"Gracanica" Serbian Orthodox Church

If you did not receive a 2021 Gracanica Church wall calandar yet, there are more coming later this month. We will send a notice when they are available to be picked up.

Blessed water can be picked up Jan 18,19,20 during liturgy 10am-12pm and every Sunday during liturgy

Thank you to Manojlo Seslija, for cutting and bringing in the church badnjak and Protinica Katarina, Jovan and Antonina for decorating the badnjak and church, Kolo Srpskih Sestara for bringing in the Poinsettias, Jovan Keca for providing all the badnjak branches (over 375!) for the Badnjak Drive true, and Cuckovic family for donating the walnuts that all of us enjoyed in our take out bags.

Thank you to the newly formed Serbian Orthodox Youth Association of Windsor-Essex, “SerbClub” for their efforts in preparing the badnjak for our community, handing them out on Badnji Dan, and delivering them to our senior Church members. 

SOYA “SerbClub” is a new initiative in our community, to create a group and community for youth, revitalize the programs available to our youth, and to unite and support the Serbian Orthodox Churches in Windsor. SerbClub is a group for young Orthodox people to gather, socialize, create friendships, learn, travel, and more.

SerbClub’s mission is to unite the Serbian Orthodox youth of Windsor by actively engaging in meaningful discussions, fun social activities, and events surrounding Serbian Orthodox faith, religion, culture and heritage.

They are inviting all Orthodox youth ages 14 and older to join their group. You can find more information about the group, and sign up on their website https://www.soyawindsor.com/sign-up

In a previous Gracanica enews, an article about the renovated Library was published and it stated we were looking for a volunteer.

Ruza Ljumovic, a local Family Lawyer, offered to Volunteer in the Library on Friday afternoons, from 2 to 4:30pm to sign out and receive returned books. She was to begin Friday, January 8, 2021, but because of the covid-19 restrictions, she will begin when the Serbian Centre is open.

Ruza saw the article when it was posted. She follows the Church website, enews and facebook and we appreciate her desire to help. Thank you Ruza for volunteering your time for your Church and Community!

Српски

Nativity 2020

Thy Nativity, O Christ our God,

Has shown to the world the light of wisdom…

Dear brothers and sisters,

Here we are during the Nativity fast, with which we should prepare as worthily as possible for the feast of the Nativity of Christ, when it was truly shown that God, Emmanuel, is with us. This year, we will not, , celebrate this holiday of joy, this holiday of the household church, as we are accustomed due to the pandemic of COVID19 virus, which has spread all over the world.

Many ask us: How will we celebrate the Christmas and New Year holidays this year? We answer them: As best we can. That is, as time and conditions allow. First of all, let us celebrate spiritually, as much as we can or are allowed, by participating in the Holy Worship Services, and especially in the Holy Liturgy, and partaking of the Holy Sacraments.

This is not the only time the Church has found itself in difficult times. Who knows how many times the Christians of the first centuries had to secretly celebrate in the catacombs, hiding from the Roman emperors and persecutors? Or, how did our ancestors celebrate these holidays during centuries of Ottoman slavery? And only God knows what diseases existed. They had to fight them too.

Here is how St. Dionysius of Alexandria writes about the plague: "Many of our brothers, out of great love, not caring for their own lives, take care of each other, visit the sick, attend to them constantly, heal them for Christ's sake; they died voluntarily with them, taking upon themselves their sufferings, washing out their wounds with devotion. Many of those who worked so hard for the sick and restored their health, themselves died … And this kind of death out of piety and firm faith is nothing less than martyrdom. They took the bodies of the saints with their hands and held them on their knees, closed their eyes and mouths, carried them on their backs like children, arranged them, attended to them, washed and clothed them. "

Let's compare that time with our time. Nothing is different. Are there not even today such wonderful examples of doctors and medical staff in hospitals, nursing homes and monasteries, who laid down and are laying down their lives to save others, regardless of religion, nation, race or class? They truly affirm the words of Christ: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). There is no greater gift to Christ than that gift! There is no greater virtue than love (I Cor. 13: 1-3). Our faith should work through love (Gal. 5: 6). For faith without works is dead (James 2:26).

This virus took away our first hierarch, the quiet and calm, of blessed memory Patriarch Irinej, the very respected and tireless of blessed memory Metropolitan Amfilohije, and faithful Bishop Milutin of blessed memory, several priests and many believers. Eternal memory to them and may God grant the forgiveness of their sins!

Dear brothers and sisters,

Let us take care of ourselves and let us take care of our neighbours. By protecting ourselves, we protect them as well, by not exposing them to danger. And they, guarding themselves, will guard us. If we cannot burn the Yule Log, let our faith in Christ burn in our hearts. If we cannot embrace one another, let us warm our hearts with love and prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ, for all those who suffer and perish. That is how we welcome His Birth. If we cannot celebrate our patron saints according to our Serbian custom, let us sincerely pray to our Defender with the hope that next year it will be more beautiful and festive.

Wishing you great physical and spiritual health, in order to overcome all these troubles, before these bright Christmas and New Year holidays, we send you heartfelt greetings with these joyous words:

PEACE FROM GOD! CHRIST IS BORN!

A HAPPY AND GOD BLESSED 2021!

Your intercessor before the Divine Child Christ,

BISHOP OF CANADA

Драга браћо и сестре,

Имајући у виду лошу тренутну ситуацију у вези са ширењем вируса Covid 19, а према упутствима надлежних институција за сузбијање вируса и по благослову Његовог Преосвештенства Епископа др Митрофана, желимо да поделимо са вама важну вест да ће се у нашем храму, Боже здравља, наставити богослужбени живот и наше молитве за све нас, али до даљњега без присуства верних у храму током богослужења. Ово је тешко време за све нас, али Црква Христова зна и за неупордиво тежа искушења, из којих је увек излазила само јача. Нека би дао Бог да тако буде и сада.

У исто време желимо да вас обавестимо да ће током богослужења верни моћи долазити у припрату ради прислуживања свећа (због ограниченог простора у припрати и како би други могли да прислуже свеће, молимо вас да се избегава дуже задржавање). Такође, уколико нисмо у могућности да дођемо, група младих људи посвећених нашој Цркви и нашој заједници омогућила нам је и да у нашем храму свећа буде молитвено прислужена у наше име. На томе смо им посебно благодарни. Вашу жељу да свећа буде молитвено прислужена и намену можете остварити кликом овде https://www.gracanicawindsor.com/apps/webstore/

Сва богослужења ће бити и даље доступна преко нашег званичног Facebook налога. Трудићемо се да најважнија богослужења буду видљива и доступна преко друштвених мрежа све док буду трајале рестриктивне мере, како бисмо остали у молитвеном јединству макар на овај начин.

Свесни смо да је време празникâ и славâ, те вас молимо да за освећење жита и колача у храму и све духовне потребе контактирате оца Владимира на један од котаката ради заказивања (fr.vladimirv@gmail.com, или тел. 226-340-5115).

Унапред вам благодаримо на разумевању и подршци. Молимо се да Господ чува све нас увек, а нарочито током овог посебно изазовног времена.

С искреном љубављу у Господу,

Управни одбор

Dear brothers and sisters,

Considering the unfavorable current situation regarding the spread of the Covid 19 virus, and according to the instructions of the competent institutions for the suppression of the virus, as well as with the blessing of His Grace Bishop Dr. Mitrofan, we would like to share with you the important message that, with God’s help, in our church the liturgical life and our prayers for all of us will continue, however without the presence of the faithful in the church during worship until further notice. This is a difficult time for all of us, but the ever-triumphant Church of Christ also knows about the incomparably more difficult temptations, only to always come out stronger. May God grant it so now as well.

At the same time, we would like to inform you that during the services, the faithful will be able to come to the narthex (patio) to light candles (please, avoid longer stay due to limited space in the narthex and in order that others can help themselves lighting candles as well). Furthermore, in case we are not able to come in person to light a candle, a group of young people dedicated to our church and our community enabled us to have a candle prayerfully lit in our church on our behalf. We are very grateful for that. You can express your wish for the candle to be prayerfully lit on your behalf by clicking here https://www.gracanicawindsor.com/apps/webstore/

All services will continue to be available through our church’s official Facebook account. We will try to make the most important worship services visible and accessible through social networks for as long as the restrictive measures are in effect, so that we can remain in prayerful unity, at least in this way for the time being.

We are aware that it is a time of holidays and Slava celebrations, thus in order to make arrangements for the consecration of Slava Bread and Wheat, and for other spiritual needs at our church, we kindly ask you to contact Father Vladimir on one of the contacts provided (fr.vladimirv@gmail.com, or Ph. 226-340-5115).

Thank you in advance for your understanding and continuous support. We pray that God will always protect us all, especially during this particularly challenging time.

With sincere love in the Lord,

The Board of Directors

When entering Church, the first thing people do is light a candle. Candles symbolize Light of God or the Light of Christ. In the Bible, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). He came into the world to die on the cross to save us from our sins.

 When we light a candle, it helps us remember that Jesus is the light of the world. That is why we refer to it as the Light of God or the Light of Christ. Jesus brought the world out of darkness of sin and into the light by dying on the cross.

СВЕЧАНО ПРОСЛАВЉЕНА СЛАВА ВИНДЗОРСКЕ ГРАЧАНИЦЕ

Ове године празник Успенија Пресвете Богородице – наша храмовна Слава нешто је другачије прослављена због свих рестрикција, поводом пандемије, које су још увек на снази. Но, упркос томе, благодарни смо Богу да су баш непосредно пред празник Успенија Пресвете Богородице државне власти попустиле мере и дозволиле приступ храмовима у значајнијем броју. Ми смо са радошћу и благодарношћу примили вест и литургијски прославили празник уз учешће кумова Славе и верног народа који је био у прилици да присуствује.

Литургију је служио протонамесник Владимир Вранић уз саслуживање протојереја-ставрофора Драга Кнежевића, и умилно појање чтеца при нашем храму Брајана Пејна, који је откако су почеле ристрикције испратио свако богослужење у Грачаници, без изузетка. Овом приликом желимо да изразимо посебну благодарност чтецу Брајану Пејну, али и његовој породици на огромној жртви и посвећености. Нека им Господ узврати својим благословом свише за добро које чине.

У исто време благодаримо овогодишњим надалеко чувеним и свима драгим кумовима храмовне Славе, господину Груји (чика Лали) и госпођи Јагоди Стеванов, на дивно организованој прослави, упркос свим изазовима око пандемије. Посебно је било дирљиво видети и присутне кумове прошлогодишње Славе господина Јована и госпођу Зорку Брујић, како присуствују моменту када кумови овогодишње Славе уручују део колача кумовима за следећу годину господину Ђорђу и госпођи Сузани Величковић. Тај моменат ће остати записан као најлепше могуће сведочанство о лепоти и благослову, али и важности и одговорности кумства и као светао пример млађим генерацијама.

На крају свете Литургије, уручене су дипломе ученицима црквене школе који су завршили осми разред, с надом да ће се увек сећати да су духовно поникли и духовно стасавали у Српској Православној Цркви, те да, имајући то у виду, никада неће заборавити своје корене и своју заједницу. За све то и много више, благодаримо Venture Labels Printing Company, као и директорки Црквене школе госпођи Мирјани Вујановић-Кнежевић, јер много тога чине могућим у неретко немогућим условима.

Иако наизглед мирнија, оно ни у ком случају не можемо рећи скромнија прослава храмовне Славе, јер је Литургијска прослава најсвечанија могућа прослава коју ми Православни хришћани имамо. Славу смо прославили литургијски. На свакој Литургији Господ нам нуди Себе, Своје Тело и Своју Крв ради сједињења са нама. Има ли ишта вредније или свечаније од тога да се сјединимо са Богом? На Литургији, чак иако се само свештеник причести, опет, макар једна душа се сједнила са Господом тога дана. Има ли ишта вредније и свечаније од тога? Богу смо благодарни што нам је дао да и ове године на најсвечанији могући начин, литургијски прославимо храмовну славу и нека би благослов Божји био на Кумовима храмовне Славе, као и на свима који на било који начин доприносе добру и јединству наше колоније овде у Виндзору, јер то је уједно на добро свеукупне Српске Православне Цркве.

Срећна и Богом благословена Слава, на многаја и благаја љета и нека би и наши животи били преображени благословом Празника!

 ~ Свештеник Владимир Вранић

Address in English Below

A SOLEMN CELEBRATION OF THE SLAVA OF WINDSOR’S GRAČANICA

This year, the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God – our church’s Slava - was celebrated somewhat differently due to all the restrictions ever since the pandemic started, which are still in force. But, in spite of that, we are grateful to God that just before the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God, the government authorities relaxed the measures and allowed access to churches in significant numbers. We received the news with joy and gratitude and liturgically celebrated the Feast with the participation of the Kumovi and the faithful people who had the opportunity to attend.

The Liturgy was served by protonamesnik Vladimir Vranić, with the concelebrating of the protopresbyter-stavrophor Drago Knezević, with the prayerful chanting of reader Brian Payne, who, since the restrictions began, accompanied every worship service in Gračanica, without exception. On this occasion, we would like to express our special gratitude to reader Brian Payne, but not least to his family for their great sacrifice and dedication. May the Lord reward them with His Blessings from above for the good they do.

At the same time, we are particularly grateful to this year's widely known and dear to all Kumovi of church’s Slava, Mr. Gruja (Lala) and Mrs. Jagoda Stevanov, for a wonderfully organized celebration, despite all the challenges surrounding the pandemic. It was especially touching to see present Kumovi of last year's Slava, Mr. Jovan and Mrs. Zorka Brujić, as they attend the moment when the Kumovi of this year's Slava hand over a part of the Slava Kolač to the Kumovi for next year, Mr. George and Mrs. Suzana Veličković. That moment will remain written as the most beautiful possible testimony of beauty and the blessing, but also of the importance and responsibility of the Slava Kumovi, and most certainly as a shining example to the younger generations.

Dear brothers and sisters,

With the desire to always inform you about further plans and steps regarding the opening of our church, we inform you that we will continue to act with the blessing of our Bishop, and in accordance with local provincial laws. For your convenience we enclose the act of the Bishop, as well as the instructions of the local state authorities regarding the measures that must be taken before the opening of the church.

It is very encouraging news that most of our province is slowly but surely heading towards opening up. In that spirit, we also plan our activities and the opening of the church. In order for everything to be in accordance with the regulations, we will need the help of committed volunteers.

If you are able to help by volunteering and are interested in taking a more active part in the life of our church, please send your wish and contact to executive@gracanicawindsor.com. The Board of Directors will make further plans and issue instructions based on the information at its disposal.

Your contact and your help are necessary for further timely planning.

Letter from Bishop

Ontario Ministry of Health COVID 19 Religious Services Guideline

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 

Драга браћо и сестре, 

Са жељом да Вас увек обавештавамо о даљим плановима и корацима по питању отварања нашег храма, обавештавамо вас да ћемо и даље поступати по благослову нашег Епископа, а у складу са локалним државним законима. У прилогу Вам достављамо акт Епископа, као и упутства локалних државних власти по питању мера које морају бити предузете пре отварања храма.

Веома је охрабрујућа вест да већина наше провинције полако али сигурно иде ка отварању. У том духу и ми планирамо наше активности и отварање цркве. Но, наш циљ није само испуњавање слова закона, већ свеукупно здравље верних. Стога, да би све било у складу са прописима требаће нам помоћ посвећених волонтера.

Верујемо да бисмо осигурали безбедност верника испуњавајући све захтеве од стране надлежних, али су нам потребни посвећени волонтери који ће блиско сарађивати са Управним одбором и активно учествовати у спровођењу свих мера наведених у документима. Уколико сте у могућности да помогнете добровољним радом и заинтересовани да узмете активнијег учешћа у животу наше цркве, молимо вас да вашу жељу и контакт доставите на executive@gracanicawindsor.com. Управни одбор ће правити даље планове и издавати упутства на основу информација које буде имао на располагању.

Ваш контакт и ваша помоћ су неопходни ради даљег благовремног планирања.

Порука Владика

We are very excited to celebrate with the community the purchase of the New Serbian Centre Property. When circumstances allow, we plan to hold a celebratory land blessing and fundraiser banquet. 

While we wish we could see you all very soon, this event is 

 Postponed Until Further Notice

Community Members – The Serbian Centre needs our help during these difficult times. 

Please join us in writing the stories future generations will tell and consider giving $50 for the future of the Serbian Centre.

#50fortheFuture

Give $50 per person, $50 per family, whatever is in your heart to give will help us establish some certainty, amidst so much uncertainty. 

When sending your contribution, please send a picture of yourself, or family, be as creative as you wish. It can be a video, saying “I am the future of the Serbian Centre” Or holding a sign saying the same. We look forward to seeing all the familiar community faces and sharing them on Facebook as they come in. For those that are harder to reach because of social distancing, perhaps your parents or grandparents, consider going to take a picture of them on their front porch or in their front window if they would like to take part.

We believe in our community, and this Easter weekend we encourage you to share the beautiful stories that you have from our Church and our Community Centre with your families.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING PARISHIONER RECORDS

To ensure all our parish records are up to date, Fr. Vladimir is requesting that parishioners of the Gracanica Church fill out a quick form.  Forms can be submitted at the church, or to any Executive Board Member.  

Thank You for your cooperation.
VIEW AND DOWNLOAD THE PARISHIONER RECORD FORM HERE