Sunday & Weekday Services
Orthros/Matins: 8:30 am
Divine Liturgy: 9:30 am
Youth Religious Education Ministry is currently offered Sundays in person and remotely following Holy Communion. Please see weekly updates from our ministry leaders for updates on each class. All are welcome to join us for Fellowship Hour after Divine Liturgy.
Hello Saint Gregory Parishioners and Friends!
A blessed Feast of the Ascension to you, and yours, and I hope and pray you can join us at Saint Gregory this Sunday, June 13. This Sunday is dedicated to the Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council--their efforts remind us of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, how faithful people can come together in love and cooperation to understand God better ... as well as one another. This possibility was available to these spiritual ancestors so long ago--and to us, right here and now.
This Sunday's services will be streamed via Face Book and You Tube. Fellowship Hour will be hosted by our Parish Council following Divine Liturgy. If you'd like to host on a coming Sunday, that would be a tremendous thing for our parish family--please contact the Church Office to save your special date. While Youth Religious Education classes have concluded until fall, I hope our parents will continue to bring our beloved children to Saint Gregory this summer, or keep worshipping online according to their comfort level. For sure, worship and learning in the Orthodox Faith never "break" during the year. And don't forget, the evening of the 13th is the hybrid Metropolis Awards, during which our own Steve and Liz Christo will be honored. We are so proud of them and love them dearly--view the event, beginning at 6 pm.
While I now begin to work on our fall/winter 2021 schedule, in concert with our ministry leaders, I invite you to express your interest in existing and possible new ministries and events with me directly. Without a doubt, we will need help leading youth ministries like JOY this fall--we'd also like to gather a group of liturgical singers to help lead congregational singing, as well as establish a garden club (great idea generated by our Parish Council) to help beautify our grounds, among many other ideas. Any of these sound of interest? Something else on your mind and in your heart? Again, let's talk.
As mentioned in last week's note, I truly hope you find our new, streamlined approach to weekly communications helpful: the Weekly eBlast with a quick rundown and “heads up” about coming events, along with this full Weekly eBulletin (the hardcopy Weekly Bulletin will hopefully return to Saint Gregory this weekend). As you scroll downward, you’ll find everything you need, including some great spiritual nourishment, to keep you connected to parish life this week and month, including a link to our website Church Calendar, ministry news, service notes and coming events (like the June 17 Philoptochos Dinner (Flyer in "Coming Events)," June 18 - 20 Community Weekend, June 25 Golf Tournament) and July 13 Mansfield Family Fun Night (flyer in "Coming Events").
It's always great to touch base with you. In addition, I'd love to visit with you and/or your family this summer--at your home, your work, for a walk ... whatever works for you. Please give me a call or shoot me an email when you might be around and have time this summer!
Hope to see you soon,
Fr. Alex
EPISTLE READERS: Isabella Caradonna. Our youth are especially encouraged to contact Fr. Alex to read on a coming Sunday, in person or remotely. Parents, please let Father know if your daughter or son might like to read.
ALTAR SERVERS: All servers welcome this Sunday. Contact Fr. Alex if your son is interested in Altar service--we'd love to grow this ministry.
ANTIDORON SERVER: Kyri Stavros. To get involved with this ministry, contact Fr. Alex.
HOMILY: Offered by Fr. Manny Chris.
MEMORIALS: No memorials today.
FELLOWSHIP HOUR: Sponsored by our Parish Council. Please join us for Fellowship Hour in the hall today following Divine Liturgy. We are grateful for the opportunity to once again enjoy friendship and refreshments within our parish home! Fellowship Hour sponsorships are open to the entire parish family. Please contact the Church Office to schedule your special day, in memory of a loved one, in honor of a special occasion or just to enable wonderful fellowship at Saint Gregory.
WORSHIPPING FROM HOME: STREAMING AND INTERNET MINISTRY
ACCESS SERVICES VIA FACEBOOK:
St. Gregory the Theologian Greek Orthodox Church | Facebook
ACCESS SERVICES VIA YOU TUBE:
St. Gregory The Theologian Live - YouTube
STREAMING MINISTRY DETAILS/SOCIAL MEDIA CONNECTIONS
Access Services via You Tube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgvnXFV6xK1Nhm8ID84jFNg
Access Services and join our community on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/saintgregorythetheologian
Join our community on Instagram
@saintgregorythetheologian • Instagram photos and videos
ORTHROS & DIVINE LITURGY FOR SUNDAY, JUNE 13
We look forward to worshipping with you at Saint Gregory, whether in person or remotely. Orthros, 8:30 am; Divine Liturgy, 9:30 am. While Youth Religious Education classes have concluded until fall, we hope as many of our beloved children as possible will keep attending services or worshipping online. Worship and community never "break" at Saint Gregory!
FELLOWSHIP HOUR, JUNE 13--AND SPONSORSHIPS THIS SUMMER
If you feel comfortable doing so, please join us in the hall for Fellowship Hour following Divine Liturgy. We are grateful for the opportunity to once again enjoy friendship and refreshments in our hall. In addition, all parishioners are invited to pick a special Sunday to sponsor Fellowship Hour this summer. Please contact the Church Office.
ANTIDORON SERVERS MINISTRY, JUNE 13
In addition to Divine Liturgy this Sunday, there will be a need each Sunday this summer. Please contact Fr. Alex to join this wonderful ministry and confirm service dates.
PHILOPTOCHOS EVENTS, JUNE 14 & 29
With COVID restrictions lifting, we are excited to be able to plan our annual dinner for June 14, 6:30 pm, outside at the Riley Home. We recognize that we may all be at different comfort levels concerning gathering in groups and eating at restaurants. RSVP by Monday, June 14th to Nicole Riley: nmresq412@gmail.com. We are also pleased to announce a fun event hosted by Connie Spiros: a virtual cooking class on June 29, 6:30 pm. RSVP to Stephanie LaFond so we can send out the link and ingredients list ahead of the event: steph@lafonds.net.
PARISH COMMUNITY WEEKEND AT MBC, JUNE 18 - 20
We are looking forward to several relaxing days at the Saint Methodios Faith & Heritage Center on Father's Day weekend--all parishioners are invited to join us. To confirm your participation and for any additional information or questions, contact Stephanie LaFond: steph@lafonds.net.
SOUL SATURDAY, JUNE 19
The Orthodox Church recognizes a special Soul Saturday each year, the day before Holy Pentecost. Please join us for Orthros and Divine Liturgy at the usual times, followed by a beautiful Memorial Service. Names can be brought to Fr. Alex on the day of the service, dropped off to the Church Office or emailed to Father ahead of time. Please consider making Koliva for this day as well--a moving symbol of the Resurrection!
PARISH GENERAL ASSEMBLY, JUNE 21 (NEW DATE)
Please save the date for this important meeting of our parish family. We'll gather via Zoom in the evening--time TBA. View in "Coming Events & Updates" below.
SAINT GREGORY GOLF TOURNAMENT, JUNE 25
Join us for this annual fundraiser for Saint Gregory at Wentworth Hills, Plainville, MA. Event fees include a grab and go breakfast, steak-tip lunch, golf cart and more. Corporate sponsorship opportunities are also available. View our flyer for complete details, online donation opportunities and all contact information. Spread the word and support our beloved parish!
METROPOLIS OF BOSTON SUMMER CAMPING MINISTRY, STARTS JULY 5
MBC is gearing up for five faith and fun-filled sessions this summer, beginning July 5. Visit the MBC site at your earliest convenience (space is limited) for all the details and registration information:
REGISTER - METROPOLIS OF BOSTON CAMP.
MANSFIELD FAMILY FUN NIGHT, JULY 13
We are looking for volunteers on Tuesday, July 13 to help with the preparation, cooking, serving and general support for this yearly Saint Gregory fundraiser in downtown Mansfield. It is a great opportunity to get our name out into the local community and a wonderful evening of fellowship for all involved. We are looking for support for 1-2 hour shifts between 4:30 pm – 9:30 pm on the 13th. Please contact Steve Christo if you would like to help: smchristo@comcast.net
FOOD & FRIENDS, JULY 20
For July, we may be preparing "to go" meals or returning to a sit down meal approach. Interested in helping us prepare/serve or making a donation in support of this ministry? All are welcome to get involved. Please contact Cathy Cooper: ccooper126@verizon.net. Each meal we prepare and package feeds about 40-50 people and the total cost per event is about $150. We meet at St. Gregory's at 12 pm. Everything usually wraps up by 5 pm, but you are welcome to plug in whenever you are able. This is such a rewarding and much appreciated ministry for Saint Gregory's! If you can make the time to take part you'll be happy you did.
STEWARDSHIP IN 2021
Many thanks to all of our Saint Gregory parishioners who have already committed for 2021. 2021 Commitment Cards have been mailed to all our Stewards and are available via the Church Office. You can also fill out yours, and give online, via our website Stewardship Page: www.saintgregorythetheologian.org/stewardship/. GivePlus is another great option for parish giving: Home | St Gregory The Theologian Church (myvanco.com)
MEMORIAL GARDEN EFFORT
If you would like to add a memorial brick to our outdoor walkway this spring/summer, please fill out the form in our Narthex and Church Office. With the funds we raise, we would like to refurbish and install the iron fencing from our previous iconostation to frame the walkway, as well as add some outdoor icons and landscape features to update this wonderful area. Contact Cathy Cooper for further details and with questions: ccooper126@verizon.net.
CONGREGATIONAL SINGING LEADERS
Singing leaders are needed to help our parish get familiar with our new hymnal, as well as lead congregational singing of the Divine Liturgy this summer and fall. Please contact Fr. Alex to learn more about coming practices and how you can be a part of this vital ministry of Saint Gregory.
SAINT GREGORY PARISH BOOKSTORE
Parishioners are invited to visit our bookstore by appointment or otherwise receive assistance by contacting the Church Office. Cathy or Fr. Alex would be happy to help you find that encouraging book or meaningful gift for a loved one during these unique times.
WHAT'S NEW ON OUR WEBSITE?
Within our Youth Ministry pages, you'll now see two new resources under "Youth and Family Resources": "Saintly Lives" and "For Your Home." Both can be a resources for parents as they strive to bring the life of the Church into their homes. New entries for May will soon be available.
CHURCH OFFICE HOURS
Fr. Alex: Tue. (9 am – 1 pm), Wed. (11 am – 3 pm) & Thur (9 am – 1 pm); or by appointment when convenient for our faithful. Please note that on occasion, Fr. Alex may be seeing to a pastoral situation, visitingn with another parishioner, attending a Metropolis event or otherwise engaged in Church life during office hours.
Cathy Cooper: by Appointment
8:30AM Orthros (In Person/Online)
9:30AM Divine Liturgy (In Person/Online)
6:00PM Hybrid Metropolis Awards Event
Community Weekend at MBC
Community Weekend at MBC
Soul Saturday
8:30AM Orthros
9:30AM Divine Liturgy & Memorial
Holy Pentecost
Community Weekend at MBC
8:30AM Orthros (In Person/Online)
9:30AM Divine Liturgy & Pentecost Vespers (In Person/Online)
10:30AM Father's Day Celebration
7:00PM Parish General Assembly
7:30AM Saint Gregory Golf Tournament
8:30AM Orthros (In Person/Online)
9:30AM Divine Liturgy (In Person/Online)
Congratulations to Steve and Liz Christo, our parish honorees! This hybrid event begins at 6 pm.
Our annual dinner gathering and a fun virtual cooking experience are on the agenda for June.
Please join us for this important meeting of our parish family, via Zoom--time TBA.
Please come support this vital fundraiser for our parish. Sponsorship opportunities are available as well.
Join us for this annual fundraiser and wonderful community event.
All parishioners are invited to get involved through hands-on efforts or donations.
Recommendations & Guidelines Updated May 2021
Tenth Orthros Gospel
The Reading is from John 21:1-14
At that time, being raised from the dead, Jesus revealed himself to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat; but that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any fish?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, for the quantity of fish. The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his clothes, for he was stripped for work, and sprang into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.
When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Fathers of the 1st Council
The Reading is from Acts of the Apostles 20:16-18, 28-36
IN THOSE DAYS, Paul had decided to sail past Ephesos, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. And from Miletos he sent to Ephesos and called to him the elders of the church. And when they came to him, he said to them: "Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God which he obtained with the blood of his own Son. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by so toiling one must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, 'it is more blessed to give than to receive.' " And when he had spoken thus, he knelt down and prayed with them all.
Fathers of the 1st Council
The Reading is from John 17:1-13
At that time, Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work which you gave me to do; and now, Father, you glorify me in your own presence with the glory which I had with you before the world was made.
"I have manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world; yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you; for I have given them the words which you gave me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you did send me. I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are mine; all mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves."
This Martyr contested in Byblos of Syria during the reign of Diocletian, in 289. Because she taught other young maidens to turn from the idols to Christ, she was brought before the governor. Her ears were pierced with heated spits until blood ran from her nostrils; finally she was beheaded, at the age of ten or twelve.
The heresiarch Arius was a Libyan by race and a protopresbyter of the Church of Alexandria. In 315, he began to blaspheme against the Son and Word of God, saying that He is not true God, consubstantial with the Father, but is rather a work and creation, alien to the essence and glory of the Father, and that there was a time when He was not. This frightful blasphemy shook the faithful of Alexandria. Alexander, his Archbishop, after trying in vain to correct him through admonitions, cut him off from communion and finally in a local council deposed him in the year 321. Yet neither did the blasphemer wish to be corrected, nor did he cease sowing the deadly tares of his heretical teachings; but writing to the bishops of other cities, Arius and his followers requested that his doctrine be examined, and if it were unsound, that the correct teaching be declared to him. By this means, his heresy became universally known and won many supporters, so that the whole Church was soon in an uproar.
Therefore, moved by divine zeal, the first Christian Sovereign, Saint Constantine the Great, the equal to the Apostles, summoned the renowned First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, a city of Bithynia. It was there that the shepherds and teachers of the Church of Christ gathered from all regions in the year 325. All of them, with one mouth and one voice, declared that the Son and Word of God is one in essence with the Father, true God of true God, and they composed the holy Symbol of Faith up to the seventh article (since the remainder, beginning with "And in the Holy Spirit," was completed by the Second Ecumenical Council). Thus they anathematized the impious Arius of evil belief and those of like mind with him, and cut them off as rotten members from the whole body of the faithful.
Therefore, recognizing the divine Fathers as heralds of the Faith after the divine Apostles, the Church of Christ has appointed this present Sunday for their annual commemoration, in thanksgiving and unto the glory of God, unto their praise and honour, and unto the strengthening of the true Faith.
Finally, the day has arrived for the Church to dedicate a Sunday and celebrate all our Presvyteres throughout the Holy Archdiocese of America. This National Sisterhood of Presvyteres Sunday — on the closest Sunday to June 4th, the Feastday of the Holy Sisters Mary and Martha — is being set aside, not because our Presvyteres deserve only one Sunday, but because we must have a national day of recognition for every Sunday, and indeed every day, that they so diligently and willingly serve the Body of Christ.
On Saturday October 30, 2021, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will present the Athenagoras Human Rights Award to three scientists: Dr. Albert Bourla, DVM, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer; Dr. Ugur Sahin, M.D., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BioNTech; and Dr. George D. Yancopoulos, MD, Ph.D., Founding Scientist, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron. They are being honored for their organizations’ efforts in developing Covid-19 vaccines with extraordinary efficiency and rapidity.
Our faithful are invited to submit the names of the living to be lifted up in prayer by Fr. Alex and our entire parish family. Please contact the Church Office or Father to add or remove names.
Please pray for the servants of God:
Nicole; Alexa; Tony; Amanda; Nicholas; Lea; Irene; Diana; Jeanne; Sam; Michael; Teddy; Annette; Johanna; Joyce; Elaine; Joseph; David; George; Elaine; Gia; Michelle; Kay; Maria; Andreas; Nicholas; Barbara; Timothy; Mark; Bonnie; Andrea; Marissa; Helen; Bessie; Peter; Gina; Christopher; Ginny; Stella; Dorothy; Jack; Dorothy; Ethel; Greg; Vesallie; Helen; Benjamin; Andonea