the message - Saint Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Shrine Church

St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Shrine Church
1 Shrine Pl., Greenlawn, NY 11740
March 2015
Volume 20, Issue 3
THE MESSAGE
58th Anniversary of The Founding of Our Church
38th Anniversary of The Consecration of Our Church
www.StParaskevi.Org
The Annunciation - Εὐαγγελισμός τῆς Θεοτόκου
Inside This Issue
· Church Calendar
· Church & Ministry Info
· Upcoming Events
· Liturgical Schedule
· From Fr. Lou
· From the Parish Council President
· Philoptochos
· Choir Notes
· Sunday School
· Little Angels
· Greek American Preschool
· Greek School
· Stewardship Information
· Pictures
· Flyers
· Advertisements
Six months after John the
Forerunner's conception,
the Archangel Gabriel
was sent by God to Nazareth, a town of Galilee,
unto Mary the Virgin,
who had come forth from
the Temple
a mature
maiden
(see Nov.
21). According to
the tradition handed
down by
the Fathers,
she had
been betrothed to
Joseph four
months. On
coming to
Joseph's
house, the
Archangel
declared:
"Rejoice,
thou Full of
Grace, the
Lord is with thee: blessed
art thou among women."
After some consideration,
and turmoil of soul, and
fear because of this greeting, the Virgin, when she
had finally obtained full
assurance concerning
God's unsearchable condescension and the ineffable dispensation that was
to take place through her,
and believing that all
things are possible to the
Most High, answered in
humility: "Behold the
handmaid of the Lord; be
it unto me according to
thy word." And at this, the
Holy Spirit came upon
her, and the power of the
where Zacharias had his
dwelling; for she desired
to find Elizabeth her kinswoman and rejoice together with her, because,
as she had learned from
the Archangel, Elizabeth
had conceived in her old
age. Furthermore, she
wished to tell her of the
great things that the
Mighty One had been well
-pleased to bring to pass
in her, and she greeted
Elizabeth and drew nigh
to her. When Elizabeth
heard Mary's greeting, she
felt her six-month-old
babe, Saint John the Baptist, prophesied of the
dawning of the spiritual
Sun. Immediately, the
aged Elizabeth was filled
with the Holy Spirit and
recognized her as the
Mother of her Lord, and
with a great voice blessed
her and the Fruit that she
held within herself. The
Virgin also, moved by a
Most High overshadowed supernatural rejoicing in
her all-blameless womb, the spirit, glorified her
and the Son and Word of God and Savior, saying:
God, Who existed before "My soul doth magnify
the Lord, and my spirit
the ages, was conceived
hath rejoiced in God my
past speech and underSaviour," and the rest, as
standing, and became
the divine Luke hath recflesh in her immaculate
orded (1:39-55)
body (Luke 1:26-38).
Bearing in her womb the
Uncontainable One, the
blessed Virgin went with
haste from Nazareth to the
hill country of Judea,
Volume 20 No. 3
PARISH COUNCIL OFFICERS 2015
President - Steve Margarites
Vice President - Steve Ramerini
2nd Vice President - Nick Andreadis
Treasurer - Dan Doscas
Assistant Treasurer - John Ioannou
Secretary - Effie Carlucci
Assistant Secretary - Dennis Lichas
Parish Council Members 2015
Elene Batanchiev-George Bennis-Katherine Dorsey
Gigi Franklin-Christine Ilasi-Peter Karropoulos-Nick Kontos
Dean Kostopoulos-Dean Koutsoubis-Peter Orfanakos
Jason Poulis-Georgia Psilakis-Steve Stavros-Jon Varlamos
Our Ministry Leaders
Athletics – Chris Varthalamis
Choir – Pauline Kitsopoulos
Church Book Store – John Arettines
Girl Scouts – Agape Bell
Good Neighbor Fund - Pam Praetorius, Maria Mastrogiacomo
GOYA Advisors – Bob Kouroupakis, Janina Nathan
GOYAL - Georgina Kostopoulos, Anna Koullias
Greek School PTO – Cheryl Paraskevopoulos, Joanne Kefalas
Greek School Principal – Maria Angel
Greek School Board – George Likourezos
Greek American Preschool – Joanne Kefalas
Bi-Annual Blood Drive - Angela Arettines
HOPE – Melissa Levick, Agape Bell
JOY – Tessie Pando
Junior Choir - Kathy Demacopoulos, Erika Gavras
Little Angels – Alexandra Bennis, Effie Poulos,
Christine Borzumato
Philoptochos – Georgia Constantine
Care Ministry - Sophia DeMonte
Life Ministry – Anastasia Geotes
Players – Chris Christopher
Shrine/Church Beautification – Anastasia Geotes
Pam and Gregg Praetorius, Ritsa Taktekos
Sunday School – Argy Koumas
IOCC - Nikki Larkin, Gloria Stavrakopoulos
Email: [email protected]
March 2015
Contents
Featured Saint
Calendar
Church Information
From The Desk of Fr. Lou
From Our Parish Council President
Choir
Sunday School
Philoptochos
Greek School PTO
Greek School
Greek American Pre-School
Girl Scouts
Little Angels
GOYA
Stewardship Information
SUNDAY SERVICES
Orthros: 8:30 am
Divine Liturgy: 9:45 am
***
WEEKDAY LITURGIES
Orthros: 9:00am
Divine Liturgy: 10:00am
***
PARAKLESIS TO PANAYIA
Every Friday Evening - 6:00pm
***
PARAKLESIS TO ST. PARASKEVI
First Friday of every month - 11:00am
***
All services are listed on the Church
Calendar on our website.
***
If you wish to schedule a Memorial,
Artoclasia, or Fanouropita Service
Please contact the Church office.
These services can be
done any day of the week.
Saint Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Shrine Church,1 Shrine Pl., Greenlawn, NY 11740
Tel.:631.261.7272 - Fax: 631.261.7295 - Email: [email protected] - Website: www.Stparaskevi.org
Reverend Father Elias (Lou) Nicholas - Email: [email protected]
Sun
1
Mon
3
2
Sunday of Orthodoxy
Orthros - 8:30am
Divine Liturgy 9:45am
Tue
4
Adult Basketball
8:00pm
Greek Regents 5:15pm
Philoptochos Board
Meeting 7:30pm
9
St. Gregory Palamas
Orthros - 8:30am
Divine Liturgy 9:45am
10
Adult Basketball
8:00pm
St. Nicholas
Ground Zero
Presentation 1pm
15
Holy Cross
Orthros - 8:30am
Divine Liturgy 9:45am
GOYA 7:30pm
17
16
Adult Basketball
8:00pm
Greek Regents 5:15pm
GOYA 7:30pm
Philoptochos Meeting
7:30pm
22
23
St. John Climacus
Orthros - 8:30am
Divine Liturgy 9:45am
29 St. Mary of Egypt
Orthros - 8:30am
Divine Liturgy 9:45am
Greek Independence
Day Parade 12pm
24
Adult Basketball
8:00pm
30
GOYA 7:30pm
31
Adult Basketball
8:00pm
Greek Regents 5:15pm
GOYA 7:30pm
Philoptochos Board
Meeting 7:30pm
Sat
7
Paraklesis to
St. Paraskevi 11am
Greek School
9:30am
HOPE 6pm
Paraklesis 6:30pm
Salutation 7:30pm
12
Girl Scouts 4pm
13
Parish Council Meeting
8pm
18
19
14
JOY 6pm
Homeless Night
5:15pm
Pre-Sanctified Liturgy
6pm
Lenten Meal 8pm
Salutation 7:30pm
20
21
HOPE 6pm
Pre-Sanctified Liturgy
6pm
Lenten Meal 8pm
Paraklesis 6:30pm
Pre-Sanctified Liturgy
6pm
Lenten Meal 8pm
Greek School
9:30am
Salutation 7:30pm
26
Girl Scouts 4pm
Greek School
9:30am
Paraklesis 6:30pm
Girl Scouts 4pm
25
Greek Regents 5:15pm
Fri
6
Pre-Sanctified Liturgy
6pm
Lenten Meal 8pm
Little Angels 12:30pm
Godparent Sunday
Scout Sunday
5
11
Greek Regents 5:15pm
Adult Greek Class
7:15pm
Thu
Girl Scouts 4pm
Homeless Night
5:15pm
Little Angels 12:30pm
GOYA 7:30pm
8
Wed
27
Homeless Night
5:15pm
28
JOY 6pm
Paraklesis 6:30pm
Akathist 7:30pm
Greek School
9:30am
From The Desk of Fr. Lou
only real sin, the sin of all sins, the bottomless sadness and
tragedy of our nominal Christianity.
If we realize this, then we may understand what
Easter is and why it needs and presupposes Lent. For we
may then understand that the liturgical traditions of the
Church, all its cycles and services, exist, first of all, in order
to help us recover the vision and the taste of that new life
May God grant you a blessed Lent.
which we so easily lose and betray, so that we may repent
and return to it. [...] And yet the "old" life, that of sin and
An Introduction to Great Lent
pettiness, is not easily overcome and changed. The Gospel
by Fr. Alexander Schmemann
expects and requires from man an effort of which, in his
present state, he is virtually incapable. [...] This is where
Excerpts from Fr Alexander Schmemann's Great Lent
Great Lent comes in. This is the help extended to us by the
Church, the school of repentance which alone will make it
When a man leaves on a journey, he must know
possible to receive Easter not as mere permission to eat, to
where he is going. Thus with Lent. Above all, Lent is a
spiritual journey and its destination is Easter, "the Feast of drink, and to relax, but indeed as the end of the "old" in us,
Feasts." It is the preparation for the "fulfillment of Pascha, as our entrance into the "new." [...] For each year Lent and
the true Revelation." We must begin, therefore, by trying to Easter are, once again, the rediscovery and the recovery by
understand this connection between Lent and Easter, for it us of what we were made through our own baptismal death
and resurrection.
reveals something very essential, very crucial about our
A journey, a pilgrimage! Yet, as we begin it, as we
Christian faith and life.
make the first step into the "bright sadness" of Lent, we see
Is it necessary to explain that Easter is much more
than one of the feasts, more than a yearly commemoration — far, far away — the destination. It is the joy of Easter, it
is the entrance into the glory of the Kingdom. And it is this
of a past event? Anyone who has, be it only once, taken
part in that night which is "brighter than the day," who has vision, the foretaste of Easter, that makes Lent's sadness
tasted of that unique joy, knows it. [...] On Easter we cele- bright and our Lenten effort a "spiritual spring." The night
brate Christ's Resurrection as something that happened and may be dark and long, but all along the way a mysterious
and radiant dawn seems to shine on the horizon. "Do not
still happens to us. For each one of us received the gift of
that new life and the power to accept it and live by it. It is a deprive us of our expectation, O Lover of man!"
gift which radically alters our attitude toward everything in
Glory be to God!
this world, including death. It makes it possible for us to
joyfully affirm: "Death is no more!" Oh, death is still there,
to be sure, and we still face it and someday it will come and
take us. But it is our whole faith that by His own death
Christ changed the very nature of death, made it a passage
— a "Passover," a "Pascha" — into the Kingdom of God,
transforming the tragedy of tragedies into the ultimate victory. [...]
Such is that faith of the Church, affirmed and made
evident by her countless Saints. Is it not our daily experience, however, that this faith is very seldom ours, that all
the time we lose and betray the "new life" which we received as a gift, and that in fact we live as if Christ did not
rise from the dead, as if that unique event had no meaning
whatsoever for us? [...] We simply forget all this — so busy
are we, so immersed in our daily preoccupations — and
because we forget, we fail. And through this forgetfulness,
failure, and sin, our life becomes "old" again — petty, dark,
and ultimately meaningless — a meaningless journey toward a meaningless end. [...] We may from time to time
acknowledge and confess our various "sins," yet we cease
to refer our life to that new life which Christ revealed and
gave to us. Indeed, we live as if He never came. This is the
Below is something that is offered for your spiritual
growth and nourishment. Fr. Alexander Schmemann is, in
my humble opinion (and many others as well), the greatest
theologian of the Twentieth Century. I pray that you find
his words as uplifting and fulfilling as I .
From Our Parish Council 2nd Vice President - Nick Andreadis
Hello beautiful Parish of St. Paraskevi Shrine Church,
It’s been a couple of years since I last addressed you in
the Message when I was then Parish Council President.
terest rate from 7% to 4.125% and decreased our
monthly payment from almost $6,000 to approximately
$4,300. Needless to say this will go a long way to improving our financial situation. One of our long term
goals will be to totally eliminate the mortgage. For
more information on this topic and others, please attend the next General Assembly meeting. Mark
your calendars Sunday, April 26, 2015 immediately
following the Divine Liturgy. This is the best opportunity to ask questions and to voice your opinion.
Steve Margarites asked me to write this month’s Parish
Council submission. It’s probably because we just celebrated Forgiveness/Cheese Fare Sunday and he’s trying
to figure out what to do with all the cheese now that we
have entered Great Lent. [Forgive me Steve, I couldn’t
resist.] We enjoy kidding each other on the Parish
Council. Smiling and laughter are, after all, the best
While straightening up the offices we came across a
medicine. They are also contagious so make it a point few wonderful old letters, one of which is titled “A
to smile and laugh every day.
Tree Grows in Greenlawn” written in1975 by Andrew
Stavros as Chairman of the Membership Committee.
On behalf of the Parish Council, I am happy to report The tree in the letter is a metaphor for our community,
that the repairs and refurbishing of the parish offices is the tree being made up of not only the bricks and moralmost complete. There has been so much positive
tar but more importantly “people, their hopes and inspifeedback from the Community about this work. It is
rations and energies”. The tree, the letter states
amazing how some paint, molding, and new floor cov- “derives its nourishment and its purpose from people”.
ering can create such an uplifting feeling. While I think The fruit that the tree bears “fulfills the needs of the
we all would agree that having clean and inviting space people”. However, if we don’t partake of the fruit it
to do parish and ministry work in and to meet in is to
will simply “rot on the branches”.
our personal benefit, we need to keep in mind two very
important concepts. This is God’s house. The entire
Often times, as parishioners and volunteers working to
facility, sanctuary, shrine, offices, classrooms, kitchen do good things, we face weariness, or get discouraged
etc., are all a reflection on God. That doesn’t mean
and are tempted to give up or just walk away. Saint
everything has to be gilded or studded with jewels but Paul said that if we don’t give up we will see the reit does mean that it should be kept in such a condition wards in the right time. “Let us not grow weary while
that it reflects positively on Him. Secondly, God has
doing good, for in due seasons we shall reap if we do
blessed us with this facility that belongs to Him and as not lose heart”. [Galatians 6:9]
such we have been entrusted with its care so (Uh oh,
here comes that word again), we are therefore Stewards Let’s face it, the world we live in today has our time
of this facility. There is a long list of repairs and refur- and energy stretched to the limit and it’s difficult to
bishing that still needs to be done in the coming
make time for everything. Something usually gets sacmonths and years. In the meantime, let’s be the people rificed. In the hustle and bustle just don’t deny yourof excellence I know we can be and let’s all help keep self the partaking of the fruit of your tree here in
the facility as clean, neat, and presentable as we can.
Greenlawn. As Mr. Stavros so eloquently states, “there
Again remember who the entire facility reflects upon. are unlimited benefits derived by partaking”.
I am also thrilled to report that, after almost two years, Love and Faith,
we have finally closed on the refinancing of the Wood
Avenue house. Thanks again to all those who graNick
ciously contributed to the success of the Mortgage Reduction Campaign. We were able to bring the Mortgage principal down from $708,000 on December 31,
2013 to our new loan amount of $580,000. This helped
us to negotiate the removal of the church property as
collateral on the loan. In addition, we lowered the in-
WANTED – “NEW FACES OF PHILOPTOCHOS”
This May is an election year and we hope you consider participating on our Philoptochos Board. There are several beautiful women who have remained on the board to support me. Their wish is for a “younger sister” to take their position. I
know that I can count on my “golden” sisters to be there for me but it is time to reach out to my “middle age” sisters to
assist on the board. This May will be the beginning of my second term and if I am voted in again, I will continue to
serve as your President. Please take the next few months and listen for the “calling”. If our election committee calls you
please say YES and help us in our philanthropic works. Check the Direct Archdiocesan District Philoptochos Website and on NationalPhiloptochosFacebook. The rewards are great.
The Ladies Philoptochos welcomes EVERYONE to a Video Presentation of the “Reconstruction of the Saint Nicholas
National Shrine at Ground Zero”. Jerry Dimitriou, Executive Director of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and a member of our church, will narrate the presentation as well as answer any questions regarding the project. Come and join us
on Sunday, March 8, 2015 following church services for this enlightening experience. We look forward to seeing you.
On March 12th our Philoptochos will host the HIHI Homeless Dinner. Please let me know if you are available to help
shop for the items needed or help cook a dish or will be available to serve the food to our guests. You can call me (631)
543 5187 or email me [email protected]. I want to thank our Anonymous Philoptochos sister who sent me a
generous donation towards the food items.
Please join us 10:00am on Saturday, March 14th for our Direct Archdiocesan District Philoptochos Lenten Retreat
at Saint Demetrios Cathedral in Astoria. We are blessed to have Gerontissa Foteini the Abbess of All Saints Greek Orthodox Monastery who will speak on “Finding balance between our Spiritual Life and our Everyday Responsibilities”. I
personally need to hear this because I find it difficult to balance my time to do everything I want to accomplish. There
will also be a book signing by Diane Kochilas, author of IKARIA; Lessons on Food, Life, and Longevity from the Greek
Island Where People Forget to Die. I most likely will buy this book! Please contact Mary Mooney at (631) 987-8810 or
[email protected] if you are interested in attending. We will be forming carpools to this wonderful Lenten Retreat.
On Sunday, March 22, our Philoptochos will host the coffee hour. All proceeds will benefit Hellenic College Holy
Cross. Please offer to make or bring a Lenten refreshment for the buffet table.
Please plan to proudly march with us as a sisterhood down 5th Avenue on Sunday, March 29th, in the Greek Independence Day Parade. Our sashes were a hit in last year’s parade!
Our Pascha Tsoureki Sale will be on PALM SUNDAY – April 5th. Please fill out our pre-order form in this Message
and bring Holiday tradition to your Easter table.
On Saturday, May 2, we will host our 2nd Annual MEN WHO COOK. Once again we ask the wonderful men in our
community to prepare their specialty dishes for our fellow parishioners to enjoy.
THE LADIES PHILOPTOCHOS WISHES OUR ENTIRE CHURCH FAMILY KALI TESSARAKOSTE!
With love to my sisters and family in Christ,
Georgia Constantine
Mother Nature hasn't been on her best
behavior lately, and neither has her
"music" been the best. Twice she has
caused the cancellations of choir, meetings, and did not always deliver on
whatever the forecasters promised us.
So what else is new? Can we trust her
to always come through? It does help
to remember the beautiful music she
makes throughout the other three seasons, most of the time!! Hopefully everyone has managed to be safe and
warm!
Praise God in His saints; Praise Him
in the firmament of His power Praise
Him for his mighty acts: Praise Him
according to the abundance of His
greatness. Praise Him with the sound
of a trumpet: Praise Him with the harp
and lyre. Praise Him with the timbrel
and dance: Praise Him with strings and
flute; Praise Him with resounding cymbals: Praise Him with triumphant cymbals. Let every thing that breathes
praise the LORD. Allelluia
Psalm 150:1-6
SAVE THE DATE!! SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2015!! We would
love the pleasure of your company that
evening, from 7 - 11 PM, in the Hellenic Room of the Cathedral of St.
Paul, Cathedral Avenue, Hempstead,
NY. The DAD Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians will be holding its' third biennial "CABARET
EVENING" to benefit the Federation's
Demetrios C. Pappas Educational
Scholarship Fund. It is an evening of
entertainment and fun with talent from
across our Direct Archdiocesan District, offering not only live entertainment, but mezedakia, wine, dessert, and
dancing to a live DJ. We hope that we
will see you there for a wonderful
evening benefitting a great cause,
scholarships for our deserving youth!
the falling asleep in the Lord of Presbytera Anna Gerotheou Gallos (19202015), one of the most accomplished
and prolific Greek Orthodox church
musicians in America. Born in Philadelphia and the daughter of a Greek
Orthodox priest, her musical career
spanned eight decades in the vocal arts,
piano and organ, music education, choral director and church music composer. She directed her first choir at the
age of 15, then went on to receive a BA
in Theory and Voice, and an MA in
Church Music, Composing and Conducting, from the Eastman School of
Music, Rochester, NY. Married to Fr.
George Gallos, she served in many parishes as a choir director, helped form
two choir federations and the National
Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians, composed two Divine Liturgies, and was a teacher and consultant
at Hellenic College/Holy Cross. Her
accomplishments are too numerous to
detail here, but often during communion you can hear us singing the hymn,
"Exomoloyisthe to Kyrio", dedicated to
Archbishop Iakovos on his thirtieth anniversary as Archbishop of North and
South America. This hymn was composed by the renowned psalti and
teacher, Eleftherios Georgiades with
whom she studied. Anna wrote the choral setting and included it in her Divine
Liturgy. Eonia i mni mi! May her
memory be eternal!!
DAD Federation condolences and
deepest sympathies are extended also to
His Grace, Bishop Andonios, upon the
falling asleep in the Lord of his mother,
Despina Poulos, very affectionately
remembered by those who knew or met
her. Eonia i mni mi! May her memory
be eternal!
In other choir news, we were so
proud of our youngest choir member,
Andrew Warren, a senior in high
SAD NEWS: The Orthodox Church school, when he sang the hymn, "Tou
Dipno Sou" solo with his talented
music world was saddened to hear of
voice. Members are looking forward to
the Church Music Institute to be conducted by Dean Limberakis in March.
Rehearsals will also begin for members
to learn the Divine Liturgy composed
by Dr. Frank Desby in preparation for
the combined annual conference with
the Denver Federation in November.
Great Lent has begun and the choir will
be practicing and singing the beautiful
hymns of this sacred time of the year.
Saturday, March 14th, the Axion
Estin Foundation will once again be
sponsoring a concert, "Byzantine &
Ottoman Music", in collaboration with
the Metropolitan Museum of Art in
New York. This event is to celebrate
the Museum's recent acquisition of four
Byzantine icons. The concert will
demonstrate the connection between
Byzantine and Islamic chant through
the talented Mehmet Ali Sanlikol,
scholar, composer and performer, and
talented master chanters Eleftherios
Eleftheriadis and Christos Chalkias.
This promises to be a very exciting
evening at the "Met".
Until we meet again, stay safe and
warm. We wish you all a Kali Tessarakosti!! Be well and see you on Sunday!!
On Saturday, March 28 the Greek School students will be
performing at the Greek Independence Day Celebration.
The program will promptly begin at 11:00am in the gym.
Students must be dressed in white shirt/blouse and blue
pants/skirt or traditional Greek costume. Parents, families
and parishioners of St. Paraskevi are invited to attend. Refreshments will be served following the Independence Day
Program. Parents who would like to contribute a food
item should contact their child’s class parent. Please email
Cheryl Paraskevopoulos if you are available to help with
setting up chairs and decorations on Friday, March 27 at
6:00pm.
The Greek Independence Day Parade in NYC is Sunday,
March 29th. Students, teachers and families of St. Paraskevi Greek School are encouraged to show their support
as we march together down Fifth Avenue. The Greek
school has a designated bus so be sure to sign up quickly
as you will need a reserved seat for the bus. Please see the
Greek School bus advertisement in the Message for more
information.
Kali Sarakosti!
The Greek American Preschool welcomes back Kyria
Markela from her maternity leave. We missed her! Our
students were busy this month learning the meaning of
Lent and Easter. The 3 year old English class has been
focusing a lot on literacy, and our students love our soccer
program. The preschool will be opening a 4 year old
English program for Fall 2015. Please contact me if you
are interested.
There are many new classes for the 2014/2015 academic
year:
Ta Morakia - Mommy and Me ages 0-2
Wednesdays 10-11:45
Ta Kouklakia ages 2/3 years old
Wednesdays and Fridays 9:30-12:30
Soccer Program 2 - 4 years old
Wednesdays 12:30-1:30
We are officially three months away from the end of the
school year and the 6th grade graduation!! All are welcome to attend the graduation dinner dance. Ticket sales
will begin in April. Adults $25, GOYAns $15, Children
$10.
Ta Poulakia 4 years old
Tuesdays 3:30-5:30/Tuesdays & Thursdays 12:30-3:30
We will be voting in next year’s PTO Officers in May
2015. Please contact a PTO officer if you are interested in
running for a position: President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. You must be a paid PTO member to
cast your vote!
NEW ENGLISH CLASS- 3 year olds
Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30-12:30. The teacher has her
undergraduate degree in Nursery through 6 and her graduate degree in Reading. The students will also have 30
minutes of gym with a Certified Phys Ed teacher.
Mark your calendar!!
Pre-Sanctified Meal (April 1st)
End of the Year Celebration/Graduation Dinner Dance
(June 6th at 6:30pm)
Please join our preschool. It truly is a wonderful program.
Check us out on Facebook at The Greek American Preschool at Saint Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Church. You
can see our program in action.
If you haven’t paid your PTO Membership we ask that
each family support the PTO with a $30 donation.
Please contact Joanne Karipidis Kefalas if you are interested in enrolling your child at:
Jojobeba@aol or 516-606-2060.
Please email Cheryl Paraskevopoulos at
[email protected] with any questions
or concerns.
Ta Psarakia 5 year olds
Thursdays 4:30-6:00
My fellow parishioners in Christ,
In the hope that you read the article that I wrote in
the February issue of, "The Message", Re: Greek Independence Parade, "The Hellenic D.N.A.". I pray that you
answered some of the questions I posed in the article, and
that you feel the same responsibility as do I, to stand up
and be counted at the parade. Together we can show the
world that there is strength in numbers, in unity and faith
in God, united in the belief that the zeal for individual
freedoms and of religion is in our veins also, the same as
the "Eroas of 1821".
By marching together (or being a spectator) in this
year's "Greek Independence Parade" not only do we honor
those "Heroes" and thank them for their sacrifices, but by
taking part in the parade we show the world we will never
allow anyone to take away our own individual freedoms or
lose our Greek Orthodox Religion.
Together, let us make this an annual family day
of "STEWARDSHIP" for our freedoms and our Greek
Orthodox Faith.
See you on Sunday, March 29th on 5th Avenue, in
NYC (between 64th & 79th Street).
Hope we are mostly over the snow and looking
forward to SPRING!!!! We have had to miss a few sessions due to the winter weather but hopefully that is all
behind us now! Looking forward to Lent and Easter. Kali
Sarakosti to all of our families. We are having some great
meet ups ! Singing , crafts and play !
Little Angels has a new date and time!! We will
meet every other Tuesday in the upstairs youth room at
12:30. We have arts and crafts, a visit from one of our
priests, socialization and play time for our little ones. If
you have a child between the ages of birth to preschool
and are interested in signing your child up for this ministry, please contact one of our advisors;
Alexandra Bennis [email protected]
Christina Borzumato at [email protected].
Please join the children of our Greek School on
Saturday, March 28th at 11:00am in the Community Center as we will be celebrating Greek Independence Day. If
your child would like to wear a traditional costume, that
would be great. If not, please have him/her wear navy botZHTO TO FREEDOM OF 1821.
toms (pants or skirt) with a white top. The children have
Thank you.
been working diligently on learning songs, dances, and
poems to honor this special day in our Greek heritage.
Also, please make every effort to attend the Greek
Georgia Psilakis
Independence
Day Parade which will be held in New York
Greek Independence Parade Chairperson
City on Sunday, March 29th to celebrate the 194th Anniversary of Hellenic Independence. Let's all support our
P.S.
church and our community as we celebrate Greece's IndeWe would appreciate any DONATION you can make to
pendence Day!
offset the cost of the PARADE FLOAT, and BUSSES
This year the Greek School will have its very own
(checks made payable to "St. Paraskevi Church" and in
bus to the Greek Independence Day Parade (see flyer in
the memo write parade donation) also please see me in the this issue of The Message). Children will ride free. The
church hall to SIGN up to ride in the parade BUS.
cost for adults accompanying the children is $20. All who
will be taking the bus will march in the parade or ride the
float. Please see Maria Angel to sign up (first come, first
served).
We are already beginning to plan for the next
school year. Early registration for the 2014-'15 school
year will begin on Saturday, June 6, 2015. In order to participate in early registration all tuition payments must be
Please join the Girl Scouts of St. Paraskevi for Scout Sun- paid in full for the 2014-'15 school year. Please make eveday on March 15th! We will host a coffee hour and also be ry effort to pay any outstanding tuition payments as they
selling our famous and delicious cookies! Please support
are now late.
Finally, the Graduation Dinner Dance to congratuour troops and the great work the girls do for our church
late
the
2015 Greek School Graduates will be on June 6th
and our community!
at 6:30pm.
George Likourezos, Esq.
Greek School Board President
My Dear Fellow Parishioners,
This month, instead of talking about how the Stewardship
Program is doing so far this year, I thought I would keep the
spirit of Stewardship which Fr. Lou has brought to us this
year. By having instead of just one Stewardship Sunday
there were a series of Stewardship Sundays, and as those of
you who were in church from Sunday, November 30th
through Sunday, February 1st know, many different members of the community and the Parish Council spoke about
Stewardship and how St. Paraskevi has impacted their lives.
In continuing that spirit I have asked Fr. Lou to attach the
letter below, which, thanks to Steve Margarites and Nick
Andreadis who discovered it while cleaning out the Parish
Council office, we have as a reminder of what Stewardship
really means – to “want to” versus to “have to”.
As you read the letter that was written almost 40 years ago,
please ask yourself, how St. Paraskevi has impacted your
life and that of your family. Also reflect on whether you
consider yourself to be an owner of the community.
Also, if you haven’t done so already, please take the confidential Survey that is available on line so that we may better
know what you are feeling and thinking about Stewardship.
We are grateful for the continued support of our Stewardship Program and will work to find new ways for each of
you to participate in the Stewardship Program in the coming
year.
Thankful for all of God’s Blessings,
Steve Ramerini
Stewardship Committee Co-Chairperson
2015 STEWARDSHIP
Mr. & Mrs. Frank Accovelli
Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Ackerler
Mr. & Mrs. James Adamis
Mr. & Mrs. John Addamo
Miss Eleni Anastos
Ms. Ann Andreades
Mr. & Mrs. James Andreadis
Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Andreadis
Mr. Peter Andromanakos
Mrs. Maria Angel
Dr. & Dr. George Angelopoulos
Mrs. Panagiota Anthony
Ms. Angela Arettines
Mr. John Arettines
Mr. & Mrs. George Argiriou
Mrs. Mary Argiros
Mrs. Dorothy Athanas
Mrs. Maria Athanasiou
Mr. James Athas
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Avdoulos
Mr. & Mrs. Scott Baialardo
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Balezos
Mr. & Mrs. John Ballow
Mr. & Mrs. Russell Barton
Mr. & Mrs. Sam Batanchiev
Dr. & Mrs. Paul Bell
Ms. Abigail Bouziotis
Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Camas
Mr. & Mrs. Lenny Carlucci
Mr. & Mrs. Constantinos Catechis
Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Chin
Mrs. Ritsa Choulis
Mrs. Efstratia Christophides
Mr. & Mrs. Costas Constantine
Mr. & Mrs. Demetrios Contopoulos
Mr. & Mrs. George Costidis
Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Courbanou
Mrs. Paula Davantzis
Mr. & Mrs. Spirou David
Mr. & Mrs. Spyridon Dedes
Dr. & Mrs. George Demacopoulos
Mr. & Mrs. Anthony DeMonte
Mr. & Mrs. Danny Demopoulos
Mr. & Mrs. William Diakakis
Mr. & Mrs. Harry Diktaban
Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Dorsey
Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Doscas
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Dunn
Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Duran
Mrs. Sally Economou
Mr. & Mrs. James Emanuel
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Emanuel
Mr. & Mrs John Emmans
Mr. Stephen Faitos
Mr. & Mrs. James Fakatselis
Mr. & Mrs. Steven Finkin
Mr. & Mrs. Paul Fusco
Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Garone
Mr. & Mrs. Nick Giannitsas
Mr. & Mrs. Paul Goerke
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Gonis
Mrs. Tula Haghicomninou
Mrs. Alexandra Hatzis
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Heretakis
Mr. & Mrs. Theodore Heretakis
Mr. & Mrs. Raymond Herrick
Mr. George Homenides
Mr. & Mrs. Joshua Houppert
Mrs. Urania Huta
Dr. & Mrs. Joseph Ilasi
Mr. & Mrs. John Ioannou
Mr. & Mrs. George Javaras
Mrs. Loula Kalkines
Mr. Nicholas Kameno
Mr. Daniel Karas
Mrs. Mary Karipidis
Mr. Gus Karras
Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Kellerman
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Kelly
Mrs. Pauline Kitsopoulos
Mr. & Mrs. Tilemahos Konstantatos
Mr. & Mrs. Nick Kontos
Mr. & Mrs. Dean Kostopoulos
Mr. & Mrs. Dean Koutsoubis
Mr. & Mrs. George Koutsoukos
Mrs. Maria Kouttron
Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Kovner
Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Kritikos
Mrs. Katerina Lallos
Mr. & Mrs. John Langis
Mr. & Mrs. Paul Larkin
Mr. John Latzos
Drs. Andrew Leo & Olga Aroniadis-Leo
Mr. & Mrs. Gary Levick
Mrs. Dorothy Litras
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Love
Capt. & Mrs. & John Makrides
Elena Ganias & Michael Malinconico
Mrs. Angie Manikas
Dr. & Mrs. George Manolarakis
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Marcisak
Mr. & Mrs. Paul Margarites
Mr. Steven Margarites
Mrs. Thalia Margarites
Mr. Pat Maris & Dr. Irene Milonas
Mr. & Mrs. George Martakis
Mr. & Mrs. James Martin
Mr. & Mrs. Oliver McGaughey
Curtis W. Meyer & Evelyn G. Kittis
Ms. Andrea Michaels
Mr. & Mrs. Diodoros Mihalios
Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Miller
Mr. & Mrs. Vasilios Milonas
Mr. & Mrs. Demetrios Mirissis
Mr. & Mrs. John Misthos
Mr. & Mrs. Nick Mitsinikos
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Mooney
Mr. & Mrs. Markos Moschos
Mrs. Sophia Nessim
Rev. & Presv. Louis Nicholas
Mr. & Mrs Nick Nicholas
Mr. & Mrs. Nick Nicholas
Mr. & Mrs. Paul Pantason
Mrs. Maria Papadopoullos
Mr. & Mrs. Demetrios Paraskevopoulos
Mr. & Mrs. Bill Pavlides
Mr. & Mrs. Yani Pavlidis
Mr. & Mrs. Dean Philippis
Mrs. Marcy Philippis
Mr. & Mrs. Ed Pietzak
Ms. Elaine Piniat
Mr. & Mrs. Gus Poulis
Mr. & Mrs. Jason Poulis
Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Poulis
Mrs. Irene Poulos
Dr. & Mrs. John Poulos
Mr. & Mrs. Gregg Praetorius
Mr. & Mrs. Domenic Proscia
Mrs. Georgia Psilakis
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Rafaelides
Mr. Stephan Ramerini
Mr. & Mrs. Andreas Rentsch
Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Riley
Mr. Constadinos Roditis
Mr. & Mrs. Paris Rosvolos
Mr. & Mrs. Gus Rousakis
Mrs. Mersina Samodolski
Mr. & Mrs. James Schiede
Keriake Semertzides & Michael Volpe
Mrs. Katina Serelis
Mr. & Mrs. Pandelis Shakalis
Dr. & Mrs. Ioanis Siderias
Mr. & Mrs. Everts Silva
Mrs. Mary Sofides
Mr. Nicholas Soupios
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Soupios
Mr. & Mrs. Val Soupios
Mrs. Betty Spinthourakis
Mrs. Helen Stavros
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Stavros
Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Steele
Mrs. Ritsa Taktekos
Mr. & Mrs. Gheorghe Telibasa
Mr. & Mrs. Chris Theodorakis
Mr. & Mrs. Keriacos Theodorou
Mr. & Mrs. George Thomas
Mr. & Mrs. Gary Tomasides
Mr. Vincent Tortora & Sophia Gatsiadis
Mr. & Mrs. Nikolaos Toubanos
Mr. & Mrs. Kostas Trastelis
Mr. & Mrs. Angelos Trombettas
Mr. & Mrs. Constantine Tsivitis
Mrs. Evangeline Tsunis
Mr. & Mrs. Jon Varlamos
Mr. & Mrs. Cosmos Vassil
Mr. & Mrs. Jim Whittaker
Mr. & Mrs. Tom Ziegler
Do You Have Some Free Time?
Do You Need Some Community Service Hours?
Do You Just Want To Give Back To The Community?
Pledge Some Time At Your Church.
Although there are many places to pledge your time at the Church,
below are some specific areas that are needed currently.
·
·
Receptionist (2 Hour Shifts, 5 days/week)
Church Ushering (Any Sunday or Weekday Service)
·
Sacrament Duty (Weddings/Baptisms/Funerals)
·
Church Cleaning/Maintenance
·
General Building Maintenance
·
Kitchen Management
·
Shrine Care
If you are interested in pledging your time to the Church, please contact the Church office
for more details.
SUNDAY
MONDAY
WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
March 1st
March 4th
March 6th
Sunday of Orthodoxy
9:30am
Pre-Sanctified
Liturgy 6:30pm
Paraklesis 6:30pm
Salutations 7:30pm
March 8th
March 11th
March 13th
St. Gregory Palamas
9:30am
Pre-Sanctified
Liturgy 6:30pm
Paraklesis 6:30pm
Salutations 7:30pm
March 15th
March 18th
March 20th
Holy Cross
9:30am
Pre-Sanctified
Liturgy 6:30pm
Paraklesis 6:30pm
Salutations 7:30pm
March 22
March 25th
March 27th
St. John Climacus
9:30am
Pre-Sanctified
Liturgy 6:30pm
Paraklesis 6:30pm
Salutations 7:30pm
March 29th
April 1st
April 4th
St. Mary of Egypt
9:30am
Pre-Sanctified
Liturgy 6:30pm
Lazarus Saturday
10am
SUN
5
TUESDAY
MON
6
TUES
7
WED
8
THUR
FRI
SAT
SUN
9
10
11
12
St. Basil Liturgy Royal Hours St. Basil Liturgy
Paschal
Palm Sunday
Holy Unction Orthros 6am
9:00am
Orthros 6am
Liturgy
Orthros
3pm
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy
12am
8:30am
7am
Apokathelosis
7am
Divine Liturgy
3:00pm
Agape
9:45am
St. Basil Liturgy
St. Basil Liturgy
Vespers
Orthros 9am
Epitaphios
Orthros 9am
11am
Nymphios Nymphios Nymphios Holy Unction Divine Liturgy
Service
Divine Liturgy
Service
Service
Service
7:00pm
10am
7:00pm
10am
7:00pm
7:00pm
7:00pm
12 Gospels
Resurrection
6:00pm
Service
11pm
Holy Vigil
10pm
This Year’s Speakers
Fr. Nicholas Karloutsos - Wednesday, March 4th
Fr. Nicholas is the associate pastor of
Archangel Michael in Port Washington
***
Dr. George Demacopoulos - Wednesday, March 11th
***
Mr. Vasilios Courbanou - Wednesday, March18th
***
Mr. George Korsanos - Wednesday, March 25th
***
Fr. Evagoras Constantinides - Wednesday, April 1st
Fr. Evagoras is the Director of Ionian Village and
The official Archdiocesan spokesperson of
St. Nicholas Shrine at Ground Zero
Every year, during Great Lent and Holy Week, the icons, Kouvouklion, and Iconostasis
are adorned with magnificent and beautiful flowers. If you are interested in assisting
with the preparation and beautifying of the Church for the Lenten season, whether it be
by decorating the icons and/or making a donation towards the purchase of flowers,
please contact the Church office. God bless the entire community of St. Paraskevi for
the many decades of love and caring that has been offered during this very sacred time
of the Church.
Wanted: Choir Members
Positions Open: Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Bass
(No Others Need Apply)
Physical Qualifications: Must be able to carry
light musical notes part way across the church.
Must have sufficient vision to see the director
from twenty feet away.
Experience: No applications accepted from persons who have not sung, hummed or whistled in
the tub or shower.
Wages: Satisfaction and joy in God’s service.
Fringe Benefits: Social Security - We promise
you the security of social fellowship with other
members of the choir.
Hours: Sunday mornings, with occasional opportunities for overtime. (at above mentioned
wages)
Vacation: Missed rehearsals and worship services are primarily a matter of conscience and
the ability to return the glares and pointed remarks of the director.
Retirement: No particular age, but it is generally determined by prayer, printed notes getting
too small, robe too heavy, notes too high, church
too hot (or cold), or organist unable to play the
notes you sing.
Rehearsals: Only when necessary.
Apply: By attending our next rehearsal, by contacting the director, or contacting Pauline
Kitsopoulos at: [email protected].
Official Photographer of St. Paraskevi
Email: [email protected]
TSUNIS GASPARIS LUSTIG
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