December 30
Holy Trinity Church
Publish Date: 2018-12-30
Bulletin Contents
Holy Trinity Church
General Information
- Phone:
- (609) 653-8092
- Fax:
- (609) 653-0375
- Street Address:
- 7004 Ridge Ave
- Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234
- Mailing Address:
- 7004 Ridge Ave
- Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234
Contact Information
Services Schedule
Sunday Services: Orthros 8:15 am.
Divine Liturgy 9:30 am.
Past Bulletins
- Publish Date:
- 2019-01-06
- Publish Date:
- 2018-12-23
- Publish Date:
- 2018-12-16
- Publish Date:
- 2018-12-09
- Publish Date:
- 2018-12-02
- Publish Date:
- 2018-11-25
Hymns of the Day
Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Plagal Second Mode
Angelic powers were above Thy tomb, and they that guarded Thee became as dead. And Mary stood by the grave seeking Thine immaculate Body. Thou hast despoiled Hades and wast not tried thereby. Thou didst meet the Virgin and didst grant us life. O Thou Who didst arise from the dead, Lord, glory be to Thee.
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA
Apolytikion for Afterfeast of the Nativity in the Fourth Mode
Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, hath shined the light of knowledge upon the world; for thereby they that worshipped the stars were instructed by a star to worship Thee, the Sun of Righteousness, and to know Thee, the Dayspring from on high. O Lord, glory be to Thee.
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA
Apolytikion for Sun. after Nativity in the Second Mode
O Joseph, proclaim the wonders to David, the ancestor of God. Thou hast seen a Virgin great with child; thou hast given glory with the shepherds; thou hast worshipped with the Magi; and thou hast been instructed through an Angel. Entreat Christ God to save our souls.
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA
Seasonal Kontakion in the Third Mode
On this day the Virgin beareth the Transcendent in essence; * to the Unapproachable, * the earth doth offer a small cave; * Angels join in choir with shepherds * in giving glory; * with a star the Magi travel upon their journey; * for our sakes is born a young Child, * He that existed * before the ages as God.
Reading is under copyright and is used with permission, all rights reserved by: Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA
Saints and Feasts
December 30
Sunday after Nativity
On the Sunday that falls on or immediately after the twenty-sixth of this month, we make commemoration of Saints Joseph, the Betrothed of the Virgin; David, the Prophet and King; and James, the Brother of God. When there is no Sunday within this period, we celebrate this commemoration on the 26th.
Saint Joseph (whose name means "one who increases") was the son of Jacob, and the son-in-law - and hence, as it were, the son - of Eli (who was also called Eliakim or Joachim), who was the father of Mary the Virgin (Matt. 1:16; Luke 3:23). He was of the tribe of Judah, of the family of David, an inhabitant of Nazareth, a carpenter by Trade, and advanced in age when, by God's good will, he was betrothed to the Virgin, that he might minister to the great mystery of God's dispensation in the flesh by protecting her, providing for her, and being known as her husband so that she, being a virgin, would not suffer reproach when she was found to be with child. Joseph had been married before his betrothal to our Lady; they who are called Jesus' "brethren and sisters" (Matt. 13:55-56) are the children of Joseph by his first marriage. From Scripture, we know that Saint Joseph lived at least until the Twelfth year after the birth of Christ (Luke 2:41-52); according to the tradition of the Fathers, he reposed before the beginning of the public ministry of Christ.
The child of God and ancestor of God, David, the great Prophet after Moses, sprang from the tribe of Judah. He was the son of Jesse, and was born in Bethlehem (whence it is called the City of David), in the year 1085 before Christ. While yet a youth, at the command of God he was anointed secretly by the Prophet Samuel to be the second King of the Israelites, while Saul - who had already been deprived of divine grace - was yet living. In the thirtieth year of his life, when Saul had been slain in battle, David was raised to the dignity of King, first, by his own tribe, and then by all the Israelite people, and he reigned for forty years. Having lived seventy years, he reposed in 1015 before Christ, having proclaimed beforehand that his son Solomon was to be the successor to the throne.
The sacred history has recorded not only the grace of the Spirit that dwelt in him from his youth, his heroic exploits in war, and his great piety towards God, but also his transgressions and failings as a man. Yet his repentance was greater than his transgresssions, and his love for God fervent and exemplary; so highly did God honour this man, that when his son Solomon sinned, the Lord told him that He would not rend the kingdom in his lifetime "for David thy father's sake" (III Kings 12:12). Of The Kings of Israel, Jesus the Son of Sirach testifies, "All, except David and Hezekias and Josias, were defective" (Ecclus. 49:4). The name David means "beloved."
His melodious Psalter is the foundation of all the services of the Church; there is not one service that is not filled with Psalms and psalmic verses. It was the means whereby old Israel praised God, and was used by the Apostles and the Lord Himself. It is so imbued with the spirit of prayer that the monastic fathers of all ages have used it as their trainer and teacher for their inner life of converse with God. Besides eloquently portraying every state and emotion of the soul before her Maker, the Psalter is filled with prophecies of the coming of Christ. It foretells His Incarnation, "He bowed the heavens and came down" (Psalm 17:9), His Baptism in the Jordan, "The waters saw Thee, O God, The waters saw Thee and were afraid" (76:15), His Crucifixion in its details, "They have pierced My hands and My feet .... They have parted My garments amongst themselves, and for My vesture have they cast lots" (21:16, 18). "For My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink" (68:26), His descent into Hades, "For Thou wilt not abandon My soul in Hades, nor wilt Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption" (15:10) and Resurrection, "Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered" (67:1). His Ascension, "God is gone up in jubilation" (46:5), and so forth.
As for James, the Brother of God, see October 23.
December 30
Anysia the Virgin-martyr of Thessaloniki
This Saint, who was from Thessalonica, was the daughter of pious and wealthy parents, After their death, she passed her life in virginity, serving God by means of good deeds. One day, as she was on her way to church, a pagan soldier approached her and asked her to accompany him to the temple of the idols, but she refused. When he began to drag her with him, she spit in his face and confessed Christ. Filled with anger, he thrust his sword into her side and slew her, in the year 299, during the reign of Maximian.
Because of the Apodosis of the Feast of the Nativity on the 31st of this month, the hymns of Saint Melania the Younger are transferred to this day.
December 30
Gideon the New Martyr of Mount Athos
December 30
Holy Martyr Philetaerus
December 30
Afterfeast of the Nativity
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Epistle Reading
Prokeimenon. Fourth Mode. Psalm 67.35,26.
God is wonderful among his saints.
Verse: Bless God in the congregations.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 1:11-19.
Brethren, I would have you know that the gospel which was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it; and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother.
Gospel Reading
Sunday after Nativity
The Reading is from Matthew 2:13-23
When the wise men departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt have I called my son."
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were no more." But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead." And he rose and took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaos reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazarene."
Wisdom of the Fathers
Nathanael too enters ... saying, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?" ... Nevertheless, He is not ashamed to be named even from thence, signifying that He needs not ought of the things of men; and His disciples also He chooses out of Galilee.
Homily 9 on Matthew 2, 4th Century
At His birth [He] is laid in a manger, and abides in an inn, and takes a mother of low estate; teaching us to think no such thing a disgrace, and from the first outset trampling under foot the haughtiness of man, and bidding us give ourselves up to virtue only. For why do you pride yourself on your country, when I am commanding thee to be a stranger to the whole world?
Homily 9 on Matthew 2, 4th Century
PARISH NEWS
Pangari Schedule: Nick Kafkalas Jr., Athena Sacco, Maria Lianidis & Charles Krome.
A 40 day blessing will be held today for Sophia Katerina, daughter of Katherine Prassas and Tony Ballias.
A 7 year Trisagion for Sarantos Nikolaidis, husband of Konstantina Nikolaidis.
Today's Coffee Hour will be hosted by Jacqueline Krome in the Fellowship Hall. If you are hosting the coffee hour please make sure that all products are nut free. We have children with severe nut allergies. Thank you!
If anyone is interested in donating $50 a week or $200 a month so that the Come Receive the Light program can stay on the air, please contact the church office or Demi Zalman. The program airs on Sundays at 9:00 am on station 1020AM and 101.3 FM.
UPCOMING EVENTS
See attached flyers for more information on these upcoming events.
December 30: Vasilopita
January 6: Epiphany
January 25-27: Winterfeast
February 4: Godparents Sunday
February 19: Lent Begins
April 8: Resurrection
RECEIVING HOLY COMMUNION
Holy Communion is offered to those baptized Orthodox Christians who have prepared themselves for the reception of the Sacrament by prayer and fasting. Blessed Bread is available for all our visitors at the very end of the Divine Liturgy. Our Sunday School students receive Holy Communion first and then we will approach from the center aisles, starting with the front pews, one pew at a time.
CHURCH SERVICES
January 1, Tuesday, Divine Liturgy, 9:00/10:00 am., Circumcision of Our Lord.
January 4, Friday, Orthros and Great Hours, 9:00 am.
January 5, Saturday, Orthros, Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and Great Agiasmos, 9:00 am.
January 5, Saturday evening, Great Vespers, 7:00 pm.
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY - STOLEN MANUSCRIPTS
Please see attached letter and petition from Metropolitan Evangelos. Please sign the petition and leave at the pangari.
HOLY TRINITY COFFEE HOURS
Please call or email Faten Dib 609-226-2691 or fattouneh@hotmail.com today and offer to sign up for a Sunday to host the coffee hour! There are many Sunday’s available and it is a great way for your family, or a few families together, to offer fellowship and refreshments to our community. We will post any available Sundays in the weekly newsletter and the monthly Herald. In the event that no one signs up for a Sunday to host a coffee hour, only coffee will be available at the Fellowship Hall. So come one, come all and sign up today to host “Holy Trinity Coffee Hour”. Available Sundays for January, February & March: January 13th & 20th, February 24th, March 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th & 31st.
SCHEDULING MEETINGS AND EVENTS
In order to avoid scheduling conflicts all parish ministries and organizations must call the church office to schedule all meetings, practices and events (even if they are not scheduled at the church).
COUNCIL OF MINISTRIES - GOALS
--Promote communication and coordination between Ministries
--Highlight each ministry’s role in promoting our Mission and Vision
--Encourage ministry leaders to prioritize growing the inner circle of active members
REQUEST FOR GREETERS
Dear Parishioners,
Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. Romans 15:7
Please join us as we continue this meaningful ministry, creating more wonderful, first, and continuing impressions. The Great Commission of our Lord begins with us, as greeters, as we welcome everyone, sharing the love of Christ.
If anyone would like to join our wonderful Greeter Ministry, please speak to Ginny Kramvis or email ekramvis@comcast.net
SUNDAY SCHOOL
There will be no Sunday School on December 30, 2018 for winter break.
Sunday School will begin again on Sunday January 6, 2019.
HOUSE BLESSINGS
Those who would like to have their homes blessed should call Lisa Mitoulis (609-653-8092 x5) to set up a convenient time. Father George will start blessing homes on January 7th.
SUMMER MISSION TRIP
Please deliver application for and deposit check of $150 payable to OYMT to Father George by December 31st.
NEW PARISH COUNCIL ORIENTATION
We will have a meeting for the new parish council on Wednesday, January 2nd at 6:00 pm.
YOUNG ADULT REUNION EVENT - SAVE THE DATE
Join us on Friday, January 4th, at 7:00 pm., in the Fellowship Hall. This will be a Potluck event. More information to follow.
BIBLE STUDY
Our Bible Study group will continue our meetings on Tuesday, January 22nd at 7:00 pm. All parishioners are strongly encouraged to share in this wonderful experience.
PARKING
Due to safety regulations, please do not park cars along the curb in front of the church and the community center during church services and other events. Thank you!
ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES
We are excited to announce a new way to give your Business or Service a face in our church community. We are opening up the opportunity to advertise your place of business in our church bulletins. The most important aspect of this opportunity is that not only will it enhance and promote your business but ALL of the money collected for advertising will go to the church. We are confident that this advertising opportunity will improve the exposure and revenues of your business. If you have an interest in obtaining more details we encourage you to speak to Athena Sacco (athenasacco@gmail.com or 609-653-6775) or any other parish council member. We thank you in advance for your participation and support.
COOKBOOK FOR SALE
Our Community Cookbook is now available to purchase for $10. All proceeds will be used for our Church. Please see Athena Sacco to purchase or for additional information.
SHOPRITE GIFT CARDS
The Philoptochos is selling Shoprite Gift Cards and would appreciate your support. For every $100.00 dollars we sell, we get $5.00. Cards are available in $50 increments. Demi Zalman is our chairperson and she will be at church on Sundays after the service with the cards for anyone to buy. Write your check to "Holy Trinity Philoptochos" or use cash. If you do not see Demi in church any Philoptochos sister will be able to help you find out who has the cards that day.
As the needs of our community are rising, the Philoptochos is hoping that this initiative will provide added funds to help meet our ever-growing charitable requests. Please consider buying these cards and help us raise money to help others.
NAR-ANON FAMILY GROUP MEETING
The Nar-Anon Family Groups are a worldwide fellowship for those affected by friend or family member’s drug addiction. As a Twelve-Step Program, they offer help by sharing experience, strength, and hope in a safe and anonymous forum. If you are or know someone who is impacted by someone else’s drug addition, please let them know about this meeting. Meetings are held every Thursday at 6:30pm.
GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS
Gamblers Anonymous will be meeting on Tuesdays, from 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm at the church.
PARISH WEB SITE
Please visit our parish web site often for updated information. Group leaders should submit their groups' information to the church office ASAP so that all the tabs can be updated. www.holytrinityeggharbor.com
ANCIENT FAITH RADIO
Ancient Faith Radio can now be found at www.ancientfaith.com Bringing the Ancient Christian Faith to the modern world. By going on this site you can access some uplifting music, informative & educational Podcasts, and you can even get the App for your phone.
OCMC MISSION TEAMS
THANK YOU to Sunday School Department, Minos Bakery, Mill Street Pub, Spiros Doulis Jewelers and Joe's Pizza for being a partner with us in the Agape Canister Program.
TRINITY LEARNING CENTER
Our TLC is now enrolling children from 3 months! Please continue to publicize and promote our child care facility. Let your family, friends, and neighbors know to call Trinity Learning Center at 653-9001 to register their children. TLC is collecting General Mills Box Tops for Education and Campbell's Soup UPC codes off the labels and boxes. Drop off your books, box tops and labels in the narthex.