ST. GEORGE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
           REV. FR. RICHARD D. ANDREWS, PRESBYTER
www.stgeorgegoc.org

JUNE 21, 2009 2ND SUNDAY OF MATHEW

TODAY`S EVENTS: Father’s Day; Choir Practice 12:00PM;
Epistle: Marisa Mortari Prosfora: Anonymous
Fellowship: Parish Council Members Head Usher: Diane Anastos
Memorial: Dimitrios Hatzistamoulos (2 years)

Tuesday 6-23 Stewardship Committee Meeting 7:00PM
Greek Festival Committee Meeting 7:00PM
Saturday 6-27 Liturgy in Eau Claire, WI 9:30AM
Sunday 6-28 ORTHROS & DIVINE LITURGY- 3RD SUNDAY OF MATHEW 8:30AM
Church Camp at Wapogasset begins (thru July 5th)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Blessed and Happy Father’s Day: To all our fathers, grandfathers, godfathers and spiritual fathers! Thanks!

Sympathies & Prayers: To Ione Sater and Clark Smith, whose sister and aunt respectively, Helen Boosalis, fell asleep in the Lord, this past week in Lincoln, Nebraska. May her memory be eternal!

Oratorical a Huge Success:
All of our visitors and guests, including Archbishop Demetrios, Metropolitan Iakovos, the Archdiocese Co-Chairs Fr. John & Presvytera Margaret Orfanakos, and Religious Education Director Dr. Anton Vrame, and Metropolis Youth Director Chris Avromopoulos gave rave reviews to the whole event. Many comments expressed the sentiment that we have set a new high bar that all subsequent Oratoricals will seek to achieve. Special thanks to our sister parish of St. Mary in Minneapolis; To our committee members: Andrea Faches, Tom Lampros and Diane Anastos; To all our donors; To our judges Eric Chadwick, Maria Paraschou and Steve Arsenault; To all who helped in one way or another especially Presvytera Jane, Jean Pliakas, and Chris & Mary Georgantones. Great job everyone!

Vacation Church School- is August 3-7th ; This program cannot run without parental, older teens and young adult volunteers. Currently, we do not have enough volunteers. Registration forms are available in the church office.

Think on These Things:
Without heroes (saints), we’re all plain people and don’t know how far we can go. Bernard Malamud “The Natural”.

Updates on Youth:
Fr. Kevin Scherer, Director of Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF – College Ministry), describes a very concerning statistic revealed by a 2005 study that followed 25,000 Christian teens over five years. Sixty percent (60%) never returned to church after graduating from college.
Dr. Anton Vrame, Director of the Department of Religious Education for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, encourages us not to put all our eggs in the “Sunday school basket”. A parent’s reliance on Sunday school teachers and clergy is not sufficient to develop the spiritual life of their children. Every dimension of parish life teaches us what it means to be an Orthodox Christian. Dr. Vrame quoted a study that shows the single best predictor of whether a teen will remain in the faith is the level of involvement and commitment of their parents in the life of the Church. Regular attendance at worship is essential.
Lost & Found: Several pairs of eye glasses are in the church office. If they are not claimed this week they will be donated to charity.

Greek Festival- is August 22-23. Please mark your calendar in order to be there and help. Committee meets are scheduled every Wednesday in June beginning at 7:00pm. For more info contact Jean Pliakas at jwpliakas@aol.com

Next Door Property and House To Be Sold: The church was just notified that the property next-door to the west will come on the market soon. This is the house and property that our church subdivided and sold in 2002. The expected list price is $1,495,000. St. George church as first right of refusal.

Come Receive The Light National Orthodox Radio Program: On this week`s CRTL podcast, Dr. Paul Meyendorff of St. Vladimir’s Seminary in Crestwood, NY and author of the book “Anointing the Sick” joins Fr. Chris for a discussion about his new book. Paul states, “Health is not simply physical. Health is actually life in communion with God. Life in which we are at peace with God and our neighbor. Real life means communion with others, sharing in their joys and sorrows of life. The June 26th speaker is Elizabeth Theokritoff who will discuss Christian ecology. Climate change has become a very heated topic for discussion these days. This conversation deals with how the Church Fathers and the Orthodox Christian tradition understand man’s relationship with the rest of creation. Also learn what Sts. Maximus the Confessor and Gregory the Theologian have to offer for further understanding into this issue

Wisdom from the Fathers: If you hear or see someone sin, keep from slandering him and judging him. If you tell someone else about him, and he tells it to another, the other to the third, the third to the fourth, and so everyone will come to know and be tempted likewise to judge the one who sinned, which is a very serious thing. And you will be the cause of all this by publishing your brother/sister’s sin. Slanderers are like lepers that harm others by their foul odor, or like those stricken with the plague who carry their disease from place to place and destroy others. Keep yourself then, from slandering your neighbor, lest you sin gravely and give someone else cause for sin. St. Tikhon of Zadonsk

Loaves & Fishes: We serve six times a year at Faith Lutheran Church on the corner of Mackubin and Charles. We are always looking for volunteers. We start serving at 5:30 PM and usually are done by 7:00 PM. If you are interested in helping our next time to serve is Monday, August 10th. St. George is well represented in the community in serving those who are less fortunate than we are. For more information contact Sandy Thole or Sue Gnetz.

Faith Youth Group Meeting Schedule: Please mark your calendars for these future meeting dates for the infant and toddlers youth group: July 18th, September 19th, October 24th, November 14th, and December 19th. All meetings will be from 9:30-11:30 and a snack is provided. Any questions contact Kelly Barbes at barbes11@msn.com.

The Book Store: Stop by the bookstore to place orders for The Children`s Bible Reader in either English, Greek or Spanish. This Children`s Bible Reader is written in a way to introduce children to the Word of God; not just a collection of old and new testament biblical stories and includes original Byzantine style illustrations. Cost: $20.00. Hardcover. 320 pages. The bookstore is also taking orders for A Guide to Greek Traditions and Culture by Marilyn Rouvelas. This book describes ecclesiastical traditions, everyday customs, recipes and ways to celebrate feast days and holidays. Rouvelas’ writing style is straightforward, with clear explanations, making the book an invaluable reference and great gift-giving item. Cost: $30.00.

Church Fathers Speak: All who ask and do not obtain their requests from God, are denied for one of the following reasons: because they ask at the wrong time, or because they ask unworthily or vaingloriously, or because if they received they would become conceited, or finally because they would become negligent after obtaining the request.
St. John Climacus
Sanctuary Renovation: Thank you to everyone who helped with this project. Our sanctuary is beautiful and that helps reflect the beauty of God and His creation. Let us glorify Him with a generous donation to help complete this project. We have about $20,000 remaining to raise in order to pay for this project in full to avoid taking any loan. Doxa to Theo!

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St. George Greek Orthodox Church
1111 Summit Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105

Phone: (651) 222-6220
Fax: (651) 225-9276
Website: www.stgeorgegoc.org
Email: info@stgeorgegoc.org

Proistamenos: Rev. Fr. Richard Demetrius Andrews
Email: fatherrick@usa.com