ST HERMAN’S THEATRE PRESENTS: The Life of St Mary of Egypt. In the middle of the nave, Fr Paul reads from the Synaxarion the whole life of St Mary by candlelight on Thursday, Apr 15, at 7 pm.

 OUR CHARITY FOR THIS QUARTER is ZOE, an Orthodox ministry for unwed mothers. We donated over $850 to IOCC, the charity of our first quarter. Thank you!

PASCHAL FLOWERS. Donations towards flowers for decorating the Tomb, the Royal Doors, the icons, the whole Church for Pascha are welcome in memory of departed loved ones. Give your donation to our treasurer, Emanuel, and note the loved one/s in whose memory the donation is given, and the memorials will be published and discretely displayed in the nave during Great and Holy Week.

WE WILL CONTINUE to post rotation lists for each Sunday. If your name is not on the list, but you want to come, then come! But, if you come and are uncomfortable with the numbers, then perhaps you might be the one, not someone whose name is on the list, who offers to ‘depart in peace.’ When the weather permits us to open windows and doors, then you may also consider standing outside.

This morning, April 11

Axvigs

Brennans

Coopers

Howard Crawford

Tony Dunlop

Gremillions

Johnsons

Hansen

Brad Kampf

Nick Kelly

Ann & Katie Knocke

Stuart & McKenna

Martin M

Joe Miller

Morses

Parduns

Emily Philips

Helen Pregl

Rothers

River R

Swensons

Thweats

Youngbloods

Alex Wauck

Next Sunday, April 18

Cooks

Coopers

Howard Crawford

Escobars

Dan Faust (& Rachel)

Johnsons

Brad Kampf

Michael Kemp

Tim Ketcher

Knockes

Stuart & McKenna

McCulloughs

Morses

Kristin Oscarson

Parduns

Pavlenkos

Emily Phillips

Helen Pregl

Rothers

River

Parduns

Slaters

Thweats

Barb 
Youngbloods

LENTEN SUNDAY VESPERS today is hosted by St Mary’s Greek on Lake Calhoun. The service will be live-streamed, and is also open for those to attend who sign online on signup genius (See under Service Schedule for this Week). All Lenten Vespers are served at 4 pm.

Sunday April 18, Twelve Apostles GOC, Duluth (live stream)

Sunday, Apr 25 (Bridegroom Matins) St Herman’s OCA (livestream and open to worshippers)

SATURDAY MORNING ADULT ED WITH FR Paul holds its last session before Pascha next Saturday, Apr 17, under the topic, “On Human Origins and Destiny According to the Theophany of Holy Scripture and Primitive Christian Doctrine.” Classes are recorded on Zoom and on our St Herman’s YouTube Channel. Lecture notes and link to the Zoom recording are available; just let Fr Paul know.

LAZARUS SATURDAY is April 24. This marks the end of Great Lent, the transition into Holy Week. Raised from the ‘tomb of our heart’, we follow Christ to the Bridal Chamber of His Tomb that is the Entrance to Paradise. We will receive Michael Thompson into the Church at the Divine Liturgy that morning through the sacraments of confession, Holy Baptism and Holy Chrismation.

SPRING CLEANING of our temple for this year has begun! There’s lots of cleaning to do! Please consider respond to the e-blast sent out by Caleb this last week to indicate what cleaning tasks you’d like to do, and when you could come to the Church to do them! Everyone is invited to sign up for one or more of these Saturdays, to help give our Temple an overdue thorough clean-up!

THE LEAD of our interior Church Cleaning Team is stepping down. Thank you, Tony for serving our parish in this manner after many years of faithful service. This means that we need someone who would volunteer to take Tony’s place to lead our interior cleaning team. Talk to Caleb or Fr Paul.

CONFESSIONS ARE HEARD generally before each service. Please let Fr Paul know at which of the appointed times (generally 45 minutes before a service) you want to give your confession so we can be sure there is not an overload for that time. Given the unusual circumstances of the last year, which include Fr Paul’s convalescence from recent hip surgery, the period of time we have for hearing confessions has been abbreviated. If you have already given your confession sometime over the last year, know that you have satisfied the statutory requirements for membership, and that, on that score, you need not give your confession during Great Lent. If you would like Fr Christopher to hear your confession, you may make arrangements with him (but remember he has to drive a distance, so if you would, help him with his gas.) Let’s strive to give our confession before Lazarus Saturday. That’s when we hear the LORD calling out to us to ‘Come forth!’ and we follow Him into Great and Holy Week and into His Bridal Chamber.

From Isaiah:

For He [Christ Jesus] grew up before Him [the Father] like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. [Isa 53:2]

Though He [Christ Jesus] was in the form of God, He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself. He took the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in the form of man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. [Phl 2:6-8]

From Matins for the Fourth Wednesday of Great Lent

Stavrotheokion: ‘I see Thee lifted on high,’ cried the Holy Virgin, ‘and because of Thy suffering, there is neither form nor beauty in Thee. [Drawing from Isa 53.2] Yet, when I saw Thee incarnate in the flesh, Only-begotten Son, Thou wast fairer than all the sons of men. O salvation of all, manifest Thy Glory!’ [quoting from Ps 44.3]’

[Gen 1:2 RSV] 2 The earth was altogether without form [aoratos] or adornment [akataskeuastos], and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters…

Are we to see that God the WORD incarnate, by His death on the Cross, is finishing His Creation? Uniting the Divine Form of His Beauty to our human form grown ugly from sin, destroying death by His death on the Cross, is He refashioning His Creation to its original goodness and beauty? [And God saw that it, His Creation, was good (kalos, beautiful)]?

fr paul