{"id":5738,"date":"2017-02-07T02:13:42","date_gmt":"2017-02-07T07:13:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/?p=5738"},"modified":"2017-02-07T02:13:42","modified_gmt":"2017-02-07T07:13:42","slug":"st-peter-newsletter-february-7-2017-prodigal-son-akathist-hymn-in-cape-coral-orthodox-fellowship-started-meet-georgia-katsigianopoulos-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/st-peter-newsletter-february-7-2017-prodigal-son-akathist-hymn-in-cape-coral-orthodox-fellowship-started-meet-georgia-katsigianopoulos-more\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Peter Newsletter February 7, 2017 –Prodigal Son, Akathist Hymn in Cape Coral, Orthodox Fellowship Started, Meet Georgia Katsigianopoulos, more…"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Sunday of the Prodigal Son<\/h2>\n

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St. John of Kronstadt: All our attention must be centered on the parable of the Prodigal Son…<\/h4>\n
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All our attention must be centered on the parable of the Prodigal Son. We all see ourselves in it as in a mirror. In a few words the Lord, the knower of hearts, has shown in the person of one man how the deceptive sweetness of sin separates us from the truly sweet life according to God. <\/p>\n

God knows how the burden of sin on the soul and body, experienced by us, impels us by the action of divine grace to return, and how it actually does turn many again to God, to a virtuous life.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

St. John of Kronstadt, “Sermon on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son,” originally printed in Orthodox Life Vol. 39 No. 1, January-February 1989<\/em><\/p>\n

St. John Climacus: Let your prayer be completely simple…<\/h4>\n

Let your prayer be completely simple. For both the publican and the prodigal son were reconciled to God by a single phrase.<\/p>\n

St. John Climacus, Step 28.5, Ladder of Divine Ascent<\/em><\/p>\n

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Saturday of the Souls Liturgy – Saturday, February 18, 2017<\/h2>\n

Our Saturday of the Souls liturgy will be held on Saturday, February 18, 2017 starting at 9:30am.<\/p>\n

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Saturday of Souls is a day set aside for commemoration of the dead within the liturgical year of the Orthodox Church. Saturday is a traditional day for prayer for the dead, because Christ lay dead in the Tomb on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Bring kollyva (boiled wheat) if you can but even if you can’t bring the names of your deceased loved ones anyway. We will hold a memorial service for them after the Divine Liturgy.<\/p>\n

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Orthodox Christian Fellowship Started<\/h2>\n

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Attention college age and above Orthodox Christians in SW Florida. Members of St. Peter’s have started an Orthodox Christian Fellowship open to anyone who would like to join. They meet twice a month. Many plans are in the works including activities, occasional bible studies and more. This is a great way to get to know Orthodox Christians your own age!<\/p>\n

Events will be announced in the newsletter and on the website and the OCF phone text list. Questions? Want to join? Contact Jeremiah at 504-256-8768 (text him), Erika at 412-716-2899, or Julia at 239-450-2400.<\/p>\n

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Akathist Hymn in Cape Coral\/North Fort Myers<\/h2>\n

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St. Peter’s can offer the Friday Akathist Hymn of Great Lent in the Cape Coral\/North Fort Myers area if enough people are interested in attending. We need a committment of at least 5 to 10 people to make this worthwhile.<\/p>\n

If you are interested and can make the commitment, please contact Peter Wouralis at 239-851-7865.<\/p>\n

Fr. Hans Out of Town Thursday through Saturday<\/h2>\n

Fr. Hans will be out of town Thursday through Saturday, February 9-11, 2017 attending the SOPHIA conference in San Antonio, Texas. He will be available by cell phone. <\/p>\n

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Parish Portrait — Georgia Katsigianopoulos<\/h2>\n

This is the first in an ongoing series profiling members of St. Peter Orthodox Church.<\/em><\/p>\n

Everyone who is a part of St. Peter’s Orthodox Church knows Georgia K. who teaches the children in the Sunday school class. Step inside the classroom and you will see a colorful scene: artwork and icons adorn the walls; lessons explain the Liturgy to eager young people; and special treats await the students at the end of each session. The miracle occurring is that Georgia has students in one room, ranging from five years to twelve years old. How can one teach such a diverse group of children? Yes, she has cheerful and helpful assistants—Miss Mercedes and Miss Sophia—and she gives these two women lots of credit, but managing energetic chaos takes a special and imaginative person to accomplish this miracle. Georgia is that person.<\/p>\n

Georgia is a native New Yorker who grew up in Manhattan. She is proud of her Greek heritage and appreciates the courage and determination of grandparents who migrated from Greece. Imagine being uprooted from ancestral roots and making the fearful journey to the new world and an unfamiliar life in America. She loved her grandmother, a strong woman who bore three children and worked in a fur factory for most of her life. Georgia remembers hearing stories of her grandmother walking the picket line to form a union for protection of employees from unfair working conditions.<\/p>\n

Read Georgia’s entire portrait on the St. Peter website<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Calling All Women to a Retreat Saturday, March 4<\/h2>\n

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St. Paul’s has invited all Orthodox women in the area to “Spiritual Saturday Women’s Reteat” at St. Paul’s on Saturday March 4. Full schedule of the day’s events are posted on the website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark you calendar. More details will be provided this Sunday. Cost is $10 to cover lunch and snacks. Questions? Please see Angela Long or Anthea Teufel.<\/p>\n

This is a good opportunity to meet other Orthodox women in our area in a setting that also is good for the soul!<\/p>\n

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Stewardship Letters in the Mail<\/h2>\n

Responsibility towards God includes taking responsibility for His Church. We love God because He first loved us. He established the Church as His body, as the way we find Him and draw closer to Him. We are responsible for maintaining it so that the work of Christ can continue in the world. That’s how it works.<\/p>\n

You will be getting letter next week asking for your commitment to St. Peter’s. Prayerfully consider your support of St. Peter’s. The Church is not a charity. The Church is the Body of Christ. It needs to be high on our list.<\/p>\n

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Interfaith Charities Needs Peanut Butter, Jelly and Ramen Noodles<\/h2>\n

\"Help<\/p>\n

Interfaith Charities (IC), the local agency St. Peter’s partners with to help working poor families, needs peanut butter, jelly, and ramen noodles to help feed underprivileged kids. They do not need spaghetti.<\/p>\n

St. Peter’s helps IC at crunch time. Last time we supplied over 90lbs of peanut butter and jelly when the call came out.<\/p>\n

Please bring your donation to Church. We will be sure it gets to IC.<\/p>\n

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Choir Practice and Bible Study Continues on Wednesday, February 15, 2017<\/h2>\n

Choir practice at 6pm, Bible study at 7pm. Choir practice and bible study also held this week, February 8.<\/p>\n

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2017 NAMI Walk on Saturday, February 25, 2017<\/h2>\n

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Every Christmas St. Peter’s helps our local NAMI chapter by collecting food for their drop-in center. Every spring we extend our help by joining in the NAMI walk of Naples. <\/p>\n

From the NAMI website:<\/p>\n

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NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of Collier County membership is comprised of people with serious and persistent mental illnesses, as well as their parents, children, spouses, siblings and friends. Our mission is to improve the quality of life of the 1 in 4 families affected by serious and persistent mental illness, through education, support and advocacy. We believe that persons with severe and persistent mental illness can recover and lead productive and meaningful lives within their community of choice.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Why help? Because God calls us to help those who need help. This is part of our mission at St. Peter’s.<\/p>\n

Mary Copeland will handle the sign-up and donations and speak more about the walk following Liturgy on Sundays. For questions please call Mary at 239-498-1331.<\/p>\n

View the NAMI Walk poster on the website<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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Calendar At A Glance<\/h2>\n

Choir Practice every Tuesday at 6:00pm and Bible Study every Wednesday at 7:00pm unless cancelled as noted below. Divine Liturgy every Sunday at 9:30. Extra services noted below.<\/p>\n