Bulletin April 26, 2015

Pilgrimage Video: Several months ago the Oriental Lumen Foundation sponsored a pilgrimage to Rome and Constantinople (Istanbul). The pilgrims had the experience of private audiences with both Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. On Sunday, May 31st, Lector Jack Figel of Epiphany Church will show a short 15-minute video of highlights of the two audiences in the Social Hall after the Divine Liturgy. All parishioners are invited to attend, and then have a Q&A /discussion with Jack regarding the pilgrimage and the work of the OL Foundation. Come and hear first-hand about what it is like to visit the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, meet the Pope in person, and get his apostolic blessing!

Visitors: On Thursday, May 7th, the Ladies Sodality of Sacred Heart Church in Bowie will visit St. Gregory’s along with their pastor, Msgr. Charles Parry. There will be Divine Liturgy at 10:00 AM followed by a brief Introduction to the Byzantine Church and our liturgical and theological Tradition. Our visitors will also have an opportunity to ask questions. All of our parishioners are invited to attend this Divine Liturgy – and we depend on you to teach them how to sing “Christ is risen / Christos voskrese!”

Thank You!: Each day this past week was devoted to some type of preparation for the Bishop / clergy visit: sweeping, sorting, scraping, washing, ironing, polishing, scrubbing, cutting, painting, organizing, moving, transferring, digging …. Each day this past week I was blessed to have help with these tasks and then, yesterday, we had the full force come out and tackle every single remaining task on a rather long “to-do” list. Thank you to everyone who helped! It all turned out to be a whole lot more work than I thought but our volunteers got it all accomplished with ease, efficiency, and diligence!

Presbyteral Conference: The annual Passaic diocesan Presbyteral Conference will be held this week from Monday afternoon through Thursday Noon at the Bon Secours Retreat and Conference Center in Marriottsville, MD. In the event an of emergency, please call the nearest Catholic priest for the administration of the sacraments.
On Wednesday, April 29th (Mid-Pentecost Wednesday) at 10:00 AM, Bishop Kurt will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at St. Gregory’s. The con-celebrants will be those priests who are celebrating significant ordination anniversaries this year. The clergy attending the Presbyteral Conference will also be present at the Divine Liturgy.
All of our parishioners are encouraged to attend this Divine Liturgy as it will be the first visit of Bishop Kurt to St. Gregory’s.

Marian Pilgrimage: The Orientale Lumen Foundation (past organizers of the Seminary Concert Tours, and the Ecumenical Pilgrimage that met Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew in 2014) is sponsoring a Marian Pilgrimage to Eastern Europe for Byzantine Catholics on August 7–18, 2015. Because of many inquiries and positive responses to our planned itinerary, we have opened up the pilgrimage to ALL age groups. The trip will include visits to the Marian Shrines of Litmanova and Lutina in Slovakia, and Máriapócs in Hungary; Liturgies in the Cathedrals of Prešov and Bratislava; tours of wooden churches and other cultural sites; and joint fellowship activities with European Byzantine Catholics. The land package is only $1,995 per person, double occupancy, and includes transportation, accommodations and some meals. Single rooms are available for an extra $500. Airfare is extra. Registration and $500 deposit is due by May 15, 2015. For more details, and to register online, visit www.olconference.com and click on the Pilgrimage button.

Orientale Lumen XIX: The 19th annual Orientale Lumen Conference will be held June 15th – June 18th at the Washington Retreat House. The theme of this year’s Conference will be: “The Bishop of Rome: Past, Present, and Future.” Speakers include Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia, Archimandrite Robert Taft, S.J., and others. For more information visit www.olconference.com .

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