Friday, April 5, 2019

Great Compline / Απόδειπνο

• Mondays March  11, 18, 25, and April 1, & 8, at 6 pm. 

Great Compline is prayed in monasteries on a daily basis before one retires for sleep. It is prayed in our churches during the Great Lent.  This 45 minute-long service consists mostly of Psalm readings and prayers and ends with the very powerful hymn, “Lord of the Powers, be with us” The service  allows us an opportunity to pray and reflect, seek God’s mercy and forgiveness, and to acknowledge that all our hopes and salvation must be placed in God’s hands. (Bilingual booklets will be available for congregational reading & singing. Please see George Dalagelis if you would like to participate as a reader/singer at the cantor’s stand).

Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts / Λειτουργία των Προηγιασμέμων Δώρων

• Five consecutive Wednesdays starting March 13 and alternating 6 pm, and 9 am every other week. 

Since the Divine Liturgy is a festive and joyous celebration, it is not celebrated on weekdays during Lent, except on the Saturdays of the Souls and the Feast of the Annunciation. However, because Lent is a period of fasting, it should also be a period of more frequent reception of Holy Communion. There is no consecration of the Gifts at this Liturgy (hence the name Pre-sanctified). They have been consecrated on the preceding Sunday at a regular Divine Liturgy. It lasts just over an hour and contains the service of the Ninth Hour and the Vespers, with Holy Communion added at the end. Those who choose to keep the entire fast are encouraged to attend this service and to receive Holy Communion as a way of sustaining the fast by receiving the Body and Blood of Christ even more frequently during this period of spiritual discipline.

The Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God / Ο Ακάθιστος Υμνος εις την Υπεραγία Θεοτόκο

• Five consecutive Fridays beginning March 15, at 6:30 pm.

This service consists of hymns and prayers addressed to Christ and the Theotokos. It is a beautiful poem of praise and devotion to the Mother of our Lord. It was sung in the year 626 in the Church of the Theotokos in Constantinople on the occasion of the deliverance and freedom of the City from the barbarians. It is comprised of 24 stanzas, each beginning with a letter of the Greek alphabet from Alpha to Omega. It is divided into four parts, one part sung on each of the Fridays of Lent (Salutations) and on the fifth Friday, the Hymn is sung in its entirety. It is called "Akathist" because the people, out of love, devotion and gratefulness to the Theotokos, stood during the entire Hymn.

April is National Volunteer Month

In the United States, volunteerism is instilled at a young age.  In many parts of the country, it is the cornerstone of summer vacation or woven into after-school programs.  Most organizations in small towns, rural counties and the largest cities would not function without volunteers.  In some families, the baton of volunteerism is handed down generation after generation.

Rural fire and ambulance departments remain staffed due to the efforts of volunteers.  The underprivileged receive much needed medical care thanks to volunteers.  Long overdue repairs and upgrades are made to a senior women’s home thanks to an organization’s annual call for donations and skilled workers.  A woman answers a call on a suicide hotline because she cared enough to give up a few hours to train and listen to someone desperate and alone.  A team sets up tables at a soup kitchen every week.  Another group delivers meals to men and women who can no longer cook for themselves.  Boys and girls sell ice cream sandwiches during a fair to raise money for a homeless shelter.

Volunteers come in all shapes and sizes.  They pick a cause and make a difference in someone’s life.  Sometimes the difference is a drop in the bucket.  Other times it creates a tidal wave of change. 

At the Church of the Annunciation/Evangelismos in Elkins Park, we would not be able to survive without the dedication of our many, many volunteers.  People who prepare the meals and pastries for the OPA Festival, deliver to a local food pantry to feed those less fortunate, clean, prune and weed our grounds, engage in the lives of our youth, mend and clean altar vestments and cloths - all of our volunteers are special to us!

Throughout this month, we will highlight just a sample of our many volunteers in our weekly bulletins and emails.  Take a moment to thank them for all they do for our church.  Volunteer yourself!  Our volunteers will tell you it is a rewarding experience.  You don’t have to have a ton of time.  Do you have a special talent or skill that may benefit us?  Offer your services or just ask how you can be of help.  OPA is right around the corner, and preparations are underway.  Volunteer your time and your talent!

Cathy Avgiris

Celebrations, Milestones, Gratitude, Comfort & Support

Pastoral care: If you or someone you know is sick, homebound elderly, or scheduled for surgery, please call the church office to let us know so Fr. John can make a pastoral visit, or to add someone to the prayer list.

Let us pray to the Lord for the health and salvation of: Suffering and persecuted Christians in the Middle East and the non-Christian world, Irene, Konstantinos, Sophia, Dimitrios, Yianni, Matina, George, Madison.

Names will be kept on this list for approximately 3 months. Please resubmit Names if needed. Fr. John will include the submitted names at the Psokomide “Offering of Gifts” during the first part of the liturgy when he prepares the mystical gifts of bread & wine. Please lift these names up to the Lord in your personal prayer life as well.

Prayer for healing: Heavenly Father, physician of our souls and bodies, who have sent our Lord to heal every sickness. Visit and heal us. Grant patience in this sickness, the strength of body and spirit, and recovery of health. Lord, You have taught us to pray for each other that we may be healed. We pray that You heal, guide and protect your servant (s) (pray by name for those who are sick) and grant them the gift of complete health. You are the source of healing and to You we give glory, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen

Χρόνια πολλα!  Happy birthday!   God grant you many years!  To those celebrating this week: Megan Haines, Ronald Markos, Iakovos Toumbanakis, Peter Gouris, Fotini Rivera, Dimitra Afthinou, Ryan Downie, John Haviras, Lynn Lambrou, Tina Vaganos, Elisabeth Cripps, Anastasia Driscoll, Savanah Exarchos, Maria Ioakimidis, Eleni Pieces, Christen Cosmas, Dori Fifis, Jeffrey Klebanoff, Dean Samios, Many Metsikas, EleniPapanikoloaou, Rachel Ann Pappas, Loukas Stylianou, Michael Trivelis, Georgia White, Nicholas Fkiaras, Angelo Louridas, Valerie Ristvey, Andrew Skoutelas.

We extend our love, prayers, and sympathy to the Pappas, Valenzano, and Bednarsky families on the repose of their beloved mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, Penelope P. “Penny” Pappas, 88, who fell asleep in the Lord on Monday, April 2, 2019. May her memory be eternal.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend her Viewing on Sunday eve, April 7, 6-8 PM, at the EDWARD PETNER FUNERAL HOME, Frankford Ave., at Levick St. The family will also receive relatives and friends at Annunciation Church on Monday, April 8, beginning at 10 AM. The funeral service will begin at 11:00 AM and interment will follow at Lawnview Cemetery.

Many hands are needed to make the 2019 OΠA Greek Food Fest a success.

Here are some of the ways you can help:

• Participate in the 2019 OPA Journal by placing a personal message, or by soliciting an ad from your local businesses.
• Please submit your αd by April 19 to receive the 10% early bird discount.
• 2019 OPA Journal Business Ad Invitation Letter>>
• 2019 OPA Journal Ad Order Form>>
• Assist Philoptochos with baking the homemade pastries & delicacies.
• Baking schedule coming soon.
• Set some time aside to assist with the preparation, setting up, working the various stations, and cleaning up.
• A volunteer Sign Up Genius link will be available soon.

• Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey
• April 7, 2019, Greek Independence Day Parade Invitation
• April 8, 2019, Celebration with the Evzones Invitation