Newsletter of St. John’s Greek Orthodox Church
1000 Spruce, Pueblo, CO 81004 PO Box 3011, Pueblo, CO 81005
May God keep everyone well in order to continue to keep St. John the Baptist Church
alive and vibrant for future generations to embrace and enjoy.
alive and vibrant for future generations to embrace and enjoy.
Schedule for December 2021
All Sundays: 8:20 Orthros, 9:30 Divine Liturgy
4th – Saturday - Great Vespers 5:00 p.m. on Zoom
5th – 10th Sunday of Luke
Galatians 5:22-26; 6:1-2
Luke 13:10-17
6th – Monday - St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
8:30 Orthros, 9:30 Divine Liturgy
Hebrews 13:17-21
Luke 6: 17-23
9th – Thursday – Fr. Stephen will be speaking at Saint Catherine’s in Greenwood Village from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend.
11th – Saturday Great Vespers 5:00 p.m. on Zoom
12th – 11th Sunday of Luke
Colossians 3:4-11
Luke 14:16-24
18th – Saturday Great Vespers 5:00 p.m. on Zoom
19th – Sunday Before Nativity
Hebrews 11:9-10, 32-40
Matthew 1:1-25
Services for Holy Nativity will be announced.
25th – A MOST BLESSED HOLY NATIVITY!!
26th – Sunday After Nativity
Galatians 1:11-19
Matthew 2:13-23
27th – Monday - Saint Stephen the First Martyr
8:30 Orthros, 9:30 Divine Liturgy
Acts 6:8-15; 7:1-5; 47-60
Matthew 21:33-41
Tentative Schedule for January 2022
**Sundays 8:20 Orthros, 9:30 Divine Liturgy
1st – Saturday - Great Vespers 5:00 p.m. on Zoom
2nd – Sunday Before Theophany
2 Timothy 4:5-8
Mark 1:1-8
Services for Holy Theophany will be announced
7th – Friday – Synaxis of St. John the Baptist (Our Feast Day)
8:30 Orthros, 9:30 Divine Liturgy
Acts 19:1-8
John 1:29-34
9th- Sunday After Holy Theophany
(We will have our Feast Day Luncheon after services)
Ephesians 4:7-13
Matthew 4:12-17
Prosforo
Dec. 5 – Penny Dec. 19 – Fran Jan. 2 - Penny
Dec. 6 – Ashley Dec. 26 - Kathy Jan. 7 - Ashley
Dec. 12 – Chad Dec. 27 – Lynnette Jan. 9 - Chad
4th – Saturday - Great Vespers 5:00 p.m. on Zoom
5th – 10th Sunday of Luke
Galatians 5:22-26; 6:1-2
Luke 13:10-17
6th – Monday - St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
8:30 Orthros, 9:30 Divine Liturgy
Hebrews 13:17-21
Luke 6: 17-23
9th – Thursday – Fr. Stephen will be speaking at Saint Catherine’s in Greenwood Village from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend.
11th – Saturday Great Vespers 5:00 p.m. on Zoom
12th – 11th Sunday of Luke
Colossians 3:4-11
Luke 14:16-24
18th – Saturday Great Vespers 5:00 p.m. on Zoom
19th – Sunday Before Nativity
Hebrews 11:9-10, 32-40
Matthew 1:1-25
Services for Holy Nativity will be announced.
25th – A MOST BLESSED HOLY NATIVITY!!
26th – Sunday After Nativity
Galatians 1:11-19
Matthew 2:13-23
27th – Monday - Saint Stephen the First Martyr
8:30 Orthros, 9:30 Divine Liturgy
Acts 6:8-15; 7:1-5; 47-60
Matthew 21:33-41
Tentative Schedule for January 2022
**Sundays 8:20 Orthros, 9:30 Divine Liturgy
1st – Saturday - Great Vespers 5:00 p.m. on Zoom
2nd – Sunday Before Theophany
2 Timothy 4:5-8
Mark 1:1-8
Services for Holy Theophany will be announced
7th – Friday – Synaxis of St. John the Baptist (Our Feast Day)
8:30 Orthros, 9:30 Divine Liturgy
Acts 19:1-8
John 1:29-34
9th- Sunday After Holy Theophany
(We will have our Feast Day Luncheon after services)
Ephesians 4:7-13
Matthew 4:12-17
Prosforo
Dec. 5 – Penny Dec. 19 – Fran Jan. 2 - Penny
Dec. 6 – Ashley Dec. 26 - Kathy Jan. 7 - Ashley
Dec. 12 – Chad Dec. 27 – Lynnette Jan. 9 - Chad
Congratulations!!!
Congratulations to each and every one of you who donated your time, talent, and money for this year’s Greek Night! It was a huge success for us. Due to all the sponsorships and the matching gifts for those sponsorships, we realized just under $15,000 ($14,800)!!
Our “last minute dancer” was a bit unexpected and disappointing, but hopefully people in attendance understood that our favorite dancers from Denver could not attend. They will be back next year!! They truly enjoy coming to Pueblo and entertaining us and were very disappointed that they could not come. Thank you to all who attended, to those who helped with set up and take down, and to those who made the small trays of baklava for the evening. All of our hard work paid off. We have a very generous community, both in St. John’s and in Pueblo.
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St. John’s Dinner
Our annual St. John’s dinner will be held after church on January 9th. We heard that Donna Hart will be catering for us again so – Good Food! The price is $20 for an adult and $10 for under 12 years. The sign-up sheet will be on the counter.
Our “last minute dancer” was a bit unexpected and disappointing, but hopefully people in attendance understood that our favorite dancers from Denver could not attend. They will be back next year!! They truly enjoy coming to Pueblo and entertaining us and were very disappointed that they could not come. Thank you to all who attended, to those who helped with set up and take down, and to those who made the small trays of baklava for the evening. All of our hard work paid off. We have a very generous community, both in St. John’s and in Pueblo.
____________________________________
St. John’s Dinner
Our annual St. John’s dinner will be held after church on January 9th. We heard that Donna Hart will be catering for us again so – Good Food! The price is $20 for an adult and $10 for under 12 years. The sign-up sheet will be on the counter.
2022 Financial Information
2022 Financial Information
On the next page is a letter from Fr. Lou giving us the financial information we need for next year. Our yearly assessment has grown from $2700 in 2019 to $5520 for2022. That money is used to support the Archdiocese in New York with part of it coming back to support our Denver Diocese and Metropolitan Isaiah’s work. The second amount - $1080 – goes to the priest’s Benefits Fund. All parishes are required to contribute to this retirement fund even if their local priest does not participate. That is the situation for St. John’s.
On the next page is a letter from Fr. Lou giving us the financial information we need for next year. Our yearly assessment has grown from $2700 in 2019 to $5520 for2022. That money is used to support the Archdiocese in New York with part of it coming back to support our Denver Diocese and Metropolitan Isaiah’s work. The second amount - $1080 – goes to the priest’s Benefits Fund. All parishes are required to contribute to this retirement fund even if their local priest does not participate. That is the situation for St. John’s.
The Image of the Patron of Orthodoxy in the Shrine of Saint Nicholas
By His Grace Bishop Joachim of Amissos, PhD
Bishop Joachim of Amissos is an internationally recognized expert in Byzantine Iconography and is the Director of the Archbishop Iakovos Library at Hellenic College/Holy Cross
Bishop Joachim of Amissos is an internationally recognized expert in Byzantine Iconography and is the Director of the Archbishop Iakovos Library at Hellenic College/Holy Cross
On 2 November, the Thirtieth Anniversary of His Enthronement on the See of the First Called Disciple Saint Andrew in Constantinople, which is the Feast of Saint Elpidophoros the Martyr, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided over the Thyranoixia service for the Shrine of Saint Nicholas at Ground Zero and the raising of the permanent Cross installed on the apex of the dome. This ceremony of initiation, led by the Spiritual Leader of world-wide Orthodoxy, marked a significant and sacred moment of entry into the Shrine in preparation for its future, full liturgical use and place of pilgrimage.
For a traditional Orthodox church building, the point of entry and initiation is the narthex. It is the liminal, or transitional zone, where one steps from the outside world in order to prepare and reflect, before entering into the nave. Traditionally, a narthex contained special iconographic programs that reflected the church’s particular saintly, patronal dedication, or the donor’s interests or role, or various, non-Eucharistic liturgical rites or ceremonies that occurred in such spaces.
Given the special presence and presiding role of His All-Holiness in the Thyranoixia service, it is most appropriate that this historic event be memorialized visually and be incorporated within the iconographic program of the Shrine in keeping with the long-standing pictorial repertoire of the Byzantine/Orthodox Church. Thus, one of the images to be found in the narthex of the Shrine is that of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presenting a model of the Shrine to Saint Nicholas.
For a traditional Orthodox church building, the point of entry and initiation is the narthex. It is the liminal, or transitional zone, where one steps from the outside world in order to prepare and reflect, before entering into the nave. Traditionally, a narthex contained special iconographic programs that reflected the church’s particular saintly, patronal dedication, or the donor’s interests or role, or various, non-Eucharistic liturgical rites or ceremonies that occurred in such spaces.
Given the special presence and presiding role of His All-Holiness in the Thyranoixia service, it is most appropriate that this historic event be memorialized visually and be incorporated within the iconographic program of the Shrine in keeping with the long-standing pictorial repertoire of the Byzantine/Orthodox Church. Thus, one of the images to be found in the narthex of the Shrine is that of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presenting a model of the Shrine to Saint Nicholas.
