Saints and Feasts

October 13

Sunday of the 7th Ecumenical Council

On the Sunday that falls on or immediately after the eleventh of this month, we chant the Service to the 350 holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, which gathered in Nicaea in 787 under the holy Patriarch Tarasius and during the reign of the Empress Irene and her son, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, to refute the Iconoclast heresy, which had received imperial support beginning with the Edict issued in 726 by Emperor Leo the Isaurian. Many of the holy Fathers who condemned Iconoclasm at this holy Council later died as Confessors and Martyrs for the holy Icons during the second assult of Iconoclasm in the ninth century, especially during the reigns of Leo the Armenian and Theophilus.

Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Plagal Fourth Mode

You descended from on high, O compassionate One, and condescended to be buried for three days, so that from the passions You might set us free. Our life and resurrection, O Lord, glory be to You.

Apolytikion for Sun. of the 7th Ecumenical Council in the Plagal Fourth Mode

Most glorified art Thou, O Christ our God, Who hast established our Fathers as luminous stars upon the earth, and through them didst guide us all to the true Faith. O Most Merciful One, glory be to Thee.

Apolytikion for St. Anna (Dec. 9) in the Fourth Mode

Today the bonds of childlessness are loosed; for God hearkened to Joachim and Anna. And though it was beyond hope, He clearly promised them that they should bear a divine child, from whom was born the Uncircumscribable One Himself Who became a mortal, and through an Angel commanded them to cry unto her: Rejoice, thou who art full of grace, the Lord is with thee."

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. Fourth Mode. Daniel 3.26,27.
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers.
Verse: For you are just in all you have done.

The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to Titus 3:8-15.

Titus, my son, the saying is sure. I desire you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to apply themselves to good deeds; these are excellent and profitable to men. But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels over the law, for they are unprofitable and futile. As for a man who is factious, after admonishing him once or twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is perverted and sinful; he is self-condemned.

When I send Artemas or Tychicos to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. And let our people learn to apply themselves to good deeds, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not to be unfruitful.

All who are with me send greeting to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.

Gospel Reading

Sunday of the 7th Ecumenical Council
The Reading is from Luke 8:5-15

The Lord said this parable: "A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold." And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. And as for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience." As he said these things, he cried out "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Wisdom of the Fathers

For by seed here He means His doctrine, and by land, the souls of men, and by the sower, Himself .... For as the sower makes no distinction in the land submitted to him, but simply and indifferently casts his seed; so He Himself too makes no distinction of rich and poor, of wise and unwise, of slothful or diligent, of brave or cowardly; but He discourses unto all, fulfilling His part, although foreknowing the results.

St. John Chrysostom

Homily 44 on Matthew 12, 4th Century

When you see life's pleasures, beware that they might not distract you, for they conceal death's snares. Likewise a fisherman casts not his hook to no purpose. As bait for his hook, the enemy uses the delusion of sensuality to arouse desire, that he might thereby catch men's souls and subject them to himself. A soul which has been caught to serve the enemy's will then serves as a snare for other souls, for it conceals the grief of sin with its apparent delight.

St. Ephraim the Syrian

A Spiritual Psalter no 43, pg. 74, 4th century

Ministry News

Please join us TODAY during Fellowship Hour for the annual PTO “Welcome Back” Potluck luncheon. Thank you to all our families that brought a dish to share. The PTO wishes all our families, students and teachers a healthy and successful school year!

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

Philoptochos News: Philoptochos will be holding a food drive from October 13 through November 17. We are asking our community to kindly donate food items to those less fortunate. There will be a box in the hallway outside of the community hall. Thank you for your generosity.

Sunday School: TODAY parents are invited into their children's classroom for a brief overview with the planned curriculum for this school year. Plan on attending the last 10 minutes of class. This will be brief and informal. Thank you to the PTO and volunteers for today’s Fellowship Hour. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

On October 20, Tony Bosco will be speaking to the community at Fellowship hour. He will be discussing Orthodoxy today.

GOYA 2019-2020

Congratulations to our 2019-2020 Officers!

President: Ioannis (Yianni) Ypsilantis

1st Vice President: Nicole Kazantzis

2nd Vice President: Evangelos Kousoulas

Recording Secretary: Sofia Douvris

Corresponding Secretary: Grace Trumpy

Treasurer: Peter Coutros

Historian: Maria Logothetis

Congratulations to Ioannis (Yianni) Ypsilantis and Nicole Kazantzis who are representing our Parish this weekend at the Mr. and Ms. GOYA Pageant. God bless them and all our youth!

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

PC Corner

We started our new ecclesiastical year with successes.

Our Girls Volleyball team played 2 games and won both. The junior Basketball team is practicing and we believe we will have a team this year.

The youth Greek School program has about 23 students and we have a new teacher teaching both a youth class and the adult program. This is a 30 week program

The adult Greek School program has about 10 students. This year we plan to offer 2 semesters of 15 weeks each.

We also have over 45 kids in the Sunday School program and the registration is still open. We are also looking for additional Sunday school teachers who can assist with the program

On Sunday November 3 we have our Fall GA. We need all of you to participate and volunteer to run for a PC position, help with the elections and the audit committees.

We are nearing the end of 2019 and we have about 145 stewards with a pledge card and 11 without pledge card.. There are many who have not pledged this year. This is the time to do it. last year we finished with 170 Stewards. Let’s reach or exceed this number again this year.

And don't forget. November 16-17 we have our Eat and Shop event. We need your help. We will send you information so you can register to help during the preparation and during the event.

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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