One of the sad byproducts of the endless “Holiday Season” that stretches from Halloween all the way through New Year's Day is that many people are weary of celebrating Christmas by the time it arrives. In many homes, on the day after Christmas, the tree goes out – or perhaps it lingers a week until New Year’s Eve – and the lights come down. I think it is safe to say, by the New Year the desire to celebrate has really diminished. Our focus shifts from celebating Christ's coming to New Year's resolution, usually aimed at loosing weight.

As a result, the Twelve Days of Christmas get very short shrift, indeed, and most galling of all is the complete anticlimax of the Feast of Epiphany. It is interesting, that in the Early Church, this was THE Feast of the Nativity, and now it is barely and afterthought. Thankfully, our Eastern Tradition, our Orthodox Church, continues to emphasize the beautiful mystery in which our Lord revealed Himself as God – hence the word “Epiphany” or better still, “Theophany”.

The Orthodox Church commemorates the Baptism of Christ in a most splendid way. The Epiphany is the culmination of what we now know as the Twelve Days of Christmas. Epiphany always was a major feast liturgically, preceded by a day of fasting in preparation. After the day of fasting, we celebrate the Divine Liturgy and a Great Blessing of Holy Water.

In many places, what follows is a grand procession to a local body of water and yet another celebration: the retrieval of the Cross. The priest, or in most cases, the bishop throws a cross into the water and the young men and in recent years, men and women, dive in to retrieve the Cross. The victor is said to be blessed with good fortune in the coming year.

This year, keep the tradition alive. Join us as we celebrate the Great Blessing of the Water on Sunday. And then, enjoy the day with a great feast and family meal.

This Sunday, January 6th, is the Feast of Epiphany, commonly called 'The Holy Theophania". On this day, following the Divine Liturgy, we celebrate The Great Blessing of the Waters. All will be blessed and holy water will be available for take away.

Monday, January 7th

Divine Liturgy, 9:30 a.m.

(This is also the Feast of the Nativity for those who follow the Julian Calendar)

The Ladies of St. Demetrios will host the Vasilopita Celebration (St. Basil's Bread) on Sunday, January 6th, in the fellowship room following the divine services. Please have the officers or representatives of the following organizations should be present to accept the piece of vasilopita on behalf of the organization:

Parish Council, Ladies of St. Demetrios, Church School, Greek School, Chanters, Choir, Altar servers, and AHEPA.

We will resume our weekly Orthodox Study Group on January 9th. Once per month, Charlie Stayton will be offering a study of the 7 Ecumenical Councils. On the other Wednesday evenings, Father Milton will lead the study. His theme will be The Feasts of the Lord and Theotokos, examining relevant scripture passages, hymns and icons. Join us Wednesdays from 7 - 8 p.m.

We have been blessed with the presence, participation and leadership of Panos and Katherine Fatouros. Sadly, they are taking up their new residence in Greece, so on Sunday we will wish them a fond farewell and pray God's Blessings on them.

On Sunday, January 13th, we will be graced with the presence of Fr. Joseph Gardner. He is a Colonel in the United States Air Force and a Chaplain stationed at Langley Air Force Base. Fr. Gianulis and family will be attending the wedding of Nicholas Manuel, son of Fr. John and neice of Presbytera Connie, in St. Louis, MO.  Let's all have a good turnout to show our St. Demetrios hospitality and welcome Fr. Joseph.

OLIVE OIL

The eternal vigil light remains burning on the altar before the Tabernacle, where the reserved Holy Communion is kept. As such, we could always use donations of olive oil.

WINE for Holy Communion. Commandaria is preferred and Mavrodaphni is also excellent.

PROSFORO 

The bread used for the Divine Liturgy is always needed.

Thanking you in advance.

...but he is not a mind reader.  If you are sick and hospitalized, or have any other pastoral or sacramental need, do not hesitate to call him.  Fr. Gianulis can always be reached by calling the church phone number, 220-0994.  If he is not in, leave a message and it will be delivered to his cell phone.

Have you visited us on Facebook? Like us at 

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Thank you to Presbytera Connie for keeping the page up to date, relevant and interesting. Presbytera Connie will not longer be managing this page. If you are interested in helping in the future, please contact Charlie Stayton.