All children ages nine and younger are welcome to join us for Vacation Church School July 28-30 from 9:30 to 11:30 at St. Michael. The cost is $30 for one child and $10 for each additional sibling. Parents with children under five years old are asked to stay with their children, and all parents are invited and encouraged to participate in the program. Please register with Kh. Alyssa by Friday 7/23. Take a look at the pictures in the fellowship hall from previous years of VCS to get an idea of how much fun is packed into these three days of exciting faith-filled programming!
WE WILL BE PRINTING MORE COOKBOOKS WHICH WILL BE OFFERED AGAIN AT THE VERY LOW PRICE OF ONLY $30. These are high-quality paper, full color, and large print. They are very easy to use and showcase our traditions and our stories.
Please let Soraya know if you would like to place an order at sbandeli@comcast.net
Thank you to everyone who has supported this effort in any way!
After so many months of planning, reading, formatting, re-formatting, cooking, and EATING, the St. Michael cookbook is here. If you have pre-ordered your copies, please plan to join us on Sunday to pick up your book pre-order. Please bring any balance due at that time. If you have not yet ordered your book, wait until you see how comprehensive and beautiful they are! Full color and full-sized! Over 200 pages of YUMMY traditional and modern food! Pick up your copy on Sunday! These make amazing gifts for any occasion. We have included a free surprise in every book. Open one to see what it is! We are almost sold out. Get your order in before they’re all gone. Thank you to everyone who had anything to do with any aspect of this project. It has been a great joy to read all your stories and to test all your recipes. As always, the diet starts tomorrow !! … Your Cookbook Committee
The Cookbook Committee is excited to report that we are near completion in producing the St. Michael Cookbook titled “THE FOODS THAT UNITE US … A Collection of Recipes from Our Kitchens, Our Heritage and Our Traditions”. Thanks to the wonderful, talented and creative cooks in our parish, we have put together a dynamic collection of recipes that reflects our diverse church family, its faith, fellowship and, of course, great food. This cookbook, complete with easy to follow directions, color photos, commentary and warm memories from its contributors, make it special and unique for yourself and for those to whom you gift it.
We are hoping for a SUMMER 2021 delivery and are now taking orders. The cost is $30 each or $25 each when ordering 5 or more. Order forms can be found at the back of the church and here:
Pascha Card order form has been mail out. If you would like your name on St. Michael Pascha Card, please fill out the form and return it by April 18, 2021. The proceeds of this year’s Pascha card will be going to St. Michael Women’s Group Outreach Projects. You can also download Pascha Card 2021 Order Form.
In this article you will have a chance to meet Subdeacon Joe Boruch. He is the tall man you see helping Father Ben on the altar. Joe grew up in Prospect, CT. He was an engineer by trade and worked for an insurance company helping corporate clients around the country with safety-related issues. Retiring recently, Joe and his wife Annie moved to the Cape full-time. They have had a home in Brewster for over 30 years.
Subdeacon Joseph Boruch was ordained to Holy Sub-Diaconate on December 13, 2020, by His Grace Bishop JOHN.
When their son Joseph was a young boy, he was an altar server at their home parish in Waterbury CT, and the priest there asked Joe to help supervise the younger children on the altar. He was tonsured as a Reader by Bishop Nikon (Blessed Memory). Joe’s humility and love of serving the Lord eventually led to being ordained a Subdeacon. Subdeacons are the highest level of the minor orders in the Orthodox Church. Their duties include caring for the altar area, coordinating the servers and their activities, training new servers, and other duties as required. As the head server, the Subdeacon assists the bishop when he is presiding. Other than a Priest or a deacon, Subdeacons are the only people allowed to touch the altar table (for cleaning, changing covers etc). As with Priests, Ordained Subdeacons cannot marry. Fortunately Joe and Annie married before he was ordained! In a church setting they are addressed by their title – for example Subdeacon Joseph. Outside of church they are usually called by just their first name i.e. Joe.
Subdeacon Joseph describes his service on the altar as ‘very rewarding’. He says one of his main responsibilities is helping keep things organized and flowing so Fr. Ben can focus on the service. His goal is to ‘time things so that the servers are waiting on the Priest, not the Priest waiting on the servers’. His dedication and selflessness are an example to the other servers and help keep the service reverent for the glory of God and the parishioners.
Subdeacon Joseph learned this at an early age. His grandparents came to the United States through New York City then Bridgeport CT. His grandmother was from Poland (Catholic) and his grandfather was from Russia (Orthodox). As a young boy Joe and his family attended church regularly, and some of his greatest memories include sharing a traditional Slavic Christmas Eve dinner and attending midnight mass afterwards. Joe’s other grandparents were both Polish and he recalls celebrating Christmas on December 25th and visiting his grandfather for Russian Christmas in January.
Joe learned from his mother the power of faith. She lost 2 babies and her husband at an early age. Through this her faith remained strong as she went on to serve as a grief counselor in her parish. Joe continues to pass along these values to his son Joseph and adored granddaughter Stella. Five years ago Joe underwent emergency open-heart surgery for a tumor. He attributes his recovery and subsequent good health to God. Each year he celebrates his ‘rebirth’ on December 28th ( the day of his surgery).
Joe met the love of his life Annie on a blind date. They were married a year later shortly after he converted to Orthodoxy from Catholicism. Annie had grown up attending The Nativity Of the Holy Virgin Orthodox Church in Waterbury CT which became their own family church.
When not serving our parish as a Subdeacon, Joe enjoys boating, fishing, (especially for Bluefin Tuna), and sports car racing. He builds his own cars including engines, machining, and welding. He has used these talents to manufacture some needed items within our church.
Subdeacon Joseph’s advice is to ‘pray constantly’. The Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner” is an excellent prayer to use. “While I have not yet achieved constant prayer,” he says, “it is something that I strive for.” He also points to the importance of attending Liturgy regularly in order to receive Communion, hear the Gospel (good news), to thank God through song and prayers, and be around other Orthodox Christians. While in-person attendance may not be possible for everyone during this pandemic, Subdeacon Joseph encourages everyone who cannot come – to participate through the YouTube broadcast.
On behalf of the Parish Council, we wish our entire parish a Blessed Christmas and a healthy 2021.
We thank everyone for their commitment and all they do for St Michael. As we enter the Holidays, please take a few minutes and reach out to others in the parish to say hello or to just check in on how they are doing. It is important that we stay connected to each other as a community through this unique time.
