Christ is Risen!

Dear Annunciation Community,

Due to the challenges of the pandemic and border closures, Project Mexico has organized mission trips across the country instead of their traditional home-building trips in Tijuana. From June to August this summer, I will have the privilege of traveling to St. Basil’s Academy in New York to serve as an intern for Project Mexico & St. Innocent Service Works (SISW) home building and service program. As you may know, St Basil’s Academy is a national non-profit philanthropic center of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which provides a loving Christian environment and a home for orphans, children of chronically ill or destitute parents, and children from broken homes. The Academy’s mission is to facilitate shelter, protection, love, and education in youth, so they grow up to be healthy, wholesome, well-rounded Orthodox Christians and productive members of society with vision and hope.

Many of us can’t simply pack up and spend an entire summer on a mission trip. However, you can play an integral role in our Orthodox mission programs through your prayers and financial support of my fellow interns and me, who hope to put Christ’s Gospel in action. I am currently fundraising to support Project Mexico, St. Basil’s, and the living expenses during my stay. 

I know that this pandemic has been financially taxing, and there isn’t a lot of extra cash to go around. I will be extremely grateful for gifts of any size and consider your support to be a blessing in itself. Most importantly, I ask for your continued prayers this summer to respond to Christ’s calling to “defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy” Psalm 82:3.

Thank you for your support, and may God bless you all!

In Christ,

Emmalia Godshall 

 

Ways to Donate:

1. Through my personal fundraising page - https://sisw.managedmissions.com/MyTrip/emmaliagodshall

2. Using PayPal - First, choose St Innocent Service Works. Then, please include my First Name and Last Name in the “Add a note” section. https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=LPRE5LZNNE5HS 

3. Write a check made payable to Project Mexico & St. Innocent Orphanage - Please write summer internship and my name on the memo line of the check. Your donation will be tax-deductible. 

Our community will honor the accomplishments of this year’s Annunciation graduates on Sunday, June 13, 2021, at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy.

We invite you to submit the names of high school, vocational-technical school, and college/university graduates and share with your church community the acknowledgment of their achievements. Winter graduates will also be acknowledged at this time.

Please complete and return this form to the church office by Sunday, May 30, 2021.

We are pleased to announce our first Grab-and-Go Food Festival Memorial Day weekend on Friday, May 28, and Saturday, May 29. 

The format is different this year – all food is for take-out only; there will not be seating, rides, a bar, or dancing.  We will have lots of great food, however!  There will be three pre-packed entrees (moussaka, pastitsio, and spanakopita) with two sides, village salad, souvlaki (chicken and pork), gyro, french fries, and pastries.

The festival will be held from 4:00 – 9:00 PM both Friday and Saturday. Pe-order your entrees here.

Please join us for some great food, and please sign up to volunteer here. 

We still have food preparations during the week and the festival's operation on both Friday and Saturday.  We would like to see a great turnout and then have other smaller format festivals in July and September.

Please help us make this year's scaled-down version of OPA a success!

Here is how you can help:

1. SHARE the Grab-and-Go Greek Food Fest Facebook Event with your social media friends & followers.

2. DONATE through GivePlus⁺ “Festival Donation” to help us cover the expenses of the equipment and food.

3. GATHER your family and friends and sign up here to volunteer together for a few shifts.

4. TREAT yourself and your family and friends to homemade delicious Greek food from your church!

Volunteers: park in the lot in front of the church!  DO NOT park in the back lot or behind the church kitchen. We need to have these areas open for food pickup traffic.

Χριστός Ανέστη! Christ is Risen!

We invite you to stop by the Resource Center after Liturgy to browse a selection of books and gifts. Weather permitting, we will have a table set up outside. Otherwise, please visit us at our location on the balcony above the social hall. As a reminder, payment can be made quickly and easily using the church’s GivePlus+ program – no cash or check needed!

Looking for a book recommendation? Here’s a review of a book on prayer by a parishioner, Sophia:

Have you ever come across a book that you believe was written just for you? Speaking to God by Archbishop Dimitrios of America is that type of book for me. Prayer life is unique and personal for everyone. This book changes my voice when I pray. It has taught me how to pray in a way that is deeper and connected with God. I’ve learned how to ask God for what I need with bold prayers. Throughout this book, there are prayers that validate my feelings and thoughts and prayers that apply to the uncertainty that exists in our society today. Most importantly, Speaking to God taught me how to carry on a meaningful conversation with Christ. This little book has lifted me when I needed it most. It’s not the kind of book that's a page-turner, but a book of prayers you will often refer to. I hope everyone benefits from this book as much as I have. I believe this book should be present in every Orthodox home.

Χριστός Ανέστη! Christ is Risen!

Thank you to all those who quickly responded to the call from Why Not Prosper to help women in prison by donating items for “Care Baskets”! We have already collected almost everything requested with only a few remaining items needed. If you would like to be a part of this effort, you can do so by either signing up here:

 Care Baskets for Women in Prison

or by making a monetary donation on our church’s GivePlus+ program and we will do the shopping for you. Please remember, because of strict prison regulations, all donations must be exactly as specified.

Thank you also to our terrific Hope/Joy Youth Groups for making fun and bright tie-dye t-shirts to donate to Whosoever Gospel Mission!

May God continue to bless you and guide you in serving others!

Christ is Risen! Χριστός Ανέστη!

The Homeless Ministry

Χριστός Ανέστη! Christ is Risen!

Spring has finally sprung, and the splendor of God’s bountiful creation surrounds us this time of year. Our ministry has been so blessed this year. As we all muddled our way through Covid and its many restrictions, Matthew 25 was able to increase donations and serve so many families this year.

We spend a lot of our energy bringing awareness to our cause of food insecurity and helping the least of our brethren that we have unintentionally overlooked the many people who allow us the ability to donate so generously.

We receive monthly reports from George from the church office about your donations to Matthew 25. GivePlus+ has made donating to M25 so easy. We are in disbelief by the generosity that we have seen from our parish. Without your monetary donations, we wouldn’t have purchased the quantities of food that we have been donating. Our drives, monthly contributions, and Angel Tree have been successful because of you. We ask, and you act on it. Thank you for the support that you continue to provide us. We have enough money to continue to provide Seeds of Hope with eggs/butter donations and Somerton Interfaith with requested items throughout the summer. People will continue to rely on food cupboards long after this pandemic diminishes and we will continue to do our part.

We want to invite anyone interested to help us with deliveries in the summer and throughout the year. We no longer go as a group but assign individuals to purchase specific items and deliver them. We could also use the help of a creative writer and someone familiar with graphic design to assist us with our bulletin writing and other creative aspects of our ministry. If you have that talent to share and are interested, we welcome you. What a great way to be a steward of the church! We will be making our May delivery to the pantry and Somerton Interfaith next week.

Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to continue to serve our local communities.

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 (Hours, Vespers, Matins, Divine Liturgy, 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

 

OUR SUSTAINING STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE

A Sustaining Steward commits to stay engaged continuously and support the church through regular weekly or monthly payments. A Sustaining Steward’s pledge rolls over to the following year without filling out a pledge card each year. A Sustaining Steward can adjust their pledge anytime to reflect their level of commitment or personal/family situation.

WHY BECOME A SUSTAINING STEWARD?
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SUSTAINING STEWARDSHIP?

Becoming a Sustaining Steward (1) fulfills God’s command to give faithfully and regularly.  As a sustaining steward, your enrollment and giving (2) rolls-over annually, eliminating the need to re-register and re-pledge every year. This automatic and recurring giving also (3) helps the church address seasonal funding gaps, and (4) helps us achieve festival independence, allowing us to save more. 

Ultimately, it (5) creates better ministry and budgetary planning, and (6) helps support our church, her ministries, and their growth. 

HOW DO I BECOME A SUSTAINING STEWARD?

1. Fill out the Family Information Form HERE (first- time registration or annual update)

2. Fill out the Online Pledge Form HERE and choose  your method of payment (auto-debit from a debit card, credit card, or checking account through GivePlus⁺; personal check; or your bank’s bill payer service)

3. If you are already signed up for regular payments through GivePlus+ or your bank's bill payer service, you are already a Sustaining Steward!  Please adjust your pledge and payment to reflect your new level of commitment for 2021 and ensure your automatic payments continue through the new year.

Annunciation is a full stewardship parish that requires no minimum pledge to be a Steward.
Our Stewardship Program encourages parishioners 18 and over to pledge donations in any amount, according to the blessings they have received from our Lord.
Our Stewardship Pledge Drive starts in November for the following calendar year, although new members and current members may submit a pledge at any time.
We offer you the Weekly Giving Guideline chart below to help you determine your level of giving. Being a good steward is using your resources wisely.

Weekly Giving Guidelines
Weekly Income	10%	5%	4%	2%
$500	$50	$25	$20	$10
$750	$75	$37	$30	$15
$1000	$100	$50	$40	$20
$1500	$150	$75	$60	$30
$2000	$200	$100	$80	$40

With camping ministries starting up again soon, it’s time to remember something important. Are you ready to be a Youth Worker this summer?

In this week's "Time Out for Marriage," Pres. Kerry Pappas talks about the importance of staying in the moment during conflict and not bringing up past wrongs.

Mari & Despina interview Fr. Kosmas & Anna Kallis, a clergy couple who have been married for almost 8 years with 2 children (their youngest was born just weeks after this podcast was recorded). Fr. Kosmas & Anna discuss the joys of being seen by their children, the struggle with the loss of freedom in parenting, and how structuring/scheduling each week is important for marital connection.

This morning, the Holy and Sacred Synod elected The V. Rev. Archimandrite of the Ecumenical Throne Athenagoras Ziliaskopoulos, Chief Secretary of the Holy Eparchial Synod and Chaplain of the Holy Cross Theological School, as the Bishop of Nazianzos, assistant Bishop of His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch, who placed him at the disposal of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America in order that he may continue his current service in the Holy Archdiocese.

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros met with the Ministry Directors today at Archdiocesan Headquarters.

In commemoration of the bicentennial of the Greek Revolution, the Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical, and Interfaith Relations is hosting a one-hour webinar on “The Place and Role of the Greek Revolution in Today’s Greek Identity.”

The Archdiocese Benefits Committee (ABC) is pleased to announce a one-million-dollar grant from the Nicholas J. and Anna K. Bouras Foundation, Inc. to complete a promised pledge from Mr. Bouras prior to his falling asleep in the Lord.

This week’s “How-to” Green Your Parish episode features the parish of St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church in Roseville, California on “Learning from our Parishes.”

Under the guidance of the Holy Archdiocese, Ionian Village’s “IV Next” program will be offered July 25th - August 5th, 2021. The program will be for fully vaccinated young adults. Participants must be either ages 19-24, and/or students from the high school class of 2020 (even if only age 18). Anyone that does not meet that exact criteria, unfortunately, will not be permitted to register this summer. The price of IV Next for participants is $1,650.