Welcome to our Parish

Welcome to St. John Chrysostome Greek Orthodox Church

We are a thriving community of 70 families, working to share the Orthodox Faith with the South Florida area. We try to balance our lives with both corporate and personal prayer, philanthropic works to our greater community and common meals together. Our goal is the progression towards the kingdom of God in this life, in loving our fellow man and seeing Christ in the person sitting next to us.

We are pleased that you have joined us today for worship. To receive Communion in the Orthodox Church, one must be Baptized and/or Chrismated in the Orthodox Faith. The Orthodox Church understands Holy Communion as the sign of unity. If you are interested in learning more about the Orthodox Faith, please contact Father Andrew. Whether you are an Orthodox Christian or not, please come forward at the dismissal to receive the blessed bread which is offered to everyone as you leave. May Christ's blessings be with all of you.

IF YOU WISH TO HELP SAINT JOHN'S, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DO SO AS YOUR HEART DICTATES AFTER PERSONAL PRAYER AND REFLECTION, ACCORDING TO THE BLESSINGS WHICH GOD HAS BESTOWED UPON YOU. You may do so in person at a worship service, on line through out website, or by mailing your contribution to the church.

I am sure you realize that the current pandemic has created a reduction in our income. We require $10.5-12,000 to meet our monthly expenses, including the mortgage and priest. Any extra help you can provide at this time will be greatly appreciated.

The Parish Leadership (Parish Council and Priest) thanks you in advance for your love, thoughtfulness and continued generosity.

The Hundred Day Prayer by pastor Terry Donovan

May I be Centered, Calm and Compassionate with all….

Asking Forgiveness when falling short.

May I speak with Love and Kindness in times of conflict..

Honoring all people everywhere.

May I listen with Love and Kindness,

Seeking to find Common Ground.

May I honor my own heart’s ragged edges

of judgement, And unkindness,

striving to soften them.

And from such Strength and Courage…

May I speak Truth to Power…And be a Voice for the

Voiceless…Arriving at the end of these 100 Days…

In a Better Place for all. Amen.

Saints and Feasts

September 20

Sunday after Holy Cross

Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Plagal Second Mode

When the angelic powers appeared at Your grave, the soldiers guarding it feared and became as dead. And standing by the sepulcher was Mary who was seeking Your immaculate body. You devastated Hades, not afflicted by it. You went to meet the virgin, and granted eternal life. You resurrected from the dead. O Lord, glory to You.

Apolytikion for Afterfeast of the Holy Cross in the First Mode

Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thine inheritance; grant Thou unto the faithful victory over adversaries. And by the power of Thy Cross do Thou preserve Thy commonwealth.

Apolytikion for Martyr Eustathius and His Companions in the Fourth Mode

Thy Martyrs, O Lord, in their courageous contest for Thee received as the prize the crowns of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal God. For since they possessed Thy strength, they cast down the tyrants and wholly destroyed the demons' strengthless presumption. O Christ God, by their prayers, save our souls, since Thou art merciful.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Fourth Mode

Lifted up on the Cross by Your free will, Christ God, grant mercies to the new commonwealth that bears Your name. Gladden our faithful rulers by Your power, giving them victories over their adversaries. May Your alliance be for them a weapon for peace, an invincible standard.

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Matins Gospel Reading

Fourth Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from Luke 24:1-12

On the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women went to the tomb, taking the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel; and as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of man must be delivered in to the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise." And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told this to the apostles; but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home wondering at what had happened.

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Plagal Second Mode. Psalm 27.9,1.
O Lord, save your people and bless your inheritance.
Verse: To you, O Lord, I have cried, O my God.

The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 2:16-20.

Brethren, knowing that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified. But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we ourselves were found to be sinners, is Christ then an agent of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again those things which I tore down, then I prove myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Gospel Reading

Sunday after Holy Cross
The Reading is from Mark 8:34-38; 9:1

The Lord said: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."

Wisdom of the Fathers

Interior crosses can found at all times, and more easily than exterior ones. You have only to direct your attention to yourself and examine yourself with a sense of repentance, and a thousand interior crosses will at once present themselves to you. . . Interior crosses are sometimes so burdensome that the sufferer can find no consolation whatever in anything. All this can happen to you too! But in whatever position you may be, and whatever sufferings of the soul you may feel, do not despair and do not think that the Lord has abandoned you. NO! God will always be with you and will invisibly strengthen you even when it seems to you that you are on the very brink of perdition.

St. Innocent of Alaska

The Lenten Spring, SVS Press, p. 148, 19th Century

St John's Prayer Circle

Please pray for our brothers and sisters in our Community and their families, and all those who are in need of our prayers.

Yianni, Carl, Joel, William (Bill), Evangelos, Harry, Mirsini, Peter, Helen, Eleni, Becky, Mary D’Jay, Presbytera Helen, Fr. Constantine, Fr. Demetri Tsigas (Melbourne Priest), Savas, Kosta, Demetrios, Mary, Evangelia, Kyriakos (Charley), Danny, Peter, Kay, Linda, Chris, Diana, Tom and Family, Nick K, Maggie, Helen, Gena Mildner, Joanna, Constantina, Mimi, Virginia, Apostolos, Sophie, Joshua, Despina, Thomas, Jan, Aristides, Lucas, Baby Paul, Leona, Mary, Toula, Eleni, Phylitsa, George Edward, Efrosini, George, Stella, Phyllis, Irene, Georgia, Marcia, Sheila and Maureen, Laura, Sophia.

Liturgical Services

ALL SUNDAY SERVICES 9– 11:15 AM

(Unless otherwise noted)

SEPTEMBER SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES

Sept, 13th, Sun., Orthros and Divine Liturgy, 9-11:30AM, 10 Memorial for Dionysios Laskaris, John's brother.

After the memorial, we will have the procession with the cross for the Elevation of the Holy Cross. This is usually done on the 14th, but I chose to do it on Sunday, when more people are available to participate.

Sept. 17th, Thurs., Parish Council Meeting, 4PM

Sept. 20th, Sun., Orthros and Divine Liturgy, 9-11AM

Sept. 27th, Sun., Orthros and Divine LIturgy, 9-11AM

HOLY COMMUNION

We will continue to administer Holy Communion as we had been doing, with a single spoon. You will come up to the Chalice, keeping your 6 feet distancing ( there will be tape on the floor to assist you. You should not touch the spoon or the cloth. You will tilt your head back and Father Andrew will tip the spoon to empty the Body and Blood of Christ from the spoon into your mouth. Those who are unable to come up to the Chalice, should remain in their seats and Father Andrew will come to you.

CHANGE BEGINS IN THE HEART

Yet another tragedy; and yet another opportunity--for clarity, for healing, for transformation. But we as a people are entrenched in our own propaganda. Do guns kill people, or do people kill people? It is people with guns who kill people. But any such slogans will miss the mark, and any simplistic solution will fail.

Can regulation work? In part. Banning semi-automatics would be helpful. And perhaps lax states can follow the gun laws of stricter states. But this solution will not prevent all such tragedies. And deregulation is not the answer. Who wants to live in the wild west?

Can a better mental health system work? In part. Many of us know people who have slipped through the cracks. Training teachers, HR reps, pastors, and police to recognize signs of severe depression or agression, and when to refer or "Baker Act" someone, would be helpful. But again, this will not eliminate all such issues.

The problem goes much deeper, because all problems are spiritual problems.

Our culture glorifies violence: in our movies, our music, our video games, and our sports. We support a vast American war-machine that produces shell-shocked veterans. We live schizophrenic lives, speaking of women's rights whilst objectifying women in pornography, focusing on gay marriage rather than addressing the divorce crisis in natural marriages that causes children to live in broken homes, and speaking of human rights whilst allowing doctors to legally murder babies in the womb. We readily dehumanize others. Violence is interwoven throughout the fabric of our existence.

We live in a time when morality lacks any foundation, when nihilism justifies all actions (until we are victims). We live in a nation where consumerism has engulfed us, replacing culture with kitsch, and comradery with isolation. The ties that bind-- family, faith, community, and civic duty--have been replaced by individualism and identity politics. Without solidarity, we continue to disintegrate.

At the root of every problem, every sin, is self- love. In the past, our society was still covered by a thin veneer of Christianity. Self-sacrifice was considered noble, even if not always emulated. Very few people sought out fame and fortune, but rather came together to fulfill a duty to their families, to their neighbors, and ultimately, to God.

And most importantly, people spoke to one another. They didn't always agree, but they struggled to find common ground and to live together as a people. I do not know if such a reality will manifest once more, but we can make a start.

We can get off the internet and go meet our neighbors, talk to our co-workers, and attend community events. We can live closer to our church, and get more involved in its ministries. We can speak the truth in love, persuade by our actions, and lead by example. We can try to live moral lives, and teach our children the value of permanent things.

No simple policy change will solve all of our problems. In part, but not entirely. Change begins in the heart. (Fr. Joseph Lucas, 2018) “For those who have ears, let them hear.”

General Information

Contact Information

Services Schedule

Past Bulletins