St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church
Publish Date: 2025-02-23
Bulletin Contents
Parish News
Saints and Feasts
Gospel and Epistle Readings
Hymns of the Day
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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 Vespa

[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 February 23, 2025
Sunday,     02/23   8:30 a.m.  Orthros / Divine Liturgy - Judgment Sunday (Meatfare Sunday)
Saturday,   03/01   9:00 a.m.  Orthros / Divine Liturgy - Saturday of Souls

Sunday School: Please extend the invitation to Godparents & Godchildren in addition to your children's Godparents to join us for Godparent Sunday TODAY February 23rd!

Email Spoofing: We have learned of several people getting fake emails from someone posing as Fr. Jimmy. As a rule, please ignore any emails that do not come from <role>@stannagoc.org. 

Procedure for Holy Communion:
Enter into the center aisle. Please wait until a member of the Parish Council calls your pew. The order is as follows:
-Any Newly illumined (newly Baptized, Chrismated)
- Choir
-Pew by pew per PC direction. Please wait until your pew is called. 
-Those remaining in the narthex. 

Sunday Fellowship Hour Sponsors: Please sponsor a fellowship hour to support the Saint Anna parish. The requested fellowship hour sponsorship donation is $50.

Donation statements were emailed out last week, if you did not receive or have questions, please email [email protected]. 

Our 2025 Stewardship drive is in progress, please complete your 2025 stewardship pledge to allow the parish council to properly plan for the year.

2025 Stewardship Status: We have 37 Pledges totaling $98,195 and $29,755 received to date.  We also have 6 families who have contributed $3,362 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.  

National Fire Relief Fund:
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has announced the establishment of the "National Fire Relief Fund" to raise funds for the immediate needs of those affected by the devastating fires that have affected several areas in southern California. Learn more at https://www.goarch.org/donate/fires.

House Blessings: This is the time when we normally schedule House Blessings.  If you would like Father Jimmy to come and bless your home, please email/call Father and the office by emailing [email protected] and/or calling (908) 968-4004.

Parish Council Updates:

TRIVIA NIGHT – February 28, 2025
Please submit your reservations to attend St. Anna’s 2025 TRIVIA NIGHT no later than February 24th to [email protected]. If you already know who will be sitting at your table, please include their names in your reservation.  Fun filled event details are included in the attached flyer. You can also reserve your table directly with Arge Mardakis during coffee hour after Liturgy on Sundays. Thank you to everyone who has already made their reservations.

Greek Independence Day Parade in Philadelphia, PA - Sunday April 6, 2025. The annual Greek Independence Day Parade is happening on Sunday April 6, 2025. Last year we had over 40 parishioners marching down the Ben Franklin Parkway. Let's try and top that number this year! Please see Bill Johnson today at fellowship hour to reserve you seat on the Bus. Cost per seat is $15 for adults and Children under 18 ride for free. Final Reservation/Payment is due Sunday March 30.

PHILOPTOCHOS CORNER:  

The Philoptochos "Koliva Committee" is offering to make a bowl of Koliva for your loved one for the "Saturday of Souls" services on Saturday, March 1, and March 8.
The cost for a small bowl is a $25 donation to Philoptochos. May their memory be eternal! 

As part of our mission as "Friends of the Poor", we are collecting money for a local Orthodox family who is going through some difficult times. They are part of our NJ Metropolis community and we have adopted them for the month of February. Please use the Philoptochos "Donation Box" on the Pangari if you would like to help out or give your donation to one of the Ladies at the Philoptochos table.
We thank you as always for your generosity!

“Money is not the only commodity that is fun to give. We can give time, we can give our expertise, we can give our love, or simply give a smile. What does that cost? The point is, none of us can ever run out of something worthwhile to give."   Steve Goodier

We are continuing with our membership drive till the end of March, you can help us by joining the St. Anna Philoptochos and raising our numbers, and becoming a warrior for "Friends of the Poor"!

Flower Committee meeting will take place after Divine Liturgy on February 23. The meeting will be in the first classroom. We will discuss Pascha and the needs of the church. Please contact Aimee Douvris if you are interested in helping out. Aimeedouvris@gmail,com

Save the Date: Our next senior Parea event will be Tuesday, March 4th at 12:00 in the fellowship hall.

YOUTH MINISTRY:

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. Our next meetings are Sunday, March 2nd.

YAL: The Young Adult League will assist in PC duties today and the second Sundays of the month (YAL Sundays). If you are of YAL age (18-35) and interested in participating or for more details, please reach out to Nikol Toulatos at [email protected].

Greek school: Please contact Maria Sfondouris at  [email protected] with any questions.

ST. ANNA BOOKSTORE - Great Lent is quickly approaching. Stop by the bookstore and pick up a great read for your Lenten Journey.  Email questions to [email protected]. Here are some recommendations:

FOR CHILDREN: "Our Very First Easter"; "The Light"; and " The Miracle of the Red Egg".

FOR ADULTS: "The Crucifixion of the King of Glory" and "Great Lent: Journey to Pascha"

The second in our series of iconography classes at St Anna will be held Monday, March 31, through Friday, April 4, from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. each evening. The icon subject will be a version of the famous Christ Pantocrator (Christ Ruler of All) icon from St. Catherine's Monastery at the foot of Mt. Sinai in Egypt. Although many ancient icons from the period were destroyed due to the iconoclast heresy, this one survived due to St. Catherine's remote location. It is therefore historically significant, and one of the oldest icons in existence (see PDF file attached for the image). No previous art experience is needed, and all supplies will be provided. The class fee will be $350 ($20 per hour, as before). For more information, or to register, please contact Gerard A. Pelletier ([email protected], 609-917-0990). (As no class will be offered during the summer, this may be our last class until Fall 2025.)

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]

For general questions: [email protected]

To be added to the weekly bulletin email:  [email protected]

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Saints and Feasts

February 23

Judgment Sunday (Meatfare Sunday)

The foregoing two parables -- especially that of the Prodigal Son -- have presented to us God's extreme goodness and love for man. But lest certain persons, putting their confidence in this alone, live carelessly, squandering upon sin the time given them to work out their salvation, and death suddenly snatch them away, the most divine Fathers have appointed this day's feast commemorating Christ's impartial Second Coming, through which we bring to mind that God is not only the Friend of man, but also the most righteous Judge, Who recompenses to each according to his deeds.

It is the aim of the holy Fathers, through bringing to mind that fearful day, to rouse us from the slumber of carelessness unto the work of virtue, and to move us to love and compassion for our brethren. Besides this, even as on the coming Sunday of Cheese-fare we commemorate Adam's exile from the Paradise of delight -- which exile is the beginning of life as we know it now -- it is clear that today's is reckoned the last of all feasts, because on the last day of judgment, truly, everything of this world will come to an end.

All foods, except meat and meat products, are allowed during the week that follows this Sunday.

February 23

Polycarp the Holy Martyr & Bishop of Smyrna

This apostolic and prophetic man, and model of faith and truth, was a disciple of John the Evangelist, successor of Bucolus (Feb. 6), and teacher of Irenaeus (Aug. 23). He was an old man and full of days when the fifth persecution was raised against the Christians under Marcus Aurelius. When his pursuers, sent by the ruler, found Polycarp, he commanded that they be given something to eat and drink, then asked them to give him an hour to pray; he stood and prayed, full of grace, for two hours, so that his captors repented that they had come against so venerable a man. He was brought by the Proconsul of Smyrna into the stadium and was commanded, "Swear by the fortune of Caesar; repent, and say, 'Away with the atheists.'" By atheists, the Proconsul meant the Christians. But Polycarp, gazing at the heathen in the stadium, waved his hand towards them and said, "Away with the atheists." When the Proconsul urged him to blaspheme against Christ, he said: "I have been serving Christ for eighty-six years, and He has wronged me in nothing; how can I blaspheme my King Who has saved me?" But the tyrant became enraged at these words and commanded that he be cast into the fire, and thus he gloriously expired about the year 163. As Eusebius says, "Polycarp everywhere taught what he had also learned from the Apostles, which also the Church has handed down; and this alone is true" (Eccl. Hist., Book IV, ch. 14,15).

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Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Prokeimenon. 4th Tone. Psalm 146.5;134.3.
Great is our Lord, and great is his power.
Verse: Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.

The reading is from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 8:8-13; 9:1-2.

Brethren, food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. Only take care lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if any one sees you, a man of knowledge, at table in an idol's temple, might he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak man is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of my brother's falling, I will never eat meat, lest I cause my brother to fall.

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

Gospel Reading

Judgment Sunday (Meatfare Sunday)
The Reading is from Matthew 25:31-46

The Lord said, "When the Son of man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

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Hymns of the Day

Resurrectional Apolytikion in the 2nd Tone

When Thou didst descend unto death, O Life Immortal, then didst Thou slay Hades with the lightning of Thy Divinity. And when Thou didst also raise the dead out of the nethermost depths, all the powers in the Heavens cried out: O Life-giver, Christ our God, glory be to Thee.

Seasonal Kontakion in the 1st Tone

O God, when You come upon the earth in glory, the whole world will tremble. A river of fire will bring all before Your Judgment Seat and the books will be opened, and everything in secret will become public. At that time, deliver me from the fire which never dies, and enable me to stand by Your right hand, O Judge most just.
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