ST. PAUL GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 4548 Wallings Road • North Royalton, Ohio 44133-3121

(440) 237-8998 · (440) 237-4386 fax

E-mail address: messenger@stpaulgoc.org

www.stpaulgoc.org A Parish under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America,

and the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh

THE MESSENGER A Monthly Publication of St. Paul Greek Orthodox Church OCTOBER 2016

INSIDE

CLERGY REFLECTIONS

MINISTRIES OF THE CHURCH

MONTHLY CALENDAR

PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES

STEWARDSHIP NEWS

UPCOMING EVENTS

YOUTH NEWS

October 22nd & 23rd 2016

Be a part of this great milestone in the life of our parish. Come and celebrate with us! For those who have not made arrange-ments to be at the Grand Banquet, plan to be in church on Sunday morning. His Eminence, Metropolitan SAVAS, will lead the celebration of the Divine Liturgy and he will be assisted by Fr. Demetrios Sime-onidis, Fr. William Bartz, and Fr. Costas. A complimentary brunch will follow in our Hellenic Center for all in attendance. Please call the church office and RSVP for the brunch so we know ahead of time how many to expect.

PAGE 2 THE MESSENGER

St. Paul Greek Orthodox Church ~ North Royalton OH

The following ministries are the lifeblood of our parish and perform many activities to promote the growth of our church. Your participation in these organizations makes our community more spiritually complete.

Philoptochos Stephanie Ocker Coffee Socials Pam Sitter Festival Michael Lignos John Trihas Messenger Editor Elaine Nackowiz Welcome Committee Helen Dadas Choir Director Vaso Boukis Cantor Nicholas Bodle Organist Bookstore Jim & Karen Sullivan

ST. PAUL FAMILY MINISTRY COMMISSION Chairman Little Angels Kristine Tartara HOPE / JOY George Athanasiou GOYA Coordinator George Athanasiou OCF / College Ministry Maribeth Lekas Altar Boys George Athanasiou Religious Education Presv. Nicole Keares Bible Study Frank Chirakos Father Costas Keares Women’s Study Group Elaine Poulos VCS Amber Rahas Annoula Tsonton Greek School Kathy Glaros Greek Corner Maria Karlatiras PTO Tammy Parianos Senior Fellowship Maria Regan Hellenic Dance Director Eleni Johnson

Deadline for all articles and Organization Minutes is the 1st of the month. Please keep this in mind! Items can be e-mailed to messenger@stpaulgoc.org.

Like our PAGE to keep up to date

on the happenings of our parish. Even if you are not on Facebook, you can view our postings on the Home page of our website.

CLERGY

Priest Rev. Fr. Costas P. Keares, Proistamenos

Pastoral Assistant / Youth Director George Athanasiou

ECCLESIARCH Bruce W. Trakas

PARISH COUNCIL President John Trihas Vice President Michael Lignos Secretary Rhonee Trakas-Iula Financial Secretary Dennis Diamond Treasurer George Anagnostou

Anthone Colovas Stephanie Ocker Alex Dadas Nicolas Parianos Arthur S. Karas Irene Pontikos Jason Kouvaras William Regan Thalia Marakas Dr. Michael Saridakis

OFFICE SECRETARY/BOOKKEEPER Elaine Nackowiz CUSTODIAN LEGAL ADVISOR Ken Boukis NEOKOROS

STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS Bylaws John Trihas Catering / Leasing John Trihas/Arthur Karas Family Ministry Thalia Marakas Finance Michael Lignos Home Michael Lignos Human Resources Alex Dadas

Membership S. Ocker / J. Kouvaras Public Relations Father Costas Keares Stewardship Dennis Diamond Ways & Means Irene Pontikos Real Estate Management Arthur S. Karas

SPECIAL COMMITTEE: Vision Dr. Michael Saridakis John Trihas 50th Anniversary Co-Chair Kathryn Tripodis

Telephone: (440) 237-8998 Fax: (440) 237-4386 Catering: (440) 582-1083 Website: www.stpaulgoc.org Office E-Mail: messenger@stpaulgoc.org Fr. Costas E-Mail: frcostas@stpaulgoc.org Fr. Costas Cell: (440) 669-1316 Fr. Michael E-mail: mgavrilos@stpaulgoc.org Fr. Michael Cell: (412) 737-1376

OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 3

Pastoral Reflections by Father Costas

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Christ is in our midst! He is and always shall be! As we usher in the month of October, it be-comes very apparent that summer is over. We enter into the Fall Season when all of God’s creation around us will once again don a new and glorious apparel. Change is inevitable as one season goes and another one comes. From a personal point of view, we too go through in-evitable seasons in our lives and change must be made. Indeed, life is a constant movement, it is never static. It does not stand still. What about our spiritual life? Do we experience this constant change? Do we move from year to year to a deeper understanding and experience of God’s love in our lives? Do these changes bring a realization of God’s abundant love for us which makes us want to be like Him – HOLY? Or are we still going through the motions of what we learned as children? These and so many other questions come to mind as I pon-der on this mandate from God, “You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy”. (Leviticus 19:2) The basis and the model of our holiness is God’s holiness. When we say, “God is Holy,” (Psalm 98:9), we are not so much defining God as we are describing His char-acter. Holiness is His very being; it is not just an as-pect or an attribute of God. This is exactly what the fathers of the church teach us, that what God is by na-ture, we are called to be by grace, holy. We do realize that this is a life-long journey. As we continue to grow in knowledge of our faith, and as we put into practice all that we’ve learned, then we are traveling on this path of holiness. Here are a few suggestions to help along:

1) Set a few minutes each day to pray, read the Bi-ble or other sacred writings, reflect of your daily journey through life.

2) Make Sunday mornings a time to come to church with your family and to worship God. Let this be your gift of time back to God for all the blessings He is bestowing upon you.

3) Make sure that your child is attending our Sun-day School and Youth Programs. Connect them to Christ, to our parish family, today, so that they may be connected to Him in the years to come.

4) Receive Holy Communion often. Prepare by fasting each Wednesday and Friday, and ask for forgives from God, and any individuals that you have offended. Come to the sacrament of confes-sion as needed. Having done all these prepara-tions, we then come forth with peace and much humility in our heart, to receive the Holy Gifts not out of habit, as we did when we were chil-dren, but rather with the conviction that we are receiving CHRIST himself who will give us strength to overcome any obstacle and to contin-ue on our path of salvation.

5) Make the commitment to continue learning and growing in your understanding of the Orthodox faith by attending one of the following classes:

a) Bible Study on Thursday evenings b) Women’s Study group on Tuesday morn-

ings c) Adult Catechism Class on Sundays fol-

lowing Holy Communion d) Coffee and Conversation group for all

parents of newborn to 6th graders on Sundays following Holy Communion

I offer the above suggestions as tools, as small steps, that we can take to continue to grow in our faith in Christ and in our journey to holiness. Always keep in mind that it is the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, not our strength alone that makes this possible. We become holy when we dedicate ourselves to God and allow His Holy Spirit to fill us.

During this month we also look forward to celebrating the 50th Anniversary of our Parish Family. The Grand Banquet, on Saturday October 22nd in our Hellenic Center, is promising to be a beautiful gathering with over 450 indi-viduals in attendance. The cel-

ebration will culminate the next morning, on Sunday October 23rd, with the celebration of the Divine Litur-gy, led our beloved Metropolitan, His Eminence, Met-ropolitan SAVAS of Pittsburgh, and assisted by Fr. Demetrios Simeonidis, Fr. Bill Bartz, and myself. Please plan to be in church for this inspiring Liturgy. May God continue to bless our personal journey, and that of our beloved parish family of St. Paul. I look forward to seeing all of you really soon!

PAGE 4 THE MESSENGER

Our Parish Her Life & People

Weddings

September 3rd Stephanie Steffas and Alex Kemna Koumbara ~ Leia Steffas September 4th Rita Palkovic and Anthony Sabino Koumbara ~ Marie Palkovic

Funerals May His Memory Be Eternal

September 14th John Tzatzaris

New Arrivals September 8th Congratulations to Kyle and Maria (Giannakis) Whitacre on welcoming their son, Leonidas Aris, weighing 7 lbs. 7 oz and 19 inches long. He joins his big sisters, Ellia and Victoria.

Congratulations We congratulate Stephanie Ocker, our current Ladies Philoptochos President, on being appointed to the National Philoptochos Board!

Stewardship Commitment Form

Many thanks to those who are using your stewardship envelopes each Sunday. Please note the special enve-lopes inserted in your September / October set:

* Benevolent ~ confidentially assist those in need * OCMC ~ assist a mission priest

Have you submitted your 2016 Fairshare Estimate of Giving card? Simply complete the form below or go to our website. I / We commit $ to my/our 2016 pledge Over the summer months, have you fallen behind on your stewardship? Please take a moment to submit your donation today by using the form below or go to our website. Please apply the enclosed $ t o m y 2016 stewardship Name

Address

Email Phone

Did you forget your envelope at home? Envelopes are available at the candle stand for your convenience

Do you forget to write your check weekly? There are more convenient ways to pay your stewardship: * Directly through our website (see page 16 of this issue of The Messenger for a step-by- step guide) * Directly through your bank’s online bill pay services—you can set it up to make a one time, weekly, or monthly payment * See your banking branch representative to set up an automatic payment As always, feel free to give the office a call at 440.237.8998 with any questions or concerns. We’ll be happy to assist you!

We would be happy to announce a special occasion in this column. All you need to do is notify the office at 440.237.8998 or messenger@stpaulgoc.org.

Students painted pictures to be donated to Habitat for Humanity at the Youth family Picnic

OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 5

Youth News

HOPE / JOY / GOYA ~ GOYAns will be selling gyro sandwiches during the blood drive on Sunday, October 2nd from 11:30 AM—2:30 PM. Anyone donating blood will receive $1.00 off their sandwich purchase. ~ The next GOYA meeting will be held following Sunday School on October 9th. ~ GOYA Bonfire at the Sweet’s home on Saturday, October 29th at 6:00 PM. ~ HOPE/JOY will prepare care packages for our community shut-ins bake cookies to be taken to the local Fire and Police stations as a thank you for their service to our community on Sunday, October

30th following Sunday School.

A NEW group for parents with children who are

newborns - 6th grade. Join us in the hall on Sundays after you drop your children off at Sunday School for Coffee and Conver-sation about the Faith. This is a discussion based group for parents to get to know each other and talk about how the Gospel/Epistle readings and sermon for the day can help us put the faith into action. Do you also have questions about Orthodoxy? Bring your questions and we can discuss them! We will be using the book, “Growing Faithful Families” by Rebecca Myerly as a guide for our discussions. You do not need a copy of the book. The first meeting will be held on Sunday, October 9. Please email Kristi & Jonathan Tartara if you have any q u e s t i o n s : k _ t a r t a r a @ y a h o o . c o m o r j_tartara@yahoo.com.

PAGE 6 THE MESSENGER

Greek School News ~ Kathy Glaros

Welcome back to another challenging year! We began our school year with much energy and new ideas. Our first day of school was Monday September 19th with Ayiasmos blessing of our children, teachers and the classrooms for a healthy and productive school year. Every student went home with the 2016-2017 Handbook with all the policies, procedures and expec-tations. Please check our website for the current school year calendar. Greek School will be a pleasant and successful academ-ic experience for our students, with the teaching staff providing the academics, the PTO providing the extra curricula activities and the parents reinforcing every-thing at home. With ongoing support from our parents, we are sure to provide a successful year for all. Many thanks to our Parishioners who visited our table at the Parish Fair on Sunday September 11th and viewed our curriculum, our text books and got infor-mation about our program. I hope they realize the im-portance of the Greek Language and give the oppor-tunity to their children to come to Greek School. I would like to thank Fr. Costas P. Keares and our new Pastoral Assistant George Athanasiou for their beauti-ful service of Ayiasmos and their spiritual support for our School. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions at 216.524.1766 or email me at kathygla-ros@gmail.com I pray that this academic year is blessed and produc-tive one!

Sunday School News ~ Presvytera Nicole Keares

We've had a strong beginning in Sunday School this year with over 100 children in attendance! We are so happy to see so many families attending regularly. Keep it up and continue to make it a priority in your family! Our largest classes in number are the 1st/2nd and 3rd/4th grade classes with 20-25 children in each class! If any parent with children in those classes would be willing to assist the teacher, even once a month, it would be appreciated! Please approach those teachers and let them know. October's theme is "blessed are those that mourn, for

they shall be comforted." Classes will spend some time this month learning about that beatitude and how it can apply to them. October 2nd is Youth Sunday. Our children will serve as greeters, helping at the candle stand, ushering, tray collection, epistle reader, and leading Communion prayers. Please encourage them as they are always proud to offer this service to the church. That day also, Sunday School is hosting the coffee social. Parents, please make sure to bring something to share with the church family. During the Anniversary weekend, we will hold class for those from 3 years old through 6th grade. All GOYAns will remain in church with their families. We encourage you and your family to be a part of this special and memorable weekend. Thank you all for your participation so far this year. It takes all of us, directors, teachers, parents, and stu-dents to make our Sunday School ministry a success. If you have not registered your child(ren), please see me, Vera, or Eva on Sunday and we will give you the form. See you Sunday!

Greek School stu-dents and teachers were blessed during the Ayiasmos service offered on the first day classes.

OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 7

Choir News

Vaso Boukis Choir Director

Our first Sunday back was September 11th. On that day we had our Parish Fair where our “Choir table” was open for visitation, questions and sign-ups. Many peo-ple stopped by and showed an interest in joining the choir. If you missed us and still have questions, please contact our Choir Director, Vass Boukis. If you like to sing, it is never too late to begin your choir career. On October 22nd , our choir will have the honor of lead-ing all those in attendance at our 50th Anniversary Ban-quet in both the American and Greek National An-thems. On October 23rd we will be singing the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with His Eminence Metropolitan SA-VAS of Pittsburgh officiating. We have invited former choir members to join us for this historical Liturgy. Any former members who have not received an invita-tion are asked to please call Vaso Boukis as 440.526.4968.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

CHOIR ORGANIST NEEDED!!! If you can play a church organ or know of anyone who can please call our church office at 440.237.8998 and give your information to our parish Secretary.

St. Paul Hellenic Dancers Eleni Johnson

Hellenic Dance Director

With the new ecclesiastical calendar, we mark the be-ginning of another year of dance! The dance program is such that it is not just preparing kids to dance under the tent in July, it is a ministry of the church, to allow our kids to connect with their culture and heritage as well as to grow together with their peers. It is so won-derful to watch the dancers get to know each other the first few years of dance, and then cultivating their friendships throughout their high school years. It is evident that this program helps with strengthening ties and brings our youth closer to our St. Paul Church community. At the parish fair the instructors and I were lucky to meet several new dancers that will be participating this year. There are once again, new dancers coming in at every level and we couldn’t be happier. The instructors and I want to welcome all of our new dancers and dance families, as well as welcoming back all the danc-ers who participated last year. If you have any ques-tions or would like to help out in the various aspects of the program feel free to contact me or any of the in-structors. For dancers that are new to the program, reg-istration forms can be found on the church website or you can fill one out at practice. It is not too late to join! New this year, we are asking that only new dancers fill our registration forms; returning families are asked to meet with their instructors in the next few weeks to verify that all registration information is correct and that nothing has changed. Registration and payment deadline is October 31, 2016. If your dancer is 4 years old by September 30, 2016 we welcome them to join the dance program this year!! The entire practice schedule can also be found on the church website. Instructors do take attendance and we ask that your dancer be at as many practices as possi-ble. Once your dancer gets into the Junior and Senior levels their attendance is extremely important because of the instruction given each week. If a dancer misses a practice they miss a lot and it may be weeks before that material is worked on again. Please make every effort to be at practice. Please contact your instructor if your dancer is going to be missing a practice. Our next practices are: Sunday, October 16 Sunday, October 30

This year’s Metropolis Folk Dance Festival is being held at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Camp Hill, PA, Sat-urday, November 12 – Sunday, November 13. Many of our dancers attend year after year and the skills they learn at these events are vital to our program. The instructors will be discussing this more with the dancers as we move forward. All information can be found on the St. Paul website. Dancers need to be at least 7 years old to participate. We look forward to another wonderful Folk Dance Festival! Wishing you all a wonderful Fall season!

PAGE 8 THE MESSENGER

St Paul Ladies Philoptochos North Royalton OH

October Meeting

Tuesday October 11, 2016

6:30 PM

St Paul Teen Room

Join us and bring a friend We will welcome a Garden Expert from Lowe’s Strongsville. They will discuss how to prepare our yard for Fall, what to do with our bulbs, and be available to answer all our lawn care questions.

Fall is here and with it comes many beautiful bless-ing….the crisp air, the colorful leaves and the time to spend with family and friends.

Greek Baking Class

Monday, November 7, 2016

5:30 PM

St. Paul Hellenic Center Kitchen

Take home at least 2 dozen Finikia to be enjoyed for the holidays!

Space is limited

Reservation is required

Reservations can be made through the church website, complete the form below, or sign up at the

Philoptochos table during the coffee socials

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Please tear off this registration form and return it

with your $10.00 payment to

St. Paul PHILOPTOCHOS 4548 Wallings Road

North Royalton OH 44133-3121

Greek Baking Class Monday, November 7, 2016 – 5:30 PM

St. Paul Hellenic Center Kitchen

Supply fee of $10.00 to cover ingredients

Name: ________________________________________

Phone Number: _______________________________

Email Address: __________ ___________________

Cash ______________ Check #_____________

Deadline for registration Sunday October 30, 2016

OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 9

AFGHAN PROJECT: WORKSHOP OCTOBER 13TH! Our Ladies Philoptochos continues our wonderful tra-dition of presenting every newborn in our community with a handmade af-ghan at their 40-Day Blessing. Each afghan donated has a tag that indi-cates that it was hand-made by Philoptochos and a card with the do-nor’s name as well as the children’s book “What Do You See at Liturgy” enclosed as a memento of this spe-cial occasion. If you would like to create baby af-ghans they should be approximately 30 x 36 inches knitted or crocheted in washable yarn. We wish to extend our thanks to Maria Lovejoy for the two beau-tiful knitted afghans. To date we have received 164 baby afghans for this project!

Our Ladies Philoptochos also continues to create af-ghans for our home-bound parishioners. These lap afghans are given to our home-bound parishioners who welcome a visit from our Philoptochos ladies. If you know of anyone who would enjoy such a visit, please let us know. Each lap afghan should be approx-imately 40 x 48 inches knitted or crocheted in washa-ble yarn. To date we have received 75 afghans for this special project!

Monetary donations are also accepted in lieu of hand-made afghans to offset the costs of this project. The next Afghan Workshop is scheduled for Thursday, October 13th from 10:00 - 11:30 AM in the St. Paul Teen Room. Come join us as we create afghans for our pa-rishioners. Basic knit and crochet instruction is pro-vided as well as supplies and patterns free of charge. Please contact Maria Lovejoy 330.220.3213 or Maribeth Lekas 216.408.6070 if you are interested in attending the workshop or assisting with our Afghan Ministry.

OCF—ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP— FRESHMEN ADDRESSES NEEDED OCF is the National Campus Ministry Program for Orthodox college students. Greater Cleveland has four active OCF Chapters that include students from CWRU, JCU, CSU, BW, and CCC. OCF plans meetings and various events for the college students each month providing free food and admissions. Please have your students checkout the OCF Cleveland page on Facebook for events in the Cleveland area. Free tickets and admis-sion to various events can be reserved for college stu-dents by contacting Mira Damljanovic on OCF Cleve-land Facebook page.

Our St. Paul Philoptochos reaches out to our college students by mailing them OCF Connect Kits. Connect Kits are mailed to our St. Paul college freshmen that include an Orthodox Study Bible, reading guides, prayer books, guides for finding a local OCF chapter, OCF travel mug filled with delicious homemade kou-lourakia, as well as other fun goodies for our college students. As you receive this year’s addresses, please forward email and college snail mail addresses for any St. Paul college Freshmen and/or to donate, please contact Mary Steve mrysteve@yahoo.com or Maribeth Lekas Mbleka@aol.com . We will begin to deliver Connect Kits beginning in September.

Did You Know These Facts About Philoptochos???

25,000 women strong across the country. Largest women’s Philanthropic organization in US.

St. Paul Ladies Philoptochos Society was present-ed with an Award of Excellence from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and The Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society in recogni-tion of National Ministry Commitments 100% Par-ticipation in 2014 and 2015

The Metropolis of Pittsburgh presented checks to Metropolitan SAVAS at the Clergy Laity Confer-ence to the Good Samaritan Fund - $3,060; Nuns of St. Elias - $3,640; Youth - $3,475. An additional $5000 was given to the Youth fund, $5000 to Holy Cross for tuition assistance, and $5000 for the Me-tropolis Building Fund.

In 2016 Philoptochos is celebrating its 85th Anni-versary. Philoptochos started in 1931 and we are now celebrating 85 years of Philanthropy, Fellow-ship and Faith in Action.

National Philoptochos Society from January 2016 – May 2016 disbursed $1,502,174

National Philoptochos Society from January 2014 – December 2015 disbursed $3,212,097

National Philoptochos Society in 2015 disbursed $1,736,748 in ministry donations

Welcome to Philoptochos Manual and Leadership Institute coming this Fall.

“Philoptochosing” – National Convention new Slogan

PAGE 10 THE MESSENGER

St Paul Ladies Philoptochos North Royalton OH

November Meeting

Book launch Party for our own St. Paul parishioner

Kristi Tartara!

Tuesday, November 8, 2016 6:30 PM

We are so excited that Kristi will be joining us at the beginning of our meeting and will be reading her

newly released book to a group of young children. She will also be on hand to sign copies of her new

book and her new matching game immediately fol-lowing her presentation for anyone that is interested

in purchasing the book or the game.

A portion of her proceeds will be donated to the St. Paul Philoptochos

It’s a wonderful time to purchase these items as

Christmas gifts for those special children in your family!

OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 11

2

0

1

6

CHURCH SERVICES

All Sundays 8:15 AM Orthros

9:30 AM Liturgy Sunday School following Holy Communion

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1

10:00 AM Altar Boy Seminar

1:00 PM Baptism

2 2nd Sunday

of Luke

11:30 AM Blood Drive GOYA Gyro sale

12:00 PM Greek Corner

3

5:30 PM Greek School

7:00 PM 4th Catechism Class

4

10:00 AM Women’s Study

7:00 PM Home Committee meeting

5 6

7:00 PM Bible Study

7

5:30 PM Rehearsal

8

2:30 PM Wedding

9 3rd Sunday of Luke

GOYA meeting following Sunday School

10

5:30 PM Greek School

11

10:00 AM Women’s Study

12

7:00 PM Parish Council Meeting

13

7:00 PM Bible Study

14 15

16 Sunday of

the 7th Ecumenical Council

Loukoumades Sunday

Dance Practice

17

5:30 PM Greek School

7:00 PM 5th Catechism Class

18

10:00 AM Women’s Study

19

7:00 PM Paraklesis Service

20

7:00 PM Bible Study

21 22

5:30 PM 50th Anniversary Grand Banquet

23 6th Sunday of Luke

Hierarchal Liturgy with Metropolitan SAVAS and other clergy with Brunch to follow

24

5:30 PM Greek School

7:00 PM 6th Catechism Class

25

10:00 AM Women’s Study

7:00 PM Great Vespers for St. Demetrios in Rocky River

26 St. Demetrios 8:30 AM Orthros 9:30 AM Liturgy at St. Demetrios

27

2:00 PM Senior Fellowship Kafenio

7:00 PM Bible Study

28 29

7:00 PM GOYA Campfire

30 5th Sunday of Luke

Dance Practice

1:30 PM GOYA BB practice

31

5:30 PM Greek School

Father Costas on Vacation

PAGE 12 THE MESSENGER

2

0

1

6

CHURCH SERVICES

All Sundays 8:15 AM Orthros

9:30 AM Liturgy Sunday School following Holy Communion

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1 6:00 PM Family Ministry Mtg.

7:00 PM Home Committee

2 3

7:00 PM Bible Study

4 5

6 7th Sunday of Luke

Loukoumades Sale

GOYA Mtg.

Dance Practice

12:00 PM Greek Corner

1:30 PM GOYA BB practice

7

5:30 PM Greek School

5:30 PM Baking Class

6:30 PM All Church Parish Council meeting

8 Synaxis of

the Angels

8:30 AM Orthros

9:30 AM Liturgy

10:00 AM Women’s Study

6:30 PM Philoptochos Meeting

9 St. Nektarios

8:30 AM Orthros

9:30 AM Liturgy

7:00 PM Parish Council Meeting

10

7:00 PM Bible Study

11 12

13 8th Sunday of Luke

1:00 PM Baptism

1:30 PM GOYA BB practice

14

5:30 PM Greek School

15

Nativity Fast Begins

9:00 AM Philoptochos Baking

16 17

7:00 PM Bible Study

18 19

11:00 AM Baptism

1:00 PM Baptism

20 9th Sunday of Luke

Stewardship Sunday

Gyro Sale

12:00 PM General Assembly

1:30 PM GOYA BB

21 Entrance of the

Theotokos

8:30 AM Orthros

9:30 AM Liturgy

5:30 PM Greek School

22 23 24 Thanksgiving

Office Closed

25

Office Closed

26

5:00 PM Rehearsal

27 13th Sunday of Luke

1:30 PM GOYA BB practice

3:30 PM Wedding

28

5:30 PM Greek School

29

30

St. Andrew

8:30 AM Orthros

9:30 AM Liturgy

Metropolis GOYA Fall Retreat at Camp Nazareth

Folk Dance Festival at Holy Trinity Camp Hill

OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 13

Celebrating 50 Years Upcoming Activities

As we continue to celebrate the parish’s 50th Anni-versary, please keep the following dates in mind:

October 22 ~ Grand Banquet has been SOLD

OUT! Thank you to our parishioners who re-sponded. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Contact Dena Wilson or Effie Trihas.

October 23 ~ Parishioners will be treated to a luncheon following Divine Liturgy.

Like our Facebook PAGE for more information on the 50th Anniversary celebrations: https://www.facebook.com/saintpaul50/

Commemorative Album Order Form Name Address Phone Email # of copies ordered x $40.00 = Shipping $6/book (optional) TOTAL enclosed

Commemorative Album

RESERVE YOUR COPY TODAY!!

LIMITED NUMBER AVAILABLE!!

Only $40.00 per copy!

Those who submitted an ad in the 50th Anniversary Commemorative Album will receive a complimentary copy. For those who want to purchase extra copies or did not include an ad, make sure to reserve your copy TODAY! It will be a beautiful keepsake of our first 50 years! Please go to the table on Sunday’s beginning Septem-ber 11th, use the order form below, or order through our website to reserve your copy!

Commemorative Christmas Ornament Sponsored by St Paul GOYA

Orders taken during coffee hour October 9, 16, and 23, by

completing the form below, or through our website.

Commemorative Ornament Order Form Name

Address

Phone Email

# of ornaments ordered x $15.00 =

Shipping $2/ornament (optional)

TOTAL enclosed

(Make Checks Payable to St. Paul Greek Orthodox Church / Memo: Ornament * All proceeds will benefit St Paul GOYA)

$15 each Deadline to order October 23, 2016

PAGE 14 THE MESSENGER

Christ Photia

Boukis

Bill Elaine

Carvaines (pictured with their daughter,

Kristine Theodorou)

Ernie Rita

Fourmas

Ted Joanna

Kokkas Gus Sonia

Page

George Kathy

Nikolaou

Mike Renie

Steffas

Not pictured:

George & Stella Harriston

John & Toula Loizos

OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 15

PAGE 16 THE MESSENGER

Featured in our Bookstore

THE GREAT I CAME’S OF JESUS Thirty-seven meditations on the great I came... statements by Jesus wherein He explains the reasons for His coming into the world. I came not to call the righteous but sinners..., I did not come to judge the world but to save the world, etc.

LIVING ORTHODOXY What is Christian Orthodoxy? Who are the Orthodox? What is their faith? How do they live their faith? What are their Churches? This book pro-vides clear and straightforward an-swers to these questions. It invites all Christians to discover the two thou-sand year old Tradition of the Ortho-dox Church. The book covers the es-sential elements of the faith, history, ecclesiology and the liturgical and spiritual life of the Orthodox. Its numerous references allow the reader to pursue his or her discover of this living Tradition, a Tradition which is both ancient and contemporary.

THE GIFTED PAN This pan is designed to made a good impres-sion every time you bake Prosforon. Reci-pe, prayers, and help-ful tips included.

Our bookstore gift certificates are the perfect gift for every occasion. Stop by to purchase today in any denomination.

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OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 17

Saint Nestor & the Giant Lyaios

Honored by our church respectively on October 26th & 27th

We all love a good story of an underdog overcoming great odds to emerge as victor. That is why one of the most popular children stories from the Bible is the sto-ry of David and Goliath. Goliath, the giant Philistine soldier, taunted King Saul and the army of Israel, for none of the Israelites had the courage to square off with the menacing giant in a dual. That is, no one had the courage until a young shep-herd boy, David, overheard the taunts of Goliath and questioned with righteous indignation: “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the ar-mies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26). With God on his side, the young shepherd boy ran out to con-front Goliath with a sling and a stone that struck the Philistine between the eyes and felled him. On October 27th, the Church celebrates the memory of Saint Nestor (+AD 306) - a new David who overcame another “Goliath” in the person of the giant Roman soldier, Lyaios. Like David, Nestor was an unassum-ing young man who drew his courage and strength from his faith in the living God. At a time when Chris-tians were being brutally persecuted, Lyaios boasted of the superiority of the pagan gods over the God of the Christians, and challenged any willing Christian to a dual to prove the inferiority of their faith.

Nestor at that time was a disciple of St. Dimitrios, who himself was a distinguished Roman General who had been imprisoned for his faith in Jesus Christ. Hearing the boasts of Lyaios, Nestor ran to his spiritual mentor in prison to seek his prayers and blessing to confront the arrogant giant. Saint Demetrios had taught his dis-ciples that Christians may seemingly be weak and persecuted, but their strength is internal, spiritual, and “perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Receiv-ing Nestor, the imprisoned teacher gave his young disciple his blessing, sealed his forehead with the sign of the cross, and told him “You will be victorious over Lyaios, and you will be martyred for Christ.” Every-thing happened as Saint Demetrios foretold. Saint Nestor defeated Lyaios in the stadium and as a result both he and Saint Demetrios were martyred for their faith in Christ. The stories of David overcoming Goliath and Saint Nestor defeating Lyaios are valuable lessons for us Christians today. The greatest giant that must be over-come before all else is our ego. Once our egos are overcome from within, like David and Nestor, we will have access to the same power from God to bring down the giant evils that torment us from the outside. When the odds are stacked against us, that is not the time to panic and waver in our faith. On the contrary, that is the time to put our faith in God and to ask for his blessing to face our trials and challenges with forti-tude and strength. During this month of October, when we celebrate the memories of Saint Demetrios (Oct 26) and Saint Nes-tor (October 27th), may we ask for their intercessions to overcome the giant obstacle of our ego, so that we may put all of our trust in God to face our trials and tribulations with courage and conviction that “All things work together for the good of those who love God” (Romans 8;28) (fr.hf)

APOLYTIKION FOR ST. NESTOR Thy Martyr, O Lord, in his courageous contest for Thee received the prize of the crowns of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal God. For since he possessed Thy strength, he cast down the tyrants and wholly destroyed the demons' strengthless presump-tion. O Christ God, by his prayers, save our souls, since Thou art merciful.

PAGE 18 THE MESSENGER

Η Ελληνικη Γωνια Φίλοι μου καλό μας μήνα. Μάς ήλθε και ο Οκτώβρης και μαζί του έφερε και όλα του τα καλά. Το πλούσιο στρωμένο τραπέζι και η καλή καρδιά με την οποία αρχίζουν τον καινούργιο χρόνο, είναι για τους ανθρώπους του λαού ένας καλός οιωνός. Είναι μιά εγγύηση καλή για τον χρόνο που έρχεται. Τα προμηνύματα του χειμώνα είναι εδώ, μιά και ο μήνας αυτός είναι της δοκιμής του κρασιού, πού στις 26 Οκτωβρίου έχει ήδη τελειώσει η ζύμωση των κρασιών και δοκιμάζεται πιά το νέο κρασί. Η γιορτή αυτή είναι και η πρώτη της χειμερινής περιόδου καθώς μαζί εορτάζεται η εορτή του Αγίου Δημητρίου, που αποτελεί σημαντικό σταθμό στην ζωή των αγροτών. Ο Άγιος Δημήτριος είναι ο πολιούχος της Θεσσαλονίκης, από την οποία καταγόταν και στην οποία μαρτύρησε το 306 μ.χ , την εποχή του αυτοκράτορα Γαλέριου. Η εκκλησία του, μεγαλοπρεπής βασιλική του 5ου αι, όπου μέσα σε ιερή λάρνακα φυλάγεται το άγιο λείψανό του. Εκτός από την θρησκευτική σημασία είναι και η εθνική , επειδή συνέπεσε να γίνει την ίδια ημέρα, η απελευθέρωση της Θεσσαλονίκης από τους Τούρκους, κατά τον πόλεμο του 1912. Από τότε η μνήμη του αγίου γιορτάζεται εκεί με μεγάλη λαμπρότητα.

Φίλοι μου, παράλληλα αυτόν τον μήνα γιορτάζουμε τα 76 χρόνια της ιστορικής επετείου του '' ΟΧΙ '' και την νίκη του 1940. Ένδοξες σελίδες της Ελληνικής νεότερης ιστορίας μας, με τα ωραιότερα παραδείγματα, η ρ ω ι σ μ ο ύ , α υ τ ο θ υ σ ί α ς κ α ι

φιλοπατρίας. Επίσης, την ημέρα αυτην γιορτάζουμε και την σημαία μας, αυτό το γαλανό τ΄άσπρο ιερό πανί .Τα απαλά της χρώματα και ο αρμονικός συνδυασμός της, είναι ένα χάρμα ομορφίας. Εύχομαι σ' όλους σας και του χρόνου. . . !ΖΗΤΩ Η 28η ΟΚΤΩΒΡΙΟΥ 1940 . . . ! Με αγάπη Μαρία Καρλατήρα (Μαρακί) ** ΜΗΝ ΞΕΧΑΤΕ ότι ΚΑΘΕ ΠΡΩΤΗ ΚΥΡΙΑΚΗ ΤΟΥ ΜΗΝΑ ΣΑΣ ΠΕΡΙΜΕΝΩ από ΚΟΝΤΑ.

This high energy and very entertaining program in-cludes time to answer specific questions tailored to the unique needs of our Parish. Participants will learn:

1) The real facts of what is happening in Christian churches in America

2) What true stewardship is 3) How to reorganize your Parish to maximize re-

sults 4) What are the three critical stewardship principles 5) How to implement effectively two dynamic stew-

ardship tactics 6) The three most effective communications strate-

gies 7) A highly successful Parish operational and organ-

izational paradigm 8) How strategic planning can help your Parish bet-

ter organize to live its stewardship calling

OCTOBER 2016 PAGE 19

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