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CHURCH SERVICES:
Sunday Orthros (Matins) 9:00am
Divine Liturgy 10:00am
Sunday School after Holy
Communion
Weekday Holy Days:
Orthros and Divine Liturgy 8:00am PARISH PRIEST:
Fr. Dionysios Listermann-Vierling
Church: 292-8013
Fax: 851-2800
Home: 638-4105
In case of emergency: Cell 312-3642 COUNCIL OFFICERS:
Scott Graham
President 643-7099
Hampton Culler
Vice-President 854-8235
Carl Colozzi
Treasurer 644-0615
Theodora Vaporis
Secretary 584-6020
Board Members:
Maher (George) Hanna
Eleni Harrison
Matthew Pappas
Kiki Tarasidis
Zack Touloupas
Kimmon Varsamis
COMMITTEES:
Stewardship
Hamp Culler
Greek Festival
Mike Dolianitis
Finance
Carl Colozzi
Maintenance
Kimmon Varsamis
Religious Education
Zack Touloupas
Sick and Visitation
Brenda Miller
Bessie Sipsis
Foundation
(open)
Youth
Kiki Tarasidis
Rental property
Minas Dascalakis
Nomination Committee
Stephen Anton
Philoptochos Liaison
Welcoming Committee
All church members
THE SACRAMENT
OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST Preparation
To prepare for Communion we must keep our minds and hearts on spiritual things. Prayer
When we come forward to receive, we should repeat the Communion prayer, which every Orthodox Christian should try to memorize. Reverence
We approach the Holy Communion 'with fear of God, faith and love', knowing that our bodies and souls will become one with Christ. Acceptance
We hold the red Communion cloth beneath our chin, using it to wipe our lips if necessary. We should open our mouth wide to receive the Holy Communion and not be afraid to close our lips upon the spoon. If there are acolytes holding the cloth, release the cloth and do not try to hand it to the next communicant. Turn toward the Consecrated
Bread (Antidoron), make your cross and take a piece of it. Return
Return to your seat, remain standing and say a prayer of thanksgiving for this greatest gift of all on earth and in Heaven. A Special Note from Father Dionysios about Receiving Communion Please step up close to receive Communion, take the Cloth and place it under your chin. When receiving the Communion, please open your mouth wide. THE TREASURER'S NOTE
By Carl Colozzi (644-0615) Please indicate in the memo portion of your check where payment should be applied: pledge, candles, tray, memorials, etc. If you are using a business check, please make sure that your name is printed somewhere on the check. The Budget is based on these incomes. Thank you.
You may try to keep your good habit of sending your pledged contributions in an orderly way. If you would like to sponsor a special project, please contact Carl Colozzi at 644-0615 or Scott Graham at 643-7099. 2006 Pledges Currently, we have 62 stewards who have pledged a total of $51,505 for the year 2006:
Alexiou, Marina; Andrews, Ted; Anton, Bill & Mary; Bundros, Tony & Thalia; Chininis, Frank & Toula; Contogiannis, Ellen; Cropper, James & Maria; Culler, Hamp & Lula; Dermatas, Alexis; Dermatas, Alex & Titsa; Dolianitis, Mike; Efstathiou, Dimitrios & Konstantia; Galloway, Ed & Georgette; Graham, Erin; Graham, Scott & Christa; Hanna, Aziz & Violet; Hanna, Maher; Harrison, Eleni; Hattle, George & Jean Elizabeth; Katsikas, Mary; Kazazes, Anne; Kazazes, Barbara; Kontoulas, Cleo & Dena; Kontoulas, Dimitrios & Karen; Kotsionis, Harry & Elly; Listermann-Vierling, Fr. Dionysios & Presbytera Elena; Lundberg, David & Vasso; Macropoulos, Joanne; Mandaleris, Chris & Maria; Megremis, Lampros & Theodora; Miller, Don & Brenda; Moye, William & Kelly; Oncea, William & Jennie; Pappas, Edna; Patterson, Vasiliki; Poulos, Peter; Raxter, Donna; Sagos, Joanne & Larry Carroll; Sakerllaris, Chris & Ardele; Silos, Mrs. Evangelos; Sims, Leighanne; Sims, Roger & Celia; Soare, Aurica, Soare, Nicolae & Sien Lian; Soufia. Mikhail & Ginah; Stuman, Jim & Catherine; Thevaos, Jim & Hedy; Thompson, Tom & Rhonda; Touloupas, Katie; Touloupas, Mary Alyson; Touloupas, Kathleen; Touloupas, Zack & Sheila; Triantis, Theodore; Tzintzos, Nafsika; Tzouvelekas, Mark; Tzouvelekas, Nick & Debra; Valavanis, David; Varsamis, Kimmon & Gwen; Varsamis, Megan; Vaughan, Edgar & Vicki; White, Ed & Liz; Vavalides, Phillip & Teresa; West, Victoria; White, Ed & Elizabeth; Woods, Terry; Xixis, Othonas & Debbie.
Deadline: The Dormition of the Theotokos Monthly Newsletter deadline is the 20th of the previous month. Please submit your materials on time. Content: Articles, notes and other information of interest for our parish can be sent by mail. Church Attendance: A regular attendance of the church's services reflects how seriously you approach your salvation. Parents with Sunday School children: Children must sit with their families in the front pews, so they will be served Communion first. During the school year, after Communion, children will proceed directly to their classrooms. Please remember that coming to the church late teaches our children bad habits. Make it a point to bring them on time.
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Father's Challenge Recently a celestial trip began. We all take trips, but this one is unusually long. A rocket was launched on January 20th that carries the New Horizons spacecraft. The journey of the ship will cover three billion miles and will take 9 ½ years before it arrives at its destination, the planet Pluto. If all is successful, the probe will take pictures and analyze the atmosphere of this distant world. The information gathered will help scientists better understand the primordial conditions of the early Solar System in which the earth itself was formed. Mankind has an inherent desire and thirst to discover. Our ancient ancestors, curious and courageous, ventured beyond the narrow confines of their surroundings to eventually populate the world. Even today, some dare to scale high mountains, descend into gloomy cavern systems or probe the depths of the ocean floor in this unending quest to explore the unknown and uncharted. Our faith is no less different. In a sense, we all are on a quest; we all are searching for God. Some people spend a lifetime visiting holy sites, questioning religious gurus and looking for books which will give us spiritual insight. Yet this quest is easier than some of us realize. Unlike the space probe to Pluto, God's presence is very near to us. Let us recall Deuteronomy 4:7 "What great nation there is that has a God so near to it as the Lord is to us, whenever we call upon him." When we partake of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we receive the Body and Blood of Christ. Through Holy Communion we have the presence of God in us. In the church, on the holy altar, rests the tabernacle containing the Blessed Sacrament. In reality, it is a throne, upon which sits Christ in the form of the consecrated bread. When we stand in our pews, we are actually standing before God. And through prayer, Our Lord speaks to us. Let us not look elsewhere for God. He is here for us! He is waiting for us! Why do we cheat ourselves of the privilege of drawing close to God by not coming regularly to liturgy and other holy services? God wants to us to draw near to Him! Let's all come together and to worship and hallow His Holy Name. The end of our quest is not so far away. In Christ, Fr. Dionysios
AHEPA
By Zack Touloupas (584-1213) Congratulations to our newest brother, George Remoundos. Welcome to the Brotherhood of AHEPA. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday Feb 15 at 7 pm. We will meet at Mykonos Grill on Market St. Topics of discussion will be our participation with the Friends of Greek Art and our contribution to the beautification uplift of the fellowship hall. Please make every effort to attend! GOYA
By Christina Mandaleris GOYA will hold a Red Cross Blood Drive on Saturday, February 25, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. IN THE fellowship Hall. We hope many of our parishioners will come out to support this worthy cause. All GOYA members are needed to help with this event! We will also have our monthly meeting flowing the Blood Drive.
JOY
By Susie Fenger and Barbara Vaughan JOY will be going to the Circus on Saturday, February 11. PARISH COUNCIL
By Theodora Vaporis (584-6020) The Board met for a Special Meeting after the elections on January 8, 2006. All of the members, new and returning, were sworn in by Fr. Dionysios in Church. At the meeting, officers elected were as follows: Scott Graham, President; Hamp Culler, Vice-President; Theodora Vaporis, Secretary; Carl Colozzi, Treasurer, and Matthew Pappas, Assistant Treasurer. New members include Kiki Tarasidis, Eleni Harrison and Maher (George) Hanna. Other returning members are Kimmon Varsamis and Zack Touloupas. The first meeting of this new Board will be on January 16, 2006. PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS
By Sheila Touloupas (584-1213) The Ladies Philoptochos Society would like to thank all its members and all of the members of our parish who helped make our Vasilopita Luncheon a huge success. Over $600 was collected in the tray and those funds will benefit St. Basil's Academy. We would like to thank the following members for baking a Vasilopita that was either cut in church or auctioned off at our luncheon: Lula Culler, Kiki Tarasidis, Celia Sims, Presbytera Elena, Soteria Daskalakis, Titsa Dermatas, Betty Varsamis, Dena Kontoulas, Kaki Touloupas, and Toula Chininis.
Ladies Philoptochos will be coordinating a "Support Our Troops" project throughout the month of February. We will be gathering items that are in limited supply or not appropriated by the Marines, but are needed or requested by the men and women serving in Iraq. Boxes will be set up in the lobby of the Church hall to collect these items. Please see a separate article in this newsletter with more details.
Our next General Meeting will be February 13th. Refreshments will be served at 6:45 and the business meeting will begin promptly at 7pm. The Board will meet at 6pm prior to this meeting.
On Sunday, February 19, in honor of the name day of St. Philothea, a Memorial Service will be held to remember our departed sisters. Following the Liturgy, we will host our annual Hotdog Lunch that will benefit our St. Stephen's Camp scholarship fund.
Please remember to donate items for our Year Round Food Bank Consider bringing food items anytime you attend church, Sunday School, or a church sponsored meeting. Your donations help those less fortunate throughout the year. Please remember to sign up to host the Coffee hour. Check the calendar in the church hall. Dates are available for February, March, and throughout the year. Also, a sign-up sheet is posted for those who would like to donate flowers for the altar.
Our Scholarship Luncheon will be held May 14th. Scholarship applications will be available soon. A tentative list of graduates include the following: High school-Erin Anton, Zack Benson, Anthony Harrison, Chris Shepherd, Edward Stikeleather, and Kristen Talantis; College-Catherine Mandaleris and Eleftherios Xixis. If you know of a graduate not listed, please contact Catherine Stuman. REMINDER
The parish surveys have been mailed out. Please fill them out and mail them back. We value your input and thank you for your response. Wish List
Some people have been very kind to respond to our appeals to replace some of our holy vessels. We very much appreciate this thoughtfulness. Father Dionysios would like to add some additional items to the current wish list. We are in sore need of additional paten & chalice covers & veils in different colors to match the various church seasons. At present we only have one set (in gold). Father would like to add paten and chalice covers and veils in black, red and purple. The cost is $140 per set. Those interested in donating these items, please contact Father Dionysios.
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. Prepare the Feast
A CD of liturgical music in
Greek and English
sung by the choir of
Dormition of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church
Professionally recorded in cooperation with the
Southeastern Federation
of Greek Orthodox Choirs and Church Musicians.
Includes different versions
of hymns sung during each Divine Liturgy, and many beloved
feast day hymns. Cost: $20 Available at church. Call Kevin Lawrence (784-5128) to place orders. Please consider purchasing this CD as a gift for family and friends! All proceeds from the sale of this CD go to the Dormition of the Theotokos parish (choir fund). Please make check payable to Dormition, with a note that this is a payment for the choir CD. SUPPORT OUR TROOPS Ladies Philoptochos "Support Our Troops" is beginning a new project for the month of February to support our U.S. military troops in Iraq. It is so important that we let these men and women know we care that they are "over there" risking their lives for us. They are so appreciative of anything we do for them. They need so many things that the government does not "deem necessary for survival" such as socks, deodorant, baby wipes, disposable razors or Mac 3 razors, Kleenex, handkerchiefs, AA or AAA batteries, boxer briefs (brown or green) T-shirts (any size), toothpaste, shampoo, soap, lotion for dry skin, Q-tips, disposable cameras, CD's or DVD's new or used, car magazines, snacks, hard candy, granola bars, peanuts, pudding or any kind of snack. They like anything you would like to send them. Just a package from home means so much to them, especially from someone who is not related to them. They really need to know we care about them.
We will be gathering these items that are needed or requested by the men and women overseas during the month of February. Boxes will be set up in the lobby of the Fellowship Hall to collect these items or donations may be made and the items will be purchased for you.
If you have any questions or would like a complete list or more information, please contact Chairperson, Cheryl Ciulei home ph# 299-7096 or work ph# 393-3889. MONTHLY GET TOGETHER To promote fellowship, a Get-together will be organized every month. Everyone in the parish is welcome to attend. The first such gathering will be Saturday, February 18, at 6:00 p.m., at the Acropolis Restaurant. We hope everyone comes down for an evening of fellowship, fine food, and bouzouki music. If you have any questions, please contact Presbytera Elena (638-4105).
CONDOLENCES To Johnny & Peggy Bouras and family, their son George John Bouras, passed away on January 6, 2006. May his memory be eternal!
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