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

JUNE 28, 2009 3rd SUNDAY OF MATHEW

TODAY`S EVENTS: Summer Church Camp Begins in Amery Wisconsin;
Epistle: Katherine Chadwick Prosfora: Theologia Pitsavas
Fellowship: Sue & Peter Boosalis Family Head Usher: Joe Weiser

Wednesday 7-1      Greek Festival Committee Meeting 7:00PM
Friday 7-3 Church Office Closed for Independence Day
Sunday 7-5 ORTHROS & DIVINE LITURGY-4TH SUNDAY OF MATHEW 8:30AM
Thursday 7-9 Parish Council Meeting 7:00PM

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
40 Day Churching: Georgia Panopoulos & her baby daughter Anastasia were churched on June 21st. Congratulations to all including Dad—Kyle Bruer.

Thank you: I appreciate very much the remembrance of my ten year anniversary of service to the parish of St. George Greek Orthodox Church. It was heartening to see, hear and taste the expressions of congratulations and gratitude. God-willing, I look forward to another ten years of pastoral ministry to and with you, the parishioners of St. George! +Fr. Rick

Summer Church Camp
Please pray for Fr. Rick, Stephen Gnetz, Alex Boosalis and the eighteen (18) kids from our parish who will be at the St. Mary Summer Church Camp program this week located at Camp Wapogasset in Amery, Wisconsin.

Think on These Things: When you were born, you were crying and everybody around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you are smiling and everyone around you is crying.

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, Steve Arsenault and Ron Adkins; To all who helped in one way or another especially Presvytera Jane, Jean Pliakas, and Chris & Mary Georgantones. Great job everyone!
To listen to each finalist’s oratory: www.stgeorgegoc.org/OratoricalFestival09.htm
To see photos from the Oratorical Festival weekend: www.oratorical.shutterfly.com

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.

Lost & Found: Several pairs of eyeglasses are in the church office. If they are not claimed this week they will be donated to charity.

Fr. Rick’s Wish List: The church is in need of a digital video camera that will store onto a memory card and/or a DVD. A used, in good condition, item is acceptable. Thanks in advance for your thoughtfulness and generosity.


Come Receive The Light National Orthodox Radio Program: The only nationally syndicated Orthodox Christian radio broadcast, is a weekly program that features interviews with noted Orthodox Christian clergy, theologians, and lay leaders on theological, spiritual, pastoral, and modern social issues. Heard on the radio in more than 100 cities in the United States and the Bahamas, this unique weekly broadcast offers the ancient, Christ-centered message of Orthodox Christianity to the modern world. You can listen to past programs on demand and find many other online resources to deepen your faith at www.MyOCN.net.

Greek Festival- is August 22-23. Please mark your calendar in order to be there and help. Committee meets are scheduled every Wednesday in July 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 would 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 has first right of refusal.

Wisdom from the Fathers: If you are not as righteous and holy as you should be, do not despair. It is bad enough that you have sinned. Why, in addition do you wrong God by regarding Him, in your ignorance, as powerless? Is He, who for your sake created the great universe, incapable of saving your soul? Repent and He will receive your repentance.
St. Peter of Damaskos

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.

Church Fathers Speak: The Pentecostal season could be for each of us, as it should be, a time of re-creation and renewal. It could lead to an illumining of the heart and mind that enables us to see ourselves as we truly are, and to love our enemy as he or she truly is, created in the image of God, renewed by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, and called to eternal communion with the Lord of love. St. Silouan of Mt. Athos

AHEPA News: Congratulations to Spero Thomaidis for receiving the "AHEPAN OF THE YEAR" award for his profound services to the Ahepa family and to Nicholas Mortari for the "ATHLETE OF THE YEAR" award. These awards were given at the Ahepa District Convention in Sioux Falls, SD. Nicholas placed first in the 2008 State Gymnastic Championship for boy`s level 8. He is now a level 10 gymnast and this means he is only 2 levels away from Olympic competition.

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!

Sunday School Volunteers: We are recruiting volunteers for the Sunday School 2009-2010 year. Please see or email Andrea Faches (afaches@msn.com) to offer your services. Activities we need assistance with include: general planning, teaching & classroom support, Fall Kick Off, Christmas Program, Oratorical Festival, Saturday of Lazarus Youth Retreat and Graduation Sunday. Thanks to all the volunteers who`ve made 2008-2009 such a productive and meaningful year for all.

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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