Saint Sophia Cathedral

Transcription

1 Saint Sophia Cathedral Greek Orthodox Community God s people, serving God s people Weekly Bulletin Sunday, 3 April 2011 Sunday of Saint John Climacus Very Rev. Father John S. Bakas Allan Boyd, Pastoral Assistant

2 CALENDAR OF THE WEEK Sunday, April 3 rd Orthros :00am Studies in Faith.....9:15am Memorials :45am Divine Liturgy :00am Monday, April 4 th There will be no Bible Study Class during March and April in observance of Great Lent. Bible Study will resume on May 2 nd. Tuesday, April 5 th There will be no Bible Study Class during March and April in observance of Great Lent. Bible Study will resume on May 3 rd. Wednesday, April 6 th Pre-Sanctified Liturgy :30pm There will be no Bible Study Class during March and April in observance of Great Lent. Bible Study will resume on May 4 th. Friday, April 8 th Pre-Sanctified Liturgy :30am Akathist Hymn :30pm Saturday, April 9 th Hellenic Academy - children.... 9:00am Hellenic Academy adults... 11:30am Coffee Hour will be held in our Fellowship Tent EPISTLE READER Stephanie Caiopoulos Lubian USHERS Niki Korbakis, Maria Pelargos Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral 1324 South Normandie Avenue, Los Angeles,

3 DAILY VITAMINS FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH 3

4 MEMORIALS Theofanis Stavropoulos, Nikolaos Stavropoulos, Christina Stavropoulos, Anastas, Eleni, Panayioti, Stavroula, Panayioti Georgeson, Sofia Georgeson, Peter Ellis, Anastos & Eleni Eliopoulos, Ioannis Kouvelaki, Tasia Kouvelaki, Thothoris Kouvelaki, Ageliki Kouvelaki, Stavroula Alevizos, Mike Alevizos, Aleck Edwards II, Emmanuel Mitsinikos (3 years), Georgia & Angela Rampas ALTAR CANDLES Offered in loving memory of their brother Aleck Edwards II by Brent and Virginia Noyes Offered in loving memory of Emmanuel Mitsinikos by John, Vickie, Tania and Emmanuel Mitsinikos Offered in loving memory of Panayioti and Sofia Georgeson, by Michael & Eleni Georgeson Offered in loving memory of Theofanis, Nikolaos and Christina Stavropoulos, by Mr. & Mrs. Nikos Eliopoulos CHANCEL CANDLES Offered in loving memory of Emmanuel Mitsinikos by his family Offered in loving memory of Peter Ellis, Anastos & Eleni Eliopoulos, Ioannis, Tasia, Thothoris and Ageliki Kouvelaki, Stavroula and Mike Alevizos by Vasiliki Ellis and family SANCTUARY CANDLES Offered in loving memory of their brother Aleck Edwards II by Brent and Virginia Noyes 4

5 HYMNS OF THE DAY The Resurrection Apolytikion, Mode 4 Joyous tidings of Thy Resurrection that the angel proclaimed to the women disciples and brought an end to the ancestral curse, and with pride they declared to the disciples: Death has been defeated and Christ our God has risen bestowing upon the world great mercy. Isodikon Come let us worship falling down before Christ. Save us O Son of God who didst arise from the dead, sing we to Thee Alleluia. Apolytikion of John Climacus The barren desert bloomed made fertile by streams of your tears, and through your deep signs your pain bore fruit a hundredfold and became a shining light illuminating the universe with miracles, John, our holy father, intercede with Christ the God that our souls may be saved. Troparion of Saint Sophia (Holy Wisdom) Blessed are You O Christ our God, Who as all wise the fishermen You showed forth; By sending your Holy Spirit down upon them and through them the universe You drew unto Your net. O lover of mankind glory to You. Lenten Kondakion Victorious leader to thee we give thanks, who has delivered us from calamity and suffering, your city gives thanks O Theotokos. As thou dost possess invincible might and power from all forms of danger, free us and deliver us that we may cry unto thee Hail bride unwedded. Trisagion Holy is God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us. (3 times) Glory to the Father and Son and the Holy Spirit. Now and forevermore and from all ages to all ages. Amen. Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us. And with Strength! Holy is God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us. 5

6 EPISTLE READING The Reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 6:13-20 BRETHREN, when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore to himself, saying, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you." And thus Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise. Men indeed swear by a greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he interposed with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God should prove false, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. 6

7 GOSPEL READING The Reading is from Mark 9:17-31 At that time, a man came to Jesus kneeling and saying: "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; and wherever it seizes him it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." And he answered them, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me." And they brought the boy to him; and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, "How long has he had this?" And he said, "From childhood. And it has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us." And Jesus said to him, "If you can! All things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again." And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, "He is dead." But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting." They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he would not have any one know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise." 7

8 MINISTRY NEWS PHILANTHROPIA MINISTRY NEWS CONFESSIONS: A blessed spiritual voyage during this great Lenten season. Father Peter will be available on all Wednesdays during lent for confessions from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m., in the St. Demetrios Chapel. Please make an appointment with the church office. USED CLOTHING and CANNED GOODS: Thank you for all the wonderful used clothing and canned goods. The two new receptacles, for used clothing and canned goods, are working great. They are located side by side, in the general area of the chapel. Please identify your clothing donations by indicating whether they are for men, women or children, on the outside of the bags. Thank you! "GET ON THE BUS": Mothers Day is coming on May 8th and we are reminding you that once again we will support the "Get on the Bus" program that takes bus loads of children to visit their mothers who are incarcerated. Any donation you can offer to Philanthropia will be greatly appreciated. Take care and God Bless. Father Peter ******************************************* PHILOPTOHOS NEWS EASTER LILIES: Sunshine Chairman Helene Ballas ( ) will be ordering Easter lilies for the shut-ins again this year. Please call her with the names of anyone that should be added to our list. We are always looking for volunteers to help deliver the plants as well. The lilies will be available for pick-up after church on Palm Sunday in the chapel. MOTHER OF THE YEAR: Please join us, with your families, at our annual Mother's Day Luncheon and Fashion Show. On Saturday, May 7 th at the Universal Sheraton Hotel we are honoring MARIANNA POLES POLITIS. Marianna is a hardworking, dedicated Philoptohos member and we look forward to recognizing her efforts on this special day. Tricia Ballas Kremer and her committee are hard at work putting together a wonderful afternoon. Solicitation letters have been sent out in the mail so that you may place a greeting in the program book, in honor of or in memory of someone special. If you did not receive a letter and you want to place a greeting, please call Virginia at GENERAL ASSEMBLY: There is no general assembly in the month of April due to Holy Week and Easter. If you wish to volunteer to help at the Easter picnic selling pastries, or to help dye the Easter eggs for Anastasi, please contact Philoptohos. With love, Philoptohos Board of Directors 8

9 PHILOPTOHOS NEWS (continued) MINISTRY NEWS (continued) Change from the Heart Contribute to Pennies & Prayers A penny is a gift, a prayer of thanks, a reminder that we come together to further the work of Christ our Lord. Pennies & Prayers is a Commission for Orthodox Missions and Evangelism (C.O.M.E.), which is all about bringing Christ to our neighbor. Without these funds our missions throughout the world will not be able to preach the gospel or provide for many needy people. Your family s spare change can help support our current mission parishes and begin new ones. Keeping a jar in the home is a way to remind ourselves of Christ s calling to go to all people everywhere and make them His Disciples. How to Participate in Pennies & Prayers Please make a donation today! Any amount is welcome. Take home a Pennies & Prayers canister and place your spare change into the canister. The whole family is encouraged to participate, especially during the Lenten Season. Return the filled canisters by Pentecost Sunday, June 12, to the church office in care of Philoptochos. All proceeds will be sent to Pennies & Prayers to continue this valuable work for our Orthodox missions. Make this valuable work a family project! If you have any questions or need further information, please call Sophie Mastor, Chairman, at (310)

10 YOUNG ADULT FELLOWSHIP MINISTRY NEWS (continued) BOOK STUDY The "Brown Bag Book Study" continues this Sunday in the Nursery Classroom (inside the Sunday School portable building) after the Liturgy. We will be discussing Chapter 2 of "Beginning to Pray," by Anthony Bloom. The book can be purchased through Amazon.com (ISBN-10: ). Bring something to eat and invite your friends! PAN-ORTHODOX YOUNG ADULT LENTEN RETREAT (AGES 18-35) Retreat Master Fr. Chad Hatfield will be presenting, "M & M's: CHRISTIAN BASICS - Mary, Mysteries and Mission." Archpriest Chad Hatfield is the Chancellor of St. Vladimir s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York. The retreat will be held on SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 2011, from 10:00 A.M. 3:00 P.M. at SAINT STEVEN S SERBIAN ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL, 1621 West Garvey Avenue, Alhambra, CA REGISTER ONLINE BY TODAY, April 3 rd at orthodoxy.biz/ststevens ******************************************* PHILOPTOHOS VIP NEWS Senior Citizen of the Year Luncheon We are happy to announce that on Thursday, May 26, 2011,we will honor Dorothea and John Stamatiades as our VIP Philoptohos Senior Citizens of the Year Please plan to attend this special day honoring Dorothea and John, who both have served our community in various activities for many years. In addition to honoring these loyal and generous parishioners, you will enjoy a delicious luncheon and meet with many friends. COST: $25.00 TIME: 11:30 am LOCATION: TAIX Restaurant 1911 West Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (between Alvarado & Glendale Blvd, on north side of Sunset Blvd). For directions to the restaurant, call (213) or visit their website at For reservations please call Kiki Pappas at (310) or our Event Chairperson, Petsa Schwartz at (310) Send your check to Kiki Pappas, 920 Roscomare Road, LA,

11 St. Sophia Dance Ministry MINISTRY NEWS (continued) ST. SOPHIA ANNUAL EASTER BAKE SALE PALM SUNDAY APRIL 17TH Tsourekia Koulourakia Kourambiedes and more PRE ORDERS AND SPECIAL REQUESTS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED Please call Demitra Koutsos All proceeds will go towards the St. Sophia Dance Ministry Please come and support us! 11

12 COMMUNITY NEWS Easter flower donations of any amount in blessed memory of loved ones are now being accepted. For additional information please contact Ann Pappas or Jimmy Karatsikis through the cathedral office. ******************************************* Attention parishioners: There are only 11 plaques remaining for the Walk of the Blessing Hand. Reserve yours now before it s too late! ******************************************* 40+ Fellowship Lenten Potluck Dinner - Irvine St. Paul's invites single, widowed and divorced Orthodox Christians from our sister parishes in Southern California to an evening of fellowship and friendship on Sunday, April 10 from 5:30-8 PM. This event, to be held at St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church Parish Center, 4949 Alton Pkwy., Irvine, is free of charge. Please come and bring a friend. For more information go to or contact Paul Lambrakis (562) or pnlx@aol.com ******************************************* Volunteers are needed to work at the Easter Picnic. Please sign up at the Easter Picnic Table after church at Coffee Hour or contact Stephanie Caiopoulos Lubian ( ) ******************************************* St. Sophia's 9th Annual 5 TONS OF LOVE Clothing Drive As we embark on another beautiful Lenten season, let us once again show our Love of neighbor. The AMNOS Ministry will be trying to fill a 5 ton truck with your donation of quality clothing to be distributed to those less fortunate. Conduct your own clothing drive at school, work or in your neighborhood. This project will go on thru the end of April. Please contact Dean and Christina Peratsakis / dotos@msn.com for more information. Volunteers needed. Drop off location yet to be determined. Thank you. 12

13 PLEASE NOTE: COMMUNITY NEWS (continued) THE AMERICAN HELLENIC COUNCIL CORDIALLY INVITES YOU TO ATTEND THE 2011 ANNUAL HONORS AWARDS DINNER Saturday, April 9, 2011 AT THE OMNI HOTEL IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES 251 South Olive Street, Los Angeles, CA VIP Reception 5:00 PM Reception 6:00 PM Dinner and Award Ceremony 7:00 PM Music and Dancing RSVP deadline was March 31 st Tel: Fax: ******************************************* THE HERALD NEWSLETTER To All Stewards: If your anniversary/birthday is not already listed in our monthly Herald newsletter and you wish for it to be listed in the appropriate issue for your month, please your information to: Stephanie Caiopoulos Lubian Please note the deadline due date is listed on the front cover of each issue. Please send your articles to Stephanie If you wish to view the Herald online, please go to the cathedral website: stsophia.org and click on the HERALD link. SUNDAY WEEKLY BULLETIN Please note the deadline for articles is Wednesday at noon of each week. Please send your articles to either Stephanie or Christina The Weekly Bulletin is now accessible online at the cathedral website: stsophia.org. To navigate from the Home page, hover over the HERALD link, and then select WEEKLY from the drop-down menu. 13

14 Kenyatta Smith takes home John R. Wooden H.S Player of the Year Award After leading the Flintridge Prep boys' basketball team to the CIF Southern Section Division 5-AA championship, this Wednesday our very own Kenyatta Smith received an award that, in terms of prestige, might just stand head and shoulders above the rest. He was bestowed the John R. Wooden High School Player of the Year Award for CIF Southern Section Division V. "I'm grateful for the opportunity, I felt blessed to find out I won the John Wooden Award for our division," Smith said. "It's just very humbling and it's just a blessing." The 6-foot-8 Smith, who will attend Harvard University in the fall, averaged 19.8 points and 14.8 rebounds on the season and 22.6 points and 16 rebounds in the CIF Southern Section playoffs, which ended with the first CIF title in program history when the Rebels defeated Muir, 47-44, on March 5. "[Seven] boys in the Southland win that, so it's a very select group of boys who are in there," Rebels Coach Garrett O Hara said. "For Kenyatta to get that is quite an accomplishment, quite an award. "That's about the pinnacle of what he can get being down here in Southern California." Smith will be presented with the award, which includes a plaque and a $500 endowment for the school's athletic fund, on April 8 at the Wooden Award Gala held at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. "Kenyatta is an incredible talent on the court, but he's also a terrific young man of character and kindness," Prep Headmaster Peter Bachmann said in a press release from the school. "We couldn't be prouder of him." The winners of the high school award, which was created in 1994 and is voted on by a body of Southern California media members and prep sports experts, will be presented along with the men's and women's Wooden All-American collegiate teams. "Not only is [Wooden] well known in basketball circles, but people that don't even know basketball, if they know John Wooden, they know that besides being an outstanding coach, he was a person of tremendous character," O Hara said. "The values that we are trying to teach, [Wooden] is the epitome of those, so Kenyatta's character is reflected, I think, in the award, as well." 14

15 PREPARE FOR LENT, HOLY WEEK & EASTER 2011 To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances, to seek Him the greatest adventure, to find Him the greatest human accomplishment. St. Augustine Lent, Holy Week, & Easter is yet another time in our life s journey to fall in love with The Lord. Seek Him, find Him and commit to Him. Below is a schedule of Lenten services. Attending these services will give you an opportunity to find the Lord in a very personal and special way. Mark your calendar and please make every effort to attend these holy services this Lenten season. Schedule of Lenten Services Pre-Sanctified Liturgy Wed. April 6 7:30 p.m. Pre-Sanctified Liturgy Fri. April 8 9:30 a.m. Akathist Hymn Fri. April 8 7:30 p.m. Sunday of Saint Mary of Egypt Sun. April 10 Orthros 8:30 Liturgy 10:00 Pre-Sanctified Liturgy Wed. April 13 7:30 p.m. Pre-Sanctified Liturgy Fri. April 15 9:30 a.m. SATURDAY OF LAZARUS, April 16 9:30 am Divine Liturgy Immediately after Liturgy..Pancake Breakfast and Palm Tying PALM SUNDAY, April 17 9:00am.Orthros 10:00am..Divine Liturgy The Palms are blessed and distributed to the faithful commemorating Christ s triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. 7:30pm.Service of the Bridegroom/Nymphios We prepare ourselves for the bridegroom, Christ our Lord. It is three evenings of inspirational prayers, hymns, and recitations. HOLY MONDAY, April 18 9:30am.Pre - Sanctified Liturgy 7:30pm.Service of the Bridegroom/Nymphios 15

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