SAINT NICHOLAS

Byzantine Catholic Church
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4700 Metro Parkway, Sterling Heights, Michigan 48310  *   +1-586-791-1052   *   stnicksbyzantine@yahoo.com

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Liturgical Schedule: 

 

Sat    Mar    7    3rd All Souls Saturday

                      3:00 pm    Confession

                      3:40 pm    Rosary

                      4:00 pm    Vespersal Divine Liturgy for +John Urban

Sun    Mar    8    3rd SUNDAY OF THE GREAT FAST - VENERATION OF THE HOLY CROSS

                      10:10 am    Moleben to the Theotokos, Confession

                      10:30 am    Divine Liturgy

 

Mon    Mar    9      40 Martyrs of Sebaste

Tue      Mar    10   Codratus Martyr

Wed    Mar    11    Sophronius Venerable

                       7:00pm    Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

                                         for Sophia

Thu     Mar    12    Theophane Venerable                            

Fri       Mar    13    Nicephorus Patriarch

                       7:00pm     Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts,                                                         Panachyda

Sat    Mar    14    4th All Souls Saturday

                       3:00 pm    Confession

                       3:40 pm    Rosary

                       4:00 pm    Vespersal Divine Liturgy

                                          for +Anna and John Urban

Sun    Mar    15    3rd SUNDAY OF THE GREAT FAST

                       10:10 am    Moleben to the Theotokos, Confession

                       10:30 am    Divine Liturgy

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Announcements for March 8, 2026:

Third Sunday of Great Lent

 

THIS SUNDAY — Packing Bagged Lunches for the Homeless: 

This Sunday, March 8, we will be packing 100 bagged lunches in our social hall after the 10:30am Divine Liturgy, which will be donated to the homeless shelter at St. Margaret of Scotland Church in St. Clair Shores—using a portion of the “Least of my Brethren” contributions to purchase the supplies.  Please consider staying after liturgy and helping with this project— especially our children, this is a great project that you can help with!!!  A pizza lunch will be provided for all helpers.  If you are willing to help in an even greater capacity, we could use some additional helpers to transport the packed lunches to St. Margaret’s that afternoon (located on 13 Mile between Harper and Little Mack).  Please see Val Marszalec or George Nagrant if you can help with any of this.

 

Stational Vespers on the Sunday Evenings of the Great Fast- for the Great Lakes Protopresbyterate: 

Like the past few years, each Sunday during Great Lent we will celebrate Vespers at 4:00pm at a different parish of the Great Lakes Protopresbyterate (aka Deanery).  A different priest will serve and preach a brief sermon at each Vespers, and the hosting parish will provide a simple meatless Lenten meal of soup and bread after the service.  All deanery parishioners are encouraged to participate.  In addition to being an opportunity for prayer and repentance during the Great Fast, this is also a chance for us to visit the other parishes of our region and for us to all be together and get to know each other better.  Please note that our parish will be hosting on Sunday, March 22nd.  The remaining schedule is as follows:

 

Mar 8          3rd Sunday of Lent-    Sacred Heart, Livonia, MI

Mar 15        4th Sunday of Lent-    St. Michael, Oregon, OH

Mar 22        5th Sunday of Lent-    St. Nicholas, Sterling Heights, MI 

Mar 29        Palm Sunday-                St. Michael, Flushing

 

This Thursday, March 12th -- Choir Rehearsal for Easter Sunday: 

The St. Nicholas Choir will have their next rehearsal to prepare for singing on Easter Sunday this coming Thursday, March 12th, from 7-9pm in the church.  All choir members are asked to participate, and new singers are always welcome (middle school ages and above).  Future Choir rehearsals will be on March 17 and 24, also from 7-9pm in the church. 

 

Presanctified Liturgies continue every Wednesday and Friday during Lent (7:00pm):

As usual during Lent, we have the special Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts every Wednesday and Friday evening at 7:00pm.  We invite you to make these Liturgies a part of your Lenten observations this year.

 

Friday Fish Fry Fundraiser: 

Our Lenten Fish Fry fundraiser continues every Friday throughout Lent, from 4:30-6:45pm in the Church Hall.  All parishioners and guests are welcome!  If you would be interested in donating a dessert from time to time for us to sell, or perhaps making a monetary donation—please see George Nagrant.  Please see the menus posted on our bulletin boards for more details.  Note:  We are now able to accept credit card payments in addition to cash/checks (*a small service charge will be added)!  The Fish Fry is co-sponsored by the GCU (Greek Catholic Union).

 

Pilgrim Vocations Icon Program: 

We are inviting all of our parishioners to sign up to spend a week at home with a special pilgrim vocations icon that we have recently received.  We would like for this icon to travel among our parish households, every weekend changing hands and visiting a different parishioner’s home, as an inspiration for families to pray for vocations and reflect on God’s call to serve.  The icon will be accompanied by prayer books and “Harvest Helpers” materials to help provide guidance and supplemental enrichment while the icon is at your home.  Please sign up on the sheet posted in the vestibule to take your turn with the icon.  Additionally, please check out the new vocations website, byzantinecatholicvocation.com, a central hub for resources, prayers, and support for those discerning a call to the priesthood, diaconate, or monastic life.  Let us all open our homes and hearts to Christ and support those discerning His voice.

 

Bishop Robert will be celebrating Easter with us this year! 

We are excited to announce that our bishop, Most Reverend Robert M. Pipta, will be joining us here at St. Nicholas Church for our Easter services this year—both the Saturday afternoon service as well as Easter Sunday morning (April 4-5).  On Saturday, April 4th, at 4:00pm, we will celebrate the Paschal Vigil.  On Sunday, April 5th, we will celebrate Resurrection Matins starting at 8:30am, followed by Divine Liturgy with Mirovanije starting at approximately 10:00am.  On both days we will have the Blessing of Paschal Foods.

 

Special Parish Celebration after Easter Sunday Liturgy: 

Because of Bishop Robert’s presence at our parish on Easter, we would like to do something a little different than in previous years, and have our parish Easter celebration on Easter Sunday itself instead of our usual St. Thomas Sunday luncheon.  For this special occasion, we are asking you to consider partaking of your Easter basket foods immediately following the Liturgy and Basket Blessing, in our hall, and surrounded by your fellow parishioners including our bishop, as we all celebrate together with great joy the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We will provide some supplemental foods and beverages as well, along with plates, utensils, etc.  Additional details will be posted over the coming weeks.

 

Volunteers needed for our Pascha project (Saturday, March 28): 

Please join us on Saturday, March 28th, as a volunteer in the making of our traditional Easter (Pascha) bread.  We will begin at 9:00am, but any hours that you are available to help that morning and afternoon will be appreciated.  We will need volunteers to help with making the dough (starting ~9:00am), braiding it for a beautiful decorative touch (starting at ~11:00am), and baking it.  We will also need volunteers for cleanup.  No skills necessary!  Just bring your willingness and personality, and come enjoy the camaraderie and fellowship.  There are sign up sheets at all three entrances of the church.  If you have any questions or would like further detail, please reach out to Karen Homer at 586-872-5898 (call or text is ok). 

 

Pascha (Easter bread) pre-order forms have also been posted in our church entryways, to help us determine how many loaves of Pascha bread to make.  This year we will have original (plain) and raisin bread options.  Large loaves will be $15/each, and small loaves will be $10/each.  Orders will be payable upon pick-up, starting the afternoon of March 28th (the day they will be baked).  Pre-orders will be accepted through Sunday, March 22nd.  Any orders after that date will be subject to availability, so please don’t hesitate and place your orders today—and help spread the word to your neighbors, family members, and friends, as well!  In addition to the paper signup sheets at church, you can also submit a pre-order by sending us an email at stnicksbyzantine@yahoo.com.  

 

Reminder: Contribution Statements for your 2025 donations are now available in the vestibule.  Please pick yours up at your convenience.  If you have any questions regarding your statement, please see Joanne Mozuras or Michael Huddas.  We thank you for your generous donations of time, talent, and treasure to your Parish!

 

 

Friendly Reminder: 

Please be sure to write out your checks to “St. Nicholas Church” or “St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church.”  We know that some habits can be difficult to change, but it is important that we transition away from writing donation checks addressed to St. Basil Church.  Right now, we are still able to accept St. Basil checks at our bank, but there will come a time in the near future when this will no longer be the case.  This also applies if you have automated payments being sent to us from online or other accounts.  Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

 

Stewardship 2025-2026:

This year’s Stewardship Appeal officially runs through May 31, 2026.   All parishioners within the Eparchy of Parma should have received Stewardship Appeal information in the mail by now.  If you did not receive the mailing, please contact Fr. Mykhailo so that he can provide you with the pertinent information, and confirm that your address information is listed correctly with the Eparchy.  This year’s Stewardship Appeal will support the following important needs in the Eparchy: Sustaining our Parishes; Caring for our Clergy; Nurturing Vocations; Preserving our Faith for the Future; and Extending Christ’s Love and Renewal as we continue our Lord’s mission.  Please visit parma.org/stewardship-appeal for more information and to make secure, one-time or monthly donations through the website.  Thank you for your past support and for your continued generosity with this year’s campaign.  Bishop Robert’s goal is 100% household participation.

 

Reminder:

Parish Database Survey- If you haven’t done so already, please fill out and turn in the short survey that can be found by the pink striped box just outside of Father’s office.  With the recent merging of St. Nicholas and St. Basil parishes, we are consolidating our parishioner databases, and would like to make sure we have your latest contact information.  If you have any questions, please see Fr. Mykhailo, Joanne Mozuras, or one of our ushers. Thank you for your cooperation on this!

 

Reminder: 

Request for Feedback (Eparchial Statutes): We would like to hear what suggestions you might have for improving, clarifying, or otherwise enhancing our Eparchy’s list of statutes.  Please see Fr. Mykhailo to obtain a copy of the current statutes if you don’t already have one; then read, pray, and reflect upon them, and submit any suggestions in writing to Fr. Mykhailo.  Bishop Robert’s intention is to finalize the next edition of our statutes at the next Eparchial Assembly in Fall 2026. 

 

Non-perishable Food Collection:

To further assist those in need, we are accepting donations of canned and other non-perishable foods.  Please place any donations in the baskets that are located in the main vestibule.  Thank you!

 

Happy Birthday this week to Joel Schwark (3/8), Gisella Thomas (3/9), Duane Vancil (3/9), and Emily Marszalec (3/12)! 

May God grant to each of you many more years of peace, health, and happiness!

 

 

From elsewhere within the Eparchy of Parma:

 

The next Byzantine Youth Rally will take place July 9-12, 2026, at John Carroll University in Cleveland, OH: 

The Byzantine Youth Rally provides Eastern Catholic faith formation and fraternity for all teens (ages 13-18) growing up in the Byzantine Catholic tradition.  This is an opportunity to make new friends, form lasting relationships, pray, grow spiritually, listen to inspiring talks from our Byzantine Catholic leaders, support one another in the Faith, and just have fun!  The cost to attend the rally is $380/person, although there are sibling and early bird registration discounts.  There are also volunteer and chaperone opportunities for parents and others that want to help out.  For more information, including registration details, please check out the Eparchial website: parma.org/byzantine-youth-rally.

 

Save the Date—Eparchial Assembly in Columbus, Ohio:  A pre-Assembly, open to all of the faithful of the Eparchy will be held October 17-19, 2026. 

The formal Assembly will be held October 19-22, 2026, but attendance will be by invitation only.

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