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:

October 18^th Dorothea Gaitanis (40 days). “Dorothea was the youngest of 8 children; and supportive of her family all her life”

Liturgical Services: 

Welcome parishioners and visitors!  Our new priest, Fr. Maximos, will be presiding at Divine Liturgy, today, Sunday, October 18^th.

• On-site services reopened June 7, 2020. You do not need to register if you plan to attend.  Please wear a mask and observe social distancing in the church.  Hand sanitizer is available as you enter and also in the narthex. 

• Remember to update your contact information if anything has changed.

• Also utilizing Live Streaming Services on Facebook. Please go to the Church Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HolyTrinityGOC/

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).

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.   

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).

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 11^th – Candles $100; Tray $20; Stewardship $2457; Memorial $1170

Greek Festival:

The Holy Trinity Church 23^rd Annual Greek Fest To Go was a huge success!  Thank you to the kitchen crew, runners and all the volunteers for your hard work.  We also wish to thank our sponsors and donors for their generosity and continued support.  You helped make our first “Greek Fest To Go” a successful event!  We look forward to continuing the fun next year… Opa!

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)

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. 

• 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).
• 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).

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.  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 or call 904 829-0504 if you do not have access to email, in advance of requested date with details.