ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION MEETINGS
At the General Assembly last fall, the parish voted to authorize the first phase of an architectural planning study for development of our church property. Parish Council has received the report of phase 1 of this study. For those who missed the information session on February 2, we will have a second information session this Sunday after the Divine Liturgy.
The study shows several possible scenarios:
Scheme A - renovation of the parish house to bring up to code plus some landscaping improvements
Scheme B - new church building and conversion of the existing church into a fellowship hall
Scheme C - new church building and a new fellowship hall
Scheme D - purchase an existing church and fellowship hall in the Clear Lake area
Scheme E - renovation of the parish house & renovation of the existing church plus development of a festival park
Scheme F - new church building and new fellowship hall plus development of a festival park
The full architectural presentation can be seen on our website. All parishoners of St. John’s are invited to attend.
PHILOPTOCHOS
Our Annual Philoptochos Vasilopita Auction will be held on February 23rd. We encourage everyone to stay and bid on the beautiful Vasilopites and cakes that will be available. Our past auctions have been very successful as we have had several beautiful Vasilopitas to auction off. We are hoping this year will be no different. We welcome any kind of pita - cake, bread, sweetbread, apple strudel etc. with a coin in it and wrapped nicely for presentation. Our auction can’t be successful without your help. Proceeds from the auction benefit the children of St. Basil Academy, and scholarships for our youth entering higher level learning. Thank you in advance and we hope all of you will join us to have the best auction ever.
AHEPA
This Sunday’s scheduled monthly AHEPA meeting has been postponed to March 8. 2020.
HOUSE BLESSINGS
Parishioners wishing to have their homes blessed for the new year - please call Father, or email the office.
COFFEE HOUR
Coffee hours are continuing in the Sunday School rooms after the Liturgy. Our teams will be providing light (non-cooked) foods. This week’s coffee hour is sponsored by the the Yellow team. Thank you!
Feb 16 Team Yellow
Feb 23 Team Orange
SUNDAY AND GREEK SCHOOL
Sunday School will be held immediately following communion. We invite all youth present from Pre-K to senior high to join us in activities to strengthen them as Orthodox Christians. Still need help to cover a class maybe once a month. Let Mary Maxson know if you are willing to assist our children.
Greek School:
Our Children’s Greek school classes are on Saturdays beginning at 10am. Adult classes are on Wednesday's at 7pm.
Our elementary age classes are taught by Mrs. Deena Metaxas with assistance from Mrs. Thalia Savvidis, and our teenage class is taught by Mr. Dimitri Tsiantopoulos. Our adult class is taught by Mr. Georgios Rigas.
INTRODUCTION TO ORTHODOXY
Classes will begin Sunday Feb 23rd after the coffee hour. (approximately 12:30pm) This is an 8 week course open to catechumens and anyone who wishes to learn more about the Holy Orthodoxy Church. The course is followed by examination by the Parish Priest (Fr. Florin) and confession. After successful examination and/or confession, a date for Baptism and/or Chrismation into the Holy Orthodox Church is determined.
IN OUR PRAYERS
Theodoros Pisimisis, Karen Helstrom (Mariam's friend), Tammy Cromartie (Ty’s mother), Panagiota (Dimitri’s niece), Merja Tambourides, Mary Ann Donefas (friend of Colette’s), Robert Finch, Remy Koks, Abigail Robertson, Nicole, Demitri (Creighton’s daughter, & grandson
CLEAR LAKE GREEK FESTIVAL
Greek Festival Dates are set! October 16, 17 & 18
Attention Time Management Organizers! Our most important fund raiser, the Clear Lake Greek Festival needs your expertise. We have three (3) vacancies on the festival committee that need to be filled as soon as possible. You will join Sylvia Mourtakos and Nick Andrews in shaping this years festival. A significant chunk of our operating budget comes from the festival. Please contact Chris Wood, or any parish council member.
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.
Feb 16 Deena Metaxas, Ross Leo
Feb 23 Nick Andrews, Deena Metaxas
Mar 01 Maria Simeon, Nick Andrews
Mar 08 Bill Gazis, Maria Simeon
Mar 15 Lou Marinos, Bill Gazis
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.
Feb 16 Maria Saphos
Feb 23 Cleopatra Nelson
Mar 01 Helen Gazaw
Mar 08 Lela Yunakou
Mar 15 Evangelia Gazis
Mar 22 Kika Tampouridou
AMAZON AND KROGER GIVES US MONEY!
If you are an AmazonSmile customer, you can now support St. John The Theologian Greek Orthodox Church in the Amazon shopping app on your Android device! Easy set up instructions can be found on the home page of our church website.
Link your Kroger Plus Card to Community Rewards #UF318.
Many thanks to those who have linked their Kroger card and used the spec
PANHELLENIC SCHOLARSHIPS