For an excellent resource to assist you in your family's Lenten journey, please see the NY/NJ Diocesan website https://nynjoca.org/news_210222_1 . Resources for children, teens and adults!  In addition, please see JourneyToPascha for another great resource on Holy Week services. 

OCA Telegram Channel: You can now receive announcements and updates from the OCA website and social media. Subscribe to it at www.oca.org.  To preview the channel, click here: https://t.me/s/orthodoxchurchamerica

The season of Great Lent is the time of preparation for the feast of the Resurrection of Christ. It is the living symbol of man’s entire life which is to be fulfilled in his own resurrection from the dead with Christ. It is a time of renewed devotion: of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It is a time of repentance, a real renewal of our minds, hearts and deeds in conformity with Christ and his teachings. It is the time, most of all, of our return to the great commandments of loving God and our neighbors.

In the Orthodox Church, Great Lent is not a season of morbidity and gloominess. On the contrary, it is a time of joyfulness and purification. We are called to “anoint our faces” and to “cleanse our bodies as we cleanse our souls.” The very first hymns of the very first service of Great Lent set the proper tone of the season:

Let us begin the lenten time with delight . . . let us fast from passions as we fast from food, taking pleasure in the good words of the Spirit, that we may be granted to see the holy passion of Christ our God and his holy Pascha, spiritually rejoicing.

Thy grace has arisen upon us, O Lord, the illumination of our souls has shown forth; behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the time of repentance (Vespers Hymns).

It is our repentance that God desires, not our remorse. We sorrow for our sins, but we do so in the joy of God’s mercy. We mortify our flesh, but we do so in the joy of our resurrection into life everlasting. We make ready for the resurrection during Great Lent, both Christ’s Resurrection and our own.

FOR YOUR INFO: A moving and inspirational video showing the beauty of Orthodoxy can be seen here.The Orthodox Church - A Visual Journey

For Daily Scriptures, Saint of the Day and Sister Vassa podcasts, take a look at our Podcasts page here: Podcasts

For Palm Sunday, Pascha and Archbishop Michael's visit, a Church overflow plan is required due to the number of parishioners allowed in Church vs. the numbers who wish to attend.  We intend to have some outdoor capacity in a tent with sides offering wind protection. Placed on the Linden Avenue side, it will accommodate 20-22 chairs, and a candle stand. Video and Audio will be directly fed from camera and microphones, with NO delay. (i.e., no livestream internet issues) We will utilize a web-based SIGN UP form, similar to last year, on a "First Come- First Served" basis, with remainder in the tent. Fr. David will respond to each form request. In the case of severe weather, we will resort to using the Hall (livestreamed with dedicated hotspot). At this point, our plan is dependent on state, local and Diocesan guidelines/directives.

Sign-Up Sheet for Palm Sunday will be available at 9:00AM on Wed. April 21st. Sign up Sheets for Midnight Pascha Service and Bright Monday Liturgy will be available 9:00AM Mon. April 26th.