Our Assumption Church Family wishes God's Grace and Blessings to Father Nikolas, Presbytera Meghan and to Thomas, Kalliope and Lucia as they begin their new journey Ministering to the Parish of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in New York with the Blessings of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidoforos.  

For our Parish it is a time of reflection as we give thanks and express our gratitude to Father Nikolas for the years of humble service, love and dedicated ministry offered to our Church Family.  

We know that our Lord has Blessed Father Nikolas with many gifts and talents that will continue to serve him well in his Ministry as he has to our Faithful Parishioners in the greater Danbury area.  Father Nikolas begins serving the Cathedral on October 1st.  

On the next two Sundays, September 20 and 27, our Parishioners will have the opportunity to offer their best wishes and greetings to Father Nikolas. We plan to have a modified Fellowship Gathering following Divine Liturgy on those two Sundays.  It will take place, weather permitting outside, or in the Fellowship Hall.  

Also, our Parish Council and Ladies Philoptochos is planning a Special Brunch on Sept. 27 (Fr Nikolas likes brunch very much), at the Amber Room outside under a Tent. Please see the following to make your reservation.  The pandemic rules allow only 100 guests.

Join us to celebrate Fr. Nikolas’s service to the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church Family 

DATE: Sunday, September 27, 2020  

VENUE: The Amber Room Colonnade, Danbury, CT.  

TIME: 1:00-4:00 PM.  

COST: Adults: $40, Children Under 12: $25.  

Reservations Required: Please call Panaiota Constantine: 845-913-6922 or Zoy Beretis: 203-792-9467.

This is an outdoor event which can accommodate 100 persons. There will be a waiting list if we can accommodate more people according to the CDC and FEMA guidelines. 

Job Title: AGOC Office Administrator 

The Office Administrator is responsible for assisting the Priest and Parish Council in all facets of the Church’s work including special projects and clerical support.

The Assumption Greek Orthodox church is seeking an Office Administrator, a key role that is recommended and consistent with other churches throughout the Archdiocese.  The position is a part time position (15 hours per week, $20 per hour); a function that will ensure the continuing smooth running of our AGOC parish.  The Office Administrator will be overseen by the Proistamenos, undertaking a variety of assignments that will help serve the Parish Council and Parishioners of the Church, including, but not limited to the following areas:

• Coordinates Master Calendar - inputs and maintains calendar for administrative, social, sacramental and rental dates in the life of the Parish.
• Community communication (weekly bulletin, newsletter, mail, email, phone, etc.)
• AGOC website management using EVO CMS and upkeep
• Support Catechism School and youth ministries (directors’ liaison) and works with volunteers to complete various Church and Ministries tasks
• Church Sacrament Notifications and Certifications (marriages, baptisms, etc.)
• Coordinates maintenance of buildings and grounds of campus in conjunction with appropriate committees
• Maintains the PDS software database of current stewards, donors, Sunday school students and other Ministry databases with communication to those Ministry Leaders
• Coordinates compliance with Archdiocese Youth Safety Compliance best practices
• Coordinates completion of any municipal or licensure requirements

The selected candidate will ideally be experienced in the workplace and have a college degree.

Interested candidates should send their current resume to treasurer@agoc.us

Deadline for accepting resumes will be Monday October 5^th, 2020.

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 $2,000 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.

FESTIVAL of TABLES 2020 - On what would be our 20th year of holding our annual Festival of Tables, which is our Philoptochos' largest fundraiser each year; we regretfully announce that we are cancelling the physical event for this year.  We are working on ways to fundraise in the spirit of the Festival of Tables, so we may continue to donate to our charities of interest and choice.  Stay tuned for more information regarding this.  SAVE THE DATE for Festival of Tables 2021 is November 6, 2021 where we will celebrate our 20th year.   

As we think about the cancellation of our beloved Festival of Tables and our ways to continue our outreach - please be reminded of the importance of helping now!  Our Ladies Philoptochos continues to provide resources, support and agape (love) to all facing challenges during this unprecedented time. Your contributions of any amount will allow us to continue our outreach to help more and more people in many ways. We remain focused on our philanthropic mission.  We won't stop caring!  To help us continue to offer this 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.  Small donations are welcomed for masks. 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 - we are accepting stewardship for the year though November.  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 are included 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 for our ladies 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:

Come Join Us!

Be the Bee #150

"For indeed, the Kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:21) 

Sticking to our daily prayer rule can be tough! But why? We'll explore the simple reason prayer can feel crammed into our day rather than a natural part of it. And we'll offer a simple way to help you transform wasted moments into opportunities for connection with God. 

Are You Struggling to Pray?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FEX-HINV8o

Downloadable Workbook

https://mailchi.mp/goarch/bethebee150

Thank you to all of you who helped navigate your child’s learning in Greek School this past Spring. Our teachers, many educators and administrators in school systems throughout the area, know that Distance Learning is surely not the same as in-person learning, even for Greek School! We love seeing the children’s faces in person, and having the interaction between teacher and student is so important! As you know, many school districts are starting in a Hybrid model, with systems in place to possibly go full time in-person learning, as well as full time Distance Learning. 

Because of the uncertainty of the upcoming year, we have decided to offer our Greek School program in a Distance Learning format for the 2020-2021 school year.  There were many considerations in making this decision, including the protocols for closing classrooms due to COVID-19 exposure. Also, please note that this is information as of today. We will let you know if anything changes or gets updated!!!!

Upcoming important dates

Week of Sept. 21

First week of virtual teaching. Details for your child's class will come from the teacher. 

Please take some time to look through this important information:

Registration Form

Please print and complete the registration form: 2020-2021 Registration Form. Send the form back to Church or email it to Paraskevi at greekschool@agoc.us by Sept 10th.

Calendar

Please see the link for a tentative calendar for the school year: Tentative Calendar

Schedule

Distance Learning classes will be offered through Zoom digital format. There will be a one-hour class each week for the lessons. There will also be an additional, optional class for 45 minutes to complete/review homework with your child’s teacher. Classes will be held Monday through Thursday. Your child’s teacher will discuss the specific day(s) of the class.

Handbook

Please click on the for the 2020-2021 Handbook. It includes information for remote learning: Handbook

Curriculum

Please click on the link to learn about what students will be studying at each level: Curriculum

Device

Please contact Fr. Nikolas if your child is in need of a device for Greek School classes.

We all look forward to another successful school year! Thank you for your support!

~Paraskevi Rountos

Over the centuries and in her creative wisdom, the Church—the greatest teacher of our lives— has invited the natural beauty of God’s creation into her embrace.

      - Fr. Alex Chetsas, St. Philip Greek Orthodox Church, New Hampshire