Saints and Feasts

October 06

3rd Sunday of Luke

October 06

The Holy and Glorious Apostle Thomas

The name Thomas means, "twin." He was one of the Twelve, a Galilean by birth. Sophroneus (not the famous Patriarch of Jerusalem [7th Century, celebrated March 11], but a friend of Jerome's), quoted also by Jerome, says that Saint Thomas preached to the Parthians, Pesians, Medes, Hyrcanians, Bactrians, and neighbouring nations. According to Heracleon, the Apostle died a natural death; according to other accounts, he was martyred at Meliapur His tomb was known by Saint John Chrysostom to be at Edessa in Syria, to which city his holy relics may have been translated from India in the fourth century.

Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Grave Mode

By means of Your Cross, O Lord, You abolished death. * To the robber You opened Paradise. * The lamentation of the myrrhbearing women You transformed, * and You gave Your Apostles the order to proclaim to all * that You had risen, O Christ our God, * and granted the world Your great mercy.

Apolytikion for Apostle Thomas in the Third Mode

O Holy Apostle Thomas, intercede with the merciful God that He grant unto our souls forgiveness of offences.

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. Grave Mode. Psalm 28.11,1.
The Lord will give strength to his people.
Verse: Bring to the Lord, O sons of God, bring to the Lord honor and glory.

The reading is from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 6:1-10.

Brethren, working together with him, we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says, "At the acceptable time I have listened to you, and helped you on the day of salvation." Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in any one's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labors, watching, hunger; by purity, knowledge, forbearance, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

Gospel Reading

3rd Sunday of Luke
The Reading is from Luke 7:11-16

At that time, Jesus went to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." And the dead man sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all; and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us!" and "God has visited his people!"

Wisdom of the Fathers

There is an old saying: 'Excesses meet.' Too much fasting and too much eating come to the same end. Keeping too long a vigil brings the same disastrous cost as ... sluggishness... Too much self-denial brings weakness and induces the same condition as carelessness. Often I have seen men who would not be snared by gluttony fall, nevertheless, through immoderate fasting and tumble in weakness into the very urge which they had overcome. Unmeasured vigils and foolish denial of rest overcame those whom sleep could not overcome. Therefore, 'fortified to right and to left in the armor of justice,' as the apostle says (2 Cor. 6:7), life must be lived with due measure and, with discernment for a guide, the road must be traveled between the two kinds of excess so that in the end we may not allow ourselves to be diverted from the pathway of restraint which has been laid down for us nor fall through dangerous carelessness into the urgings of gluttony and self-indulgence.

St. John Cassian

Conferences, Conference Two: On Discernment no. 16; Paulist Press pg. 76, 5th century

That dead man was being buried, and many friends were conducting him to his tomb. But there meets him Christ, the Life and Resurrection, for He is the destroyer of death and of corruption; He it is "in Whom we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28); He it is Who has restored the nature of man to that which it originally was; and has set free our death-fraught flesh from the bonds of death.

St. Cyril of Alexandria

Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke, Homily 36.42, p. 153., 5th Century

Ministry News

TODAY there will be a 25-year memorial service for Nicholas Koufakis, beloved father/father-in-law of Simone and Michael Heinke, and grandfather of Zoe. May his memory be eternal.

TODAY Fellowship Hour is sponsored by the Heinke family.

TODAY is National Church Music Sunday, the day parishes across our Archdiocese honor the gifts and stewardship of the church musicians of our parish – our clergy, the choir, our chanters, and those who teach the hymns of our Church to our youth. Their contributions enhance our worship and assure that the glorious treasury of our hymnography continues to edify us and future generations.

We thank all those who have served in this ministry and welcome new choir members- Adults and youth age 9+. Our rehearsals are scheduled based on availability. Please contact Choir Director Diana Grina with any questions. dianakg2003@yahoo.com

Church Calendar:

Friday, October 18: St. Luke - Orthros / Liturgy, 9 am

Saturday, October 26: St. Demetrios - Orthros / Liturgy, 9 am

Friday, November 1: Sts. Cosmas and Damianos - Orthros / Liturgy, 9 am

Sunday, November 3: Fall General Assembly, following services

Friday, November 8: Archangels Michael and Gabriel - Orthros / Liturgy, 9 am

Saturday, November 9: St. Nektarios - Orthros / Liturgy, 9 am

Saturday & Sunday, November 16 & 17 – Holiday Eat & Shop

PTO - Welcome back! We look forward to another great Sunday School and Greek School year. The PTO will host a “Welcome Back” potluck brunch during fellowship hour on Sunday, October 13. We hope you will sign up to bring a dish to share! See Sofia Manoussakis or Kristen Diagelakis for more information or send an email to s_manoussakis@yahoo.com.

Education: 2019-2020 School registration: Online registration forms at our Church website: https://www.stannagoc.org under “About Us/Forms and Documents Downloads.”

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

Greek Language Education (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: 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. If you have any questions, please contact Aimee Douvris @ aimeedouvris@gmail.com.

Greek School: 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.

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Youth Workers: This includes adults who are involved with JOY, HOPE, GOYA, youth camps, and altar servers. It also includes educational programs like Sunday School, day schools, and afternoon/Greek schools. It also includes athletic programs like basketball, volleyball, and dance. It even includes adults who might occasionally assist or transport children during such events. If you work with kids, then you need to become a Youth Worker under the Policies. And that means REGISTERING, TRAINING, & SCREENING. For more information go to goarch.org/safety

Please note: “The Musical Legacy of the Holy Fathers in the Orthodox Christian Church” Byzantine music concert at St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, Toms River, NJ on Saturday, October 26, 2019 6:30 p.m.

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 have 144 pledges totaling $156,439 for an average of $1,086 and $130,093 received to date. We also have 10 families who have contributed $5,725 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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