St. February 7, 2021 - 16th Sunday of Matthew

Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis (Proistamenos) Fr. Stratton Dorozenski (Retired Priest In Residence) Fr. John Stefero (Retired Priest In Residence)

(Above, Icon of St Haralambos, Celebrated February 10)

SYNAXARION: Parthenius, Bishop of Lampsacus; Luke of Mount Stirion; Theopemptos the Martyr & his Companions; George the New Martyr of Crete; Afterfeast of the Presentation of Our Lord and Savior in the Temple; Richard, King of Wessex

Resurrectional Apolytikion (2nd Mode): When You descended to the realm of death, You as Life immortal, rendered to Hades a mortal blow, through Your Divine Radiance. And when You, from the depths of Hades and the darkness below, did raise the dead all the powers of heaven did proclaim and cry out: O life-giving Christ and our God we give glory.

Apolytikion For the Feast (1st Mode): Lady full of grace, rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos, for Christ our God, the Sun of righteousness has risen from you and He illumined those in darkness. And you, righteous Elder, be glad in heart, receiving in your embraces the One who liberates our souls and bestows on us the Resurrection.

Apolytikion of St. John the Baptist: The memory of the just is observed with hymns of praise; for you O Fore- runner the witness of the Lord is sufficient. You have proved to be truly more venerable than the prophets. Since you were granted to baptize in the river, the One Whom they proclaimed. Therefore, you strove for truth, proclaiming with joy the Good News, even to those in Hades: that God was manifested in the flesh, and takes away the sins of the world, and grants to us His great mercy.

Kontakion: O You Who sanctified by Your birth a Virgin womb, and blessed the hands of Simeon as seemed most appropriate, You came indeed to save us all, O Christ our God. Wherefore bring peace to our nation in time of hostility, and secure in strength, the rulers You have truly loved, as the only one Who loves mankind.

For additional substitutions and for the Presentation of the Lord Into the Temple please go to pages 119-121 of the Divine Liturgy Book. Readings for 16th Sunday of Matthew Epistle Reading is from 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 Brethren, working together with him, we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says, "At the ac- ceptable time I have listened to you, and helped you on the day of salvation." Behold, now is the acceptable time; be- hold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in any one's way, so that no fault may be found with our minis- try, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, tumults, labors, watching, hunger; by purity, knowledge, forbearance, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

Gospel Reading is from Matthew 25:14-30 The Lord said this parable: "A man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five tal- ents; here I have made five talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.' And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.' He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful serv- ant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not winnowed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless serv- ant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth." As he said these things he cried out: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Answer these thought pro- Happy Birthday voking questions about to- and Happy Nameday! day’s Gospel Reading in the If you want to make sure we have your adult and teen Sunday birthdate on file, please call the office. school lesson. Birthdays Namedays John Nenos - Feb 7 Tommy Reace - Feb 7 Parthenis - Feb 7 Click HERE. Alexandria Colado - Feb 9 Zaharias - Feb 8 Leo Lenardos - Feb 9 Ekaterini Sheridan - Feb 9 Markelos, Nikiforos, Pagratios - Feb 9 Nicole Voisey - Feb 10 Christina Cardy - Feb 11 Haralambia, Haralambos, Hariklia, Click here to Download this Sam Lenardos - Feb 11 Harilaos - Feb 10 Marianna Giallourakis - Feb 12 Avgi, Theodore, Vlassis - Feb 11 Week’s Children’s Word from Sophia Ioannidis - Feb 12 Katerina Katzaras - Feb 12 Meletios, Plotinos - Feb 12 William Sotiropoulos - Feb 12 Priscilla - Feb 13 MyOCN. Thomas Phillips - Feb 13 Upcoming Services & Events Sunday, February 7 Orthros 8:45 a.m. Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.

Monday, February 8 Orthodoxy 101 - Part ONE 6:30 p.m. Bible Study 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, February 9 Women’s Bible Study 10:00 a.m. Suffering Book Study 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, February 10 St. Haralambos Orthros 9:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m. Paraklesis 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, February 11 Griefshare 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 13 Orthros 9:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.

Sunday, February 14 WEAR RED SUNDAY Orthros 8:45 a.m. Divine Liturgy 10:00 a.m.

Stewardship 2021 Update Orthodoxy 101 Class will begin in February Fr. Stavros offers this class two times per year, in the spring and in the fall. This As of Thursday, February 4, we have will be a Four-week course of study on Monday nights to make people aware of the basics of being an Orthodox Christian. The classes will be part lecture, part received 216 stewardship forms, discussion, with lots of time for questions and answers. with a pledged amount of $364,263.00 for 2021. The four sessions will be done as follows: Monday, February 8 - A Tour of the Orthodox Church Don’t forget to fill out your form Monday February 15 - Orthodox Spirituality, Introduction to Sacraments and send it into the office! Monday, February 22 - The Divine Liturgy, A Teaching Liturgy Monday, March 1 - Orthodox Traditions

Sunday School Continues In Person! We are continuing IN PERSON Sunday School for our Toddler 2’s—6th Grade. These classes will be conducted AFTER Holy Communion, every Sunday, for the remainder of the School Year! We will also continue to send out our VIRTUAL SUNDAY SCHOOL lessons every week. Students and teachers will wear masks in their classrooms and we will do the best we can to social distance. We will have hand sanitizers in each room and the rooms will be cleaned regularly. We will not have classes for our Middle and High Schoolers, but we do expect them to attend church in person or virtually, compete the weekly lesson on the Gospel Reading provided by Fr. Stavros, and attend GOYA meetings. The classes will be broken up as follows: Class Teacher Location Toddler 2’s, Pre-K3, and Pre-K4 Alexis Scarfoliero and Denise Panos Pre-School Classroom (on the right as you exit Church Side Doors) Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd Graders Debbie Nicklow and her daughters Sunday School classroom in the Old Administration Building 3rd through 6th Graders Vickie Peckham and other teachers Zahairas/Music Room

Fifty-Two Verses in Fifty-Two Weeks: The Bible Project February 7 - 13

The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit, a broken and humbled heart God will not despise. Psalm 51:17

When I was in high school, and maybe even in college, there was this great pressure to have a “valentine” for Valentine’s Day. When Valentine’s Day approached, those who were single stayed inside with their broken hearts or lonely hearts, because on that particular day, only those who had someone were to be celebrated. For those who have a broken or crushed heart, those who feel alone, lonely, isolated, hopeless, like there will never be a better tomorrow, DON’T DESPAIR. God cares for YOU. It’s not that God doesn’t care for the hopeful and joyful people, He does. However, sometimes we become so joyful and so successful that we see the source of our success as us, rather than appreciating that all of the good and perfect gifts (James 1:17) are from God. When a person has a broken spirit, a broken and humbled heart, there is an emptiness. The best way to fill this emptiness is with God. When one chooses to fill their empty spaces with God, God will not despise them. When a person is so full (of joy or success, etc.) there are no empty spaces, no empty spaces for God to fill with His love and mercy. This is why we want to offer a sacrifice that is acceptable to God, a good place to start is with a spirit that has an empty space, with a longing for that space to be filled by God. God will not despise the humbled heart. Rather, He will exalt the humble in heart.

Update and Announcements Sunday School Continues — Sunday School continues in person and online! We will continue to offer virtual Sun- day School in addition for those unable to participate in person, and encourage to work with the provided materials in each bulletin.

Click here for the lesson and challenge for today!

Looking for Ushers — We are looking for more ushers to help at the Divine Services of our church. If you are inter- ested, please email Fr. Stavros at [email protected].

Monday Night Bible Study — with Charlie will be held on Mondays from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Bible study is held via Zoom. If you are not part of the Monday night Bible study and would like to join in, please contact Charlie at cham- [email protected] and he will add you.

Women’s Bible Study on Tuesdays @ 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. — We are studying the Epistle of St. James. We meet via ZOOM. Fr. Stavros leads this group. If you would like to join our women’s Bible study group, please contact Fr. Stavros at [email protected] and he will add you to the Zoom link. At some point, we will be resuming in person, however when we do, there will continue to be a zoom option.

When God Is Not There, a Book Study on Suffering, Continues — The Tuesday Night Book Study continues on Zoom at 6:30 p.m. Contact Alex Limberatos for any questions and be sure to keep up with the readings!

Wednesday, February 10, St. Haralambos — St. Haralambos was a Saint of the first century and lived in . He was a priest who was martyred. Our parish has a special connection to St. Haralambos since his relics were in- terred in our altar table when the church was consecrated in 1986.

Paraklesis Services Resuming each Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. — We are going to resume our weekly Paraklesis Ser- vice this Wednesday (and on each Wednesday) from 6:00-7:15 p.m. We will continue to pray for each person in our community by name.

GriefShare Ministry Continues — It may be hard for you to feel optimistic about the future right now. If you’ve lost a spouse, child, family member, or friend, you’ve probably found there are not many people who understand the deep hurt you feel. This can be a confusing time when you feel isolated and have many questions. “Going to GriefShare feels like having warm arms wrapped around you when you’re shivering.” GriefShare groups meet weekly to help you face these challenges and move toward rebuilding your life. Each GriefShare session has three distinct elements: Vid- eo seminar with experts, support group discussion with focus, and personal study and reflection. We continue to offer hybrid meetings both in person in the Administration Building and via Zoom from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays, ending on Thursday, April 22. If you are interested, please contact either the church office (813-876 -8830 or [email protected]) or Donna Hambos (813-843-8412 or [email protected]). Books for the pro- gram will be provided. Donation for the book suggested but not required. Open to all family and friends. Griefshare remains open enrollment with support towards healing and hope. You can begin at any time. If you attended last semester and missed a day or two, you can come for those days or repeat the whole thing.

Wear Red Sunday — We encourage all parishioners to wear Red on Sunday, February 14, to celebrate healthy heart month.

Prayer List: Lord Jesus Christ, Physician of our Souls and Bodies, visit and heal your servants: Dora Kallas, Gilda Parascandola, Kathy & Andrew Bouzinekis; Anastasia; Amanda, Andrew, Colton, Miranda, Charlotte Elizabeth, Nuha, Nabeel, , Amal, John, Elaine, Olga, Virginia Georgiou, Ron Myer, Toula Tsaros, Fr. Pat Legato, Nellie Pringle, Yolanda Webb, Angela Bougas, Tony Ekonomou, Ron, Jason Vickers, Rex Garrison, Tina Chakonas, Ann Demas, Alex Martinez, Adriana Martinez, Aaron Martinez, Christina Noel Kouzes Houck, Evangeline Xeroteres, Nichole Ross, Daniel Ross, Daniella Ross, Ashley Henderson, Natalie Henderson, Chris, Debbie, James, Avery, Lily, , Jesse, Ann, Rosario, Antonia Caffentzis, Alissa, John, Angela, Joey, Christine Scourtes, Steven, Matthew & Family, Phyllis, John Zel- atis, Reagan, Peter Zaharis, Alexandra Ferrarolis, Leon & Despina Botham, Cindy Xenick, Mary Ellen Evdemon, Marie Sofia Panagopou- los, Maria Hursey, Chris Vamvakias, John Myer, Mike Trimis, Robert and Alice Stoccardo, John Alexander, Michael Romero, George Ham- bos, Dean Kondilis and Family, Bill and Nancy Manikas, Patricia Costello, Anastasia Smyrnakis, Ekaterina & Anna Shushaalykova, Dora Koudouna, Ana Mourer, Debbie Phelps, Mary Voykin, David Voykin, Anne Sakellaris, Denise Badrane, Sia Blankenship, Don Payne, Zhana Temelkova, Stanislava Terzieva, James, Jude and all victims of war, terrorism, crime, natural disaster, and all of whom we are unaware. Megalinarion for Presentation of the Lord in the Temple (will be sung immediately after the consecration)

1. Past the understanding of, all the angels, mortals, too 11. Make my soul to shine O Lord, with the light percepti- Virgin Mother, Lady pure, is that which occurred in you. ble, That I purely look on You, and proclaim You as my God. 2. In his arms the Elder one, Simeon embraced You, 12. Virgin Mother, Lady pure, to the Temple what bring The Creator of the Law, and the Governor of all. you?

I now offer my new Babe, to the arms of Simeon. 3. Wishing Adam to be saved, He who fashioned us abode,

In the womb immaculate, of the Virgin Lady pure. 13. Now departure do I seek, from my Lord and Fashioner,

For I saw You O my Christ, You Who are my saving 4. Ev’ry generation of, mortal nature praises you, Light. And as Mother of our God, gives you glory Lady Pure. 14. Him, who liturgists above, trembling praise in litany, 5. Come and see the Christ Who is, Lord and Master of all Now below does Simeon, hold embracing in his arms. things,

Who today by Simeon, to the temple is now borne. 15. You by nature are but One, yet in persons Trinity,

Set a guard around those who, serving do believe in You. 6. You look down upon the earth, and thereby You make it quake, How then does a worn old man, hold You now within his 16. Theotokos as the hope, of us Christians one and all, arms? Guard and shelter and protect, all those who put their hope in you. 7. Simeon lived many years, till the Christ he was to see The-o-to-ke i el-pis pan-ton ton Chris-ti-a-non Then to Him he cried aloud, now let me depart in peace. Ske-pe, frou-ri fi-la-te, tous el-pi-zon-tas is se.

O believers, come let us perceive, a type in the Law, and 8. You indeed O Miriam, have become the mystic tongs the shadow and the letter. Every child that opens the Which enclosed the burning coal, Christ conceived within womb shall be holy to God. So the unoriginate Father’s your womb. firstborn Logos and Son, Who is the firstborn of the Moth- er who knew not man we magnify. 9. You, the pre-eternal God, willed that You would take on flesh, En No-mo ski-a ke gra-ma-ti, ti-pon ka-ti-tho-men i pis-ti, And so after forty days, to the temple You were brought. pan ar-sen to tin mi-tran di-a-ni-gon, a-gi-on The-o; thi-o pro-to-to-kon Lo-gon Pa-tros a-nar-hou I-on, pro-to-to- kou-me-non Mi-tri a-pi-ran-thro me-ga-li-no-men. 10. Having come from heav’n above, is the Master of all things, He is welcomed to His home, by Simeon the priest. SOUPER BOWL OF CARING FEB 6 & 7!

Sunday, February 7th is not only the BIG GAME, it is also “Souper Bowl of Caring” Sunday a nationwide, youth-led initiative to TACKLE hunger! Pick your favorite team (Go Bucs) and join our HOPE/JOY youth minis- try to collect donations to be given to the children at Hope Children’s Home – a Christian home for orphaned children which is entirely sup- ported by churches, private individuals, clubs and organizations. All Sunday School children attending church are welcome to join us after Di- vine Liturgy on Sunday, Feb 6th and 7th to hold pots to collect your cash donations or food item. Pick your favorite team’s pot to donate to! The BIG winner: HOPE CHILDREN’S HOME!