$5 Blue Envelopes Fundraiser to Benefit Our Greek School

With our Altar Boys’ safety and well-being in mind and keeping with COVID directives and restrictions, we invite all Altar Boys back to church to begin serving again on Sundays (2 per Sunday rotation).

Contact me at 267-255-1380 or Paul.Fisfis@usfoods.com to place your child on the rotation to serve.  

Please make every effort to encourage your son to participate if they are healthy; we miss you all and can't wait to have everyone back together.

Many Blessings!

Paul Fisfis, Altar Servers Coordinator

 

1. Download the AGES Initiatives app on your smartphone.
2. Click on the Service Calendar. The app defaults to the current date.
3. Choose the bilingual service (Matins, Divine Liturgy, Akathist, Compline, etc.).

Church Wi-Fi:  COA-Guest
Password: coa12345

1. Download the free GivePlus+ mobile app here:  iPhone or Android
2. Make one-time or recurring donations using your debit/credit card or bank account
3. Login or donate as a guest.
4. Securely and conveniently manage donations using Touch ID/Fingerprint, PIN, or password.

Church Wi-Fi:  COA-Guest
Password: coa12345

• Thursday, March 25, 2021 - Our Feastday, The Annunciation/Evangelismos of the Theotokos. Greek Independence Day 
• Sunday, April 25, 2021 - Plam Sunday, Start of Holy Week
• Sunday, May 2, 2021 - Holy and Great  Pascha
• May 27-30, 2021 - ‘Grab and Go’ Greek Food Fest –(Stay tuned for details).

The church teaches us that those who have fallen asleep are not dead but still alive in Christ Jesus!  Therefore, in its very essence, prayer for the dead is a proclamation of the Resurrection of Christ. This is a central reoccurring theme for the Saturday of the Souls. Therefore, it is imperative for us, the living, to remember our loved ones who have passed on and to pray that the Lord accepts them into His heavenly kingdom. 

Please submit the names of your departed loved ones HERE to be commemorated. Fr. John will commemorate them on all three Saturdays.

Remember to register HERE to attend in person.

If you submit your names electronically through the above form, you don't have to re-submit them in writing when you attend in person. 

Matins begin at 8:30 am, and we kindly ask that koliva (memorial wheat) and printed names be brought to church no later than 9 am on Saturday. The ushers on duty will be here to assist you. Remember to package your koliva in small ziplock bags or cups for individual distribution, and make a cellophane-wrapped plate for your family.

Fr. John will be offering graveside Trisagion prayers at Lawnview Cemetery after the divine liturgy on the first Saturday, March 6.

As we are gradually returning to church services, we want to have more of you actively participate in the liturgy and the other church services by being a Reader for the Epistles, Psalms, and other prayers offered during the services. You can choose to read in Greek or English.

You have noticed a handful of dedicated Readers doing this occasionally. We want to make this more structured and open to anyone who wants to participate, from GOYA age boys and girls to mature adults. You have also noticed that readings are done from the Left side cantor’s stand in keeping a safe distance from the cantors and the congregation. 

Here is how to participate:

1. Install the AGES Initiatives app on your tablet or mobile phone so that you can have access to all the church services and the Readings for each service.
2. Call or email George Dalagelis at the church office and let him know you are interested in participating. He will go over a brief tutorial with you on the process, how and when to come up, how to intone the verses, how to end the readings etc.
3. Sign up to attend liturgy as you would normally do, but instead of choosing Parishioner, choose Reader on the signup page.

A. the Feast Day of Annunciation/ Evangelismos of Theotokos,

B. the 200^th Anniversary of the Greek Revolution of 1821,  and

C. the 120^th Anniversary of the Founding of Our Community in 1901

Great Vespers * will be prayed on Wednesday, March 24, at 7:00 pm.

The Feast Day Hierarchical Orthros & Divine Liturgy will be celebrated on Thursday, March 25, starting at 8:30 am, presided by His Grace Bishop Apostolos of Medeia. A thanksgiving doxology for the liberation of Greece will be offered at the conclusion of the liturgy.

The liturgy will be live-streamed in the church hall. We will accommodate up to 90 parishioners, with 60 persons in church & 30 in the church hall on a first-come first-seated basis.

* Please let the church office know in advance if you would like to offer artoklasia—the blessing of the bread, wine & oil- for the health and salvation of your family in honor of the Annunciation Feast

The Resource Center Invites You to Join Us as We Pray the Psalter Together this Lent!

"Bind yourselves to your brethren. Those bound together in love bear everything with ease….If now you want to make the bond double, your brother must also be bound together with you. He wants us to be bound together with one another, not only to be at peace, not only to be friends but to be all one, a single soul. Beautiful is this bond. With this bond, we bind ourselves together both to one another and to God. This is not a chain that bruises. It does not cramp the hands.
It leaves them free, gives them ample room and greater courage." - St. John Chrysostom

Sign-up Here for Our
Annunciation Psalter Group

Learn How It Works Here

Resources for praying the Psalter, available through the Resource Center or online: 

The Psalter According to the Seventy (Greek-English). This beautiful hardcover edition contains the translation of the Psalms used in our liturgical services.

The Psalter (“pocket” size). Just the right size to take with you wherever you go.

Christ in the Psalms. In two-page meditations on each of the psalms, Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon takes readers on an enlightening pilgrimage through the prayerbook of the Church.

Songs of Praise: A Psalter Devotional for Orthodox Women. Along with the Psalter, this book offers reflections on the Psalms and pages for journaling.

Orthodox Study Bible. The complete Bible with commentary.

Our journey to Holy Pascha, through the preparation and discipline of Great Lent, offers an opportunity for reflection, renewal, and most of all repentance.

Kali Sarakosti, Blessed Lent,
Young at Heart

In Christ's service,

The Homeless Ministry

Virtual Lenten Food Drive

Monday, March 15th is the first day of our Lenten spiritual journey to Pascha. As Archbishop Elpidophoros reminds us of the Lenten season, it is a time “to practice more active charity and philanthropy, and to look within at the values and principles by which we live our lives”. We are given many opportunities during this season to pray, worship, gain insight into our own behaviors, and intensify our efforts to serve the needs of others. 

In past years, Matthew 25 has done a 40 Days of Lent Food Drive, providing bags for our parishioners to fill each of the 40 days of Lent. With Covid-19 making it difficult to do this year, we have decided instead to do a Virtual Meat Drive. We ask that you simply go to our church’s website to “Online Donations”, scroll down to “Matthew 25 Donations”, and donate what you wish. You can specify “Lenten Meat Drive” as the purpose of the donation.  The Matthew 25 Ministry will then purchase various types of meats, including ham, beef and pork roasts, and chicken roasters. These items will be delivered to the Seeds of Hope Food Pantry by March 22.

Thank you for your participation and donations!

Kali Sarakosti!

Our Weekly Bulletin is emailed to 550+ parishioners by Friday every week.

If you know of a parishioner who is not receiving the e-bulletin and would like to, please encourage them to visit our website and enter their email at the Join Our Email Listserv button on the homepage. Alternatively, give us a call (215) 635-0316 or email us at the parish office, and we will gladly do it for you.

If you know of a parishioner who does not have an email address, please let us know to place them on our Paper Bulletin mailing list.

Fun Fact: This month marks the 20th year that we have been emailing our Weekly Bulletin to our parishioners! In January 2001, we started with a few dozen parishioners' emails and were among the first parishes in the nation to use this amazing new communication tool. It has certainly been a blessing, and we look forward to improving our communications utilizing all the new technology tools becoming available to us.

We thank you for your support, patience, and cooperation. 

We are looking for a parishioner who can provide organ music for church weddings.

This position is ideal for a young person who can play the piano or organ.

Interested persons should contact Fr. John for more information frjohn@anngoc.org 

"By God’s mercy Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome And Ecumenical Patriarch to the plenitude of the Church, May the grace and peace of our Lord and savior jesus christ, together with our prayer, blessing and forgiveness be with you all"

Watch Be the Bee #168​ | Sharing the Space of Salvation (Forgiveness/Cheesefare Sunday), the latest episode from Y2AM - Orthodox Christian Youth and Young Adult Ministries!!

Comfort Food for Families from the GOA Center for Family Care is back for Lent! In our first episode, Fr. Alex lays out our Lenten map and previews all of the trail markers we will need on our pilgrimage to Pascha.

The Department of Religious Education, Center for Family Care, and Y2AM are teaming up for two webinars to help you prepare for Great Lent and the Journey to Pascha.

How Holy Trinity Cathedral in Carmel (Indianapolis), IN applied the "Maximize" plan for percentage giving by Nelson Searcy and made it their own.

People are lonely, and they often tend to feel adrift in the spiritual life. As such, it’s really easy to get discouraged and feel like no one else is in the trenches with you, struggling with the same things as a normal part of the spiritual life. This podcast from Y2AM - Orthodox Christian Youth and Young Adult Ministries and Ancient Faith Radio aims to normalize the struggles and the difficulties of the spiritual life without relying on sagacious advice or strategies.

As Great Lent approaches, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is pleased to announce a Lenten study guide for parishes to navigate For the Life of the World: Toward a Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church.

On this week's episode of "Live with the Louhs," a radio ministry of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, hosts Fr. Nicholas and his wife, Dr. Roxanne, a Clinical Psychologist, discuss one of the greatest struggles we all face from time to time, how to cope with anger.

Join us this Tuesday, March 9 at 7:00 PM for the sixth in a series of six Stewardship Seminars in the Archdiocesan District and New Jersey Metropolis presented by Mr. Bill Marianes. This is a truly worthwhile experience.

Are you looking for a weekly curriculum for your parish? Check out the Small Group resources and bring people together with this project from the department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries (Y2AM), part of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

2021 Missions Sunday Encyclical

Learn About OCMC

Apply HERE for the 2021 CrossRoad Summer Institute

Apply HERE for 2021-2022  Scholarships

We are delighted to share an exciting new initiative, ideal for high-school graduates of Greek heritage:

Know Thyself while exploring Greece, volunteering for a worthy cause, and adventuring on cultural immersion. An exceptional way to enrich the students' educational and life experiences, and a unique opportunity to deepen the connection and understanding of Greek culture.

College Year in Athens (CYA) is offering two opportunities for Gap Year students: one for those passionate about antiquity with the program "Archaeological Field Work: Excavation, Workshops and Digital Technologies" and one for those interested in learning more about activism and diversity, with the program "Understanding Activism, Diversity, and Equity: the example of Greece".

While gaining a fuller understanding of a different culture via interactive learning methods, students will create an e-portfolio as a record of what is learned and accomplished through this program. Field trips within Greece will not only allow the broadening of perspective and expanding of the worldview but mainly grant them a unique chance to come into a close encounter with the land of their ancestors whose cultural heritage became the pillar of the western civilization.

CYA, recognizing the difficult times that COVID-19 has created, has established the Fall 2021 Gap Flight Award. A student who will be accepted in the Fall 2021 Gap program, will receive $1,000 to offset the cost of the round-trip ticket to/from Athens, Greece.

College Year in Athens (CYA) is a non-profit educational institution, which, since 1962, provides English-speaking undergraduates (more than 10,000 to date)  the transformative experience to study in Athens and familiarize themselves with the Greek culture.  To find out how Greece & CYA is faring up, please check out the COVID-19 FAQ on our website here.

• Celebrating 200 Years of Freedom- GOARCH Sponsored Events

• 1821 Revolution Documentary (in Greek)

• Greek Revolution of 1981

• Greece today, 200 years after independence

• Greeks who left their mark on the world in the last 200 years

• 2021 as a window of opportunity for the future of Greece

• Ελλάδα 2021

• “Greece 2021” Releases Video for 200 Years of Greek Independence