Upcoming Community Events Today, Thursday 11/19.
7p/ Book of the Apocalypse study at church.

Saturday 21. The Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple.
8:45a/ ORTHROS & DIVINE LITURGY.
1p/ Delaware Valley Region Parish Council Members Seminar @ St. Luke, Broomall.

ΙΧ Sunday of Luke, 22.
22 NOVEMBER 2009. IX SUNDAY OF LUKE 8:45a/ ORTHROS & DIVINE LITURGY
The Fall General Assembly of our parishioners will take place today after the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy.
Stewardship 2010 campaign starts today.
4:45p/ GOYA basketball at Holy Trinity, Egg Harbor.

Tuesday 24.
11a/ Bible class at church, studying the Epistle of James, the brother of our Lord.
4:30-9p/ Greek language classes.
7p/ Parish Council meeting.

Wednesday 25. Katherine the Great Martyr of Alexandria, Mercurios the Great Martyr of Caesarea in Cappadocia.
7p/ VESPERAL DIVINE LITURGY.

Thursday 26. Thanksgiving Day.

ΧΙΙΙ Sunday of Luke, 29.
8:45a/ ORTHROS & DIVINE LITURGY
Stewardship 2010 campaign continues today.
3:15p/ GOYA Basketball at St. Demetrios, Upper Darby.

Monday 30. Andrew the First-called Apostle, Froumentios, Archbishop of Ethiopia.
8:45a/ ORTHROS & DIVINE LITURGY

You May Have Noticed the home page of our website for the past two weeks has been somewhat distorted, and some of the church organizations pages are missing. The Church Calendar and the electronic Bulletin have not been affected. Please accept our sincere apology for that. Our website is hosted for free by the American Bible Society, through our Archdiocese, and we are trying to get the problem solved through them, as soon as possible.
Thank you for your patience.

Congratulations! To Brian and Anna (Chokas) Hirst on the birth of their first child, Ekaterini, on 10/14/09. May God grant her many years!

Expecting families are encouraged to contact Fr. Christos prior to delivery so he can visit and bless the newborn in the hospital according to Orthodox tradition.

Our Deepest Sympathy to the family of Paul John Pavlishin Jr, 45, who fell asleep in the Lord on Friday, November 13, 2009, in Chicago.
Paul of blessed memory was the beloved son-in-law of Robert and Vasiliki Hadgimallis, and brother-in-law of Gus and Eleni Konugres, and Peter and Christine Hadgimallis. He is survived by his wife Patra, and children Alexandra and Nicholas.
May his memory be eternal.

Bible Studies At Annunciation The Morning Weekly Bible Study takes place every Tuesday morning, 11:0 am at Church (please see Weekly Bulletin for possible changes due to the ecclesiastical calendar & Fr. Christos’ availability). The group is currently studying the Epistle of James the Brother of our Lord, with plans to go through all the General Epistles this year.

DATES AND PLACES OF THE UPCOMING EVENING ORTHODOX STUDIES:

Thursday Nov. 19, 7pm/ Book of the Apocalypse Study at Church.

Thursday Dec. 3, 7pm/ Orthodox Lives Study: How to keep the Sabbath—Sunday—holy. Hosted by the Gouris family.

Monday Dec. 7, 7pm/ Book of the Apocalypse Study at Church.

Mark your calendars and make the effort to attend these soul-enriching and edifying activities.

Shoes For Orphan Souls Update Dear Church Community,
I would like to say proudly that we have exceeded our goal of 75 pairs of shoes. On behalf of the Ladies Philoptochos Organization and myself, I would like to thank each and every member of our church who was gracious and giving to this worthwhile cause. This was a good experience for me to be able to successfully accomplish this project, and know that I can reach out to my parish, family and friends to help me in completing my commitment to Philoptochos and Shoes for Orphan Souls. I want everyone to know that the shoes are now on its journey to all the children around the world who are less fortunate than us. Thank you and May God always bless us.
Alexandra Verros.

GOYA Food Drive Update We want to offer our sincere “thank you” to all parishioners who donated to our food drive last week. We helped to feed over 100 people and the food pantry was very gracious for our huge donation because they do not receive many large donations like ours. Thank you again for your support!
Anna Penning.

We Are Taking More, Giving Less In the January 17, 1998 issue of the Providence Journal-Bulletin, an article was run that was written by Clark Morphew, religious writer for the Saint Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press. He writes the following from the research of a group known as Empty Tomb…
"...that giving to U.S. churches has not increased sharply as our personal finances have. In other words since 1968, your salary has increased a heck of a lot, but you're giving a small percentage to the church. In 1968 the portion of income given to the church was 3.11 percent. In 1995 the portion of income was 2.46 percent. When you think back on the past 30 years, it is easy to see what you have done with your income. You're spending more on yourself and less on others. You've taken on bigger responsibilities (mortgages, loans), increased your vacation expectations, you're probably wearing nicer clothes and driving a fancier automobile. In other words, many of us have increased the amount of money we spend on just about everything, but the church."
Can you imagine what the percentage of giving to the church was during the most greedy decade in the history of this nation? Beloved parishioners, I do not have those statistics, but the above sobering words may fit many of us. Yet we can make corrections to this sad reality by placing our Church first in our giving and by giving a generous and honest portion of our income. As with all things in life, our Lord Jesus gives us the best instruction..."Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your bosom; for with the same measure that you give, will be the measure given back to you." Luke 6:38.

Are You A Current Steward In Good Standing? The 2009 year is almost over!  We are trying to reach out to all parishioners who have not pledged in 2009.  You have received several 2009 Pledge Cards throughout the year including this past month. We are appealing to you to become a supporting Steward of your Church. You are receiving the blessings of all the ministries that your church has to offer you and as a faithful steward, God expects you to contribute your share for the financial well-being of the community (“Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required” Luke 12:48). 
Please do not neglect this most important responsibility to your Church.

Annunciation Stewards Parishioners who have signed and turned-in 2009 pledge cards as of November 18, 2009.
A Stewardship Card must be submitted every year in order to be considered Steward in Good Standing.

Paul and Maria Anagnostakos
Dimitrios and Maria Andreadis
Leon and Irene Andreadis
John and Helen Angelos
Theodore and Victoria Aristoklis
Richard and Denise Armentani
John and Catherine Avgiris
Harry and Connie Bandy
Peter and Helen Bandy
John and Andrea Barrett
Leonidas and Maria Bavas
George and Patricia Baxavaneos
Vassilis Bekos and Stella Benakis
Demetra Bennett
John and Olga Bissas
Marina and Michael Blackton
Peter and Pauline Borras
Christos and Maria Botsaris
Leontios and Sophia Bougioukas
Nick and Magda Bougioukas
Peter and Maria Boulageris
Geovaney and Maria Cardenas
Constantine and Ammy Charokopos
Thomas Chiartas
Ken and Maria Chin
Katina Chokas
Gerasimos and Koula Christides
Rev. Christos and Presv. Joanna Christofidis
Leo and Virginia Cinousis
Shawn and Denise Connolly
John and Terry Contoudis
Ian and Anastasia Cooper
Christopher and Andrea Cosmas
Angelina Costa
Valentini Costa
Calliope Costallas
Niki Crits
Curtis Cummings
George and Maria Dalagelis
Constantine and Anna Dalson
Lawrence and Demetra Damian
John and Deborah Damkaoutis
Thomas and Helen Davis
Stephanie Degaitis
David Dietz
Elaine Dietz
Cornelius and Athena Douris
George and Teri Douris
Gus and Olga Econome
Nicholas and Beverly Economopoulos
Mary Economos
Konstantinos and Maria Economou
Barbara Edwards and Gus Concilio
Panagoula Ekonomou
Evangelos and Despina Exarchos
James and Kathy Fafalios
Kai and Argie Fentross
Stephen and Christine Ferello
Robert E. and Stella B. Ferguson
Maria Fiori
Apostolos and Stella Fisfis
Constantine and Christina Fournaris
Denise Fragogiannis and David Rogers
Carl and Helen Freedman
Christopher and Peggy Gardner
Eric and Elizabeth George
George and Polly Georgiou
Koula Gerasklis
John and Rosalie Gilliland
George Giordas
Anastasia Gleeson
David and Vikki Glynos
Craig and Angela Godshall
Peter and Susan Gouris
John and Arietta Gouvakis
John and Evangeline Gouzouasis
Costas and Maria Grigorakakis
George and Georgette Grigos
Elias Guglielmi
Anthony Gungura
George and Joyce Gutchigian
Nicholas and Mary Hadgimallis
Peter and Christine Hadgimallis
Robert and Vasiliki Hadgimallis
Andreas and Argero Hagiandreu
Irene Halkias
Yiorgos and Angeliki Hatzinikolaou
Peter and Magda Hatzis
Charles and Nota Henderson
David Hicks
Frank and Linda Holberg
Francis and Mary Jaxheimer
William and Gloria Johnson
George and Rodopi Kagiavas
Sophia Kallelis
Angela Kambouris and Joseph Quigley
John and Francesca Kanakis
Maria Kanakis
Argyro Kanellopoulos
Nick and Patra Karidas
Marika Karivalis
Constantine and Gail Karmokolias
Constantine and Alice Karnavas
Kevin Kelly and Barbara Crits-Kelly
Michael and Laura Kemmerer
Martin and Lia King
Elly Kinter
Theodre and Linda Koltsaklis
Marinos and Stamatia Konidaris
Gus and Eleni Konugres
Evangelos and Vicky Kopsinis
Anthony and Nicole Kosmatos
Theodore and Roula Kosoglou
Dionysios and Tina Koukaras
Helen Koutsouros
John and Virginia Koutsouros
Paul and Mary Koutsouros
William and Penelope Kyriakatos
George and Alice Kyriakodis
Stephanos and Helen Kyriakodis
Christos and Demetra Kytzidis
George Labrinakos
Leonidas and Patra Labrinakos
Dimitri and Lynn Lambrou
Peter and Peggy Lambrou
Drs. Anthony and Maria Limberakis
Constantina Limberis
Efstratia Limberis
Virginia Livanos
Alex and Vivian Hionas-Ljachin
Dimitrios and Dawn Loizos
Michael and Agnes Louridas

Gregory and Barbara Louridas
Violet Louridas
Todd and Elisavet Lutseo
Kevin and Mary Mack
Simeon and Galatea Mackrides
Vasilios and Faye Mackrides
Dr. Michael and Jeanette Madianos
Antonios Malitas
Demetrios Malitas
Eleftherios and Kyriaki Malitas
Fotios and Alexandra Malitas
Theofilos and Kalliopi Malitas
Alexandros and Sophia Mamas
Irene Manoloudis
Harry and Aphrodite Mantas
George and Agnoula Marcantonis
Evangelos Mariani
Ronald and Virginia Markos
Frank and Marianne Marmarou
Denis and Vincenza Matarangas
Elizabeth McClintock
David and Angela McCulloch
Stephen and Aspasia McGrath
James and Maria McNally
Joackim and Yvone Mechikas
Theodora Mikroulis
Peter and Cleo Millili
Fotina Moller
Adamantios and Hariklia Mountis
George and Kathleen Moustakas
Richard and Argyro Neumeister
Peter and Stella Nikolopoulos
Sotirios and Marianthi Nikolopoulos
Vasili and Julie Nolas
Alexandra Nyktas
Dawn Nylander
Lina Paidas
Themistokles and Mary Pailas
Antonis and Katherine Pantazopoulos
Dr. Arthur Papacostas
Catherine Papacostas
James and Jane Papacostas
Helen Papanicolaou
Irene Papanicolaou
Albert and Sophia Pappas
Angelina Pappas
Athanasios and Magda Pappas
George and Jenny Pappas
Helen K Pappas
Katherine Pappas
Nicholas and Urania Pappas
Penelope Pappas
Philip A. Pappas
Demetrius and Susan Pashos
Aris Pasles
Paul and Elise Pasles
George and Dolores Pavlis
Russell and Sophia Penning
John and Anastasia Perry
Isidoros and Andriana Pieces
Constantine and Glykeria Pietronuto
Daniel and Toula Pithis
George and Eugenia Pitsakis
Anthony and Karen Poulos
George Prieston
Dr. Andrew and Melissa Prousi
Anthony Prousi
George Prousi
Stephanie Ann Ristvey
Valerie Ristvey
David Roberts and Sinoula Apostolou
Mary Roscioli
Presvytera Sophia Roussos
Evangelia Sahlanis
Catherine Salvarlis
John and Christine Samaras
Dr. Charles and Maria Sandilos
Drs. William and Elaine Sandilos
Alexander and Diane Saphos
Jennie Sapnas
John and Emily Scanlon
Christopher and Amie Scanlon
David and Stephanie Scheuring
Dimitria Trula Sfarnas
Evangeline Litsa Sfarnas
Andreas and Evdoxia Sferedes
Eleftherios and Francine Sferedes
Kostas and Donna Sfiridis
David and Voula Sidesky
Robert and Irene Simons
Mike and Felia Skillas
Alexander and Alexandra Skoures
Diane and Eugene Stackhouse
John and Debbie Stakias
Maria D Stakias
Maria A Stakias
John and Mary Stamos
Helen Stampliakas
Matthew and Melissa Stolarczyk
The Taylor Family
John and Kristine Telegadis
Tanya Telegadis
Helen Thomas
Nancy Tombrakos
Emanuel and Thalia Topakas
Manny Topakas
Maria Topakas
Gerry and Xenia Toulatos
Anna Trantas
Stella Triantafellou
Cosmas and Shauna Trifonidis
Michael and Vaso Trifonidis
Europa Tripolitis
Zoe Tripolitis
James Lisa Trivelis
Michael and Rene Trivelis
Dimitrios and Eleni Tsakiris
Peter and Anne Tsatalis
Stelios and Lorie Tsinontides
Stavroula Tsitos
Lorraine Tsokas
Spyros and Gloria Tsokas
Shane and Despina Twyman
Kurt and Joanne Ufer
Chrysanthi Vaganos
Miltos and Anthe Valais
Dimitrios and Katharine Verros
Alexander and Penelope Ververeli
George and Anastasia Vlachos
George and Christine Vlahos
Constantine and Irene Vouladas
Gregory and Venetia Voutsinas
Sophia Louisa Voutsinos
Byron Warner and Christina Exarchos
Stephen and Georgia Weiss
Richard and Alexandra Wrigley
Gerard and Marie Zeman
Harry and Ann Zervos
Louise Zervos
Costadia Zervoudis
Theodore and Zaffie Zoubroulis
Nick and Rachel Zoubroulis

Fellowship Fundraiser Host Families Needed We all spend money each week eating out in restaurants, bringing in takeout or purchasing prepared meals at the grocery store. We are looking for 10 or more host families throughout Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery counties to invite families and friends to their homes for dinner. The menu will be a simple and standard one at all homes: Pizza, salad, dessert, soda and coffee. The people who attend the dinner bring the money that they would have spent that week eating out, put it in a sealed envelope and at the end of the dinner, the money collected will go to the church. No one will open the envelopes except the Treasurer who will deposit the money. So, if you eat at Burger King on a Saturday night for $15 or at a gourmet restaurant for $150 bring that donation with you and have a pizza party. The host family will be responsible for providing the food but not for giving a donation. It is a great opportunity for fellowship, meeting new people and reconnecting with friends and our church family.

Please contact the Parish Council or the Church office if you are interested in hosting the next Fellowship Fundraiser.

Sunday 11/15/09 Sermon Outline A) If you are going to challenge Jesus, you better think twice.
B) If you are going to ask Jesus a question, make sure that you bring with  you a pencil and paper or a tape recorder not to miss a word.
C) Jesus never gives direct answers unless it is a dogmatic question.
D) Jesus will respond with a parable in order to pull you into giving Him an answer after some personal contemplation. He wants you to think and decide on your own free will. As a good teacher He will not place in front of you the whole lesson; some parts are missing for your own contribution.
E) We learned last week that the Law of Love requires the whole man. Soul, Heart, Strength, and Mind.
F) The Samaritan man used all the powers of his Heart (He had compassion on the half dead man); of his mind (used oil and wine as first aid); of his soul (he stayed with the man over night to make sure he was getting better); of his strength (he spend his own oil and wine, he used his own animal to transport the hurt man, he paid from his own money for the first night at the inn, he promised to pay any extra expenses required from the innkeeper, he delayed his own journey which could have cost him loss of income, he placed his own family in great worry for his delay).
I strongly feel that the Good Samaritan is the ideal STEWARD. How? Why? Let me explain my thoughts. He is definitely not a rich man for he had no carriage but a mule or donkey. He did not have any servants for he put the hurt man by himself on the beast after placing oil and wine on his body with his own two hands (hands-on charity). He traveled alone and in the inn, he stayed with him.
Therefore, the Good Samaritan equals the greatness of the widow that gave from her heart all that she had. The Good Samaritan gave of his talent, time and money expecting his name not to be written anywhere ("Let your right hand know not what your left hand is giving”). He helped the man willingly, without anyone coercing him to do so (he gave with joy, without expecting anything in return). And if you are wandering if he is going to fulfill his promise, I respond: Would Jesus say to the young lawyer "Do likewise and you will live" if the Good Samaritan was not a man of his word-Good Example to imitate?
An excellent Gospel passage to begin the Nativity Fast. Father Christos.

The Prayer Corner “For Health and Salvation”
If yourself or a loved one is going through a difficult time and would like the community to pray for you, please contact Fr. Christos or the Parish Office, and request to be added on the prayer list. We will list the first names only in the weekly bulletin for six months, or until you ask to be removed from the list. Fr. Christos will also make a special mention of these names at the Proskomede.
We also need to remind you to call Fr. Christos when someone is ill and hospitalized so Fr. Christos can visit the hospital or nursing home.

Prayer for Healing:
Heavenly Father, physician of our souls and bodies, who have sent our Lord to heal every sickness. Visit and heal us. Grant patience in this sickness, strength of body and spirit, and recovery of health. Lord, You have taught us to pray for each other that we may be healed. We pray that You heal, guide and protect your servant (s)
(pray by name for those who are sick)
and grant them the gift of complete health. For You are the source of healing and to You we give glory, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Please add the following to your daily prayer list:
Anastasia, Donna, Eleni, Eleni, Frederica, Garyfalia, George, John, Kyriaki, Maria, Mary, Nicholas, Panagiota, Thalia, Thomas, Chris, Chris, Chrysanthi, Nicholas, Eusebia, Mary, Themistokles, George, Panagiotis, Fr. Anthony, Presvytera Eleni, Cora, Fr. Kyriakos, Soteria, Konstantina, Panagiotis, Eleftheria, Francis, Beverly, Allan, Ella, Fr. John, Presvytera Elizabeth, Peter, Irene, Leila, Liz, Panagiotis, Andreas, Kyle, Penelope, Petros, Olivia, Mihalis, Argyro, Perry...

Share-a-Ride to Church Do you, or someone you know, need a ride to Church?
A number of parishioners have indicated on their Stewardship Card that they are willing to volunteer to give persons a ride to Church.
Please contact the office, 215-635-0316, and we will connect you with someone in your area who can bring you to Church, and take you back home.

PTO Christmas Bake Sale Preparation Schedule It`s this time of year again that we need to start preparing for our Christmas Bake Sale. Below is the schedule for baking. Please every effort to give a couple of hours on the days listed below so we can complete our baking. We need many hands to accomplish this task.

Sunday, 11/29/09 - Baklava (Following coffee hour)

Wednesday, 12/9/09 - Breads (9:30 am until done)

Saturday, 12/12/09 - prepare for bake sale, fill orders, set up for bazaar and bake sale (10:00 am until done)

Sunday, 12/13/09 - Bake Sale (help needed to sell items)


PTO ANNUAL HOLIDAY BAKE SALE ORDER FORM ____ Baklava, small tray (10 pieces) each $25.00 ______

____ Kourambiedes (12 small) each $9.00 ______

____ Melomakarona (12 small) each $9.00 ______

____ Galatobouriko -
Ready-to-Bake with Syrup (12 pieces) each $18.00 ______

____ Spanakopetas (12 pieces, frozen) each $6.00 ______

____ Tiropetas (12 pieces, frozen) each $6.00 ______

____ Vasilopetas (Large Holiday Loaf) each $9.00 ______

Total due with order: ___________

PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY

Name:____________________________________________

Address:_________________________________________

Telephone Number: (______) ______________________

Please leave orders in church office or mail orders to: Annunciation PTO-Bake Sale, 7921 Old York Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027 by December 6, 2009. Checks made payable to: Church of the Annunciation-PTO. Pick up orders following liturgy on Sunday, December 13, 2009 during Holiday Bake Sale/Bazaar. Any questions, please call Stella Nikolopoulos 215-343-7643.


The 2nd Annual Christmas Bazaar Sunday, December 13th, in the church hall after the Divine Liturgy during the PTO Bake Sale.
It would be helpful to bring a gift to donate to the Bazaar since all children receive a gift that day.
Please bring your gift by Sunday, December 6th and give it to either Nikki Pieces or Toula Pithis.

Toys For Tots Our parish is once again participating in the Toys For Tots holiday outreach of the US Marine Corps.
Please bring your toys and deposit them in the marked drum in the hallway.
What is Toys For Tots? How does it work? Toys For Tots is a nationwide effort to collect new, unwrapped toys for underprivileged children. Your donation of money, toys, or time will go towards enhancing the Christmas of thousands of children. The Marine Air Group 49 chapter at Willow Grove Air Base has collected over 160,000 toys and gave them to 74,000 children in the Philadelphia area.
What kind of toys can I donate? We need new, unwrapped toys with a value of around $10. We also accept new books and smaller items that can be used as stocking stuffers. Age groups that we are usually in need of are Infants 0-2 yrs old or teenagers 13-17 yrs old. 
What kinds of toys are not allowed? Toys with military theme. Toys related to weapons/law enforcement type toys.  Toys with candy. Used toys.  No chemicals (i.e. experimental labs, acid, crystal projects, etc.).  The Toys for Tots program does not allow these toys.  The Toys for Tots will not distribute toys fitting this description. 
How long does the Toys For Tots program last? The Toys For Tots season for the Willow Grove chapter lasts until December 22nd.

Philoptochos Community Christmas Card Dear Fellow Parishioners;
With the holiday season rapidly approaching, we ask you, our faithful parishioners to once again support our Community Christmas Card. What better way is there to wish your fellow communicants a most blessed Christmas, and at the same time, support our most worthy organization?
Why not take this opportunity to complete this form, and along with your check for $15.00, return to us in the envelope provided? It is requested that your reply arrive no later than Sunday, December 12, 2009, so that we may meet our printing deadline. In addition, members of our Ladies Philoptochos Society will be available in the community center after Divine Liturgy, for the next several Sundays, to serve you as well.
Your generosity, as in the past, is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,

Kathy Verros, President.
Stephanie A. Ristvey, Christmas Card Chairperson.
......................................
Christmas Card Listing.
Please print clearly the following:

Name(s) as you wish to appear in the card:
_______________________________________
Address________________________
City_______________State______Zip Code_______
Phone______________Email_____________________
Please Note: Your $15.00 donation must accompany this form. Any additional contribution will be donated to the church to help defray church expenses.
Please make checks payable to: Ladies Philoptochos Society ‘Nausica’
And please remember that your reply and donation must be received by
December 12, 2009 in order to meet our printing deadline.


2010 OPA Journal We are looking for a TEAM of volunteers to work on the 2010 Journal that is seen by thousands of people at the OPA festival.  Responsibilities include:  Soliciting Ads, Graphic Design, Data Input, Compilation of Articles, Financial Management. 
Come and get involved in this very important fundraiser! 
We are starting early this year to make it the most successful journal yet!
If you are interested in participating, please contact the Church Office at 215-635-0316 
or Ginny Markos 215-643-5815.

Do You Shop At Genuardi’s Or Macy’s? If you do, you could help the Church earn some money.
It is free, and it is easy.
Simply go to www.eScript.com, enter our group ID 500000937, and follow the instructions.
For further information, please see Sophia Penning.