Saints and Feasts

July 29

9th Sunday of Matthew

Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Plagal Fourth Mode

You descended from on high, O compassionate One, and condescended to be buried for three days, so that from the passions You might set us free. Our life and resurrection, O Lord, glory be to You.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Grave Mode

You were transfigured upon the mount, O Christ our God, and Your disciples, in so far as they could bear, beheld Your glory. Thus, when they see You crucified, they may understand Your voluntary passion, and proclaim to the world that You are truly the effulgence of the Father.

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Plagal Fourth Mode. Psalm 75.11,1.
Make your vows to the Lord our God and perform them.
Verse: God is known in Judah; his name is great in Israel.

The reading is from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 3:9-17.

Brethren, we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw - each man's work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If any one destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are.

Gospel Reading

9th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 14:22-34

At that time, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying "Take heart, it is I; have no fear."

And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they entered the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.

Wisdom of the Fathers

So absolutely nothing does it avail to be near Christ, if not being near Him by faith .... Signifying therefore that not the assault of the wind, but his want of faith had wrought his overthrow, He said, "Wherefore did you doubt, O you of little faith?"

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 50 on Matthew 14, 4th Century

So that if his faith had not been weak, he would have stood easily against the wind also. And for this reason, you see, even when He had caught hold of Him, He suffers the wind to blow, showing that no hurt comes thereby, when faith is steadfast.

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 50 on Matthew 14, 4th Century

Ministry News

TODAY we offer a special Memorial Service for those who have lost their lives to the devastating fires in Attica, Greece. May their memory be eternal. Please see the ARCHIEPISCOPAL ENCYCLICAL FOR THE RECENT FIRES IN GREECE in the e-bulletin.

Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; Yes, I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Is. 41:10).

TODAY and next Sunday, we will pass a special tray dedicated to the effort to bring comfort, aid, and hope to those whose homes and communities have been destroyed by the Attica fires.

Church Calendar:

Dormition Fast begins August 1.

Supplication (Paraklesis) Service to the Virgin Mary will be celebrated every weeknight during the fast - August 1-3, August 7-10, and August 13, all at 7 pm.

Monday, August 6: Transfiguration of our Lord - Orthros/Divine Liturgy at 8:30 am followed by the Annual Blessing of the Grapes.

Tuesday, August 14: All are invited to the Kimisis Church in Holmdel for the Great Vespers of the Dormition Service at 7 pm

Wednesday, August 15: Dormition of Virgin Mary Services, Orthros/Divine Liturgy starting at 9 am.

Monday, August 27: St. Phanourios - at 9 am

Wednesday, August 29: Beheading of St. John the Baptist - Orthros/Divine Liturgy at 9 am

Saturday, September 1: Indiction (Beginning of Ecclesiastical New Year)-Orthros /Divine Liturgy 9 am

GOYA News: St. Anna GOYA is once again working with our local United Way, through FOCUS, in providing backpacks to our local middle school to children in need. Please see any GOYA member or advisor if interested in helping to fill a backpack. They will be available this Sunday after liturgy.

PC Corner

Dear Parishioners,

Summer is upon us and we are all enjoying taking some time off to relax, spend time with family and friends, rejuvenate, and come back to our routine. During this time, our church operations are normal and planning is in full swing for our upcoming OPA 2018 event on September 7-8-9. A few people have already gotten together and prepared Baklava, Galaktoboureko, Revani, and Spanakopitta for the big event. We are now in the process of securing vendors, donors, food donations, expediting equipment and supplies, licenses, drinks etc.

You may ask: How can I participate and help?

Here is what you can do.

Approach your local business or anyone you know who can contribute food or become a donor and ask them for donation
Volunteer to help during preparation of food, set up the tents, tables, etc
Register to volunteer during the event
If you cannot do any of the above, contribute some money to be able to purchase whatever is not donated and to hire help during the event

Contact Diana Grina at dianakg2003@yahoo.com, or at 908-392-7449 and volunteer your time or ask her how you can help

Please help our efforts to make this event successful or even better than last year!

OPA Festival Sponsorship: Sponsorship forms can be downloaded from the OPA Festival website, http://www.opafestival.com under “Sponsor Program.” Please contact the Sponsorship Chairperson, Elaine Markos at petermarkos2@gmail.com, if you require additional information. Thank you!

Food Donation Transport: Please contact Bill Panageas at vpanageas@gmail.comif you can help pick up food donations during the last week of August/first week of September.

Iconography: Look for updates in St Anna Iconography and Beautification News and Update emails! The first phase of the iconography has been completed and we hope to have the rest of the icons ordered soon so that we can finish by the end of this year. Ambitious goal but the overwhelming support so far is very encouraging. The iconostation is progressing well. We got a broker to ship it from Greece and a broker in the USA to expedite through customs when it arrives in November some time.

We have successfully passed the annual health inspection for our kitchen and I would like to thank all of you who helped during the year to keep the kitchen clean!

The Wine and Dine is rescheduled for Saturday October 6 (rain or shine) at the Soteropoulos residence. The last fund raising event in 2018 is will be the Vendors Day scheduled for November 17 and 18. We will have craft vendors and sell food. Details will follow.

For those of you with children in the Greek school program, we are happy to inform you that we have hired a new teacher for the new school year. Greek School will begin on Monday, September 24. If you have any questions please contact Father Anastasios or Maria Sfondouris, our Greek School Director.

For all Sunday School families, we are happy to introduce Aimee Douvris as our new Religious Education Director. The first day of the 2018-19 Sunday School year will be Sunday, September 23.

All of our school directors are volunteers - please help them to succeed!

Be safe and enjoy the summer.

John Kaldes

PC president

Fall Wine & Dine - The Best from the West in the US…Featuring top wines from California, Oregon and Washington paired with 5 dishes.

Saturday, October 6, 6:30 pm (rain or shine) at the Soteropoulos Residence; 12 Vail Lane, Flemington

Cost is $75 per person.Contacts: George Staikos at 973.699.2199 or george@theeducatedgrape.comor Christi Staikos at cstaikos@comcast.net. Please send payment (check payable to St Anna) to Christi Staikos at 43 Fox Grape Road, Flemington, NJ 08822

Fellowship Hour: There is no official Fellowship Hour Sponsorship through September 16, but you can contact John Giannouris at (610) 680-7507 or john.giannouris@comcast.netif you are interested in sponsoring Fellowship Hour in the summer months or this fall. Thank you.

Bulletin Inserts

Archiepiscopal Encyclical for Recent Fires in Greece

Special encyclical

Stewardship

STEWARDSHIP: Stewardship is the sharing of the talents and treasures that God has provided for us. An Orthodox Christian Steward is an active participant in the life of the Church. The parish encourages all who accept the Orthodox Faith to become practicing Stewards.

2018 Stewardship Status: 131 Pledges totaling $133,855 for an average of $1,022 and $85,416 received to date. We also have 8 families who have contributed $5,250 to date but have not submitted a stewardship card. It is important that all families complete a stewardship card to be considered a steward.. Current Stewardship List and other stewardship information is posted on bulletin board by the water cooler.

If you have not done so already, we ask that you prayerfully consider your Stewardship commitment and submit a 2018 pledge card as soon as you can.

…Remember a rich man is not one who has much, but one who gives much...

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