DIVINE SERVICES
* (Tomorrow) November 7 - 6:30 PM - Vespers (with Litiya): “Archangel Michael” // Confessions: 6 PM - 6:20 PM
* Saturday, November 8 - 9:30 AM - Divine Liturgy: “Archangel Michael” // Confessions: 9 AM - 9:15 AM
* Saturday, November 8 - 4:30 PM - Vespers // Confessions: 4 PM - 4:20 PM
* Sunday, November 9 - Divine Liturgy / Trisagion: Departed Armed Forces Veterans
* Saturday, November 15 - 4:30 PM - Vespers // Confessions: 4 PM - 4:20 PM
* Sunday, November 16 - 10 AM - Divine Liturgy //
Prayers for the Departed: +Fr. John Horosky / +Richard - Betty (Petka) Raczkiewicz
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SUNDAY LITURGY LAITY FUNCTIONS
* NOVEMBER 9 - THIRD HOUR: M. Soroka
* NOVEMBER 9 - EPISTLE: A. Lauer
* NOVEMBER 9 - COLLECTION: O. Mycyk / B. Nelko
* NOVEMBER 16 - THIRD HOUR: C. Schulte
* NOVEMBER 16 - EPISTLE: C. Schulte
* NOVEMBER 16 - COLLECTION: R. Grano / A. Lauer
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* CLICK HERE for information concerning an Advent retreat being co-sponsored by our Archdiocese and the St. Nicholas parish in Weirton on Saturday, December 6. (Please consider attending - this should be VERY uplifting!)
* CHURCH SCHOOL - TEEN GROUP CLASSES are scheduled for 9 AM this Sunday. Also, SUNDAY DIALOGUE for all adults of the parish in the church nave at 9 AM this Sunday- - come!
* We will do our annual VETERANS DAY COMMEMORATION during this Sunday’s Liturgy with special prayers offered for both our departed and living armed forces veterans. All veterans are invited to come to the center of the church at the end of Liturgy as we offer a Trisagion Service for the departed armed forces veterans.
* Our Ladies Altar Society members invite everyone to come to the annual PRE-ADVENT SOUP AND SANDWICH LUNCH FUND RAISER. It takes place downstairs in the church hall following the Liturgy this Sunday. Please contact L.A.S. project chairs Mat. Vicki Stahoviak or Patty Lear if you have any questions about this event. Also, please contact Patty if you can provide a homemade soup!
* Add this to your calendar! We will gather for a final SIMPLY SOCIAL NIGHT-OUT on Tuesday - November 11 - 6 PM before the Nativity Fast begins on November 15. We will meet at Mike & Tony’s Restaurant located in Moon Township at 5980 University Boulevard. So the restaurant can be prepared to serve us better, please notify Rob Grano (or me) know by Monday, November 10 - 6 PM if you plan on attending the November 11th event. This is a “family friendly” restaurant! Non-parish members are invited, too, as your guests!
* ORTHODOX BIBLE STUDY is tentatively scheduled downstairs in the church hall on Wednesday, November 19 (6:30 PM). Please let me know by Monday evening, November 17 if you plan on attending the Wednesday session. Non-parish members are invited to join us!
* Can you help?! We are encouraging everyone to be especially generous with your FOOD PANTRY DONATIONS at this time since the Fair Oaks Fire Department pantry, as with other such resources, finds itself sorely in need of supplies in light of the circumstances currently in our country. Please bring your donations of household and non-perishable food items downstairs to the church kitchen so they can be passed along. You can also personally drop off donations at the Fair Oaks fire station on Ambridge Avenue. Additionally, you can donate monetarily by making a check payable to the parish as you mark it - “Food Pantry Help.” You can forward that check to any parish officer in the vestibule or give it directly to me. Cash donations are also gratefully accepted. THANKS!
* Matushka Debbie and I will be AWAY FROM THE PARISH for a short trip this coming week. We will be away from Wednesday afternoon (November 12) through Friday afternoon (November 14). As is always the case, please call my cell in the event of an emergency requiring immediate pastoral attention. Please leave a voice message if I cannot immediately accept the call.
* We will take a SPECIAL COLLECTION after Liturgy on November 16 to support the FOCA St. Nicholas Married Seminarian Project. Please see the in-depth article about this in the recently received November parish newsletter. Please support this important project again this year - - our 25th year of doing so!
* Meeting change! The date of the NOVEMBER PARISH COUNCIL MEETING has been changed - - the revised date is Monday, November 24 (6:30 PM).
* Time to get the baking started! The 2025 CHARITY COOKIE WALK is scheduled at the Youth Center following the Liturgy on Sunday, December 7. Let’s make this another successful Advent project this year! Please see project chair Tammy Needham if you have questions about this event.
* In place of a regular quarterly business meeting, the Ladies Altar Society will be doing an ADVENT SERVICE PROJECT downstairs in the church hall following the November 23 Liturgy. We will prepare a small Christmas gift for those parish members that aren't able physically to join us in church due to physical limitations. Fr. Bill will distribute these gifts during his Advent pastoral home visits. Please let Sharon Yakich know if you are able to join us by November 19 so we can plan for snacks & drinks. If there are any with younger children that would like to join us, we can have the children do a separate project with help we’ll provide. All parish members are invited to participate. It's a good way to show our appreciation for those who can't be physically with us now, so we hope you're able to make some time to join us.
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ALONE WITH GOD
[35] And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed.
[36] And Simon and those who were with him pursued him,
[37] and they found him and said to him, "Everyone is searching for you."
[38] And he said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out."
[39] And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Is prayer part of your daily schedule?
In thinking about your answer, don’t include times when your attention is divided; consider only the occasions when you’re fully focused on Him. While prayer at any time is good, we also need to have a set time and place where we meet with the Lord each day. Even though Jesus was the Son of God, He knew the importance of solitary prayer time. He didn’t do anything on His own initiative but lived in dependence on the Father. In this reading from the Evangelist Mark, we don’t know exactly what Jesus prayed. But when the disciples interrupted His morning prayer time, it was obvious that in communicating with His Father, He’d received direction for that day—to “go somewhere else” to preach.
Jesus was the perfect example of a Spirit-led life. Since we are to follow in His footsteps, wouldn’t it make sense for us to meet with God in preparation for the day? Psalm 5.3 puts it wonderfully: “O Lord, in the morning thou dost hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for thee, and watch.” This is the time to lay our concerns at His feet, seek His guidance, trust Him for provision and protection, and intercede for others. Although many things demand our time and attention, we should strive to make prayer a regular part of our daily routine. When that is our priority, we’ll have a firm foundation for the day, no matter what it brings.
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Fr. Bill
Laity Liturgy Functions
DATE THIRD HOUR EPISTLE__ COLLECTION______
NOVEMBER 2 M.D. Stahoviak N. Yakich I. Yakich / P. Wiglesworth
NOVEMBER 9 M. Soroka A. Lauer O. Mycyk / B. Nelko
NOVEMBER 16 C. Schulte C. Schulte S. Yakich / N. Domitrovic
NOVEMBER 23 D. Neill M.D. Stahoviak P. Evans / T. Fleck
NOVEMBER 30 D. Ilchuk (T.B.A.) R. Grano / A. Lauer
^ Please notify Fr. Bill in advance if you are unable to perform your liturgical function so that a substitute can be found in an orderly manner. Please mark your calendar since we do not send individual reminders.
^ Please contact Fr. Bill if you have any questions about these ministries. New participants are encouraged as well!
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Pastoral Reminders from Fr. Bill
~ As is the norm in Orthodox ascetical fasting for much of the calendar year, each Wednesday and Friday during this month are days we abstain from consuming meats.
~ The Nativity Fast (Advent) in preparation for our Lord’s Nativity celebration on December 25th begins on November 15. Please prepare yourself spiritually for His Birth by fasting and coming to Private Confession!
~ Eucharist participation general guideline for the parish: individuals who do not receive Holy Eucharist for more than two consecutive Sunday Liturgies should return for a Private Confession before approaching Holy Communion. Please contact Fr. Bill about this since there is always the possibility of an extenuating circumstance.
~ The General Confession scheduled on November 2nd (9:30 AM) is only for those parish members who have participated in Private Confession since the beginning of Great Lent 2025, others desiring to receive Holy Communion should come to Private Confession first. Communicants unable to attend the General Confession should see Fr. Bill for a Private Confession before approaching the chalice, unless they have participated in a recent Private Confession. Please note that this will be the final 2025 General Confession since all communicants are expected to participate in Private Confession during the Nativity Fast that begins on November 15th.
~ Except for individuals required to eat or drink small amounts for medical conditions (i.e., with medications, etc.) out of necessity, Communion recipients are expected to conduct a Eucharistic fast prior to Holy Communion. This means refraining from eating or drinking from midnight until receiving Holy Eucharist. Individuals who find it necessary to eat or drink “larger” amounts on Liturgy days should refrain from receiving Communion that day. The Eucharistic fast for evening Vesperal Liturgies begins following a (light) lunch, continuing until the time of the Liturgy. Children who have not come to First Holy Confession are, of course, exempt from this guideline. Individuals with medical conditions that require a modification of the Eucharist fast should discuss it privately with Fr. Bill.
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^ Please forward your preferred email address to Fr. Bill if you are not receiving the parish E-BULLETINS and other parish informational updates but would like to receive them. Please note that email addresses are not shared. A limited number of copies of each week’s electronic bulletin are put in the vestibule wall pamphlet rack for those individuals wanting a paper copy with the same being true for the monthly newsletter. This e-bulletin is prepared in lieu of a Sunday paper bulletin.
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PARISH ON-LINE GIVING
No envelope, no checks, no cash? No problem! ON-LINE giving is always available! Go to our website under “Online Giving” (https://www.holyghostoca.org/onlinegiving) and make your donation today. You even have the option to donate to the General Fund or Memorial Fund, and we will add Special Projects as opportunities arise. There is even an option to make a recurring donation so you can set it and forget it! Please note there is a small credit card processing fee to donate online. Please contact Nicole Domitrovic or Fr. Bill if you have any questions about this on-line method of stewardship
^ Please contact Fr. Bill any time throughout the year when you know of a parish member HOSPITALIZED for more than a single night so he can visit that person’s hospital room and administer the Holy Sacraments (either Holy Unction or Communion) “…for the healing of soul and body.” Fr. Bill will begin his Nativity season pastoral visits to our parish members unable to receive the Lord’s Body and Blood in Liturgy after the Nativity Fast begins on November 15. He will contact the known individuals on his list, but you are welcome to contact HIM to schedule a pastoral visit if needed.
^ (Mark your planner!) ORTHODOX BIBLE STUDY is tentatively scheduled to take place downstairs in the church hall on Wednesday, November 19 - 6:30 PM. Please inform Fr. Bill if you plan to attend no later than Monday evening, November 17, to make sure there will be sufficient attendance to proceed with the discussion. Come and learn! Guests are warmly welcomed, too!
^ As we begin the final two months of the year, all parish members are encouraged to continue REGULAR AND GENEROUS PARISH STEWARDSHIP DONATIONS each week. It is important that everyone does their part to maintain the fiscal health of our parish for the long term. THANKS for caring about Christ and His Holy Church by fulfilling (or exceeding!) your 2025 stewardship pledge!
^ Our Ladies Altar Society members invite everyone to come to the annual PRE-ADVENT SOUP AND SANDWICH LUNCH FUND RAISER. It takes place this year downstairs in the church hall following the November 9th Liturgy. Please sign the list that will be placed on the vestibule candle desk if you can provide a home-made soup for this event. Please contact L.A.S. project chairs Mat. Vicki Stahoviak or Patty Lear if you have any questions.
^ We return to EASTERN STANDARD TIME on Sunday, November 2nd. Your local fire department also reminds that this is a good day to change the batteries in your home emergency alarms for fire, smoke, carbon monoxide, etc.
^ We will HONOR OUR ARMED FORCES VETERANS with special prayers during the November 9th Liturgy. We invite our armed veterans parish members to be part of this special commemoration on November 9th.
Reminder! The ultimate spiritual test is applying Christ’s teachings to the fabric of daily living!
^ Continuing our marvelous parish tradition, we will once again this year celebrate a THANKSGIVING MORNING LITURGY on November 27 - 9:30 AM. Come and give thanks to your God “the Orthodox way” - - together as a Christian family celebrating the Holy Eucharist in unity! Bring your Thanksgiving visitors with you!
^ It’s nearly time for COOKIE WALK 2025 so get ready to “fire up” those ovens to make home-made goodies! This annual fund raiser will take place at the Youth Center following the Liturgy on December 7. Let’s make this an outstanding charity effort again this year! Please contact project chair Tammy Needham if you have questions. Please watch for more information to be published in upcoming weekly e-bulletins. Thanks!
^ The final SIMPLY SOCIAL informal gathering for 2025 at an area restaurant is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, November 11 - 6 PM. “Be on the lookout” for more information in coming November e-bulletins as well as during Fr. Bill’s Amvon announcements at the conclusion of the Liturgies.
^ We will begin our annual ADVENT CHARITY DRIVE on November 15 - the beginning of the Nativity Fast. Please buy a few extra non-perishable food and household items each time you shop and bring those items to the church kitchen area. Your help is TRULY needed this year as we support the Fair Oaks Fire Department Food Pantry that is experiencing a sharp increase in assistance requests by local families for such items. Of course, monetary donations really help, too! Please give your cash donation or check to any parish officer in the vestibule who will forward that donation to Fr. Bill - or give them directly to Fr. Bill. Please make checks payable to “Holy Ghost Orthodox Church” while marking the memo line - “Advent Charity Help.” Any parish member needing assistance should contact Fr. Bill privately as part of this campaign. (It IS ok to ask if help is needed!)
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Married Seminarians Gift Project Collection
Our parish is pleased to participate in the FOCA ST. NICHOLAS SEMINARIAN GIFT PROJECT again in 2025. These gift cards will be sent to the FOCA St. Nicholas national program organizer who will then distribute all donations among our Orthodox seminaries. This program supports seminarians (and their wives and children) who have sacrificed much to become our spiritual leaders. It is a financial hardship for these families as their income has been limited during the time they are at seminary. Many have quit well-paying secular positions to serve the Lord and His people in the Church. Gift cards have already been ordered through our parish Scrip Program - $1,000.00 in support is our goal again this year. Can you support this important outreach by making a monetary donation? This is the 25th year of the St. Nicholas program and Holy Ghost has had a strong tradition of generous contribution during the past years. Let’s continue to help the seminarians in 2025 give their families a nice Christmas! (We’ve ALWAYS reached our annual goals - - - all 24 years!)
Please make your check payable to “Holy Ghost Church” with the memo line “Seminarian Project.” If you are unable to drop off your donation at church, it can be mailed to the parish office: “Holy Ghost Orthodox Church, 210 Maplewood Avenue, Ambridge, PA 15003.” We will also have two special post-Liturgy collections on November 16 and November 23. Thanks for caring!
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^ All Orthodox Christians are encouraged to attend a Pan-Orthodox HOLY UNCTION SERVICE concelebrated by the Beaver County Orthodox priests taking place at the St. Vladimir’s Parish on Friday, November 28 - 6 PM. Come and be anointed with God’s Grace for the “healing of body and soul” as part of your spiritual journey to the Lord’s Nativity on December 25th. The parish is in Ambridge at 313 9th Street. Light Lenten refreshments will be offered downstairs in the church hall immediately following the sacramental anointing.
Every Orthodox Christian is a “student” of the Holy Spirit who is inside each of us - - -
Let Him teach you through the Holy Mysteries, daily prayer, and Scripture reading!
Today, as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Holy Ghost Orthodox Church in Ambridge, we should pause in our festivities and reflect thoughtfully on its beginnings.
Shortly after the turn of the century, many Europeans sought to escape the religious and cultural persecutions of the Austro-Hungarian rulers by sailing to America.
Approximately 14 families, including those of John Bowan Sr., Wasil Blishak, Constantine Dzubinsky, Samuel Evans Sr., Daniel Holovach, A. Kohan, Nicholas Kraynak, Theodore Kushnir, Wasil Kuhta, Wasil Towcimak, Michael Turko, and John Zawoysky, settled in the North Side and South Side of Pittsburgh, where they attended St. Alexander Nevsky and St. Michael's Orthodox Churches.
However, these pioneers soon moved on to Ambridge where employment opportunities were greater. The American Bridge Company, which erected its first plant in Ambridge in 1902, offered such security.
Although settled in Ambridge, they continued to attend church in Pittsburgh. Each Sunday morning they walked the railroad tracks, more accessible than the unpaved roads, to Leetsdale, where they boarded a train to Pittsburgh. This continued until the group established a makeshift altar in May's Hall, Third and Merchant Streets, Ambridge. There, under the guidance of the Rev. J. Sechinsky, they continued their religious devotions. A little later, services were conducted in the residence of Samuel Evans, Sr., and still later in a little shelter on a vacant lot near Third and Merchant Streets. The reverends J. Sechinsky, P. Kohanik and Nicholas Koshevich were among the early pastors.
In October of 1907, guided by Fr. Nicholas Koshevich, this determined group purchased two lots at Second and Maplewood Avenue for $1,650. With their hands, they laid the foundation of their long-awaited church. It took them two months and cost approximately $6,000 -- lots, construction and materials included. The American Bridge Co donated steel for the foundation. This contribution so overwhelmed the group that they gathered on the grounds of the American Bridge plant with their icons and glorified the donors with prayers and singing.
On November 27, 1907, the first Divine Liturgy was served in the newly built church basement. Named trustees of the fledgling church were Wasil Blishak, John Bowan Sr. Samuel Evans Sr. and Daniel Holovach. Others who contributed their services were families of Timko Romanov, Paul Romanov, Dimitri Skomsky, Theodore Lapihuska, Timko Guch, Harry Kohanik, Stephen Felk, John Evans Sr., A. Zbigley, Nicholas Kuhta, Theodore Fecik, Wasil Liseyko, Joseph Hafiez, Anton Shpak, Nicholas Kulavchik, N. Polovischak, E. Polovischak, Timko Blishko, Harry Shepella, Michael Roman, John Towcimak, Wasil Zawoysky Sr., Wasil Guch, Michael Psinka and Wasil Hritzik.
On August 21, 1911, the parish was incorporated as the Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Ghost. The congregation adopted as its patron, the Descent of the Holy Ghost (Spirit) upon the Apostles.
The first recorded christening was that of Nicholas Kuhta on October 27, 1907. The first marriage solemnized in the church was that of Theodore Hopta and Anna Hnath on February 8, 1908.
The parish grew steadily, and soon plans were being formulated for completion of the church. In 1912 a building committee was established. The church was completed in December 1914 at a cost of $14,000. The Rev. Andrew Ivanishin officiated at the first Divine Liturgy in the new edifice. The cornerstone, donated by Samuel Evans Sr., and the newly built church were consecrated by the Most Rev. Archbishop Alexander, assisted by Fr. Ivanishin and visiting clergy. The dream had become a reality. Just one year later, a parish home next to the new church was purchased for $5,100.
Now thoughts turned to the church interior. In 1927, led by the Rev. Damian Krehel, the church commissioned Michael Kupetz, a parishioner, to paint the murals for $2,200.
Two years later the present three bells were purchased. Metropolitan Platon blessed them.
The Great Depression ruled out further improvements until November 27, 1941, when, under the leadership of the Rev. Emilian Skuby, a new iconostas and newly renovated church interior were blessed by the Rt. Rev. Benjamin, Bishop of Pittsburgh and West Virginia. The new iconostas was designed and erected by the famous architect-artist Gennady Gordeyev.
That same year saw the outbreak of World War II, and 1950 brought with it the Korean conflict. Twelve young men of the parish were killed in those wars: Michael Chaykowsky, Edward Chumak, Peter Dudenich, Paul Durniak, John Kucer, Michael Kucer, Frank Pastrick, Steve Pastrick, Nicholas Sapovchak, Michael Sudik, George Torhan and Dimitri Wrobleski.
On November 21, 1954, a crystal chandelier was installed and dedicated to the memory of twelve young men from the parish that gave their lives to the service of their country in World War II and the Korean conflict.
In July 1974 a new parish home was purchased on Pilgrim Drive, Leet Township. The old parish home next to the church was converted into an educational center. There the church school organization, which was initiated by the Senior R Club (FROC) during the presidency of Mildred Erdelyn Mitcheil in 1947, continues to meet.
In February 1975 a fire started in the front of the church, severely damaging one corner of the interior. Fr. Vladimir Soroka and Church Council President Irene Bell led the ensuing restoration.
In 1975 The Holy Ghost Orthodox Youth Center began as a gift. The merged Russian Community Society and Russian Society of St. Michael donated the empty building at 405 Maplewood Avenue that formerly housed the Russian Community Society. A building committee was appointed, led by co-chairmen Frank Markvan and Ted Hritsko. The former building was mostly razed and a new structure erected under the guidance of architect George Ruscitto and builder Jerry Steinmetz Construction Corporation. In 1977, two years after the ownership was transferred to the congregation, the transformed building was opened as a center for both parochial events and public events. Today the Center is a hub our Annual Slavic Festival and other church related activities.
In the early 1990's, the parishioners of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Aliquippa were welcomed as members of the Holy Ghost congregation when their parish was closed.
In November 1996 the congregation undertook one of the most ambitious renovation projects since the founding of the church in 1907. Cupolas of reinforced gold fiberglass replaced the four deteriorating copper cupolas. This project was the centerpiece of a series of renovation projects that included the complete repainting of the interior of the church, enhanced internal and external lighting, and re-pointing the brick exterior of the church. All of these major projects were completed prior to the congregation's celebration of its 90th anniversary in 1997.
The congregation has just completed a 10-year capital improvements plan in time for the parish's 100th anniversary. These projects included all new iconography in the altar, including a new Platitera icon in the apse over the sanctuary, the total refurbishment of the chandelier, renovated restrooms in the church basement, new wall-to-wall carpeting, and new iconography on the proscenium arch above the iconostas.
From the original 14 families the parish has grown to over 200 adults and 30 children.
From those hard working immigrant families who formed the nucleus, to the present pastor, V. Rev. William Evansky, church council, church organizations and congregation, we are deeply indebted. To those now deceased -- May God grant them eternal rest. To those still in our midst--thank you for a job well done! God bless you and guide you in your continued efforts.