St. George welcomed and thanked Fr. John Jillions who served Divine Liturgy on Sunday, March 12th for us in Fr. Sergei's absence.  Fr. John is recently retired after serving as the pastor at Holy Ghost Church in Bridgeport, and was also a former Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America. 

From February 19th through March 5th, the St. George parish dedicated its weekly charity collections to support the relief efforts from the February 6th earthquake in Turkey and Syria.  St. George was able to collect $2,600.00 and forwarded those funds to the IOCC (International Orthodox Christian Charities), an international humanitarian aid agency who will be coordinating relief efforts to their regional partners.  We thank the many for their generosity to assist in helping with this humanitarian crisis.  

On Sunday, March 5th, after Divine Liturgy on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, some of the children tied this bracelet on their right hand. They will keep it on until Paschal Vespers, when they cut it off, and place it on the bushes for the birds. Veror is an Albanian folk spring-time tradition - whose origin is clouded in time - there was the practice of children wearing string bracelets for a period of time, bracelets that they would cut off and throw on the bushes so that the birds would take them for their nesting material. In our parish, this folk custom was integrated into the church as a Lenten effort/reminder during Great Lent. Some of the adults of the parish wear this bracelet in solidarity with the children. The bracelets are crocheted with red and white yarn - a reminder of the nature of Christ: both God and man.  Thanks go out to Lluiza Tollkuci who made the red & white bracelet material this year.

On Sunday, Feb 26th, St. George learned of the passing of Vangjo “Petri” Kostandini.  We extend our condolences to Vanjgo’s wife Lirika, his sons Redi and Teodor, his brother and sister-in-law Koli & Lluiza Tollkuci, and his extended family. May his memory be eternal!

From November 2022 through early February 2023, St. George’s parishioners collected frozen hams and turkeys as a charity project with the goal of distributing them to local soup kitchens when food donations are historically low.  On Tuesday, Feb 21st, those donations were made to the Thomas Merton Center (Bridgeport) who operate a meal program, and to the Beth-El Center (Milford) who operate a soup kitchen. Our thanks go out to Brooke & Sophie Dionis, their grandmother Pauline Dionis, and to Fr. Sergei for making the deliveries.  Also, many thanks to our parishioners who purchased and donated the foods for this charity effort.  Click onto the more information link below to view 2 photos.