Community
Coffee hour is a way for us to encourage fellowship and welcome visitors to our parish. If you would like to participate in this ministry by sponsoring a coffee hour, please contact the church office.
Host needed on these Sundays:
Decorating Icons during Lent and Holy Week is one way to beautify our church during the Lenten season of prayer and spiritual renewal. If you would like to decorate an icon and/or contribute to the cost of flowers for these icons, please contact the church office.
Dates Available:
- Mar. 14 - Akathist
- Mar. 25 - Annunciation of the Theotokos
- Mar. 28 - Akathist
- Apr. 4 - Akathist
- Apr. 13 - Bridegroom
- Apr. 16 - Mystical Supper
- Apr. 20 - Holy Resurrection
The Hellenic Museum of Maryland will offer a Presentation during Coffee Hour on Sunday Mar. 16.
The Lenten Food Drive sponsored by Philoptochos continues through April 21st. See flier for details.
What are the Additional Services During Great Lent?
Great Compline (typically offered Mondays at 6:00pm during Lent). The Orthodox Church has a daily cycle of services, with different services corresponding to certain times of the day. Compline is the service done after supper, in which we ask for forgiveness for our wrongdoings during the day and for protection throughout the night. Great Compline is an old form of Compline that is now only done during Great Lent.
Presanctified (typically offered Wednesdays at 6:00pm and Fridays at 9:00am). This service is Vespers with the distribution of Holy Communion that has been saved from the previous Sunday. In the daily cycle of services, Vespers is the service for sunset and the start of the new liturgical day, with the theme of renewed creation and light shining in the darkness. Due to the subdued nature of Lent, weekday Liturgies and other celebrations will not take place, but the Church offers Presanctified Holy Communion at this Vespers service so that the faithful can be strengthened during the Fast. Orthdodox Christians planning to receive Holy Communion at this service should fast from at least noon.
Akathist (offered the first five Fridays at 7:00pm) is a Compline service with the addition of a canon and salutations to the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. The 5th Saturday of Lent is connected to the Annunciation, and so on the 5th Friday evening of Great Lent, we offer the Akathist service in its entirety. The previous 4 Fridays are done in anticipation, with only a portion of the salutations being done. The salutations or "Kontakion" is attributed to St. Romanos the Melodist and is a poetic and theological masterpiece, comprised of 24 stanzas which are arranged in an acrostic following the Greek alphabet. "Akathist" means "not standing", and so most Orthodox Christians will stand during the entirety of this service.
Pastoral Reminders
Please note that Holy Communion and other sacraments are reserved for baptized/chrismated Orthodox Christians in good-standing. Please contact Fr. John if you have any questions.