Welcome, and thank you for visiting St. Mary Orthodox Church online. We hope that our website highlights the wide variety of worship, fellowship, ministery and education opportunities available. Please feel free to read more about our church on this site, or come join with us in prayer. We would love to greet you and share with you our love for Jesus Christ and for you, our neighbor.

files/Buuletin-October-4th.pdf (3328kb)

files/The-Cross-in-Our-Life-4.pdf (60kb)

For Whom Must I Pray?

Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh - of thrice blessed memory - was a well known bishop, preacher, spiritual father and exceptional writer on prayer and the Christian life. He was a great man of prayer.  His sermon below is, most likely, one of the shortest ever. Yet it is a reminder and guide to our prayer. It is an answer to the question, ‘For whom must I pray?’ 

"Last night a woman with a child came to this church. She was in trousers and with no headscarf. Someone scolded her. She left. I do not know who did that, but I am commanding that person to pray for her and her child to the end of his days to God for their salvation. Because of you she may never go to church again."

He turned around, his head down, and entered the Altar. That was the entire sermon.

Let us pray as did Christ, who first prayed for those whom His Father gave him. Then pray as He prayed for all, that they may be one (John 17:9, 20-23).

NOTES...

• This coming Sunday at Saint Mary's:

- Choir Practice beginning at 9:15 AM, in the conference room. Choir members and anyone interested in using their voice to glorify God in prayer are encouraged to attend.

- Following the Gospel Reading, inquiriors to the Orthodox Faith will be blessed and enrolled as Catechumens of the Church.

- The monthly Children's Sermon will be offered prior to Communion. All children are welcome to participate.

- The Ladies Society will hold their first meeting of the Church Year at 11:45 PM, in the conference room. Officers for the 2026-2027 year will be elected, as well as forthcoming activities presented. ALL ladies are welcome to participate!

• Bible Study continues this coming Tuesday from 7:00 to 8:00 PM, in the hall. Led by Jim Gavrilos, we are currently studying the Gospel of John. All are welcome to attend. Please bring your bibles.
• Fall Catechism Classes begin following Vespers Service (7:00 PM) this Wednesday, October 7th. The Fall classes will focus on 'Acquiring an Orthodox Life.' All catechumens are required to attend as part of their catechumenate. The classes are also open for everyone.

Come pray with us this week at Saint Mary's:

- Saturday, October 3rd: Confessions from 6:00 to 6:30 PM; Great Vespers Service at 6:30 PM.

- Sunday, October 4th: Confessions from 8:30 to 8:50 AM; Matins and Divine Liturgy begin at 8:50 AM.

- Wednesday, October 7th: Confessions from 6:30 to 7:00 PM; Vespers Service at 7:00 PM.

"If you deprive yourself of prayer, it is like taking a fish out of water; for as water means life to a fish, so prayer means life to the soul."                 +Saint Tikhon of Zodonsk

Attached to this week's email is The Weekly Bulletin and Metropolitan Saba's teaching. 

With love in Christ,

Fr. Peter

files/Bulletin-September-27th.pdf (12363kb)

files/The-Cross-in-Our-Life-Part-3.pdf (74kb)

Many newcomers to the Orthodox faith come from a tradition that Orthodox Christians might call “man centered.” The focus is on how God affects “my life,” what “I get out of worship,” etc. In this mindset, worship must be “appealing to me,” to “fit my needs,” and so on. “Personal taste,” rather than the faith, often dictates the external form of worship, which can lead to congregations offering “traditional,” “contemporary,” “pop,” “folk,” “rock,” and other “styles” of services, each “form” appealing to the taste of a specific “group” within a community, yet no one form appealing to the community as a whole.

files/Bulletin-September-20th.pdf (4147kb)

files/The-Cross-in-Our-Life-Part-2.pdf (59kb)

The Message of the Cross

It is with sadness, yet in the hope of the Resurrection of our Lord that we inform you of the falling asleep in the Lord of Suad AbuHadid on Friday, September 11th, at the age of 84 years. She is survived by her children Salim Hadid, Suheil Hadid, and Sawsan AbuHadid, in addition to numerous grandchildren and loved ones.

files/Bulletin-September-13th.pdf (3988kb)

files/The-Cross-in-Our-Life-Part-1.pdf (307kb)

We live in a restless world. Our days are filled with noise, the endless scroll of screens, the pressure to perform, the search for recognition that never satisfies. We are hurried, distracted, pulled in a hundred directions, and yet beneath it all remains a hunger for peace, for something solid and enduring. Into this world the Cross rises, not as a decoration or a relic, but as a sign of stillness, love, and strength. It is the one place where all our restlessness finds meaning and every burden can be laid down.   Our world is currently scarred by wars, political division, injustice and broken relationships. Families are estranged, communities fractured. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem called the Cross “the bond of peace and the key of reconciliation.”