Easter (Pascha) April 28th, 2019

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1 April 2019 The mission of St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Parish of Savannah, Georgia is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and to serve the spiritual needs of the faithful through worship and sacramental life. We enable individuals to come together in communion with God and with each other through ministries that are centered on the beliefs and values of our Orthodox Faith. Easter (Pascha) April 28th, 2019

2 The Garden of Our Heart Do we believe in God? Good. Do we confess Jesus Christ as Son of God? Excellent. Our challenge now is to acquire and grow in the Holy Spirit producing the fruits of faith. Our heart is like a garden which is warmed by the sunshine of the Father and into which the seed of faith in Christ is planted. Our faith, however, will not grow, strengthen, and mature unless it is watered by the grace of the Holy Spirit. This grace not only softens our heart for humbly accepting faith in God, it nourishes it to keep it strong. Like any garden, however, our heart needs to be tended. It must be fed, watered, protected and pruned in order to bear fruit. If we truly believe that the Eucharistic cup holds the mystical Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, our faith will be fed. The blessed Holy Spirit will water our faith in worship as it pours down from heaven upon those who worship God in spirit and truth. The garden of our heart is protected by the loving boundaries set by the Church for healthy and righteous living. And the pruning of our garden is effected by our honest repentance whereby we seek to cut-back if not uproot the sinful weeds that threaten to choke our faith. If tended carefully and well, the garden of our heart will grow and mature and reward us with much spiritual bounty. However, this is not an automatic process. We cannot take it for granted. We cannot go on "autopilot." We must constantly strive to not only maintain the faith we have, but increase it with love and glory for God. Do we only come to Church when it is convenient? Do we only pray to Christ when we need help? Do we practice personal prayer and devotion outside of Church? Do we have a personal prayer rule we try to follow? (Perhaps you could use the daily readings of the Church in combination with your heartfelt prayers as a first step to getting started.) A few quiet minutes before our icons and candles is a blessed way to begin and end the day. If we do not tend the seed of faith that wants to grow in our heart, the weeds of ego will slowly, silently, and surely begin to crowd it out. Instead of fruits of righteousness, our heart will become a bed of wildness. Given a brief opportunity, the thorns of pride and greed will flourish, not to mention lust and anger. When these have firmly taken root, their fruit of doubt and despair, hopelessness and fear will burst open with all manner of foul expression. As if this were not bad enough, the rot enjoins gluttony, envy, and sloth to seek their company making the later condition of disorder worse than the first.

3 But it does not have to be this way. A tended garden produces the fruits of the Holy Spirit in ever increasing abundance; fruits such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are good, true, and healthy. They grant purpose, direction, and hope to all with faith in Christ. Does this sound all too grand and theoretical? Consider St. Peter. He was a close personal friend of Jesus Christ and a member of Christ's inner circle. And yet, his faith was immature; at least at first. He abandoned Christ at His arrest and denied knowing him not once, but three times before it was all over. Second only to the noxious betrayal of Judas, the abandonment by Peter had to be most bitter indeed. And yet, Peter did not give up. Washed by personal tears of repentance and possessing a love that would not give up, Peter openly preached the risen Christ and eventually gave his life as a martyr. His writings reflect a man who had grown and matured in faith to exhibit grace and wisdom; a far cry from the impetuous, uneducated fisherman he had started out as. Faith in Christ grows with effort. If left alone, it slowly withers; choked by neglect. If nurtured through regular prayer and worship, it will better endure the trials and tribulations of this life granting that peace of mind and strength of heart we all seek. But, we have to work for it. It is written: "The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." If we want to acquire the Holy Spirit, we will have to tend the garden of our heart to receive the blessings of God's grace. It may not be easy, but it is well worth it. +FJ

4 St. Paul's News & Notes Philoptochos News 2019 Food & Wine Tasting We had a great turnout of our 2019 event. The new room design was a hit and the silent auction a smash. We are so excited to be able to give so much back to our community and our parish and community supporters helped to make it happen! Mark your calendars now for next year: February 22, General Meeting The da te for the General Meeting has been m oved from March to April 7, We will be hosting the recipients of the Food & Wine proceeds. Please come and be a part of this wonderful event of charity. Afterall, this is what Philoptochos is all about. Election Year Nominations are now open for Philoptochos Board elections for the term. National has mandated our election process which requires us to vote in May. Board members must be a full member of the Society, must be a member in good standing with the parish and the chapter for one full year prior to election, have attended a minimum of four meetings of the Chapter in the previous year, and be present at the election unless reasonable cause for being absent is provided. In order to vote in the election, you must be a member in good standing, and you must have been a member for at least three months prior to the election. (If you haven't paid this year's dues get them in right away!) If you would like to run for the Board or nominate a someone for the Board, please contact our Election Chairperson, Alexia Pittas at alexiapittas@gmail.com or (843) Membership Dues Membership fees are now due. Please give your dues payment to Stamata Karfakis. You must be paid up to eligible to be nominated and/or vote. Fieldtrip The St. Photios shrine ha s a display featuring our beloved St. Paul s Greek Orthodox church. We are getting a group together to journey down to St. Augustine on May 4, The Director w ill give us a tour, we will lunch and then head back to Savannah. If you are interested, please contact Leslye leslye.a.phillips@gmail.com. Everyone will arrange their own transportation and meet at St. Photios at 11am. Husbands and non -Philoptochos members are welcome to join. ~~~ Mark your calendar ~~~ April 7, 2019 Sunday General Meeting May 4, 2019 Saturday St. Photios Shrine visit February 22, 2020 Saturday 2020 Food & Wine Tasting Board Meeting Dates To be announced Upcoming Memorials To be announced Current Board Members Fr. John Wallace, Bonnie Danos: President, Sia Chokos: Vice President, Gabrielle Franklin: Treasurer, Laura Sherman: Recording Secretary, Lynn Blenkhorn, Bess Chappas, Christina Danos, Mary Rose Davis, Gabriella Fischer, Stamata Karfakis and Jaime Newman. Please be sure you are receiving from stbarbaraphilosav@gmail.com. Sunday School News Thank you to all who participated in the Sunday of Orthodoxy Procession of Icons. We had a wonderful celebration. April 20, Saturday of Lazarus, Fr John w ill be doing a teaching Liturgy. He will prepare the proskomde for all to see, and will stop the liturgy and explain its parts to all who are in attendance. We would like to have all students attend for this learning experience. Pancake breakfast and palm tying will follow the BOOKSTORE NEWS St. Paul s Bookstore has everything for your Lenten & Holy Week needs. Please stop in to look at our books, icons, charcoal, incense, gift items, food including grape leaves, honey, tea and more. If available, we will gladly special order any items we may not have in stock. Thank you! St. Paul s would like to thank everyone who participated in the St. Patrick s Day parade. St. Paul s Greek Orthodox Church 14 West Anderson St. Savannah, GA Phone: Fax:

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6 Sunday of Orthodoxy, March 17, 2019

7 Thanks to a recent generous donation from Mr. Robert Bob Morgan, St. Paul s was able to renovate Father Wallace office. St. Paul s also wishes to thank Jerry Welsh, Sr. for his time and talent with a paintbrush, making sure Father s office was painted in a professional manner. There are still a few things left to do, but we hope Father Wallace is getting settled and comfortable in his updated office! If you stepped across the hall, you would see the renovations of the old priest office, aka Conference Room, aka GOYA room. Since this room had many hats, it was time for a face lift. St. Paul s wishes to thank Leslye Phillips for her time and discerning eye in picking out colors, and materials in both rooms and providing the pictures seen here.

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9 On Sunday, April 28, Great and Holy Pascha, we will celebrate Agape Vespers at 11:00 am in the church sanctuary. This is a beautiful service that offers a reading from the Gospel of St. John (19:20-25). As is the custom in many Orthodox parishes, an opportunity exists for laity to take part in the reading of the gospel text in their native, non-english language. If you use a non-english language and would like to volunteer to read during the Agape Vespers, please contact the church office by (stpaulsgreekorthodox@comcast.net) with your name and the language you would like to use. (Please note that we have copies of the gospel text in Greek, Latin, French, and German. If you propose to read in another language, you will have to provide the text.) Preference will be given to those raised in that language in a first come, first served basis. Thank you.

10 April 7th Ushers: Pete Simon, *Peggy Pittas, Lear Miltiades, Constantinos Papaconstantinou, **Tom Sideris, and Pete Liakakis Acolytes:.St. Paul: Atha Stathopoulos, Cameron Vatistas, Niko Nichols & Isaac Morris Nursery: Open w/parental supervision Bookstore: Helen Xenakis April 14th Ushers: *Gabrielle Franklin, **Connie Preston, Jimmy Anestos, Leslye Phillips, Michael Roach, Alex Koukoulas, Jerry Welsh, Sr. and Pete Liakakis Acolytes: St. Peter: Trevor Usher, Zach Sherman, Vangeli Tsiaras & Luke Lambros. Nursery: Open with Parental Supervision Bookstore: Deena Stevens April 21st Palm Sunday Ushers: Tony Morris, *George Polites, George Donkar, Peter Mastopoulos, George Vaveris, Tommy Danos and Pete Liakakis Acolytes: St. Paul: Atha Stathopoulos, Cameron Vatistas, Niko Nichols & Isaac Morris Nursery: Open with Parental Supervision Bookstore: Marie Danos April 28th-PASHA Ushers: Pete Simon, Peggy Pittas, **Lear Miltiades, Constantinos Papaconstantinou, Tom Sideris, and Pete Liakakis Acolytes: St. Peter: Trevor Usher, Zach Sherman, Vangeli Tsiaras & Luke Lambros. Nursery: Open w/parental supervision Bookstore: Closed *Denotes PC Member opening; ** denotes PC Member closing

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12 St. Paul s Greek Orthodox Church 14 West Anderson Street Savannah, Georgia Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 179 Savannah, GA. Address Service Requested Place Label Here! A HOLY AND BLESSED PASCHA TO ALL.