Please sign up HERE  to attend in person any of the church services. All ages are welcomed (and encouraged) to attend. 
For those unable to attend in person, click on the service to see the text and pray with us through our Facebook Livestream
Let us know if you would like for us to light a votive candle for you HERE

2020 Philoptochos Community Christmas Card

Please view the invitation letter HERE and return your submission by November 30, 2020

Tips on Helping the Homeless 

Tip #1 - Acknowledge

Homelessness brings a sense of loneliness that erodes the core of a person's self-value. Rather than ignoring or dismissing, a simple smile can make a big difference in a day full of hardship. 

Tip #2 - Compassion

One of the best ways to help a homeless person is to show compassion. Having no door to walk through at the end of the day is a very dehumanizing existence. They are going through trauma by simply living on the street. Give homeless people the same courtesy and respect that you would accord your family, your friends, your neighbors. Treat them as you would wish to be treated if you or your loved ones needed assistance.

Tip #3 - Understand

One of the biggest problems with homelessness is misunderstanding. There are many paths that lead to homelessness. Stereotypes and stigmatization make it hard for us to help others. Every person living on the streets has his or her own story. Some are very educated and just down on their luck. Some are struggling with addiction. Others lost everything to medical bills and some suffer mental illness. No matter what brought them to homelessness, they all have value and deserve help. 

Tip #4 - Share

Winter feels extra-long, dark and cold when you are living on the streets or sleeping in a car. There is a big risk of hypothermia from staying outside for such long periods of time. You can provide protection from the cold weather without having to spend any additional money. Check your closet for winter gear that you are no longer using: a pair of gloves, a scarf, a knit hat that you got for free at a game or event. Instead of keeping those in your closet, consider donating them to the homeless by placing the same in the Homeless Ministry basket. 

If you travel and stay in a hotel, remember to bring home the complimentary hand lotion (that small bottle in the bathroom). This lotion can help someone living on the streets more than you might think. Spending all day in the harsh winter cold can severely damage and dry out your skin. Don't refuse the toothbrush and toothpaste your dentist gives you even if you prefer what you have at home. Donate these by placing them in the Homeless Ministry basket. 

Tip #5 - Pray

Homelessness is very complex and many times generates vicious cycles that are hard to break. However, there is hope! Pray for our homeless neighbors. Pray that their physical needs are met. Pray also for their emotional and spiritual needs. Pray that they find motivation to join a recovery program or seek the help they need. 

Thank you for all of your generous, compassionate support and prayers!

In Christ's service,

The Homeless Ministry

Matthew 25 is Reaching Out to Lend a Hand… Will You?

Matthew 25 would like to express our thanks to all of you who donated to the pantry this month. With your donations, we were able to deliver 100 dozen eggs, soup, peanut butter, pasta sauce, pasta and cereal, to name a few items. Thank you to all who have donated using the Give Plus app as well as through Parish Giving. Your generous donations have allowed us to expand what we have been able to give. We are always happy to purchase for you if you prefer to make a monetary donation. Our next monthly donation to Seeds of Hope will be on October 13.

Food insecurities have grown, and with them, the pantries and other food assistance programs are overwhelmed! Virtual learning means that many families can’t get to the school to pick up free breakfast and lunches for their children. Many families are still hanging on by a thread with furloughed jobs or no job in sight. Let’s continue to work together to be a community of helping hands. Let's reach out and try to fill the empty shelves at the pantry. The pantry will continue to provide boxed deliveries to the 300 plus families each month. They have perfected their drive up system. They even offer families the opportunity to speak with a volunteer from the pantry and be put on a prayer list. It’s very humbling to watch and be a part of.

Please continue to be a helping hand to our ministry! The needs are great and we can’t do it alone!

October Update

The Orthodox Church teaches us that holiness or sainthood is a gift given by God to man through the Holy Spirit. We honor the saints - who are first of all "friends" of God - to express our love and gratitude to God. Many wonderful books are available to make the saints' lives accessible to us and help us follow their example. Here are just a few:

Christ in His Saints by Patrick Henry Reardon. Father Reardon examines the lives of 150 saints and heroes from the Scriptures, from Abigail to Zephaniah, Adam to St. John the Theologian. Repentant saints, zealous saints, saints under pressure – they're all here, and their stories are both fascinating and uplifting. But Christ in His Saints is far more than a biblical "who's who." These men and women represent that ancient family into which, by baptism, all believers have been incorporated. Together they compose that "great cloud of witnesses" cheering us on and inspiring us through word and deed.

Christina’s Favorite Saints by Maria C. Khoury. This beautiful children's book features a brief biography and colorful icon of one saint for each month of the year. Among the saints included are St. Herman of Alaska, St. Kosmas the Melodios, St. Gerasimos of Jordan, St. Anthony the Great, St. Constantine the Great, St. Helen, St. Katherine, St. George the Great Martyr, St. Sophia and her daughters, and Sts. Peter and Paul. 

Everyday Saints and Other Stories by Archimandrite Tikhon. In Communist Russia in 1984, five youths from non-religious backgrounds joined a monastery. This book tells the story of what they experienced and some of the "everyday saints" they met. The author says, "In this book I want to tell you about this beautiful new world of mine, where we live by laws completely different from those in 'normal' worldly life—a world of light and love, full of wondrous discoveries, hope, happiness, trials and triumphs, where even our defeats acquire profound significance: a world in which, above all, we can always sense powerful manifestations of divine strength and comfort." Translated into ten languages, Everyday Saints has sold millions of copies since its publication in 2011, and in 2012 received the “Book of the Year Award,” one of the most prestigious literary awards in Russia.

Traveling Companions by Christopher Moorey. The saints started out as ordinary Christians, just like us, and they are waiting to accompany us on our journey to heaven if we will only reach out our hands. Traveling Companions briefly introduces saints from a variety of times, places, and walks of life, all in language that brings them close to contemporary readers’ lives. You’re sure to find companions here that you will be happy to walk with all the way to the Kingdom.

Please reach out to us if you’d like to purchase any of these books – or an icon or items for your home church. You may now pay for them through the Give+ app. Since you cannot come to the Resource Center during the pandemic, we will do our best to bring it to you! 

Jjcempapa@aol.com  (Jane Papacostas)

GodshallA@aol.com (Angela Godshall)

BarbaraLouridas@gmail.com (Barbara Louridas)

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, Fr. George, Helen, Luke, Lia, Mary.

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 wedding anniversary! To those who are celebrating birthdays this coming week: Angelucci, Eric & Nancy; Gnessin, Alan & Andrea Merrick; Bougioukas, Leontios & Sofia; Loizos, Dimitrios & Dawn; McGrath, Stephen & Aspasia; Melekos, Demetrios & Daphne; Gilliland, John & Rosalie; Lawrence, Christopher & Lemonia; Lehmann, Simeon & Alexis.

Χρόνια πολλά & ευλογημένα!  God grant you many years!  To those who are celebrating birthdays this coming week: Nicholas Calliagas, Anthony Kosmatos, Anastasia Voutsinas, Dimitrios Voutsinas, Eleni Apostolidis, Evangelia Avrich, Elaine Dietz, Marisa Downie, Yanni Mamounas, Marina Stolarczyk, Alexander Henderson, Harisios Hirst, George Johns, Theodora Kastanos, Arianna Olga Kosoglou, Mark Malusa, Despina Sourias, Kristina Wittig, Thomsen Cummings, Jordan Demetris, Kaliopi Hionas, Ekaterini Hirst, John Kanakis, Nicole Kosmatos, Elyse Maier, Heather Christodoulakis, Andreas McKendry, Nikolas Vargas, Nina Borras, John Telegadis, Katherine Zanikos, Peristera Browne, Stephen Kolokithias, Glykeria Kontogeorgos, Dennis O'Hara.

We extend our love and sympathy to the family of Nancy Lekas Tombrakos, 97, who fell asleep in the Lord on October 2, 2020. May her memory be everlasting. Please click HERE to read her obituary.

Like all gifts that benefit Annunciation / Evangelismos Greek Orthodox Church, endowed gifts to the church contribute to its growth, to ministry creation, and to its service to others fulfilling the Gospel of Christ. Endowments are particularly powerful because they deliver a dependable, perpetual source of funding to the ministries of Christ you care about most and that our Lord commands us, in the Holy Scriptures, to fulfill. Your Gift to establish an endowment is an investment in the future – an eternal investment - one that affects the salvation of each spiritual life in our church family and of those our ministries serve.

Mission Statement

The Annunciation / Evangelismos Greek Orthodox Church Endowment Fund aims to provide for the long-term financial support and stability of our church’s programs, ministries, and missions consistent with the Holy Scriptures and the Orthodox Christian Tradition, to witness to the Orthodox Faith, and to serve others.

What is an Endowment Fund?

An Endowment Fund is composed of restricted funds given as individual bequests and gifts through such giving vehicles as wills, trusts, retirements or estate plans, life insurance, charitable lead or remainder trusts, gift annuities, cash, or real estate. Endowed funds are unique in that the total amount of the gift is invested and remains intact. The investment income, then, becomes a financial resource for Annunciation / Evangelismos to use. Each year, a percentage of the endowment fund’s income is distributed to benefit the mission of the Fund.  In this respect, an endowment is intended to be a perpetual gift.

Why Should I Give to the Annunciation / Evangelismos Endowment Fund?

Giving through accumulated, inherited and appreciated resources is considered “asset stewardship”. As Orthodox Christian faithful, we are encouraged to give from our accumulated resources and wealth during our life and after death. The Endowment Fund is a way for stewards to make a perpetual gift to the church from their lifetime accumulated resources. Knowing that your gift will grow with sound investment and spending practices, endowed funds:

• Help create and grow the programs, ministries, and missions of the Church
• Provide the assurance we need to recruit and maintain staff that ministry and church growth necessitate
• Leave a perpetual and enduring Legacy of Faith to the Church
• Honor and memorialize your faithful family or loved-one
• Protect your estate and legacy
• Reduce your income and/or estate taxes – ask your tax accountant or financial advisor how

The Different Ways of Planned Giving

• Wills and Bequests - Leave a lasting legacy by adding the Endowment Fund as a beneficiary to your will - most common method
• Life Insurance policy - You can gift an existing policy your family no longer needs or a new policy naming the fund as a beneficiary
• Cash, Stocks, Bonds, Real Estate or other assets
• Charitable Remainder Trust

• Will, bequest, beneficiary form or check made to: Annunciation / Evangelismos Endowment Fund, EIN#  83-3399560

To Learn More about the Annunciation / Evangelismos Endowment Fund

Please call the church office and one of the Endowment Fund committee members will call you back. The directors are: Jim Verros, Jim Trivelis, Demetrios Hatzopoulos, John Gilliland, Mitch Papakirk, Dean Dalson and Father John Johns.