A Word from Fr. John:

On stewardship, our offerings, and the Liturgy…

“In the early days of the Church, persons coming to church on Sunday would bring offerings with them. Typically, these would include bread and wine, as well as wheat, oil, and other basic staples, which they would leave with the deacons upon entering. From these gifts the deacons would select a suitable amount of bread and wine for the Eucharist, and the remainder was used to support the clergy, as well as to feed the poor, the widows, and others for whom the Church provided.

In the pre-Constantinian era [before about AD 312], when Christians met primarily in private homes, this was a simple matter. With the massive increase in numbers after the legalization of Christianity and the building of large new churches, the process became more complex. It became too cumbersome for the deacons to collect the gifts at the entrances of the church. To accommodate the large numbers, special buildings, called skeuophylakia, were built near the main church.” [The prothesis table in the altar area effectively serves as the skeuophylakion in Church practice today. It is where the priest prepares the gifts of bread and wine before the Divine Liturgy, in a separate service called the proskomedi. – Fr. John]

The bread and wine offered during the Liturgy “represent the work of our hands: the bread comes from the wheat workers have sown and harvested, ground into flour, and baked into bread; the wine from the grapes vinedressers have grown, pressed, and made into wine. In the industrial era, and even more so in our present, post-industrial age, this direct connection often is lost: we think of bread as something ready-made we buy in a supermarket, and wine in a liquor store. In our era the most direct symbol of our labor is the money we earn, which in turn enables us to acquire life’s necessities (symbolized by the bread), as well as luxuries (represented by the wine, “to gladden the heart of man” [Psalm 104:15]). Whether directly or indirectly, however, the bread and wine clearly represent both God’s gift to us and our own offering to God of the work of our hands.”

            – Paul Meyendorff, “Offering You ‘Your Own of Your Own’: Stewardship in the Liturgy,” in Good and Faithful Steward:             Stewardship in the Orthodox Church, edited by Anthony Scott

Special Prayer Requests:  We pray for mercy, life, peace, and healing of Jim Manos (at Moultrie Creek Nursing & Rehab Center), Chresanthe Lemieux, Jane Anderson, Betty & Fred Day, Despina Xynidis, George P. Nichols, JoAnne Long, our parish, those we serve, the Sunday School teachers and students, and our two missionary families: Dn. Stephanos, Dka. Alexandria & Moses Ritsi serving Albania; and Michael Lisa & Liam Colburn serving translators worldwide. We also pray for the recently reposed Steve Sarris, who passed from this life on August 13^th.

 May his memory be eternal!

Also, Father Michael Byars, the priest at  Holy Cross Eastern Orthodox Church in Ormond Beach suffered the loss of his house when it burned down recently. The family is safe but they did lose their pets in the blaze. They have lodging and are thankful to God for his mercy and grace. Father Michael asked that we refrain from calling or texting him while they are busy for the next few days sorting out the tragedy that has befallen them. You can email him at fathermichaelbyars@gmail.com but it may be a while before he is able to answer. The church does have a relief fund and way to donate set up on their website: https://www.holycrossoc.org/

Please keep Father Michael, Khouria Denise, and their family in your prayers.

Today – One-Year Memorial for Fred Allen

Hostess Schedule:  Carman Gaetanos (904) 540-0367 or carmgaet@gmail.com

• September 2     
• Carman Gaetanos
• September 9     
• Ellen Kelbert; Melisa Kauttu-Strange
• September 16   
• Faye Peterson; Constandina/Marissa
• September 23   
• Eugenia Charoni; Joan Manias
• September30    
• Monthly Potluck

September 2^nd Baptism:  The Forrester (Colakoglu) Family would like to invite everybody to celebrate the baptism of our second child, Cole Migirdic Forrester. The baptism will start around 12:30 with a Light Mediterranean and I lunch after. Any parish members wishing to stay through the baptism are more than welcome! Any family wanting to come early for church are also welcome to do so. Service starts around 10 but it’s not formal start time so feel free. Our church is very welcoming. Thank you so much for all that you do for us. Warmest wishes,Mikel Colakoglu

Sunday School Begins September 9th: September 9th will be the first day of the 2018/19 Sunday School year!  We must have a registration form for every child, turned in to either Carman Gaetanos or Presbytera Renee Ritsi.  The form is included in the digital weekly bulletin, and copies are in the narthex.

We ask that the community allow the students and their teachers to be the first to receive Holy Communion, so that they may immediately head to class.  In all of our work and with all of our plans for the year, we recognize that the only way for what we do to be truly effective is if we have the support of YOU, our wonderful Church Family.  Together we will share Christ’s message of love with the children of our parish and with those around us.  Thank you.  Again, we welcome all of our youth back to Sunday School on September 9th.

Next Parish Council Meeting:  Monday, September 10, 2018 at 6:30 PM 

Festival Prep – Dolmathes:  Please set aside an hour or two next weekend (Sept 7,8,9) to join us as we roll dolmathes for our October 12-14 festival.  If you've never done them before we'll be happy to show you how, and you can even invite a friend or two to join you!

• Friday, Sept. 7 -- 3 to 8 p.m.
• Saturday, Sept. 8 -- noon to 8 p.m.
• Sunday, Sept. 9 -- noon to 5 p.m.

Weekly Offering:  You can decide how much you might contribute to support this church’s ministry.  Your gift goes to ensuring that our church is open and accessible to all who seek her comfort.  These donations are very important to the vitality of our parish.  Your offering can be made at the collection basket as you exit the service.

Treasurers Report 

Income Statement (Jan - Jul 2018)

                        Actual                           Budget (YTD)

Revenues:        $104.376                       $110,726

Expenses:        $126,214                       $128,309

Rev over Exp:  ($22,636)                        ($17,583)

Balance of Accounts (Jul 2018)

Operating Account:                             $16,573.42     

Mortgage Account:                                $8,049.41

Mortgage Balance:                          $1,337,012.55

Reserves:

Clergy reserve fund:              $18,500.00

Maintenance reserve:            $37,884.00

Iconography:                        $22,603.97

Mortgage refinance:             $353,301.27