Dimitri Ndini and Kim Louza were recently engaged. Dimitri is the son of Richard Ndini and the nephew of Ellen. We wish them many years!

We wish to extend our thanks to the many people for their dedicated stewardship to St. George over the past year.

Click onto the following link to view the details:   2025 Year-end Thank yous

On Sunday, Jan 11th, St. George parish conducted the Great Blessing of Water after the celebration of Divine Liturgy for the Feast of Theophany (this feast is normally celebrated on Jan 6th, but was being transferred to Sunday, Jan 11th).

The Troparian for this feast day is: When You, O Lord were baptized in the Jordan / The worship of the Trinity was made manifest / For the voice of the Father bore witness to You / And called You His beloved Son. / And the Spirit, in the form of a dove, / Confirmed the truthfulness of His word. / O Christ, our God, You have revealed Yourself / And have enlightened the world, glory to You! 

Click onto the more information link below to view a few photos.

On Sunday afternoon, Jan 11th, a group from St. George attended Faith and Family Night for a hockey game between the Bridgeport Islanders and the Hartford Wolf Pack at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport.

Net proceeds from a hockey jersey raffle is going to support / benefit FOCUS Bridgeport and its efforts to serve the poor. FOCUS North America is currently developing a FOCUS Center in the Bridgeport metro area, looking to bring together Orthodox Christian churches and community partners to provide Food, Occupation, Clothing, Understanding, and Shelter and other assistance to address the needs of the Bridgeport community. Click onto the following link to learn more about FOCUS North America.  

Also, click onto the more information link below to view a few photos. 

On Sunday, Dec 21st after Divine Liturgy, the parish held its St. Nicholas Party during it's Coffee Hour.  The Feast day for St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, is commemorated each year on December 6th, but due to other conflicts this year, our celebration was delayed until Dec 21st. The gathering was very well attended and enjoyed by all. 

This annual event is held specifically for the parish children, but also for the parish community to gather for fellowship and seasonal joy.  There is a visit from Santa for the children, and all are requested to donate a Christmas gift to donate to local charity toy drive – this year the Church School collected gifts to go to the 3rd Graders at Beardsley Elementary School (Bridgeport) as part of a coordinated project with FOCUS North America (The Fellowship of Orthodox Christians United to Serve) and 2 other Orthodox Churches in Bridgeport (Holy Ghost Church on East Main St & St. John's Church on Mill Hill).

First off, many thanks go out to our Church School Coordinator & Teachers: Pauline Dionis, Nicole, Brooke, & Sophie Dionis for running our Church School program.  For all of the St. Nicholas Party coordination, we thank Pauline Dionis, Curt & Nicole Dionis, & the Teuta Lakror-making group who handled all the major aspects of planning, cooking and preparing for the celebration. To Diane Cryan, Laura Denisevich, Pauline Dionis & Cathy Hotova who helped with the cleanup.  To Greg Buzi II for "arranging" a visit from Santa, and to Sophie & Brooke Dionis who welcomed Santa, and helped Santa hand out his gifts to the children. Our final thank you goes to Old Towne Restaurant (60 Quality St, Trumbull) who donated the pizza’s for the party – we encourage everyone to make sure they include and patronize Old Towne Restaurant as part of their dining options. 

UPDATE on FOCUS Christmas Toy Drive for 3rd Graders at Beardsley Elementary School (Bridgeport):  Towards the end of the St. Nicholas Party on Sun, Dec 21st, Fr. David Cochran from St. John's Church on Mill Hill picked up all the donated Christmas toys and delivered them to Beardsley Elementary School that next day, so the school had time to distribute the gifts to the students before their Christmas break.  Fr. David reported that the coordinated toy drive project from FOCUS North America (participating churches were us, St. George, and St. John's and Holy Ghost from Bridgeport) was extremely successful -  that "we filled a small room with all the toys we collected".  Again, many thanks to all of St. George's parishioners who generously donated toys for this project. Special thanks to: Vi & Jim Bowe who made a very generous donation of toys, to Laura Coughlin for coordinating, and to Pauline, Curt, Brooke, and Sophie Dionis who helped carry out and load up Fr. David's car with all the toys.

Click onto the more information link below to view several photos from the day’s celebration, and at the very end, please find photos of the 3rd Graders from Beardsley Elementary School after they received their toy gifts.

On Sunday, Feb 1st, St. George celebrated the Feast of “The Meeting of the Lord in the Temple” (or "Papandia" in Albanian). The feast was transferred from February 2nd, which is the day it is normally celebrated. Thanks to Nardi Tollkuci who read the Gospel lesson for this day in Albanian. Addtionally, the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple is the Teuta Ladies Society’s Patronal Feast Day. Along with the Teuta Society, St. George celebrated their Patronal Feast Day with prayers after Divine Liturgy. Traditionally the Teuta Society offers 5 loaves, wheat, wine and oil for the celebration, and grure, (a boiled-wheat confection) for the health of the parish family. The "Queen Teuta" Ladies Society of St. George was formed/organized in 1931.  This year, (2026), the parish recognizes and thanks them for their 95 years of service to St. George.  May God grant them all many years! Click onto the more information link below to view a few photos.

On Friday, Feb 13th, Linda Kolton, the newly appointed Director of the FOCUS Bridgeport Center, and her husband Van, came to St. George to pick up frozen hams and turkeys that parishioners donated over the past 3 months. The initial charity project’s intent was to donate the hams and turkeys to local soup kitchens, but it was decided to forward these donations to the newly activated FOCUS Bridgeport Center who is working with Holy Ghost Church to organize a monthly weekend meal service for the children and families of Beardsley Elementary School. The first meal will be on Saturday, February 28 at 5:30PM at Holy Ghost Church. Thank you to those who donated the frozen hams and turkeys – they will go to good use! Click onto the more information link below to view a larger photo of the one on the left.

UPDATE from Feb 26th: Click onto the following link to view an update/newsletter from Linda Kolton talking about her experiences from the first month as the Director of the FOCUS Bridgeport Center.  FOCUS Bridgeport Feb 2026 Update.  Linda acknowledges St. George for some of our early assistance. 

As a reminder:
FOCUS (Food, Occupation, Clothing, Understanding, and Shelter) has the following Mission Statement:
As an expression of Christ’s love, FOCUS exists to serve the poor by bringing together Orthodox Christian churches and community partners to provide Food, Occupation, Clothing, Understanding, and Shelter and other assistance to address the needs of local communities.
 
FOCUS North America currently has set-up 12 Centers around the country, Bridgeport being the most recent addition.  The other 11 Centers include: Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Gateway City (St. Louis), Houston, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Orange County (Southern CA), Philadelphia, and Phoenix. 
 
Click onto the following link to learn more about FOCUS North America.
 

On March 1st, on the first Sunday of Great Lent, the parish of St. George celebrated Divine Liturgy commemorating the Sunday of Orthodoxy. The first Sunday of Great Lent is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy, (or the Feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy) which is a historical feast commemorating the return of the Icons to the churches in the year 843.  During the Great Entrance at Divine Liturgy, the children and parishioners carried their Konizmat icons, returning the Icons back to the church. Click onto the following link to learn about the Albanian tradition of Konizmat. Click onto the more information link below to view a few photos from the day.

On Sunday, March 22nd, St. George commemorated "Heritage Sunday".  March is an important month in the history of the Albanian Archdiocese: March 22, 1908 is the date of the first liturgy was ever served in the Albanian language in America (in Boston), and March 13, 1965 is the date of repose of our first hierarch Theophan (Noli). Click here to read Bishop Nikodhim’s letter from Feb 27, 2024. on the purpose of this annual commemoration.

As part of "Heritage Sunday", St. George offered prayers at the close of Divine Liturgy for the blessing and guidance of the Albanian Archdiocese. And per Bishop Nikodhim's request to all parishes in the Archdiocese, a Memorial service was held for all of our departed diocesan hierarchs, and for the priests and priftëresha who served in our St. George parish.  Click onto the more information link below to view two photos. 

St. George is participating again this year with numerous Trumbull Faith-based communities and organizations in a program called Refill the Pantry to support The Trumbull Food Pantry.  The Refill the Pantry program began in 2022 when a collaboration of churches established a program to address food insecurity in the Bridgeport, CT area – Trumbull being one of those areas. Approximately 200 families use the Trumbull Food Pantry. As part of St. George’s continuing service outreach this year, we will be participating in 2 food drives.

We just completed our 1st food drive for this year when 194 lbs of shelf-stable pantry and personal care items were picked up on Monday, March 23rd by the Refill the Pantry organization and delivered to the Trumbull Food Pantry.

Additionally our March Charity Tray is collecting for the Trumbull Food Pantry to bolster our food donations.  Next Sunday, March 29th will be the last day to donate cash for this charity.

Many thanks to all of St. George’s parishioners who donated items over the past 4 weeks. Click onto the more information link below to view 2 photos. We will post the total results from this Refill the Pantry Spring Food Drive when they are available. 

On April 5th, St. George celebrated Palm Sunday, which marks the Entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem. This year, a mix of pussy willow branches, boxwood branches, and palm fronds were bundled for blessing. After Divine Liturgy, the blessing of the palms and branches was followed by a procession of palms around the perimeter of the church with the parish youth & children and some parishioners.  Palm crosses and the bundled palms & branches were handed out during the dismissal. Thanks to the parishioners who assembled the palm fronds with the pussy willow and boxwood branches after the Palm Sunday Vespers service on the evening of Lazarus Saturday, and to parishioners who made palm crosses on Sunday morning. Click onto the more information link below to view a few photos.

On Thursday evening, May 9th, the Matin Service of Great and Holy Friday with the reading of the Twelve Gospel Lessons was held. Many thanks to the numerous volunteers from the parish who assisted with the Gospel readings. Click onto the more information link below to view a few photos.

On Friday, April 10th, St. George completed services for Great and Holy Friday (Good Friday) with the afternoon Vespers Service of Taking down from the Cross, and the Friday evening Matins service for Great and Holy Saturday, with the Praises (or Lamentations) at the Tomb of Christ.  Click onto the more information link below to view a few photos, and come back at a later date as additional ones are posted. 

Christ is Risen! Truly, He is Risen!  Krishti U-Ngjall! Vërtet U-Ngjall! are the traditional Orthodox Christian Paschal greetings in both English and Albanian. The St. George community recently completed the service cycle of Great Lent and Holy Week to Holy Pascha, with the celebration of the Midnight Paschal Liturgy on May 11th.  Click on the following link to view the Paschal greeting in numerous languages. Click onto the more information link below to view photos from the Nocturn, Midnight Matins and Paschal Divine Liturgy services, the Pashcal Vespers service, and the Children's Egg Hunt.
 

St. George learned of the passing of Joan Deaky – Donna Kerma's mother - on April 9th. We extend our condolences to Donna, Kenny, and Pandora, and their extended family.  Memory eternal!

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the many, many people who helped to make Lent, Holy Week and Pascha beautiful and meaningful celebrations. Click onto the following link to view our specific thank-yous! 2026 -Thanks for their Stewarship

St. George wishes to thank His Grace, Bishop Nikodhim, Bishop of Boston and the Albanian Archdiocese, for his visit and serving Divine Liturgy for us on Sunday, April 26th. Click onto the more information link below to view a few photos.

On Sunday, April 26th after Divine Liturgy, the Teuta Ladies Society of St. George held its annual Spring Luncheon for its members at Old Towne Restaurant in Trumbull. The "Queen Teuta" Ladies Society of St. George was formed/organized in 1931 and this year, (2026), they are celebrating 95 years of service to St. George. The Teuta Ladies continue to be the most important driver of St. George’s fundraising, charitable, and social efforts.  Click onto the more information link below to view a few photos from the luncheon.

A team from St. George participated in the Greater Bridgeport CROP Hunger Walk on Sunday, May 3rd.  The CROP Walk is a fundraiser for hunger at both the local and global level. The local beneficiaries include: Bridgeport Rescue Mission, Daughters of Charity Rescue Mission, King's Pantry, nOURish Bridgeport, Monroe Food Pantry, Operation Hope, Spooner House, Stratford Baptist Church, Thomas Merton Center, Trumbull Social Services (they manage the Trumbull Food Pantry), and Beth-El Center. The Bridgeport event started at the United Congregational Church on North Ave and went for 2.2 miles. If you wish to make a donation directly to St. George's CROP Hunger Walk Team, click onto the following link to get to the St. George Team Donation page: https://events.crophungerwalk.or/st-george-albanian-orthodox-church . Besides donations made for the team walking in this event, St. George is also collecting money for the CROP Walk as part of our April/May Charity Tray. We will report back at a later date when we receive the total donations from our parish. Click onto the more information link below to view 2 photos.