Divine Services for the "Fifteen Days of August
The Paraklesis Services (for health and well-being)
Wednesday evening, August 1st - 6:30pm
Friday morning, August 3rd - 10:00am
Wednesday evening, August 8th - 6:30pm
Friday morning, August 10th - 10:00am
Other Services
The Transfiguration of the Lord
Monday morning, August 6th - Orthros: 9:00am - Divine Liturgy: 10:00am
Tuesday evening, August 14th - 6:30pm - Vespers for the Falling Asleep of the Holy Theotokos
Wednesday morning, August 15th - Orthros: 9:00am - Divine Liturgy: 10:00am for the Falling Asleep of the Holy Theotokos.
Statement from Metropolitan Gerasimos on the Devastating Fires in Greece
We have all heard the devastating accounts of the tragic wildfires in Greece which have claimed over 70 lives over the past 24 hours. The images in our minds of nearly 30 people embracing on a beach only to succumb to the flames as they tried to escape are heartbreaking. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who are suffering, and for the eternal rest of the victims of this devastation.
Checks should be made payable to: Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco, MEMO: Attica Fires Relief Fund, 245 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. We will gather all the funds contributed from our Metropolis and send them directly to provide assistance.
Please see the "Insert and Fliers" Section below for more information.
College Connection 2018
Attending college or university is something a lot of young adults look forward to. Here at St. Spyridon we want to make sure that our college students, whether staying here in San Diego or going away, don’t lose their connection to St. Spyridon. With that in mind, we have created “College Connection.”
College Connection will reach out to our college students a couple of times per year with inspiring notes, care packages, etc. to let those students know that we are cheering them on from home.
If your son or daughter will be attending college in the fall (including graduate school), we would like to reach out to them with some love from their St. Spyridon Philoptochos family. Please send their postal mailing address and email address while they are in college to Michelle Defelippi at mdefelippi@san.rr.com.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact Michelle at the above email or (858) 695-9772.
Altar Server Team for Sunday, July 29, 2018
St. John: Captain: Michael Angeles, Luke Billings, Luke Georggin, Theo Huntalas, Alexios Savvides, John Savvides
Summer Acolyte Reminder
I hope the beginning of your summer is off to a great start. Please be reminded that your commitment as an acolyte continues throughout the summer months. Therefore, please check your team schedule (that was sent to you home) for your dates of service to make sure you are aware of your time(s) to serve in the Holy Altar. If you have questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact me. May God’s blessings continue to be with you and your families always.
Mrs. Angel Gilpin
Acolyte Coordinator
858-457-2723 jgilpin@san.rr.com
Summer Stewardship Reminder
Before you board your plane, train or car for your summer destination, please remember to continue to fulfill your 2018 stewardship pledge commitment throughout the summer months.
Please see the "Insert and Fliers" Section below for more information.
The Stewardship Committee thanks you in advance for all your honorable efforts.
W.O.W. Signups & Opportunity Drawing
The Women of the Word Study Group (W.O.W.) will have a signup table in the Church hall for the next three Sundays, July 29th, August 5th, and August 12th. We invite you to come meet us, join us, learn about our ministry, and take this special opportunity to win a custom-tabbed Orthodox Study Bible (something that can’t be found in any store.)
Sunday School
Dear Parents, Teachers and Sunday School Students,
Philoptochos and Coffee Hour
We hope you continue to enjoy the long standing tradition of coffee hour over the summer. Philoptochos is thankful for the continued support from all the families and organizations that offer every week. We kindly ask that you consider offering at least once per year, so think of name days, celebrations, memorials, fundraisers, etc. Offering fellowship is easy and can be shared with another family if you like. Please contact Christina Vassos at 619-818-6882 or cmvassos@gmail.com to see which dates are available. There is also a calendar in the hall. Thank you!
St. Spyridon Choir & Metropolis of San Francisco Church Music Federation Conference Brunch
Sunday, August 26th - Following the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy. Brunch is offered to all parishioners and guests. Only Pre paid reservations will be accepted. $15 Adults; $10 for Children under 12 years of age. Please mail your reservations to the church office.
The Metropolis of San Francisco Church Musician Federation Conference has been scheduled for August, 24-26, 2018 here at St. Spyridon GOC. Please mark your calendars and more information will follow. Please see the "Inserts and Fliers" section below for more information.
GOYA Save the Date
GOYANS join us on Saturday, September 15th at La Jolla Shores Beach at 4:00 pm for a Beach party as we kick off the New Ecclesiastical year. GOYA will provide the pizzas for everyone. We are asking families to bring something (please see Sign Up-Genius) OR make a donation to Project Mexico (all donations will be collected that night). Your whole family is invited so please tell your parents and siblings. RSVP to Dimitri Gilpin at Dimitri.igilpin@gmail.com questions please call William Gilpin at 858-525-5649.
Decorated Feast Day Icons
Philoptochos invites you and your family to commemorate a special Feast Day by offering a donation towards the cost of a beautifully decorated icon which will be displayed in the church Narthex for all to venerate. This offering, a floral adornment around the blessed icon, is a perfect way to honor both your family member(s) as well as an important day in the life of the Church. Throughout the liturgical year there are many opportunities to select a decorated icon, so please reserve your dates now. A suggested donation of $75 is much appreciated. Please contact Stella Weil at 4weils@sbcglobal.net or (858)694-0570 to reserve your icon/date or if you have any questions. Thank you.
Mon 8/6: Holy Transfiguration
Wed 8/15: The Falling Asleep of the Theotokos
Mon 8/27: St. Phanourios the Great Martyr
Wed 8/29: The Beheading of St. John the Baptist
Fri 9/14: Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Sun 9/16: St. Euphemia the Great Martyr
Mon 9/17: St. Sophia & Her 3 Daughters: Hope, Faith & Love
Wed 9/26: Falling Asleep of St. John the Theologian
Body Basics Parking Spaces
Please be reminded that one of our tenants, Body Basics, has been given permission to use two parking spaces off the alley near Park Blvd. on Sunday mornings. Please be respectful of that agreement and do not park in these two marked spaces on Sunday mornings. Please know that we are working diligently and moving forward to provide more parking for our church members. In the meantime, please pay attention to the signs marking the two spaces for Body Basics and do not block their customers from using those two designated spaces. Thank you.
Your Legacy and Your Church
...to whom much is given; from them much more is required (Luke 12:48).
Please remember to include your Saint Spyridon parish in your estate plan and bequest.
Program Description: Connect with the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries through social media to stay current with all the most recent news & events. We are all living and working in the mobile age, and the Metropolis Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries is committed to building its presence on the internet. These sites serve as a unified place to connect our youth, young adults, clergy, youth workers, and parents throughout our very geographically diverse Metropolis. It will also be a place for everyone to share their ideas. Please be sure to check out these sites!
Receive Back 0.5% From “Amazon Smile” Foundation
We are pleased to announce, St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego now participates in AmazonSmile. AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets you enjoy the same wide selection of millions of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com. The difference is that when you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church. That’s right, every eligible purchase you or someone else makes at AmazonSmile 0.5% will be donated back to our parish!!!
Register by visiting AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com) and select “St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church” before you make your first purchase (be sure to select St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church - San Diego, California). Amazon will remember your selection and each time a purchase is made AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% back to our parish.
For more information about AmazonSmile, go to http://smile.amazon.com/about
We hope you’ll consider this easy way to support your beloved parish. Everyone is eligible to participate so tell your friends and relatives and spread the word about this wonderful program. It takes little effort and with our collective participation and God’s continued blessings, our parish can benefit from this program.
A short video will be available on the parish website demonstrating how to select St. Spyridon GOC as your charity in your Amazon user account.
Live Stream Broadcast
If you know someone who may be in the hospital or home bound or for whatever reason just cannot get to church, don’t forget about the Live Stream Broadcast of our Divine Services. You can watch our Live Broadcast by going to our parish website and clicking on the “Live Broadcast” tab on the top tool bar. Remember, our Live Stream Broadcast is for those who absolutely cannot physically make the divine services of the church and is not a substitute for being present. Also, please be aware that conversations, crying babies, etc. can be heard on the broadcast. We have a wonderful cry room facility, which is located off the Narthex behind the candle stand, and is comfortable and provided for your convenience.
The Live Stream divine services of Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego, CA may not be recorded, retransmitted or reproduced without the express written consent of the Parish Council of Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church of San Diego, CA. Thank you for your consideration.
Donations toward the digital ministries of the parish are warmly welcomed. If you would like to help support the ministries of Saint Spyridon please contact the church office. Again, thank you.
Statement from Metropolitan Gerasimos on the Devastating Fires in Greece
Summer Stewardship Reminder
Metropolis of San Francisco Church Music Federation Conference SAVE the DATE
WeShare Online Giving
Ninth Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from John 20:19-31
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them: "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him: "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them: "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe."
Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said: "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
Prokeimenon. Plagal Fourth Mode. Psalm 75.11,1.
Make your vows to the Lord our God and perform them.
Verse: God is known in Judah; his name is great in Israel.
The reading is from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 3:9-17.
Brethren, we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw - each man's work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If any one destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are.
9th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 14:22-34
At that time, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying "Take heart, it is I; have no fear."
And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they entered the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.
The Hymn of Saint Spyridon
At the first of the Synods, you appeared as a champion, * and Wonderworker, our God-bearing Father Spyridon. * Wherefore, you addressed the dead one in the grave, * and a serpent you changed to gold. * And while chanting * in service your sacred prayers, * you joined the angels concelebrating, most holy one.* Glory to Christ who glorified you, * glory to Him who crowned you, * glory to the One who works through You, * healings for everyone.
Τής Συνόδου τής πρώτης ανεδείχθης υπέρμαχος, * καί Θαυματουργός Θεοφόρε Σπυρίδων πατήρ ημών. * διό νεκρά σύ έν τάφω προσφωνείς, * καί όφιν είς χρυσούν μετέβαλες. * καί έν τώ μέλπειν τάς αγίας σου ευχάς, * Αγγέλους έσχες συλλειτουργούντας σοι Ιερώτατε, * Δόξα τώ σέ δοξάσαντι Χριστώ * δόξα τώ σέ στεφανώσαντι. * δόξα τώ ενεργόυντι, διά σου πάσιν ιάματα.
Saint Callinicus was from Cilicia. Because he preached Christ and turned many pagans away from the idols, he was seized by Sacerdon the Governor, who subjected him to many tortures, then had him shod with shoes in which nails had been fixed upright, and compelled him to run to the city of Gangra, where he was burned alive in a furnace.
Saint Silas was a companion and fellow labourer of the Apostle Paul: "And Paul chose Silas and departed...and he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches" (Acts 15:40-41). He later became Bishop of Corinth, and reposed in peace. Saint Silvanos became Bishop of Thessalonica, and also reposed in peace. Saint Crescents, whom Saint Paul mentions in his Second Epistle to Timothy(4:10), became Bishop of Chalcedon, and brought many to the Faith. As for him whom the Apostle of the Nations praises as "my well-beloved Epenetus, the first-fruits of Achaia unto Christ" (Roman 16:5), he became Bishop of Carthage, and after enduring many afflictions from the idolators, and bringing many of them to Christ, he departed to the Lord.
Saint Joseph of Arimathea was a prominent Jewish leader during the time of Jesus Christ. He is mentioned in the Gospels as being a rich man from Armiathea who was a secret disciple of Christ due to his status in the Sanhedrin. After the crucifixion and death of our Lord, Joseph approached Pontius Pilate out of piety and asked for the body of Jesus so that he might bury it honorably. He, together with Saint Nicodemus, removed the body of Christ from the cross in the presence of the Theotokos and the Myrrh-Bearing Women, wrapped it in a linen shroud, anointed it with spices, and laid it in a new tomb that he owned. This disciple later traveled the world proclaiming the Gospel until he reposed in peace in England. The Church commemorates him individually on July 31st and along with the Myrrh-Bearing Women and Nicodemus on the 3rd Sunday of Pascha (the Sunday of the Holy Myrrh-Bearers).
Because of the many diseases that occur in the month of August, the custom prevailed of old in Constantinople to carry the precious Wood of the Cross in procession throughout the city for its sanctification and its deliverance from illnesses. It was brought forth from the imperial treasury on the last day of July and placed upon the Holy Table of the Great Church of the Holy Wisdom; and beginning today, until the Dormition of the Theotokos, it was carried in procession throughout the city and was set forth for veneration before the people.
After the First Martyr had been stoned to death (see Dec. 27), Gamaliel, his teacher, encouraged certain of the Christians to go by night and take up the Saint's body and bury it in his field, which was at a distance of some twenty miles from Jerusalem and was called by his name, "Kaphar-gamala," that is, "the field of Gamala," where Gamaliel himself was later buried. About the year 427, a certain pious man called Lucian, who was the parish priest of a church near to that field, received from God a revelation in a dream concerning the place where the First Martyr was buried. He immediately made this known to John, the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Thus, coming to the place indicated, and digging there, they found a box with the word "Stephen" in Aramaic letters. On opening it, they took these most sacred relics and transferred them to Jerusalem with great honor and in the company of a very great multitude of the faithful.
Of these, Saint Isaacius is celebrated also on May 30. He became a monk at an early age and was a worker of every virtue; a zealot for the Orthodox Faith, he was also deemed worthy of the gift of prophecy. The Saint dwelt in a small hut near Constantinople. When Valens the Arian marched against the Goths, who were at the Danube River, this righteous one went out himself to meet the Emperor and, taking in hand the reins of the Emperor's horse, said to him with boldness that God had incited the barbarians to come against him, since he himself had incited many to speak against God in blasphemy, and had driven God's true worshippers out of the divine houses of prayer. Furthermore, he told him, if he ceased fighting against God by means of heresy and returned the good shepherds (that is, the Orthodox bishops) to the flock of Christ, he would easily gain the victory over his enemies. However, if he did not desist from these things, nor have God as his ally, at the very outset of the battle both he and his army would certainly be destroyed. "Learn from experience," he said, "that it is hard to kick against the pricks. Thou shalt not return, and this expedition will be destroyed." But the Emperor became angry and had the righteous one locked in prison that he might punish him and put him to death on his return after he conquered the barbarians. But he was utterly defeated and was burned alive in a certain village in the year 378 (Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Eccl. Hist., ch. 4: 31-32). When his surviving soldiers returned from the war, wishing to tempt the Saint, they came to him and said, "Prepare to make thy defense before the Emperor, who is coming to fulfil what he spoke against thee." But the Saint answered, "It has already been seven days that I smelled the stink of his bones, which were burned in the fire." Thus the righteous one was released from prison. All marveled because of his prophecy, and he became even more wondrous by means of the zeal he displayed in behalf of Orthodoxy in 381, when the Second Ecumenical Council was convoked. After this, a monastery was built in Constantinople for him, and he piously shepherded those struggling with him in asceticism. Having served as an example of the monastic life for them, he reposed in peace about the end of the fourth century, leaving Dalmatus as his successor.
As for Saint Dalmatus, he was at first a soldier in the second division of the soldiers known as the Scholarii. Later, however, he forsook all things and taking his son Faustus, went to the above-mentioned monastery of Saint Isaacius, where he donned the monastic habit. Through his virtue he became venerable in the sight of all. He was present at the Third Ecumenical Council that was convoked in Ephesus in 431, and there displayed his zeal for Orthodoxy against Nestorius. The Council elected him Archimandrite of the monasteries in Constantinopie. Having lived for more than eighty years, he reposed in the Lord.
The Seven Youths hid themselves in a certain cave near Ephesus in the year 250, to escape the persecution of Decius. By divine grace, a sleep came upon them and they slept for 184 years, until the reign of Saint Theodosius the Younger, when the doctrine of the resurrection was being assailed by heretics. They then awoke, that is, were resurrected, confirming in the sight of all the bodily resurrection; and again after a short time, by divine command, they reposed in the Lord in the year 434.