June/July 2016 - St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church

Holy Wisdom
St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church,
Founded in 1926
2504 N. St. Mary’s Street,
San Antonio, TX 78212-3799
Office: 210-735-5051
Emergency : 210-788-8797
June/July Newsletter
WHAT IS PENTECOST?
Most of us recognize Pentecost Sunday as the day on which the “Kneeling prayers” are said at the end of
the Liturgy. These prayers draw to a close our long celebration of the Resurrection of Christ on Holy Pascha.
But the roots of Pentecost are much older than Christianity, and to understand it we have to look at both the Law
of Moses in the Old Testament, and also at the great prophets such as Ezekiel and Joel.
In the Torah or Books of the Law, written by Moses, we read that God instructed Moses to keep various
feasts throughout the year. A full list of the feasts is found in Chapter 23 of the Book of Leviticus. One of the
most important is Passover, in Hebrew called Pesach (from which we get the Greek word, Pascha).
Passover is an annual memorial of the liberation of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt. On this
day the Jewish people remember how their ancestors escaped Egypt. That night, the Angel of Death “passed
over” the houses of the Jews, which were marked in the shape of a cross with the blood of a lamb.
To remember the original night of Passover, the people were to sacrifice a lamb and eat it just as they
had eaten quickly before their night-time escape from Egypt. They were also instructed to eat unleavened bread
for a week, remembering that on the night of the Passover there was no time to allow the bread-dough to rise
(see Leviticus 23:6).
The next Feast to occur is called Omer, described in Leviticus 23:9 ff. This feast falls on the Sunday
after the first day of Unleavened Bread. On this day the people were to take grain and offer it to God. This feast
is also called “wave-offering” or “first fruits”—so called because on this day in ancient times, the people
brought the first ears of grain, usually barley, to the temple to “wave” it before the LORD. It was a way of
remembering that when they reached the Promised Land, the Hebrew people offered the first grain of the first
harvest to God.
The Feast of Pentecost, in Hebrew called Shavuoth (sha-voo-OAT), is a Jewish festival which occurs
fifty days after Omer or the Sunday after Passover. By New Testament times, educated Jews throughout the
Roman Empire spoke Greek, and called the Hebrew feasts by their Greek names. Therefore, Pentecosti is the
Greek name for the feast, from the Greek words for “fifty” and “day”.
Now we remember that Jesus was crucified on a Friday, which that year was the day on which lambs
were being slaughtered at the Great Temple in preparation for the Passover feast. Then, as we know, on the third
day following—the first day of the week, or Sunday—Jesus rose from death.
That day, which was also the third day of Unleavened Bread, was the Feast of Omer. For that reason, St.
Paul calls Jesus “the first-fruits of the dead” (see 1 Corinthians 15:33). In other words, Jesus was Himself an
offering of first-fruits on behalf of all people.
(Continued on next page)
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ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
According to the Law, the Hebrew people
were instructed to “count” each day for fifty days,
beginning on the Sunday following Passover
(Leviticus 23:15). Modern Jewish children still
observe this ritual, “counting” aloud each morning
with their parents. Then they celebrate Pentecost
with special bread and foods.
It is interesting that the Law of Moses tells
the people to begin counting “on the morning after
the Sabbath,” i.e. on Sunday, and not on the day of
Passover itself. Jesus, of course, rose from the dead
on Sunday. Thus the Jewish feasts of Pesach and
Omer are prophetic of Jesus’ own death and
resurrection: Jesus offered Himself, first as the
Paschal Lamb on Passover itself, and then as a first
offering to God on the day of the Wave Offering.
The Jewish feasts were also prophetic of
the gift of the Holy Spirit to the apostles.
According to the Acts of the Apostles (see Ch. 1-2)
this occurred on the feast of Pentecost following
Jesus’ resurrection. The disciples were assembled
in Jerusalem for the Feast, ten days after Jesus’
ascension into Heaven. On that day it was
customary for Jews from all over the Roman
Empire to gather in Jerusalem. The disciples,
including the Mother of God, were all together—a
total of 120 people, according the account in Acts.
Suddenly the sound of a powerful wind
filled the room. Mysteriously, something like
tongues of fire appeared to rest on the head of each
one of the gathered disciples. Immediately they left
the room and began to prophesy in many different
languages, as understood by the crowds outdoors.
The Apostles understood the tongues of fire to be
the visible presence of the Holy Spirit, who in Old
Testament times was associated with wind and
fire.
This strange event parallels what is
described in the Book of Numbers 11:24-25, in
which seventy elders gathered together by Moses
were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
prophesy. When Moses was urged to rebuke two of
the “prophets,” he replied that he wished all of
God’s people would prophecy. Thus the event of
Pentecost described in Acts, is a fulfilment of that
wish. The Christian Pentecost was also a fulfilment
of a vision of the Prophet Joel.
Today in the Orthodox Church, at Great
Vespers on the night before Pentecost we read
aloud from the passage in Numbers as a background
to what is described in the Acts of the Apostles.
Then we read from the Prophet Joel, who was told
by God that one day, the Holy Spirit would fall
upon ordinary people and they too would become
prophets (see Joel 2:28-30).
Finally, we read from the prophet Ezekiel,
who wrote that one day, God would take out the
“stony” heart of the people and replace it with a
“heart of flesh”—in other words, they would no
longer be judgmental but would begin to love God
and one another.
Acts 2:5 also says that each person in the
crowd “heard them [the apostles] speaking in his
own language,” a point which is repeated in Acts
2:8. This could mean that the disciples were not
necessarily speaking in other languages, but that the
people were hearing in other languages. Either way,
the point is that miraculously, the disciples began
preaching to the crowd about the resurrection of
Jesus in ways that everyone could understand,
regardless of their native language.
The Church has always understood this
strange event to be a reversal of the story of the
Tower of Babel, recounted in Genesis 11. In this
story, God mixed up the languages of the people
because of their idolatry. Before that, people were
cooperating to build huge towers (which
archaeologists call ziggurats) to reach the heavens.
God mixed up the language of the people so that
they could not cooperate to build their towers. At
Pentecost, however, this punishment was reversed
so that people could understand one another even
when they were speaking in different languages.
The point here is that in the Genesis story,
the people were exalting themselves as powerful
beings who could reach the heavens on their own.
But in the story of Acts, the disciples were
humbling themselves before God, and were
pointing their listeners to Jesus Christ, the Savior of
the world. Moreover, the disciples were filled with
such love that people wanted to hear their message.
Their example was so powerful that thousands were
baptized in a single day (Acts 2:41).
ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
There is no question that the gift of “tongues” to
the Apostles was miraculous. St. Paul mentions
“speaking in tongues” in 1 Corinthians 12:30 and
again in 1 Corinthians 14:2 ff, as spiritual gifts.
He compares tongues-speaking to prophesying,
and says that prophesying is more important
because it builds up the Church (1 Cor. 14:5).
Tongues, he says, must always be translated.
We also note that “prophesying” can mean
“preaching,” and probably has that meaning in the
Pauline letters.
th
In the mid-19 century in Europe, and a
few decades later in America, churches sprang up
which called themselves “Pentecostal.” These
off-shoots of Protestant churches emphasized the
experience of speaking in tongues, or ecstatic
speech, as proof of salvation. However, in general
the experience of “speaking in tongues” meant
uttering sounds which had no known meaning.
In the Orthodox Church we would point
out that the biblical phrase, “speaking in
tongues” (expressed by the Greek word
glossolalia) does not mean uttering nonsensical
sounds. In Greek literature it means to speak in a
different language, or to speak poetically, or to
speak powerfully (prophetically). Furthermore, it
could mean all three of these things at the same
time.
From Church history we learn that very
early, the phenomenon of “speaking in tongues”
was not permitted at the celebration of the
Eucharist, that is, the Lord’s Supper. This
followed Paul’s injunction that preaching the
Gospel of the resurrection is more important, and
also that any utterances in a church gathering must
be understandable. The spiritual gift of “speaking
in tongues” therefore came to be used in the
primitive Church either for private prayer, or for
supernatural prophesying when the apostles did
not know the language of the persons to whom
they were preaching. In the latter case, what they
said could be translated for others standing nearby
because they were real languages. But Paul argued
that whether he spoke in “tongues of men or of
angels,” the real point would be to communicate
the love of God; otherwise the experience would
be worthless.
PAGE 3
Today, many Christians, including
Orthodox, may experience “tongues-speaking” in
private prayer. Sometimes this occurs even when
the person has never heard of modern Pentecostal
Christians or their practices. There are also
accounts of missionaries speaking in a language
which they did not know, to people in a mission
field. This has been testified to both by
missionaries and by natives of areas where
Christian mission is taking place.
Recently,
tongues-speaking
among
Pentecostals has been studied by linguists. They
point out that ecstatic speech occurs in a variety
of religions, not just among Christians.
Sceptics also claim that Pentecostal-Christian
tongues-speaking does not follow the structure of
real languages. However, this could not
explain how the phenomenon works in
Christian mission, either historically or today.
As Orthodox Christians, we note that if
non-Christians speak in tongues, it does not mean
that they have received the same Holy Spirit as
the Apostles. Just as ordinary speech can be used
for good or for evil, ecstatic speech is pointless if
it is not to the glory of God, the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ. We also preserve the tradition
that the Liturgy is not to be interrupted by
ecstatic speech. Apart from the sermon, we
should not talk aloud (and that includes gossip!)
during the Liturgy or inside the worship area.
Finally, it is important to realize that the
most significant dimension of Pentecost was not
speaking in tongues, but the love of God which
was imparted to the disciples and their joy in
telling others about Christ. St. Paul writes about
this to the Corinthians, to say that tongues will
cease, but love never ends. Our goal as Christians
is to be Spirit-filled, so that our lives overflow
with divine Love for God, for everyone we meet,
and for all that God has made.
+Fr Brendan
PAGE 4
ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
PHILOPTOCHOS
Philoptochos extends a heartfelt thank you to everyone in our St Sophia Parish Community.
We appreciate all of our dedicated and hard working members and volunteers who give selflessly of their
time and talents for all our endeavors in fundraising and in service to our community. Thank you to all our
fellow parishioners and organizations who have responded generously with donations for our collections that
support many charitable organizations such as our Holy Cross Seminary, St Basil’s Academy, San Antonio
Food Bank, CAM, Warrior & Family Support Center just to name just a few.
We had a very active year with bake sales, coffee hours, serving Makarias for grieving families, making
over 1100 sandwich lunches feeding over 1000 homeless and the hungry in need through Mobile Loaves and
Fishes.
We assembled and shipped 98 hygiene kits to IOCC for relief to people displaced by natural disasters in the
US and overseas.
We have taken time for fun and social events, with our Festival of Tables Luncheon, Founders Day luncheon,
and Valentine Bingo Luncheon honoring our senior citizens.
In February, we visited Holy Archangels Monastery in nearby Kendalia and learned about the growth of
Orthodox monasticism in America and Texas in particular.
In May we hosted our first afternoon of artsy fun and mingling with friends while enjoying delicious light
refreshments and drinks. We were guided step by step, by our local artist Marie Claire Valdez, to create a
starry night on canvas that we took home.
With our summer months, comes a brief reprieve from planned activities and a slower pace that allows time
for reflection, and relaxation. We invite all women to join us in the Fall as we serve our Lord, our Church
and our Community.
A preview of some our planned activities in the fall are listed below.
September 10, Saturday
General Membership Meeting and Brunch at 10:30 am
October 8, Saturday
General Membership Meeting, & trip Botanical Gardens
(weather permitting)
October 30, Sunday
Philoptochos Founders Memorial Service & coffee hour
December 3, Saturday
Holiday Brunch at Magnolia Haus
May God bless you and keep you safe in His care over the summer months and always.
Lauri Dunn
Holy
Ascension
June 9
Saturday
of Souls
June 18
ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
PAGE 5
S%&'() C*%+,* S,*--.
On May 15, we had a great day recognizing the work of our dedicated students and teachers. The dedication
of our teachers, as well as the love they have for their students helped make our Sunday Church School year a
great success. We also want to thank Tomi Papanikolaou for organizing and leading the preparation of the
delicious lunch.
We have a Director for SCS, Agape Wisenhant. Please meet her! It would be nice, however, if we had a
small team (two or three) who would like to offer their time and talents in that role. Please contact Father
Brenden if you would like more information, or if you are interested in being a teacher.
As you enjoy your summer, we are looking forward to our Vacation Church School which will take place on
August 1 - 5!
PAGE 6
S T . SO PHI A G R EEK OR TH OD O X CHU RC H
2016 Church Organizations
PARISH COUNCIL
Parish Council, Toni Gr auke, Pr esident…….......210-452-3800
•
GOYA
Katerina Papanikolaou, President………..…....…....210-452-5822
Danny Organ, Advisor…………….……….…........210-545-7597
•
YAL
Juleen Sanftner, President ………………..…....…...210-872-0844
•
Stewardship Committee
Doyle Dunn……………………………...……….....210-320-6343
John Lyons………………………………….........…682-556-2372
•
Philoptochos
Laurene Dunn, President ……………….….....…….210-320-6343
•
•
Sunday School
Tomi Papanikolaou…………………...……....…….210-542-5822
Outreach Committee Chair
Gus Vangelakos……………………...……...……...210-577-0254
•
•
•
Antoinette (Toni) Grauke
President
Costas Sgagias
Vice-President
Sandra Salas
Treasurer
Pam Layden
Secretary
Steve Brown
Stan Masters
Harris Papahronis
Roger Sanftner
Christina Welzbacher
Librarian/Archivist/WEB Master
Marlene Graham…………….……[email protected]
Hellenic Organizations
AHEPA
Costa Sgagias, President ……….....……...………210-659-2677
Daughters of Penelope
Kathy Kaberides, President ………………...….....210-381-8135
GREEK SCHOOL
The first year of Greek Language
School has been truly welcomed
by our community. The Fall
Semester will begin September
11 from 1-3pm.
In order to able to offer this
service to all who are interested, we even need
more teachers! Any one able and willing to help
please contact George Manolopoulos after church
service or via email ([email protected]).
Thank you and God Bless.
Holy Pentecost
June 19
S T . SO PHI A G R EEK OR TH OD O X CHU RC H
PAGE 7
DAUGHTERS OF PENELOPE
Hello and Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there!
Our May meeting on the 9th was very productive and lots of fun! If you missed it, you missed our big Bingo
game. Our winners were Pam Layden and Nickie Frey.
Our slate of officers for next year was also set: President – Kathy Kaberides, Vice-President – Lisa Griffith,
Treasurer – Meredith Rokas and Secretary – Olga Fafoutakis. If you, or anyone you know would like to
serve in one of these key positions, or another position, please let me know. We will be installing these four
officers in June.
Please remember that we will be supporting our AHEPANS by baking baklava on June 6, 7 and 8 for their
upcoming Texas Folklife. Toni Grauke will lead the baking and begin at 9 each morning.
Our annual Rummage Sale will be held July 29th and 30th this year. We are now collecting donations in the
double classroom. We also provide tax receipts for your donation. So, please donate your gently used items
to us!
Members who have not sent in their 2016 dues, please do so now. Dues may be mailed to the church office.
Please annotate “2016 Dues” on the memo line. Dues for this year are $47.00. If you are not current with
your dues, but want continuity in you membership, you will need to include your past year(s) dues at the new
current rate of $47.00 for each year or you may complete an application for reinstatement and include the
$15.00 reinstatement fee with your payment and application. .
Our next scheduled meeting is June 11th at 7:00 pm in the double classroom.
In Theta Pi,
Kathy Kaberides
President
Editor’s Note
Remember that the Newsletter deadline is JULY 15 for the AUGUST 2016 issue. Please e-mail your
articles or items before the deadline to the Church Office. (email address is on the calendar). If your name
does not appear in the birthday or anniversary lists, please fill out a Church Register form located in the Hall
pamphlet rack and return it to the office. If you know anyone who is ill and not on the Prayer List and
would like their name listed, call the Church Office at 735-5051.
ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
PAGE 8
AHEPA
Our current Chapter Officers were reelected for the 2016 - 2017 term: Pr esident –
Constantine Sgagias; Vice-President - George Hathaway; Secretary - John Graham;
Treasurer - John Fotopoulos and Board of Governors - Jim Vamvakias.
The Ahepans were thrilled to
Host the bar for Philoptochos’
“Canvas by You” Event.
A BIG thank you to all the Ahepans
that helped us recognize “AHEPA Day”
by sponsoring coffee hour on Sunday.
We had a great spread - -the mimosas were a hit.
Another REALLY BIG thank you to everyone that donated
“the gift of life” during our blood drive. We even recruited
visitors from New York (Alexandra Gavallos) to donate!
Don’t forget signup sheets for the Texas Folklife Festival are still available in Mangos Hall. This year’s
festival will be three days: Friday - June 10, 5pm to 11pm, Saturday - June 11, 11am to 11pm, and
Sunday June 12, noon to 7pm. Please consider signing up to help.
Following the festival, we are off to Houston, TX, for the 85th AHEPA Family District 16 Convention on
June 24 – 26. Visit www.ahepad16.org for additional information.
Our next AHEPA meeting will not be until September 12, 2016, 7pm. Till then please check your email/
mail for information about our events.
In July, AHEPA will once again start collecting 20-inch box fans for the “Project Cool” event
hosted by the City of San Antonio. Also, you may donate monetary contributions toward the
purchase of box fans for senior residents. Make checks in any amount payable to "AHEPA".
Please help a needy citizen by donating a new fan!
We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable summer.
Thank you and God Bless,
Constantine Sgagias
ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
DAUGHTERS OF PENELOPE
ANNUAL RUMMAGE SALE
IN CHURCH HALL
8:00AM TO 4:00PM - JULY 29TH AND 8:00AM TO
4:00PM – JULY 30 TH
BE SURE TO COME AND HELP SUPPORT OUR SALE.
ALL PROCEEDS WILL HELP FUND NEXT YEAR’S DOP
PROJECTS.
DONATIONS OF GENTLY USED ITEMS WILL BE
APPRECIATED.
TAX RECEIPTS WILL BE AVAILABLE
WE WILL BE ACCEPTING DONATIONS AFTER THE
DIVINE LITURGY ANY SUNDAY BEFORE THE SALE IN
THE DOUBLE CLASS ROOM.BEGINING MAY 29th.
WE APPRECIATE YOUR HELP! POINT OF CONTACT:
KATHY KABERIDES 210-381-8135
PAGE 9
ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
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2016 Stewardship Pledges As of May 20th
Mr. & Mrs. Barclay Anthony
Mrs. Chrissy Anthony
Mr. & Mrs. Nick Anthony
Mr. Peter Anton
Mrs. Vasilica Arcanu
Mr. & Mrs. Greg Asvestas
Miss Stephanie Asvestas
Mr. & Mrs. Rudy Bagnato
Mr. & Mrs. Jack Bellos
Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Bergquist
Mr. & Mrs. Edward Bishop
Mr. Christopher Bond
Mr. Argie Bonduris
Mr. & Mrs. Nasr Botros
Mrs. Estelle Bournias
Mrs. Nena Bratianu
Mr. & Mrs. Steven Broadaway
Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Brown
Ms. Charlotte Bullock
Mr. Steve Calamars
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Callins
Mrs. Olga Callins
Mr. Louis Cardenas
Mrs. Catherine Carson
Mr. Chris Carson
Mrs. George Carson
Ms. Niki Cascio
Mrs. Annette Cash
Mrs. Katherine Catsifas
Mrs. Katherine Copas
Mr. & Mrs. John Costa
Mr. & Mrs. Nick Costas
Mr. & Mrs. Jason Crandall
Mr. & Mrs. David Crane
Mrs. Anastasia Dale
Mrs. Lynda Dale-Roos
Mr. & Mrs. Dean Danos
Mr. John Danos
Mrs. Beatrice Demitre
Mr. Phillip G. Demitre
Mr. & Mrs. Dimitrios Dimas
Mr. & Mrs. Dan Dimitriu
Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Dolan
Mr. & Mrs. James Dracopoulos
Mr. & Mrs. Doyle Dunn
Mr. & Mrs. Mike Eldred
Mr. & Mrs. Kalliopi Evans
Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Fadrowski
Mrs. Maggie Flannery
Mr. & Mrs. Sostenes Flores
Mr. & Mrs. John Fotopoulos
Mr. & Mrs. George Gavallos
Mr. & Mrs. James Georgoulakis
Ms. Mary Ellen Georgoulakis
Mr. & Mrs. Victor Gerleman
Mr. & Mrs. William Goodwin
Mr. Basile Goungetas
Mr. & Mrs. John Graham
Ms. Antoinette Grauke
Mr. & Mrs. Tom Green
Mrs. Christina Hamblin
Mr. Nickolas Hamblin
Mr. George Hathaway
Mrs. Aspasia Hensley
Ms. Jean Homitsky
Mrs. Athena Houghtaling
Mr. & Mrs. Marq Hughes
Col. Harry Jaffers
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Kaberides
Mr. & Mrs. Bill Karras
Mr. & Mrs. Kostantinos Kastis
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Kastis
Fr. & Mrs. John Kondratick
Mr. & Mrs. Iraklis Kouroumousis
Mr. Jerry Kouroumousis
Mrs. Eunice Kritsidimas
Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Kylitis
Mr. & Mrs. Constantinos Kylitis
Mr. & Mrs. Ralph LaRochelle
Mrs. June Laurel
Mr. & Mrs. William Layden
Mr. Albert Lymberry
Mr. John Lyons
Mrs. Fran MacDonald
Mr. & Mrs. Constantine Malouf
Mr. & Mrs. Sam Maropis
Mr. & Mrs. Stan Masters
Mr. William Mastoris
Mr. & Mrs. Symeon Michaelidis
Mr. & Mrs. Chris Morrell
Mr. & Mrs. Manuel Munoz
Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Nelson
Mrs. Helen Nelson
Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Organ
Mr. & Mrs. Roland Oslund
Mr. & Mrs. Harris Papahronis
Mr. & Mrs. Nikos Papanikolaou
Mr. & Mrs. Frank Papatonis
Dr. Chris Paris
Fr. & Pres. Brendan Pelphrey
Mr. & Mrs. Tony Pena
Ms. Ellen Pepps
Mrs. Mary C. Petrutsas
Ms. Donna Jean Philbrick
Mrs. Carrie Postolos
Mr. & Mrs. Howard Quinton
Mr. & Mrs. Noam Rand
Mr. & Mrs. Dale Reeves
Mr. & Mrs. John Reeves
Mr. & Mrs. Chris Rokas
Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Rosca
Mr. & Mrs. Frank Rosenkranz
Mr. & Mrs. Earl Ryburn
Mr. & Mrs. Mark Saenz
Mr. & Mrs. Luis Salas
Mr. & Mrs. Roger Sanftner
Mr. & Mrs. Tom Sauerwein
Mrs. Dorothy Sawyer
Mr. & Mrs. Costas Sgagias
Mrs. Assimo Sidler
Ms. Annie Sierra
Mr. & Dr. Peter Skountzos
Mr. & Mrs. Tom Smith
Mr. & Mrs. Brent Smith
Mrs. Helen Stanley
Mr. & Mrs. James Stanley
Mr. & Mrs. Sotirios Stathakis
Mr. & Mrs. James Stutzman
Fr. & Prsv. Dan Suciu
Mr. & Mrs. Yeshewadar Teferra
Mr. & Mrs. Aynalem Tegene
Mr. & Mrs. Spyros Ticoras
Mr. & Mrs. Demetrios Tingas
Mr. & Mrs. Dan Titerle
Mr. & Mrs. Kline Torres
Mr. & Mrs. Ioannis Tsapakis
Mrs. Aliki Tsevdos
Mr. & Mrs. Tom Tsirigotis
Ms. Beth Tsounakas
Mr. & Mrs. John Tsouvalas
Mr. James Tsouvalas
Mr. & Mrs, Augustus Vangelakos
Mr. & Mrs. James Varelas
Mr. & Mrs. John Velentzas
Mr. & Mrs. Panagiotis Velentzas
Mr. & Mrs. James Verreos
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Vlattas
Mr. & Mrs. Floyd Walker
Mr. & Mrs. John Watkins
Ms. Christy Welzbacher
Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Wiegreffe
Ms. Stephanie Wilkinson
Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Wolf
Ms. Elly Xenakis
Mr. & Mrs. Demetrios Yiannos
Mrs. Georgia Zannaras
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Zgonis
PETER AND PAUL,
THE HOLY
APOSTLES
NativityofJohntheBaptist
JUNE 29
ST. SOPHIA GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
PAGE 11
bâÜ V{âÜv{ YtÅ|Äç
Happy Birthday!
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Luminita Ellis
Constantinos Zachariades
Aaron Berlint
Popi L. Butler
Janet Goodwin
Nikolas Presses
Corbin Presses
Vicky Hood
Joaquin Smith
Elianna Vasquez
Nathan Kocurek
Clayton Rogers
Haimanot Teferra
Olga Callins
Louis Constandine
Aimee Kypreos
June Laurel
Jonathan Marcantoni
Mary Saflekos
Kevin Edwards
Juanita Krause
Michael Naggles
Anna Dracopoulos
Sophia Kastis
Bill Mastoris
Anna Khory
Despina Barrera
Natalie Boehme
Elizabeth Dolan
Selah Ellis
Nicholas Koutras
Kaitlyn Mayo
Mary Ellen Michaelidis
David Crane
Tracy McCalla
John Watkins III
Mary Beth Georgoulakis
Eathan Marschall
Dimitri Michaelides
Sophia Erian
Arianne Fadrowski
Sofia Mezei
Christa Reilly
Sotirios Stathakis
Matthew Asvestas
Alice Koutras
Hayllie Fekkos
Monica Nikolaou
Dylan White
Carmen Dracopoulos
Laurene Dunn
Eliot Erck
Kalli McQueen
Rudy Bagnato
Courtney Berquist
Emily Dolan
Iraklis Kouroumousis
Alexander Malouf
Stormy Janavares
Dia Alyfantis
Beth Tsounakas
Gerorge Manolopoulos
Ciprian Mezei
Ismene Zachariades
Ioanna Zgonis
Anastacia Brown
Kathrine Crandall
Danielle Rappaport
Virginia Skountzos
Kathleen Kouloudis
Katie Nelson
Rebeka Papanikolaou
Serafina Smith
Meghan Crabtree
William Layden
Remember in your Prayers
Chrissy Anthony
Argie Bonduris
Katie Copas
Dora Costa
Megan Crandall
Phillip Demitre
John Dracopoulos
Doyle Dunn
Kristina Frey
Michelle Frey Gutt
Don Hucthinson
June
2
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7
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9
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Fr. John Kondratick
Olga Kouchoukos
Fr. John Mangos
Mimi Moultrup
Katie Nelson
Tomi Papanikolaou
Tom Poulos
Harry Rokas
Mina Sidler
Sophia Sotiriou
Helen Stanley
Happy Anniversary !
Serafim & Christina Perdikis
John & Dora Costa
Rolf & Popi Butler
Floyd & Nikki Walker
Earl & Michelle Ryburn
Marvin & Linda Skinner
Oscar & Helen Carrisalez
Tony & Cindy Obeid
Aaron & Maria Geer
Eleftherios & Schalamar
Giannas
George & Elaine Mozakis
Morris & Lynda Roos
Mark & Gail Saenz
Chris & Mary Morrell
William & Janet Goodwin
Harry & Nina Rokas
Symeon & Mary Ellen
Michaelidis
Demetrios & Vivian Macris
Stephen & Vicki Scott
Louis & Annette Constandine
Frank & Dina Petrutsas
Daniel & Anastasia Cavanaugh
David & Janis Ketnick
June Birthdays continued
29
29
29
29
30
30
30
30
30
J. Tyler Stanley
Fr. Dan Suciu
Beth Tsounakas
Ismene Valescu
Nikki Walker
Sylvia Wolf
Anthony Zannaras
Lela Araj
Scarlett Papas
Barbara Romell
Aynalem Tegene
Louis Barrera
Mary Ellen Georgoulakis
Gabriel Scull
Dimitri Tsandoula
Reggie Yamanaka
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25
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30
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31
31
July
Bill & Elizabeth Karras
Tom & Katherine Green
David & Diane Crane
Ciprian & Ioana Mezei
Nathan & Andrea Ellis
Nicholas & Jennifer Dimotsis
Anthony & Carrie Kylitis
Danny & Vanna Organ
Dimitri & Alicia Tsandoula
Garrett & Laurena Johnson
Robert & Amy Main
Sam & Ruth Maropis
Demetrios & Maria Tingas
Christopher & Athena Varcados
Greg & Cynthia Asvestas
Nasr & Connie Botros
Gabriel & Effie Gutierrez
Nick & Smaranda Papanikolaou
William & Nancy Scull
Jerome & Diana Wolf
Tom & Carri Sauerwein
Ioannis & Stephanie Tsapakis
Roger & Juleen Sanftner
Jack & Mary Jane Bellos
Michael & Katie Dolan
Steven & Maria Broadaway
Nikos & Aimee Kypreos
Tony & Elaine Peña
Fr. Dan & Prva. Delia Suciu
July Birthdays continued
29
29
30
30
30
30
31
Ashley Torres
Thomas Smith
Christopher Heacox
Tomi Papanikolaou
Gail Saenz
Lucian Tsandoula
Lynda Dale-Roos
Happy Birthday !
July
1
1
2
3
4
4
5
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Michael Dolan
Socrates Tingas
David Umbel
Michael Boutsis Jr.
Belinda Gavallos
Anastasia Stathakis
Christopher Paris
Lauren Kastis
Helen Stanley
Evanthia Aivaliotis
Pres. Sharon Pelphrey
William Scull
Kay Sgagias
Dante Small
Michelle Bagnato
Maria Cormier
Alezandros Omiridis
Tony Pena
Leza Chryssovergis
Philip Demitre
Evangelos Polykratis
Sarina Obeid
Nikolas Heacox
Imane Saliba
Helen Carrisalez
Christine Catsifas
Andrew Edwards
Maria Peppas
Eleanore Watkins
Simona Dimitriu
Christopher Reeves
Margaret Karras
Natasha Tsandoula
Stephanie Asvestas
Alexander Macris
Jack Main
Aspasia Hensley
Nicholas Potter
Peter Romell
Kristi Anthony
Katherine Danos
Sophia Heacox
Tyler Janavares
Harris Papahronis
Carrie Presses
Patrick Velentzas
Nia Papas
Christina Cormier
Evangeline Ellis
Athena Fafoutakis
James Karras
Elaine Marschall
Alex Stojanovski
Catherine Carson
Alexandra Dinibutun
Gus Kastis
Philipios Kypreos
Sarah Shannon
Christophor Suciu
Non-Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
San Antonio, TX
Permit No. 1212
Change Service Requested
Services And Scripture Readings
JUNE SUNDAY SERVICES
Sunday
JUNE 5
Epistle Reading: Acts 16:16-34
Gospel Reading: John 9:1-38
Sunday Epistle Reading: Acts 20:16-18, 28-36
JUNE 12 Gospel Reading: John 17:1-13
Sunday Epistle Reading: Acts 2:1-11
JUNE 19 Gospel Reading: John 7:37-52; 8:12
Sunday Epistle Reading: Hebrews 11:33-40; 12:1-2
JUNE 26 Gospel Reading: Matthew 10:32-33; 37-38;
19:27-30
JULY SUNDAY SERVICES
Sunday
JULY 3
Epistle Reading:
Gospel Reading:
Romans 2:10-16
Matthew 4:18-23
Sunday
JULY 10
Epistle Reading:
Gospel Reading:
Romans 5:1-10
Matthew 6:22-23
Sunday
JULY 17
Epistle Reading:
Gospel Reading:
Titus 3:8-15
Matthew 5:14-19
Sunday
JULY 24
Epistle Reading:
Gospel Reading:
Romans 10:1-10
Matthew 8:22-34; 9:1
Sunday
JULY 31
Epistle Reading:
Gospel Reading:
Romans 12:6-14
Matthew 9:1-8