October 01
St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2023-10-01
Bulletin Contents
Parish News
Saints and Feasts
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Hymns of the Day
Wisdom of the Fathers
Bulletin inserts
St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church
General Information
- Phone:
- (908) 968-4004
- Fax:
- (908) 968-4002
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Street Address:
- 85 Voorhees Corner Road,
- Flemington, NJ 08822
Contact Information
Services Schedule
Sunday Services: Orthros 8:30 am; Divine Liturgy 9:30 am.
Weekday Services: See parish website calendar link for updates.
Past Bulletins
- Publish Date:
- 2025-04-20
- Publish Date:
- 2025-04-06
- Publish Date:
- 2025-03-30
- Publish Date:
- 2025-03-23
- Publish Date:
- 2025-03-16
- Publish Date:
- 2025-03-09
Parish News
Memorial Services: 1-year Memorial for Ioannis (John) Hatzikalfas, brother of Anastasia Vlahakes.
Louis and Anastasia Vlahakes will be hosting the fellowship hour in memory of her brother.
Also, today, the 40-day Memorial for Helen Koehler. May their memory be eternal!
SAVE THE DATE: Sunday, Oct. 8, 11:30 am - 1:30 pm. We are happy to announce that our youth in grades K-12 are invited to a team-building Fall Field Day to kick off our youth ministries. This is a FREE event. It will be an afternoon of outdoor field day games and refreshments. Please see Nikol Toulatos or Maria Tattoli during fellowship hour to register your youth and/or to volunteer for the event. Or you may email Nikol Toulatos at [email protected]. RSVP deadline is TODAY. You don’t want to miss out on this fun event! Feel free to invite a friend. (See bulletin insert)
SUNDAY SCHOOL: TODAY IS THE 1ST DAY OF CLASSES. Welcome back to all our students! If you have not registered yet, please email Nikol Toulatos at [email protected].
GREEK SCHOOL: The first day of our YOUTH Greek School classes was MONDAY, SEPT. 25. We are excited for a productive and fun school year! Please email Maria Sfondouris at [email protected] if you are interested in registering your child.
ADULT GREEK SCHOOL is also back beginning OCT. 9 via Zoom. The classes will run each Monday from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. by our wonderful volunteer teacher, Katerina Toulatos. If you are interested or have any questions, please email Maria Sfondouris at [email protected].
GOYA: There is a GOYA meeting TODAY at 11:00 a.m. All teens in grades 7-12 are invited and encouraged to attend. Please see Larisa Trumpy to register.
TEEN SAFETY NIGHT: Our parish is hosting this Flemington community event on Friday, Oct. 20 from 7 to 9 p.m. Hunterdon Prevention and One Voice will run this informative and fun evening. Please save the date. More info to follow (Teens are asked to invite friends.)
HOPE & JOY: Please see Kristen Diagelakis during fellowship hour to register our youth in grades K-6.
GREEK DANCE: The first day of Greek dance classes was on MONDAY, SEPT. 25. Please see Larisa Trumpy or Fr. A to join the Dance Troupe. We are hoping to add to our numbers as we continue to grow this ministry. All are welcome!
COLLEGE CARE PACKAGES: If you have a college-aged child living at home or away at school, let us know so we can connect with them this school year with 1-2 care packages. The objective of this ministry is to stay connected with our St. Anna youth and to gently remind them that church is home. Please email Maria Tattoli at [email protected] to include your child. Deadline: Oct. 15.
YOUNG ADULT LEAGUE (YAL): For Orthodox Christians ages 18-35. The Metropolis of Pittsburgh is hosting a YAL conference on Oct. 13-15 at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown. Registration is open. For more details, go to: https://y2am.pittsburgh.goarch.org/ya/2023-yal-conference
Regional YAL: Orthodoxy on Tap, Wed., Oct. 18 at 7 pm. The Tavern on George, 361 George St., New Brunswick, NJ. Guest Speaker: Sam Williams, Pastoral Asst at St. George GOC, Piscataway. Theme: "Orthodoxy in a Roman Catholic and Protestant World."
Orthodoxy on Tap upcoming schedule: Nov. 13 and Dec. 20. More info and locations to come. See Fr. A.
PARISH COUNCIL: The fall Parish Assembly is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 19 from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM. The Stewardship Appreciation Luncheon will follow for all.
PHILOPTOCHOS: SAVE THE DATE!! Saturday, November 11th from 7 pm to 11 pm for our first annual Paint & Sip! Join us for an enjoyable evening of fellowship, food, and fun while you make a beautiful painting with family and friends and enjoy appetizers, wine (non-alcoholic drinks for minors), and dessert! $25/person to benefit St. Judes Children's Hospital.
Choir NEWS: Today is National Church Music Sunday and we are honoring all our church musicians for their service. We are also designating October as Choir Membership Month to recruit new members. We are currently planning our Christmas Program and look forward to new members joining. Please see the attached flyer. Contact Choir Director, Diana Grina [email protected]; 908-392-7449.
OCTOBER WINE AND DINE: Be sure to mark your calendars for our Wine & Dine fundraiser on Saturday, October 21 at 6 p.m. For many years prior to the pandemic, this was always a highly anticipated annual fundraiser as it combines fellowship, wine education, and wonderful food and wine pairings in a reception-style, intimate in-home setting. Parishioner George Staikos, who is a sommelier and wine educator, will lead this event with his wife Christi along with the executive chef/co-owner of the Sergeantsville Inn, Daniel Brunina, who will prepare the menu for us that evening. This event will be held in the home of parishioner Dan Vlahakis in nearby Ringoes (Copper Hill Country Club) who has generously offered to host this not-to-be-missed fundraiser.
ST. ANNA BOOKSTORE NEWS. Please check out all the new books and religious items in our Bookstore. They make great gifts for Christmas, children, Godchildren, family and friends. We've even put in a special Christmas section to make it easier to browse.
In addition, each month we will be spotlighting a few recommended books. For kids we are featuring an "Orthodox matching game" and the "Children's Bible Reader". For adults, we suggest "A Guide to Greek Traditions and Customs in America", "Gratitude in Life's Trenches: How to Experience the Good Life. . . Even When Everything Is Going Wrong" and "Saint Nektarios: The Saint of Our Century". If you have any questions feel free to ask Angela Ferreira or Aimee Douvris. HAPPY SHOPPING!!
Veterans Day Program: on Sunday, Nov. 12, we will honor our Veterans with a special program after church. God bless our Veterans as we thank them for their selfless service!
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Volunteer Opportunity: Would you like to work around horses in a special ministry setting? Mythos Farm (www.Mythosfarm.org) in Ringoes, run by St. Anna parishioner Dr. Maria Katsamanis and her husband Michael, is home to the nonprofit Friends for Pegasus(www.friendsforpegasus.org). Their mission is to promote ethical and compassionate training for horses and education for their humans to ensure they are both physically and mentally well. The transformations that occur here are not only with the horses. People change when they learn how to hear and co-exist with their horses. a volunteer that might enjoy working on a farm and doing some routine chores. Main help needed is housecleaning of the barn and pasture cleaning. See Fr. A if interested. Thank you.
Saints and Feasts
October 01
Romanos the Melodist
Saint Romanos flourished during the reign of Anastasius (491-518). He was from Emesa of Syria, and apparently was born of Jewish parents, for a hymn written in his honour in Greek says he was "of Hebrew stock," and it has furthermore been noted that he uses many Semitic idioms in his writings. He was baptized an Orthodox Christian, and at some time became a deacon in the Church of Beirut. He was the first composer of the kontakia, the foremost of which is that of the feast of Christ's Nativity, On this day the Virgin .... In composing many of his kontakia. Saint Romanos was inspired by the hymns of Saint Ephraim of Syria.
October 01
The Holy Protection of the Theotokos
The Feast of the Protection commemorates the appearance of the most holy Theotokos in the Church of Blachernae in Constantinople in the tenth century, as recorded in the life of Saint Andrew the Fool for Christ's sake. While the multitudes of the faithful were gathered in church, Epiphanius, the friend of Saint Andrew, through the Saint's prayers, beheld the Virgin Mary above the faithful and spreading out her veil over them, signifying her unceasing protection of all Christians. Because of this we keep a yearly feast of gratitude, imploring our Lady never to cease sheltering us in her mighty prayers.
The Feast is celebrated on October 1. In the 1950s, the Church of Greece began to observe the Feast on October 28.
October 06
Thomas the Apostle of the 12
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.
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Epistle Reading
Prokeimenon. Plagal 4th Tone. Psalm 75.11,1.
Make your vows to the Lord our God and perform them.
Verse: God is known in Judah; his name is great in Israel.
The reading is from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 6:16-18; 7:1.
Brethren, you are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will live in them and move among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore come out from them, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and make holiness perfect in the fear of God.
Gospel Reading
2nd Sunday of Luke
The Reading is from Luke 6:31-36
The Lord said, "As you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."
Hymns of the Day
Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Plagal 4th Tone
From on high didst Thou descend, O Compassionate One; to burial of three days hast Thou submitted that Thou mightest free us from our passions. O our Life and Resurrection, Lord, glory be to Thee.
Apolytikion for Ananias of the 70 in the 3rd Tone
O Holy Apostle Ananias, intercede with the merciful God that He grant unto our souls forgiveness of offences.
Apolytikion for Romanos the Melodist in the Plagal 4th Tone
In thee the image was preserved with exactness, O Father; for taking up thy cross, thou didst follow Christ, and by thy deeds thou didst teach us to overlook the flesh, for it passeth away, but to attend to the soul since it is immortal. Wherefore, O righteous Romanos, thy spirit rejoiceth with the Angels.
Seasonal Kontakion in the 2nd Tone
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.
Wisdom of the Fathers
There are three things that impel us towards what is holy: natural instincts, angelic powers and probity of intention. Natural instincts impel us when, for example, we do to others what we would wish them to do to us (cf. Luke 6:31), or when we see someone suffering deprivation or in need and naturally feel compassion. Angelic powers impel us when, being ourselves impelled to something worthwhile, we find we are providentially helped and guided. We are impelled by probity of intention when, discriminating between good and evil, we choose the good.
Second Century on Love no. 32, Philokalia Vol. 2 edited by Palmer, Sherrard and Ware; Faber and Faber pg. 71, 7th century
Every work which does not have love as its beginning and root is nothing.
Unknown, 4th century
Bulletin inserts
2023 Stewardship Commitment Card
Thank you for supporting your St. Anna Parish and all her ministries, payroll, and needs.
Choir membership month flyer
Please join the choir with your beautiful, God-given voice.
Field Day Flyer
PLEASE Join us on Oct. 8!
Greek School Registration 2023-24
Please complete this form and return to the St. Anna Office. Thank you.
2023 Fall Wine and Dine
Please join us for this wonderful evening at Dan Vlahakis's residence at Copper Hill Country Club.
Paint & Sip - Sat. Nov. 11
Philoptochos event for all! Please join us!