News, Events and Announcements

NO SERVICES AT ST. GEORGE ON SUNDAY, SEPT 29 DUE TO ILLNESS Fr. is under direction of his physician to remain off his feet for a few days. He has a case of cellulitis in one leg that has not resolved so elevating that leg and using a different medicine are now required. He regrets not being able to celebrate the Divine Liturgy here today and prays that the Lord will bring the healing needed so he can return to altar service next Sunday. He's grateful for all the prayers directed toward his recovery--thank you!

ST. GEORGE IS OPEN TODAY FROM 10AM - NOON for prayer and candle lighting.

SOME COMMEMORATIONS THIS WEEK Today, Sunday, 9/29 - St. Kyriacos of Palestine; Monday, 9/30 - St. Gregory of Armenia; Tuesday, 10/1 - Holy Protection of the Theotokos, St. Romanos the Melodist; Wednesday, 10/2, Ss. Cyprian and Justina; Thursday, 10/3 Dionysios the Aeropagite.

XRONIA POLLA! MANY YEARS! Today is Kyriacos' Name Day - may your Patron Saint always intercede for you and help guide your steps on the Path to Salvation!

SUNDAY SCHOOL WILL RESUME NEXT SUNDAY Please join Mrs. Bucklin for another session of Sunday School this academic year. She is teaching from the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles--the theme is "Salvation to the Ends of the Earth." If you are ages 6+, this class is for you! We're learning together about the beautiful life of our Lord Jesus and how the Good News is spread to the ends of the Earth! Thank you, Mrs. Bucklin!

SINCERE THANKS to all who bring food dishes to share during fellowship hour, your kind generosity is always appreciated!

TRULY SAINTS FOR OUR DAY AND AGE Ss. Cyprian and Justina are commemorated on Wednesday of this week. St. Cyprian was once a powerful sorcerer who abandoned the dark arts to become a Christian, then later, a bishop, and, along with St. Justina, ended their earthly lives as martyrs for Christ. Learn more about them here: https://otftd.blogspot.com/2013/10/october-2-demonic-arts-abandoned.html

AN INVITATION TO JOIN the Akathist a Day for 30 Days Prayer Group Join in a prayer discipline that is edifying and allows us to develop friendship with God's holy ones--the Saints! Each day for 30 days a group of Orthodox Christians from around the world offer an akathist from a selection of akathists to various Saints. By doing so, we get to know more about their lives and miracles and more so, they get to know us, too. How can they not know us since we honor them regularly and ask their intercessions? Yes, the Saints are available to us, even if we seldom recognize it. One of the things they do is intercede before God's throne, so let us ask their kind assistance for ourselves and our loved ones. Want to know more? Contact Pres. Candace (doxa141@gmail dot com or 949.2913, area code 207) and she'll provide detail. Our next 30 days cycle starts of Thursday, October 10.

PRAYER REQUESTS For Fr. Leo to recover from a case of cellulitis in the leg. For Patty M who is suffering with intense headaches, that the doctors can determine the cause and best treatment. For Patrick K waiting for results from a CT scan. Please continue to remember two Orthodox sisters in Christ recovering from strokes (slow, but sure), Panagiota (Jaye) and Seraphima (Linnea). Also, please remember Pat Egan whose eyesight is limiting her options, but not her enthusiasm for serving the Christ and the Church--thank God! Pat has even reported some improvement in her eyesight recently which was an amazing surprise to her! Your prayers for these dear women will be of great assistance.

YES! THE GREEK DANCE IS ON THE HORIZON Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 2. Our annual Greek Dance will be held once again at Wellman Commons, 300 Union Street, Bangor (our usual location) from 7-11PM. Enjoy great Greek food including gyro bar, baklava, wine & beer. LIVE Greek dance music! $40 in advance, $45 at the door. $10 for 17 and under, must be accompanied by an adult. Advance tickets available at Angelo's Pizza in Bangor. Free Greek dance lessons on two week nights preceding the dance--WEDNESDAY October 23 and note day/date change: TUESDAY October 29 from 7-8PM, here at St. George, 90 Sanford Street in Bangor. Sorry, no Silent Auction this year. All proceeds benefit the mission of St. George Greek Orthodox Church (founded in 1926).

GETTING READY FOR THE GREEK DANCE Help us stuff some envelopes after services next Sunday morning, October 6. Take some Greek Dance announcement flyers home with you and post at local businesses and/or work place to get the word out. Invite a friend or friends to attend the dance and bring them along for free dance lessons to get in the groove. Sell tickets or buy them as gifts for others. The energy and commraderie at the dance is always wonderful! Be willing to prepare dishes for the buffet table on the night of the dance. Cynthia will be asking for donations of prepared dishes to make the buffet bountiful that night. Please be generous inasmuch as you're able. This event has always been very well received by our community and friends. So, don't hesitate to get involved and invite others for an enjoyable night together--live music, great food, fun on othe dance floor. See you there!

IT'S TIME TO SAY THANKS AGAIN AND ASK FOR A LEG UP Our stewardship chair wants to express a sincere thank you for the stewards and other givers who help keep us going financially throughout the year. We couldn't function well without you! At this point in time, funds are running low and we're facing the fall/winter seasons. We respectfully ask that pledges be faithfully fulfilled so we can make it through the seasons and end the year in the black and not in the red. We're a modest sized congregation in a cold part of the country so let us pull together and help make sure bills will be covered as have been in the past. We are grateful to each and every one of you and how you are motivated for love of God and St. George who watches and prays for us all. Thanks so much! Donna Walter

FINANCIALS Last week our Stewardship Chair reported that we were currently at -$9467. We will update the figure again soon. Again we seek your generosity and pledge fulfillment so that we can reasonably manage the finances through the end of this year. Thanks in advance!

LOOKING FOR A MEAL COORDINATOR Is there anyone among us who would like to work with our parish community and the Bangor Salvation Army to coordinate preparation of occasional hot casseroles to feed our city's homeless? If so, please contact Susan Brountas for details: 207.745.9167.

PROSFORA BAKING IS A MINISTRY For an Orthodox Christian, baking the Bread of Offering which becomes the Body of Christ for Holy Communion is a sacred offering. In Greek a single loaf of this bread is called " prosforo." Multiples loaves are "prosfora." Our church is always benefitted by receiving these breads--any excess loaves go into the freezer for future use. Please if you can and are willing, become a baker of this sacred bread for love of Christ and the ministry of our Holy Church. Loaves are always welcome and needed. If you have not already ordered a bread stamp and want to be a baker, let Presbytera know. A bread stamp costs $20 and is continually re-usable. Please let Fr. know if you plan to bake prosfora occasionally ([email protected] or 207.385.3000). If you've already ordered a seal, you should receive it next Sunday.

BE THE BEST STEWARD OF WHAT GOD'S ENTRUSTED TO YOU -- KEEP PRODUCE FRESH Many individuals and families buy fresh produce regularly only to find a good bit of it relegated to the trash because of improper storage. This is a real waste and an increasingly costly one. Is there a way to keep this from happening? Yes, there is! Learn and become a better steward of the resources God has entrusted to you. Meet Amy Cross who teaches people how to keep produce fresh and usable for 3 weeks or longer. This is quite impressive and likely all our families will find the info useful. Have fun, learn lots! Start here with her first "viral" video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yVKejGcg4s. And, keep salad toppings fresh for weeks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3PpUcjT6I0.

FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE - Donations can be made online.

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Saints and Feasts

September 29

2nd Sunday of Luke

September 29

Cyriacus the Hermit of Palestine

This Saint was born in Corinth in 448. He went to Palestine to the Lavra of Euthymius the Great, but because of his youth was sent by Saint Euthymius to Saint Gerasimus; after the death of Saint Gerasimus he returned to the Lavra of Saint Euthymius. Later he took on a more rigorous life of asceticism in the wilderness of Natoufa, where there was nothing to eat except the exceedingly bitter wild herb called squills, which, however, through his prayers, God made sweet for him and his disciple. He lived 107 years and reposed in the year 555.

Gospel and Epistle Readings

Epistle Reading

Προκείμενον. Fifth Tone. ΨΑΛΜΟΙ 11.7,1.
Σὺ Κύριε, φυλάξαις ἡμᾶς καὶ διατηρήσαις ἡμᾶς.
Στίχ. Σῶσον με, Κύριε, ὅτι ἐκλέλοιπεν ὅσιος.

τὸ Ἀνάγνωσμα Πρὸς Κορινθίους β' 1:21-24, 2:1-4.

Ἀδελφοί, ὁ βεβαιῶν ἡμᾶς σὺν ὑμῖν εἰς Χριστόν, καὶ χρίσας ἡμᾶς, θεός, ὁ καὶ σφραγισάμενος ἡμᾶς, καὶ δοὺς τὸν ἀρραβῶνα τοῦ πνεύματος ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν. Ἐγὼ δὲ μάρτυρα τὸν θεὸν ἐπικαλοῦμαι ἐπὶ τὴν ἐμὴν ψυχήν, ὅτι φειδόμενος ὑμῶν οὐκέτι ἦλθον εἰς Κόρινθον. Οὐχ ὅτι κυριεύομεν ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως, ἀλλὰ συνεργοί ἐσμεν τῆς χαρᾶς ὑμῶν· τῇ γὰρ πίστει ἑστήκατε. Ἔκρινα δὲ ἐμαυτῷ τοῦτο, τὸ μὴ πάλιν ἐν λύπῃ πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐλθεῖν. Εἰ γὰρ ἐγὼ λυπῶ ὑμᾶς, καὶ τίς ἐστιν ὁ εὐφραίνων με, εἰ μὴ ὁ λυπούμενος ἐξ ἐμοῦ; Καὶ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν τοῦτο αὐτό, ἵνα μὴ ἐλθὼν λύπην ἔχω ἀφʼ ὧν ἔδει με χαίρειν, πεποιθὼς ἐπὶ πάντας ὑμᾶς, ὅτι ἡ ἐμὴ χαρὰ πάντων ὑμῶν ἐστίν. Ἐκ γὰρ πολλῆς θλίψεως καὶ συνοχῆς καρδίας ἔγραψα ὑμῖν διὰ πολλῶν δακρύων, οὐχ ἵνα λυπηθῆτε, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀγάπην ἵνα γνῶτε ἣν ἔχω περισσοτέρως εἰς ὑμᾶς.

Prokeimenon. Fifth Tone. Psalm 11.7,1.
You, O Lord, shall keep us and preserve us.
Verse: Save me, O Lord, for the godly man has failed.

The reading is from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 1:21-24; 2:1-4.

Brethren, it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has commissioned us; he has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

But I call God to witness against me - it was to spare you that I refrained from coming to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith; we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith. For I made up my mind not to make you another painful visit. For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. For I wrote you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

Gospel Reading

2nd Sunday of Luke
Κατὰ Λουκᾶν 6:31-36

Εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος· καθὼς θέλετε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς ὁμοίως. καὶ εἰ ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστί; καὶ γὰρ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας αὐτοὺς ἀγαπῶσι. καὶ ἐὰν ἀγαθοποιῆτε τοὺς ἀγαθοποιοῦντας ὑμᾶς, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστί; καὶ γὰρ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσι. καὶ ἐὰν δανείζητε παρ᾿ ὧν ἐλπίζετε ἀπολαβεῖν, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστί; καὶ γὰρ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἁμαρτωλοῖς δανείζουσιν ἵνα ἀπολάβωσι τὰ ἴσα. πλὴν ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν καὶ ἀγαθοποιεῖτε καὶ δανείζετε μηδὲν ἀπελπίζοντες, καὶ ἔσται ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολύς, καὶ ἔσεσθε υἱοὶ ὑψίστου, ὅτι αὐτὸς χρηστός ἐστιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀχαρίστους καὶ πονηρούς. Γίνεσθε οὖν οἰκτίρμονες, καθὼς καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν οἰκτίρμων ἐστί.

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."