Saturday, February 16^th 

A Funeral service will be held on Saturday at 9:30am for our beloved +Vickie (Vasiliki) Flaris Rapp. May God rest her soul. Our sincerest condolences to her husband Paris and son Alexander. Visitation will be on Friday from 6-9pm at the Tuttle Funeral Home, on Route 10. 

February 17^th, 2019 Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee: Triodion Begins Today

Orthros at 8:45am Divine Liturgy at 10am

Memorials:

A 40 Day Memorial service will be held for the repose of the soul of our ever memorable +Efrosini Ευφροσύνης Arvanitis, beloved mother of Harriet (Andreas) Villarubia and Peter Arvanitis.  

An Annual Memorial service will be held for the repose of the soul of our ever memorable +Nasim Jaghab, beloved father of John and Ron Jaghab. 

An Annual Memorial service will be held for the repose of the soul of our ever memorable +John ΙωάννουHambos, beloved father of Marina (George) Venizelos, and Peter (Sotiria) Hambos.

May their memory be eternal Αιωνία η μνήμη αυτών

The Pharisee's prayer, to our ears, sounds obnoxious and boastful. Not only does he brag that he is not like other men in general, listing a variety of people he considers himself better than, he seems particularly pleased that he is not like "this tax collector," weeping uncontrollably for his sins in the back of the Temple. He goes on to describe to God how strict he is in fasting, and how generous he is in tithing or giving 10% of his wealth to the Temple.

But to the ears of Jesus' hearers, an entirely different picture emerged. The Pharisee's prayer of thanksgiving was a commonly heard, completely understandable expression of gratitude, that -- unlike those whose worldly labors would lead only to emptiness and death -- God had called him to, and had given him, a life of holiness, of sanctity: a life of spiritual efforts which would lead to eternal life. Looking at our own lives sometimes we are devoted only to ourselves, and addicted to empty pursuits which we know will ultimately leave us cold, we could (perhaps using other words) make the same prayer. In describing his fasting and his tithing, he is simply indicating to God how devoted he is to God’s service: he fasts twice per week, rather than the once per year required by the Jewish law; and he gives more than he has to in support of the Temple worship. He gives much to God, of himself, and of his goods. And he is, by the standards of Jesus' hearers, a holy and good man. Whom Jesus has just condemned!

Conversely, the tax collector, for whom we have such sympathy, would have been, to Jesus' hearers, a completely unsympathetic character. Tax collectors in Jesus' day were not "civil servants" as we know them today; they were entrepreneurs who, by hook or by crook, had obtained for themselves a lucrative livelihood: extorting their more-than-comfortable living by collecting taxes far and above the amounts the people legitimately owed. Picture the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood's day, and you'll have some sense of how Jesus' hearers likely regarded this tax collector. Even if he had decided to change his ways and make amends, it would have been impossible for him because people would still not accept him: not only would he have had to give up his and his family's livelihood, but he would have had to restore everything to everyone whom he had ever defrauded -- plus an added fifth. It was a totally hopeless situation. To top it all off, here he stood, in the back of the Temple, not acting like one was supposed to act in that holy place, but crying out to God and beating his breast. Imagine how we would regard someone standing in the back of our church, carrying on the same way, while we tried to worship in peace. No wonder the Pharisee gave thanks to God that he was not like him! Whom Jesus praised!

Obviously, Jesus was trying to make a point. Why would he condemn the righteous Pharisee, while praising the unrighteous tax collector? Because He was not talking about our righteousness (or unrighteousness, for that matter), but about God's mercy -- which all of us need, whether our lives are more like the Pharisee's, or more like the tax collector's. Consider King David's words in Psalm 53: "God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand,(or)  who seek God. Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one." -Psalm 53:2-3 Not one of us "makes it" in the absolute terms of God's righteousness. We all fall short. And from God's perspective, how far we fall short is somewhat meaningless. Think about a test in school with a hundred questions on it. You get ten right. Your neighbor gets just one. You did ten times better than he did, but it doesn't matter -- you both needed one hundred to pass! There must be another way. And this is precisely Jesus' point, in telling this parable he was speaking "to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others." (St. Luke 18:9) By relying on his own righteousness, impressive -- in human terms -- as it was, the Pharisee did not seek, and did not receive, God's mercy, without which none of us will be saved. By casting himself completely on God's mercy -- since he had no hope of redeeming himself -- the tax collector was justified, redeemed, and saved. What righteousness could not accomplish, humility achieved. Jesus said, "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled    and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

The Church offers us this parable in the weeks before Great Lent to teach us, to remind us, and to warn us, in this season when we will make special spiritual efforts -- in prayer, in fasting, and in charitable works -- that our righteousness is an illusion, a fantasy, which cannot help us or save us. Not that being righteousness is not a goal for us: certainly Jesus is not suggesting that we become "extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector"; but in the end, literally, our righteousness in terms of God's righteousness is nothing -- and God's mercy is everything.

And our prayer should be the prayer of the Tax Collector who said…"God, be merciful to me a sinner!"

“Now at our candle stand in the Narthex”

……A number of soul edifying publications are available weekly for FREE at our candle stand in the Narthex

Now available for the next 2 weeks: 3 select (small) volumes from the 7 volume Spiritual Life Series published by www.newromepress.  Each small book in this series tackles topics of spiritual significance for the Orthodox Christian's daily life. Now Freely available:

Do not judge…Understanding the Vice of Passing Judgement…. And as we ponder over the trouble we have to be virtuous and live a life in Christ, we lose heart and give up. Christ, however, suggested a very simple and easy way for us to please Him and avoid…..Read More

On the Vice of Envy…… And whereas all the passions produce at any rate some momentary pleasure in the person who experiences them, envy wastes away the soul through continual, sorrow at the happiness of one's fellow-man... This passion is usually well hidden……Read More

On Repentance and Confession…… Repentance is man’s return to God. It is a change-of-heart in the nous from the darkness of sin to the light of Christ. The beginning of this journey is “the awareness of our errors, which is a great opportunity for us to attract divine mercy. This is why the Prophet David says to God…..Read More

Stewardship Program Update 02-05-2019:

We would like to thank everyone who submitted their 2019 Christian Stewardship Commitment.

120 families have sent in their pledges Totaling  $129,000. 

Total Operating Budget 2019 $800,000

Stewardship Income $350,000 | $129,000 committed to date)

Fundraising Income $450,000

Balanced Budget $800,000.

If you have not already made your commitment to Saint Andrew church, we ask that you prayerfully consider your blessings and submit your 2019 pledge today. see Form under News-Flyers.. "stewardship" 

Online Giving System - WeShare click on link https://www.churchgiving.com/?pc=aite9a78 and follow instructions

Mardi Gras Celebration -2019 - ΑποκριάτικοΓλέντι

Sunday, February 17^th at 4:30pm 

Join us to celebrate and enjoy an evening of: entertainment, food, dancing, tricky tray & prizes! The Knoll Country Club West, 12 Knoll Lane, Boonton, NJ

Tickets must be purchased in advance no later than February 3rd****NO REFUNDS** see Reservation form under "Flyers" 

INFO CONTACT DEMITRA PAXOS (973)970-8003/  dpaxos1221@gmail.com or Anastasia Mitrakos (973) 229-0204 / anastasiam7@yahoo.com

Girls Volleyball program

Caregivers Workshop #3

On Sunday, March 3rd at 12:45pm in Room 102 an informal caregiver forum for discussion with and about caregivers, will be led by Andi Morris from Arden Courts of Whippany. Our discussions will range from practical tips for coping with chronic diseases, avoiding caregiver burn out, and information about community resources. If there are other topics you are interested in, please let us know. If there is enough interest, we will conduct another forum or workshop and cover more detail.  Thank you Catherine Rabidis

House Blessings

Fr. John Theodosion will begin the House Blessings in our community on the 1^st week in January 2019.  St. Andrew Parishioners will be notified of his pending visit.  Please look for a “Blue Post Card” indicating date and time.

We will also be announcing in the weekly bulletin the towns that Fr. John will be visiting. If you don’t receive “Blue Post Card” when your town is listed, please contact the office ASAP and make arrangements for «Agiasmo» in your home.

NOTE: Please do not offer Fr. John any food or snacks. Your hospitality is greatly appreciated, but unfortunately his time is very limited and will only delay his next visit.

Rescheduling of missed appointments will be after Pascha. 973-584-0388

St Thomas Church services at St. Andrew on Sundays 

Our friends the parishioners of St. Thomas Orthodox Church of India, located on West Blackwell St. in Dover had a big loss last week. Their church was damaged by a fire and they requested our help.  We at St. Andrew will be making our Gym available to them so they are able to hold their Sunday services. We ask you to please not enter the gym while their services are in session. We have also allocated the parking lot in the back of the gym for their parishioners.

Coffee Hour Hosts

2/17 DOP, 2/24 GOYA, 3/3 Philoptochos, 3/10 PTA, *3/17 DOP, *3/24 GOYA, *3/31 GOYA, 4/7 Philoptochos, 4/14 DOP, 4/21 Palm Sunday (*Lent)

BAGELS for Sunday Coffee hour are donated by ALPHA BAGELS located on Route 10 in Randolph, NJ. We thank them for their generosity and continued support. 

Save the dates  

March 10 -  GOYA Sights and Sounds Replay

April 14 -  Greek Independence Day Parade in NYC

May 10 - Philoptochos Annual Tricky Tray

May 19 - Religious Education Graduation & Scholarship Awards Program

May 30, 31 & June 1: Family Picture with Lifetouch for upcoming Saint Andrew Directory

June: 7-8-9 Big Greek Festival

If you would like us to remember you or your loved one in our prayers, please contact the office. 973-584-0388

Names will be kept on this list for approximately 3 months. Please resubmit Names if needed.   Fr. John will pray for the Names above during the Proskomide “Offering of gifts” during the first part of the Divine Liturgy when our priest prepares the mystical gifts of bread and wine. Please keep these names in your prayers as well.

Lukas, Anna Christina, Ronny, Stephanie, Lukas, Zoe, Spyridoula, Maria, Eugenia, Alexa, Eleni, Vasiliki, Hope, Hristos, Rosemary, Susan, Don, Corinne, Sophia, Stavroula, Konstantinos, Anastasia, Pamela, Brian,Brandon, Fotini, Irene, Eleutherios, Andriana, John, Panayioti, William, Nikki, Kyriaki, Panayiota, Beatrice, Demetrios, Andreas, Ioanna,Marykate, John, Konstantinos, Barbara, Reta, Despina, Eleni, Bonnie, Rose, Richard, Mary, Petros, Demosthenes, Angeliki, Christian, Olga, Efthimia, Demitra, Antonia, Norma, Beatrice, Geoffrey, Theonimfi, Donald, Alexandra, Kathy, John, Reggie, Shannon, Yiota, Christopher, Asimina, Margarita, Ellen, Konstantinos, Despina, Margaret, Georgia, Antonios, Maria, Kleo, Constantine, Paul, Christos, Vasilis, Maxine, Hana, Eva, Nicoletta, Nicholas, Tina, Stefanos, Paraskevi, George, Anastasia, Hristos, John, Christopher, George, Chris, Konstantinos, Aristea, Fr. Demetri, Prz Spyridoula, Eleni, Marcella, Demetri, Fotini, William, Robert, Nicholas, Konstantinos, Helen, Kelly,

Prayer for a Sick Person:

Heavenly Father, physician of our souls and bodies, who have sent Your only-begotten Son and our Lord Jesus Christ to heal every sickness and infirmity, visit and heal (me) Your servant from all physical and spiritual ailments through the grace of Your Christ. Grant (me) patience in this sickness, strength of body and spirit, and recovery of health.  Lord, You have taught us through Your word to pray for each other that we may be healed.  I pray that You heal (me) as Your servant and grant (me) the gift of complete health. For You are the source of healing and to You I give glory, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen