St. George Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church 915-584-9100 www.stgeorge-elpaso.org office@stgeorge-elpaso.org Fax. 915-760-5547

REV. FATHER JOSEPH ABOUID, PASTOR “And the Disciples were first called Christians in Antioch”. Acts 11:26 The Very Reverend Father Jehad T. Michael, Pastor Emeritus ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SEPTEMBER 3, 2017

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost & Thirteenth Sunday of Matthew Hieromartyr Anthimos of Nicomedia & VenerableTheoktistos, fellow ascetic with Euthymios the Great

Martyr Chariton; New-martyr Polydoros of Cyprus; Phoebe the deaconess of Cenchreae;Righteous Basilissa of Nicomedia; Ioanikios I, patriarch of Serbia

Tone 4 Eothinon 2

Saturday Service: Vespers 5:00P.M. Sunday Service: Orthros (Matins) 9:20 AM, Followed by the Divine Liturgy Epistle: Geoffrey Borschow Ushers: Upon Availability. Altar Boys: All are welcome to serve. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RESURRECTIONAL APOLYTIKION IN TONE FOUR Having learned the joyful message of the Resurrection from the angel the women disciples of the Lord cast from them their parental condemnation. And proudly broke the news to the Disciples, saying: Death hath been spoiled; Christ God is risen, granting the world Great Mercy.

APOLYTIKION FOR ST. ANTHIMOS IN TONE ONE (**While Gabriel was saying**) O godly-minded Anthimos, as a staunch defender * of thy flock, thou eagerly sheddest thy blood for its protection. * Unbending and wholly unafraid * of all thine adversaries' fearful threats, * thou rejoicest now in Heaven, standing before * the throne of the Three-Sun Godhead. * Glory to Christ Who hath given thee strength. * Glory to thy manly bravery. * Glory to thy patient endurance in martyrdom.

APOLYTIKION FOR ST. THEOKTISTOS IN TONE EIGHT The barren wilderness thou didst make fertile with the streams of thy tears; and by thy deep sighing thou hast given fruit through thy struggles a hundredfold. Accordingly, thou hast become a star for the universe, sparkling with miracles. Therefore, O righteous Father Theoktistos, intercede with Christ God to save our souls.

APOLYTIKION FOR ST. GEORGE THE GREAT-MARTYR (TONE TWO) Since thou art a liberator and deliverer of captives, a help and support of the poor and needy, a healing physician of the sick, a contender and fighter for kings, O great among Martyrs, the victory-clad George; intercede with Christ God for the salvation of our souls.

KONTAKION OF THE NATIVITY OF THE THEOTOKOS IN TONE FOUR By thy holy nativity, O pure one, Joachim and Anna were delivered from the reproach of barrenness; and Adam and Eve were delivered from the corruption of death; thy people do celebrate it, having been saved from the stain of iniquity, crying unto thee: The barren doth give birth to the Theotokos, who nourisheth our life.

Holy Bread will be offered by:

Yani and Susana Payides: For the good health of Yani and Susana and their family. In memory of Esperanza (Susana’s mother).

THE EPISTLE

For the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost O Lord, how marvelous are Thy works. In wisdom hast Thou made them all.

Bless the Lord, O my soul! The Reading from the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. (16:13-24)

Brethren, be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, and be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. Now, brethren, you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints; I urge you to be subject to such men and to every fellow worker and laborer. I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence; for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such men. The churches of Asia send greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. All the brethren send greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

THE GOSPEL

For the Thirteenth Sunday of Matthew The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. (21:33-42)

The Lord spoke this parable: “There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit; and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them. Afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’”

Beloved St. George Parishioners,

We are currently working on a project to create a proper Church Directory through a

new church management software called Breeze Church touch with you. Please fill out

the following form with the information required, which is very important in order to

organize our directory.

Name______________________________________________________

Spouse Name________________________________________________

Children____________________________________________________

Address____________________________________________________

City, State, Zip code___________________________________________

Phone # (H)_____________________ (C)____________________________

Email Address_______________________/Spouse(optional) ______________

BIRTHDATES (optional) __________________/Spouse_________________

PLEASE CHECK THE CORRECT BOXES:

______Pledging Member ____General Attender (Non-Pledged)

______Visitor _______1ST TIME Visitor

PLEASE CHECK THE ORGANIZATIONS YOU BELONG TO OR WOULD LIKE TO BE PART OF:

_____TEEN SOYO (13-18)

_____YOUNG ADULT MINISTRY (19-35)

_____LADIES’ SOCIETY

_____CHURCH SCHOOL

______PARISH COUNCIL

______ST IGNATIUS

______HOLY FAMILY MINISTRY (Married couples 25-45)

______CHOIR

BIRTHDATE (optional)_____________________________________________________________

Evening Divine Liturgy Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos

There will be an evening Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, marking the first Feast of our Ecclesiastical Calendar.

The service will begin at 6:30 P.M. sharp. We look forward to seeing you all!

DONATIONS

Georgette Abraham: For the good health of Kimberly, Sammy, & Sophia Michael; Mariam, Jamiliee, & Bryan Jr. Haddad and Michael Abraham. Dr. Raed & Sylvana Aldouri: For the health of Phillip Youngblood, Lon Silagi, Dora Vasilakis and Blanca Anaipakos. Bryan & Annette Haddad: For the good health of and safety of our children & grandchildren and all Families who live in Houston; for the good health of Wilda Abraham. Salma Isaac: For the health of Ray Malooly & Family. Jean-Marc, Marisela, Salloum & Family: May our Lord & Savior Bless Father Joseph & Khr. Carol Abouid & future son. Many healthy, happy & prosperous years in our St. George Church Family. May God grant them many happier and Blessed years. Nassim Salloum: For the health of Fr. Joseph & Khr. Carol and Fr. Michael & Khr. Salwa George & Mary Esther Salom: Thanks to the board for the Welcome Luncheon for Fr. Joseph & Khr. Carol. Tony Dayoub: IN MEMORY of Mey Dayoub. Marian & Mark Jensen: IN MEMORY of our beloved mother, Nabiha Mahfood (passed

August 30, 2000). We miss you, Mom. Salma Isaac: IN MEMORY of Katherine & Edward Bashur & Barbara Maluff

IN MEMORY OF ALICE MALOOLY

Allen & Patricia Borschow Salma Isaac George & Mary Esther Salom

Many thanks to George & Mary Esther Salom for their generous donation to St. George Church. May God grant you many years.

Anonymous: donation to cover 1-year charge for the new Church computer program, BREEZE, may God grant you many years. ************************************************************************************************* Many thanks to all who attended Fr. Joseph & Kh. Carol welcome luncheon. Special thanks to the following who donated: George & Mary Esther Salom, Jean-Marc Salloum, Albert Dayoub, Drs. Hassan & Maha Salloum, Bryan & Annette Haddad, Alan & Patricia Borschow, Salma Isaac, Dr. Raed & Sylvana Aldouri and all the ladies who served. ************************************************************************************************

DOME LIGHTING VIRGINIA AZIZ is lighting the dome August 28th in honor of V. Rev. Fr. Michael’s 55 years of service and in honor of V.R.Fr. & Khr. Michael’s 64th Marriage Anniversary, and for the Health of Fr. Joseph.

Thought for the Day "The more I bow before the icon of Christ, or the Theotokos or of any patron saint, it means that I am ready to humble myself and liberate myself and free myself from all evil actions, thoughts and behaviors." -- His Eminence, Metropolitan JOSEPH

LADIES’ SOCIETY MEETING

Immediately after Divine Liturgy, Sunday, September 3rd. Please plan to attend this

very important meeting for All Antiochian Women of ST. George!

************************************************************************************************ REMINDER: PLEASE send your checks for the Festival Tickets to close your outstanding balance. Thanks to all who have cleared their accounts. Approximately 50 tickets, $1000 remains to be paid. Thank you, Jamie Isaac

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Deadline for Holy Bread Offering and any Bulletin Announcement should be in the Church office NO LATER THAN NOON on Thursday of every week in order to have it placed in the following week’s bulletin. PLEASE SEND ANY BULLETIN

ANNOUNCEMENT TO: cedarfam4@aol.com, or call or text my cell phone, 915 276 3436. Thank you, Jamie Isaac

CONTACT INFORMATION For Pastoral needs and/or Emergencies contact Fr. Joseph Abouid at: Office: 915-584-9100 Cell phone: 708-415-7050 Email: habouid@gmail.com In case Fr. Joseph is not available please notify V. Rev. Fr. Michael at 915-544-4001 or his cell phone at 915-203-2831 OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday – Friday: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Hospital & Pastoral Visits (During the morning or evenings – Please contact Fr. Joseph to schedule the visits or in case of any emergency at any time). Confessions: Saturdays from 3:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. (or during the week by appointment). CALLING ALL ATTORNEYS! Please let all of the attorneys in your congregation know that they are invited to a gathering of Orthodox Christian attorneys from across the country for a time of fellowship, networking, and learning from an excellent lineup of speakers. This inaugural event of the ORTHODOX ATTORNEY NETWORK will be a one-day gathering held in conjunction with the national Christian Legal Society's annual conference in Newport Beach, CA, October 26th – 29th, 2017. Participants are welcome to come just for the Orthodox gathering on Saturday, October 28th, the CLS banquet on Saturday evening, and/or the entire CLS conference. A special discount is provided for the main conference to all attendees of the Orthodox gathering. A special hotel group rate is available at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel. For details, go to https://clsnet.org/2017conference/orthodox

Update from His Grace Bishop Basil regarding hurricane Harvey: 1 - YOUR CONTINUED PRAYERS ARE REQUESTED for the people (including first responders) of eastern Texas and western and southern Louisiana as it is expected that millions of them will continue to suffer the adverse effects of Former-Hurricane-Now-Tropical Storm Harvey for the next several days. International Orthodox Christian Charities (https://www.iocc.org/) is sending response teams to the area. Our brother FATHER RAPHAEL BARBERG (frraphaelbarberg@gmail.com), second priest at St Elijah/Oklahoma City, OK, who is a trained IOCC Frontline Clergy, writes to me this morning that, "I leave town after Divine Liturgy this morning to pick up Father Jon-Stephen Hedges (St Athanasios/Santa Barbara, CA) at DFW. We will confer and plan, and in the morning pick up five more priests and lay counselors who will comprise our two teams. We will then head into Houston. Deacon Daniel Gray (St Andrew/Pensacola, FL) will be our incident commander. Dan Christopoulos (IOCC'S U.S. Country Representative) will arrive on Thursday or Friday with the IOCC van. Will stay in touch."

2 - WHILE IT APPEARS that all sixteen of our church temples and parish facilities in Harvey's path remain relatively untouched (some have sustained water damage either as a result of leakage from above or seepage from below), several of our clergy families and many of our parishioners are now evacuees (some evacuated by boat) -- the most recent being FATHER RICHARD & KHOURIYA ELAINE PETRANEK(abounarichard@gmail.com) of St Paul/Katy, TX, whose neighborhood faced mandatory evacuation today at5AM due to the nearby reservoir which has topped its limit and is expected to overflow. Thankfully the Petraneks found lodging at a nearby hotel since traveling beyond that area proved to be impossible. I have also been informed that there are indeed some parishioners who have sustained 100% loss of their homes and belongings.

3 - METROPOLITAN SABA (bp.saba@yahoo.com) of our Sister Diocese of Bosra-Hauran has sent a message of love and concern, with assurance of his prayers and those of his entire Archdiocese. BISHOP ALEXANDER (themutran@yahoo.com) of Ottawa has also sent a similar message. God reward them for their fraternal kindness.

If anyone would like to help, please click on the below link: https://support.iocc.org/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app30117a?df_id=2724&mfc_pref=T&27

24.donation=form1&NONCE_TOKEN=7C103B58A3D02CE0378FECEDB96A5D4D

4. With the blessing and encouragement of METROPOLITAN JOSEPH a

“Harvey Relief Fund” has been established to receive alms to assist the

parishes and people of our East Texas Deanery impacted by former hurricane

now Tropical storm Harvey.

FR. Joseph Huneycutt (orthodixie@aol.com ), the Dean of East Texas,

announced this afternoon that an account has been established through his St.

Joseph church in Houston, TX. A separate spread sheet of donations to this

account will be maintained and no monies will be dispersed from the account

until proper protocol is established by the Deanery in consultation with the

Archdiocese.

Donors may use the parish’s Paypal account for making immediate donations

(by clicking on the DONATE icon on the parish’s web site

http://www.saintjosephorthodox.org/ or may send checks (payable to “St.

Joseph Church” and earmarked on the memo line “Harvey Relief”) to:

St Joseph Orthodox Christian Church

10644 Hammerly Boulevard

Houston, TX 77043