November 2006 Newsletter

A new icon for St. Herman’s

As many will know, the icons of the saints along our walls represent those who are the patron saints of those communities with which St. Herman’s has a spiritual family connection.

For example, St. Barnabas is the patron saint of the OCA Mission in Comox under Fr. Alexis Nikkel,, and St. Innocent is the patron of St. Innocent’s Church (Antiochian), pastored by Fr. Mel Gimmaka in Everson, WA. Both these clergy were a part of our parish community at St. Herman’s before they founded these churches.

Fr. Gregory Papazian of Holy Transfiguration Skete in Gibson’s Landing (who wrote the icons of these saints now hanging on the walls of our nave, as well as those on our iconostasis) is now working on an icon of All Saints of Alaska, the patrons of the OCA Mission in Victoria led by Fr. John Hainsworth. Fr. John and a number of his founding parishioners were also at one time members here at St. Herman’s.

We await the eventual arrival of this new icon, and pray for its iconographer, Fr. Gregory. If anyone would like to make a contribution toward the cost of this icon, please do so. Simply write your cheque payable to St. Herman’s, but write “icon fund” on the cheque, and all of it will go towards the cost of the icon. (Tax receipts will be issued from St. Herman’s after the year’s end.) Once the icon is ready, we will mount it on the place on the wall reserved for it and bless it with the customary prayers. The icon will then remind us, not only of the loving intercession of all the saints of Alaska, but also of our brothers and sisters in Victoria, for whom these saints also pray. The icons on our walls will thus not only serve as windows into heaven; they will serve as prayerful links between the churches on earth as well.

All my love in the Lord,

Fr. Lawrence


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Reserve now for

Tony’s Diner
fundraising dinner
Sat. & Sun. Nov. 11-12

kids 8 dollars.
adults 10 dollars.

call them to confirm which day you are going, so they cook enough turkey.

6 dollars/ticket goes toward the building renovations.

come from 4pm to 8pm.


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Fasting Rules for November 2006

ADVENT FAST begins Wed. Nov. 15

All Wednesdays and Fridays this month and EVERY DAY from Nov. 15th, we abstain as usual from meat, fish, eggs and dairy, wine (all alcohol) and (olive)oil, with these exceptions:

Wed. Nov. 8: Holy Angels, fish wine & oil permitted
Thurs. Nov. 16: St. Matthew, fish wine & oil permitted
Tues. Nov. 21: Entrance feast, fish wine & oil permitted
Thurs. Nov. 30: St. Andrew fish wine & oil permitted.

All Sats. & Suns.: Fish, wine & oil permitted

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November SPECIAL EVENTS

Sat & Sun Nov. 11 &12: 4-8pm Fundraising Dinner at Tony’s Diner Aldergrove
Mon. Nov 13 Hockey match
Tues Nov. 21st Entrance Feast Vesperal Liturgy


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St. Arseny Institute in Winnipeg

As many will know from articles in the Canadian Orthodox Messenger (our diocesan newsletter), the St. Arseny Institute is now functioning in Winnipeg, offering theological education to people across Canada. (Fr. Lawrence is one of the instructors with the Institute, offering classes in Scripture and Homiletics.) If anyone would like to make a financial donation to the Institute, simply make the cheque payable to St. Herman’s and place it in the Sunday offering, earmarking the cheque for “St. Arseny Theological Institute”.

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ARCHDIOCESE OF CANADA
STANDING FOCUS GROUP

H.G. Bp. SERAPHIM has requested that all members of the archdiocese, lay and clergy, take part in a survey regarding the future of our archdiocese. Survey questionaires are now online. Read about it and download the survey here:

http://archdiocese.ca/standingfocusgroup.htm

If you do not have internet or e-mail, please ask Mat. Donna for a copy of the survey.

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Lost and Found Basket

Please note there is a Lost and Found basket in the narthex for lost items. It will be emptied the first Sunday of every month. If you have lost an item at church, have a look in the basket


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STILL COLLECTING

Mittens, coats, all warm things for the homeless this season. Please place in the box in the narthex or see Sandy Folster.
CHRISCO Christmas family box donations are done for this year—consider donating next year!

New Homily Up!

It has been far too long... I hope soon to be handing over responsibility for the posting of the homilies (and other aspects of the St. Herman's web-site) to Victoria, so that updates to the St. Herman's site will come a little more regularly. But I was so inspired by Fr. Lawrence's homily last Sunday, that I resolved to put this one up as soon as possible... and possibly work backwards to slowly address the backlog that has kept me from posting these regularly. In fact, no sooner had I resolved in my mind to do this, than I was asked by someone else to post Fr. Lawrence's homily from that Sunday, so others must have felt as I did... This Sunday's homily, then, is now available on the Homilies page, or can be downloaded directly by simply clicking here.