St. George Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church

سينيكيدرألا ةيألاطلألن سيدقرواسنكيدقلا ةسينك915-584-9100 www.stgeorge-elpaso.org

“And the Disciples were first called Christians in Antioch”. Acts 11:26 The

DECEMBER 25, 2015

The Nativity of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ

Nativity (Christmas) Eve Service: Thursday, December 24, 2015 at 6:00 PM.

Epistle (English): Lilian Al-Dehneh. Epistle (Arabic): Nabil Shaheen. Ushers: Bryan Haddad, Nahed Khouri, Dr. Hassan Salloum, Gilbert Malooly Jr. Altar Boys: All are encouraged and welcome to serve.

Holy Bread will be offered by:

The Very Reverend Fr. George, Kh. Mageda, LiLian & Christopher: For our good health and

the health & the well-being of our families. For the peace & protection of all Christians around the

world. For the good health of our beloved St. George Clergy, Church Organizations and all Pa-

rishioners & their families. May this Nativity season brings all peace, Joy, health and faith to all.

Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, and good will among men.

Milad & Laurice Farah: For our good health, the good health of our children Laura, Jihad, Imad,

Shari & Cody. In celebration of Milad’s birthday. Wishing our beloved St. George families good

health and a very Merry Christmas.

Thought for the Day "I need all of you to bring peace and joy and forgiveness to your homes, to your Church, to your friends, to your children, and to all your loved ones during this Holy season. Call your loved ones and tell them you love them." -- His Eminence, Metro-politan JOSEPH.

Nativity (Christmas) Eve Service

Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great @ 6:00 PM (Thursday, December 24, 2015)

THE EPISTLE The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee.

Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the Gentiles for Thine inheritance. The reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews. (1:1-12)

Brethren, in many and various ways, God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days He has spoken to us by a Son, Whom He appointed the heir of all things, through Whom also He created the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of His nature, upholding the universe by His word of power. When He had made purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having be-come as much superior to angels, as the name He has obtained is more excellent than theirs. For to what angel did God ever say, “Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee”? Or again, “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a son”? And again, when He brings the First-born into the world, He says, “Let all God’s angels wor-ship Him.” Of the angels He says, “Who makes His angels winds, and His servants flames of fire.” But of the Son He says, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Thy God, has anointed Thee with the oil of gladness beyond Thy comrades.” And, “Thou, O Lord, didst found the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of Thy hands; they will perish, but Thou remainest; they will all grow old like a garment, like a mantle Thou wilt roll them up, and they will be changed. But Thou art the same, and Thy years will never end.”

THE GOSPEL The reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (2:1-20)

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her First-born Son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, be-cause there was no place for them in the inn. And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for be-hold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased!” When the angels went away from them into Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a man-ger. And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

To request a Dome Lighting for the health & well-being of your beloved ones or in Memory of family members who departed to His heavenly kingdom, please contact Fr. George @ 584-9100. “The donation is $ 50.00 per lighting”

For Pastoral Emergencies, or to notify The Very Reverend Fr. George of ill or hospitalized parishioner, please call: Church: 584-9100 OR Cell: 345-9800

Remember our Abducted Syrian Orthodox

Innocent Hierarchs in your prayers

977 Days

December is St. Ignatius Month The month of December is designated by our Archdiocese to honor this great organization throughout North America. The members will be ushering, reading Epistles, sermonizing & serving refreshments.

Honor Bishop BASIL on his Name’s Day:

The Feast of St. Basil the Great, January 31, 2016 Bishop BASIL Mission Endowment Fund Dioceses of Wichita and Mid America (DOWAMA)

Contribute by January 31, 2015. Please make check payable to St. George Church earmarked ”BB Name’s Day”

St. George Ladies Society Are collecting snacks, nonperishable items and microwavable soup for UTEP students. Please, drop your do-nations in the box in the Mini-Hall. Thank you & God bless you.

All Parishioners

Let us join together on Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24, 2015 for a cake in the mini-hall following The Nativity Eve Divine Liturgy.

Sunday School

Due to the Christmas holidays, there will be no Sunday School on Sunday, December 27, 2015. Classes will resume as usual on Sunday, January 03, 2016.

Dome Lighting

Laurice Farah & her children will light the dome on Thursday, December 24, 2015 in celebration of Milad Farah’s birthday. God grant him & his wife many years. We love you dad.

THE NATIVITY FAST

Will end on December 25, 2015. There will be NO fasting (even on Wednesdays and Fri-days) between the Nativity of the Lord through Sunday, January 3, 2016.

Altar Christmas Eve Service

All Altar boys, please be at the Church by 5:30 PM robed and prepared to serve.

God bless you for your continued service.

Greek

Καλά Χριστούγεννα! (Kalá hristúyenna) Ευτυχισμένο το Νέο Έτος! (Eftyhisméno to Néo Étos!) Καλή χρονιά! (Kalí hroñá)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2016

Arabic أألمليدرتهارييبمياسبكيدرمنالديطيحل لي

درييكيدرجا اة

Russian

С наступающим Новым Годом(S na-stupayuščim Novym Godom) С Рождеством Христовым (S Roždestvom Khristovym)

Spanish ¡Feliz Navidad y prós-pero año nuevo!

Ukrainian Веселого Різдва і з Новим Роком

Armenian (Eastern) Շնորհավոր Ամանոր և

Սուրբ Ծնունդ

St. Ephraim the Syrian on the Nativity Pure is the present night, in which the Pure One appeared, Who came to purify us! Let our hearing be pure, and the sight of our eyes chaste, and the feeling of the heart holy, and the speech of the mouth sin-cere! The present night is the night of reconciliation; therefore, let no one be wroth against his brother and offend him! This night gave peace to the whole world, and so, let no one threaten. This is the night of the Most Meek One; let no one be cruel! This is the night of the Humble One; let no one be proud! Now is the day of joy; let us not take revenge for offences! Now is the day of good will; let us not be harsh. On this day of tranquility, let us not become agitated by anger! Today God came unto sinners; let not the righteous exalt himself over sinners! Today the Most Rich One became poor for our sake; let the rich man invite the poor to his table! Today we received a gift which we did not ask for; let us bestow alms to those who cry out to us and beg! The present day has opened the door of heaven to our prayers; let us also open our door to those who ask of us forgiveness! Today the Godhead placed upon Himself the seal of humanity, and humanity has been adorned with the seal of the Godhead!

1

By the mercy of God

Patriarch John X

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East

To

My brother pastors of the Antiochian Holy Church

And my children throughout the Holy See

“I behold a strange, most glorious mystery: heaven- the cave, the cherubic throne-the

Virgin, the manger-the place where Christ lay. The uncontained God whom we magnify in song”.

In a manger of love our Jesus was born, and in a cave He chose to visit our humanity.

By His descending, the Lord experienced all our weaknesses except sin. He did not chose

the scepters or the couches of the rich in order to preach salvation, but the womb of a Virgin. He

put us on so that we could put Him on. He dwelt in a cave so we may become citizens of the

Heavens. Jesus came looking for the humanity that was wounded with Adam and strayed with

Eve. His incarnation reminds us of dispensation. It is the stamp of the divine love that looks for

incensed souls, like Mary’s, that spread the Creator’s scent worldwide. This is the case of Virgin

Mary, the censor that spread the light of God for mankind.

Let us put ourselves, just once, and see how this girl fulfilled the will of God, and how

she became an example for us in all our troubles, even 2000 years after the coming of our Lord.

Mary was not one of those earthly “mighties”. But she was mighty in her prayer. She was

not of a high class, but a girl of a humble love who obeyed God’s order. She did not complain

thinking about her reputation, and she was not ashamed of getting pregnant of the Holy Spirit.

Mary, the Galilean, did not complain of the distress that happened in those days, which looks

like the distress that takes place nowadays. On the contrary, She was armored with God. She was

not ashamed of her Son’s Cross, but she accompanied Him to the Golgotha, and she cried, just

like us, over the tyranny of falsehood.

Mary is one of many, who see the nails of falsehood being beaten in truth’s body just like

those nails which were beaten in Jesus’s hands. But Mary did not deny her God the way some of

us do today seeing how darkness overwhelms the light. She did not ask: Where is God? Cannot

He watch the sorrow of my heart? But, she said: God is the strength of my heart. Surely, Mary is

a human, just like us. And surely, we may cry just like her. But the strength and the uniqueness

of this Virgin is the fact that she did not let sorrow overcome hope. She was not afraid of putting

her hope in God. And we are called upon to behave the same way in these difficult days in which

we pass as humans, community, country and the whole East.

We are called upon nowadays to be united, and to follow the example of the Virgin Mary

and all the disciples. Their unity was mixed with an undoubted hope in God Who had victory

over death. They buried fear because of their unity and love. And we are called upon, as much as

possible, to bury our afflictions by keeping the unity of souls and hearts regardless of the

geographical distances. Antioch is those hearts that are tied to Jesus. Before these bounds

egoism, races, cracks and disputes melt away in order to make Jesus shine on the front.

2

We, as the Christians of the East, are called upon to contemplate in Jesus Who did not

incarnate in days better than ours. Because of His love we put on His name first in Antioch, and

with the power of His Cross our ancestors lived on this land. We are on it and we come from it.

We were born from its womb and we will be buried in it. We are staying here, and we will carry

our cross following the example of our Lord. And to those who abduct our people and bishops,

we say: We are a part of this East. In it we live together with our brothers from all religions. We

won’t spare any effort to remain in this land defending our history and existence.

We pray today for peace in Syria, and for stability in Lebanon. We pray for the suffering

East, for the bleeding Palestine. We pray for the homeless, for the displaced, for the lost, for the

abducted and for the martyred. We pray to the Virgin Mary to send peace to souls, because it is

the seed of peace on earth. We pray that she protect all her abducted children, amongst them the

two bishops of Aleppo:Youhanna Ibraheem and Boulos Yazigi. We pray to her to be with our

people everywhere bestowing upon humanity the mercy of the Child of peace and the Father of

mercies.

O Jesus, Who descended to us as a Child, come and fill us with the abundance of Your

mercy, keep our children and parents. Come and stay in the cave of our souls and trim our

thoughts with Your holy light. O Jesus, whose presence filled us with peace, bless our life. Calm

with the power of Your silence every disorder, fear and turbulence. Teach us to chant together:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”.

Issued from the Patriarchal Headquarters - Damascus

December 20, 2015

“The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11: 26)

1559 North Woodlawn Street, Wichita, KS 67208-2429 (316) 687-3169 Phone BpBasil@aol.com (316) 636-5628 Fax

The Nativity 2015

To the Right Reverend Archimandrites, the Very Reverend and Reverend Priests, Archdeacons and Deacons and their families, the Venerable Monastics, and all the Christ-loving Faithful of the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America:

I embrace and greet you with a holy kiss in the Name of the Incarnate Christ. I send to each of you and your communities my paternal love, festal greetings and prayerful best wishes for the merriest of Christmases and a healthy and happy 2016.

دلوح ـألمسي In Christ Jesus the Incarnate Word,

+ Basil Bishop of Wichita and the Diocese of Mid-America

ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN ARCHDIOCESE OF NORTH AMERICA

His Eminence The Most Reverend

Metropolitan JOSEPH

The Right Reverend Bishop BASIL

Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of

All North America

Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America

درمينحيطرايفمجاطهيييييييييييسليعاميطأرتميبخنر

CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM!

Dear St. George Church Family: Greetings to you and your families in the name of our Merciful, Loving and Incarnate Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on this Blessed Nativity Feast.

Christ took on flesh to call us home to Him. We are called to praise God from the depths of our beings.

Let every twinkling light on every home remind us that Christ is the Light that brings us from darkness into light. Every light can remind us of the Christ the child who enlightens us with His Divine truth. He is our light and our resurrection, the light of truth, love and for-giveness that will guide us from the manger to the empty tomb. This season of Christ's birth is ultimately the season of salvation.

May the almighty God and the grace of the New Born Lord Jesus Christ grant each one of you and your families, Peace, Love, faith and Forgiveness to each other.

Have a blessed Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and a healthy and fruitful new year. May your lives be filled with joy and peace during this Holy season.

“Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, and good will among men”

In Christ Service,

The Very Reverend Fr. George, Kh. Mageda, LiLian & Christopher.