MEMORY ETERNAL to our beloved parishioner, Myron Meinhardt. He passed on Sunday morning, March 31, in Florida where he had moved to be with his son after his wife died. His body was transported here so that he could be buried out of St Herman’s, as he had stipulated in his last will and testament. Thank you to the many who participated in the all-night Vigil by Myron’s body in the Church on Thursday night into Friday morning. We had no trouble filling the time slots. Myron’s family was truly appreciative – and amazed that our faithful would do this. And thank you to the many who came to the Panikhida for Myron on Thursday evening, and his funeral on Friday morning. Again, the family was most appreciative of your kindness toward Myron. Myron loved St Herman’s, and we loved Myron.

OUR NEW BAPTISMAL FONT is actually the old baptismal font, but with a new encasement, built by Joe Miller from the three woods of the cross: pine, cedar and cypress. It is truly a work of fine craftmanship. We are most grateful to Joe.

WITH JOY WE RECEIVED DANE AND TOM into the Church through Holy Baptism and Chrismation yesterday morning before the Memorial Divine Liturgy. This morning, we receive Blake into the Church through Baptism and Chrismation in the Divine Liturgy of St Basil. We will honor our new Church members at the coffee hour this morning following the Divine Liturgy.

WE RECEIVE Kyle and Anna, Benjamin and Caleb through Baptism and Chrismation next Saturday, Apr 20 at 10 am. This is the baptismal service only. We receive Rob through Baptism and Chrismation, and Alexa through Chrismation, at the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom on Lazarus Saturday at 9 am, Apr 27.

THE CROSS that was beautifully adorned with red and white carnations, and that brought for veneration to the center of the Nave last Sunday, the Sunday of the Cross, was placed at Friday’s leavetaking on the Golgotha table, at the north and east end of the nave. The faithful are welcome to pull out a carnation or two from the cross and take it home. It can be placed, for example, by an icon or in your icon corner, beside the candle you took home from the Feast of the Meeting of the LORD in the Temple (Feb 2).

GREAT LENT is the season we focus on putting what is earthly in us to death by means of the Cross, given to us in the form of the Lenten ascetical disciplines, that we may ‘unite ourselves to Christ in the likeness of His death.’ The focus shifts in Great and Holy Week onto Our LORD Jesus Christ ascending the Cross to cleanse us from our sins and to destroy our death by His death, so that we may unite ourselves to Him in the likeness of His Resurrection. ‘Likeness’ is a biblical way of saying ‘participating in.’ We therefore want to make every effort to give our confession before Lazarus Saturday, so that we can enter Holy Week with our minds turned, in the fear of God with faith and love, onto Our LORD Jesus Christ voluntarily ascending the Cross for us.

CONFESSION TIMES are on Mon, Wed, Fri, and Sat evenings before the scheduled service for that evening. The faithful may reserve a time to give their confession on the sign-up sheet posted on the bulletin board downstairs.

MEOCCA LENTEN SUNDAY VESPERS SCHEDULE – all services are at 5 pm:

Today: St Mary’s Greek

Sunday, April 21: St Stefan’s Romanian (South St Paul)

Sunday, April 28: Bridegroom Matins, St Herman’s OCA

All are welcome to sing in the MEOCCA Choir Simply come to the rehearsals which begin at 4 pm each Sunday at the parish where the Vespers service is held that Sunday afternoon.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! The raising of Lazarus, our first Lenten destination, is on Saturday, Apr 27. This marks the end of Great Lent, and the beginning of Great and Holy Week that will take us mystically (and truly) into the Tomb of the LORD’s Sabbath Rest. Following the Baptismal Divine Liturgy that morning, we serve a pancake breakfast, and then we all hang out together that day to give our temple a thorough spring cleaning, from about 11 am – 4 pm. The day concludes with Vespers at 5 pm. On Palm Sunday afternoon, we host the MEOCCA Bridegroom Matins, and we serve our guests a fish dinner afterward. It is a glorious weekend filled with the anticipation of the beauty of the LORD’s Pascha. Plan to be part of it as much as you possibly can!

PREPARATIONS FOR GREAT AND HOLY WEEK.

Flowers for Pascha. Donations towards flowers to adorn the LORD’s Tomb and the Church for Pascha may be given in memory of departed loved ones. Give your donation to Marisa and the names of departed loved ones to Fr Paul. With our flower donations, we also fund flowers for Christmas.

Vigil at the Tomb begins after the Vespers service on Great and Holy Friday afternoon, and continues through the night and all day to Paschal Nocturns at 1130 pm Pascha Night. Look for sign-up sheet to indicate your desire to participate in the Vigil.

15 OT Readings at the Vesperal Divine Liturgy on Holy Saturday (N.B. at 11 am this year). Indicate your desire to be one of the readers to Peter, and Peter (and I) will assign readers to each OT reading. Men, Fr Paul asks that male readers wear a dress shirt and tie, nice pants and dress shoes to show proper reverence to the reading of Holy Scripture!

NEW SIGNS for our Temple building are in production. We hope to have them installed by Friday, April 26. There are two new signs, both banner style. One will be installed above the front doors; the other will be installed on the bell tower side that faces directly the street.

FOR REASONS OF SAFETY and also to maintain as much as possible a reverent quietude to honor the Church’s worship, the parish council asks that no unsupervised children be allowed to go up into the balcony (children have been observed to hold an attraction for the railing, and also the wood floor amplifies the noise of their active feet and reverberates throughout the nave!). Parents, as much as possible, keep your children in the worship service, and teach them to pray with us quietly and reverently ‘in the fear of God, with faith and love.’

One thing the law could not do was to give eternal life, for eternal life is to know God and Him whom He sent, Jesus Christ (Jn 17.3), but not from the outside as the pharisee knew Him, the Almighty Law-Giver, but within the intimate relation of a common life (‘I in you and you in Me,’ Jn 14.20). The pharisee knows all about action, but nothing about being. In all his life of righteousness there is one thing he has never come across, never perceived: that between God and him there can be a relationship of mutual love. He never sought and never met the God of Isaiah ... He believes that between God and His creatures there is a relation that is fixed, fossilized, immutable. He has never discerned in the Scriptures the love story of God and the world He created and so loved that He would give His only-begotten Son that it might be saved. Of God, he knows the law – not the Person.

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, Meditations, p. 41.