CURRENT PARISH OPERATIONS STATUS

WORSHIP - All Services Continuing as Previously Announced

• 50% Capacity. No Reservations Required. No Age Restrictions.
• Masks and Physical Distance Required. Must be observed by all in attendance.

COFFEE HOUR AND MEETINGS - Resuming Sunday, January 24th

• Coffee Hour and In-person Meetings may resume – with safety precautions in place.

CHURCH SCHOOL CLASSES – Resuming Sunday, January 24th

• Church School classes may resume – with previously announced safety precautions in place.

TODAY’S EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Holy Water Bottles Available

Following Divine Liturgy, Holy Water bottles from the Feast of Theophany will be available for those who were not able to attend the feast day services.

Coffee Hour, In-Person Meetings and Church School Classes Resuming January 24 – With Precautions

Reflecting changes in local civil and school guidance regarding recent restrictions, we are glad to announce that Coffee Hour, in-person meetings and Church School classes will resume – with appropriate precautions in place – on Sunday, January 24. Physical distancing, masks and capacity limits of 50% remain in place. Thank you for your cooperation, understanding and desire to keep this community and all who participate in its worship and life safe.

Please Follow Parish Council Seating/Spacing Instructions…and THANK YOU for Your Cooperation!

Your Parish Council members are volunteers you have selected to take an important role in the leadership of Holy Trinity parish life. One of the unexpected responsibilities that has entered their list of duties this year is to provide guidance and directions during the COVID pandemic. Therefore, since they are responsible for monitoring capacity, spacing, entrance, dismissals and more in order to have us all maintain best practices in all these areas, thank you for continuing to respect their guidance with your respectful cooperation when it comes to entering the church, where to sit and how to enter, exit for process in lines. Want to go a step farther? Take a moment to thank them for stepping up in these challenging times!

“Faith and Family WEEKDAYS” This Week

• Daily: Prayer Partners. Have you remembered your prayer partner every day? Especially in these times! Please maintain the prayer partner you received in January. When we are all together again, we will distribute new cards.

Festival 2020 Update: Order/Donate for the Holidays! Spanakopita and Tiropita Still Available!

While supplies last full ready-to-bake pans of Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pita) and Tiropita (Greek Cheese Pita) are available for only $99. That means you can enjoy our wonderful festival food at home! Buy them now to take and bake at home for family gatherings, graduation parties, or to bake and share with others. Each pan has 28 pre-scored servings. The pans are 20” X 13” and are expertly wrapped in premium protective freezer paper. Just unwrap, follow the basic cooking instructions and enjoy! Order at “HolyTrinityPgh.org/Greek4Home”. But that's not all!

Through our "Greek2Give" ordering website, “HolyTrinityPgh.org/Greek2Give” you can also donate a pan of food to a worthy cause! During the COVID-19 crisis, some of our neighbors are having a tough time making ends meet. The first-responders and “heroes” at our hospitals, safety services and social agencies have sacrificed of themselves to protect us. And some local churches are struggling just to survive. With your help, pans of our existing inventory of spanakopita and tiropita will be delivered to local organizations, churches, hospitals, agencies and the Neighborhood Resilience Project, an Orthodox Christian ministry in the Hill District, at no charge as gifts of love from you and the Holy Trinity family. To date, generous parishioners and friends of Holy Trinity Church have donated over 70 pans already, and 60 of them have already been delivered to the charities and agencies above. Thank you for your offerings of love and gratitude to those in need and those who serve us!

2021 House Blessings – Moved to September

IMPORTANT CHANGE: Due to the safety measures in place right now, the clergy of our Metropolis have been directed by His Eminence Metropolitan Savas to refrain from entering homes for house blessings this January. In response, we at Holy Trinity Church will instead be offering house blessings in September starting this year. This is an existing practice in other parishes for two reasons: 1) it offers the blessing at the start of the new Ecclesiastical Year (Sep. 1) instead of the civil New Year (Jan. 1); and 2) it avoids concerns and rescheduling due to snow and ice in January. Watch for the usual opportunity to register for your house to be blessed, but this time in the Fall. Thank you for your understanding and assistance in keeping us all safe and healthy!

Host Ministries/Families Still Needed for Bag Lunches - Please volunteer your family or group to help

Please see Mike Kritiotis today, or contact him at 412-518-0588, or at outreach@holytrinitypgh.org to sign up your family/group/ministry for either of these this worthy cause to help the poor and hungry in our region. Sponsored through the Orthodox outreach of the “Neighborhood Resilience Project”, the 2021 weekly schedule of delivering 140 lunch bags to our less fortunate neighbors every Saturday of the year, has many open dates available. Holy Trinity Church’s participation has been critical in fulfilling this goal in the past, and we are grateful for our parishioners’ renewed generosity.

Reminder: Holy Trinity Church Completion and 2023 Consecration Campaign Underway

As was reported previously, at its November 10, 2020 meeting the General Assembly unanimously approved the Church Completion and Consecration proposal.  Plans are now moving forward to complete the necessary items so Holy Trinity Church can be consecrated by the end of 2023. This is historically significant because 2023 also celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the founding of Holy Trinity Church. The plan provides for completing all of the items required for consecration including: completing the remaining iconography in the Church and Narthex; installation of numerous items of handcrafted ecclesiastical wood furnishings, most notably a permanent iconostasis and required new Holy Altar table; Altar furnishings and other liturgically required items for the Consecration; and more appropriate seating to replace the temporary chairs in the Church. A very realistic plan to raise the needed monies for the project over the next 3 years has been developed. It comprises a combination of funds from the Greek Festival and catering income, as well as parishioner donations, and all without incurring loans or bank financing, so we will remain debt-free having now paid off the mortgage.

We are praying that all of our members will pledge what they are able to over the 2021–2023 timeframe to fund the completion of our Church for its Consecration in 2023. We need to get started on this project now so that it is completed on time.  So we ask that you please fill out the center section of the “ONE HOLY TRINITY” Pledge Card with your Church Completion and Consecration Campaign pledge amounts for 2021-2023. Please do your part as a member of the Holy Trinity family on this important project – you’ll be glad you did! We will be publishing a list with the names of those who have pledged for this Campaign in the coming months.

If there are any questions in the meantime, please feel free to speak with Jim Balouris, Charlie Petredis or George Dickos.  May God continue to richly bless His Holy Church!

To the Faithful Stewards of Holy Trinity Church

In the past few months when some have been limited in their ability physically meet on Sundays, many thanks go to those who have continued to offer their offerings, pledges, and capital campaign contributions. We have expanded out opportunities to do so and now have a number of ways. The first way is that you can continue to bring or mail your donations to the church using the offering/capital campaign envelopes. The second way is Give By Web - the online method on the church’s website. Go to HolyTrinityPgh.org/give, or from the home page click on the Online Giving Tab. The third way is Give By Text, which is as easy as sending a text with the amount you would like to donate to 833-955-2176. You will receive a confirmation link immediately via text. The fourth way is Give By App using the Vanco GivePlus app, found in the App Store and on Google Play. Find information on it and more at HolyTrinityPgh.org/give-info. Lastly, we continue to encourage everyone to reach out to members of our church family and let them know they are being thought of, prayed for and most importantly loved. And, of course, for those still not able or ready to return to in-person services, they may continue to worship together in spirit online with our services as they are broadcast online (made possible through your offerings of love) at HolyTrinityPgh.org/live. Thank you and God bless you, faithful stewards!

Stewardship Update

The 2020 Stewardship Year-end statements will be sent out at the end of January. Also, the 2021 Holy Trinity Stewardship Pledge Cards have been distributed and all Holy Trinity Stewards should complete one immediately. If you have not yet received a 2021 pledge card or are new to Holy Trinity, additional pledge cards can be found at the Welcome Table located in the Narthex of the church. And remember, a signed pledge card is required as part of maintaining your membership in good standing at Holy Trinity Church each year. We are grateful for your commitment. Questions? Contact Stewardship Co-chairmen Mike Kritiotis or Ted Stewart or email stewardship@HolyTrinityPgh.org.

Holy Trinity Church in “Green Phase”

With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Savas, we are so thankful to be able to continue welcoming our Holy Trinity family back to worship in-person and together as a community in the Church. As previously announced, we are now in the “Green Phase.” This means some important things for our worship and community life:

• Greater Attendance Levels: We can accommodate up to 50% of our capacity (approximately 250 people in both the main church and the Grand Room)
• Age Restrictions Lifted: All ages are welcome to attend.
• Masks and Physical Distance: Masks are still required, and safe levels of physical distancing will still be practiced in both seating and moving around. PLEASE RESPECT THESE PRECAUTIONS AND BE SURE YOUR SEATING IS PROPERLY DISTANCED. ALSO PLEASE DO NOT CONGREGATE IN THE NARTHEX.
• Veneration: The faithful may return to their customary practice of venerating icons and sacred objects if they choose, or they may continue to reverence them by bowing, depending on their comfort level.
• Holy Communion: Parishes are free to return to their customary parish practice of customary method of distributing and receiving the Holy Gifts.

Please Support the Metropolitan Maximos Endowment for Youth & Young Adult Ministries

Of all Metropolitan Maximos' ministries, his work with youth and young adults held a special place in his heart. In honor of our beloved "Metro Max," the Metropolitan Maximos Endowment will carry on His Eminence's support for our youth and young adults. Two ways to give to the Endowment: 1) Send checks to the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh with "Metropolitan Maximos Endowment" written in the memo section. Mail to: Metropolitan Maximos Endowment c/o Metropolis of Pittsburgh, PO Box 645953, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-5257. Or 2) Online credit or debit card donation via the Metropolis website: pittsburgh.goarch.org/support. Please select Metropolitan Maximos Youth Endowment. Thank you!

Upcoming Memorials: Jan 17: Areta Kalogeras (6 years); Jan 31: Kathryn (Penny) Cherpes (40 days)