1

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Basketball

Tournament

2

March Calen-

dar

3

General As-

sembly Notice

4

Stewardship

Update

5

March Service

Schedule

7

Parish Council

Update

8

Community

News

10

The Trophybearer M A R C H 2 0 1 5

C H U R C H

S T A F F

Parish Priest/Editor:

Fr. Christodoulos

Margellos

Parish Council Presi-

dent: Mary Rankin

Philoptochos Presi-

dent: Susan Matos

Sunday School Direc-

tor: Dn Paul Speed

Caretaker: Jason

Leon

Walking the path

We have all been sick before. We sometimes drink enough fluids or have bowl after bowl of

yiayia's avgolemeno soup, and then there are those times when we have to go to... yes, the doc-

tor. We tell our doctor our symptoms, and he or she decides what we have and what will cure us

of that sickness.

Everyone is infected with the deadly disease of sin. However, we can all be cured from this dis-

ease! What is the remedy? What is the cure? The medicine is the Mystery of Holy Confession.

Yet we still do not reach for this medicine.

Repentance is given to each and every one of us at any time. There are earthly diseases and

earthly doctors. But there is a Great Heavenly Doctor our Lord Jesus Christ who can heal this

terrible sickness of our soul. Jesus can wipe out our sins, but there is one thing, one requirement

for us to do ... we must truly repent!

God has given His power of forgiving the sins of men to the Apostles and their successors in the

persons of the bishops and priests. Why? To make repentance and therefore the forgiveness of

sin even close, more accessible, and more certain. "Receive the Holy Spirit, whosoever sins

you forgive, they are forgiven, and whosoever sin you retain, they are retained" (John 20:22-23)

But how does the forgiveness of sins happen?... through the Mystery of Confession. An Ortho-

dox Christian burdened with troubles or sins goes to the priest or the bishop, with deep repent-

ance in his/her soul and with a sincere desire to change, and reveals to him the hidden secrets of

their heart or conscience. Through this, a beautiful and genuine relationship is made through the

penitent and his/her spiritual father.

If we choose to ignore such a great mercy from God, how many more punishments will we de-

serve? We must immerse ourselves in the waves of deep repentance and the Grace of God will

cleanse us from every sin. It was the darkness of sin that brought

God's great angel to fall into greed. It was sin that drove Adam

and Eve out of Paradise. It was sin that caused the flood of the

world.

Finally, it is sin that divides us from each other and separates us

from God. There are no new sins that are in the world that God

has not seen. Only the faces of the sinners change. But we have a

chance for the final outcome. We know what the medicine is. We

have the cure waiting for us. The answer... it is up to us to decide

not if, but when we are going to go to confession.

2015 WESTERN METROPOLIS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

We want to offer congratulations to our Men’s basketball team for taking third place in this

years tournament.

(From Left to Right) Jake Davenport (Player from Sioux City that join our team), Jason Spurgetis, Nick Vretis, Shane Spurgetis, An-

drew Natsis, Tyler Allen and James Vretis.

Again we want to say congrats and hopefully next year we bring home the Gold

Sun

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Mar

ch 2

015

4

Notification of the Spring General Assembly on March 29th

, 2015

Dear St. George Stewards,

On Sunday, March 29th

, 2015, following the fellowship and coffee hour, we will be convening our Spring General Assembly in the Gold Room. Please make every effort to attend.

As a reminder, the General Assembly is a meeting of all members in good-standing. A mem-ber in good-standing is defined by the Uniform Parish Regulations of the Archdiocese as any person eighteen years of age or older who was baptized according to the rites of the Ortho-dox Church, or was received into the Orthodox Church by Chrismation, who lives according to the faith and canons of the Orthodox Church, who has met his or her stewardship obliga-tion and abides by the Uniform Parish Regulations of the Archdiocese and the by-laws of the Parish. Members in good-standing, in attendance, constitute a quorum of the General As-sembly.

A new member may vote in the General Assembly provided that they have been in good-standing at least three (3) months prior to the date of the General Assembly. If you would like to vote on any of the motions made during the General Assembly, you must be present. Ab-sentee ballots will not be counted. All information pertaining to the meeting will be mailed out to all parishioners prior to the as-sembly.

2015 SPRING GENERAL ASSEMBLY AGENDA March 29

th, 2015

1. CALL TO ORDER 2. OPENING PRAYER 3. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL REPORT 4. PRIEST REPORT 5. STEWARDSHIP REPORT 6. PHILOPTOCHOS REPORT 7. MARDI GRAS REPORT 8. FESTIVAL REPORT 9. 105 YEAR 40 YEAR CONCECRATION CELEBRATION 10. OLD BUSINESS 11. NEW BUSINESS 12. CLOSING PRAYER 13. ADJOURNMENT

5

6

March 2015 Parish Council Sunday Duty List

On Sunday, March 1st, 2015 members on duty: Steve Eckert, Mary Rankin, Mary Kay Eckert.

On Sunday, March 8th, 2015 members on duty: Mary Rankin, Joe Burmeister, Gus Pappas.

On Sunday, March 15th, 2015 members on duty: Harry G. Coin, Brad Crosson, Mike Patramanis.

On Sunday, March 22nd, 2015 members on duty: Steve Eckert, Mary Rankin, Mary Kay Eckert.

On Sunday, March 29th, 2015 members on duty: Mary Rankin, Joe Burmeister, Gus Pappas.

Coffee Hour Hosts for March 2015

On Sunday, March 1st, 2015 Coffee hour will be hosted by: Lina Assaf & Souad Boutros.

On Sunday, March 8th, 2015 Coffee hour will be hosted by: Scott & Alexa Florence.

On Sunday, March 15th, 2015 Coffee hour will be hosted by: VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

On Sunday, March 22nd, 2015 Coffee hour will be hosted by: Family of Lucille Spurgetis.

On Sunday, March 29th, 2015 Coffee hour will be hosted by: General Assembly

READERS FOR MARCH 2015

On Sunday, March 1st, 2015: Ethan Kirkpatrick.

On Sunday, March 8th, 2015: Alexa Florence

On Sunday, March 15th, 2015: Angela Spurgetis

On Sunday, March 22nd, 2015: Kay Coin

On Sunday, March 29th, 2015: Bill Johnson

On Sunday, April 5th, 2015: Michael Pyevich.

On Sunday, April 12th, 2015: Alexa Florence.

On Sunday, April 19th, 2015: Angela Spurgetis

ALTAR BOY SERVICE SCHEDULE FOR MARCH 2015

On Sunday, March 1st, 2015: Team 1 Gabriel Florence, Ethan Kirkpatrick, Charlie Cudworth, Andrew Leon, George Elias,

Zach Elias, Gabriel Elias, Tomas Elias.

On Sunday, March 8th, 2015: Team 2 Nikolas Jacobs, Alek Jacobs, John T. Jones, John Mott, Michael Pyevich, Ben Flor-

ence, Peter Matos, Ian Matos.

On Sunday, March 15th, 2015: Team 1 Gabriel Florence, Ethan Kirkpatrick, Charlie Cudworth, Andrew Leon, George

Elias, Zach Elias, Gabriel Elias, Tomas Elias.

On Sunday, March 22nd, 2015: Team 2 Nikolas Jacobs, Alek Jacobs, John T. Jones, John Mott, Michael Pyevich, Ben

Florence, Peter Matos, Ian Matos. Tomas Elias.

On Sunday, March 29th, 2015: Team 1 Gabriel Florence, Ethan Kirkpatrick, Charlie Cudworth, Andrew Leon, George

Elias, Zach Elias, Gabriel Elias, Tomas

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MARCH 2015 SERVICE SCHEDULE

Sunday, March 1st Sunday of Orthodoxy Orthros: 8:30 a.m.

Divine Liturgy: 10:00 a.m.

Monday, March 2nd Great Compline 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 4th Pre-Sanctified Liturgy with 9th hour 5:00 p.m. Assumption

Friday, March 6th Second Salutation Service 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 7th Great Vespers 5:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 8th Sunday of Gregory Palamas Orthros: 8:30 a.m.

Divine Liturgy: 10:00 a.m.

Monday, March 9th Great Compline 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 11th Pre-Sanctified Liturgy with 9th hour 5:00 p.m. St. George

Friday, March 13th Third Salutation Service 7:00 a.m.

Sunday, March 15th Veneration of the Holy Cross Orthros: 8:30 a.m.

Divine Liturgy: 10:00 a.m.

Monday, March 16th Great Compline 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 18th Pre-Sanctified Liturgy with 9th hour 5:00 p.m. Assumption

Friday, March 20th Fourth Salutation Service 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 21st Great Vespers 5:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 22nd Sunday of St. John Climacus Orthros: 8:30 a.m.

Divine Liturgy: 10:00 a.m.

Monday, March 23rd Great Compline 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, March 24th Great Vespers for the Annunciation 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 25th Annunciation of the Theotokos Orthros: 8:30 a.m.

Divine Liturgy: 9:30 a.m.

Friday, March 27th Akathist Hymn 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 29th Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt Orthros: 8:30 a.m.

Divine Liturgy: 10:00 a.m.

8

OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE

Please consider serving Christ and His Church through participation on the St. George Parish Council!

There are currently four vacancies on the 2015 Parish Council and each parishioner can

help by praying for the council and/or reflecting on serving on the council.

The obligations of a Parish Council Member are:

1. To understand, live by, and uphold the tenets, teachings, and traditions of the Greek Ortho-

dox Church.

2. To understand and abide by the Greek Orthodox Archidiocese of America (GOAA) Regula-

tions (formerly known as the UPR - Uniform Parish Regulations) as set forth by the Greek Or-

thodox Archdiocese of America through the Clergy-Laity Congresses.

To live by and uphold the oath of office by utilizing his/her God-given time, talents, and treas-

ures for the spiritual progress and advancement of our parish.

The most important responsibility of the Parish Council is to assist the Parish Priest in the ad-

ministration of the ministries of the Parish (GOAA Regulations 29:1A). Some of the principal

roles employed by effective Parish Councils include, but are not limited to, planning, develop-

ing, organizing, and implementing stewardship programs and various educational ministries of

the Church; reporting and communicating to the parishioners the work and ministries of the

Church at the Metropolis and Archdiocesan levels; and recruiting and training others for fur-

ther service.

The St. George Council meets the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. and individual

council members are scheduled every third Sunday to assist with duties at the Divine Liturgy.

Please contact Father Christodoulos or any council member if you would like to serve in this

capacity.

2015 Council Members:

Joe Burmeister, Harry G. Coin, Brad Crosson, Mary Kay Eckert, Steve Eckert, Gus Pappas, Mike Pa-

tramanis, and Mary Rankin

9

Reflections on Great Lent

In the Gran Schema of events, the Great and Holy 40-day preparation period or Great Lent, as it is

commonly referred to, will commence with “Pure or Clean Monday” (In Greek: “Kathara Deftera”),

Monday, February 23rd

, 2015. Forty days from that day takes us to the Friday (April 3rd

, 2015), be-

fore the “Saturday of the Raising of Lazarus” (April 4th, 2015), where Christ raises Lazarus from the

dead (John 11: 1-46). From this day forward, Holy Week begins for every Orthodox Christian.

Pascha or Easter is on Sunday, April 12th, 2015. Pascha falls one week after the western Easter

falls this year.

The themes for the 5 Sundays of Lent are:

1. Triumph and Joy (1st Sunday of Lent, March 1

st, 2015: The Sunday of Orthodoxy) The icons of

the Church are restored to their proper place of veneration (8th Century).

2. Prayer, Meditation and Self-Examination (2nd

Sunday in Lent, March 8th, 2015); St. Gregory

Palamas, born in Thessaloniki, 1296-1359 A.D.) St. Gregory is remembered this day for sharing

with us the Jesus Prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”), and giv-

ing us the guidance on intensive, inner/reflective prayer.

3. The Cross is THE Way to the Resurrection (3rd

Sunday in Lent, March 15th, 2015); We cele-

brate the veneration of the Holy Cross. It’s an opportunity to remember that there are no

shortcuts on the road to salvation. Sacrifice is a part of life… The road to the Resurrection is

through the Crucifixion… This is the midpoint of the Holy and Great Lent.

4. The Ascent to Heaven (4th Sunday in Lent, March 22

nd, 2015; St. John Climacos {St. John of

the Ladder of Divine Ascent}) St. John Climacos (6th-7

th century) who authored the classic work

on how to get to Paradise through spiritual work (“The Ladder of Divine Ascent”)… A true Chris-

tian lifestyle will guide us to Paradise. This year, the Great feast of the Annunciation falls on the

Wednesday following this Sunday.

5. Humility and Repentance (5th Sunday of Lent, March 29

th, 2015; Saint Mary of Egypt). St. Mary

of Egypt lived a sinful life, but changed her ways when she found Christ. We too can change

and become better Christians at any time, when we so choose.

A BLESSED AND HOLY 40 DAYS PREPARATION PERIOD/GREAT LENT TO ALL

Taken from goarch.org

10

PARISH COUNCIL MEETING: Will be on Tuesday, March 10th at 7:00 p.m. in the Green room.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: Will be meeting on Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m. & on Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. for our

evening class. We will be beginning the book “Ascending the Heights” written by Fr. John Mack. It is covering the famous book

written by St. John Climacus “The Ladder of Divine Ascent”. Please join us if you are interested in learning more about our Ortho-

dox faith and life.

CHANTING CLASSES: will be continuing on Saturday, March 7th & 20th following Great Vespers at 6:00 p.m. Fr. Christodoulos

will begin teaching a class on Byzantine Chanting. Everyone is welcome to attend. The classes will begin by being held twice a

month and following Pascha we will start having them more often. This class will teach the basic needed to be able to chant the di-

vine services of the church. Please join us so we can continue this church’s rich tradition of Byzantine Chant.

PHILOPTOCHOS MEETING: Will be held on Tuesday, March 10th at 10:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend.

ALTAR BOY MEETINGS: Will be he on Sunday, March 8th or Sunday, March 23rd both will be after liturgy. We hope all our

altar boys are able to attend one of these two meetings. This is also an opportunity for anyone who would like to start coming to the

Altar. We will go over a few things in preparation for Holy Week as well as introduce the boys to our new captains. Please make

every effort to make it to one of these two meetings.

PRE-SANCTIFIED LITURGY WITH LENTEN MEAL TO FOLLOW: It is customary that on Wednesday’s during the Lenten

season we have what is known as a Pre-Sanctified Liturgy. It is a beautiful service and an opportunity to partake of the Body and

Blood of Christ to help strengthen us during our ascetical struggle of fasting,. One thing we are going to be doing this year is alter-

nating with Assumption Parish each week on holding this service. It is one of the most difficult services to chant and this way we

can do it together as one church in Christ. Also following these services at both parishes we will have a little Lenten dinner offered.

Along with the dinner we will have a small Lenten Lecture Series. On March 5th Assumption Fr. Christodoulos will offer a talk on

Prayer. On March 11th St. George will host and Fr. Tom will speak about fasting. On March 18th Assumption will host again and

Dn. Paul will speak about ministering to those in prison. All are welcome to join us and learn a little more about our faith.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS, CELEBRATING PARISH 105 YEARS & 40 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF CONSECRA-

TION: We are blessed to having been spreading the Orthodox faith in the Quad Cities for the last 105 years as well as having been

in our current location for over 40 years now. We were blessed by the hands of the late Archbishop Iakovos who Consecrated the

church here on June 15th, 1975 (1 year before I was born) Because of all this we are planning a special weekend in June to celebrate

these milestones being eclipsed by our parish. On the weekend of June 13-14 we will be joined by His Eminence Metropolitan

Iakovos to celebrate this occasion. We will be having a formal dinner on Saturday night following the Great Vespers and then we

will celebrate a special service on that Sunday within the Liturgy of the renewal of the Consecration. More information will be com-

ing out soon. Also if you are interested in helping with the planning of this event please contact the parish council or Fr. Christodou-

los.

HOSPITAL VISITS: If you or a family member are in the hospital, please call the office. Ever since the change in the privacy

laws, hospitals are reluctant to call churches. Please call us so that we can avoid missing our parishioners in their time of need.

EVENING MEAL: Will be hosted by Angela Spurgetis & Elaine Burmeister on Wednesday, March 25th.

Community News

PRAYERS FOR OUR SHUT INS: Have we taken for granted our health? Some of our members who are no long-

er able to come to church would always appreciate a phone call just to say hello. Please take time during the Lenten sea-

son give them a call and say hello.

Ted Bagatelas Helen Spurgetis Elaine Froumis

Steve Spurgetis Janice Smirles Mary Gianulis

Judy Pappas Anne Allen George Skafidas

11

ANNUNCIATION OF THE THEOTOKOS:

MARCH 25 Six months after John the Forerunner's

conception, the Archangel Gabriel was sent by God to

Nazareth, a town of Galilee, unto Mary the Virgin, who

had come forth from the Temple a mature maiden

(see Nov. 21). According to the tradition handed down

by the Fathers, she had been betrothed to Joseph four

months. On coming to Joseph's house, the Archangel

declared: "Rejoice, thou Full of Grace, the Lord is with

thee: blessed art thou among women." After some

consideration, and turmoil of soul, and fear because

of this greeting, the Virgin, when she had finally ob-

tained full assurance concerning God's unsearchable condescension and the in-

effable dispensation that was to take place through her, and believing that all

things are possible to the Most High, answered in humility: "Behold the hand-

maid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." And at this, the Holy Spir-

it came upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her all-

blameless womb, and the Son and Word of God, Who existed before the ages,

was conceived past speech and understanding, and became flesh in her immacu-

late body (Luke 1:26-38).

Bearing in her womb the Uncontainable One, the blessed Virgin went with

haste from Nazareth to the hill country of Judea, where Zacharias had his dwell-

ing; for she desired to find Elizabeth her kinswoman and rejoice together with

her, because, as she had learned from the Archangel, Elizabeth had conceived in

her old age. Furthermore, she wished to tell her of the great things that the

Mighty One had been well-pleased to bring to pass in her, and she greeted Eliza-

beth and drew nigh to her. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, she felt her six

-month-old babe, Saint John the Baptist, prophesied of the dawning of the spir-

itual Sun. Immediately, the aged Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and rec-

ognized her as the Mother of her Lord, and with a great voice blessed her and

the Fruit that she held within herself. The Virgin also, moved by a supernatural

rejoicing in the spirit, glorified her God and Savior, saying: "My soul doth magnify

the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour," and the rest, as the di-

vine Luke hath recorded

12

St. George Greek Orthodox Church

2930 31st Ave

Rock Island, IL 61201

Phone: 309-786-8163

Fax: 309-786-8188

Priest Email: frchristos@gmail.com

Office Email: stgeorgeoffice@aol.com

www.stgeorgeri.il.goarch.org/

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The time has come again this year that we enter in to the season of preparation of the resurrection of our Lord, otherwise

known as Great Lent. Being a time of fasting and prayer it is also a time where the church is in need of certain items for the services

of the season. During Great Lent, Holy Week and Easter there are items that are necessary for worship. Those individuals or fami-

lies wishing to donate towards any of the following items should contact the church office.

Palms and Bay Leaves for Palm Sunday: $400

Flowered Frame Nymphios Icon: $150

Flowered Wreath for Holy Thursday: $150

12 Candles for Holy Thursday: $100

Linen White Bed Sheet for Good Friday: $20

Flowered Frame Resurrection Icon: $150

Clergy Paschal Candles: $250

Flowered Frame St. George Icon for Feastday of the Church: $150

We want to thank everyone for their continued support of St. George and for making this Lent & Holy Week 2013 a won-

derful success. A Blessed Lenten Season!

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Christodoulos Margellos