Message from Metropolitan Alexios
My Beloved Ones,
I greet you with love and joy in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! I pray, as we arrive at the end of our Lenten journey, that the remainder of this holy season will be a spiritually fruitful period in your lives.
Coming, as we are to the end of the Great Complines, the Pre-Sanctified Liturgies and the final Salutation to the Theotokos with the Akathist Hymn, I hope that you took the opportunity to attend these beautiful services, which serve as vital connections to our Creator, and will give us the strength needed to embark upon our journey with Jesus Christ through Holy Week.
For Holy Week, my beloved, is not simply a historical commemoration of Christ’s life-saving Passion and His loving sacrifice. However ornate and theatrical our rituals may seem to some, we are not audience members or observers—we are meant to be equal participants! How then can we truly feel connected to our fellow members of the Body of Christ, if we are not present to take part in the λειτουργία, the work of the people?
I thank God that, here in America, we have been blessed with a new, modern translation of the Holy Week services, which allows us—every night—to join with the priest and the chanters, so that we can truly understand and feel the meaning of the words.
Every service of Holy Week exists for a unique reason, and I pray that you will find time and not miss any of these spiritually renewing moments. Who knows, after all, if we are going to be blessed with another year to celebrate the services of Holy Week? I thank God therefore, that he has given us all another year of health, to join our brothers and sisters in Church.
The end of this special week will bear witness to the Crucifixion and Burial of Lord; and on a solemn Saturday night, the Resurrection! In order for us to truly experience the depths of this joy, we must be in the church, in addition to fasting and prayer. In this way, we can truly celebrate the joy, worship and fellowship of Pascha with all our bodies, minds and souls!
Looking forward to this Paschal spirit of love and fellowship, I would like once again to thank you all for your loving-kindness towards the clergy, and your brothers and sisters, as we are all members of the Metropolis of Atlanta family.
Know that I pray for you all, and I ask for your prayers and forgiveness as I travel to various communities during Holy Week to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God bless us all, and Kαλό Πάσχα!
+ALEXIOS
Metropolitan of Atlanta
The Strategic Plan
Strategic Plan Updates
This week the Parish Champions have concluded their regular conference calls. Look out for announcements from your Champions in the coming days! They have been extensively briefed on our new Web Portal!
After many months of hard work and much anticipation, the first goals of the Metropolis of Atlanta Strategic Plan are complete and there is content on the Web Portal for download. Parishioners are invited to use the new content found at www.atlstrategicplan.org/portal to enhance their efforts working for the Church and its many ministries. The completed Goals include: 1.1 Parish Strategic Planning, 3.3 Communications Director, 5.4 Seniors Program, 10.1 Metropolis Website and 10.3 Best Practices Metropolis Resource Center Portal. In addition to the first content, the website has been redesigned for ease of use. For more information please visit www.atlstrategicplan.org. If you have questions, contact your Parish Champion or communications@atlmetropolis.org.
Family Life Ministry
The Metropolis of Atlanta’s Family Life Ministry (www.familylifeministry.atlanta.goarch.org) strengthens individuals, families and church families through adaptable programs, blogs and educational materials as a means of fostering connection within our homes and our parishes.
In this third episode of the “Family Insights” Podcast , Paula Marchman (Managing Director of FLM) and Eleni Alexiou (Managing Director of OCN) continue the discussion of how we all make mistakes and how struggles can be good. Together these counselors will walk you through the important topics so that you can gain insight into your family. Sit back today, listen, and find your deep breathe.
To listen, visit the podcast’s page HERE.
Journey of Marriage (Pre-Marital Seminar)
All couples marrying in the Metropolis must attend a Metropolis-sponsored Journey of Marriage seminar prior to their wedding. The couple will present their certificate of completion to their parish priest after the seminar.
This Spring Saint Catherine parish in West Palm Beach will again host a Jouney of Marriage Seminar on Saturday, May 6th.
To see the full list of seminars through 2017, and to register, please visit: http://www.familylifeministry.atlanta.goarch.org/upcoming-events-2/
When you shop with Amazon, you can donate to the Diakonia Retreat Center
Amazon Smile is a program that allows for 0.5% of your eligible Amazon purchase to be donated to the Diakonia Retreat Center. To find our Amazon Smile page, visit https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-2187047.