SAINT MODESTOS PET BLESSING, OCT 15
All furry, feathery and scaley friends are welcome to come receive a blessing, from 11 am – 12 pm. Local animal helping organizations are being invited to participate, as well as friends from local houses of worship. The general public is warmly invited to join us—please spread the word to friends, colleagues and neighbors. Our talented seminarian, Lee Morest, will once again be on hand to photograph the event and capture portraits of our pets. Few and share the flyer here.
SERVICES FOR OCTOBER 16, SUNDAY OF THE 7TH ECUMENICAL COUNCIL
We look forward to worshipping with you at Saint Gregory, whether in person or remotely: Orthros, 8:30 am; Divine Liturgy, 9:30 am. Sunday School classes have begun. If you have not already, please register your children here for another year of learning and growth in the Orthodox Faith.
STREAMING DETAILS/MEDIA CONNECTIONS FOR OCTOBER 16
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 video
ORTHODOX LIFE, OCT 16 & 30
Join us in October and November for “Contemporary Moral Issues.” This series will explore the Orthodox Church’s perspective and teaching on the most pressing social and moral issues of our time, from the sanctity of life to capital punishment. Join Fr. Alex during Fellowship Hour for an informal, discussion-oriented presentation, utilizing Fr. Stanley Harakas’ Contemporary Moral Issues. Contact Father for further details.
SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSES CONTINUE, OCT 16
Our school year is off and running and attendance has been strong! If you have not yet had an opportunity to do so, please register your child, or children, for Sunday School at your earliest convenience, and contact Dionne Katinas (dionnekatinas@comcast.net) with questions or to learn more about our ministry.
SAINT GREGORY PARISH BOOKSTORE OPEN, OCT 16
We are so happy to have our bookstore open and staffed on Sundays once again. One of the new udpated includes an expanded children''s section. With fall fast approaching, now is the perfect time for you (and your little ones) to curl up with a good book. Our bookstore is open on Sundays after Divine Liturgy, and we have a variety of titles for readers of all ages. Explore selections in topics ranging from prayer guides to the lives of the saints. There is truly something for everyone! Come and see…
HOPE (K – 2nd)/JOY (3rd – 5th) PRAYERFUL PUMPKIN CARVING, OCT 23
Join us after Sunday School for this special event. A pizza lunch will be offered, and please bring a pumpkin from home, as well as carving tools, if you have them. Parents, please be ready to carve with your children to make sure they stay safe. This seasonal event with a faithful message is one not to miss. Contact Fr. Alex with any questions and to confirm participation.
ST. ANASTASIA PHILOPTOCHOS MEMBERSHIP AND VETERANS' DRIVES, THIS MONTH
***The Philoptochos Membership Drive is “on” this month through the end of the year.
Please consider joining this friendly, energetic group of women—and spreading the news to family and friends. The dues will remain at $35.00, with greater contributions gratefully accepted. Checks can be made out to the St. Anastasia Philoptochos and given to any board member. Payments can also be made through Vanco with the designation “Philoptochos.”
***In addition, the Philoptochos Veterans' Coat and Gift Card Drive to benefit the local Mansfield Veterans' Affairs Office has begun and will run through Oct. 30. Monetary donations will be accepted through the end of October and will be used to purchase winter coats and gift cards for the Veterans' Office. As with the Membership Drive above, checks or Vanco payments are gratefully accepted. Many thanks for your support. Contact Ann Johnson for further details about Philoptochos and any coming events: annjohnson0195@gmail.com.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, NOV 6
Looking further ahead, please save the date of Nov. 6 for our fall Parish General Assembly. These gatherings of our Steward Parishioners represent important moments to reflect on parish life and further the ministries and programs of our parish (a formal announcement and agenda are forthcoming).
METROPOLIS OF BOSTON PHILOPTOCHOS EVENTS, NOV 12 AND 20
***Author Event, Nov. 12
Our Metropolis Philoptochos is hosting a luncheon with best selling author Yvette Manessis Corporon, where she will discuss her latest book, Where the Wandering Ends. Yvette visited our Metropolis four years ago and was very well received. We look forward to hearing about her new book that was recently featured on Good Morning America! This event is open to everyone: you need not be a member of Philoptochos. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit the Metropolis of Boston Philoptochos website: https://boston.goarch.org/ministries/philoptochos/yvettemanessis.html
***Cookbook Deadline, Nov. 20
On the suggestion of His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios, the Metropolis of Boston Philoptochos is compiling a new cookbook with recipes from each Chapter in the Metropolis for a new fundraiser. A very successful lenten Metropolis cookbook was published in 1996 by the Metropolis of Boston Philoptochos.The deadline for submission of recipes has been extended to Sunday, November 20, 2022. Please submit your favorite, original Greek family recipe here: https://forms.gle/AmgrTMxY6i959XFL6
PARISH COUNCIL CANDIDATE FORMS, DUE NOV 13
Our Parish Elections Day, for Parish Council and Board of Auditors, is slated for Dec. 4. Candidate Forms for Parish Council are now available in the Narthex, and Fr. Alex can also email you one. The due date for the completed Candidate Form is Nov. 13; they can be dropped off in the Church Office or emailed to Father. Regarding the Board of Elections, please let Fr. Alex know if you would be willing to serve (three Parishioner Stewards will be elected for this committee at the General Assembly).
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY SUPPORT AND BUILD EVENT, LATE FALL/NOV
We are awaiting news on our Habitat for Humanity build day, which will likely be in October or November. The build site is on Pike Ave. in Attleboro and represents a life-changing opportunity for a local family. Donations in support of the event, which are part of our build-day commitment, are needed; likewise, we welcome volunteers to work on site during the build day. Please contact Fr. Alex to donate and/or express interest in the build day.
IMPORTANT 2022 STEWARDSHIP UPDATE AND REMINDER
Our Stewardship Ministry Committee is grateful for the support and generosity expressed thus far in 2022. As we look toward the end of this year’s campaign and begin planning for 2023, this would be a wonderful time to complete a 2022 Commitment Card and/or fulfill your existing commitment. Commitment Cards are in the Narthex, and they can also be filled out electronically within the Stewardship pages of our website. Online giving options are also available there for convenient and instant commitment fulfillment.
NEW PLASTIC BOTTLE AND CAN FUNDRAISER
This fall, we launched a fund-raising effort utilizing the new drop-off bin in the parking lot. As of now, you can bring your deposit-stamped plastic bottles and cans to drop off at the shed, and our parish will trade them in for donations on a monthly basis. No glass, please—and do make sure to rinse your donations before dropping them through the window in the bin.
USHERING AND "RIDES TO CHURCH" MINISTRIES
This spring and summer, those interested in our Ushering Ministry are invited to contact George Dimitriou: 781-769-2085; Gdimitriou@yahoo.com. Offering yourself as an usher is a wonderful way to meet new people and helps create a welcoming environment at Saint Gregory. Throughout the coming months, we will also reinvigorate our efforts to provide rides to church for anyone who needs one. Once again, contact George Dimitriou if you could use a “lift” or would like to help drive.
LITURGICAL SINGING
This ministry engages musical leadership not only for Sunday liturgy but all the liturgical needs of the year, from Vespers services to Great Lent and Holy Week. Your time and talent is most welcome within our Liturgical Singing Ministry. Please contact Kathy Kalogeras to learn more: kalogeras1@earthlink.net.
MYRHHBEARERS MINISTRY
Within the context of our fledling Myrrhbearers Ministry, our girls and young women are invited to hold Antidoro during Divine Liturgy, read the Epislte and otherwise participate in the entire life of the Church. Please contact Eleni LaFond to pick a date for Antidoro service and Fr. Alex to plan a date for an Epistle reading.
FELLOWSHIP HOUR & SPONSORSHIPS
Join us in the hall for Fellowship Hour following Divine Liturgy after Sunday services. We are also welcoming sponsors for Sundays this summer. Please sign up this Sunday during Fellowship Hour or simply contact the Church Office.
WHAT'S NEW ON OUR WEBSITE?
Within our Youth Ministry pages, you'll soon see two new June 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.
CHURCH OFFICE HOURS
Fr. Alex: Tue. (1 pm – 5 pm), Wed. (9 am – 1 pm) & Thur (9 am – 1 pm); or by appointment when convenient for our parishioners. 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: Tue. (9 am - 1 pm) and
I approach this podium full of emotion. Awarding a person is undoubtedly an honor for that person, but I think that this honor also belongs to those who decide on the award. It shows that they have those sensibilities to perceive the surrounding atmosphere, to appreciate events and to honor persons. For these reasons, allow me to dedicate this highly honorable distinction, the "Patriarch Athenagoras" award, to all those who fight day and night for the assertion of all kinds of rights.
On Saturday evening, the Order of Saint Andrew, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, honored His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, with the Athenagoras Human Rights Award. The annual award ceremony, which recognizes “a person or organization which has consistently exemplified by action, purpose, and dedication, concern for the basic rights and religious freedom of all people,” also coincided with the eighteenth anniversary of His Beatitude’s enthronement to the See of St. Mark.
It is worthy and right that the Order of St. Andrew is bestowing the Athenagoras Human Rights Award of 2022 to His Beatitude Theodore, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, in honor of his great contribution to the Church and humankind, as well as his labors in support of the right to religious freedom in Africa, the great continent to which, as His Beatitude our brother says, “belongs the future.”