St. Elia the Prophet Orthodox Church - Akron, Ohio

“Blessing Bags” for Those in Need

During Great Lent we are called upon to fast not only for reasons of self-control and prayer, but also for reasons of love: to deny ourselves something that we may share what we have saved with a needy person.

This Lent, our parish family of St. Elia will be collecting items to include in “blessing bags” intended to provide a few necessities or comforts for someone who is homeless or otherwise in need. Look for the bin located near the entrance of church, and drop off your items as you come in each week. The blessing bags will be assembled following Divine Liturgy on Sunday, April 2, so all items must be turned in by then.

The bags will be available for distribution during Holy Week and after. We ask each individual or family to take at least one of the bags to distribute, with one string attached: You must learn the name of the person you give the bag to, so that you (and the Church) can pray for them by name.

Below is a list of ideas of items that may be contributed. Thank you for doing your part to help those in need!

  • Gallon sized plastic bags (Ziploc or generic)
  • Prepaid phone cards
  • Fast food restaurant gift cards
  • Pocket Bibles or small prayer books/pamphlets
  • Notes of encouragement

Food items

  • Small water bottles
  •  Granola or protein bars
  • Small packs of nuts, trail mix, crackers or other snacks
  • Mints or gum

Toiletries and personal items (travel sized)

  • Wet wipes
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Deodorant
  • Toothbrush
  • Toothpaste
  • Soap
  • Shampoo/conditioner
  • Comb
  • Chapstick
  • Tissues
  • Feminine products
  • Band-aids
  • Socks

Christmas Week Schedule of Services

The Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is preceded by a Holy Week of services celebrated every night leading up to the feast. Join us to prepare for the birth of our Savior!

Monday, Dec. 19, 6 p.m.: Vespers of the Forefeast of the Nativity of Christ

Tuesday, Dec. 20, 6 p.m.: Vespers of the Forefeast of the Nativity of Christ

Wednesday, Dec. 21, 6 p.m.: Vespers of the Forefeast of the Nativity of Christ

Thursday, Dec. 22, 6 p.m.: Vespers of the Forefeast of the Nativity of Christ

Friday, Dec. 23, 6 p.m.: Royal Hours of the Nativity of Christ

Saturday, Dec. 24, 5 p.m.: Vigil of Christmas

Sunday, Dec. 25, 10 a.m.: Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, Feast of the Nativity

Monday, Dec. 26, 9 a.m.: Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Second Day of the Feast of the Nativity, the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos

Tuesday, Dec. 27, 9 a.m.: Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Third Day of the Feast of the Nativity, Holy Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stephen

Live Streaming Broadcasts Now on YouTube

St. Elia is broadcasting every service LIVE and now without any commercials or advertisements!  At the time of services, simply visit our YouTube Channel for our live feed and it will automatically appear for you.  All recordings are archived and saved for viewing at a later time in the playlist titled, “Divine Services in Calendar Order.”

Along with our services, you will also find special hymns from our choir, questions, and answers with Fr. Don, and other videos of events and special occasions.  Be sure to subscribe to our Channel and you won’t miss a thing.

By utilizing YouTube Live, we are making the Word of God available to those of our parish who are sick, infirm, and not able to attend due to personal circumstances.

We are also sharing and proclaiming our faith and the Gospel with the entire world; some who are Orthodox Christians and some who are not, and anyone who wishes to “come and see” the True Faith known as Orthodoxy.

Click to be taken to Saint Elia's YouTube Channel
Click to be taken to Saint Elia’s YouTube Channel

 

Church School End of Year Calendar

Church School Calendar of Class/Events

  • MARCH

29th – regular class

  • APRIL

5th (Palm Sunday) – ALL children to join in the procession of palms as a class

9th (Holy Friday) – A day of silence and of prayer.  If any child needs a letter to request excused absences from school, please see Fr. Don or Popadia

     9AM– Royal Hours

     6PM– ALL children to attend the Burial of our Lord and to be in the procession

11th  (Holy Saturday) – The family should make *every* possible arrangement to be present with children for the Resurrection of our Lord. Services begin @ 11:30PM.

12th  (Holy Pascha)

     12:00 Noon – Agape Vespers with our Father and Bishop Alexander

19th– regular class

26th– FINAL CHURCH SCHOOL CLASS

resurrection (1)

2015 Lenten Pastoral Letter of Bishop Alexander

Dearly beloved in Christ,
The holy fathers frame the Christian life as a journey consisting of three phases or stages. These phases are not necessarily sequential. Throughout our earthly lives we will typically move back and forth between the first and second stages. On this side of eternity, the truly holy among us are blessed with glimpses of the third stage.
In the Beatitudes our Lord proclaims, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) To be united with God we must first rid ourselves of those elements in our nature that prevent us from drawing near to Christ. The first movement in our spiritual life is thus called “purification.” By the grace of God, we struggle to be cleansed of our sins and fears, our passions and guilt. We seek liberation from the tyranny of our egos by both figuratively and literally bowing down before Christ, confessing him as the “Lord and Master of my life.” (Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian)
Christianity calls us to embark on a journey from the darkness of sin into the light of Christ. This is not an easy task, and it requires a cooperative effort with the Lord. Christ saves us, but we must willingly embrace his promised deliverance. By our ascetic efforts and through God’s grace, we emerge from the shadows of a fallen world and rejoice in the Uncreated Light of God’s Kingdom. It is for this reason that the second phase in the spiritual life is called “illumination.” The closer we grow to Christ, the more his divine Light shines upon us and within us, infusing us with his grace.
The third stage in the spiritual life is called “deification” or “theosis.” The union with God to which we are called, and for which we struggle, is so complete and intimate that the holy Apostle Peter describes it as nothing less than becoming “partakers of the divine nature.” (2 Peter 1:4) We understand salvation as not just being saved “from” but being saved “for.” We are saved from sin, for theosis.
Accepting God’s grace requires a response from us—i.e., the ascetic struggle—and indeed that is the essence of Great Lent. Furthermore, Lent itself is nothing less than the intensification of what is, after all, the totality of the Christian life. During the Great Fast we increase our efforts, looking to conclude the Lenten journey a little more purified of our passions, a little more illumined by Christ’s light, and a little closer to our destiny of growing “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13) May this be the lot of each of us during the holy and saving time of Great Lent.
With love in Christ,
+ Alexander
Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese
Orthodox Church in America

 

Only one week left to sign up for the Lent prayer group!

It’s almost that time again! This Lent, join the St. Elia Prayer Group as we once again unite to pray the Psalms together throughout the fast, which for Orthodox Christians begins this year on Feb. 23. You do not need to be a member of St. Elia Akron to join. All you need is a Bible and a little bit of time to set aside each day.

book of psalmsThe prayer group also offers the opportunity for us to pray for one another, for our parish, and for any special intentions any of us may have. To find out more details, visit the Lenten Prayer Group page.

To join the group, all you need to do is complete the online sign-up form by Friday, Feb. 20. An e-mail will be sent to you with all the details of which Psalms to pray each day, and the names of everyone else in the group so that you can include them in your prayers.

Please share this information with friends and relatives and invite them to join as well!

May God bless us as we pray the Psalms together, and may He draw us nearer to Himself and to one another during this Lent. Have a blessed 40 days!

Next Saturday Parish Education Night rescheduled for Jan. 31

interiorshotDon’t miss the next installment of our 2014-15 Saturday Parish Education Nights, as we continue our study of the Beatitudes.

This free event has been rescheduled for Jan. 31. Here is the schedule:

5 p.m.: Vespers

6 p.m.: Supper

6:30-7:30 p.m.: Presenter Protodeacon Joel Chupp

A program for all ages!

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Contact

St. Elia the Prophet Orthodox Church
64 W. Wilbeth Rd.
Akron, Ohio 44301
Get directions
330-724-7129