Weekday Services...

Every Sunday we have Orthros beginning at 8:50 a.m. and Divine Liturgy beginning at 10:00 a.m.  Saturday evenings we have Great Vespers at 6:00 p.m., unless otherwise noted.  Weekday services are listed below and begin at 9:00 a.m. with Orthros followed by Divine Liturgy. Unless otherwise stated service will be at St. George.

(Note: All services are at 9:00 a.m. and at St. George unless otherwise noted)

Note: Due to the Coronavirus all services and activities are suspended, through the end of March.  Please check back, this a fluid situation and subject to change.

Service will be held on Sundays with only the Clergy, chanter, & altar server.  There are parishes throughout the United States and the world, that are broadcasting their services.  At this time we are not setup to do that.

Ecumenical Patriarch: At stake is not our faith, it is the faithful

Brother hierarchs and beloved children in the Lord,

From the Phanar, from the heart of the Queen of Cities, from the City of the Great Church and of Haghia Sophia, we are communicating with each and every one of you – women, men, and children – because of the unprecedented conditions and tribulation that we are facing as a human race as a result of the global threat posed by the pandemic of the new coronavirus, called Covid-19.

The voice of the Church, of the Mother Church, cannot be silent in such times. Our words, then, take the form we have learned through the ages: through the liturgy and through instruction, with encouragement and consolation.

We sincerely thank all those who struggle with self-sacrifice, even neglecting themselves and their families, including:

– Medical and nursing professionals at the front lines, beside our brothers and sisters who are suffering,

– Researchers and scientists searching for proper medication and vaccination to deliver us from this virus, but also

– All those actively working hard to address this pandemic.

Your contribution is invaluable. It is an offering to all of society. It is a sacrifice that deserves every honor and gratitude. All of us thank you and applaud you, not only from the windows of our homes, but everywhere and at all times. Our thoughts and our prayers are with you.

In this struggle, our appointed states, governments and appropriate health authorities have the primary responsibility for planning, confronting and overcoming this crisis. We might describe them as Commanders on the battlefield against an invisible, but now well-known, enemy. An enemy that has turned against humanity.

The burden of the responsibility, that they bear on their shoulders, by necessity demands the cooperation of us all. Now is the time of personal and social responsibility.

Therefore, our dear children, we entreat you as your spiritual father to respond faithfully and patiently to all the difficult but necessary measures proposed by our health authorities and nations. Everything is being done for our protection, for our common good, in order to contain the spread of this virus. Our liberation from this distress depends entirely on our own cooperation.

Perhaps some of you have felt that these drastic measures undermine or harm our faith.

However, that which is at stake
is not our faith – it is the faithful.
It is not Christ – it is our Christians.
It is not the divine-man – but human beings.

Our faith is firmly established in the roots of our culture. Our faith is a living faith, and there is no exceptional circumstance that can limit or suppress it. What must be limited and suppressed in these extraordinary circumstances are gatherings and large congregations of people. Let us remain in our homes. Let us be careful and protect those around us. And there, from our homes, strengthened by the power of our spiritual unity, let each and every one of us pray for all humankind.

We will pass through this period like a journey through the desert to reach the Promised Land, where science, by the grace of God, will overcome this virus.

We are certain that, through our prayers as well, science will indeed prevail. So it is good for us to remain united in spirit, as we continue the struggle of repentance and holiness.

We see our neighbors suffering from the consequences of the virus, while others have already fallen and departed from among us. Our Church hopes and prays for the healing of the sick, for the souls of the departed, and for courage and strength to the families of the afflicted.

This trial, too, shall pass. The clouds will clear, and the Sun of Righteousness will eliminate the deadly effect of the virus. But our lives will have changed forever. This trial is an opportunity for us to change for the better. In the direction of establishing love and solidarity.

Beloved children in the Lord, may the blessing of the Lord, through the intercessions of the All-Holy Mother of God, accompany us in our journey, transform our voluntary isolation into genuine communion, and become our prayer and destination to appreciate the meaning of this, so that we may return to that which is true, to that which is pleasing to God!

Have courage! And may God be with us!

Let this plague serve as a call to reorient our gaze

The State of Washington has greatly reduced the number of people who can be gathered in public places, including our churches. Given the lack of faith demonstrated by so many, blaming bishops and priests for the closure of churches, can we imagine how these same people would react should it become known that one of their fellow parishioners got the Coronavirus while attending the Liturgy?

We clergy need to protect our people, even though many of us must now suffer attacks from the very people we love and serve, while being accused of being fearful and unfaithful, as we close down our parishes to public services, trying as best we can to be obedient to the rules put down by our federal government. One bishop I know has suffered greatly by having had to endure such attacks on his own faithfulness, as he “closed down the hospital”.

This pandemic should be a reminder to all of us that we should be in prayer, seeking an end to the epidemic. This whole time of church closures must not be seen as based on fear, or a sign that the Church is betraying her people, but rather, a time for all of us to go deep within ourselves, worshiping before the Holy Trinity, pleading to God not only dispel the pandemic, but to heal the souls of people who have turned our sights to earthly pleasures, while distancing ourselves from the things of God.

Let this plague that has come down upon us, serve as a call to reorient our gaze, as we turn away from things of a secular nature, and look towards the things of God. Our focus must not be toward the material world, but toward heavenly things, the things of God. We can even see this pandemic as a blessing, really, since we are now asked by our Federal Government to refrain from gatherings of more than ten people, and sequester ourselves in our homes. What better way to continue our Lenten journey towards the celebration of Pascha, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!

With the closure of public gatherings across the country, including the closure of many churches, we now have been given the opportunity to turn from all secular temptations, such as concerts, sporting events, bars and restaurants, movie houses, and all other kinds of secular distractions, and focus on our inner life. We now have the opportunity of rekindling our personal prayer lives, joining other family members in using our prayer books, lighting lampada and candles before our family icons, and building up the “domestic church”.

This is not the time to simply spend hours playing Monopoly, or watching television, but a God allowed time to turn our collective gaze upon the Holy Scriptures, and building up our personal prayer life, something that has long been sidelined by earthly distractions.

Finally, let us see these trying times as allowed by God, for humanity’s sake. Let us see this pandemic as an opportunity to return our collective gaze upon the things that really matter, those things of an eternal nature. Let us repent, as a people who have long ceased to make faith central to our lives, and actively live as committed Christians.

Let us not place blame on those who lead us, but rather pray with earnest, “Heal us from our pride, which can make us claim invulnerability to a disease that knows no borders (Prayer in Time of Epidemic).”  And let us remember that “the Lord seeks out the heart, not the appearance (Saint Paisius of Sihla)”.

Even if we are unable to attend services in our churches, we must remember that the grace imparted from the Bloodless Sacrifice is still efficacious, even if we are barred from the temple while the Divine Liturgy is being celebrated, just as we are blessed by the Holy Mysteries during those times when we are in attendance, but not receiving Holy Communion. Every time the Divine Liturgy is celebrated, grace pours out upon the people of God. Every time the Divine Liturgy is celebrated, the Church Militant here on earth, is united to the Church Triumphant in heaven. Every time the Divine Liturgy is served, we are united to Christ, and to each other.

Let us not give in to the lies of the Evil One, for God is with us, just as God was with His people during the Soviet persecution of the Church, when the services were forbidden, and churches were razed to the ground.

With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

Community Connections 

Easter Lilies

If you would like to order Easter Lilies to decorate the Church on Pascha.  Please fill our the form in the Church bulletin or call the office.  Each lily plant cost $7.00.

Add Your Family's Name to the St. George Christmas Card

The St. George Pascha card has been started and will be mailed out to all parishioners after Palm Sunday.  If you would like your name added to the St. George card, please send $20 to St. George Philoptochos on or before April 5th.  The Philoptochos will have a table set up every Sunday to help.

The artwork on the card will be done by our youth and needs to be turned in before the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, April 5th.  The voting will take place during the coffee hour on April 5th.

Classes...

Note:  Classes are currently suspended.  When they resume we will continue with...

Class on St. Dorotheos of Gaza - Teachings of Living a Christian Life, Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., provided there is not a service on that day.

Fellowship Hour...

Prosfora Schedule

March

1st - Patrick Ingle

7th - Margo Gianos (3rd Saturday of Souls)

8th - Vana Economopoulos

15th - Catherine Chrysant

22nd - Litsa Angelidis

25th - Catherine Chrysant (Annunciation)

29th - Rich Coombe

April 

5th - Anastasia Smirlis

12th - Jennifer Ecocomopoulos

18th - OPEN

23rd - Marla Harmon

24th - Marla Harmon

St. Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body which is for you.  Do this in rememberance of me.'" (1 Cor. 11:24).

We are in need of Prosfora bakers.  Our ladies and gentlemen have diminished over the years.  The greatest part of this is everyone qualifies! Anyone young and old can make Prosfora.  We would only ask a few times per year to prepare bread for a Divine Liturgy.  What better way for a family to give of themselves and their love for the Church.

Prosfora can be kneaded in a bread machine, with a mixer that has dough hooks, or by hand.  It can easily bge an individual's or an offering made by the whole family.  Children love to knead bread or be able to put the seal on and for the children it is a learning experience.  It is a great offering of life and love to God.

Please call the Church office if you would like to offer this gift.