March 11, 2018

St. John the Theologian Greek Orthodox Church Rev. Fr. Florin Craioveanu, Presiding Priest

(281) 235-4263 (Pastors Cell)

www.stjohnclearlake.org

office@stjohnclearlake.org

Welcome Visitors! Please join us for coffee hour in the Parish Home adjacent to the church after the

Divine Liturgy.

Experience the Richness and

Traditions of the

Original Christian Church

Kindly turn off or mute your cell phones please!

Upcoming Events:

Sun, Mar 11: Sunday of the Holy Cross Coffee(fasting): Team White Angels/Asteria Dance Prac-tice AHEPA/DOP Meeting Wed, Mar 14: 9th Hours & Presanctified Liturgy 6:30pm Adult Greek Class 6:30pm Thu, Mar 15: Parish Council Meeting 7pm Fri, Mar 16: 4th Salutations to the Theotokos 6:30pm Sat, Mar 17: Childrens Greek Class Sun, Mar 18: Sunday of St. John Climacus Coffee(fasting): Team Red Angels/Asteria Dance Prac-tice Wed, Mar 21: 9th Hours & Presanctified Liturgy 6:30pm Adult Greek Class 6:30pm Fri, Mar 23: Akathist Hymn 6:30pm

Seventh Orthros Gospel. The Gospel According to John 20:1-10 , . , , . . , , . , , , , , . , . . On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first; and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes. The Epistle reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:1-6 , , , , . , , . , , . , , ,

(Continued on page 2)

, , , , . , , . , , , . , . BRETHREN, since we have a high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is bound to offer sacri-fice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, "Thou art my Son, today I have begotten thee"; as he says also in another place, "Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek."

Sunday of the Holy Cross. The Gospel According to Mark 8:34-38; 9:1 , , . , , . , ; ; , . , .

The Lord said: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."

Services for Great Lent Lenten Services are celebrated during Great Lent for our spiritual edification.

Great Compline is chanted on various eve-nings.

Presanctified Liturgies are celebrated on Wednesday evenings

Salutations to the Theotokos are chanted on Friday evenings. Please see the monthly calen-dar for scheduled times of these services.

Fasting for Great Lent Great Lent is a period of strict abstinence. The traditional fast is as follows:

Monday-Friday: Abstinence from meat, dairy, eggs fish, wine and oil (shell fish is allowed).

Every Saturday and Sunday, and March 9 and 26, and Holy Thursday: wine and oil are allowed.

March 25 and Palm Sunday: Fish is allowed.

Wine and oil are not allowed on Holy Saturday. In addition to this, the number of meals a day and the amount of food received is often times altered. Both the above fast is probably too difficult for many people, espe-cially beginners. Please consult your spiritual father for direction on fasting. Special consideration is always given to young children and people who are ill.

Special Hymns for Today: Holy CrossPg 180 , . Save O Lord your people and bless your inheritance. Grant victory to the faithful against the adversaries of the faith and protect your people through your Holy Cross.

ApolitikionTone 7-Pg 122 , , , , , . By your cross, O Lord, You destroyed death; to the thief You opened paradise. The myrrh-bearers sorrow You transformed into joy, and You sent Your apostles forth to proclaim that You had risen from the dead, Christ our God, bestowing on all the world Your great mercy.

KontakionPg 268 , , , ' , , , . To you, Theotokos, invincible Defender, having been delivered from peril, I, your city, dedicate the victory festival as a thank offering. In your irresistible might, keep me safe from all trials, that I may call out to you: "Hail, unwedded bride!"

Trisagion HymnPg 290 Ton Stavron sou proskinoomen, Dhespota, keh teen Agian souAnastasin dhoxaxomen. Before Your cross we bow down O Master and we glori-fy your Holy Resurection

Communion HymnPg 325 O Lord, the light of Your face was stamped upon us. Alleluia.

Christ understands! Have you ever wished a grown-up could understand you better? Maybe you wish your parents or your teachers could see things your way. Then, maybe they could understand how some things are hard for you, or how you might feel. Today we celebrate the third Sunday of Lent, the Sunday of the Holy Cross. We remember how our Lord God became a person, so that He could save us! God became a man. Some-times we might wish grown-ups could understand us, but did you know that our Lord God really does understand us? God became human. He knows what it is like when we get tempted to do something. He knows what it is like when something hurts or when we are sad. He knows how it is hard to make choices sometimes. Christ understands! In todays epistle, we read, We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weak-nesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Our Lord, Jesus Christ is God, but He also knows how we feel. He understands us. He feels sorry when things are hard for us. Lets turn to Him, whenever we need help. Christ understands!

ST. CHRISTINA OF PERSIA AN UNKNOWN SAINT

Sometimes, we can find tons of books about a saint. Think about Saint Constantine. He was an em-peror who lived hundreds of years ago. We still know lots about him, what he did for the Church, and what his mother, Saint Helen, did too. We hear stories about other saints, about their lives, and about miracles theyve helped with. But there are thousands and thousands of other saints we dont know much about at all. We might not know their names. We might not know where they lived. We might not know when they lived. We might not know what they did during their lives. And chances are, we wont really know what they looked like. This week we will remember Saint Christina. Really, the only thing we know about her is that she lived in Persia (today it is Iran). And we know that she was whipped again and again because she was a Christian. She died for her faith. Here we are, 1700 years later. We still remember her because she did the noblest thing she could do! She kept her faith in our God. And that is what God asks each one of us to do. He wants us to be loyal to Him, just like Saint Christina was! We celebrate St. Christina on Tuesday, Mar. 13th.

St. Christina of Persia

MeghalinarionPg 298 In you, O Lady full of grace, rejoices all creation, the or-ders of Angels and the human race together. O hallowed temple and rational Garden of Paradise, the pride of vir-gins, from you did God become incarnate, and our God who existed before the ages became a child. For He made your womb a throne for himself, and your body He made wider than the heavens. In you, O Lady full of grace, re-joices all creation. Glory to you. O Lord, the light of Your face was stamped upon

Announcements: As this is the second Sunday of the month, a second

tray will be passed for donations to the capital develop-ment fund. Please support this effort.

Please join us after the Liturgy for coffee hour in the Par-ish Home. Parishioners, please allow only coffee hour team members to park in the driveway so they can have easier unloading access. This weeks coffee hour is spon-sored by the White Team. Thank you!

Philoptochos also has tyropites, spanakopites, and baklava still available. See Maria Simeon or Saphos.

Sunday School will commence immediately following communion. We ask all youth from Pre-K to senior high to join us as we journey through Lent. It's very important that your children join us as we prepare for our special program commemorating March 25th. Please have your children at church next Sunday to practice for the program.

AHEPA meeting this Sunday after church as we pre-pare to celebrate March 25 Greek Independence day with a sponsored luncheon.

Spring cleanup at St. John's is scheduled for Saturday, March 24th starting at 9am. Please come out and help us beautify our buildings and landscape. Indoor and Outdoor activities for all age groups. If you have a pressure washer, please bring so we can clean the side-walks. Cleaning supplies and yard tools are always a plus. Please wear appropriate clothes, and bring gloves and eye protection as needed.

Thank You and Many Years to the following for their continued ministries to the church!

In Our Prayers Eleni Safos (Maria's cousin), Gherghina, Vish, Mihaela and Dorin, Robert and Keng (friends of Andreea D.), Evangelia Mour-takos, Sherri and Kathi Parris (Phylliss daughters), Nuvia Murillo (Irmas sister/Athenas Aunt), Juliana Balinbin (Creighton's mother), Nicole Balinbin (Creighton's daughter).

Prosforo Schedule Please make sure that Prosforo is in church before the start of the service on Sunday. Please write the date (or put a sticker with the date) on the plastic bags with the Prosforo. That way the oldest will be used first. Thank you for your help. Maria Simeon.

Narthex Rotation Schedule

Mar 11 Bill Gazis, Maria Simeon Mar 18 John Ely, Bill Gazis Mar 25 Eric Richards, John Ely Apr 1 Demetrios Mourtakos, Eric Richards Apr 8 Ross Leo, Demetrios Mourtakos Apr 15 Michael Savage, Ross Leo Apr 22 Georgios Rigas, Michael Savage Apr 29 Maria Simeon, Georgios Rigas May 6 Bill Gazis, Maria Simeon May 13 John Ely, Bill Gazis

Mar 11 Kika Tambourides Mar 18 McFalls Family Mar 25 Maria Simeon

Apr 4 Zaneta Rapos Apr 11 Andriana Tambourides

Apr 18 Ellie Ashley Apr 25 Soula Koumbias

May 6 Metaxas Family May 13 Maria Saphos May 20 Cleopatra Nelson

May 27 Anna Sharkey June 3 Helen Gazaw

Rotation Order for Coffee Hour: Yellow: Ashley, L. Rigas, A. & K. Tambourides Orange: Gazis, Marinos, Sokol, Suniga Purple: Agler, Loveless, McFalls, Richards, Savage Green: Metaxas, Saphos, Pagourtzis, Zachariades White: Lyashman, Partlow, Ely, Mourtakos Red: Gazaw, Padilla, Hammock, M. Tambourides, Zacharias Blue: Patelis, Rapos, Simeon, Yunakov Pink: Craioveanu, Henderson, Quinn, Tsougarakis

2018 Parish Council: Eric Richards-President Creighton Balinbin Michael Savage-Vice President John Ely Demetrios Mourtakos-Treasurer Ross Leo William Gazis-Secretary Maria Simeon Georgios Rigas Acolytes: Creighton Balinbin, Christopher Wood AHEPA: Eric Richards Bookstore/Gift Shop: Colette Quinn Cantors: Alex Rigas, Matthew Agler, Jerry Whittington Choir: Mariam McFalls Coffee Hour: Presbytera Juliana Craioveanu Dance Groups: Andrea Campbell Daughters of Penelope: Beth Richards Greek Festival: Sylvia Mourtakos, Michael Loveless,

Angela Loveles, Michael Savage, Nick Andrews Greek School: Georgios Rigas, Deena Metaxas Intro to Orthodoxy: Michael & Angela Loveless Philoptochos: Maria Saphos Prosforo: Maria Simeon Stewardship: Demetrios Mourtakos Sunday School: Mary Maxson