Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church
35 Lake Parkway, Webster, Massachusetts 01570

MISSION STATEMENT OF OUR CHURCH

The Mission of Saints Constantine and Helen Church
is to proclaim the Good News of Salvation
through the Orthodox Christian Faith
for the glory of our Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We are a loving community of believers who journey
towards our Lord Jesus Christ and one another through our
WORSHIP, FELLOWSHIP, EDUCATION/SPIRITUAL GROWTH,
WITNESS, and SERVICE. 
We invite all people to join us on this journey towards the Kingdom of Heaven.


CONTACT INFORMATION:

Church Office Hours: Tuesday, Friday 9:00 - 12:00;

Church Phone
: 508-943-8361

Church Secretary: Jaime Ross     Church Email: schofficesecretary@verizon.net

Fr Luke A. Veronis: 508-949-7623 (home) or 774-230-6985 (cell)

Fr. Luke's Email: veronis@verizon.net


READ THE WEEKLY SERMON 

Reclaiming the Sabbath - An Ecumenical Statement on "Sundays and Children's Activities"   

Jan 31 - The Prodigals of Life  
Jan 24 Learning How to Pray   
Jan 17 - Where is God in Haiti?   
Jan 10 Calling Out the Beauty in Others  

Dec 27 - Obedience and Courage  
Dec 25 - The Radical Revolution of Christmas  
Dec 13 - Reflections on the Orphanage in Guatemala  
Dec 6 - Imitating the Virtues of Saint Nicholas  

Nov 29 - Living LIves of Gratitude  
Nov 22 - Success in God's Eyes  
Nov 15 - Acting as Good Samaritans  
Nov 15 - Becoming Good Stewards  
Nov 8 - Reaching Out to the Nobodies of the World   

Oct 18 - An Ordination Sermon  
Oct 11 - Have our Hearts Grown Dull?  
Oct 4 - Radical Love  

Sept 27 - Seven Steps to Christ  
Sept 20 - Stand Firm in the Faith  
Sept 6 - Will the Kingdom of God Be Taken From Us?     

Aug 23 - Our Call to Forgive   
Aug 16 - Divine Faith    
Aug 6 - Transfiguring Our Lives   

July 26 - Christian Compassion  
July 19 - Mission Accomplished: Project Mexico Returns  

June 28 - Seek First the Kingdom of God 
June 21 - Our Call as Christian Fathers  
June 14 - Missions Sunday    
June 7 - Pentecost and the Power of the Holy Spirit  

May 31 - Honoring the Sunday Sabbath    
May 10 - Honoring Mothers    
May 3 - Go and Preach    

April 19 - Living in Exponetial Times        
April 5 - Greatness in Service  

March 29 - Growing in Belief - The Ladder of Ascent  
March 22 - God's Love of Even a Child Killer    
March 8 - Triumph of Truth  
March 1 - The Need To Forgive   
   
 

"THE LIGHT" - Our Monthly Bulletin

February 2010 Bulletin       January 2010 Bulletin  

December 2009 Bulletin      November 2009 Bulletin     October 2009 Bulletin   

September 2009 Bulletin    August 2009 Bulletin         July 2009 Bulletin  

June 2009 Bulletin             May 2009 Bulletin             




 


CHURCH SERVICES: FEBRUARY

Saturday Vespers: 6:00pm
Sunday Matins: 9:00 am
SUNDAY DIVINE LITURGY: 10:00 am
Sunday School: 10:00 am

Feb 2 - 9:30 Liturgy - Presentation of the Lord

Feb 10 - 9:30 Liturgy - St. Harallambos

Feb 13 - 9:30 Liturgy for 2nd Saturday of Souls

Feb 20 - 9:30 Liturgy for 3rd Saturday of Souls

LENTEN SERVICES:

Feb 14 - 6:30pm Forgiveness Vespers

Feb 15 - CLEAN MONDAY (the beginning of Great Lent)
6:30pm Great Compline Service

Feb 17 - 6:00pm PreSanctified Liturgy, Lenten Study Series and Pot-Luck Dinner

Feb 19 - 6:30pm 1st Salutation Service to Virgin Mary

Feb 24 - 6:00pm Pre-Sanctified Liturgy, Lenten Study Series and Pot-Luck Dinner

Feb 26 - 6:30pm 2nd Salutations Service to the Virgin Mary

Other Events:

Feb 3 - Presentation "The Mission in Albania" by OCMC Missionary Pamela Barksdale

Feb 14 - Godparents and Grandparents Sunday Luncheon and Magic Show for Children following the Divine Liturgy

LENTEN STUDY SERIES:

Each Wednesday during Lent.
6:00pm - 7:00pm Pre-Sanctified Liturgy
7:00pm - 7:30pm Lenten Study Series
7:30pm - 8:00pm Pot-Luck Lenten Meal

Feb 17 - The Art of Prayer

Feb 24 - The Art of Repentance

March 3 - Denial of Self and Fulfillment of God

March 10 - Holy Wisdom: Sweeter than Honey

March 17 - The Ladder of Divine Ascent

March 24 - Our Journey Towards Victory

LENTEN RETREAT:

March 6 - 9:30am - 1:00pm
"The Holy Canons: What They Are and How They Help Us Grow Closer to God"
with Dr. Lewis Patsavos, Professor of Canon Law at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.

Feb 23 - 5:00pm Service at Soup Kitchen


My Dear and Beloved Family of God,

“Return to me with all your heart, with fasting… and with mourning… Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing… Blow the trumpet… sanctify a fast… gather the people.” (Joel 2:12-16)

Great Lent, which begins on February 15th, is first and foremost a time of returning home, turning back to God, and remembering our roots, our spiritual roots. Great Lent, when properly understood, is a journey back to the original beauty in which God created each of us.

Yet, how do we return home? How do we come back to God? What do we need to do?

Throughout Holy Scriptures, God teaches us that to return to Him means to repent. We need to come to our senses, see how and where we have fallen away from the path of God, confess our sins and shortcomings, and turn back to Him and His ways. Yet this journey of repentance is a difficult one. Many of us don’t know how to repent, or even for what to repent.

This is where our sacred tradition offers us some tools to help us in our journey of repentance. As the Prophet Joel says in the above passage, one of the first tools of repentance is fasting . Throughout the Old Testament, and into the New Testament, we see the people of God fasting.

Now fasting may not seem like a vogue or modern thing to do, unless of course, we call it a diet and do it for aesthetic purposes. And yet, throughout the Bible and Church history, we see that fasting has always played an important role in one’s spiritual discipline and development. Please take the time to read the article “Understanding Fasting” on page 6 to learn the purpose and value of fasting. Then, make a decision to fast during this Lenten season.

The Church challenges us to fast by not eating meat and dairy products for 40 days. It isn’t easy, but it’s not suppose to be easy. Our physical effort and struggle will help us in our spiritual battle. Don’t simply ignore the challenge of the fast. Fasting has always played an important role in one’s spiritual development, and Great Lent is the time to fast.

The Prophet Joel tells us that along with fasting, we are to mourn . By this, he means that we should mourn for our sins and the sins of the world. Great Lent is a time when we should reflect upon our lives. Think about where we have sinned; where we have fallen short of God’s calling; where we have not fulfilled our divine potential as children of God. We all have sinned in our actions and words and thoughts. We have sinned not only by our actions, but also by our inactions and indifference and laziness. Great Lent is a time when we take a sincere and honest look at ourselves, and then boldly confess before God our sins and shortcomings.

A part of mourning for our sins will include confession. All Orthodox Christians should use the time of Lent as a time to prepare for and go to the Sacrament of Holy Confession. Many Orthodox Christians in America don’t even realize that Confession is actually a sacrament in our Church.


Many have never been to confession even once in their lives. And yet, the Church firmly teaches that we receive a special grace when we stand before an icon of Christ, with a priest as our witness and as our doctor, confessing our sins and transgressions. Remember, repentance implies a deep sense of mourning for our sins, and the Sacrament of Confession helps us in this mourning process.

The Prophet Joel doesn’t only tell us to fast and mourn and repent, but he reminds us that all we do, we do for a loving, merciful and gracious God. Our Lord is not an angry, vengeful, punishing God. He unconditionally and unabashedly loves each one of us, no matter how we have fallen short in our lives.

All that we do - through fasting, mourning, repentance, prayer and almsgiving - we do not to appease an angry God, but we do to soften our own hearts and souls so that we can receive and understand the divine and immense love of God.

The purpose of this physical and spiritual journey of Great Lent is first and foremost a journey of discovery - discovering how much God loves each one of us and His entire world. We are called to enter into His world of divine love. When we lay aside the sin that clings so closely to us, and allow ourselves to be filled with His divine love, then we can perceive the world in an entirely different manner. We don’t allow the corruption and evil of this world to create skepticism and cynicism within us. No. Instead, divine love dwells in us and allows us to see all things in a new way. Life takes on a joyous, wondrous and beautiful tone.

My deepest prayer for all of us is that this Lenten season will be a special season when we all take a serious journey away from our fallen nature, and into the bliss of the kingdom of God.

With deep love and affection
in Christ our Lord,

+Luke




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