Saints and Feasts

September 22

1st Sunday of Luke

September 26

The Falling Asleep of St. John the Evangelist and Theologian

This Apostle was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and the brother of James the elder. First a fisherman by trade, he became an Apostle and the beloved Disciple of Christ. Only he of all the Disciples followed Him even to the Cross, and was entrusted with the care of our Saviour's Mother, as it were another son to her, and a brother of Christ the Teacher. After this, he preached throughout Asia Minor, especially in Ephesus. When the second persecution against the Christians began in the year 96 during the reign of Domitian, he was taken in bonds to Rome, and there was cast into a vat filled to the brim with boiling oil. Coming forth therefrom unharmed, he was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. Returning again to Ephesus after the death of the tyrant, he wrote his Gospel (after the other Evangelists had already written theirs) and his three Catholic Epistles. In all, he lived ninety-five years and fell asleep in the Lord during the reign of Trajan in the year 100. He was called Theologian because he loftily expounded in his Gospel the theology of the inexpressible and eternal birth of the Son and Word of God the Father. It is for this cause that an eagle-a symbol of the Holy Spirit, as Saint Irenaeus says-is depicted in his icon, for this was one of the four symbolic living creatures that the Prophet Ezekiel saw (Ezek. 1:10).

September 14

The Elevation of the Venerable and Life-Giving Cross

Saint Helen, the mother of Saint Constantine the Great, when she was already advanced in years, undertook, in her great piety, the hardships of a journey to Jerusalem in search of the cross, about the year 325. A temple to Aphrodite had been raised up by the Emperor Hadrian upon Golgotha, to defile and cover with oblivion the place where the saving Passion had been suffered. The venerable Helen had the statue of Aphrodite destroyed, and the earth removed, revealing the Tomb of our Lord, and three crosses. Of these, it was believed that one must be that of our Lord, the other two of the thieves crucified with Him; but Saint Helen was at a loss which one might be the Wood of our salvation. At the inspiration of Saint Macarius, Archbishop of Jerusalem, a lady of Jerusalem, who was already at the point of death from a certain disease, was brought to touch the crosses, and as soon as she came near to the Cross of our Lord, she was made perfectly whole. Consequently, the precious Cross was lifted on high by Archbishop Macarius of Jerusalem; as he stood on the ambo, and when the people beheld it, they cried out, "Lord have mercy." It should be noted that after its discovery, a portion of the venerable Cross was taken to Constantinople as a blessing. The rest was left in Jerusalem in the magnificent church built by Saint Helen, until the year 614. At that time, the Persians plundered Palestine and took the Cross to their own country (see Jan. 22, Saint Anastasius the Persian). Late, in the year 628, Emperor Heraclius set out on a military campaign, retrieved the Cross, and after bringing it to Constantinople, himself escorted it back to Jerusalem, where he restored it to its place.

Rest from labour. A Fast is observed today, whatever day of the week it may be.

Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Plagal First Mode

Let us worship the Word who is unoriginate * with the Father and the Spirit, and from a Virgin was born * for our salvation, O believers, and let us sing His praise. * For in His goodness He was pleased * to ascend the Cross in the flesh, and to undergo death, * and to raise up those who had died, * by His glorious Resurrection.

Apolytikion for Hieromartyr Phocas in the Fourth Mode

As a sharer of the ways and a successor to the throne of the Apostles, O inspired of God, thou foundest discipline to be a means of ascent to divine vision. Wherefore, having rightly divided the word of truth, thou didst also contest for the Faith even unto blood, O Hieromartyr Phocas. Intercede with Christ our God that our souls be saved.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Second Mode

O Protection of Christians that cannot be put to shame, mediation unto the creator most constant: O despise not the voices of those who have sinned; but be quick, O good one, to come unto our aid, who in faith cry unto thee: Hasten to intercession and speed thou to make supplication, O thou who dost ever protect, O Theotokos, them that honor thee.

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Plagal First Mode. Psalm 11.7,1.
You, O Lord, shall keep us and preserve us.
Verse: Save me, O Lord, for the godly man has failed.

The reading is from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 1:21-24; 2:1-4.

Brethren, it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has commissioned us; he has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

But I call God to witness against me - it was to spare you that I refrained from coming to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith; we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith. For I made up my mind not to make you another painful visit. For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. For I wrote you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

Gospel Reading

1st Sunday of Luke
The Reading is from Luke 5:1-11

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.

Wisdom of the Fathers

For now they were well instructed beforehand...But mark both their faith and their obedience. For though they were in the midst of their work when they heard His command, they delayed not, they procrastinated not, they said not, "let us return home, and converse with our kinsfolk," but "they forsook all and followed."

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 14 on Matthew 4, 4th Century

Because such is the obedience which Christ seeks of us, as that we delay not even a moment of time, though something absolutely most needful should vehemently press on us.

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 14 on Matthew 4, 4th Century

Ministry News

TODAY there will be a 1-year Memorial for George Sakellaroupoulos, beloved father of Evan and Cathy Sakellos, and grandfather of Alexandra and George Sakellos. May his memory be eternal.

TODAY Fellowship Hour is sponsored by the Sakellos family.

Church Calendar:

Wednesday, September 25: St. John the Theologian -Great Vespers in Tenafly, NJ, 7 pm

Thursday, September 26: Falling Asleep of St. John the Theologian - Orthros / Liturgy, 9 am

OPA Festival Celebration

Many thanks to all who helped with this year's Opa! Festival. We were very successful despite some bad weather on Friday. We received many compliments on our food, entertainment and activities. As a thank you to all who volunteered for the festival, an appreciation dinner will be held on September 28 at 6 pm. Details on the event and the RSVP form can be found on the below link. Please RSVP by TODAY Sunday, September 22.

Link: https://festivalvolunteerdinner.weebly.com

Any questions, please contact Diana Grina: dianakg2003@yahoo.com

2019 Important Dates:

Nov 3 -Fall General Assembly

Nov 16-17 -Eat & Shop

Education: 2019-2020 School registrations has begun! Registration for Religious Education (Sunday School) and Greek School (Youth & Adult) will be held at Fellowship Hour on Sunday, September 22 and Sunday, September 29. In addition, look for the online registration forms at our Church website: https://www.stannagoc.orgunder “About Us/Forms and Documents Downloads.” Thank you and we look forward to registering all students!

Religious Education (Sunday School) form: https://www.stannagoc.org/assets/files/SundaySchoolRegistration%202019.pdf

The 2019-2020 fee for Sunday School is $40 per family (please write “Sunday School” on the check memo line).

Greek Lanuguage Eduction (Youth) form: https://www.stannagoc.org/assets/files/Greek%20school%20reg%202019.pdf

Greek Language Education (Adult) form: https://www.stannagoc.org/assets/files/Greek%20school%20adult%20reg%202019.pdf

Sunday School: Sunday School classes begin TODAY, Sunday, September 22. Families are encouraged to arrive by 9:30 am for the beginning of the Divine Liturgy. All students are encouraged to sit in the marked pews in the front with their teachers. Students will be dismissed to their classes after communion. The Pre-k and Grade 1/2 classes will end at 11:15 am. Grades 3 through 12 will end at 11:30 am. Registration will take place at Fellowship Hour or online. If you have any questions, please contact Aimee Douvris @ aimeedouvris@gmail.com.

The St. Anna Sunday School is currently looking for parent assistants and volunteers. Please contact Aimee Douvris @ aimeedouvris@gmail.comor let Father Anastasios know. Without volunteers we can not successfully have a Sunday school program.

Greek School: We are currently accepting registrations for our Youth and Adult Greek School programs. Greek School begins on Monday, October 7. We welcome all children from preschool-12th grade for our Youth program, as well as all adults that may include high school aged children for our Adult program. If you have any questions, please contact Maria Sfondouris @ msfondouris@gmail.com or Father Anastasios at frakousoulas@gmail.com.

Somerset Patriots Baseball: Anyone interested in attending the Somerset Patriots final baseball games this weekend, please contact Father Anastasios. There is a game on Saturday at 7:05 PM, and it is a Fireworks Night, and there is a game on Sunday at 1:05 PM.

Stewardship

Stewardship is the sharing of the talents and treasures that God has provided for us. An Orthodox Christian Steward is an active participant in the life of the Church. The parish encourages all who accept the Orthodox Faith to become practicing Stewards.

2019 Stewardship Drive: We currently 135 Pledges totaling $145,614 for an average of $1,079 and $111,803 received to date. We also have 12 families who have contributed $8,425 to date but have not submitted a stewardship card. It is important that all families complete a stewardship card to be considered a steward. Current Stewardship List and other stewardship information is posted in bulletin board by water cooler.

We need everyone’s participation to exceed this year’s stewardship pledge target of $170,000. If the remaining 52, 2018 stewards give at the same level as last year we could exceed our budget and reach a record high number of stewards

If you have not done so already, we ask that you prayerfully consider your stewardship commitment and submit a 2019 pledge card as soon as you can. You can check to see if you are on the Stewards List attached to this bulletin.

…Remember a rich man is not one who has much, but one who gives much

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