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:  312-3642
SECRETARY:
Donna Raxter
Email: donnadotoc@yahoo.com
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
Education, Culture & Youth Diakonia Committee 
   Kiki Tarasidis
Sick and Visitation
   Elle Kotsionis
Foundation
   Theodora Vaporis
Nomination Committee
   Stephen Anton
Philoptochos Liaison
   Eleni Harrison
Welcoming Committee
   Zack Touloupas
   Theodora Vaporis  

THANK YOU
The flowers adorning the icon Dormition of the Theotokos located in the Narthex of our church for August 15 were donated by Anne Kazazes in memory of James Kazazes.

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.

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.

THE TREASURER'S NOTE
By Carl Colozzi

September 2006:
Income:  $ 9,556.53
Expenses:  $20,659.97
Deficit:       -$11,101.44

In September $2,000 was transferred from the festival account to the general account to cover shortages.

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.

Father's Challenge

"Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be given you besides."

     On a certain Sunday a missionary priest on one of the islands of the Pacific preached on honesty and justice. He pointed out the wrong of taking things that did not belong to you. Particularly he pointed out that everything stolen had to be given back. No matter how small the thing you have taken, if it does not belong to you, you must give it back to its owner.
     Imagine his surprise next morning when he found his yard piled high with goods of all kinds. There was every kind of fruit, every type of garment, every style of weapon. There were sacks of grain and baskets of sweets. A cow was tied to his front porch, a pig was rooting around by the fence, and chickens, dogs and almost every species of animal of the region were wandering around his place.
     He hurried to find the cause of all this. "Well," explained one of the natives, "our gods whom we have been worshipping permit us to steal, but according to what you said in your sermon yesterday, Father, the God of Heaven and earth will not allow this. In fact, you said that we must give back every single thing we have stolen. So we bring back all these things to you, to help us bring them back to their owners."
     Suppose that those who have taken things that did not belong to them would bring all those things back and pile them right here in the church parking lot. What a pile there would be! There would be dresses and jewelry, machines of all kinds, including cars, Ipods, CD's, as well as DVD's, books, cash etc…
     I am not accusing anyone in particular of stealing but I am afraid that people are not as honest as they should be. You would be surprised to realize how pervasive this sin is. I recall an instance in a former parish. China plates and bowls were used during the Fellowship Hour after liturgy. Yet they were gradually disappearing. One Sunday a council member found the culprit. A little, gray-headed old lady who came to the services faithfully was seen quietly stuffing the china in her purse as she left the hall.
     Honesty must be a virtue of every man, woman and child. We should pay our bills promptly and fully when they come due. Too many people live beyond their means, run up large bills and do not try to pay them. If times are tough for us, and we can only pay a little, pay that.
     We should be honest at work. A person in the restaurant business once confided to me about his success, "If you are going to get ahead in business, you have to drop dollars on the floor." In other words, set money aside without reporting it to the government. Cheating the IRS by not paying our share of taxes is a form of theft. When working at our jobs we may not steal money, but if we waste time, it is the same as stealing too.  
     Likewise dishonest are those who fail to contribute to the church according to their means. Some in our parish could and should do more. If we shirk our duty and throw the financial responsibility to others, we are being unjust.
     Small as it may seem, cheating in school is dishonest. If you hand in to the teacher something that is not yours, you pay your way with stolen property. That is not just.
     Justice must be a virtue of every Orthodox Christian. "Thou shall not steal" is a commandment, not a suggestion. Jesus asks us to seek God and His justice. In seeking justice one precious gift shall be given to us - the peace of good conscience.
     Amen.

In Christ,

Fr. Dionysios

Sick and Visitation Committee News

Heading up the Visitation Committee this past six years has been very rewarding.  Now due to personal time constraints which have prevented me from carrying out the visitations as frequently as was done in previous years, I am resigning as the Chairman.  Elle Kotsionis has very graciously volunteered to serve as the new Visitation Chairman.  

It has been a pleasure having the opportunity to serve our Parish family these past many years, and I thank you all for your support during my tenure as Chairman.  I also give a sincere thank you to the current and past committee members who assisted me  - Helen Bartis, Laura Buchinger, Joanne Macropoulos,  Kathy Ragsdale (may her memory be eternal), Donna Raxter, Estelle Silos, Bessie Sipsis, Debbie Winfree & Van Woltz who visit(ed) sick and home bound parishioners, Effie Varitimidis and Vicki Vaughan who send out the cards.

I urge you all to support Elle and to call her when you learn of anyone who is ill, hospitalized, or home-bound that would like visitors and/or cards.  She invites anyone who would like to serve on the committee to contact her.  Elle can be reached at:  292-5107.

Brenda Miller

The following parishioners would welcome your calls and/or visits.  Please be sure to call before visiting.   

Calliope Hatgelis (currently staying with grandson)
James Toompas (Arbor Acres UM Retirement Comm.)
Vonnie Kleanos (Evergreen's)    
Maria Vurnakes (Evergreen's)
Margaret Spence (Wesley Long Nursing Center)

We would appreciate your sharing with us the names of any parishioners you know of who are ill, hospitalized, or home-bound sick so that we may pray for them, visit, phone or send a card.  Donna at church office (292-8013), Joanne Macropoulos (288-6991) or Elly Kotsionis (292-5107).

2007 Pictorial Directory
Work is underway on preparing an updated Church Directory. On this project the parish is working with Directory Innovations out of Charlotte. Sign-up sheets will be in the hall of the Fellowship Hall after church to schedule photography times and dates. Photographs will be taken December Wednesday- Saturday, 6, 7, 8 & 9.  It's our hope that we will have 100% participation!

We are scheduling times on Saturday to have group pictures taken.
 
Each family photographed will receive a free 8X10 photo and a church directory.  Photos taken by December 9, 2006 will be ready before Christmas.   Also the families who have their photos taken by December 9 will receive a free photo cd and 6 Christmas cards.  Directory Innovations uses digital cameras and there are several cd packages that can be purchased in addition to portrait packages.

We are working on updating family information at the same time; please take a few minutes to fill out a Parish Registry Form.

AHEPA
By Dimitrios Efstathiou

On November 12th the Order of AHEPA, General Greene Chapter 257 and Daughters of Penelope, Ktimene Chapter 70 will be hosting their Annual Greek Chicken Dinner to benefit their scholarship program. Dinner includes half Greek baked chicken, green beans, rice, Greek salad, > roll and tea or coffee. Dinner will be served from 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm (dinner cost $ 8.00).  Greek pastries will be sold by the Daughters of Penelope.

AHEPA's next regular meeting will be on Tuesday November 14th at Mister K's restaurant at 7:00 pm (4517 W. Market Street, Greensboro).  Preliminary reports will be presented on the chicken dinner.

Festival News

A Post-Festival meeting was held on October 8, 2006 and open to all members of the community. The purpose of the meeting was to ask for suggestions, input and improvements for our future festivals. There was a lot of lively discussion including a debate between growing our festival with the demand versus satisfaction with the status quo.

Some of the changes and suggestions for next year are as follows: redesigning outside food for six lines serving all items, serving soft drinks and juice in the taverna, adding bottled Miller beer the Taverna, serving alcohol inside, trying to get Channel 9 to cover us, ways to move lines more efficiently, take-out services, moving the kiddie-corner, tighter control of the money, use of walkie-talkies, round tables versus rectangular, lack of participation by younger women in the pre-festival baking, concern of our neighbors, whether Sunday hours for the festival should be shortened or lengthened, leadership, thanking the community, new ideas like a Saganaki booth, Greek fries, and Greek pizza, making sure newer parishioners feel heard, wanted and included, electricity issues, advertising and finances.

There are Minutes available from this Meeting. There will be another meeting in February that will be the first planning and implementation meeting for the 2007 Festival.
Submitted by Theodora Vaporis

GOYA
By Irene Lawrence

GOYA just got back together for the year, and so far there haven't been many events. However, we are making plans for some service projects, including going to a field to glean apples and doing another hospital visit. We've also discussed the possibility of going to the Hellenic Dance Competition in February and going to upcoming retreats, as well as some ideas for fundraisers.  GOYAns have also enjoyed learning some traditional Greek dances after church with Amanda Corey, which we might perform if we go to the dance competition, and if not, we had a great time learning them!

Parish Council

The Parish Council met on October 16, 2006 for their monthly meeting. Topics of discussion included:
 
1. 2007 budget;
2. Post-Festival meeting and thanking the community;
3. 2007 Festival Chairman;
4. Treasurer's Report;
5. Metropolis Youth Program - members of this committee (mandated by the Metropolis) for the first year will be Kiki Tarasidis, Minerva Ross, Eleni Harrison, Gwen Varsamis, Georgette Galloway, and Maria Pradetto. This committee will oversee all of the youth programs of our Church and appointments to the committee will be made annually;
6. Stewardship.
7. Upcoming General Assembly - please remember if you have not signed a pledge card, you cannot vote in the General Assembly or the elections in December;
8. Maintenance;
9. Philanthropy - A $1,000.00 donation requested by the Daughters of Penelope was approved to the Penelope House in Alabama. This is a shelter for battered women.
 
The official Minutes from the meeting are always available. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Submitted by Theodora Vaporis

PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS
By Sheila Touloupas

Our annual Membership Drive will begin on Sunday, October 29 and continue through the month of November. All ladies over the age of eighteen are invited to join us. Yearly membership fees are $25 and may be paid at this time.

A Pot Luck Dinner to honor our new members will be held on Monday, November 13 at 6PM in the church hall. Members are asked to bring their favorite covered dish. Set-up and clean-up help will be needed. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Titsa Dermatas.
     
On Saturday, November 18th, we will be bell ringing for the Salvation Army at Friendly Center. A sign-up sheet will be available or you may contact Titsa Dermatas if you would like to volunteer for this worthwhile cause.
     
Our Annual Craft Show and Bake Sale will held on December 2nd. Volunteers will be needed throughout the day. A special thank you to Sophie Rodete, who has agreed to chair this committee again next year, and to Doris Zaharias who will be our new chairperson next year. More information will be available at our November 13th dinner meeting.
     
Mark you calendars for Monday, December 4th-the date of our Christmas Dinner Meeting. Look for more information in the Sunday bulletins.
     
If any members are interested in attending a Spiritual Retreat at the Diakonia Center on the weekend of January 19-21, please contact Catherine Stuman. Cost for the retreat is $160 per person and includes accommodations and 5 meals.
    
 Please continue to donate items for our Year Round Food Bank.
     
If you are interested in hosting the Sunday Coffee or donating flowers for the Altar, please check the Sign-up Sheets located in the church hall.
                     

FALL GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Date: Sunday, November 19, 2006

Time: 5:00 PM

Location: Church Fellowship Hall

AGENDA

I.  Invocation  
II. Dinner
III.Nomination and Election
   a. Presiding Chair
IV. Reports
   a. Reading of the Minutes
   b. Stewardship Report
   c. Philanthropy Report
V.  New Business
   a. Presentation of 2007 Budget
   b. Nominations for Parish Council
   c. Nomination and Election of Election Committee
   d. Nomination and Election of Auditing Committee
VI. Closing Remarks and Benediction.

President's Corner

 As I thought about this article for our November Orthodox Oracle Issue, I was reminded that we are entering what most of us would call "The Holiday Season". For most, it is a time to reflect on the many blessings and bounties we have been granted. I know that I have certainly been richly blessed in both my personal and professional life, but occasionally lose sight of that fact and become sidetracked by what really only amounts to inconveniences or distractions in the scheme of things. As I remind myself of the many reasons I have to be thankful, it generally will help me put these inconveniences in their proper perspective.
 I wanted to take this time and this space to let you know that our Church and our Church Family are among the blessings my family and I cherish the most. They both provide us with great sources of inspiration, hope and love and for that we are truly thankful. The friendships and bonds we have formed are strong and we have many fond memories of Festivals, projects and fellowship events. I hope that each of you have a safe, healthy and prosperous Holiday Season and appreciate the support you have shown me this past year.

Yours In Christ,

Scott