Chanters: 

Chanting Podium is where the chanters are stationed and usually located to the south. The chanters are often wear black outer cassock with wide angel-wing sleeves called exorason. You’ll find in a modern setting to have a choir in addition to having chanters.

Particularly in the Byzantine tradition, the cantor in charge of doing the music for a service is referred to as the protopsaltis. Chanters sing the many hymns called for during the Divine Services and the Divine Liturgy. A chanter must be knowledgeable about the ecclesiastical modes as well as the complex structure of the services.

Acolytes: 

Acolytes are the altar server. With priest approval and blessing, and if they wish, boys may begin serving on the Holy Altar as young as age eight depending on maturity. The priest generally conducts an initial orientation session for new boys, and then the boys receive ongoing on the job training.

Expectations:

• As an Acolyte you are expected to be prayerful and reverent.
• Always pay attention to what is taking place around us.
• Respect the concerns and directions of the Parish Priest or Acolyte Leader
• Arrive on time at least 10 minutes before the service.
• Keep the Sanctuary clean and neat and in order at all times.
• Prepare to receive the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ by:
  • Participate in Holy Confession specially during the Advent Fast and Great Lenten Fast
  • Fast on appropriate days Wednesdays and Fridays and throughout t other fast periods
  • Limiting your thoughts, words, and actions to those things that glorify God.
• Show your reverence to the Lord by:
  • Crossing ourselves at the moment we enter the Sanctuary,
  • Crossing ourselves whenever we walk behind the altar or observe Father crossing himself
  • Crossing ourselves whenever the Holy Trinity is commemorated during divine services.

Myrrh Bearers: 

The Myrrh Bearers traditionally refers to the women with myrrh who came to the tomb of Christ early in the morning to find it empty. 

” Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  (Mark 16:1-2)

To be a Myrrh Bearer she must:

• Eight-year old girl
• She attends St. Nectarios religious education program
• Attends Myrrh Bearer practices
• Commit to active in life of the Church

Duties and Responsibilities of a Myrrh Bearer

• Help during Great lent and Holy Week.
• Meet on the 3rd Sunday after Pascha, the Sunday of the Myrrh Bearing Women, and share experience during Great Lent.
• Attend, tentatively, meeting of Myrrh Bearers at least once a month to discuss future outreach projects, with a special activity.
• Help in the Narthex at least once a year.
• Help in Sunday school class at least once a year and begin receiving training to become a future teacher of religious education.
• Mentor future Myrrh Bearers by teaching the eighteenth lamentation stanza.
• Be a "prayer pal" with each other.
• Help, if when needed, organize the narthex, nave, and solea (elevated place of sanctuary platform).
• Organize and serve during coffee refreshment time following Divine Liturgy.

Philoptochos: 

The Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society, Inc. is the philanthropic arm of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America that has offered eighty years of philanthropy through a multitude of programs that make a difference in the lives of people in the United States and throughout the world.  The Society was established in November 1931, by the late Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I, who was then serving as Archbishop of North and South America.

Philoptochos fulfills its mission to “help the poor, the destitute, the hungry, the aged, the sick, the unemployed, the orphaned, the imprisoned, the widowed, those with disabilities and the victims of disasters through its National and Metropolis Boards and its 26,000 members and more than 400 active chapters, nationwide.

Bible Study:

The mission of the Adult Bible Study is to enrich the understanding and faith of each participant through an exploration of biblical texts and deepen our spiritual outlooks. 

What does it mean to be an Orthodox Christian? What do we believe? What are we really expressing when we recite the Creed each Sunday? How are our beliefs different than those of the Protestant and Roman Catholic faiths and other world religions?

The group’s goal is to enrich the understanding and faith of each participant through an exploration of the biblical texts and to deepen our spiritual outlooks. The class takes into consideration the historical context for the Bible, its characters and events, and then draws out various Orthodox interpretations with the goal of delving into the deeper theological meanings, especially as they relate to Orthodox Tradition. We will explore how to live our faith as individuals and as “one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.”

Sunday School: 

We invite your children to participate in Sunday School each Sunday during the regular school year. All families are strongly encouraged to participate. Come learn, grow, and worship with us. The Sunday School year starts in September and ends in June each year. 

The mission of Saint Nectarios Religious Education program is to mold the lives of our students in the Orthodox Christian way of life by proclaiming the teaching of Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition and to develop each student spiritually to live a Christ-centered life, to worship and serve the Lord and His Holy Orthodox Church. 

Youth Ministries: 

"Jr. GOYA" is an acronym that stands for "The Junior Greek Orthodox Youth of America".  Jr. GOYA ministry welcomes all young people in Grade 6 to 8. And because Jr. GOYA is a ministry, the orientation and implementation of the program should reflect the Orthodox Christian Faith, Tradition, and Life (FTL discipline).

The GOYA ministry welcomes all youth in High School. The Greek Orthodox Youth of America, or GOYA, is the ministry to teenagers of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Since GOYA is ministry, the orientation and implementation of the program should reflect the Orthodox Christian Faith, Tradition and Life. GOYA is ministry to high school Orthodox Christian teenagers.

MISSION AND GOAL OF GOYA MINISTRY

The mission and goal of GOYA ministry is to lead our young people into experiencing the Holy Orthodox Faith. By developing a relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and becoming active sacramental members of the living Church, and learning about the Faith, our youth will be equipped with tools necessary to assist them in their journey toward salvation.

The Four Characteristics

The National Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries recommends that JGOYA ministry be based on the following four characteristics: 

1. Worship (Liturgia) - as Orthodox Christians, we believe that God reveals Himself through Holy Tradition and Scripture. Worship is the sacramental expression of these, and is thus a very important element in ministering to our young people. It is important for JGOYAn’s to be active sacramental members of the Church.
2. Fellowship (Koinonia) - is the way Orthodox Christians integrate their faith with daily life. It is sacred when Orthodox Christians gather together in our Lord’s name. The relationship of the Holy Trinity is the perfect model of Fellowship. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share perfect communion and exist in perfect love. By gathering together in fellowship, and by experiencing this love, we emulate the relationship of the Trinity, and develop our life in Christ.
3. Service (Diakonia) - Christ came to serve, not to be served. Young people are urged to do the same. Therefore, we can honor and glorify God by loving and serving humanity in His name. Young people should use their God-given charismata (gifts) to serve.
4. Witness (Martyria) - Man is both a spiritual and physical being. The spiritual reality is not always expressed in the material world. In order to be true to oneself and to the Orthodox Christian Faith, young people should strive to exemplify faith. They must be a witness to their faith, offering a convincing word and verbal expression of this faith, to those they come in contact with.

Greek School: 

We are pleased to announce that in our church we will offer Greek language classes for children and adults, once again this year. Let's seize this unique opportunity, especially for our children and grandchildren, to learn to speak, read and write Greek and to discover the thousands of Greek words hidden in the English language.

THE STUDENTS LEARN:

o    VOCABULARY

o    GRAMMAR

o    COMMUNICATION

o    DIALOGUES

o    EXPRESSIONS

We follow modern methods of tutoring according to the instructional tutorial program of the Holy Archdiocese of the U.S.A. Starting this year; students will receive additional educational materials for their better practice and learning of Greek language. Students who are interested will be offered the opportunity to prepare for the annual examination leading to the Certificates of Competence in Modern Greek.