Prokeimenon. Fourth Mode. Psalm 103.24,1.
O Lord, how manifold are your works. You have made all things in wisdom.
Verse: Bless the Lord, O my soul.
The reading is from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 16:13-24.
Brethren, be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. Now, brethren, you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints; I urge you to be subject to such men and to every fellow worker and laborer. I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicos, because they have made up for your absence; for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such men. The churches of Asia send greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. All the brethren send greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. If any one has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
13th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 21:33-42
The Lord said this parable, "There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit; and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them. Afterward he sent his son to them, saying 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.' And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons." Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?'"
According to the ancient tradition of the Church, the Theotokos was born of barren and aged parents, Joachim and Anna, about the year 16 or 17 before the birth of Christ. Joachim was descended from the royal line of David, of the tribe of Judah. Anna was of the priestly tribe of Levi, a daughter of the priest Matthan and Mary, his wife.
Beloved Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Links for Livestreaming Services
Pray with us by subscribing to the Assumption YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9tD5mB_u3GgO1J8ikwIW0g
Or by visiting our Assumption page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pg/assumptiongreekorthodoxchurch/videos/?ref=page_internal
Live events will be streamed on both these services on programmed service hours.
Weekday Divine Services
As a worshipping community, we will schedule and pray a variety of weekday services, including an occasional evening Vespers or other service, and as always, morning Orthros & Divine Liturgies for various saints and major feasts. Please keep an eye on our Google Calendar (https://agoc.us/services-calendar/) for the most up-to-date details and services which will also be announced via our Listserv whenever possible. We encourage attendance at these weekday services for our seniors and others who would like to avoid the larger gatherings on Sundays. We continue to livestream on YouTube and FaceBook Live.
Sights & Sounds Ministry
If these services have been a blessing to you, we’d love to hear from you! We have invested approximately $10,000 in upgrades to our Live-streaming infrastructure in order to enhance the quality and reliability of our audio-visual (A/V) ministry that will last well beyond the Coronavirus pandemic. This has and will continue to be an essential ministry to enable our seniors and homebound parishioners, those journeying toward or new to Orthodoxy and anyone to pray with us from anywhere in the world!
We are grateful to our supporters who have contributed more than $1,000 toward our $10,000 goal
Might you consider joining our supporters with a monetary gift (small or large) toward the AGOC Sights & Sounds Ministry? Please contact a member of the Parish Council to join in this effort. With your prayers and support, we can improve the quality and bring the beauty of our Orthodox Liturgical Life and the Good News of Christ Risen into the homes of so many others!
In this time of social distancing we'd like to remind our parishioners of the Church's new ability to accept online donations by CLICKING HERE You will be taken to Assumption Church's secure payment portal through Vanco, a reputable and leading provider of electronic payment and donation processing solutions (https://www.vancopayments.com). More than 40,000 churches, faith-based groups, nonprofits, schools and educational organizations trust Vanco to simplify administrative processes, organize events and securely complete transactions every day.
#148 - WHAT IF YOUR PARISH DISAPPEARED?
"Be the Bee" is helping bring people to Christ through short, practical videos. Y2AM is preparing forty new episodes for a brand-new season. New features are the free, downloadable PDFs (lesson plans, workbooks, etc.) to accompany every new episode of the season.
As you probably know, the new Church year started on September 1st. Can we help young people start the new year on the right foot? Click on the links below for the first two episodes of the new season and the free, downloadable workbooks to help viewers take stock, take notice and take action.
Be the Bee #147 - How to Start (and Keep) a Prayer Rule – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jnufgwLUHk
#147 - Workbook - https://mailchi.mp/goarch/bethebee147
Be the Bee #148 - What if Your Parish Disappeared? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FToCEb57mNQ
#148 - Workbook - https://mailchi.mp/goarch/be_be_bee_148
Check here each week for the link to the latest episode.
The Greek as a Second Language program at Assumption Church is an eight year course. Classes start from first grade and continue through high school, with the opportunity to take the Comprehensive Exam in Modern Greek after all levels have been successfully completed. Students must be at least thirteen years old in order to take the exam and, in some instances, it provides foreign language credit at the high school level (it was formerly the NYS Regents Exam).
Students must be in first grade of their regular school to enter the Introductory Level. Occasionally, we have students join us at another level and we will accommodate them accordingly based on their individual ability.
For the upcoming 2020-2021 year, we will be offering our classes remotely, via Zoom. Classes will meet once a week for one hour for a regular lesson. There will be an additional (optional) session for students to work on the homework with their teachers. We plan on having several whole-school sessions during the year during which we will have the opportunity to explore additional extra-curricular activities that will augment and enhance our regular academic curriculum. Content and dates to be determined.
The Assumption Church Afternoon Greek School follows all guidelines set by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and is committed to providing an excellent education in all aspects of the Greek language. For the 2020-2021 academic school year, we will continue with the curriculum and series of books from Papaloizos Publications and supplementing with materials published by the Department of Greek Education of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.
We encourage all Parish families to consider enrolling their children in this program. Whether Greek is spoken at home or not, every student can be successful and it is a great way to expose them to an additional language in a fun environment.
Please use this link to register your child: Registration Form 2020-2021. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Paraskevi Rountos at greekschool@agoc.us.
Ladies Philoptochos Society News:
Save the date!!! Our first meeting of the ecclesiastical year will be on Monday, September 14th at 6:30pm. It will be a virtual meeting. A zoom meeting link will be emailed closer to the date. Please join us and continue your support for our wonderful organization.
Our Ladies Philoptochos continues to look for ways we can help and/or donate to support others as we focus on our philanthropic mission. There continues to be many needs out there during this pandemic, from food needs, to school supplies, to supporting our church, and much more. To help us continue to offer support as well as meet our monthly National obligations, we welcome any donations in place of our monthly trays and fundraisers. Our National Obligations for September are: 1.) the Hellenic College Holy Cross Scholarship Fund: Exaltation of the Holy Cross which provides tuition and scholarships to worthy students and 2.) the Retired Clergy/Widowed Presvyteres Benevolent Fund (RCA) which provides financial support to retired Clergy and widowed Presvyteres. Donations may be made directly to our Philoptochos on the church website or mailed to church (see details below). Information regarding our National obligations can be found at: https://www.philoptochos.org/commitments/
Through the "Mask On" campaign we have homemade face masks available for families in the parish. If you are in need of masks, they are on the candle stands in the narthex or email Eleni Manolakes at eleni.manolakes@yahoo.com. Email us at (philoptochos@agoc.us) with any needs, questions or comments. May God bless us all and keep us safe.
Philoptochos Stewardship/Donations:
We are 118 stewards strong. Thank you all. It is not too late to become a steward. You may email us (see below) if you are not sure if you completed a stewardship form for 2020. We invite all ladies 18 years and older to join. We accept online stewardship and donations as we have joined with the Church's secure payment portal through Vanco by CLICKING HERE. BE SURE TO CHECK OFF LADIES PHILOPTOCHOS. You may also visit our website www.agoc.us – just click the "WE NOW ACCEPT ONLINE DONATIONS" or the “DONATE ONLINE” buttons on our home page. Of course we still accept checks and cash. Please mail to The Ladies Philoptochos, Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 30 Clapboard Ridge Road, Danbury, CT 06811. Please be sure to include a Stewardship Form, which is available on the church site: https://agoc.us/agoc-organizations/philoptochos/ . We pick up mail regularly.
Philoptochos provides the opportunity to offer time, talent and treasure through Christian fellowship. NOTE: If you donate online, we may be in contact with you to confirm your personal information or confirm the intent of your donation (stewardship, general donation, etc.) or you may email us at philoptochos@agoc.us with the same information. A huge thank you for your support - we have been blessed with many thinking about stewardship and donations. You are helping us make a difference.
Link to National Ladies Philoptochos Society September Newsletter:
Philanthropy Witness- September 2020
Highlights of the National Virtual Biennial Convention are included in this issue.
Link to Philoptochos promo video:
“I hope and pray that we take seriously this call…We ourselves can take little steps in our daily lives to do our part and hopefully it will expand beyond our immediate footprint and all ultimately to glorify God, to continue to be co-creators with Him, to live up to that amazing blessing that we have been given as stewards of His life and stewards of creation.”
- Fr. Nikolas Karloutsos, Vespers for the Preservation of Creation, Aug. 31, 2020
Your Assumption Church Community wants to celebrate with you! Please let us know of any upcoming events in your life, birthdays, name days, anniversaries so we can (virtually) share the joy! Your submissions will be announced in future weekly bulletins. Email details to: creationcare@agoc.us
Greetings and Welcome Home! We hope and pray that you continue to feel safe and secure as you worship with us in person. And we continue to be grateful to our faithful parishioners who find ways to pray the liturgy with us from the safety of their homes. We continue to monitor and implement the most current guidelines from state authorities, health officials and from the Archdiocese and Church leadership. If you have a positive experience worshipping with us, please tell your family and friends! And as always, use your discretion and follow the advice of your physician as you navigate the world during these difficult times.
Reservations are no longer requiredAs you begin to resume your "normal" weekly routines in these challenging times, we ask that you consult the guidelines listed below (subject to change) to help you prepare for what to expect during this "new abnormal" way of attending Church.
Parish Precautions
We continue to clean and disinfect the church between each service, require masks, temperature checks, hand washing, limited capacity and appropriate distancing.
In addition, an application of G200, a disinfecting solution approved by the CDC, is applied to all non-wood surfaces (doorknobs, handles, bathroom fixtures, etc) at the CDC recommended intervals. G200 continues to repel bacteria, including Coronavirus, for up to 30 days.
We have also upgraded the air filters in our HVAC system to those that filter even more fine particles as part of our overall risk mitigation approach.
Latest Guidelines for Attending Divine Worship
ON TIME ARRIVAL
Please arrive between 8:15-10:00am. Only the north entrances, near the handicapped parking, will be open. Allow extra time for social distancing protocol upon arrival. Please leave all nonessentials in your car.
MASKS REQUIRED
All attendees are required to put on protective face masks before exiting their vehicle. Exceptions are only permitted for those with valid medical reasons, special needs and children less than 2 years of age.
FOLLOW THE SIGNS
Please follow signs to posted entry points and maintain distancing via the ground markers. These have been prepared in advance to provide safe social distancing and need to be respected for everyone’s well-being.
UPON ENTRY
Be prepared for a touchless temperature reading of your forehead by an infrared thermometer and hand sanitizing. Temperature must not exceed 99.1 for admittance. Next, a member of Parish Council will hand you a candle to light. Please venerate Icons with a bow only. No touching or kissing.
SEATING
A member of Parish Council will escort you to your designated seat and record your name for our attendance recordkeeping. Seating has been designed to adhere to social distancing requirements. Only members of the same family may sit together without distancing between them. Please remain in your designated seat throughout the entire service, except for restroom needs. The restroom in the “crying room” is the only restroom open to attendees. A Parish Council member will open the room for one person at a time. Please use provided wipes to clean faucets and doorknob after use.
HOLY COMMUNION AND DISMISSAL
On Sundays, Holy Communion will be offered at the usual appointed time. Baptized or chrismated Orthodox Christians who have prepared themselves are invited to receive communion keeping in mind the following:
Kindly know that we are doing our best to "normalize" what is a challenging and strange time. Be assured that we are all an essential part of Christ's Body and the Theotokos and saints and ranks of angels and archangels rejoice with us when we invoke His Holy Name whether in the space of His Holy Church or in the sacredness of the "domestic church" of the home.
Join us. Pray with us. You are a vital member of the Body of Christ and of our Assumption Church family. We love you and we thank you for your support.
It is a shared conviction that, in our time, the natural environment is threatened like never before in the history of humankind. The magnitude of this threat becomes manifest in the fact that what is at stake is not anymore the quality, but the preservation of life on our planet. For the first time in history, man is capable of destroying the conditions of life on earth.
8:15AM Orthros
9:30AM Divine Liturgy
Nativity of the Theotokos
8:45AM Orthros
10:00AM Divine Liturgy
Forefeast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross
8:45AM Orthros
10:00AM Divine Liturgy
Exaltation of the Holy Cross
8:45AM Orthros
10:00AM Divine Liturgy 10
7:30PM Parish Council
2:00PM Wedding
Sunday after the Holy Cross
8:45AM Orthros
10:00AM Divine Liturgy
11:30AM Special Fellowship Gathering
The Commemoration of the Miracle of the Theotokos Myrtidiotissis in Kythyra
8:45AM Orthros
10:00AM Divine Liturgy 10
1:00PM Betrothal Service
First Sunday of Luke
8:45AM Orthros
10:00AM Divine Liturgy
11:30AM Special Fellowship Gathering
1:00PM Special Brunch at the Amber Room in Celebration of Fr. Nikolas
8:45AM Orthros
10:00AM Divine Liturgy