Calendar

Parish Calendar

July 31 to August 7, 2022

Sunday, July 31

7th Sunday of Matthew

8:30AM ORTHROS

9:30AM DIVINE LITURGY

Monday, August 1

+DORMITION FAST (through August 14)

+PROCESSION OF HOLY CROSS; 7 MACCABEAN CHILDREN

4:30PM Loaves & Fishes

Wednesday, August 3

1:30PM Online Daytime Bible Study (via Zoom only)

6:30PM PARAKLESIS SERVICE

7:30PM Summer Book Discussion

Friday, August 5

6:30PM GREAT VESPERS

Saturday, August 6

+TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

8:30AM ORTHROS

9:30AM DIVINE LITURGY

10:30AM Blessing of the Grapes

Sunday, August 7

8th Sunday of Matthew

8:30AM ORTHROS

9:30AM DIVINE LITURGY

Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Plagal 2nd Tone

The angelic powers appeared at your tomb, the soldiers guarding it became as dead men, and Mary stood at your grave seeking, seeking your most pure body. But you made hell a captive; you were untouched by its might. You came to the virgin and granted life. O Lord, who rose from the dead, glory to you.

Apolytikion for Eudocimus of Cappadocia in the 4th Tone

The One that hath called thee from the earth to Heaven to dwell * preserveth thy body uncorrupted after thy death, O saintly Eudocimus; * for in living modestly and chastely, O blest one, * thou didst keep thy flesh free of all stain and defilement; * with boldness, therefore, pray unto Christ that we may all be saved.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Grave Tone

You were transfigured on the mountain, O Christ our God, showing your disciples as much of your glory as they could bear, so that when they see you crucified they will know that you suffer freely, and they will tell all the world that you are truly the radiance of the Father.

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

7th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 15:1-7

Brethren, we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves; let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to edify him. For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached thee fell on me." For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Gospel Reading

7th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 9:27-35

At that time, as Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, "Have mercy on us, Son of David." When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to him, "Yes, Lord." Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it done to you." And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly charged them, "See that no one knows it." But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

As they were going away, behold, a dumb demoniac was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the dumb man spoke; and the crowds marveled, saying, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel." But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the prince of demons."

And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.

Announcements

Greeters

Angie Kontenakos, Alexis Bighley

Prosfora

Anonymous

Fellowship Hour

Thank you to the Negron & Youso families for hosting this Sunday.

Thank you, Volunteers!

On behalf of our St. George Greek Summer Festival Committee, the Parish Council, and Fr. Perry, we would like to thank our dedicated volunteers for organizing and planning the Greek Summer Festival! We appreciate the tireless work of our volunteers in supporting the mission of St. George.

Online Bible Study

Our next Bible Study meeting is Wednesday, August 3, at 1:30 pm on zoom. We will study 2 Timothy 2 1-26 about good soldiers of Christ. Anyone is welcome to join us for study and fellowship from 1:30 to 3:00 pm. Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89536128778?pwd=YklqRHdNV0VMQjF1UExEV2tSdm16UT09; Meeting ID: 895 3612 8778; Passcode: 564538; or dial +1 312 626 6799.

Our Bible Study is led and organized by Mrs. Kathy Ryan. We read the scheduled readings together and have plenty of time for discussion. Fr. Perry will be away until after August 15. Questions? Email Kathy at kathyryan.zoe@gmail.com

Summer Book Discussion

Please join us on Wednesdays, August 3 & 10 at 7:30 pm for our next and last Summer Book Discussion sessions. We had an engaging first session! We will separate the book into three parts (approx. 50 pages each). We are reading The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. Read the second third of the book for our next session. Visit the church bookstore or order on Amazon to get your copy. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060652950/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1.

Wednesday, August 3⋅7:30 – 8:30 pm
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84790049254?pwd=VzVjT3k2d3l2ZDYzeTZ6bGFwL0dHdz09 Meeting ID: 847 9004 9254 Passcode: 888319; or dial +1 312 626 6799.

Wednesday, August 10⋅7:00 – 8:00 pm
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89397437819?pwd=cEtoeG8vYmZvVDVvM2xHdllUWC83Zz09 Meeting ID: 893 9743 7819; Passcode: 891752; or dial +1 312 626 6799.

Help with Kollyva

We are looking for someone to help with making kollyva for an upcoming Memorial on August 14. Please contact Fr. Perry if you are able to make a tray.

Loaves & Fishes

Please volunteer to help serve Monday, August 1^st at St. Matthews on Hall Avenue. Take this opportunity for a wonderful way to start the month! The time commitment is only a bit over 2 hours- 4:30-6:45/7:00 pm. Please sign up here or at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d49ada623a0fcc70-august1 to help out.

Camp and Graduate Sunday - August 14

Mark your calendar for August 14, when we hear from all of our campers that participated in Summer camp and celebrate our high school and college graduates. After Liturgy, we will invite all who participated in summer camp this year to share a little about their experiences and what camp means to them.

Following, we will invite high school and college graduates to the Solea to share their plans for the future, and those heading off to college and university will receive a blessing for a fruitful new school year. If you have any questions, please email niko@stgeorgegoc.org

OCF Outreach

Parents and college students: if you know any students attending the University of St. Thomas or the University of St. Catherine in St. Paul who would be interested in joining an OCF (Orthodox Christian Fellowship), please send their contact information to niko@stgeorgegoc.org. We will be contacting the students later this summer.

Prayers in the Holy Altar

Please submit the names (first names only) of those you would like to pray for in the Holy Altar during Liturgy. Prayer cards are available at the candle stand.

Calling All Ninjas!

St. George Youth & Family takes on the challenge of the Ninja Obstacle Academy! Join us on August 18 from 12:00 - 2:30 for training, games, and an obstacle course. Lunch will be provided :) Meet at: 7615 Golden Triangle Dr. Eden Prairie, MN 55344. Ready for the challenge? RSVP to niko@stgeorgegoc.org

Twin Cities YAL Boat Cruise August 18

Young adults (ages 18-35) are invited aboard the Magnolia Blossom on Thursday evening, August 18, to dance the night away as we cruise down the Mississippi River! General admission tickets: $65 (Available July 19-August 1); Last call tickets: $75 (Available August 2-14). For more information and to purchase tickets, go to the YAL Cruise site or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/twin-cities-yal-boat-cruise-2022-tickets-370628950167

Intro to Orthodox Christianity - Fall 2022

Our catechism course, Intro to Orthodox Christianity, will begin on Tuesday, September 13, from 7-9 pm. Catechism is open to all; people interested in learning more about Orthodox Christianity, inquirers, catechumens, and current Orthodox Christians as well! The course is an excellent opportunity to deepen our knowledge of the Orthodox Christian Faith. Classes will be held on Tuesday evenings in-person or online via Zoom. Register online at https://forms.gle/aFAzYJf7QH2A7dGb6. Learn more at meocca.org. Feel free to join us for an individual session as well!

Please sign up! Text Message Reminders for Youth & Family Events!

We have some AWESOME Youth & Family events coming up, and you don't want to miss out. Join our text message system Remind to stay up to date with all of our communications. Join by clicking https://www.remind.com/join/stgyandf

Wisdom of the Fathers

He puts an end to the woman's fear ... He sets her right, in respect of her thinking to be hid ... He exhibits her faith to all, so as to provoke the rest also to emulation ...

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 31 on Matthew 9, 4th Century

And then at last He for His part lays His hand upon them, saying, "According to your faith be it unto you." And this He does to confirm their faith, and to show that they are participators in the good work ...

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 32 on Matthew 9, 4th Century

In Other News

Camp Lost and Found

From St. Mary's Camp: Is your child(ren) missing an item or two from camp? You'll find the items at St. Mary's GOC in Minneapolis on the table in the hallway leading to their church office.

FOCUS Minnesota Annual Fundraiser August 18

Summer's here, and it will soon be time for our annual get-together. It's food, drink, music, fundraising, and a report back about all the wonderful things FOCUS Minnesota has been able to accomplish because of your support. Save the evening of Thursday, August 18th, 2022. It's guaranteed you will be uplifted and encouraged to hear about the work we are doing together for those in need. RSVP: focustwincities@gmail.com

Rochester GreekFest, August 26-29

Saints Kosmas and Damianos Greek Orthodox Church, 703 West Center Street, Rochester: https://greekfestrochester.com/. The Original Greek Festival in Rochester, MN, is an annual event that has taken place during the last weekend in August since 1963! Due to several reasons, we are excited to announce a repeat of our DRIVE-THRU ONLY SERVICE but with a LARGER MENU!!!

Save the Date: Taste of Greece, Sept 9-11

Taste of Greece at St. Mary’s GOC in Minneapolis, September 9-11. https://mplsgreekfest.org/

GEKAS Scholarships Announced

The St Paul AHEPA chapter wishes to announce the initial list of college students that will receive a GEKAS grant/scholarship for the school year 2022-2023:
1. Dinah Lampros, DePaul University, Chicago, IL (Junior)
2. Nicholas Petanitis University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire (Sophomore)
3. Sophia Selliris, University of Wisconsin, River Falls (Senior)
4. Mark Simon, Minneapolis Community Technical College, Minneapolis, MN (Sophomore)
5. Sho Kato, St John’s University, Collegeville, MN (Freshman)
6. Rachel Tukua, Iowa State University, Ames, IA (Sophomore)

Friends and Supporters of FOCUS Minnesota, WE NEED YOU!

Our staff is tiny, and volunteers are at the very center of how we manage and operate all of our programs. During the summer we are always looking to cover vacations and time away, for whatever reason, and it's a great opportunity for a short-term commitment. We also always have a need for help throughout the year.

(Graphic: Volunteer)

We could increase our programming by extending our hours or add another day if we had the volunteers to make it happen. Volunteering at FOCUS isn't a forever commitment. Offering us your time for 6-8 weeks during the summer would be a blessing. Joining one of our core volunteer teams also means you are free to miss whenever you need, to attend to everything else in your life! Visit our Help Helper page to see what's available.

Here's a quick summary:
•   Help in Clothing Closet - Monday through Thursday, help clients shop or sort our donations.
•   Help with our Food Shelf - the 3rd Saturday of the month.
•   Help on Sunday Nights - various duties around offering a hot meal to visitors, indoors and at our front door.
•   Anytime during the week or month - a shopper or gopher to help us bring in supplies and water.
• If a Saturday would work for you, once a month we'd like to start a Saturday Clothes Closet.
•   And don't forget our "Back Burner List!" This allows us to call you whenever we might have a need, sometimes on short notice, with the understanding that you'll decline the opportunity if it doesn't work. But you may be able to jump in!

Curious enough to find out more? Please call Vera Proctor for more information - 651-222-0712 or vproctor@focusna.org.

Summer Church Visits

Traveling this summer? Please send in (gladtidings@stgeorgegoc.org) photos of you/your family in front of/at the Orthodox Churches that you visit! Please include in your submission the name of the church and the city/state/country. Photos submitted by August 10 will be published in the Sept-October Glad Tidings.

Support for those in Need

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.

Save the Date – September 18

Please support the Lyn Olson Medical Crisis Program by attending their annual gala on September 18, 2022, from 3:30-6 pm at the Korluka Equestrian Farm in Stillwater, MN. Enjoy great food, horses, yard games, silent auction, music, and more. See flyer at https://www.lomcp.com/gala.

About LOMCP

The mission of the Lyn Olson Medical Crisis Program is to help pay medical bills, overdue mortgage/rent, and utility bills due to loss of income as a result of a medical crisis. We still have more grants to give this year. Do you or someone you know need financial assistance due to a medical crisis? Go to https://www.lomcp.com/ to learn the criteria for receiving a grant.

Latest Issue of Glad Tidings

To view the July-August 2022 Glad Tidings: https://www.stgeorgegoc.org/assets/GladTidings/GladTidings-2022-JulyAugust.pdf

Ancient Faith Women’s Retreat - November 10-13

This retreat will take place in Bolivar, PA. For more information and to register: https://store.ancientfaith.com/2022-afwr/

Saints and Feasts

July 31

Joseph the Righteous of Arimathea

Saint Joseph of Arimathea was a prominent Jewish leader during the time of Jesus Christ. He is mentioned in the Gospels as being a rich man from Armiathea who was a secret disciple of Christ due to his status in the Sanhedrin. After the crucifixion and death of our Lord, Joseph approached Pontius Pilate out of piety and asked for the body of Jesus so that he might bury it honorably. He, together with Saint Nicodemus, removed the body of Christ from the cross in the presence of the Theotokos and the Myrrh-Bearing Women, wrapped it in a linen shroud, anointed it with spices, and laid it in a new tomb that he owned. This disciple later traveled the world proclaiming the Gospel until he reposed in peace in England. The Church commemorates him individually on July 31^st and along with the Myrrh-Bearing Women and Nicodemus on the 3^rd Sunday of Pascha (the Sunday of the Holy Myrrh-Bearers).

August 01

The Holy Seven Maccabee Children, Solomone Their Mother, and Eleazar Their Teacher

The names of the Holy Maccabees are Abim, Anthony, Guria, Eleazar, Eusebona, Achim, and Marcellus. They were Jews by race and exact keepers of the Laws of the Fathers. They lived during the reign of Antiochus, who was surnamed Epiphanes ("Illustrious"), the King of Syria and an implacable enemy of the Jews. Having subjugated their whole nation and done many evil things to them, not sparing to assail the most sacred matters of their Faith, he constrained them, among other things, to partake of swine's flesh, which was forbidden by the Law. Then these pious youths, on being apprehended together with their mother and their teacher, were constrained to set at nought the Law, and were subjected to unspeakable tortures: wrackings, the breaking of their bones, the flaying of their flesh, fire, dismemberment, and such things as only a tyrant's mind and a bestial soul is able to contrive. But when they had endured all things courageously and showed in deed that the mind is sovereign over the passions and is able to conquer them if it so desires, they gloriously ended their lives in torments, surrendering their life for the sake of the observance of the divine Law. The first to die was their teacher Eleazar, then all the brethren in the order of their age. As for their wondrous mother Solomone, "filled with a courageous spirit, and stirring up her womanish thoughts with a manly wrath" (II Macc. 7:21), she was present at her children's triumph over the tyrant, strengthening them in their struggle for the sake of their Faith, and enduring stout-heartedly their sufferings for the sake of their hope in the Lord. After her last and youngest son had been perfected in martyrdom, when she was about to be seized to be put to death, she cast herself into the fire that they might not touch her, and was thus deemed worthy of a blessed end together with her sons, in the year 168 before Christ.

Stewardship

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...“

2022 Stewardship Goal

Stewardship Goal

$132,407 of $260,000 (through June)

Pledges Received

As of July 7, 101 families have pledged a total of $166,183.

Make Your Stewardship Pledge Online

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.

Welcome Visitors!

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 and fellowship hour are reminiscent of the Agape Feast that followed worship in the early Church. 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.

We hope you will join us in our hall upstairs after service this morning for fellowship and refreshments.

Please Note

St. George GOC broadcasts its worship services live on the internet. Your presence in the church is subject to audio and video recording.

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