Father's Challenge
Last month a Stewardship and Welcome Luncheon was held in
the church hall. It was wonderful moment in the life of our community to acknowledge and publicly welcome newcomers
who have moved into the area in the last year. This was an occasion long overdue. I pray that this welcoming luncheon
and program will become an annual event in the life of our
parish.
For every church community should foster such socializing
among its members. I realize that some people object to so
much emphasis on socializing. "The church isn't a country
club" is a common retort. Yet church life does not consist
solely of religious services and ceremonies. It also reflects
social interaction between people. We must remember that
Our Lord Himself was very sociable. He met and greeted
people of every walk of life - innocent children, prostitutes,
the sick, the poor, the unlearned, and Gentiles. He stopped to
talk to the Samaritan woman at the well. In the dead of night
He received Nicodemus, who as afraid to approach Christ
during the day. Christ Himself was always approachable. He attended the wedding feast and other social affairs. He mixed.
For many parishioners, the best time when they can meet
other Orthodox people, is just before and after the liturgy on Sundays. Take a little time to introduce yourself to those you
do not know who happen to be in church that day. The Divine Liturgy is a group act. "In peace let us pray to the Lord" is
intoned at the beginning of the holy services. We offer worship
to God as a group with the priest. Why not carry on that group spirit, that friendliness, that sociability? How often I hear the statement: "I've seen her or him at church, but I don't know
who they are."
Consider breaking the ice when you see strangers. There are
a number of ways to begin, such as; "Let me introduce myself," "Glad to see you here," and "How do you like our church - our services - our choir?" Invite them to come again.
Of course I am not suggesting that we shake hands with
everyone in church, slap folks on the back, or wave to people across the aisle. We must always remember that we are in the House of God, to Whom we owe respect and reverence. Yet
even during the service, we can give a friendly smile or nod. If someone near us appears lost trying to follow the liturgy, we
can point out the right page in the hymnal. When we do even these small gestures, we are extending a hand of friendship.
We help make newcomers feel at home.
Some people rush out of church at the end of communion or
at the end of liturgy. They do not go into the hall for the fellowship hour but head to their cars and leave. I ask that
they consider staying for a while if possible. Go into the hall.
Don't just sit back with your group of friends, but mingle with people you many not know, or not know very well. In the
process, you may well make new friends and like the apostles
of old, spread Christ's eternal message of peace and love.
May the Lord bless you all as we progress in our Lenten
journey toward the Great Feast of Pascha.
In Christ,
Fr. Dionysios
President's Message
On the 1st of March we celebrated our annual Apokreatiko Glendi. What fun we had! The live music, the dancing and the fellowship was wonderful. And how about that great meal! Our own Christopher Corey planned the menu, prepared all the vegetables, the potatoes and cooked a gourmet meal for all of us to enjoy. How special it was to see this young man in the kitchen with his chef hat and coat, cooking! I was most touched by the pride that his parent's Amanda and Craig had as they watched their son perform. Everyone raved about the meal. Christopher, a job well done!
I know that we all love a great party. It takes a lot of planning and help in making this type of event a success. Thank you to Soteria Dascalakis, Maria Cropper, Sotiria Tripp, Polly Anton, Maria Colozzi, Vasso Lundberg, Anjie Samaras, Brier and Elaine Gay, Kirk Tarasidis, Liz White, Amanda and Craig Corey, Christopher Corey, Paul Mott, Eula Mott, Dena Kontoulas, Titsa Dermatas, Alexis Dermatas, all the DOT GOYAns, and little Nicholas Colozzi for all your help.
Thank you to everyone who attended this Glendi. Through fellowship like this we renew our friendships, make new friends and come together as a community. I hope that more of us will want to be a part of our next function.
Also, thank you to all who attended the Special General Assembly to review our revised By-Laws. This was an important meeting. The proposed By-Laws were accepted and will be submit to the Metropolis for approval. Most importantly, thank you to Theodora Vaporis for her many hours of work on this project and for preparing all the copies that were distributed to the parishioners. It is amazing how much we give of our self in time, talent and treasure.
I wish everyone a wonderful Lenten period and ?a?? ??astas?!
Kiki S. Tarasidis
PARISH COUNCIL NEWS
A Special General Assembly was held for the specific purpose of reviewing and approving new proposed bylaws. Some of the changes are generally outlined below. Full copies of the approved bylaws will be posted in the near future.
1. The time period for nominations to the Parish Council has been adjusted to include a seven day period after the Fall General Assembly each year.
2. All Parish Council members and all Volunteers of the church are subject to a criminal background check by the Priest and the President. No person may serve on the Parish Council or serve as a Volunteer on any youth committee and/or ministry or financial committee and/or ministry if they have been convicted of a felony (or of a lesser crime) involving an act of dishonesty, including but not limited to sexual misconduct, acts of fraud, misrepresentation, theft or embezzlement, or the misappropriation of corporate assets. Any question about the qualification of a crime will be determined at the discretion of the Priest in consultation with the Vicar.
3. All Members in Good Standing must have their signed pledge cards submitted at least seven (7) days prior to a General Assembly in order to vote in that Assembly. Consequently parishioners will not be allowed to sign pledge cards on their way into an Assembly as they have in the past. This will allow for more ease in determining those eligible to vote and less confusion in the check-in process.
4. The office of Treasurer cannot be held by any person currently receiving financial assistance from the Church.
5. The Parish Council shall endeavor to hold Special General Assemblies on a Sunday.
6. The Fall General Assembly shall be held no later than the second Sunday in November.
Submitted by Theodora Vaporis
THE TREASURER'S NOTE
February 2008:
Income $12,541.85
Expenses $17, 959.17
Difference $ -5,417.32
*** It should be noted that in order to ensure all expenses during February and March were, and would be paid, it was necessary to Transfer $20,000.00 from the Festival account to the General Funds account.
Fellow Parishioners, if writing a check to the church, please make sure that the memo line is filled out as to how you would like the money to be applied: i.e., Pledge, candles, tray, memorial, etc. I cannot stress the importance of this enough. It not only ensures that the money from you is applied correctly, but also helps in determining expected income for the next years budget. Thank you for your help.
STEWARDSHIP
THANK YOU!!! Thank you to all of you who have supported YOUR Church by giving your time, talents and treasures. Recently some of you attended the Appreciation luncheon; I hope that everyone enjoyed the Lenten meal and speech. For those of you did not attend, you really missed out.
During this Lenten Season, I ask all of you to take some time to ponder how your Stewardship contribution can be part of this Lenten period. Lent is not only a time when we abstain from consuming animal products. It is a time when we simplify our lives, a time when we pray for replenishment, a time of anticipation for the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior. Let's show love and generosity to others, show mercy, and then we will feel what it means to be good stewards.
Yours in Christ,
Stewardship Committee
PARISH NEWS AND NOTES
Tori Galloway will be appearing in the Community Theatre of Greensboro's production of Disney's High School Musical running April 4-13, 2008, at the Carolina Theatre in downtown Greensboro.
THANK YOU
To Christopher Corey and Katie from Weaver Academy Culinary Arts Program, and to Craig Corey and Kirk Tarasidis for cleaning the ovens and the grill in our kitchen.
To Craig and Amanda Corey for donating all the beer for the Apokreatiko Glendi.
To Mary Kontoulas for purchasing a second spinach squeezer for our Baking.
To Bill and Jennie Oncea for donating a Bread rack to be used at Festival.
To Vasiliki Patterson for her donation of the stainless steel utility cart to use in the Fellowship Hall given in memory of her deceased family members.
To everyone who helped with special items for Lent and Pascha, especially:
March 14th - Toula Chininis - flowers 1st Salutation
March 21st - Thalia Bundros - flowers 2nd Salutation
March 25th - Betty Varsamis - Annunciation Flowers
March 28th - Kiki Tarasidis - flowers 3rd Salutation
April 4th - Nafsika Tsintzos - flowers 4th Salutation
April 11th - Joanne Macropolis - Akathist flowers
Vassilia Varsamis - Communion Wine
Nafsika Tsintzos, Vasiliki Patterson & Vassilia Varsamis - Prosfora
A special thanks to the chaperones for taking members of GOYA to the Diakonia Center last weekend for the Lenten Retreat. They were Goya leader Amanda Corey, Kirk Tarasidis, and Matthew Tripp.
Thank you to Bill Oncea for all his hard work in the kitchen. Bill and his wife Jennie are always helping out with the baking. Bill spent many years working in the bakery at Harris Teeter and is an expert baker. You will find him standing guard in front of the hot ovens as he watches all the koulourakia, the baklava and the kourabiedes to ensure that they bake evenly. He carefully rotates the hot pans, and we end up with beautifully baked sweets! Bill, we could not do all this without you. Thank you for all your time and talent. May God keep you well.
AHEPA By Matthew Pappas
The Ahepa wishes to thank the parish for its support of the successful March 25th Luncheon. Those responsible for the delicious meal were brothers Theodore Triantis, David Valavanis, and Ioannis Varitimidis. Brother Dimitrios Efstathiou was responsible for decorating the hall and organizing the wonderful Greek School program for the celebration of Greek Independence. Also, the Ahepa wishes to acknowledge the generous donations from Captain Bill's Seafood Restaurant for the fish and Skipper's for the coleslaw.
The Ahepa will provide the Lenten Dinner after the Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday, April 2. Our next regular meeting will be May 14th in the church hall. A steak dinner will be served during the meeting.
Remember that chapter and district scholarship applications need to be postmarked by April 1.
DAUGHTERS OF PENELOPE
The Daughters of Penelope as an organization and individual members of Daughters have donated photocopy paper to the church: Daughters - 2 cases; Loretta Boll - 1 case; Barbara Kazazes - 2 cases; Vasiliki Patterson - 1 case.
50+Club will go to Gianno's Restaurant (1124 Eastchester Dr., High Point) at 1pm on Monday, April 7. Take Wendover Ave., turn left onto Eastchester Dr., Gianno's is 3 miles on the left from Wendover Ave. Gianno's is facing Eastchester in a shopping center before Centennial St. For a ride, meet at church at 12:30pm.
GOYA NEWS
Goya will be doing a fundraiser this month. They will be selling Krispy Kreme punchcards. With this card, you get one free dozen donuts with the purchase of a dozen donuts. You may use the card ten (10) times. The cost is $12 and Goya makes $6 from the sale of each card. If you want several cards to sell at work or school, please see Sophia Schermerhorn. Thank you for supporting our youth!
Tsourekia (Sweet Bread)
Orders are being taken now for Tsourekia that will be sold on Palm Sunday. To insure that you have one, place your order ahead of time by calling Toula Chininis or Donna at the church office. Sales are to support the Choir trip to Greece in June.
Pascha Candle Sale: We will be selling whimsical, fun and pretty decorated Pascha candles again this year. The proceeds from the sale last year allowed us to purchase one Altar boy robe and sash! Please support the sale again this year. All proceeds will be donated to the Altar Boy Robe Fund. Please contact Kiki Tarasidis for more information.
PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS
By Edna Pappas, Secretary
The Ladies Philoptochos Society would like to give a big thank you to Zack Touloupas, Sheila Touloupas, Celia Touloupas Sims, and Roger Sims for donating and serving the Hot Dog Luncheon held on Sunday, March 2, 2008. All people in attendance enjoyed the luncheon.
There will be no General Philoptochos Meeting in April.
Thursday, April 10, Cleaning Church at 8:00am. Please bring cleaning cloths, Windex and Pledge furniture polish. Volunteers are needed, please come help.
Sunday, April 20, pick up eggs for dying after church services. The eggs are donated through the generosity of Titsa Dermatas.
Friday, April 25, at 11:00am we will decorate the Epitaphio. Volunteers are needed for this rewarding experience.
There will be a work meeting on Tuesday, April 29, at the Fellowship Hall at 6:00 pm, preparing for the Annual Luncheon and Bake Sale on Thursday, May 1st. All volunteers are needed.
Annual Luncheon and Bake Sale Thursday, May 1
MENU:
Chicken Kapama over rice, Spanakopeta, Dessert Kataifi, Roll, Coffee/Tea.
Time: 11 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. $7.00per person
Volunteers are also needed throughout the day to help sell pastries, salad preparation, Kitchen help, and meal/beverage serving. You may contact chairpersons Titsa Dermatas, Lula Culler, or Soteria Dascalakis. Your help will
be appreciated.
Reminder: High School and College graduates must have all applications for the Philoptochos and the Pete Harris Scholarships must be in by noon on April 6th. There will be no exceptions. Scholarship Chairpersons are: Thalia Bundros, Cecelia Antahades, Athena Constantinou, Helen Peterson, and Effie Varitimidis.
Scholarships will be awarded on Sunday, May 18th, 2008. A luncheon will also be held after Church Liturgy.
Please consider hosting the coffee hour on Sunday or donating flowers for the altar. Sign up sheets are posted in the church hall.
The Philoptochos Society extends wishes to all families for a KALO PASCHA.
2008 FESTIVAL BAKING COMMITTEE is asking for any able bodied retired men to help for an hour or two with our baking chores, you can lift pans into and out of the ovens, roll carts to the freezer, tape up boxes, etc. It would be a great help. See you at the next baking date!
