Epistle Reading: II Timothy 3:10-15 Page 129 Gospel Reading: Luke 18:10-14 Page 129. Today at St. John 9:00am Orthros ~ 10:00am Divine Liturgy

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1 St. John Greek Orthodox Church Sterling Heights, Michigan Phone: /Emergency Web site: Parish Priest: Father Nicholas Kyritses February 17 th ~Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee Triodion Begins Holy Communion can be received only by those who have been baptized according to the rites of the Greek Orthodox Church and are spiritually prepared through prayers, fasting, and almsgiving! Epistle Reading: II Timothy 3:10-15 Page 129 Gospel Reading: Luke 18:10-14 Page 129 Today at St. John 9:00am Orthros ~ 10:00am Divine Liturgy 40 Day Blessing: Ari and Ntina Hall Opportunities for the Week Monday, February 18 Basketball Practice for kids of all ages 6:30pm at Joe Dumars Tuesday, February 19 No Greek School Wednesday, February 20 Paraklesis- Supplication Service & Lecture by Dr. Strubakos 7:00pm Thursday, February 21 No Greek School Baptism: Saturday, February 23 Andre and Dominic sons of Derek & Stephanie VanOpdenbosch Fill out your 2019 Stewardship form, or visit our website

2 In the Orthodox Church one of the themes that permeates the writings of the Fathers and the liturgical poetry is the notion of χαρμολύπη or, joyful-sadness. This is an expression that is very rich in meaning and based in the soul s experiences of the spiritual life. While we do not regularly discuss the book of Revelations, nor do we read it aloud during services, a quote comes to mind from this book that relates directly to joyful-sadness and the period of the Liturgical calendar into which we are entering this month: yet I hold this against you: you have abandoned your first love. (Revelations 2:4). The period of Triodion which begins on February 17 th and ends on Holy Saturday (April 20 th ) is one of discovery and it is one of passage. It is a journey into our remembering of the faint and distorted and barely discernable capacity to desire our first love. And in this journey the soul of the Saint ultimately experiences joyful-sadness: joy at having found Him whom she seeks, and sadness at realizing how far from Him she really is. We have indeed abandoned Him and replaced Him with all manner of transience and superficiality, and we are now invited to begin the journey to the Cross, the journey up Golgotha, the journey into our own joyfulsadness. Ours is a faith of paradox: the closer one to gets to God, the farther one perceives that he is from Him. The Triodion therefore has the Cross at its center because it is in and through the suffering of the Cross where self-awareness finally occurs. The Cross is the point at which the ultimate descent and revelation of the Word of God merges with the ultimate ascent and divination of mankind. Through the Cross joy has come to all the world we read every Sunday. Joy through suffering, sadness juxtaposed with hope, life through the grave. The Triodion, then, is a service book that we use in Church that begins nine Sundays before Pascha and also contains the services of Holy Week. Each Sunday has a theme; each week urges us to come to know ourselves, to come to remember our first love, to walk the lonely path of the Christian life. In what follows we shall discuss what each Sunday of the Triodion mean and how we can use this service book and the services which are contained within it to truly prepare ourselves for Pascha 2019, but also for our own personal Pascha; that is, our own death and resurrection. Sunday February 17: The Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee Let us flee from the boasting of the Pharisee and let us learn humility in sorrows from the Publican, crying out to the Savior: Have mercy on us, only Compassionate One. Kontakion of the Feast On this Sunday the Triodion opens and is thus its first Sunday. The Church has begun to invite us to prepare for Great Lent and Pascha. The Gospel reading from this day is taken from Luke 18:9-14 and tells the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. The one, believed he was better than everyone because he followed the letter of the law. The other, recognizing his sinfulness could not even lift his eyes to heaven and simply sat in the corner groaning and praying, Lord, have mercy on me the sinner. We are taught on this Sunday that humility and repentance are the way, not arrogance or self-justification. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted.

3 March 3, 2019 Macaronatha March 26, 2019 Rise Against Hunger May 10, 2019 St. John Reverse Raffle Dinner August 19, th Annual St. John Golf Outing Introducing the Orthodox Church Classes at St. John Greek Orthodox Church By: Christos Strubakos, PhD Every Wednesday evening following Paraklesis service. Service at 7:00pm, lecture immediately following. January 16: The Sacraments: Baptism and Chrismation January 23: The Divine Liturgy Part 1: Preparatory Service January 30: The Divine Liturgy Part 2: What the actions and symbol mean February 6: The Sacraments: Marriage and Ordination February 13: The Sacraments: Unction and Confession February 20: What we believe about the Old Testament: Salvation and Prophesies February 27: What we believe about the New Testament March 6: What we believe about prayer IONIAN VILLAGE- METROPOLIS SUMMER CAMP-CROSS ROAD St. John Parish will offer: $2000 to each Goyan who will participate in the IONIAN VILLAGE program in the summer of Half of the Tuition of St. John boys and girls who will participate in the SUMMER CAMP of our Metropolis. Half of the expenses (travel and tuition) of St. John boys and girls who will participate in the CROSS ROAD program of our Archdiocese. All the parents of the participants must be members in good standing of St. John Greek Orthodox Church of Sterling Heights for the years 2018(at least $200 per individual or $350 per family) and 2019(at least $350 per individual or $700 per family, less than $1 per day). PLEASE TAKE YOUR 2019 OFFERING ENVELOPES. If you do not see your name on an envelope box but would like to have offering envelopes, please contact he church office

4 SAINT JOHN GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH STERLING HEIGHTS MICHIGAN What is Stewardship? Stewardship is the management of the gifts bestowed upon us by God. These gifts are time, talent and treasure. It is through these gifts we are brought closer together as a Church and as a community. What is a Steward? A steward is a member of our St. John community that volunteers their time, talent and treasure. How can I volunteer my time and talent? Our St. John community offers many ministries! To find out more and volunteer, contact the church office. How much treasure should I give? This is a personal decision. Every year we should look at our finances and determine how much we should give back to God. These funds are used for the daily usage of the church and for funding our ministries. TO BE A MEMBER IN GOOD STANDING AT ST. JOHN, the suggested minimum Stewardship for an individual is $350 per year ( less than $1 per day) or for a family $700 per year (less than $1 per day for the husband and the wife) PLEASE USE YOUR CREDIT CARD OR YOUR WEEKLY OFFERING ENVELOPES St. John S 2019 BUDGEt is $ It costs around $1,125 a day to run our church. Name: Spouse Name: Orthodox Christian: Y or N Orthodox Christian: Y or N Date of birth: Date of birth: Home Phone: Home Phone: Cell Phone: Cell Phone: Address: Address: City, State, Zip: City, State, Zip: Child 1: Orthodox Christian: Y or N Cell: DOB: Child 2: Orthodox Christian: Y or N Cell: DOB: Child 3: Orthodox Christian: Y or N Cell: DOB: Child 4: Orthodox Christian: Y or N Cell: DOB: Child 5: Orthodox Christian: Y or N Cell: DOB: In gratitude for God s blessings, I/We commit to Christ and His Church the following amount: $ /day $ /week $ /month $ /year Credit Card (Visa/Master Card): Exp: CSV: Name: Signature: Date: Visit to register as a Steward or turn this form into our church office.

5 Join us for the Annual ST. JOHN PHILOPTOCHOS MACARONATHA Sunday, March 3, 2019 St. John Community Center Metropolitan Parkway, Sterling Heights, MI Please Reserve & Purchase Tickets by February 24, 2019 Adults: $25 Students (under 18): $15 Children Under 5: Free Doors Open at 5:00 p.m. - Dinner at 6:00 p.m. *Basket Raffle with proceeds going to Friends of Foster Kids* DJ S-Chilly & Dio Reservations: Church Office , Georgia Mansell , geemansell@comcast.net, or parish@stjohngoc.net Please list names and put a check(x) under either Adult, Student, or Child under 5 Also please list seating request (will do our best to accommodate) (table of 8 maximum) Name Adult - Student - Under 5 Seating Request Free

6 St. John Greek Orthodox Church Macaronatha Donation List 6 cases Chicken $75.00 each Total $ Meatballs $50.00 each Total $ Fr. Nick Fr. Nick Hatzis Family Hatzis Family Vegetables $50.00 each Total $ T. Pozios Feta Cheese $25.00 each Total $ Anonymous Nick & Erin Papakonstantinou Nick & Erin Papakonstantinou Guastella Family Nick & Erin Papakonstantinou Nick & Erin Papakonstantinou Vegetable Oil & Spices $50.00 each Total $ Ted & Mary Tangalos Ted & Mary Tangalos Ted & Mary Tangalos Bread Rolls w/butter ($200.00) $50.00 each Total $ Boosalis Family Boosalis Family Pasta Sauce $50.00 each Total $ G. Demetriou G. Demetriou G. Demetriou G. Demetriou Tomatoes (3cases) $25.00 each Total Pasta $20.00 each Total $ Iceberg and Spring Mix Lettuce $35.00 each Total $ A.Ioannou A. Mantas E. Kalliantasis Greek Dressing $25.00 each Total Pop $75.00 each Total $ Linens/Plasticware $50.00 each Total $ DJ $ each Total $ Wait Staff/Cleaning $ each Total $ Steve & Angela Kotsonis Steve & Angela Kotsonis Basket Raffle items $50 each Total $250 Basket Raffle items $75 each Total $375 G. Mansell

7 MEAL PACKAGING We need about 100 volunteers to help package 20,000 meals-that s double what we did last year! When: March 26, 2019 Where: St. John Greek Orthodox Church Community Hall Time: 6:30pm (Philoptochos will provide pizza and refreshments starting at 6pm) Rise Against Hunger is an international hunger relief organization. If you would like to learn more, visit If you have any questions, please contact Kim LaForest at k.laforest@aol.com or call/text **Please consider a donation to help the Philoptochos absorb the cost of hosting this event.

8 ORDER OF AHEPA DISTRICT #10 EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association January 3 rd, 2019 TO: Michigan Parish Priests Sunday School Teachers Greek Orthodox Young Adults (GOYA) Sponsors The Order of AHEPA District #10 Educational Foundation will be awarding educational scholarships to high school students who are graduating in June In addition, the Foundation will also be awarding scholarships, to current college students. It is extremely important that applicants review the individual application requirements in advance to qualify for these scholarships. You will find our NEW REVISED 2019 high school graduate scholarship application as well as the new revised 2019 college student scholarship application at the website The revised forms can be filled out in a computer (fillable PDF) and are designed to streamline the scholarship application process. A checklist at the end of each application assists applicants in better organizing their efforts to apply. Scholarship applications can be downloaded at: Make sure you discard any applications that do not say 2019 on the cover sheet. Submitted applications using older application forms will not be considered. It is the responsibility of each applicant to submit the entire completed application so it is received, by APRIL 1 ST, 5:00pm Eastern Time in order to be considered for an award. Please make sure to advise all students to contact the Executive Secretary of the Educational Foundation, by telephone, , to confirm that their application was received on time. Sincerely, Milton A. Gust Executive Secretary Order of AHEPA District #10 Educational Foundation imgust@yahoo.com Telephone: cc George Mortis Chairman AHEPA Distrisct#10 Educational Foundation

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