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 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.

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, 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.

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

Congratulations to Nancy Poltrack who was received into the Orthodox Church on Sunday, Dec 7th during Divine Liturgy.  Nancy participated in the Service of Reception of Converts on Sat, Dec 6th, and the sacrament of Holy Chrismation on Sunday.  Pauline Dionis served as Nancy’s sponsor. May God grant Nancy and her family Many Years! Click onto the more information link to view a few photos.

On Sat, Dec 6th, there was an Albania Independence Day Party held in the Church Hall. This was also a fundraising event for St. George. The official observation date for Albania Independence Day (or Flag Day) is November 28th.  St. George also recognized Albanian Flag Day (Dita e Flamurit) on Sunday, Nov 23rd with a Doxology service (a prayer of praise to God) after Divine Liturgy. This event raised over $2000 for St. George. Thanks to Nardi Tolkuci and Aida Kalapo for organizing and coordinating the event.  Click onto the more information link below to view a few photos.