The hymn you hear the Choir singing today at the end of the Small Entrance is one of the eight Resurrectional Apolytikia, “Let Us, the Faithful Give Praise and Worship” (Plagal 1^st Mode – see Hymnal page 99).  

As you consider your stewardship contributions to our Church for the coming year, think about giving some of your time to this ministry of our parish. Being a choir member can bring you many benefits, and it also is another way for you to give thanksgiving to God for the blessings He has bestowed upon you.  Talk to any choir member about our church music ministry – we welcome you!

Please encourage and support your children to be in church to participate in one of these ways. Readers and greeters should contact Nick Malamas for assignments. Singers should be ready at the start of Liturgy to sing in the front left pew area.

Grades 1-12 are encourgaed to participate on Youth Sunday's. Grades 1-6 practice the hymns during their Church School lessons. You can sing, you can greet, you can read.

Youth Sundays 2019-2020

12/8/19

01/12/20

02/9/20

03/8/20

04/12/20

05/10/20

We are excited to announce that there is an effort to re-activate the historic AHEPA Chapter #91 of Buffalo, founded in 1926. All those interested in joining this AHEPA Chapter and becoming a memeber of the oldest and largest international Hellenic-American organization please contact Steve Eoannou at (716) 432-3071 or seoannou@hotmail.com

Fr. Christos will lead a Bible study on Thursday evenings at 7pm at the Family Life Center.
We will study the Gospel of Mark, one of the earliest and more vivid eyewitness accounts of the words and deeds of Christ.Throughout the Bible study, we will also talk about the faith and practice of the Orthodox Church. The first study will be on September 19. The following dates will be: November 21; December 5 and 12. Please join us. 

Greek School is held every Saturday at the 10:30AM at the FLC

5992 Genesee Street 

Lancaster , NY 14086

• 13^th ANNUAL THANKSGIVING DAY DINNER Donations will be collected in the Community Center. Help us feed our neighbors! A complete dinner costs only $5.00! Volunteers needed for Mon, Nov 25^th from 12 AM-4 PM, Tues, Nov 26^th, & Wed, Nov 27^th from 10 AM-3 PM for food prep, turkey carving and set-up. Also: Thurs, Nov 28^th (Thanksgiving Day!) 8:30 AM-1:30 PM and Sat, Nov 30^th from 10 AM-1 PM to help serve. Call/text Maria Kosmas-Papafagos 583-3929
• 12th ANNUAL CHRISTMAS WITH THE VETS Orthodox Action is collecting items for the homeless and disabled Veterans of the WNY Veterans Housing Coalition on Main & W. Utica. The goal is to collect 115 of each scheduled item each Sunday until Nov. 24^th. See/call/text Carolyn Skaros 228-0001 or Alexandra Mastoras 907-1674.
• Please Note: For your convenience, a donation of $10 will cover the cost of a gift bag of all items for our Veterans.
• COMMUNITY SERVICE REQUIREMENTS: Orthodox Action’s Soup Kitchens, Thanksgiving and Christmas events are a great way for your children and grandchildren to fulfill community service requirements!

SHOEBOX PROJECT  There are still 10 children's names that need to be taken for the Shoebox project. If you have not already done so, please stop by the Philoptochos table after Liturgy and sign up for one.

If you have already taken a box (or several boxes), please remember that these must be returned to us by Sunday December 1st.

Service of Remembrance   Every year, Philoptochos hosts a reception for the guests who will be attending our Church, for the Service of Remembrance, sponsored by Oishei Childrens Hospital. This touching, non-denominational service celebrates the lives of children who have passed from various illnesses, with tributes from parents, family, and friends. We need to have simple snacks available, such as cookies, brownies, pretzels, etc.  If you would like to donate a tray for the reception, which is being held on Wednesday, December 4th, please contact Michele at 860-3838

CHRISTMAS BAKING  Philoptochos will begin its annual Christmas Baking on Monday, November 18th. Order forms are available during coffee hour, and there is also one published in the November issue of Glad Tidings. PLEASE PLACE YOUR ORDERS EARLY! The combination platters make excellent gifts for business associates, so keep that in mind when placing your order! 

Baking dates are: 11/18 @ 10 AM     12/2 @ 10 AM     12/9 @ 10 AM     12/16  10 AM

Packaging:            12/17 @ 10 AM and 12/19 @ 10 AM (if needed).

Pick Up Dates:       12/20  10 AM - 2 PM  and  12/22 after Liturgy     

For today’s Liturgy has been offered by Irene Revelas and Chris Liolios, and on Thursday by Michele Hiczewski 

In the last book discussion we covered the first 4 chapters, but did not finish The Struggle for Virtue: Asceticism in a Modern Secular Society.  Join us to finish discussing this amazing book. A review of the first 4 chapters will be presented. No need to have read the book. The next Book Discussion will be held Thursday, November 21, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. in the Family Life Center. Copies of The Struggle for Virtue are available in the the church bookstore and library.  For more  information, visit: www.hocalibrary.blogspot.com.

Do you have questions about our church you want to ask? About our faith, about how our church is administered, about stewardship, about social issues, about our traditions, about our future? If you do, then please join the Stewardship Committee for one of our upcoming informal conversations -- Annunciation Church “Meetups”. Father Christos, Committee members, and Parish Council members will be present to discuss any topic related to our church. We particularly want to emphasize how to help the church increase participation in our services and activities. Anyone who is part of our community is welcome. Non-Orthodox friends who are interested in our church are also welcome. The first meetup will be Monday, September 16, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, at the home of Vicki Pappas, 8457 Chadway Court, Williamsville. You are welcome to stay for as little or as long as you'd like. Directions to Vicki's house: Vicki lives in a development called “The Hollows,” on Chadway Court, which is off of Roll Road. Roll Road runs between Transit Road and Harris Hill Road. From Roll Road, turn south onto Avon Lea, and you’ll see Vicki’s house on the corner of Avon Lea and Chadway Court (number 8457 Chadway Court). If you plan to attend the September 16 th Meetup at Vicki's house, you can RSVP and leave a message for her at 812-361-9500 or email her at pappas@indiana.edu. An RSVP is welcome, but you can also come at the last minute. The second meetup will be Monday, September 30, 6:30 - 8:00 PM, at The Spot Coffee, in the West Seneca Main Public Library, at 1300 Union Road. The library is on Union Road about a mile and a half south of where Clinton Street crosses Union. There is ample public parking in the lots behind the Library. If you plan to attend the second meetup in West Seneca, please RSVP by calling Angeline Pappas at 716-674-1750 or emailing her at angeline1angel@gmail.com. You can also indicate your interest by clicking the Meetup event posted in Facebook. We look forward to seeing you and talking with you about our beautiful church and its activities. John Melithoniotes Stewardship Committee

We thank the 46 parishioners who have donated $5000 and become the founders of the Family Life Center. The Capital Campaign Committee would like to conclude this opportunity as soon as possible. There are 4 spots left!!

Stop in the library to peruse our table of books for Lent: cookbooks, devotionals, commentaries, and St. John the Ladders adaptation by Father John Mack, Ascending the Heights (we have many copies). Reading is a great way to prepare and observe Great Lent.

Of the many ways of supporting our Church, there are few which stand out as uniquely personal offerings of faith. The offering of Prosforo bread for the Divine Liturgy is one of them. Please contact Fr. Christos if you would like to donate Prosforo for a Divine Liturgy. 

We are pleased to announce the introduction of an electronic option for making regular offerings. Contributions can now be debited automatically from your checking or savings account or processed using your credit or debit card. Our new electronic giving program offers convenience for you and provides much-needed donation consistency for our parish.

Your online gift is completely secure through the external monitoring and protection of Vanco Payment Solutions. Also, as with all offerings given through traditional means, your online gift is kept completely confidential.

Giving online is easy and allows you to set up automatic recurring contributions and view your complete online giving history from anywhere you have access to the Internet. Simply follow these easy steps:

1) Visit the church website at www.greekorthodoxchurchbuffalo.org
2) Click on the “Support our Ministries” button which is located on the right side of the homepage
3) Click on the Create Profile button, then
4) Follow the onscreen instructions to create an online profile and to schedule your recurring contributions for items such as stewardship and the Capital Campaign.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate in contacting the Church Office.