| |  | December 25
The Nativity According to the Flesh of our Lord,
God, and Savior Jesus Christ | | CONTENTS
Services / Events / Teams Needed for December 27th Reception / St. Basil’s Bread on January 1 / Christmas Greeting / Church School Cancellations / Bishop & Church Etiquette Handbook / 2023 Pledge Form / Double Your Building Fund Donation! / Building Pledge Link / Prayer List / Birthdays & Anniversaries / Lives of the Saints / Bulletin Deadline Reminder / Clergy & Contacts | | SERVICES
Friday, December 23, 9:30am Royal Hours for the Nativity of Christ
Saturday December 24, 8:30am, Baptism & Chrismations of Genevieve Prentice, Justin Nelson, Virginia Helman, Nicola Mingolelli, and Jane Thomas
Saturday, December 24, 9:30am, Divine Liturgy
Saturday, December 24, 5pm, Vigil for the Nativity of Christ
Sunday, December 25, 9:30am, Divine Liturgy for the Nativity of Christ
UPCOMING SERVICES
Tuesday, December 27, 9:30am, Hierarchical Liturgy for our patron saint, and celebration of Fr. John Ealy’s 50th Anniversary of ordination to the priesthood
Saturday, December 31, 5pm, Vespers
Sunday, January 1, 9:30am, Divine Liturgy
Wednesday, January 4, 7pm, Royal Hours for Theophany
Thursday, January 5, 9:30am, Vesperal Liturgy with Great Blessing of Water for Theophany
Friday, January 6, 9:30am, Divine Liturgy for Theophany
see the full December calendar here | | | | TEAMS NEEDED TO HELP WITH DECEMBER 27TH RECEPTION!
Please consider joining a team to help make the December 27th reception a success! The event will follow the Hierarchical Liturgy and honor the 50th anniversary of Fr. John Ealy’s ordination to the priesthood. Teams include set-up, serving, and clean up. Please contact Gus Mecera if you are able to help (gust.mecera@gmail.com or 614-370-4162.) Any bit of help you can provide will make a difference! | | ST. BASIL’S BREAD (VASILOPITA) TO BE SHARED ON JANUARY 1 |  | St. Basil's Bread (or Vasilopita) will be shared with parishioners after Divine Liturgy on Sunday, January 1st. It is traditional in Greece and other areas of Eastern Europe and the Balkans to bake bread or cake and to have a coin or some coins hidden in it. The bread is sliced and shared. It is said that those getting a coin will have good luck in the New Year. According to legend, an emperor levied a heavy tax on the people taking coins and jewelry. However, St. Basil intervened and got the money back. Not able to get all the coins to the original owners he baked them in bread. Miraculously, everyone received their own coins and jewelry. Thus, it is also called St. Basil’s bread because it is celebrated on January 1, which is the feast day of St. Basil the Great. Be sure to enjoy this special tradition and get a piece of Vasilopita! | | |  | May you and your loved ones enjoy a most blessed and joyous Feast of the Nativity of Christ. Christ is Born! Glorify Him! | | CHURCH SCHOOL CANCELLATIONS
Please note, there will not be church school classes on the Nativity, Sunday, December 25, 2022, and New Year’s Day, Sunday, January 1, 2023. | | BISHOP & CHURCH ETIQUETTE HANDBOOK |  | Above: Asking for a blessing from the newly ordained Bishop Gerasim (oca.org) | In preparation for the bishop’s visit on December 27, the handbook “Church Etiquette” is made available to learn the proper way to ask for a blessing from the bishop, as well as other church etiquette. | | | ENDS DECEMBER 31!
GET YOUR BUILDING CAMPAIGN DONATION DOUBLED!
Someone wishing to remain anonymous has challenged parishioners with a matching gift donation to our Building Capital Campaign. They will match donations made in 2022 up to $30,000! (These are separate from donations already pledged to the Building Capital Campaign.) This is a wonderful opportunity for you to show your support for the Temple Project and have your offering doubled! To date there have been a total of $11,520.52 made in donations that will be doubled. That means $18,479.48 can be donated and matched! Please help us reach the $30,000 matching goal by donating by December 31, 2022! | | | ST. STEPHEN’S 2023 PLEDGE FORM
Each year we ask members to make a pledge to support the parish financially. We are thankful for the generosity of our members, which enables us to start missions, support numerous charities, and work toward building a new temple. Please pledge what you can to the general fund for 2023. Pledging helps the parish council to plan for the coming year and it helps you to give prayerfully by considering in advance what is best for you and your family to set aside for the Lord's work. Thank you for your generous support of St. Stephen.
- Fr. Daniel | | | PLEDGE TO THE BUILDING FUND |  | | | PRAYER LIST
THOSE IN NEED: Eli (Russell), Rowena (Montague), Elena (Dimas) Fr. Micola, Fr. Stephanos, Richard (Kindell), Helene (Kindell), Joshua, Sheryl, Bertina (Busch), Will (Brown), Raul (McDonald), Lavinia (Busch), Dave (Brown), Diane (Atkinson), Kristin (Brown), Cameron (Brown), Evdokia (Gloria) Malanowski, Gregory (Nescott), Joel (Nethery), Lenore (Prawlocki), Carl MILITARY SERVERS: Christopher (Poupart), Mark Lopez (Popsuy)
NURSING HOME: Matushka Mary Milanovich, Xenia Vranesevich
HOME BOUND: Janet Altenhoff
EXPECTANT MOTHERS: Julie (Noe), Milena (Muresanu)
NEWLY DEPARTED: Emily (Harper), Carlos, Georgeanne CATECHUMENS
Caleb, Ginny, Jane, Justin (Nelson), Kallista, Nicola, Estephany Please let Father know if there is anyone you would like to have prayed for and added to this list. Use this list in your daily prayers to remember those in need, and the faithful departed. Cards and well wishes can be sent to anyone on the list. | | BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES
Birthdays
27th Aram Matos
27th Lilay Mulugeta
28th Dylan Maynard
31st David Nethery
Anniversaries
27th Tuck Atkinson & Sandra Todd-Atkinson
God Grant Them Many Years! | | LIVES OF THE SAINTS
Read about the lives of the saints commemorated this Sunday on the Orthodox Church in America website here. | | BULLETIN DEADLINE REMINDER
Deadline for announcements for the weekly bulletin is by the end of day on Wednesdays. Bulletins are typically sent on Thursdays. Anything received after the deadline will appear in the following week’s bulletin. Email announcements to annmarie.mecera@gmail.com. Thank you! | | CLERGY & CONTACT INFORMATION
Orthodox Church of St. Stephen the Protomartyr
Orthodox Church in America I Diocese of the South
1895 Lake Emma Road, Longwood, FL 32750
386-227-7056 https://ststephenoca.com/ Mailing Address: Orthodox Church of St Stephen,
P.O. Box 950209, Lake Mary, FL 32795 Fr. Daniel Hickman, Rector, 407-388-4241, frdaniel@ststephenoca.com
Fr. Deacon Mark Reudelhuber, 407-718-2549
dnmark@ststephenoca.com | Please contact Fr. Daniel Hickman for all pastoral issues, hospital visits, emergencies, etc. Please keep him abreast of any issues that come up. | | |
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