OCTOBER 4, 2020 – 2^nd SUNDAY OF LUKE

FAMILY SUNDAY/National Church Music Sunday

Memorials:    

SIMEON NICOLAIDIS – 40 Days

EMMANUEL VIRGIL CIUNGAN – 40 Days

LINDA R. CIUNGAN – 15 Years

YIANNI (JOHN) ANGELOPOULOS  - 6 Months

ASPASIA ANGELOPOULOS – 6 Months

HELEN KOKAS – 1 Year

WILLIAM KOKAS – 6 Years

CONSTANTINE KOKAS – 11 Years

May their memory be eternal!

SERVICES THIS WEEK:

Saints Constantine and Helen services are open for parishioners and we encourage those who are not in high-risk categories to attend services.  Parish guidelines regarding capacity limits and safety restrictions are posted on the home page of our church website, https://www.stcons.org

The church building is professionally cleaned, disinfected, and sanitized weekly. 

We strongly encourage those who will not be attending church to participate in services through our website, at  https://www.stcons.org/video-streaming  

Sunday, October 4th  – 2^nd Sunday of Luke, Orthros 9:00 am; Divine Liturgy 10:00 am   If you wish to follow along with the text, please use the link listed below:

https://www.agesinitiatives.com/dcs/public/dcs/p/s/2020/10/04/li/gr-en/se.m08.d30.li.pdf

LIGHT A CANDLE AND SAY A PRAYER:  When you are not able to attend church, you can purchase a candle from our church website (home page or video-streaming page), which Father Teodor will light before the following service or a service that you specify.  Please give specific names, living or deceased, that you would like Father to remember in prayer.  Father will light candles one hour before each service.  For Sunday services, please place candle orders prior to 8:00 am Sunday morning.

PLEASE PRAY FOR: Christopher, Jonathan, Alexandra, Tracy, Dianna, Lazarus, Henry, Betty, Catherine, Susan, Evelyn, Gregg, Peter, Stella, Ann Marie, Vasilios, Carol, George, Demetri, Steve, Molly, Maria, Elizabeth, Carol, Evans, Katherine, Mike, Connie, Mary, Margaret, Angela, Connie, Bill, Carrie, Vito, Pete, Amalia, Stephanie, Lisa, Bill, Connie, Jacob, Anastasia, Rima, Kylie, Effie, Camryn, Nicholas, and Maria.  (Names may be added by request to the prayer list.) 

UPCOMING EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES:

ADULT BIBLE STUDY: Our Adult Bible Study group will meet again on the Zoom platform on Tuesday, October 6^th  at 7:00 pm.  All adults are welcome to join the conversation, as the group continues discussion of the Book of Job, and its relevance in the contemporary world.  Zoom link is: https://zoom.us/j/7345256789, Meeting ID: 734 525 6789  For more information, contact: stcons2@gmail.com

AMERICAN RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE: Be a hero.  You can save as many as 3 lives with just one blood donation. On October 28^th, from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm, we will be hosting a blood drive by the American Red Cross in the Hellenic Cultural Center.  COVID-19 antibody testing available on all blood donations.  To schedule an appointment, please log onto RedCrossBlood.org (sponsor code: stcons) or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) today.

ALL THE BLITZ, SAVE THE GLITZ: Things are a little different this year, and so our Annual “Putting on the Glitz” Dinner and Auction will be a virtual event. There are still plenty of chances to win money and prizes and to support the ministries of our Church. Raffle tickets will be available beginning next week from any Parish Council member or Fr. Teodor, and the drawing will be held on Sunday, November 8^th.

NEWS AND NOTICES 

HELLENIC CULTURAL CENTER REOPENING:  As of October 9^th, the State of Michigan is allowing banquet facilities to open for events with reduced capacity. This is great news!  Masks and social distance restrictions are still in place, along with increased precautions in the preparation and serving of food and drink. Although they are not yet keeping regular office hours, if would like to discuss future bookings or other issues with the HCC staff, please contact Kathy at 313.303.6350 or kathysmcmullen@yahoo.com

DIVINE LITURGY BOOKS FOR SALE:  Our parish bookstore is offering Divine Liturgy books for sale at cost for those who wish to follow along with the Divine Liturgy service during this time of pandemic. The books will be sold for $20 each.  Parishioners are asked to bring their own book to church and take it home with them when they leave each week. For those not able to attend church at this time, books will also be available at the church office during business hours if you wish to follow along with the service from home.

QUESTIONS FOR FATHER TEODOR: In this unusual year with no regular Sunday School classes, Father Teodor will take a few minutes on Sunday mornings to answer questions from our young people (or adults!) about our faith. Questions  can be submitted online using this link:  https://forms.gle/7ae8mqd6DNSghbQs6

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNER!  And we have a winner!! Congratulations to Dimitra Serafim, who won first place in the Philoptochos Carrot Cake Competition! Actually the REAL winners were the Philo members attending yesterday's meeting, who got to sample the delicious cakes made by Dimitra, Carol Bozadzis, Chrys Schwartz, and Irene White!!

PANHELLENIC SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION:  The Foundation is now accepting applications from eligible Greek American college students and will distribute $250,000 in scholarship awards ($20,000 given specifically for students studying music or arts) to exceptional undergraduates.  Undergraduate students of Hellenic descent from all fifty states are encouraged to apply. Applications should be submitted electronically as instructed by January 31, 2021.  For inquiries please email pkorbakes@panhellenicsf.org or call (312) 357-6432.

VOLUNTEER USHERS NEEDED: With all the extra COVID procedures necessary for the church (taking temps, usher to seats, communion, bulletins, etc.) we need some extra support in the Narthex.  We need men and women who are healthy, on the younger side, and able to get to church by 9:30 am.  Please contact Annette at the church office, stcons2@gmail.com or 734.525.6789 if you are able to volunteer for a Sunday service.

FEED THE NEEDY:  All of our Sunday School families have received contribution folders for the Men’s Club John Koinis “Feed the Needy” program, providing Thanksgiving dinners to low-income family homes in Westland and Livonia.  Donation envelopes for Feed the Needy are also available at the Pangari and in the church office. The Men’s Club golf outing, which is the primary fundraiser for the project was cancelled earlier this year, due to COVID 19 restrictions.

ICONOGRAPHY: We have reached 64% of our fundraising goals for our Iconography project!  We are so grateful to the parish families that have already made a pledge to sponsor an icon.  A list of icons still available for sponsorship is included in this Bulletin. For those who are interested, please talk to Father Teodor or contact the church office for more information.

DID YOU KNOW?  

ST. ROMANOS, THE MELODIST: Today, our Church community observes National Church Music Ministry Sunday.  It comes each year in the month of October, close to the feast day of Saint Romanos, the Melodist (October 1). St. Romanos flourished during the sixth century, which is considered to be the Golden Age of Byzantine hymnography.

According to legend, Romanos was not considered to be either a talented reader or singer.  He was however, loved by the Patriarch of Constantinople because of his great humility.  Once around the year 518, while serving in the Church of the Panagia at Blachaernae, he was assigned by the Patriarch to read the Kathisma verses and read so poorly that another reader had to take his place.  Some of the lesser clergy ridiculed Romanos for this, and being humiliated he sat down in one of the choir stalls.  Overcome by weariness and sorrow, he soon fell asleep.  As he slept, the Theotokos (Mother of God) appeared to him in a dream with a scroll in her hand.  She commanded him to eat the scroll, and as soon as he did so, he awoke. 

He immediately received a blessing from the Patriarch, mounted the pulpit, and chanted extemporaneously his famous Kontakion of the Nativity, "Today the Virgin gives birth to Him Who is above all being…." The emperor, the patriarch, the clergy, and the entire congregation were amazed at both the profound theology of the hymn and Romanos' clear, beautiful voice as he sang. According to tradition, this was the very first kontakion ever sung. The Greek word "kontakion" (κοντάκιον) refers to the shaft on which a scroll is wound, hence the significance of the Theotokos' command for him to swallow a scroll, indicating that his compositions were by divine inspiration.

MEMORIAL SERVICE INFORMATION

Please call the church office to schedule memorials in a timely manner so we can include the information in the bulletin.  On the day of the service, please bring a list of famnames you would like Father to remember in prayer. At this time, due to COVID restrictions, koliva that has been prepared for the memorial service cannot be distributed to parishioners, but will be returned to the family to take home.  We are not currently allowed to have coffee hour, or distribute any cookies, paximadia or koulourakia.

Non-Orthodox Visitors Please Note:  Holy Communion is offered to Orthodox Christians who have properly prepared themselves.  Visitors are welcome to receive the Antidoron (Blessed Bread), which is distributed at the end of the Divine Liturgy.