The Orthodox Messenger

Vol. III, No. 19 – Sunday, May 9, 2004

THE WOMAN AT THE WELL

oday our Church brings to our attention a remarkable encounter of Jesus with a Samaritan Woman. In that encounter we learn at least four things about Jesus Christ.

   1) Jesus asks her for water. In the end He says to her “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14). She spoke of ordinary water, He spoke of a new and different way of life. His “well” was life in communion with God. Jesus Christ is the Giver of Eternal Life.

   2) Next in their conversation, Jesus challenges the woman, by saying to her “Go call your husband, and come here.” When she answers, “I have no husband” Jesus says to her “You have had five husbands and he whom you now have is not your husband” (John 4:16-18). In contrast to her loose moral life, Jesus’ life and teaching stand in sharp relief. He is the model of goodness and righteousness. What He teaches, He does. He in Himself is instruction, and the model for genuine human living. Jesus Christ is the Guide to the Moral Life.

   3) This response was uncomfortable for her. Seeking to change the subject the she challenged Jesus by asking as to where God should be worshipped -in Jerusalem or on Mt. Gerazim, the place where the Samaritans believed was the right place to worship God. Jesus responded to her: “True wor­shipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth . . God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24). Jesus was pointing her and us to the right focus of worship – God, the inner attitudes in our worship –  “in spirit and in truth.” Jesus Christ is the Shows Us True Worship.

   4. Once again the woman changes the subject. She speaks of the Messiah, of whom the prophets spoke. He was the “Promised One” who was to come to save all of humanity from its sins. And Jesus answers her, “I who speak to you am he” (John 4:26). For the Jews, the Messiah was the Savior. Saying that was to say clearly that Jesus Christ was sent by God the Fa­ther as the Savior of the World.

   Read the whole passage elsewhere in this bulletin and meditate upon it. You will be blessed! The Samaritan Women believed in Christ and took the name Photine, becoming recognized as a saint of the Church, commemorated each year on the 26th of February.

Service hours: Sundays and Feast days: Orthros at 9:30 am; Divine Liturgy at 10:00 am.

5th  SUNDAY OF PASCHA – THE SAMARITAN WOMAN

GOSPEL ENTRANCE AND OTHER HYMNS

Dismissal Hymn  for Pascha Sung in Greek before the Entrance ("Christos Aneste…").

Priest’s Entrance Hymn: In the congregations bless God, the Lord who springs out of Israel. Priest & People: Save us o Son of God who did rise from the dead, we sing to You, Alleluia.
Dismissal Hymn – 4th  Tone
   (Sing in English before the Entrance) (“When the tidings . . .”).Hymnal,  84-85
Dismissal Hymn of Mid-Pentecost
   (Read) Mid-way in the feast, / refresh my thirsty soul with the flowing waters of piety. / For You cried out to all, O Savior, / "Let him who thirsts come to me and drink." / You, O Christ our God, are the Fountain of Life, / glory to You.
Dismissal Hymn of the Presentation of Christ (Sing) From the sheet in the pew.
Kontakion for Pascha
   (Sung) by the Leaders in Greek (“Ei kai en tafo”)
   (Read) Even though You descended into the grave, / O immortal One, / You destroyed the power of Hades; / and You arose as victor, / O Christ our God, / saying to the myrrh-bearing women, / “Hail!” / and to Your Apostles granting peace; / You also grant resurrection to the fallen.   Return to page 26 for “Holy God” and for the Epistle and Gospel Readings

EPISTLE – Acts 11:19-30 (Samaritan Woman)

n those days, those apostles who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to none except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number that believed turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad; and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a large company was added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church, and taught a large company of people; and in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians. Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabos stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world; and this took place in the days of Claudius. And the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brethren who lived in Judea, and they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

GOSPEL – John 4:5-42 (Samaritan Woman)

t that time, Jesus came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as he was with his journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?" Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly." The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."
     Just then his disciples came. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but none said, "What do you wish?" or, "Why are you talking with her?" So the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" They went out of the city and were coming to him.
     Meanwhile the disciples besought him, saying "Rabbi, eat." But he said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." So the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought him food?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony. "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard ourselves, and we know that this is indeed Christ the Savior of the world."

Changes Later In the Divine Liturgy
In the place of “Truly it is proper. . .” (p. 54)
   The Leaders (Sing) “O Angelos eboa . . . “Efrainou, aggalou  ”
Translation:  The angel cried out / to the one full of grace: / Hail! Holy Virgin, and again I say Hail! / Your Son has risen from the tomb/ on the third day. -Rejoice and be glad, / O gate of the divine Light; / for Jesus who disappeared in the tomb / has risen with greater radiance that the sun, / illuminating all believers, / O Lady favored of God.”
In the place of the Communion Hymn (Praise Him)
   (Sing) “Soma Christou” – “Body of Christ” Hymnal, p. 104
In the place of “We have seen the light” (Sing) “Christos Anesti,”  Christ is Risen . . .

   FOR THE RECORD: May 2 – Sunday of the Healing of the Paralytic Man, Attendance - 44; Candles - $83; Offering - $75; Hospitality - $28. Thank you!   
   2004-2005 PARISH DIRECTORY: Please pick up your Parish Directory after Church at the Narthex Table. By doing that, you will save on a considerable amount of postage.   GENERAL ASSEMBLY REPORT: Paul Cosmadelis was elected chair, and Betty Roussos was elected Secretary. Nikolai Kastelan, outgoing Treasurer, gave the first quarter financial report: Actual Income was $16,993 (Budget - $13,015). The Adamis Philanthropic Fund was $1095 (Budget $300); Building Fund $7,516. Expenses for the First Quarter were $12,760 (Budget - $12,720). $517 was spent by the Adamis Philanthropic Fund. Gloria Vardakis reported on the Audit Report for 2003, which was accepted unanimously. George Nikas made the Facilities and Grounds Report indicating that essential repairs have been made using $4,096. From now on, only essential repairs will be made.
   The parish property is multi-listed through Bickel Realty. Many have inspected the property but no offer has been received as yet. Demetri Hazivasilis reported on the forthcoming renovations on our stone road and the expansion of the parking area with a new layer of stone. Tyke Nicolelis reported on the work of the University of Illinois Orthodox Christian Fellowship students directed by Fr. Pyle. We are awaiting a final accounting for the project.
   John Tsausis gave an extensive planning report for the Fund Raising Committee including a June 5 Parish Picnic, chaired by Betty Roussos. Other events are scheduled for July 11, August 7, September 19, etc. Start saving items for the October 15-16 Garage Sale! Helen Nicolelis reported on the Parish Directory which netted over $3000 for our church. She especially thanked the people who solicited the advertisements and Dorothy Triantafilon who did the typesetting. William Pasisis of the Membership Committee reported that we presently have 68 Stewards. On Planning and Development, George Nikas reported on the activities of Bickel Real Estate and noted that Steward Dimson Andoniadis has offered to prepare a draft of plans for our new church and hall buildings as a Stewardship offering. George also reported on Community Relations – for Pascha 11 families were provided assistance.
   Bette Ferriero reported on our support of the Dawn Center. It was voted to encourage the donation of household supplies once a month. A special box is located in the Fellowship Hall for this purpose and it was voted to contribute $300 to the Dawn Center.
   The Parish By-Laws, sent to all the parishioners in advance, were discussed page by page, and modified in some cases by the General Assembly. Clarifications were sought regarding our corporate name upon the recommendation of Steward Michael Zoumberos. The new parish By-Laws were then adopted, to be used with the Archdiocese Uniform Parish By-Laws.
   It was announced that Bette Roussos had replaced Nikolai Kastelan on the Mission Board of Directors; that Connie Mourgides was the new Treasurer; and that an accountant would be engaged to provide computer generated reports. Fr. Stanley discussed the forthcoming establishment of a parish Sisterhood; the continuing efforts for all to reach out to new people.

Saturday, June 5th at 10:30 a.m.

                Delta Woods Park

3400 Deltona Blvd, Spring Hill

This is a fun event for everyone that you don’t want to miss.

 We are planning to serve hot dogs and hamburgers, hot buttered popcorn, and we’re making snow- cones, which is only a start of what awaits you.

There is no charge!

We only ask if you could please bring a side dish to share.

Games galore:

Shuffleboard, Bocce Balls, Horseshoes, backgammon, old maid or bring a game you like to play. The park has volleyball, basketball, and a soccer field; just bring your ball. There is also a playground, and a trail to walk off your meal.
For more details call Betty Roussos, 683-2135

This park does have its rules; no alcohol, drugs, pets, glass, or fireworks.

   PROSFORON BAKERS: George and Maria Angeliades 5/9 (Samaritan Woman); Argyris Gymnaos (New Prosforon Baker!) 5/16 (Blind Man Sunday); Presbytera Emily Harakas 5/20 (Ascension Day); Fran Mather 5/23; Gloria Vardakis 5/29 (Saturday of Souls); Bette Ferriero 5/30 (Pentecost);  Fran Triantafilon 6/6 (All Saints); ; George Nikas 6/13; Patricia Lilore 6/20; Connie Mourgides 6/27. Betty Roussos 7/4. Venice Cosmadelis 7/11. Emily Thomas 7/18.
   WITH DEEP SYMPATHY we havelearned of the recent passing of Presbytera Bessie Papadeas. His Eminence, Metropolitan Alexios presided at the funeral at St. Demetrios Church, Daytona Beach, FL.. We express our condolences to Fr. George. May her memory be eternal!
    HOSPITALIZED: Oak Hill: Anna Prestage; Florence Balatsos. New Port Richey Community Hosptial: Presbytera Mary Liadis, now home. We pray for rapid recovery!
    NOTE: Fr. and Presbytera Emily will be away Wed., May 12 to Sat. May 15 to attend Fr. Stanley’s 50th Anniversary Alumni events at Holy Cross Seminary in Brookline, MA.
    CONGRATULATIONS! On Sunday, April 18, 2004 our local newspapers included a full page ad from Oak Hill Hospital, honoring over 400 volunteers.Among them were two of our Stewards, George (769 hours) and Dee (537 hours) Nikas. We are proud! Congratulations!

CHRIST THE SAVIOR GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
P.O. BOX 5566
SPRING HILL, FL 34611
“A Pan-Orthodox Christian Community”

HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY!

A Flower for all Mothers Today!