RESPECTFUL PARKING ****
Today some people's carparking caused damage to our beloved neighbour's lawn. The lawn has been churned up.
It is a great privilege for us to be allowed to park on the edge of the lawn. We do not want thoughtlessness to lead to us losing our parking privilege.
REVERSE SLOWLY ONTO THE LAWN to park. DRIVE AWAY SLOWLY when leaving.
DO NOT DRIVE ACROSS THE LAWN. STICK TO THE PAVED ROADWAY. TAKE CARE OF CHILDREN, PETS, AND FARM ANIMALS.
***
ALL SAINTS: NOTICES - - SUNDAY OF THE PRODIGAL SON, 2026
TODAY'S SCRIPTURE READINGS
In today’s Holy Gospel (Luke 15:11-32) the prodigal son is our main focus.
We see how he leaves his father, lives a thoroughly worthless life, but eventually returns home.
All of us go off and waste our time on pointless things, wasting the opportunities that God has given us, selfishly chasing after fun and useless things.
However, despite how badly we behave God will welcome back all those who are baptised and chrismated but have led a life away from the fullness of the Orthodox faith and the fullness of the sacred mysteries.
God forgives his lazy and disloyal children for He is all-merciful and ever-loving.
But, for God's divine forgiveness to be made effective, to be energised, we must be truly repentant: sorry for our mistakes and willing to be changed.
Let us not waste the many opportunities that Great Lent will offer us for drawing closer to God and to His Holy Church.
'GOOD' ACTIONS, BUT AN UGLY HEART...
We witness also the jealousy of the loyal, elder son who stays at home and works hard. The elder son is unforgiving, cold, hard-hearted. Yes, he is obedient and dutiful but he is totally without love. The echoes of last Sunday’s Gospel are obvious and intentional - the elder son is the Pharisee, the prodigal son is the repentant tax collector.
SACRIFICIAL CALF
The Greek text says that the calf is σιτευτόν (sitevton), literally, ‘grain-fed’. The common English translation, ‘fattened calf’, somewhat misses the point, for it is not the fatness but the wheatiness of the calf which is important.
The calf is Christ, killed so as to give us life, and the grain is the wheat of the bread that - through God's grace - becomes His Most Holy Eucharist.
HOPE FOR ALL
Today's parable shows us that even a tiny spark can grow into a burning bush of faith. Those who do not attend church regularly, who do not confess regularly or do not make confession for years at a time, who do not fully prepare for Holy Communion, and who do not meditate on Holy Scripture or make prayer the centre of daily life, are basically prodigal sons, who, despite an Orthodox Baptism are far away from God. If we cannot be faithful then we must be repentant. Repentance is a prerequisite for the Christian life. God runs to meet us if we only take the first few tiny steps. God loves the repentant prodigal, the prodigal is very dear to Him. Many who have strayed far from God are able to experience the sweetness and fullness of Christ's love when they've returned home.
+
+
RESPECTFUL PARKING ****
Today some people's carparking caused damage to our beloved neighbour's lawn. The lawn has been churned up.
It is a great privilege for us to be allowed to park on the edge of the lawn. We do not want thoughtlessness to lead to us losing our parking privilege.
REVERSE SLOWLY ONTO THE LAWN to park. DRIVE AWAY SLOWLY when leaving.
DO NOT DRIVE ACROSS THE LAWN. STICK TO THE PAVED ROADWAY. TAKE CARE OF CHILDREN, PETS, AND FARM ANIMALS.
+
+
the importance of arriving on time...
ORTHROS: THE EOTHINON GOSPELS
'And that we may be accounted worthy to hear the Holy Gospel, let us pray to the Lord.'
At the centre of the Orthros service lies the Eothinon Gospel Reading (εωθινόν, eothinon = 'morning').
There are eleven readings, of which one is read each Sunday during Orthros after the chanting of 'Let everything that has breath praise the Lord'. The readings adhere to an eleven-week-cycle which begins on the first Sunday after Holy Pentekost and continues uninterrupted until Holy Pascha. These readings are taken from the eleven resurrection appearances recorded in the four Holy Gospels; incidentally, the number eleven corresponds to the eleven disciples who were privileged to witness the risen Christ. Instead of the Gospel being read at the Amvon (as during the Divine Liturgy), the Priest reads from the Holy Table, this symbolising Christ in the tomb. After the reading, the Priest enters the nave and presents the book of the Holy Gospels for the faithful to venerate. This is likened to Christ appearing to the disciples after His resurrection. These resurrection Gospel readings are a feast of Christian joy. It is a great blessing for us to be able to venerate the Holy Gospels at Orthros, and to meet with the Risen Lord.
+
+
ON PRAYERBOOKS: a holy word of Patriarch Pavlé of Serbia (+ 2009)
'That we might protect ourselves from the distraction of our thoughts in prayer, the holy fathers advise that the mind cling all the more to the words of the prayer. Therefore, it is best to read the prayers from the prayer book and not from memory. This is especially necessary for the beginners and the weak. For this reason everything that is read or sung in the Orthodox Church, no matter how well it is known, is read from a book. A mind which is immersed in the words of prayer is not easily distracted. If the mind cannot concentrate and immerse itself in the words of the holy fathers, then one should read softly out loud so that one can hear oneself reading. This kind of prayer is especially helpful when one prays alone.'
+
+
ALL GLORY TO GOD!
- The Reader Aaron, offering his life in martyric service to Christ. We await word from Saiyedna (who is abroad).
- Those having their home blessed! (And thank you for your hospitality and generosity!)
- Presbytera thanks Evie & Reece (for the lovely flowers), and all who have sent her kind messages.
- Father Jakob - Many years. Happy birthday. (Father thanks you for your birthday greetings, gifts, prayers.)
- Ecaterina - Many years! Happy birthday! (Same birthday as Father, although not born the same year!)
- Ted - for bread.
- Reader Aaron, Emily-Katherine, Daniel O - for coming in to clean the holy temple.
- All who put their faith into practice in our parish, who bear responsibility, clean, feed, serve, sing, tithe, and pray for us poor sinners
+
+
YOUR HOLY PRAYERS
- For Christians suffering in Kosovo, Gaza, throughout the middle east, in Ukraine.
- Presbytera Susanna - laryngitis. Still unable to speak.
- Natasha - travelling tomorrow, with her students.
- Elizabeth (non orthodox) - serious illness. May God bring strength.
- Our choir. Facing challenges.
+
+
With love and prayers, in Christ,
the sinner and unworthy priest, Father Jakob
Presbyter, All Saints North Benfleet
+
+
please post these notices online, and share them with your friends and family
***
LOOKING AHEAD -- TWELVE GREAT FEASTS
To help you plan ahead, for those of you who are able to take time off work, etc., here are the dates of GREAT FEASTS for the year ahead.
These are dates upon which we should try to be in Church (sadly, many of us do not always have this choice).
These are days upon which the Divine Liturgy should be served at All Saints. Servers, singers, helpers- please do what you're able.
14th SEPTEMBER -- EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS
21st NOVEMBER -- ENTRY OF THE THEOTOKOS INTO THE TEMPLE
25th DECEMBER -- NATIVITY OF CHRIST
6th JANUARY -- HOLY THEOPHANY
2nd FEBRUARY -- PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD IN THE TEMPLE
25th MARCH -- HOLY ANNUNCIATION
5th APRIL -- ENTRY OF OUR LORD INTO IERUSALEM*
12th APRIL -- HOLY PASCHA*
21st MAY -- HOLY ASCENSION*
31st MAY -- HOLY PENTEKOST*
6th AUGUST -- HOLY TRANSFIGURATION
15th AUGUST -- FALLING-ASLEEP OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
[ * The dates of these feasts vary from year to year. ]
***
ORTHODOXY 101 : ATTENDING THE DIVINE LITURGY
Christianity is experiential; it is not just 'read about', it must be lived. The Holy Eucharist is at the centre of our worship, at the centre of our Life in Christ.
We come to the Church, we remain in the Church in order that our souls be saved. That is all. It is our soul's salvation - there is nothing else.
The Holy Services are a store-house of spiritual treasures. To be saved, we need to gain knowledge of ourselves. We do this by discovering our sins and weaknesses, and by fighting against their pull. Our faith is war on personal pride. When our pride is wounded in the course of Church life, we should thank God!
We fight best when we are supported. For support we have the Holy Gospels; the Holy Fathers, their Lives and Teachings; we have God and we have each other.
The Church Community (both living and departed) is our Family in Christ. Our God is LOVE. And we are giving of our best, when we give love to God and to each other.
The Holy Eucharist is the body and Blood of Christ. It is life itself, it is Salvation. It is our treasure: "Where your treasure is there will your heart be also"(Matthew 6:21). We spend time with - we are attentive to - the people, the things we love the most.
Canon LXXX (Sixth Oecumenical Council) reads, "A cleric or layman shall not go three consecutive Sundays without attending church, unless some necessary business requires him to leave his town. The usual penalties apply: deposition for a cleric; excommunication for a layman".
It is not always possible to come to every holy service, but our good practice, and simple good manners, is to notify the priest of our absence, or if we have moved away. Notification demonstrates love and humility, and allows the priest and community to pray for us, for example - when we are sick.
We pray for those who are absent from the divine services for legitimate reasons. The others, who come infrequently or have not attended for long periods, have become prodigal sons, wanderers. They have distanced themselves from Christ and from their Christian family. Their love has become luke-warm. A full and proper return to Church requires a full and proper repentance, taking responsibility for our failings.
Church life is about responsibility. It is about stepping up and being adult. This is done by singing, standing throughout the holy services, fasting, making regular confession, reading in Church, serving, cleaning and tidying, cooking, reading the morning and evening prayers every day, preparing properly for confession and communion. Above all it is about praying.
To be blunt, Church (parish) life is about giving time and money to the glory of God. Church life is about commitment. Without commitment, we will never become deeply Orthodox or even remain Orthodox.
Love of God and love of neighbour are entwined. We cannot love God if we do not love our neighbours, especially our fellow Christians; and we cannot love our neighbours if we do not love God (1 John 4:20).
We spend time with God, we spend time with each other. We do so not because we feel 'obliged' or even because we 'want to' but simply because our heart draws us, and we follow Christ's new commandment (Luke 10:27): "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself".
***
AΓAΠH = CARITAS = CHARITY = LOVE
John 4:16: Ὁ Θεὸς ἀγάπη (koine Greek) = Deus caritas est (Latin) = God is Love (English)
GIVING TO OTHERS
All glory to God! Our small parish has been able in little ways to help the poor, offer love to the stranger, to help heal the wounded.
GIFTAID
This past year we received more than £4,000 from the UK government. Our parish trustees have authorised this, and future monies, raised through giftaid to be passed on to our poorer neighbours. If more of us donated by giftaid we could do even more to help the poor, the wounded, and the marginalised who are our neighbours.
'HOW CAN I HELP?'
Every penny helps! Donate to our parish via giftaid. If you pay tax in the UK you can use giftaid. It's free, it's easy, and as you can see above, it helps us to help others. The UK government pays us back for what you give to us via gftaid. This is the only official help that UK charities receive.
Our hope and ambition is that every penny given to us by you comes through giftaid.
LAZAROS, OUR NEIGHBOUR
The dying Lazaros is lying outside our door (Luke 16:20). We Christians have a duty of care (John 21:17), this is a constant in our life (Matthew 26:11), we must not ignore him (1 John 3:17). Let us do all that we are able to help to help our neighbour (John 15:12). May I ask you - please make a start, and donate to the parish by giftaid.
CHRIST IS RISEN!
In the Risen Lord,
Father Jakob
Presbyter, All Saints North Benfleet
***