Elizabeth, Mother of the Forerunner, Panagiotis the New Martyr & Athanasios Parios
We Would Like to Welcome All Visitors to Our Community Today! When receiving Holy Communion, we ask that you kindly come up, row by row and follow the direction of the Parish Council Member. WHO CAN RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION Receiving Holy Communion and any other Sacraments is an expression of our acceptance of the dogmatic and moral teachings of the Orthodox Church. Only Orthodox Christians (by Baptism or Chrismation) in good standing may participate. For this reason, persons who do not agree with these teachings, or are not in good standing (for example, married outside the Church, or civilly divorced but not ecclesiastically divorced), must return to good standing in order to participate in the Sacramental life of the Church. For the same reasons, Orthodox Christians cannot receive sacraments in non-Orthodox
Let the Heavens rejoice; let earthly things be glad; for the Lord hath wrought might with His arm, He hath trampled upon death by death. The first-born of the dead hath He become. From the belly of Hades hath He delivered us, and hath granted great mercy to the world.
Apolytikion of Nativity of John the Forerunner in the Fourth Tone Προφήτα καί Πρόδρομε, τής παρουσίας Χριστού, αξίως ευφημήσαί σε ουκ ευπορούμεν ημείς, οι πόθω τιμώντές σε, στείρωσις γάρ τεκούσης, καί πατρός αφωνία, λέλυνται τή ενδόξω, καί σεπτή σου γεννήσει, καί σάρκωσις Υιού τού Θεού, κόσμω κηρύτεται.
O Prophet and Forerunner of the presence of Christ, we who fervently honor you cannot worthily praise you. For by your revered and glorious birth the barrenness of your mother and the muteness of your father were unbound, and the incarnation of the Son of God is proclaimed to the world.
Apolytikion of Synaxis of John the Forerunner in the Second Tone Μνήμη δικαίου μέτ' ἐγκωμίων, σοὶ δὲ ἀρκέσει ἡ μαρτυρία τοῦ Κυρίου Πρόδρομε, ἀνεδείχθης γὰρ ὄντως καὶ Προφητῶν σεβασμιώτερος, ὅτι καὶ ἐν ῥείθροις βαπτίσαι κατηξιώθης τὸν κηρυττόμενον. Ὅθεν τῆς ἀληθείας ὑπεραθλήσας, χαίρων εὐηγγελίσω καὶ τοὶς ἐν ἅδῃ, Θεὸν φανερωθέντα ἐν σαρκί, τὸν αἴροντα τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου, καὶ παρέχοντα ἡμῖν τὸ μέγα ἔλεος.
The memory of the just is celebrated with hymns of praise, but the Lord's testimony is sufficient for thee, O Forerunner; for thou hast proved to be truly even more venerable than the Prophets, since thou was granted to baptize in the running waters Him Whom they proclaimed. Wherefore, having contested for the truth, thou didst rejoice to announce the good tidings even to those in Hades: that God hath appeared in the flesh, taking away the sin of the world and granting us great mercy.
Apolytikion of Dormition of the Theotokos in the First Tone Εν τή Γεννήσει τήν παρθενίαν εφύλαξας, έν τή Κοιμήσει τόν κόσμον ού κατέλιπες Θεοτόκε, Μετέστης πρός τήν ζωήν, μήτηρ υπάρχουσα τής ζωής, καί ταίς πρεσβείαις ταίς σαίς λυτρουμένη, εκ θανάτου τάς ψυχάς ημών.
In birth, you preserved your virginity; in death, you did not abandon the world, O Theotokos. As mother of life, you departed to the source of life, delivering our souls from death by your intercessions.
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.
Epistle Reading: Romans 13:11-14; 14:1-4 - Brethren, salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains pass judgment on him who eats; for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for God is able to make him stand.
Gospel Lesson: Luke 1:1-25, 57-68, 76-80 - Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilos, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed. In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth; for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." And Zacharias said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and they wondered at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made signs to them and remained dumb. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she hid herself, saying, "Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men." Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son. And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zacharias after his father, but his mother said, "Not so; he shall be called John." And they said to her, "None of your kindred is called by this name." And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called. And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." And they all marveled. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways." And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Community News Just a friendly reminder, the Orthros begins at 8:30 a.m. and the Divine Liturgy at 9:30 a.m. And now that we have entered into summer, many of us feel the need to take a vacation from Church. In other words, the children are out of school, many of us are planning trips, and so forth. Thus, we have this mentality that we do not have to attend church during the summer, because we are on vacation. Now, just imagine for a moment, if our Lord stopped watching over us, and went on vacation. The choice is clear and simple for us. Let’s try to make an extra effort to be in church throughout the summer months. Just think, after praying on Sunday morning, you have the entire day left to spend relaxing.
Going Green Collection Program! Our parish will be participating in a recyclable program, but we are not going to be collecting plastic bottles and papers. Instead the recyclables we are collecting are clothing, blankets and shoes. A GOIN’ GREEN Drop of box is placed on the Church grounds that will be visible to not only our parishioners, but also to the general public. This is an opportunity for our parish to give back to the community at large and to participate at recycling goods that will help those who are less fortunate than us. So now, when we have clothes, blankets, coats or shoes that we don’t need anymore, we can bring them to Church and drop them off in the GOIN’ GREEN Drop box. For more information about this program, please see Fr. Sam. IN THE HOSPITAL, LET FATHER KNOW! In order to assist Father in his pastoral duties, please inform him if you or a family member has been hospitalized. Our hospitals DO NOT have a policy of informing the church if they have a parishioner as their patient.
ADDRESS CHANGED? Please help us keep our membership and mailings as accurate as possible by notifying Father of address, name or phone number changes. Thank you for your assistance.
Greek Fest: This year, we are proud to announce that once again, we will be holding our Annual “Be Greek For A Day Fest”. This year, our Festival will begin on Friday evening, July, 20th, from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., Saturday, July 21st from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and on Sunday, July 22nd from 1:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Friday Night’s entertainement will be Anthem Classic Rock and Beyond, 7:30 - 10:30 p.m. There will be a $10 Cover Charge (1 free beverage ticket). On Saturday & Sunday, we will have the Ormi Orchestra playing from 5:00 - 10:00 p.m., $2 Admission on Saturday & Sunday. Along with the Ormi Orchestra, we will be having Greek Dance Performances Featuring the Hellenic Cathedral Dancers & The Paradosis Dance Troupe on both evenings. This year, we will be offering Pork Souvlakia, Barbequed Grecian Style Chicken, Pastitsio, Gyro, and of course various Greek pastries including Loukoumades. We will also have a gift shop with various venders and of course inflatable jumpies for the children. Along with food and Greek Dancing, we will be sponsoring our raffle, with total winnings of $9,000.00. This year, the cost of each raffle ticket is just $25. In order for this year’s festival to be a success, we need the help of the entire parish. We are seeking volunteers for our three day fest, whether it be setting up, cooking, serving, or even cleaning. In the weeks to come, we will be having festival meetings to plan and coordinate this year’s fest.
Below is a list of items that need to be donated towards this year Annual Fest
Paper Goods Needed 3,000 Plastic Silverware packets 1 Gallon of Dishwashing Soap
Donations Needed for Tents & Miscellaneous Tent, chairs & tables – 5,500.00 2 bouncy Houses - $500 total
10 kegs of beer
At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, there will be a special basket that will be geared towards the Festival. We ask that you please give whatever you can to this basket, in order to help defray the cost of the various items that have not been donated.
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