Please join the Parish Council, Father Nick and myself as we welcome our new
church secretary, Kathy Broekstra. Kathy’s first day began on August 16th. We
are excited about Kathy’s positive energy, broad experience and enthusiasm for
the job.

We want to take this opportunity to share with the community what Kathy’s
responsibilities will be, so we can best support her in her new role. Her
beginning office hours will be Monday through Friday, 9am through 2pm.

1. Provide administrative support for Father Nick
2. Greet callers and visitors to the church
3. Manage inventory for kitchen, pangari, office and facility maintenance
4. Provide limited support to Parish Council members and volunteer organization
chair-people

5. Coordinate parish communication via newsletters and other media
6. Manage church calendar: Father Nick’s schedule, sacraments, facility rental,
etc.
7. Organize office and track documents and other important information
8. Provide phone support during large church events: Bake Sale, Taste Of Greece,
Festival, etc.

Please refer to the above list and ask Father Nick prior to approaching Kathy
for assistance. We want to ensure that we welcome her with support and clear
expectations and that we do not overwhelm her with simultaneous requests.
Father Nick can help provide direction on Kathy’s priorities.

Please take the time to welcome Kathy and introduce yourself.

In His Service,

George P Stamas
Parish Council President

Pan-Orthodox Summer Camp 2010

“Living In an Orthodox World”

Who

Campers, grades 1-12

What

2-Day Summer Camp

When

July 29^th and July 30^th

9:00 am – 3:00 pm

(Celebration on July 31^st at 5:00pm)

Where

St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Church

2250 East Paris Ave

Cost

A Smile and a Brown Bag Lunch

(Drink and snack provided)

Your children will enjoy two fun-filled days including sports, games, crafts, music, daily prayers and fellowship…

Just like going away to camp!

(Camp Counselors and Volunteers Needed!)

Update (new file format and contact information):

Pan-Orthodox Summer Camp 2010 Flyer:

2010campflyer-2 (PDF)

Summer Camp Registration Form:

registrationform2010 (PDF)

]]> http://www.holytrinitygoc.org/2010/pan-orthodox-summer-camp-2010/feed/ 0 http://www.holytrinitygoc.org/2010/a-prayer-for-families/ http://www.holytrinitygoc.org/2010/a-prayer-for-families/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:32:11 +0000 John http://www.holytrinitygoc.org/?p=567

O God, our heavenly Father, Who loves mankind and is merciful and compassionate, have mercy upon Your servants [names] for whom I humbly pray and who I commend to Your gracious care and protection. O Lord, be their guide and guardian in all their endeavors. Lead them in the path of Your truth, and draw them nearer to You, that they may lead godly and righteous lives in Your love and fear, doing Your will in all things. Give them grace that they may be temperate, industrious, diligent, devout, and charitable. Defend them against the assaults of the enemy, and grant them wisdom and strength to resist all temptations and corruption of this life. Direct them in the way of salvation, through the mercy of Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and the intercessions of His holy Mother and Your blessed saints. Amen.

Visit The Center for Family Care on the Web site of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America for Gospel lessons and prayer resources.

Photo: A Japanese Orthodox priest in Nagoya, Japan, baptizes a Romanian infant.

The word Gospel is used all the time in the media, by religious people, and even as a genre of music. But what is the Gospel?

The Gospel is the good news that:

I. Jesus is the Messiah.
II. Christ is risen!
III. We can be saved.

So what does this mean?

I. Jesus is the Messiah

It’s apparent to anyone who’s awake these days that there’s something wrong with the world. Of course, it’s not just the world that has something wrong with it, but as Alexander Solzhenitsyn once said, “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart, and through all human hearts.” Every human being has evil in his heart, whether he sees it or not, and this evil separates him from God, his Creator (Rom. 3:23; 1 Jn. 1:10). This is what sin is.

The word sin means “to miss the mark.” Sin is therefore not only separation from God but also the failure to live up to the full potential of what God created us to be, created beings filled with the uncreated energy of God Himself, in intimate communion with our Creator, united with Him in both body and soul (Eph. 4:13).

Jesus, Who is the eternal Son of God Who became a human being, just like any of us, is therefore our Messiah (“Christ,” “anointed one”) because He came to Earth to save us from the separation of sin and from the power of death. Because He is both God and man, He bridges within Himself the gap that formed because of sin. His coming was foretold in the ancient Hebrew scriptures (the Old Testament), and when He came about 2,000 years ago, history was forever changed.

II. Christ is risen!

The greatest moment in the history of the world was the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Leading up to that moment was His birth from the Virgin Mary by the will of God the Father and by the power of God the Holy Spirit (Lk. 1:35). He grew up as one of us, lived, gathered His disciples around Himself, healed the sick, and taught about the Kingdom of God.

The defining moments of Jesus’ life on Earth were His suffering and death on the cross, followed by His miraculous bodily resurrection from the dead. Although people had been raised from the dead before in the history of God’s work with mankind, Jesus was the first to raise Himself from the dead, showing that He is God (Jn. 2:19).

Because Jesus is fully God, He has the power not only to forgive sins and restore mankind to
sinlessness, but also to transform human persons to grow into the likeness of God Himself. And because Jesus is fully man, His deity filled His humanity and made possible the restoration and divinization (being filled up with and changed by God’s presence) of every aspect of what it means to be human.

To affirm that Christ is risen is to bear witness to and experience this reality, that sinful people
can be united to Christ and healed of our spiritual wounds, given freedom from the power of death and separation from God (Heb. 2:14).

III. We can be saved
.
Most of the time, when people talk about being “saved,” they only have in mind whether they will go to Heaven when they die. But salvation in Christ is much more. Because of Who Jesus Christ is, both God and man, He made possible the way for us to become like He is (Eph. 4:13; 1 Jn. 3:2). We can become by His grace what He Himself is by nature. That is, we can become human beings filled up with the divine presence. We who are made in God’s image can also take on His likeness, showing the presence of God to the whole world in our own presence.

This process requires participation in the life of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:18), repenting of sins (turning around and changing one’s life), being baptized into His death and resurrection (Col. 2:12), followed by being anointed with the gift of the Holy Spirit (chrismation/confirmation, Acts 2:38), and then partaking of His Body and Blood in the Eucharist (Jn. 6:53-56). This lifelong, sacramental, mystical experience of God Himself gradually changes flawed human beings into grace-filled, divinized sons and daughters of God.

The process of salvation involves a lifetime of struggle against our sinful tendencies, a serious dedication to put away the “old man” and to put on the “new” (2 Cor. 5:17). In doing so, sinners gradually transform into saints, the high calling of every man, woman and child on Earth.

So what about the Church?

When Jesus came to Earth, He founded a living community to be His Body of which He is the Head. This community, called the Church, began on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, soon spread throughout the Roman Empire, centered in the ancient cities of Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem and then later beyond the imperial borders.

Over time, as heresies (false teachings) arose, various groups broke off from that first community of Christians. That original community remains, however, passing on the faith and experience given by Christ to His Apostles from one generation to another, without adding or subtracting anything.

That original Christian community is the Orthodox Christian Church (sometimes called
“Eastern Orthodox” or “Greek Orthodox”). You are invited to come and see, to taste and experience the Gospel of Jesus Christ in your local Orthodox community. Come and spend a
month of Sundays with us and experience how the God-man Jesus Christ wants to transform
you.

Source: Fr. Andrew Damick in his “Roads from Emmaeus” podcast on Ancient Faith Radio.

Also see “The Fundamental Teachings of the Orthodox Church” and “Spirituality” on the Web site of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

Divine Liturgy begins at 10:00 a.m. on Sundays at Holy Trinity Grand Rapids.

Check out the Philoptochos, Ministries page for more details or here are some direct links:

2010 Philoptochos Spring Events

and

2010 Coffee Hour Guidelines

Friday, October 16th from 11am to 1:30pm in the AHEPA Room.

Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

For more info, call or email Vasiliki Christopoulos, 616-272-3133 or vchristop@yahoo.com

2009-2010 Altar Boy Schedule

If there are any changes or names missing please make sure that we know about them so that this schedule can get updated.

This Wednesday, 23 September 2009, we will begin the first social of the GOYA, JOY, and HOPE groups for the school year. The event will start at 6:00 and end at 8:00. A pizza dinner will be provided. Parents should plan on attending. This is a family event and will be so in the future too!

6:00 – 7:00: Dinner and homework help. Bring your homework!
7:00 – 8:00: Separate into the individual groups for a discussion or project.

As a reminder, HOPE is for kindergarten through 2nd grade, JOY is for 3rd through 6th grades, and GOYA is for 7th through 12th grades.

We will also discuss plans for the year and look forward to your questions and comments on how we can make each of these meetings a great opportunity for fellowship and learning.

We hope to see all of our you this Wednesday at 6:00! It should be a great time and a great start to the new school year.

Don’t forget to check out the Holy Trinity website at http://www.holytrinitygoc.org/

]]> http://www.holytrinitygoc.org/2009/goya-joy-and-hope-family-event-23-september-2009/feed/ 0 http://www.holytrinitygoc.org/2009/start-of-the-sunday-school-year-13-september-2009/ http://www.holytrinitygoc.org/2009/start-of-the-sunday-school-year-13-september-2009/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:24:09 +0000 skentzos http://www.holytrinitygoc.org/?p=391

As you might have read in the most recent bulletin, Sunday School will start this Sunday, 13 September 2009 with the Blessing of the Waters service at 9:30 in the church. We will begin our Sunday School program as one large group around 10:00am in the hall. You’ll get to meet the teachers and hear what is in store for the year.

We look forward to seeing everyone this Sunday!