The Spirit Official Publication of: St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church Proistamenos: Rev. Fr. Philip Armstrong 2716 N. Dobson Rd., Suite 101 Chandler, Arizona 85224 Office Phone & Fax: (480) 899-3330 Website: www.st-katherine.org Email us at [email protected]August 2020 from our beginnings …….. Apolytikion of Dormition of the Theotokos In birth, you preserved your virginity; in death, you did not abandon the world, O Theotokos. As mother of life, you departed to the source of life, de- livering our souls from death by your intercessions. Kontakion of Dormition of the Theotokos Neither the grave nor death could con- tain the Theotokos, the unshakable hope, ever vigilant in intercession and protection. As Mother of life, He who dwelt in the ever-virginal womb trans- posed her to life.
Transcript
The Spirit Official Publication of:
St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church Proistamenos: Rev. Fr. Philip Armstrong
2716 N. Dobson Rd., Suite 101 Chandler, Arizona 85224
In birth, you preserved your virginity; in death, you did not abandon the world, O Theotokos. As mother of life, you departed to the source of life, de-livering our souls from death by your intercessions.
Kontakion of Dormition of the
Theotokos
Neither the grave nor death could con-tain the Theotokos, the unshakable
hope, ever vigilant in intercession and protection. As Mother of life, He who dwelt in the ever-virginal womb trans-
Weekly Bulletin Deadline 12:00 p.m. on the Wednesday, one week prior to
publication.
Spirit Deadline Please note that the deadline for submission of articles or for
the Spirit is the 15th of each month for inclusion in the follow-ing month’s issue. Please remember all submissions are sub-ject to approval. Also, please help us ensure the accuracy of
your material by submitting everything in a Word document or email with pictures attached in JPG form.
Bookstore Hours
Sundays following Liturgy (in the upstairs room adjacent to choir loft)
From our very formative years in the Faith we have been enamored and intrigued with saints. Whether it be via Sunday School, bulletin inserts or sermons; they have captured our interest and attention. This is also true with our relationship with our patron saint – the one whose name we received at Holy Baptism. Perhaps our parents or godparents told us the story of our saint. What made them special? What miracles did they do? What pious teachings did they leave us? How did they finish their earthly journey? Where did they live? We are excited to learn these things Some of us may have received an icon of our patron saint. Maybe it hangs on the wall in our bedroom where we do our prayers. One thing is sure, we constantly see this image many times a day. Maybe this causes us to think about him/her. It may move us to do our cross and say a brief prayer. Unfortunately, for some, these images may recede into the background and go unnoticed. How sad this is. The Church has always intended and encouraged us to cultivate relationships with the saints. They were never intended to be distant and far removed from our personal lives. They were meant to be our spiritu-al family; they were meant to be befriended and companions on life’s journey into eternity. You see the very thing they became; we are summoned to be. Remember the words of God to Moses in Lev. 11:44-45, “be holy for the Lord your God is holy”. St. Paul reminds us in I Cor. 1:2 that we are “called to be saints”. The Holy Scriptures are clear that our destiny is sainthood. The Church, through Its Holy Mysteries, has provided many saints. She has provided us the saints to serve as our guide and helpers on the path to holiness and sainthood. We were meant to talk to them in prayer. They communicate and reveal to us the “how to” of becoming a saint. They communicate to us in our heart (also referred to as nous or intellect). They, also, pray to God for us. In the spirit of apprecia-tion, we should thank them in our prayers before their icons. We should observe their annual feast day (the day the Church has dedicated to their memory). We should strive to commit their lives to memory. Their virtues were meant to be imitated. We are called to learn from them how to response to life’s chal-lenges. They have much to offer us. During the month of August, the Church places before us the greatest of saints – the Holy Theotokos and ever virgin Mary. In fact, the first fifteen days of this month are dedicated to her with a fourteen day fast – the Dormition Fast and the Feast Day of the Dormition. Everyone was intended to cultivate a personal relationship with the Panagia (All Holy). We are encouraged to talk to her in prayer and seek her help and intercessory prayers. She is a great and powerful aid for those on the path to sainthood. She is, espe-cially, helpful for those who are striving to be pure. We should ask for her help. The following prayer to her for purity will help you immensely:
“Holy Mary Mother of God intercede to Your Son and our God to grant me the gift pf purity”. She, speedily, sends her help to those who ask. In closing, let us make it our aim to cultivate our relationships with the saints. In so doing, we will find
the help and grace to pursue our call to holiness and sainthood.
Love in Christ,
+Fr. Phil
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“Sacraments and other services”
Holy Baptism
June 27, 2020 Kalliopi Settlemyre Mother: Nicole Settlemyre
Godparents: Ryan Bafaloukos & Stephanie Lamb
Holy Chrismation
June 14, 2020 Rita Jabouri Godparent: Nahla Harab
Funeral
June 6, 2020 Scotty Grant Survived by: Adrian Grant
June 25, 2020 Litsa Ntatsos Survived by: Angelo Ntatsos & Lucy St. Armour
July 17, 2020 Patricia Orphanos Survived by: Peter Orphanos
July 21, 2020 Demetrios Kretsedemas Survived by: Katherine Kretsedemas
The Arizona Hellenic Foundation has awarded scholarships to the following students:
Vasiliki Laloudakis was awarded the AHEPA Chapter 454 scholarship. Vasiliki ( Vika) is a
4 year scholarship recipient.
Eleni Debickero, Matthew Dye, Madeline Fraenkel, Panayiotis Kostouros were first time recipients.
Our sincere congratulations to all recipients, and our best wishes for success as they
advance in their studies.
The Arizona Hellenic Foundation is a non profit, tax exempt organization whose mission is to provide scholarships to eligible students, and to promote Hellenic culture in the State of
Arizona. For more information visit our web site Azhellenic.org.
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Altar Boy Ministry Why should a boy participate as an Altar Boy in the Orthodox Church?
• An Altar Boy is dedicated as a server to the Priest in the Sanctuary. You serve the Priest as the angels serve God.
• You are as close to the holiest places and to the most sacred actions as any man can be. • As an Altar Boy you are enriching your own spiritual life and nourishing love for
Christ and His Holy Church. • You are continuing a tradition of the early Altar boys who dedicated themselves as
servers to the Priest and sacred work in the Sanctuary. All boys ages 8-18 years of age are encouraged to become an Altar Boy and serve the Lord like the angels that are above. In Christ, Nicholas Kretsedemas Contact information: [email protected] / 480-213-2061
Maintenance Report March 1, 2020 thru July 31, 2020
5th acre Flat Roof Building • The two AC units for the flat roof building were serviced and repaired and are now functional. • Many thanks to Dimitri Benton for volunteering extra hours, Parish Council member, Zoi Benton, and
volunteer Daniel Heinz for on-going cleaning and preparation of the 5th acre flat roof building for use by the Sunday School and various organizational meetings.
Community Center. • Nine, non-working emergency light units (ceiling),11 stage flood lights, and a new “Exit” light fixture with
emergency lighting were installed in the hall. Labor donated. • One non-working emergency light unit and 4 kitchen light fixture ballasts were replaced in the kitchen. La-
bor donated. • Wrong sized fluorescent lighting was replaced in the kitchen with the correct size where needed. • The kitchen hood was cleaned • The ice machine in the kitchen was cleaned and sanitized as well as the ice machine in the Bar. • The water filter for the ice machine was serviced. • The kitchen walls and floor were professionally washed, scrubbed, and sanitized. • Many thanks to Parish Council member, Zoi Benton, who washed and sanitized the kitchen equipment
and stainless steel tables. Dimitri Benton logged extra volunteer hours to help. • Two sanitizer dispensers were installed. • The existing “soda gun” in the Bar was replaced with new, updated equipment by Coca Cola. • The AC unit in the women’s bathroom was repaired. Around our Campus. • The artificial grass in the playground has been replaced due to serious liability and safety concerns after
years of wear and tear. Many thanks to Matt Marmas who volunteered his time to prepare the playground for the new installation. Matt logged more than 25 hours and saved St. Katherine several thousands of dollars.
• Many thanks to our volunteer and Parish Council member, Rick Schneider, for restoring the playground equipment and to both he and his wife, Luann, for donating two new swings.
• Many thanks to our parishioners, Curt and Patrick Patterson, who volunteered to remove the dead trees on the 4th acre. We’ve been unsuccessful in filling the void left by parishioner, Larry Dye, who tirelessly volunteered his time for many years to coordinate irrigation on the 4th and 5th acres with SRP and our neighbors.
• Two ground light fixtures were replaced on the east side of the Community Center. Labor donated. • Many thanks to Jerry Vasilatos who spent many hours recreating the key file history for the church locks
and keys and updating the alarm codes.
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2019
Range Count Amount Average
$0 - $299 27 3,446 128
$300 - $499 13 4,390 338
$500 - $799 28 16,105 575
$800 - $999 7 5,840 834
$1,000 - $1,999 38 47,040 1,238
$2,000 - $2,999 14 31,830 2,274
$3,000 - $4,999 15 55,680 3,712
$5,000 - $9,999 6 41,915 6,986
148 206,246 1,394
2020
Range Count Amount Average
$0 - $299 12 1,062 89
$300 - $499 7 2,200 314
$500 - $799 22 12,765 580
$800 - $999 3 2,400 800
$1,000 - $1,999 35 42,456 1,213
$2,000 - $2,999 9 20,340 2,260
$3,000 - $4,999 14 53,900 3,850
$5,000 - $9,999 5 32,600 6,520
$10,000 - 14,999 1 10,400 10,400
108 178,123 1,649
St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church
Stewardship Pledges
For Years Ended December 31, 2018 and 2019 and 2020
Description Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2018 families 58 85 111 119 123 128 132 134 135 135 135 140 2019 families 59 89 110 123 127 131 139 142 144 145 148 148 2020 families 65 97 108 108 108 108 108 108 108 108 108 Increase (decrease) 6 8 -2 -15 -19 -23 -31 -34 -36 -37 -40 -40
Nicholas & Dionisia Kretsedemas George & Jill Kyroudis Vasiliki Lampropoulos
Joy Larson Tom & Sylvana Lecometros
Jon & Athena Light Michele Lotakis
Martin Maciejewski & Maria Pappas Maciejewski Thomas & Patsy Morden
Andrew Moreno Yury & Irina Moroz
Kristina & Alexander Myer Anthony Nicoluzakis
Jason & Karen Nicoluzakis Litsa Ntatsos
Peter & Pat Orphanos Alex & Eathel Pallas
Kosta & Irene Papaioannou Jordan & Wendee Papandreu
Tia Patsavas Michael & Patricia Perikly Maria Perparos & Family Georgia Roumanidakis
Aaron & Danielle Scherbak Rick & Luann Schneider
Anna & John Selles George & Donna Sideris
Zoe Simbles John & Eugenia Smyros
Panagiota Soublis Peter & Georgia Souris
Lucy St. Armour Carol Stathopoulos
Atanas & Fotini Steryo Olga Strickland
Seth Suppappola & Antonia Papandreou-Suppappola Magdaline Thomas
Glenn & Marjorie Thorpe Georgia Trakas
Ann Trikas Helen Tsiakolos
Gerard & Athena Vasilatos Billy & Despina Vigil
Stephen & Frances Weber Elizabeth Whalen
Kevin & Tina Wilder Mike & Christina Wombacher
Nicolette & Todd Wright George & Stella Xenakis
Sophia Zemke
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Daughters of Penelope Aegina Chapter #340 News
August 2020 Spirit We would like to thank our outgoing officers for their dedication and hard work, especially during these unprecedented times. Outgoing officers are Elaine Hatupis-President, Jose-phine Avaneas-Vice President, Georgia Souris-Secretary, and Francis Weber-Treasurer. Thank you, Sisters! We also thank Mary Bowen who is serving as District 20 Lt. Governor and Niki Pallas-District 20 Secretary! Our new officers for the coming 2020-2021 year are Carol Stathopoulos- President, There-sa Fardelos-Vice President, Michele Lotakis-Secretary, and Francis Weber-Treasurer. Out-going President Elaine Hatupis is Chairman of the Board. Congratulations! We are uncertain when we will resume meetings in person due to the pandemic. We may possibly meet virtually (Zoom) in September. We are still working hard to support our chari-ties and projects. We usually meet the 3
rd Monday of the month at 7p. More information
coming soon. We are looking forward to seeing all of you soon and praying you are safe and well. If interested in joining, contact Theresa Fardelos (602)290-6158 or Carol Stathopoulos (480) 988-3277. For more information on the Daughters of Penelope visit our national website https://www.daughtersofpenelope.org
Happy Retirement Fr. Phil! Fr. Phil at St. Katherine’s Taste of Greece Festival
