PHILOPTOCHOS TENDERLOIN WINNERS
The winners of this years Tenderloin Raffle are Gina Liacopulos and Elen Rontiris. Congratulations to both of you! Thank you to everyone who donated to the raffle. Merry Christmas to all!
HOMEBOUND VISITATION
Our clergy along with our Philoptochos has been visiting homebound parishioners. If someone you know would appreciate a visit, please contact the church office. We would be happy to visit.
RISE AGAINST HUNGER
We will be packaging 15,120 packets of enriched rice, soy protein, dried vegetables and 23 essential vitamins and nutrients. These will then be shipped where needed most, nationally and internationally. One packet feeds 4-6 people and only costs .34 per packet! You can volunteer to package meals on January 11th from 2-4 pm. Our pledge is $5,140.80 and 15,120 packets. You can go online and donate to http://events.riseagainsthunger.org/stdemetrios2020. . You can also make a donation directly to Philoptochos. Please come by the Philoptochos table during coffee hour to sign up and for more details.
PARISH COUNCIL ELECTIONS
Elections will be held on Sunday, January 19th for both the Parish Council and the Audit Committee. Nominations forms were emailed out but are also available in the church office. Interested candidates must complete and return nominations forms by January 5th, 2020 to the church office. All candidates must complete the Metropolis Orientation which shall be held on the evening of January 9th. 2020 at 6:00 pm
POINSETTIA DONATIONS
Each year our Church is beautifully decorated with
Poinsettias donated by our faithful during this season. It is not too late to participate. Green donation cards can be found in the lobby or near the candle stands in the narthex.
60TH ANNIVERSARY GALA PHOTOS
To view images from the event visit: https://aretiphoto.shootproof.com/gallery/StDemetriosGala/
You can download a complimentary websize/watermarked image and also purchase prints or digital files as needed. For more information, contact Areti Bratsis at 508-698–0150 or areti@aretiphoto.com. www.aretiphoto.com
SAVE THE DATE: RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE
On February 15, 2020 the Philoptochos will be hosting a Red Cross Blood Drive. More information on pre registration will be forthcoming.
60th Anniversary Commemorative Album
The 60th Anniversary Commemorative Album committee is hard at work! The album will be published in late Spring 2020. Please consider purchasing an ad in the album, It’s a wonderful way to send a congratulatory message to the
community, honor the memory of a loved one, celebrate your family or feature a business. The form can be found at: https://www.stdemetriosweston.org/forms-and-resources
In addition, we are currently collecting photos to include in the album. If you have any high quality photos from the last 60 years that you would like to submit for consideration, please do so by emailing them to
photos@stdemetriosweston.org or mailing them to Album Committee c/o St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church,
Weston, MA 02493. We are particularly interested in group photos from the last 20 years. With each submission, please identify who is in the photo as well as when and where the photo was taken.
ST. DEMETRIOS BOOKSTORE
Discover the rich collection of inspirational books for adults and children in our bookstore. The collection includes outstanding texts, written by our very own clergy and parishioners. There are also beautiful icons, St. Demetrios crosses and prayer bracelets from various Greek monasteries.
PHISHING SCAM
It has come to our attention that someone is sending fraudulent emails pretending to be Fr. Nick and asking for electronic gift cards. Please do not respond to this message and immediately mark as spam and delete. Many of the emails are being sent from a gmail email account– our parish email addresses are not associated with gmail. They will have “@stdemetriosweston.org” as the ending.St. Demetrios and its priests will never ask for funds via electronic gift cards ever. If you have any questions or concerns please call the main office, 781-237-5561.
FR. MANIKAS LIBRARY
Check out the magazine "Cyprus Today" which is available for circulation. If interested, you are welcomed to
borrow. So we can keep track of the interest of these magazines, please fill in your last name and the dates (month and year) on the label on the back cover. Allowed check out period is one month.
PHILOPTOCHOS CATERING
Philoptochos is delighted to offer their St. Christine's Catering Program. Visit the church website under the Philoptochos page to view the ordering menu. Thanks for using the Philoptochos Catering.
SPONSORING FLOWERS
If you would like to sponsor altar flowers in memory of loved ones or in honor of a special occasion please contact the church office for more details on available dates.
SPONSORING FELLOWSHIP HOUR
The calendar is open for any one wishing to sponsor coffee hour this coming year. If you are interested please contact Pam Brody at 781-864-6427.
USHERING GUIDELINES
As the Church School year comes to a start, we ask that everyone assist us by waiting patiently in your seats for the children to receive Holy Communion first so that they may get to their classes.
In order to facilitate this process as efficiently as possible, we ask that Church School Teachers, Children and their parents be dismissed first for communion. All other parishioners are asked to stay in their seats and wait for the ushers to dismiss their row. We appreciate your patience and your support!
ST. DEMETRIOS ORTHO-TAXI SERVICE
We miss you when you are not with us! If you need a ride to and from church consider taking the St. Demetrios Ortho-Taxi service. If you are interested call the church office (781-237-5561) by Friday at noon for Sunday Liturgy, or two days in advance for other services or events. You will receive a call from your driver to arrange pick-up times. The roundtrip fare is $5 to be donated to the Senior Guild.
SUNDAY GREETERS
We are looking for additional people to help greet/welcome our parishioners to church on Sunday mornings. All those who are interested in being a part of this wonderful program please contact Angel Hatgelakas through Marianne at the church office. Tel: 781-237-5561 or email: office@stdemetriosweston.org. Thank you.
USHERING
If you are interested in joining the Usher Team please contact Georgia Gefteas at gaghome1@gmail.com or 978-973-7476.
WWW.GOARCH.ORG
The webpage of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has a great amount of resources for anyone looking to learn more about the faith. You can find the daily readings of the church, information about saints, what we believe, and prayers for any occasion. Additionally, you can stay up to date with news that affects us as Christians. Be sure to check www.goarch.org regularly!
PHILOXENIA HOUSE
Located near HCHC in Brookline, the Philoxenia House offers a home and hospitality to patients and those who accompany them while they are undergoing treatment in the Boston area. For several years a few of us visit the home twice a year to try to brighten their lives by planting flowers. This is a joy for us. For more information regarding this ministry please contact Betty Titus, 781.237.4748, or Eleanor Spiliakos, 978.443.3746.
WHAT IS THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
Being asked this during our festival a number of times — we as Orthodox Christians ought to respond:
“The Orthodox Christian Church is a worldwide body of believers who confess and worship Jesus Christ as the Son of God, as Lord and Messiah. This body has a tangible and continuous history of Christian faith and practice from the time of Christ’s Apostles. The use of the adjective ‘orthodox’ to describe the Church dates back to the earliest centuries and was applied to those Christians who maintained the tradition transmitted by Christ’s Apostles (1 Thess 2:15)”
FR. MANIKAS LIBRARY
Come and visit the Fr. Manikas Library and check out one of our many books on a variety of different topics. After Divine Liturgy, please stop by the library and see what we have to offer. See Cindi Dabrowski in the library for assistance on picking out a selection to take home and further your knowledge of our faith.
DAILY READINGS APP
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has developed and released a Daily Readings App for iOS and Android. It offers the daily Epistle and Gospel readings of the day as well as the saints that are commemorated on that day. Furthermore, it offers prayers, dates of future Feast Days and fasting guidelines.
It’s a great resource that is offered by our Archdiocese. Sign into your app store and download it today!
BE THE BEE WEBSERIES
The National Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries offers a weekly web video series on YouTube called “Be the Bee” each week a question or theme about our faith is answered in just 5 minutes! Check out this new and interesting approach to learning about our faith! Go to: www.youtube.com/user/y2am to see the entire series!