February Newsletter, February 7534/2026. St. John’s Russian Orthodox Mission Church, Winfield PA. 570-863-9039
Rector: Rev. Dr. Paul Siewers, priestpauls@pm.me
Our Journey Toward Pascha
This past couple weeks, your unworthy Rector has traveled blessing homes from Jersey Shore in the north to Mount Pleasant Mills in the South, from woods west of Mifflinburg to Frackville and Elizabethtown in coal country, blessing a nursing home room, and also engaging in prayers and Church/biblical discussions with inmates at the Muncy Women’s Prison and with Bucknell University students. Glory to God! These journeys offered new views of the depths and variety of our little mission parish, whose riches lie in the faith of our people. God’s help, with your prayers and your commitment to the mission, make this possible. The heart of the Church is the ecclesia or gathering in the Body of Christ to which we all are joined, and of which our country parish is a fractal, the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. The cleansing holy water, from the blessing at Theophany including of the Susquehanna River, used in the house blessings, reminds us of how Christ’s sanctification of His Church and Creation carries us forward into Great Lent, including in all the “little churches” of our homes.
Truly, as the Russian martyr to Communism St. Hilarion Troitskoy put it, “there is no Christianity without the church.”
Our mission work is to help people find our Lord’s Body, the Church, by God’s grace.
This February, as we move from the major Feast of the Meeting of the Lord into Great Lent, may the Lord give us good strength for the Fast!
Pre-Lenten and Lenten Services in February
The Meeting of the Lord and the Final Judgment, Feb. 2/15. Meatfare Sunday. This is one of the 12 major feasts of the Church year, and commemorates the fulfillment of the Old Testament in the New, of Israel realized in the Body of Christ as the Church, with the bringing of our Lord Jesus Christ as a babe into the Temple, where he is recognized by the Righteous Simeon (according to tradition one of the translators of the Septuagint) and the Prophetess Anna, in accord with Old Testament law. We are also reminded on the last day of eating meat before Lent, of the Final Judgment, to give us a sober outlook as we approach the Great Fast and the hope of Resurrection in Pascha beyond.
Forgiveness Sunday and Clean Week
–Forgiveness Vespers follows Sunday Liturgy, Feb. 9/22
–Monday Feb. 10/23, Great Compline with Reading of the Canon of St. Andrew, 4:30 p.m.
–Tuesday Feb. 11/24, Great Compline with Reading of the Canon of St. Andrew, 7 p.m.
–Wed. Feb. 12/25, Pre-Sanctified Liturgy, 10 a.m.
–Wed. Feb. 13/26, Great Compline and Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, 7 p.m.
–Thurs. Feb. 14/26 Great Compline and Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, 6:30 p.m.
–Fri. Feb. 15/27, Akathist for the Departed, 7 p.m.
The Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, Feb. 16/March 1
—Pre-Sanctified Liturgy Wed. Feb. 19/March 4.
The Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas, Feb. 23/March 8
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Please Pray for the Sick
Mary, Magdalena and Paul, Chloe, Father James and Matushka Nancy, Hieromonk Claude, Reader Luke, Gregory, Innocent and John, among others.
Please Pray for the Catechumens
Zachary, Camron, Scott, Ryan, James, Aaron, Corey. Also the newly illumined Cuthbert and Nicholas.
Alms-giving and Church-giving during Lent
Part of the fasting season is helping those in need, including our Church outreach work and beautification of the Church that is a part of that. Our Church is an all-volunteer operation (no clergy salaries or expense accounts currently). Please give generously as you can.
Reminders
Four rules for good Church order mentioned in the last newsletter. These are not necessarily the most important rules and are not meant to be legalistic, but to discipline ourselves for humility, especially during Lent. Please keep them “in your heart,” remembering their spiritual meaning.
1. Attending Vigil (or at least Vespers) is part of traditional preparation for Liturgy. If you can’t make it, please plan to arrive early for Sunday Liturgy and ask a blessing from Fr. Paul to receive if you can. In either case, please plan to do something “extra” at home Saturday night if unable to attend, such as watching a Vespers service “livestream” or saying a Readers Vespers at home. Attending Vigil means we keep watch with our Lord and show proper honor for the blessing of Communion.
2. Appropriately modest attire: For men, long-sleeve shirt or jacket, and long pants. Women: long skirt or dress, shoulders covered, and head covering (the latter especially when receiving). This is to show respect for receiving the Holy Gifts of our Lord and not to draw attention to ourselves, in that way also respecting others. This has been our tradition from the start of the mission.
3. Proper Church etiquette for receiving communion elsewhere when traveling: First, please ask a blessing from Fr. Paul for such a visit (you can email). Then also email the Rector of the Church you are visiting elsewhere in advance, asking for a blessing to receive, and explaining that your parish Rector has blessed you to ask. This indicates to the host priest that you are in good standing as an Orthodox Christian and blessed by your home priest as prepared, and shows loving respect to your host Church.
4. Please remember to confess at least once during the season of Great Lent. Confession once during each of the four major fast seasons of the Church year is a basic requirement for participating in this penitential mystery of the Church–and more as needed, if anything would prevent you from taking Communion.
Home for Innocent and John
Our brothers in Christ and fellow Church members Innocent and John Sam are looking for a ground-floor or elevator-building apartment (preferably allowing a cat) in the Greater Lewisburg Metropolitan area 🙂 (i.e. including Northumberland, Sunbury, Selinsgrove, Milton, Mifflinburg, etc.). Please be in touch if you have any leads.
Prison Ministry
Our weekly prison ministry continues to the Women’s Prison in Muncy. Please be in touch with Fr. Paul if you would like to participate. Orthodox Study Bibles or donations for the same are needed for this ministry. Thank you!
Schedule
You can always double-check our service and event schedule at stjohnthewonderworker.com.
Asking for your prayers as always! May the Lord bless our community and all of us! +++