A full listing of all our services and events is provided in this bulletin.
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Since the time of the Apostles, the Divine Liturgy has offered us communion with our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ through hymns, prayers, the hearing of the Scriptures and the great miracle of the Holy Eucharist for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
Upon entering this holy church, you are entering into worship with the angels and saints who continually worship God in heaven and are sanctified by His presence. Through your prayerful and heartfelt participation, through your sincere repentance and desire for union with Christ, the Divine Liturgy we celebrate today can be for you a powerful experience of "the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit" (2 Corinthians 13:14). Join in this holy and grace-filled work by following the service in the Divine Liturgy book in your pew or by simply being present, praying in your heart, “Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.”
We enter the temple of God with reverence, humbly and quietly so as not to disturb those who are in prayer and as an expression of faith and awareness of the presence of the Lord, his saints and angels. No loud talking, irrelevant conversations, joking, etc. should take place in the Narthex or in the Sanctuary at anytime. To stand during worship is to affirm that we are in the presence of the Almighty God. The elderly, the sick and children may be seated as needed. There are specific parts of the service during which no one should be moving about. These parts of the service are:
The Small Entrance, the Epistle and Gospel; the Cherubic Hymn, Great Entrance, Nicene Creed, the hymn Se Ymnoumen, the prayers: "Take, eat, this is my Body..." and, "we offer to you these gifts...", the prayer of institution: "And make this bread the precious Body of your Christ...", the Lord's Prayer, Holy Communion, the sermon, dismissal prayer, any special services, e.g, memorial services. Whenever the Priest is facing the people or outside of the altar, everyone should stand wherever they are.
Dressing for God: The church is not just any ordinary place. We dress as modestly and respectfully as we can, because we are in the presence of God Himself. If invited by any earthly king or queen, we would dress in our finest clothes. Therefore, we should dress similarly when accepting an invitation from the Lord of Heaven. The way Orthodox Christians dress, both in and outside the temple, reflects their way of life and dedication to and fear of God. We dress modestly at all times, not in a flashy or provocative way that brings attention to ourselves.
GENTLEMEN: Collared, button-up shirts, clean dress pants, sweaters or vests, ties and coats. Avoid jeans and shorts.
LADIES: Modest dresses and blouses, knee-length skirts or longer, clean dress pants. Avoid jeans or shorts, short skirts, skin-tight clothing, and strapless or sleeveless tops, high-heels shoes as they make noise on our floors. Head coverings may be worn, according to the biblical tradition and are available in the narthex.
Only Orthodox Christians may participate in Holy Communion. Please be in church at the beginning, say the pre-communion prayers the previous evening or in the morning, fasting from food this morning (unless there is a medical reason) and had a recent confession. Allow the altar boys to place the red cloth under your chin. Do not wipe your mouth with it but consume everything that may be on your lips. Ladies please avoid wearing lipstick or lip-gloss when receiving Holy Communion.
Prokeimenon. 4th Tone. Psalm 67.35,26.
God is wonderful among his saints.
Verse: Bless God in the congregations.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 4:22-27.
Brethren, Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, the son of the free woman through promise. Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in travail; for the children of the desolate one are many more than the children of her that is married."
5th Sunday of Matthew
The Reading is from Matthew 8:28-34; 9:1
At that time, when Jesus came to the country of the Gergesenes, two demoniacs met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one would pass that way. And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" Now a herd of many swine was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, "If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine." And he said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the swine; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and perished in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, and what had happened to the demoniacs. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood. And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city.
According to tradition, Anna, the ancestor of God, lived for sixty-nine years, and her spouse Joachim, for eighty; according to one account, Saint Joachim died two years before Saint Anna. The Theotokos had been orphaned of both her parents already when she was eleven years of age, when she was living in the Temple (see Sept. 8 and Nov. 21). Saint Anna is invoked for conceiving children, and for help in difficult childbirth.
All members of our parish are invited to the General Assembly on Sunday, August 1, 2021. After the Divine Liturgy, join us in the hall for refreshments and to participate in the Assembly to hear important reports about our status, growth and progress, new programs and exciting future plans of our parish. Your presence, prayers and participation at this assembly are invaluable in keeping our community united in a spirit of love, faith and service to our Lord.
August 1st is the beginnning of the Dormition Fast in memory of the Falling Asleep of the Theotokos, lasting until the feast of the Dormition on August 15th. During this time, a Paraklesis service will be offered every day at 5pm from August 1st-13th. Please join us for some of these services to ask supplication of the Holy Mother during this fast.
On Wednesdays, starting August 4th at 6pm, please join us for our Orthodox Faith and Life classes to learn more about and delve deeper into the Orthodox Faith.
Fr. Ninos is currently looking for those who may be interested in joining the choir for Sts. Constantine and Helen. Members of the choir would sit in the front pews and lead the rest of the congregation in singing for Liturgy and other services. Please contact Fr. Ninos if you are interested!
For many years, we used to pass around a tray for the Sunday collection offering. During the COVID restrictions, we stopped that practice as part of the guidelines that were given to us. However, this change was actually more appropriate from a spiritual perspective as only our worship experience should be the focus while inside the church. Instead of passing the tray again, we have now placed a small box in the narthex where you can make your Sunday offering, stewardship or other gifts when you enter or when you leave. Thank you and may God bless you for your generosity!
When we light a candle upon entering the church, we offer it with our heartfelt prayer to God for ourselves, family and friends. The wax represents our life that is passing away and the flame represents our soul which was illumined by the light of Christ through the Holy Spirit at our baptism. Lighting a candle signifies our commitment to following Christ until our death.
There is a slot in the narthex table where you can deposit whatever donation you want to offer for the candles. These donations are one of the ways that help us sustain the parish expenses. If you don't have any cash with you this time, please take a candle regardless and offer something next time. Thank you and God bless you!
Please be careful when receiving the antidoron after Liturgy. It is holy bread that has been blessed upon the holy altar, so we would like to try our best to avoid dropping it or leaving crumbs to be stepped on.
Please keep in your prayers the servants of God: Xander, Rommel, Stephanie, Samir, Demetra, Alina, Katerina, and Roula.
If you have anyone else you would like to add to this list, please email Joshua at JWGray92@protonmail.com