St. Peter News March 12, 2024

The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden
Sunday of Forgiveness (Cheese Fare)

Venerable Alexios the ‘Man of God;’ Patrick, bishop of Armagh and Enlightener of Ireland

The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden

The Sunday of Forgiveness, the last of the preparatory Sundays before Great Lent, has two themes: it commemorates Adam’s expulsion from Paradise, and it accentuates our need for forgiveness. There are obvious reasons why these two things should be brought to our attention as we stand on the threshold of Great Lent.

One of the primary images in the Triodion is that of the return to Paradise. Lent is a time when we weep with Adam and Eve before the closed gate of Eden, repenting with them for the sins that have deprived us of our free communion with God. But Lent is also a time when we are preparing to celebrate the saving event of Christ’s death and rising, which has reopened Paradise to us once more (Luke 23:43). So sorrow for our exile in sin is tempered by hope of our re-entry into Paradise.

The second theme, that of forgiveness, is emphasized in the Gospel reading for this Sunday (Matthew 6:14-21) and in the special ceremony of mutual forgiveness at the end of the Vespers on Sunday evening. Before we enter the Lenten fast, we are reminded that there can be no true fast, no genuine repentance, no reconciliation with God, unless we are at the same time reconciled with one another.

A fast without mutual love is the fast of demons. We do not travel the road of Lent as isolated individuals but as members of a family. Our asceticism and fasting should not separate us from others, but should link us to them with ever-stronger bonds.

Read more on the Greek Orthodox website.

Forgiveness Vespers follows Social Hour This Sunday

Following the Social Hall, we will hold Forgiveness Vespers, a short service followed by the asking of forgiveness of each other to prepare us for Lent. All parishioners are encouraged to attend.

Services and Events This Week

Sun Mar 10 — THE LAST JUDGMENT DIVINE LITURGY Orthros 8:30am Liturgy 9:30am LIVE STREAM
Tue Mar 12 — PARAKLESIS TO THE THEOTOKOS 8:00am LIVE STREAM
Wed Mar 13 — EARLY DIVINE LITURGY 6:00am LIVE STREAM
Thu-Sat Mar 14-16 — Fr. Hans Out of Town

Luncheon in Honor of Theo Palis for his 99th Birthday this Sunday

Join us this Sunday for a celebratory luncheon honoring Theo Palis for his 99th birthday. The luncheon is sponsored by his family and all are invited.

Many Years to Theo and thank you for his service to the Church in Southwest Florida.

Presanctified Lenten Suppers

Every Wednesday after Presanctified Liturgy on the Wednesdays during Lent, we gather for fellowship over a simple Lenten supper.

Journey to Pascha

Click to enlarge and print

Orthodoxy 101 Class Continues

The classes will run every Sunday following Social Hour except for Forgiveness Sunday (March 17). Schedule and syllabus will be handed out at the first class.

We will use Fr. Spyridon Bailey’s “Small Steps into the Kingdom” available from Amazon here.

All catechums are required to attend but the class is open to everyone.

Web Site Fixed — But Please Be Patient Because…

…It still needs some fine tuning. Websites are fickle beasts but we are almost there. The good news is that the calendar is back. One or two weeks and it will be where we want it to be.

2023 Donation Statements Sent Out

This week you should receive your 2023 donation statement, If you do not receive your donation statement by Saturday, please contact Greg Semetis (917) 992-5884 or Ron Franklin (618)-530-5059.
Thank you for your continued support of St. Peter’s.

Bible Bowl Invitation!

All teens are invited to join our Catechism team and study the book of Romans. Actually adults are invited too as we can have an adult team as well.
St. Peter’s teens won 2nd place last year at the Parish Life Conference for the Diocese of Miami and the Southeast.

The competition this year will be held in Georgia, near Atlanta over the weekend of June 13-15. All questions for the competition will be from the book of Romans.

If you are interested in studying Romans, whether you want to travel to the conference in Georgia or just study with the team, please contact Diana Najjar at 317-213-5785 or msdiananajjar@gmail.com. Currently we are studying by zoom, but we plan to meet together when the opportunity arises. Diana is flexible to work with teens at a time that fits their schedule.

Landscape Beautification Started!

The sickly palm trees have been removed, oak trees have been planted along the property line facing Hickory Road, parking lot islands have new plantings, new palm group next to the church, and climbing flowers along the fence are some of the improvements. Next up is the clearing of the woods in the back parking area.

Sign up the the Monthly DOMSE Newsletter on the DOMSE (Diocese of Miami and the Southeast) Website!

Visit the DOMSE Website (scroll to the bottom, fill in the form on the left side) to sign up for "The Light" Newsletter and DOMSE emails.

DOMSE Parish Life Retreat in Hiram Georgia

More information at DOMSE website.

ST. PETER'S GREETERS

MARCH 2024

Mar 03 — George Tsikatis – Buck Hatcher
Mar 10 — George Tsikatis – Joe Repya
Mar 17 — George Tsikatis – Alex and Elanie Hildreth
Mar 24 — George Tsikatis – Will Schwarz
Mar 31 — George Tsikatis – Joe Repya

APRIL 2024

Apr 07 — George Tsikatis – Candice Rosen – Joe Repya
Apr 14 — George Tsikatis – Pavlo Bilych – Moriah Peterson
Apr 21 — George Tsikatis – Candice Rosen
Apr 28 — George Tsikatis – Will Schwarz

Can you volunteer? Please call Joe Repya 612-270-4443.

SOCIAL HALL ALL STARS

MARCH 2024

TEAM #3 – (Need to appoint a new Team Leader) for March 2024
Mar 03 – Coffee, Bagels and Mixed Fruit*
Mar 10 – Coffee, Donuts and Mixed Fruit*
Mar 17 – Catered Lunch for Theo’s 99th Birthday
Mar 24 – Coffee, Cookies and Mixed Fruit*
Mar 31 – Coffee, Coffee Cake and Mixed Fruit*

APRIL 2024

TEAM #1 – Barbara Dionysopoulas Group for April 2024
April 07 – Coffee, Bagels and Mixed Fruit*
April 14 – Coffee, Donuts and Mixed Fruit*
April 21 – Coffee, Cookies and Mixed Fruit*
April 28 – Coffee, Coffee Cake and Mixed Fruit*

MAY 2024

TEAM #2 Margie Zimmerman Group for May 2024
May 05 – Coffee, Bagels and Mixed Fruit*
May 12 – Coffee, Donuts and Mixed Fruit*
May 19 – Coffee, Cookies and Mixed Fruit*
May 26 – Coffee, Coffee Cake and Mixed Fruit*

For Special Events/Koliva please contact BARBARA SASEN and give her a completed Special Events Form which is found in the lobby of the church.

The Social Hall All Stars are the men and women that make St. Peter's Social Hall happen. Thank you All Stars!

MARCH

Sun Mar 10 — THE LAST JUDGMENT DIVINE LITURGY Orthros 8:30am Liturgy 9:30am LIVE STREAM
Tue Mar 12 — PARAKLESIS TO THE THEOTOKOS 8:00am LIVE STREAM
Wed Mar 13 — EARLY DIVINE LITURGY 6:00am LIVE STREAM
Thu-Sat Mar 14-16 — Fr. Hans Out of Town

SUN Mar 17 — SUNDAY OF FORGIVENESS Orthros 8:30am, Divine Liturgy 9:30am LIVE STREAM
SUN Mar 17 — Forgiveness Vespers 12:30pm LIVE STREAM

Mon Mar 18 — LENT BEGINS / CLEAN MONDAY
Mon Mar 18 — Great Compline with Canon of St. Andrew 6:30pm LIVE STREAM
Tue Mar 19 — Great Compline with Canon of St. Andrew 6:30pm LIVE STREAM
Wed Mar 20 — Presanctified Liturgy 6:30pm LIVE STREAM
Thu Mar 21 — Great Compline with Canon of St. Andrew 6:30pm LIVE STREAM
Fri Mar 22 — Salutations First Stanza 6:30pm 6:30pm LIVE STREAM
Fri Mar 22 — Men of St. Paisios 7:30pm Social Hall
Sat Mar 23 — Saturday of the Souls Divine Liturgy 9:00am LIVE STREAM
Sat Mar 23 — Parish Council Meeting 11:00am
Sat Mar 23 — Great Vespers 5:30pm LIVE STREAM

The fundamental things which arouse and draw one towards sin are: arbitrariness of mind (or curiosity) in the mental faculty, self-will in the faculty of will, and pleasures in the faculty of feeling. St. Theophan the Recluse, bishop of Tambov

Everything that brings disgrace upon us, whether prompted by man or demons, occurs through God’s just judgment in order to humble the overwhelming vanity of our soul. Nikitas Stithatos

He who accepts present afflictions in the expectation of future blessings has found knowledge of the truth; and he will easily be freed from anger and remorse. Saint Kosmas Aitolos

My neighbour is a being with equal rights as myself, a man, like me also made after the image of God; and as he is the same as I am I must love him as I love myself, Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt

Guard your heart against all that you will see in the world. Whatever you touch with your hand, do not allow to touch your heart. Whatever you eat with your mouth, let not your heart take delight in it. When you use your feet to walk, let there be peace within you. And whatever you do outwardly, let not your mind be disturbed by it. St. John fellow ascetic of Venerable Symeon the fool for Christ

Names will remain on the list for three months.
If you would like to keep them on longer please mention it to Fr. Hans. We will keep the names on the list for as long as the person needs prayers.
Names will include the person who requested the prayers and the month the name will be removed.
The permanent list includes friends and members of St. Peter's and others including shut-ins.

Were names dropped that should have remained? Please mention it to Fr. Hans. He will add them back.

Current Prayer List

Rachel (Voss)
Ken John (Eaton)
Diane (Najar)
William (Semeretis)
David (Orfanos)
Maria (Orfanos)
William (Long)
George (Chionis 11-1)
Haley
Lydia
Mark (Chionis 11-1)
Katheryn (Chionis 11-1)
Jacob (Chionis 11-1)
Ken (Chionis 11-1)
Maxim (Koco)
George (Tsikistas 8/1)
George (Mourgis 8/1)
Barbara (Sason 8/1)
Anthony (Breitenbach 6/1)
Arielle (Ghanem 6/1)
Nicholas (Ghanem 6/1)
Christos
Father Demetris
Jamie
Pamela
David
Jessica
Christina (Hildreth)
Georgia and Richard and their unborn child (Chapekis)
Dionysios Chapekis)
Nancy (Forderhase)
Kayla (Palantine)
George (3/23 Chapekis)
Penelope (3/23 Chapekis)
Theodora (3/23)
Victor (3/23)
Les (3/23
Lynn (Hurely 1/23)
Irene and newborn baby (Tsikitas 1/23)
Linda (Pappas 1/23)
Ekaterina (Chapekis 1/23)
Lee (Hurley 1/23)
Emmanuel (Kalousdis 1/23)
Katherine (Dusckas 1/23)
Vassiliki (Diveris 1/23)
Zena Touma (Contorelli 1/23
Lamia Touma (Contorelli 1/23
Matthew (Contorelli 1/23
Emmanuel (Kaloudis 1/23)
Nicholas
Marlene (Tewis 12/22)
Tina (Johnson 12/22)
Nicholas (De Lorenzo 12/22)
Priest Anthony (Karbo 11/22)
Archpriest Dionysius (Valentine 9/12)
Anthony Presbyter (Kerr 10/22)
John Presbyter (Jacobse)
Elain Presbytera (Jacobse)
Constantine(Jacobse)
Chrysoula(Jacobse)
Angel (Ghanem 10/22)
Edgar (Chapekis 9/22)
Evthriki (Jacobse 9/22)
Christos (Johnson 8/22)
Jon Paul (Andrew 8/22)
William (Brubaker 8/22)
Peter (Tewis 8/22)
The People of Ukraine and People of Russia and all those who are suffering in the war

Permanent Prayer List

Bonnie Joseph
Michael (Sovjani)
Maria (Sovjani)
Maria (Sovjani)
Maria (Sovjani)
Katerina (Sovjani)
Frederick (Sovjani)
Arsen (Sovjani)
Irene (Diveris)
Katheryn (Tolkkinen)
Markisia (Long)
Angela (Long)
Marina (Long)
Eleni (Long)
Raphaella (Long)
Joanne (Haley)
Corwin (Dusckas)
Corgette (Troutman)
Irina (Irina)
Lidia (Irina)
Sarina (Ghanem)
Debbie (Breitenbach)
Kathy (Breitenbach)
Hope (Isadore)
s
John (Long)
Pantelis (Tsikita)
Marisa (Tsikita)
Barbara (Dionysopoulos)
Patricia (Evanoff)
Gabriel (Mankus)
Baby Dani (Repya)
Despina (Diversis)
Fredericos (Diveris)
Herman (Kerr)
Innocent (Kerr)
Nicholas (Kerr)
Paola (Jacobse)
Gregory (Yankopolos)
Pauline (Poulos)
Sergio (Kazakos)
Fran (Hansen)
Nina (Krotov)
Franklin (Pyrrson)
Demetrios (Kuchera)
Theodosios (Palis)
Theodora (Webb)
Robert (Smith)
Presbytera Rosy (in Pakistan)
James (Hord)
Vassiliki (Kontinos)
Vassiliki (Morekeas)
Vassilike (Hord)

Founders, Members, Benefactors and Friends Departed this Life

John (Hansen)
Anatoly (Kurdsjuk)
Thareni (Brooks)
Milan Evanoff
Jean (Sam)
Eleni (Pearson)
Richard (Pearson)
Fr. Stephanos (Shagoury)
Panagiota (Bea Chionis)
Anthony (Mourgis)
Anthony (Mankus)
Constantine (Houpis)
Constantine (Joseph)
Mary (Jarvis)
Panagiota Margarita (Palis)
Maria (Ninos)
Soterios (Ninos)
George (Ninos)
John (Katsigianopoulos)
George (Chionis)
Mary (Spiropoulos)
Gregory (Pappas)
Angela (Coran K
Eugene (Rust)
Robert (Jarvis)
George (Corey)
Patricia (Cotsones)
Seraphim (Zolio)
Apostolos

How should we pray for the sick? Remember them daily. Say their names (first names are sufficient) and ask God to bestow mercy and grace on them.

Add or remove names and print this list for easy reference during your prayer time on the St. Peter website.

EPISTLE

For Sunday of Forgiveness

Sing praises to our God, sing praises.
Sing praises to our King, sing praises.
O clap your hands, all ye nations.

The Reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans. (13:11-14:4)

Brethren, salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. B

ut put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables.

Let not him who eats despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains pass judgment on him who eats; for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand.

GOSPEL