DORMITION FAST
We are reaching the end of the short period of fasting that ends with the Dormition of the Theotokos (August 15). This is a big and beautiful feast day in our lives. So, let us prepare!
· This is the time when we cut down or, if possible, eliminate certain foods (meat, eggs, dairy, oil, alcohol). We work on self-control, we eat less and get thinner. The Church calendar tells us what to do and when to do it: https://www.goarch.org/chapel/calendar
· But not only do we change the diet, but we also strive for more spiritual food. With less eating, there is more time to pray. Let us take it! With less eating, there is more left in the pocket. Let us give it! The needy should be the beneficiaries of our fast.
· All this can only gain meaning if done in Christ, and not in the world. Therefore, we fast from useless things that occupy our time, mind and soul, from entertainment, vain communication (both face to face and social media). We seek quietness to find... ourselves. Once found, we take ourselves to the evening Paraklesis services and we schedule to do confession.
Have a blessed Dormition Fast!
DORMITION OF THE THEOTOKOS AND POTLUCK LUNCHEON
Join us for this very special Feast Day of the Dormition of the Theotokos. Vespers will be at 6:00 pm on Monday, Aug 14 in the Saint Nektarios Chapel.
Liturgy will be celebrated on Tuesday, August 15 beginning at 8:30 Matins. We end our fasting with a Festal Luncheon to follow. Bring pot luck items to share - no restrictions.
ORTHODOXY 101/ CATECHISM CLASS
A new Orthodoxy 101/ Catechism cycle will begin this Sunday, August 13. The meetings will take place on Sundays after the coffee hour, the first one being an Introductory class. To sign up for the class, please contact Father Ion.
PARAKLESIS, POTLUCK AND WORKSHOP
Next week's Wednesday Paraklesis will be followed by the small group discussion inspired by the delicious potluck dinner. We will partake of some Desert Wisdom and we will discuss about applying it to our lives in the modern age.
6:00pm – Paraklesis
6:45pm – Lenten Potluck dinner and discussion: "Desert Wisdom"
FAMILY EVENINGS / SMALL GROUPS
With great excitement, we are continuing with our second FAMILY EVENING. This is a new ministry centered around the need to bring families together for fellowship and spiritual growth and to enable us all to develop as members of Saint John's family.
This is a potluck dinner event that will take place on Friday, August 18 from 5:30 p.m. at the Community Center in La Mesa, Monterey. The time and the location are set to enable families with younger children to participate. Child care will be provided for the time of the adult time together. If you can, please bring a dish to share - Friday's are fasting days.
The schedule is as follows:
- 5:30 - 6:00pm - Family potluck dinner -we all eat together.
- 6:00 - 7:00pm - Short movie/ presentation, small group discussions and fellowship.
- 7:00 pm - More fellowship time...
Again, we will use "A Journey to Fullness" as seed for the group discussions.
A JOURNEY TO FULLNESS
This is the title of the newly released set of short presentations by Father Barnabas Powell. We will watch them together and discuss in small groups how we our journey takes us to the fullness of the original Christian Faith. Excellent material, professionally crafted and put on the screen with much love and enthusiasm. The episodes will be shown and discussed at the SMALL GROUP: FAMILY EVENINGS.
GREEK FESTIVAL PREPARATIONS
Our Festival will get started in a few weeks; we will then begin the hard and fruitful work of cooking gyros and souvlakia, serving pastitsio and dolmades, and quenching the thirst of our guests with beer, wine and soda. Moreover, this year we will also send as many visitors as possible to see the Church Tours at the Little Church at the Festival.
Little Church at the Festival:
Most of us love our iconostasis icons at our church in Salinas. We have recently created processed images from the painted originals that will soon be printed on canvas. Thanks to Aris Zavitsanos who spent countless hours to remaster the photographs of our magnificent painted icons, we now have high quality digital icons for our archives and for printing.
Once printed, the icons will allow us to build the altar space at the Little Church at the Festival. They will play a major role in offering the "church tours" during the Festival; they will bring a most beautiful part of our church to the Festival. They will be with us there, on site, for the duration of the event, watching over us. Afterwards, the icons will be set for our normal church configuration in Carmel where we worship on Sundays.
So what can you do about it? Well, you can make this happen. Part of the $1,800 we still need for this Outreach project is needed for producing these 9 icons. The rest of the money is needed for renting the theater. Please contact Fr. Ion directly for sponsoring or if you have questions.
New: this coming Sunday:
We will have a signup sheet for the Festival. The Festival is a church ministry, and requires the help of all of our members, their family and, if possible, of their friends too. If you can’t serve for three days, then serve for two, and if you can’t do two, then serve for as much as you can. Any time you can sacrifice will be of help to the mission of the Festival and of our church.
GREEK FESTIVAL PREPARATIONS
There will only be two more chances to join the cooking team for fellowship and service and to learn some delicious recipes. Remaining on the schedule are: Galaktoboureko (custard pie with phyllo) and Apricot Baklava. Please join us. “Many hands make light work.”
Upcoming Cooking Schedule - all cooking to take place in Salinas, unless otherwise noted.
Week of August 21 (most likely Tuesday and Wednesday):
Galactobourico. Watch for announced day and time.
Tuesday, August 29 Apricot Baklava, 12 pm
Thursday, August 31 Apricot Baklava 9 am
Question about the Baklava event? Call Sandy Sanders at 831.229.1937
Bring with you a sack lunch and your apron. More dates will be announced for other items soon.
SERVING THESE SUNDAYS
The teams on duty these coming Sundays are:
August 13
Welcoming: Katherine Shaw
Parish Council Member: Alexandra Mouzas
Fellowship: Team 2 (Pink) – always 2nd Sunday of the month
August 20
Welcoming: Simi Georgalos
Parish Council Member: John Ehab
Fellowship: Team 3 (Orange) – always 3rd Sunday of the month
PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS
Join Philoptochos for their Fall Breakfast Meeting, featuring Father Milutin Janjic of St. Prophet Elias Church. Hear his insightful "Reflections on the Beginning of the Ecclesiastical Year." Enjoy the warm fellowship, a delicious Greek style breakfast, support our newly elected board of directors, and learn what's new with our dynamic chapter!
Saturday, September 16th
10:30 AM
Seccombe Hall
Corner of Lincoln & 9th
Carmel by the Sea
By Donation
Information and reservations: Alexandra Mouzas 619-518-2755, or email Alex@AlexandraMouzas.com
NEW: CONNECT!
We now have three new Facebook Groups for you to consider:
- Families - for parents (and grandparents) to keep in touch and plan events.
- Newbies - for catechumens and new people in our community.
- Military - for families of the military in the area, both active and retired.
These are closed groups. Add your friends who might enjoy being part of them or, to join, please contact Julia Wheeler.
SUNDAY SCHOOL SUMMER BREAK
The Sunday School will enjoy the summer break until September. See you in church!
AMAZON SMILE
If you already shop on Amazon, or if you’re looking for the perfect gift for a loved one, we invite you to shop at smile.amazon.com and choose Saint John the Baptist Church Carmel as your charity of choice and 0.5% of your purchase will be donated to Saint John’s. This is no cost to you. Below you can read about how to use Amazon Smile.
How Does it Work?
1. Visit smile.amazon.com.
The entire shopping experience is the same and most products available on amazon.com are available at Amazon Smile. Link to https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-6136359.
2. Sign in and Choose Saint John the Baptist Church Carmel
The screen will look slightly different depending on whether you’re already signed into Amazon. If you’re already signed in, you’ll see a screen like the one below. Simply search for “Saint John the Baptist Church Carmel” and proceed to step 3.
3. Begin Shopping
ST. BASIL CHURCH ANNIVERSARY GALA
St. Basil the Great Greek Orthodox Church in San Jose invites all of us to join in the festive occasion of their 31st Anniversary Gala on Saturday, September 9, 2017 at 5pm at the The Villages Golf and Country Club, 5000 Cribari Lane, San Jose, 95135. RSVP Maria Anagnostos at 408.316.6609.