On Saturday 25 January and Sunday 26 January we will have services for the Thirty-First Sunday after Pentecost, the Sunday after Theophany, and in honour of Martyrs Hermylus and Stratonicus of Belgrade (+c.315).  Matins will be served at 6.00pm on Saturday and the Hours, Divine Liturgy and the Great Blessing of Water will be served at 9.00am on Sunday.  Note:  There will be no refreshments in the hall after Divine Liturgy on Sunday.

On Sunday 12 January we had services for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday after Pentecost and the Sunday after the Nativity of Christ.  There was no service on the preceding Saturday evening.  The Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning.  At Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for the unity of the Orthodox Church, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land.  At the end of the service a prayer of blessing was read over a new icon of New Hieromartyr Silvester of Omsk (+1920), a gift to our parish from Lidia Stroud-Watts.

On Monday 6 January and Tuesday 7 January we had services for Christmas, the Great Feast of the Nativity of Christ.   All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves was served on Monday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Tuesday morning.  These were our first Christmas Day services since 2019.  On both days our small church was full to overflowing.  At Divine Liturgy prayers were offered for the unity of the Orthodox Church, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land.  A great many of the faithful received Holy Communion, and Archbishop George’s Nativity Epistle was read in place of a sermon.  Following the services on Tuesday many people gathered in the church hall for a festive meal and a visit from Father Christmas. 

“Christmastide always evokes feelings of deep love and gratitude in a faithful heart. In these days, let us also raise up our prayerful thanks to God, offering our love to Him and our neighbours. Gratitude and love are always a sacrifice. These are the two mites of the Gospel widow.”  Metropolitan Nicholas’s Epistle is available in full in English here and in Russian here.

“I ask all of the faithful to make an effort to extend a helping hand to all those in need, giving alms to the poor, donations to the churches, helping them to bring the Word of God and grace to the world, helping others in whatever way you can, thereby showing love to your fellow man and fulfilling the commandment of God.”  Archbishop George’s Epistle is available in full in English here and in Russian here.