ATTENTION!

Please note that the church parking lot entrance will not be accessible due to ongoing construction. We ask that everyone enter the parking lot through the parking lot EXIT area instead.
The church's main entrance WILL be accessible, so everyone can now enter the church through the front doors.
Once again, we thank you for your patience as we continue to work on improving our church in order to better serve our community!  

SUNDAY, 9/27

 @8:15aM Orthros & @9:30aM Divine Liturgy
+1ST Sunday of Luke 

Memorial Service
A One-Year Memorial Service will be prayed for the repose of the soul of +Helen Ballos, beloved wife of Constantine, mother of Corinne (Terry), Melissa (Fr. John), Pam (Rob), grandmother of Alex, Devin, Christina, George, Marina, Dene and Tori and great-grandmother of Wilder, Penelope, Stefano and John.

May her Memory be eternal. Αιωνία η μνήμη αυτής.

 Divine Services

Sunday, 10/4 @8:15am Orthros & @9:30am Divine Liturgy:
+2^nd Sunday of Luke

 LIVE OUR services HERE
Find OUr Written prayers and services HERE

Backpack Blessing is today, September 27^th!
Pre-K through college students are welcome to bring their backpacks up to the altar during Communion. Fr. John will bless them after Communion, at which point the students pick them up and go to Sunday School.

MINISTRY FAIR Sunday is today, Sept. 27^th - Bring a friend!
Join us in the gym after Liturgy to learn about our ministries’ missions and to see everything our church has to offer. 

Mercedes Benz Raffle Drawing:
Don’t miss it - today at 12:30pm in the gym! 
Thank you and good luck to all who participated.

PTA Kick-Off Meeting is Thurs., Oct. 1^st  
at 5:00pm in the social hall

Coffee hour is hosted by the Parish Council 
Bagels donated by ALFA BAGELS Route 10 in Randolph 
Coffee donated by Aristotle Leontopoulos of Coffee Associates, Edgewater

LORD'S VOICE SEPTEMBER 27, 2026

THE SUNDAY GOSPEL (Luke 5:1-11)

The reward of obedience
At that time, as Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." For he was astonished, and all who were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men." And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

THE CALLING OF THE DISCIPLES TO THE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY
The Gospel passage read today has as its theme the calling of the first Disciples of the Lord to the work of the evangelical preaching, a fact narrated by all four Evangelists. Christ, perhaps for the umpteenth time, was found at the lake of
Gennesaret, which is also called the Sea of Galilee or of Tiberias. Crowds of people had gathered there to hear Him. The Lord saw on the shore of the lake, the fishing boats of Peter and of the sons of Zebedee, that is, James and John.
He entered into Peter’s boat and asked him to push out a little from the land, so that He might be heard more clearly by the people; and after sitting down, He began to teach from there. As we know from the New Testament, this was not the first time Christ encountered His future Disciples. The Evangelist Luke recounts that Jesus had visited Peter’s house in nearby Capernaum and had healed his mother-in-law. And the Evangelist John says that Andrew, Peter’s brother, as well as John himself, had met the Lord immediately after His baptism in the river Jordan. Nevertheless, the future Apostles were not yet ready to follow Christ completely. They continued to live according to their usual daily occupations.

Obedience to the command of Christ
When the Lord finished His discourse, He turned to Peter and commanded him to put out into the deep waters of the lake and to let down the nets for a catch. He, and this is the wondrous thing on his part, even though he knew very well how unreasonable such a command sounded – to fish at such an unsuitable hour, when in fact throughout the entire night, which is the proper time for fishing, they had caught absolutely nothing – not only did he not object, but he did exactly what Christ asked of him. The result of his obedience to the Lord’s command was the well-known miraculous catch of fish, which was so great that Peter was forced to call for the other boat, that of his friends and partners, James and John, to come and help. The nets, from the sheer multitude of fish, began to tear. The fish, although divided between the two boats, nearly caused them to sink from the excessive weight.

The awareness of unworthiness before divine majesty
Peter realized that what had happened was not something ordinary. It was a sign, an extraordinary and unique event, a calling addressed to himself, to Andrew, to James, and to John, to follow Christ as His Disciples. And their response, expressed through the mouth of Peter, shows that they had full awareness of the seriousness of the event. They were seized with astonishment and awe; for this reason, Peter falls at the knees of Jesus and, in fear, begs Him to depart from his boat. He does not consider himself worthy to be near the Lord.
Now, however, the moment comes for Jesus to relieve Peter from his difficult position and to complete His calling to His future Disciples and Apostles: Do not be afraid, He tells him; from now on you will not be catching fish, but you will be gaining people for the Kingdom of God. And then they left everything and followed Him.

God’s calling to every human being
The Lord, throughout all ages, calls every person to Himself. He asks that we follow Him with faithfulness, with trust in His love, with a humble train of thought, so that we may be led not only to the knowledge of God, but also to self-knowledge. This calling expresses God’s desire that we experience a true and essential relationship with Him, that we acquire the spiritual awareness that our faith in Him and our obedience to His divine will heal us, sanctify us, and transform us. They make us partakers of the gift of divine adoption, sharers in the ineffable glory, the light, and the immortality of God. And furthermore, our response to His calling enables us to be balanced, just, and peaceful in our relationship with our fellow man, because we place the Lord as the guide and teacher of our life.

Archimandrite N. K.

Coffee Hour Hosts In October: 10/4 Philoptochos, 10/11 PTA, 10/18 DOP, 10/25 GOYA
(Nov.: 11/1 Philoptochos, 11/8 PTA...)

Sunday 9/27 @8:15am +Orthros & @9:30am Divine Liturgy +1^st Sunday of Luke
MEMORIAL: +Helen Ballos  
@11:00am Backpack Blessing for all college, high school, Greek School & Religious Education Students
After Liturgy: Ministry Fair Sunday in the gym
@12:30pm Mercedes Benz Raffle Drawing in the gym
-GOYA Volleyball game vs Fairview

Wednesday 9/30 NO DIVINE LITURGY: St. Gregory the Illuminator
@6:30pm Evening Knitting & Crocheting Group

Thursday 10/1 NO DIVINE LITURGY: Holy Protection of Theotokos
@5pm PTA Kick-off Meeting
@7pm Bible Study
@7pm Adult Greek Language Class

 Saturday 10/3
@2:30pm Baptism: Antoni Greenlee

Sunday 10/4 @8:15am +Orthros & @9:30am Divine Liturgy +2^nd Sunday of Luke
@1:30pm DOP Testimonial Celebration: Athena Borzeka (Primavera Regency)
-GOYA Basketball game vs Clifton 

Prayer for a Sick Person:

Heavenly Father, physician of our souls and bodies, who have sent Your only-begotten Son and our Lord Jesus Christ to heal every sickness and infirmity, visit and heal (me) Your servant from all physical and spiritual ailments through the grace of Your Christ. Grant (me) patience in this sickness, strength of body and spirit, and recovery of health.  Lord, You have taught us through Your word to pray for each other that we may be healed.  I pray that You heal (me) as Your servant and grant (me) the gift of complete health. For You are the source of healing and to You I give glory, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen

Please keep these names in your prayers

Janet, Effie, Alexander, Ioannis, Irene, Lauren, Eleni, Dorothy, Carolyn, Ava Michelle, Demetrios, Eleftherios, Stelios, Sofia, Constantinos, Stamatina, Alexander, Alexandra, Constantinos, Christos, Maria, Henny, Theodora, Photini, Robert, Eleni, Ioannis, Margarita, Anna, Nicholas, MaryJane, George, Vasilios, Photeine, Chrissy, David, George, Maria, George, Gladys John, Gregory, Barbara, Helen, Michelle, Ennette, Eleni, Mary, Andreas, Sofia, Joseph, Catrina, Patricia, Erica, Maria, Angeliki, Maria, Dimitrios, Irene, Reta, Eleni, Maria, Kyriaki, Martin, Maria.

If you would like us to remember you or your loved one in our prayers, please contact the office. 973-584-0388 or send us an email to [email protected]    

Names will be kept on this list for approximately three months. Please resubmit Names if needed.   Fr. John will pray for the Names above during the PROSKOMIDI “Offering of gifts” during the first part of the Divine Liturgy when our priest prepares the mystical gifts of bread and wine. Please keep these names in your prayers as well.