From Fr. Anthony
The church office will remain closed until further notice. However, Susan or Susie may be present during regular office hours to answer calls or return messages - however, they will not be able to let anyone into the building. Please note that Susan has 24/7 access to our office email at stgeorgesouthgate@gmail.com and will check the answering machine regularly. The church office phone number is 734-283-8820. In emergency situations, please call Fr. Anthony directly at 734-716-2268.
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Due to recent developments regarding COVID-19, all social events are cancelled.
We are continuing with our scheduled services of services, although the doors will be closed and only the priest and chanter are able to be present. See the schedule under "Upcoming Church Services" or check our website for times. All these services can be viewed on the parish live stream at:
https://www.youtube.com/c/franthonyc-stgeorgesouthgate
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Thank You!
We would like to thank the Dionyssopoulos family for volunteering their time to distribute care packages to the residents of Deaconess Tower -- a total of 164 bags were delivered on Wednesday!
Communion (updated)
We can no longer distribute Holy Communion, either during a pastoral visit, or at the Church. All pastoral visits are prohibited outside of dire emergencies. In these circumstances, we urge all our Faithful to begin a discipline of prayer within the home, either by participating in the Live Streams, or (even better) by beginning or increasing their family rule of prayer in the home. As we are kept away from the Church for this time, we have the opportunity to make each of our homes into a Church, and turn these difficult circumstances into an opportunity to draw closer to the Lord and to one another. You can find texts for Services that can be done without a priest at all times of the day at http://www.agesinitiatives.com/dcs/public/dcs/dcs.html. It is possible to do any service except the Divine Liturgy and other sacraments without a priest - you simply say “Lord, have mercy” three times every time there is a set of petitions, and say “Through the Prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us and save us” every time there is a prayer or exclamation by the Priest. If you have questions regarding how to do Readers’ Services - please call or email me. I would love to help you all develop this beautiful practice in your homes!
Subscriptions
In this time of lockdown, we have limited ways of keeping in touch with all of you. If you know of anyone who is not on the Listserv list, please provide their email address to Susan or Fr. Anthony, or urge them to do so. If you use Facebook, please like and begin to follow our parish page (https://www.facebook.com/StGeorgeGOCSouthgate/). You can also befriend Fr. Anthony on Facebook, if you wish, to keep touch with him more easily through this time (https://www.facebook.com/franthonyc). Finally, we urge you all to subscribe to our Youtube channel, so that you may receive notifications every time we begin a Live Stream. The channel may be found at https://www.youtube.com/c/franthonyc-stgeorgesouthgate.
Candles
If you would like for us to light a candle in the Church in prayer for you and your family, please contact Fr. Anthony directly to let him know. We will be creating a Google Form on the website to automate these requests in the coming days, but for now, you can text Fr. Anthony at 734-716-2268, or simply email him at franthonyc@mac.com.
Memorial Services
Although we will not have memorial services with koliva, you can still submit the names of your departed loved ones for the priest to read during the Sunday Divine Liturgies. You can also make arrangements for private memorial services at the cemetery with only the priest and immediate family.
Appointments
All appointments will be held via phone or video-conference. You may make an appointment for confession by contacting Fr. Anthony by email (franthonyc@mac.com) or phone (734.716.2268).
Q&A - Open Conversations with Fr. Anthony & Children's Bedtime Story
Fr. Anthony will hold two daily all-parish Q&A sessions on ZOOM, Monday-Saturday (9 am and 7:30 pm) and read a bedtime story to the children in our parish (7 pm). Please install the ZOOM app on your phones or computers and stop by to say hello - Fr. Anthony would love to see your faces, hear your voices, and visit for a little while about what he can do for you all. See the information at the end of the announcements on how to participate in a ZOOM session
GOYA - Weekly Virtual "Gathering"
We are working to find appropriate virtual spaces for the young people to meet up and spend time together. Any additional suggestions for platforms and activities would be welcome - in the mean time, we will have a GOYA meet up in the Zoom virtual conference room at 11:00 am on Saturdays. Fr. Anthony will send invitation information directly to the kids and the parents in the GroupMe chat.
Grecian Center
The Grecian Center remains closed, but staff may be present during regular office hours to answer calls or return messages. Any visits to the facility are by appointment only.
Parishioner Restaurants List
In these extraordinary times, we know that those Faithful who own or operate restaurants are in need of our support - and carry-out/food delivery is one way in which we are able to give that support. Fr. Anthony would like all parishioner business-owners to send him the information for how orders can be placed, so that we can provide a single space for all of our Faithful to access menus and place orders.
Church Beautification
We know these times are very difficult but as we also know that they will not last forever, we will continue to include the announcement below in the hope of better days to come.
Since we began to raise funds for Church Beautification last summer, we have found donors for almost all of the items, including the new Epitaphios, the new Kouvouklion, and the white, gold, and purple Kalimata for the Holy Table and the Proskynitaria. The only color remaining is Green, used on several high occasions throughout the Church year, including feasts of the Forerunner, Palm Sunday, and Pentecost. The Green set will cost $2,435. If you are interested in donating this item, please contact the Church office or speak with Fr. Anthony.
PARISH ZOOM INFORMATION
Scheduled meetings can be found on the Church calendar at our website - the link to join is https://zoom.us/j/9419524282. If you would prefer to call in, the information is as follows:
Topic: St. George Southgate Parish Fellowship
Meeting ID: 941 952 4282
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