Febraury2007 - Greek Orthodox Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos

Father's Challenge

"...We thank you, our God, and praise your glorious Name ...for all things come from you and we have only given back what is yours already."
1st Chronicles 29:13-14

Beloved in the Lord;

     Recently I have been working on the forthcoming 2007 Parish Directory. It's been interesting looking through and selecting photos for the booklet. I've also browsed through the roster of names and addresses. Did you know that there are roughly 250 listings? There are individuals listed who never or rarely come to church. Yet for someone looking at the directory, they would naturally assume that the church is larger than it actually is. This is unfortunate, for it is not a true reflection of the active parish membership here at Dormition of the Theotokos.
     This is not a unique problem. Other churches are also confronted with the same dilemma of trying to decide who to include and exclude. There is a subtle pressure to keep the roster as big as possible. People want to see the church grow. Others feel that it would cause embarrassment to exclude friends or relatives from the roster, even if they failed to fill out a Stewardship Card or even go to another church.
      Yet keeping the roster as big as a telephone directory is a disservice to the active stewards of the parish. Who and what are the active stewards? Active stewards are people who are baptized or chrismated in the Orthodox Church, who nurture their faith through participation in the Sacraments, such as Holy Communion, Confession, etc., and who sign a pledge card and contribute their resources eg. time, talent, ability and finances. They have made an open and public commitment to the Church and our parish.
       We at Dormition of the Theotokos desire everyone to be active members and stewards. God has blessed each of us with unique talents and abilities. For our parish to be all that it can be, we need your active participation in the life of the Church (participation in the Sacraments, the local ministries and the various Church organizations) as a signed Steward.
     In terms of financial giving, True Stewardship is giving back to Christ's Church (for the perpetuation of God's work) a percentage of your financial resources - in proportion to the blessings you have received. The amount each family gives will be different, because the resources of each family are different. Give in proportion to what you have been given, but give sacrificially.
     It is my hope and prayer that more people will make the decision to become signed Stewards here at Dormition of the Theotokos. If you have not done so, please pick up one of the yellow 2007 Stewardship Pledge forms in the narthex. Fill it out and return it. It's my hope that the roster will one day express the true size of the parish. Do not be another nominal name in the back of a church directory. Be an active member. Be a steward!

In Christ,

Fr. Dionysios

Thank You
Thank you and your elves Kiki Tarasidis for a spectacular New Year's Eve Party! Thank you for the Kastritsis Band with his clairino and bousouki! Thank you for taking the opportunity again this year to take the lead role for the up-coming event "Apokreatiko Glendi".
In our church community we need more people like you to enhance our hearts and souls, with our culture and traditions and to pass them on to our children and grandchildren. God bless you and your family and congratulations on your new Presidency.

Congratulations
To Jimmy Contogiannis and Viktoriya Saltzman, Viktoriya and their daughter Katerina received a 40-day Blessing on January 21, 2007.

Thank You
Thank you to Eleni Boukas, Christina Perrou, Christina Mandaleris, Jamie Sipsis, Erin Sipsis and Paul Mott for Greek dancing at the Starmount Forest Country Club in January during their International Night. Also, thanks goes to Polly Anton and Sotiria Tripp for their help in making this a fun night, and to Eleni Boukas for organizing the dancers.
Kiki Tarasidis

FESTIVAL BAKING
We will be baking Koulourakia on Tuesday, February 6 at 8:30am and Kourambiedes on Monday and Tuesday February 19 & 20.

NEWSLETTER SPONSORSHIP
The February newsletter is being sponsored by Nafsika Tsintzos in memory of her loving husband, Gregory, and her parents Vasileios and Eleni Varsamis. Also for her brothers Nicholas & George Varsamis, and her sister Maria.

AHEPA
Our next regular meeting will be on Tuesday February 13, at 7:00pm in our church Fellowship Hall. We hope to see you at the next meeting!
GOYA
By Irene Lawrence
GOYA met at church on Sunday, January 14 from 6-8 pm. We discussed upcoming events like the Blood Drive, the Lenten Retreat, the oratorical festival, and other things. The Blood Drive will be at church on Saturday, February 24 from 10am-2pm. Afterwards GOYA is planning on going to see a movie. The Lenten Retreat will be March 2-4 and March 16-18 at the Diakonia Center. It will be fun, so we'd like to get as many GOYAns as we can to go. Our church's oratorical festival will be on March 4 after church, and the district oratorical festival, which will be held at our parish this year, will be on March 18. There will be a pancake breakfast on Lazarus Saturday (March 31) and a Commentary Liturgy on April 1. GOYA would also like to plan a camping trip in the spring, probably after Easter. In addition to talking about these events we also watched an amazing video that Hamp Culler had brought to show us. It was about the enormity of God's universe and just how small we are, and it was moving and very well done. Thank you to Hamp for showing this to us!

PARISH COUNCIL
The 2007 Parish Council officers are as follows:

Kiki Tarasidis - President
Maher Hanna - Vice President
Theodora Vaporis - Secretary
Carl Colozzi - Treasurer

The Parish Council met for their first meeting of 2007. Kiki Tarasidis, the new President, welcomed everyone and told them how honored she was to serve. She thanked the community for the tremendous support they have shown her through letters and phone calls. She described her mission for the year to include more community involvement, more fellowship within the church and the strengthening of our youth. Topics discussed in the meeting included:

1.      Treasurer's Report;
2.      Stewardship Report which includes the new theme "Investing in Our Church";
3.      The General Assembly scheduled for February 25, 2007;
4.      An appreciation luncheon for those who have signed Stewardship cards on April 22, 2007;
5.      Changing/Adding to the Almond Tree Inventory;
6.      Community Fundraising Events like Spaghetti dinners;
7.      Youth Committee and the appointment by Fr. Dionysios of new heads of JOY (Koula Remoundos) and GOYA (Basil Agapion and Rhonda Thompson);
8.      Renovation of the Foyer donated by the Ragsdale Family;
9.      The use of the Church by the Serbian Orthodox congregation during Holy Week;
10. The new Crucifix in the Church and the donation of the old to a Mission;
11. A new section in the Orthodox Oracle named "Parish News & Notes". Members of our Parish may want to share news about their families or themselves. They may want to ask for support or prayer. They may simply want to announce an event coming up that they are involved in. This is a wonderful way to learn more about our fellow parishioners. Please e-mail or send your news and notes to Donna at the Church by the 15th of every month if you want it included in the following month's Orthodox Oracle.
Submitted by Theodora Vaporis

PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS
By Sheila Touloupas
   Ladies Philoptochos would like to thank everyone that made our Vasilopita Luncheon a success. A special thank you to the following ladies who baked a Vasilopita: Dena Kontoulas, Soteria Dascalakis, Celia Sims, Toula Chininis, Kaki Touloupas, Father Dionysios and Presbytera Elena, Mary Amprazis, Kiki Tarasidis, Betty Varsamis, and Eula Mott. We would also like to thank our outstanding chefs who cooked a delicious meal for us: Yianni Viritimidis, Chris Mandaleris, Minas Dascalakis, and Nikki and Adrianne Viritimidis. We would also like to thank all parishioners who stayed for the luncheon, donated money in the tray, and participated and bought a Vasilopita in our auction. Thanks also to everyone who stayed and helped with the clean-up afterwards!
    On February 11, we will host a Hot Dog Luncheon featuring Zack's
Hot Dogs. The cost of the meal is $5 per person and that includes hot dogs, chips, beverage, and dessert. Proceeds from this luncheon will benefit our St. Stephen's Scholarship fund.
    On February 18, the feast day of our Patron Saint Philothea, a Memorial Service will be held for our members who are no longer with us.
Plans for our annual Scholarship Luncheon are already underway. The following students will be graduating: High School-Pete Graham, Christina Mandaleris, Erin Sipsis, Katherine Galloway, Christina Perrou, Eleni Boukas, and Irene Lawrence; College-Christina Mott, Katie Touloupas, and Megan Varsamis. If you know of any other graduates not listed please contact Catherine Stuman or Sheila Touloupas.
    Ladies Philoptochos and Pete Harris Scholarship applications for our high school seniors will be available in February. The deadline for the applications is April 1. Contact Gwen Varsamis if you have any questions or need further information.
    Please continue to bring items for our Year Round Food Bank.
Dates are always available to host the Sunday Coffee Hour and to donate flowers for the altar. Check the sign-up sheets that are posted in the church hall.

SUNDAY SCHOOL
As parents and teachers, we want our children to focus on their spiritual renewal during Great Lent. A few dates that offer us "tools" for teaching are:
February 10th--Koliva Demonstration by Father Dionysios (bring the kids!)
February 19th--Clean Monday/beginning of Lent (visit goarch.org to learn more)
February 25th--Sunday of Orthodoxy (No Sunday School; students sit up front)
Sunday School children will participate in the procession of icons in the Church on the 25th. These icons symbolize the year 843, when the veneration of icons was restored. This first Sunday of Lent is called the "Triumph of Orthodoxy."

President's Corner
     Happy new year to all! How exciting new beginnings are! I am fortunate and blessed to be a part of such a great church community. I am looking forward to working with our Parish Council in making 2007 a successful year for our church.
     I appreciate all of your kind words, cards and phone calls. The success of this church will require leadership and support. Our Parish Council consists of a group of people very dedicated and committed to our church. Success will also depend on each and every one of us. We all need to take an active role. Volunteer to help with our youth programs, teaching Sunday school, Greek school, mentoring our youth in GOYA & JOY. Help bake pastries, cut baklava, package pastries, help in cleaning the kitchen, help in keeping our grounds well groomed, clean our church and fellowship hall, help in setting up for community socials, participate in community events, and help in any other way that our church may need.
     In other words, we must invest ourselves in our church. Consider a fair share contribution as stewards and volunteer. We are a community of many talents, cultures, languages and personalities. We are united by our incredible faith as Orthodox Christians. This faith is our strength. May we all become closer as a community, may we build new friendships, foster old friendships, may we be forgiving, loving and welcoming to all. And may God continue to bless us.
Kiki Tarasidis

New Year's Eve Glendi
     Wow! What a way to start the New Year! The New Year's Eve Glendi was another successful community social. It was an elegant evening enjoyed by many.
     Thank you to our chefs, Stephen Anton, Theodore Triantis, Yianni Varitimidis, Minas Dascalakis, Niko Samaras, Briar Gay and Kirk Tarasidis. To our biggest ticket sellers, Minerva & Larry Ross, to Brenda & Don Miller, to Barbara Vaughan, Doris Zaharias , Stacy Bartis Lane, Polly Anton, Elaine Gay, Nick Boukas and his father from Canada, George Boukas and Kimmon Varsamis and the "Lift". And a special thank you to Dena Kontoulas for her delicious Vasilopita that she shared with us all.
     Also, thank you to Bill & Mary Anton, Soteria & Minas Dascalakis, Brenda & Don Miller, Nikos & Efrosene Samaras, Kirk & Kiki Tarasidis, Yianni & Effie Varitimidis, Athena & Nick Boukas and George & Bessie Sipsis for their monetary donations towards the cost of the live band. Most important thank you to everyone who supported this event by attending, because of all of our support we were able to host a beautiful, prime rib dinner with live music for a total cost to the church of $33.40! What an accomplishment!

Epistle Guild Changes
Our parish has been very blessed to have had epistle readers who have kindly volunteered to read the epistles throughout the year. But the time has come to make some changes. Fr. Dionysios has asked the Goyans to begin participating in the holy services by taking turns reading the epistle passages on Sunday in English. The Goyans are excited by this opportunity to serve. Our youth is the future of our faith and we need to train them and keep them involved in the liturgical life of the church. For one day, not too far off, these young men and women will be running our parishes. Let's do our part to prepare the next generation!
Epistle Readers for February
Feb. 4 Paul Mott, Feb. 11 Victoria Galloway, Feb. 18 Pete Graham, Feb. 25 Sophia Schermerhorn

PHILOPTOCHOS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
The Philoptochos Society is pleased to announce the continuation of our two scholarship programs. The scholarships are for dependant children of Dormition of the Theotokos parishioners who are in good standing.
The Philoptochos Society Scholarship is based on academic achievement and is awarded to a high school senior who will graduate in May/June 2007 and who has been accepted into a university/college, junior college, or vocational/trade school for fall 2007. The Pete Harris Scholarship is a financial scholarship that is awarded based on need to a high school graduate who will be a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior at a university/college, junior college, or vocational/trade school next fall. Students may apply for both scholarships, however, if the student is a finalist for both, the student may accept only one of the two scholarships. These scholarships will be awarded at The Philoptochos Scholarship Luncheon, honoring all of our graduating seniors, scheduled for Sunday, May 20, 2007.
If you are interested in applying for one or both of these scholarships or would like more information, please contact Thalia Bundros, Athena Constantinou, Helen Peterson, Effie Varitimidis, or Gwen Varsamis. The Scholarship Committee MUST receive completed applications along with all the required supplemental letters and transcripts on or before NOON, SUNDAY, APRIL 1, 2007. NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE DEADLINE… NO EXCEPTIONS.