His Eminence Metropolitan SABA Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All North America His Grace Bishop Alexander
Pastor: Fr John Vazquez| fatherjohnvazquez@gmail.com | stgeorgealbany.org | 1 St George's Pl Albany
Office Hours: Mon/Fri 10am-5pm/Confessions: After weekly services or by appointment
Parish Council Leadership: Chair—Michella Rizk, Treasurer—Ranya Palmer, Secretary—Daniel Palmer, Vice Chair—Linda Grady
Beloved,
Tragedies, like what happened this week in Utah and North Carolina, are difficult to bear. These kinds of things happen every day in our world—sometimes we are aware and sometimes not. These tragedies bring pain, grief, sadness and frustration. But we need not fall prey to the power of death which brings despair because we are united to the One who overcame death and darkness through bringing life and light through the Cross.
This Sunday is the Elevation of the Holy Cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This day commemorates two events—first, the finding of the true cross by the empress Helen (learn about that HERE) and second, the return of the Cross to Jerusalem after the Persians had taken it as a spoil of war. Why do we lift up and honor the cross in such a profound way? Why do we sign ourselves with it? Why does it adorn our Church? Why do we refuse to step on it? But maybe most importantly, why do we find hope in it?
The Cross of our Lord is the means by which He accomplishes our salvation. Why do I say that in the present tense? Well, because our salvation is happening right now for each of us and part of that salvation is taking up our cross (Mk 8.34). As I often point out—the Orthodox Christian understanding of salvation is "union with God." This union with God happens through joining ourselves to Christ through being a part of His holy Church and when we become part of the holy Church—which is Christ's body (Col 1.18)—we unite ourselves to the kind of life that Christ lived. This kind of life that our sweetest Lord asks us to live is a life not just in imitation of Him but a life with Him. A life where we walk with Him to the cross and not only see but experience death and all of its darkness transcended.
This fact of transcending and overcoming death with Christ is what gives us hope in the midst of despair and light in the midst of darkness. A logical question might be—that's all great but how does that fix the problems in our world?
Well, part of the answer is that WE are part of the solution. When we unite ourselves to Christ—join ourselves to His divine life—we become light shining in a world of darkness and just like there are different intensities of light so it is the more we commit to following Christ through taking up our cross the more intensely our light will shine.
With love in Christ,
Fr John
Services and Events
Friday, September 12th—8am—Orthros
Friday, September 12th—7:30pm—Bible Study @ Amal and Ronda Tlaige's (Exodus)
Saturday, September 13th—9am—Teaching DivineLiturgy followed by activities for Youth Day
Saturday, September 13th—5pm—Great Vespers with Litia and Artoklasia THE ELEVATION OF THE CROSS
Sunday, September 14th—9am—Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy THE ELEVATION OF THE CROSS parish council meeting to follow
Monday, September 15th—8:15am—Coffee with the Fathers join us at Alias Coffee as on Pearl St in Albany as we work through Hymns on Paradise by St Ephrem the Syrian
Monday, September 15th—12pm—Paraklesis of the Theotokos
Wednesday, September 17th—8am—Divine Liturgy
Wednesday, September 17th—6pm—Paraklesis of St George
Friday, September 19th—8am—Orthros
Friday, September 19th—3pm—Bible Study @ Melody Holman's (Judith)
Sunday, September 21st—9am—Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy BARBECUE AND PICNIC to follow—Bring a friend—$15 Suggested Donation
Click to view our Upcoming Schedule
Did You Know...that Christ is Risen!...and...
*We will be making a trip to St Dumitru Monastery in Middletown, NY the weekend of October 10th and 11th. Let me know if you are interested in coming.
*We are having a clothes drive for those in need. We will be taking clothes donations and passing them along to the Albany City Rescue Mission down the street from us. Contribute if you are able.
*Our sister parish St Nicholas in Cohoes will be hosting their annual Flea Market Saturday, September 20th from 9am-4pm (1077 Loudon Rd. Latham)
*Our Diocesan Fall Retreat will be in Montreal October 24th-26th with guest speaker Fr Michael Gillis. Learn more HERE.
*Our Nativity Retreat this year will be November 15th and 16th with Fr Anthony Gilbert who is a PHD in Literature. He will be looking at St Gregory the Theologian's Oration 38—On the Nativity of Christ. More details to come but mark your calendars.
Eduction at St George
But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 2 Pet 3.1
Read Metropolitan SABA's weekly teaching—A Cry From a Wound
Get some caffeine for the soul with Coffee with the Fathers. Join us at ALIAS COFFEE on N. Pearl St in Albany as we study Hymns on Paradise by St Ephraim the Syrian.
Study the Scriptures with us—Bible Study Saturday evenings at 6pm after vespers. We also are doing localized bible studies in peoples homes on Wednesday evenings and Friday afternoons and evenings—in an attempt to provide an opportunity for as many people as possible to attend. Check the calendar for locations.
Click HERE for a great YouTube channel with Orthodox kids songs.
*You can view the WORD magazine online. Click HERE.
*Metropolitan SABA has an Instagram account to connect with youth and young adults—@AskSayidna.
*We plan to have a "Youth Day" at the Church once a month which will include kids of all ages. The purpose of these days is to offer education, fellowship, wholesome fun and a chance for the kids to "ask Abouna."
Parish Prayer List
"Remember Me O Lord When You Come Into Your Kingdom." Lk 23.42
Please include in your daily prayers the following. Contact me to have someone added to the list. These are the names that will be remembered during the Divine Liturgy.
Living:
Bishop Alexander, Fr Gregory Potter, Fr Joseph, Fr Andrew, Fr Pat, Fr Meletios, Fr Terrance, Fr Michael, Dn Jorge, Dn Horia, Leila, Helen, Lew, Marsha, Mary, Anastasia, Hassib, Callie, Shannon, Jennifer, Samantha, Schuyler, Raphael and Kelly, Fayez, Kent, Rose, Justin, Anne, George, Nektaria, Matushka Margaret, William, Chris, Noah, Charles, Iryna, and our catechumens: Max, Ryan, Kathryn and Henry. All those traveling, those suffering from illness, violence and want in this country and throughout the world and especially those in Ukraine, Russia, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and the middle east
Departed:
Fr Gregory DesMarais, Fr Alvian, Fr John, Fr Steven, Will, Camile, Raymond, Ruth, Dolores, Agnes, Ed, Bassir, The New Martyrs of Syria those who have lost their lives and who have no one to pray for them, those who have passed in the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
"Beauty Will Save the World"
My favorite author—Fyodor Dostoyevsky—has a quote, "Beauty will save the world!" What in the world could this mean?! Well, this could be quite a big discussion but I think part of the answer is that as human beings we delight in what is beautiful and not only take delight in but find healing when we encounter something beautiful. Beauty is such a big part of our worship as Orthodox Christians. Orthodox worship engages our senses with beautiful smells, sights and sounds and this matters because God's creation is good and beauty helps us to understand this reality.
Have you ever wondered what you could do to help beautify our church. Here are some ideas:
*15-20 Icons (16”x24” $400 per icon) Pick your Saint!—https://legacyicons.com/saint-paisios-of-athos-icon-s184/
*Curtain for Holy Doors ($850) https://www.churchembroidery.net/product-page/holy-door-curtains-katapetasma
*Curtains for Deacons Doors ($1500 each) churchembroidery.net (custom order)
*Epitaphios of Panaghia ($1800) https://www.churchembroidery.net/product-page/fully-embroidered-orthodox-epitaphios-shroud-of-the-most-holy-theotokos-3
*Two Mosaic’s for outside ($5000 each—is my best guess) (Theotokos and St George)
*Chandelier for above Altar ($500) https://nioras.com/product/church-chandelier-frames-with-orthodox-icons-13-electric-lights/
*Three Mount-Athos style Chandeliers for the nave (the space where the people stand during the service)
Sunday, September 14, 2025
THE SYNAXARION
On September 14 in the Holy Orthodox Church, we commemorate the Elevation (Exaltation) of the Honored and Life-giving Cross.
Verses
Creation, seeing the Cross highly exalted,
Offereth Thee high praise in its throat, O Savior.
On the fourteenth the Cross’ Wood is exalted.
On this day, we commemorate two events connected with the Precious Cross of Christ: the finding of the Cross on Golgotha, and the returning of the Cross to Jerusalem from Persia. While in the Holy Land, the Empress Helena learned that the Holy Cross was buried underneath the temple of the pagan goddess Venus built on Golgotha. She demanded it be torn down and the Cross be excavated. The search turned up three crosses. Uncertain which was the true Cross, the Patriarch Marcarius ordered that each cross be placed on the corpse in a funeral procession passing by. The first two produced nothing, but the third brought the man back to life, thus determining that this was the very Cross on which our Savior brought life to the world. Later, King Chozroes conquered Jerusalem, took the people into slavery and carried off the Lord’s Cross to Persia. In 628, the Greek Emperor Heraclius defeated Chozroes, and brought the Cross back to Jerusalem with great ceremony. Heraclius was carrying the Cross on his back when, suddenly, he froze. The Patriarch Zacharias saw an angel directing the emperor to take off his robes and walk with the same extreme humility with which our Savior bore His Cross. The emperor complied, and was able to finish the procession to the Church of the Resurrection on Golgotha, where he restored the Holy Cross.
By the power of Thy Cross, O Christ God, have mercy upon us, and save us. Amen.
Parish Financial Summary—Fiscal Year 2024/25
Help us Reach our Goal of $132,000—Our estimated budget for the 2024-25 Fiscal Year
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF ST GEORGE!
Giving for Week of 9.7.25—
Online Donations for Week of 9.7.25—$0
Falafel Fundraiser 3.30.25—$1054
Parish Halfi 4.25.25—$9087.95
Broadview Bank Balance as of end of August: $43,6059.62: $35,023.23 (Operating Fund); $7160.78 (Memorial Fund); $1,136.10 (Charity Fund)
Merrill Lynch Mutual Fund as of end of August 31st, 2025: $402,398.04
Merrill Lynch Money Market Account as of end of August 31st, 2025: $36,912.86
Total Giving for fiscal year to date (October 24–September 25)—$82,059.29
Families who have contributed for fiscal year to date (October 24–September 25)—71
Families who have contributed over $5,000 for fiscal year to date (October 24–September 25)—3
Families who have contributed over $1,000 for fiscal year to date (October 24–September 25)—28
A Note to our Visitors
WELCOME!
We are blessed by your presence! Join us for fellowship after. Please note, in the Orthodox Church only baptized and chrismated Orthodox Christians who have properly prepared with confession, fasting (no food from the night before until communion), prayer and forgiveness can partake of the Holy Eucharist. All others may come forward for a blessing and receive a piece of blessed bread from the altar servers.
A Word From the Fathers
St Maximus the Confessor
81st saying of the 3rd Century (100 Sayings) on Love
If you wish to be a person of understanding and moderation, and not to be a slave to the passion of conceit, continually search among created things for what is hidden from your knowledge. When you find that there are vast numbers of different things that escape your notice, you will wonder at your ignorance and abase your presumption. And when you have come to know yourself, you will understand many great and wonderful things: for to think that one knows prevents one from advancing in knowledge.
