• This Week's Children's Word from OCN
• Sunday, February 6: Godparents Sunday

• Greek School February Newsletter

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” - Matthew 6:22. 

While Christ is the ultimate healer, Orthodox Christians often pray to Agia Paraskevi to cure them of blindness and other eye ailments. A martyr due to her devout profession of Christianity in pagan Rome, Agia Paraskevi saved herself from an earlier execution by curing the Emperor’s blindness. Multiple miracles related to vision and eyesight continue to be attributed to her in the present day.

Glasses are an accessible resource that easily improves the quality of sight; however, one billion people are unable to acquire or afford proper eyewear. Millions of children suffer without glasses to assist them in everyday activities. GOYA is collecting new or gently used eyewear for One Sight, an organization dedicated to making eyewear accessible.

Please donate to help others see a better quality of light. The collection box will be located across from the parish office.

Agia Paraskevi Project: GOYA is collecting gently used or new eyewear for One Sight

Today we welcome The Hellenic University Club of Philadelphia , who is offering an Artoklasia Service for the health and well-being of all their members and families, in celebration of their Patron Saints, The Three Hierarchs – Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory the Theologian, and Saint John Chrysostom – whose religious and educational achievements serve as an example of continued learning and led to the Day of Greek Letters.  Established in 1936, the Hellenic University Club of Philadelphia promotes the Hellenic Ideal of PAIDEIA (ΠΑΙΔΕΙΑ), the pursuit of continued education and intellectual enlightenment, through speaking programs, field trips, and scholarship opportunities to worthy undergraduate and graduate students with high academic achievement wishing to further their educational goals. Since 1971, they have awarded $903,500 in scholarship grants to 388 undergraduate and graduate students.  This year, the Hellenic University Club of Philadelphia is offering 16 undergraduate and graduate scholarships totaling $58,500.

Σήμερον φιλοξενούμε τόν Ἐλληνικόν Σύλλογον Ἐπιστημόνων Φιλαδελφείας, ὄπου προσφέρει Ἀρτοκλασία ὕπερ ὑγείας πρός τιμήν τῶν Ἀγίων καί Τρειῶν Ἰεραρχῶν – Βασίλεον τον Μέγα, Γρηγόριον τον Θεολόγον, καί Ἰωάννην τον Χρυσόστομον – οἱ ὀποίοι ἀνέδειξαν καί ἐστήριξαν την Ὁρθοδοξία καί τά Ἐλληνικά Γράμματα.  Ὅ Ἐλληνικός Σύλλογος Ἐπιστημόνων Φιλαδελφείας ἰδρύθηκε τό 1936 με σκοπό νά ὑποστηρίξη το Ἐλληνικό ἰδανικό τῆς ΠΑΙΔΕΙΑΣ, μέ σχετικές ὀμιλίες, μορφωτικές ἐκδρομές καί Ἐτήσιες Ὑποτροφίες πρός Ἀξίων Ἀριστούχων Φοιτιτῶν ὄπου ἐνδιαφέροντε διά Πανεπιστημιακές καί Μεταπτυχιακές Σπουδές.  Ἀπό το 1971, ό Σύλλογος ἔχει ἀνεθετήση ὑποτροφίες  $903,500 σέ 388 φοιτιτὤν πανεπιστημίου και μεταπτυχιακού.  Ἐφέτος θά χορηγήση 16 ὑποτροφίες μέ συνολική ἀξία $58,500 δολλαρίων.

• Sunday, February 13: Start of the Triodion (three-week pre-Lenten period).
• Monday, February 28: Spring General Assembly of our parishioners.
• Saturday, March 5: Lenten Retreat.
• Sunday, March 6: Parish level St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival.
• Monday, March 7: Start of Great Lent.
• Sunday, March 13: Greek Independence Day celebration by our Greek School.
• Sunday, March 20: Greek Independence Day Parade in Philadelphia.
• Friday, March 25:  Feast of Evangelismos & Greek Independence Day.
• Sunday, April 24: Great and Holy Pascha.
• May 19-22:  Spring OPA Greek Festival.

Due to the rising cases of the Omicron variance in our area, we are instituting a Drop-off House Blessing option in addition to the traditional In-person House Blessing.

If you're at-risk and would still like your home blessed for the Feast of Epiphany, please enter your information here, and Fr. John will come to bless your front door and leave a Holy Water Kit for you to bless the inside. 

Fr. John will do his best to deliver these kits by the end of January.

For the traditional In-person House Blessing, please contact the parish office, (215) 635-0316 based on the House Blessing Schedule you received in your Christmas Package.

Blessed Feast of Theophany and stay safe!

In Christ's service,

The Homeless Ministry   

We hope the New Year finds all of you healthy and happy! Matthew 25 slowed down this month after a very busy November and December. We received a phone call this week from Seeds of Hope. They asked if we had the means to provide the pantry with a few “extra “items that their shoppers had requested. This conversation reminds us that God brought us to Seeds of Hope. They care so deeply for their shoppers. It’s not just food they give; they lift spirits and know everyone who shops by name and personal story. We were happy to tell them that Matthew 25 could fulfill their requests. Giant of Maple Glen once again delivered $1,232.70 in butter, eggs, cheese, cereal, toilet paper, and paper towels. We can’t believe how a small ministry like Matthew 25 impacts many people every month. The gift of serving our community gives us joy!

Our message is always one of gratitude. The pantry continues to recover from the highs and lows of the pandemic. With the inflated costs at the supermarket, the pantries will need more food to help with the growing number of people needing their assistance. For example, last week, they took on extra shoppers when one of the other nearby pantries was plagued with a Covid outbreak and forced to close. We have a perpetual monthly donation that we can give directly from your contributions. We sent a monetary donation to Somerton Interfaith in the Northeast again this month.

We look forward to brighter days! We cannot wait to go back in person and deliver. There is always the opportunity to drop off non-perishable food items in our M25 bin. We will get it to the pantry for you! YOUR DONATIONS HELP REAL FAMILIES IN OUR COMMUNITY!

“A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” -Proverbs 11:25

Prosforo for the Eucharist. We use 2 –3 loaves on Sunday plus a few more for weekday liturgies.  There will never be too much prosforo in stock.  Please do not hesitate to bring any amount at any time!

If you haven't made it before and are interested in making it, please call the parish office for help with the seal, baking pans, and recipe.

Charcoal briquettes & incense. Donations are appreciated as we purchase specific kind of charcoal & incense.

Thank you!

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

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.

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

The second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians shows us how personally God loves us and how uniquely He has chosen to create each one of us: “Brothers and sisters: there are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.”

While Paul is speaking here of spiritual gifts, we know that everything we have — intellectual gifts, material resources, even our personalities — all are undeserved blessings from above.
Everything we have, therefore, is intended to benefit those around us. Because God has made each one of us with unique and differing gifts, the parish family truly does need each of us. It’s a wonderful — and at the same time — sobering reality. Our parish family will be vibrant only when all members, young and old, share their gifts with the community. It will suffer if even one member holds back.

The Gospel of John, recounts the familiar story of the wedding feast at Cana when Jesus launched His public ministry by performing His first miracle at his mother’s request. In the midst of the feast, the Blessed Mother noticed the wine had run out, which would have caused great embarrassment to the hosts. Mary pointed out this problem to her Son. Then, she gave the servants instructions that are equally applicable to us modern-day stewards. She says, “Do whatever He tells you.” Jesus gives the servants a simple and seemingly mundane task, telling them to fill some stone jars with water. They did what he told them to do — just as the Blessed Mother instructed. And Jesus used their obedience in the accomplishment of that simple task to perform His first miracle, turning that water into the choicest wine.

Our Lord didn’t have to include those servants in order to perform this miracle — He chose to. And today, 2,000-plus years later, He still chooses to include us in the performance of His miracles through our cooperation with Him in using the gifts and talents He has given us. What a privilege!
Let us take care to listen to our Blessed Mother. Let us examine our lives this week to see if we really are doing whatever He tells us and cooperating with God to make the best use of the gifts He has given us for the benefit of those around us. If we all take this call seriously, He will perform miracles in our families and our parish.

With our prayers and blessings,
The Stewardship Committee

You should have received your 2022 personalized Stewardship Pledge Card of Time, Talent, and Treasure in the mail, including our Sustaining Stewardship Initiative information.

If you are already a Sustaining Steward, that is, you have set up regular payments through Vanco or your bank bill payer service:

• You do not have to fill out a pledge card!
• Use the 2022 Pledge Card information as a guide to update your giving to reflect your current level of commitment and personal/family situation.
• Check with your Vanco account or bank bill payer service to ensure that your regular payments continue through 2022.

You can support your church from anywhere at any time, including Great Lent, even if you forget to bring cash or your checkbook. Simply use the Vanco Mobile Faith Engagement app to give with your smartphone.

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