Brothers and Sisters,
Happy Feast!
This coming weekend, Saturday, August 29-30, our Arch Episcopal Vicar, Father Calinic Berger, will be visiting our parish The schedule for all the events is available in this edition of The Happy Parish. Since we do not have a bishop in our diocese, Father Calinic visits annually as the vicar—or representative—of our metropolitan.
Here are a few highlights from the schedule: On Saturday, August 29, at 4pm, we will have an Update Presentation on Where We Are in our Temple Program, then after Great Vespers at 6pm, Father Calinic will hold a question and answer session about all things archdiocesan. At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning, August 30, we will dedicate a cross on the site of the altar for our new temple. It will be a Fifth Sunday, so we will have a Fellowship Hour Potluck, and then, that evening, we will begin the Annual Vigil for St Eanswythe at 9pm. Just prior to the Vigil, we will unveil a very special surprise in the nave. You won’t want to miss any of that weekend, so please be sure and be present as often as you can.
Fasting Days
Wednesday, August 26, Friday, August 28, and Saturday, August 29
Daily Services
Monday August 24-Friday, August 28: Orthros 4am; Vespers 5pm (in general, if you plan on attending one of the daily services, it’s a good idea to check with Father Aidan the day before to make sure the schedule has not changed).
Tuesday, August 18
Inquirer’s Class 7pm
The Parish Council 7pm
Saturday, August 29
6am Orthros
8am Divine Liturgy
4pm Presentation to Parish about Where We Are in our Temple Project
5:45pm Ninth Hour and Great Vespers followed by Question and Answer Session with Father Calinic
Sunday, August 30 Twelfth Sunday of St Matthew
Orthros 8am
Divine Liturgy 10am with Blessing of the Cross
Fellowship Hour Potluck with Live Music Noon
Vigil for St Eanswythe 9pm
Finance Update
Our general operating funds are what we use to pay for our ongoing daily operations.
Our 12-month operating period is Jan to Dec, so we are 7 months or 58% through this year’s operating period.
Total 2026 pledged contributions to date = $519,685.
Operating budget = $485,000. 93.3% of total pledged contributions.
Average desired monthly contribution for budget = $40,417 ($485,000 / 12)
Desired contributions through July = $282,919 ($40,417 X 7)
Actual contributions received $271,214. 56% of budget.
This places us $11,705 behind desired contributions through July.
Here’s how we’re doing on our fundraising to build our new Temple. The collection period for our fundraising period was set at 36-months, from Sep 2024 through Aug 2027, so we are 23 months or 64% through the period.
Fundraiser Goal = $1,500,000
Total pledged contributions to date = $1,484,592.
Actual contributions received = $1,023,188. 69% of pledged.
This means over the next 13 months we need $461,404 contributions to reach the pledged amount, and we need $476,812 contributions to reach our overall fundraiser goal.
So, let’s keep the momentum going by staying current on our pledged contributions (and, if you have not made a pledge and would like to, just speak with Ray W.).
Thanks to the mercy of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and thanks to each of you for your continued generosity.
Church School Registration
The 2026-27 Church School year begins Sunday, September 6th. Children aged 3-12, by September 1st of this year, will be in The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Program, and children aged 13-18, by September 1st of this year, will be in the Youth Group. Please note that all children aged 3-18 will use the same registration link, which is available in the email version of the newsletter.
Parents must complete an individual registration form for each child. If you plan to have your child participate in CGS or Youth Group, they must be registered; this is a rule that has been established by our Archdiocese. Details regarding orientations, graduations, and upcoming dates will be communicated via email to parents of registered children.
(If you are relatively new to St. John's and would like more info on our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Church School Program, please go to the following website: www.cgsusa.org.)
The Online Diocesan Catechetical Academy
Our on-line diocesan High School Catechism will be offering two courses this year (for all interested teens in the 9th-12th grades): [i] Our perennial "Catechism Boot Camp," being a one-year, systematic, adult-level catechism program, and [ii] “Great Narratives of the Old Testament: A Journey to Wisdom,” being a survey of the great figures of the Old Testament, interpreted in the light of Christ and applicable to the challenges of life. A student may enroll in one of the two classes, and for each there will be eight one-hour classes in the fall, and eight in the Spring. Cost is $125/year (discounts for additional teens from the same family). The program is for any high-school age student interested, but credit will be provided for those in a home-school consortium. To register, use this link: https://stacollege.org/courses/dc2025/
Adult Education for 2026-2027
Recently, we distributed a catalogue that describes all the Adult Education Offerings that the parish will sponsor in the coming year. That catalogue is attached to the email edition of The Happy Parish, and it’s also now available on Discord. Please go ahead and look over all the opportunities for spiritual growth that are described in that catalogue, and plan on participating whenever you can.
Coming Up
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Program needs our help! We had good response to our recent materials making sessions, and we will be one more additional session before the Church School year gets underway--on Sunday, August 30. Just head over to the parish house towards the end of Fellowship Hour, and Sandi A. will get you all fixed up—she also has lots of ‘take-home’ projects, so, even if you can’t hang around at the parish and make materials, you can still assist our hard-working catechists and assistants by taking a project home.
The weekend of August 29-30 will be a busy one, but, after Father Calinic’s visit and The Cross Blessing and the All Night Vigil for St Eanswythe (and The Temple Project Surprise), we will also celebrate the Feast of the Indiction on Tuesday, September 1. The Indiction marks the beginning of the Liturgical Year, so we will offer Great Vespers at 7pm on Monday, August 31, and, Tuesday, September 1, we will serve Orthros at 4am and Divine Liturgy at 6am. Join us as we offer the New Year to the Most Holy Trinity.
Registration for St. Justin Orthodox Co-op is now open for the 2026–27 year. The co-op brings Orthodox children together to encounter the beauty of the Church through the lives of the saints, hymns and prayers, history and geography, sacred art and handwork, and the celebration of the Great Feasts. The co-op serves children ages 3–10 and meets on Thursdays at Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, beginning September 3rd. There is room for many more families—please reach out to Natali P. with any questions, to learn more, or to find out how you can get involved!
Working on the Building
If you want us to get into that new temple as soon as possible, there are four things you can do this week:
Join us in offering The Akathist for a New Temple each week. Copies are available in the bookstore and online; a recording is available on Discord, and there is a group that meets on Discord each Friday at noon to offer the service.
Join us for the 6am Wednesday Morning Divine Liturgy (We do not offer this Liturgy during fasting seasons or when there is a feast that falls during the week, so the next Wednesday Morning Divine Liturgy will be on Wednesday, September 23).
Check to make sure that you’re current on your Three Year Commitment to our Building Program. If you have not make a commitment to our Temple Fund, please check with our Finance Guy, Ray W.; he’ll get you set up.
Take out a (totally free) subscription to our Substack, Come See Something Beautiful, and forward each of the three weekly posts to absolutely everyone you know.
Our Moment of Grace and Courtesy
When the new Liturgical Year begins on Tuesday, September 1, we will no longer offer Birthday, Name Day, and Anniversary Blessings at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy. Children will have their birthdays and name days recognized in Church School; if adults wish to have a birthday or name day or anniversary blessing (apart from the 5/10 year dates) they will be able to have that done on the first Sunday of the month when we offer travel blessings and bless devotional items. Offering birthday, name day, and anniversary blessings at the conclusion of the Liturgy made sense when we were a much smaller community, but now that our parish has grown significantly there are just too many people who wish to participate, so we need to find new ways to meet those needs.