Saint Mark Orthodox Church
Orthodox Church in America
Diocese of Washington
7124 River Road
Bethesda, MD 20817
Church Office: 301-229-6300
www.stmarkoca.org / Rector
V. Rev. Gregory Safchuk
Office: 301-229-6300
Home: 301-320-0739

/ Parish Council President:
Michael Thompson
Home: 703-204-9092

SUNDAY OF THE PARALYTIC MAY 22, 2016

EPISTLE
Acts 9:32-42 /
GOSPEL
John 5:1-15 / Tone 3
DIVINE LITURGY OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
4TH Sunday of Pascha. Martyr Basiliscus, Bishop of Comana (ca. 308). Commemoration of the Second Ecumenical Council (381). St. Jovan (John, Vladimir), Ruler of Serbia (1015). Monk Martyr Paul of the Lavra (Mt. Athos - 1818).
Sunday / May / 22 / 9:30a / Divine Liturgy
11:15a / Coffee Hour Fellowship
11:30a / SEMI-ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
Sunday / May / 29 / 9:30a / Divine Liturgy – Samaritan Woman
11:15a / Coffee Hour Fellowship
11:30a / Women’s Book Club
Monday / May / 30 / MEMORIAL DAY
Saturday / Jun / 4 / 5:00p / Private Confession
5:30p / Great Vespers
Sunday / Jun / 5 / 9:30a / Divine Liturgy – Blind Man
11:30a / ANNUAL CHURCH SCHOOL PICNIC
The Altar & Sanctuary Candles are donated by Vera, Drew & Ann Bumbak in honor of grandson and son Andrew’s birthday. God Grant Him Many Years!

Coffee Hour Fellowship

Date
/
Hosts/Hostesses
/ Donuts/Bagels
May 22 / Petro / Petro-Jenkins / K. Petro / Hydock
May 29 / Mitchum / Lacko-Gleason / Brasoveanu-Tarpy / Freimann

Choir Directors, Readers, Preparers, Greeters, & Altar Servers

Date / Director / Reader / Preparer / Greeter / Altar
Servers
May 22 / M.
Ahmadi / A.
Norton / Dn. D.
Phelps / P. Masick
T. Sekellick / A. Ahmadi
A. Datch
C. Datch
T. Dillon
F. LeFors
V. Lutes
J. Sedor
M. Sedor
May 29 / W.
Tatusko / K.
Lungociu / A.
Norton / Mat. G. Phelps
N. Stanton

Classes

Date
/
Church School
/
Adult Study
(in Fr. Gregory’s Office) /
Basics of Orthodoxy
(in Church Library)
May 22 /
CANCELLED
/
CANCELLED
/
SUMMER BREAK
May 29 /
SUMMER BREAK
/
SUMMER BREAK
CHURCH SCHOOL, ADULT STUDY & FR. TIM’S BASICS OF ORTHODOXY CLASSES ARE NOW ON SUMMER BREAK: Thank you to our church school director and teachers, to our adult study coordinators, and Fr. Tim for another successful year of learning!
THANK YOU: This year St. Mark delivered three food gift baskets to our parishioners. Thanks to Kelly Meyers, Mat. Ann Prentice, Marsha Zellem, Kathy Petro, and DanielaMihailov for preparing and delivering the baskets.
MANY YEARS to Kitty Steger & James Miller who were married on Saturday, May 14th!
SEMI-ANNUAL PARISH MEETING is taking place TODAY following Liturgy. Please pick up your read-ahead packets on the way down to the Fellowship Hall.
FOCA “GIFTS OF LOVE” COLLECTIONS SUNDAYS UNTIL JUNE 5TH: Our National Fellowship of Orthodox Christians collects "Gifts of Love" every year for worthy Orthodox Christian causes. This year, there will be a basket set out for your prayerful donation to raise funds to print Yupik language Orthodox Coloring Books for the children of Alaska. In many Alaskan villages, Yupik is the language spoken in the home while English is learned later in life. These books will help the Alaskan children learn about Christ in their native language. Please look for the special collection basket following Liturgy the next few Sundays; checks may be made out to St. Mark FOCA. Thank you for your support!

SERVICE UPDATE: CONFESSIONS & VESPERS ARE CANCELLED ON SATURDAY, MAY 28th.
WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB will meet next Sunday, May 29th after Liturgy in the church library to discuss the book: ”The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics” by Daniel James Brow. Please refer to the St. Mark Book Club webpage at: http://stmarkoca.org/book-clubs/ for future month’s books.
ST. LUKE PICNIC & FUNDRAISER: St. Luke Serbian Orthodox Church at 6801 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA will be hosting a Picnic on Saturday, June 4th from 12:00 – 4:00 PM. Entrance cost is $20/person for all-you-can-eat spit-roasted lamb and BBQ buffet and non-alcoholic drinks. Kids 16 and under are FREE. There will also be a beer and wine cash bar. For more information, visit: www.stlukemclean.org or see the flyer on the bulletin board in our Fellowship Hall.
ST. NICHOLAS ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL at 3500 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC will be holding their annual multinational food festival on Saturday, June 4th from 12:00 – 7:00 PM and on Sunday, June 5th from 11:30 – 3:00 PM. Come experience cuisine from around the world! For more info, see the flyer on the bulletin board in our Fellowship Hall.
ANNUAL ST. MARK CHURCH SCHOOL PICNIC will take place on Sunday, June 5th following Liturgy. The picnic is open to the entire parish community.
BLESSED MAT. OLGA OF ALASKA WOMEN’S PRAYER GROUP will meet on Tuesday, June 7th at 10:30 AM for intercessory prayer. Please join us if you can. If you would like the group to remember someone in prayer, please give their name to Debbi Dillon, Marcella Hydock, or Mat. Alexandra.
DIVINE LITURGY FOR ASCENSION will take place on Thursday, June 9th at 10:00 AM.
ST. MARK ANNUAL RUMMAGE SALE will be held on Saturday, June 11th from 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM. SAVE THE DATE and please begin collecting your gently used items for donation! Donations can be brought in on Sundays following Liturgy until Wednesday, June 8th and may be placed in the lower level double classroom near the exit. Please pack donations in paper bags or boxes- not black trash bags. Handouts detailing what donated items can/cannot be accepted are available at the candle counter. Volunteers are needed starting on Sunday, May 22nd until the day of the sale to begin sorting and pricing of donations. Volunteers will also be needed to pick up sale items from homes of parishioners who are unable to bring items to St. Mark themselves, or who do not drive. If you require items picked up, please let Marsha Zellem know. A flexible work schedule will be posted as we approach the rummage sale date. Also, a team of volunteers will be needed to pack up the unsold items after the sale since Habitat for Humanity and other organizations will come the week after the sale to collect remaining items. Please begin saving large shopping bags to use for packing customer purchases, as well. Any questions, call coordinators Marsha Zellem at: 301-881-3407 or Paula Zabela at: 240-764-5868. Thanks for your help in making this annual event a success!
GRADUATES: Graduations are approaching. If you have a graduate in your family, please let us know so that we can honor him/her following Liturgy on Sunday, June 12th. Tell us all the details by Sunday, June 5th (when, where, what his/her plans are for a career, major, grad school etc. and what honors he/she has received – don’t be afraid to brag a little because we are family). E-mail the information to the Church office at: .
ADDITIONS TO LITURGICAL SCHEDULE FOR FEAST OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST: His Eminence, Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) will be visiting us on Thursday, June 23rd, the eve of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, to celebrate Vespers with Litiyaat 7:00 PM. A short presentation and light reception will follow. Liturgy for the feast will be served on Friday, June 24th at 10:00 AM.
STEPPING STONES MEAL DELIVERY ON SUMMER BREAK until the first delivery in the fall on Sunday, September 4th. Thank you for your help this year so far!
SUMMER JOB OPPORTUNITY: FOCUS is looking to hire a part-time Site Supervisor from approximately June 27th – Sept. 2nd to manage the day-to-day activities of FOCUS’ Summer Feeding Program in Washington, DC. The program is designed to provide needy families and children with nutritious meals all summer long. With morning-only hours and an hourly pay rate in the $12 - $15 per hour range, this position is ideal for schoolteachers or college/grad students on summer vacation. FOCUS also encourages stay-at-home parents or energetic retirees to apply for this position. If interested, and/or for more information on FOCUS’ Summer Feeding Program, please see the flyers on the bulletin board in our Fellowship Hall.
ROLLS REMAINING FROM THE BAZAAR: There are still frozen nut, poppyseed, and apricot rolls remaining from the bazaar. They are still good, but a little dry. But a few seconds in the microwave and a little butter fixes that nicely. We will sell them for $2.00 each just to cover the cost of the ingredients. See Tina Burpee if you are interested.
COFFEE HOUR NOTE: We will now be using different cups for coffee and juice due to the cost of the new coffee cups. Cases of both cups will be kept in the back storage room.
CONGRATULATIONS ST. MARK FOCA 2016 DISTRICT STOCK AWARD WINNERS: ST. Mark FOCA hosted the District Stock Award drawing on Saturday, May 7th after the monthly meeting. The winners are:
-  $200 – Marcella Hydock - St. Mark
-  $100 – Tammy Jacobsen - St. Mark
-  $50 – Skip Mersereau - St. Mark
Congratulations Winners! Thank you to all who supported this worthy cause for scholarships and charities.
PRAYER REQUEST – O Christ, You alone are our Defender: Visit and help Thy servants who are in need of your help, protection and healing. Among them: John & Marti Badila; Jenifer Calomiris; Paul Dean; Margaret & Bill Dove; Zachary Firestone & Bekka Bleinberger; Julie Flick; Marge German; Jurretta Heckscher; Evelyn Leleck; Larisa Looby; Marina McKee; Catherine Mikuluk; Karen Nichols; Timothy Parrish; Mark Phinney; Alexandra Sedor; Katie Sheppard; Peter Sielinski; Cathy Tatusko; Andrea Ticich; and Don & Peter Truitt.
Please pray for Margaret, Mary Carol Ashley’s mother; Tina Burpee’s mother Margaret and cousin Andrew; Christine Cacic’s friend, Carmen; John & Suzette Eremin; Julie Flick’s son, James Shimer, and her stepdaughter, Jeanie Folton; Marge German’s brother, John, sister in-law, Cecilia, sister, Elaine, grandson, Joshua, and friend, Gisela, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer; Jeff Jordan, friend of the Hardy family; Jurretta Heckscher’s father, Stevens; Will & Janie McNamara, friends of Christina Kalavritinos; Olga, friend of Helen Kerch; Mat. Jan and Fr. Mark Koczak’s friends, Metropolitan Isaiah (Georgian Patriarchate) and Archimandrite Athanasy; Mary Everhart, mother of Ted Koopersmith; Rachel LeFors’ friend, Ilene, who has been diagnosed with cancer; Michael Lungociu’s father, Nicholas, and friend’s mother, Gitta Finch; Marilyn Macht’s friend, Ghadha Saah; Judi, Joan Mitchum’s sister; Gale Rutan’s father-in-law, Joseph, and her husband’s nephew, Jonathan; Katherine Sheppard’s mother, Judy, and friends Ellen Sherrie Garrett; Julia Shiller’s father, Vadim Pyatovolenko; friend of Debbie Sieff, Fr. Taras Chubenko, of St. Demetrius Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Carteret, NJ, who is recovering from esophageal surgery; Peter Sielinski’s friends Brenda & Jim Hall, Kelly, Samuel, Ron, Pat, Bailey, Jenn and Matt; Sharon Sielinski’s friend, Nichole, who has been diagnosed with cancer; Olga & Slavina Skenderska’s cousins, Desi Stanislav, and friends Catherine & Justin; Ellen Thompson’s daughter, Sonya; Don Truitt’s parents; friends of St. Mark, Tanya & James Twyman; Linda Weir and her mother, Ruby; and Paula Zabela’s grandson Wyatt, cousin Kathleen who is afflicted with cancer, and her neighbor Harvey.
Deliver them from sickness and grievous pains. Raise them up that they may sing to Thee and praise Thee without ceasing, through the prayers of the Theotokos and all your Saints!