Sunday Morning Orthros/Matins 8:30am, Divine Liturgy 9:30am; Saturday Great Vespers & Weekday Services (see Online Calendar, Sunday Bulletin & Newsletter); Confession (by appointment).
Parish Mission Statement: “St. George Greek Orthodox Church is a Christ-centered
Community that:
Parish Vision Statement: "Ascending together to the fullness of Life"
8:30AM ORTHROS
9:30AM DIVINE LITURGY
11:00AM Virtual Sunday School (Middle & High School)
7:00PM Evening Bible Study
+ST. PARASKEVE PETKA OF ROMANIA
+FAST DAY
8:45AM Doxology
9:00AM LITURGY
7:00PM AHEPA Meeting
+FAST DAY
5:00PM Vespers
+ST. LUKE EVANGELIST
8:30AM ORTHROS
9:30AM DIVINE LITURGY
10:30AM Virtual Fellowship Hour
11:00AM Virtual Sunday School (Middle & High School)
12:00PM Trek for Missions
Follow this link to sign up for services on Sunday, October 11 at 8:30/9:30am. Bring your own coffee for the parking lot after services.
Follow this link to sign up for services on Sunday, October 18 at 8:30/9:30am.
Boldly go where no man, woman, or child has gone before: Trek for Missions happens next Sunday, October 18!
Saint George Parish – all ages - will hike Hidden Falls. The walk will benefit the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC). OCMC, the mission agency of the Assembly of the Orthodox Bishops in America, works to “make disciples of all nations” by bringing people to Christ and to the Church.
Here’s what you need to know:
Middle & High School classes are being held in-person and virtually. Teachers will email Zoom login information weekly for those who would like to participate virtually. Parents and students, as a refresher, please see in-person protocols listed below.
Grades K through 6th: We are still in the planning process for these grades. Thank you for your feedback and patience as we prepare. Please contact Aida if you would like to receive the weekly Zoom login email at aidaabebe1@gmail.com or call 651-434-7826 if you have any questions. Register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/18OjPn_btCpruFFSYEnLiFFQYM5BfPUCLgR6P_9bJt6E/edit.
Our next virtual Bible Study with Fr. Perry will be on Tuesday, October 13 at 7pm. We will study the readings for the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle from October 6. Epistle Reading: St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 4:9-16. Gospel Reading: John 20:19-31. Click here to join Zoom Meeting. Meeting ID: 913 8366 6522; Passcode: 767087.
Vespers Services have resumed, Saturdays at 5pm. Vespers has beautiful hymns about the Resurrection and the Saints of the day, petitions, prayers, and readings. It is a good preparation for Sunday Divine Liturgy. Please note: there will be no Vespers Service on Saturday, October 31.
Weekday Divine Liturgies and Vespers do not require advance online signup. Please sign-in when you arrive at church.
Please click this link to submit names (first name only) of the living and those who have fallen asleep (add a + in front of the names of those who are deceased) to pray for during Divine Liturgy. The form is found toward the bottom of the page https://stgeorgestpaul.square.site.
Thank you to all who contributed to the capital campaign to restore the building exterior! The official campaign came to a close in July. Here is a quick recap of the restoration project: We had a total of 79 donors. Altogether, we raised $101,281 over a two-year period. The total cost of the restoration project was $118,647. Thank you to committee chairperson Mrs. Nanette Gomez and all who volunteered for the campaign!
The International Institute of Minnesota has decided to cancel next year’s Festival of Nations. They will consider holding it in 2022 and look at other, smaller options for 2021, depending what the pandemic and stay at home situation will be at that time.
The Summit Avenue bridge over Ayd Mill Road, which was demolished in November 2019, has re-opened. The transition back to normal traffic patterns will be phased and minor finishing work will continue around the bridge; please use caution when travelling through the area. Ayd Mill Road will continue to be closed while it is reconstructed under a separate City contract.
The Missions & Benevolence Silent Auction has gone online! The traditional silent auction started 5 years ago and raised over $8,000 in support of the St. Luke Mobile Medical Clinic. The online silent auction starts this month, with new items added each month. Bids will be accepted until the end of each month. As in the past, most items will also have a "Buy it NOW" price for those who can't wait till the end of the month. We are restarting with just a few items for the September auction while we assess the process. Click https://forms.gle/LVbSHjioCTizhBUJ7 to register and then to place your bid. Moving forward, the proceeds of the Silent Auction will support our local mission on Rice Street, FOCUS Minnesota, https://www.focusmn.org/. Thank you for your support of the charitable missions of St. George GOC!
Opportunities are available the first week of every month to serve a hot, nutritious meal to the hungry at either Loaves and Fishes or FOCUS. Please consider volunteering to help make a difference. Upcoming dates are November 1 and December 7. Contact George Mastrogiorgis at info@stgeorgegoc.org to reserve a volunteer spot.
Sunday of the 7th Ecumenical Council
The Reading is from St. Paul's Letter to Titus 3:8-15
Titus, my son, the saying is sure. I desire you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to apply themselves to good deeds; these are excellent and profitable to men. But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels over the law, for they are unprofitable and futile. As for a man who is factious, after admonishing him once or twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is perverted and sinful; he is self-condemned.
When I send Artemas or Tychicos to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. And let our people learn to apply themselves to good deeds, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not to be unfruitful.
All who are with me send greeting to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.
Sunday of the 7th Ecumenical Council
The Reading is from Luke 8:5-15
The Lord said this parable: "A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold." And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. And as for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience." As he said these things, he cried out "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Since the Middle Eastern Festival in July was cancelled, St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church has scheduled a drive through Bake Sale on Saturday, October 31. See this PDF flyer for details!
Join Dr. Chris Granias and his fellow composers and musicians on Monday, October 19 at 4pm for Kalo Taxidi: Evening of Original Music. To learn more about this virtual concert, which is a benefit for the national MS Society, click here.
YAL Chicago invites you to attend “Young Adult Sunday School” every Sunday from 11:15am-12:15pm to discuss topics surrounding orthodoxy, modern-day issues, and more. To attend via Zoom or in-person, register at https://www.chicago.goarch.org/-/yal-sunday-school. Up to 8 individuals can register to attend in-person at locations that vary each week. To stay notified about the Sunday School locations, please visit the YAL Chicago Facebook page at facebook.com/yalchicago.
OCF is an organization that allows us as college students to connect through our faith. Over the past few years, we have continued to grow in numbers and hope to adapt this fall to continue to support each other through this time. We have been incredibly grateful in the past to have received meals and support from our local Orthodox community. Due to the current COVID-19 situation and university guidelines, we will be hosting our meetings every other Thursday on Zoom. We are excited to include those at other colleges in the Twin Cities and beyond in addition to the University of Minnesota students. Please pass on contact information for any students that would be interested in joining us! Visit our new website to learn about our ministry and to learn ways to support us at ocfumn.com. Please reach out to Anna Karos or Nina Lind at ocf@umn.edu with any questions or concerns. We ask for your prayers as we head back to school, thank you!
Attention college students: the 2020/2021 application is now open and accepting applications. The Foundation accepts applications from eligible Greek American college students and will distribute $250,000 in scholarship awards ($20,000 given specifically for students studying music or arts) to exceptional undergraduates as follows:
Saint Philip, who had four daughters that prophesied, was from Caesarea of Palestine. He preached throughout Samaria; it was he also who met the eunuch of Candace, the Queen of the Ethiopians, as the eunuch was reading the Prophet Esaias, and he instructed and baptized him (Acts 8:26-39). He reposed in Tralles of Asia Minor while preaching the Gospel.
Through September 30, $162,552 of our 2020 goal of $257,500 in Stewardship contributions have been received.
Thank you all for your generous support! Our Stewardship Response Fund (stretch goal) was created to help us live out our 2020 budget goals. We have set a goal of raising an additional $15,000 in stewardship. Any contribution amount will help us reach our goal!
9/50 contributors have given $50
13/75 contributors have given $100
14/20 contributors have given $250 or more
In total, as of October 9, 36 parishioners have contributed $8,805.50/$15,000
If you are able to give, please visit http://www.stgeorgegoc.org/give. Please enter - "2020 Stewardship Response Fund" in the "Notes" box.
Or please mail a check to:
Saint George Greek Orthodox Church, Attn: Stewardship – 2020 Stewardship Response Fund, 1111 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105, In the memo line, please add: "2020 Stewardship Response Fund."
If you would like to support the mission and vision of the church through your will/estate, consider adding a statement to your will such as, "After all my bills are paid, I want 10 percent of my estate (a tithe or another percentage) to go to St. George Greek Orthodox Church in St. Paul, MN."
Children's Bulletin for Sunday, October 11
Metropolis of Chicago Family Synaxis Zoom Presentation
The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago announced that the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate unanimously elected Fr. Timothy Bakakos, Chancellor of the Metropolis of Chicago, Bishop of Hexamilion.
Today, Thursday, October 8, 2020, on the third day of its work in this current month, the Holy and Sacred Synod extensively examined, among other items, issues of the Holy Archdiocese of America, and considered reports of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.