Father's Challenge
September 1st marks the Indiction, the Ecclesiastical New Year. This is the time that churches begin the worship, activities, and programs of a new church year.
As we begin this new church year, then, let's take a look at where the cycles of seasons and years, months and days came from. We do not have to look very far; their origin is in the very first chapter of Genesis.
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." (Genesis 1:14, 15)
The very first thing to notice here is that the seasons and the days and the years are created by God. And God does not create things just for the heck of it, but in order to accomplish definite divine purposes. So why did God create the changes of the seasons and the days? Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swedish philosopher, addressed this question when he wrote, "Life without change and variation would lead to sameness, and therefore to no life at all." That's a challenging statement! Sameness leads to no life at all? Think about it.
Here in North Carolina, we're used to major shifts in the weather from the warmth of spring through the heat of summer, to the coolness of fall and the coldness of winter. And many of the plants and animals that live here depend on these changes to complete their life cycles. Deciduous trees renew themselves by dropping their leaves each fall and growing a new crop of leaves in the spring. Many mammals renew themselves by hibernating through the winter, giving their bodies a long, nearly complete rest, so that they can make a new start in the spring. Even the insects have life cycles adapted to the seasonal changes so that they winter over in cocoons or in underground nests, gradually germinating next year's hatch of new insects. And many of these plants and animals that are adapted to these great seasonal shifts cannot survive in the tropical climates.
It is not only the life of plants and animals that depends on constant change, but also the life of our souls and our communities. If sameness in the world of nature leads to no life at all, than sameness of spirit would just as surely lead to spiritual death.
This can be both an unsettling teaching and a comforting one. On the one hand, we humans tend to be more comfortable with sameness--with our usual paths and our usual routines--than we are with continual change. Change is scary. Change means we can't do things the way we're used to doing them--that we have to learn new ways. Change means that things will never, ever be the same again. And our tendency toward nostalgia causes us to look back and think that the way things used to be is better than the way they are now. If only things could have stayed the same as when I was growing up, and everything was wonderful and carefree! (Of course, they weren't very carefree for our parents!)
And yet, that is not the way life is. And it is good that it is not the way life is. Because just as with plant and animal life, sameness leads to deadness. We are not the same as we were when we were children, or teenagers, or young adults, or middle aged. And it is good that we are not the same. Because we have grown. We have grown in our understanding of the world and the people around us, and that means we can treat both the world and our neighbors better than we did when we were younger and less understanding.
We have grown through difficult experiences of facing sickness and death among our families and friends; we have grown through struggling with personal and financial difficulties, through struggling with our parents, our children, our brothers and sisters, and our friends. And because of that growth, we are able to weather hardships and setbacks that would have crushed our younger selves. We are also able to help others through their pain and their struggles in ways that our younger selves could not have done.
And as we look back at the ways we have grown through our life's spiritual summers and winters, our spiritual days and nights, our faith tells us that as our life continues on from this point, we will continue to grow through all the pleasures and the pain, all the sorrows and the joys that our life still holds in store for us. For we know that it is God who has created us to be living, changing beings--beings that do not just sit there like a rock, gradually weathering away, but beings that change and grow through every new and different circumstance that we encounter.
In that spirit let us celebrate the New Year that we are now beginning together as a church. Just as each of us individually goes through our spiritual summers and winters, our spiritual days and nights, we together as a church experience our times of lying fallow and wintering through the slow times, and our new springtimes of growth and renewal. As individuals, we can each look back at our lives and see the growth that has taken place through it all, and look to the future with faith that God will bring about new growth in the life ahead of us. In the very same way, we as a church can look back at the times of struggle and the times of renewal in our church, and see the ways we have grown as a community of faith. And we can look forward to this New Year, and all the years to come, with faith that through our present and future labors, God has a rich harvest of spiritual growth awaiting us--a harvest of growth in love and wisdom; a harvest of new kindness and new ways of being of service to one another and to our community.
"Do you not say, 'Four months more and then it will be the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. The reaper is already drawing wages and harvesting the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together" (John 4:35, 36).
In Christ,
Fr. Dionysios
President's Message
I hope that everyone has had an enjoyable summer. It seems that every year the days pass so quickly. Vacation time is coming to an end, our children are going back to school, our Sunday school and Greek school programs will soon start and we will get back into our routines.
In a few weeks our annual Greek Festival will take place. Much work and planning goes into this major fun raiser every year. I ask all of us to contribute our time and talent to help make this Festival successful. This is an exciting time for our church. It is also a fun time and a time for all of us to be proud.
Following the Festival our Sunday school program will start. We all need to help this program be the best it can be. As parents, we should encourage our children to attend Sunday school on a regular basis and volunteer to be a part of the program.
I am very happy that Evangelia Kotsikorou will be one of our Greek School teachers this year. She will be a great addition. I look forward to working with her to make our Greek School fun and educational for all who attend.
I hope that you are looking forward to the start of a new Church year as much as I am. Let's continue to embrace each other and become closer as a community so that we may continue to grow and do great things!
Kiki Tarasidis
STEWARDSHIP
Matthew 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be
given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever
hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
First I would like to thank everyone who attended the Name
Day Picnic on Saturday August 18th. To those who did not
attend you were missed, but most of all YOU missed OUT.
It was a beautiful day, and even more wonderful was the
fellowship. I get filled with energy from these types of
community activities that reinvigorate me to keep serving
with the proper enthusiasm.
Soon we will be working side by side, hand in hand with our
fellow parishioners during our festival. For many of us, this is
an opportunity to introduce ourselves to other parishioners that are not familiar to us. It is also a way to give to the Church. I would like to remind everyone that we are on a Stewardship financed budget, not a festival based budget. Although the festival has been a crucial part of our Church, it is not to replace or subsidize our Stewardship program. I am looking forward to working with everyone to make our festival another successful year, to meeting new people and to re-ignite our fervor for OUR CHURCH.
PARISH COUNCIL NEWS
Summary of Recent Parish Council Meetings
The following issues were discussed by the Parish Council:
1. The Foundation Committee reported a lack of responses for the Survey sent out this summer. The Survey and accompanying information were meant to educate parishioners about options for benefiting the Church should they choose to do so in life or at death. The survey was anonymous so that parishioners would not feel they were being asked to make any commitment, rather it was intended to be an information gathering exercise. We would ask that our parishioners reconsider completing the survey and have extended the return date to September 25th.
2. Fr. reported that they are working on plans and a theme for the 2007-2008 Sunday School year.
3. We have a new family in our community, Petros and Rena Leontaritis. Please look for them and welcome them.
4. Festival discussion and updates were reported. Our Festival chairpersons and the entire Parish Council are very encouraged about the upcoming Festival. Pre-sale tickets are available and are encouraged. There is free entrance with the purchase as well as an expedited line for inside food.
5. Our President visited Health Serve and discussions were had on various philanthropic donations of time in which our Parish community and our Parish Council could participate.
6. The 85th Anniversary of Ahepa was discussed and we agreed to purchase an ad in their bulletin so that we may congratulate them.
7. Fr. was pleased with the wonderful attendance at our Name Day Vespers Service. He received much positive feedback from the visiting priests.
8. Plans are moving forward with the foyer renovation in the Fellowship Hall.
9. Many cost cutting measures were extensively discussed and considered.
10. Financial and other monthly reports were given.
Submitted by Theodora Vaporis, Secretary
PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS
By Georgette Galloway (545-8601)
Thank you to Thalia Bundros and Titsa Dermatas for the beautiful Reception following the Dormition Vespers on Tuesday, August 14.
Philoptochos will pass a tray on September 9 to benefit Holy Cross.
All members are asked to attend a Festival Work Day on Tuesday, September 11, at 6:30 p.m. FESTIVAL Volunteers/Workers are needed September 14, 15, 16. Check the sign up sheet located in the church hall.
A big THANK YOU for your community support of our Back to School Project. A variety of supplies including three-ring binders, notebooks, paper, pens, pencils, crayons, markers, etc. were collected and delivered to Smith High School and Morehead Elementary School to assist children in need this year. Thanks to Catherine Stuman, Sheila Touloupas, and Thalia Bundros for their work involved with this project.
Our first General Meeting of the 2007-2008 year will be Monday, October 8 in the church hall. Refreshments will be served at 6:45 p.m. and the business meeting will begin promptly at 7pm. (The Board will meet at 6 pm prior to the General Meeting.)
Thank you for your contributions to our year round Food Bank. Your continued donations are greatly appreciated.
Titsa Dermatas & Thalia Bundros would like to thank everyone who contributed to making our reception table so beautiful and delicious after Vespers on August 14 for our Name Day celebration. We were blessed to have 13 visiting priests and many of their parishioners from surrounding communities attending our celebration.
SUNDAY SCHOOL
The first day of Sunday School is scheduled for September 30th. 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
The flowers which adorned the Dormition Icon in the Narthex were donated by Anne Kazazes in memory of her husband, James.
The flowers on the Dormition Icon on the Iconostasion were donated by Barbara Kazazes in memory of Marika Kypriss, the Godmother of the church.
Betty Varsamis gave the flowers for the Icon for the Name Day Procession.
Mary Anton & Polly Anton donated the altar flowers on August 14th & 15th
Kirk and Kiki Tarasidis gave flowers around the Icon of the Theotokos on August 14th & 15th.
Minas & Soteria Dascalakis, Cleo & Dena Kontoulas, Bessie Gallins and Vivian Karampourniotis all gave donations for our Name Day.
Sophia and Janse Schermerhorn just returned from a wonderful week at the Metropolis of Boston Camp in New Hampshire where the theme was the "Major Feast Days of the Church."
CONGRATULATIONS
Anthony and Raegan Bulugaris for the 40-day Blessing on July 8, 2007 for their sons, Ethan & Isaac.
Eddie & Suzi Hanna for the Blessing of their son Eddie Aziz Hanna Jr., on July 29, 2007.
Ron Glantz and Anna Lampidis-Glantz for the 40-Day Blessing on August 12, 2007 for their daughter Juliana Glantz.
Dr. Tom Schermerhorn has opened an aesthetics practice in Burlington - Allure Medical Spa at Kernodle Clinic.
