April 2016 Monthly Newsletter
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Transcript of April 2016 Monthly Newsletter
608 SOUTH COLLEGE ROAD WILMINGTON NC 28403 (910) 392-4444 FAX (910) 392-4905
www.stnicholaswilmington.org
Holy Friday
April 29
April 2016
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church April 2016
Fr. Jon Emanuelson
Parish Priest
Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 9AM – 2PM
Office Phone: 910-392-4444 Office Fax: 910-392-4905
Fr. Jon’s Mobile Number: 910-685-0080
Office Email: [email protected]
Fr. Jon’s Email: [email protected]
Church Website: www.stnicholaswilmington.org
Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/StNicholasWilmington
2016 PARISH COUNCIL
CHURCH STAFF
Angelique Skandalakis, Parish Office Administrator
PARISH MINISTRY TEAM
Officers Members
Barbara Reynolds, President Evangelos Fragos Debra Rallis
Jack Poulos, Vice President Peter Manolukas Nick Saffo
Tina Bostic, Treasurer Emanuel Miliotis Maria Stasios
Peter Malahias, Assistant Treasurer
Irene Sotiriou Vogiatzis, Secretary
Emanuel Miliotis, Chairman of the Council of Ministries
Religious Education…Richard Reynolds, Ministry Chair Communications - Technology Ministries…
Adult Education…Richard Reynolds Alexandros Theodoropoulos , Ministry Group Leader
Youth Catechism…Courtney Malahias, Director Webmaster… Alexandros Theodoropoulos
Bookstore/Library…Mary Ann Wall Publications…Angelique Skandalakis, Stella McTaggart
Oratorical Festival…Courtney Malahias Technology… Alexandros Theodoropoulos
Media/Community Relations…Debra Rallis, Alexandros
Hellenic Culture…Kitsa Wiersteiner, Ministry Chair Theodoropoulos
Hellenic School…Anestis Logothetis, Acting Director
Romiosini Dance Group…Zaharoula Katsikis Parish Family Life…**Volunteer Needed**
Zoyra Dance Group…Lucas Bostic, Katerina Katsikis Parish Family Night…**Volunteer Needed**
Choral…Dr. Michael Rallis Men’s Group…Richard Reynolds
Special Activities… Kitsa Wiersteiner Women’s Group…**Volunteer Needed**
Forever Young…Stella Vallianos
Youth Diakonia…Doug Brown, Ministry Chair LOVE…Angelique Skandalakis, Kay Skandalakis
GOYA…Benjalee Pittman, Alexia Porzio, Doug Brown,
Courtney Malahias Outreach & Evangelism…Diane McGowan, Ministry Chair
HOPE/JOY… Joyce Patsalos, Sophia Brewer, OCF…Fr. Jon, Alexandros Theodoropoulos
Jaime Saffo, Renée Karonis Psilos, Connie Ronner Hospitality…Ed Mayorga, Kathleen Mayorga
Metropolis Strategic Planning...Koula Katsikis Community Service…Christina Mount
Parish Care…Pat Poulos, Tina Stamatakis,
Liturgical Life… Dr. Michael Rallis, Ministry Chair Kay Skandalakis , Dr. Mary Frankos
Liturgical Music… Dr. Michael Rallis
Acolytes…Doug Brown Philoptochos…Tia Saffo, Chapter President
Neokoros/Sexton…**Volunteer Needed**
Stewardship…Debra Rallis
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church April 2016
3
From the Desk of Father Jon
On Loving God in Worship
- Our Lenten Journey
The Prophet and King David wrote:
“How beloved are Your dwellings, O Lord of hosts. My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord; My
heart and my flesh greatly rejoice in the living God. For even the sparrow found a house for herself, and the
turtledove a nest for herself, where she will lay her young, Your altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my
God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They shall praise You unto ages of ages. For one day in
Your courts is better than a thousand; I chose to be an outcast in the house of my God, Rather than to dwell in
the tents of sinners.” Ps 84:2-5, 11 OSB
A blessed Lenten journey to you all! Καλή Τεσσαρακοστή! The month of April leads us through the majori-
ty of our great Fast. I pray that each and every one of you partake of the offerings of our Orthodox Church
through the worship in the days to come. As we lead up to the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, may our hearts and souls be strengthened by services and Mysteries of our Orthodox Church.
In the Psalm passage above from the Orthodox Study Bible is titled “For the End, concerning the
winepresses; a psalm for the sons of Korah”. This was written by King David in a time when he was perse-
cuted by King Saul and just afterward. The Ark of the Covenant resided in a barn next to a vineyard. King
David came to visit these wondrous places (1 Kingdoms 7:1-3, 2 Kingdoms 6) at the house of Abinadab in the
threshing floor of Nachon and at the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The sons of Korah were the great
chanters of Israel for generations.
For the King and Prophet David, being in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant was very much be-
ing in the presence of God, for God dwelt on the mercy seat between the cherubim. We too, are so blessed
like King David to dwell in the Presence of God in our holy St. Nicholas Church. We worship in front of an
Altar on which resides the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the reserve Eucharist. This Presence of
God never leaves the Altar and is renewed every Holy Thursday at the Vesporal-Liturgy of the Mystical Sup-
per! Thus, we are called to dwell in the house of God, to be in His Presence and worship Him!
“During the Divine Liturgy, many times there are Liturgical Payers, Peace Supplications and En-
treaties that urge us about how our posture, our psychological mood and even our movements should be when
we partake in the Divine Liturgy! All of us, who are going to come to the Holy Church Temple, should be
appropriately prepared. We should be entering (all of us, priests too) “with faith, reverence and fear of God,
as the fourth great petition of the Great Litany presupposed. We should all be adorned with the same exact
virtues when we are invited to the Common Cup of eternal Life: “with fear of God and faith and love, draw
near”.
“The Eucharistic Table of Holy Communion during the Divine Office, says St. Nicholas Cabasilas,
puts for us to dwell in Christ and for Christ to dwell in us, for He Himself said, “He that eats my flesh and
drinks my blood dwells in Me, and I in him.” He is for us both a dweller and a dwelling…and we are fortu-
nate for our dwelling and very fortunate that we have become the dwelling for such a Divine Master.”
Thus, in this time of repentance, fasting, giving of alms, reading of Scripture and prayer as a commu-
nity, we are transported. The Church Militant and the Church Triumphant are joined together in heavenly
worship. How can we not desire this Divine Communion?!
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church April 2016
4
All that are involved in the Liturgical Life ministry of our St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church are
very hopeful you will participate in the services of Great Lent. Liturgy, by its very definition in Greek, is the
“work of the people.” Therefore, we are called to house of God to be working together!
In the months to come, we will be implementing some refinements in the worship that make it even more in-
viting to engage in worship of the one, true and living God! The only way to know about them is to be in
church. Many people have started participating more and we are looking forward to Pascha. Lastly, the new
official translation of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom will become available this summer. God
willing, someone will step forward to donate the copies we need for the parish.
Love always, Fr. Jon
Orthodox Study Bible
Experiences During the Divine Liturgy, Protopresbyter Stephanos K. Anagnostopoulos
From the Parish Council President
Barbara Reynolds
Spring in Wilmington is a beautiful time of year. It is also a beautiful time of year in our Orthodox liturgical
calendar. In March we started Great Lent with Forgiveness Sunday which is a beautiful and very important
service. This was followed with a week of Great Compline, Pre-Sanctified Liturgy, Salutations and the third
Saturday of the Souls services. On March 13 we enjoyed hearing the speeches of our youth at the Oratorical
Festival. Sunday the 20th of March was the Sunday of Orthodoxy. On March 24th and 25th we celebrated the
Annunciation of the Theotokos with Vespers and Liturgy.
We will celebrate Greek Independence Day on April 3. In April we will have many more beautiful services to
look forward to. We should try to attend as many services as possible. Every week there will be Great Com-
pline services, Pre-Sanctified Liturgy and Salutation services as well as Saturday night Vespers and Sunday
Liturgy. The month concludes with Holy Week with beautiful services every day leading up to Pascha on May
1 followed by the Agape picnic at Hugh McRae Park. I am looking forward to spending the Great Lent and
Pascha season with my St. Nicholas family.
SAVE THE DATE - MAY
May 1: Great and Holy Pascha with Agape Services
May 13-15: Greek Festival
May 29: Philoptochos End of Year Event
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church April 2016
5
Outreach & Evangelism Diane Kastran McGowan
YOUR PASCHA JOURNEY
As reported by co-chairs, Nick & Kristi Dodge, “As
many of you know our ministry hosted a luncheon on
February 28, 2016. The goal was to encourage our
parishioners to reach out to friends and family and
invite them to re-engage with the church. Giorgios
Restaurant prepared and delivered a delicious meal,
which was served to approximately 100 guests by our
GOYANs. Deacon Tom Fernandez delivered a rivet-
ing lecture on the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
The O & E Ministry would like to thank everyone
who helped with the planning, and execution of the
luncheon.”
A FEW WORDS ABOUT OUTREACH. AS GOOD
ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS, OUTREACH IN THE
FORM OF LOVING AND CARING FOR ONE AN-
OTHER, REACHING OUT WHEN PEOPLE HAVE
GONE ASTRAY, ENCOURAGING, BEING
HOSPITABLE, OFFERING A HELPING HAND----
ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE WHAT WE
SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON WHEN WE COME
TO CHURCH AND ALWAYS, ACCORDING TO
OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. THIS SHOULD BE
PART OF OUR MINDSET NOT ONLY DURING
THIS BEAUTIFUL PASCHAL SEASON, BUT
ALL YEAR THROUGH !
A very special PASCHA season and holiday to all.
Καλη Αναστασι
Greek School Anestis Logothetis
The Greek Independence Day will be held in the Hel-
lenic Center after the Divine Liturgy on Sunday,
April 3. The guest speaker will be Dr. Michael Rallis.
The festivities will include poems, dances and songs
by our youngsters.
There will be a Lenten Luncheon sponsored by the
Hellenic School and prepared by Chris's Restaurant
as a fund raiser for the school. A donation of $10 per
person for the luncheon will be greatly appreciated.
The Greek School depends on your generosity since
it is tuition free. Please, come and support us in the
celebration of this special event.
On February 13 the Greek School and AHEPA spon-
sored the St. Valentine Dinner Dance. There was
tasty food, wonderful music for dancing and a lot of
good fellowship and fun. The Raffle had lots of nice
prizes, Greek foods, wines, brandy, dinner certificates
and an Apple Watch as the grand prize. The people
who came had a very good time and supported the
Greek School and the AHEPA charities. The folks
who did not make the dance missed a fun event. See
you in the next year St. Valentine Dance.
Treasurer’s Report Tina Bostic
LOVE Angelique Skandalakis and Kay Skandalakis
Hello LOVE families! We hope you all are enjoying
the sunshine and warm weather. We did not meet in
March but we are planning a Mom’s Night Out event
for our April get together. More information will be
sent via e-mail and our LOVE Facebook group. I
hope to see your lovely selves in April!
HOPE/JOY Joyce Patsalos, Sophia Brewer, Jaime Saffo,
Renée Karonis Psilos & Connie Ronner
For everyone that was able to make our last Camp-
Out themed event that was hosted by Sophia and
Nevin Brewer, we were happy that you were able to
make it! A great time was had by all!! Our next event
is scheduled for April 23. We will be having a youth
breakfast and Palm Cross making at the church.
Please mark your calendars! This is a annual event
that everyone really enjoys and is a great time for fel-
lowship! Also, April 29 is our Good Friday youth
retreat! This is also a another annual event that
shouldn't be missed. We look forward to hopefully
seeing you all at these next two events! For any
questions about these or future events, please feel free
Stewardship
Stewardship
Received
Stewardship
Goal Variance
January $45,594.06 $21,847.36 $23,746.70
February $11,761.00 $21,847.36 -$10,086.36
Year to
Date $57,355.06 $43,694.72 $13,660.34
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church April 2016
6
to contact one of our advisors.
In Christ's Service,
Joyce Patsalos, Jamie Saffo, Sophia Brewer, Connie
Ronner, and Renée Psilos
Romiosini and Zoyra
We will have our Greek Independence Day celebra-
tion on April 3rd. Our dancers will perform for us
their award winning dances. Please join us as we cele-
brate our church holiday as well as our Greek national
holiday.
At our Greek Independence Day Celebration, we will
also recognize and celebrate our dancers and directors
who participated in the Hellenic Dance Festival in Or-
lando. A big 'Thank you' goes out to Nota Dukas for
her award winning costumes AXOIA. Also a big
"Thank you" to Zaharoula Katsikis, Lucas Bostic and
Katerina Katsikis for spending all their free time
teaching our youth to dance and to enjoy and appreci-
ate Greek Dancing - AXOIOI.
Finally, preparations have begun for those interested
in dancing for our Greek Festival on May 13, 14, and
15. Please see one of our dance directors if interested.
Philoptochos Enosis Chapter #5027
Tia Saffo
We have already started to prepare for Great and Holy
Pascha. Please see Page 8 for the order form for your
Easter Flower offerings. It is a great help if you are
able to place your order early!
Please join us on April 24th for our Palm Sunday
luncheon, immediately following the Divine Liturgy.
Tickets are available on Sundays during the coffee
hour - see a Philoptochos member. This will be our
last fundraising event for the spring, so please come
join us and support this lovely luncheon with your
family. Chris's Restaurant will be preparing the meal.
Our board only will be meeting in April, and the next
General Meeting will be our Year -end Social in May.
The date and time will be announced shortly. We
hope everyone will attend. We will be finalizing 2016
memberships April and May. On April 1st we will
post a list of the 2016 members on our bulletin board,
so make sure your name is on it! We will be welcom-
ing all 2016 members with a token Christmas Orna-
ment. Just ask a board member for details.
Thank you to all the ladies who have been working so
hard to make this year a great year. It is never too late
to join, so sign up this Sunday, all are welcome.
Please support our Greek School on Sunday April 3rd,
as they celebrate Greek Independence Day!
Community News
GREEK FESTIVAL
Our Greek Festival will be May 13th-15th. For a suc-
cessful event we need all hands on deck in every ca-
pacity.
For sponsorship opportunities, please consider pur-
chasing an ad to send your greeting to our Wilmington
Community. You get lots of free meal, admission and
pastry box tickets at every level, to share with family
and friends. See our flyer on our website AND page
10 of this Newsletter.
Additionally, we use food distributors to order food
and paper products, however if you would like to do-
nate a certain item such as tomatoes, onions, lettuce,
lamb, beans, dolmathes, rice, potatoes, bread, napkins,
silverware, etc. please let us know so we can order
these items directly from the distributors. For any
food or monetary donation, please contact the office at
910-392-4444.
DONATION REQUESTS
TIME, TALENT, OR TREASURE
We are looking for a handyman (or woman) to volun-
teer to help with minor repairs around the church.
We are accepting donations as we continue to improve
our Hellenic Center. Any donations would be greatly
appreciated. Items needed include new banquet
chairs.
Please donate all weekly coupons from newspapers & ads
to the Hellenic Center. These coupons will be used to help
our parishioners save money on products. For more infor-
mation, please see Benjalee Pittman.
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church April 2016
7
We are looking for volunteers to host coffee hour. If you
are interested in hosting coffee hour please contact Angel-
ique Skandalakis in the Office. For the weeks when we do
not have a volunteer we will still have coffee and juice.
FOR SALE
We have Greek wine for sale! If you would like to purchase
a bottle, please see a Parish Council member.
CONGRATULATIONS
For all the people celebrating their birthday, anniversary,
and name day in the month of April, may you have many
happy years! Many Happy Years!
On March 6 we held a 40-day blessing for Kostandeano
“Dean” David, the son of Jack and Danielle Poulos.
PLEASE REMEMBER
Please pray for those who are ill, recovering, and/or home-
bound: Presbytera Barbara, Bobby Bobon (brother of Sue
Lawler), Stavros Chantiles, Sophia Copes, Sherry Demas,
Theodore James Demas, Katherine Demetriou (sister of
Angelo), Nicholas Devoles, Constantine Dukas, Larry
Flowers, Sue Fokakis (Silver Stream), George Fokakis
(Pacifica Nursing Home), Demitra George, Nick Karlout-
sos (Silver Stream), Angelo Katris, Dan Kirkby (brother of
Matthew), Labra Koklanaris (Trinity), Nikoloas Kotsinis,
Rev. Fr. Manousos Emmanuel Lionikis, Olga Mancuso,
John Petrolias, Koula K. Poulos, Claire Skarpentzos, Pat
Skinner-Darby, Charity Skinner-Darby (daughter of Pat),
John & Olympia Stamboulos, and Andy Tsingelis.
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church April 2016
8
Marriage Retreat for Married Couples
Saturday June 18, 2016, NOON-5pm
Transfiguration of Our Savior Greek Orthodox Church,
Florence, South Carolina
Contact St. Nicholas Church Office for cost and registration information
For a complete and up-to-date version of our Parish Calendar, please visit us online at:
http://www.stnicholaswilmington.org/ParishCalendar.html