ENTRANCE HYMNS. Apolytikion of St. Sophia/Ss. Faith, Hope & Agape

Transcript

1 August 9, th Sunday of Matthew The Holy Apostle Matthias Anthony the Martyr of Alexandria Afterfeast of the Transfiguration of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ ENTRANCE HYMNS Apolytikion for the Transfiguration of our Lord Metemorfothis en to Ori ( You were transfigured upon the mountain ) You were transfigured upon the mountain, O Christ our God, showing to Your disciples Your glory as much as they could bear. Do also in us, sinners though we may be, shine Your everlasting light, by the intercessions of the Theotokos, O Giver of light. Glory to You. Resurrectional Apolytikion - Tou Lithou Sfrayisthentos ( The Stone Had Been Sealed ) The Jews had sealed the stone that was set before Your Tomb and around Your Grave soldiers guarded Your Pure and Sacred Body, yet Savior You arose the third day and granted to the world Your gift of Life. For this do the powers of Heaven acclaim You the Life bestower. Glory to Your Resurrection and glory to Your Kingdom. Glory to Your dispensation, O only Friend of man. Apolytikion of St. Sophia/Ss. Faith, Hope & Agape Greek Oς ελαία κατά καρπος ανεβλάστησας, έν ταίς ανλαίς του Κυρίου, Σοφία μάρτυς σεμνή, καί προσήγαγες Χριστώ καρπόν η δύτατον, τούς τής νηδύος σου βλαστούς, δί α γώνων εύαγων, Αγάπην τε καί `Ελπίδα σύν τη θεόφρονι Πίστει, μεθων δυσώπει υπέρ πάντων ήμων. English Phonetics for Greek Os elea kata karpos anevlastisas, en tes avles tu Kyriou Sofia martys semni, ke prosigages Christo karpon idytaton, tus tis nidyos su vlastus, di agonon evagon, Agapin te ke Elpida, syn ti theofroni Pisti; meth on dysopi yper pandon imon. English As an olive tree laden with fruit you sprouted forth, in the courtyards of the Lord, Sophia martyr dignified, and you brought to Christ a fruit most sweet, Namely your womb s own sprouts, brought up by instructive deeds: your daughters Faith and Hope, along with God-minded Love; together intercede with God for us all. Seasonal Kontakion Epi tou Orous metemorfothis ( Upon the mountain were You transfigured ) Upon the mountain were You transfigured, and Your disciples beheld Your glory as far as they were able, O Christ our God; so that when they would see You crucified they might understand that YourPassion was deliberate, and declare to the world that in truth You are the Father's radiance.

2 Stewardship Update August 9, 2015 As we enter the first 2 weeks of August, please remember to stop by for one of the many services in preparation of the Dormition of the Theotokos on August 15th. The schedule of services is posted in this bulletin. As Stewards of the faith, it is important that we attend church regularly even in the summertime! Summer is here (in full force and heat!). Many of our stewards and friends take time away for travel, vacation and visits to Greece. Please remember to continue payments on your pledges the bank expects us to pay our bills even though it is vacation time! Did you know that our ministries continue throughout the summer? When in town, please join us for Divine Liturgy on Sundays. With our summer hours (Liturgy at 9:30 am), you can worship with us, enjoy coffee hour and fellowship and still have lots of time to enjoy summer activities with family and friends. Although we all like to take vacations, let s please be sure to keep Christ in our summer schedule. After all, we would not want God to take a vacation from us! We are still looking for a number of our Stewards to pledge for You will be receiving a reminder notice shortly if you have not pledged for If you have pledged, you will be receiving an updated financial statement. As a busy parish, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved by giving of our time and talents to support His work. Actively participating is not only spiritually rewarding it can be really fun too! God bless you for your support of His work and our parish! REMINDER: The fall festival is coming. We really need EVERYONE S HELP!! 2014 (Year End) 2015 (8/7/15) Pledge Unit Goal Number of Pledges Pledge $ Goal $210,000 $210,000 Amount Pledged $209,857 $199,602 Average Pledge $ $1,067 New Stewards EPISTLE READING The Reading is from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 4:9-16 Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us. Verse: Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous. BRETHREN, God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the off-scouring of all things. I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. Ἀνάγνωσις ἐπιστολῆς Πρὸς Κορινθίους α' 4:9-16 Γένοιτο, Κύριε, τὸ ἔλεός σου ἐφ' ἡμᾶς. Στίχ. Ἀγαλλιᾶσθε δίκαιοι ἐν Κυρίῳ Ἀδελφοί, ὁ θεὸς ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀποστόλους ἐσχάτους ἀπέδειξεν ὡς ἐπιθανατίους ὅτι θέατρον ἐγενήθημεν τῷ κόσμῳ, καὶ ἀγγέλοις, καὶ ἀνθρώποις. Ἡμεῖς μωροὶ διὰ Χριστόν, ὑμεῖς δὲ φρόνιμοι ἐν Χριστῷ ἡμεῖς ἀσθενεῖς, ὑμεῖς δὲ ἰσχυροί ὑμεῖς ἔνδοξοι, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἄτιμοι. Ἄχρι τῆς ἄρτι ὥρας καὶ πεινῶμεν, καὶ διψῶμεν, καὶ γυμνητεύομεν, καὶ κολαφιζόμεθα, καὶ ἀστατοῦμεν, καὶ κοπιῶμεν ἐργαζόμενοι ταῖς ἰδίαις χερσίν λοιδορούμενοι εὐλογοῦμεν διωκόμενοι ἀνεχόμεθα βλασφημούμενοι παρακαλοῦμεν ὡς περικαθάρματα τοῦ κόσμου ἐγενήθημεν, πάντων περίψημα ἕως ἄρτι. Οὐκ ἐντρέπων ὑμᾶς γράφω ταῦτα, ἀλλʼ ὡς τέκνα μου ἀγαπητὰ νουθετῶ. Ἐὰν γὰρ μυρίους παιδαγωγοὺς ἔχητε ἐν Χριστῷ, ἀλλʼ οὐ πολλοὺς πατέρας ἐν γὰρ Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς ἐγέννησα. Παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς, μιμηταί μου γίνεσθε.

3 GOSPEL READING The Reading is from the Gospel of Matthew 17:14-23 At that time, a man came up to Him and kneeling before Him said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not heal him." And Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me." And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move hence to yonder place,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. But this kind never comes out except by prayer and fasting." As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day." ΕVΑΓΓÉΛΙΟΝ Κατὰ Ματθαῖον 17:14-23 Τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ, ἐλθόντων αὐτῶν πρὸς τὸν ὄχλον προσῆλθεν αὐτῷ ἄνθρωπος γονυπετῶν αὐτὸν καὶ λέγων Κύριε, ἐλέησόν μου τὸν υἱόν, ὅτι σεληνιάζεται καὶ κακῶς πάσχει πολλάκις γὰρ πίπτει εἰς τὸ πῦρ καὶ πολλάκις εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ. καὶ προσήνεγκα αὐτὸν τοῖς μαθηταῖς σου, καὶ οὐκ ἠδυνήθησαν αὐτὸν θεραπεῦσαι. ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ιησοῦς εἶπεν ὦ γενεὰ ἄπιστος καὶ διεστραμμένη! ἕως πότε ἔσομαι μεθ ὑμῶν; ἕως πότε ἀνέξομαι ὑμῶν; φέρετέ μοι αὐτὸν ὧδε. καὶ ἐπετίμησεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ιησοῦς, καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἀπ αὐτοῦ τὸ δαιμόνιον καὶ ἐθεραπεύθη ὁ παῖς ἀπὸ τῆς ὥρας ἐκείνης. Τότε προσελθόντες οἱ μαθηταὶ τῷ Ιησοῦ κατ ἰδίαν εἶπον διατί ἡμεῖς οὐκ ἠδυνήθημεν ἐκβαλεῖν αὐτό; ὁ δὲ Ιησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς διὰ τὴν ἀπιστίαν ὑμῶν. ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐὰν ἔχητε πίστιν ὡς κόκκον σινάπεως, ἐρεῖτε τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ, μετάβηθι ἐντεῦθεν ἐκεῖ, καὶ μεταβήσεται, καὶ οὐδὲν ἀδυνατήσει ὑμῖν. τοῦτο δὲ τὸ γένος οὐκ ἐκπορεύεται εἰ μὴ ἐν προσευχῇ καὶ νηστείᾳ. Αναστρεφομένων δὲ αὐτῶν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ιησοῦς μέλλει ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου παραδίδοσθαι εἰς χεῖρας ἀνθρώπων καὶ ἀποκτενοῦσιν αὐτόν, καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἐγερθήσεται. καὶ ἐλυπήθησαν σφόδρα. Church Beautification Update August 9, 2015 We are excited to announce that Dr. George Kordis, our iconographer, will be here at St. Sophia s in early September for some additional iconography. We have received sponsorships for the Holy Ascension of Christ icon, which will be painted over the altar area. We appreciate the support of our many donors, including the most recent anonymous donor in support of this new beautification project. In addition, Dr. Kordis and his team of world renowned artists will be painting in the Narthex, including the Donor Wall. They will also be varnishing and sealing all of the icons in the iconastasion and lower walls to protect them from damage. Please be sure to welcome Dr. Kordis and everyone when you see them around the church! Many sponsorships are still available for both iconography and the furnishings. Please check out the exhibit next door in the Fr. John A. Limberakis Cultural Center. A draft of the names that will be listed on the donor plaque has been posted in the Fr. John A. Limberakis Cultural Center. Please double check your name and listing to make sure it is accurate. If you have questions or concerns, please see any Parish Council member. St. Sophia Church Mortgage Mortgage balance as of 7/28/15 is $1,345, We recently negotiated a lower rate with QNB Bank, which will lower our payment by $1,000/month.

4 GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS (continued) Parish List: If you have not yet given us your address (or if it has changed recently) please let the Parish office know so that we can update our files. You may either call the Parish office with your information or you may it directly to Pastoral Visits - A Request to All Parishioners: If you desire a pastoral visit in case of a hospitalization or for someone who is homebound, in a nursing facility, or in prison, please have an immediate family member notify the Parish office at so that a visit can be arranged. In Case of Emergency: If you are having an extreme medical emergency and are in need of an Orthodox priest, please call the Parish office at Any information or announcements for the Sunday bulletin must be received by 3pm on the Wednesday prior to publication. Please information to stsophia@verizon.net. Thank you. Elaine Piligian

5 GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS (continued) Fall Festival 2015: Organizational meetings for our fall festival will take place weekly on Mondays at 6:00 pm; the next meeting is tomorrow, August 10 th. All those interested in participating are welcome to attend. If you have any questions, please call John Papadimitriou ( ) or the Parish office ( ). Senior Citizen Ministry: St. Sophia s Senior Parea is open to all senior citizens of the community. The Senior Parea will be taking a break for the months of July and August and will resume weekly meetings in September. Meetings are held each Thursday in the Cultural Center from 10am to 12 noon. Empties4Cash: We are always accepting empty inkjet printer cartridges for recycling. Undamaged ORIGINAL cartridges with a print head qualify for payment -- that includes most Hewlett Packard, Lexmark, Canon, Dell, Sharp and Epson cartridges. The drop off box is located in the lobby of the Cultural Center. Help us recycle trash for cash! SHOP-RITE or GIANT shoppers: We have enrolled in their Gift Card Program and the gift cards are on sale during coffee hour. If you are interested, please see Alexis Witt. Register Tapes: Don t forget to save your Shop-Rite register tapes. We can only use receipts from any of the ten Brown s stores located in: Bensalem PA, East Norriton, PA, Fairless Hills PA, Cheltenham, PA and in Philadelphia, PA, on Island Ave., Oregon Ave., 52 nd & Parkside, Haverford Ave., and Ridge Ave. in the Roxborough section. They also have one store in Brooklawn, NJ. The drop off box is located in the lobby of the Cultural Center. Please submit receipts timely, only tapes from within 4 months of the transaction date are accepted. REDNER S Register Tapes: We are now collecting Redner s Market register tapes. Remember to use your Pump Perks card when making purchases. The drop off box is located in the lobby of the Cultural Center. Coffee Hour Sponsors Needed!: There are several opportunities to be a coffee sponsor in the next several weeks.. If you are interested in hosting a coffee hour, please put your name on the list at the back of the hall or contact Elaine in the Parish office.

6 GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS (continued) Movie Tavern Tickets: This is the fabulous movie theater in town that offers first run movies as well as an "in-house" dining experience. The Ladies Philoptochos is selling discounted MOVIE TAVERN movie tickets for $8.50 each. They can be used on any day and even for new releases. For more information, or to purchase tickets, contact Maria or Kathy Tsipras. For show times visit Yiayia's Attic - Just a reminder that our Fall Festival is around the corner. So, start cleaning out that garage, basement, spare room or even that junk drawer today. NO clothing, mattresses, pillows, any type of quilted items, stuffed animals or food products will be accepted. Any items unsold will be donated to a local thrift store. All proceeds benefit the St. Nicholas National Shrine. Any items brought in must be placed directly in the balcony. Volunteers will be needed during the festival hours to sell these treasures. Please call Maria or Kathy Tsipras (610) if you have any questions or to volunteer. Communion wine as a church donation: Communion wine is always needed by the church. If you would like to make a donation of wine, the following wines are preferred: St. John Commandaria (of Cyprus), Mavrodaphne, or Manischewitz Concord Grape. Help us keep the vigil lamps burning bright: Olive oil is a perpetual need for the church in order to keep the vigil lamps or καντήλια (kandilia) burning bright. If you would like to donate olive oil, you may bring it to the Parish office at any time throughout the year. Community Food Drive: During the month of August we will be having a food drive to help feed the hungry of our communities. Please keep this in mind when you go food shopping and bring nonperishable food items to the Cultural Center.

7 August 9, th Sunday of Matthew The Holy Apostle Matthias Anthony the Martyr of Alexandria Afterfeast of the Transfiguration of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ On Sundays during summer hours, Orthros will now begin at 8:15 am. The Divine Liturgy will still begin at 9:30 am. CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK Mon., Aug. 10 th Tues., Aug. 11 th Wed., Aug. 12 th Thurs., Aug. 13 th Friday, Aug. 14 th Saturday, Aug. 15 th 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Festival Baking Kourambiedes 6:00 pm Festival Meeting 6:30 pm Paraklesis to the Theotokos 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Festival Baking Pasta Flora 10:00 am Paraklesis to the Theotokos 5:00 pm Decoration of the Kouvouklion 6:30 pm Great Vespers for the Falling Asleep of the Theotokos 10:00 am Divine Liturgy Falling Asleep of the Theotokos GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS Sunday School Registration Begins Today: Sunday school begins on September 20 th. Registration forms for Sunday school are available at the Pangari and on our Parish website -- Greek Dance Groups: Dance Group registration forms are available at the Pangari and on our Parish website All students MUST be registered in order to participate. Thanks to a generous contribution from the ASTERA Foundation, we will not be charging tuition for St. Sophia Stewards this year. Also, we will be holding practices after Liturgy on Sunday, August 23, and Sunday, August 30 to start getting ready for our Fall Festival (Sep 10-13) as well as performances at St. Luke (Sep 20) and St. George (Oct 4). Please let Alex Nikas know if you are not available on those dates. Greek School Registration: The Greek school registration form is available at the Pangari and on our website. For questions regarding the program, please contact Erietta Fotiadis at or eriettafotiadis@gmail.com AFTER September 10 th. For questions regarding registration, please contact Roula Matsiras at or rmatsiras@hotmail.com, or Christine Bailey at or christinebailey@outlook.com. Please complete form and return along with your payment to St. Sophia Parish Office by August 30, A note from Fr. Peter Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, During the first 14 days of August we fast for the preparation for the celebration of the Dormiton of the Theotokos. Fasting is one of the many spiritual tools that the church gives us as a way to bring us closer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It also gives us the opportunity to remember those whom Christ calls the least of these my brothers. (Matt 25:40). I humbly ask all you to help our parish help those in need during this time by bringing in non-perishable food items to help feed the hungry of our communities! Please keep this is mind as you prepare your shopping lists of over the coming weeks. The need is great. In Christ, +Fr. Peter