+++ Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen! +++
+++ Christos Voskrese! Voistinnu Voskrese! +++
+++ Christos Anesti! Alethos Anesti! +++
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
* Saturday, May 17 - 4:30 PM - Vespers // Confessions: 4 PM - 4:20 PM
* Sunday, May 18 - 10 AM - Liturgy: “5th Paschal Sunday - Samaritan Woman” //
Prayers for the Departed (5th Anniversary of Repose): +Apr. John Horosky // +William L. Evansky (100th Birthday Remembrance)
* Saturday, May 24 - 4:30 PM - Vespers // Confessions: 4 PM - 4:20 PM
* Sunday, May 25 - 9:30 AM (!) - Liturgy: “6th Paschal Sunday - Sunday of the Blind Man”
*** NOTE that the STARTING TIME for SUNDAY LITURGIES moves to 9:30 AM on May 25! DON’T BE LATE! This 9:30 AM start time on Sundays will continue through Labor Day weekend in September. All other starting times for services throughout the week remain unchanged. ***
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SUNDAY LITURGY LAITY FUNCTIONS
* MAY 18 - THIRD HOUR: C. Schulte
* MAY 18 - EPISTLE: (Deacon)
* MAY 18 - COLLECTION: O. Mycyk / B. Nelko
* MAY 25 - THIRD HOUR: M.D. Stahoviak
* MAY 25 - EPISTLE: M.D. Stahoviak
* MAY 25 - COLLECTION: S. Yakich / N. Domitrovic
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* Thanks to all made reservations for the catered luncheon downstairs in the church hall following this Sunday’s Liturgy in honor of my 40th ORDINATION ANNIVERSARY TO THE HOLY PRIESTHOOD. I look forward to sharing this occasion with all of you at Liturgy and the luncheon to follow!
* *REVISED DATE - ECONOMY CEMETERY!* Weather permitting, I plan to BLESS GRAVES for the Paschal season at Economy Cemetery on Saturday, May 24 - 1 PM and at the St. Elijah Cemetery this Saturday (May 17) - 2 PM. Please call/text my cell phone this Saturday morning to make sure the St. Elijah Cemetery is still proceeding should the weather look doubtful - - I will decide by noon to postpone. Please contact me to discuss blessings at other cemeteries (or at these two cemeteries at alternative times) before Holy Ascension on May 29th.
* ORTHODOX BIBLE STUDY is tentatively scheduled to take place downstairs in the church hall on Thursday, May 22 - 6:30 PM. Please let me know no later than Tuesday evening, May 20, if you plan to attend. Non-parish guests are most welcome as we explore God’s word together according to the Orthodox Holy Tradition.
* The initial meeting of the parish’s LONG-RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE is set for Wednesday, May 21 - 6:30 PM - downstairs in the church hall.
* We offer our THANKS to everyone who helped make last Sunday’s Mother’s Day Brunch such an enjoyable event. Likewise, we thank everyone who helped make last Saturday’s Ladies Altar Society Tea-Basket Party another “winner” again this year. May God bless everyone for their efforts to make our parish function so successfully!
* Please keep Thursday, May 29 - 6 PM - open on your calendar for the first post-Pascha SIMPLY SOCIAL GATHERING. The restaurant choice for this informal parish night-out will be announced soon. Non-parish guests are cordially invited to join our “family” that night as well!
* [Calendar reminder!] The important Holyday of THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD is rapidly approaching: Vespers (with Litiya) - Wednesday, May 28 (6:30 PM) / Divine Liturgy - Thursday May 29 (9:30 AM). Plan on attending at least one - if not both - of these spiritually meaningful divine services!
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FIFTH PASCHAL SUNDAY - SAMARITAN WOMAN AT THE WELL
(SPECIAL HYMNS FOR THIS DAY)
The Word of the Father,
the co-eternal Son without beginning,
came and sat by the well, though He is the Fountain of healing.
A Samaritan woman came to draw water;
when the Savior saw her, He said to her:
“Give Me water to drink!
Go, call your husband!”
She thought she was speaking not to God, but to a man.
Trying to evade Him, she said: “I have no husband.”
But the Teacher replied: “You speak the truth,
for you have had five husbands,
and the one living with you now is not your husband.”
She was amazed by His words and ran back to the town.//
She said to the crowd: “Come and see Christ, Who grants the world great mercy!”
In Your inexpressible dispensation,
You appeared on earth, O Christ our God.
When the woman of Samaria heard Your words, O Lover of man,
she left her jar at the well and ran to the town.
She said: “Come and see Him Who knew every secret hidden in my heart!
Could He be the long-awaited Messiah,//
Who will grant us great mercy?”
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Fr. Bill
Laity Liturgy Functions
DATE THIRD HOUR EPISTLE__ COLLECTION____________
MAY 4 N. Domitrovic (T.B.A.) N. Wiglesworth/ P. Wiglesworth
MAY 11 A. Lauer M. Soroka R. Markvan/ P. McKeown
MAY 18 C. Schulte (Deacon) O. Mycyk/ B. Nelko
MAY 25 M.D. Stahoviak M.D. Stahoviak S. Yakich/ N. Domitrovic
^ Please notify Fr. Bill in advance if you are unable to perform your liturgical function so that a substitute can be found in an orderly manner. Please mark your calendar since we do not send individual reminders.
^ Please contact Fr. Bill if you have any questions about these ministries. New participants are encouraged as well!
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Pastoral Reminders from Fr. Bill
~ Ascetical fasting: we abstain from eating meat each Wednesday and Friday during this month.
~ Eucharist participation general guideline for the parish: individuals who do not receive Holy Eucharist for more than two consecutive Sunday Liturgies should return for a (private) Confession before approaching the Holy Chalice. Please contact Fr. Bill about this since there is always the possibility of an extenuating circumstance.
~ Only those parish members who participated in PRIVATE CONFESSION since the beginning of Holy Lent 2025 should come forward to receive Holy Communion during this month – others should come to Private Confession before approaching to receive the Holy Sacrament.
~ Except for individuals required to eat or drink small amounts for medical conditions (i.e., with medications, etc.), Communion recipients are expected to conduct a EUCHARISTIC FAST prior to Holy Communion. This means refraining from eating or drinking from midnight until receiving Holy Eucharist. Individuals who find it necessary to eat or drink “larger” amounts on Liturgy days should refrain from receiving Communion that day. The Eucharistic fast for evening Presanctified Liturgies begins following a (light) lunch, continuing until the time of the Liturgy. Children who have not come to First Holy Confession are, of course, exempt from this guideline. Individuals with medical conditions that require a modification of the Eucharist fast should discuss it privately with Fr. Bill.
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Parish Transitions
* Dagny Quinn Lyons: Baptized into Christ’s Holy Church – April 14. +MANY YEARS!
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^ Please forward your preferred email address to Fr. Bill if you are not receiving the parish E-BULLETINS and other parish informational updates but would like to receive them. Please note that email addresses are not shared. A limited number of copies of each week’s electronic bulletin are put in the vestibule wall pamphlet rack for those individuals wanting a paper copy with the same being true for the monthly newsletter. This e-bulletin is prepared in lieu of a Sunday paper bulletin.
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PARISH ON-LINE GIVING
No envelope, no checks, no cash? No problem! ON-LINE giving is always available! Go to our website under “Online Giving” (https://www.holyghostoca.org/onlinegiving) and make your donation today. You even have the option to donate to the General Fund or Memorial Fund and we will add Special Projects as opportunities arise. There is even an option to make a recurring donation so you can set it and forget it! Please note there is a small credit card processing fee to donate online. Please contact Nicole Domitrovic or Fr. Bill if you have any questions about this on-line method of stewardship
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^ Weather permitting, Fr. Bill plans to BLESS GRAVES for the Paschal season at Economy Cemetery on Sunday, May 4 (1:30 PM) and at the St. Elijah Cemetery on Saturday, May 17 (2 PM). Please contact Fr. Bill to discuss blessings at other cemeteries (or at these two cemeteries at alternative times) before the Ascension Holyday on May 29th.
^ We will not celebrate VESPERS in the parish on May 3 since Fr. Bill will be away from the parish Friday evening, May 2, through Saturday evening, May 3, to concelebrate as Chancellor at the Diaconal Ordination Liturgy taking place at the Holy Trinity diocesan parish in State College for St. Tikhon’s Seminarian Evan Ashmore.
^ Please contact Fr. Bill any time throughout the year when you know of a parish member HOSPITALIZED for more than a single night so he can visit that person’s hospital room and administer the Holy Sacraments (either Holy Unction or Communion) “…for the healing of soul and body.”
^ As is our parish tradition, we will honor our LADIES ALTAR SOCIETY MEMBERS (both living and deceased) on “Holy Myrrhbearers Sunday” (May 4) with special prayers during the Liturgy and a Trisagion for the Departed at the conclusion of Liturgy. We hope our LAS members will participate.
^ The Parish Life Committee warmly invites everyone to attend our parish’s annual MOTHER’S DAY BRUNCH downstairs in the church hall immediately following the May 11th Liturgy. Special prayers will be offered that day during the Liturgy for our departed and living mothers as well.
^ The Parish Council and Fr. Bill’s family invite you to RSVP for a luncheon downstairs in the church hall following the May 18th Liturgy in honor of his 40th ORDINATION ANNIVERSARY TO THE HOLY PRIESTHOOD. Please CLICK HERE for more information. Please reply no later than May 11th.
^ Time grows short to purchase tickets for the LADIES ALTAR SOCIETY TEA AND BASKET PARTY being held at the Youth Center on Saturday, May 10. Please CLICK HERE for more information. Thanks for your support for this major annual fund raiser!
^ A NOTE FROM FR. MICHAEL KOCHIS (St. Vladimir Parish, Ambridge): “Please join us for a benefit concert for Ukraine on Sunday, May 4 at 4pm at the Park Presbyterian Church at 275 Commerce Street in Beaver. The classical music concert features musicians from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Carnegie Mellon University. All free will donations will support Moon Township based DTCare's programs in Ukraine that provide humanitarian aid, mental health services through art therapy and adventure-based counseling and veteran support programs.” (Please CLICK HERE for more information about the concert.) Your support is appreciated!
^ (Final reminder) The parish council again this year unanimously approved a ONE-WEEK SUMMER CAMPING SCHOLARSHIP for any eligible parish youth attending a recognized Orthodox Christian summer camp – the same that was provided last year. Parents with a child/children planning to attend such a camp should contact me privately to discuss the procurement of this assistance. (Registrations for such a popular Orthodox camping experience should be done soon due to space limitations.)
^ We will move to our SUNDAY LITURGY SUMMER SCHEDULE during Memorial Day weekend when the Liturgy begins at 9:30 AM on May 25. This start time will continue through Labor Day weekend in September. This does not change any other non-Sunday service start times, however.
^ (Save the date!) The next SIMPLY SOCIAL night-out for parish members (and guests) is scheduled for Thursday, May 29 - 6 PM. Please look for location details in the upcoming May weekly e-bulletins. (This will be a “family friendly” event.)
^ (Mark your planner!) ORTHODOX BIBLE STUDY is tentatively scheduled to take place downstairs in the church hall on Thursday, May 22 – 6:30 PM. Please inform Fr. Bill if you plan to attend no later than Tuesday evening, May 20, to make sure there will be sufficient attendance to proceed with the discussion. Come and learn! Guests are warmly welcomed, too!
^ The first meeting of the parish’s newly formed LONG-RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE will take place in the Educational Center on May 21 - 6:30 PM. We thank the following parish members for agreeing to serve on this committee: Rob Grano / Nicole Domitrovic / Danielle Ilchuk / Joe Lear / Bill Nelko.
^ We thank all the parish members who returned STEWARDSHIP PLEDGE FORMS to participate in our 2025 program. You are asked to regularly contribute to fulfill your pledge during the year. GOD BLESS!
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What does “Religion” mean to an Orthodox Christian?
What is “RELIGION?” For us Orthodox Christians it is a relationship with God in the person of Jesus. It is on this personal relationship to Christ that the happiness and the purposefulness of life depends - - AND it shall be based on this relationship that our eternal destiny shall be decided.
Every Orthodox Christian must decide what kind of a relationship that want with our Savior. Is it a relationship that is kept alive through faith, prayer, the Holy Sacraments (Mysteries), and obedience to His commandments? Or is it a relationship kept dead by sin and indifference? It was concerning this relationship that Jesus said: I am the vine, you are branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in Me, he is cast forth as a branch that withers … If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will and it shall be done for you (Jn. 15.58)”
+ Christ is Risen! Let us bask in the joy of the newly Risen Lord in His Church’s Paschal services! +
Today, as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Holy Ghost Orthodox Church in Ambridge, we should pause in our festivities and reflect thoughtfully on its beginnings.
Shortly after the turn of the century, many Europeans sought to escape the religious and cultural persecutions of the Austro-Hungarian rulers by sailing to America.
Approximately 14 families, including those of John Bowan Sr., Wasil Blishak, Constantine Dzubinsky, Samuel Evans Sr., Daniel Holovach, A. Kohan, Nicholas Kraynak, Theodore Kushnir, Wasil Kuhta, Wasil Towcimak, Michael Turko, and John Zawoysky, settled in the North Side and South Side of Pittsburgh, where they attended St. Alexander Nevsky and St. Michael's Orthodox Churches.
However, these pioneers soon moved on to Ambridge where employment opportunities were greater. The American Bridge Company, which erected its first plant in Ambridge in 1902, offered such security.
Although settled in Ambridge, they continued to attend church in Pittsburgh. Each Sunday morning they walked the railroad tracks, more accessible than the unpaved roads, to Leetsdale, where they boarded a train to Pittsburgh. This continued until the group established a makeshift altar in May's Hall, Third and Merchant Streets, Ambridge. There, under the guidance of the Rev. J. Sechinsky, they continued their religious devotions. A little later, services were conducted in the residence of Samuel Evans, Sr., and still later in a little shelter on a vacant lot near Third and Merchant Streets. The reverends J. Sechinsky, P. Kohanik and Nicholas Koshevich were among the early pastors.
In October of 1907, guided by Fr. Nicholas Koshevich, this determined group purchased two lots at Second and Maplewood Avenue for $1,650. With their hands, they laid the foundation of their long-awaited church. It took them two months and cost approximately $6,000 -- lots, construction and materials included. The American Bridge Co donated steel for the foundation. This contribution so overwhelmed the group that they gathered on the grounds of the American Bridge plant with their icons and glorified the donors with prayers and singing.
On November 27, 1907, the first Divine Liturgy was served in the newly built church basement. Named trustees of the fledgling church were Wasil Blishak, John Bowan Sr. Samuel Evans Sr. and Daniel Holovach. Others who contributed their services were families of Timko Romanov, Paul Romanov, Dimitri Skomsky, Theodore Lapihuska, Timko Guch, Harry Kohanik, Stephen Felk, John Evans Sr., A. Zbigley, Nicholas Kuhta, Theodore Fecik, Wasil Liseyko, Joseph Hafiez, Anton Shpak, Nicholas Kulavchik, N. Polovischak, E. Polovischak, Timko Blishko, Harry Shepella, Michael Roman, John Towcimak, Wasil Zawoysky Sr., Wasil Guch, Michael Psinka and Wasil Hritzik.
On August 21, 1911, the parish was incorporated as the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Ghost. The congregation adopted as its patron, the Descent of the Holy Ghost (Spirit) upon the Apostles.
The first recorded christening was that of Nicholas Kuhta on October 27, 1907. The first marriage solemnized in the church was that of Theodore Hopta and Anna Hnath on February 8, 1908.
The parish grew steadily, and soon plans were being formulated for completion of the church. In 1912 a building committee was established. The church was completed in December 1914 at a cost of $14,000. The Rev. Andrew Ivanishin officiated at the first Divine Liturgy in the new edifice. The cornerstone, donated by Samuel Evans Sr., and the newly built church were consecrated by the Most Rev. Archbishop Alexander, assisted by Fr. Ivanishin and visiting clergy. The dream had become a reality. Just one year later, a parish home next to the new church was purchased for $5,100.
Now thoughts turned to the church interior. In 1927, led by the Rev. Damian Krehel, the church commissioned Michael Kupetz, a parishioner, to paint the murals for $2,200.
Two years later the present three bells were purchased. Metropolitan Platon blessed them.
The Great Depression ruled out further improvements until November 27, 1941, when, under the leadership of the Rev. Emilian Skuby, a new iconostas and newly renovated church interior were blessed by the Rt. Rev. Benjamin, Bishop of Pittsburgh and West Virginia. The new iconostas was designed and erected by the famous architect-artist Gennady Gordeyev.
That same year saw the outbreak of World War II, and 1950 brought with it the Korean conflict. Twelve young men of the parish were killed in those wars: Michael Chaykowsky, Edward Chumak, Peter Dudenich, Paul Durniak, John Kucer, Michael Kucer, Frank Pastrick, Steve Pastrick, Nicholas Sapovchak, Michael Sudik, George Torhan and Dimitri Wrobleski.
On November 21, 1954, a crystal chandelier was installed and dedicated to the memory of twelve young men from the parish that gave their lives to the service of their country in World War II and the Korean conflict.
In July 1974 a new parish home was purchased on Pilgrim Drive, Leet Township. The old parish home next to the church was converted into an educational center. There the church school organization, which was initiated by the Senior R Club (FROC) during the presidency of Mildred Erdelyn Mitcheil in 1947, continues to meet.
In February 1975 a fire started in the front of the church, severely damaging one corner of the interior. Fr. Vladimir Soroka and Church Council President Irene Bell led the ensuing restoration.
In 1975 The Holy Ghost Orthodox Youth Center began as a gift. The merged Russian Community Society and Russian Society of St. Michael donated the empty building at 405 Maplewood Avenue that formerly housed the Russian Community Society. A building committee was appointed, led by co-chairmen Frank Markvan and Ted Hritsko. The former building was mostly razed and a new structure erected under the guidance of architect George Ruscitto and builder Jerry Steinmetz Construction Corporation. In 1977, two years after the ownership was transferred to the congregation, the transformed building was opened as a center for both parochial events and public events. Today the Center is a hub our Annual Slavic Festival and other church related activities.
In the early 1990's, the parishioners of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Aliquippa were welcomed as members of the Holy Ghost congregation when their parish was closed.
In November 1996 the congregation undertook one of the most ambitious renovation projects since the founding of the church in 1907. Cupolas of reinforced gold fiberglass replaced the four deteriorating copper cupolas. This project was the centerpiece of a series of renovation projects that included the complete repainting of the interior of the church, enhanced internal and external lighting, and re-pointing the brick exterior of the church. All of these major projects were completed prior to the congregation's celebration of its 90th anniversary in 1997.
The congregation has just completed a 10-year capital improvements plan in time for the parish's 100th anniversary. These projects included all new iconography in the altar, including a new Platitera icon in the apse over the sanctuary, the total refurbishment of the chandelier, renovated restrooms in the church basement, new wall-to-wall carpeting, and new iconography on the proscenium arch above the iconostas.
From the original 14 families the parish has grown to over 200 adults and 30 children.
From those hard working immigrant families who formed the nucleus, to the present pastor, V. Rev. William Evansky, church council, church organizations and congregation, we are deeply indebted. To those now deceased -- May God grant them eternal rest. To those still in our midst--thank you for a job well done! God bless you and guide you in your continued efforts.