Schedule of Service
October 5 9:30 2nd Sunday of Luke
October 12 9:30 Sunday of the 7th Ecumenical Council
October 19 9:30 3rd Sunday of Luke
October 26 9:30 6th Sunday of Luke
A Note of Appreciation Alex Ellis and his family want the congregation to know that they sincerely appreciate the donations made to St. John’s in the memory of Agnes Ellis.
An Invitation Rhonda Gale and Thomas Wolfe will be joined in marriage at St. John’s Church on Saturday, October 11, at 2:00 p.m. The congregation of St. John’s is cordially invited to attend this special event in the lives of Rhonda and Thomas. There will be a potluck/reception following at 4:00 p.m. at the Historic Federal Building in the Federal Ballroom (the old post office building in downtown Pueblo). Rather than a traditional reception, they would like to invite you to a potluck gathering of friends after the ceremony. They ask for your only gift to be some food and your presence. We all wish them a long and healthy lifetime of blessings.
Festival 2008 Well, We Did It!! We were richly blessed this year with beautiful weather, lots of hungry people, lots of good food to feed them and the best dancers yet to entertain everyone. All in all we had a very successful festival! Opa! Financial details will be available at a congregation meeting later. Paying the bills and figuring everything out is still being done.
We are grateful for the help and hard work of these people who were present on September 6 & 7: Alan and Barbara Spreckelmeyer, Alex Ellis, Becki Roseman, Brian Smith, Chris Daskas, Connie Wells, Debbie Nestro, Della Bosart, Dena Cullen, Dwayne Huffman, Fr. Stephen and Presbytera Ashley Powley, Gina and Steve Schaarschmidt, Gina Skul, Gus Pilafas, Jack and Mary Anne Lambakis, Janelle and Steve Quick, Jeff Arnold, Joan Ciavano, Karen Caldwell, La’Mont, Lindsay Tapia, Litsa and Roger Miller, Maggie Neilson, Margarita Ochoa-Smith, Maria Kennedy, Maria Swanson, Marian Kochiovelos, Mary and Bob Carlino, Megan Tapia, Michael Swanson, Mike Wells, Nanci Smith, Pam Jacobsen, Pat and Anastasia Hartigan, Penelope Hyland, Penny Zavichas, Peter Lynch, Rhonda Gale, Tara Powley, Thomas Wolfe, Tom and Kristin Lynch, Tom Kosta, Karen Anderson, and Yvonne Hoffman.
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Prayer Ropes Tara Powley made several prayer ropes and donated them to the festival with the proceeds going to the church. If you don’t have one, now is your chance. We have a few left and they will be for sale at the church counter. The long one is $25 and the short ones are $15.
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Bibles The leather-bound New Orthodox Study Bibles are at the church. They are $52 each and checks should be made out to the church.
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Prosforo Baking Pans Pam is getting ready to place another order. If you would like one, call her at 545-0744 or tell her at church. The cost is $75 which includes shipping. Checks should be made out to Pam Jacobsen.
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Updated Prosforo Schedule
October 5: Penelope October 12: Penny October 19: Connie October 26: Pam
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Coffee hour snacks needed: The list is on the bulletin board in the hospitality room. If you’re making Prosforo, please plan on having the coffee hour snacks if no one else has signed up.
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Mildred, the church gossip and self-appointed monitor of the church's morals,
kept sticking her nose into other people's business.
Several members did not approve of her activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence. She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new church member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon. She emphatically told George (and several others) that everyone who saw it parked there would know exactly what he was doing. George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and then just turned and walked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny.
He said nothing. Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's house.
Walked home. And left it there all night.
You Gotta love George
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Ecumenical Patriarchate IN THE NEWS: Orthodox Christianity under threat
9/9/2008
Orthodox Christianity under threat
By Nicholas Gage International Herald Tribune
Monday, September 8, 2008
When Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and his Islamic-rooted party came under fierce fire this summer from secularists, who came close to persuading the country's supreme court to bar both from politics, he called the campaign an attack against religious freedom and a threat to Turkey's efforts to join the European Union.
Yet in nearly six years in power, Erdogan has shown no inclination to extend even a modicum of religious freedom to the most revered Christian institution in Turkey - the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the spiritual center of 300 million Orthodox Christians throughout the world. As a result, Turkey's persecution of the Patriarchate looms as a major obstacle to its European aspirations, and rightly so.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate, which was established in the fourth century and once possessed holdings as vast as those of the Vatican, has been reduced to a small, besieged enclave in a decaying corner of Istanbul called the Phanar, or Lighthouse. Almost all of its property has been seized by successive Turkish governments, its schools have been closed and its prelates are taunted by extremists who demonstrate almost daily outside the Patriarchate, calling for its ouster from Turkey.
The Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I, is often jeered and threatened when he ventures outside his walled enclave. He is periodically burned in effigy by Turkish chauvinists and Muslim fanatics. Government bureaucrats take pleasure in harassing him, summoning him to their offices to question and berate him about irrelevant issues, blocking his efforts to make repairs in the few buildings still under his control, and issuing veiled threats about what he says and does when he travels abroad.
Successive Turkish governments have followed policies that deliberately belittle the patriarch, refusing to recognize his ecumenical status as the spiritual leader of a major religious faith but viewing him only as the head of the small Greek Orthodox community of Istanbul.
Last year 42 of the 50 members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to Erdogan urging his government to "end all restrictions" on the religious freedom of the Patriarchate, described by Tom Lantos, who then chaired the committee, as "one of the world's oldest and greatest treasures." The congressmen urged the Turkish government to join the rest of the world in recognizing the ecumenical standing of the Patriarchate, to return expropriated property, to reopen its schools, including the renowned theological seminary on the island of Halki, and to end all interference in the process of selecting the patriarch, particularly the "continued insistence that he be a Turkish citizen."
As Orthodox Christians have been systematically persecuted in Turkey and there are now less than 2,500 of them left in the country, the congressmen wrote, the Patriarchate will soon cease to exist if future patriarchs have to be Turkish citizens. "It is the church, not the Turkish state, that should determine who becomes ecumenical patriarch," their chairman declared.
Despite their letter and other efforts by statesmen from many countries to try to persuade the Turkish government to liberalize their policies toward the Patriarchate, its leaders have not budged - even though they know their stand may harm their chances of entering the European Union.
Turkey's treatment of the Patriarchate, therefore, must remain a litmus test of its readiness to join the European Union. If Turkey cannot recognize the value of "one of the world's oldest and greatest treasures" in its own midst, how can it be expected to appreciate and respect the liberal values and traditions that define Europe? If Turkey insists on entering Europe on its own inflexible terms, the danger that it will overwhelm Europe, engulf it and change it radically cannot be underestimated.
Nicholas Gage writes often about the Eastern Mediterranean.
A Sunday School teacher said to her children, “We have been learning how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times. But, there is a higher Power. Can anyone tell me what it is?”
One child blurted out, “Aces!”
A priest said to a precocious six-year-old boy, “So your mother says prayers for you each night? That’s very commendable. What does she say?”
The little boy replied, “Thank God he’s in bed!”
Fact: The Turkish government imposes restrictions on the election of the Ecumenical Patriarch and Hierarchs who vote for him by requiring that they must be Turkish citizens. In fact, the government arbitrarily can veto any candidate for the position of Ecumenical Patriarch.
Why You Should Care: With the dwindling population of Hierarchs and Orthodox Christians in Turkey, we may not be able to elect an Ecumenical Patriarch in the not too distant future. This is tantamount to the asphyxiation of the leadership of the Holy Mother Church and a clear illustration of the direct intervention of the Turkish Government in ecclesiastical matters.
Fact: The Turkish government does not recognize the “Ecumenical” status of the Patriarch and the Patriarchate.
Why You Should Care: Turkish authorities do not allow the use of the term or title of “Ecumenical” for any religious activity whatsoever, despite the fact that it has been used since the 6th century A.D. and recognized throughout the world. Turkey regards the Patriarchate as an institution whose leader is seen as the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians in Turkey alone rather than the leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians.
Senator McCain urges U.S. President Bush to address Ecumenical Patriarchate's religious freedom rights
9/19/2008
Washington, D.C. - Senator John McCain has issued a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush expressing his concern on the religious freedom issues affecting the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In particular, Senator McCain cites the refusal of the Turkish government to recognize the "ecumenical" status of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and also their denial to reopen the Orthodox Theological Seminary of Halki.
In his letter, Senator McCain says, "As Americans, I know we share a deep respect for the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and for the Greek Orthodox community worldwide... The Ecumenical Patriarchate, the spiritual home to more than 250 million Orthodox Christians living and worshiping throughout the world, stands as a stirring testament to the power of faith in the global community... It is in our interest to work collectively with the Turkish government and our European allies to pursue a course of action that will protect the rights of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and prevent a religious tragedy."
His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America welcomed Senator McCain to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in June 2007 and 2008 where the two discussed the specific issues surrounding religious freedom and legal protections for the Ecumenical Patriarchate and other human rights concerns.
Senator McCain is not alone in his defense for the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Last June, Senator Barack Obama also voiced his concern during an interview with the Greek bureau of Voice of America. "[Obama] called on Turkey to give religious freedom to the institution, return the property to the patriarchate and allow the opening of the theological school on the island of Halki, Greek daily To Vima reported.
In response to the support that both U.S. presidential candidates have proclaimed, National Commander Dr. Anthony J. Limberakis commented, "As an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and as a citizen of this great nation, I am encouraged to see that both presidential candidates, Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama, have taken strong positions advocating religious freedom for the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The Archons of America will continue to fight for religious freedom on behalf of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Whether it is in the Congressional Chambers in Washington, or ministerial offices in Ankara, or the offices of parliamentarians, commissioners, and justices of the European Union. We will never quit fighting for religious freedom until we hear the bells of freedom emanating from the Phanar."
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