Join us for our Feast Day, July 25!

Join us as we commemorate our Parish Feast, the Dormition of the Holy Ancestor of God, Anna.  We look forward to welcoming His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco as well as clergy and laity from near and far.  Our service schedule is as follows: 

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  • Great Vespers commemorating the Dormition of the holy Ancestor of God, (Tuesday, July 24, 6:30PM) His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco will lead us in prayer. A dinner reception will follow. 
  • Hierarchical Services (Wednesday, July 25, 9AM) A light reception will follow at the Parish.
  • Supplication to Ss. Joachim & Anna (Wednesday, July 25, 6PM) 

If you are unable to join us, we ask you to keep our Parish and her ministries in your prayers.  And, if you'd like to submit names for us to commemorate, please email them to the Church Office.  May our Lord, through the intercessions of our matron, Saint Anna, continue to grant you many years of service with good health, strength, and every blessing unto salvation. 

 

A Wish List for the Orthodox Church in Guatemala

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In addition to your prayers, please consider offering your support to the faithful in Guatemala by donating the following items:

 

 

A festal icon set for the 12 great feasts (11" x 17"): http://tinyurl.com/m8ojdy8.
Incense
Baptismal crosses, preferably three-barred crosses: It is common for the priests to celebrate dozens of baptisms in a single day. These can be purchased in bulk: http://www.tinyurl.com/kxs93nc
Chrism containers: http://tinyurl.com/k2ygtgb
Holy water sprinklers: http://tinyurl.com/lbxjgza
Communion spoons: http://tinyurl.com/kjzutbw
Altar boy robes: Sponsor a set of 15 robes in different sizes that could be made through Mayan Artisan Studio (MAS): https://mayanartisanstudio.com/ which is composed of Orthodox women seamstresses from Aguacate that make vestments, cassocks, altar boy robes, and chalice covers.

Please contact Jennifer for more information:

Jennifer Rice, Missionary to Guatemala,ricejenniferk@gmail.com 

Support:www.ocmc.org/JenniferRice
Follow:www.facebook.com/JenniferRiceMissionary

Request for assistance after the devastating fire at Holy Myrrhbearing Women Parish in West Sacramento

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"On the 12th of July, 2018 in West Sacramento, California, the oldest Orthodox Church of Holy Myrrhbearing Women burned down. Our church building was established in 1925 and was a monument of architecture, and served as the center of spiritual life for multiple generations of people of faith. We have received the blessing from the church hierarchy for the reconstruction. We ask for any material help for the restoration of the church building.

Currently, the main importance for our parish is the ability to conduct church service. For now the service will temporarily take place within the Church Hall. For this we need to equip a temporary shrine and altar. We are also in need of liturgical service books, church vestments, and material needs. We hope that you will not be indifferent to our tragedy.

Earthly life is temporary. Every day of life on this earth can be our last. We come into this world empty-handed and leave empty-handed. The only things we can take with us are untouchable – our good deeds as a signs of our faith. A person may leave the earthly life, but one’s deed of helping restore a church will remain, and the people within it will be thankful and pray for the builders, restorers, and donors of the church.

We will be grateful for any help in this holy task! Let us rebuild out of the ashes God’s church and leave our footprint to the preservation of history of our beloved and cherished Church building.

How you can help:

1. Donations can be made in the church :

Address: 833 Water Street, West Sacramento, CA 95605

Phone: (916)371-1041

E-mail: holywomen@gmail.com

2.You can make your donations through PayPal by using the link on our Church’s website. : http://www.holy-women.com/pages/donation_ru.php

3.Through the platform of GoFundMe.com, you can donate at: https://www.gofundme.com/fire-distruction-of-our-church

We will appriciate if you can share this message with your close friends. God bless you!

With all respect,

Parish Council of the Holy Myrrhbearing Women Church" 

"... We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses..." (Heb. 12:1)

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The Holy Apostle Paul writes to the Hebrews “…we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…”(12:1), but who are these witnesses? Our Venerable Father Silouan the Athonite reminds us the faithful that the cloud of witnesses is comprised of:

…our holy Forefathers and Patriarchs who valiantly carried their faith before …the Prophets who received the Holy Spirit, and by their exhortations called the people to God…the Apostles who died that the Gospel might be preached…the Martyrs who gladly gave their lives for love of Christ…the holy Prelates who followed the Lord’s example and took upon themselves the burden of their spiritual flock…the holy Fathers who lived lives of prayer and fasting, and those who assumed folly for Christ’s sake, all of whom fought the good fight and thereby overcame the world…[and] all the righteous who kept God’s commandments and vanquished their passions.

We look to build our sanctuary to God’s glory, honoring Him, together with and through the intercessions of this great cloud of witnesses, most notably those Saints whose Holy Relics that we are blessed to have at our parish.  In 2005, we received a Holy Relic of St. Anna.  In 2007, we received Holy Relics of Ss. Joachim and Anna.  In 2008, we were gifted a Holy Relic of our Venerable Father, Herman of Alaska.  In 2017, we were gifted a Holy Relic of the Holy Hierarch and Physician, Luke the Surgeon.  On the Feast of the Raising of Lazarus in 2018, our Parish received the following Holy Relics: 

  • The Holy & Great Martyr Paraskevi
  • The Holy & Great Martyr Marina
  • The Holy Grand Duchess & Martyr Elizabeth
  • The Holy Hierarch Modesto, Patriarch of Jerusalem
  • The Holy Priest Sebastian of Jackson
  • The Holy & Great Martyr Christopher
  • The Holy & Great Martyr Christina
  • Constantine the Great, Crowned Equal to the Apostles

In the fall of this year, we will be receiving the following Holy Relics to further establish us as a Shrine to the Sanctity of Marriage and Family:  

  • The Holy Apostle Luke the Evangelist
  • The Holy Apostle Barnabas
  • The Holy Apostle Philip
  • The Holy Hierarch Gregory Palamas
  • The Holy & Great Martyr Katherine
  • The Holy & Great Martyr Nikitas
  • The Holy Apostle Andrew
  • The Holy & Great Martyr Panteleimon
  • The Holy Hierarch Lazarus, the Friend of Christ
  • Tabitha, Equal to the Apostles

Now why would a parish like ours or monastery want but a small relic?  Saint Theodoritos of Kyros explains, “The undivided grace of even a divided body remains, and even that very small relic has the same power as a piece of evidence which has not been divided in any way.”Saint Ephraim the Syrian continues, “… the miraculous grace of the Holy Spirit is always present in the holy relics.” 

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If you would like to assist with the purchase of the needed reliquaries, the transfer of the Holy Relics, and/or give a thanks offering, please contact Fr. Christopher. 

 

Glory be to God for all things, through the intercessions of thisgreat cloud of witnesses!

 

Spring General Assembly (Sunday, May 6)

On Sunday, May 6 at the close of Divine Services, we will host our Spring General Assembly. A proposed agenda is found below.  The 2017 Fall General Assembly Minutes are forthcoming as are reports from various ministries. In addition to discussing our progress regarding the building of our Holy Sanctuary, we will hear about our planning efforts for our Ceremonial Ground Breaking in early September.  Please plan on joining us after service. 

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