Newsletter June 26, 2026

The Faithful and Secularism, Part Two

What are we to expect when the spirit of piety and the sanctifying life grow weak; when the spirit of prayer is neglected and reduced to the mere performance of rituals; when the life of prayer is replaced by work and organizations; when the spiritual dimension is neglected; when the faithful lose the sense of sin and forget repentance; and consequently, when the eschatological dimension of the Christian faith disappears–or is made to disappear?

Then the Church becomes an institution of this age and loses the very essence of her existence. At best, she is transformed into a humanitarian institution, perhaps even one of high caliber, but she loses her mission of sanctifying man, raising him up to the Kingdom of God, and thus bringing him to salvation.

One of the dangers of secularism is that it changes the mind without coercion. It confines the mind’s thinking to what is sensible and tangible, causing the household of God—the children of the Church—to rush into following the ways and methods of the people of this age, even in ecclesial ministries. Thus, you see them pursuing dazzling achievements at the expense of the human person. They give priority, in their planning, to establishing institutions and ensuring their survival, with the aim of serving man; yet they neglect serving the very man they intend to serve until construction of the institution is completed. Then they discover that the institution itself requires constant development and support, exhausting the efforts of those responsible for it. And so the poor, the wounded, the suffering, the despairing, and the grieving remain forgotten. Where, then, is living and active love embodied?

Read the entire article: https://www.antiochian.org/regulararticle/2845

Join us! All women, mamas, kids, and babies are welcome! We meet at 9:30 am on Thursday mornings in the playground area. While the kids play, we read the Akathist of Thanksgiving in the corner by the cross and then hang out and chat for the rest of the time.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Anna at (970) 893-1077.

Hope to see you there!
– Anna

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.

Thanks to Devon and Isaac for their assistance in getting our new (used) refrigerator purchased and delivered and installed.

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 6:18-23

Brethren, having been set free from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once yielded your members to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now yield your members to righteousness for sanctification. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But then what return did you get from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gospel: MATTHEW 8:5-13

At that time, as Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion answered him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go, ‘ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come, ‘ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this, ‘ and he does it.” When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; be it done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

The Conspiracy to Distract to Destruction

Fr. Zechariah Lynch

As Christians, we must remain incarnate. Thus, the internet is at best an entryway medium and a possible research tool. Once a person finds a good local church, he must become a human part of it. Christianity is not lived online; it never can be. Authentic life cannot truly be lived digitally. It’s impossible. Ultimately, the internet has no substance. Life is substantial. A priest online cannot replace the local priest incarnate for the local community, the Body of Christ. Because the local priest is the person on the ground, in his local plot of earth, sacrificing for the people of Christ’s flock under his care. An online chat group cannot replace the substantial fellowship in the faces of the incarnate persons gathered at church. A grave danger is that online, we no longer genuinely see the face of the other.

…

The Body of Christ has a unique opportunity during these times to become a bastion of authentic humanity. As computer technologies seek in certain ways to disincarnate human interaction, the Church will shine as a place of incarnate human persons, doing the most fundamentally human thing: worshiping the Living God. May the Lord give us wisdom for the times in which He has placed us. May we strive to keep our eyes on Him.

Read the entire article: https://inklesspen.blog/2026/05/29/the-conspiracy-to-distract-to-destruction/