Special Guest Arrived Last Sunday
This past Sunday we had visiting with us the Rev. John McCullough, the President and CEO of Church World Service. Rev. McCullough and I have known each other for about 15 years. I have served for the last 10 years on the Board of Directors, have served on the Investment Committee and the Administration and Finance Committee of CWS. John insisted that he wanted to come to Winchester to worship with us. It took four months to find a date that would work best. I was delighted to have him share a bit about the work of CWS and touched that he presented me with a plaque for my years of service with CWS. He traveled from New York on Saturday and returned on Sunday.
Some brochures on the work of Church World Service are available in the social hall. Our Archdiocese is one of the 37 faith communions that have been part of CWS since 1946. You can see some pictures below and find out more about CWS through the below link.
Church World Service
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Hope and Joy Had a Great Time
What a great time our Hope and Joy group had at their Day of Thanks event. Thank you to Annitsa and John Spanos for hosting a spaghetti lunch for everyone. Their pluck-a-feather community outreach project is well underway. Thank you one and all.
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From the newsletter of our sister church,
Holy Apostles in Dulles.....
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Parish Record Form
As I mentioned at the Parish Assembly on June 24th, the parish records are lacking and need to be updated. Everyone will need to complete a Parish Record Form (click on link below for the form) in order to be certified as eligible (upon review) for membership in the parish. Only Orthodox Christians in good standing are eligible to be members of the parish. Completed Forms are to be returned to me. Only I will be seeing them and after review, keeping them with the Sacramental Records. You may drop them into the slot at the top of the locked box located on the wall next to my office door if you like or mail them to the church.
Please review the following information from the Uniform Parish Regulations...
Article 18, Section 7
Each Parish shall maintain a Parish Record which shall include, at a minimum, the following information concerning each parishioner: baptismal and family name, occupation (optional), dates of baptism and/or chrismation and marriage, complete family record of spouse and children, date of entry into the Parish indicating if transferred from another Parish, date of death, and such other information that shall be deemed appropriate.
Article 18, Section 1
Every person who is baptized and chrismated according to the rites of the Orthodox Church is a parishioner. The religious, moral and social duties of a parishioner are to apply the tenets of the Orthodox Faith to his/her life and to: adhere to and live according to the tenets of the Orthodox faith; faithfully attend the Divine Liturgy and other worship services; participate regularly in the holy sacraments; respect all ecclesiastical authority and all governing bodies of the Church; be obedient in matters of the Faith, practice and ecclesiastical order; contribute towards the progress of the Church's sacred mission; and be an effective witness and example of the Orthodox Faith and Traditions to all people.
A parishioner in good standing practices all the religious and moral duties as described in this Section 1. At a minimum, a parishioner in good standing must: be eighteen years of age or over; be current in his or her stewardship and other financial obligations to the Parish, abide by all the regulations herein stated and the Parish Bylaws; and cooperate in every way towards the welfare and well being of the Parish. (Stewardship is recommended to be ten percent (10%) of one’s annual income as stated in Holy Scripture to help meet the financial obligations of the Parish, the Metropolis and the Archdiocese.)
Parish Record Form