Newsletter June 10, 2026

Liturgy and adult class are cancelled for next Wednesday, June 10. I will be attending the clergy meeting at the Diocesan Parish Life Conference in Denver.

On Social Media

There are morals and virtues that every Christian must possess. Christianity is not merely a social identity or outward lifestyle; it is a way of life in which our virtues and morals become visible. Outwardly, you reveal what exists inwardly. Self-control, refraining from hasty judgment, and resisting the urge to believe and spread everything we hear are the very least we should require of ourselves.

St. Silouan the Athonite considered reading newspapers to be the darkening of the soul and an obstacle to “pure prayer.” What then should we say today about the endless flood of news pouring upon us like heavy winter rain? At the time, he spoke only about newspapers — the sole means of learning the news in the early twentieth century. And newspapers are tacit: they merely report events without interaction. What would the saint say today about social media, which not only transmits news but also allows every reader to instantly become an editor and commentator?

Read the entire article: https://www.antiochian.org/regulararticle/2829

Our diocesan Parish Life Conference (which is the annual gathering of our diocesan community for fellowship and worship) will take place in Denver this summer (June 10th – 13th)! This is a great opportunity to experience the event. The culminating event is the Divine Liturgy on Saturday morning, where all of the priests of the diocese celebrate together. It is, literally, awesome.

Here is the link for the PLC website. It contains schedules, location, registration, etc.
https://www.antiochianevents.com/wichita
Please note that you will need to register and pay for admittance to any of the events (except, of course, any of the liturgical services…).

The parish council has noted that our parking space is getting a bit tight. Therefore we have begun mowing more space in the field to the east of the playground. Please feel free to use this space as well.

Remember to park in rows going south (out toward the field) so that we can fill the space and still allow cars to move in and out. Do not simply park on the edge of the drive and there by block access to the rest of the parking area.

Please remember that our full calendar continues to be available at our parish web site. Here is a link:
https://stjfc.org/Pages/Calendar/calendar.php

Full schedule:
https://stjfc.org/Pages/Ministries/Prosphora/Docs/prosphora sched 2026 web.pdf

Full schedule:
https://stjfc.org/Pages/Ministries/Altar/Docs/epistle readers for 2026.pdf

Epistle: ST. PAUL’S LETTER TO THE ROMANS 2:10-16

Brethren, glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality. All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

Gospel: MATTHEW 4:18-23

At that time, as Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left their boat and their father, and followed him. And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.

Filled With All the Fullness of God

Igumen Gabriel

But — as with all things, both in the Church and in our lives as a whole — the providence of God wisely and deliberately arranged for us to experience this absolutely necessary sense of emptiness, in order to stir up within us a more fervent and heartfelt longing for the coming of the Comforter. For truly, the Holy Spirit cannot take up His abode in a heart which has no room for Him. The gifts of God are indeed freely given, but they nevertheless (as one of the poets once wrote) cost us “not less than everything.” The Kingdom of Heaven is indeed the “pearl of great price,” for which we must sell all that we have (Matt. 13:46). “For the LORD thy God is a jealous God” (Deut. 6:15), and our hearts are quite simply insufficient to contain both His love and that of any other.

The Church, therefore, does absolutely everything in Her power to enkindle divine love within our hearts, for lesser loves can only be driven out by a greater love. This, truly, is the work of all our lives on this earth: to learn to love rightly, to learn to love God alone. And such a thing can only be taught to us by the Spirit of the God Who is love — which is, of course, why the foremost fruit of the Spirit spoken of by St. Paul is precisely “love” (Gal. 5:22).

Read the entire article: https://www.rememberingsion.com/p/filled-with-all-the-fullness-of-gods-of-god