We meet for divine worship every Sunday morning starting with Orthros (Matins) 8:30, Divine Liturgy 9:30-11AM, followed by a fellowship hour in our community center. All are invited!
Please see Community Calendar for a complete listing of all weekday feast-days and worship services.
WE ARE OPEN! YOU MUST REGISTER IN ADVANCE TO ATTEND
Dear Annunciation Church Family,
We are pleased to announce that we have received the blessing of Metropolitan Evangelos to proceed with limited in-person worship, effective Sunday, June 14 in accordance with State and Metropolis directives and guidelines.
Our Operating Plan is explained in the Frequently Asked Questions & Key Guidelines Document. Please read. You will be asked to certify you have read them at registration.
The most important point in the Plan is that EVERYONE MUST REGISTER in advance to be able to attend any worship service that we offer.
For safety reasons, there are no exceptions to this requirement. The maximum number of attendees is 75. You must register for each service HERE.
We ask for your cooperation and patience as we progress through this re-opening plan. Please remember that everyone has a responsibility to follow the Plan to protect the health of themselves and everyone else attending the service.
Prayerfully yours,
Father John Johns
Dean Dalson
Thursday, June 18, 2020
Friday, June 19, 2020
2nd Sunday of Matthew, June 21, 2020
Κυριακή Βʹ Ματθαίου, 21 Ιουνίου, 2020. Το κήρυγμα ΕΔΩ
Wednesday, June 24, 2020 - Nativity of the Forerunner John the Baptist
Friday, June 26, 2020
3rd Sunday of Matthew, June 28, 2020
Monday, June 29, 2020 - Peter and Paul, the Holy Apostles
Tuesday, June 30, 2020 - Synaxis of the Twelve Holy Apostles
This Martyr, who was born to a pagan father and a Christian mother, was from Cilicia, confessed the Christian Faith before the Proconsul Marcian, and was perfected in martyrdom at the age of eighteen, when he was put into a sack with sand and venomous serpents and cast into the sea. Saint John Chrysostom has a homily in his honour.
Prokeimenon. First Mode. Psalm 32.22,1.
Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us.
Verse: Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 2:10-16.
Brethren, glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality. All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
Προκείμενον. First Mode. ΨΑΛΜΟΙ 32.22,1.
Γένοιτο, Κύριε, τὸ ἔλεός σου ἐφ' ἡμᾶς.
Στίχ. Ἀγαλλιᾶσθε δίκαιοι ἐν Κυρίῳ
τὸ Ἀνάγνωσμα Πρὸς ῾Ρωμαίους 2:10-16.
Ἀδελφοί, δόξα δὲ καὶ τιμὴ καὶ εἰρήνη παντὶ τῷ ἐργαζομένῳ τὸ ἀγαθόν, Ἰουδαίῳ τε πρῶτον καὶ Ἕλληνι· οὐ γάρ ἐστιν προσωποληψία παρὰ τῷ θεῷ. Ὅσοι γὰρ ἀνόμως ἥμαρτον, ἀνόμως καὶ ἀπολοῦνται· καὶ ὅσοι ἐν νόμῳ ἥμαρτον, διὰ νόμου κριθήσονται· οὐ γὰρ οἱ ἀκροαταὶ τοῦ νόμου δίκαιοι παρὰ τῷ θεῷ, ἀλλʼ οἱ ποιηταὶ τοῦ νόμου δικαιωθήσονται. Ὅταν γὰρ ἔθνη τὰ μὴ νόμον ἔχοντα φύσει τὰ τοῦ νόμου ποιῇ, οὗτοι, νόμον μὴ ἔχοντες, ἑαυτοῖς εἰσιν νόμος· οἵτινες ἐνδείκνυνται τὸ ἔργον τοῦ νόμου γραπτὸν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν, συμμαρτυρούσης αὐτῶν τῆς συνειδήσεως, καὶ μεταξὺ ἀλλήλων τῶν λογισμῶν κατηγορούντων ἢ καὶ ἀπολογουμένων, ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὅτε κρινεῖ ὁ θεὸς τὰ κρυπτὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιόν μου, διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
2nd Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 4:18-23
At that time, as Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left their boat and their father, and followed him. And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.
2nd Sunday of Matthew
Κατὰ Ματθαῖον 4:18-23
Τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, περιπατῶν δὲ παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας εἶδε δύο ἀδελφούς, Σίμωνα τὸν λεγόμενον Πέτρον καὶ ᾿Ανδρέαν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, βάλλοντας ἀμφίβληστρον εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν· ἦσαν γὰρ ἁλιεῖς· καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου καὶ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων. οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ. Καὶ προβὰς ἐκεῖθεν εἶδεν ἄλλους δύο ἀδελφούς, ᾿Ιάκωβον τὸν τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου καὶ ᾿Ιωάννην τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ μετὰ Ζεβεδαίου τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν καταρτίζοντας τὰ δίκτυα αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐκάλεσεν αὐτούς. οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὸ πλοῖον καὶ τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ. Καὶ περιῆγεν ὅλην τὴν Γαλιλαίαν ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς διδάσκων ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς αὐτῶν καὶ κηρύσσων τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς βασιλείας καὶ θεραπεύων πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ πᾶσαν μαλακίαν ἐν τῷ λαῷ.
Today is the summary of our salvation, and the revelation of the age-old mystery. For the Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin, and Gabriel announces the good news of grace. Therefore, let us join him, and cry aloud to the Theotokos: “Rejoice, Maiden full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
Cήμερον τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν τὸ Κεφάλαιον, καὶ τοῦ ἀπ' αἰῶνος Μυστηρίου ἡ φανέρωσις, ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, Υἱὸς τῆς Παρθένου γίνεται, καὶ Γαβριὴλ τὴν χάριν εὐαγγελίζεται. Διὸ σὺν αὐτῷ τῇ Θεοτόκῳ βοήσωμεν· Χαῖρε Κεχαριτωμένη, ὁ Κύριος μετὰ σοῦ.
How can we make this happen for those who are struggling right now? There are several ways. One way is to donate to Matthew 25 from the GIVE PLUS app. We will safely purchase and deliver items to the pantry for you. Another way is to fill those bins that have been empty for so long now that our church doors are beginning to open. Also, if you are out and would like to visit the pantry on your own, contact a Matthew 25 member and we will give you the information you need to deliver safely.
Items that are always in demand are:
God calls and gifts people with specific jobs. It is our calling to use our minds, hearts, voices, and hands to continue to help our brethren who are without their daily bread. We delivered eggs in June and will continue to provide the pantry with eggs in July and August.
Thank YOU for your continued support! As you may remember Matthew 25 contributed $300 to Philabundance last month. We wanted to take this opportunity to share this thank-you note sent to us from Philabundance because without you this contribution would not have been possible.
God Bless – Matthew 25 Ministry
P.S. We are excited to announce that our small ministry’s little voice reached the ears of State Farm and through the Good Neighbor Community Fund they will be donating over $8000 in food to Seeds of Hope the week of June 14th! They are purchasing enough beef, chicken, fish, and other desired wish list items to feed 300 families. There are so many great companies that are out there willing to help during this season of Covid-19. We are so happy to be able to announce this tremendous donation and act of kindness.
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, Anthony, Janet, Dionysios, Elizabeth, Peter, Athanasia, Earnest, Virginia, Sandra, Tom, Stephen, Betty, Chryssie, Stacey, Athena, Konstantinos, Donna.
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, 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.
Happy anniversary to those celebrating this coming week: Dounoulis, Konstantinos & Allison; Prousi, Andrew & Melissa; Siokos, Zisis & Marianna; Koutsouros, John & Virginia; Andreadis, Dimitrios & Maria; Johnson, William & Gloria; Koutsouros, William & Kimberly Cromer; Louca, Loukas & Athena; Nanos, Philip & Vrisida; Hatzinikolaou, Yiorgos & Angelique; Wrigley, Richard & Alexsandra; Bougioukas, Nickolas & Magdalini; Haviaras, Stefanos & Robin; McNally, James & Maria; Hadgimallis, Robert & Vasiliki; Kelly, Kevin & Barbara Crits-Kelly; Koutsouradis, Ioakim & Kimberly.
Χρόνια πολλά & ευλογημένα! God grant you many years! To those who are celebrating birthdays this coming week: Markos Andreadis, Eva Limbanovnos, Mark Pasles, Dimitra Ganas, Louis Grau, Christina Bennett, Kyra Cunningham, Stephanie Degaitis, Gail Karmokolias, Dianna O'Hara, Alexandra Tzitzikas, Angelique Hatzinikolaou, Charlie Rey Louridas, Elvis Louridas, Rhea Metsikas, Domenick Niamonitos, Nicholas Saphos, Zaffie Zoubroulis, Eleni Evangelatos, Constantine Hadgimallis, Robert Hadgimallis, Russell Penning, Mary Jaxheimer, William Koutsouros, Andrew Levin, Richard Armentani, Isidoros Pieces, Gionna Ricks, Katerina Romano.
The Spring 2020 edition of PRAXIS magazine is now fully available online. The topic of Orthodox Youth around the World was selected to honor the Christmas 2019 declaration of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew that 2020 would be the “year of pastoral renewal and due concern for the youth.”
The Center for Family Care of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America’s summer series, “Soak Up the Son: The Wonder of God’s Creation” began on Monday, June 15th. Soak Up the Son is a summer program designed for families. This 10 week seasonal series is offered as a reminder “to commit ourselves and one another and our whole lives to Christ our God.” New episodes will air every Monday at 12PM EST, on the GOA Center for Family Care website (family.goarch.org) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/centerforfamilycare). From there, the program can be modified to your liking, and according to your family dynamics.
In the aftermath of George Floyd’s horrific death at the hands of police officers, protests have erupted across the nation. With everyone at home due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, parents now have an opportune moment to talk about racism with their children. But how do parents begin that tough conversation?
The Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has produced an interview series entitled, “A Conversation on Racial Reconciliation,” with Archdeacon John Chryssavgis. This series, as well as an updated resource center, are in response to the events following the death of Mr. George Floyd.
In light of recent tragic acts of racism and brutality — including the heinous murder of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis, the murder of a black man simply for jogging in Georgia, and the weaponing of the police against a black man in New York City, Nicholas Anton offers this blog entry, taken from a speech he presented in October 2019, which highlights racism and the Orthodox Christian Church in the USA today.