St. James Orthodox Mission Church

New Year’s Day Service 1/1/21 at SJOMC

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https://youtu.be/eRefCRUd32o

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[12/27/20]   Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube page so we can keep broadcasting our service for free. Join us for Holy Qurbana! Please help continue the growth of our church by donating through Venmo - @StJames-Church.

https://youtu.be/8z3AO8a8yjo

Christmas Service 12/24/20 at SJOMC

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https://youtu.be/6s4ItzwZxG0

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Christ Is Born, Join us in glorifying Him! (YouTube channel link below)

Vespers will begin at 6 PM, CST followed by midnight prayers and the celebration of the Feast of Nativity

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa4_GsNLb4qjgW9KuKKH2xQ

The Candymaker's Gift

Enjoy a Read Aloud from the Sunday School Teachers at St. James Orthodox Mission Church! ENJOY!

Sunday before Christmas 12/20/20 at SJOMC

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https://youtu.be/P0klc7PGuxw

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Revelation to St. Joseph 12/13/20 at SJOMC

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https://youtu.be/uC5Bhh35zCs

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[12/07/20]   Children's Day Message by Jinu Mathew, Sunday School Headmaster. Given on Sunday, the 6th of December, 2020.

There’s a saying that rings true for all parents: Having a child is like having your heart walking around outside of your body. As any mother or father knows, the process of raising a child is rich with emotions, uncertainties, joys, and sorrows.

Respected Achen, parents, AND my dear CHILDREN,
I wanted to first thank Achen for asking me to speak on this very Special Day. So, as your Sunday School Principal, I want to be the first to say: Happy Sunday School Day to all of you!

Today is Sunday School Day, or more commonly known as Children’s day. In India, Children’s day is celebrated as a tribute to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Ne- her- oo, the first prime minister of India. Children’s day is also fondly called “Chacha Nehru” and is celebrated on November 14; the day of his birth. Prime Minister Nehru was known for his affection for kids.

Similarly, Sunday School Day or what WE fondly call Children’s Day in the Orthodox church falls on the nativity of another great man, St. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ.

Today, achen read about THE blessed birth of John and the wonder that fell upon Zachariah in St. Luke 1: 57-80.

Appropriately enough, St John was the first to baptize man with water.

In Matthew 3: 13-17, we see St John baptizing Jesus and cleansing him from the sins of the world and the Holy Spirit coming upon him like a dove, AND God the Father PROCLAIMING his love for Jesus and mankind. Similarly, all of our children are baptized by water to begin the journey of their life in the HOLY Church.

As my intro suggests, our children ARE our heart. They are the external organ that makes our time on this earth meaningful. This was even true for Sogini and myself as we prayed several years for a child while enjoying our nieces and nephews. Despite the Failed in vitro, heartache, and doctors’ visits concluding that we may never be able to conceive biologically, by God’s grace we overcame and now we have this heart who we have to love and care for in Mira.

As it is with our actual heart, we need to take steps to take care of it and make it beat continually. We need to exercise it and maintain its health.

To love and care for something, we need to take certain steps to guarantee its overall durability. As a former educator, I want to break up these points today on Children’s day using the word “Child” to give you some simple points to remember using each letter and some simple Bible verses that students and parents can meditate on. So, let’s begin.

For C: I chose Christ. As our faith proclaims Christ is begotten of the father and was incarnated through Mary and the Holy Spirit and so we know He embodies everything that was, is and there ever will be. We know this triune God captures all the virtues we aspire for ourselves and our children.

Matthew 19:14 says:
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

So: ALWAYS try to be like Christ.

Moving along, lets look at the next letter.

“H”. The letter H stands for “help.” In the Gospels, Christ models the behavior of the good Samaritan and exhorts us to the responsibility of helping others who are in need.

Matt 25: 35-40 says

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, "I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. '

Therefore, we must teach our children to live with empathy and treat everyone like they want to be treated regardless of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status or sexual orientation

Next is “I” . I stands for innocence.
Why does Christ say the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these? The answer is—
It has a lot to do with innocence and their pure heart which is so close to the will of the Father.

An excellent example of this innocence can be found in the story of Abraham and Isaac which is found in Genesis 22. Here, we see not only Abraham’s total devotion to God’s word, but Isaac’s complete trust in his Father despite being bound and placed on the wood in place of the customary sacrificial lamb or ram offering Isaac’s innocence speaks volumes about the trust in his father Abraham.

Likewise, in Genesis 2:25 it says:
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. This innocence was lost when Man fell into Sin, and it is this innocence that God loves most of his creation.

Therefore, preserve and celebrate your child’s innocence. Try your best to keep them from the ills of society. They will learn about the world in their own time, but nurture their Godly qualities, while gently guiding them away from the sins that separated us from our Father.

Okay, let’s get to the last two letters:

“L” is an easy one and I’m pretty sure some kids at home have already guessed what L stands for. So, if you said “Love”, then give mom and dad a high five and pat yourself on the back.
A visiting achen once said: there is no greater love story than what is written in the Bible. For all of you moms and dads, who cry at sappy love stories, then all you have to do is read the Bible. Here’s the plot in five seconds:
God creates man in his own image
man betrays God by falling for the sultry Satan,
God gives up his most prized possession (his Lamborghini, I mean Christ) to renew the unrequited love of man
through a tragedy of epic proportions,
man is saved and the lost love is once again restored.
A----nd Cut! BOOM!

Shed the tears and pretend like a speck of dust or maybe a log fell into your eye!
It says in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believed in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.”

So, model the God-like love in your life not only to those you love, but those who you FEEL YOU cannot love.

As James 2:8 says: If you really keep the law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself”, you are doing right.

Christ takes this a step further and says in Matthew 5: 39: “But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.

I believe this modeling of love can be seen very clearly in the life of the late Barnabas thirumeni who used to say: “if you can take one thing from Christ’s message, let that be the message of Love.”

And Finally, the letter D. I have to say I really had a hard time coming up with an appropriate word to put for the final Wow in this message. So, bear with me on this one.

Since, I couldn’t think of anything with a deeper meaning; I chose the word Deep.

As a quick review we have C for Christ, H for help, I for innocence, L for Love, and now D for deep.
REMEMBER: 1. to be Christ- like,
2. to model empathy and assistance,
3. to become innocent, and
4. to Love unconditionally,
WE MUST have a deep and pure understanding of what we are entrusted to do for our children so they can get closer to God. I instruct each one of you to model the behaviors in your everyday life so that the following wisdom of Solomon can be an eternal truth, which can be found in Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he Is old he will not depart from it. Happy Children’s day!

+++May all glory and honor be given to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thank you!

Birth of John the Baptist at St. James OMC 12/6/20

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https://youtu.be/byHOThaDox4

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St. Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth at St. James OMC 11/29/20

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https://youtu.be/qVHSvZU6lUQ

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Check out my list on Amazon

Ronald McDonald House Dallas is in need of gifts for their residents. Our church usually donates gifts for teens, but this year they're running low on gifts in all categories. They could also use some cleaning supplies. Think we could fulfill their entire wish list by Dec. 13? That's the goal!

Link to the Amazon wishlist is: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/16ZV242IRNUBD?ref_=wl_share

Any gifts purchased should be sent to Taylor Hardin, Ronald McDonald House, 4707 Bengal St., Dallas, TX 75235.

If you'd rather shop and deliver in person, you may do so. Wear a mask, and when you buzz in to the gate let them know you've got a donation to drop off.

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From our church family, wishing you all a blessed Thanksgiving.

Thankful for the culture of generosity in our parish. #Thanksgiving #food drive #Blessings #make a difference

Annunciation to the Theotokos at St. James OMC 11/22/20

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https://youtu.be/mfHEFuRgbc4

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[11/22/20]   Service Project of the Week: It's Thanksgiving week! Spread your gratitude far and wide. Send thank you notes (or calls/texts/emails) to neighbors, co-workers, family, etc...anyone you're thankful for.

Virtual Friendsgiving with our church family

St James Sunday School General Session - preparing for the Feast of the Nativity by learning service songs and their meanings.

My Site

Service Project November 15-21: Kind Words USA was started by a couple of high school students to send notes of gratitude to frontline workers during the pandemic. Just hop on to the website and type in a kind message. A Kind Words USA volunteer will transcribe it and send it to a frontline worker. Write a message and find more ways to donate at

https://www.kindwordsusa.com/

kindwordsusa.com Our healthcare workers are tirelessly working to save thousands of lives in the battle against COVID-19. Nurses, doctors, and other medical staff are working 12+ hour days in COVID wards under many...

Annunciation to Zachariah at St. James OMC 11/15/20

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https://youtu.be/EvSR3Kak6sU

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Hoodosh Etho (Renewal of the Church) at St. James OMC 11/1/20 - YouTube

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https://youtu.be/FrOdx5nUsAc

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Baal Dan

Thank you all for donating to Baal Dan. As promised, pies in the face for all your amazing generosity 🙂

Seventh Sunday after the Holy Cross at St. James OMC 11/1/20 Rev. Fr. Mat Alexander Celebrating

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https://youtu.be/dT0tJ_mfZqM

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Minnie's Food Pantry – Feed Just One

*Service Project of the Week November 1-7: Thanksgiving Food Drive for Minnie's Food Pantry. Donate the food items listed at the pantry before November 9. Or, make a $50 donation to cover the cost of a family holiday meal. For the food list or donation link, see www.MinniesFoodPantry.org

minniesfoodpantry.org We are facing an increase in families needing assistance, monetary and food donations are dwindling, and a reduction in volunteers. Learn how you can help.

6th Annual Game on for Baal Dan

Baal Dan funds critical needs without creating unhealthy dependencies. There is an exit strategy for every grant provided, so the grantee can receive the assistance needed but have a plan for sustainability moving forward.

Baal Dan is proud of its proven model, since 2005, of identifying, auditing, and monitoring trustworthy grassroots projects in developing countries.

As we seek to surpass our previous years' giving, we ask that you help us by making a donation as we approach the last few days of our annual fundraising campaign for Baal Dan.

https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/baal-dan?utm_campaign=oc&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=crowdrise&fbclid=IwAR1z40NO4UDJfFqrdL5MpCu9l7qRX9MdDYVpHMHg71juHVoC3OnFeV0Dgao

charity.gofundme.com Our church's annual carnival fundraiser for Baal Dan has been cancelled due to Covid, so we're taking the fundraising virtual this year! Baal Dan helps vulnerable children in developing countries by providing small grants to grassroots organizations such as orphanages, schools, and care facilities.....

Sixth Sunday after the Holy Cross at St. James OMC 10/25/20

Join us for Holy Qurbana! Please help continue the growth of our church by donating through Venmo - @StJames-Church. As a note our annual fundraiser for Baal Daan is currently happening so please be sure to donate via our Venmo for that as well. Just make a note that you would like your donation to be marked for Baal Daan.

https://youtu.be/0dCH9QmexYk

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Fifth Sunday after the Holy Cross at St. James OMC 10/18/20 - 7th Parish Day

It’s our 7th Parish Day! Join us for Holy Qurbana! Please help continue the growth of our church by donating through Venmo -
@StJames-Church.

https://youtu.be/9EAzh7ulsJo

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Fourth Sunday after the Holy Cross at St. James OMC 10/11/20

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https://youtu.be/TWjcLaxrJMA

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6th Annual Game on for Baal Dan

Only a few weeks left for our Baal Dan fundraiser. Please consider donating to this incredible charity. Ever dollar until we hit $2500 is doubled, so every dollar matters.

https://www.facebook.com/487995497938034/posts/4433322793405265/

charity.gofundme.com Our church's annual carnival fundraiser for Baal Dan has been cancelled due to Covid, so we're taking the fundraising virtual this year! Baal Dan helps vulnerable children in developing countries by providing small grants to grassroots organizations such as orphanages, schools, and care facilities.....

Third Sunday after the Holy Cross at St. James OMC 10/4/20

Join us for Holy Qurbana! Please help continue the growth of our church by donating through Venmo -
@StJames-Church.

https://youtu.be/kJ0SoHDLbFE

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6th Annual Game on for Baal Dan

We're all in the midst of a difficult season, distancing from loved ones, washing hands, and wearing masks. What about those in the world who wake up everyday, vulnerable in life because they don't have the basic necessities?

St. James Orthodox Mission Church is partnering with Baal Dan Charities, a 501(c)(3) non-profit supporting children who lack basic needs of food, education, simple supplies, and basic hygiene needs.

Since 2016, our church has helped 10,000 children in 12 countries by hosting Fall Carnivals. This year, it is not possible to do an in-person event. Please join us by donating using the link below. For the first $2500 donated, a 100% match will be applied.

https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/baal-dan

charity.gofundme.com Our church's annual carnival fundraiser for Baal Dan has been cancelled due to Covid, so we're taking the fundraising virtual this year! Baal Dan helps vulnerable children in developing countries by providing small grants to grassroots organizations such as orphanages, schools, and care facilities.....