st. sava boston newsletter
TRANSCRIPT
St. Sava Boston Newsletter September 19, 2015
St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church 41 Alewife Brook Pkwy, Cambridge, MA 02140 USA +1 617-‐674-‐4035
Upcoming Events: Serb Fest
Saturday, September 19: noon to 10 PM Sunday, September 20: noon to 6 PM
First Day of Classes: Sunday School & Folk Dancing September 27, 2015 Registration and sign-‐up immediately following Liturgy St. Sava Church and Church Hall
Jedinstvo Choir (Banjaluka, Bosnia) Concert October 2, 2015, 7:30 PM St. Sava Church Hall
Merima Njegomir Folk Concert October 17, 2015, 7:30 PM St. Sava Church Hall
Circle of Serbian Sisters Celebrate St. Petka Slava Kumovi Bugarinovic Family, Misic Family and Trifunovic Family
October 25, 2015, 10 AM St. Sava Church Luncheon to follow, Church Hall
Church Anniversary Gala Celebrating 10 Years in Cambridge
November 14, 2015 Church Hall
Our Community Announcements: Email [email protected] to submit your listing. Births: Veljko Maksim Sikirica was born June 18, 2015 to Petra and Slaven Sikirica.
Philip Lazar Glisic was born July 18, 2015 to Kessa and Ognjen Glisic.
Larisa Mircevski was born September 12, 2015 to Bojana and Dejan Mircevski.
Marriages: Danilo Grkovic and Anne Baldwin were married on August 22, 2015. Paul Tomic and Elaina Hancock were married on August 24, 2015.
Graduations: Milos Branisavljevic graduated from Berklee College of Music in June, 2015.
A Message from Father Aleksandar Vlajkovic: Dear parishioners, I hope you had a good summer. It may seem that in our parish during summer time there were not any big events, but in reality there was a lot going on. During the summer, we replaced two flat roofs above the office that have leaked for years. Preparations for the annual SerbFest are ongoing. I hope to see most of you at the festival. After almost a year of renovation, our hall is completed and we began to use it just in time for Vidovdan. We now realize how much we missed it. In this message I would like to emphasize two things in our parish: Education -‐ both children and adults Stewardship-‐ care for the parish
(A message from Fr. Alex cont. from previous page) For successful and high-‐quality education in our parish we need the cooperation of those who teach, the children and their parents. We will continue to do our best to create a strong program in Sunday School but in order to be successful we need the full support of parents. A small number of children in the last year attended catechism. I am asking parents to please help their children to grow in their faith by encouraging them to attend Sunday School. Please take responsibility for your child’s attendance and escort them to class directly after service. The teachers cannot be expected to chase children in the church hall and force them in the classroom. It is the role of a parent. We have a huge blessing in that we have an exceptional and highly qualified instructor for folklore. Let us ease his work with the children by volunteering our time with folklore and bringing our children to class on time. My hope this year is that all children take full advantage of our Sunday School program and all who attend folklore also attend religious education classes. I want you to pause and ask yourself: Am I a good steward of my church? Is your church your second home? A great amount of work was completed around the church hall and we are happy that we can use it again. There is still a lot of work to be done, and we can use your talent-‐ so please tell us where you can help. The Serbian Festival is one of those events where we should all participate and work. If you have not signed up, it is not too late. Do it today. I hope to see you soon, Yours, Father Aleksandar
St. Sava Church Board 2015 Branko Glisovic, President Alexander Pogorzelski, 1st Vice President Aleksandar Lekic, 2nd Vice President Ognjen Glisic, Treasurer Danilo Grkovich, Financial Secretary Christopher Tehlirian, Recording Secretary Jakov Djurkovic, Member at Large Petar Ojdrovic, Member at Large Srdjan S. Nedeljkovic, Auditing Board Bozidar Kuljic, Auditing Board Zvonko Ilic, Auditing Board
St. Petka Circle of Serbian Sisters Board 2015
Ankica P. Koldzic, President Nada Jovanovic, Vice President Pamela Tomic, Vice President
Aleksandra Milasinovic, Treasurer Kessa Glisic, English Secretary
Vera Vlajkovic, Serbian Secretary Ines Cirkic, Stewardship Secretary
Sylvia Bartel, Auditing Board
Milica Pogorzelski, Auditing Board Photo by Sasha Lekic
SEPTEMBER: A Fresh Start September marks the start of the new school year, as our Church celebrates the beginning of the Ecclesiastical New Year on September 14, 2015. With this comes much excitement as we recently reopened our Church Hall on Vidovdan after nearly ten months of extensive renovations, and we will be once again able to gather and host events on our campus this school year. As September begins and our attendance increases after everyone returns from camp and summer vacation, we are reminded of the joy that comes with being a part of the greater Boston Serbian Orthodox community, and participating in Liturgy and church activities. Looking back over the past year, it is clear to see how fortunate we are. On July 28, 2014, a massive flood in Somerville/Cambridge resulted in sewer water backing up into the Church Hall, damaging much of our supplies and equipment, our walls, stage and floors. After almost 4 months of negotiations with our insurance company and with the aid of a referral from Brian Milosh, we were able to complete the bulk of the rebuild with insurance funds and a special donation effort from you, our parishioners, that resulted in almost $100,000 including a key contribution from our partner, the International School of Boston. Other key donations in time, expertise and effort came from the leadership of Alex Pogorzelski and much of the Church Board, Father Alexander Vlajkovic, Don Pogorzelski, Brian Fairbanks for his engineering design work on the outside, back wall, Sinisa Beric, Vlado Ristanovic and Jakov Djurkovic, and Marinko Samardzic and his crew for the twelve hour day they spent with us painting the hall. The kitchen committee – Kessa Glisic, Milica Pogorzelski, Vera Velickovic and Vera Vlajkovic-‐ the stage committee – Misha Milojevic, Srdjan Nickovic, Luc Van Anderlecht, Sasha Velic – the bathroom committee – Ankica Koldzic -‐ all donated countless hours planning, researching, negotiating and in the instance of the stage committee, tremendous amounts of time installing the final products we’re going to enjoy for years to come. Thank you for your hard work. Contractors who worked hard to complete the renovations were lead by Srdjan Nickovic who worked non-‐stop daily for over six months to complete the work. Steva Jordanovich, Neshko Nickovic, and many others also donated time, effort and energy to the renovation. The end result of their thoughtful planning and labor includes a new heating and air conditioning system for the hall and Church. We replaced our 30-‐year-‐old boiler (that finally gulped its last breath two days before we commissioned the new system in March!!) with a high efficiency boiler for the Church and a second system for heating and cooling the hall. We installed ceiling duct work in both ends of the hall, moved the air handlers to less conspicuous places, boxed them in and insulated them to manage the noise better, relocated the outside condensers and refurbished the condenser on the side of the Church opposite the parking lot to mitigate the damage caused by the flood. As you’ve no doubt noticed, the hall temperature is much more comfortable than before. We anticipate the same for the winter with heating. The stage has been completely re-‐done. New lighting controlled by computer, new sound in the front and back of the halls, new microphones, new curtains on donated tracks and rollers (Thank you, Ankica), a formal stage curtain and valence, a handicapped ramp leading to a raised, professionally finished (vinyl) floor all contribute to a professional level performance area. We will be excited to see it put to use.
At the other end of the hall, the kitchen was expanded, re-‐plumbed for a new, code compliant sink, a professional 680,000BTU gas range featuring 6 burners, 2 ovens and a grill a hood for the range, new refrigerators and freezers, a cutting area for meat, 2 pantries, a fire suppression system and code compliant fire alarm system (that resulted in us having to upgrade our entire fire alarm system for the Church-‐ a good thing!), 2 code compliant hand wash sinks, a dishwasher, new stainless tables, expanded hot water capacity (more than double the previous volume!), a new ceiling and lighting that we think will continue to allow our Kolo sisters to continue to be our primary source of income for the Church. Needless to say, it’s a kitchen we can be proud of! The bathrooms also received a long overdue facelift. New sinks, automatic faucets, soap and towel dispensers, a baby changing table in the handicapped bath, new stall dividers, mirrors and an expanded ladies room all adding to the upgraded facility we now can enjoy for years to come. We can’t thank the folks who did the volunteer work enough – jack hammering the kitchen and bathroom floors for the new plumbing to accommodate the kitchen; schlepping bucket after bucket of broken concrete out to dumpsters, demolition of walls, old cabinets and closets in the stage classroom, patching, priming and painting every bit of wall and ceiling surface in every nook and cranny of the hall; our architect, Eric Parkes, who helped us with design, code compliance and helped us with our inspectors and permits; Angela O’Brien, a kitchen designer who helped us immensely pro-‐bono!, no less. We could not have completed the kitchen on our own. We owe Angela a sincere “Thank You” for her hard work on our behalf. While I could go on and on – Sasha Velic for referring MCS, our HVAC company to us, Steva Jordanovic for referring our outside wall contractor and the tile company and working hard with Alex Pogorzelski and Neshko Nickovic the day after the flood for draining the hall, Eric for his referral of Jim Russo, the plumber who also installed both new flat roofs on the Church this past month, Srdjan Nickovic for being himself-‐jack of all trades, master of all trades!!, Alex P. for the countless hours spent “negotiating” with the insurance company in order for us to get what was clearly due to us, particularly when the consensus was ‘don’t waste your time, give it up!’, Fr. Alex for all his work doing so many things to help-‐-‐-‐we will simply say the project was a labor of love and the folks deeply involved will walk into the hall for the rest of their lives and know the roles they played getting us back on our feet. No words will replace that sense of accomplishment and contribution. Thanks to all and we look forward to sharing many exciting and comfortable events in our newly renovated Church Hall.
Photos by Fr. Alex Vlajkovic
ST. SAVA CHURCH CHOIR by Pamela Tomic
Glory to God! Our St. Sava Choir is blessed to have the opportunity to serve our Serbian Orthodox Community. Participating in divine worship services through the choir is a sacred responsibility. In Orthodox services the Choir represents the laity, responding to the Liturgical dialogue set by the priest. This places a sacred responsibility on the Choir during our worship services, to be ever improving our knowledge of the hymns, responses, and correct order of the services, to be spiritually focused, and to strive for beauty as we offer up our worship to God. We are committed to the music because we are committed to our Faith. Most of our members are not trained musicians, able to read music or experienced with singing in a group. Anyone can join the Choir who is willing to commit to rehearsals and to regular participation in the life of the Church. We are very fortunate in our volunteers, especially this year when we once again have had a core group of young people who bring a special energy, enthusiasm, and musical talent to our ensemble. A very special thanks to our graduates Katya Van Anderlecht, May Tomic and Milos Branisavljevic, who we hope will visit us often. We have also been blessed with participation from several parents who have made arrangements to have their children supervised in Church so that they can sing with the choir. This year the Choir continued to expand its repertoire with a beautiful Cherubic Hymn by the Russian composer Aleksey Kastorsky (1869-‐1944). The Cherubic Hymn is sung during the Great Entrance, the moment in the Liturgy when the Priest appears from behind the iconostasis bearing the Holy Gifts of bread and wine to show them to the congregation. The initial prayers are accompanied by the initial, slow verses of the hymn. After the priest intones a number of prayers for the patriarch and the faithful, the Choir sings “Amen” and the last verse is sung allegro as the priest moves back behind the iconostasis. The words to the hymn provide a suitable anthem for our choir as we continue to strive to grow musically and spiritually. Great God who reigns on high, to whom the cherubim sing, Almighty King, Sing they "Holy, holy, holy". Now the heav’nly host in triumph Laud and praise the Holy Trinity "Great God we worship Thee". Praise from the cherubim, Praise from the seraphim, To Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen. Cherubim and seraphim fall down before Thee, Prostrate fall before Thee, Which wert and art and evermore shall be. Alleluia!
For more information or to join the choir, contact Pamela Tomic at [email protected]. Rehearsals are held on Sundays at 9am in the Church Hall. St. Sava Church respectfully asks that those wishing to participate in choir during church services to please attend rehearsals.
Photo by Lana Balach
SERMON ON THE NATIVITY OF THE THEOTOKOS By Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann September 21, 2015 The Church’s veneration of Mary has always been rooted in her obedience to God, her willing choice to accept a humanly impossible calling. The Orthodox Church has always emphasized Mary’s connection to humanity and delighted in her as the best, purest, most sublime fruition of human history and of man’s quest for God, for ultimate meaning, for ultimate content of human life. If in Western Christianity veneration of Mary was centered upon her perpetual virginity, the heart of Orthodox Christian East’s devotion, contemplation, and joyful delight has always been her Motherhood, her flesh and blood connection to Jesus Christ. The East rejoices that the human role in the divine plan is pivotal. The Son of God comes to earth, appears in order to redeem the world, He becomes human to incorporate man into His divine vocation, but humanity takes part in this. If it is understood that Christ’s “co-‐nature” with us is as a human being and not some phantom or bodiless apparition, that He is one of us and forever united
SHADELAND CAMP by Mia Cirkic In August, I attended a church camp in Pennsylvania and this camp is called Shadeland. There are four weeks in which children may go, I usually go fourth week, which is called “Tammie Week”. During this week, we learn Serbian dances and songs and have practice everyday and then on Sunday we have a huge performance. We also have a new activity every night at camp. We have a carnival, go bowling, go to an amusement park, etc. Every morning and afternoon we attend church with everybody. During church everybody gets involved by reading and singing. My favorite part of the week this year was our religion classes. I have learned so much about the Serbian Mission to America this year and I believe my knowledge about the topic has grown. Every year, there is a new topic to talk about in our religion classes. Shadeland is such an organized camp and it keeps you busy throughout the day. It is a huge camp in which we have a lake, basketball court, volleyball area, and a playground. At camp you meet so many different people from all around America and Canada. We all share a common thing at camp and it is our Serbian culture. Shadeland creates such strong friendships and bonds between the children. These friendships will last a lifetime because even though it’s only a week, you feel like you’ve known these people your whole life. Once you come to camp, you’ll never want to leave. St. Petka Circle of Serbian Sisters of St. Sava Boston offers partial scholarships to all children interested in attending camp. Please email us if you are interested in learning more about camp.
Milica Vlajkovic, Ana Milojevic, Mia Cirkic, Gia Vlajkovic, Katarina Cosic, Tijana Cosic, Katya Van Anderlecht
to us through His humanity, then devotion to Mary also becomes understandable, for she is the one who gave Him His human nature, His flesh and blood. She is the one through whom Christ can always call Himself “The Son of Man.” Son of God, Son of Man…God descending and becoming man so that man could become divine, could become partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), or as the teachers of Church expressed it, “deified.” Precisely here, in this extraordinary revelation of man’s authentic nature and calling, is the source that gratitude and tenderness which cherishes Mary as our link to Christ and, in Him, to God. And nowhere is this reflected more clearly that in the Nativity of the Mother of God. Nothing about this event is mentioned anywhere in the Holy Scriptures. But why should there be? Is there anything remarkable, anything especially unique about the normal birth of a child, a birth like any other? The Church began to commemorate the event with a special feast…because, on the contrary, the very fact that it is routine discloses something fresh and radiant about everything we call routine and ordinary, it gives new depth to the unremarkable details of human life…And with each birth the world is itself in some sense created anew and given as a gift to this new human being to be his life, his path, his creation. This feast therefore is first a general celebration of Man’s birth, and we no longer remember the anguish, as the Gospel says, “for joy that a human being is born into the world” (Jn. 16:21). Secondly, we now know whose particular birth, whose coming we celebrate: Mary’s. We know the uniqueness, the beauty, the grace of precisely this child, her destiny, her meaning for us and for the whole world. And thirdly, we celebrate all who prepared the way for Mary, who contributed to her inheritance of grace and beauty…And therefore the Feast of her Nativity is also a celebration of human history, a celebration of faith in man, a celebration of man. Sadly, the inheritance of evil is far more visible and better known. There is so much evil around us that this faith in man, in his freedom, in the possibility of handing down a radiant inheritance of goodness has almost evaporated and been replaced by cynicism and suspicion. This hostile cynicism and discouraging suspicion are precisely what seduce us to distance ourselves from the Church when it celebrates with such joy and faith this birth of a little girl in whom are concentrated all the goodness, spiritual beauty, harmony and perfection that are elements of genuine human nature. Thus, in celebrating Mary’s birth we find ourselves already on the road to Bethlehem, moving
Stewardship Reflection "For many are called, but few are chosen." Matthew 22:14 As we reflect on today's Gospel reading, the theme focuses on the king who called many to the feast, but few were able to attend due to other commitments. God does the same with us -‐ He calls us to be Stewards -‐ to provide of our Time, Talents and Treasures -‐ but we always have excuses not to participate in the Heavenly banquet He has prepared for us. As we approach the beginning of the Church New Year, let us consider how we can make Stewardship become A Way of Life. This focuses on daily activities to include prayer and reading of the Scriptures as well as taking responsibility for our Salvation and how we conduct ourselves.
Luncheon Schedule 2015 If you would like to sign up to cook lunch on an open date, or are available to help plan and execute the November 14th Church Gala event, please contact Suzana Forkapic at [email protected]. Also, as the parish is growing Kolo Sisters are looking for more people to team up with existing teams of two to help cook during busy months. If you are able to join a team September-‐ December, or in the weeks leading up to Easter, please let Suzana know. Thank you for your continued support. If you would like to contribute content, announcements or photos to the newsletter, please contact Ankica P. Koldzic at Ankica.Pogorzelski@gmail. com.
Dates Notes Name Name September 27th Xenia Dancevic Dragana Jovanovic
September 27th Marija Antic
October 4th Jelena Tehlirian Stana Smiljanic
October 11th Violeta Jeliazkova Bulgarian Parish
October 18th Ljiljana Vrankovic Biljana Reljic
October 25th St. Petka Kolo
Slava Kolo Event Group 4 Kuma Borjana Misic
Yasmina & Slavojka Kuma Tanja Bugarinovic Kuma Mira Trifunovic
November 1st Gordana Cosic Lidija Milojevic
November 8th
Dragica Mihailovic Olivera Tanasijevic
November 14h(Sat) Church
Anniversary Event Group 5 Jelena D. Ksenija,
Snezana
November 15th Sanja Stojkovic Vanja Burke
November 22nd Maja Amovic Rista Amovic
November 29th Nativity Fast / Post Trajanka Milojevic Jelisaveta Nickovic
December 6th Nativity Fast / Post Mary Grgurevich Bata Milosh
December 13th Nativity Fast / Post Vildana Velic Aleksandra Milasinovic
December 13th Nativity Fast / Post Danijela Sokolovic
December 20th Nativity Fast / Post Miljana Vrankovic Vesna Reljic
December 27th Nativity Fast / Post Marija Ilic Olga Mucic
Event Groups
St. Petka October
25th
Church Event
November 14th
Christmas Eve
January 6th
January After-
Christmas Dance
Kuma Bojana Misic
Jelena Djurkovic
Suzana Forkapic Jelena Glisovic
Kuma Tanja Bugarinovic Ksenija Zlatic
Stoja Krstanovic
Dragica Mijailovic
Kuma Mira Trifunovic
Nevena Cikojevic
Irina Stojanovic
Slavojka Sheehan
Aleksandra Milasinovic Dragana Ilic
Yasmina Spector Pamela Tomic Miljana Bovan
Dragana
Jovanovic Borjana Misic
Goca Cosic Ines Cirkic
Marija Ilic
Vojka Gajica
Dragana Gajica
Stanislava Ristanovic
Zorica Arbutina
Zana Milicevic (kids gift bags)
Faith Milicevic (kids gift bags)