Guidelines for Those Attending Church

What You Need To Know Before Attending Church

1. Elderly Parishioners—Because we love our elderly members, those who are 65+
year of age, or have serious pre-existing conditions are requested to stay home and
join us in the service via live-stream.

2. Younger Parishioners—Families with small children are encouraged to be seated in
the Hall. Movement in the church will be much more challenging should they be seated in the pews. It might also be a challenge for them to learn to wear masks.
Children ages 2 and under are not required to wear a mask.

3. Visitors—Because of the seating capacity has been limited to 100 people, we ask
that non-Orthodox visitors to be sensitive to this and give priority to our members.

4. How Are You Feeling? - If you or anyone within your household are exhibiting any
signs of illness, or any of the symptoms of COVID-19 (here), or even any symptoms not related to the virus, we insist you stay home and rest. What is most important
is keeping you and your family healthy and safe.

5. Online Services-We will continue to live stream our services on Facebook (here)
YouTube (here), and on our website (here). If you are not connected, please call us!

6. Face Masks—Please bring a face mask: Everyone will be required to wear one inside
or outside of the Church. If you do not have one, a limited supply of face masks will be available at the church during the initial re-opening. Face masks are not
required for children under 2 and parental supervision is required for children 3 - 8.

7. Hand Sanitizer-Please bring some hand sanitizer with you. There will also be
izer available at the gate entrance as well as at the Narthex and Hall.

When You Arrive At Church

1. Welcoming Table - Everyone will come to the side gate and be welcomed by the
Greeter/Screener at the welcoming table. They are there to welcome you, answer any questions, assure we are feeling well, remind those not wearing a mask to put one on, and offer hand sanitizer as needed. Parish Council members will be there
as well to answer any questions, and usher you into the Church or Hall.

2. Divine Liturgy Hymnals-These are available for downloading on smartphones and
tablets online from our website (here). Free hard copies will be available as well: everyone is asked to personalize them and take them home, and bring them with
them each Sunday.

3. VIP Service - Please allow the Ushers to escort you into the Church or Hall. They
will open all doors for you. If you need to use the handrails please do so, they will
be wiped down for your safety (as will any door handles used etc.).

4. Social Distancing - All parishioners are required to practice social distancing (i.e.,
keep a distance of 6 feet from anyone other than members of your own immediate
household) when present inside and outside of the Church.

5. Greeting Each Other - We know you have been away from each other for over 3
months, however we ask that you refrain from hugging, kissing, hand shaking, or any physical contact. We know this is difficult to resist. A simple bow is a wonderful gesture of love for your fellow parishioners as well as for the icons. 

6. Church and Hall Capacity – due to our State Public Health requirements, our Church 

building capacity has been temporarily reduced to about 35 people, so to accommodate more of our flock, we will be live-streaming the service into the Hall
where chairs have been spread out 6 feet apart to hold another 60 comfortably

7. Weekday Liturgy–A weekday Divine Liturgy will be offered most weeks for those
who would prefer to come then. Please check the church calendar on our website
for dates. You may find it here.

8. Parish Bulletins—will be distributed electronically via email and posted on our website. You may find it here. No paper bulletins will be distributed at this time.

When You Enter Church

1. More VIP Service - Please wait to be seated - A Parish Council Member or Usher
will escort you to the pews. Please note that you will not be seated at your
traditional Sunday pew during this time.

2. Seating in the Church or Hall-Seating will be assigned on a first-come, first-serve
basis with appropriate physical distancing of 6 feet apart. Members of the same immediate household (under the same roof) are permitted to sit together. When
seated in the church, please remain in the seat given to you.

3. Leaving During the Service-If you need to leave during the service, please use the 

If others must move to let you out, please signal to an usher and allow them to assist you. In the Hall one may move around as needed as long as
physical distancing is adhered to.

4. Veneration - We ask you to not kiss the icons, the cross, the kiss of peace, the Holy
Gospel or the priest's hands. To venerate the gospel, cross, or an icon, please bow
your head reverently and make the sign of the cross.

5. Candles—After Entering the Narthex - Parishioners will be guided to the candle
stand. Hand sanitizer will be available at candle stand. The Parish Council
members will assist you with lighting candles.

6. Church and Facilities will be kept Immaculate - Maintenance Staff will clean and
disinfect the Church before and after each service. Restroom facilities will be limited to two people at a time. Attendants will be present to clean and disinfect the restrooms after each use.

Receiving Holy Communion

1. Partaking—Holy Communion will be administered in the usual manner. You may
however receive the Holy Gifts by tilting you head back and opening you mouth
wide, so that the priest may pour/drop the Holy Communion into your mouth.

2. Extra Care-Please be very careful while partaking of the Holy Communion, and
lick your lips carefully afterwards. Please refrain from using the Communion
napkin to wipe your lips, otherwise: the priest will have to replace it each time.

3. Andidoron—There will not be antidoron available during Holy Communion. The
Priest will offer antidoron as usual at the end of the Divine Liturgy. (It is not necessary to reverence the hand of the priest at this time).
Guidelines for Those Attending Church

4. When to Approach-Because we are called not to exceed the capacity of the
Church at any time, we will offer Holy Communion at two separate times. The faithful seated in the Church will be ushered to the Chalice at the usual time, while the faithful seated in the Hall will be ushered in following the service after the
Church has been dismissed.

5. Orderly Manner- Please follow the guidance of the Parish Council Members and
Ushers. Space yourself according to the markings on the floor. After the faithful in the Church approach the Chalice, they are then to return to their seats. After the faithful in the Hall are ushered in to approach the Chalice, they are then to head
home. We ask that those with small children or special needs be given priority.

6. Face masks—Parishioners may remove their masks momentarily when it's their turn
to receive Holy Communion. During Holy Communion the Priest will wear a mask.

7. Cough or Sneeze—If one needs to cough or sneeze at anytime (due to an allergy, etc.), please do so into your arm. If it persists, please step outside until it subsides.

After Services and Leaving Church

1. Memorials - Memorials will be offered WITHOUT the koliva until further notice.

2. Our Offering—There will not be a passing of the tray. Offerings should be
prepared before we come to church and may be placed in the candle slot or in the basket in the Narthex. Electronic giving is also available on our website or card
reader in the Narthex. The link for online giving on our website is here.

3. Coffee Hour— Following the Service, the faithful will be ushered out of the church
or hall. In accordance the state guidelines, there will be no social gathering after the Church. While we understand you may want to greet each other, please continue to use safe practices and proceed directly to your cars. Please do not socialize in front of Church or in the parking lot.

We understand that these procedures and guidelines may be difficult to understand. We respectfully request that you follow the instructions from the Parish Council Members and Ushers during church services. These changes are required to return to in-person worship with as much security and safety as possible, for the well-being of our entire community. Signs will be placed around and inside the Church to guide Parishioners. We are monitoring the government guidelines and will notify you of any modifications that need
to be implemented.
We look forward to seeing you again!
Thank you and God bless you!

Stewardship

1. Stewardship Form: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd4JyYCaQYMnK4HmGGUI-DEZKHgpAyaAo3VH811fg5Xch3ZHg/formResponse

2. Make donation via PayPal:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=P8ZZAQSCL53BQ&source=url

Envelopes will be made available to all of our families so that we may continue our stewrship to our beloved parish during this crisis. 

Bible Study

Please join us for Bible studies on Friday's at 7 p.m.  Look for the link on our website or Facebook.

Parish Council 

Next meeting is June 28th, at 7:00 p.m.

There is an open position for the parish council.  Please approach Namaz or Father if interested.

Prosphora Schedule 

6/14 Olympia Hackleman, 6/21 Nahla Demestihas, 6/28 Basema Madain. Thank you.Please make arrangements with Sahar or Despina to bring the offering Saturday night either to the church or Father's home.  We are looking for more people to make the blessed bread. Please approach Father Joseph if interested. If you want to learn more about how to make Prosphora, you can visit our Prosphoro site under the "Resources" tab on our website. Thank you.

Social Media

Follow and join us on Facebook! 

St George Orthodox Christian Church of Bakersfield: www.facebook.com/StGeorgeOrthodoxBakersfield

St George Orthodox Community of Bakersfield (Facebook Group): www.facebook.com/groups/175227557308

General Announcements: 

Legacy

Leave your mark!

Consider naming St. George Church as a beneficiary on your life insurance policy. It's a great legacy gift to your parish and very easy to do...just ask your provider for the change beneficiary form and complete and return to them.  The legal name for the church is Hellenic Community St. George Church Tax ID #95-3575365 God bless you.

Endowment

Honor your loved ones birthday and or anniversary by making a contribution to the Endowment Fund in their name. Make checks payable to St. George Church and write Endowment Fund on the memo line. Distributions from the fund will benefit the youth and maintenance needs of the Parish. For more information contact a Parish Council Member. 

Thank you.

Text Notifications

If you would like to be part of our system, please provide your phone number to Sahar (stgeosecretary@gmail.com).

This service will only be used to notify parishioners of any changes to service times or to provide information on events or occurences that affect the entire parish.  We see this as being used infrequently but feel that we need to an effective way to communicate important information quickly. 

Father Joseph's Hours

Father Joseph will be in the office Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 to 3:00. 

Father will also maintain office hours on Friday evenings from from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for the sacrament of Holy Confession.  He will be available to meet in the hall, narthex, or crying room on these nights.  Please feel free to send Father Joseph a text message at 661-496-5768 during this time to check his availability. You will receive an estimated wait time if any. 

Confessions appointments can be made with Sahar or Presbytera.    

If you need to meet with Father please make appointments during the week. Sunday should be left for Father to have time to visit with parishioners during coffee hour. Please give him the time to do so unless it is an emergency. Thank you for your understanding.

Prayers/Thanksgiving

Glory to God for His Bountiful Blessings

Please add to your daily prayers for: 

• Catechumens:Angela, Nicholas
• Holy Cross Seminarian Anthony Cornett and family (Anna, Miriam,Zoë and Despina).
• Our brothers & sisters unable to attend:  Marika Psihoundas, Mary Valos & Beverly Balasis.
• Healing: Marika, Victor, Helen K., Irene, Mary, Mary, Serephima, and others in our parish.
• Those who are traveling George (Walter) and Judith Schartman.
• Orthodox-Panayotis(Ray),Boulos,Natalia,Elaina,Naguib,Katherine,Kaliope,Lorece Noel,Mary C., Sophia,Virginia, Petros, Panagi, Elle, Eva L., Nicholetta Y., Dan S., Monica, Yorgos K, Giorgos, Anna,Angela, Antonia, Stelios, Petros, Anne, Anna, Leonid, Mariyka, Archalia,Natalie, Eva,Eleni K.,Efstratios, Ourania, Christopher, Alice, Suha,Abla, Jennifer, Tom, Gabriela,Ion,Danny,Nadia, Niko, Musa Daoud, Vasiliki, Theodore, Achilles, Vasiliki, Elizabeth, Labrini, Bert & Louise Moosios,Olympia,Margarita, Seraphim, Mary, Tika,Maria Sporaa, Athina, Helen, Gerry Collis, Nektarios,Marika,Noah A.,Nick K., Kyriaki, Fred, Hannah, Irene Sinopole, Helen Protopapas, Candess Strategos,Gene, Kathy, Sofia, Clemy (Clementina), Jane, and Matthew.
• Non-Orthodox -Joanne, Bill,Kayla,Brittney, Justin, Amparo, Mark, Uvaldo,Yesenia, Angelica, David, Nancy, Bud Lung,Julie, Pamela Y., Debbie, Emmitt, Donna,Steve, Richard,Donald, Christina, Eva, Dominic,Gaby Garcia,Romona, Elea, Graysen Astumian, Marie,Michelle, Irma,  Julie, Greg, Allyson, Margaret, Valerie, Martha Rogers, Joseph, Stephen, Elizabeth,Ellen, Ling, Richard, Christine & David, Debby.

Annivesaries

• 6/16 Mark & Mariane Pearse

Birthdays    

• 6/5 Anna Cornett
• 6/7 Robert Neesan
• 6/10 Simon Asmerom
• 6/10 Gregory Fotis
• 6/12 Joseph Ayoub
• 6/12 Constantine Strategos
• 6/14 Abrahm Mekhel
• 6/20 Josh Frazier 
• 6/22 Yianna Dean
• 6/23 Kelly Marina
• 6/23 Irene Sinopole
• 6/24 Eleni Southerd
• 6/26 Yemisrach Eshete
• 6/26 Lukia Strategos
• 6/26 Harry Chicklenis

Please note:  All bulletin announcements must be received each week by 3:00 pm Tuesday to be included in the Sunday bulletin for that week.