ST. GEORGE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
REV. FR. RICHARD DEMETRIUS ANDREWS, PRESBYTER
www.stgeorgegoc.org
July 2, 2017 4th Sunday of Matthew
TODAY’S EVENTS: Summer Church Camp at Wapogasset in Amery, WI; Serve-a-Meal at FOCUS MN 4pm; Greek Dance Practice 6:30pm.
Memorial: Dimitri Dokos (40 days) Prosfora: Panorea Contolatis
Epistle Reader: Stephen Kanavati Fellowship: Eugenia and Stamatios Pothos, kourabiethes
Head Usher: Diane Anastos Julie Delton and Naomi Tsantir, servers
Monday 07-03 Summer Church Camp at Wapogasset in Amery, WI (thru Friday July 7)
Tuesday 07-04 Independence Day Holiday, office closed
Wednesday 07-05 Festival Baking – volunteers needed 9:30AM
Sunday 07-09 ORTHROS (8:15am) &DIVINELITURGY- 5th SUNDAY OF MATTHEW 9:30AM
Memorial- Metropolitan Iakovos (40 days) 11:00AM
Kids Wear Camp T-shirts & Share Experiences 11:15AM
Serve-a-Meal at FOCUS MN 4:00PM
Greek Dance Practice 6:30PM
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
New Metropolitan of Chicago: will be elected in the following manner: With input from 120 Archdiocesan Council members, the Holy Eparchial Synod of America will select three candidates for consideration and will forward the names to the Patriarchal Synod in Constantinople, which will make the final decision. Likely, the announcement will be made after the 40 day memorial for Metropolitan Iakovos. Until then, Metropolitan Nicholas of Detroit is serving as locum tenens.
Festival Baking: help make delicious Greek sweets for the Summer Festival. Wednesdays- July 5, July 12, and July 19 starting at 9:30am. Please contact Nanette Gomez or the office for more information.
Think About It: A person’s chief aim should be to find God. In finding God, we find true happiness. Elder Joseph the Hesychast (+1959)
Young at Heart: seniors will meet on Tuesday, July 11 at 9:30am at The Original Pancake House, located in Crossroads of Roseville, 1661 County Road B2 W, Roseville, 55113. Everybody is welcome!
Mural Icons (Corrected)- Thank you to all for designating memorials of departed loved ones and making additional significant personal contributions: Resurrection Icon - Presvytera Miriam Paraschou in memory of Fr. Parry; Crucifixion Icon - Christ Kontenakos & family in memory of Antonia Kontenakos; Nativity Icon - Irene Loudas in memory of Basil Loudas; and Pentecost Icon - Mary Arvanitis in memory of Loucas Arvanitis, Nick and Frances Arvanitis, Michael Eric, and Aphrodite Arvanitis.
Greek Festival: August 19-20. 2017; save the dates! Advance Sale tickets will be sold in the social hall on Sundays after liturgy, ticket price is $10 for $12 of food & beverages through July 23. Yard signs are also available in the social hall. If you are interested in serving on the Clean-up Committee or any other, please contact Jon Kennedy, Phyllis Kapetanakis or Alexis Bighley.
Middle Eastern Festival: July 14-16 at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church. www.mideastfest.com.
Patristic Wisdom: Anyone who is sick should seek the prayer of others. Call upon the Church to pray for you. Then God, in His regard for the Church, will give you what He might have refused if you had not. St. Ambrose of Milan (+397)
St. George Date Night: Saturday, July 15, 6-9pm. The couples group of St. George, formerly known as Hearth & Hearts, are planning a progressive dining and fellowship experience for couples and singles--all are welcome! We hope to come up with a new name then too! Approximate schedule: 6:00pm Lake Monster Brewing Company, 6:30pm Urban Growler - plan on dinner here, 8:00pm Burning Brothers Brewing. For more info, please contact Peter Hofrenning or Presbytera Jane janedono1@gmail.com.
Prothesis Project- the masonry work for the new antiprothesis/skeuvophylakion project is complete. This is the first phase. After sealing and painting, the next is the installation of the new carved wood cabinets for both the original prosthesis in the north niche and the new antiprothesis in the south niche. Each will have a special carved panel, one of St. George and the other a Lamb with a Cross. Additional work includes marble tops and an icon in the south niche. This will be beautiful addition to our sanctuary space and provide practical storage, display and preparation space for the worship services. Stay tuned!
Church Fathers Speak: The human heart is entangled with prickly roots of various passions lodged deeply within. With God’s help, when we try to uproot the passion, we simultaneously lacerate the heart, causing pain. If a person decides not to bear the pain, he/she gives up at this point, abandoning the struggle, thus remaining passionate and sinful. If however, the person patiently endures the pain, the root is removed and the he/she is set free. Elder Ephraim of Mt. Athos and Arizona
Roselawn Cemetery Lots: available to parishioners at a 15% discount off 2017 list prices. Discounted prices are: Monument Lot (2 graves) $5,865.00; Flat Lot A (2 graves) $3,485.00; Flat Lot B (1 grave-limited availability) $2,040.00. For more info or to purchase a lot, please contact the church office.
Stewardship 2017: Theme is You are the Voice of Christ in a Changing World: As the Father Has Sent Me, So I Send You (John 20:21). We have received 113 pledge cards for 2017 with a total of $169,562 and an average of $1,500. Be sure to increase your pledge, even if only a few dollars. This reflects spiritual growth and overcomes stagnation. We encourage everyone to give a minimum of 2% pledge of gross yearly income to become a self-sustaining community, far less than the biblical ideal of tithing or 10%.
Wisdom from the Church Fathers: The Acts of the Apostles are the acts of Christ done by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Lives of the Saints are a continuation of the Acts of the Apostles. In them is found the same Gospel, life, truth, righteousness, love, faith, and the same God. ‘For the Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever’ (Heb.13:8). St. Justin Popovich of Chelije (+1979)
Need Counseling? Fr. Rick is always available by appointment for pastoral counseling. He will soon become a Licensed Associate in Marriage & Family Therapy (LAMFT). To complete his doctoral internship, Father needs a certain number of hours counseling individuals, couples and families. His program allows pastoral counseling to count towards those hours. Fr. Rick has nearly 22 years of parish priest experience as well as doctoral training in MFT. Help him to help you. All counseling is strictly confidential. Fr. Rick is also a certified Seminar Director for the Prepare-Enrich program (www.prepare-enrich.com), the premier pre-marital and marital counseling assessment tool in the world. This enables him to train others to become facilitators, certified to use Prepare-Enrich as a tool in counseling with couples.
Lexington Parkway Improvements- starting early July, concrete and brick crosswalks will be replaced with blacktop along with new pedestrian accessible curbs at intersections. Watch for lane shifts and closures.
Welcome Visitors Thank you for joining with us in prayer and fellowship. The worship of the Orthodox Church is deeply rooted in and very similar to that of the early Christian Church. Unique sensory stimuli and mystery are elements that go back even to the liturgy of the Jewish temple. Everything in an Orthodox Christian church communicates the majestic presence of God the Holy Trinity with His Saints. It is literally heaven on earth. It is a sad consequence of the divisions in Christianity that we cannot extend a general invitation to receive Holy Communion. Visitors are invited to receive the blessed bread (antithoron) at the conclusion of the liturgy. We pray and work for the reconciliation and unity of all Christians. If you are interested in learning more about Orthodoxy, please contact Fr. Rick at fatherrick@stgeorgegoc.org. We are proud of our Greek heritage but one does not have to be of Greek descent, nor speak Greek to be a Greek Orthodox Christian.
Note to Orthodox about Holy Communion: Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ is one of the most Holy experiences for a Christian in order to be granted the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. We are never worthy to partake of Divine Nature. Yet, it is essential that we prepare ourselves for this sacred Communion by constant prayer, reading the Scriptures, regular fasting and periodic Confession. At a minimum, we should fast all morning before Communion, arrive at the beginning of Liturgy, and come for Confession at least once a year. In addition, we should not have separated ourselves from the Church through serious sin. Otherwise, please refrain from Communion to avoid “judgment…not discerning the Lord’s body” (1Cor. 11:29). Contact Fr. Rick for pastoral guidance.
Glad Tidings deadline: The 10th of each month. Glad Tidings email: gladtidings@stgeorgegoc.org Sunday Bulletin Deadline: Wednesday Noon each week. Email: office@stgeorgegoc.org
Our annual commemoration of the 4th of July, Independence Day in the United States of America, provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the blessings of liberty and to express our gratitude to our forbearers for the freedom that has been advanced and sustained throughout the history of this country. We have and experience a multitude of social, political and economic freedoms because many sacrificed courageously to protect the highest ideals, others engaged in challenging debate and decisions over the shape of governance and society, and countless more have cherished freedom by respecting the rights and liberties of others.
