will be no opportunity for those who are not attending the service in person to receive the Eucharist. There will be no opportunity to pick up palms on Palm Sunday. There will be no funeral bier decorating. There will be no processions. We will pray the Psalm Vigil on Holy Friday evening from our homes. There will be no baptisms or chrismations until Pentecost, at the earliest. There will be no opportunity to have Paschal baskets blessed. There will be no Agape Vespers picnic. There will be no confessions over the phone. That means that a spiritual conversation can take place between a penitent and the priest by phone, but the prayer of absolution cannot be given until such a time as the two can meet in person.

These are very strict and difficult instructions to follow, and our Metropolitan would never have put them into place unless he felt that it was absolutely warranted for the welfare of the people. These decisions were made prayerfully, and after consulting both infectious disease experts and legal experts. As we sing in Great Compline, "O Lord of Hosts be with us, for we have none other help than from Thee. O Lord of Hosts, have mercy on us!" Let us also keep in mind these words from St. Paul: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35, 37-39) Even though we won't be together in the same room this Holy Pascha, Christ is still risen from the dead, and nothing can ever change that! Christ is in our midst! He was, is, and ever shall be! Amen.

Virtual Coffee Hour
Since we cannot be together for prayer and worship followed by food and fellowship, let us take advantage of the technology available to us and check in with each other in a virtual coffee hour. From 1PM-2PM on Sunday, all those interested are invited to use Zoom and go to this link to join in on the virtual coffee hour.  https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/4320014122

We Are the Church!
We do not just go to church. We ARE the Church! Even if we can't assemble together, let us be together in spirit, praying for each other and checking in on each other. Call or send a note to 2-3 others from St. Raphael, and check in with them to see how they are doing.

A Note From Your Treasurer
I know many of you will be staying home and not attending services in the near future to protect your own health and that of others. As Father has said, we will continue to offer services. No matter what our church schedule looks like, most of our expenses remain constant—Father’s salary, our mortgage, basic utilities do not change much month to month. If you are giving by direct deduction from your account, thank you! If you normally give by leaving money at the church in a donation box, you are welcome to mail a check to the church, or to give online. Visit our Donation page for more information about online giving options: https://www.raphaelchurch.org/donate.html We appreciate your consistent giving during this difficult time. Thank you!

Virtual Psalms Discussion- New Day and Time
We will be meeting virtually through Zoom, on Thursday at 7:00PM. This week, we are reading and discussing Psalm 21(22). Email Lori Branch for the Zoom link.

Metropolitan Antony Bashir Memorial Scholarship
Four $750 scholarships will be given out to enrolled college undergraduates who are members of the Antiochian Archdiocese and who have resided in the Diocese of Toledo and the Midwest for at least a year. If you would like the scholarship application, contact Fr. Ignatius.

Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian
"O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, meddling, lust of power and idle talk; but give rather, the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins, and not to judge my brother, for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen."
Printed cards with this prayer are available in the narthex.

2020- A Year of Supplication to St. Raphael
Materials have been printed to help us all focus our prayers this year by asking our patron St. Raphael for his intercessions for the strengthening and growth and stability of our church. If you have not signed up but would like to be involved with this effort or learn more, contact Fr. Ignatius or Karen Kuntz.

Election Year Advice
As we all know, we are in a presidential election year, and politics are on a lot of people's minds. At St. Raphael Church, we have people who hold a variety of political opinions and who are supporting a variety of political candidates. If you choose to talk politics during coffee hour, remember that not all of your brothers and sisters in Christ who may be present will share your views. So, let's be respectful and considerate if we choose to voice our opinions, so as not to cause offense to anyone.

St. Raphael Food Pantry Needs
During the Lenten season, we are called not only to fast, but to increase our prayer and almsgiving. You can directly impact our neighbors by giving to our Food Pantry. Can you add an item or two (or more) from the list below to your shopping list each week during Lent? You can also donate funds (which will be used to purchase items to stock the shelves) by clearing designating your donation for the food pantry and putting it in one of the donation boxes in the narthex or nave.

Peanut butter
Jelly
Canned Tuna and Chicken
Any Canned Soup, especially soups with meat
Canned Chili with meat
Canned Fruit
Breakfast cereal

Next Sunday's Gospel Reading
   Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus who had died was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at table with Him. Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. But Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, one of His Disciples (he who was to betray Jesus), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not because he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the moneybox he used to take what was put into it. Jesus said, “Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of My burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have Me.” When the great crowd of the Jews learned that He was there, they came, not only on account of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus also to death, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, “Hosanna! Blessed is He Who cometh in the Name of the Lord, the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it; as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on an ass’s colt!” His Disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of Him and had been done to Him. The crowd that had been with Jesus when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet Jesus was that they heard He had done this sign. (John 12:1-18)

Pray for our Catechumens
  Please keep our catechumens Ilya Buchkin, Scott Dorr, Fabian Muller-Dahlberg, Madison Frei, Elizabeth Michael, Michael Spies, Austin and Maddie Collins, Evren Sasmazer, Derek Ward and Daniel Hettrick in your prayers as they prepare to be sacramentally joined to the Orthodox Church.

Do You Have a Prayer Request?
Please give it to Fr. Ignatius and he will distribute it by email to all those on the Prayer Chain. If you wish to join the Prayer Chain, please let Fr. Ignatius know.

Remember Your Departed Loved Ones With Flowers
Would you like to memorialize your departed loved ones with a bouquet of flowers to be placed in the church on the weekend of your choice? Decide what weekend you would like your loved one(s) remembered, mention it to Fr. Ignatius, give $25 to the church, clearly marking it for "Memorial Flowers" and your loved one(s) will be mentioned during the Great Entrance prayers and in the weekly bulletin. If your departed loved ones are Orthodox, and you would like Trisagion Prayers for the Departed to be offered at the end of Liturgy, you can indicate that on the sign-up sheet as well.

Keep Praying for Kidnapped Orthodox Bishops in Syria
Since April 22, 2013, the Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, Metropolitan Paul, and the Syriac Metropolitan of Aleppo, Youhanna, have been in captivity and have not been heard from. Please pray for their well being and release and also pray for their captors as well.

Food for Thought
The purpose of Lent is to wean us from the habit of seeing temporary things as having eternal importance. Lent is a return to normalcy and true naturalness.
- Bishop Anthony

Sunday March 29, 2020, Sunday of St. John Climacus (4th Sunday of Lent)

This Week's Services and Events

April 1, Wednesday
  + Virtual Psalm Discussion, 8:00PM

April 3, Friday
  + Compline with Akathist Hymn, 7:00PM

April 5, Sunday (Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt- 5th Sunday of Lent)
+ Matins, 8:45AM
+ Divine Liturgy, 10:00AM followed by Virtual Coffee Hour, 1:00PM

Upcoming Events and Announcements

New Changes in Consideration of COVID-19/Coronavirus
Based on guidance from Metropolitan Joseph and recommendations from the governor of Iowa, gatherings of people are limited to no more than ten at a time. Therefore, for the time being, there will be no public services at St. Raphael Church.  His Eminence has instructed the clergy to continue to serve Sunday matins and liturgy and Friday evening Compline with Akathist. But these services will include only clergy, altar servers and a small choir.  We are live streaming these services on the church's Facebook page. You do not have to have a Facebook account to watch. Go to facebook.com/straphaeliowacity/ to watch. Please pray with your family at home. This typica servicce is appropriate to pray this weekend instead of attending liturgy.  https://antiochianprodsa.blob.core.windows.net/servicetexts/Mar%2029%202020%20TYPIKA.pdf Other services which can be prayed at home can be found on the appropriate day at  https://www.antiochian.org/liturgicday

Virtual Coffee Hour
Since we cannot be together for prayer and worship followed by food and fellowship, let us take advantage of the technology available to us and check in with each other in a virtual coffee hour. From 1PM-2PM on Sunday, all those interested are invited to use Zoom and go to this link to join in on the virtual coffee hour.  https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/4320014122

We Are the Church!
We do not just go to church. We ARE the Church! Even if we can't assemble together, let us be together in spirit, praying for each other and checking in on each other. Call or send a note to 2-3 others from St. Raphael, and check in with them to see how they are doing.

A Note From Your Treasurer
I know many of you will be staying home and not attending services in the near future to protect your own health and that of others. As Father has said, we will continue to offer services. No matter what our church schedule looks like, most of our expenses remain constant—Father’s salary, our mortgage, basic utilities do not change much month to month. If you are giving by direct deduction from your account, thank you! If you normally give by leaving money at the church in a donation box, you are welcome to mail a check to the church, or to give online. Visit our Donation page for more information about online giving options: https://www.raphaelchurch.org/donate.html We appreciate your consistent giving during this difficult time. Thank you!

Virtual Psalms Discussion
Although we are not meeting in person to discuss the Psalms on Wednesday evenings for the near future, we are continuing to meet online to discuss. This week, we are reading and discussing Psalm 44 (45).

Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian
"O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, meddling, lust of power and idle talk; but give rather, the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins, and not to judge my brother, for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen."
Printed cards with this prayer are available in the narthex.

2020- A Year of Supplication to St. Raphael
Materials have been printed to help us all focus our prayers this year by asking our patron St. Raphael for his intercessions for the strengthening and growth and stability of our church. If you have not signed up but would like to be involved with this effort or learn more, contact Fr. Ignatius or Karen Kuntz.

Election Year Advice
As we all know, we are in a presidential election year, and politics are on a lot of people's minds. At St. Raphael Church, we have people who hold a variety of political opinions and who are supporting a variety of political candidates. If you choose to talk politics during coffee hour, remember that not all of your brothers and sisters in Christ who may be present will share your views. So, let's be respectful and considerate if we choose to voice our opinions, so as not to cause offense to anyone.

St. Raphael Food Pantry Needs
During the Lenten season, we are called not only to fast, but to increase our prayer and almsgiving. You can directly impact our neighbors by giving to our Food Pantry. Can you add an item or two (or more) from the list below to your shopping list each week during Lent? You can also donate funds (which will be used to purchase items to stock the shelves) by clearing designating your donation for the food pantry and putting it in one of the donation boxes in the narthex or nave.

Peanut butter
Jelly
Canned Tuna and Chicken
Any Canned Soup, especially soups with meat
Canned Chili with meat
Canned Fruit
Breakfast cereal

Next Sunday's Gospel Reading
   At that time, Jesus took His twelve Disciples, and began to tell them what was to happen to Him, saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles. And they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit upon Him, and kill Him; and after three days He will rise.” And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to Him, and said to Him, “Teacher, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire” And Jesus said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” And they said to Him, “Grant us to sit, one at Thy right hand and one at Thy left, in Thy glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” And they said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized. But to sit at My right hand or at My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them to Him and said to them, “You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be servant of all. For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:32-45)

Pray for our Catechumens
  Please keep our catechumens Ilya Buchkin, Scott Dorr, Fabian Muller-Dahlberg, Madison Frei, Elizabeth Michael, Michael Spies, Austin and Maddie Collins, Evren Sasmazer, Derek Ward and Daniel Hettrick in your prayers as they prepare to be sacramentally joined to the Orthodox Church.

Do You Have a Prayer Request?
Please give it to Fr. Ignatius and he will distribute it by email to all those on the Prayer Chain. If you wish to join the Prayer Chain, please let Fr. Ignatius know.

Remember Your Departed Loved Ones With Flowers
Would you like to memorialize your departed loved ones with a bouquet of flowers to be placed in the church on the weekend of your choice? Decide what weekend you would like your loved one(s) remembered, mention it to Fr. Ignatius, give $25 to the church, clearly marking it for "Memorial Flowers" and your loved one(s) will be mentioned during the Great Entrance prayers and in the weekly bulletin. If your departed loved ones are Orthodox, and you would like Trisagion Prayers for the Departed to be offered at the end of Liturgy, you can indicate that on the sign-up sheet as well.

Keep Praying for Kidnapped Orthodox Bishops in Syria
Since April 22, 2013, the Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, Metropolitan Paul, and the Syriac Metropolitan of Aleppo, Youhanna, have been in captivity and have not been heard from. Please pray for their well being and release and also pray for their captors as well.

Food for Thought
A penitent is a buyer of humility.
- St. John Climacus

Sunday March 22, 2020, Sunday of the Exaltation of the Cross (3rd Sunday of Lent)

This Week's Services and Events

March 25, Wednesday
  + Vesperal Liturgy for Annunciation, 6:00PM

March 27, Friday
  + Compline with Akathist Hymn, 7:00PM

March 29, Sunday (Sunday of St. John Climacus- 4th Sunday of Lent)
+ Matins, 8:45AM
+ Divine Liturgy, 10:00AM

Upcoming Events and Announcements

New Changes in Consideration of COVID-19/Coronavirus
Based on guidance from Metropolitan Joseph and recommendations from the governor of Iowa, gatherings of people are limited to no more than ten at a time. Therefore, for the time being, there will be no public services at St. Raphael Church.  His Eminence has instructed the clergy to continue to serve Sunday matins and liturgy, a liturgy for the Feast of Annunciation and Friday evening Compline with Akathist. But these services will include only clergy, altar servers and a small choir.  Beginning this Sunday, March 22, we will live stream these services on the church's Facebook page. You do not have to have a Facebook account to watch. Go to facebook.com/straphaeliowacity/ to watch. Please pray with your family at home. This typica servicce is appropriate to pray this weekend instead of attending liturgy. https://antiochianprodsa.blob.core.windows.net/servicetexts/Mar%2022%202020%20TYPIKA.pdf Other services which can be prayed at home can be found on the appropriate day at  https://www.antiochian.org/liturgicday

Virtual Coffee Hour
Since we cannot be together for prayer and worship followed by food and fellowship, let us take advantage of the technology available to us and check in with each other in a virtual coffee hour. From 1PM-2PM on Sunday, all those interested are invited to use Zoom and go to this link to join in on the virtual coffee hour.  https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/4320014122

We Are the Church!
We do not just go to church. We ARE the Church! Even if we can't assemble together, let us be together in spirit, praying for each other and checking in on each other. Call or send a note to 2-3 others from St. Raphael, and check in with them to see how they are doing.

A Note From Your Treasurer
I know many of you will be staying home and not attending services in the near future to protect your own health and that of others. As Father has said, we will continue to offer services. No matter what our church schedule looks like, most of our expenses remain constant—Father’s salary, our mortgage, basic utilities do not change much month to month. If you are giving by direct deduction from your account, thank you! If you normally give by leaving money at the church in a donation box, you are welcome to mail a check to the church, or to give online. Visit our Donation page for more information about online giving options: https://www.raphaelchurch.org/donate.html We appreciate your consistent giving during this difficult time. Thank you!

Virtual Psalms Discussion
Although we are not meeting in person to discuss the Psalms on Wednesday evenings for the near future, we are continuing to meet online to discuss. This week, we are reading and discussing Psalm 39 (40).

Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian
"O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, meddling, lust of power and idle talk; but give rather, the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins, and not to judge my brother, for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen."
Printed cards with this prayer are available in the narthex.

2020- A Year of Supplication to St. Raphael
Materials have been printed to help us all focus our prayers this year by asking our patron St. Raphael for his intercessions for the strengthening and growth and stability of our church. If you have not signed up but would like to be involved with this effort or learn more, contact Fr. Ignatius or Karen Kuntz.

Election Year Advice
As we all know, we are in a presidential election year, and politics are on a lot of people's minds. At St. Raphael Church, we have people who hold a variety of political opinions and who are supporting a variety of political candidates. If you choose to talk politics during coffee hour, remember that not all of your brothers and sisters in Christ who may be present will share your views. So, let's be respectful and considerate if we choose to voice our opinions, so as not to cause offense to anyone.

St. Raphael Food Pantry Needs
During the Lenten season, we are called not only to fast, but to increase our prayer and almsgiving. You can directly impact our neighbors by giving to our Food Pantry. Can you add an item or two (or more) from the list below to your shopping list each week during Lent? You can also donate funds (which will be used to purchase items to stock the shelves) by clearing designating your donation for the food pantry and putting it in one of the donation boxes in the narthex or nave.

Peanut butter
Jelly
Canned Tuna and Chicken
Any Canned Soup, especially soups with meat
Canned Chili with meat
Canned Fruit
Breakfast cereal

Sunday March 15, 2020, Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas (2nd Sunday of Lent)

This Week's Services and Events

March 18, Wednesday
  + Paraklesis, 6:30PM
  + Lenten Soup Supper and Praying the Psalms Discussion and Fellowship, 7:45PM

March 19, Thursday
  + Office Hours, 11:00AM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM

March 20, Friday
  + 3rd Hour Prayers, 9:00AM
  + Office Hours, 9:15AM-12:30PM
  + Compline with Akathist Hymn, 7:00PM

March 21, Saturday
  + Parish Council meeting, 2:30PM
  + Great Vespers, 5:00PM

March 22, Sunday (Sunday of Exaltation of the Cross- 3rd Sunday of Lent)
+ Matins, 8:45AM
  + Sunday School, 9:20AM
+ Divine Liturgy, 10:00AM, followed by Fellowship Hour
  + Pan-Orthodox Vespers, 5:30PM (at St. George Church in Cedar Rapids)

Upcoming Events and Announcements

Sunday March 15 Pan-Orthodox Vespers Canceled
Taking an abundance of caution in light of the current pandemic situation, there will be no pan-Orthodox vespers and no meal following on Sunday, March 15.

No Office Hours March 17-18
Fr. Ignatius will briefly be out of town. There will be no office hours or 9th hour prayers on March 17 and 18.

Changes in Consideration of COVID-19/Coronavirus
  Based on guidance from Metropolitan Joseph, icons that are commonly venerated in the church will be cleaned much more regularly. We are also being more diligent in sanitizing doorknobs and other commonly touched surfaces. If you are sick or have been around someone who is sick, stay home, and if you exhibit symptoms that are similar to COVID-19, contact a healthcare professional. At the Kiss of Peace, you may bow to another, instead of hugging, kissing or shaking hands. The antidoron (blessed bread) will be handed to you by someone who has just sanitized their hands.  There will be no veneration of the cross at the end of Liturgy. There will be no Sunday coffee hour on March 22 and 29.  Importantly, there will be no change in the way we receive Holy Communion. As a matter of faith, we believe that the Lord's Body and Blood is the medicine of immortality and is not a carrier of disease.

Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian
"O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, meddling, lust of power and idle talk; but give rather, the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins, and not to judge my brother, for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen."
Printed cards with this prayer are available in the narthex.

2020- A Year of Supplication to St. Raphael
Materials have been printed to help us all focus our prayers this year by asking our patron St. Raphael for his intercessions for the strengthening and growth and stability of our church. We started this effort on February 27. If you have not signed up but would like to be involved with this effort or learn more, contact Fr. Ignatius or Karen Kuntz.

Wednesday Nights: Praying the Psalms
Following the Liturgy of Pre-Sanctified Gifts at 6:00PM, we are meeting at 7:45PM for our weekly fellowship and a Lenten soup supper. This week, we are reading and discussing Psalms 129-133 (130-134). All are welcome. One need not commit to attending every week in order to participate.

"Visit Train" for Jenny Hope and John Michalski
John Michalski and Jenny Hope would love to see you! It's nearly impossible for Jenny to leave home because of her physical limitations, and it's nearly impossible for John to leave home because Jenny needs assistance almost constantly. Let’s help fight their isolation! John and Jenny would like once per week visits on Thursday late afternoons or evenings or Saturdays. Please call John a couple of hours ahead of time to confirm that Jenny is up to a visit that day. We are using a meal train as a VISIT train: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/9g6znv The calendar is set up with both Thursdays and Saturdays available each week, but please sign up for just one of the days each week. Where the meal train asks “what will you bring” please indicate the time you’d like to visit.

Lenten Sunday Evenings
  Orthodox parishes from Eastern Iowa will be sponsoring pan-Orthodox vespers for the first four Sundays of Lent and providing meals afterward. Here is the schedule of services.
Sunday, March 22, 5:30PM- St. George Church (3650 Cottage Grove Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids)
Sunday, March 29, 5:30PM- St. John the Baptist Church (501 A Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids)

Lenten Wednesday Night Soup Supper
  Following liturgy at 6:00PM, and during our ongoing discussion of the Psalms, we will enjoy a simple Lenten soup supper provided for by one or two families each week. A sign-up sheet is posted in the narthex. Please consider signing up to provide soup and bread (and if you would like, a simple side dish) for about 15-20 people.

Election Year Advice
As we all know, we are in a presidential election year, and politics are on a lot of people's minds. At St. Raphael Church, we have people who hold a variety of political opinions and who are supporting a variety of political candidates. If you choose to talk politics during coffee hour, remember that not all of your brothers and sisters in Christ who may be present will share your views. So, let's be respectful and considerate if we choose to voice our opinions, so as not to cause offense to anyone.

St. Raphael Food Pantry Needs
During the Lenten season, we are called not only to fast, but to increase our prayer and almsgiving. You can directly impact our neighbors by giving to our Food Pantry. Can you add an item or two (or more) from the list below to your shopping list each week during Lent? You can also donate funds (which will be used to purchase items to stock the shelves) by clearing designating your donation for the food pantry and putting it in one of the donation boxes in the narthex or nave.

Peanut butter
Jelly
Canned Tuna and Chicken
Any Canned Soup, especially soups with meat
Canned Chili with meat
Canned Fruit
Breakfast cereal

Forty Days for Life Prayer Effort
From February 26-April 5, Johnson County Right to Life is once again, sponsoring the twice annual Forty Days for Life Prayer Effort on the sidewalk in front of a local abortion clinic. This peaceful effort is focused on prayer for the endangered unborn children who have no one to advocate for them, for their parents and for those who are providing the abortions. To learn more about this effort and to sign-up to participate in one hour time blocks, go to: https://www.40daysforlife.com/local-campaigns/iowa-city/

Shelter House Book Sale
  Our annual Shelter House Book Sale will be held on March 28, 10:30am – 4pm and March 29, 12pm – 4pm at the Johnson County Fairgrounds, Bldg. C. We’ll have gently used books plus music, movies, and art for sale. ADMISSION IS FREE! But dedicated book worms can purchase $10 Early Entry passes for admission before the general public at 10am. Proceeds of our book sale benefit Shelter House programs and support services including housing, employment, and mental health that help hundreds of men, women, and children each year to get back on their feet.  If you have books you’d like to donate, they can be dropped off at Bldg. B at the Fairgrounds starting February 23 from 2pm – 4pm. Donation drop-off will continue every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday from 10am – 2pm and Sundays from 2pm – 4pm through the week of the sale! **Textbooks, encyclopedias, and magazines not accepted** Please direct all questions to T’Shailyn Harrington at tshailyn.harrington@shelterhouseiowa.org.

Next Sunday's Gospel Reading
   The Lord said, “If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” And Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Kingdom of God come with power.” (Mark 8:34-9:1)

Pray for our Catechumens
  Please keep our catechumens Ilya Buchkin, Scott Dorr, Fabian Muller-Dahlberg, Madison Frei, Elizabeth Michael, Michael Spies, Austin and Maddie Collins, Evren Sasmazer, Derek Ward and Daniel Hettrick in your prayers as they prepare to be sacramentally joined to the Orthodox Church.

Do You Have a Prayer Request?
Please give it to Fr. Ignatius and he will distribute it by email to all those on the Prayer Chain. If you wish to join the Prayer Chain, please let Fr. Ignatius know.

Remember Your Departed Loved Ones With Flowers
Would you like to memorialize your departed loved ones with a bouquet of flowers to be placed in the church on the weekend of your choice? Decide what weekend you would like your loved one(s) remembered, mention it to Fr. Ignatius, give $25 to the church, clearly marking it for "Memorial Flowers" and your loved one(s) will be mentioned during the Great Entrance prayers and in the weekly bulletin. If your departed loved ones are Orthodox, and you would like Trisagion Prayers for the Departed to be offered at the end of Liturgy, you can indicate that on the sign-up sheet as well.

Keep Praying for Kidnapped Orthodox Bishops in Syria
Since April 22, 2013, the Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, Metropolitan Paul, and the Syriac Metropolitan of Aleppo, Youhanna, have been in captivity and have not been heard from. Please pray for their well being and release and also pray for their captors as well.

Food for Thought

March 13, 2020

Beloved in Christ,

Greetings and blessings to all of you in the Name of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ!

During these holy days of Lent - this time of fasting, prayer, and repentance - we are preparing ourselves to commemorate the Life-giving and Saving Passion of our Lord and His Glorious Third-day Resurrection. On the night our Lord was betrayed, He gathered His disciples in the Upper Room to strengthen them in their Faith before the coming trials and tribulations. While speaking plainly about the suffering that was to take place, He said to them encouragingly: "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

Our Lenten journey this year has the added trial of the worldwide spread of a novel coronavirus. This virus has landed on the shores of our North American continent and begun its spread into various cities within the boundaries of our Archdiocese. As our Lord strengthened the courage of His disciples before His Passion, He is calling us to faith and courage today. We are hearing the warnings that the spread of the disease will quicken without more dramatic measures, and we need to say honestly that we could be entering into a time of significant trial. As Orthodox Christians, we should remind ourselves that in the world we will always have tribulation.

We must all decide what we will do with during this time. Will we panic and become paralyzed with fear? Or will we recall the words of our Lord that despite this time of trial, we can take heart that He has indeed overcome the world? Even in the face of sickness and death, we as Orthodox Christians are called to remember that the Tomb is empty, for our Christ has shattered the gates of death and opened Paradise to all. We celebrate the death of death and ask: "Oh, death where is thy sting? Oh, hades where is they victory?"

Having said that, I would like to offer a few words about the seriousness of the threat we face. I have heard some of our clergy and faithful downplaying the threat by saying things that may be factually true but can also be misleading. Yes, the disease COVID-19 will only have mild symptoms in the vast majority of cases. Yes, the seasonal flu has at this point caused considerably more deaths during this flu season than COVID-19. Yes, most Americans are still considered to have low degree of risk of contracting the coronavirus. However, the daunting problem we are facing is one of avoiding the spike in cases that could easily happen without taking serious precautions. As we have seen in other countries, the virus can spread quickly, and if even a small percentage of people require hospitalization, our hospitals will be overrun.

On the same night before His Passion, the Lord asked His disciples: "to love one another as I have loved you." We know that people who are older and have underlying health problems are the most susceptible to having a serious illness develop from COVID-19. We must remember that although the vast majority of us may have only a mild illness if infected, our own careless spread of the virus could result in the unnecessary hospitalizations and deaths of many of our vulnerable brothers and sisters. We have to show our Christian love by cooperating with our civil authorities to do what can be done to protect them.

We have been in touch with epidemiologists and civic leaders to do our part in containing the spread of the virus. Last week, we sent directives to our clergy based on the advice we had received at the time. We also cautioned that we were dealing with a rapidly evolving situation that will require us to update the directive as we receive new information and guidance.

As we have heard many times now, all of us need to adopt extremely good hygiene practices – frequent hand washing, cleaning often-touched surfaces, sneezing and coughing into our elbows, and limiting hugs, kisses, and handshakes. The sick need to stay home and contact their healthcare providers if they show symptoms of COVID-19. The elderly and vulnerable need to severely limit their travel and exposure to crowded places. Anyone who can work from home is encouraged to do so. Our priests and parish councils were instructed to take necessary precautions to limit the spread of this virus in our parishes last week.

We are now entering a time where we will be asked more and more by the civil authorities to engage in social distancing and cut down on unnecessary travel and events. We can expect that there will different levels of these requests in different areas of the country – depending on the severity of local outbreaks – so we will respond as the situation dictates. In the spirit of love for our vulnerable neighbors and service to our communities, I am instructing our clergy and parishes to abide by the directives of their local civil authorities.

In this same spirit, we will postpone all events and retreats on the deanery and diocesan level through the end of this month. We do not want any unnecessary travel at this critical juncture. In fact, we have already postponed two Lenten retreats of the Dioceses of the East that were to take place at the Antiochian Village in the coming weeks. After this Sunday, we ask that our parishes postpone any non-worship event that would bring together more than 100 people. We will leave it up to the discretion of the pastor, in consultation with the local bishop, to cancel Sunday School, coffee hour, potlucks, etc. due to the proximity of each parish to areas of outbreak and the advice of the local authorities.

To be clear, we will not stop the liturgical life of our parishes unless specifically ordered to do so by the local authorities. We need the prayer of the Church and the Holy Mysteries. As I instructed our clergy last week, Holy Communion is the Body and Blood of our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is without any question or doubt the Medicine of Immortality, not a source of disease. The Church, over her two-thousand-year history, has experienced countless plagues and has never wavered on this point, and we will not do so now.

Beloved in Christ, I ask of all of us to increase the fervency of our prayers to Almighty God. Our Lord also spoke on that fateful night of the greatest love we can offer, the love of one who lays down his or her life for another. Our health care workers, first responders, and clergy will be asked to courageously put themselves in harm's way to care for and minister to the sick, and they need our prayers and support. We must pray to God to grant wisdom and discernment to the civil authorities of our land. We must pray for the sick and their loved ones. We must use this holy season to repent and grow to love God and our neighbor more fully.

We are likely entering into a time of trial. We pray that the measures we are taking in conjunction with the civil authorities will slow the spread of the virus in our communities. We pray that our Lord, the Physician and Healer of our souls and bodies, will look down on our world with mercy and compassion and speedily deliver us from this pestilence. We also pray that He will grant to all of us faith and love, courage and strength, wisdom and discernment to do our part – each and every one of us. We have the assurance of our Faith, that in the end, our Lord has overcome the world.

With paternal love and prayers and for all of you, I remain,
Your Father in Christ,
+JOSEPH
Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of all North America

Sunday March 8, 2020, Sunday of Orthodoxy (1st Sunday of Lent)

This Week's Services and Events

March 10, Tuesday
  + Office Hours, 12:30PM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM

March 11, Wednesday
  + Office Hours, 1:45PM- 3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM
  + Liturgy of Pre-Sanctified Gifts, 6:00PM
  + Lenten Soup Supper and Praying the Psalms Discussion and Fellowship, 7:45PM

March 12, Thursday
  + Office Hours, 11:00AM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM

March 13, Friday
  + 3rd Hour Prayers, 9:00AM
  + Office Hours, 9:15AM-12:30PM
  + Compline with Akathist Hymn, 7:00PM
  + Youth Group, 6:00PM at the Peterson/Branch home

March 14, Saturday
  + Great Vespers, 5:00PM

March 15, Sunday (Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas- 2nd Sunday of Lent)
+ Matins, 8:45AM
  + Sunday School, 9:20AM
+ Divine Liturgy, 10:00AM, followed by Fellowship Hour
  + Pan-Orthodox Vespers, 5:30PM

Upcoming Events and Announcements

March/April Calendars
  The printed calendars showing services and other events for March and April are available to pick up in the narthex.

Changes in Consideration of COVID-19/Coronavirus
Based on guidance from Metropolitan Joseph, icons that are commonly venerated in the church will be cleaned much more regularly. We are also being more diligent in sanitizing doorknobs and other commonly touched surfaces. If you are sick or have been around someone who is sick, stay home, and if you exhibit symptoms that are similar to COVID-19, contact a healthcare professional. At the Kiss of Peace, you may bow to another, instead of hugging, kissing or shaking hands. The antidoron (blessed bread) will be handed to you by someone who has just sanitized their hands.  There will be no veneration of the cross at the end of Liturgy.  Importantly, there will be no change in the way we receive Holy Communion. As a matter of faith, we believe that the Lord's Body and Blood is the medicine of immortality and is not a carrier of disease.

Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian
"O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, meddling, lust of power and idle talk; but give rather, the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins, and not to judge my brother, for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen."
Printed cards with this prayer are available in the narthex.

2020- A Year of Supplication to St. Raphael
Materials have been printed to help us all focus our prayers this year by asking our patron St. Raphael for his intercessions for the strengthening and growth and stability of our church. We started this effort on February 27. If you have not signed up but would like to be involved with this effort or learn more, contact Fr. Ignatius or Karen Kuntz.

Wednesday Nights: Praying the Psalms
Following the Liturgy of Pre-Sanctified Gifts at 6:00PM, we are meeting at 7:45PM for our weekly fellowship and a Lenten soup supper. This week, we are reading and discussing Psalms 33 (34). All are welcome. One need not commit to attending every week in order to participate.

"Visit Train" for Jenny Hope and John Michalski
John Michalski and Jenny Hope would love to see you! It's nearly impossible for Jenny to leave home because of her physical limitations, and it's nearly impossible for John to leave home because Jenny needs assistance almost constantly. Let’s help fight their isolation! John and Jenny would like once per week visits on Thursday late afternoons or evenings or Saturdays. Please call John a couple of hours ahead of time to confirm that Jenny is up to a visit that day. We are using a meal train as a VISIT train: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/9g6znv The calendar is set up with both Thursdays and Saturdays available each week, but please sign up for just one of the days each week. Where the meal train asks “what will you bring” please indicate the time you’d like to visit.

Lenten Sunday Evenings
  Orthodox parishes from Eastern Iowa will be sponsoring pan-Orthodox vespers for the first four Sundays of Lent and providing meals afterward.  St. Raphael Church is hosting on March 15. A sign-up sheet for the meal is posted on the bulletin board in the narthex.  Here is the schedule of services.
Sunday, March 15, 5:30PM- St. Raphael Church (722 E. College St., Iowa City)
Sunday, March 22, 5:30PM- St. George Church (3650 Cottage Grove Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids)
Sunday, March 29, 5:30PM- St. John the Baptist Church (501 A Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids)

Lenten Wednesday Night Soup Supper
  Following liturgy at 6:00PM, and during our ongoing discussion of the Psalms, we will enjoy a simple Lenten soup supper provided for by one or two families each week. A sign-up sheet is posted in the narthex. Please consider signing up to provide soup and bread (and if you would like, a simple side dish) for about 15-20 people.

Election Year Advice
As we all know, we are in a presidential election year, and politics are on a lot of people's minds. At St. Raphael Church, we have people who hold a variety of political opinions and who are supporting a variety of political candidates. If you choose to talk politics during coffee hour, remember that not all of your brothers and sisters in Christ who may be present will share your views. So, let's be respectful and considerate if we choose to voice our opinions, so as not to cause offense to anyone.

St. Raphael Food Pantry Needs
During the Lenten season, we are called not only to fast, but to increase our prayer and almsgiving. You can directly impact our neighbors by giving to our Food Pantry. Can you add an item or two (or more) from the list below to your shopping list each week during Lent? You can also donate funds (which will be used to purchase items to stock the shelves) by clearing designating your donation for the food pantry and putting it in one of the donation boxes in the narthex or nave.

Peanut butter
Jelly
Canned Tuna and Chicken
Any Canned Soup, especially soups with meat
Canned Chili with meat
Canned Fruit
Breakfast cereal

Sunday March 1, 2020, Sunday of Forgiveness (Cheesefare Sunday)

This Week's Services and Events

March 2, Monday
  + Compline with Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, 7:00PM

March 3, Tuesday
  + Office Hours, 12:30PM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM
  + Compline with Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, 7:00PM

March 4, Wednesday
  + Office Hours, 1:45PM-
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM
  + Liturgy of Pre-Sanctified Gifts, 6:00PM
  + Lenten Soup Supper and Praying the Psalms Discussion and Fellowship, 7:45PM

March 5, Thursday
  + Free Lunch Program Volunteering, 11:30AM-1:00PM
  + Office Hours, 1:15PM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM
  + Compline with Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, 7:00PM

March 6, Friday
  + 3rd Hour Prayers, 9:00AM
  + Office Hours, 9:15AM-12:30PM
  + Compline with Akathist Hymn, 7:00PM

March 7, Saturday
  + Great Vespers, 5:00PM

March 8, Sunday (Sunday of Orthodoxy- 1st Sunday of Lent)
+ Matins, 8:45AM
  + Sunday School, 9:20AM
+ Divine Liturgy, 10:00AM, followed by Fellowship Hour
  + Pan-Orthodox Vespers, 5:30PM (St. Demetrios Church -613 W. 4th St., Waterloo)

Upcoming Events and Announcements

Cheesefare Sunday
  After today, we give up dairy and eggs and, on weekdays, wine and oil, entering fully into the Lenten fast. Let us be modest in what we consume, joyfully thanking God for everything we have, and using our resources to help others. In this, we can enter more fully into the spirit of the Fast, which is so much more than just abstaining from certain foods. If we strictly fast from food but do not abstain from sin, then we are no different than the demons, who do not eat at all.

March/April Calendars
The printed calendars showing services and other events for March and April are available to pick up in the narthex.

Bring Your Icons Next Sunday
March 8 is the first Sunday of Lent this year, the theme of which is the Triumph of Orthodoxy. As this is particularly referencing the end of the iconoclast era and the re-establishment of icons in the churches, we celebrate this triumph by having a procession with icons at the end of the Liturgy. If you have a favorite icon at home, bring it to hold as you join in during the procession.

Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian
O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, meddling, lust of power and idle talk; but give rather, the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins, and not to judge my brother, for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.

Spring Forward!
Day Light Savings Time begins next Sunday, March 8. Clocks will be set ahead one hour between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Metropolitan Joseph's Letter Regarding Food for Hungry People Program
Read His Eminence's letter here.

2020- A Year of Supplication to St. Raphael
Materials have been printed to help us all focus our prayers this year by asking our patron St. Raphael for his intercessions for the strengthening and growth and stability of our church. We started this effort on February 27. If you have not signed up but would like to be involved with this effort or learn more, contact Fr. Ignatius or Karen Kuntz.

Wednesday Nights: Praying the Psalms
Following the Liturgy of Pre-Sanctified Gifts at 6:00PM, we are meeting at 7:45PM for our weekly fellowship and a Lenten soup supper. This week, we are reading and discussing Psalms 50 (51). All are welcome. One need not commit to attending every week in order to participate.

"Visit Train" for Jenny Hope and John Michalski
John Michalski and Jenny Hope would love to see you! It's nearly impossible for Jenny to leave home because of her physical limitations, and it's nearly impossible for John to leave home because Jenny needs assistance almost constantly. Let’s help fight their isolation! John and Jenny would like once per week visits on Thursday late afternoons or evenings or Saturdays. Please call John a couple of hours ahead of time to confirm that Jenny is up to a visit that day. We are using a meal train as a VISIT train: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/9g6znv The calendar is set up with both Thursdays and Saturdays available each week, but please sign up for just one of the days each week. Where the meal train asks “what will you bring” please indicate the time you’d like to visit.

Lenten Sunday Evenings
  Orthodox parishes from Eastern Iowa will be sponsoring pan-Orthodox vespers for the first four Sundays of Lent and providing meals afterward.  St. Raphael Church is hosting on March 15. A sign-up sheet for the meal is posted on the bulletin board in the narthex.  Here is the schedule of services.
Sunday, March 8, 5:30PM- St. Demetrios Church (613 W. 4th St., Waterloo)
Sunday, March 15, 5:30PM- St. Raphael Church (722 E. College St., Iowa City)
Sunday, March 22, 5:30PM- St. George Church (3650 Cottage Grove Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids)
Sunday, March 29, 5:30PM- St. John the Baptist Church (501 A Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids)

Lenten Wednesday Night Soup Supper
  Following liturgy at 6:00PM, and during our ongoing discussion of the Psalms, we will enjoy a simple Lenten soup supper provided for by one or two families each week. A sign-up sheet is posted in the narthex. Please consider signing up to provide soup and bread (and if you would like, a simple side dish) for about 15-20 people.

Election Year Advice
As we all know, we are in a presidential election year, and politics are on a lot of people's minds. At St. Raphael Church, we have people who hold a variety of political opinions and who are supporting a variety of political candidates. If you choose to talk politics during coffee hour, remember that not all of your brothers and sisters in Christ who may be present will share your views. So, let's be respectful and considerate if we choose to voice our opinions, so as not to cause offense to anyone.

St. Raphael Food Pantry Needs
During the Lenten season, we are called not only to fast, but to increase our prayer and almsgiving. You can directly impact our neighbors by giving to our Food Pantry. Can you add an item or two (or more) from the list below to your shopping list each week during Lent? You can also donate funds (which will be used to purchase items to stock the shelves) by clearing designating your donation for the food pantry and putting it in one of the donation boxes in the narthex or nave.

Peanut butter
Jelly
Canned Tuna and Chicken
Any Canned Soup, especially soups with meat
Canned Chili with meat
Canned Fruit
Breakfast cereal

Sunday February 23, 2020, Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meatfare Sunday)

This Week's Services and Events

February 25, Tuesday
  + Office Hours,
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM

February 26, Wednesday
  + Office Hours, 1:45PM-
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM
  + Akathist to St. Raphael, 6:50PM
  + Praying the Psalms Discussion and Fellowship, 7:30PM

February 27, Thursday
  + Office Hours,
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM

February 28, Friday
  + 3rd Hour Prayers, 9:00AM
  + Office Hours, 9:15AM-12:30PM
  + Youth Group, 6:00PM-8:45PM (at Sanjoy and Elsa's home)

February 29, Saturday
  + Great Vespers, 5:00PM

March 1, Sunday (Sunday of Forgiveness, Cheesefare Sunday)
+ Matins, 8:45AM
  + Sunday School, 9:20AM
+ Divine Liturgy, 10:00AM, followed by Fellowship Hour
  + Forgiveness Vespers, 6:00PM

Upcoming Events and Announcements

Meatfare Sunday
After today, we give up meat (except for fish on March 25 (Annunciation) and April 12 (Palm Sunday) until after Pascha. After next Sunday, known as Cheesefare Sunday, we also give up dairy and eggs and on weekdays, wine and oil, entering fully into the Lenten fast.

Prayer Chain
Did you know that we have a group of people committed to praying for your prayer requests? If you would like to share something with others from our parish for prayer, contact Fr. Ignatius and he will send the request out. If you would like to receive these requests for prayer, let Fr. Ignatius know. Did you know that this is not just for sickness and other difficulties. If God has done something good in your life and you want to give thanks to Him and share this good news with others, the prayer chain can be used for this purpose too.

Lent Begins on the Evening of March 1
  The Scriptural readings and liturgical themes of each week are now governed by the Lenten Triodion, the liturgical book that prepares us for, and takes us through Lent, on our way to Holy Week and Pascha. We are in what could be called Pre-Lent these next three weeks. Our appointed Gospel readings on these Sundays are meant to be signals, sign posts declaring, "Lent is coming! Start to prepare." Lent officially begins with Forgiveness Vespers on Sunday, March 1 at 6:00PM.  The entire first week of Lent is full of services to set the tone for the rest of the season. Here is the schedule:
Sunday, March 1- Forgiveness Vespers, 6:00PM
Monday, March 2- Great Compline with the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, 7:00PM
Tuesday, March 3- Great Compline with the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, 7:00PM
Wednesday, March 4- Liturgy of Pre-Sanctified Gifts, 6:00PM, followed by Lenten Soup Supper and Psalms Discussion
Thursday, March 5- Little Compline with Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, 7:00PM
Friday, March 6- Little Compline with Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, 7:00PM

Food for Hungry People Program
Once again, we will participate in the archdiocesan Lenten Food for Hungry People Program, to raise money for various organizations who help to feed the hungry. Collection boxes are available in the narthex to take home.

2020- A Year of Supplication to St. Raphael
Materials have been printed to help us all focus our prayers this year by asking our patron St. Raphael for his intercessions for the strengthening and growth and stability of our church. We officially start this effort on the day of his repose, February 27, but we will be praying the Akathist service to St. Raphael on Wednesday, February 26 at 6:50PM as a "warm-up." If you have not signed up but would like to be involved with this effort or learn more, contact Fr. Ignatius or Karen Kuntz.

Wednesday Nights: Praying the Psalms
Each Wednesday at 7:30PM (7:45PM once Lent starts), we are meeting for our weekly fellowship. Through the end of April, we will be discussing the Psalms. This week, we are reading and discussing Psalms 148-150. And then we will have five weeks on the novel Laurus, by Eugene Vodolazkin. All are welcome. One need not commit to attending every week in order to participate.

Talk on Philosophy, Faith and Science- February 27
  Ratio Christi and Geneva Campus Ministry are co-sponsoring a talk at the University of Iowa on Thursday, February 27 at 6:30PM.  University of Iowa physics professor, Dr. Fred Skiff, interviews Dr. William Dembski on “Information as the Foundation of Science.” Both men are Christians. Dr. Dembski proposes that the fundamental "stuff" of this universe is information, not matter. Dr. Skiff, UIowa physics professor and Christian, will ask Dr. Dembski questions about the nature of reality, relational ontology, the creation of information, and more. The implication is that the origin of information comes from intelligence (i.e God) and thus precedes matter.  After the interview, ample time will be given for live questions from the audience.

"Visit Train" for Jenny Hope and John Michalski
John Michalski and Jenny Hope would love to see you! It's nearly impossible for Jenny to leave home because of her physical limitations, and it's nearly impossible for John to leave home because Jenny needs assistance almost constantly. Let’s help fight their isolation! John and Jenny would like once per week visits on Tuesday or Thursday late afternoons or evenings. Please call John a couple of hours ahead of time to confirm that Jenny is up to a visit that day. We are using a meal train as a VISIT train: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/9g6znv The calendar is set up with both Thursdays and Saturdays available each week, but please sign up for just one of the days each week. Where the meal train asks “what will you bring” please indicate the time you’d like to visit.

Lenten Sunday Evenings
Orthodox parishes from Eastern Iowa will be sponsoring pan-Orthodox vespers for the first four Sundays of Lent and providing meals afterward. St. Raphael Church is hosting on March 15. A sign-up sheet for the meal is posted on the bulletin board in the narthex. Here is the schedule of services.
Sunday, March 8, 5:30PM- St. Demetrios Church (613 W. 4th St., Waterloo)
Sunday, March 15, 5:30PM- St. Raphael Church (722 E. College St., Iowa City)
Sunday, March 22, 5:30PM- St. George Church (3650 Cottage Grove Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids)
Sunday, March 29, 5:30PM- St. John the Baptist Church (501 A Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids)

Lenten Wednesday Night Soup Supper
  Following liturgy at 6:00PM, and during our ongoing discussion of the Psalms, we will enjoy a simple Lenten soup supper provided for by one or two families each week. A sign-up sheet is posted in the narthex. Please consider signing up to provide soup and bread (and if you would like, a simple side dish) for about 15-20 people.

  St. Raphael Food Pantry Needs
We are especially in need of the following items to help stock the shelves of our food pantry. Can you buy a few extras during your next grocery shopping trip and bring them in to church soon?

Peanut butter
Jelly
Canned Tuna and Chicken
Any Canned Soup, especially soups with meat
Canned Chili with meat
Canned Fruit
Breakfast cereal

Sunday February 16, 2020, Sunday of the Prodigal Son

This Week's Services and Events

February 19, Wednesday
  + Akathist to St. Raphael, 6:50PM
  + Praying the Psalms Discussion and Fellowship, 7:30PM

February 22, Saturday
  + Great Vespers, 5:00PM

February 23, Sunday (Sunday of the Last Judgment, Meatfare Sunday)
+ Matins, 8:45AM
  + Sunday School, 9:20AM
+ Divine Liturgy, 10:00AM, followed by Fellowship Hour

Upcoming Events and Announcements

No Office Hours or Hours Prayers This Week
Fr. Ignatius will be taking a few days off from coming in for office hours and saying 9th Hour Prayers and then will be out of town briefly from midday on Thursday until Friday evening. He will be attending the diocesan clergy retreat in Palos Heights, Illinois.

Sermon for Today
Due to Fr. Ignatius' illness, he was not able to give his sermon for this Sunday of the Prodigal Son. Read it here.

Prayer Chain
Did you know that we have a group of people committed to praying for your prayer requests? If you would like to share something with others from our parish for prayer, contact Fr. Ignatius and he will send the request out. If you would like to receive these requests for prayer, let Fr. Ignatius know. Did you know that this is not just for sickness and other difficulties. If God has done something good in your life and you want to give thanks to Him and share this good news with others, the prayer chain can be used for this purpose too.

Lent is Soon Approaching
  The Scriptural readings and liturgical themes of each week are now governed by the Lenten Triodion, the liturgical book that prepares us for, and takes us through Lent, on our way to Holy Week and Pascha. We are in what could be called Pre-Lent these next three weeks. Our appointed Gospel readings on these Sundays are meant to be signals, sign posts declaring, "Lent is coming! Start to prepare." Lent officially begins with Forgiveness Vespers on Sunday, March 1 at 6:00PM.  The entire first week of Lent is full of services to set the tone for the rest of the season. Here is the schedule:

Sunday, March 1- Forgiveness Vespers, 6:00PM
Monday, March 2- Great Compline with the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, 7:00PM
Tuesday, March 3- Great Compline with the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, 7:00PM
Wednesday, March 4- Liturgy of Pre-Sanctified Gifts, 6:00PM, followed by Lenten Soup Supper and Psalms Discussion
Thursday, March 5- Little Compline with Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, 7:00PM
Friday, March 6- Little Compline with Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, 7:00PM

Memorial Flowers
Memorial flowers were placed in the church this weekend in memory of Svetlana Acas' mother Vera and Olena Bezugla's parents Lyudmyla and Alexei and other relatives. May their memories be eternal!

A Year of Supplication to St. Raphael
As Karen announced after liturgy today, materials have been printed to help us all focus our prayers this year by asking our patron St. Raphael for his intercessions for the strengthening and growth and stability of our church. We officially start this effort on the day of his repose, February 27, but we will be praying the Akathist service to St. Raphael on Wednesday, February 19 and February 26 at 6:50PM as a "warm-up." If you have not signed up but would like to be involved with this effort or learn more, contact Fr. Ignatius or Karen Kuntz.

Wednesday Nights: Praying the Psalms
Each Wednesday at 7:30PM (7:45PM once Lent starts), we are meeting for our weekly fellowship. Through the end of April, we will be discussing the Psalms. This week, we are reading and discussing Psalms 148-150. And then we will have five weeks on the novel Laurus, by Eugene Vodolazkin. All are welcome. One need not commit to attending every week in order to participate. See the full schedule here.

Talk on Philosophy, Faith and Science- February 27
Ratio Christi and Geneva Campus Ministry are co-sponsoring a talk at the University of Iowa on Thursday, February 27 at 6:30PM.  University of Iowa physics professor, Dr. Fred Skiff, interviews Dr. William Dembski on “Information as the Foundation of Science.” Both men are Christians. Dr. Dembski proposes that the fundamental "stuff" of this universe is information, not matter. Dr. Skiff, UIowa physics professor and Christian, will ask Dr. Dembski questions about the nature of reality, relational ontology, the creation of information, and more. The implication is that the origin of information comes from intelligence (i.e God) and thus precedes matter.  After the interview, ample time will be given for live questions from the audience. Click here for a poster advertising the event.

"Visit Train" for Jenny Hope and John Michalski
John Michalski and Jenny Hope would love to see you! It's nearly impossible for Jenny to leave home because of her physical limitations, and it's nearly impossible for John to leave home because Jenny needs assistance almost constantly. Let’s help fight their isolation! John and Jenny would like once per week visits on Tuesday or Thursday late afternoons or evenings. Please call John a couple of hours ahead of time to confirm that Jenny is up to a visit that day. We are using a meal train as a VISIT train: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/9g6znv The calendar is set up with both Thursdays and Saturdays available each week, but please sign up for just one of the days each week. Where the meal train asks “what will you bring” please indicate the time you’d like to visit.

Lenten Wednesday Night Soup Supper
  Following liturgy at 6:00PM, and during our ongoing discussion of the Psalms, we will enjoy a simple Lenten soup supper provided for by one or two families each week. A sign-up sheet is posted in the narthex. Please consider signing up to provide soup and bread (and if you would like, a simple side dish) for about 15-20 people.

  St. Raphael Food Pantry Needs
We are especially in need of the following items to help stock the shelves of our food pantry. Can you buy a few extras during your next grocery shopping trip and bring them in to church soon?

Peanut butter
Jelly
Canned Tuna and Chicken
Any Canned Soup, especially soups with meat
Canned Chili with meat
Canned Fruit
Breakfast cereal

Sunday February 9, 2020, Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee

This Week's Services and Events

February 11, Tuesday
  + Office Hours, 12:30PM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM

February 12, Wednesday
  + Office Hours, 1:45PM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM
  + Akathist, 6:50PM
  + Praying the Psalms Discussion and Fellowship, 7:30PM

February 13, Thursday
  + Office Hours, 11:15AM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM

February 14, Friday
  + 3rd Hour Prayers, 9:00AM
  + Office Hours, 9:15AM-12:30PM
  + Youth Group, 6:00PM-8:45PM (at Peterson-Branch home)

February 15, Saturday
  + Parish Council meeting, 2:30PM
  + Great Vespers, 5:00PM

February 16, Sunday (Sunday of the Prodigal Son)
+ Matins, 8:45AM
  + Sunday School, 9:20AM
+ Divine Liturgy, 10:00AM, followed by Fellowship Hour

Upcoming Events and Announcements

No Fasting on Wednesday or Friday this Week
Taking our cue from today's Gospel reading of the Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee, we are reminded by the Church that following external religious rules can lead to pride which can then lead to judgment of others. In order to make the point that the fasting guidelines of the Church are merely a means to an end, that end being repentance that leads to full life with Christ, we are not to fast this Wednesday and Friday. Fasting, by itself, does not make us holy. Fasting can be an aid to help us to become holy, if our fasting makes it easier for us to repent and to be more generous with others.

Lent is Soon Approaching
The Scriptural readings and liturgical themes of each week are now governed by the Lenten Triodion, the liturgical book that prepares us for, and takes us through Lent, on our way to Holy Week and Pascha. We are in what could be called Pre-Lent these next three weeks. Our appointed Gospel readings on these Sundays are meant to be signals, sign posts declaring, "Lent is coming! Start to prepare." Lent officially begins with Forgiveness Vespers on Sunday, March 1 at 6:00PM. The entire first week of Lent is full of services to set the tone for the rest of the season. Here is the schedule:
Sunday, March 1- Forgiveness Vespers, 6:00PM
Monday, March 2- Great Compline with the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, 7:00PM
Tuesday, March 3- Great Compline with the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, 7:00PM
Wednesday, March 4- Liturgy of Pre-Sanctified Gifts, 6:00PM, followed by Lenten Soup Supper and Psalms Discussion
Thursday, March 5- Little Compline with Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, 7:00PM
Friday, March 6- Little Compline with Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos, 7:00PM

Wednesday Nights: Praying the Psalms
Each Wednesday at 7:30PM (7:45PM once Lent starts), we are meeting for our weekly fellowship. Through the end of April, we will be discussing the Psalms. This week, we are reading and discussing Psalms 102-103, the Psalms of Creation. And then we will have five weeks on the novel Laurus, by Eugene Vodolazkin. All are welcome. One need not commit to attending every week in order to participate. Download the schedule here.

Lenten Wednesday Night Soup Supper
Following liturgy at 6:00PM, and during our ongoing discussion of the Psalms, we will enjoy a simple Lenten soup supper provided for by one or two families each week. A sign-up sheet is posted in the narthex. Please consider signing up to provide soup and bread (and if you would like, a simple side dish) for about 15-20 people.

Looking for a Host Family for a Student from Georgia
Nino Natenadze is looking for a local family to host the 16 year old son of her cousin for the 2020-2021 school year. He is from the Republic of Georgia. If you are interested in learning more, you can contact her at natenadze85@hotmail.com.

  St. Raphael Food Pantry Needs
We are especially in need of the following items to help stock the shelves of our food pantry. Can you buy a few extras during your next grocery shopping trip and bring them in to church soon?

Peanut butter
Jelly
Canned Tuna and Chicken
Any Canned Soup, especially soups with meat
Canned Chili with meat
Canned Fruit
Breakfast cereal

St. Raphael Parish Youth Group, Spring 2020
This winter and spring, St. Raphael’s junior high and high school students will gather every other Friday night to share a meal, study for our diocesan Bible Bowl, and enjoy a fun activity together. The location will rotate between church and youth group members’ homes. Parents will take turns providing a meal and organizing a game or activity, and Lori Branch will lead the study on the Gospel of John for the Bible Bowl. Our Valentine’s Day kickoff meeting will be Friday, February 14th at the Peterson-Branch home (831 Dearborn St. 319-594-7377), from 6-8:45 pm. Please read John chapter 1 with your young person/people and drop them off prepared to eat, study for the Bible bowl, and have fun playing games with their friends. Our February 28th meeting will be hosted by the Padath family.  If you have questions or ideas, or would like more information, to car pool, or to host a gathering, please email Father Ignatius (frignatius@straphaelorthodoxchurch.org) or Lori Branch (lori-branch@uiowa.edu).

"Visit Train" for Jenny Hope and John Michalski
John Michalski and Jenny Hope would love to see you! It's nearly impossible for Jenny to leave home because of her physical limitations, and it's nearly impossible for John to leave home because Jenny needs assistance almost constantly. Let’s help fight their isolation! John and Jenny would like once per week visits on Tuesday or Thursday late afternoons or evenings. Please call John a couple of hours ahead of time to confirm that Jenny is up to a visit that day. We are using a meal train as a VISIT train: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/9g6znv The calendar is set up with both Thursdays and Saturdays available each week, but please sign up for just one of the days each week. Where the meal train asks “what will you bring” please indicate the time you’d like to visit.

A Year of Supplication to St. Raphael
As Karen announced after liturgy today, materials have been printed to help us all focus our prayers this year by asking our patron St. Raphael for his intercessions for the strengthening and growth and stability of our church. We officially start this effort on the day of his repose, February 27, but we will be praying the Akathist service to St. Raphael on Wednesday, February 19 and February 26 at 6:50PM as a "warm-up." If you have not signed up but would like to be involved with this effort or learn more, contact Fr. Ignatius or Karen Kuntz.

Forty Days for Life Prayer Effort
From February 26-April 5, Johnson County Right to Life is once again, sponsoring the twice annual Forty Days for Life Prayer Effort on the sidewalk in front of a local abortion clinic. This peaceful effort is focused on prayer for the endangered unborn children who have no one to advocate for them, for their parents and for those who are providing the abortions. To learn more about this effort and to sign-up to participate in one hour time blocks, go to: https://www.40daysforlife.com/local-campaigns/iowa-city/

House Blessings- 3 Weeks Left
   Fr. Ignatius would like to bless the home of everyone associated with St. Raphael Church during the traditional house blessing season which lasts until the beginning of Lent, March 1. Contact him and set up a day and time for him to come! We bless our homes because we want God to be a part of every aspect of our lives. There is nothing in our lives, that is unimportant to Him. So, we invite Him to make our homes sacred places, through the house blessing prayers. These house blessing visits can be short and quick (10-15 minutes) or longer, if you want to have some social time. You decide.

Shelter House Book Sale
  Our annual Shelter House Book Sale will be held on March 28, 10:30am – 4pm and March 29, 12pm – 4pm at the Johnson County Fairgrounds, Bldg. C. We’ll have gently used books plus music, movies, and art for sale. ADMISSION IS FREE! But dedicated book worms can purchase $10 Early Entry passes for admission before the general public at 10am. Proceeds of our book sale benefit Shelter House programs and support services including housing, employment, and mental health that help hundreds of men, women, and children each year to get back on their feet.  If you have books you’d like to donate, they can be dropped off at Bldg. B at the Fairgrounds starting February 23 from 2pm – 4pm. Donation drop-off will continue every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday from 10am – 2pm and Sundays from 2pm – 4pm through the week of the sale! **Textbooks, encyclopedias, and magazines not accepted** Please direct all questions to T’Shailyn Harrington at tshailyn.harrington@shelterhouseiowa.org.

Next Sunday's Gospel Reading
   The Lord spoke this parable: “There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.’ And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to make merry. Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’” (Luke 15:11-32)

Pray for our Catechumens
  Please keep our catechumens Ilya Buchkin, Scott Dorr, Fabian Muller-Dahlberg, Madison Frei, Elizabeth Michael, Michael Spies, Austin and Maddie Collins, Evren Sasmazer, Derek Ward and Daniel Hettrick in your prayers as they prepare to be sacramentally joined to the Orthodox Church.

Do You Have a Prayer Request?
Please give it to Fr. Ignatius and he will distribute it by email to all those on the Prayer Chain. If you wish to join the Prayer Chain, please let Fr. Ignatius know.

Remember Your Departed Loved Ones With Flowers
Would you like to memorialize your departed loved ones with a bouquet of flowers to be placed in the church on the weekend of your choice? Decide what weekend you would like your loved one(s) remembered, mention it to Fr. Ignatius, give $25 to the church, clearly marking it for "Memorial Flowers" and your loved one(s) will be mentioned during the Great Entrance prayers and in the weekly bulletin. If your departed loved ones are Orthodox, and you would like Trisagion Prayers for the Departed to be offered at the end of Liturgy, you can indicate that on the sign-up sheet as well.

Keep Praying for Kidnapped Orthodox Bishops in Syria
Since April 22, 2013, the Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, Metropolitan Paul, and the Syriac Metropolitan of Aleppo, Youhanna, have been in captivity and have not been heard from. Please pray for their well being and release and also pray for their captors as well.

Food for Thought
"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 6:54

Sunday February 2, 2020, The Presentation of the Lord in the Temple

This Week's Services and Events

February 4, Tuesday
  + Office Hours, 12:30PM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM

February 5, Wednesday
  + Office Hours, 1:45PM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM
  + Akathist, 6:50PM
  + Praying the Psalms Discussion and Fellowship, 7:30PM

February 6, Thursday
  + Free Lunch Program Volunteering, 11:30AM-1:00PM
  + Office Hours, 1:15PM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM

February 7, Friday
  + 3rd Hour Prayers, 9:00AM
  + Office Hours, 9:15AM-12:30PM

February 8, Saturday
  + Great Vespers, 5:00PM

February 9, Sunday (Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee)
+ Matins, 8:45AM
  + Sunday School, 9:20AM
+ Divine Liturgy, 10:00AM, followed by Fellowship Hour

Upcoming Events and Announcements

Wednesday Nights: Praying the Psalms
Each Wednesday at 7:30PM (7:45PM once Lent starts), we are meeting for our weekly fellowship. Through the end of April, we will be discussing the Psalms. This week, we are reading and discussing Psalms 102-103, the Psalms of Creation. And then we will have five weeks on the novel Laurus, by Eugene Vodolazkin. All are welcome. One need not commit to attending every week in order to participate. See the schedule here.

St. Raphael Parish Youth Group, Spring 2020
This winter and spring, St. Raphael’s junior high and high school students will gather every other Friday night to share a meal, study for our diocesan Bible Bowl, and enjoy a fun activity together. The location will rotate between church and youth group members’ homes. Parents will take turns providing a meal and organizing a game or activity, and Lori Branch will lead the study on the Gospel of John for the Bible Bowl. Our Valentine’s Day kickoff meeting will be Friday, February 14th at the Peterson-Branch home (831 Dearborn St. 319-594-7377), from 6-8:45 pm. Please read John chapter 1 with your young person/people and drop them off prepared to eat, study for the Bible bowl, and have fun playing games with their friends. Our February 28th meeting will be hosted by the Padath family.  If you have questions or ideas, or would like more information, to car pool, or to host a gathering, please email Father Ignatius (frignatius@straphaelorthodoxchurch.org) or Lori Branch (lori-branch@uiowa.edu).

"Visit Train" for Jenny Hope and John Michalski
John Michalski and Jenny Hope would love to see you! It's nearly impossible for Jenny to leave home because of her physical limitations, and it's nearly impossible for John to leave home because Jenny needs assistance almost constantly. Let’s help fight their isolation! John and Jenny would like once per week visits on Thursday or Saturday late afternoons or evenings. Please call John a couple of hours ahead of time to confirm that Jenny is up to a visit that day. We are using a meal train as a VISIT train: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/9g6znv The calendar is set up with both Thursdays and Saturdays available each week, but please sign up for just one of the days each week. Where the meal train asks “what will you bring” please indicate the time you’d like to visit.

A year of Supplication to St. Raphael
If you were able to attend the annual meeting last month, you will remember our plan to make this year, 2020, a year of supplication to our patron, St Raphael of Brooklyn. If we are to survive and thrive in Iowa City, our church community needs to grow—Grow in faith, grow in numbers, and grow in giving. Who better to lead us than the blessed saint who helped establish Orthodoxy in America by his leadership! Father and I have been working on gathering materials and ideas for this program. February 27th is the anniversary of our beloved saint’s repose, and we thought it would be a fitting day to begin. As a parish, we will commit regularly to asking the prayers of St. Raphael for his guidance and intercessions. We encourage everyone to participate in a way that works for them, whether that is by saying a short prayer to St Raphael each day, or praying the Akathist service regularly. Our year of prayer will culminate on November 7th, when we celebrate his feast day together as a parish. In the next few weeks, we will be sharing more about this program and asking each of you to consider joining our prayer team. We hope that as we pray together as a parish we will grow together in love for our patron and with his guidance establish our church more firmly.

Epistle Reading
  Reading the Epistle during liturgy is open to anyone who is interested. We have a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board at the top of the stairs. The Epistle will also be read in English, but we welcome it to be read in other languages as well. If you are interested and have questions, see Subdeacon Panteleimon (Todd) or Fr. Ignatius.

House Blessings- 4 Weeks Left
   Fr. Ignatius would like to bless the home of everyone associated with St. Raphael Church during the traditional house blessing season which lasts until the beginning of Lent, March 1. Contact him and set up a day and time for him to come! We bless our homes because we want God to be a part of every aspect of our lives. There is nothing in our lives, that is unimportant to Him. So, we invite Him to make our homes sacred places, through the house blessing prayers. These house blessing visits can be short and quick (10-15 minutes) or longer, if you want to have some social time. You decide.

Shelter House Book Sale
  Our annual Shelter House Book Sale will be held on March 28, 10:30am – 4pm and March 29, 12pm – 4pm at the Johnson County Fairgrounds, Bldg. C. We’ll have gently used books plus music, movies, and art for sale. ADMISSION IS FREE! But dedicated book worms can purchase $10 Early Entry passes for admission before the general public at 10am. Proceeds of our book sale benefit Shelter House programs and support services including housing, employment, and mental health that help hundreds of men, women, and children each year to get back on their feet.  If you have books you’d like to donate, they can be dropped off at Bldg. B at the Fairgrounds starting February 23 from 2pm – 4pm. Donation drop-off will continue every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday from 10am – 2pm and Sundays from 2pm – 4pm through the week of the sale! **Textbooks, encyclopedias, and magazines not accepted** Please direct all questions to T’Shailyn Harrington at tshailyn.harrington@shelterhouseiowa.org.

St. Raphael Food Pantry Needs
We are especially in need of the following items to help stock the shelves of our food pantry. Can you buy a few extras during your next grocery shopping trip and bring them in to church soon?

Peanut butter
Jelly
Canned Tuna and Chicken
Any Canned Soup, especially soups with meat
Canned Chili with meat
Canned Fruit
Breakfast cereal

Next Sunday's Gospel Reading
   The Lord spoke this parable: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other men, extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to Heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18: 10-14)

Pray for our Catechumens
  Please keep our catechumens Ilya Buchkin, Scott Dorr, Fabian Muller-Dahlberg, Madison Frei, Elizabeth Michael, Michael Spies, Austin and Maddie Collins, Evren Sasmazer, Derek Ward and Daniel Hettrick in your prayers as they prepare to be sacramentally joined to the Orthodox Church.

Do You Have a Prayer Request?
Please give it to Fr. Ignatius and he will distribute it by email to all those on the Prayer Chain. If you wish to join the Prayer Chain, please let Fr. Ignatius know.

Remember Your Departed Loved Ones With Flowers
Would you like to memorialize your departed loved ones with a bouquet of flowers to be placed in the church on the weekend of your choice? Decide what weekend you would like your loved one(s) remembered, mention it to Fr. Ignatius, give $25 to the church, clearly marking it for "Memorial Flowers" and your loved one(s) will be mentioned during the Great Entrance prayers and in the weekly bulletin. If your departed loved ones are Orthodox, and you would like Trisagion Prayers for the Departed to be offered at the end of Liturgy, you can indicate that on the sign-up sheet as well.

Keep Praying for Kidnapped Orthodox Bishops in Syria
Since April 22, 2013, the Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, Metropolitan Paul, and the Syriac Metropolitan of Aleppo, Youhanna, have been in captivity and have not been heard from. Please pray for their well being and release and also pray for their captors as well.

Food for Thought
Humble people have no needless or petty quarrels with others, because they have no egocentric desires to always have their own way. They are not self-seeking; for they know that it is God’s will, not their own, that they should strive for. Therefore, humility naturally brings with it unity, both with God and with our fellows.
-- His Eminence, Metropolitan JOSEPH

Sunday January 26, 2020, The 30th Sunday after Pentecost

This Week's Services and Events

January 28, Tuesday
  + Office Hours, 12:30PM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM

January 29, Wednesday
  + Office Hours, 1:45PM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM
  + Akathist, 6:50PM
  + Praying the Psalms Discussion and Fellowship, 7:30PM

January 30, Thursday
  + Office Hours, 11:00AM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM
  + OCF Compline and meeting, 6:00PM at IMU, Rm 257

January 31, Friday
  + 3rd Hour Prayers, 9:00AM
  + Office Hours, 9:15AM-12:30PM

February 1, Saturday
  + Great Vespers, 5:00PM

February 2, Sunday (Presentation of the Lord in the Temple)
+ Matins, 8:45AM
  + Sunday School, 9:20AM
+ Divine Liturgy, 10:00AM, followed by Fellowship Hour

Upcoming Events and Announcements

Your 2020 Parish Council
At the end of Liturgy today, the current members of the parish council were installed. Your 2020 parish council consists of Newman Abuissa, chair; Alli Rockwell, vice-chair; Karen Kuntz, treasurer; Julia Buchkina, secretary; Brian Horak and Elena Boriuk.

Treasurer Minute
Karen shared the good news today that we essentially broke even during 2019.

Wednesday Nights: Praying the Psalms
Starting on January 22 and lasting through May, each Wednesday at 7:30PM (7:45PM once Lent starts), we are meeting for our weekly fellowship. Through the end of April, we will be discussing the Psalms. And then we will have five weeks on the novel Laurus, by Eugene Vodolazkin. All are welcome. One need not commit to attending every week in order to participate. Printed schedules are available in the narthex or can be downloaded.

A year of Supplication to St. Raphael
If you were able to attend the annual meeting last month, you will remember our plan to make this year, 2020, a year of supplication to our patron, St Raphael of Brooklyn. If we are to survive and thrive in Iowa City, our church community needs to grow—Grow in faith, grow in numbers, and grow in giving. Who better to lead us than the blessed saint who helped establish Orthodoxy in America by his leadership! Father and I have been working on gathering materials and ideas for this program. February 27th is the anniversary of our beloved saint’s repose, and we thought it would be a fitting day to begin. As a parish, we will commit regularly to asking the prayers of St. Raphael for his guidance and intercessions. We encourage everyone to participate in a way that works for them, whether that is by saying a short prayer to St Raphael each day, or praying the Akathist service regularly. Our year of prayer will culminate on November 7th, when we celebrate his feast day together as a parish. In the next few weeks, we will be sharing more about this program and asking each of you to consider joining our prayer team. We hope that as we pray together as a parish we will grow together in love for our patron and with his guidance establish our church more firmly.

Epistle Reading
  Reading the Epistle during liturgy is open to anyone who is interested. We have a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board at the top of the stairs. The Epistle will also be read in English, but we welcome it to be read in other languages as well. If you are interested and have questions, see Subdeacon Panteleimon (Todd) or Fr. Ignatius.

Gift card scam alert
Parishes and religious communities are being targeted by a phishing scam where the perpetrator poses falsely as the priest via email and asks the recipient for money in the form of gift cards. The scam states that the priest is going to use these gift cards to help out people who have approached the church looking for assistance. These emails come from fake accounts which appear to an unsuspecting person as a clergy email address. The perpetrator then goes on to ask the recipient to buy gift cards and send photos of them back so that they can use the numbers to acquire the money. Fr. Ignatius will not be sending out emails asking you to buy gift cards. If you receive such an email, it is a scam.

House Blessing Season is Here
   Fr. Ignatius would like to bless the home of everyone associated with St. Raphael Church during the traditional house blessing season which lasts until the beginning of Lent, March 1. Contact him and set up a day and time for him to come! We bless our homes because we want God to be a part of every aspect of our lives. There is nothing in our lives, that is unimportant to Him. So, we invite Him to make our homes sacred places, through the house blessing prayers. These house blessing visits can be short and quick (10-15 minutes) or longer, if you want to have some social time. You decide.

Shelter House Book Sale
  Our annual Shelter House Book Sale will be held on March 28, 10:30am – 4pm and March 29, 12pm – 4pm at the Johnson County Fairgrounds, Bldg. C. We’ll have gently used books plus music, movies, and art for sale. ADMISSION IS FREE! But dedicated book worms can purchase $10 Early Entry passes for admission before the general public at 10am. Proceeds of our book sale benefit Shelter House programs and support services including housing, employment, and mental health that help hundreds of men, women, and children each year to get back on their feet.  If you have books you’d like to donate, they can be dropped off at Bldg. B at the Fairgrounds starting February 23 from 2pm – 4pm. Donation drop-off will continue every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday from 10am – 2pm and Sundays from 2pm – 4pm through the week of the sale! **Textbooks, encyclopedias, and magazines not accepted** Please direct all questions to T’Shailyn Harrington at tshailyn.harrington@shelterhouseiowa.org.

St. Raphael Food Pantry Needs
We are especially in need of the following items to help stock the shelves of our food pantry. Can you buy a few extras during your next grocery shopping trip and bring them in to church soon?

Peanut butter
Jelly
Canned Tuna and Chicken
Any Canned Soup, especially soups with meat
Canned Chili with meat
Canned Fruit
Breakfast cereal

Next Sunday's Gospel Reading
   In those days, the parents of Jesus brought Him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And inspired by the Spirit he came into the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now lettest thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Thy people Israel.” And His father and his mother marveled at what was said about Him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.” And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, and as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God, and spoke of Him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon Him. (Luke 2:22-40)

Pray for our Catechumens
  Please keep our catechumens Ilya Buchkin, Scott Dorr, Fabian Muller-Dahlberg, Madison Frei, Elizabeth Michael, Michael Spies, Austin and Maddie Collins, Evren Sasmazer, Derek Ward and Daniel Hettrick in your prayers as they prepare to be sacramentally joined to the Orthodox Church.

Do You Have a Prayer Request?
Please give it to Fr. Ignatius and he will distribute it by email to all those on the Prayer Chain. If you wish to join the Prayer Chain, please let Fr. Ignatius know.

Remember Your Departed Loved Ones With Flowers
Would you like to memorialize your departed loved ones with a bouquet of flowers to be placed in the church on the weekend of your choice? Decide what weekend you would like your loved one(s) remembered, mention it to Fr. Ignatius, give $25 to the church, clearly marking it for "Memorial Flowers" and your loved one(s) will be mentioned during the Great Entrance prayers and in the weekly bulletin. If your departed loved ones are Orthodox, and you would like Trisagion Prayers for the Departed to be offered at the end of Liturgy, you can indicate that on the sign-up sheet as well.

Keep Praying for Kidnapped Orthodox Bishops in Syria
Since April 22, 2013, the Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, Metropolitan Paul, and the Syriac Metropolitan of Aleppo, Youhanna, have been in captivity and have not been heard from. Please pray for their well being and release and also pray for their captors as well.

Food for Thought
O Lord of Hosts be with us. For in times of distress we have no other help than You. O Lord of Hosts have mercy on us. Amen.
A Prayer for Times of Trouble

Sunday January 19, 2020, The 29th Sunday after Pentecost

This Week's Services and Events

January 21, Tuesday
  + Office Hours, 12:30PM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM

January 22, Wednesday
  + Office Hours, 1:45PM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM
  + Akathist, 6:50PM
  + Praying the Psalms Discussion and Fellowship, 7:30PM

January 23, Thursday
  + Office Hours, 11:00AM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM

January 24, Friday
  + 3rd Hour Prayers, 9:00AM
  + Office Hours, 9:15AM-12:30PM

January 25, Saturday
  + Great Vespers, 5:00PM

January 26, Sunday (29th Sunday after Pentecost)
+ Matins, 8:45AM
  + Sunday School, 9:20AM
+ Divine Liturgy, 10:00AM, followed by Fellowship Hour
  + Vespers for St. Nina of Georgia, 6:00PM

Upcoming Events and Announcements

Many Years!
Daniel Hettrick was received as a catechumen during liturgy today. May God grant him many years!

Memory eternal!
We mourn the passing of Fr. Patrick Kinder who reposed in the Lord on January 14. Fr. Patrick was a priest of our diocese and deanery, having served as pastor of St. Ignatius Church in Madison, Wisconsin for many years. Fr. Patrick was also the long-time former director of Camp St. George in Iowa. He is survived by his wife Kh. Vanessa and their son, Anthony. May his memory be eternal!

Treasurer Minute
  As of the Annual Meeting we had a shortfall as of $950 per month. As of a couple weeks ago, this deficit had been lowered to $700, which is still a significant amount. Some individuals in the community have offered to increase their gifts to cover this deficit so that we don’t have to consider moving Father to part time.  I’m calling these our “Second Mile” gifts since these are above and beyond regular pledges. God willing, if additional pledges come in, or if others in the church offer to assist by offering their own second mile gift, we can decrease the burden on these givers over the course of the year.
As His Grace Bishop Anthony pointed out, this is a significant improvement in our financial situation. Two years ago, our monthly deficit was $2500. Now our deficit was such that we could solve the dilemma with effort from within the congregation. We discussed this situation at the Parish Council meeting, and with this extra income, we can move forward with the Basic Budget as approved at the Annual Meeting in December! Father can remain with us full time and we will be able to fund our basic expenses! I will be distributing contribution letters for your records for tax purposes today. As always, if you have questions or would like to adjust your pledge in some way at any time, just let me know verbally, by email, or drop a note in one of the donation boxes.

Wednesday Nights: Praying the Psalms
Starting on January 22 and lasting through May, each Wednesday at 7:30PM (7:45PM once Lent starts), we will be meeting for our weekly fellowship. Through the end of April, we will be discussing the Psalms. And then we will have five weeks on the novel Laurus, by Eugene Vodolazkin. All are welcome. One need not commit to attending every week in order to participate. Printed schedules are available in the narthex or can be downloaded here.

A year of Supplication to St. Raphael
If you were able to attend the annual meeting last month, you will remember our plan to make this year, 2020, a year of supplication to our patron, St Raphael of Brooklyn. If we are to survive and thrive in Iowa City, our church community needs to grow—Grow in faith, grow in numbers, and grow in giving. Who better to lead us than the blessed saint who helped establish Orthodoxy in America by his leadership! Father and Karen have been working on gathering materials and ideas for this program. February 27th is the anniversary of our beloved saint’s repose, and we thought it would be a fitting day to begin. As a parish, we will commit regularly to asking the prayers of St. Raphael for his guidance and intercessions. We encourage everyone to participate in a way that works for them, whether that is by saying a short prayer to St Raphael each day, or praying the Akathist service regularly. Our year of prayer will culminate on November 7th, when we celebrate his feast day together as a parish. In the next few weeks, we will be sharing more about this program and asking each of you to consider joining our prayer team. We hope that as we pray together as a parish we will grow together in love for our patron and with his guidance establish our church more firmly.

Epistle Reading
Reading the Epistle during liturgy is open to anyone who is interested. We have a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board at the top of the stairs. The Epistle will also be read in English, but we welcome it to be read in other languages as well. If you are interested and have questions, see Subdeacon Panteleimon (Todd) or Fr. Ignatius.

Gift card scam alert
Parishes and religious communities are being targeted by a phishing scam where the perpetrator poses falsely as the priest via email and asks the recipient for money in the form of gift cards. The scam states that the priest is going to use these gift cards to help out people who have approached the church looking for assistance. These emails come from fake accounts which appear to an unsuspecting person as a clergy email address. The perpetrator then goes on to ask the recipient to buy gift cards and send photos of them back so that they can use the numbers to acquire the money. Fr. Ignatius will not be sending out emails asking you to buy gift cards. If you receive such an email, it is a scam.

House Blessing Season is Here
   Fr. Ignatius would like to bless the home of everyone associated with St. Raphael Church during the traditional house blessing season which lasts until the beginning of Lent, March 1. Contact him and set up a day and time for him to come! We bless our homes because we want God to be a part of every aspect of our lives. There is nothing in our lives, that is unimportant to Him. So, we invite Him to make our homes sacred places, through the house blessing prayers. These house blessing visits can be short and quick (10-15 minutes) or longer, if you want to have some social time. You decide.

St. Raphael Food Pantry Needs
We are especially in need of the following items to help stock the shelves of our food pantry. Can you buy a few extras during your next grocery shopping trip and bring them in to church soon? Financial donations are also accepted - our food pantry funds are depleted.

Peanut butter
Jelly
Canned Tuna and Chicken
Any Canned Soup, especially soups with meat
Canned Chili with meat
Canned Fruit
Breakfast cereal

Next Sunday's Gospel Reading
   At that time, Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. And he sought to see Who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Jesus, for He was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. And when they saw it they all murmured, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:1-10)

Pray for our Catechumens
  Please keep our catechumens Ilya Buchkin, Scott Dorr, Fabian Muller-Dahlberg, Madison Frei, Elizabeth Michael, Michael Spies, Austin and Maddie Collins, Evren Sasmazer, Derek Ward and Daniel Hettrick in your prayers as they prepare to be sacramentally joined to the Orthodox Church.

Do You Have a Prayer Request?
Please give it to Fr. Ignatius and he will distribute it by email to all those on the Prayer Chain. If you wish to join the Prayer Chain, please let Fr. Ignatius know.

Remember Your Departed Loved Ones With Flowers
Would you like to memorialize your departed loved ones with a bouquet of flowers to be placed in the church on the weekend of your choice? Decide what weekend you would like your loved one(s) remembered, mention it to Fr. Ignatius, give $25 to the church, clearly marking it for "Memorial Flowers" and your loved one(s) will be mentioned during the Great Entrance prayers and in the weekly bulletin. If your departed loved ones are Orthodox, and you would like Trisagion Prayers for the Departed to be offered at the end of Liturgy, you can indicate that on the sign-up sheet as well.

Keep Praying for Kidnapped Orthodox Bishops in Syria
Since April 22, 2013, the Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, Metropolitan Paul, and the Syriac Metropolitan of Aleppo, Youhanna, have been in captivity and have not been heard from. Please pray for their well being and release and also pray for their captors as well.

Food for Thought
Repentance is a renewal of baptism. Repentance is a covenant with God for a second life. The penitent is a purchaser of humility... Repentance is a daughter of hope and refusal of hopelessness.
- St. John Climacus

Sunday January 12, 2020, The Sunday after Theophany

This Week's Services and Events

January 14, Tuesday
+ Office Hours, 12:30PM-3:00PM
+ 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM

January 15, Wednesday
+ Office Hours, 1:45PM-3:00PM
+ 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM
+ Akathist, 7:00PM

January 16, Thursday
+ Office Hours, 11:00AM-3:00PM
+ 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM

January 17, Friday
+ 3rd Hour Prayers, 9:00AM
+ Office Hours, 9:15AM-12:30PM

January 18, Saturday
+ Parish Council meeting, 2:30PM
+ Great Vespers, 5:00PM

January 19, Sunday (29th Sunday after Pentecost)
+ Matins, 8:45AM
+ Sunday School, 9:20AM
+ Divine Liturgy, 10:00AM, followed by Fellowship Hour

Upcoming Events and Announcements

Wednesday Nights: Praying the Psalms
Starting on January 22 and lasting through May, each Wednesday at 7:30PM, we will be meeting for our weekly fellowship. Through the end of April, we will be discussing the Psalms. And then we will have five weeks on the novel Laurus, by Eugene Vodolazkin. All are welcome. One need not commit to attending every week in order to participate. Click here to download the schedule.

Let's Start a Youth Group!
Calling all parents of junior high and high school aged teens. We would like to get a youth group started again. We envision meeting twice monthly, in our homes if possible. We propose that our youth group nights be a combination of food (pizza!) studying the Gospel of John for the upcoming Bible Bowl competition at the Parish Life Conference in June, and fun activities. If you and your teen(s) are interested please plan to stay and discuss during coffee hour this Sunday, January 19.

A year of Supplication to St. Raphael
If you were able to attend the annual meeting last month, you will remember our plan to make this year, 2020, a year of supplication to our patron, St Raphael of Brooklyn. If we are to survive and thrive in Iowa City, our church community needs to grow—Grow in faith, grow in numbers, and grow in giving. Who better to lead us than the blessed saint who helped establish Orthodoxy in America by his leadership! Father and I have been working on gathering materials and ideas for this program. February 27th is the anniversary of our beloved saint’s repose, and we thought it would be a fitting day to begin. As a parish, we will commit regularly to asking the prayers of St. Raphael for his guidance and intercessions. We encourage everyone to participate in a way that works for them, whether that is by saying a short prayer to St Raphael each day, or praying the Akathist service regularly. Our year of prayer will culminate on November 7th, when we celebrate his feast day together as a parish. In the next few weeks, we will be sharing more about this program and asking each of you to consider joining our prayer team. We hope that as we pray together as a parish we will grow together in love for our patron and with his guidance establish our church more firmly.

Treasurer Report
Good news to report! If you remember, a couple weeks ago, I announced our pledge income for next year remained short of our basic budget needs by $950 per month. Since then, some of our pledging households have increased their pledge commitments for next year. We have received $245 in additional pledge income. Our shortfall is now down to just over $700 per month. We need just a few more households to pledge, or to increase their pledge even slightly, for next year. If we work together, we can reach our goal of a fully funded basic budget. Please consider prayerfully your commitment to St Raphael for this year.

A Brief Note from Bishop Anthony
Upon recently being told that our previous $2500 monthly gap between income and expenses has been reduced to around $700 and may be reduced further, His Grace Bishop Anthony wishes to extend his congratulations and his gratitude to us.

Holy Water
At the end of our Theophany liturgy, we blessed water. This holy water can be taken back to our homes and used throughout the year as a sign of God's presence and grace. Bottles of holy water are now available to take home.

House Blessing Season is Here
Fr. Ignatius would like to bless the home of everyone associated with St. Raphael Church during the traditional house blessing season which lasts until the beginning of Lent, March 1. Contact him and set up a day and time for him to come! We bless our homes because we want God to be a part of every aspect of our lives. There is nothing in our lives, that is unimportant to Him. So, we invite Him to make our homes sacred places, through the house blessing prayers. These house blessing visits can be short and quick (10-15 minutes) or longer, if you want to have some social time. You decide.

St. Raphael Food Pantry Needs
We are especially in need of the following items to help stock the shelves of our food pantry during this Nativity season. Can you buy a few extras during your next grocery shopping trip and bring them in to church soon?

Peanut butter
Jelly
Canned Tuna and Chicken
Any Canned Soup, especially soups with meat
Canned Chili with meat
Canned Fruit
Breakfast cereal

Do You Shop at Amazon.com?
If you make purchases on Amazon.com, there is a simple and easy way to benefit the church while doing so. If you go to Amazon's companion site, smile.amazon.com, you will find all of the same items for purchase (at the same prices) as are found on the main site. Once you sign in, you will be asked what charity you would like to benefit. Enter "St. Raphael of Brooklyn Orthodox Christian Church" and 0.5% of qualifying purchases will be given back to the church. It's that simple.

Next Sunday's Gospel Reading
At that time, as Jesus entered a village, He was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When He saw them He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus said, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:12-19)

Pray for our Catechumens
Please keep our catechumens Ilya Buchkin, Scott Dorr, Fabian Muller-Dahlberg, Madison Frei, Elizabeth Michael, Michael Spies, Austin and Maddie Collins, Evren Sasmazer and Derek Ward in your prayers as they prepare to be sacramentally joined to the Orthodox Church.

Do You Have a Prayer Request?
Please give it to Fr. Ignatius and he will distribute it by email to all those on the Prayer Chain. If you wish to join the Prayer Chain, please let Fr. Ignatius know.

Remember Your Departed Loved Ones With Flowers
Would you like to memorialize your departed loved ones with a bouquet of flowers to be placed in the church on the weekend of your choice? Decide what weekend you would like your loved one(s) remembered, mention it to Fr. Ignatius, give $25 to the church, clearly marking it for "Memorial Flowers" and your loved one(s) will be mentioned during the Great Entrance prayers and in the weekly bulletin. If your departed loved ones are Orthodox, and you would like Trisagion Prayers for the Departed to be offered at the end of Liturgy, you can indicate that on the sign-up sheet as well.

Keep Praying for Kidnapped Orthodox Bishops in Syria
Since April 22, 2013, the Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, Metropolitan Paul, and the Syriac Metropolitan of Aleppo, Youhanna, have been in captivity and have not been heard from. Please pray for their well being and release and also pray for their captors as well.

Food for Thought
"Devote yourselves unceasingly to the divine words [of Holy Scripture] for the loving labor expended on them consumes the passions."
- Abba Thalassios

Sunday January 5, 2020, The Feast of the Theophany of our Lord (Transferred)

This Week's Services and Events

January 7, Tuesday
  + Office Hours, 12:30PM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM

January 8, Wednesday
  + Office Hours, 1:45PM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM
  + Akathist, 7:00PM

January 9, Thursday
  + Office Hours, 11:00AM-3:00PM
  + 9th Hour Prayers, 3:00PM

January 10, Friday
  + 3rd Hour Prayers, 9:00AM
  + Office Hours, 9:15AM-12:30PM

January 11, Saturday
  + Outdoor Blessing of Water, 4:00PM (at 1st Ave. bridge over Cedar River in downtown Cedar Rapids)
  + Great Vespers, 5:00PM (at St. John the Baptist Church, 501 A St., Cedar Rapids)

January 12, Sunday (Sunday after Theophany)
+ Matins, 8:45AM
  + Sunday School, 9:20AM
+ Divine Liturgy, 10:00AM, followed by Fellowship Hour

Upcoming Events and Announcements

Memory Eternal!
Earlier this week, Irakli Tskhakaia's mother Leila passed away. We said memorial prayers for her repose at the end of liturgy. Our condolences go out to Irakli, Natalie and the entire Tskhakaia family. May Leila's memory be eternal.

Patronal Feast Day Services at St. John the Baptist Church
St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Cedar Rapids (501 A Ave. NE.) is celebrating their patron saint with vespers at 6:00PM on Monday, January 6 and matins and liturgy at 9:00AM on Tuesday, January 7. All are welcome.

Treasurer Report
Good News to report! If you remember, a couple weeks ago, I announced our pledge income for next year remained short of our basic budget needs by $950 per month. Since then, some of our pledging households have increased their pledge commitments for next year. We have received $245 in additional pledge income. Our shortfall is now down to just over $700 per month. We need just a few more households to pledge, or to increase their pledge even slightly, for next year. If we work together, we can reach our goal of a fully funded basic budget. Please consider prayerfully your commitment to St Raphael for this year.

A Brief Note from Bishop Anthony
Upon recently being told that our previous $2500 monthly gap between income and expenses has been reduced to around $700 and may be reduced further, His Grace Bishop Anthony wishes to extend his congratulations and his gratitude to us.

Holy Water
At the end of our Theophany liturgy today, we blessed water. This holy water can be taken back to our homes and used throughout the year as a sign of God's presence and grace. Bottles of holy water are now available to take home.

January/February Calendars
  Calendars showing services and other events are printed and available in the church narthex.

Outdoor Blessing of the Water
At 4:00PM on Saturday, January 11, St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in Cedar Rapids is hosting a pan-Orthodox Blessing of the Water on the 1st Ave. bridge spanning the Cedar River in downtown Cedar Rapids. All are welcome. There will be vespers at St. John the Baptist Church (501 A Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids) at 5:00PM. There will be no vespers at St. Raphael Church that day.

House Blessing Season is Here
   Fr. Ignatius would like to bless the home of everyone associated with St. Raphael Church during the traditional house blessing season which lasts from the feast of Theophany until the beginning of Lent: this coming year, January 7- March 1. Contact him and set up a day and time for him to come! We bless our homes because we want God to be a part of every aspect of our lives. There is nothing in our lives, that is unimportant to Him. So, we invite Him to make our homes sacred places, through the house blessing prayers. These house blessing visits can be short and quick (10-15 minutes) or longer, if you want to have some social time. You decide.

Our Sponsorship of Naser
  St. Raphael Church has sponsored a boy in Ethiopia named Naser for several years. We are soliciting donations to keep him monthly sponsorship going in 2020. The monthly cost is $44. If you can help with Naser's sponsorship, please clearly designate your funds so that they can be used appropriately.

St. Raphael Food Pantry Needs
We are especially in need of the following items to help stock the shelves of our food pantry. Can you buy a few extras during your next grocery shopping trip and bring them in to church soon?

Peanut butter
Jelly
Canned Tuna and Chicken
Any Canned Soup, especially soups with meat
Canned Chili with meat
Canned Fruit
Breakfast cereal

Do You Shop at Amazon.com?
  If you make purchases on Amazon.com, there is a simple and easy way to benefit the church while doing so. If you go to Amazon's companion site, smile.amazon.com, you will find all of the same items for purchase (at the same prices) as are found on the main site. Once you sign in, you will be asked what charity you would like to benefit. Enter "St. Raphael of Brooklyn Orthodox Christian Church" and 0.5% of qualifying purchases will be given back to the church. It's that simple.

Next Sunday's Gospel Reading
   At that time, when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth he went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulon and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “The land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:12-17)

Pray for our Catechumens
  Please keep our catechumens Ilya Buchkin, Scott Dorr, Fabian Muller-Dahlberg, Madison Frei, Elizabeth Michael, Michael Spies, Austin and Maddie Collins, Evren Sasmazer and Derek Ward in your prayers as they prepare to be sacramentally joined to the Orthodox Church.

Do You Have a Prayer Request?
Please give it to Fr. Ignatius and he will distribute it by email to all those on the Prayer Chain. If you wish to join the Prayer Chain, please let Fr. Ignatius know.

Remember Your Departed Loved Ones With Flowers
Would you like to memorialize your departed loved ones with a bouquet of flowers to be placed in the church on the weekend of your choice? Decide what weekend you would like your loved one(s) remembered, mention it to Fr. Ignatius, give $25 to the church, clearly marking it for "Memorial Flowers" and your loved one(s) will be mentioned during the Great Entrance prayers and in the weekly bulletin. If your departed loved ones are Orthodox, and you would like Trisagion Prayers for the Departed to be offered at the end of Liturgy, you can indicate that on the sign-up sheet as well.

Keep Praying for Kidnapped Orthodox Bishops in Syria
Since April 22, 2013, the Orthodox Metropolitan of Aleppo, Metropolitan Paul, and the Syriac Metropolitan of Aleppo, Youhanna, have been in captivity and have not been heard from. Please pray for their well being and release and also pray for their captors as well.

Food for Thought
“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
II Cor. 5:17

Weekly Bulletin

Sunday April 5, 2020, Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt (5th Sunday of Lent)

Sunday March 29, 2020, Sunday of St. John Climacus (4th Sunday of Lent)

Sunday March 22, 2020, Sunday of the Exaltation of the Cross (3rd Sunday of Lent)

Sunday March 15, 2020, Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas (2nd Sunday of Lent)

Sunday March 8, 2020, Sunday of Orthodoxy (1st Sunday of Lent)

Sunday March 1, 2020, Sunday of Forgiveness (Cheesefare Sunday)

Sunday February 23, 2020, Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meatfare Sunday)

Sunday February 16, 2020, Sunday of the Prodigal Son

Sunday February 9, 2020, Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee

Sunday February 2, 2020, The Presentation of the Lord in the Temple

Sunday January 26, 2020, The 30th Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday January 19, 2020, The 29th Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday January 12, 2020, The Sunday after Theophany

Sunday January 5, 2020, The Feast of the Theophany of our Lord (Transferred)

722 E. College, Iowa City

Helpful information

Church phone: (319) 337-6784

Priest Father Ignatius: email

Archdiocese: www.antiochian.org

Webmaster: sroc.info@gmail.com

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Weekly Bulletin

Sunday April 5, 2020, Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt (5th Sunday of Lent)

Sunday March 29, 2020, Sunday of St. John Climacus (4th Sunday of Lent)

​Sunday March 22, 2020, Sunday of the Exaltation of the Cross (3rd Sunday of Lent)

Sunday March 15, 2020, Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas (2nd Sunday of Lent)

Sunday March 8, 2020, Sunday of Orthodoxy (1st Sunday of Lent)

Sunday March 1, 2020, Sunday of Forgiveness (Cheesefare Sunday)

Sunday February 23, 2020, Sunday of the Last Judgment (Meatfare Sunday)

Sunday February 16, 2020, Sunday of the Prodigal Son

Sunday February 9, 2020, Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee

Sunday February 2, 2020, The Presentation of the Lord in the Temple

Sunday January 26, 2020, The 30th Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday January 19, 2020, The 29th Sunday after Pentecost

Sunday January 12, 2020, The Sunday after Theophany

Sunday January 5, 2020, The Feast of the Theophany of our Lord (Transferred)

722 E. College, Iowa City

Helpful information​​​Church phone: (319) 337-6784Priest Father Ignatius: emailArchdiocese: www.antiochian.orgWebmaster: sroc.info@gmail.com

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Sunday March 22, 2020, Sunday of the Exaltation of the Cross (3rd Sunday of Lent)

Helpful information

Church phone: (319) 337-6784

Priest Father Ignatius: email

Archdiocese: www.antiochian.org

Webmaster: sroc.info@gmail.com