ST. PAUL GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 4548 Wallings Road • North Royalton, Ohio 44133-3121 (440) 237-8998 · (440) 237-4386 fax E-mail address: [email protected]www.stpaulgoc.org A Parish under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh THE MESSENGER A Monthly Publication of St. Paul Greek Orthodox Church MARCH 2016 INSIDE CLERGY REFLECTIONS MINISTRIES OF THE CHURCH MONTHLY CALENDAR PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES STEWARDSHIP NEWS UPCOMING EVENTS YOUTH NEWS 2016 Parish Council—corrected The editor apologizes for omitting Rhonee Trakas-Iula’s name from the last issue. Pictured above from left to right are John Trihas (President), Michael Lignos (Vice President), Dennis Diamond (Financial Secretary), Stephanie Ocker, Thalia Marakas, Alex Dadas, George Anagnostou (Treasurer), Arthur S. Karas, Ja- son Kouvaras, Rhonee Trakas-Iula (Secretary), Antho- ne Colovas, Nicolas Parianos, and Dr. Michael Sarida- kis. Not pictured are Irene Pontikos and William Regan. Congratulations GOYAns! We congratulate our GOYAns that attended the Me- tropolis GOYA tournament hosted by Holy Trinity in Canton for receiving the Sportsmanship trophy! HOPE/JOY Children gathered for an afternoon of bowl- ing with Father Mi- chael. More pictures can be viewed on our website.
Transcript
ST. PAUL GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 4548 Wallings Road • North Royalton, Ohio 44133-3121
www.stpaulgoc.org A Parish under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America,
and the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh
THE MESSENGER A Monthly Publication of St. Paul Greek Orthodox Church MARCH 2016
INSIDE
CLERGY REFLECTIONS
MINISTRIES OF THE CHURCH
MONTHLY CALENDAR
PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES
STEWARDSHIP NEWS
UPCOMING EVENTS
YOUTH NEWS
2016 Parish Council—corrected
The editor apologizes for omitting Rhonee Trakas-Iula’s name from the last issue. Pictured above from left to right are John Trihas (President), Michael Lignos (Vice President), Dennis Diamond (Financial Secretary), Stephanie Ocker, Thalia Marakas, Alex Dadas, George Anagnostou (Treasurer), Arthur S. Karas, Ja-son Kouvaras, Rhonee Trakas-Iula (Secretary), Antho-ne Colovas, Nicolas Parianos, and Dr. Michael Sarida-kis. Not pictured are Irene Pontikos and William Regan.
Congratulations GOYAns!
We congratulate our GOYAns that attended the Me-tropolis GOYA tournament hosted by Holy Trinity in Canton for receiving the Sportsmanship trophy!
HOPE/JOY
Children gathered for an afternoon of bowl-ing with Father Mi-chael. More pictures can be viewed on our website.
PAGE 2 THE MESSENGER
St. Paul Greek Orthodox Church ~ North Royalton OH
The following ministries are the lifeblood of our parish and perform many activities to promote the growth of our church. Your participation in these organizations makes our community more spiritually complete.
Philoptochos Stephanie Ocker Coffee Socials Pam Sitter Festival Michael Lignos John Trihas Messenger Editor Elaine Nackowiz Welcome Committee Helen Dadas Choir Director Vaso Boukis Cantor Nicholas Bodle Organist Matthew Walters Bookstore Jim & Karen Sullivan
ST. PAUL FAMILY MINISTRY COMMISSION Chairman HOPE / JOY Father Michael Gavrilos GOYA Coordinator Father Michael Gavrilos OCF Maribeth Lekas Altar Boys Father Michael Gavrilos Religious Education Presv. Nicole Keares Bible Study Frank Chirakos Father Costas Keares Women’s Study Group Elaine Poulos VCS Amber Rahas Annoula Tsonton Greek School Kathy Glaros Greek Corner Maria Karlatiras PTO Debbie Gemelas Senior Fellowship Maria Regan Hellenic Dance Director Eleni Johnson
Deadline for all articles and Organization Minutes is the 1st of the month. Please keep this in mind! Items can be e-mailed to [email protected].
Like our PAGE to keep up to date
on the happenings of our parish. Even if you are not on Facebook, you can view our postings on the Home page of our website.
CLERGY
Priest Rev. Fr. Costas P. Keares, Proistamenos
Assistant Priest Rev. Fr. Michael A. Gavrilos
ECCLESIARCH Bruce W. Trakas
PARISH COUNCIL President John Trihas Vice President Michael Lignos Secretary Rhonee Trakas-Iula Financial Secretary Dennis Diamond Treasurer George Anagnostou
Anthone Colovas Stephanie Ocker Alex Dadas Nicolas Parianos Arthur S. Karas Irene Pontikos Jason Kouvaras William Regan Thalia Marakas Dr. Michael Saridakis
OFFICE SECRETARY/BOOKKEEPER Elaine Nackowiz CUSTODIAN Antonios Moraitis LEGAL ADVISOR Ken Boukis NEOKOROS Tom Sperellis
STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS Bylaws John Trihas Catering / Leasing John Trihas/Arthur Karas Family Ministry Thalia Marakas Finance Michael Lignos Home Michael Lignos Human Resources Alex Dadas
Membership S. Ocker / J. Kouvaras Public Relations Father Costas Keares Stewardship Dennis Diamond Ways & Means Irene Pontikos Real Estate Management Arthur S. Karas
SPECIAL COMMITTEE: Vision Dr. Michael Saridakis John Trihas History Bruce Trakas
Pastoral Reflections by Father Costas “Let us set out with joy upon the season of the Fast, and
prepare ourselves for the spiritual combat. Let us purify our soul and cleanse our flesh; and as we fast from food, let us abstain also from every passion. Rejoicing in the virtues of the
Spirit may we persevere with love, and so be counted wor-thy to see the solemn Passion of Christ our God, and with great spiritual gladness to behold His Holy Pascha”.
~ Hymn of Great Lent This Lenten period, known as Great Lent, begins in our church on Monday, March 14th. This day is also known as Pure Monday, (Katharara Deftera). It is a time in the life of the Church which the Fathers of old have described as “joyful sadness”. We are saddened by the realization of how far we are from Christ, and in our repentance, we are joyfully reunited to our Heavenly Father just like the Prodigal Son. During this Lenten Season, which is comprised of 40 days, the church asks us to follow certain disciplines. First, we fast from certain foods; fasting is good for the body and soul. Unless there is a medical reason, all of us should follow some discipline of fasting. For the body, it will do us all good to shed some extra pounds. And for our soul, it will help us strengthen our will to make choices in our lives that are pleasing to our Lord. Besides fasting from certain foods, we should also make every effort to fast spiritually. During this peri-od, we abstain from dances and parties that could possibly tempt us to break our fast. This is why the Orthodox Church does not allow weddings during this period. Besides fasting from food, St. John Chrysostom also reminds us that “more attention should be paid to things that come out of one’s mouth rather than things that go in.” Therefore, we need to “guard our tongues” and watch what we say. We fast not only from food but from idle talk, gossip, bad language, etc. as well. Fasting is invaluable to those who take it seriously and not merely as an expression of outer pi-ety which they feel they should observe during this period of our liturgical calendar. Coupled with fasting is the sacrament of Holy Confes-sion. All of us are struggling in our daily life to fulfill
God’s will and to do the right thing. Yet, at times we do fall short. Our sins might not be big and grave. We might not have carried out the atrocities that we hear in the evening news. But there is always room to ask ourselves, have I loved enough? Have I forgiven enough? Have I been the husband, wife, child, friend that Christ would expect me to be? Have I done what it takes to assist a brother or sister in the time of their need? If you answered no, to any of the above ques-tions, then we go to confession and we ask for God’s forgiveness and the grace to go on and do better in our life. God loves each and every one of us very much. It is precisely to this LOVE or MERCY that we continuously respond to as we yearn to be godlike in our daily life. Prayer is often called the oxygen of the soul. If we want to maintain a healthy soul and be godlike in our way of life, we must make time to breathe spiritually; that is to PRAY. We pray both privately in our home and also publically in Church, as an Orthodox com-munity. It’s important to set time aside to attend as many services as we can during this period. A variety of services will be celebrated every Monday, Wednes-day, Friday and of course on Sundays. Set time aside in your busy schedule. If you don’t deliberately set time aside, you will never find the time that you need to come to these services and to enter into a deeper prayerful life, and meditate on the lessons learned through the divine services in the Church. Thus, at-tending services as often as possible throughout the Lenten period and all of Holy Week is paramount for a successful Lenten journey. Charity for those in need is a must. If we keep the eyes of our heart open, the Lord will present to us opportu-nities to show love, compassion, and mercy to those in need. And so my beloved, as the above hymn reminds us, let us struggle during these holy days before us so that by “rejoicing in the virtues of the Spirit, may we
persevere with love” to overcome our passions, our weaknesses, “and with great spiritual gladness to
behold His Holy Pascha,” His Resurrection. Have a Blessed and spiritually fulfilling Great Lent!
PAGE 4 THE MESSENGER
Our Parish Her Life & People
Baptism February 7th Landyn (Marie ~ daughter of Jeff and Stephanie Cicerchi Godparent ~ Amy Randazzo February 20th
Adriana (Anastasia) ~ daughter of Dean and Theresa Ribich Godparent ~ Paul Ribich
Funerals May Their Memory Be Eternal
February 17th Anastasia Stamopoulos February 20th Mitch Stergo We would be happy to announce a special occasion in this column. All you need to do is notify the office at 440.237.8998 or [email protected].
Stewardship Commitment Form
Many thanks to those who are using your stewardship envelopes each Sunday. Please note the special enve-lopes inserted in your March / April set:
* Capital Improvement ~ to improve our facility * Palm Sunday
* Holy Friday
Have you completed your 2015 Fairshare Commit-ment? Have you submitted your 2016 Fairshare Esti-mate of Giving card? Simply complete the form below or go to our website. I / We remit $ towards my/our 2015 pledge I / We commit $ to my/our 2016 pledge Name Address Email Phone
Parish Council President's Message ~ John H. Trihas
It’s hard to believe that we are almost at the end of the first quarter. I wanted to update you on a few things that have been happening here at the church:
The new refrigerator/freezers have been installed to the exterior of the kitchen. We are expecting the shelving units to arrive shortly.
The kitchen has been painted, the 3-compartment sink has been moved creating a better flow to the kitchen, and new lights have been installed.
The Home Committee is working diligently with an architect firm to finalize the parking lot design. The entire project will be completed this year as we celebrate our 50th Anniversary.
Marble arches have been added to the iconostasis, giving it a finished look. This project was financed by donations we received.
Year-end financial statements have been posted to the main bulletin board by the office. If you would like to receive a copy, please contact the church office.
Plans are underway for a very exciting year as we cel-ebrate our 50th Anniversary. I hope that you will make time to join us in as many activities as possible.
MARCH 2016 PAGE 5
Youth News
LITTLE ANGELS / HOPE / JOY / GOYA ~ Little Angels continues to meet the first and third Wednesday mornings each month from 11:00 AM—12:30 PM in the teen room with Presvytera Maria. Contact Presvytera M a r i a a t m a [email protected] if you are interested in participating in the group or looking for more in formation.
~ HOPE/JOY will Journey through Lent on Saturday, March 12th at 1:00 PM in the Teen Room. RSVP to Father Michael by April 7th.
~ There will be a movie night and discussion with Father Michael held for our GOYAns on March
12th at 4:00 PM. GOYAns are asked to bring a meat- less appetizer or dessert to share. Pizza will be pro- vided. RSVP to Father Michael.
~ The next GOYA meeting will be Sunday, March
13th following Sunday School in the Teen Room. There will be an important meeting for all parents and coaches following the GOYA meeting.
~ NEW this year: Our Lenten Dinners will now be
held on Wednesday evenings following the Pre-sanctified Liturgy which begins at 5:00 PM. All youth groups (HOPE/JOY, GOYA, Sunday School,
Greek School, and Hellenic Dancers) will sponsor the meal on Wednesday, April 6th. Please bring a Lenten Dish (no meat) or dessert and beverage to share. RSVP to Father Michael to indicate what you will be bringing. ~ The Metropolis GOYA Spring Retreat will be held at Antiochian V i l l a g e C a m p g r o u n d s April 15—17. A parish scholar- ship is available. Contact Father Michael for more information .
~ Remember your deceased loved ones on Holy Fri- day by purchasing a Luminary bag that will be lit as we walk around the church and have their name displayed on the bag. Orders will be taken March 20—April 24. See order form on page 8 of this issue. ~ Looking ahead: * Saturday, April 23 ~ Lazarus Saturday Liturgy, brunch, palm folding * Sunday April 24 ~ Palm Sunday followed by luncheon * Friday April 29 ~ Holy Friday Retreat for all the Youth Groups of our parish (excused absence let- ter will be provided) * Saturday, April 30 ~ Holy Saturday bell ringing by the children
~ Registration for the Metropolis Summer Camp pro-gram is now open. Children who are active in our JOY and GOYA programs and whose families are stewards of the parish are eligible for a parish scholarship to defray half the cost of attendance. Contact Father Michael for more information.
The beginning of March brings focus to our 7-12th grade students. On March 6th, we will hold the parish level of the Oratorical Festival following Sunday School. The teachers in those classes have been work-ing with the students on their topics and Nick Asmis and Erika Sullivan are planning the actual festival. All parishioners are welcome to join us in the teen room following Sunday school to hear our students speak. March 14th marks the beginning of Great Lent. It is a time of prayer, fasting and doing good works. The first Sunday of Lent, Sunday of Orthodoxy, March 20th, Sunday School students will participate in the procession of the icons in the church. We ask all chil-dren to bring an icon from home on that day. They will then go downstairs to class after the procession. I also encourage all families to plan to attend at least one of each of the weekday Lenten services. Services are on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays each week of Great Lent (see the calendars on page 11-12 in this issue of The Messenger or check our website calendar). Looking ahead, the Lenten meals that have been tak-ing place on Friday evenings before the Salutation ser-vice have been moved to Wednesday evenings follow-ing the Pre-sanctified Liturgy. Traditionally, the faith-ful prepare and fast to receive Holy Communion at the Pre-sanctified Liturgy and then break their fast by have a meal together. The Lenten meal sponsored by the youth of our parish is Wednesday, April 6th. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend. Also mark your calendars for the annual Holy Friday Retreat on April 29th. More information will be in the April Messenger. I wish you all a blessed beginning of Great Lent. See you Sunday!
Greek School News ~ Kathy Glaros
It is truly hard to believe we are almost at the end of this school year; it always seems to arrive too quickly. As we get ready to begin the month of March, Greek school once again has some special events to look for-ward to. On March 13th our children will be presenting our an-nual Greek Independence Day program in church fol-lowing the Divine Liturgy. Immediately after the pro-gram, Greek school will be hosting breakfast in the Hellenic Center to celebrate Greek Independence Day. We invite you all to join us. This is a great opportunity for our families to get together and enjoy each other's company. Purchase tickets by calling the church office at (440) 237-8998, on our website: www.stpaulgoc.org, or on Sunday during coffee social hour. On March 19th our children will be participating in the annual Independence Day parade at the Annunciation Church in Cleveland. Every year when we celebrate the 25th of March, we experience a miracle, the gran-deur of which is part of our Greek life. The celebration of Greek Independence Day draws inspiration from one of the holiest days of Greek Orthodox Christians, the Annunciation of the Theotokos. Responding to our Greek school families interest, we planned for and implemented a Greek School Vacation School Program which will take place on June 13—15 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM for children ages Kindergar-ten to Sixth grade. While the kids find it fun, it is a pro-gram designed to strengthen our children's awareness and respect for their religious and Greek heritage. Please let parents and friends know about our new program. Details will include instructional staff and curriculum information. We promise that it will be an excellent program. Thank you all for your support so far this year. Please don't hesitate to call me if you have any questions at 216.524.1766.
The snow has finally arrived and at times the warm temperatures seem like they will never get here, but the dance instructors know that our busy season is quickly approaching and practices are going to start getting longer and more content will be added every time the groups meet. We have a lot of work ahead of us and not a lot of practice days so please mark your calendars with our upcoming practices and make eve-ry effort to have your dancer at these practices. Our next practices are:
March 20
April 3
April 10 A complete list of practice days can be found on the church website under the dance tab. A shout out to our Junior Dancers that performed at the North Royalton Girl Scouts World Friendship Day, February 20. The boys and girls of the Junior Group did an amazing job performing for an audience of 175+ local Girl Scouts and their parents! We are so proud of this group that worked so hard to get ready for their first performance of the season!! They really impressed their audience as they shared our Greek culture!! Lastly, I want to once again stress the importance of getting your registration paperwork submitted to your instructor or filled out on the church website. Although many of you have registered for the 2016 program there are still some dancers that have not done so. In-structors have up to date lists of who they still need payment and paper work from. Many blessings as you travel through this Lenten Sea-son!
Mark your calendar for these upcoming events cele-brating our 50th Anniversary:
50 YEARS OF FASHION ~ April 9
PALM SUNDAY LUNCHEON ~ April 24
GOLF OUTING ~ June 5
ST. PAUL FEASTDAY ~ June 29
GRAND BANQUET ~ October 22
50TH ANNIVERSARY BRUNCH ~ October 23
Do you have family and friends who have moved away, but would like to attend our 50th Anniversary Celebrations? Their address and/or email can be sub-mitted through our website (www.stpaulgoc.org/forms/contact50) or by calling the church office with the information.
Like our Facebook PAGE for more information on the 50th Anniversary celebrations: https://www.facebook.com/saintpaul50/
Learn more about the 50 Acts of Kindness and view the events as they happen on our website: http://stpaulgoc.org/our-parish/50/50-acts-of-kindness. What will your group do??? ACT 1: GOYAns cooked and prepared a chicken din- ner that they took to serve to the homeless at St. Herman House
The Orthodox Church has designated certain days of the year for special prayer services for the dead: The Saturday before Meatfare Week and Cheesefare Week and the Saturday before the first Sunday in Lent. The Saturday prior to Pentecost is also a Saturday of Souls.
Of these days, the Church remembers all the saints and our deceased loves ones. Our church prays for all the dead to express their faith that all who have fallen asleep in the Lord live in the Lord. Whether on earth or in heaven, the Church is a single family, one body in Christ. Death changes the location, but it cannot sever the bond of love. On Memorial Saturdays, the liturgical hymns pray universally for all of the depart-ed.
“With the saints, give rest O Lord to the souls of your servants, where there is no pain or suffering, but life everlasting.” May their memory be eternal!
Prepare a tray of koliva and/or complete the section below and return it to the church office. PRINT FIRST NAMES ONLY below:
March 5th March 12th March 19th
Holy Friday Luminary Bags Remembering your Deceased Loved Ones
The GOYA is sponsoring this project for the Lamenta-tion service on Holy Friday evening. These candlelit bags will light our path as we make the procession around the Church with the Epitaphio. On each lumi-naria we will post the name(s) of your deceased loved ones. The cost is $5.00 per name. Fr. Costas and Fr. Michael will commemorate these names silently during the service. Please place your order online or at the designated table during coffee hour each Sunday during Lent. The deadline is Palm
Sunday, April 24. Please see chairpersons Christina Keares or Presvytera Nicole for details. Example of wording on bags and pricing: For one person: In Memory of John Papadopoulos by his Children Total Cost: $5.00 If you would like Husband and Wife together: In Memory of John and Maria Papadopoulos by their children Total Cost: $10.00 I would like to donate (#) luminaries.
In memory of: (Please PRINT names as you wish them to appear on each luminary) 1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6) Total number of Names @ $5.00 each =
$ Total amount enclosed
Donated by:
Phone:
Please make checks payable to: St. Paul Greek Orthodox Church.
Thank you!
MARCH 2016 PAGE 9
AFGHAN PROJECT: WONDERFUL WORKSHOP AT CROCHET INNOVATIONS! On Thursday, February 18th we gathered to at-tend our Afghan Workshop at Crochet Innova-tions in Brecksville. We enjoyed crocheting and knit-ting while browsing the beautiful supply of yarns at Crochet Innovations. Our Ladies Philoptochos contin-ues our wonderful tradition of presenting every new-born in our community with a handmade afghan at their 40-Day Blessing. Each afghan donated has a tag that indicates that it was hand-made by Philoptochos and a card with the donor’s name as well as the chil-dren’s book “What Do You See at Liturgy” enclosed as a memento of this special occasion. If you would like to create baby afghans they should be approximately 30 x 36 inches knitted or crocheted in washable yarn. Our Ladies Philoptochos is also creating afghans for our homebound parishioners. These lap afghans are given to our homebound parishioners who welcome a visit from our Philoptochos ladies. If you know of an-yone who would enjoy such a visit, please let us know. Each lap afghan should be approximately 40x48 inches knitted or crocheted in washable yarn. We wish to extend a warm thank you to Joyce Nicho-las and Tessie Lekas for their beautiful lap afghans last month. To date we have received 146 children’s afghans and 68 adult afghans! Monetary donations are also accepted in lieu of hand-made afghans to offset the costs of this project. Please contact Maria Lovejoy 330.220.3213 or Maribeth Lekas 216.408.6070 if you are interested in assisting with our Afghan Ministry.
OCF—ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP—WINTER ACTIVITIES GALORE! OCF is the National Campus Ministry Program for Orthodox college students. Greater Cleveland has four active OCF Chapters that include students from CWRU, JCU, CSU, BW and CCC. OCF plans meetings and various events for the college students each month providing free food and admissions. In addi-tion, OCF planned two fun events in the month of February for our college students; Snow Tubing and also Tobogganing! These events were open to all col-lege students. Please have your students checkout the OCF Cleveland page on Facebook for events in the Cleveland area. Our St. Paul Philoptochos reaches out to our college students by mailing them OCF Connect Kits. Connect Kits are mailed to our St. Paul college freshmen that
include an Orthodox Study Bible, reading guides, prayer books, guides for finding a local OCF chapter, OCF travel mug filled with delicious homemade kou-lourakia, as well as other fun goodies for our college students. Please forward email and college snail mail addresses for any St. Paul college Freshmen and/or to donate, please contact Mary Steve [email protected] or Maribeth Lekas [email protected] . We will continue to deliver Connect Kits during the Spring Semester as well.
PAGE 10 THE MESSENGER
The Greater Cleveland Council of Orthodox Clergy has once again assumed the responsibility of soliciting donations to underwrite the celebration of Sunday of Orthodoxy and to support the Orthodox ministries that serve our area. Contributions can be made to GCCOC and given to the church office by March 14, 2016 to be listed as a “Patron” in the handout at the Pan Orthodox Vespers
Yes, I/We would like to support and help underwrite the celebration of Sunday of Orthodoxy.
Donation Amount: $
PRINT name(s) below as you wish it to appear:
Return donation and form to:
St. Paul Greek Orthodox Church ATTN: Sunday of Orthodoxy 4548 Wallings Road North Royalton OH 44133-3121
Women’s Study Group Join Elaine Poulos as she presents a study on Tuesday mornings from 10:00 AM—11:30 AM. The study will be with the book “The Great-est of All Sciences: To Know One’s Self” by An-thony Conairis. This study will run from March 8—April 19. Cost is $13.00 per book and can be purchased directly from Elaine during class.
MARCH 2016 PAGE 11
CHURCH SERVICES
All Sundays 8:15 AM Orthros
9:30 AM Liturgy
Sunday School
Following Holy
Communion
2
0
1
6
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
1
10:00 AM Women’s Study Group
7:00 PM Home Committee Meeting
2
11:00 AM Little Angels
7:00 PM 3rd GriefShare
3
7:00 PM Bible Study
4 5 Saturday of
Souls 8:30 AM Orthros 9:30 AM Liturgy 11:00 AM Daffodil Luncheon
6 Judgment
Sunday (Meatfare) Parish Oratorical Festival
5:00 PM Greek Corner Glendi
7 8 10:00 AM Women’s Study Group
6:30 PM Philoptochos Board mtg. Followed by general mtg.
9
7:00 PM Parish Council Meeting
7:00 PM 4th GriefShare
10
7:00 PM Bible Study
11 12Saturday of
Souls 8:30 AM Orthros 9:30 AM Liturgy 12:00 PM Lent HOPE/JOY Act.
4:00 PM GOYA Movie
13
Forgiveness Sunday (Cheesefare)
Greek School Program / luncheon
GOYA mtg.
7:00 PM Forgiveness Vespers
14 Clean
Monday
Lent Begins
5:30 PM Greek School
7:00 PM Great Compline
15
10:00 AM Women’s Study Group
16
11:00 AM Little Angels
5:00 PM Pre-sanctified Liturgy Followed by Lenten Dinner hosted by Philoptochos
7:00 PM 5th GriefShare
17
6:00 PM Family Ministry mtg.
7:00 PM Bible Study
18
7:00 PM 1st Salutations to the Theotokos
19Saturday of
Souls 8:30 AM Orthros 9:30 AM Liturgy 12:00 PM Doxology 1:00 PM Greek Ind. Day Parade at Annunciation 12:00 PM Pre-marital seminar
20
Sunday of Orthodoxy
Dance Practice
5:00 PM Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers
21
5:30 PM Greek School
7:00 PM Great Compline
22
10:00 AM Women’s Study Group
23
5:00 PM Pre-sanctified Liturgy followed by
Lenten Dinner hosted by Senior Fellowship
7:00 PM 6th GriefShare
24
7:00 PM Great Vespers for the feast of Annunciation at Annunciation Cleveland
25
Annunciation 8:30 AM Orthros
9:30 AM Liturgy—ALL
SERVICES at Annunciation Cleveland
7:00 PM Vespers and 2nd Salutations
26
10:00 AM Pilgrimage at St. Gregory Palamas
27
Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas
28 5:30 PM Greek School
7:00 PM Great Compline
29
10:00 AM Women’s Study Group
30
7:00 PM 7th GriefShare
31
7:00 PM Bible Study
Father Costas and Father Michael attend Clergy Retreat
PAGE 12 THE MESSENGER
CHURCH SERVICES
All Sundays 8:15 AM Orthros
9:30 AM Liturgy
Sunday School
Following Holy
Communion
2
0
1
6
SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
1
7:00 PM 3rd Salutations to the Theotokos
2
10:00 AM Philoptochos Parish Lenten Retreat
3
Sunday of the Holy Cross
Dance Practice and Costume fitting for ALL dancers
GOYA mtg. following Sunday school
4
9:00 AM Festival Baking
5:30 PM Greek School
7:00 PM Great Compline
5
9:00 AM Festival Baking
10:00 AM Women’s Study Group
6 5:00 PM Pre-sanctified Liturgy followed by Lenten Dinner hosted by Youth Groups
7:00 PM 9th GriefShare
7
7:00 PM Bible Study
8
7:00 PM 4th Salutations to the Theotokos
9
11:00 AM 50 Years of Fashion Show
10 Sunday of St. John Climacus
Dance Practice
11
9:00 AM Festival Baking
5:30 PM Greek School
7:00 PM Great Compline
12
9:00 AM Festival Baking
10:00 AM Women’s Study Group
6:30 PM Five church meeting
13 5:00 PM Pre-sanctified Liturgy Followed by Lenten Dinner hosted by Parish Council 7:00 PM 4th GriefShare 7:30 PM Parish Council meeting
14
7:00 PM Bible Study
15
7:00 PM Akathist Hymn
16
17
Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt
12:00 PM General Assembly Meeting
18
9:00 AM Festival Baking
5:30 PM Greek School
19
9:00 AM Festival Baking
10:00 AM Women’s Study Group
20
7:00 PM 11th GriefShare
21
7:00 PM Bible Study
22 23 Lazarus Saturday
8:30 AM Orthros
9:30 AM Liturgy followed by breakfast and Palm Folding
24 Palm
Sunday
Luncheon and Bake Sale fol-lowing Liturgy
7:00 PM Nymphios Service
25 Holy
Monday
7:00 PM Nymphios Service
26 Holy
Tuesday
7:00 PM Nymphios Service with Hymn of Kassiani
27 Holy
Wednesday
9:00 AM Pre-sanctified Liturgy
4:00 PM Holy Unction
7:00 PM Nymphios Service with Holy Unction
28 Holy
Thursday
9:00 AM Vesperal Liturgy
7:00 PM Holy Passion Service
29Holy Friday
9:00 AM Royal Hours
11:00 AM Youth Retreat
3:00 PM Apokathilosis
7:00 PM Lamentations
30 Holy
Saturday
9:00 AM Vesperal Liturgy
11:00 PM Resurrection Service
Metropolis GOYA Lenten Retreat
MARCH 2016 PAGE 13
Choir Choir is in full force getting ready for the Great Lent season. We are practicing the salutations that will be sung on the five Friday’s of Great Lent beginning on March 17th, and a new Kassiani hymn. We are also looking for individuals who would be interested in chanting the short and long prayers during the Salutation services. Contact Vaso Boukis if you are available.
Lenten Dinner and Presanctified Liturgy
Every WEDNESDAY during Lent, a Lenten
dinner will be sponsored by one of our parish ministries. The cost of the dinner is a free will donation. The meal will be served following the Presanctified Liturgy which begins at 5:00 PM.
5:00—6:30 Presanctified Liturgy
6:30—7:30 Lenten Dinner
LENTEN DINNER HOSTS
March 16th Philoptochos
March 23rd Senior Fellowship
March 30th Service WILL NOT be held
April 6th Youth (HOPE/JOY/GOYA Sunday School, Greek School)
April 13th Parish Council
Great Lent / Easter Decorations
for our Church
We would like to take this opportunity to extend to you an invitation to share in making our Great Lent, Holy Week and Pascha a most beautiful and fulfilling journey. Please consider making a donation in honor or in memory of a loved one. All donations will be acknowledged in the June issue of The Messenger. Below is a list of some of the items that are purchased with the donations we receive:
Fr. Alexander Schmemann offered this sermon in Russian over Radio Liberty. It is addressed to a largely unchurched audience, living under Communism, at a time when one’s faith in Christ was challenged each day by the surrounding society. While referencing contemporary atheistic thinking, Fr. Alexander’s words convey the beauty and joy of the An-nunciation, celebrated by Christians on March 25.
The Annunciation! At one time this was one of the brightest and most joyful days of the year, the feast which consciously, and even unconsciously, was con-nected with a jubilant intuition, a radiant vision of the world and of life. The Gospel of St. Luke records the story of the Annunciation. (Luke 1: 26-38).
Of course, viewed from the perspective of so-called “scientific” atheism this Gospel story supplies plenty of reasons for speaking of “myths and legends.” The rationalist will say, “When do angels ever appear to young women and hold conversations with them? Do believers re-ally think that people of the twentieth century, living in a technological civilization, could believe this? Can’t believers see just how silly, unscientific, and impossible this is?”
The believer always has only one answer to this kind of contentious debate, disparagement and ridicule: yes, alas, it is impossible to fit this into your shallow worldview. As long as your arguments about God and religion remain on the superficial level of chemi-cal experiments and mathematical formulas you will always easily win. But chemistry and mathematics are of no help whatsoever in proving or disproving any-thing at all in the realm of God and religion. In the language of your science, the words angel, glad tid-ings, joy and humility are of course completely mean-ingless. But why limit the discussion to religion? More than half of all words are incomprehensible to your rationalist language, and therefore in addition to religion you will have to suppress all poetry, litera-ture, philosophy, and virtually the whole of human imagination. You desire the entire world to think as you do, in terms of production and economic forces, of collectives and programs. Yet the world does not naturally think in this way and must be handcuffed and forced to do so, or rather, appear to do so. You say that all imagination is false because the “imaginary” does not exist, and yet the imagination is what people have always lived by, live by now, and will in the future as well. For everything most pro-found and most essential in life has always been ex-pressed in the language of imagination.
I don’t pretend to understand what an angel is, nor, using the limited language of rationalism, can I ex-plain the event that occurred almost two thou- sand years ago in a tiny Galilean town. But it strikes me that mankind has never forgotten this story, that these few verses have repeatedly been incorporated into countless paintings, poems and prayers, and that they have inspired and continued to inspire. This means, of course, that people heard something infinitely im-portant to them in these words, some truth which ap-parently could be expressed in no other way than in the childish, joyful language of Luke’s Gospel. What is this truth? What happened when the young woman, barely past childhood, suddenly heard — from what profound depth, from what transcendent height! — that wonderful greeting: “Rejoice!” For that is indeed the angel’s message to Mary: Rejoice! The world is filled with countless books on struggle and competition, each attempting to show that the road to happiness is hatred, and in none of them will you find the word “joy.” People don’t even know what the word means. But the very same joy an-nounced by the angel remains a pulsating force, that still has power to startle and shake the human hearts.
Go into a church on the eve of Annunciation. Stay, wait through the long service as it slowly unfolds. Then the moment comes when after the long wait, softly, with such divinely exquisite beauty the choir begins to sing the familiar festal hymn, “With the voice of the Archangel, we cry to You, O Pure One: Rejoice, O Full of Grace, the Lord is with You!” Hundreds and hun-dreds of years have gone by, and still, as we hear this invitation to rejoice, joy fills our heart in a wave of warmth.
The joy of Annunciation
about the angel’s glad tid-
ings, that the people had
found grace with God and
that soon, very soon, through
her, would begin to ful-
fill the mystery of the
world’s ption.
PAGE 16 THE MESSENGER
But what is this joy about? Above all we rejoice in the very presence of this woman herself, whose face, whose image, is known throughout the world, who gazes upon us from icons, and who became one of the most sublime and purest figures of art and human im-agination. We rejoice in her response to the angel, to her faithfulness, purity, wholeness, to her total self-giving and boundless humility, all of which forever ring out in her words: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Tell me, is anything in this world, in any of its rich and complex history, more sublime and more beauti-ful than this one human being? Mary, the Most Pure One, the One who is full of grace, is truly the One in whom, as the Church sings, “all Creation rejoices.” The Church answers the lie about man, the lie that re-duces him to earth and appetite, to baseness and bru-tality, the lie that says he is permanently enslaved to the immutable and impersonal laws of nature, by pointing to the image of Mary, the most-pure Mother of God, the One to whom, in the words of a Russian poet, “the outpouring of sweetest human tears from overflowing hearts” is offered in unending stream. The lie continues to pervade the world, but we rejoice because here, in the image of Mary, the lie is shown for what it is. We rejoice with delight and wonder, for this image is always with us as comfort and encour-agement, as inspiration and help. We rejoice because in gazing at this image, it is so easy to believe in the heavenly beauty of this world and in man’s heavenly, transcendent calling. The joy of Annunciation is about the angel’s glad tid-ings, that the people had found grace with God and that soon, very soon, through her, through this totally unknown Galilean woman, God would begin to fulfill the mystery of the world’s redemption. There would be no thunder and no fear in His presence, but He would come to her in the joy and fullness of child-hood. Through her a Child will now be King: a Child, weak, defenseless, yet though Him all the powers of evil are to be forever stripped of power. This is what we celebrate on the Annunciation and why the feast has always been, and remains, so joyful and radiant. But I repeat, none of this can be under-stood or expressed in the limited categories and lan-guage familiar to “scientific” atheism, which leads us to conclude that this approach willfully and arbitrarily has declared an entire dimension of human experi-ence to be non-existent, unnecessary and dangerous,
along with all the words and concepts used to express that experience. To debate this approach strictly on its own terms would be like first climbing down into a black underground pit where, because the sky can’t be seen, its existence is denied. The sun can’t be seen, and so there is no sun. All is dirty, repulsive, and dark, and so beauty is unknown and its existence denied. It is a place where joy is impossible, and so everyone is hostile and sad. But if you leave the pit and climb out, you suddenly find yourself in the midst of a resound-ingly joyful church where once again you hear, “With the voice of the Archangel, we cry to You, O Pure One: Rejoice!”
Paths of Repentance by St. John Chrysostom
Would you like me to list several paths of repentance? They are numerous and quite varied, and all lead to heaven.
A first path of repentance is the condemnation of your own sins: "Be the first to admit your sins and you will be justified." For this reason, too, the prophet wrote: "I said, I will accuse myself of my sins to the Lord, and You forgave the wickedness of my heart." Therefore, you too should condemn your own sins; that will be enough reason for the Lord to forgive you, for a man who condemns his own sins is slower to commit them again. Rouse your conscience to accuse yourself within your own house, lest it become your accuser before the judgment seat of the Lord. This, then, is one very good path of repentance.
Another and no less valuable one is to put out of our minds the harm done us by our enemies, in order to master our anger, and to forgive our fellow servants' sins against us. Then our own sins against the Lord will be forgiven us. Thus you have another way to atone for sin: "For if you for give your debtors, your heav-enly Father will for give you. "
Do you want to know of a third path? It consists of pray-
er that is fervent and careful and comes from the heart.
If you want to hear of a fourth, I will mention almsgiv-
ing, whose power is great and far-reaching.
If, moreover, a person lives a modest, humble life, this takes sin away. Proof of this is the tax collector who had no good deeds to mention, but offered his humility instead and was relieved of a heavy burden of sins. (continued on page 20…)
MARCH 2016 PAGE 17
Η Ελληνικη Γωνια
Αγαπητοί μου φίλοι καλό μήνα. Στίς 9 Μαρτίου είναι των Αγίων Σαράντα Μαρτύρων. Και στη συνείδηση του λαού μας, ο αριθμός 40 είναι ιερός. Γι' αυτό και οι Άγιοι Σαράντα , που μαρτύρησαν το 320 στη Σεβάστεια, λατρεύονται ιδιαίτερα από τον λαό. Όλες οι συνήθειες και οι προλήψεις της ημέρας αυτής έχουν βάση την σημασία του αριθμού 40. Συνηθίζονται οι σαραντόπιτες, δηλαδή, πίτες με 40 φύλλα, ή 40 τηγανήτες, ή φαγητά απο 40 ειδών χόρτα ή όσπρια που τα μοιράζουν για την ψυχή των ζωντανών. Και λένε, (σαράντα φάς, σαράντα πιείς /σαράντα δωσ'για την ψυχή σου). Άλλοτε στην Αθήνα την ημέρα αυτή, έφτιαχναν πίτες με σαράντα φύλλα, ή άλλοι έτρωγαν 40 κουταλιές και ο μεγαλύτερος της παρέας άρχιζε τον χορό και το τραγούδι. Πολλές είναι οι συνήθειες της ημέρας αυτής. Π.χ. στο Μανιάκι καρφώνουν στα χωράφια λαλαγγίδες (σημαδούρες) με ξυλάκι για τους διαβάτες, όσα χωράφια έχουνε, τόσες καρφώνουν. Στην Αιτολία τρώνε ζώχο (ένα χορτάρι). Στην Σκύρο των Αγίων Σαράντα λειτουργούν στην εκκλησία τον μεταξόσπορο. Στην Λήμνο, την ημέρα αυτήν φυτεύουν δέντρα-λουλούδια και κλήματα΄άλλη μέρα δεν πιάνουν. Στις Μέτρες της Θράκης τότε σπέρνουν τον βασιλικό για να γίνει φουντωτός και σαραντάκλωνος.
Επίσης, ημέρα του Ευαγγελισμού (25 Μαρτίου) έχει για εμάς τους Έλληνες θρησκευτική και εθνική σημασία, επειδή την ίδια ημέρα το 1821,
υψώθηκε στην Μονή της Αγίας Λαύρας η σημαία της Μεγάλης Ελληνικής Επανάστασης. Γι' αυτό και γιορτάζεται με μεγάλη επισημότητα σε όλες τις γωνιές του Ελληνισμού. Η λάμψη της διπλής αυτής γιορτής μας αγκαλιάζει όλους και γιγαντώνει την πίστη μας και τα ιδανικά μας για την γαλήνη της ψυχής μας με του Θεού την χάρη, ευαγγελίζεται στη γή ο ουρανός και φέρνει το μήνυμα της σωτηρίας ο Άγγελος Γαβριήλ προς την Παρθένο Μαρία και το μήνυμα του΄21για την Ανάσταση του γένους.
ΖΗΤΩ Η ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΑ ... ΖΗΤΩ 25η ΜΑΡΤΙΟΥ... ΖΗΤΩ ΤΟ ΕΘΝΟΣ ΜΑΣ...
Σε όλους εσάς εύχομαι και του χρόνου τέτοιες μέρες. Τόν άλλο μήνα πάλι μαζί.
Με αγάπη Μαρία Καρλατήρα (Μαράκι)
Στις 6 Μαρτίου αντί για συγκέντρωση θα έχουμε στο χώλ της εκκλησίας Αποκριάτικη βραδιά με σπόρ ντύσιμο. POT LUCK 5 - 8 PM. Σας περιμένουμε όλους.
Featured in our Bookstore
THE LENTEN SPRING The Church welcomes the Lenten spring with a spirit of exulta-tion...with the enthusiasm of a child... The tone of the church ser-vices is one of brightness and light. Thus the author begins the first of forty meditation on Great Lent, casting out the gloom and dark-ness with which many Christians approach this holy season and revealing, in a simple, clear and beautiful manner, its true meaning.
DAILY LENTEN MEDIATIONS FOR ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS
For each day of Lent this inspiring book has a hymn from the Triodion, a quota-tion from the Fathers, a prayer, Bible readings and a meditation. A beautiful way to keep Lent by meditating on the spiritual truths offered from the wealth of our tradition. An excellent tool for spiritual growth.
LENT! WONDERFUL LENT! A wonderful book for children about the meaning of Great Lent as a time of repentance. Also explains the meaning of each Sunday in Orthodox Lent. For children ages 5-10. Visit our bookstore every Sunday following Divine Liturgy or call the church office if you would like to come by during the week. We also have gift certificates available in any de-nomination. These make great gifts!
Festival Baking Baking for this year’s Festival will begin April 4th at
9:00 AM and continue every Monday and Tuesday morning until we have finished baking (NO baking Holy Week). Whether you only have an hour or more to offer each week, we encourage you to join us. The more hands available, the sooner we can finish. Remember, our Festival will be held July 14-17, 2016!
PAGE 18 THE MESSENGER
Thus I have shown you five paths of repentance: con-demnation of your own sins, forgiveness of our neigh-bor's sins against us, prayer, almsgiving, and humility. Do not be idle, then, but walk daily in all these paths; they are easy, and you cannot plead your poverty. For, though you live out your life amid great need, you can always set aside your wrath, be humble, pray diligently, and condemn your own sins; poverty is no hindrance. Poverty is not an obstacle to our carrying out the Lord's bidding, even when it comes to that path of repentance which involves giving money (almsgiving, I mean). The widow proved that when she put her two mites into the box! Now that we have learned how to heal those wounds of ours, let us apply the cures. Then, when we have regained genuine health, we can approach the Holy Table with confidence, go gloriously to meet Christ, the King of Glory, and attain the eternal blessings through the grace, mercy, and kindness of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
The five paths of :
+ condemnation of one’s own
+ forgiveness of neighbor's sins against ,
+ p
+
+ humi ty
(...continued from page 16)
Following the retreat, there will be a private viewing of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 at a local theater. Look for more information to follow. On Sunday, April 3rd, following the Divine Liturgy at St. Demetrios, there will be a brunch and GOYA Vol-leyball tournament. Look for more information to fol-low on this event as well.
MARCH 2016 PAGE 19
The North Royalton Hunger Food Center is running low on the following items: cereal, peanut butter, jelly, cake and
brownie mixes, canned pasta, instant potatoes, and rice and potato mixes. Items can be placed in the bas-ket at the top of the stairs as you enter church. Please be sure to check the expiration date and DO NOT bring any perishable items. We would like to thank all those who have given monetary donations and brought food items. Any donation you can make is greatly appreciated.
NON-PROFIT ORG
US POSTAGE PAID
Permit No. 2913
CLEVELAND, OHIO
Address Service Requested
ST. PAUL GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 4548 Wallings Road
North Royalton, OH 44133-3121
St. Paul Philoptochos Society Presents
50 Years of Fashion featuring parishioners
modeling five decades of fashion
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Doors open 11:00 a.m. Lunch Served at 11:30 a.m.
Vintage Fashion Show to follow
$35.00 per person
St. Paul Hellenic Center 4548 Wallings Road ~ North Royalton
Support Philoptochos charities with a monetary donation voting for your favorite decade! The decade
that raises the most contributions will receive the Vintage Fashion Show Award!
Get your parea together and reserve a table of 8!
Reservations deadline April 3rd PRE-SALE TICKETS ONLY
For more details, contact: Pres Nicole Keares, Stephanie Ocker,
