On behalf of our Catechism teachers, I'm pleased to welcome our students back for another Sunday School year!

From our tiniest Little Apostles to our teenagers, we're looking forward to once again opening our classrooms and teaching our youth about our beautiful Orthodox faith. It's such a blessing to see their faces in the classroom wing every week and to watch our children come together to learn, pray, build friendships, and HAVE FUN! Of course, we couldn't do it without the support of the entire Annunciation community... Thank you!

Just before Holy Communion, Father John will offer a special blessing for our youth, after which they will be invited to receive Holy Communion and then immediately proceed to their classrooms to meet their teachers and classmates. PTO has also graciously prepared a light buffet during coffee hour today to celebrate the new year for all of our Youth Ministries - please join us!

If you haven't yet registered your child for Catechism School (or any of our other ministries), please do so here: 2022-2023 Youth Ministries Registration Form

God bless,
Jacinda Ojeda
Sunday School Director

This Week's Children's Word from OCN

• Youth Ministries Fair, Sunday, September 18, 2022

• PTO Membership Drive 2022-2023

Come and See GOYA Retreat, October 14-16, 2022

We all know that the past 2 years have been incredibly hard on everyone, and our church attendance numbers, especially in youth, have been significantly affected. Our retreat theme this year addresses exactly this issue, and prompts a campaign to return to church. 

The theme is “Come and See”, and it is an invitation for all of us to see what our faith is all about, what it means to participate in worship, and what tools the church has to offer to help us navigate this often scary world. Our goal for this retreat is to cover why Orthodoxy still works, why it is relatable in our everyday lives, and why fostering Orthodox relationships is key. 

We look forward to what is sure to be an exciting and enlightening weekend with our youth, and we truly can’t wait to get started! 

ABSOLUTE Deadline of Saturday October 1st, 2022.

HOPE-JOY Total Soccer Event, Saturday, September 24, 2022

• Thursday, September 29: Homeless Ministry is Serving at Aviator Park 
• September 30-October 1: Fall OPA Greek Festival
• Saturday, November 5: Golden Thyranoixia Anniversary
• Thursday, November 10: Ladies Philoptochos 'Nausica" Annual Bid 'n Buy - "Passport to Paris"
• Saturday, December 10: Spiritual Life Ministry Nativity Retreat

Cooking for the Ronald McDonald Erie House

Please join us on Tuesday, September 20 at 11:00 AM in our church kitchen as we prepare and then deliver a Greek dinner for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald Erie House. All are welcome to assist in cooking!

Annual Bid 'n Buy "Passport to Paris"

Tickets are available for purchase for our annual Bid 'n Buy on Thursday, November 10, 2022, in our Church Hall.  We look forward to you joining us for a great evening of fun and fellowship for this, our major fundraiser of the year. Seating is limited, and no tickets will be sold at the door. Please see attached flyer for the link to purchase tickets.

Our 3^rd Annual Project Home Book Drive has begun and continues until September 30^th.

The Homeless Ministry is collecting your gently used books for Project HOME Books.

One of several social enterprise programs at Project HOME, this initiative helps to provide opportunities for employment, income, community and a steppingstone in recovery from homelessness.

Accepting books in good condition including customer favorites such as books on art and design, religion, and newer academic or technical texts on topics like engineering or philosophy.

Cannot accept encyclopedias, outdated textbooks, or periodicals

All book donations may be placed in or next to the Homeless Ministry Basket located on the Mezzanine level next to our Resource Center.

The Homeless Ministry will be serving at Aviator Park on September 29th.

If you would like to help serve or donate food, please sign up here 

Prayers for a Blessed Year for all!

The Homeless Ministry

Give Thanks

It’s that time of year when we reflect on the many blessings that God has graced us with. November is a month of feeling thankful and bountiful. Our tables will be overflowing with delicious turkey, fixings, and pies. Unfortunately, this isn’t true for so many people in our community who are food insufficient.  They are struggling to put weekly meals on the table, unable to provide a feast this November. As most of you are aware, food cost inflation has impacted everyone, especially those who are more in need.  Our supplier partners have notified us that turkey prices will be up considerably again this holiday season. It is recommended that we should order earlier than usual to be assured adequate supply and a more reasonable price than if we wait until later in the fall.

Matthew 25 is excited to once again promote our Annual Turkey Drive!  Anyone can participate.  It doesn’t matter if you are unable to attend church.  We will collect money, place the order, and deliver your turkeys to Seeds of Hope Food Pantry on November 14th, 2022. It’s so easy… all you need to do is fill out the form below and mail it by October 24th.  The cost per turkey is $35.  You can make a donation directly through Vanco and type “Turkey Drive” under Matthew 25. You can also make a check payable to Annunciation Church and in the memo write “M25 Turkey Drive.”  Of course, you’re always welcome to bring your own turkey to church if you prefer.  If you choose to bring your own turkey or have any questions, please email us at oceancitymom1@gmail.com.  Matthew 25 will also be donating a few turkeys to the Homeless Ministry . 

Thank you so much for supporting us and being a part of feeding families this Thanksgiving.  Continue to drop off any food donations in our bins throughout the months of September, October and November.  Fixings are always appreciated this time of year along with any other non-perishable foods you might like to donate.

In the book of Exodus, we see the Israelites whom God has just rescued from slavery behaving like ungrateful brats. The Lord provides them with divine rescue from their enslavement, and they turn their backs on Him to create a false idol in the form of a molten calf to worship. What hubris! Yet Moses pleads for God’s mercy towards them, and once again, God grants it in abundance.

In St. Paul’s letter to Timothy, we find a grateful Paul who says of himself, “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant, but I have been mercifully treated… Indeed, the grace of the Lord has been abundant along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” St. Paul is aware of the sins he has committed. But this does not hold him back from ministry. Rather, it makes him more grateful to be God’s steward. How encouraging to know that this is true for us as well. Our past sins, and even our present struggles, do not disqualify us from becoming God’s grateful stewards.

In fact, the more we have been forgiven and live with the awareness of our continuing need for forgiveness, the deeper our gratitude to God, and thus the more fuel we have in our tanks to live the stewardship way of life.

Jesus Himself gives us several poignant illustrations of His merciful love in the story of the lost sheep. Jesus begins this parable by asking, “What man among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?”

The natural response is no one!  It simply does not make sense to spend the time and energy searching for one lost sheep when there are so many others to tend to. But God’s logic, God’s mercy, defies human logic.

Jesus goes after the lost one and continues to pursue him “until he finds it.” And when he finds the lost one, Jesus does not bring him back into the fold begrudgingly, with annoyance and frustration at having had to go after him. No, He brings the lost one back with great joy, carrying him upon His own shoulders. And who is the lost one?  It is every one of us when we stray away from God through sin, great or small.

What gratitude we owe to such a personal, passionate, loving God! Just think, even our sins, once forgiven, become a source of fuel for our stewardship way of life as we reflect with deep gratitude on the powerful mercy of our Savior.

How can we demonstrate our gratitude to such a God?  By living as His good stewards. We thank Him by offering back to Him the very best of ourselves — the talents He has given us (to use for His glory), the time He has given us (to spend with Him in prayer), the material resources He has given us (to advance His kingdom).

In so doing, we can make the words of St. Paul, a former enemy of Christ, our own stewardship motto: “I am grateful to Him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me trustworthy in appointing me to the ministry,” We must keep rolling, Christian stewards!

Please make all your church donations via:

• Regular Sustaining Stewardship payments through Vanco Faith, your bank’s bill payer, personal checks, or cash at the church office.
• Great Lent donations through Vanco or cash/checks at the narthex.
• Candle donations through Vanco or cash/checks at the narthex.

Thank you for your generosity

• Sept 15-17, Evangelismos Church, Philadelphia, PA
• Sept 16-17, St. Philip Church, Souderton, PA
• Set 17-18, St. Michael The Archangel Ukranian Catholic Church, Jenkintown, PA
• Sept 22-25,  St. George Church, Media, PA
• Sept 23-25, St. Barbara Church, Toms River, NJ
• Sept 30-Oct 1, Annunciation/Evangelismos Church, Elkins Park, PA
• Oct 6-9, St. Thomas Church, Cherry Hill, NJ
• Nov 5-6, St. Demetrios Church, Upper Darby, PA