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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
COUNCIL OFFICERS:
Kiki Tarasidis, President: 288-2921
Maher 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 and
Craig & Amanda Corey
GOYA Presidents: Paul Mott & Chris Corey
Greek Festival: Stephen Anton, Eddie Merrell
& Matthew Pappas
Greek School: Kiki Tarasidis
Hall Rental: Matthew Pappas
JOY: Ginah Sophia
Maintenance: Stephen Anton
Philanthropy, Charity & Community:
Eddie Merrell, Kiki Tarasidis & Fr. Dionysios
Philoptochos: Georgette Galloway
Sick and Visitation: Elly Kotsionis
Stewardship: Maher Hanna & Hamp Culler
Sunday School: Polly Anton
Philanthropy, Charity & Community:
Eddie Merrell, Kiki Tarasidis & Fr. Dionysios
Volunteer Coordinator: Maher Hanna
Welcoming: Theodora Vaporis & Dimitrios Efstathiou
THE TREASURER'S NOTE
For: August
Income - $11,291.42
Expenses - $18,987.11
Difference - - $ 7,695.69
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.
2007 Stewards:
Alexiou, Marina;
Amprazis, James & Mary;
Andrews, Ted;
Anghelescu, Anton;
Antahades, Cecelia;
Anton, Bill & Mary;
Anton, Stephen & Polly
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;
Dascalakis, Demetri & Voula
Dermatas, Alexis;
Doliantis, Mike;
Efstathiou, Dimitrios & Dena;
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;
Klenos, Vonnie
Kontoulas, Angelo N;
Kontoulas, Cleo & Dena;
Kontoulas, Dimitrios & Karen;
Kontoulas, Mary B;
Koronis, Bill & Ava;
Kotsikorou, Evangelia;
Kotsionis, Harry & Elly;
Lawrence, Kevin & Barbara;
Listermann-Vierling, Fr. Dionysios & Pres. Elena;
Lunberg, David & Vasso;
Macropoulos, JoAnne;
Mandaleris, Chris & Maria;
Mandaleris, Catherine;
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, Larry & Minerva;
Rueppell, Matina Kalcounis;
Sagos, JoAnne;
Sakellaris, Chris & Ardele;
Schermerhorn, Thomas & Theodora Vaporis, Sophia
Seawell, Evalin & Tracy;
Silos, Estelle;
Sims, Roger & Celia;
Sipsis, George & Bessie;
Sipsis, James & Linda;
Sonntag, Frances;
Sonntag, Mark
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, Nafsika;
Tzavaras, Aspasia;
Tzouvelekas, Nick & Debra;
Vandoros, George & Effie;
Varitimidis, Ioannis & Effie;
Varsamis, Betty;
Varsamis, Kimmon & Gwen;
Varsamis, Megan;
Vaughan, Bill & Barbara
Vaughn, Edger & Vicki;
Vavalides, Phillip & Teresa;
West, Victoria;
White, Ed & Liz;
Wile, Chuck & Ashley;
Woods, Terry;
Xixis, Eleftherios;
Xixis, Othonas & Debbie;
Zaharias, Doris
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Father's Challenge During the recent Greek Food Festival our community was blessed to have many people tour our church and listen to a talk about Our Holy Orthodox Faith. Though these visitors came from many different backgrounds, they were very respectful of our customs and traditions. Roman Catholics seemed the most intrigued. Several, noting the striking similarities between our two churches, actually inquired about the possibility of receiving the Eucharist if they attended liturgy. My reply was unfortunately no. While the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics both believe in the true presence, our Churches, I explained, are not at the present time in union with one another. Still, I added, that there is room for hope. Remarkable progress has been made since 1965 when Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras rescinded the Excommunications of 1054. Those two hierarchs instituted a dialogue of love between the Churches of Rome and Constantinople. Succeeding popes such as John Paul II and Benedict XVI have invited our patriarchs to visit Rome, while Patriarchs Demetrios and Bartholomew have welcomed in turn their counterparts to Constantinople. The most recent example of this was the November 29-December 1, 2006 visit of the current pope to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople. There are other visible signs of reconciliation. In 2004 the Roman Catholic Church returned relics of saints looted from Constantinople during the 1204 sack of the city by crusaders. They also bequeathed the ancient church of St. Theodore on the Palantine Hill to Constantinople, which was reconsecrated as a house of worship for Orthodox Christians. Theologians from each church regularly met over the years to discuss doctrines which still divide us. As a sign of good faith, when the pope and patriarch meet, both prelates recite the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed without the filioque (one major issue of division between the two Churches). Progress is being made on the local level too. It is common to have Roman Catholic bishops as guests at the enthronement of our archbishops and metropolitans. They are invited to attend our clergy-laity congresses. Today it is not uncommon for Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox parishes to have joint ecumenical services in which parishioners from both faith traditions attend. In my home parish of Holy Trinity-St. Nicholas there is even a large stained glass window in the narthex honoring Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, a remarkable sight one would not have seen fifty years ago. There is much indeed which binds Greek Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism together. Our Churches possess a valid, apostolic tradition, a mutual veneration of saints, and a similar liturgical pattern of worship to name but a few things we share in common. The continuing schism between these two branches of Christendom remains a scandal. Christ Himself had prayed, "Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are." (John 17:11) Each of us must continue to pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide and inspire our leaders and theologians to resolve the theological issues which continue to separate us. Let us continue, on a personal level, this dialogue of love with our brothers and sisters in Christ. In the words of St. Peter, "Above all, never let your love for each other grow insincere, since love covers over many a sin." (1 Peter 4:8) In Christ, Fr. Dionysios
President's Message We have celebrated another very successful Greek Festival! We all gave so much of our time and energy to ensure that our Festival was the best it could be. And, when the turbulent weather came on Friday, we pulled together. We mopped the rain soaked floors, we helped our guests through the lines, we moved things indoors, and when the rains subsided, we admired our children as they danced under the big tent. On Saturday and Sunday we were rewarded with glorious weather and record crowds. My boys have always said that they get sad when the Festival ends. They enjoy being a part of the bonding that takes place during the weekend. I am proud of all our children and how well they danced; but mostly, I enjoyed watching the friendships that developed as the weekend progressed. I saw children hugging and laughing and showing off their culture. I myself developed new friendships and bonds through working with parishioners I did not know well. I have gained such an appreciation for who people are, and look forward to strengthening these friendships. I hope that the Festival allowed everyone such opportunities. As we enter the beautiful season of fall, we must keep the momentum and dedication we gained through the Festival alive. Let every weekend be a "Festival" weekend. Let's fill our church each Sunday, fill our Sunday school rooms with our children, fill our fellowship hall with laughter and friendship and reach out to each other. We all became a part of something wonderful at the Festival; that is our church community. It is who we are, wonderful! Kai tou cronou!
On behalf of the entire church community, a very big THANK YOU to Stephen Anton, Eddie Merrill & Matthew Pappas as Festival Co-chairs for all their hard work and endless hours devoted to making our 2007 Greek Festival a great success!
Kiki Tarasidis
STEWARDSHIP First and foremost, I would like to congratulate everyone on a successful Festival. WITHOUT YOU IT DOES NOT HAPPEN! It was great to be part of the success, to feel that energy of accomplishment, of WINNING! We all deserve to be winners; we deserve to be winners, not only for one week a year, but for life. We all have to continue that momentum and get used to the sensation of winning, to champion adversities that we face as a community.
I need not remind anyone what would happen if the Festival was unsuccessful, for any number of reasons. The inclement weather that we had on the Friday of the Festival was just a reminder that perfect weather is not always promised. As stewards here at the Dormition, we must break free from our dependence on the mature crutch of the Festival. We all have to realize the abundance that God has provided each of us, and offer our time, talents and treasures back to our sovereign Parish. Take the time to consider these words, let them find the way to your hearts. Then and only then, will we make strides, not steps, in the right direction; in the direction of Christ.
"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matthew 6:21)
With Christ's Love,
Stewardship Committee
PARISH COUNCIL NEWS
The Parish Council met on Monday, September 24th. The following was discussed:
1.The Financial and Stewardship Reports;
2.Maintenance issues being addressed or on the agenda;
3.Foundation and the return of a total of ten (10) surveys;
4.The New Year's Eve party;
5.New ways to welcome our new members;
6.A preliminary festival report and our thanks to all those who made donations;
7.A decision that we will collect donations for the Fire Victims of Greece through the General Assembly that will be channeled through the International and/or Greek Red Cross for access by those in need;
8.A change in date for the Fall General Assembly from November 11th to October 28th.
Submitted by Theodora Vaporis, Secretary
AHEPA
The next regular meeting is Wednesday, October 10th at 7:00pm in our Church Fellowship Hall. A pizza dinner will be served after the meeting. Our Chapter's secretary will send a letter to our AHEPA brothers with next meeting's agenda. Daughters of Penelope
Will meet on Saturday, October 20 for the AHEPA District #3 meeting, 9-1:30pm. EVENING BIBLE STUDY
The Orthodox Bible Study "Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World" with Ron Freeman will begin on Wednesday, October 3, at 7:00pm. GREEK SCHOOL
It is that time again! Time to start our Greek School! Registration forms for the 2007-2008 school year are available in the church office. Please complete the form and return it back to the office. For further information, please contact Kiki Tarasidis 288-2921. Greek School will start on Tuesday, October 16, at 6pm. PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS - By Georgette Galloway
Ladies Philoptochos would like to send a warm thanks to all its members who volunteered their time before, during and after our Greek Festival this year. As always, your efforts are greatly appreciated!
The Philoptochos Board will meet Monday, October 8, at 6:00 p.m. and our first General Meeting will be Monday, October 8, beginning promptly at 7:00 p.m. Please join us for refreshments at 6:45 p.m. All ladies eighteen and over are invited and encouraged to join us. Each year we become more and more fulfilled and enriched by our philanthropic work and Christian fellowship. Consider making the Philoptochos a part of your life this year. We would love to see you on October 8.
Please continue to help us stock our Year Round Food Bank. The following items are always needed: breakfast items - Cheerios, oatmeal, pancake mix and syrup; lunch and dinner items - canned ham, turkey, chicken, tuna, or salmon; canned vegetables; canned soups, chili and stews; spaghetti sauce; dried pastas, noodles, and boxed macaroni and cheese; boxed mashed potatoes; peanut butter and jelly. Miscellaneous items such as canned fruit are also needed. These items will be bagged and prepared to serve several meals for an individual or family in need. Items may be brought to the church or given to Toula Chininis - Food Bank Chairperson or Georgette Galloway.
October coffee chairpersons are Edna Pappas & Athena Constantinou. SUNDAY SCHOOL
The first day of Sunday School will be on September 30 with a Special Blessing in church for the students and teachers after services, classes will begin the next Sunday, October 7. We welcome all students grades K-12 to our program, which meets directly following Holy Communion in the Sunday School classrooms. This year all grades will study The Divine Liturgy. We plan to rotate our theme each year for the next 4 years. After that, the themes will begin a rotation system again. By this point, the students will go back to theme #1 (The Divine Liturgy), with a fresh perspective based on their ages.
WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO TEACH! Every year we ask, and every year we are thankful to those who respond. Our religious education program can and will only continue with parental support. Please contact Polly Anton, Director, at pollyoriginals@triad.rr.com, or 336-456-2323 if you can help. Thank you.
Father Dionysios and Barbara Vaughan are spearheading a series of classes for all interested adults and parents, beginning this fall. Our "textbook" will be: Making God Real in the Orthodox Christian Home, by Anthony M. Coniaris. At least 20 books have already been ordered for those who plan to attend. The following review gives an idea of how special and useful this text is:
"Literally, how to make the home a church by teaching children all they need to know about the faith, with practical advice on how to implement this. Comprehensive, down to earth language. A treasure for parents."
--Holy Cross Bookstore
PARISH NEWS AND NOTES THANK YOU To everyone who helped from the days ahead set-up to the days after take-down and everything in between, we want to say thanks for helping to make our Greek Festival 2007 a great festival. A special thank you to Kimmon Varsamis, Mike, Bill Vaughan, Jimmy Sipsis, and Jimmy Coromilas for their extra efforts! There will be a Post Festival Meeting will be held on Sunday, October 14th immediately after services. Everyone please attend with your ideas and suggestions. --Stephen Anton, Eddie Merrill and Matthew Pappas, Festival Co-chairs. Thank you to everyone for all of your prayers, cards and well wishes for a speedy recovery. --Sophie Rodete Festival T-Shirts: We tried something different with our Festival t-shirts this year and it was a success! As you may know, Basili Agapion designed the four different t-shirts. In addition, he made a very generous donation towards the cost of the t-shirts and to the graphic design costs. The shirts were so popular that we sold out of most of the designs by midday on Saturday! Thank you Basili for your contributions! Also, thank you to Amanda Corey for her work on the t-shirts and for getting the shirts printed at such a reasonable price and for being a lot of fun to work with! Thank you to all who helped with the t-shirt booth, Eula Mott, James Mott, Maria Colozzi, Nicholas Colozzi, Amanda Corey, Basili Agapion, Athena Boukas, Samantha Corey, Victoria Corey and Sotiria Tripp. And to Mary Ann Contogiannis for letting us "borrow" the "props"! We had a lot of fun working on the t-shirts. There are a few youth sizes and 10 adult sizes of the white t-shirts left. The shirts will be available during the coffee hour in the fellowship hall. Kiki Tarasidis, T-Shirt Chair WELCOME We would like to welcome Tom Pappas, a Guilford College sophomore, to our church community. CONGATULATIONS The OPA Dancers were asked to perform at UNCG on Saturday, September 22nd. They took part in a dance festival that included performances by other individuals and dance groups. The dances performed were Korean, Dominican (Bachata), Cuban (salsa), Palestinian (Dabkka), and Brazilian (Barbatuques). Our Greek dancers were very enthusiastically received during their three dances. Nikki Varitimidis has been selected to serve on the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro Teen Grantmaking Council. The Council is made up of 24 youth from a variety of high schools and community organizations. The group has an opportunity to voice opinions and make a difference by making grants to youth-directed projects that address community issues. The Council trains leaders to make decisions about which youth projects in the community will receive money! Nikki will also be attending the NC Network of Young Philanthropists Conference, offering her a unique opportunity as well as representing our church family in the community. Ellen Contogiannis is joined by her family in celebrating the 40th Anniversary of operating the Acropolis Restaurant in October. Gus and Ellen Contogiannis opened The Acropolis Restaurant on October 26th, 1967. The Acropolis is the oldest restaurant in downtown Greensboro owned and operated by the same family and the first in the Triad to offer a full service Greek menu. Today Jimmy and Elizabeth Contogiannis work with Ellen to continue the family tradition. Dr. Mary Ann Contogiannis went to Washington,D.C. in September on behalf of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons(ASPS) to represent plastic surgeons from North Carolina as well as ASPS in meetings with Senator Dole, Senator Burr, Congressman Coble and other North Carolina Congressional members. They discussed issues related to medicine in general as well as specific plastic surgery concerns, including obtaining sponsorship for bills in the House and Senate. CONDOLENCES To Maria Mandaleris and family on the falling asleep in the Lord of her father, George Bouloukas, from Birmingham AL in August, 2007. To Brenda Miller and family for the passing away of her father, Ross Heaton, in Des Moines, Iowa on August 29, 2007.
OUR DAILY BREAD
& MORE
Baking Classes ALL CLASSES $90.00
(save $10!) 1. French Country Bread $25
Thursday, October 18 2. Braided Brioche Bread $25
Thursday, October 25
3. Focaccia Breads $25
Thursday, November 1
4. Yeast-raised Nut Strudel $25
Thursday, November 8
The classes are offered by Dorothea Cvijanovich who has been a caterer and cooking teacher for more than twenty years
All classes will be held from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. For registration and information on Classes call Toula at 288-7968 or the church office at 292-8013. Proceeds to support the choir for their tour of Greece in June 2008.
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