Today's Scripture Readings
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August 12, 2010/July 30, 2010
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Parish Life
Prepare for the Coming of the Messiah
Increase your prayers, continue the fast, examine your conscience, attend Divine Services and come to the Mystery of Confession.
Nativity Eve – 12 Lenten Dishes, Festive Dinner on Nativity
On Tuesday, January 6th immediately after evening services, we will offer a traditional Nativity Eve Supper in the church hall. All are welcome. Please bring a Lenten dish (no meat or dairy) to share with all. Please contact Anna-Zumrat Shkurba.
On Wednesday, January 7th – Feast of the Nativity of Christ – we encourage everyone to bring a dish to share at our Annual Parish Christmas Feast to be held immediately after Divine Liturgy. Dishes that don’t need to be heated are recommended. We need meats, salads, vegetables, desserts, wine and beverages. Please contact Anna-Zumrat Shkurba.
Christmas Eve – Holy Supper Table
It is a Ukrainian / Byelorussian tradition to have a Lenten Holy Supper on the Eve of the Nativity of Christ. The twelve fasting foods usually served are: barley/wheat, honey, stewed prunes, vareniki, sauerkraut, potatoes, lima beans, garlic, bread, mushroom soup and salt. The foods range from bitter to sweet to remind us of the bitterness of life before Christ was born and the sweetness of life which comes after His Birth. For many the twelve foods on the table symbolize the twelve Holy Apostles of Jesus Christ. In the center of the table, we place a large round loaf of bread which symbolized Jesus as the Bread of Life. The candle, placed in the bread, symbolized the Star of Bethlehem which guided the shepherds and wise men to worship and adore the Light of the world. The straw was strewn on the floor and some of it was placed on the table, symbolizing Jesus lying on the straw in the manger.
2025 Annual Parish Meeting – Results
We offer our sincere congratulations to the re-elected officers of the parish council for 2026: Victor Marinich – President; Vadim Radchenko - Vice-President; Albert Blaszak – Treasurer; Andrei Burbelo - Recording Secretary; Zumrat-Anna Shkurba - Stewardship Chairwoman; Alexey Shevelkin - Member-at-Large. Audit Committee: Daniel Walsh and Adele Pastor. The 2026 budget was approved and all reports were well received.
Cemetery Committee Elections – Sunday, January 4, 2026
On Sunday, January 4, the Cemetery Committee will hold a brief meeting in the church hall after Divine Liturgy to conduct the annual election of officers for calendar year 2026 and to discuss some new business. For more information, please contact Michael Mickel.
Yolka – Sunday, January 11
Mark your calendars. This year’s Yolka Celebration will take place on Sunday, January 11. All children are encouraged to participate. For more information, please contact Nicole Boarman.
New Iconography
Several new wall icons and murals are currently being written for our church. Eight medallion-icons for the side walls and four large murals for the back wall will be installed over the course of the next few months, starting in December. Please consider making a donation or sponsoring the entire cost of an icon. A donation list is available at the candle stand. For more information, please contact Victor Marinich. Thank you very much for your generosity and support.
Updated: Review Icons Here > > >
Pilgrimage to Armenia & Georgia – Aug. 30 – Sept. 12, 2026
Aug. 30 – Sept. 12, 2026: The Pilgrimage Center of the Patriarchal Parishes is organizing a pilgrimage to Armenia (week one) and Georgia (week two). These ancient lands are home to some of the oldest churches and monasteries in the world. You may travel for both weeks or for one week of your choice. We will organize English and Russian speaking groups, each with their own guide, but we will travel together. Complete details will be announced in September.
To express your preliminary interest and to join the Telegram group to receive updates and view the photo album of places we intend to visit, please register here > > >
Vigil Candles: On the Altar and near St. Barbara
We have three vigil candles that are always burning – two near the large icon of the Holy Great-Martyr Barbara which holds a piece of her relics, and one on the holy altar table. These vigil lights burn from Sunday to Sunday. To have these candles burn 24 hours a day on behalf of someone we are praying for is quite a special blessing. We continue to accept donations to have these three vigil candles burn each week either for the health/salvation of the living and/or in memory of a departed loved one. A $15 donation will keep all three candles lit for one week. Schedule your candle offering with Elena Loyko.
To help the Ukrainian refugees donate to these organizations:
Sponsor a Ukrainian Family
Uniting for Ukraine: https://www.uscis.gov/ukraine
Coffee Hour
If you would like to sponsor a coffee hour or offer help, please contact Anna-Zumrat Shkurba. Also, each week we need volunteers to help with serving and clean up during coffee hour.
Transportation to Church
Do you need transportation to Church? Or would you be able to bring a parishioner, who doesn’t drive, to church from time to time? If you answered “yes” to either question, please contact Alexey Shevelkin. He is coordinating our parish’s efforts to offer transportation to parishioners who can’t get to church on their own. Thank you for your assistance.
Submit your NEW 2026 Pledge
The mission of our parish is to spread the Word of God, to grow, to expand, to improve, and not just to preserve our traditions. Our parish shouldn’t become stale but pursue holiness. We strive to fulfill the mission of our parish, through prayer, work, and sacrifice. Prayer – because we are called to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17); work – because we are taught to increase the talents given to us (Matt. 25: 14-30); and sacrifice – because "everyone to whom much is given, from him will much be required" (Luke 12:48). Please be generous as the Lord is generous to you. When completing your pledge for the new year, please consider raising your level of giving. Our church cannot operate without your financial contributions. Our parish will grow only through your prayers, work, and generous sacrifice. OFFERING PLEDGE FORM.
When you are generous, you are not bestowing a gift, but repaying a debt. Everything you possess materially comes from God, who created all things. And every spiritual and moral virtue you possess is through divine grace. Thus, you owe everything to God. More than that, God has given you his Son, to show you how to live: how to use your material possessions, and how to grow in moral and spiritual virtue. ---St. John Chrysostom
O Lord Save and Preserve
With much anguish we see the tragic events continuing in Ukraine. More than five million refugees have fled the country, and thousands of civilians and soldiers have been killed in this fratricidal war between two Orthodox countries. Countless others are injured, displaced and at the threshold of economic ruin. So much death, destruction, suffering and hatred have been caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
As Orthodox Christians, we do not support violence and aggression. We fervently pray for the immediate cessation of bloodshed, for the complete restoration of peace, for the well-being of the people in Ukraine and for the rebuilding of Christian love between the peoples of Russia and Ukraine. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ commands us to love one another as our Heavenly Father loves us.
Let us always remember that first and foremost, we are Orthodox Christians. And our Holy Orthodox Church, throughout history, has united Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, and people of all ethnicities into the one, true, Orthodox faith.
We are brothers and sisters in Christ, and because we are brothers and sisters, we cannot stand idle or keep silent during these dreadful days. Our parish continues to collect funds to help the suffering people of Ukraine. We keep praying for peace, and we call upon our hierarchs to do everything in their power to stop hostilities. Lord have mercy!
The parish of Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church does not have any affiliation with the Russian or American governments. We receive no financial support from any governmental or church institutions. Our entire budget (100%) is funded by the generous donations of our parishioners and friends and by the various fundraising events we conduct.