Sunday Services -- Kuriakh:
Orthros, 8:45 a.m.
Divine Liturgy, 10:00 a.m.
OrqroV, 0845 pm.
Q. Leitourgia, 1000 pm.
Weekday Holy Days (as scheduled):
Orthros, 8:45 a.m.
Divine Liturgy, 9:30 a.m.
KaqhmerineV EorteV:
OrqroV, 0845 pm.
Q. Leitourgia, 0930 pm.
There are no two themes so incredibly linked as are thanksgiving and stewardship. The foundational principle of stewardship is the recognition that all belongs to God; thanksgiving is our gratitude for all He has given to us. In our appreciation, we offer back to him our tithe.
There is a custom I learned while on a mission in Africa. If one person gives another a gift, it is received by holding out both hands. No matter how small, the gift is accepted with both outstretched hands as a gesture of appreciation. Later, when stationed in Japan, I learned this to be the custom in the Far East as well. To accept any gift in a cavalier manner, like with just one hand, would be rude and arrogant. Our gifts from God should also be received with humility and gratitude. Stewardship is a respectful gesture of appreciation, our outstreatched arms.
Our great and gracious God has blessed us abundantly. We who live in this country are very blessed. Our nation was founded on freedom and liberty, and here we can say what we wish, worship as we choose, and seek our personal happiness as we see fit—within limits of the Law, of course. As Orthodox Christians, we are the inheritors of a great tradition founded by the Apostles and passed on generation after generation; a tradition that focuses on the greatest gift God could give: the gift of His Son, who voluntarily died on the Cross and rose from the dead for our salvation. We are grateful for this gift of salvation above all our blessings.
We can do nothing at all if we so choose; believe nothing; go to no house of worship; support no religion. No one compels us to go to Church. Nor are we forced to support our Church. In humility and appreciation, though, we uplift both hands to God in an expression of gratitude and acceptance of His great gifts. Recognizing His blessings, we in love offer a little back, the "first fruits," as good and faithful stewards of His Holy Church, supporting it and working for the greater good of His Church here in Williamsburg.
During the Fridays of December until Christmas, we will sing the Paraklesis Service (Supplication to the Theotokos) at 6:30 p.m.
Fridays prior to Paraklesis.
First Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from Matthew 28:16-20
At that time, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age. Amen."
First Orthros Gospel
Κατὰ Ματθαῖον 28:16-20
Οἱ δὲ ἕνδεκα μαθηταὶ ἐπορεύθησαν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν, εἰς τὸ ὄρος οὗ ἐτάξατο αὐτοῖς ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς. καὶ ἰδόντες αὐτὸν προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ, οἱ δὲ ἐδίστασαν. καὶ προσελθὼν ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς λέγων· ἐδόθη μοι πᾶσα ἐξουσία ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς. πορευθέντες μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ῾Αγίου Πνεύματος, διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ μεθ᾿ ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος. ἀμήν.
Prokeimenon. Plagal Second Tone. Psalm 27.9,1.
O Lord, save your people and bless your inheritance.
Verse: To you, O Lord, I have cried, O my God.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians 2:4-10.
Brethren, God who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God: not because of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Προκείμενον. Plagal Second Tone. ΨΑΛΜΟΙ 27.9,1.
Σῶσον, Κύριε τὸν λαὸν σου καὶ εὐλόγησον τὴν κληρονομίαν σου.
Στίχ. Πρὸς σἐ, Κύριε, κεκράξομαι ὁ Θεός μου.
τὸ Ἀνάγνωσμα Πρὸς Ἐφεσίους 2:4-10.
Ἀδελφοί, ὁ θεός, πλούσιος ὢν ἐν ἐλέει, διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἀγάπην αὐτοῦ ἣν ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς, καὶ ὄντας ἡμᾶς νεκροὺς τοῖς παραπτώμασιν συνεζωοποίησεν τῷ Χριστῷ - χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι - καὶ συνήγειρεν, καὶ συνεκάθισεν ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ· ἵνα ἐνδείξηται ἐν τοῖς αἰῶσιν τοῖς ἐπερχομένοις τὸν ὑπερβάλλοντα πλοῦτον τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ ἐν χρηστότητι ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ· τῇ γὰρ χάριτί ἐστε σεσῳσμένοι διὰ τῆς πίστεως, καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐξ ὑμῶν· θεοῦ τὸ δῶρον· οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων, ἵνα μή τις καυχήσηται. Αὐτοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν ποίημα, κτισθέντες ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ἐπὶ ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς, οἷς προητοίμασεν ὁ θεός, ἵνα ἐν αὐτοῖς περιπατήσωμεν.
13th Sunday of Luke
The Reading is from Luke 18:18-27
At that time, a ruler came to Jesus and asked him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.' " And he said, "All these I have observed from my youth." And when Jesus heard it, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." But when he heard this he became sad, for he was very rich. Jesus looking at him said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."
13th Sunday of Luke
Κατὰ Λουκᾶν 18:18-27
Τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, ἄρχων λέγων· διδάσκαλε ἀγαθέ, τί ποιήσας ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσω; εἶπε δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς· τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν; οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ Θεός. τὰς ἐντολὰς οἶδας· μὴ μοιχεύσῃς, μὴ φονεύσῃς, μὴ κλέψῃς, μὴ ψευδομαρτυρήσῃς, τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου. ὁ δὲ εἶπε· ταῦτα πάντα ἐφυλαξάμην ἐκ νεότητός μου. ἀκούσας δὲ ταῦτα ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ἔτι ἕν σοι λείπει· πάντα ὅσα ἔχεις πώλησον καὶ διάδος πτωχοῖς, καὶ ἕξεις θησαυρὸν ἐν οὐρανῷ, καὶ δεῦρο ἀκολούθει μοι. ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας ταῦτα περίλυπος ἐγένετο· ἦν γὰρ πλούσιος σφόδρα. ἰδὼν δὲ αὐτὸν ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς περίλυπον γενόμενον εἶπε· πῶς δυσκόλως οἱ τὰ χρήματα ἔχοντες εἰσελεύσονται εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ! εὐκοπώτερον γάρ ἐστι κάμηλον διὰ τρυμαλιᾶς ῥαφίδος εἰσελθεῖν ἢ πλούσιον εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰσελθεῖν. εἶπον δὲ οἱ ἀκούσαντες· καὶ τίς δύναται σωθῆναι; ὁ δὲ εἶπε· τὰ ἀδύνατα παρὰ ἀνθρώποις δυνατὰ παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ ἐστιν.
Saint Clement was instructed in the Faith of Christ by the Apostle Peter. He became Bishop of Rome in the year 91, the third after the death of the Apostles. He died as a martyr about the year 100 during the reign of Trajan.
Saint Peter illustriously occupied the throne of Alexandria for twelve years, and, as Eusebius says, "was a divine example of a bishop on account of the excellence of his life and his study of the sacred Scriptures" (see Eusebius, Eccl. Hist., Book VII, 3 2; Book VIII 11, 13; and Book IX, 6). He excommunicated Arius for his sympathy with the Meletian schism. When Arius learned that Saint Peter had been imprisoned, he sent many priests and deacons to him, asking that he receive him back into the communion of the Church before his martyrdom. When the ambassadors of Arius, who had not, like Saint Peter, perceived the ruin he would engender, were astonished at the vehemence with which Saint Peter refused to receive Arius again, he revealed to them a dread vision he had seen, in which the Master Christ had appeared to him as a child wearing a garment torn from head to foot. When Saint Peter asked the Lord who rent His garment, the Lord answered that it was Arius, and that he must not be received back into communion. The holy hieromartyr Peter was beheaded during the reign of Maximinus in the year 312; he is called the "Seal of the Martyrs," because he was the last Bishop of Alexandria to suffer martyrdom under the pagan Emperors. His successors to the throne of Alexandria, Saints Alexander and Athanasius the Great, brought to final victory the battle against Arius' heresy which Saint Peter had begun.
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Congratulations to the newly elected members of the Parish Council: Tom Coghill (elected to second term), Gordon Malick, Robert Marakos, George Panos, and Maria Reed. Upon ratification from His Eminence and the Oath of Office, they will assume a two-year term, 2020-2022. We thank them for their service.
Once again we will join our neighbors for a Community Thanksgiving Service. The service will be held at Walsingham Academy on Monday, November 25th at 7 p.m. Fr. Milton Gianulis will be participating along with other priests, ministers and rabbi of the Historic Area Religions Together (HART), a ministerial coalition of Williamsburg. See the enclosed flyer for more information.
There will be no study group next Wednesday. Happy Thanksgiving.
We would like to thank those who contributed a Thanksgiving meal package to families in need. This year we are partnered with "Elizabeth's Blessings," a Williamsburg charity that helps local families. We collected 26 turkeys with all the trimmings. This was a great initiative we hope to continue and expand.
Time is running out. We will be sending a Community Christmas Card to our parishioners and friends. For a $25 contribution, you can participate. Sign up sheets are in the narthex, or mail your donation with the name as you wish it to appear on the card to the church office. The deadline is Dec. 1st.
Pointsettias will be placed in the sanctuary. If you wish to donate a plant for $20, either in memory of or for the health and well-being of loved ones, contact Athena Canavos (908-938-9464) or Lisa Jones (757-345-5325). Names will be commemorated in the “proskomidi” of Christmas Eve.
Our Sunday School will again be sponsoring the Angel Tree/Salvation Army project this holiday season. Tags will be available to sponsor a child or a Senior. All gifts will be due back to church by December 8th. Please contact Christina Kokolis at 757-784-4697 with any questions.
Have you visited us on Facebook? Like us at
Thank you to Presbytera Connie for keeping the page up to date, relevant and interesting.
We now have a Go Fund Me page for St. Demetrios. Help spread the word on it, share it with friends and boost it if you can. That can be on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.
Partnering with COFM can take place in several ways. There are 18 host sites and some of the churches can really use a partner or two to help relieve some of the burden of providing volunteers and meals. A full shift crew consists of about 21 people but you may be filling in for just specific shifts as the Host site needs.There are 3 shifts:1. Dinner/Check-in - 5:30 - 9:00The dinner group consists of 4 or more volunteers to either prepare or provide the evening meal. They usually arrive around 5:00 and are finished around 8 or so.The Check-in group consists of 5 or more volunteers with 1 being security and 2 being able to carry bags that may way 30 or more pounds while the other 2 would assist with checking in guests. In the event of new guests, there also needs to be an Intake volunteer. This volunteer may serve at the check-in table if no new guests arrive. These volunteers arrive by 5:30 and stay until 9:00.2. Overnight volunteers - 9:00 - 5:30 A.M. -This shift consists of 4 volunteers, preferably 2 male and 2 female. There are to be 2 awake at all times. The main responsibility is to make sure all remains smooth throughout the night and to be the fire watch by walking around the building to make sure there is no sign of smoke or fire while the guests are sleeping. There may be times when guests who work late will be coming in.3. Breakfast/Check-out - 5:30 - 8:00 a.m.The breakfast group consists of about 3 volunteers who prepare and serve breakfast. These volunteers will clean up afterwards and should be done by 7:30 bu we say 8:00 just in case.The Check-out group consists of about 4 volunteers who make sure guests return their bedding bags and mats before breakfast and make sure the guests receive all of their belongings upon checking out for the day. One of the volunteers serves as the security.If you wanted to be in the volunteer "pool," contact Tom Coghill or Donnie Hines directly with:Nameemail addressphone numberchurch affliationwhich shift/duty desiredSincerely,Donnie HinesExecutive DirectorCommunity of Faith MissionP.O. Box 6357Williamsburg, VA 23188Office 757.634.6787Website www.cofm.infoCOFM serves as bridge between living unsheltered and finding permanent housing.
...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.
SPONSORED BY HISTORIC AREA RELIGIONS TOGETHER (HART)
