A Word from Fr. John:

Concerning our sacred – and wisely flexible – holy tradition: Yesterday, Saturday the 5^th of September, was the celebration of the holy Prophet Zacharias, father of the venerable Forerunner. Here is an example of one way the Church’s tradition views the holy Zacharias:

“According to the opinion of many Fathers of the Church, based on an ancient tradition, this is the Zacharias whom, as our Lord said, the Jews slew between the temple and the altar (Matt. 23:35: ‘... that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel through the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachia, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.’), first, because even after the Virgin Mary gave birth, he continued to refer to her as virgin and number her among the virgins; second, because Zacharias' son John was not found during the slaughter of the Innocents, since the elderly Elizabeth had taken him and carefully hid him while he was yet an infant, in an unnamed place somewhere in the desert, where, according to the Evangelist, ‘the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel’ (Luke 1:80). When the child was not found, his father was slain by Herod's command.”

On the other hand, the tradition also says this, as noted in the Orthodox Study Bible (complete edition, with both Old and New Testaments):

“Some of the Fathers teach this was the prophet at the time of Joash the king (II Chron. 24:20-22), while others say it refers to the father of St. John the Baptist who, according to tradition, was also murdered in the temple.”

So, which is it? We do not know. Nor is it an article of faith, one way or the other. Our tradition does not speak definitively about this. This is therefore a good reminder of how our tradition teaches and encourages us to obtain genuine wisdom in all things, including knowing the black, the white, and the gray of what we profess to know and teach. It also teaches us to strive to know the Scriptures as well as we can.

If Jesus is referring to the prophet Zacharias at the time of Joash, it does raise a question: Why does Jesus mention Zacharias last? The story about Zacharias is found in II Chronicles 24; isn’t it confusing or out of order for Jesus to go from Genesis (“the blood of righteous Abel”) to Chronicles?

But we must remember that in a classic rabbinic tradition (and to this day) the last book of the Old Testament is II Chronicles. In the now-official Hebrew reckoning, the books are arranged as the Torah (the Law) first, the Prophets (from Samuel through the Twelve) second, and the Writings (including Chronicles) last. So Jesus would have been referring to the first murder mentioned in the Bible all the way through the last. It would be similar to our referring to “the teaching of the Apostles” from Matthew through Revelation.

Regardless, the Church’s tradition does say this definitively about Zacharias:

Kontakion of Zacharias the Prophet (Third Tone):  On this day the Prophet and ven'rable priest of the Most High, even Zacharias, who begat the Forerunner, hath now mixed for us the draught of virtue and set the table of his sacred mem'ry nourishing all the faithful; for this cause do we extol him as a most godly initiate of grace divine.

Special Prayer Requests: 

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  (Phil. 4:6-7)

We pray for mercy, life, peace, and healing of all parishioners, especially: Mary Spanos and Gail Jones, Chresanthe Lemieux, Zoe Kauttu, Maryann Bolt, James Day, Kostas Lantzounis, Fr. Nikitas and Pres. Mary Theodosion, His Grace Bishop Dimitrios of Xanthos, Margaret, James, Kyriake, Joseph, Mike and Ingrid (Evangelia) Fotianos, Irene Hastalis, Jane Anderson. Remember also our missionary families: Fr. Stephanos, Pr. Alexandria, Moses & Athan Ritsi serving in Albania; and Michael, Lisa & Liam Colburn.

Memorial on Sept. 27th for Ivel and Minas Sarris

Liturgical Services: 

Join us for services at HTGOC:  https://www.facebook.com/HolyTrinityGOC/

Upcoming services:   

• Tuesday, Sept. 8: Nativity of the Theotokos – Liturgy at 9 a.m. (no Orthros)
• Monday, Sept. 14: Elevation of the Cross – Liturgy at 9 a.m. (no Orthros)

Please let us know if you plan to attend the Divine Liturgy, so that we can keep things running smoothly at the church while signing folks in and taking temperatures. This will help us keep the focus on worshipping God as much as possible.

Therefore, please contact the church office via email - holy3goc@gmail.com - preferably with the subject line "I want to attend" - or by phone at 904 829-0504, and let Nelda know your name, the names of those you plan to attend with, and your phone number. Please let her know by Thursday before 1 p.m. Again, this will help us prepare well and know what to expect, as well as avoid bottlenecks and other kinds of confusion.

In line with our bishop’s directives, we are still monitoring the temperature of each person entering the church, and we are still required to wear face coverings while we are in the church.

Parish Council Report:

We understand the void in our parish fellowship, and we are looking forward to being together again.  A lot has been accomplished, including managing Covid-19 response at HTGOC, live-streaming services (https://www.facebook.com/HolyTrinityGOC/), receiving on-line donations, and we have re-opened our Church for Divine Services.  We continue to follow the We continue to follow the prescribed guidelines.

Treasurer’s Report

Bank Balances (as of July 31, 2020)

Operating account:                         

$30,513

Mortgage reduction account:             

$6.285

Festival account:                                

 $15,849

Mortgage Balance:                          

($937,031)

Reserves

Maintenance reserve:                          

 $8,609

Full-time Clergy reserve:                  

$26,435

Profit & Loss (as of Jul 31, ‘20)

Revenue:                                             

$14,539

Expense:                                               

$12,903

Net:                                                          

$1,636

Stewardship Report

Although we are still in a period of uncertainty, it is vital for us to keep a positive, Christ-centered approach to our efforts.  We ask you to partner and grow in Faith with us.  Your stewardship commitment is vital to our efforts.  We currently have 66 active Holy Trinity Steward families, with over $99,454 pledged.  If you have not done so, please submit your stewardship commitment card.  Stewardship payments can be made on-line (http://www.holytrinitygoc.com).

On-Line Giving:

• The Parish Council has added a link “Make a Donation” on our Church’s web page www.HolyTrinityGOC.com for on-line giving. This is a secure way to give to your Church.  Giving categories have been set up to allow giving to specific funds within the Church – for instance, Stewardship, Easter, Memorials, etc.  You can give via credit card, Paypal and you also have the ability to set up recurrent giving.  Of course, you can also set up recurrent giving through your bank if you wish.  Please be sure that a specific notation (ex: stewardship) is included for each transaction.

• We have also added a link for our new “Light a Candle & Say a Prayer” ministry. This new service allows us to light a candle during our divine services on-line.  Your request will be forwarded to the Parish Council in the narthex during the service and they will pray for you and light your candle.  Also, if you wish to provide names of loved ones to be prayed for, those will be provided to Fr. John as well.

Giving by Check:

Each time you contribute funds to the parish by check, the notation on the memo line of your check allows us to identify your intentions:  Stewardship, Candles, Trays, Memorials, etc.                                            

Weekly Offering:

Sacrificial Offerings - August 30^th – Candles $121; Tray $20; Stewardship $400   

2020 Stewardship – “Partner and Grow in Faith with Us”:

There is strength in numbers.  Whether we are physically together or simply connected in our hearts and minds, we are one church family.  We continue to celebrate the Liturgy, Sunday School and Bible Study classes are available online, community outreach continues with donated supplies, and we will offer a church based Greek food pickup event in October.  When you make your Stewardship commitments and contributions, you join others in making us stronger and better able to meet the needs of our parish as partners in faith.

Wednesday Night Adult Bible Study: 

The adult Bible Study of the Gospel of John occurs each Wednesday from 8 to 9 PM online through Zoom.  The meeting can be accessed by going to https://theColburns.us and clicking on the menu item that says “Online”. The passcode is 411363.  

You can also see what verses will be studied each Sunday so you can read them ahead of time.

Sunday School News:

Holy Trinity Sunday School had its first VIRTUAL meeting on August 12^th.  For now, classes will be done on a weekly basis using Zoom.  There are a lot of amazing online materials that the teachers will use, as well as standard textbooks.  We ask that all parents make this a priority for their children as the success of this ministry relies on parents.

• PreK- K class (Lisa Colburn and Evangelia Brati) will meet via Zoom at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
• 1^st – 8^th grade class (Carman Gaetanos and Pres Renee Ritsi) will meet via Zoom on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
• High School class (Mary Righos and Kurt Mitman) will meet via Zoom according to availability.

Each group of teachers will be coordinating individually with their classes and setting times and sending Zoom links.  If you have questions, please contact Pres Renee (904.377.2591) or Carman (904.540.0367 or carmgaet@gmail.com).

Virtual Trek 4 Missions 2020:

Mission supporters nation-wide have collectively trekked 7,457.81 miles and raised $67,847.00 for OCMC's Trek4Missions. Our team has completed, over 110 miles and raised $650. We are keeping the tradition of covering a lot of ground to share the Good News of Christ.

•  Did you know that St. Herman of Alaska traveled 7,300 miles from Valaam Monastery to Kodiak, Alaska? He along with a team of monks completed the longest missionary trip in Orthodox history.

To support our team, please visit: 

 http://ocmc.convio.net/site/TR/Trek4Missions/General?team_id=1080&pg=team&fr_id=1080.

 If you would like to join, use the team password 29HTgoc40.  Help us make disciples of all nations!

December 6^th, 2020 (tentatively) 4-7 p.m., Christmas Open House at St. Photios NationalShrine:

On behalf of Shrine Hierarchal Proistamenos, Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos, you are invited to be part of the Christmas Open House Committee and to add this Shrine event to your calendar.  And to consider ways in which you and organizations from your communities can assist in bringing our religious (St. Nicholas Day!) and cultural (Christmas customs!) to witness in 2020. Praying you all remain safe and that you will pray for me as well, Polly Hillier, St Photios National Shrine

Contact Information:

The parish council has been making phone calls to every parishioner for which we have such contact information. If you have not received a phone call, please call (904 829-0504) or email (holy3goc@gmail.com) the office and give Nelda your phone number – we will happily check in on you.  Also, if you know of anyone who doesn’t receive our emails but would like to, please encourage them to let Nelda at holy3goc@gmail.com  know their contact information so we can update our records and keep them informed.