Sunday Bulletin September 25, 2016 Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church 13555 Hillcrest Road, Dallas, Texas 75240 Office 972-991-1166 Fax 972-661-1717 www.holytrinitydallas.org Reverend Father Christopher Constantinides Reverend Father Peter Kostakis Reverend Father John Essa Reverend Deacon Mark Pakes Reverend Deacon Athanasios Clint Sharpley Reverend Deacon Christopher Stern
COMMUNION ETIQUETTE If you are either baptized and or confirmed as an Orthodox Christian and have spiritually prepared to receive Holy Communion, please come up from the middle aisle of the Church with reverence and humility, row by row, in a QUIET and ORDERLY fashion, and depart as directed. Please remain seated in your pews until a council member indicates your row should go forward. If you are standing in the back of the nave, please wait until all seated parishioners have gone forward and a council member indicates you should go ahead. In receiving Communion, you should place the cloth under your chin, recite your CHRISTIAN NAME, and wipe your mouth after receiving. Women, please remove your lipstick prior to receiving Communion. THANK YOU! PRAYERS FOR OUR SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN Brandon Bell, USAF Michael Bocan-Collins, PO1 USN 1st Lt. Thomas C. Bouras, US Army Nicholas Patitsas, 1st Lt., US Marine Corps Stephen Serniak, Major, USAF Space Command We are currently updating the list of active service members. Please submit the name of the person/s you would like added to this prayer list. 972-991-1166 or vwells@holytrinity.info PRAYERS FOR HEALING Marianthe Polykalas Verver 2
Sunday, September 5, 5016 Hymns at the Small Entrance RESURRECTIONAL HYMN, PLAGAL 1 ST TONE GREEN BOOK PAGE 85 THE ETERNAL WORD PRIEST ENTRANCE HYMN, 2 ND TONE Come, let us worship and bow down before Christ. Save us O Son of God, who did arise from the dead. We sing to You, alleluia! RESURRECTIONAL HYMN, PLAGAL 1 ST TONE GREEN BOOK PAGE 85 THE ETERNAL WORD HYMN OF THE SAINT, PLAGAL 4 TH TONE The image of God, was faithfully preserved in you, O Mother. For you took up the Cross and followed Christ. By Your actions you taught us to look beyond the flesh for it passes, rather to be concerned about the soul which is immortal. Wherefore, O Holy Euphrosyne, your soul rejoices with the angels. HYMN OF THE CHURCH, PLAGAL 4 TH TONE GREEN BOOK PAGE 115 O BLESSED ARE YOU KONTAKION, 2 ND TONE A protection of Christians unshamable, intercessor to our holy maker unwavering. Please reject not the prayerful cries of those who are in sin. Instead, come to us for you are good. Your loving help bring unto us, who are crying in faith to you. Hasten to intercede and speed now to supplicate, as a protection for all time, Theotokos for those who honor you. 3
Epistle Reading St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 1:21-24; 2:1-4 BRETHREN, it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has commissioned us; he has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. But I call God to witness against me - it was to spare you that I refrained from coming to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith; we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith. For I made up my mind not to make you another painful visit. For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. For I wrote you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you. Gospel Reading Luke 5:1-11 At that time, Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." For he was astonished, and all who were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men." And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. 4
Daily Commemoration of Saints Sept. 25 Sept. 26 Finbar the Confessor, First Bishop of Cork; Euphrosyne of Alexandria; Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos of Evangelistria, Mochos; Our Righteous Father Sergius of Radonezh; Paphnoutios the Martyr & his 546 Companions in Egypt The Falling Asleep of St. John the Evangelist and Theologian; Removal of the Honorable Head of Apostle Andrew the First-Called Sept. 27 Mark, Aristarchos, and Zenon, Apostles of the 70; Akylina the New Martyr of Thessaloniki; Callistratus the Martyr & his 49 Companions; Gideon the Righteous Sept. 28 Sept. 29 Sept. 30 Oct. 1 Chariton the Confessor; Our Righteous Father Alkeisonus, Metropolitan of Nicopolis; Old Epirus; Baruch the Prophet; Neophytos & Auxentios the Martyrs of Cyprus; Wenceslaus the Martyr, Prince of the Czechs Cyriacus the Hermit of Palestine; Martyr Petronius; Theophanes the Merciful of Gaza; Dionysios I, Patriarch of Constantinople; Malachi the New Righteous Martyr of Lindos Gregory the Illuminator, Bishop of Armenia; Mardonios & Stratonikos the Martyrs The Holy Protection of the Theotokos; Ananias, Apostle of the 70; Romanos the Melodist; John Koukouzelis the Psalti 5
Calendar of Events Sunday, September 25 7:45 a.m. Orthros 9 a.m. Divine Liturgy GREEK FOOD FESTIVAL 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday, September 26 FESTIVAL WEEK CLEAN UP Tuesday, September 27 FESTIVAL WEEK CLEAN UP 5-6:30 p.m. HT Greek School (GS Rooms) Wednesday, September 28 5-6:30 p.m. HT Greek School (GS Rooms) 6 p.m. Paraklesis (C) 7-9 p.m. B ball Practice Sr. Boys (Gym) Thursday, September 29 10:45 a.m. - 12 p.m. Adult Bible Study (BR) 5-6:30 p.m. HT Greek School (GS Rooms) 7 p.m. Men s Basketball (Gym) Friday, September 30 No Activities Saturday, October 1 5 p.m. Great Vespers (C) 6
Sunday, October 2 8:15 a.m. Orthros 9:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy (S) GFF Post Sales (Gym) following Divine Liturgy Coffee hosted by the Choir in the Community Center immediately following Divine Liturgy. Catechetical School (Community Center) after Holy Communion. Holy Trinity Bookstore open until 12:30 p.m. after Divine Liturgy. GOYA Carwash following Catechetical School in S Parking Lot. 2:30 p.m. GOYA B Ball Practice - Jr Girls (Gym) 4:30 p.m. Sr Girls 6 p.m. Jr Boys Parish Council Schedule September 25 Jim Dolmas, Dimitri Tsevoukas, Nick Cimino, Jimmy Horiates, Louis Antos, Ellena Fox October 2 Ari Rigopoulos, Christina Hochleutner, Jim Chappel, Bill Zaemes, Peter Hronas 7
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New Church App We would like to inform our parishioners that there is a free app called Church Life through which you can easily access our church's online directory from your smartphone or tablet. This app--available for both Android and ios devices-- was developed to complement the ACS software system that we use for our church office operations. In addition to putting our church directory at your fingertips, the app also allows you to customize your profile in the directory, including uploading a photo of you or your family. (Photo uploads have to go through an approval process, but once approved and added to your profile, other members will be able to see your picture in the directory.) The app is available in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. Just search for "ACS Church Life" to find it. To use the app, you'll need an Access ACS user i.d. and password. If you currently log in to the Access ACS website (https://secure.accessacs.com) to make stewardship payments or to look up someone in the online directory, then you are all set to use the Church Life app. Just sign in to the app with the same email address and password you use when you log into Access ACS. 10
Listen to Sunday Sermon Podcasts on Podbean Have you ever gotten home from church and wished you could hear that Sunday's sermon again? Or wished you could share it with a friend or family member who missed it? Of course, you could look at the video archives on our Worship Webcast page, but locating the sermon in a video of a Sunday Liturgy is not always easy. Well, we've come up with a new way to access Sunday s sermons - sermon podcasts! Going forward, audio recordings of Sunday sermons will be available on our Holy Trinity podcast site, holytrinitydallas.podbean.com which is hosted on the Podbean podcasting platform. You can listen to sermons on your computer, and also on your smartphone or tablet. Podbean has free apps for iphones and Android devices; just search for Podbean in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Once you've installed the app, search for "Holy Trinity Greek" to find our podcasts. You can subscribe to our podcasts and receive notifications on your device whenever a new sermon is posted. 11
On the first Tuesday of each month, our parish generously prepares, delivers and serves a wonderful meal to the clients of the Austin Street Center in downtown Dallas. This ministry has been in place approaching 17 years, serving over 80,000 meals during that time. Our menu of Greek-style baked chicken, green beans, good ole Festival rice, a slice of bread and a slice of homemade cake, followed with a cold glass of milk...is a hit every time. We are in need of volunteers to help us in the kitchen! It is only once a month and takes a few hours of your time. If you are interested in helping us prepare the meal at Holy Trinity, please send an email to dxeros@aol.com. Our meals are prepared and served on the FIRST TUESDAY of each month! Austin Street Center 2929 Hickory Street Dallas 75226 12
Holy Trinity Greek School GREEK CLASSES It is not too late to sign up for the children s afternoon program. For more information, please email Presvytera Alexandra: presvy@holytrinityacademy.com ADULT GREEK CLASSES Intermediate classes begin on Monday, October 3 Beginners classes begin on Tuesday, October 4 7:00 8:30 p.m. in the Greek School Room For more information to the Church s website: www.holytrinitydallas.org. Look under the Greek School heading; then click on Adult Classes. Coming in October! OXI Day Celebration & Coffee Hour Sunday, October 30 After Divine Liturgy 13
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HTA FALL FEST SUNDAY OCTOBER 16, 2016 11:30 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. CHURCH COURTYARD Fellowship Food Trucks: Grilled Cheese, Pizza, Burgers Loukoumathes Ice Cream Truck Pony Rides Petting Zoo Train Rides Carnival Games DJ Entertainment: Magician, Face Painting, Elsa Tickets may be purchased in advance during Coffee Hour on Sunday, October 2, 9 or the day of, Sunday, October 16 th! 15
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Weekly Bulletin 2015 Stewardship Report as of 9/21/16 Contributions received 1/1/15 to 9/21/16 2016 Stewardship Number of $ 2016 $ Contributed to % of 2016 Pledge Pledges Pledges Pledges 2016 Stewardship Contributed No Change to Pledge 353 $430,509 Decreased Pledge 138 $159,554 Increased Pledge 199 $296,158 New Pledges 50 $29,175 TOTAL # of Pledges 740 $915,396 $604,409 66.03% Jim Dolmas Harry Yianitsas 2016 Parish Council President 2016 Stewardship Chairman Holy Trinity Bookstore September brings with it the start of a new school year as well as the beginning of the Ecclesiastical Year. Come on in to the bookstore and pick up the planner published by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. In addition to helping you keep track of your family s events and obligations it is an excellent resource that includes short morning and evening prayers, fast and feast days, as well as the daily Epistle and Gospel readings. Along with the new year comes new bookstore hours. We are excited to announce that this fall, beginning September 7th, we are expanding our hours! In addition to our normal Sunday hours, we will be open on Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 5:45 pm. Please note, we will be closing promptly in order to ensure we have time to check you out before the Paraklesis Service which begins at 6 p.m. We hope to see you then! The Featured icon this month is the Exaltation of the Holy Cross which is commemorated on September 14th. Thanks, Your Bookstore Team! Hours: Sundays after Divine Liturgy until 12:30 p.m. & Wednesdays 2-5:45 p.m. 19
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Greetings in the Lord! Hopefully all is well with you and yours as we approach the cooler weather of September and the beginning of our ecclesiastical new year. Here s an update on our stewardship progress as we journey into Fall. I am happy to report our total pledge commitments have increased to $907,821.00. This modest increase is encouraging and your generosity in giving back to God is appreciated. Thank you to those who have made their commitments and completed their pledge cards! As of the end of August, we have fulfilled about 61% of our pledge commitments a bit behind the hopedfor pledge progress as we have actually progressed about 67% through the calendar year. Please check your attached stewardship statement to see if your pledge fulfillment is on track or could use a little catching up. Weekly or monthly progress toward fulfilling your pledge is most appreciated! Thank you to all of you who are continuing to fulfill your pledge on a regular weekly basis! If you haven t made a pledge for this year, it s not too late to get started! Please help support your church and fellow parishioners. On a different but familiar note, I need to tell you that the gap is back. What gap? You may remember that last year we launched a new short-term program called Close the Gap. This short-term program was initiated to help us make up a budget difference that occurred between what was budgeted for stewardship pledges and the actual pledges committed by you, our stewards. This gap was somewhat closed last year, but unfortunately has returned due to our expenses and commitments being greater than our stewardship pledges for 2016. This year s gap is approximately $55,000.00. We are asking each steward to consider increasing their 2016 pledge by just $75.00 (that s only an increase of $6.25 per month). If all stewards were to do this, we would easily close this gap. Please consider participating in our Close the Gap II program by increasing your pledge in the amount of $75.00. If you would like to make a one-time payment towards closing the gap, you may also send the office a separate payment of $75.00 marked Close the Gap II. Thank you again for your support of your community. See you at the Festival! Harry Yianitsas 2016 Stewardship Chairman Proverbs 16:3 - Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.