NEW: YOUNG ADULT BEACH VOLLEYBALL #1
A Ministry lead by Father Ion
Our Young Adults and their friends are invited for their first Beach Volleyball Fun on Saturday, August 13 from 10am. We will meet at Del Monte Beach. Bring your lunch for eating with the team after practice. Please sign up here.
Community
DORMITION OF THE THEOTOKOS - THE SUMMER PASCHA
The celebration of the Dormition of the Theotokos concludes the two weeks period of fasting. The feast is one of the greatest of the Church. Its observance is patterned after Pascha, which is also known as the Summer Pascha.
The Vespers service Sunday evening will include the Lamentations for the burial of the Theotokos, chanted on the same tunes as the Lamentations on Holy Friday evening. The Liturgy for the Dormition will be on Monday morning in the Chapel.
Happy Name Day/ Hronia Polla to our Marys!
BLESSING OF THE NEW ICON
The icon of Saints Constantine and Helen that was commissioned in memory of Colonel Constantinos (Gus) Moutos has arrived from the Monastery. It is beautiful! It will be blessed this Sunday at the end of the Liturgy.
CATECHISM CLASS THIS SUNDAY
A Ministry led by Father Ion
The Catechism Class is invites you will join our catechumens after lunch/fellowship:
- Topic: The Heart
- Presenter: Father Ion
- Location: Saint Nektarios Chapel
- Resources (text and audio): https://www.stjohn-monterey.org/adult-education/2.-the-heart
Please pray for our catechumens.
Education
NEW: NEW BOOK, DATE, AND TIME FOR THE BOOK FORUM
A Ministry led by Kathy Shaw
The Book Forum changes date and time: it will now be on Wednesday evenings @ 8:00pm BEGINNING on 8/17
We will be reading The Archbishop, A Novel , by by Hieromonk Tihon (Savatie Bastovoi). Please order your copy as soon as possible. Click here for Amazon orders.
ABOUT THIS BOOK: A Christian Orthodox Classic.
If God exists, then why does He allow such endlessly mundane earthly suffering?
Set in Imperial Russia, 1900: Resigned, hopeless, and fighting a Church he no longer believes in, Father Paul’s crisis of faith and despair in the seeming futility of his chosen vocation opens up the powerful and emotionally engaging story of The Archbishop. Rather than abandoning his parish in search of the truth, Father Paul’s quest is a simple one: to find the true essence of Christianity.
A Modern Day Apostle to the Downtrodden -
Set against the backdrop of a harsh and cold Russian countryside along the River Volga, with its unyielding poverty and hardships, The Archbishop follows Father Paul as he searches to understand God and the parlous state of the world around him.
It is not until he meets the eponymous Archbishop that he finds revelations that do more than just answer his soul-searching questions. More than this, he finds a true shepherd determined to spread a more authentic message of Christ to the people who follow him. But even the divine truth that Father Paul finally finds in this dreary, cold hamlet where religion seems to be fading from relevance is not free from earthly machinations. Although he discovers something that will change his life forever, the realities of the world around him remain unyielding and unchanging.
Adult Education, Community
ORTHODOXY 101: A JOURNEY TO FULLNESS
A ministry led by Angela Wagoner
JOURNEY TO FULLNESS: An Introduction to the Fullness of the Original Christian Faith
The Journey to Fullness presentations and small groups discussions will meet via Zoom this Tuesday from 8:00pm.
Education
2022 GREEK FESTIVAL
A ministry lead by Thimi Saites
St John's annual Greek Festival is back!!
September, 23rd - 25th to the Custom House Plaza.
This is a BIG community effort for our church. Our fellowship and focus are strengthened over these 3 days working together.
We will have a Taverna Night on Friday evening, 5pm to 9pm with drinks, small bites, music and dancing. Then the full festival will continue Saturday and Sunday.
We are looking for booth chairmen for Soda, Souvlaki, BBQ, Finance, and Master of Ceremonies (Announcer/MC). We will provide more details of what is entailed in these positions. In the meantime, SIGN UP HERE!!!
Please consider and talk to Thimi if you are interested.
We are excited to get started, working with you again and to continue the great success of our past festivals.
Community
BE A FESTIVAL SPONSOR
There is so much preFestival expenses to launch a great Festival
- Property Rental Deposit
- Order food, drinks, and supplies to be delivered
- Order the Booth rentals
- Advertising
- Permits and labor deposits for Guards, Set up, water station
On and on goes the list!!!
Do you know that many years ago, we were forced to borrow from the Building Fund to accomplish this, paying the fund back after the festival?
Today, we rely on Festival Sponsors to help with these expenses.
We are asking you to help us in a couple of ways:
- Contact businesses and people you think could help us. We can provide letters for you to send out.
- Give generously to the PreFestival fund. Click on Festival Sponsor Page. OR send a check to Saint John the Baptist Church with “Festival Sponsor” in the description.
If you can send out Sponsor forms to businesses you frequent, let Mary K know and the form/cover letter will be emailed to you.
FESTIVAL VOLUNTEERS NEEDED NOW!
How can you help prepare for the festival? Don’t let just one or two people do everything, when together we can take the festival to a whole new level. There are things you can do before the festival begins to get the word out. These need to be done right now!!!
Sign up HERE. OR Contact Thimi or Mary about one or more for these items you can take on. Thank you!!
CHURCH UNIVERSITY
A ministry led by Father Ion
The Church University has gone through some changes. We now gather Monday-Friday from 9am for PRAYER, BIBLE AND REFLECTIONS. This is also an opportunity to connect, to embrace and to be embraced. Check the online schedule.
My the Lord bless our readers who lead us in prayer:
- Monday - Thimi
- Tuesday - Mikael
- Wednesday - Kathy
- Thursday - Mary
- Friday - Christina and Socrates
Worship and Education
EPISTLE READERS
A ministry lead by Matt Taylor
We thank God for those who take the opportunity to serve Him. Among them are our readers - as noticed during our last few Sunday services. Here they are:
Matt, Oleg, Nate, Hussam, Jacob
Please contact Matt directly if you would like to serve in this ministry.
Worship
SERVING THESE SUNDAYS and more
A ministry led by Angelina Taylor
Thank you for your effort and participation in bringing a dish to share for our fellowship coffee hour. In addition to Father's great homilies, our fellowship hour is special, unique and provides an opportunity for us to come together to enjoy each other's company, with as little stress as possible, in the preparation process. As always if you cannot participate when it is your week, kindly let Angelina know so she can make other
August 14
Parish Council: Mary Kanalakis
Greeter: 2nd Sunday - Rania Zavitsanos, Anne Zavitsanos,
Fellowship Gratitude Meal: ORANGE TEAM - Thank you to Vanta, Mimi M., Tana, and Aileen
August 21
Parish Council: David Zajicek
Fellowship Gratitude Meal: GOLD TEAM – Thank you to Thimi, Temia, Marissa, Ita, and Angelina
Community
ONLINE RESOURCES
- Zoom with video here.
- By phone dial - add the following string to your address book: 16699006833,,9475885646#,,,,*871732#