Sunday, November 20th, 2022

Dear Parish Members, Welcomed Guests and Friends,

“Would you want to be surprised—or would you want to know ahead of time for the anticipation?”

Aren’t these the fun questions we ask our spouses when we’re planning an evening out, for something like an anniversary, a birthday? It’s always a good game of how to approach the event. Would your spouse be happier with a surprise or happier getting to look forward to the event and venue?

This is what we play sometimes, wanting to accomplish the most memorable thing for an occasion.

In our faith, a number of the saints and monastics always strive to live in the “now,” avoiding the past and the future. Their focus is on God right now.

But for us, who may be on lesser levels than the saints and monastics, we balance between the past and future, with our present actions as the fulcrum balance. True, sometimes, the past gives us the warmth of nostalgia and the future can give us the excitement of anticipation. Sometimes, the past is regret and the future is fear. Sometimes, it’s a hard choice.

For now, let’s look a little bit ahead to anticipate joy:  on January 7^th, our beloved parish will celebrate its day in honour of our patron Saint John the Baptist, this day being fresh from the previous day of Holy Epiphany when the Holy Trinity becomes manifest to all. It’s a good thing for the next day, January 7^th, to be in honour of Saint John who has baptized the Christ Messiah, proclaiming him to the world.

So, our parish family will be celebrating as we can:  on January 7^th, 2023, we’ll celebrate our Orthros service and our Divine Liturgy. Prepare to receive Holy Communion this morning. In the evening, we’ll have our celebration gathering in honour of Saint John the Baptist. More details will be announced as soon as we secure them. Do stay tuned. 

Faithfully, Father Samaras 

On November 20th, we commemorate our devout father Gregory of Dekapolis; our father among the saints Proklos, Archbishop of Constantinople; the contest of the holy martyr Dasios; the holy martyrs Nirsa the Bishop, and Joseph his student, and others who died with them in Persia; the holy martyrs Isakios, John, and Saborios; the holy martyrs Geithazet and another three; the holy virgins and martyrs Thecla, Vaoutha, and Denachis; the holy martyrs Efstathios, Thespesios, and Anatolios; and Saint Theoktistos.

Συναξάριον Τοῦ Μηναίου. Τῇ Κʹ τοῦ αὐτοῦ μηνὸς μνήμη τοῦ ὁσίου Πατρὸς ἡμῶν Γρηγορίου τοῦ Δεκαπολίτου. Τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ μνήμη τοῦ ἐν ἁγίοις Πατρὸς ἡμῶν Πρόκλου, ἀρχιεπισκόπου Κωνσταντινουπόλεως· ὅς ἐχρημάτισε μαθητὴς τοῦ μακαρίου Ἰωάννου τοῦ Χρυσοστόμου, καὶ τοῦ θρόνου διάδοχος. Τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ μνήμη τῆς ἀθλήσεως τοῦ ἁγίου Μάρτυρος Δασίου, τοῦ ἐν Δοροστόλῳ. Τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ μνήμη τῶν ἁγίων Μαρτύρων Νιρσᾶ Ἐπισκόπου καὶ Ἰωσὴφ μαθητοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐτέρων σὺν αὐτῷ τελειωθέντων ἐν Περσίδι. Οἱ ἅγιοι Μάρτυρες Ἰσάκιος, Ἰωάννης καὶ Σαβώριος, λιθοβοληθέντες, τελειοῦνται. Οἱ ἅγιοι Μάρτυρες Γεϊθαζὲτ καὶ ἕτεροι τρεῖς, λόγχαις τρωθέντες, τελειοῦνται. Αἱ ἅγιαι παρθένοι Θέκλα, Βαουθᾶ καὶ Δεναχὶς ξίφει τελειοῦνται. Τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ μνήμη τῶν ἁγίων Μαρτύρων Εὐσταθίου, Θεσπεσίου καὶ Ἀνατολίου. Τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ μνήμη τοῦ ἁγίου Θεοκτίστου, ὅς καὶ παρτίκιος καὶ εὐνοῦχος ἦν ἐπὶ Θεοδώρας τῆς Αὐγούστης.

STEWARDSHIP

Your Stewardship allows our church to grow and continue to be an important part of our Greek community.  

Christian stewardship means that I own nothing. Everything I have belongs to God. He has loaned it to me. I am committed to use it responsibly, and one day, I will have to answer to Him for my use or misuse of His gifts.

I am the manager of God’s gifts: my time, my talents, my possessions, my body, my soul – everything belongs to God.  Money, for example, becomes a sacrament when it is offered to God. It becomes a visible expression of our commitment, faith, and love for Jesus. Once given to God, our gifts are consecrated by the Holy Spirit, who then translates them into works of mercy that bring glory to God.

Father Anthony M. Coniaris (1926-2020) 

 

Sunday, November 20, 2022

9:00am Orthros/10:00am Divine Liturgy 

9^TH Sunday of Luke 

Sunday, November 27, 2022 

9:00am Orthros/10:00am Divine Liturgy

13^TH Sunday of Luke

Sunday, December 4, 2022

9:00am Orthros/10:00am Divine Liturgy

10^TH Sunday of Luke

Sunday, December 11, 2022

9:00am Orthros/10:00am Divine Liturgy

11^TH Sunday of Luke