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Special
Announcement from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles regarding the Supreme Court Decision on Indoor
Worship received
6 February 2021
“Last
night, February 5, 2021, the Supreme Court issued a decision allowing houses of worship to return to indoor services in the
State of California. In accordance with the ruling, parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles may offer indoor worship services
limited to 25% of church capacity……
Although outdoor worship is still recommended, if you intend to proceed with indoor services, please be sure
to limit attendance to 25% of your church’s capacity, and continue to implement all your safety protocols, including
social distancing of at least six feet between family units, cleaning and sanitization, and requiring face coverings.”
Our parish will follow a hybrid approach to this ruling. Sunday Divine Liturgy will continue outdoors, weather permitting, where capacity
is less limited. Certain Lenten Services will be indoors with a congregation
present and available via livestream as well. Preregistration for all indoor
Services is absolutely mandatory due to the 25% of capacity limit. Other Services will be available via Zoom.
If you would like to participate, please contact Father Alexei for Zoom link.
Anyone who is in a vulnerable population
is encouraged to remain at home and participate via our live-streamed Liturgy which will continue and can be accessed at:
https://www.facebook.com/StAndrewRussianGreekCatholicParish/
Please take a look at our new "Educational Resources" page
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Sun
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21 Feb
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Sunday of Orthodoxy
Outdoor Divine Liturgy, 10:00 a.m. - in-person and via live-stream.
(See In-Person
Attendance note below). Procession with icons following Liturgy. A Panikhida will be served for
all those whose Anniversary of Falling Asleep in the Lord occurs during the month of February.
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Mon
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22 Feb
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There are no events scheduled for today.
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Tue
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23 Feb
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There are no events scheduled for today.
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Wed
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Feast of the 1st and 2nd Findings of the
Head of John the Baptist
Lenten Matins, 8:00 a.m. via Zoom.
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, 6:00
p.m., in-person and via livestream. Those wishing to attend in person MUST preregister with Father Alexei -- a maximum
of twenty people -- as prescribed by health department protocols and windows and/or doors must remain open.
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Thur
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25 Feb
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There are no events scheduled for today.
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Fri
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26 Feb
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Feast
of Saint Porphyrius of Gaza
Lenten Matins, 8:00 a.m. via Zoom.
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Sat
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27 Feb
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2nd Soul Saturday
Matins for the Dead, 8:00 a.m. via Zoom
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Sun
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28 Feb
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Sunday of Saint Gregory Palamas
Outdoor Divine Liturgy, 10:00 a.m. - available in-person and via livestream.
(See In-Person
Attendance note below).
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In-Person Attendance
In our parish, those who wish
to attend an outdoor service must pre-register with Father Alexei piror to midnight on the Friday before a Sunday Liturgy.
This is in order to determine how many chairs to set out and for tracking purposes. Limited shade will be provided.
However, it is recommended that attendees provide their own -- either hats or umbrellas and/or sunscreen. Umbrellas
can be either handheld or beach-style which can be secured in the lawn. Face coverings are mandatory, even though we
are outdoors, as is physical distancing.
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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