C o m m u n i t y B u l l e t i n

Transcription

1 C o m m u n i t y B u l l e t i n FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017 SUNDAY SERVICES 8:15 a.m. Matins & Divine Liturgy PARAKLESIS Suspended during Lent OTHER SERVICES MAR. 1 ST MAR. 31 ST (SEE ENCLOSED FLYER FOR WEEKDAY LENTEN SERVICES SCHEDULE) Sat. Mar. 4, 9:00 a.m. Matins & Liturgy 3rd Saturday of Souls Sat. Mar. 11, 5:00 p.m. Vespers Sat. Mar. 25, 9:00 a.m. Matins & Liturgy The Annunciation of the Theotokos Wed. Mar. 29, 8:00 p.m. Great Canon of St. Andrew IN THIS MAILING: March & April Calendars 2017 Lenten Services Schedule Flower Sponsorships for Lent & Pascha Forgiveness Vespers Feast Day of the Annunciation of the Theotokos Diakonia Retreat Center Fundraising Celebration Young at Heart Greek Orthodox Archdiocese at the United Nations Wednesday Nights during Lent Young Adult Ministry 2017 OCMC Mission trips Philoptochos News Palm Sunday Luncheon Holy Unmercenaries Medical Society Youth Ministries Festival of Faith Dynamis A Dialogue to Strengthen our Parishes and Parishioners ST. NEKTARIOS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 5108 KUYKENDALL RD. CHARLOTTE, NC PH: Parish Council The next Parish Council meeting will be Monday, March 20 th at 5:00 p.m. If you would like an item added to the agenda, contact the office by Wednesday, March 15 th. Parish assembly The next Parish Assembly will be held on Sunday, February 26 th, following Divine Liturgy. Saturday of souls March 4 th Please submit in person, names to be commemorated. Matins begins at 9:00 a.m. We ask that kolyva (memorial wheat) and/or names be brought to church no later than 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. The ushers on duty will be there to assist you. Please clearly print or type the names to be read. Canon of St. Andrew A special evening of prayer and reflection. The Canon was written by St. Andrew for his personal meditations. Its distinguishing features are a spirit of mournful humility, hope in God, and complex and beautiful Trinitarian Doxologies and hymns to the Theotokos in each Ode. The Canon will be read by members of the Young Adult Ministry on Wednesday, March 29 th at 8:00 p.m. following the Lenten Soup Supper. Beyond St. Nektarios Diakonia Retreat Center Fundraising Celebration, April 25, 6:00 p.m. at Holy Trinity Cathedral. See enclosed flyer for more details. Heritage Greece 2017, June An unforgettable opportunity for college students to explore their Greek heritage. For more information, visit Metropolis Clergy Laity Assembly, Philoptochos & Southeastern Choir Federation Conference, June th in Raleigh, NC. Young Orthodox Scholars Summer Program July College accredited honors program. The Center for Orthodox Thought and Culture of the Agora Institute at Eastern University in Pennsylvania, Apply by June 1, th Annual Choir Conference, July st in Boca Raton, FL. Registration is open for Orthodox Pilgrimage Cruise to Alaska, September 2 9. For more information, visit High School Boys Choir Any high school boys interested in joining the Boys Choir, contact Fr. Seraphim Dedes at seraphimdedes@gmail.com. Special schedule Wednesday March 22 To assist our parishioners to attend the Special Metropolis Dynamis presentation at Holy Trinity at 6:30 p.m., we have adjusted our schedule to be as follows: Presanctified Liturgy will begin at 5:00 p.m. No Lenten Soup Supper Dynamis A Dialogue to Strengthen our Parishes and Parishioners is a workshop to learn about new resources provided by the Metropolis of Atlanta to help build our parishes. See enclosed flyer for more details. PETER & FAYE COUCHELL SCHOLARSHIP Applications will be available at St. Nektarios beginning March 1 and will be accepted from March 15 to 31 for Members in Good Standing or their children. Up to 10 scholarships will be awarded. Better Late than Never Book Club February meeting is Tuesday, February 28 th to discuss Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford. March meeting is Tuesday, March 28 th to discuss Go Tell It On a Mountain by James Baldwin. The Book Club meets at 7:30 p.m. at the Starbucks on Rea Rd., in the Trader Joe s shopping center. The group is always welcoming new members. For more information, please contact Maria Demakis at maria_p29@hotmail.com. Sacramental Wine & Pure Olive Oil You may honor or commemorate family by making a financial gift to help defray the cost of the sacramental wine that is used for Holy Communion. Please note on the memo line of your check or on the envelope Communion Wine. You may also donate a bottle or can of pure olive oil which is then blessed at the Shrine of St. Nektarios and is offered in the anointing kits. Please feel free to bring this with you to any of our services and give to an usher on duty. For additional information contact the church office. Second Trays Periodically, we pass a second tray on Sundays to support those causes beyond St. Nektarios. In March, we have two opportunities to offer our assistance: On March 5 th, for the OCMC (Orthodox Christian Mission Center). The funds are collected through Missions and Philanthropy Ministry. On March 19 th, for Hellenic College Holy Cross School of Theology. The funds are collected through Philoptochos.

2

3 Great Compline St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church G U I D E TO L E N T E N W E E K DAY S E RV I C E S Every Monday, February 27 through April 3 at 7:00 p.m. The service of the Compline is done in monasteries on a daily basis before one retires for sleep. It is used in our churches during the season of Lent, on either Monday, Tuesday or Thursday. This 45 minute-long service consists mostly of Psalm readings and prayers and ends with the very powerful hymn, Lord of the Powers. The service of the Great Compline allows us an opportunity to pray and reflect, to cry out for God s mercy and forgiveness, and to acknowledge that all our hopes and salvation must be placed in God s hands. Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts Every Wednesday, March 1 through April 5 at 6:00 p.m. Followed by a Community Lenten Soup Supper Since the Divine Liturgy is a festive and joyous celebration, it is not celebrated on week-days during Lent. This celebration is reserved only for Sundays, the Saturdays of the Souls and the Feast of the Annunciation. The Divine Liturgy is not conducted on other days as a way of maintaining the solemnity of the season. However, because Lent is a period of fasting, it should also be a period of more frequent reception of Holy Communion. Therefore, at a Presanctified Liturgy their is no consecration of the Gifts during the service. The Gifts have been consecrated usually on the preceding Sunday at a regular Divine Liturgy. The service lasts just over an hour and contains the service of the Ninth Hour and the Vespers, with Holy Communion added at the end. Those who choose to keep the entire fast are encouraged to attend this service and to receive Holy Communion as a way of sustaining the fast by receiving the Body and Blood of Christ even more frequently during this period of spiritual discipline. Salutations to the Theotokos Every Friday, March 3 through 24 at 7:00 p.m. March 24 will include Great Vespers for the Annunciation The Akathist Hymn consists of hymns and prayers and is divided into four sections which correspond to the themes of the Annunciation, Nativity, Christ, and the Theotokos herself. One section is sung on the first four Fridays of Lent. The hymn in its entirely is sung on the fifth Friday of Lent (see below). The service lasts just over an hour. Akathist Hymn Friday, March 31 at 7:00 p.m. The Akathist Hymn is a beautiful poem of praise and devotion to the Mother of our Lord. It was sung in the year 626 in the Church of the Theotokos in Constantinople on the occasion of the deliverance and freedom of Constantinople from the barbarians. The Akathist is composed of twenty-four stanzas, each stanza beginning with a letter of the Greek alphabet from Alpha to Omega. The Hymn is divided into four parts, one part sung on each of the Fridays of Lent (Salutations) and on the fifth Friday, the Hymn is sung in its entirety. It is called "Akathist" because the people, out of love, devotion and gratefulness to the Theotokos for Her miracle and deliverance, stood during the entire Hymn. Remember your loved ones with an offering of flowers. During the upcoming Lenten and Paschal season there are special opportunities listed below. For more information and to reserve your spot, contact the office at Weekly Sponsorships for the Shrine, solea, and Narthex arrangements begin Sunday, Feb. 26 th and continue weekly through Sunday, Apr. 2 nd. The flowers are used for the weekly Compline, Presanctified Liturgy and Salutation services. Flowers for the Veneration of the Holy Cross on Mar. 19th Sanctuary arrangements for Palm Sunday Palms for Palm Sunday crosses Wreath and arrangement on the base adorning the Cross on Holy Thursday Flowers for the dome of the Kouvouklion on Holy Friday Resurrection flower arrangements

4 Young at Heart Offering a social and supportive network, fostering relationships among our senior members 55 and older. The March Hosts Invite you to an enjoyable spring luncheon with your Young at Heart Friends March 9, 2017 Beginning at 1:00 p.m. Following lunch, Sam Kleto will offer a selection of informative slides from his recent family trip to Holy Sites in Greece Meeting Schedule for Mar to June 2017 MAR. 9, 2017 at 1:00 Luncheon and Speaker APR. (No meeting) Holy Week and PASCHA MAY 11, 2017 at 5:30 Social/6:00 Dinner: In honor of MOTHER s DAY Remembering Mom with Family Photos or a Heirloom Display JUN. 8, 2017 at 5:30 Social/6:00 Dinner: In honor of FATHER s DAY. Remembering an Outing with DAD Service Project to be announced

5

6

7

8

9

10 3/5 WELCOME BACK!! First Spring Session of O-Life 3/12 O-Life Night Out Movie & Dinner; details to come 3/19 MICHA Night: God s Timing in Our Lives Fri 3/25 Friday night Saturday morning; GOYA LOCK-IN; The TENT. Sleepless Sleepover; WATCH FOR for details SATURDAY MORNING, MARCH 4, 2017 Address: 2519 S. Tryon Street, Charlotte Time: 9:00am-12:00pm (arrive at 8:45am to fill out paperwork) Attire: warm clothing, closed toed shoes RSVP by Wednesday 3/1/17: Michaelina.Antahades@nascarhall.com

11

12 Wednesday, March 22 nd 6:30 p.m. Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral 600 East Boulevard, Charlotte, NC