A Word from Fr. John:

From the Orthros hymns this morning:

What shall we give to the Lord in return for all that He has rendered to us? For us did God come among men.

For our corrupted nature did the Logos [the Word] become flesh and dwell among us.

The Benefactor came to the ungrateful; the Liberator to the captives;

The Sun of Righteousness to those who sit in darkness. He who is dispassionate suffered on the cross;

The Light shone in Hell. He who is Life has trampled on death.

For the fallen He is the resurrection.

Let us cry out to Him, Glory to You our God.

You followed Christ, O Apostle Thomas, and you disregarded the world;

You hid His teachings in your inner room, and you became an Apostle.

Then you went among the Gentiles, whose souls were darkened by error and the sinful passions,

And with the Savior's commandments you enlightened them, to believe in the consubstantial Trinity.

Fully illumined by the divine fire of the knowledge of God, you imitated the Master in all things,

As a lawful disciple, O Apostle Thomas.

Using the fishing rod of the Cross, you pulled the souls of the pious out of the deep sea of ignorance.

And with the fishing net of the Holy Spirit, you caught the minds of those in India that were in darkness.

We pray you ever implore Christ God, also to deliver us from the bedarkened face of the enemy, and to save our souls.

Special Prayer Requests: 

We pray for mercy, life, peace, and healing of all parishioners, and especially His Grace Bishop Dimitrios of Xanthos as he recovers from foot surgery, Augustina, Margaret, James, Kyriake, Ingrid (Evangelia) Fotianos, Irene Hastalis, Jim Manos, Chresanthe Lemieux, Jane Anderson, Betty & Fred Day, Despina Xynidis, and Nicola Lykam’s father-in-law and mother-in-law with health issues. Pray for the start of Sunday School and all efforts of our teachers, students, and families, for the Adult Bible Study, and the continued growth and edification of the parish family ministries, and for the Colburn and Ritsi missionary families.

Hostess Schedule: 

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

• October 6^th              Carman Gaetanos, Faye Peterson
• October 13^th            Greek Festival
• October 20^th            Gail Jones, Nadia Kallas
• October 27^th            Last Sunday Potluck - Five-year Memorial for Michael Zotos

Koliva for Memorial Services: 

Koliva is prepared by the families or by HTGOC volunteers.  Due to the labor involved and cost of materials, there is a charge of $100 for preparing the Koliva.  Frequent volunteers include Faye Peterson, pete9839@comcast.net and Angela Lekos, angelmou1@att.net.

Sunday School News: 

The success of Holy Trinity Sunday School begins with every person and every family living and practicing the Orthodox Faith on a daily basis.  Children look toward their parents, friends and teachers as guides throughout their lives.  The well rounded and theologically based lessons on liturgical worship, the Bible, and prayer help them grow spiritually. The Sunday School setting is an excellent place for children to get to know one another, build relationships, and learn what it means to be a part of a community.  Children stay in the Liturgy with parents and attend Sunday School directly after Holy Communion. Additionally we ask that each and every parishioner include our teachers and students in your daily prayers. When we have a relationship of absolute trust with Christ, we are happy and joyful… this is the secret. Then we can exclaim with St. Paul, For me to live is Christ and to die is gain and It is no longer I who live, Christ lives in me. "Wounded by Love: The Life and the Wisdom of Elder Porphyrios" (1906-1991) ON PRAYER.

Adult Bible Study:

The adult Bible study on the Gospel of John meets in the classroom opposite the men’s room. The class starts 15 minutes after the start of coffee hour, and is led by Michael Colburn. We are using the epic 2003 movie “The Gospel of John” directed by Philip Seville. This movie uses the text of the Gospel of John from the Good News Bible verbatim—no extra words added and none left out. This Sunday we are studying John 1.19-28.  The next class will be the Sunday after the festival.  We will study John 1.29-34. The syllabus and study questions for each week are available at https://thecolburns.us/classes/john. Also check there for any last minute announcements about the class. 

Save the Date!  Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church 22^nd Annual Greek Festival - October 11^th -13^th

Festival Volunteer Sign-ups:

• Many thanks and blessings to those who have already signed up to work at the various booths of our October 11-13 festival!  
• Sign-ups will continue this Sunday, with the addition of sign-up sheets for the Taverna and Olympia Village Kids Food that were missing last Sunday.  
• If you are unable to sign up at church, you can do so online at stauggreekfest.com.  For those who have signed up, we will be distributing the festival t-shirts and parking passes this Sunday.

Help Needed for Festival Setup - As many as possible!

• Tuesday - at church, 5 pm:              
• Load trucks
• Thursday -at Francis Field, 9-5:       
• Unload trucks and set up booths
• Friday - at Francis Field, noon:         
• Continue setup; festival at 4 pm
• Monday, 10/14 - at church, 5:30:      
• Unload church supplies

Festival Cooking Schedule - We're almost there!

Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped prepare dolmathes, pastitsio, moussaka and souvlakia!  Today, Sunday, Oct. 6th, after church, join us for tzatziki prep.  Then all the food is ready!

Diakonia Retreat:

Join St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church of Daytona Beach at the Diakonia Retreat, February14-17, 2020.  Space is very limited.  Registration and monies must be submitted timely.  For more information or to secure your spot, please contact Irene Katra at 386-290-3208 or email Santorini257@aol.com

Youth Safety Compliance: 

All parishioners seeking blessing to participate in Sunday School and Youth events throughout this Ecclesiastical Year are required to complete the registration in order to have access to the needed background check which is facilitated through our Metropolis Youth Office.  Please see all details of the new compliance www.goarch.org/safety and www.goarch.org/youth-safety-compliance, and contact our Parish Youth Safety Compliance Officer, Margo Kelley (htgocpresident@gmail.com or (602) 617-2467) for further details.

Youth Dance Group: 

• Practice: We have been preparing for the Greek Festival.  We have only one practice left: Sun, Oct 6, 6:30 - 8:00 pm.  Our purpose is to bring our youth together in a spirit of Christian fellowship and love.  We encourage our families to be active participants in our Orthodox Faith, the Church and promote our ethnic culture. 
• Pizza & Pumpkins: Dancers and families are invited to join us for dinner at Carmelo’s Pizza on Fri, Oct 18, 5:00 - 7:00 pm.  After dinner, we will walk to the United Methodist pumpkin patch and each dancer will receive a pumpkin.  Please RSVP or Angela Lekos (904.347.4485 or angelmou1@att.net).  Opa!

Stewardship – A Pattern of Caring:

Giving is a habit that begins with a commitment. Becoming an active steward requires a conscious decision to actively support the needs of the Church. The commitment card we offer to Holy Trinity parish each year encourages us to give regularly. There are extra cards in church, or you can call the church office. 

Weekly Offering: 

Sacrificial Offerings - Weekly Offering: Sept 29^th - Candles $174; Tray $151; Stewardship $2226

Contributions - Tracking Your Giving:

• Each time you contribute funds to the parish, the notation on the memo line of your check allows us to identify your intentions:  Stewardship, Candles, Trays, Memorials, etc.  
• If you are setting up contributions through your bank, please be sure that a specific notation (ex: stewardship) is included for each transaction.
• For any cash contributions, please use one of the envelopes in the Narthex so that we can add that amount to your record of donations.

Volunteers:

Volunteers interested in assisting with the development of tools and courses for translators and publishers of Orthodox liturgical texts worldwide are needed.  Software developers, annotators and former Wycliffe translators needed.  See olw.ocmc.org.

Wednesday Bulletin Submission:

Please submit your articles weekly by Wednesday if possible. Thank you.