November 2013 ¨1645 Phillips Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32308 ¨ (850) 878-0747 ¨ Rev. Fr. Robert J. O’Loughlin¨ http://www.hmog.org

Being Thankful With Christian Stewardship ~ A Message from Fr. Robert

Christian stewardship is all about what God has giv-

en us. God has given us all that we have our health, family, our opportunities in life, and our success.

God has given each of us special and unique gifts and He reminds us that one day He will ask us to give a detailed accounting of what we have done with

the gifts He has given us in our time, talents, and our treasure. We are to use these gifts gratefully and gen-erously for the glory of God. In our stewardship of

time, we all probably need to find time to pray more than what we actually do and also become more com-

passionate, kinder, more forgiving and loving. In our stewardship of talents, we all are to find ways we can use the gifts God has given us to touch the lives of people and make this world a better place. And in our stewardship of treasure, we are to see how we can

proportionately give back to God from what He has given us.

One of Jesus’s teachings included the Parable of the Talents, where a king gives three servants different amounts of talents, yet each servant was held accountable for what they did with what they had. Jesus asks each one of us the same question, “What are we doing

with His riches and how are we using the gifts He gave us to help others. A commitment to proper Christian Stewardship is an act of evaluating and deciding what we are going to do with the blessings God has given us! The financial aspect of Holy Mother of God still tells us that we are a “Festival with a Church” because of its reliance on the proceeds from

this wonderful event to pay its operating expenses. Our goal remains that we utilize these

proceeds for other plans within our Church community and leads us to where we are a “Church with a Festival”.

The importance of stewardship begins with the importance of the impact to children from an early age.

The preparation for growing young people who are actively involved in Church in their adulthood is to raise them in a family where the family are regular church-goers, all year. We always want the best for our kids and this is the best place that you can assist them in

having a solid foundation in God and His Church. As we have heard “To whom much is given, much will be required.” May we each commit to give in such a manner that one

day, we will hear our Lord say to us, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!” May He continue to bless us all and enlighten us as we declare our commitment to Him in our act of stewardship.

~~ Fr. Robert

Page 2

Our next ECHO Sundays are November 3rd

and December 1st. Please drop off your non-

perishable food donations into the bins located in

the Hellenic Center and Patmos Hall.

If an emergency or special need should arise, please contact

Fr. Rob immediately at 850-559-8184.

Next Spaghetti Dinners:

November 1st

December 6th

January 10th

Dear Parishioners,

October was another very good month for our church. By the Grace of God and the support from the Tallahassee Community together with the determination of our skillful leadership team as well as the hard work by a handful of talented church members and many dedicated volun-teers, we had another successful Greek Food Festival again this year.

The festival was successful on many aspects. Volunteers of all ages and various back-grounds worked side by side and all had a real good time. Virtually all parish members and many of our friends volunteered for this wonderful event. Despite the fact that we were competing with many other public events in the area, ours did very well with regard to crowds that we drew and the money collected. Our sincere congratulations and many thanks from the bottom of our hearts to the Festival Co-chairs, the Coordinators, all Booth Chairs, the volunteers, our amazing young dancers and all others who contributed to our success. Thank you Fr. Rob and Presbytera Joy for your valuable guidance from the beginning to the end and for sharing our church's beauty and

faith's teachings with our patrons.

On October 20, the 2014 Fall General Assembly of our parish was held. At this session, we approved the operating and capital budgets for 2014, nominated candidates for the four seats to

the Parish Council (that will be vacated at the end of the year) and selected the members to the Election and Audit Committees. Elections for the Parish Council will take place on December 8. In addition, it was approved for the Parish Council to distribute to charities $10,000 from proceeds of

the 2013 Greek Food Festival.

Beginning in November, the spaghetti dinners will be back on the first Friday of every month. Please, mark your calendar for this event and do not forget to vote on December 8.

Yours in Christ

Pete Koikos

Archangel Michael Feast and Honors November 9th, 2013

Congratulations to Jimmy Koikos and Krista O’Loughlin. They will be receiving the Archangel Michael Award from His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios in

Atlanta, Georgia.

Page 3

Pro

sfo

ro

Sch

edule

1

1/

03

–K

aty

Mat

hes

11

/1

7—

Ang

ie P

oulo

s

Cale

ndar

Sym

bol K

ey

+

= Stri

ct

Fast

= W

ine a

nd O

il

a

llow

ed

s

= F

ish

All

ow

ed

= D

air

y &

eggs

a

llow

ed

= F

ath

er

Aw

ay

SU

N

MO

N

TU

E

WE

D

TH

U

FR

I S

AT

1

S

pa

gh

ett

i D

inn

er

11

am—

7 p

m

2

Gre

at

Vesp

ers

5 p

m

3

Ort

hro

s 9

:30 a

.m. &

D

ivin

e L

itu

rgy

10:3

0 a

.m.

Ch

urc

h S

chool

Bake S

ale

4

5 C

hoir

Pra

cti

ce

6 p

m

6

+

Cate

ch

eti

cal

Cla

ss

(New

com

ers

/In

qu

irers

) 6 p

m

7

Ph

ilop

toch

os

Mtg

.

6 p

m

8

F

east

Day

of

Syn

axis

of

the

Arc

han

gel

s M

ich

ael

and

Gab

riel

D

ivin

e L

itu

rgy

9 am

Arc

han

gel

Mic

hael

Fea

st a

nd H

on

ors

in

A

tlan

ta, G

A

10 O

rth

ros 9

:30 a

.m. &

D

ivin

e L

itu

rgy

10:3

0 a

.m.

No C

hurc

h S

ch

ool

11

Vete

rans D

ay

OFFIC

E C

LO

SED

Pari

sh C

ouncil

Meeti

ng

5:3

0 p

m

12

Choir

Pra

cti

ce

6 p

m

13

Fea

st D

ay o

f

St.

Jo

hn

Ch

ryso

sto

m

Div

ine

Lit

urg

y 9

am

Second

Harv

est

11

am—

1 p

m

Ort

hod

ox L

ife C

lass

6 p

m

14

15

+

1

6

s

Pa

rish

Co

un

cil

Sem

ina

r

in J

ack

son

vil

le

17

s

O

rth

ros 9

:30 a

.m. &

D

ivin

e L

itu

rgy

10:3

0 a

.m.

Youth

Sun

day

Ch

urc

h S

chool

Philoptochos

Phanouropita S

unday

GO

YA

Mtg

.

18

s

OC

F

Mtg

.

19

s

C

hoir

Pra

cti

ce

6 p

m

20

+

C

ate

ch

eti

cal

Cla

ss

(New

com

ers

/In

qu

irers

) 6 p

m

21

s

T

he

En

tran

ce o

f th

e T

heo

toko

s D

ivin

e L

itu

rgy

9 am

22

+

23

s

Gre

at

Vesp

ers

5 p

m

24

s

O

rth

ros 9

:30 a

.m. &

D

ivin

e L

itu

rgy

10:3

0 a

.m.

Ste

ward

sh

ip S

un

day

Lu

nch

eon

follow

ing

Lit

urg

y

25

s

F

east

Day

of

S

t. K

ath

erin

e th

e G

reat

D

ivin

e L

itu

rgy

9 am

26

s

2

7

+

28

OF

FIC

E

CL

OS

ED

2

9

OF

FIC

E

+

C

LO

SE

D

30

s

Pangari

Sch

edule

for

Novem

ber

*Den

ote

s a

9:3

0 s

tart

tim

e

11/03—

EJoan

os*/

Koik

os/S

Joan

os (c)

11/10 —

Pou

los*/

Bra

nch

/G

orb

(c)

11/17 —

Koik

os*/

Man

ias/Perr

igan

(c)

11/24 —

SJoan

os*/

Papageorg

e/M

an

ias (c)

12/01 —

Gorb

*/Perr

igan

/E

Joan

os (c)

Page 4

Holy Mother of God

Monthly Community Outreach Wednesday, November 13th

11:00 am—1:00 pm

If you would like to make a difference and help fight hunger, join us at America’s Second Harvest Warehouse facility on Four Points Way . The time that you donate at the food bank will go a long way towards helping the men, women, and children of the Big Bend get the food they so desperately need. We will meet at Second Harvest at 11:00 am.. If you are

interested in assisting in this effort for one or two hours or have any question, please contact: Fr. Rob @850-559-8184 or Presv. Joy @ 850-320-1101

Nov. 3rd GOYA Bake Sale in which all proceeds will go towards purchasing

toys for the “Toys for Tots” program

Nov 17 Sunday GOYA Meeting

-Youth Sunday

Next OCF Meeting Nov. 18

October meeting at FSU

Thanks to the OCF for the delicious pancakes

they prepared for our community following

OCF Sunday.

Feast Day of

St. Nicholas

Family Pancake Breakfast

Sponsored by GOYA

Sunday Dec. 8th, 2013

Following Divine Liturgy

After breakfast there will be crafts and

a surprise visit from St. Nicholas

For more information please contact Presvytera Joy at

320-1101 or email at flrjjk@yahoo.com

Page 5

Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops Makes

Progress at 4th Annual Meeting

The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America held its fourth annual meeting September 17-19, 2013 in Schaumburg, IL. Forty-three hierarchs representing 11 juris-dictions were in attendance. At the conclusion of the meeting the Assembly released three official statements to the faithful: on the Church’s unchanging view of marriage; expressing grave concern over escalating violence in the Middle East; and a message on the conclusion of the fourth Assem-

bly.

In the statement on marriage, the Assembly expresses its deep concern over recent actions con-cerning the status of marriage, in particular the legalization of same-sex unions. It goes on to read, in part: The Orthodox Christian teaching on marriage and sexuality, firmly grounded in Holy Scripture, two millennia of Church Tradition, and Canon Law, holds that the sacrament of mar-riage consists in the union of a man and a woman, and that authentic marriage reflects the sacred unity that exists between Christ and His Bride, the Church.

In its statement on the escalating violence in the Middle East, the Assembly “expresses its grave concern over the escalation of political unrest and ongoing violence in countries throughout the Middle East, especially in Palestine, Egypt, Iraq and more recently in Syria.” It goes on to read, in part: Our Assembly repudiates any and all attacks on human beings, irrespective of race and reli-gion, by means of violence, kidnapping, torture and killing. Moreover, we deplore the destruction of all places of worship. We are especially disheartened at the inexcusable indifference and unjustifia-ble inaction of authorities, which have failed to protect the Christian population and the broader public in these regions.

The Assembly’s message to the faithful offers a summary of the proceedings and shares the spirit of fraternal love in which the meeting was held: Forty-three Hierarchs convened in the unity of our holy Orthodox faith, mindful of our responsibility to each other and to the whole Church as the Body of Christ. We recognize our responsibility to “do all things decently and in order” as our fore-most duty towards His holy Church and the people of Christ, especially the youth. We belong to the Church, which believes in and manifests the grace of the Triune God and the power of our Lord’s passion and resurrection…Throughout the meeting, we had a candid and fraternal evalua-tion of achievement hitherto and work that remains outstanding in our ministry as Orthodox in this region, observing that, despite the geographical expanse of our regional assembly, we are nev-ertheless bridged by our love for God.

Additional outcomes of the annual meeting included the Assembly giving its blessing to the Com-

mittee for Youth to plan for a national gathering of high school students. The gathering would ena-ble Orthodox youth from all jurisdictions to come together, share in their faith, bear witness to the Church, and build bridges across our Orthodox family. The gathering, which would be organized by jurisdictional youth departments, is envisioned for 2016 or 2017. The hierarchs also agreed to create a new committee to oversee agencies and endorsed organizations. The committee will review recommendations that have been made as to the relationship between the Assembly and its agen-cies and organizations, and determine criteria for future agency and organization endorsement. The committee’s members will be those hierarchs who serve as agency liaisons, with a chairperson to be appointed.

The Assembly expects to hold its next meeting in September 2014.

Page 6

For November 2013 Email: hmogphil@comcast.net

Visit us also On Facebook @

Holy Mother of God Philoptochos Society of Tallahassee, Florida

“Thank you” to everyone who attended our Philoptochos Membership Brunch and became members and/or contributed to our chapter’s endeavors!

Next Meeting: November 7 at 6:00 pm in the Patmos Hall

Just Over the Horizon: December 2 ~ Decorating Hellenic Center for Christmas

December 7 ~ Christmas Get Together (TBA)

Page 7

Parish Council Nominees

On Sunday, October 20th, a General Assembly was held and nominations were made for the upcoming Parish Council Elections.

The following parishioners have been nominated to fill the four vacancies. All nominees are required to attend the Parish Coun-

cil seminar in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday, November 16th, beginning at 10:00 am—1:00 pm.

Michael Eudy Ronnie Fetzco

Pete Koikos Stelios Manias

Connie Mathes Mike Papageorge

Thank you to Stamie Joanos for serving on the board for the past two terms. Elections will be held on Sunday, December 8th

immediately following Liturgy in the Hellenic Center. All members in good standing are eligible and encouraged to vote.

Holy Mother of God Greek Orthodox Church

1645 Phillips Road Tallahassee, Florida 32308

Return Service Requested

St. John Chrysostom

Celebrated

November 13th

Holy Mother of God Greek Orthodox Church

1645 Phillips Road Tallahassee, FL 32308

Office: 850-878-0747 Hall: 850-877-2501 Fax: 866-768-6317

Fr. Rob’s Cell:

850-559-8184

Website: www.hmog.org

Email Addresses:

Father Rob: fr.robert@comcast.net

Church Secretary: hmog@comcast.net

Secretary Hours: Mon./Wed./Fri. 9am-2pm