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04/09/2022 In Blog News

Minutes for the 379th Parish Council Meeting held on 29th May 2022

The first Council meeting following the 2022 Annual Meeting took place at the Swedish Centre in Plaka on 28th May. The following matters were discussed and decisions taken:

Appointments: Jean Mertzanakis, Nelly Paraskevopoulou and Lynn Stavrou would continue to serve as Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer and Safeguarding Officer for the year 2022-2023.

Covid: Mask-wearing in church would cease to be obligatory from June 1st and Churchwarden Trevor was thanked for overseeing maintenance of Covid restrictions at St. Paul’s. Online Zoom services had been well-ttended.

Communion: Following a communication from Bishop Robert, Council agreed that the Common Cup be reintroduced on Sunday 3rd July, along with the option of personal intinction.

Finances:  The income deficit for the first quarter was over 10,000 Euros but requests for church hire for concerts (a major source of income) had started to come in. In the 2nd quarter  our 7,000 Euros contribution to the Diocesan Common Fund was due but it should be borne in mind that chaplaincies could apply to this fund for help if necessary, as St. Paul’s had done recently. Full payment of a big electricity bill had been made and we would be paying no stipend from 1st August. Treasurer Nelly was thanked for the work she did on a daily basis and Verger Virginia Stevens for dealing with inconvenience and mess caused by the installation of new electricity meters that had involved digging up paving at the entrance to the church.

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sermon news
31/08/2022 In Sermons & Services

Sermon for the 12th Sunday after Trinity – 4th September 2022: Deuteronomy 30, 15-end.

Fr Leonard Doolan – St Paul’s Athens

 

‘See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity’. (Deut 30, 15). These are stark choices – it is difficult to get more polarity than this.

We do seem to be living in times of great polarity – in Pakistan devastating floods, and in parts of Africa murderous drought. Wild fires seem to be in the news alongside melting glaciers, burgeoning population growth alongside food shortage and issues of sustainability. It looks like an Earth in something of a crisis just as America sends a rocket to the moon so that a station can be set up form which travel will become possible to Mars. Isn’t this just what the planets need? Humans!

Global catastrophes are called ‘apocalyptic’ or ‘of biblical proportions.’

No one nowadays is unaware of the issues facing the world and her populations; no-one is unconscious of environmental challenges, or the effects of global warming – even though some choose to deny it. I don’t and I’m sure you don’t – even though we must exercise some caution about ‘global warming’ being the default position for everything that goes wrong. You know what I mean.

Environmental change is on everyone’s lips but not in the change of most of our lifestyles. There is little real commitment to radical choice change. We expect to switch on our lights; we assume that there will be fuel for our cars; we are disappointed when we can’t get what we want in a supermarket; and all of this as cheaply as possible, no matter what the impact is in our consumption of oil, electricity, food. We are hearing daily, or seeing on the news, things that challenge us, but it seems we don’t quite have the language to express how we want to change, or how we feel sorry for what we are doing to the planet. I would propose that as Christians we can supply some of the powerful language that the world seems to need.

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Liturgy 30:08:2020
31/08/2022 In Blog News

Service for the 12th Sunday after Trinity – 4th September 2022

Welcome to St. Paul’s Athens especially if you are here for the first time or visiting Athens.  Please note that the church has a POS facility. Drinking water is always available at the back of the church. Fr. Leonard will preside and preach. The deacon is Deacon Christine. There is coffee available in the garden after the Liturgy.

 

Entrance Hymn    349 Come let us join our cheerful songs

 

Priest:    In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

     All:         Amen

Priest:    The Lord be with you

     All:         And also with you

 

The priest then informally welcomes the people of God and leads us into Confession.

 

Deacon: We run the race set before us, surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Therefore let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which clings so closely, bringing them to Jesus in penitence and faith.                            (A short period of stillness and silence)

Deacon:            Your raise the dead to life in the spirit.

Kyrie eleison              All: Kyrie eleison

Deacon:            You bring pardon and peace to the broken in spirit.

                           Christe eleison          All: Christe eleison

Deacon:            You make one by your Spirit the torn and divided.

                           Kyrie eleison             All:  Kyrie eleison

 

Absolution: Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in life eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

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sermon news
29/08/2022 In Sermons & Services

ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY, 28th August 2022: PROVERBS 25:6-7, HEBREWS 13:1-8,15-16, LUKE 14 :1,7-14

Deacon Chris Saccali – St Paul’s Athens

THE INVITATION

I speak in the name of the Triune God Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

It was the invitations that were NOT issued that were the issue; it often is if you think about it, people get miffed if they are not invited to an event. I am speaking, in this instance, about the Lambeth Conference which took place in Canterbury from July 24th until 7th August. This gathering of Anglican Bishops from across the Communion , their spouses and observers last took place in 2008 and was postponed in 2018 then interrupted by COVID. 

This time there were over 650 Bishops and many more women than in 2008 made up that number. They were invited – the problem for many lay in the word spouse if the Bishop was in a same sex relationship; this caused quite a brouhaha as I Before the Lambeth Conference when we were asked to pray, I did just that – asked people to pray. A nasty comment was posted about the spouses NOT invited from the LGBTQ + community from a member of it who is a priest in our diocese. I did not react because I do not relish conflict but I do know it is impossible to avoid it especially in church.  Jesus was always right there teaching in the midst of conflict, at the centre and heart of it although I am not sure of his tweets and posts. Last week’s gospel reading and today’s echo his reaction to conflict.

However, social media is not the place to get irate or aerated while hiding behind postings. The Lambeth Conference, despite all the negative hype intended to hijack it, was a real blessing to the attendees and a time filled with the Holy Spirit and the unexpected presence of God. Listen to Bishops Robert and David talking about it on the Diocesan website. There are also other astute clips on most Diocesan websites including Norwich which I have found helpful. 

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Taize Cross
29/08/2022 In Blog News

Prayer Connect Prayer Group

Join and participate in our weekly Prayer Connect prayer group.
You are invited  to a scheduled Zoom meeting every Tuesday
Topic: Prayer Connect Prayer Group
Time:  09:00 AM Athens
Liturgy 30:08:2020
25/08/2022 In Blog News

Service for the 11th Sunday after Trinity – 28th August 2022

Welcome to St. Paul’s Athens especially if you are here for the first time or visiting Athens.  Please note that the church has a POS facility. Drinking water is always available at the back of the church. Please stay for coffee in the garden after the liturgy. Fr. Leonard will preside and Deacon Christine is our preacher.

 

Entrance Hymn  440  Praise to the Lord  (omit vss 4 & 5) 

 

Priest:    In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

     All:         Amen

Priest:    The Lord be with you

     All:         And also with you

 

The priest then informally welcomes the people of God and leads us into Confession.

 

Deacon: We run the race set before us, surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Therefore let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which clings so closely, bringing them to Jesus in penitence and faith.  (A short period of stillness and silence)

 

All:  Father eternal, giver of light and grace, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour, in what we have thought, in what we have said and done, through ignorance, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault. We have wounded your love, and marred your image in us. We are sorry and ashamed, and repent of all our sins. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past; and lead us out from darkness to walk as children of light. Amen.

 

Absolution: Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in life eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

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sermon news
18/08/2022 In Sermons & Services

Sermon for the 10th Sundy after Terinity – 21st August 2022:Is 58, 9-end; Hebrews 12, 18-end; Luke 13, 10-17

Fr Leonard Doolan – St Paul’s Athens

One of the responsibilities set before a preacher is that of enlightening the hearers: this may be done in a number of ways, and sometimes in more than one way within the same sermon. There is the expository sermon – one in which the preacher looks carefully at the text of one of the scripture readings. There is the exhortatory sermon – one in which the texts or the common theme is crafted to encourage people in their faith and daily life; the sermon might be entirely or partly didactic – that is a focus on straightforward teaching, about the church’s history or dogmatics.

Other styles of preaching exist, of course, and all sermons can use illustrations from literature, humour, or human examples of goodness or indeed of sadness. Preaching is a rich environment for enabling the flourishing of themes, subjects, and styles. Normally though the preacher will feel the need to leave some questions answered, and a congregation will so often want to be more certain after hearing a sermon preached.

Well that’s all very fine and dandy. However, I ask the question, is there some room in the preacher’s annual schedule simply to place before a congregation some dilemmas, antitheses, opposites – simply naming them but without the contortions of supplying a solution?

If this is one of the legitimate purposes of a preacher, then we can approach today’s scripture readings, observing the dilemmas they provide us with – and not seek to give an answer.

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Liturgy 30:08:2020
18/08/2022 In Blog News

Service for the 10th Sunday after Trinity – 21st August 2022

Welcome to St. Paul’s Athens especially if you are here for the first time or visiting Athens.  Please note that the church has a POS facility. Drinking water is always available at the back of the church. Please stay for coffee in the garden after the liturgy. Fr. Leonard will preside and preach. Deacon Christine is our deacon.

 

Entrance Hymn   388  Jesus shall reign

 

Priest:    In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

     All:         Amen

Priest:    The Lord be with you

     All:         And also with you

 

The priest then informally welcomes the people of God and leads us into Confession.

 

Deacon: We run the race set before us, surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Therefore let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which clings so closely, bringing them to Jesus in penitence and faith.  (A short period of stillness and silence)

 

All:  Father eternal, giver of light and grace, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour, in what we have thought, in what we have said and done, through ignorance, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault. We have wounded your love, and marred your image in us. We are sorry and ashamed, and repent of all our sins. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us, forgive us all that is past; and lead us out from darkness to walk as children of light. Amen.

 

Absolution: Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, and keep you in life eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

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