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Covid-19
Update:
During this
time of the coronavirus pandemic, our parish is operating in accordance with State, City, County, and Archdiocese of Los Angeles
guidelines. Protocols and procedures have been established to protect
the health and safety of all who enter our grounds. We ask that you please
follow these protocols.
The Liturgical
Guidelines During the Coronavirus Pandemic of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, updated 16 April 2021, note that while
the State of California has removed the capacity limits on the number of people who can attend an indoor worship service,
“the faithful must continue to adhere to all other health guidelines, including six-foot social distancing between
households, wearing facial masks, screening and cleaning protocols.”
The Archdiocese had earlier pointed out that
“physical distancing requirements may effect a parish’s seating capacity” – that is the case with
our church. Therefore,
beginning 12 April 2021, Divine Liturgies will be indoors, with pre-registration absolutely
required in order to guarantee we don’t exceed our seating capacity. These Liturgies
will continue to be live-steamed at https://www.facebook.com/StAndrewRussianGreekCatholicParish/
Health Department protocols mandate that
there be ample ventilation during indoor Services: therefore the church doors
and windows will remain open, and congregational singing is still strongly discouraged.
Anyone who is in a vulnerable population is encouraged
to remain at home and participate via our live-streamed Sunday and Feastday Liturgies.
Please take a look at our new "Educational Resources" page.
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Sun
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13 June
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Divine Liturgy, 10:00 a.m. indoors
and live-streamed and pre-registration is still required.
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Mon
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14 June
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There are no events scheduled
for today.
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Tue
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15 Jun
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There are no events scheduled for today.
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Wed
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Feast of Saint Tikhon of Amathus in Cyprus
Matins, 8:00 a.m.
via Zoom
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Thur
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17 Jun
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Holy Silence
Contemplative Prayer Group meets via Zoom. Contact Bernadette St. James for
link
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Fri
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18 Jun
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Feast
of the Martyr Leonitus
Matins,
8:00 a.m. via Zoom
14th Annual Roman and
Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Christian Ecumenical Service of Prayer for Christian Unity, with Prayer for the Victims of the
Pandemic, 7:00 p.m., Holy Cross Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Placentia. Choirs
from two Greek Catholic Churches, the Greek Orthodox Church, and the Coptic Orthodox Church in Orange County
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Sat
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19 Jun
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Sun
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20 Jun
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Divine Liturgy, 10:00 a.m. indoors
and live-streamed and pre-registration is still required.
The Liturgy
will be offered for all of our fathers, living and deceeased. A Panikhida will be served for all those whose Anniversary
of Falling Asleep in the Lord occurs during the month of June.
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Light-a-Candle
Throughout the world, lighting candles
is a sacred ritual. We light candles in church for many reasons:
to dedicate prayers, solidify intentions, evoke the Spirit, to remember those who have Fallen Asleep in the Lord. Worshipping outdoors due to the pandemic, we have not been able to offer this
possibility. However, our Wednesday evening Liturgies of the Presanctified
Gifts will be indoors with a limited congregation. Health Department protocols
require us to minimize potential points of human contact, so we have removed the tapers from the candle stands.
However, if you would like to light a candle, please notify Father Alexei with your intention and he will light one
for you at these indoor Lenten Liturgies. The $1.00 donation per candle may be placed in the candle donation box or
mailed in to the rectory.
Restorative Tai Chi is Back!
Classes in Restorative Tai Chi are offered Tuesday,
Thursday and Friday evenings at 6:30 p.m., Saturday morning at 11;00 a.m., and Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. Newcomers
are welcome! Classes are small, with proper physical distancing observed. Cost: $15.00 and a food donation for
CASE. Packages are available at reduced rates.
A Note from Your Pastor
We are living in a period of challenge,
uncertainty, and anxiety. With "Liturgies without Congregations" we are bereft not only of community support
but also of financial support. Yet our expenses continue. Please consider sending your Sunday offering to the
parish on a regualr basis. We have now established a Givelify online account whch
wil enable you to electronically make deposits directly into our church bank account. Please
see the link on the Homepage.
Please Note
If
you have an email address, please provide Father Alexei with it at frARSmith@la-archdiocese.org in order to keep better connected
during this pandemic
Spread the Word!
Following the theft of the proceeds of our 2017 Yard Sale, which were designated to help fund the repairs
to our blue cupola on the side of our church, we have established a GoFundMe account to not only recoup the stolen proceeds
from the Sale but also to assist in funding the repairs.
Saint Xenia
Charitable Fund
In an effort to assist those members of our parish who
are struggling financially due to the faltering economy, loss of employment or decreased retirement benefits, the parish established
the Saint Xenia Charitable Fund. Father Alexei alone administers this fund, and all disbursements and contributions are
kept strictly confidential. Since its establishment, the Saint Xenia Fund has been able to assist several of our parishioners
with partial rent payments, money for food, purchase of job-related necessities, payment of utility bills and medications.
Should you wish to assist us in helping our own, please place your cash donation (Father will provide you with a receipt
for tax purposes should you desire it) in an envelope marked "Saint Xenia Fund" and give it directly to Father.
Disbursements are made in cash to protect anonymity.
And who is Saint Xenia? Well, here is her story......
 Saint Xenia lived during the eighteenth century,
but little is known of her life or of her family. She passed most of her life in Petersburg during the reigns of the empresses
Elizabeth and Catherine II. Xenia Grigorievna
Petrova was the wife of an army officer, Major Andrew Petrov. After the wedding, the couple lived in St Petersburg. St Xenia
became a widow at the age of twenty-six when her husband suddenly died at a party. She grieved for the loss of her husband,
and especially because he died without Confession or Holy Communion. Once her earthly happiness ended, she did not look for it again. From that time forward, Xenia lost
interest in the things of this world, and followed the difficult path of foolishness for the sake of Christ. The basis for
this strange way of life is to be found in the first Epistle to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 1:18-24, 1 Cor. 2:14, 1 Cor. 3:18-19).
The Lord strengthened her and helped her to bear sorrow and misfortune patiently for the next forty-five years. She started wearing her husband's clothing, and insisted that she
be addressed as "Andrew Feodorovich." She told people that it was she, and not her husband, who had died. In a certain
sense, this was perfectly true. She abandoned her former way of life and experienced a spiritual rebirth. When she gave away
her house and possessions to the poor, her relatives complained to the authorities. After speaking to Xenia, the officials
were conviced that she was in her right mind and was entitled to dispose of her property as she saw fit. Soon she had nothing
left for herself, so she wandered through the poor section of Petersburg with no place to lay her head. She refused all assistance
from her relatives, happy to be free of worldly attachments. When her late husband's red and green uniform wore out, she clothed herself in rags of those colors. After
a while, Xenia left Petersburg for eight years. It is believed that she visited holy Elders and ascetics throughout Russia
seeking instruction in the spiritual life. She may have visited St Theodore of Sanaxar (February 19), who had been a military
man himself. His life changed dramatically when a young officer died at a drinking party. Perhaps this officer was St Xenia's
husband. In any case, she knew St Theodore and profited from his instructions. St Xenia eventually returned to the poor section of Petersburg, where she was mocked and insulted
because of her strange behavior. When she did accept money from people it was only small amounts, which she used to help the
poor. She spent her nights praying without sleep in a field outside the city. Prayer strengthened her, and in her heart's
conversation with the Lord she found the support she needed on her difficult path. When a new church was being built in the Smolensk cemetery, St Xenia brought bricks to the site.
She did this in secret, during the night, so that no one would know. Soon her great virtue and spiritual gifts began to be noticed. She prophesied future events affecting
the citizens of Petersburg, and even the royal family. Against her will, she became known as someone pleasing to God, and
nearly everyone loved her.They said, "Xenia does not belong to this world, she belongs to God." People regarded
her visits to their homes or shops as a great blessing. St Xenia loved children, and mothers rejoiced when the childless widow
would stand and pray over a baby's crib, or kiss a child. They believed that the blessed one's kiss would bring that child
good fortune. St Xenia lived about forty-five
years after the death of her husband, and departed to the Lord at the age of seventy-one. The exact date and circumstances
of her death are not known, but it probably took place at the end of the eighteenth century. She was buried in the Smolensk
cemetery. By the 1820s, people flocked to her
grave to pray for her soul, and to ask her to intercede with God for them. So many visitors took earth from her grave that
it had to be replaced every year. Later, a chapel was built over her grave. Those who turn to St Xenia in prayer receive healing from illness, and deliverance from their
afflictions. She is also known for helping people who seek jobs.
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