We at St. Demetrios are blessed in so many ways. We have a beautiful church in an optimum location for which we are grateful to God and so many people who have worked tirelessly and donated so much for its success. We are also fortunate that we have been a church with a missionary heart. We have been privileged to have had more that a few visitors come and speak to us about their work for the furtherance of the Gospel and the glory of God. Among them have been Metropolitan Gregory of Nyssa, Fr. John Chakos (OCMC), Kenny Kidd (FOCUS), and on various occasions Deacon Thomas and Elizabeth Manuel.

At the January Parish Council meeting, it was discussed and approved that the last Sunday of each month would have a special collection for the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) or perhaps another charitable Orthodox cause. This is assuming there are no other requested collections by the archdiocese. 

This coming Sunday, January 31st, will be our first collection and there will be a separate basket available in the narthex marked for the special collection. It will be sent to OCMC. You may contribute cash, check (payable to OCMC or St Demetrios), and you can fill out an OCMC pledge card that will be available.

As you may remember, Deacon Thomas Manuel recently spoke to us about his OCMC missionary work in Guatemala. There they train seminarians and translate materials into Spanish for the future of the rapidly growing Orthodox Church in Guatemala. He and his family have recently returned to the Mexican border so they can go back to Guatemala in the near future and continue this missionary work.

To stay in touch with what he and his family are doing in Guatemala follow them at:

myanorthodoxy.com/manuels 

or Facebook.com/ManuelOCMC 

or OCMC.org click on the How We Serve tab and then click on Missionaries.

Please consider what you can do to help OCMC and the Manuel family to “… make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)

Tuesday, February 2

Orthros, 8:45 a.m.

Divine Liturgy, 9:30 a.m.

We are grateful to have Demetri Konstantinou join us at the chanters stand.

Join us for Sunday services. Religious services are not included in the maximum numbers restrictions announced in Governor Northam's Press Conference on Dec.10th. Moreover, all the precautions he urged religious leaders to follow, we are doing. Please follow the guidelines and help us ensure a safe worship environment. Please note: As we are each receiving from our own spoon, the special instructions regarding how to receive or no longer needed. 

• Please arrive early and register prior to entering the sanctuary. 
• If you have been exposed to anyone who has contracted the Coronavirus, please stay home and watch our services via YouTube.
• Wash or sanitize your hands before entering the sanctuary. 
• Please wear a mask. Masks will be required.
• Sit socially distanced from others. Only immediate families will be able to sit together.
• Antidoron will be given out using plastic baggies.
• Reverence but do not kiss any icons or the hand of the priest. Do not shake any hands or hug your friends and do not congregate outside following the liturgy. 

We are pleased to announce that His Grace Bishop Apostolos of Medeia, Assistant to His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, will make an archpastoral visit to St. Demetrios on Sunday, February 7th. He will also take the opportunity to tonsure our seminarian, Luke Erdahl. A reception will follow in the Hellenic Center. We will observe safe protocols in the sanctuary and the hall. Please, please join us.

We are walking through the Divine Liturgy step-by-step. This Thursday, we are going to talk about the Liturgy of the Word. Please join our discussion and fellowship each and every Thursday at 7 p.m. 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85443892141?pwd=U283M1VRcUhCTXFRM0d5WXJIeGxuUT09

Meeting ID: 854 4389 2141
Passcode: 315679

We will not have in-person Sunday School classes at this time. However, parents, you are encouraged to "home school" your children in matters of the faith. In reality, this is a great opportunity to spend time with your children and learn more about the Faith together. Below is an excellent resource: https://tending-the-garden.com/virtualsundayschool/  

Elias Paparis: Undergoing treatment in Erie PA

During this pandemic, more people are Christmas shopping on line. You can help St. Demetrios by doing so. Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church whenever you shop on AmazonSmile. Same products, same prices, same service, but we get a donation. Click the link below to learn more.

https://smile.amazon.com/ch/20-4454773

If you or a loved one needs help with grocery shopping, picking up prescriptions, or other needs that do not involve personal contact please call Tom Coghill at 757-784-6410. Also, volunteers are needed to help.

Offering envelopes for 2021 are now available. As you enter the church building you will find them on the pew on the left. They are arranged alphabetically, please pick yours up to save postage. If you don’t find your name let Michael Thompson know and he will make sure you get envelopes. Please don’t use leftover envelopes from 2020.

The total collected for the sound system is now $3,285. We only need $1,715 more to reach our goal of $5,000.00. As this is "off budget" we would like to raise the money from donations. If you are among those who cannot hear Father's sermons, or want to help others who have a hard time hearing, you might wish to contribute to this cause. Please send your donation earmarked for SOUND SYSTEM to the Church Office. And thank you.

Updates on Orthodox Church news items can be found on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=saint%20demetrios%20greek%20orthodox%20church%20-%20williamsburg%20va.

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.