St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2024-10-06
Bulletin Contents
Parish News
Saints and Feasts
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Hymns of the Day
Wisdom of the Fathers
Bulletin Inserts:

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St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church

General Information

  • Phone:
  • (908) 968-4004
  • Fax:
  • (908) 968-4002
  • Street Address:

  • 85 Voorhees Corner Road,

  • Flemington, NJ 08822

Contact Information

St. Anna Office
staff

[email protected] | (908) 968-4004

Clergy
Father Jimmy Pavlow

[email protected] | (609) 498-4672

Corresponding Secretary
Paul J. Costalas

[email protected]

Services Schedule

Sunday Services:  Orthros 8:30 am; Divine Liturgy 9:30  am.  

Weekday Services:  See parish website calendar link for updates.

 

Past Bulletins


Parish News

Schedule of Services for Week of October 6, 2024

Sunday,    10/6   8:30 a.m.  Orthros / Liturgy - 3rd Sunday of Luke

Today, we remember the servant of God, Ioannis Hatzikalfas, brother of Anastasia Vlahakes, with a 2-year Trisagion service. Today, following services, Anastasia and Louis Vlahakes will be hosting the fellowship hour in memory of Ioannis Hatzikalfas. May his memory be eternal.

First Sundays are Youth Sundays at St. Anna. GOYA, HOPE & JOY (grades K-6th), and our Little Blessings (Pre-K and under) ministries will meet on the First Sunday of the month. Register Now. Our First Meeting is today, October 6th.
HOPE & JOY (Grades K-6) https://forms.gle/CJWRD3rfdRxnfDbd6
Little Blessings (Pre-K & Under) https://forms.gle/r1hZ7kDa6uDdj1Vr7

Please join us next Sunday, October 13th, immediately after Divine Liturgy for a brief meeting on organizing our new Senior Adult group, Parea. We are looking for volunteers to help in the planning stages. Bring your coffee to the marked table in the fellowship hall where you will find Aimee Douvris, [email protected]. 

Announcing St. Anna's Annual Parish Ministries Fair: Sunday, October 20!
On Sunday, October 20th, in conjunction with Stewardship Sunday, St. Anna will host its annual Parish Ministries Fair. We kindly request that all parishioners reach out to former and prospective stewards, family, and friends to invite them to attend this special event to learn more about our dynamic community! There are so many new and exciting things happening at St. Anna! The fair is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the vibrant array of ministries we offer for faithful of all ages -- and generate awareness, enthusiasm, and involvement. Immediately following church services, each ministry, committee, and organization will have a table/booth at the fair to share information about their activities and ways to get involved. Everyone-- current, past, and prospective stewards-- can gather information, ask questions, and learn more about the range of spiritual, social, educational, leadership, and cultural opportunities at St. Anna. The festivities will also include a delicious buffet luncheon, special door prizes, and awards for the most creative table displays. Join us to celebrate our community and its ministries -- and please bring a friend! 

LADIES PHILOPTOCHOS CORNER:    

UPCOMING EVENTS:

We are thrilled to announce that the 2nd Annual Paint & Sip is right around the corner! Join us on Saturday, November 2, 2024, from 6:30 to 9:30.  Cost is $35/person. Cash, Credit Card, and Zelle accepted! Bring your talent and enthusiasm and take home a beautiful painting made by YOU! Be sure to sign up at the Philoptochos Table during Fellowship or contact Fay Vespa at: [email protected] or Katina Foglia at: [email protected] to sign up or for more information!

We have 3-(three) $50 Raffle tickets still available for sale to benefit St. Michael's Home. Please see a Philoptochos member at our table in the fellowship hall if you are interested in purchasing one. You do not have to be in attendance to win. Drawing on November 5th.

"There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder!"
Come grow with us!
Join St. Anna Philoptochos Today!

Veterans Day Program: On Sunday, November 10, 2024, Saint Anna will be honoring our Veterans who served their country with courage and strength. Please join us for this special program for our Veterans and thank them for their service. The Saint Anna Philoptochos will sponsor coffee hour.
ATTENTION ALL VETERANS: If you are new to Saint Anna and are a Veteran, please notify Denise Coutsouridis as soon as possible regarding your branch of the military, years served, and era of service so that you can be acknowledged during the program. Please email to Denise at [email protected].

Parish Council Updates:
1. Over the summer, the ministries worked on their ministry plans and have submitted them to the Parish Council for approval. The PC and the Ministry Leads met on Aug 28th to review and coordinate an overall, synchronized calendar. We aim to publish the calendar of events in the coming weeks.
2. Our participation in the Effective Christian Ministry Program has begun. This is a program that we have discussed and approved at our General Assembly meetings. We have selected six individuals who will participate in the first round - Fr. Jimmy, Dean & Lisa Soteropoulos, Maria Georgeles, Michael Manteo and Lucy Pavlow.

YOUTH MINISTRY CONTACTS:

Sunday School Director: Nikol Toulatos [email protected]
Greek School Director: Maria Sfondouris [email protected]
GOYA Head Advisor: Larisa Trumpy [email protected]
Hope & Joy Advisor: Kristen Diagelakis [email protected]
Little Blessings:  Lucy Pavlow [email protected]
Greek Dance Lead: Larisa Trumpy [email protected]
Young Adult League (YAL): Bill Johnson [email protected]
College Care Package Ministry: Maria Tattoli [email protected]
Parent Advisory Council (PAC): Lisa Soteropoulos [email protected]

GOYA: Our first meeting is TODAY October 6th. 2024-25 Registration is open for children grades 7-12  https://forms.gle/JKECwBdrma3bUTu69  

Mr and Miss GOYA Sunday October 13th: Tickets are on sale to attend the dinner and pageant at the Hanover Manor. Our representatives are Adriana Tattoli and Yanni Logothetis. It is a lovely event that is a scholarship fundraiser for graduating seniors. Please email Larisa Trumpy for tickets ASAP. 
GOYA Fall Festival: All children in Grades K-6 are invited to a Fall Festival, hosted by St. Anna GOYA, on Sunday, October 27th from 12-2. Children in Sunday School and Greek School are invited. You may wear a church appropriate Halloween costume or festive attire!  Please RSVP by October 24th to Larisa Trumpy, advisor, at [email protected].

HOPE & JOY: Our first meeting is TODAY October 6th. Register children grades K-6th for the upcoming year https://forms.gle/CJWRD3rfdRxnfDbd6. If you have any questions or you are interested in becoming a HOPE & JOY advisor this year, please contact Kristen Diagelakis at [email protected].

Little Blessings: Join us on TODAY October 6th for the launch of our Little Blessings Ministry Group (Pre-K and under). Use the Google form to RSVP. https://forms.gle/r1hZ7kDa6uDdj1Vr7 We hope to see you there!

Greek School: Our first day of Greek school started off well with a beautiful Agiasmo service offered by Father Jimmy. If you are interested in registering your child for Greek school or if you would like to find out more about our Greek school program please email Maria Sfondouris at [email protected]. 

Adult Greek School: Please email Maria Sfondouris if you are interested in weekly lessons via Zoom. [email protected].

Sunday School: Please email Nikol Toulatos to register your children for the 2024-25 school year. Parents interested in volunteering for Sunday School teaching / aiding please reach out to Nikol Toulatos.
 
Parent Advisory Council (PAC): CANCELED - the Oct. 5th 'Parent Happy Hour Social' will be rescheduled due to scheduling conflicts. Date to be determined.
 
College Ministry: This week, 18 St. Anna college students were surprised with a letter and care package of goodies from St. Anna.  Thank you to all those who made donations to this ministry.  The next care package delivery is scheduled for March.
SAVE THE DATE:  St. Anna's Annual College Reunion is scheduled for Saturday, November 30 from 4:00 - 7:00 PM. Our college students are invited to a friendly game of volleyball against our YAL members.  Pizza and dessert will be provided. More details to follow. For more information, please contact Maria Tattoli @ [email protected].
 
ST. ANNA BOOKSTORE NEWS.  Let's celebrate the Panagia this month:
 
FOR CHILDREN...
---- Rejoice Panagia: Offering to Children the Akathist Hymn
---- Virgin Mary Mother of God: Blessed Above All Women
 
FOR ADULTS...
---- Orthodox Veneration of Mary, Birthgiver of God
---- The Way of the Pilgrim
 
If there is something in particular you are looking for, we can assist. Contact Angela Ferreira ([email protected]) or Aimee Douvris ([email protected]). 
 
Saint Anna will offer an iconography class November 18-22. The class will be held at the church for 3 hours each evening, from 6 to 9 p.m.  The instructor is Maria Athanasiou, author and illustrator of six published children's books. The icon subject will be an 8"x10" image of Christ Emmanuel (Christ as a child), focusing on His face, and the class will be suitable for students of all artistic skill levels... no previous art experience is needed to take it. We have designed it to use acrylic paints (easier for beginners than the traditional egg tempera medium), and all but the most commonly needed materials will be provided. The cost will be $300 per student. For more information, or to register, please call, text, or email Maria (631-235-6956, [email protected]) or Gerard A. Pelletier (609-917-0990, [email protected]).

Sunday Fellowship Hour Sponsors: The Parish Council would like to make an appeal for sponsors of our Sunday Fellowship Hour for the Ecclesiastical year.  Please consider sponsoring a fellowship hour to honor a friend or family member (perhaps a birthday or graduation), for the memory of a deceased loved one, or as a donation to support the Saint Anna parish.  The requested fellowship hour sponsorship donations is $50 which covers the cost of bagels, all the spreads, coffee and condiments.

STEWARDSHIP: Stewardship is a practice that can help shape our world and lives so that we can more fully and gratefully experience God's grace, love, and communion. Inspired by our love of God, stewardship is expressed through the many ways we support and engage in the life of our beloved Parish. Parish engagement in the form of time, talent and treasure supports the mission and programs of our Church. As we embark on our Church’s future and continued progress, we recognize the incredible efforts of so many individuals over the past 20+ years that have led to remarkable accomplishments for our humble Community. To continue to build and maintain our momentum, and achieve our vision for Saint Anna, we depend heavily on parish engagement and stewardship. With your heartfelt pledges, we can maintain our church facilities, do God's work, and grow in Christ together. If you haven’t submitted your annual stewardship pledge card for 2024, we ask that you take the time to download and complete the card attached to this message. Kindly hand in your card when you come to Church or send it via email or the postal service by September 30. Thank you again for your support and may God bless you!

2024 Stewardship Status:  Growth in the number of stewards is annually assessed by the Archdiocese and the New Jersey Metropolis and is a key indicator of stability and progress. All families and individuals must complete a stewardship card to be considered a steward. We have 163 Pledges totaling $213,691 and $179,968 received as of 1 October 2024. We also have 4 families who have contributed $540 to date but have not submitted a stewardship card. It is important that all families complete a stewardship card to be considered a steward. The current Stewardship List and other stewardship information is posted on the bulletin board by the water cooler.

KIDNEY DONOR NEEDED:  National Philoptochos Board Member Joanne Kakoyiannis, a long-standing National Philoptochos Board member is currently facing stage 5 chronic kidney disease and urgently requires a kidney transplant, preferably from a suitable living donor. It should be noted that Joanne’s blood type is O-positive. Joanne is working with the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Kidney Transplant Program. They are available at (215) 662-6200 for confidential discussions to provide information about the living donation process and address your concerns. There is no financial burden on the donor. If you know someone who may be open to donating a kidney, please let them know about Joanne’s situation. The following website  tells Joanne’s story: http://www.helpingjoannefindakidney.com/.  If you need more information, please feel free to reach out to Penn (tel 215-662-6200), Peter Kakoyiannis (tel 215-715-5378; email  [email protected]) and/or Jason Kakoyiannis (213-590-9125; [email protected]). Thank you!

PARISH LINKS: 

St Anna Website: https://www.stannagoc.org/

St Anna Greek Orthodox Church Calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/[email protected]&ctz=America/New_York 

For questions to the parish council: [email protected]

To be added to the weekly bulletin email or for general questions:  [email protected]

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Saints and Feasts

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.

October 08

Pelagia the Righteous

This Saint was a prominent actress of the city of Antioch, and a pagan, who lived a life of unrestrained prodigality and led many to perdition. Instructed and baptized by a certain bishop named Nonnus (Saint Nonnus is commemorated Nov. 10), she departed for the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem, where she lived as a recluse, feigning to be a eunuch called Pelagia. She lived in such holiness and repentance that within three or four years she was deemed worthy to repose in an odour of sanctity, in the middle of the fifth century. Her tomb on the Mount of Olives has been a place of pilgrimage ever since.

October 09

James the Apostle, son of Alphaeus

The holy Apostle James was one of the Twelve, and preached Christ to many nations, and finally suffered death by crucifixion.

October 12

Symeon the New Theologian

Saint Symeon became a monk of the Studite Monastery as a young man, under the guidance of the elder Symeon the Pious. Afterwards he struggled at the Monastery of Saint Mamas in Constantinople, of which he became abbot. After enduring many trials and afflictions in his life of piety, he reposed in 1022. Marvelling at the heights of prayer and holiness to which he attained, and the loftiness of the teachings of his life and writings, the church calls him "the New Theologian." Only to two others, John the Evangelist and Gregory, Patriarch of Constantinople, has the church given the name "Theologian." Saint Symeon reposed on March 12, but since this always falls in the Great Fast, his feast is kept today.

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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. Plagal 2nd Tone. Psalm 27.9,1.
O Lord, save your people and bless your inheritance.
Verse: To you, O Lord, I have cried, O my God.

The reading is from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 4:6-15.

Brethren, it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

Since we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, "I believed, and so I spoke," we too believe, and so we speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

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!"

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Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the Plagal 2nd Tone

Angelic powers were above Thy tomb, and they that guarded Thee became as dead. And Mary stood by the grave seeking Thine immaculate Body. Thou hast despoiled Hades and wast not tried thereby. Thou didst meet the Virgin and didst grant us life. O Thou Who didst arise from the dead, Lord, glory be to Thee.

Apolytikion for Apostle Thomas in the 3rd Tone

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

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.
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Wisdom of the Fathers

He who truly wishes to believe in God must be lifted above himself, his mind, and even the whole world. For this reason, the value of faith is considered higher than the value of man. It is even higher than the value of the whole world. Therefore, the reward of faith should be higher than all of man's possessions along with the glories of this world. The reward of faith is God.
Fr. Matthew the Poor
Orthodox Prayer Life: The Interior Way, p. 74, 20th 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

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Bulletin Inserts:

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