We hope that you will make this your spiritual home. Connect with us on our website, Facebook page, YouTube, or sign-up for our email list at https://tinyurl.com/yc3tp29w.
Worship Sunday Orthros 8:30 am & Divine Liturgy 9:30 am
Confession (by appointment)
Weekday Services (www.stgeorgegoc.org/calendar)
Streaming
Fellowship Hour Sunday following Divine Liturgy
Office Hours Tuesday - Friday 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Our Mission St. George Greek Orthodox Church is a Christ-centered community that: inspires faith and worship, cultivates spiritual growth and fellowship, and encourages benevolence and outreach.
Our Vision Ascending together to the fullness of Life.
Sunday after Epiphany
8:30AM ORTHROS
9:30AM DIVINE LITURGY
10:30AM Parish Council Oath of Office
10:30AM Sunday School
10:45AM VASILOPITA CELEBRATION
11:15AM Election of Officers, Parish Council Training
+ST. GREGORY OF NYSSA
7:00PM Catechism - Introduction
+ST. THEODOSIOS CENOBIARCHOS
6:00PM Iconography Class
6:30PM Parish Council Meeting
+FAST DAY
+FAST DAY
Sanctity of Life Sunday
12th Sunday of Luke
8:30AM ORTHROS
9:30AM DIVINE LITURGY
10:30AM Sunday School
+ST. ANTHONY THE GREAT
12:00PM Basketball Practice
12:00PM Basketball Practice
As the deliverer of captives, and the protector of the poor, a physician of the sick, the defender of kings, O Great Martyr Saint George Victorious; intercede to Christ our God, to save our souls.
Sunday after Epiphany
The Reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians 4:7-13
BRETHREN, grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it is said, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." (in saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Sunday after Epiphany
The Reading is from Matthew 4:12-17
At that time, when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth he went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Thank you to William Clemons for baking the prosphora (offering bread) for today!
Yodahe Gamada & Bob Baffa
Thank you to our Ladies Philoptochos for sponsoring Vasilopita (Basil's bread) Sunday!
This Sunday, January 9th we are celebrating Vasilopita Sunday and Philoptochos will be passing a Tray for Saint Basil Academy, which is the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese home for children in need. The academy provides a loving Christian environment where resident children are nurtured to adulthood. For more information on the Academy please visit their website at: https://www.stbasil.goarch.org Your generosity is greatly appreciated!
Calling all prosphora (offering bread) bakers. Reserves are needed for upcoming services. Please help us stock up in anticipation of the Lenten season. If you can bake some prosphora in the next few weeks, please let Krisandrea know at (651) 261-9009.
Thank you for your continued support! Make your 2022 pledge by visiting https://forms.gle/NjsemfkEqFihqn4F7. Please make sure to note any updates to your contact information as we prepare to publish our new pictorial directory. Please make special note of any information you would like unlisted/omitted from the directory.
Please contact Fr. Perry at frperry@stgeorgegoc.org or (651) 706-9672 financial aid regarding scholarships for the upcoming St. Mary's Cathedral youth winter camp.
Many Years for the feast of Theophany! Χρόνια Πολλά! Please contact Fr. Perry at frperry@stgeorgegoc.org or (651) 706-9672 to schedule your house blessing.
Attention Sunday School parents... Our High School class will begin a special four-week program entitled the Relationship Project beginning on Sunday, February 13. To learn more, please visit https://www.faithtree.org/the-relationship-project.
(formerly Young-at-Heart)
Goal: Interactive socializing, fellowship, usually with an outing
Plan: Events once every 2 months, come when you can, no cost for membership, 55+ is approx. age, when in doubt, join us!
Co-Chairs: Joanne Halatsis and Krisandrea Ballas-Rylander
Our next fellowship event will be at church in the hall at 11:00 am on Friday, February 18. Our first theme is "Grecian getaway." A catered meal will be free for St. George parishioners (covered by our F&L endowment) for this event. Friends of St. George $20.
By Jan 7, please RSVP to Joanne or Krisandrea. Joanne Halatsis, halatsis@iphouse.com, 651-778-2485; Krisandrea Ballas-Rylander, krisandreambr@icloud.com, 641-261-9009.
Details: Lunch, socializing, and fun! The special fast-free meal (it is a fast-free week) - appetizer, mousaka (eggplant dish), spanakorizo (spinach and rice), Greek salad, dessert (baklava and ice cream), and chocolate bugatsa (a dessert pastry).
Contact: Dan Simon, cobra5_0_99@yahoo.com or (612) 207-3405
Basketball Registration To-Do List:
-The regular meal registration goes from December 17 - January 9 - https://tinyurl.com/2p845zek. There will be a late fee beginning January 10 through January 24. We will not be taking any last-minute meal registrations after January 24.
-The team registration closes on January 10 - https://tinyurl.com/4s6eyzaf. If you need to update your rosters following registration, this can be done by emailing athletics@chicagometropolis.org.
-The waiver form - https://tinyurl.com/hr6s4xvt - is required by ALL players and coaches.
-Reserve your hotel room - https://tinyurl.com/2p856v2p: We will be staying at the Hyatt Regency Bloomington-Minneapolis (same hotel as the last tournament).
-Ad book submission form deadline is January 10 - https://tinyurl.com/cky8r3ew. Please share this as it is an excellent way for parishes, families, and individuals to support the tournament while promoting a business, memorializing a family member, or communicating well wishes to our Metropolis community.
-Check out the Facebook page - https://tinyurl.com/2tzwc7up - for up-to-date information, as well as the website: www.greekbball.com.
We look forward to welcoming you all to the Twin Cities in February!
In Christ,
St. Mary’s Tournament Host Committee
To schedule your photography appointment online for Feb 10-12, simply go to www.ucdir.com & click on “Photography Appointment Scheduling Login” on the right side. Enter mn199 in the “Church Code” field and enter photos in the “Church Password” field. If you have any questions, contact Stephanie Contolatis at stephanie333chulita@hotmail.com or 952.239.8821.
*The online scheduling portal is closed on the weekends.
Note: Church Code & Password are case sensitive. Follow the prompts to schedule your family’s appointment time. If you have 5 or more in your family please use 2 consecutive time slots. The online scheduling option is not available Saturday or Sunday because we will be doing paper sign-ups at church. Appointments fill up quickly, so schedule as soon as possible to secure your preferred date and time.
In the meantime, please make sure the office office@stgeorgegoc.org has your current contact information, including mailing and email addresses and phone numbers, thank you! The best way to do this is by filling out your 2022 Stewardship pledge card. Make sure to note any information that you would like omitted from the directory!
Adults (age 18 years and older)... come to Orthodox Game League, enjoy time with each other, and play some fun games. Do you want to learn a new game? Do you want to play a classic? How about teaching a game? Then this is for you! Questions? Contact Nikki Beachamp, 612.910.2943
The Next Game Night Saturday, January 22, 2022, 7:00 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral ( 1701 - 5th Street NE, Minneapolis). *We’ll gather in the Parish Center across the street from the church. Bring a munchie or dessert to share.
Join us for our MEOCCA, Winter 2022 cooperative catechism course, beginning on Monday, January 10, from 7-9 pm. The course is open to all; people interested in learning more about Orthodox Christianity, inquirers, catechumens, and current Orthodox Christians we well! The course is an excellent opportunity to deepen the knowledge of the Orthodox Christian Faith. Classes will be held in person and online via Zoom. Register online at https://forms.gle/fwkxDmA2P7AkcqNj8 or www.meocca.org . Feel free to join us for an individual session as well! Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/2iwrFZa9u
Winter Camp 2022 is fast approaching! If you have a youth grades 6th-12th that want to participate in Winter Camp this year, please fill out the linked registration form. January 14, - January 17, 2022 - MLK weekend. The cost is now $250.00 (post-registration deadline). Contact Fr. Perry for financial aid scholarships.
Register at https://forms.gle/Y4KJoSRjWUWoqRXs8. Make payments through Venmo - @stmarysocayouth or checks payable to St Marys OCA.
More info: We will discuss the sacrament of Baptism and our Orthodox understanding of Salvation. The camp is for those in grades 6-12. Transportation is not provided.
Join us on January 22 from 8:30 am - 2:30 pm for a Marriage Prep seminar here at St. George. Couples preparing for marriage or married couples looking to spend a day together learning and reflecting on marriage. There will be a small fee for the books. More info soon.
See the flyer for more information! Classes begin on January 11.
Please contact Fr. Perry or our Ladies Philoptochos if you or someone you know is in need (food, clothing, shelter, etc.). Our Ladies Philoptochos, Missions & Benevolence, Discretionary support, FOCUS MN, etc. are here to help.
-The Metropolis strongly recommends the usage of masks while indoors.
-Accommodations for physical distancing: the Quiet Room, Exonarthex, hall, and larger open spaces in the sanctuary are available to those who elect to physically distance.
-Ministry activities are asked to accommodate for physical distancing by using our most spacious areas available, and those areas with the best ventilation.
Presvytera Melanie speaks with Matushka Wendy Cwiklinski, founder of the private Facebook group “Koinonia for Exceptional Orthodox Families,” about her family’s experience of misconceptions of behaviors related to invisible disabilities, the difficult decision to speak on and publish material about such, the gift that persons with disabilities are to their “typical” community members, and more!
Saint Polyeuctus, a soldier in rank, contested during the reign of Valerian, in the year 255. He was from Melitene, a city in Armenia.
Our Father among the Saints Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow, was born in 1507 of noble family, and served for a time in the royal court. While still a young man, he secretly left Moscow and entered Solovki Monastery in the north, about the year 1538, a little over a hundred years after its founding. Because of his spiritual stature he was chosen against his will to succeed Abbot Alexis in 1548. As abbot, Philip was a great builder and beautifier of Solovki Monastery. He laid the foundations for the Cathedral of the Transfiguration, constructed cells, hermitages, and a hospital for the monks and for pilgrims, established a cattle yard on one of the islands, drained swamps and connected waterways by a series of canals and damns, built a mill and various workshops, and even invented ingenious machines and implements to help the monks in their work. His fame spread, and in 1566, by the will of Tsar Ivan IV, he was raised to the rank of Metropolitan of Moscow.
Tsar Ivan the Terrible revered Philip, even as Herod had revered Saint John the Baptist, and he had been a generous benefactor of Solovki Monastery. But because the Tsar had established the oprichnina, a state within a state, giving power to the oprichniki, who used it to oppress and rob the innocent, Philip told him the he could not be Metropolitan if the Tsar suffered the oprichniki to continue in power. This angered the Tsar, he told Philip that it was not for him to interfere in matters of state, and many hierarchs prevailed upon Philip to accept the Metropolitan's throne. But as the horrors committed by the oprichniki grew worse-thefts, false accusations, murders, and all manner of injustice and rapacity, with the knowledge of the Sovereign- Saint Philip could not remain silent. He rebuked the Tsar once and again for the reign of terror that he had brought upon his own people. The Tsar warned him to hold his peace and bless him to do as he wished. The Metropolitan answered that his silence brought sin upon the Sovereign. The Tsar threatened him with his wrath, and told him to resign his throne if he were not willing to comply. Saint Philip answered that he had not sought the Metropolitan's throne, and it was the Tsar who had deprived him of his hermitage on Solovki; but now the pastoral burden was upon him, he would not remain silent when the canons of the Church were broken.
The more the Tsar threatened Philip with his wrath, the more the holy hierarch stood fast and threatened the Tsar with judgment of God; Philip alone had the courage to rebuke the Tsar openly and oppose his iniquity. Finally the Tsar, finding false witnesses against Philip in his own monastery on Solovki, held a council against him in early November, 1568; the Saint had to endure the persecution of the Tsar who had torn him from his beloved monastery, the betrayal of his fellow hierarchs, and the slanders of his own spiritual children. He was imprisoned in Moscow, but because of the love of the people for him the Tsar feared him even in prison, and he was transferred to a monastery in Tver, where he spent a year in great hardships and continual prayer. On December 23, 1569, a royal messenger came, asking the Metropolitan's blessing for the Tsar's expedition to Novgorod. Saint Philip told him to do that which he came to do, then raised his hands in prayer to God. The Tsar's messenger fell upon him and suffocated the holy hierarch with a pillow. In 1591 his relics were transferred to Solovki, and in 1652 to the Dormition Cathedral in Moscow; many miracles were wrought through his holy relics (See also Oct. 5 and July 3).
Minnesota's cold weather has arrived, and many clients have already received winter wear to get through it. We welcome your new or gently used winter coats and jackets, mittens, gloves, hats, boots, and other accessories -- all sizes and genders needed.
Other clothing needs are:
•Kids clothing especially sizes 2T-5 (we have plenty of infant clothing)
•Men's shoes and clothing including large sizes like 2X and 3X
•Men's underwear - all kinds though it seems that clients prefer boxers or boxer briefs
Our 2022 theme is, "…Our Church Our Spiritual Home." In the words of Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos, "...in the Church we live eternal life starting from now. We do not simply await the life to come, but we experience and enjoy it from the present. The Kingdom of God, according to the Fathers, is not life beyond the grave but communion with God...“
$... of $260,000 (updated numbers coming soon)
Pledges Received
Updated information coming soon.
We will share the final 2021 numbers as soon as possible. Thank you for helping us work toward our 2021 goal!
Thank you for joining us in worship. Whether you are an Orthodox Christian or this is your first visit to an Orthodox Church, we are pleased to have you with us! Although Holy Communion is offered only to baptized and chrismated Orthodox Christians, all are invited to receive the Antidoron (blessed bread) at the end of the service. The Antidoron is reminiscent of the Agape Feast that followed worship in the early Church (as is as our Fellowship Hour after service). One does not have to be of Greek descent, nor speak Greek, to be an Orthodox Christian and member of our parish. All people, of any background, are welcome to join the Orthodox Church. For those interested in learning more about the Christian Faith or becoming a member of our church, please contact Fr. Perry after services or at frperry@stgeorgegoc.org or (651) 222-6220.
You may also sign our Guest Book with your preferred contact and we will follow up. Finally, we hope you will join us in our hall upstairs after service this morning for fellowship and refreshments.
Mondays, January 10-April 4
Taught by Deb Korluka, begins January 11
Pictoral Directory Scheduling
Western Region Family Basketball Tournament
Children's Word pg. 1
Children's Word pg. 2
Children's Word pg. 3
Children's Word pg. 4
Christmas Flowers Memorials pg. 1
Christmas Flowers Memorials pg. 2