January 3rd, 2022

Christ is among us!   He is and will be!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I wish you a blessed, happy and healthy new year, even as more of us are succumbing to omicron or seasonal  illness. I remember you all in the Liturgy and in the prayers here at St. Basil’s.

This week we are preparing to celebrate the feast of the Holy Theophany, the Baptism of our Lord, also known as the Epiphany. Click here to learn more about the history of this feast and the Patristic sources of our prayers and services for this ancient feast. Click here to how and why we bless homes after this feast, and how to make arrangements so that your home may be blessed this year during the season of the Theophany (before the beginning of the Great Fast).

For the Feast of the Theophany, you have two opportunities to participate in the Divine Liturgy and blessing of the water, either on Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 7pm (Melkite Byzantine) or Thursday, Jan. 6 at 7pm (Ruthenian Byzantine). Please bring your holy water bottles or other containers to be refilled. 

As the Season of the Nativity comes to a close, I would like to thank all those who so generously gave of their time to make these holidays so special for the entire parish and our visitors, whether by decorating, cleaning, painting walls, repairing cracks or missing tiles, washing chairs, cooking Thai soup or frying catfish, singing as a cantor or doing back up as choir, reading, serving at the altar, cleaning the kitchen and hall or picking up fallen debris and branches…..so much was done by so many of you. Know that your efforts are appreciated and blessed by God. May your reward be great.

We are continuing in our BASILIAD projects, specifically collecting non perishables for the pantry and also filling ziploc bags for the homeless. We will have these bags in the hall ready to be taken and distributed as you see homeless on your drive home or in your neighborhood. Especially as the weather becomes colder, these bags with some basic items (socks, gloves/cap/scarf, nutritional snacks, cough drops, wipes, water, a New Testament, etc.) can be a bit of comfort, solace and consolation. We are still in need of nutritional snacks, drinks, socks, we have made 120 bags, but still need more items in order to make our goal of 200. Thank you for your generosity!

This Friday, Jan. 7, our St. Basil’s Homeschool Co-op will meet at 10am for a children’s activity. We look forward to seeing you.

The latest updates to our Liturgical Schedule can be found on our Calendar page. Please note that the Saturday evening Vigil Divine Liturgy at 6pm continues to be for our parishioners who are at risk, so masking and distancing is required of all above the age of 5. We mask and distance out of concern and care and love for each other. Please be safe and healthy. If you have symptoms or do not feel well, please stay at home, for your health and the health of our parish community. The Liturgy on Sunday at 10am and on Holy Days will be live streamed and can be viewed through our parish Facebook page or through the website.

Our Webinars will also continue, although only twice a month. It is my hope to start in person faith education in the near future. The scheduled webinars for this month as are follows (you can also refer to our Calendar): 

• Wednesday, Jan. 12
  • 7-8:30pm Zoom Webinar with Fr. Elias

                   The Baptism of Christ: God’s Manifestation

• Wednesday, Jan. 19
  • 7-8:30pm Zoom Webinar with Fr. Elias

                   The Cloud of Witnesses: Our Holy Father Basil the Great

May God bless us with His peace as we begin 2022 !

Fr. Elias