* Please join us after the Liturgy for coffee hour in the Parish Home. This week’s coffee hour is sponsored by Team Purple. Thank You!

* Daughters Of Penelope and Philoptochos will have their next meeting on Sunday, Sep 30th. Please make plans to attend.

* The Fall General Assembly will be held on Sunday November 11, after liturgy, exact time to be announced at a later date. Please reschedule any and all meetings or events.

* AHEPA will sponsor coffee hour for OXI Day on October 28th.

* Weddings, Baptisms, Memorials, Christenings—please send a note to the office at least one month in advance to reserve the date. Thank you.

* Pack of pita bread for $1- below purchase price. See Maria Simeon.

* Chanter's Workshop!  If you have an interest in chanting, please contact the office - office@stjohnclearlake.org

 

 In Our Prayers

Robert Finch, Abigail Robertson, Alice Marinos, Colette Quinn, Eugenia (Dimitri’s cousin), Eleni Safos (Maria's cousin), Gherghina, Vish, Mihaela and Dorin, Robert and Keng (friends of Andreea D.), Evangelia Mourtakos, Kathi and Niko Parris (Phyllis’s daughter and grandson), Nuvia Murillo (Irma’s sister/Athena’s Aunt), Juliana and Nicole (Creighton's mother and daughter).

The servant of God Costas Hatzisavvas (Cali & Rety’s father). May his memory be eternal.

 

Coffee Hour

The Coffee Hour program continues to be very successful!  This program ensures that we have coffee and after-Liturgy refreshments, not only for our Parishioners, but also as hospitality to our guests. The Coffee Hour can be the very important first contact for new members to our community, as well as an important fellowship time for all of our existing members. 

With this program, everyone who is a member gets the experience of hosting a Coffee Hour without the burden of doing it alone. It also provides a forum for the group of members each week to coordinate, work together and get to know one another better. It really can be a lot of fun!

Help support our coffee hour by adding your name to one of the teams listed below. Teams are called upon every 8 weeks or so, and each team member only has to bring one or two items. Email the office to add your name.

Parishioners, please allow only coffee hour team members to park in the driveway so they can have easier unloading access.

Yellow: Ashley, L. Rigas, A. & K. Tambourides 
Orange: Gazis, Marinos, Sokol, Suniga 
Purple: Agler, Loveless, McFalls, Richards, Savage 
Green: Metaxas, Saphos, Zachariades
White: Lyashman, Partlow, Ely, Mourtakos
Red: Gazaw, Padilla, Hammock, M. Tambourides, Zacharias 
Blue: Patelis, Rapos, Simeon, Yunakov 
Pink: Craioveanu, Quinn, Tsougarakis

Sep 30: Purple

Oct 7: Green
Oct 14: White
Oct 21: Red
Oct 28: AHEPA

 

Philoptochos

Our ladies Philoptochos will have a meeting today at the coffee hour. Please stay a few minutes longer at the coffee hour to attend this important meeting. We will be discussing a new plan for our kitchen updates. You do not need to be a member to attend, and both ladies and gents are welcome!

 

Parish Council Nominations

How can you use your talents to help our church grow and to help others grow in their faith?

With the spiritual leadership and guidance of Father Florin, the Parish Council implements and administers the programs, policies and affairs of the parish. The Council consists of Father Florin as spiritual leader, and 9 members, in good standing, elected by our parish stewards.

Parish Council members along with Fr. Florin are engaged in the parish's day to day functioning. Among their duties are to oversee: Property maintenance, financial management, long range planning, educational programs and fellowship activities of the parish.

The Parish Council also convenes meetings of the Parish Assembly to which all stewards are called to attend.

Please remember, when making a nomination and/or running for Parish Council, the importance of the by-laws and responsibilities of a Parish Council member.  A Parish Council member will need to attend Church, work in the Narthex, attend meetings, help out on events sponsored by the Parish Council, and abide to the Parish By-laws and the Uniform Parish Regulations.  To be a good council member requires a lot of time, work, enthusiasm, and interest. This could also be the most spiritually rewarding volunteer position you will ever hold with the parish.

If you would like to have your name placed in nomination and meet the criteria for service, please contact Fr. Florin or Eric Richards for more information.

Introduction to Orthodoxy Class

No class this Sunday. We will resume next Sunday.

The course is broken into 8 weekly sessions of approximately 2 hours each.  The seminars are open to catechumens and anyone who wishes to learn more about the Holy Orthodox Church. Upcoming sessions:

Session 3: Topics - The Church Building; The Sacraments; Daily Prayers

Session 4: Video: The Patriarch. Topics - The Church Year; The Divine Liturgy; Introduction to Church History

Session 5: Topics - Church History (The early church); The Ecumenical Councils; The Great Schism; The Crusades

Session 6: Topics - Developments in East and West; Orthodoxy in America; Persectuion in the Modern Church

Session 7: Topics - Spirituality; The Beatitudes; The Great Virtue of Love; Prayer, Fasting & Almsgiving

Session 8: Topics - Sexuality; Marriage and Family; Sickness, Suffering & Death; The Kingdom of Heaven; Holy Week

For more information, see Michael or Angela Loveless

Sunday Church School

Sunday School will be held immediately following communion. We invite all youth at church from Pre-K to senior high to join us in fellowship and in activities to grow as Orthodox Christians. Please consider helping our Sunday School, and  our youth, the future of St John’s. 

Church School Registration Forms are available in the Narthex and online.

  

Narthex Rotation Schedule

We are looking for volunteers to help with this Ministry. This is first contact with parishioners and/or guests visiting us for the first time.  You do not need to be on Parish Council to volunteer for this ministry. A smile and gentle demeanor goes a long way in welcoming a newcomer to our church. Please contact the office to volunteer.

Sep 30     Michael Savage, Ross Leo

Oct 7       Bill Gazis, Maria Simeon

Oct 14     Maria Simeon, Georgios Rigas

Oct 21     Bill Gazis, Maria Simeon

Oct 28     Bill Gazis

Nov 4      Eric Richards

Nov 11    Demetrios Mourtakos, Eric Richards

 

Prosforo 

Of the many ways of supporting our Church, there are few which stand out as uniquely personal offerings of faith. The offering of Prosforo bread for the Divine Liturgy is one of them. We are thankful to the handful of ladies who have faithfully fulfilled this responsibility over the years and we invite more of our faithful - especially young families with children - to make this a part of their lives as well. Want to be added to our Prosforo list? Please see Maria Simeon.

Please make sure that Prosforo is in church before the start of the Orthros service on Sunday. Please write the date (or put a sticker with the date) on the plastic bags with the Prosforo. That way the oldest will be used first. Thank you for your help.

Sep 30  Maria Simeon Oct 7    Zaneta Rapos Oct 14  Andriana T Oct 21  Ellie Ashley Oct 28  Soula Koumbias Nov 4   Metaxas Family Nov 11 Maria Saphos

Nov 18 Cleopatra Nelson Nov 25 Helen Gazaw Dec 2   Evangelia Gazis Dec 9   Kika Tampouridou Dec 16 McFalls Family Dec 23  Maria Simeon Dec 30  Zaneta Rapos

 

Bookstore/Gift Shop

This Weeks Featured Icon

Large icon of Christ Carrying the Cross  

Artist/Iconographer: Alexandra Kaouki

Icon print, mounted on wood. Dimensions: 6.5 X 10.

See Colette at the coffee hour!