SUNDAY SERVICES†Orthros/Divine Liturgy - 8:45am - (Divine Liturgy will now follow immediately after Orthros)Nursery Available - 9:30am - Noon CONFESSIONConfessions will be held by appointment only. All other services and events will be listed in the online calendar at www.goann.net. We are pleased that you chose to worship with us. A sad reality is that through the years the Church has experienced Schism. Different views of Communion are a result of these divisions. To protect anyone from partaking unworthily, we ask that only Orthodox Christians partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. Should you like to know more about the Orthodox faith, please see one of the Parish Council members. For more information about our parish, organizations and calendar of events, please visit our website at www.goann.net.
Happy Father's Day!
When a father fears the Lord, the children can live in peace. In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, and His children will have a refuge. [Proverbs 14:26 NKJV] A father is the protector and fighter for his family. Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, or afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lordyour God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place. [Deuteronomy 1:29-31 NKJV] A father is a leader in the family, whom the children can look up to as role models. And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." [Joshua 24:15 NKJV] Besides providing for the family, a father gives instructions and biblical wisdom to his children. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. [Deuteronomy 6:6-9 NKJV] Like our heavenly father, our earthly father mirrors the love that Christ has shown to us. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. [I Corinthians 13:4-7 NKJV] A father's role in the family to to help kids learn the scripture. Encouragement for husbands, son-in-law, brother-in-laws.All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. [2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV] God works through fathers to impact their children and families. For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” [Genesis 18:19 NKJV] A father rejoices when their son shows prudence and wisdom.The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him. [Proverbs 23:24 NKJV] Without the father, there would be no son, and without the son, there would be no father. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. [Proverbs 22:6 NKJV] Because of our father's sacrifice, we are able to enjoy the fruits and the provisions. The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him. [Proverbs 20:7 NKJV] Blessings and curse are passed down from one generation to the next. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” [Exodus 34:6-7 NKJV] A good father disciplines his son out of love and with love.My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction; 12 For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights. [Proverbs 3:11-12 NKJV] Do not provoke your children. And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. [Ephesians 6:4 NKJV] Parenting is a temporary stewardship. Marriage is forever. The best thing you can do for your kids is to be a good husband.Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. [Genesis 2:24 NKJV] God cares about the relationship between fathers and their kids.And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” [Malachi 4:6 NKJV]
AHEPA will host its Annual Father's Day Breakfast on Sunday, June 21st in Cotros Hall immediately following Divine Liturgy. Menu is scrambled eggs, pancakes and sausage. Donations will be accepted. What a great way to treat Dad on his day!
AHEPA will hold its May meeting at Ciao Bella at 6:30pm on Tuesday, May 19th.
Please be in prayerful consideration of your service and ministry within the Church. If you are interested in helping with any age at all, from elementary through high school, for our 2015-2016 Sunday School, please contact Anna Paris at 901-359-1918.
Names for Memorial Day
Memorial Day, which is observed on the last Monday of May, commemorates the men and women who died while in the military service of the United States of America. In observance of the holiday, many people visit cemeteries and memorials, and volunteers often place American flags on each grave site at national cemeteries. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time.
If you submitted a name of your loved one and he or she died while serving in the U.S. Military, that person will be listed on the Memorial Day roster.
We will be requesting names for Veterans Day around the end of October. The parish will honor our veterans on Sunday, November 8th, 2015. If you have a loved one who served but died after retirement or discharge from active duty, that person will also be remembered at this time.
While those who have died (in or out of active duty) are also remembered, Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor ALL those who served honorably in the U.S. Military - in wartime or peacetime. In fact, Veterans Day is largely intended to thank LIVING veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served - not only those who died - have sacrificed and done their duty.
Congratulations to Constance Poplos for winning the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical District Festival in Nashville on April 18th! She will represent the Annunciation Parish Community at the Metropolis Festival in Detroit on May 16th.
Our alarm system is now fully operational. If you have need to be in the building outside of normal hours, please see your Ministry or Organization Head for permission, instructions for the alarm and the procedures for closing up the building before you leave the grounds.
Graduation Sunday will be held on Sunday, May 17th following the Divine Liturgy. ALL High School and College Graduates are encouraged to please participate in our ceremony. Whether you can attend or not, we would love to include information on your achievements. Please see the format below for submitting.
FULL Name of Graduate:
Full Names of Both Parents:
School Graduating from:
Any Honors, Awards, Achievements:
School will be Attending/Future endeavors:
*Or for College Graduates:
Will be working/future endeavors:
* Please let us know if you will or will not be attending the May 17th ceremony. Any questions, please contact Kathy Zambelis at 359-1055.
DEADLINE INFORMATION - EXTENDED!!
Send all information to Erin in the church office at: annunciationmemphis@gmail.com no later than MONDAY, MAY 11, 2015 so it can be published on the Graduates Booklet! If it is not received on time, the information will be read on Graduation Sunday, but will not be posted.
The Reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Romans 5:1-10
BRETHREN, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man -- though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
3rd Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 6:22-33
The Lord said, "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well."
As of June 14th, 2015 these 119 Parish Families HAVE COMPLETED a STEWARDSHIP CONTACT CARD for 2015. Pledge Forms can be found in the office, in the Narthex or online at www.goann.net. Please help us by completing a 2015 card. Thank you for your faithfulness.
************************Robert AllphinIskander (Alex) & Manal Al-Qawwas familyZoe AnastonChris & Connie ApalodimasMaria ApalodimasNick & Anne Argol Todd & Cyndi Bagatelas Family Rev. James & Anne Berends FamilyDemetra BitinisJohn & Deborah BookasJanet BoosalisShawn BranumAngie Buchanan Emily M. Capadalis LoveEndy CarterMary ChagarisCatalin & Anca ChelsoiJohn ChulosCharles & Connie CotrosJerry & Julia CouloubaritsisJasmin Dedic & Bibiana Brymer FamilyGeorge Deitz & Kristine Wagner FamilyHelen DemasAnna DentonGreg & Cyndi Detty FamilyAndrew & Tina Douglas FamilyBruce & Helen ErskineLinda Farrell & SonsPhillip & Kellye Farris Family Nick & Marty FoxPete & Jan FutrisSteve & Zoe FutrisEvangelia & Terrence Gallagher Bill & Niki Gikas Alexander GogonelisAlan & Renee Graves FamilyTheodore H GrayesKevin & Pannayiota Guigley FamilyCharles & Elizabeth Hawkins FamilyLaurentiu & Mihaela HerbeiSandy E. HerbertMaria HetosTony & Ramona Hong FamilyKen & Vicki Hoover FamilyKoula HristopoulouAthena JamesonJohn JohnsonBill & Denise JoynerGeorge Karkatsugas Georgia KarrisDiane KavelarasJohn & Nancy KayMaureen KayJim KennedySarkis & Jenny Kish Marcy KolliasKalliope LefesPeter & Felicity LetsouKosta & Helen MavraganisScott McKee & Weilin Xi FamilyEmily MelonasPeter & Kathryn MelonasJames & Susan MengToni Montgomery & FamilyAlexis MooreMichael “Tommy” Moore Mike & Maria Moore & FamilyThe translations of hymns are under copyright and used by permission. All rights reserved. These works may not be further reproduced, in print or on other websites or in any other form, without the prior written authorization of the copyright holder:
This Martyr, who was born to a pagan father and a Christian mother, was from Cilicia, confessed the Christian Faith before the Proconsul Marcian, and was perfected in martyrdom at the age of eighteen, when he was put into a sack with sand and venomous serpents and cast into the sea. Saint John Chrysostom has a homily in his honour.
After the expulsion of Eudoxius from the see of Antioch, the Arians of Antioch, believing that Meletius of Armenia would uphold their doctrines, petitioned the Emperor Constantius to appoint Meletius Bishop of Antioch, while signing a document jointly with the Orthodox of Antioch, unanimously agreeing to Meletius' appointment (see Feb. 12); this document was entrusted to Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata. Meletius, however, after his Orthodoxy became apparent, was banished, and the Arians persuaded Constantius to demand the document back from Eusebius, as it convicted their perfidy. Imperial officers were sent; Eusebius refused to surrender the document without the consent of all who had signed it; the officers returned to the Emperor, who furiously sent them back to Eusebius with threats. But so great a zealot for the true Faith, so staunch an enemy of the Arians, so fearless a man of valor was Saint Eusebius, that when Constantius' officers arrived, threatening to cut off his right hand unless he surrendered the document, Eusebius held out both hands. When Constantius learned of it, he was struck with astonishment and admiration.
This took place in 361, the last year of the reign of Constantius; he was succeeded by Julian the Apostate, who was slain in Persia in 363; Jovian succeeded Julian, and Valentinian succeeded Jovian in 364, making his brother Valens Emperor of the East. Valens, who supported the Arians, exiled Eusebius to Thrace in 374. The bearer of the edict of Eusebius' banishment arrived in the evening; Eusebius bade him keep silence, or else the people, learning why he had come, would drown him: and Eusebius, though an old man, left his house alone on foot by night. After Valens was slain at Adrianopole in 378 (see Saint Isaacius, Aug. 3), the holy Eusebius returned from exile under the Emperor Gratian, and he ordained for the churches of Syria men known for their virtue and Orthodoxy. About the year 380, as he was entering a certain village to enthrone its bishop, whom he had consecrated, an Arian woman threw a clay tile from the roof, and it crushed his head; as he was dying, he bound the bystanders with oaths that they not take the least vengeance. Saint Gregory the Theologian addressed several letters to him (PG 37:87, 91, 126-130); he had such reverence for him, that in one letter to him, commending himself to Saint Eusebius' prayers, he said, "That such a man should deign to be my patron also in his prayers will gain for me, I am persuaded, as much strength as I should have gained through one of the holy martyrs.