Newsletter June 18, 2026

The Faithful and Secularism, Part One

According to secularism, the affairs of life are handled in a worldly manner, while the affairs of God are handled in the temple on Sunday. That behavior becomes separated from faith, as do morals, values, and ways of living. Man becomes confined to the earthly dimension of his life, and he turns the spiritual dimension into a kind of perfume that gives him the feeling that his conscience has been satisfied, while preventing him from examining himself in the light of the Gospel and, consequently, from demanding of himself more than what he already is.

There is nothing sacred in secularism. Man no longer lives in the anticipation and realization of eternity—or, more precisely, in the experience of it, even as a murmur, here and now. His earthly life is no longer an imitation of the things above and an embodiment of the things to come. Rather, the present world charts the path, direction, and aim of life. Indeed, quite the opposite happens: earthly life itself becomes the goal and the end, and all available possibilities, including religious and spiritual ones, are placed at its service. The happiness of earthly life becomes the framework within which this philosophy imprisons man, neglecting his non-material dimensions.

Read the entire article: https://www.antiochian.org/regulararticle/2837

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.

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 5:1-10

Brethren, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access by faith to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man — though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Gospel: MATTHEW 6:22-33

The Lord said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.”

The Communion of Friends

Igumen GabrielFr. Stephen Freeman

In terms of the New Testament, true knowledge is ultimately only had by communion (koinonia). The sort of rational, observational collection of facts that passes for knowledge in our world, would be nothing of the sort in theirs. When John’s gospel says, “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent” (Jn 17:3), it is a reference to knowledge by participation, or communion. It is precisely because true knowledge is communion that knowledge of God is eternal life. That knowledge can only be had by true participation in His life.

In a similar manner, St. Paul cried out, “…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may have communion in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead!” (Phi 3:10-11)

Interestingly, communion lies at the center of the traditional practice of venerating the saints. Communion works by love. Indeed, true communion is perhaps the main point of love. We not only want to be with the other, we want to share in their life and existence. In the example of friendship described at the outset, there is an experience of communion for which we often have no word in our modern vocabulary (having changed the meaning of communion). We experience communion but are at a loss to describe it or defend it. When we are told that it is simply a thing of the mind, we have no response. Modernity is a lonely construct.

Read the entire article: https://glory2godforallthings.com/2026/06/12/the-communion-of-friends-5/