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: 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, Irene Hastalis, Jane Anderson. Remember also our missionary families: Fr. Stephanos, Pr. Alexandria, Moses & Athan Ritsi serving in Albania; and Michael, Lisa & Liam Colburn.
Memorials:
- Today - October 11th Mary Spanos (40 days)
- October 18th Dorothea Gaitanis (40 days). “Dorothea was the youngest of 8 children; and supportive of her family all her life”
Liturgical Services:
Join us “virtually” for services at HTGOC: https://www.facebook.com/HolyTrinityGOC/
Fr. Martin Ritsi will be presiding at Divine Liturgy on Sunday, October 11.
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. In line with our bishop’s directives, we are still recommending that we wear face coverings while we are in the church.
Acolytes:
In an effort to continue to keep our youth safe, we continue to limit our Altar Servers to three each Sunday. Please let the church office know if your Altar Server will attend liturgy so we can plan accordingly. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Nick Lekas directly (904.814.4930 or nslekas@icloud.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.
Sacrificial Offerings:
October 4th – Candles $112; Tray $40; Stewardship $2625; Memorial $125
September On-line – Candles $60
September PayPal – Stewardship $1940; Memorials $610; General Donations $1050
2020 Stewardship – “Partner and Grow in Faith with Us”:
It is important to remember that, in the words of Archbishop Elpidophoros, “The Ekklesia extends far beyond the four walls of any church building.” The Church is not the building, but rather, it is people of faith that remain connected, drawing spiritual nourishment from God and strength from one another.
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 prescribed guidelines of our Holy Metropolis. The Parish Council will travel to the Metropolis on Monday to meet with His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios regarding our full time priest. We will provide more information to all after the meeting next week.
Treasurer’s Report
Bank Balances (as of Aug. 31, 2020)
Operating account:
$29,356
Mortgage reduction account:
$6,424
Festival account:
$15,849
Mortgage Balance:
($934,973)
Reserves
Maintenance reserve:
$8,609
Full-time Clergy reserve:
$26,435
Profit & Loss (as of Aug 31, ‘20)
Revenue:
$12,203
Expense:
$14,010
Net:
($1,806)
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 73 active Holy Trinity Steward families, with over $111,934 pledged. If you have not done so, please submit your stewardship commitment card. Stewardship payments can be made on-line (http://www.holytrinitygoc.com).
Special Announcement
New Priest - Town Hall Meeting
The Parish Council met our new priest at the Holy Metropolis in Atlanta on Monday of this week. Fr. Maximos is in the process of making the move to St. Augustine to begin his new life as our Priest and Proistamenos. He will celebrate his first Divine Liturgy with us on Sunday, October 18.
We have scheduled a townhall meeting via Zoom for this Sunday, October 11 at 2:00 in the afternoon so that we can all “meet” our new priest. Please plan to attend this very important meeting to hear from Fr. Maximos and to show our support prior to his arrival. You can log in to the Zoom meeting here, or through the link below. The Zoom meeting link is also listed below:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86730889418?pwd=TzhiZFBpSEJXeXBHUTl4VVVoc0tyZz09
Meeting ID: 867 3088 9418
Passcode: HTGOC
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,86730889418#,,,,,,0#,,372868# US (Chicago)
+19292056099,,86730889418#,,,,,,0#,,372868# US (New York)
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 12th. 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.
- P PreK- K class (Lisa Colburn and Evangelia Brati) will meet via Zoom at 6 p.m. on 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month (note change).
- 1st – 8th 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).
December 6th, 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. 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.
Reminder:
- The deadline for Church bulletin e-mail articles is before 1 p.m. on Wednesday weekly.
- If you have a request for a special service (memorial, etc.) please email the church office at holy3goc@gmail.com in advance of requested date with details. If you plan to attend a service, please e-mail or call the church office (904 829-0504) by Thursday before 1 p.m. Thank you!
October 9th – 10th GREEK FEST 2020 at HTGOC
The 23rd Annual St. Augustine Greek Festival is at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church! Your Greek favorites –Lamb, Moussaka, Gyro, Dolmathes, Baklava and more – will be available for pick-up and drive-thru on Fri. October 9th from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.& Sat. October 10th from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. https://www.staugustinegreekfestival.com/
Greek Orthodox October Master Calendar Items(with North Florida District):
9-10th
HTGOC Annual Greek Festival
11th
Town Hall Meeting, via Zoom at 2 p.m.
12th
HTGOC Parish Council
17th
St. Demetrios, Daytona Beach - Premarital Seminar
19th
St. Photios Shrine - Paraklesis, 12:30 p.m.
23rd -25th
St. John the Divine, Jacksonville - Greek Festival
26th
St. Demetrios
30th-Nov 1st
Diakonia Retreat Center, Salem, SC - 4th Annual HUMS Retreat
October HTGOC Stewardship Drive - Toula Zotos zotost@gmail.com
St. Paul, Savannah, GA - Greek Food Festival
Greek Orthodox November Master Calendar Items (with North Florida District)
1st
Daylight Savings Time ends
8th
Archangel Michael & Gabriel; Fall General Assembly
9th
Parish Council
14th
Parish Council seminar (TBD)
15th
Advent fast begins
16th
St. Photios Shrine - Paraklesis 12:30 pm
21st
Presentation of the Theotokos
24th
St. Katherine Melbourne-Feast Day Vespers 6 pm
25th
St. Katherine, Melbourne – Feast Day Orthros/Divine Liturgy, 9/10 am
26th
Thanksgiving Day
November HTGOC Stewardship Drive
Metropolis of Atlanta Feast & Honors program
