June 2020 1645 Phillips Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32308 ¨ (850) 878-0747 ¨ Rev. Fr. Robert J. O’Loughlin¨ http://www.hmog.org The Holy Spirit Within Us~ A Message from Fr. Robert As we celebrate Pentecost this Sunday, we are to remember how the Holy Spirit came with power upon the disciples of Christ, transforming them to be filled with the presence of God. The power of the Holy Spirit within us is to be alive, active and guiding us, certainly at this with the pandemic and what is happening in our country. The goal of our faith is to acquire the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit which was given first at Pente- cost and to each of us through the Sacrament of Chrismation is like the planting of a seed in the heart which then grows according to our own spir- itual development. The gifts of the Spirit are found in the context of the many different ways by which we are called to work in the world. All of our work should be a “ministry”, that is it should be a means by which we ex- press to the world around us the great love and compassion of God. No matter what our career or occupation might be, it can be pursued in such a manner that it expresses the love of God. We are to be people God has called and created us to be, we are to put ourselves in His hands and be filled with His Holy Spirit, so we can be the witness and have the power and love to make a dif- ference in our community. Our greatest need is being filled with the Holy Spirit which can guide and help us understand all things as Jesus promised his disciples, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13) The Holy Spirit opens up our minds to comprehend our faith better. This is where when we read Scriptures, the lives of the saints or other writings about our faith, the Holy Spirit is there ready to open our eyes for under- standing. The Holy Spirit empowers us and guides us to grow in holiness by filling us with its fruit of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control” (Gal 5:22). That’s why we pray often the prayer O Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who are eve- rywhere and fills all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of life, come and abide in us. Cleanse us of every impurity, and save our souls, O gracious One. What a difference it can make when our plans, thoughts and actions are fueled by the Holy Spirit. Many of us may think too much and pray too little when problems arise. God extends His helping hand to us all the time, but we are to make an effort to stretch out our hand to Him. He is work- ing amongst us and we are to see the change, and improvement in each other's lives. We are to support each other prayerfully in the renewal of our lives, and encourage each other in hope, and let the Holy Spirit be our guide and helper in all things. Continued good strength and looking forward to being together, Fr. Robert
Transcript
June 2020 1645 Phillips Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32308 ¨ (850) 878-0747 ¨ Rev. Fr. Robert J. O’Loughlin¨ http://www.hmog.org
The Holy Spirit Within Us~ A Message from Fr. Robert
As we celebrate Pentecost this Sunday, we are to remember how the Holy
Spirit came with power upon the disciples of Christ, transforming them to be filled with the presence of God. The power of the Holy Spirit within us is to be alive, active and guiding us, certainly at this with the pandemic and what is happening in our country. The goal of our faith is to acquire the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit which was given first at Pente-cost and to each of us through the Sacrament of Chrismation is like the planting of a seed in the heart which then grows according to our own spir-itual development. The gifts of the Spirit are found in the context of the many different ways by which we are called to work in the world. All of our work should be a “ministry”, that is it should be a means by which we ex-press to the world around us the great love and compassion of God. No matter what our career or occupation might be, it can be pursued in such a manner that it expresses the love of God.
We are to be people God has called and created us to be, we are to put ourselves in His hands and be filled with His Holy Spirit, so we can be the witness and have the power and love to make a dif-ference in our community. Our greatest need is being filled with the Holy Spirit which can guide and help us understand all things as Jesus promised his disciples, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13) The Holy Spirit opens up our minds to comprehend our faith better. This is where when we read Scriptures, the lives of the saints or other writings about our faith, the Holy Spirit is there ready to open our eyes for under-standing.
The Holy Spirit empowers us and guides us to grow in holiness by filling us with its fruit of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control” (Gal 5:22). That’s why we pray often the prayer O Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who are eve-rywhere and fills all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of life, come and abide in us. Cleanse us of every impurity, and save our souls, O gracious One.
What a difference it can make when our plans, thoughts and actions are fueled by the Holy Spirit. Many of us may think too much and pray too little when problems arise. God extends His helping hand to us all the time, but we are to make an effort to stretch out our hand to Him. He is work-ing amongst us and we are to see the change, and improvement in each other's lives. We are to support each other prayerfully in the renewal of our lives, and encourage each other in hope, and let the Holy Spirit be our guide and helper in all things.
Continued good strength and looking forward to being together,
Fr. Robert
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If an emergency or special need should arise, please
contact Fr. Rob immedi-ately at 850-559-8184.
Dear Holy Mother of God Parishioner,
As we move forward during this unique time in history that we could not even imagine, I wanted to share with you
some updates on our plans to reunite and celebrate Divine Liturgy together. Like many of you, I cannot wait until we get together again! As mentioned in a recent communication, it is hard to believe that it has been 2 ½ months
since not seeing many of you as we have had to journey through this pandemic, physically apart but united in pray-
er. I continue to pray that as we move forward, one step at a time, that we maintain faith, hope and love through-
out this time that has been presented to all of us.
We are still in Phase I of the Recovery Plan, where we are seeing more restaurants and businesses opening up a lit-
tle more than they were previously. However, the guidelines for gatherings of people in enclosed spaces continue to state that no more than ten people should meet at a time. These guidelines come from the CDC, and at the state
and local level. The reason for this guideline is that gathering together over a longer period of time in an enclosed
space, as we do for worship services, seems to pose some unique risks when it comes to the spread of the virus.
Our Church community at Holy Mother of God is presently prepared with an action plan for our doors to open with
proper protocols, that includes social distancing. If things continue to go well in Phase I and hope that it should not be too much longer and pray it will happen sooner rather than later! We will be sending out an email when you
can register to attend services. With spacing limitations, we will access the scenario during the registration period
when that time comes and potentially schedule another Divine Liturgy during the week if we have too many people
for a Sunday Service.
As noted in His Eminence Metropolitan Alexios’s communications, parishioners who are at higher risk for severe
illness from COVID-19 as defined by civil authorities shall be given dispensation not to attend services (Sunday or weekday) and shall be asked to refrain from attending. Furthermore, during this phase, those of high risk and those
with medical conditions refrained from coming to Church can make special arrangements with me to receive the
Sacraments once again . Listed below are some of the guidelines for our reopening plan that were noted in Metro-
politan Alexios’s communications and also the signage on page 4 of this Reflection, that came from the Metropolis
will be posted outside the Church doors. Please feel free to contact me with any questions and I will continue to keep you informed via email.
With Christ love,
Fr. Rob
Reopening Action Plan for Holy Mother of God
• 6-foot social distancing has been marked throughout Church
• Sanitizer stations are available in Narthex, near side door in Church and outside restroom doors in Patmos Hall.
• Parishioners must wear face mask.
• Parishioners who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 as defined by civil authorities shall be given
dispensation not to attend services (Sunday or weekday) and shall be asked to refrain from attending. During this phase, those of high risk and those with medical conditions, can make special arrangements with Fr. Rob to receive the Sacraments.
• A sign will be posted on the front door of the Church explaining the directives and stating the assumed risk of those
who are part of the vulnerable population.
• Honor is to be shown to Holy Icons by only doing your cross and bowing, keeping in mind not to kiss or to touch the
Holy Icons.
• Parishioners must limit their movement in the Church. If someone needs to use the restroom, they can be directed to
go behind chanting stand to hallway between Church and Patmos Hall to limit access as to Patmos Hall.
• Everyone will have their temperature taken outside before they enter the Church and it will be recorded on the ros-
ter. If a person’s temperature is above 100.4 F he or she will be kindly asked to return to their home, both for their safety and the safety and love of others.
• All parishioners, except chanters while singing, must wear masks at all times, once again for the safety of all.
• A Parish Council member will usher each parishioner to the designated X in the pews for each person or household
to sit starting in the front of the Church and working their way to back.
• A place to accept offerings that a parishioner will place directly in basket will be provided in the Narthex upon enter-
ing or leaving (by side door)- (no money exchange between Parish Council and parishioner(s))
• For the continued safety of those attending church services in person, parishioners should
immediately leave to go to their cars when the service is finished.
• Parishioners should not socialize in other areas of the Church property or parking lot as Coffee Fellowship hours
should continue to be suspended until further notice.
A big thanks to the great response from our Holy Mother of God Community for the May Food Drive for Echo and the Kearney Center which included food and monetary dona-tions. Your support of those in need, especially during this pandemic is greatly appreciated.
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IMPORTANT: DURING THIS
REOPENING PHASE, ALL ATTENDEES MUST ABIDE
BY THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES:
Prior registration is required to attend services. • Masks must be worn at all times by those age 2 and above except when receiving Holy Communion.
Hands must be sanitized upon entry.
• Before entering the church, the temperature of each person will be taken by a designated person. If the
person’s temperature is above 100.4oF he or she will be kindly asked to return to their home, both for their
safety and the safety of others.
• You will be directed to your seating area by an usher and are asked to remain in that area for the duration
of the service.
• Honor is to be shown to Holy Icons and the Holy Cross by only doing your cross and bowing. Keep in
mind not to kiss or to touch the Holy Icons and the Holy Cross.
• Refrain from shaking hands or embracing others during the service.
• Instructions for receiving Holy Communion and antidoron will be explained by the Clergy.
• At the conclusion of the service, please exit and return to your vehicle without congregating.
• Parishioners who have been sick with coronavirus should have the written medical doctor’s statement that they no longer test positive before they can return to in person worship services.
Holy Mother of God Philoptochos Society of Tallahassee, Florida
Congratulations to the Philoptochos College Scholarship recipient, Cassidy Branch! Cassidy submitted a beautiful essay on "What Orthodoxy means to me." Philoptochos is proud to present her with a scholarship! We wish her all the best in all future endeavors!
Congratulations Cassidy!
Due to COVID-19 no meetings or gatherings are planned at this time. Our Philoptochos chapter remains committed to those in need.
Please don't hesitate to contact me. Nia Parmer - President
(850) 294-7169
AHEPA News
The third Sunday every May is AHEPA Sunday. I take this opportunity to write you a few lines about AHEPA and our Chapter 317. The mission of the AHEPA Family is to promote Hellenism, Educa-tion, Philanthropy, Civic Responsibility, and Family and Individual Excellence. What makes AHEPA unique from other organizations is the creation of the AHEPA Family with principles that include a commitment to humanity, freedom, and democracy. The preservation and promotion of these ideals is where AHEPA is, and always will be, deeply committed. Let’s not forget that in 1962 it was the AHEPA Chapter 317 members that bought the land and build our Holy Mother of God, Greek Orthodox Church. AHEPA educates the communi-ty on these ideals through symposia, forums, conferences and sponsors Scholarships.
Like every other AHEPA chapter on the planet, our Chapter 317, is sponsoring scholarships every year. This year the only high school graduate is Cassidy, daughter of Cathy and Ηαrold Branch. She is the only recipient of AHEPA Chapter 317 this year’s scholarship, that amounted to $750. She graduated Chiles High School with honors, and she is planning to attend FSU. We are sending our warm congratulations and wishing her all the best at Florida State University in the Fall!
AHEPA Chapter 317 planned various other events to raise funds for our missions, but due to the pandemic that we are experiencing, we placed them on hold until further notice. For anybody who needs any type of help during this pandemic please don’t hesitate to contact us, we are here. YOU are not alone!
