S T . J OHN THE B APTIST G REEK O RTHODOX C HURCH
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C HILD V ERSUS G ORILLA – H OW T O L IVE T OGETHER F OR T HE K INGDOM The recent child versus gorilla controversy has brought up an older moral question about the status of human life versus animal life. When one is faced with the decision of saving a human life endangered by an animal life, what should one do? In our story the zookeeper clearly stated that their choice was easy because a human life is more valuable than an animal life.[Round of applause from all parents of toddlers] But what does a poor zookeeper know? A recent tweet that condemned the gorilla killing went as far as blaming the entire humanity for the gorilla death saying: “Humans imprison gorilla. Human enters gorilla prison. Gorilla gets shot dead for being near human. Humanity is a disease.” [Round of applause from animal rights activists] People are very polarized around this issue, primarily because, as we grow more into a society that is delinked from Christianity, we have forgotten the complexity of the relationships between God, man and the entire creation in our current fallen world.
S PECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST :
Child Versus Gorilla – How To Live Together For The Kingdom
Parish Council Capsule
Stewardship for 2016
Youth Ministries News
Philoptochos Neew
The meaning of the Polyeleos
Our New Bookstore
(Continued on page 3)
I NSIDE THIS ISSUE :
C OUNCIL C APSULE Christos Anesti! The last several weeks have been incredibly busy with getting our church ready for Holy Week and Pascha. Let me try to give you a brief description of what was done. We started by unloading several square yards of mulch, wheel burrowing and shoveling it around the flowerbeds, tress, and anywhere else we could fit it. Margo Yiantsou took over the flowerbed in front of the hall and worked over 500 lbs. of rock around the new plants. Mike and Nick Mourton were kind enough to let us use one of their trailers and a lift to address lighting both inside and outside the church. Mike also helped Father (who somehow made time) to wipe down the chandeliers and replace burned out light bulbs. Mike Murray also gave of his time and talents to repair malfunctioning lights in the parking lot. Harriet Blake and Gail Poriotis cleaned the church windows when here comes Zach Reimer with his magical paintbrush and repainted the library and bookstore as Cristina worked restlessly to put it all together. Thank you Veronica for keeping the troops fed, a hearty lunch was much (Continued on page 2)
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C OUNCIL ’ S C APSULE and give back to a Church that gives us so much. All of this needed. There were countless was orchestrated by…. you guessed it, another…Mike. other volunteers that all Mike Poriotis took a lot of stepped up to help in a big moving parts and brought way and unfortunately can’t list them all here. A very big them all together to complete THANK YOU for all of your a long list of “to do” items. All the while still helping help, (you know who you GOYA. Kudos! Please take a are) as we lay up treasures (Continued from page 1)
moment to enjoy all of the effort that was put in and remember, if you’re called on, please help. It’s truly amazing what we can accomplish when we come together and work collectively. In closing, I pray everyone has had a rich, rewarding, and blessed Great Lent and Pentecost to come! “Mike”
A GELESS WO NDERS The Ageless Wonders will not meet in June or July. Everyone is busy with their
families and vacations, so we will meet again in August. Date TBA. Please give some thought
to helping with the Foodfest. Baking days will be announced soon . Have a great
P LANNING C OMMITEE T HE
PARISH HAS WORKED HARD ON GETTING OUR CHURCH READY FOR H OLY W EEK AND P ASCHA .
Meetings will begin again during June and through the Summer in order to have a presentation ready for the Parish Council and the General Assembly in November. As currently envisioned in concept only, the Master Facilities and Site Development Plan of the overall Strategic Plan will focus first on completion of the Damianos Peters Parish Center and the provision of expanded and improved church school facilities and other parish youth facilities enhancements. Completion
of the Parish Center building would consist of redevelopment of the interior of the existing multi-purpose building to provide: a greatly expanded hall space (the Yiantsou Pavilion); a much larger kitchen with walk-in freezer, cooler and pantry facilities; expanded storage areas; and, larger public toilet facilities. The main challenge facing the Planning Committee will be how to accomplish that goal and also expand and improve church school and youth spaces and facilities. The solution may be to create a third building on the
site, which would serve as a school while also providing for parish offices and a chapel and be of a flexible, modular design for future expansion. Integrated in this next phase of development will be the next stage of church iconography and a permanent Bookstore location... These are exciting times for our parish; planning for the future is always exciting, and we hope our fellow parishioners share in this excitement.
structure of the FoodFest. Presently, the following positions are known to be open: FoodFest Coordinator and Chidrens Center Chairperson. There may be other positions coming open, also. Any parishioner who wishes to step up into a higher position of
responsibility for any part of the FoodFest is encourages to contact a member of the Parish Council... Plannin g for the 2016 FoodFest will actively begin in late June / early July.
George Vittas
F OOD F ESTIVAL Final reports on the success of the 2015 FoodFest have been made and efforts are now turning to planning for the 2016 FoodFest. The Parish Council will shortly begin filling positions which may be open in the new, decentralized organizational
George Vittas
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C HILD V ERSUS G ORILLA (C ONT .) (Continued from page 1)
Man, Fall, Sin and Creation Reading the Ethical Discourses of St. Symeon the theologian, I discovered a striking perspective on the connection between man and creation. Referring to the exile of Adam from Paradise, he says: “Therefore, indeed, when it [creation] saw him leave Paradise, all of the created world which God had brought out of non-being into existence no longer wished to be subject to the transgressor. […] What then? God Who created all and made man, […] now suspends the assault of all creation, and straightway subjects all of it to Adam as before. He wills that creation serve man for whom it was made, and like him become corruptible, so that when again man is renewed and becomes spiritual, incorruptible, and immortal, then creation, too, now subjected to the rebel by God's command and made his slave, will be freed from its slavery and, together with man, be made new, and become incorruptible and wholly spiritual.” The creation, that we know is fallen and is not meant for eternity in its current form, but the promise is that, as the Book of Revelation also asserts, that in the end there will be “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” (Rev 21:1) Man is the key to this transformation, but not alone, with creation being at his right side. Fr. Dumitru Staniloae mentions as well that creation was meant
for us to be a ladder on which to climb to our lost paradise. God gave creation to mankind to be used by man to regain his glory the lost through the fall. Creation obeys the command of the Lord and provides man with all he needs, while man, at his turn, has the duty to care for it and use it wisely exactly for this purpose. The misuse of creation by man, through sin, is what brings destruction to our world. Through sin, the greatest gift freely received becomes therefore an idol and a fighting ground in between brothers. “For nothing else” continues St. Symeon, “so soils the work of God and makes unclean what is clean as the deification of creation and the worshipping of it as equal to God the Creator and Maker.” The worth of human life Watching the current trends in our culture, we see human life having less and less worth: abortions are justified by comfort and convenience, popular culture validates euthanasia in movies like “Million Dollar Baby” or the more recent “Me Before You”, governments step in to control population, and so on. Of course all this is supported by extreme utilitarian philosophers like Peter Singer, that goes as far as to declare that being human does not even give one the automatic right to live. One may say that we are not living a culture of life but a culture of death. All this streams from fear: the fear of overpopulation with the inevitable loss of comfort, the fear of the self-destruction of our only habitat, and ultimately, the fear
of the survival of humanity at large. In this way of thinking, the individual is sacrificed for the sake of the community. We celebrated recently the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ after going through His Passions and death for us on the Cross. He died indeed for the sake of the entire community of humans, a death that He chose to fulfill: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) The rulers of the Jews in Christ times also made a choice: “it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” (John 11:50). They chose to kill a man that disagreed with their views, a man that was different than them, for the survival of the status quo of their nation. There is a difference however between the two choices, even if both of them have a man dying for the sake of the community. Christ’s sacrifice was voluntary and filled a greater purpose, not to save a passing kingdom, not to temporary alleviate the pains of a people, even if it was a chosen one, but to eternally grant life everlasting to the entire creation. He chose to drink the bitter cup that the Father entrusted Him. He was not forced to do it. The rulers of the Jews sent Christ to death without asking Him if He is willing to sacrifice Himself and (Continued on page 9)
Naming of Animals
WHEN AGAIN MAN IS RENEWED AND BECOMES SPIRITUAL , INCORRUPTIBLE , AND IMMORTAL , THEN CREATION , TOO , NOW SUBJECTED TO THE REBEL BY G OD ' S COMMAND AND MADE HIS SLAVE , WILL BE FREED FROM ITS SLAVERY
Expulsion from Paradise
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2016 STEWARDSHIP: BRING THEM TO ME! In a well known parable we see the Apostles bringing to Jesus Christ their concerns about the 5,000 men plus women and children that are with them in the wilderness. His disciples lament that all they have are five loaves and two small fish a boy has offered. Jesus’ response is “Bring them to me.” He then takes the loaves, blesses and breaks them, and feeds 5,000 men plus women and children with abundant leftovers. “ WE
FIND
OURSELVES BY OFFERING OURSELVES .”
A RCHBISHOP A NASTASIOS OF A LBANIA
In a similar way, we also bring what we have to Jesus. We offer bread and wine and it may not seem much, but He returns them to us, in the overabundance of His Grace, as His Own Body and Blood, the Holy Communion. By the bread and the wine, foods that are specific to human nature, we offer our lives to Christ, and, through the Holy Spirit that transforms them, we become the Church, His Body on earth. We give our earthly lives in exchange for life ever-
lasting. What a favorable exchange of gifts! No matter how much we give, He cannot be outdone. Just like the boy who offered the loaves and the fish, if we offer what we have – however great or small our gift – with prayer and humility, God will receive our gifts and multiply them to feed His people, both materially and spiritually.
Christian Stewardship is about becoming good caretakers of all that God has given us. God has given each of us special and unique gifts. He also teaches us all that we have is a loan. He lends everything to us, and reminds us that one day He will ask us to give a detailed accounting of what we have done with these gifts He has given us. The only way to multiply these gifts is by offering them to God through the people around us. Archbishop Anastasios of Albania has noted “we find ourselves by offering ourselves.” Have we learned the blessedness of generously giving to others
out of all we have without worrying? Our vibrant parish is on a continuous and sustained growing pathway. Our children, our youth, our young adults, our seniors, our women and men, our inquirers in the faith, our poor and needy, demand the help of our ministries more than ever. The only way for them to fulfill their mission is through your support. Stewardship is not only about how much you give, although this is important, it is also about how much you are engaged, how much time and talent you invest, ultimately in yourselves. If we give the little we have to our brothers and sisters, God will make us heirs of the Kingdom. By giving from what we have, big or small, we become part of the eternal Kingdom that never suffers neither famine nor thirst. I encourage you all to prayerfully consider your contribution in your 2016 stewardship program and getting fully engaged in the life of you parish. May the Lord richly bless you and your family in all
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S TEWARDSHIP 2016 Celebrate, Christ Has Risen!!! Hope everyone had a wonderful Lenten season. It has been so nice to see so many new faces in church over the past few weeks, I hope to meet you all soon.
that you may not have met before. You all are an extension of our church, thank you for your support in God's name. The stewardship committee
Stewardship 2 0 1 6 Information as of 6/32016: Goal to cover expenses: $328,521 Pledged: $254,871 Short: $ 73,650
Angela Cline Cecelia Junell
We are truly getting close to our goal of 328,521.00. With so many filling out stewardship cards, my prayer for our church is to reach our goal this year.
W ITH
SO MANY FILLING OUT STEWARDSHIP CARDS ,
Please make sure to continue to welcome people
H OW TO BECOME A STEWARD IN 2016? FAQ S How do I become a member of the parish? Membership in the Orthodox Church begins at Baptism (Chrismation for some) and continues throughout our life. We are united with Christ through the sacraments and through our faithful offering of our lives to Christ. We have to distinguish however between voting members and non-voting members. A voting member is over 18 years old and has turned in a signed stewardship commitment card (for time, talent and treasure). The Archdiocese also requires the voting member to remain current through the year on their commit-
ments. Overall true membership in the Body of Christ, involves living daily according to His word and within His Church. Why must I commit to give a specific amount? Knowing the amount of your monetary participation helps our parish plan the activities throughout the year. Your monetary stewardship is kept in the strictest of confidence. What if I cannot fulfill my stewardship commitment? During the course of a year,
people’s circumstances change. Your stewardship is valued because it is made out of your love for God and His Church. Please do not be concerned if you are unable to meet your stewardship commitment – we are glad you are a part of this parish. How do I submit a Stewardship Card? You can find the card in the pews in Church or you can fill one on-line and e-mail it to our church office at stjohndfw@gmail.com. More info here
MY PRAYER FOR OUR CHURCH IS TO REACH OUR GOAL THIS YEAR .
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Y OUTH M INISTRIES R EPORT St. John’s Vacation Bible School is scheduled for June 710. Harriet will coordinate but would GREATLY appreciate help of parents of this age group, ages 5-10. We also need teen-age helpers (great way to earn community service hours!). See Harriet, hlblake@aol.com or 214995-4290.
S T . J OHN ’ S V ACATION B IBLE S CHOOL IS SCHEDULE D FOR J UNE 7-10.
2016 Camp Emmanuel. Junior Session: June 12-18, 2016 (Ages 11-14); Senior Session: June 1925, 2016 (Ages 15-18). By the time this goes to print, everyone who’s interested should have registered (deadline was April 30). Each year Camp Emmanuel offers participants ages 11-18 an opportunity to retreat away from the everyday and experience life in a nurturing Orthodox Christian community. Camp Emmanuel utilizes the Manzano Mountain Retreat facility in Torreon, New Mexico, outside of Albuquerque. It’s Christmas in June for Youth Ministries - the amazing Tera Bogdos has taken it upon herself to design and create costumes for our Christmas Pageant. She has made angels, wise man, kings, shepherds and we understand, a new creche is in the works by her nephews, the wonderful Morton brothers. This year’s pageant should be terrific! Meanwhile, here’s a recap of what the different divisions of Youth Ministries has been doing during the spring semester: The GOYA had a successful spaghetti fundraiser in April as well as a Lock-In at Group Dynamix in Carrollton April 22-23 — approximately 10 kids and 3 advisors attended. In addition, the GOYA reports that it had a record turnout for January’s GOYA Basketball Tournament. We had 23 kids participate, including Demi Pursley, Sophia and George Manos, Nicole Henry, Abbie Molhoek, Maddie Chokas, Zoe and Sydney
Georgulas, Katerina and Alex Genovezos, Penelopi Yiantsou, Paulina, Nik and Vassi Gianitsos, Vivian Geil, Maria, Luca and Matei Tudora, Alex Shah, Ian Rehmet, Christaki and Sandro Zingas and Christian Eftimie. Youth Ministries wants to congratulate the seven advisors who spent four days, coaching and shepherding our kids for the weekend - thank you, Gina Poulakos, Michael Poriotis, Savva Zingas, Niko Pagoulatos, Elizabeth Seals, Nick Ruppel and Danny Peters. As noted previously, our 2016 Oratorical Festival had six participants this year. The winners were: Penelopi Yiantsou for the Junior Division; and Maria Tudora for the Senior Division. Both students received Honorable Mention in the Denver Diocese contest which was held in Boulder, Co. The finals take place June 10-12 in Charlotte, NC. Next year’s Denver Diocese contest will be hosted by St. Demetrios in Fort Worth. The 2016 Southern Region Lenten Retreat was held Apr 15-17 at Sky Ranch in Van, Texas. Maria Tudora attended. Once again, Youth Ministries’ Luminaries Fundraiser has been a success. We had more than 60 names of loved ones who were honored around the walkway of the church for Good Friday and the Anastasi. Thanks to Khanh Moutafis for organizing and kudos to her cadre of student helpers, including Katie Moutafis and honorary St. John friends Brooklyn Nguyen and Nicole and Morgan Huette. Bravo to Athena Russo for coordinating our popular Easter Egg Hunt on Pascha. As always, the children had a blast. Many thanks too, to all the parishioners who donated candy and/or plastic eggs. The High School & College Graduation Luncheon was held May 15. This year we had10 high school grads: Katie Moutafis, Jack-
T HE F ORERUNNER son Wright, Christaki Zingas, Christopher File, Andreas Arapis, David Leimbacher, Ian Rehmet, Rosemary Espinoza and Jica Poletes. We also have one college grad, Mallory Chokas. Congrats to all of you on your next chapters! Many thanks to everyone who helped organize and staff the event: Gail Poriotis, Maria Kerbow, Tina and Mike Molhoek, Hope File The Philoptochos Scholarship was announced May 15 as well. The well-deserved winner was Katie Moutafis. Katie has been active at St. John’s since her OPA dancing days and continues to assist with the younger students at VBS. She also has been a stellar student at Keller High School where she was a member of the Keller Marching Band, as a flutist and, in her senior year, as a drum major. We wish Katie well as she continues her studies at Sam Houston State. Festival Dance practice. Gina announces that practice for the Hellenic and Olympian dancers will be held June 3 and July 5th. The dates align with GOYA’s monthly meetings. The Opa and Young Athenians will begin practice in August. See Gina at gpoulakos@live.com or 817-3953656. Church School Graduation/Endof-Year Picnic took place May 22. Thank you to Veronica Fischer who organized the event, including the water slide. Kudos, too, to Sandra Geil, for printing the endof-year awards certificates; to Leo & Theresa Alexander for purchasing the food items; to Chris Geil, Michael Poriotis and Michael Eftimie for handling the grilling duties; and to the kitchen crew: Gail Poriotis, Khanh, George and Katie Moutafis and everyone else who jumped in.. Harriet Blake, Youth Ministries Coordinator
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PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS Summer time is here. We will be taking a break from our monthly meetings, but I will continue to keep our members up to date on activities. Our Garage Sale has been postponed until August. I will send out the date as soon as we decide. Please keep donations with you until the middle of July, and then we will begin accepting donations again. I will make an announcement in church and the bulletin when we will begin accepting donations once again. We have several people with trucks that will be willing to help pick up larger items to bring to the church at that time. We will be continuing our Feeding the Hungry Project throughout the summer months. This June marks a year at our sandwich making. We
prepare 120 sack lunches for some of the hungry in Fort Worth. Union Gospel Mission is part of our community, and I am so glad that we began this project. Please join us if you have not yet had the opportunity, and we do look forward to continued involvement from those we see regularly. Every 1st Wednesday of each month, we meet in the hall at 7:00 p.m., following, Paraklesis. Many thanks to the GOYAns for helping out in June!
friend to the poor. Whether you have attended our church for a while now, or are new to the area, we would love to count you among us. Have a great Summer! Veronica Fisher President, St. Irene Philoptochos
I continue to extend an invitation to all of the ladies here at St. John the Baptist. The Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society is a longstanding organization for women of the Orthodox faith. Enjoy fellowship with our fabulous ladies and fulfill the mission in our name, to be a
C HURCH S CHOOL Wow! What a fabulous end of our Church School year! We had an amazing End of Year Awards program. 86 students received awards for various achievements, including attendance, participation, singing in the choir, and serving the altar. We thanked our amazing Church School Teachers for all of their hard work and dedication. Fun was had by all out on the lawn --- slipping, sliding and
splashing! Everybody ate hot dogs, hamburgers and side dishes and desserts brought by all of our parish members. Again, it was a fabulous ending to our Church School Year. Thank you to all of the families for sharing your student with us this year. It was fun to get to know everyone a little more, and hopefully our old friends and new faces will join us again next year.
Vacation Bible School will be June 7 – 10th. All Church School students are welcome. If you volunteer some of your time, Harriet Blake will greatly appreciate your help. Registration forms are available now.
having a number of our Goyans attending Camp Emmanuel, our metropolis' church summer camp during the weeks June 12 -18 (junior) and 19-25(senior). As always, if you have a child who is twelve years old or will be starting sixth grade and up this fall, they are welcome to join us during our monthly GOYA meeting the first Sunday of every month. With school ending and
Goyans graduating, now is a great time to join GOYA, we have many fun activities and social events that are fun for kids of all ages! If you have an questions about how to join or what GOYA is all about, feel free to ask any of our Goyans.
Have a terrific Summer! Veronica Fisher Church School Coordinator
GOYA NEWS Congratulations to all of the newly elected GOYA officers! President: Maria T, Vice President: Penelopi Y, Secretary: Alex G,Treasure: Zoe G This summer will be a busy time for GOYA. On Wednesday June 1st we will be making sandwiches for a women's shelter following paraklesis. Just a few days later on Sunday June 5th we will be having bake sale following liturgy. This summer we will be
Thank You, Alex Shah
T HIS J UNE WILL MARK A YEAR AT OUR SANDWICH MAKING FOR THE HOMLESS THROUGH U NION G OSPEL M ISSION
T HE F ORERUNNER
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T HE P OLYELEOS H YMN
Main Church at Vatopedy, Mt. Athos
T HE MEANING OF P OLYELEOS COMES FROM THE G REEK O RDS “P OLY ELEOS ” WHICH MEANS “ MUCH MERCY ”
The polyeleos is a hymn drawn from Psalms 134 and 135 (LXX) and Sung at the Allnight Vigil and certain festal Orthros services. It is a particularly festive moment in these services when the holy Doors at the center of the iconostasis are opened to reveal the altar, the clergy emerge and cense the entire church, and the Gospel for Orthros is recited. The meanings of polyeleos include the vocality and aurality of psalmody, the structure and form of particular services (it can refer to an entire portion of the All-Night Vigil or Orthros service), the qualities
and hierarchies of ritual temporality (it can refer to the rank of Orthodox feasts marked by its performance), and the multisensory festivity of liturgical tradition (“poly elaion” means “much oil” in Greek and polyeleos can refer to a large chandelier hanging from the central dome of the nave that, when lit on special feasts in monastic practice, requires “much oil” as it is swung with a long rod during the singing).
comes from the distinctive shape, rythm, and substance of its text. “Poly eleos” in Greek means “much mercy” , and that part of the text from Psalm 135 (LXX) is continually punctuated by the refrain ”For His mercy endures forever. Hallelujah”. Outside of monasteries, where its performance can last upwards to one hour, it is usually abbreviated significantly.
Perhaps the most commonplace meaning of polyeleos
By Jeffers Engelhardt
Excerpt from: Singing the Right Way: Orthodox Christians and Secular Enchantment in Estonia
Q UOTES ON C HURCH M USIC Sometimes singing in moderation successfully relieves the temper. But sometimes, if untimely and immoderate, it lends itslef to the lure of pleasure. Let us then appoint definite times for this, and so make good use of it. — St. John of the Ladder (8:17) We should offer up doxologies to God with fear and a contrite heart, in order that they may be accepted like fragrant incense. — St. John Chrysostom When chanters chant with the tongue and also with the mind, they greatly benefit not only themselves but also those who want to hear them. To recite the psalms with melody is not done from a desire for pleasing
sound, but it is a manifestation of harmony among the thoughts of the soul. And melodious reading is a sign of the well-ordered and tranquil condition of the mind. — St. Athansius the Great (PG XXVII, 40) A religious hymn is a great blessing for everyone. It constitutes praise to the Most High, honor for His holy people, worldwide harmony, an eloquent proof of the Church's unity. It expresses the voice of the Church, its confession. It brings about a complete spiritual uplifting and absolute peace and joy in redeemed hearts, with the triumphal hymn and song of happiness. It drives away
hardness of heart. It chases away disturbance. It dissolves and dissipates despondency... The voice sings the soul's joy, while the spirit delves into the mysteries of the faith. — St. Ambrose of Milan (Enarr. In Psalmum 1,9. P.L. 14,968) We must think of what we sing rather than allow our mind, seized by extraneous thoughts as is often the case, to lose the fruit of our labor. One must sing with a manner and melody befitting holy religion; it must not proclaim theatrical distress but rather exhibit Christian simplicity in its very musical movement; it must not remind one of anything theatrical, but rather create compunction in the listeners. — St. Niceta of Remesiana (De utilatate hymnorum 13, Sermo 256:3 PL 38.1193)
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C HILD V ERSUS G ORILLA (C ONT .) (Continued from page 3)
condemned Him for their own selfish purposes. A man dies in both scenarios that, through God’s providence, end up being one and the same, but the consequences of the two choices are diametrically opposed. One leads to life and liberation the other one into suffering. The blood of Christ is for the salvation of those who follow Him and the same blood denounces those who deny Him voluntarily.
reconcile himself to God and become a citizen of the Kingdom, through Christ. A salvation that is not a pinpointed event in time, but a process that passes through our death and continues into eternity. Only God knows how long this will take and is different for every person. All we know is that He said: “Thou shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13). He is the Master of life, he gives it and He takes it in His great love and care for His Creation, all we need to do is preserve and nourish human life to be fulfilled in the Kingdom. The life in the Kingdom is the real life
Church that denies that, but as much as I don't like animals being killed and their habitats destroyed, we cannot forget that we have a duty to learn first to respect human life, to stop living in a culture of death, to stop fighting amongst ourselves for things that will pass and start living a true life in Christ. As long as we tolerate abortion and euthanasia, as long as we are directed by greed, hatred and fratricide, we have not understood yet the purpose of any type of life, human or not.
On the cross, Christ died with Christ did not die because the His arms spread out embracing Jews have condemned Him, the entire Creation, bringing all I personally respect animal lives although He knew they of us together. On our way to and I sincerely decry the death of would; Christ did not die salvation, as humans, we should because He could not take on Harambe, the gorilla, as a tragic not forget to embrace it as well, life anymore, because He was accident, but I also believe that we to live in peace with ourselves should educate ourselves more on and all Creation, to use, and not disabled or old or bored or any other reason we hear pop- the difference between the purabuse, what has been given to us pose of humanity and the purpose as a gift. ularized today in the propagandistic media, Christ died as of the rest of creation from the the final hero of all times, one perspective of eternal life and not Humanity is not a disease that last death to spare from death with the limitation of out templagues creation, sin is the real an entire mankind. Christ, the poral human perspective. By pre- disease and Christ is the only cure serving and nurturing human life, available. Only a humanity that new Adam died, and through by living lives that are focused on has eradicated sin and joins itself His death no one else has to the Kingdom, we are actually die anymore. Our lives have with Him will be able to properly helping the entire creation to be now a new meaning that is celebrate life into the eternity of redeemed, to regain its former found in the death and resurthe Kingdom. A humanity that glory, to reach its potential in rection of that One Man. “We will not choose someone to sacriGod, not for a few hundred year, fice for it but one that, at the therefore were buried with Him not even thousands, but unto the through baptism into death, in level of each person, will choose ages. order that, just as Christ was to sacrifice for one another, to raised from the dead through the care for one another more than We value human life because in glory of the Father, we too may for one's self, just as Christ did walk in newness of life.” (Romans man rests the key of the redemp- for us tion of the entire fallen world. 6:9) Animal lives are important and they should be respected as well, Every human lives now in order to pursue the chance to and there is no teacher of the
Christ judged in the Temple
H UMANITY
IS NOT A DISEASE THAT PLAGUES CREATION , SIN IS THE REAL DISEASE AND C HRIST IS THE ONLY CURE AVAILABLE .
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A PRAYER F OR L ENT Lord and Master of my life, from the spirit of laziness, meddling, the lust for power, or gossip, deliver me (Prostration) Rather, the spirit of self control and humility, the spirit of patience and love, bestow upon me Your servant (Prostration) Yes, Lord and King, grant that I may see my own faults and not judge my brother; for You are blessed to the ages of ages. Amen. (Prostration)
O UR NEXT C ATECHISM CLASSES WILL START IN S EPTEMBER . I N THE MEANTIME DON ’ T FORGET OUR P ARISH L IBRARY IS OPEN .
The prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is read at the end of all prayer service during Lent and is always accompanied by prostrations.
U SHER S CHEDULE 1st Sunday: Cecilia Junell 2nd Sunday: Michael Eftimie / Michael Poriotis 3rd Sunday: Jeremy Ellis / Mike Strong 4th Sunday: Angela Cline / Connie Rafailides 5th Sunday: Larry Leeders / Michael Poriotis
C OFFEE H OUR D UTIES SETUP Arrange pastries/food in a desirable manner on the appropriate tables in the parish hall. You are responsible for making the coffee. Make two pots: one regular, one decaf. Plug in be-
PARISH W EBSITE AND S OCIAL MEDIA
Please join us at http:// stjohndfw.info for the latest news and information about your parish. We are also present on Facebook https:// www.facebook.com/ stjohndfw/ and Tweeter https://twitter.com/stjohndfw. If you like something share it on your favorite social media, send it to your friends and family, get the word out!
C ATECHISM 2015-2016 COMING TO AN E ND !
Our Catechism / faith enrichment classes came to an end in April. Our next Catechism classes will start in September. In the meantime don’t forget our Parish Library is open. Also check-out our New Bookstore in the hall
A COLYTE S CHEDULE 1st Sunday: Alex Genovezos, Caleb Ellis, Luca Tudora, Matei Tudora 2nd Sunday: Dimitri Rodgers, Alex Shah, Chris Eftimie, Joseph Berca, Noah Ellis 3rd Sunday: Alex Genovezos, Caleb Ellis, Luca Tudora, Matei Tudora 4th Sunday: Noah Ellis, Alex Shah, Chris Eftimie, Dimitri Rodgers 5th Sunday: Matei Tudora, Alex Genovezos, Alex Shah, Luca Tudora fore going into church. The instructions are in the kitchen. Prepare a tray with sugar, creamer, sugar substitute, mixing straws, a few spoons. Set with trash bucket. Put donation basket out with appropriate sign.
C OFFEE H OUR H OST
As you probably know already , we have recently switched to a new Coffee hour system where every family will host a coffee hour per year. Please see Connie Rafailedes or Michael Strong to schedule Your Sunday.
CLEAN UP Wash all dishes soiled, including coffee pots. Return sugar tray to kitchen and replenish it. Wash off hall tables and kitchen counters. Thank-You
St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church June 2016 SUN
MON
TUE
WED
THU
1
2
Justin the Martyr Pyrros the Hieromartyr
5
6
7
8
Nikephoros Pat. of Constantinople Erasmos of Ochrid
9
FRI
SAT
3
4
Martyrs
Metrophanes, Pat. Of
Lucillian & Paula
Constantinople
Athanasios
Mary & Martha
the Wonderworker
Vespers 5pm
10
11
HOLY Sunday of The
Hilarion
Blind Man
of Dalmatos
Dorotheos, Bishop of Tyre
Monastery
Nicandrus, Gorgias and Apollon
Attalos
Theodotos,
Bartholomew
ASCENSION
Bishop of Ankyra
Apodosis of Pascha
Epiphanios,
Alexander &
and Barnabas
Righteous
Relics-
Bishop of Cyprus
Antonina,
Revelation of
Panagis Basias
Theodore-Commander
Germanos,
Martyrs
the Axion Estin
Kalliope the Martyr
Patriarch of
Timothy,
Vigil 6pm
Constantinople
Bishop Of Proussa
Vespers 5pm
17
18
The Wonderworker
8:30 am Orthos
Divine Liturgy 6am
9:30 am Divine Liturgy (Byzantine Chant)
12
13
14
15
16
Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council
Saturday of Souls Amos the Prophet
Patrikios,
Isaurus,
Righteous Jerome
Bishop of Proussa Memmon
Companions of Athens
the Wonderworker
Manuel, Sabel,
Pachomios the Great Martyr
Akylina The
Elisha
Achillios, Bishop of Larissa
Martyr of Syria
The Prophet
8:30 am Orthros
Eulogios, Pat. Of
Methodios, Pat. Of
Augustine,
Antioch
Constantinople
Bishop of Hippo
9:30 am Divine Liturgy
19
20
21
22
Leontios, Hypatios, & Theodoulos the Martyrs of Syria
Vespers 5pm
& Ishmael
23
24
25
HOLY PENTECOST Nativity
Father’s Day
Jude the Apostle
Methodios,
Julian
Eusebius,
Carpos & Alphaeus
Martyr Zosima
Bishop of Olympus
The Martyr of Tarsus
Bishop of Samosata
Of the 70
8:30 am Orthros
Kallistos I, Pat. Of Constan.
Terentios,
Zenon & his
Alexandros
Bishop of Iconium
servant Zenas
of Thessaloniki
9:30 am Divine Liturgy
Vigil 6pm
Father’s day Memorial and Artoklasia
26
of John
Prokopios
the Baptist
the New Martyr
Elizabeth, Mother of Forerunner
Vespers 5pm
Divine Liturgy 6am
27
28
29
30
All Saints David of Thessalonika
Synaxis of the
Strict Fast
Icon of
Apostles Fast
Relics of
Holy Apostles
Michael,
Theotokos of Tikhvim
Begins
Cyrus and John
Peter and Paul,
8:30 am Orthros
Sampson
Pappias the Martyr
The Holy Apostles
New Martyr of Athens
9:30 am Divine Liturgy
The Innkeeper
Parish Council meeting
Joanna the Myrrhbearer
Veigil 6pm
Divine Liturgy 6am
Synaxis of the Holy Apostles
Wine / Oil allowed Fast Free Fish Allowed
S T . J OHN
THE
NONPROFIT
B APTIST
G REEK O RTHODOX C HURCH
303 Cullum Dr. Euless, TX 76040 Tel 817 283-2291 Return Service Requested
Sponsorship for This Month’s Forerunner
W E ’ R E O N T H E W E B AT HTTP:/ / STJOHNDFW. INFO
May-June 2016
THE FORERUNNER
Vol. XXXIII No. 5-6
Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, June 29 , 2016