On Sunday, March 19th, the parishioners of St. George Serbian Orthodox Church gathered for Divine Liturgy on the third Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday dedicated to the Holy Cross. The precious and life-giving cross utilized for this day was the blessing cross used by the Very Rev. Protopresbyter-Stavrophor +Slobodan Zivodinovic, set in a frame with a piece of fabric from his purple, Lenten vestment set. The cross was adorned with flowers by KSS president, and Church School Pre-K teacher, Kathy Tobias.

The day was marked by a special occasion – young Steward and altar server Nikolai Radonjich read the Epistle for the first time during Divine Liturgy.  With a loud and clear voice, he proclaimed the message of St. Paul to the Hebrews to the attentive ears of the entire congregation.

During the Divine Liturgy, Fr. Aleksa’s sermon honed in on the human tendency to choose the easiest path forward, following the ‘path of least resistance’. That path, as he offered to the faithful gathered, leads us to spiritual death when we choose the ‘easy’ path of the passions over the challenging call to pick our cross and follow Christ.

Fr Aleksa reminded those gathered that, “True freedom is only found in Christ who looses the grip that the Passions have over us; he strips the sins that would lead us to death of their lasting power.  That is the freedom that the Cross of our Lord offers.  By following Christ and carrying our cross we are free… free to live a life that heads somewhere new – not into the damp, cold earth, but into the warm radiance of our lasting life with God.  And the cold earth is certainly the easier path – we’re all marching there anyway, like a raindrop feeling the pull of gravity from a high mountaintop and into the valley below.  The path of light, joy, and of radiance is one that is fraught with difficult choices.”

Immediately following the service, a 40-day Panakhida was held for the departed handmaiden of God +Mildred “Boots” Frey.  “Boots” was a beloved parishioner, choir member, and dedicated servant of her Church.  The family hosted a Lenten luncheon, allowing the community an opportunity to break-bread in fellowship, in honor of her memory.