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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
In case of emergency:
Home: 638-4105
Cell phone: 312-3642
Our website address is:
www.dormitionofthetheotokos.org
SECRETARY: Donna Raxter
Email: donnadotoc@yahoo.com
COUNCIL OFFICERS:
Kiki Tarasidis
President 288-2921
Maher (George) Hanna
Vice-President 547-0058
Carl Colozzi
Treasurer 644-0615
Theodora Vaporis
Secretary 584-6020
Board Members:
Stephen Anton
Hamp Culler
Dimitrios Efstathiou
Eleni Harrison
Eddie Merrell
Matthew Pappas
COMMITTEES:
Ahepa: Dimitrios Efstathiou
Bylaws: Theodora Vaporis
Choir: Kevin Lawrence
Daughters of Penelope: Helen Peterson
Education, Culture & Youth:
Fr. Dionysios
Fellowship: Kiki Tarasidis
Finance: Carl Colozzi
Foundation: Matthew Pappas,
Scott Graham & Theodora Vaporis
GOYA Advisors: Basil Agapion &
Craig &Amanda Corey
President: Paul Mott + Chris Corey
JOY: Koula Remoundos, Ginah Sophia
Greek Festival: Stephen Anton, Eddie Merrell & Matthew Pappas
Greek School: Kiki Tarasidis
Hall Rental: Matthew Pappas
Maintenance: Stephen Anton
Philanthropy, Charity & Community: Eddie Merrell, Kiki Tarasaidis &
Fr. Dionysios
Philoptochos: Georgette Galloway
Sick and Visitation: Elly Kotsionis
Stewardship: Maher Hanna &
Hamp Culler
Sunday School: Polly Anton
Volunteer Coordinator: Maher Hanna
Welcoming: Theodora Vaporis & Dimitrios Efstathiou
Stewardship
By Maher Hanna (547-0058) Now that summer has arrived, attendance and giving has traditionally gone down. I would like to challenge our parish my reversing that trend. The summer months give us an opportunity to challenge our youth to become more involved with the church both physically and spiritually. I believe we have what it takes to have a thriving parish; we have to remember that we only get out of it, what we put into it.
I have included the Stewardship Appreciation Thank You letter below. I hope that that event will help inspire us as a community to make the necessary changes in our live to make sure that we THRIVE here at the Dormition. (Originally printed with the 2007 first Quarterly Reports) Dear friends, Christ is Risen!!!: We thank you for attending the Stewardship Appreciation Luncheon. It was an experience of joy and fulfillment to have shared with you my inner thoughts concerning the life of our parish. I felt free to externalize the inner murmuring of my soul and to express my visions for the future. On behalf of our Stewardship Committee and Parish Council, I thank you for taking the time to be with us. I trust that you gained a greater insight into the pulse of our parish and into the direction in which we hope to proceed.
For those of you who were unable to attend the Stewardship Appreciation Luncheon, I would like to let you know that you were truly missed. We all love to see the community fill the pews and share the warmth of our faith. If you would like to know what you missed by not attending the Stewardship Appreciation Luncheon, I encourage you to extend your curiosity to your friends whom may have attended. This will help us all build community and promote unity amongst the parish.
If you have returned your Pledge Card, we thank you. In case you are still prayerfully contemplating your commitment, we request that you submit your Pledge Card soon. You may do so by mailing it to the Church office or by leaving it in the Narthex.
We proclaim to you that we will do our best to be good stewards of your trust and faith. Perhaps in the years ahead we will be able to emphasize more the history and friendship aspects of our ministry, rather than on Stewardship in particular. The Stewardship Committee welcomes your comments and your suggestions, either in person or in writing. Finally, I would like to ask that you be an EVANGELSIT and spread the GOOD NEWS concerning our life in Christ. With love in Christ, Stewardship Committee
THE TREASURER'S NOTE
By Carl Colozzi (644-0615)
For April:
Income - $ 19,998.45
Expenses - $ 16,624.30
Net - + $ 3,374.15 Message from the Treasurer:
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: ie 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. 2007 Pledges: Alexiou, Marina; Amprazis, James & Mary; Andrews, Ted; Anghelescu, Anton George; Antahades, Cecelia; Anton, Bill & Mary; Bailey, Sarah; Barteris, Eleni; Benson, Bob & Kathy; Bishara, Essa & Najwah; Blavos, Sylvia; Boukas, Nick & Athena; Bouras, Johnny & Peggy; Brown, Harvey & Nabila; Bulugaris, Tony & Raegan; Bundros, Tony & Thalia; Chamis, Nick G.; Chininis, Frank & Toula; Clark, Penny Kappas; Colozzi, Carl & Maria; Constantinou, Athena; Contogiannis, Elizabeth A.; Contogiannis, Ellen; Contogiannis, Mary Ann; Cooper, Christine; Corey, Craig & Amanda, Samantha, Victoria; Crist, Alex & Pam; Cropper, James & Maria; Culler, Hamp & Lula; Cvijanovich, Thea; Dermatas, Alexis; Doliantis, Mike; Efstathiou, Dimitrios & Konstantia; Fenger, Rasmus & Susie; Freeman, Ron & Sondra; Fox, Art & Cynthia; Galloway, Ed & Georgette; Gradinaru, Adrian; Graham, Erin; Graham, Scott & Christa; Hanna, Aziz & Violet; Hanna, Maher; Harrison, Eleni; Havraniak, Luba; Hedrick, Nina; Hudak, Marie; Karas, Angelo; Katsikas, Mary; Kattan, Nihad & Sana; Kattan, Niveen; Kazazes, Anne; Kazazes, Barbara; Kontoulas, Angelo N; Kontoulas, Cleo & Dena; Kontoulas, Dimitrios & Karen; Kontoulas, Mary B; Koronis, Bill & Ava; Kotsikorou, Evangelia; Kotsionis, Harry & Elly; Lawrence, Kevin & Barbara; Listerman-Vierling, Fr. Dionysios & Elena; Lunberg, David & Vasso; Macropoulos, JoAnne; Mandaleris, Chris & Maria; Matsakides, Vickie; Megremis, Lampros & Theodora; Merrell, Eddie & Maria; Michaels, Michael & Carolyn; Miller, Donald & Brenda; Moraru, Christian & Camelia; Oncea, William & Jennie; Ofanedes, George & Susan; Palamaris, George & Irene; Pappas, Edna; Pappas, Matthew & Stacy; Pasick, Michael; Patterson, Charles; Patterson, Vasiliki; Poulos, Karen; Poulos, Peter & Phyllis; Pradetto, Tom & Maria; Rodete, John & Sophie; Ross, Laurence & Minerva; Rueppell, Matina Kalcounis; Sagos, JoAnne; Sakellaris, Chirs & Ardele; Schermerhorn, Thomas & Theodora, Sophia; Seawell, Evalin Tracy & Benjamin; Silos, Estelle; Sims, Roger & Celia; Sipsis, George & Bessie; Sipsis, James & Linda; Sonntag, Frances; Soufia, Michael & Ginah; Tarasidis, Kirk & Kiki; Thanos, Alex; Thanos, Bobby & Carol; Thevaos, Jim & Hedy; Toompas, Arthur & June; Touloupas, John & Kaki; Touloupas, Mary Alyson; Touloupas, Zack & Sheila; Triantis, Ted; Tripp, Matthew & Sotiria; Tsaros, Lula; Tsintzos, Nafsica; Tzavaras, Aspasia; Tzouvelekas, Nick & Debra; Vandoros, George & Effie; Varitimidis, Ioannis & Effie; Varsamis, Betty; Varsamis, Kimmon & Gwen; Varsamis, Megan; Vaughn, Edger & Vicki; Vavalides, Phillip & Teresa; West, Victoria; White, Wesley Edward & Elizabeth; Wile, Chuck & Ashley; Woods, Terry; Xixis, Eleftherios; Xixis, Othonas & Debbie; Zaharias, Doris
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Philoxenia In June Greensboro will play host to the Velouchi, the Evrytanian Association of America. We can expect hundreds of visitors coming to our community. This is an opportunity for us to show hospitality to our guests. Historically, hospitality has meant welcoming strangers into a one's home, church, or community, and offering them not only food, shelter and protection but also respect, acceptance and friendship. Hospitality as the welcoming of strangers has deep roots in biblical tradition; it was understood by the early church to be a fundamental Christian practice.
In Genesis 18, Abraham and Sarah welcomed three strangers, offering them water, food and rest. In showing such hospitality to those whom they first considered strangers, Abraham and Sarah were unexpectedly blessed. For the ancient Israelites, showing hospitality was intimately connected to their identity as God's people. They had been strangers themselves, and in their covenantal relationship with God knew themselves to be dependent on God for welcome, and answerable to God for the welcome they showed others. "You know the heart of the stranger for you were strangers in the land of Egypt" (Exodus 23:9).
And later, in Leviticus 19:34, the Israelites were told, "The alien who resides with you shall be to you as a citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God." Through this verse, we too are reminded that all of us have experienced times when we were the stranger. We are to love the stranger in our midst.
Within the New Testament, the word for hospitality is the Greek word philoxenia. Philoxenia means to love strangers (philos=love, xenia=strangers). Jesus himself is both the stranger and the one offering hospitality. In the Gospel of Luke from 9:51 when Jesus "sets his face to go to Jerusalem" until 19:45 when he enters the Temple, Jesus is almost always on the road. In his travels Jesus stays with others, relying on their hospitality. Jesus is not always greeted warmly as we see when he is not welcomed in the first Samaritan village he tries to visit (Luke 9:52-56). Jesus remains the stranger, the one on the margins of society in need of the hospitality of others.
At the same time, Jesus is welcoming and extends hospitality himself. Jesus used table fellowship to show what the Kingdom of God should be like and then he shared the table with "tax collectors and sinners." Finally, love of strangers is an important part of Jesus' teaching. In the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), love for the stranger is seen as a form of love of neighbor. Additionally, Jesus reminds us that in welcoming a stranger, we are in fact welcoming Him (Matt. 25:31-46). So throughout the Gospels, we see that hospitality was both something Jesus depended on for his life and ministry and a vital part of who he was as God incarnate.
Leaders in the early church took the philoxenia very seriously. Paul, in his letter to the church at Rome, instructs believers to "extend hospitality to strangers" (Romans 12:13). And the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us, "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it" (Hebrews 13:2).
The Bible reminds us of the central importance of showing hospitality. It encourages us to welcome into our homes, churches, and communities those whom we perceive to be strangers. Our parish of the Dormition of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church is blessed in having visitors coming and worshipping with us nearly every Sunday. It is my hope and prayer that we will always use these occasions to always welcome newcomers with genuine love and friendship. They are our guests and their presence is a blessing on our House of Worship. Introduce yourself. Welcome them and invite them to the Fellowship Hour. In so doing, we bear witness in our actions to the gracious, generous and hospitable love of God, and follow the example of the one who incarnates that love, Our Lord Jesus Christ. In His Service,
Fr. Dionysios
Jennifer Ragsdale was Baptized and Chrismated on May 24, 2007.
Nicholas Colozzi was Baptized on May 27, 2007. His Godmother is Presbytera Elena. Irene Lawrence is the 2007 Archangel Michael Award Youth honoree. Katherine Galloway was awarded the AHEPA General Greene #257 scholarship, in the amount of $1,000.
The 2007 Archangel Michael Feast and Honors in the Adult Category goes to Theodore Triantis. Congratulations to Georgios Tarasidis for being awarded a silver medal on the National Latin/Mythology exam. Georgios has medaled 3 years in a row. Theodore Triantis, grandson of Theodore Triantis, received the Kostas Kappas Memorial Scholarship from AHEPA, for $500. Congratulations to Anastasia Remoundos for making it to the semifinals of the Triad Idol 2007! We wish you all the luck." Christopher Corey turns 16 on June 4th. God grant you many years!!! Georgios Tarasidis will be 13 on the 17th of June. Na ta ekatostisis! Tony & Thalia Bundros donated the wreaths for the front doors of the church. Betty Varsamis donated the large wreath on top of the Epitafio during Holy Week and the flowers for the icon of the Theotokos on Mothers Day. Kiki Tarsidis & Sotiria Tripp donated and made the Mother's Day Rose Bouquets. Presvytera Mary Vaporis and Niveen Kattan donated money for new Divine Liturgy books.
On behalf of the entire church community we want to thank the Daughters of Penelope for their generous $2,500 donation, to AHEPA for their generous $1,000 donation, to Philoptochos for their generous donation of $500, and to Cleo & Dena Kontoulas for their generous $1080 donation towards the purchase of our new fellowship hall chairs. We want to thank Jimmy Sipsis for his help in transporting our new chairs to the hall. Jimmy has been very generous with his time and we are blessed to have him in our parish. May God always bless you. Kiki Tarasidis A special "thank you" to John Rodete for always being available to capture our great moments with photographs. John continues to provide us with weekly photographs. John we appreciate you. May God always bless you. JUNE NEWSLETTER SPONSORSHIP Goneis Magazine, would like to thank our Fellow Parishioners for their interest and strong encouragement for continuation of Goneis Mission.
May God Bless You All! Dina Teka-Efstathiou
Editor-in-Chief, Goneis Magazine. AHEPA The next regular meeting is Tuesday, June 12 at 7:00pm in the church hall. The meeting will include a steak dinner. This will be our final meeting before the summer break. We wish to congratulate Katherine Galloway, the recipient of the General Greene #257 scholarship, in the amount of $1,000. Katherine is the granddaughter of Brother Lampros Megremis.
Also, congratulations go to Theodore Triantis, the recipient of the Kostas Kappas Memorial Scholarship, in the amount of $500. Theodore is the grandson of Brother Theodore Triantis. A special thanks to Brothers Matthew Pappas, Hamp Culler and Mrs. Frances Sonntag for their assistance with the scholarship process. The meeting on May 15th at Mykonos Grill was well attended. The membership voted to give $1,000 to the church for the purchase of new chairs in the hall. Dimitrios Efstathiou
President Daughters of Penelope
Our next meeting will be on Monday, June 18, at 6:30pm. at Helen Peterson's house. 50 + YOUNG Club
By Liz White (887-0724) Elly & Harry Kotsionis had our first organizational meeting for the "Over 50's YOUNG Club" in April and we're all excited about this and want to share the news with you. We had an excellent turn out. Those present were: Ellie and Harry Kotsionis, Kiki Tarasidis - President of our church parish, Maria Cropper, Theodora Vaporis - Secretary of our church parish, Joanne Macropoulos, Frances Sonntag, Ted Triantis, Minas & Soteria Dascalakis, Helen Peterson, John & Sophie Rodete, Father and Presbytera, and Liz & Ed White.
Our first luncheon was a huge success this Monday, May 7th at RIVERTWIST of Jamestown. There were 16 that enjoyed the beautiful outdoor setting of the Cafe. The weather was perfect; the food and each other's company was even better! For those of you who attended...thank you for coming! And for those of you, who DIDN'T attend...you missed a really good time!
Our next outing will be the first Monday in June the 4th, and we'll meet for lunch at LADDIES AND DUKES Restaurant, which is located on Battleground Avenue near Horsepen Creek Road. We promise that you will like LADDIES AND DUKES RESTAURANT! The food is excellent. If you would like to attend, please call the church office and make reservations by noon, June 1st. If you do not know how to get to the restaurant, we will meet you at the church at 12:15pm and will carpool. Have any more questions? Please call Ellie Kotsionis at 292-5107.
What are our plans for the future?? We will be taking field trips, going to various restaurants for lunch and other activities beginning in May, the first Monday of every month. Members will have the fun of taking turns with each month, and planning the activity. For example: we might decide to take a train ride to Raleigh, visit the museum and have lunch there and ride the train back to Greensboro! We have a wonderful museum here in Greensboro and restaurants close by. There's Seagrove Pottery to tour, plays, and The Goat Farm. If you've never seen pottery made or seen how cheese is made, you are in for a treat! We can promise you that this group is not going to be boring! We're excited and want to share the excitement with you.
It's going to be a lot of fun being together and we hope that if you are interested in joining in, you will call the church office ASAP and Donna will be glad to add your name to the membership list. If you cannot reach Donna, please call Helen Peterson at 632-1816. GOYA
GOYA met on May 21 and we elected our new officers:
* Secretary- Demetra Schermerhorn
* Treasurer- Nikki Varitimidis
* Presidents- Chris Corey + Paul Mott
* Historians- Samantha Corey + Max
Listermann-Vierling.
We also came up with our summer schedule:
* Saturday June 9
Dance Clinic 12-6 PM
Movie + Pizza + GOYA
meeting 6-10 PM
* Friday July 6- Saturday July 7
Dance Clinic + lock-in 6-10PM
* Dance Practices
Sunday August 5 until 6
Sunday August 12 until 3
Sunday August 19 until 3
Sunday August 26 until 3
Sunday September 9 until 3
Thursday September 13 7-9
* Fun Stuff
Friday July 13- Harry Potter
Teen pool Night- Elks Lodge
(date still undecided)
September 21-23 tentative
camping trip
August 25 tentative Glendi
à dinner $8
Dance Note: Clinics are for learning new dances for the Greek Festival and apply to rising 9th thru 12th graders. Younger members of GOYA (Rising 7th and 8th graders) are welcome to participate in the dance clinics and learn the new dances, however they will not be performing with the high school group at the festival. SUNDAY SCHOOL
By Polly Anton (854-5065) Graduation and promotion certificates will be handed out to Sunday School students immediately following the Liturgy (in the Church) on June 3rd. ALL youth programs--Sunday School, GOYA, JOY and Greek School-- will enjoy a fun afternoon picnic at 4:00 p.m. on June 3rd, at Triad Park. Please call Polly Anton (456-2323) or Koula Remoundos (549-0583) with any questions. Volunteers are needed! Thank you.
PAGE 4 PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS
By Sheila Touloupas (584-1213)
Congratulations to all our 2007 graduating Seniors!! We wish you much happiness and success as you pursue your dreams for the future. Please remember, you will always be a part of our church family and we will always keep you in our hearts and prayers.
Congratulations to our 2007 Philoptochos Scholarship winners: Pete Graham and Christina Mandaleris. Congratulations to our 2007 Pete Harris Scholarship winners: Irene Lawrence and Alex Thanos.
We would like to thank everyone who made the Scholarship Luncheon a most beautiful and successful event: to David Valavanis and his kitchen staff for an excellent meal; to Toula Chininis, Edna Pappas, Catherine Stuman, Athena Constantinou, and Sheila Touloupas-our luncheon committee who worked diligently Sunday morning; and to Gwen Varsamis, Thalia Bundros, Helen Peterson, Athena Constantinou, and Effie Varitimidis-our scholarship selection committee who had the most difficult job of selecting the scholarship winners.
Congratulations to our newly elected board members. The following have been elected to serve as officers:
Georgette Galloway-President, Minerva Ross-Vice-President, Edna Pappas-Secretary, and DorisZaharias-Treasurer, and Joanne Macropoulos-Assistant Treasurer.
Booths are quickly filling up for our Annual Craft Show and Bake Sale that will be held in December. If you or anyone you know would like to rent a booth, please contact Doris Zaharias. The deadline is August 31st.
We would like to extend our gratitude to outgoing President Catherine Stuman who for the last four years, had the difficult task of leading 60 women in the right direction. Her tremendous organizational skills kept us focused and on track. JOB WELL DONE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT.
Please continue to bring items for our Year Round Food Bank. If you would like to sponsor the coffee hour or donate flowers for the altar, the sign-up sheets are located in the church hall.
President’s Message: Like everyone in our community I am so proud of all of our graduates. The Philoptochos Scholarship Luncheon was a wonderful event. I enjoyed seeing the hall full of our parishioners sharing a meal and celebrating our future, the graduates. I also enjoyed seeing our church full of people. In the beginning of the year I spoke to you about investing in our church, and we are! We must continue to invest. Invest in each other. Reach out to members of our parish. Welcome all newcomers and embrace the differences that make each and every one of us special. We are doing great things in our church and we need everyone to be an active member. Recently, my family spent the weekend at the beach with friends. As we were leaving we passed a small Baptist church with a huge sign in front. The sign read “Love People, Not Things”. May we all have safe travels and a relaxing and enjoyable summer. Kiki Tarasidis
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