Please join us in welcoming and venerating the

Myrrh-Streaming Icon "Theotokos the Tender Heart" 

Friday, September 13, 2019

Great Vespers 7:00 PM with Archbishop Daniel

      Seminarians from St. Sophia will be singing responses

Saturday, September 14, 2019

9:00 AM Divine Liturgy with Fr. John Charest

      St. Peter & St. Paul Parish Choir will be singing the responses for Divine Liturgy.

His Eminence Archbishop Daniel, Bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA

Hierarchs of UOC of USA

Archbishop Daniel will be officiating Great Vespers on Friday, September 13, 2019.

Fr. John Charest, Priest of St. Peter & St. Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Carnegie, PA

Fr. Mark Leasure, St. George's Orthodox Church, Taylor, PA

Member of American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Diocese ("ACROD") of USA

Deacon Evan O'Neil, St. Peter & St. Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Carnegie, PA

Michael Kapeluck, Reader, St. Peter & St. Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Stephen Sawchuk, Reader, St. Peter & St. Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Parishioners,

Please watch this area for different ways that you can help with this memorable event for St. Peter & St. Paul Parish.  A special parish council committee is meeting to plan the weekend and as plans are finalized, we will place the information in the bulletin and on our website. 

Information will not be placed on our social media outlets for this event.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

 ICON VISIT GREETERS

We are looking for individuals to assist as "Greeters" to the visitors to our parish during the Icon Visit Services (Friday and Saturday) for the church and social hall.  The Greeters will help visitors with questions about the church, candles, bathroom locations, help with seating, where to park and general questions as they may arise.  It will also be helpful if we have designated people at our elevator and chair lift to aid both for the people and care of the equipment.  We are looking for several individuals per a 2-hour time frame both for the church narthex area and the church social hall.  

Any questions, please speak with Chris Mills, Pani Matka Alice O'Neil, Mary Stevens or Fr. John or email orthododoxcarnegie@gmail.com.

Friday 9.13.2019 Greeter List

Saturday 9.14.2019 Greeter List

DONATIONS FOR EXPENSES

Please see the letter below explaining information concerning some of the expenses being encurred with the event.  You may access a PDF of the form HERE to submit your donation to Parish Treasurer, John Stasko. 

You can also make you donation via our online donation option by going to the SUPPORT Page to make you donation from our website.

Thank you for your consideraton and assistance in making this wonderous event possible at our parish!

Air-Conditioning for the Weekend

Normally our Church does not have air conditioning.  While the days in September can still be on the warm side, the Parish Council has secured a company to install temporary air-condiditioning for the weekend to make sure everyone is comfortable should the temperatures be on the high side.  If you would like to help offset this cost, please consider making a donation.

Greeters

Parish volunteers will be available throughout the parish grounds to help with parking, candles questions, seating, restroom locations, elevator accessiblity and general questions that may arrise.  You can idenitfy a Greeter by looking for a person wearing a Welcome Button.

Candles

Candles and extra candle boxes will be available to accomidate all our guests.  Everyone will be able to light their candle(s) and say their prayers during the weekend services.

Handicap Accessable

THE CHURCH:   An elevator lift is available on the right side entrance of the church. The elevator lift allows access for a wheelchair . 

THE SOCIAL HALL:  The social hall  which is right next door  has a chair lift to help people to the first floor.  There is NO handicap access to the second floor of the social hall.  Church Greeters will be available at the Social Hall chair lift both days to provide assistance.  PLEASE NOTE:  AS OF 9/11/2019 THE CHAIR LIFT WAS OUT OF ORDER.

Guest Book

We will have a Guest Book at the bottom of the church steps or back of church available for you to sign so we can remember you for visiting and sharing with us on this special event in our parish.

Sound 

A temporary sound system & microphones will be in place over the weekend to ensure everyone is able to adequately hear all aspects of the services and speakers.

Restrooms

Restrooms are located in the church in the bottom floor.  Greeters will be able to show you which doors to utilize to the stairs.

Photographs/Videos

Please note:  ANY PICTURES/VIDEOS TAKEN MUST BE FOR YOUR PRIVATE/PERSONAL USE ONLY.  IT IS REQUESTED THAT PICTURES ARE NOT PLACED ON THE INTERNET.  You may see our Parish Photographer/Video Person, they are recording for Parish History Records/Museum and they will not be placed on our website/social media outlets. 

Thank you and we hope you understand.

Parking & Shuttle

A. An area in front of the church will be blocked off to allow for people to exit their vehicles for being dropped off or picked up.  

B.  Parking in front of the church and half of the parking lot on the side of the church hall will be available for our visitors. 

C.  We have secured the use of part of the parking lot at Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church on Washington Ave.  Greeters in front of the church can provide directions to the lot if needed.  A shuttle van will be circling around to bring people from the this lot.  You may bring your passengers to the church first, prior to parking.

D.  We have also secured the use of the "park n ride" by the Carnegie Burough Building.  Again, it would be reccomended to allow your passengers to exit your vehicle in front of the church, park the car, and then a shuttle will be around to pick up the driver at the "park n ride".

E.  Park at your own options & locations where you can find.

F. Parishioner Parking:  Please utilize the parking sign emailed to you and place on your dashboard in vehicle.  You can allow your passengers to exit your vehicle in front of the church then proceed to park in the lot off Broadway St. (Parking log with the Big White Building, accross the railroad tracks behind WesBanco.)

The Miracles and Wonders of God - The Crying Icon of Taylor, PA

A man had a massive heart attack while in the church. Two nurses who were present rushed over to him and began to do CPR, while others called 911. As the nurses tried to revive him, he showed no pulse, stopped breathing and actually died. While waiting the few minutes for the ambulance to arrive, Fr. Mark Leisure, the priest of St. George Orthodox Church in Taylor, PA took the Kardiotisa, “The Tender Heart” myrrh-flowing, miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary and held it over the man so that the fragrant myrrh would drip from the icon onto the chest of the man. Immediately, the dead man took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and began singing “Mary, Mother of God Save Me.” By the time the paramedics arrived, he was sitting up and didn’t think he needed to go to the hospital, even though they insisted that he get checked.

The doctor at the Sloan Kettering Cancer Center tells the woman she has Stage 4 cancer, and there is no treatment that will help her condition. They tell her that they can control her pain, but she has little time to live. With little hope, she leaves the hospital. Yet a friend anoints her with the fragrant myrrh flowing from the Kardiotisa icon. She is miraculously healed. The next time she goes to the doctors and gets checked, they are puzzled and amazed that there is no trace of her cancer.
Over the past three years, these miracles have happened again and again – with people finding healing from prostrate cancer, liver cancer, throat cancer, lung cancer, brain lymphoma, and almost every other form of cancer. There is even one oncologist who now, along with his medical treatment, directs his patients to visit the St. George Orthodox Church in Taylor, PA and be anointed by this miraculous myrrh.
One man had a ruptured brain aneurism. While in the hospital’s ICU, he was in a coma with no hope for recovery. The doctors told the wife and family to say their goodbyes. A friend of the family knew a priest who had seen the Kardiotisa  icon and had a cotton swab with the myrrh. He came and anointed the man, and the man awoke from the coma, healed. The doctors couldn’t explain what happened, and said it was truly a miracle.

A woman couldn’t see through her pregnancies. Four times she became pregnant, only to have her baby miscarried at a particular point in the pregnancy. There was a problem where the stem that connected the spinal cord and the brain, and this caused the miscarriage. During her fifth pregnancy, before she went to the doctor for an ultrasound, she was anointed with holy myrrh from the icon. In the ultrasound picture, which we all saw, there was an obvious light that had connected the brain with the spinal cord. The doctor and nurses said they had never seen anything like this before. The woman gave birth to a healthy child.

A young boy is rushed to the hospital with a 105 temperature. There is swelling of the brain and nothing seemed to be working to lower his temperature. His grandmother remembered that she had an old cotton swab from the miraculous icon in her purse. When she pulled it out, it was dry. And yet, she took it and tried to anoint her grandson, asking for the Virgin Mary’s intercession. Shortly thereafter, the boy’s temperature broke and he sat up. The next day, she took out the cotton swab again, and discovered that it was now soaked with myrrh and had even formed itself into a heart.

A young 14 year old girl had tried to commit suicide several times, and fallen into utter despair because of the bullying, ridicule and pain she experienced at school. While at Camp Nazareth, a Church Camp outside of Pittsburgh, she encountered the grace of God through this miraculous icon, and found inner healing and hope. Months later she wrote the most beautiful four page letter to Fr. Mark, which he read to us, describing how her life has turned around by her experience with the Kardiotisa icon.

Every Wednesday night for the past eight years, Fr. Mark and his community have a special prayer service to the Virgin Mary in front of this icon. Every Monday night, Fr. Mark has a Questions and Answer session in his church. Hundreds and hundreds come every Wednesday. Several dozen come on Mondays, asking questions. One stranger began to attend on Mondays, and at one point stood up and said, “These icons in the Church are against Allah. They are idolatry.” He argued that Allah was not pleased with these icons. After attending for a few weeks, this man from Iran finally approached the icon. Fr. Mark admitted that everyone was tense because he wasn’t sure what the man was going to do. Over the past eight years, Fr. Mark has seen someone pull out a knife and try to stab the icon; others have tried to smash it; some have spit on it; and one person even vomited over the protective case. The man from Iran approached and stood motionless in front of the icon covered with fragrant myrrh. Fr. Mark said the man was like in a trance, and it seemed like a battle was going on in his mind. Slowly a tear formed in his eyes, and he began to cry. He kissed the icon. As he walked out of the church, he stopped by the candle stand and wrote something in the sand in Arabic. Since no one could read Arabic, the priest took a picture of what he wrote and got someone to translate it. The man wrote, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” Several months later this man was baptized and is now a pious Orthodox Christian.

These are only a few of the wonders and miracles which 45 of our parishioners and I heard yesterday when we visited this Tender Heart Icon of the Virgin Mary. Fr. Mark told us that October 13th will mark three years since the icon has been exuding this holy, fragrant myrrh. And not just a drop or two. Fr. Mark began his talk by holding up the icon and walking around the church, allowing the myrrh to drip from the icon into the hands of each of us. Imagine, this icon of wood has been continuously overflowing with myrrh for three years!
Bishop Gregory of Nyssa, the head of the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Archdiocese under whom St. George Church lies, worked for more than 20 years in the field of Cardiovascular Research at Carolinas Medical Center in Charoltte, NC. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 articles, abstracts and book chapters.  When he first saw the icon, Fr. Mark shared how the bishop sat in front of the icon for an hour just looking at it. After an hour, he began crying and reflected, “My scientific mind cannot grasp how this is happening. How an icon painted on wood can exude myrrh. Yet my mind of faith gives glory to God for this miracle.”

Our God is a God of wonders and miracles. He is not bound by the very laws of nature which He Himself has established. Sometimes in our contemporary, secular and materialistic world we try to insist that science and reason are the only source of truth. The Church honors and appreciates science and reason, yet we know that the Creator of all stands above all. We can never try to limit or keep God confined within our own boundaries. The miracle of the Kardiotisa icon is just one small example of the unfathomable mysteries of life and of the Creator of Life, God Himself! Sometimes we can only observe in awe and wonder, and give glory to God for the way He reveals His majesty!

Glory to God for all things!                                                                                                   

http://www.schwebster.org/sermons/2014-sermons/the-miracles-and-wonders-of-god-the-crying-icon-of-taylor-pa