Church acquisition

Dear Parishioners,

Perhaps by now, you have all received information (either via parish circulated correspondence, email, or word-of-mouth) about the possibile acquisition of a church building for our congregation: The Hebron Evangelical Church off Thistle Street in the center of Aberdeen.  For consideration to those who may not have received this information, please find on your left hand side, the 'HEBRON BROCHURE' and 'BUILDING FUND PLEDGE FORM' in PDF (enlarge or download).  The acquisition of this building will be the main topic of discussion at the parish meeting this Saturday (19 March 2011)

We have been truly blessed with the finding of this building, as it will help to accomplish a great many things for not only our congregation but also for all of Orthodoxy in Aberdeen.  With your prayers and support, we hope to be able to purchase this building when it is put on the market by the end of March/beginning of April.  

Should you be unable to attend the Liturgy and/or the Parish Meeting, please do not hesitate to send an email with any questions or comments you may have regarding this subject.   

We look forward to hearing from you regarding these matters. 

God Bless,

Rachel Beard

St. Matthew Orthodox Parish Council

40 Martyrs at Lake Sebaste - March 9

The martyrdom of the Holy 40 Martyrs of Sebasteiaia is a powerful lesson in Christian faith, perseverance, sacrifice, and friendship. The story of this martyrdom begins in the early part of the 4th century when the persecution of Christians was still active. There were 40 soldiers of the Roman army who possessed sincere faith in Jesus Christ. When it was realized that they would not deny their belief in the Lord, they were brought to trial before their commander who threatened to have them discharged from the military dishonorably. One of the soldiers responded: "Do not take only our military status, but also our bodies; nothing is dearer or of greater honor to us than Christ our God." Following a number of failed attempts to torture them, they were finally stripped, tied, and thrown into a lake. It happened to be wintertime and the temperature was extremely cold. To tempt the soldiers to deny Christ, the torturers lit fires near the lake to entice them to deny Christ. One soldier actually did come out of the water and headed for the fire, but before he could get there, he died. During the night, a light from heaven came down and heated the lake and warmed these Christian witnesses. At the same time, thirty-nine crowns were sent from heaven and rested upon each of them. One of the soldiers torturing them saw this and, moved by this event, confessed the Christ as Lord and Savior and joined the others in the lake. A fortieth crown appeared and descended upon him at that very moment. In the morning, the commander was furious when he learned of the events and ordered that their legs be broken and they be thrown back into the lake. On the third day following their drowning, the martyrs appeared to the local bishop and told him to search beneath the water and recover their relics. In the middle of the night, the bishop, along with his priests, went to the lake where they found the relics glowing in the water and, gathering them together, they gave them a proper burial.

From: www.goarch.org/chapel/saints_view?contentid=454:

Forgiveness Sunday