A Message From Our Parish Priest

“Go out … and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:23). In the 14th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, our Lord Jesus Christ tells the story of a man who threw a great dinner party. He invited everyone to the banquet. His only wish was that his house be full of people.

This story is about our Heavenly Father, who simply wishes for our Parish to be full. While the banquet is speaking of the Eucharist and the Divine Liturgy, it is also a reminder of the importance of gathering together outside of worship – breaking bread together in fellowship.

Our Parish offers many opportunities to gather together – beyond the regular meetings of our ministries, and Coffee Fellowship on Sunday. We will celebrate New Year’s and the Blessing of the Mississippi River in January, and the Godparent Luncheon and Apokreas Dinner is February. In Great Lent we have the Lenten Lectures, Greek Independence Day Luncheon, Saturday of Lazarus Breakfast, Palm Sunday Luncheon, the Resurrection Meal and various Paschal celebrations.

Our greatest gathering is our Greek Festival, where we truly hope our Parish House is filled! With summer, we also have Graduation Sunday and the Father’s Day Brunch. As we enter back into Fall we gather for Oktoberfest, the Saints Gerasimos and Demetrios Luncheon, Soup Sunday, the Thanksgiving Luncheon, and the Pancake Breakfast. Finally, we gather together as a Parish Family for the Christmas Eve Reception.

I might be missing a few events, and I’m sure there is room for more. For some of us, it may seem like there is a lot going on because we attend every event. But for others in our Parish Family and community, for various reasons attendance at these events may be sporadic. I only have one desire for all these events – that our Parish is full!

For this reason, I invite every one of you to join us for fellowship, and to break bread at these various events. I compel you to come in. Let nothing keep you from the love of Christ, and the love that our Parish has to offer.