Father's Challenge
Abba Macarius was asked, "How should one pray?" The old man said, "There is no need at all to make long discourses; it is enough to stretch out one's hands and say, "Lord, as you will, and as you know, have mercy." And if the conflict grows fiercer say, "Lord, help!" He knows very well what we need and shows us his mercy."
Beloved in the Lord;
Prayer is a powerful aid and tool for our spiritual and physical health. Weighed down as we are with problems, be it health, family or financial, prayer helps lift the burden of woe from our shoulders. We are infused by God with renewed hope and strength.
The words of the desert father, Abba Macarius, remind us that prayers need not be long nor complicated exercises for the Faithful. Some people seem to feel that they have to utter long recitations of many words as if to get God's attention. Prayers need not be long, but they need to be heartfelt. Whether read or spontaneous, they do need to be sincere. We cannot fool or deceive Our Lord.
The easy thing about prayers is that we do not need to be grammatically correct or eloquent. Praying is simply talking with God on an intimate level. But when we talk with God, we should begin it in an atmosphere of silence. We have to tune out the distractions of the world to pray more effectively. It is much like turning off the television when company stops by or turning off the radio if someone calls. We need to focus our attention on God alone.
And when we speak to God with simple, meaningful prayers, He will hear. For Jesus promises, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you." Matt. 7:7) "The Lord," says St. Augustine, "desires and wills to pour forth His graces upon us, but will not give them except to him who prays: God wishes to give, but only gives to him who asks."
Developing a good and active prayer life will enrich our daily lives. The grace of God, like living water, will nourish and sanctify our souls which have been parched through sin. St. John Chrysostom writes, "As moisture is necessary for the life of plants, to prevent them from drying up so is prayer necessary for our salvation."
As we celebrate the Indiction, the new ecclesiastical year, let us make praying a key aspect of our lives. God gives to all the grace of prayer, in order that we may obtain heavenly help everyday. If we are overwhelmed with sorrows and troubles in this new year, the whole fault will be ours; and we shall have our own failure to answer for, because we did not pray.
In Christ,
Fr. Dionysios
CONGRATULATIONS
To John Shea and Connie Holt who were Chrismated on August 6, 2006. John was sponsored by Zack Touloupas and Connie was sponsored by Presbytera Elena.
THANK YOU
To Ted & Marina Andrews who donated an all-in-one copier/scanner/fax/color printer for the church office and many items for the church kitchen: bowls, pots & pans, knives with a cutting board. Everything has been put to good use and is very much appreciated. Thank you for your generous donations!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
A "baking angel" was working hard at home in July. Soteria Dascalakis baked, covered in syrup, cupped & packed 2,500 finikia in containers for our 2006 Festival. What a wonderful and generous donation (flour, eggs, sugar, honey and nuts, cups & storage containers)! All of the "bakers" are so grateful to this lovely lady for tackling this awesome chore on her own in her kitchen at home. Thank you, Soteria! May God bless you!
CONDOLENCES
To Rose Kontoulos and family, whose brother, Hercules, passed away on July 17, 2006 in Richmond, VA. Internment was at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens in Fort Pierce, FL on August 9, 2006 at 10:00 am. May his memory be eternal!
To Doris Zaharias and family, whose husband, Epaminondas, fell asleep in the Lord on August 26, 2006. May his memory be eternal!
Doris and the Zaharias family wish to express heart felt thanks to the church, all the parishioners and to Father Dionysios for all the prayers, calls, visits and the love and support given to them during this time.
AHEPA
AHEPA will have a regular meeting in October on Tuesday, October 10, at 7:00pm.
BIBLE STUDY
Bible Study will resume after the Festival on Tuesday, September 19, from 3-4:30pm.
GREEK SCHOOL NEWS
By Kiki Tarasidis (288-2921)
The 2006-2007 Greek School program will begin on Thursday October 5, 2006 and will commence on Thursday May 31, 2007.
We are fortunate to have Alexandra Alexiou returning as a teacher again this year. Because of her commitments to the Winston-Salem and High Point communities, we have had to change our Greek School from Tuesday to Thursday evening 6:30-7:30 pm. I hope this change will work with most of our schedules.
Registration forms are available in the Fellowship Hall bulletin board. Anyone interested in attending Greek School must complete the registration form and turn it in to the church office by the 11th of September.
For further information please contact, Kiki Tarasidis 288.2921 or email kikitarasidis@yahoo.com.
OPA! DANCE PRACTICE
Jr. OPA!
Saturday, Sept. 9, from 4-6pm.
Sunday, September 10, from 1-3pm.
Middle School OPA!
Tuesday, September 5, from 6-8pm.
Sunday, September 10, from 4-6pm.
Tuesday, September 12, from 6-8pm.
High School OPA!
Sunday, September 10, from 6-8pm.
PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS
By Sheila Touloupas (584-1213)
Ladies Philoptochos would like to thank all its members who assisted with Reception for the Dormition Vespers. It was a beautiful event attended by more than 200 people. A special thank you to our Chairpersons Titsa Dermatas and Thalia Bundros who coordinated this event.
We would also like to thank all members of our parish community who generously donated school supplies for children in Guilford County. These items were delivered to area schools and will be distributed to needy children by school administrators, guidance counselors, and teachers.
Philoptochos will pass a special tray on September 10th to benefit Holy Cross Seminary.
On Tuesday, September 12th at 6:30pm, members are asked to attend a work meeting to prepare the pastry room for the Festival. All members are encouraged to give generously of their time volunteering during the weekend to make this Festival a success.
A brief Board Meeting will be held Sunday, October 8th immediately following the Liturgy.
Mark your calendar for Monday, October 9th. This will be our next Philoptochos General Meeting. Hostesses are needed to provide light refreshments for our General Meetings. If you and a friend are willing to volunteer for the October meeting, please contact Minerva Ross at 282-4306 or e-mail at pina1159@aol.com.
SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS
There will be a blessing of Sunday School in the church on Sunday September 10. The first day of Sunday School will be on September 24.
PRESIDENT'S CORNER
By Scott Graham (643-7099)
I am writing this the evening of our Church's Name Day picnic, which was a terrific success. We had nearly 100 of our parishioners in attendance who enjoyed good food and fellowship, sharing a sunny afternoon together at Bur Mil Park. We had a great time playing games (who knew Ron Freeman was a world class horseshoe player?) and socializing. I would like to express a special thank you to Presbytera Elena for planning and organizing this event and to Zack Touloupas who generously provided and grilled hamburgers and his world famous hotdogs (Chris Mandaleris and yours truly had 3 each….)
As the end of the summer draws near, we turn our attention to our Festival and look forward to another special event. Our friends and neighbors have supported our Greek Festival for many years and it has become one of the favorite social events in the Greensboro community. Many hours have been spent baking pastries, ordering supplies and preparing. There is still much to be done however and as we approach September, we hope again that you will volunteer your time and talents to help make this our most successful Festival ever.
Serbian Church Services
Our sister church, St. Vasilije of Ostrog Serbian Orthodox Church in Kernersville, is unable to hold services at their present location due to code and permit issues. Our parish has agreed to assist them at this time by allowing them to use our church for their services. The dates of these services will be included in the Orthodox Oracle.
FESTIVAL '06
Our Annual Festival is scheduled for September 15-17, 2006
AND IS LESS THAN THREE WEEKS AWAY!!
OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE ON SEPTEMBER 5TH AT 7PM IN THE HALL. PLEASE ATTEND.
Chair Persons will be there to field any questions you may have and sign up sheets are also available.
As a recap of where we are in the plans so far this year:
· HealthServe will again be our Charity for this year.
· We need more volunteers before during and after the Festival. We need YOU!
· Our advertising efforts this year have been no less than SPECTACULAR! We are also beefing up security and our signs to make our grounds more beautiful as well as functional.
· Our raffle prizes have been expanded.
· More help is needed the week before and the Monday after the Festival.
· We are expanding by offering a stand alone Greek Salad this year!
· Sign up sheets are in the Hall.
Below are the area Chair Persons. Please help them and by BEING GENEROUS WITH YOUR TIME.
Booth/Area Chairperson
Agora Gwen Varsamis
Taverna Elizabeth Contogiannis
Dancers Maria Mandaleris, Christa Graham, Mary Ann Contogiannis, Amanda Corey
Church Tours Fr. Dionysios
Coffee Nabila Brown
Entertainment Basil Agapion
Kiddie Korner Jennifer Corcoran and Gina Sophia
Finance Terry Woods, Scott Graham and Carl Colozzi
Gate Georgette Galloway and Vicki Vaughan
Grounds Doug Martin
Construction Kimmon Varsamis
Hot Dogs George Hanna
Inside Food David Valavanis
Loukoumades Barbara Vaughan and Grady Barbee
Outside Food Zack Touloupas and Steve Anton
Pastries Philoptochos Society
Publicity/Ads/Photography Matthew Pappas and Edna Pappas
Raffle Tony Bundros
Security David Valavanis
Volunteer Coordinator Brenda Miller
Please call me with any questions and to VOLUNTEER. We need everyone's dedication to make the Festival great. Please support your Church.
Mike Dolianitis
286-3972
Nameday Celebration
The Nameday Celebration was an absolutely wonderful event! The floral decorations of the icons were stunning. Our thanks to Thalia Bundros and Toula Chininis for these lovely arrangements. The church was packed with many visitors for the vesper service. We had ten priests from throughout North Carolina present. They and the rest of our visitors were very impressed with the singing provided by our choir. The gift of such lovely singing truly enhanced the beauty of the service. We are all very appreciative of the choir's participation. The reception afterwards, hosted by the Philoptochos, was very elegant. Our thanks to the ladies who worked so hard.
The Nameday picnic, held on the 20th at Bur-Mil Park, was very enjoyable. Presbytera Elena was very pleased by the response. Despite the heat and humidity, we had a great turnout! We had a rich variety of side dishes and desserts. Many thanks to Zack Touloupas for donating and cooking the hot dogs and hamburgers. Everyone enjoyed the food, games and fellowship. We look forward to doing this again soon!
