St.Vladimir Orthodox Church

September 19, 2020

This is the 15th Sunday after Pentecost, Tone 6

It is MASKS & 2 m DISTANCING: the Law!

Readings
Epistle: 2 Corinthians 22:35-46
Gospel: Saint Matthew 22:1-14
Sunday before the Exaltation of the Cross
Epistle Galatians 6:11-18
Gospel Saint John 3:13-17

Reminders:

Saturday September 19th Vespers at 6pm, Sunday September 20th Liturgy at 10am, Monday September 21st is the feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos (The Most Holy Birthgiver of God). Vespers and Litia will be served on Sunday evening September 20th at 6pm. (I remind everyone that the reason we do this rather than a morning Liturgy is so that everyone, including those who work, can attend.)

Name Days: Evelina Lunyov - Saint Elizabeth the Righteous.

Father Alexander and I went to Sydney to conduct the funeral of Vladimir Karmanov. It was certainly a very long trip but it was really worthwhile. Although a somber service as funerals are, but there was joy as well. We must always remember that we live on two levels. There is the physical body that is committed to the earth, for all that happens to a body committed to the earth, to happen. But there is also the spiritual side that does not die; the part of us that belongs to God in a very special way; that God does not ever want to give up. We are His.

Carol Ann, Vladimir's widow, works at the local hospital, and a lot of her friends and co-workers from the hospital were present. I had some very interesting conversations with several of them. They were most interested in the service and how straightforward the language of the service is. It was a funeral, but I certainly enjoyed the time there. Carol Ann was most generous. She provided very nice rooms in the Cambridge Hotel, overlooking the harbour. We look forward to her visit to us in Halifax when she is able and recovered from all the happenings of the last week. May God bless her.

On the way back from the funeral, on Saturday afternoon, we stopped in at Antigonish and met Jeff our Catechumen. I wanted to take a photograph of him for the bulletin but forgot to take it. We did bless his truck though. Fortunately we had enough Holy Water to do that, thanks to Father Alexander's Holy Water supply which was depleted by the end of the blessing. Let us hope that the blessing will be sufficient to provide Jeff with the ability to drive to us, at the church, every now and then. A little later, we met Crystal Hyun just outside Pictou, at a DQ on the highway.

One of the great things about that trip was the little visit to a beach on the way back. Father pulled to the side of the road and helped me down a shallow bank to a stony beach where we removed our shoes and socks and paddled in the ocean. The water was warm and very refreshing. The last time I did that was last summer at Weymouth in Dorset England, sandy beach, and the ice cream was Italian and really nice.

Please remember to pray for the Pemberton family, the Catechumens, those suffering from Covid, the doctors, nurses and others who care for the sick, the scientific community searching for a means of controlling the virus; for each other in this parish, and for the other Halifax parishes.

May God bless us all,

Love in Christ,

-- Father David