Χριστός ἀνέστη! Ἀληθῶς ἀνέστη!
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
MOTHER’S DAY BLESSINGS to all our mothers, grandmothers and Godmothers! The ministry and influence of mothers was honored by William Ross Wallace in the 19th century in a thoughtful poem. We’ve reproduced it in this bulletin as a reminder of the great influence of mothers in our world. Let us thank our mothers who provided love, guidance, love, care and influence in our individual lives. Above all, let us honor our very best Mother, our Panagia, whose loving care and prayer follows us through our lives, influencing and helping us regardless of age or circumstance. Efxaristo Panagia mas! Thank you, Holy Mother!
William Ross Wallace (1819-1881)
THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE IS THE HAND THAT RULES THE WORLD.
BLESSINGS on the hand of women!
Angels guard its strength and grace.
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
Rainbows ever gently curled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.
Infancy's the tender fountain,
Power may with beauty flow,
Mothers first to guide the streamlets,
From them souls unresting grow—
Grow on for the good or evil,
Sunshine streamed or evil hurled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.
Woman, how divine your mission,
Here upon our natal sod;
Keep—oh, keep the young heart open
Always to the breath of God!
All true trophies of the ages
Are from mother-love impearled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.
Blessings on the hand of women!
Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,
And the sacred song is mingled
With the worship in the sky—
Mingles where no tempest darkens,
Rainbows evermore are hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.
Source: Northrop, H.D. Beautiful Gems of Thought and Sentiment. Boston, MA: The Colins-Patten Co., 1890
LET’S PRAY DAILY That our opportunity to worship together in our beautiful temple dedicated to St. George will soon be restored.
IF YOU WANT TO RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION during this time of social distancing, please contact Fr. Leo to make an arrangement.
JUST A REMINDER--PRAYERS ARE OFFERED DAILY for all our parish families. Fr. sees it as a sacred duty to pray for us all in the daily services and we thank him for that. Please keep him in your prayers, too.
BIG THANKS FOR PRAYER SUPPORT for all our health care workers from St. George. So far, thank God, everyone working in the field that we’re aware of has remained well. This is certainly a mercy! Let’s continue to ask God to grant all our health care workers health, safety, and discernment to make wise decisions for those entrusted to their care. May each of them and their families continue to be preserved from illness and adversity.
PARISH COUNCIL REQUEST: PLEASE REMEMBER YOUR STEWARDSHIP during these weeks of uncertainty due to Covid-19 concerns. Without the weekly stewardship or tray donations and candle sales, our ability to continue to meet our standing obligations for bill paying is hampered. Please, either mail your stewardship by post or use the Paypal or credit card option (call either Lee or Ambrose for how-to details if you’ve not used this method in the past). We hope and pray that we will be able to worship again in our beloved St. George Church. In the meantime, we only ask that you keep the financial concerns of the parish in mind while we are yet physically separated. Thank you! Special thanks to all of you who have already responded to this call—God bless you and reward your faithfulness!
CANDLE LIGHTING AVAILABLE Fr. is willing to light a candle(s) for your prayer intentions during his morning prayers. It would be as though you had lit them yourself. See the candle lighting option below the bulletin text.
BOOKSTORE HAS NEW ITEMS Stop by soon and see what we have!
WAYS TO NOURISH YOURSELF SPIRITUALLY AT HOME Use your prayer book regularly, read both morning and night time prayers. After morning prayers, have a little holy water, a piece of dried antidoron (if you have kept some on hand) and anoint yourself with holy oil if you have some. This will help you meet the demands of the day with greater serenity. Read the Scriptures for the day (Daily Scripture Readings app here: https://www.goarch.org/-/daily-reading-app) or find readings at GOA On-line Chapel: https://www.goarch.org/chapel/.
Dear St. George Family,
Please know we are here for you during this virus crisis time in our nation. Feel free to contact me or Presbytera to share any needs or prayer requests you might have while we are unable to meet at the church. Here is how to reach us (as a quick reminder)
Fr. Leo 207 385 3000 57frleo@gmail.com
Pres. 207 949 2913 doxa141@gmail.com
I encourage you all to pray at home. We can pray together (while yet apart) at our usual service times. This will be our offering this evening since we cannot hold person to person services at this time.
RESOURCES:
If you are looking for complete services in English, please send me an email and I will make them available to you: 57frleo@gmail.com
If you prefer having the services in Greek, you can find them at: http://glt.goarch.org find the file under «Καθημερινὲς ἀκολουθίες γιὰ τοὺς Ψάλτες».
Some might prefer to watch the church broadcasts suggested by the Archdiocese https://www.goarch.org/live-broadcasts. Another church not found on the live broadcasts link is Holy Transfiguration GOC in Marietta, GA. Search for them on YouTube. Beautiful services, very fine Byzantine chanting, nice balance of Greek and English.
If these churches are not able to broadcast at some point, we will still be able to offer prayers at home. Remember that prayer is both a protection and a weapon—a weapon against sin and evil. In a very real way we are soldiers in God’s army. We have the imagery in the Epistle to the Ephesians, chapter 6, verse 11 and following.
It is easy to give way to fear in times of uncertainty. Let us not do that.
Let us pray for one another, for our nation, our leaders, and our world.
Our prayers matter.
Christ is Risen!
If you want service texts, please let me know. If you have other needs or want to otherwise reach out, we are here for you.
You remain in our prayers.
+Fr. Leo & Pres. Candace
FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE - Donations can now be made online.
If you want Fr. Leo to light a candle for you, as though you lit it, during his daily reading of Orthros, click on the candle below.
Yearbook 2019
NEW YORK – The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is announcing a new ten-episode video series introducing the faithful to the new Policies for the Safety of Children and Youth. These new resources also include step-by-step checklists designed to help parishioners and communities follow the new guidelines.
The implementation and enforcement of the Policies for the Safety of Children and Youth take another step forward towards the goal of ensuring that every ministry and event is physically, emotionally, and spiritually safe and healthy for the children of all Greek Orthodox Churches in America.
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the Office of Ionian Village regretfully announce today the cancellation of all Ionian Village Summer 2020 programming due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic across the globe. This includes IV Next as well as both sessions of the Archdiocese’s annual summer camp in Greece.
On Tuesday, March 31, 2020, the Holy Eparchial Synod convened via teleconference, in order to be informed and to discuss significant matters that affect the Archdiocese of America, and unanimously decided the following.
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America announced today the postponement of the Apostolic Visit of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the United States due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America led the first in a series of daily prayers for those faithful of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America who have either passed away or are suffering from complications related to the coronavirus COVID19.