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The MESSENGER

Saint Luke Greek Orthodox Church

Volume I, Issue 12 January 2017

As You were baptized in the Jordan, O Lord, then the worship of the Trinity became

manifest, for the voice of the Father bore witness to You, naming You the Beloved

Son; and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the certainty of the word. O Christ God, who appeared and illumined the world,

glory to You – Hymn of Epiphany

January 6 is always one of the most favorite times of the year for me. On Epiphany, we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord, as we also proclaim the renewal of the Creation. Christ steps into the waters; His holy feet touch that over which the Holy Spirit moved in Genesis – “and the Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters. And God said, . .” (1.1-2).

So much of the Scriptures alert us to the wonders and the beauty of the Creation. We learn from the Scriptures that the Creation is itself a teacher. In Psalms 19, we read:

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims His handiwork (v.1)

When the Lord wanted to explain something about the Kingdom of Heaven, He spoke in parables. But these parables also made reference to the Creation:

“The kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches” (Luke 13.19).

When the Lord wanted to teach us not to worry, and to be at ease with our anxieties, what did He do? He called on us to open our eyes and look at the Creation:

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Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear. For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”(Matthew 6. 25-33).

There is also the story of the venerable former Abbot of Simonopetra, Elder Aimilianos, who saw the heavens illuminated at night, and all Creation glorifying God in unison -- praying together!

In Paradise, what we consider to be the natural flow and rhythm of time ends, as there is no night there according to how we understand the day’s progression.

In the coming year, is it not a wonderful opportunity for us to draw closer to God as we come to behold His Creation, in all seasons? Consider this thought for the few months ahead:

In the winter, let the snow draw you to the purity of Christ. Let the cold remind you to hurry to pray.

In the spring, allow the newness of the flowers to draw your thoughts to the unending delights of Paradise, and to the Tree of Life, whose leaves are “for the healing of the nations” (Rev. 22.2).

Pascha also approaches and finds its fulfillment in the spring for us.

And all this comes to life for us with Epiphany, which inaugurates every year a new focus for us on the renewal of the Creation. The Holy Water we receive will never spoil. Creation returns itself to God and is offered in prayer!

May this coming Epiphany be an opportunity for all of us to draw near to the Throne of Grace through more fervent prayer and gratitude.

Happy New Year!

With love in Christ, + Fr. Panteleimon Klostri

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Saint Luke Greek Orthodox Church 400 Prospect Street

East Longmeadow, MA 01028 (413) 525-4551

(413) 525-4552 (fax) www.stlukego.org

Fr. Panteleimon Klostri - Proistamenos frpklostri@gmail.com

Church Office saintlukego@gmail.com

The Messenger is a publication of the Saint Luke Greek Orthodox Church of East Longmeadow, MA located at 400 Prospect Street East Longmeadow, MA 01028. For mailing use PO Box 381.

To contact the Church Office: 413-525-4551; 413-525-4552 (fax) and stlukego@aol.com. To contact the Pastor call 978-587-6488 or email at frpklostri@gmail.com. All rights reserved.

Pastor- Fr. Panteleimon Klostri

2017 Parish Council Nick Vamvilis Judy Lelas-George Anthony Antonopoulos Christos Nikolis Bea Syner Assaad Hallak Dorsey Cokkinias Parris Ochsner Joe Dasco Bill Sakel Harry Georgiades

Philoptochos President - Maria Londo Vice President - Melissa Kaitis Treasurer - Vaceleci Zaharis Secretary - Rosanne Desautels Corresponding Secretary - Evangelia Tsikrikis Past President/Advisor - Dorsey Cokkinias

Ministries Chanters -Elias Zovas and Aristidis Zaharis

Choir Director - Cindy Rodolakis Organist- Can Gao

Endowment Fund Chair - John Piponidis GOYA Advisor - Kathy Kalaitzidis

JOY Advisor - Sarah Kirchner

Memorials - Maria Laware

Messenger -Editor - Maria Londo

Stewardship Chairs - Joe and Meghan Dasco

Sunday School Director - Priscilla Johnson Assistant Director - Leia Georgeopolus

Outreach Committee - Harry Georgiades

O Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke, intercede with our Merciful God, that He

may grant our souls remission of sins — Apolytikion of Saint Luke

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Dear Fellow Parishioners, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

It has been an honor and privilege to serve as the President of the Parish Council for the last year. With God’s help we had a great and prosperous year. We the Parish Council look forward to serving God and you the parishioners in the upcoming year. I would like to thank George Katsoulis and Greg Laware for their service over the last two years. I would also like to welcome Joe back to the council and newly elected Paris and Dorsey. We look forward to working with them in the upcoming year. The council is always open to suggestions from the parish, so don’t hesitate to pull one of us aside and share your ideas. We have been blessed with a large donation to the Endowment Fund which is growing as we speak. We plan on using the investments to fund our ministries in the future. With God’s help, we will grow and prosper here at Saint Luke for years to come.

Yours in Christ, Nick Vamvilis

PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS

NEWS FROM THE PARISH COUNCIL

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and New Year. I would like to take this time to wish everyone a prosperous 2017. We were able to put together 25 Christmas baskets to help those in our community who are in need. Thank you again to all the ladies who baked breads for these baskets. It is greatly appreciated!

A big thank you goes out to Nicole Cantarini and everyone that was able to support her for coordinating the Vasilopita Workshop on Saturday, December 3. It was a great success! Please join us for Vasilopita Sunday on January 8 following Divine Liturgy. We would like to thank Dorsey Cokkinias and Parris Oschner for chairing the Lighthouse project. They collected 82 gift cards. A big thank you also goes out to everyone who supported the Christmas card and Poinsettia campaign. This year, we had 3 great artists for the Christmas card. It was a very hard decision to make, but we thank Teddy Klostri, Carter Schermerhorn, and Noah Schermerhorn for a job well done. You are 3 great artists!

Please save the date on Sunday, January 22. We will be having an upcoming author, Lukas Konandreas, visit for a book signing. Hear firsthand the fascinating story of a woman who was involved in a tragic marriage, and the efforts of her family to find justice for her.

We will also be having our annual Membership Drive for Philoptochos on Sunday, February 5. We had a wonderful turnout last year and look forward to another great year.

Last but not least, we welcome anyone to join Philoptochos. We are always looking for new faces and help, so please come join us with new ideas.

Maria Londo Philoptochos President

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GOYA News and Notes

We hope everyone is staying warm! On December 10th we enjoyed helping out at the Breakfast with Santa. Much thanks to all who offered their time, talent, and treasure at the wonderful event. Our last meeting was December 4th in which we planned an outing to Bosquet to go Tubing, which happened December 30th. Our next meeting will be January 15th. We have much gratitude to all parishioners for supporting GOYA as we continue to pursue our ministry.

Philippos DimitroglouGOYA President

GOYAn’s Enjoying Breakfast with Santa

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Stewardship Message 2017

Dear Fellow Parishioners:

As we say goodbye to 2016 and welcome in a New Year, let us be reminded that the word “Epiphany” comes from the Greek meaning “showing forth,” because the child Jesus was shown forth to the Magi. This is true, but the Epiphany has a stewardship message for us as well. It is a time to make resolutions, promises that we all strive to keep throughout the year. This year, let us make a promise and commitment to becoming better stewards of our beloved St. Luke.

Our Stewardship lamp-lighting ceremony will take place on Vasilopita Sunday, January 8, which is also the liturgical observation of Epiphany. On this date, we will ceremoniously take an oath of stewardship by filling a lamp with oil. As the lamp fills, so does our commitment to be good stewards to our Church. At this time, you may deposit your pledge card into the box provided, or we “Thank You” if you’ve already mailed it back to Church.

Please pay special attention to the Time and Talent card within your Stewardship packet this year. Here we ask that you indicate which in-parish and outreach ministries you would like to participate in. We also ask that you tell us something about yourself and your special talent. Maybe you’re an artist, a musician, a teacher or have an interest in technology or finance. Let us know! The Stewardship committee is dedicated to sharing your interests and talents with the ministry chair-people that could benefit from your offering.

May God Bless our Many Gifts,Sincerely,

Joe and Meghan DascoCo-chairs Stewardship Committee

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The Endowment FundThe following donations recently were made:

The Endowment Committee extends sincere appreciation to those who remembered and honored loved ones and friends through their donations to this Fund during 2017.

~ In Memory of my brother, Bill George ~ Kathryn O'Connor

May peace and happiness be with us all this Christmas and throughout the upcoming year.

The Endowment Committee extends sincere appreciation to all donors for continued support of this Ministry.

John Piponidis, Chair David Arthur, Jordan Chatis, Kathleen Kalaitzidis and Susan Metzidakis

The Endowment Fund

I would like to wish all our parishioners a Happy New Year on behalf of myself and the Endowment Fund Committee (David Arthur, Jordan Chatis, Kathy Kalaitzidis, and Sue Metzidakis). We hope that this will be a healthy and prosperous year for all.

Our Endowment Fund is doing well. After a few bumps in the road following our initial investment in October 2016, the Endowment Fund has seen a return of about 1.5% as of the beginning of December 2016. We are hopeful that by the end of 2016, we will realize an even greater return.

As of the end of October 2016, the Endowment Fund received $1,530.00 in donations and contributions. These donations and contributions will be added to the principal of the Fund.

Once we receive our December 2016 statement, we will determine what amount we will have available to distribute to our ministries. The Parish Council will be approving this month the application for our ministries to submit to request funds for their projects. Once the application is approved, you may contact our church administrative assistant, Helen Adamo, for a copy.

Thank you and God Bless you,

John Piponidis

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ImportantDates

Happy New Year - 2017!!! January 1st

Vasilopita Sunday and Affirmation of Parish Council and Philoptochos Board - January 8

GOYA meeting January 15

Philoptochos Author Visit All are welcome - January 22

Our Sweet Hat and

Mitten Tree

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Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Luke

Meatfare Sunday Famous Lamb Shank Dinner

on February 19th at 12pm

Reservations ONLY DEADLINE is Sunday, February 12th

Famous Lamb Shank $20

Dinner includes: Salad

Potatoes Green Beans

Dessert Coffee Wine

Spaghetti Dinner Adults $10 Children $6

Dinner includes: Spaghetti

Salad Meatballs Dessert Coffee Wine

Tickets will be on sale after Liturgy or call Judy Lelas George at 525-4640

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A NEW MINISTRY  -  EPISTLE READING

Dear St. Luke Parishioners,

Please allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Barbara Savas.  Perhaps you may recognize my face but not my name. I have been a member of St. Luke for four years.

Father Panteleimon has asked me to head one of the lesser known ministries here at St. Luke  - epistle reading.  I would like to offer this honor to everyone at St.Luke.

I will provide a copy of the epistle weeks in advance so that you may familiarize yourself with the reading.  In addition, this offers you the opportunity to reflect upon the meaning of the passage as it affects you and your Christian life.

On the bulletin board in the office, I have provided the dates of the Sundays in 2017 so that you may consider when you are available to read.  Please feel free to sign up for as many Sundays as you would like to read.  I will assume that you will read in English.  If you are able to read liturgical Greek and would like to do so, please be so kind as to note that next to your name.

I thank you in advance for your generosity in sharing this ministry with me and look forward to working with you.

Barbara

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Breakfastwith Santa

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N a t i v i t y Pageant

2016

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MEMORIALS

In memory of Ervin HenaultBill SakelCharles Bonatakis,Sr.Kathy RodolakisThana LeventislEstelle and Nick BazosJoanne BuckowskiYvonne Pappas

In memory Charles M ParakilasChristopher Parakilas and family

In memory of Rosalie PolaskiJoanne Buckowski

In memory of Tina SakelThana LeventisKathy RodolakisJoanne BuckowskiYvonne. PapppasEstelle and Nick Brazos 

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Funerals George Megas, passed on December 8th and service was on December 14th May his Memory be Eternal!

Nicholas Cantarini

May the Lord always keep him close.

Congratulations/ Na Zeesi!

40 Day Blessings

Vasilopita Workshop

Thank you to all who participated and to

Nicole for coordinating it.

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Saint Luke Greek Orthodox Church 400 Prospect Street, P.O. Box 381 East Longmeadow, MA 01028

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