SAVE THE DATE!
Sunday, May 7, 5:00-10:00 pm at the Capitol Center for the Arts--85th Anniversary Celebration
Put it on your calendars now!
Fellowship Hour
Today's Fellowship Hour is our Parish Pot Luck. Thank you! A basket will be available for your generous offering which will be used by the Philoptochos to purchase an item for the Church renovation.
There are still plenty of Sundays to sign up for Fellowship Hour! This is an important ministry; our Fellowship Hour is the continuation of the ancient Christian practice of the Agape Meal or Love Feast celebrated in conjunction with the Liturgy. The Fellowship Hour offering should be simple; you can also team up with friends or family so that the burden is not so great for one person. Please take a look at the list and choose a Sunday!.
Lenten Services
Mondays, 6:00 pm--Great Compline
Wednesdays, 6:00 pm--Presanctified Liturgy (be fasting from after lunch for Communion)
No Salutations this week in Concord. They are part of the Vespers of the Annunciation in Newburyport.
Schedule some of these services on the calendar of your choice! We obey our calendars--schedule a few services now!
Spring General Assembly
The Spring General Assembly will take place today after Liturgy. Please be present to exercise your stewardship of our Parish Family!
Vespers of the Annunciation
We will be joining our brothers and sisters of the Annunciation Church, Newburyport, to celebrate the ir Name Day Vespers on Friday, March 24 at 6:30 pm. There will be a Festive Reception following the Vespers.
Ukrainian Easter Egg Tradition
After this week’s Presanctified Liturgy, Matuska Xenia Schneider and her daughters Julianna and Seraphima, from St. John the Russian Orthodox Church, Ipswich MA, will be giving a talk about the traditions and making of Ukrainian Easter Eggs. They will also be bringing examples of some of the eggs they have made over the years. Please come for this interesting presentation!
Greek Inependence Day Celebration
We will be celebrating Greek Independence Day with poems, stories and songs on Sunday, March 24 during Fellowship Hour.
The celebration of Greek Independence Day with the Governor at the State House will take place on Thursday, March 23 at 4:00 pm. Everyone is invited to attend. Our young people are invited to wear Greek costumes!
Paraklesis to St. Ephraim of Nea Makri
Our nation and especially our state of New Hampshire are now in the grips of a deadly epidemic of drug addiction. There is hardly a family which is not affected by this horror. The government and first responders are doing what they can to counteract this scourge. As Orthodox Christians, our contribution above all is prayer. Through the intercession of the newly revealed Great Martyr St. Ephraim of Nea Makri, many addicts have been save from death. We will be celebrating the Paraklesis of St. Ephraim on Sunday, April 2 at 4:00 pm, followed by a Lenten Meal. We will also be anointed with oil from his tomb at the Monastery of the Evangelismos in Nea Makris. Please come and pray for this powerful saint’s help for all those suffering from addictions. You can read about the saint’s life, the miraculous discovery of his relics and some stories of his miracles elsewhere in this bulletin. You are welcome to submit the names of those suffering from any sort of addiction that you would like to be prayed for.
Getting Ready for Pascha
1) Paschal Delicacies Order Sign-Up Sheets
Everyone needs Tsourekia and Koulourakia for your Pascha Feasts. The Philoptochos will be making these necessities for sale. A sign-up sheet is available at the Bulletin Board to place your order. A limited number are available for sale; first come, first serve!
2) Sign-Up for Candles for the Kouvouklion
A sign-up sheet for offering candles for the kouvouklion is available at the Bulletin Board.
3) Order a luminary for Holy Friday
You will find an order form in this bulletin for luminary bags for Holy Friday. You can give names of the living or the deceased to be written on the bags. The bags contain votive candles which will be lit, and they will line the path of the Epitaphios during the procession. We are asking a $10 donation per bag.
4) Donations for Holy Week
The following items are needed for Holy Week. Please tell Father if you wish to donate an item:
2 bottles Nama Communion Wine $25 a piece
Palms $140
Flowers for 4 icons $45 a piece
Garland for base of Cross $45
New Sheet $10
Flowers for Lavaron $50
2 Large Flower Arrangements $45 each
5) Saturday of Lazaros
Make sure to put April 8, the Saturday of Lazaros, on your calendar. After Liturgy there will be a flurry of activities going on. Besides the traditional community breakfast (sponsored by Margaret Gegas and Donna Liolas), there will be palm cross making, set up for the Palm Sunday Fish Dinner, practice for the myrrh-bearig women, and silver polishing and church cleaning. Many hands make light work, so plan on coming and help to get the church ready for Holy Week and Pascha!
Do You Have Something for the Raffle Baskets for the Dance
Make sure to look at the donation box in the Hall for items for the Baskets to be raffled at the 85th Anniversary Dance. The baskets have different Greek themes, and donated items will help to lower the expense. Your generous help, as always, is greatly appreciated!
Calling All Photos
We would like to collect all the old photographs of the parish and the church in order to put together a Memory CD for the dance. If you have any old pictures, please bring them to church marked with your name. You will get them back! Thank you for your help!
Orthodox Store
Are you in need of devotional items, like censers, incense, oil lamps, prayer ropes (koumboskinia)? Check out our new Holy Trinity Store. With time we will be expanding the available items and will even be including books to purchase. We are also establishing a lending library. Check out the store in the corner of the Hall by the Bulletin Board! Please put the money in the basket; we are using the honor method. Make checks payable to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.
