My Dear Spiritual Flock

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1 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 10 October 2013 Published Monthly by: Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Pacific 930 Lunalilo Street, Honolulu Hawaii Phone : (808) Fax : (808) FrAlexanderLeong@yahoo.com Church Office Manager s SaintsConstantine-HelenHon@mail.goarch.org Parish Web Site: Regular Office Hours are 9 am to 1 pm on Monday thru Friday Aloha! It is with great joy that I greet you as your new priest and pastor! I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you, personally, as your spiritual father and shepherd. I see each of you as miracles, beautifully unique persons, unrepeatable, irreplaceable, part of a dynamic Orthodox Christian Community. You each are like an important and vital part of a puzzle, as the Body of Christ, His Church. My family and I came to Hawaii at the end of July, immediately after completing my ministry at Saints Constantine and Helen in Vallejo, California. And what a great blessing from God it is that I get to serve and minister to, you, the people of this beautiful Cathedral which happens to carry the same namesakes of Patron Saints as in my former parish! During the month of August, I had the opportunity to come to two major Feast Days, My Dear Spiritual Flock 12 1 the Transfiguration of our Lord and the Dormition of the Theotokos. I also was able to substitute on Sunday, August 11 th, and was deeply honored to be present at the Funeral of Athena Adams, whom I met in California years ago, when she was a member on the Philoptochos Board for the Metropolis of San Francisco. Over the course of August and the month of September I have gotten more and more acquainted with you. I really look forward to a fruitful ministry with you! The month of September was exciting as I began my ministry here. The first few weeks were an orientation into the life of this community. We had a Directors Meeting, Sunday School Meeting, Sunday School Teachers Meeting, and a Parish Council Meeting. With the challenge of having most of our activities on Sundays we were able to (Continued on page 2)

2 (Continued from page 1) come up with a workable plan to help make things run as smoothly as possible. At the end of services, I plan to bless the food within the Church, dismiss the teachers and students to have a 15 minute break to eat and drink something, Sunday School to have 40 minutes of class time, Greek School to have 45 minutes lesson time, and dancers to have quality time for practice on a flexible schedule. My plan for the month of October, is to begin Adult Religious Education on Sundays and one evening during the week; to have a Byzantine Chant class to teach some of the basics and to do practical exercises in learning the hymnography of the Church; also to have Saturday Great Vespers on most Saturdays excluding the last Saturdays in the month and when a Feast Day falls on a Saturday. Please see the calendar for dates and times! I thank you all for your hospitality and kindness that you have shown me and my family as we have joined the Family here at Saints Constantine and Helen in Honolulu. Please know that I embrace you all as family! With Love in Christ, +Fr. Alexander Every birth, every entrance of a new human being into the world, every life, is a miracle of miracles, a miracle that explodes all routine, for it marks the start of something unending, the start of a unique, unrepeatable human life, the beginning of a new person. And with each birth, the world is itself in some sense created anew and given as a gift to this new human being to be his life, his path, his creation. Fr. Alexander Schmemann Rev. Father Alexander Leong Church Staff Frances Delos Santos ~ Office Manager Marina Saikevych ~ Bookkeeper 2013 Parish Council Carlos Moreno ~ President Jim McCoy ~ Vice President Anita Higashi~ Secretary Julie Ličina~ Treasurer Eres Eddy, Elaine Moreno, Lucian Saikevych, Stelio Scordilis, Andrew Tujios Sunday School Director Alice Malick Sunday School Teachers Alice Malick Philoptochos Board Harriet Medes ~ President Elaine Moreno ~ Vice President Fran Hallonquist ~ Treasurer Anita Akel ~ Recording Secretary Anita Higashi ~ Corr. Secretary T.B.A. ~ Advisor Suzanne Akiona Christina Dimitrion Choir~Chanters Music Director ~ Orest Saikevych Protopsaltis ~ Gregory Malick Parish Ministries Bookstore ~ Eres & John Eddy Greek Dance Groups ~ Dianna Graves Greek School ~ John Giannakopoulos Web Master ~ Julie Licina 2 11

3 Liturgical Life of Our Parish WEEKDAY SERVICES FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER Saturday Great Vespers Sat, 5 Vespers 6:30 PM Saturday Great Vespers Sat, 12 Vespers 6:30 PM St. Luke the Evangelist Fri, 18 Orthros/Liturgy 8:30/9:30 AM Saturday Great Vespers Sat, 19 Vespers 6:30 PM St. James the Apostle Wed, 23 Orthros/Liturgy 8:30/9:30 AM St. Demetrios the Great Martyr Fri, 25 Vespers 6:30 PM Maui Liturgy Sat, 26 Liturgy 10:00 AM Upcoming Opportunities for Worship & Learning Byzantine Music On Saturdays, beginning in October, preceding Great Vespers, 5 pm to 6 pm each month, Fr. Alex will hold classes studying basic Byzantine Music Theory and will practice hymns and responses for the Holy Services according to Byzantine Musical Tradition. Orthodoxy 101 Beginning, Thursday, October 17th, we will have special classes for those new to or interested in learning about the Orthodox Faith. Classes will be held on specific Thursday evenings each month form 6:30 to 8 pm. In October, classes will be held Thursday, October 17th and 24th. Saturday Great Vespers Beginning Saturday, October 5th, we will have weekly Great Vespers at 6:30 p.m. when there are no Feast Days that fall on Saturdays and when Fr. Alex does not need to be away for the Maui Liturgy. In the month of October we plan to have Great Vespers on October 5th, 12th and 19th. Adult Religious Education Beginning, Sunday, October 6th, we will begin having Adult Religious Education/Fellowship, immediately after a brief Coffee Hour every Sunday. Our meeting place will be announced in our upcoming weekly bulletins! 10 3

4 An Honorary Tribute To Athena K. Adams and Matina Manthos Two Very different Greek women who influenced Hawaiian history by Alexandra Helene Just a candle in the wind...athena K. Adams fell asleep in the Lord, August 16, 2013 in Honolulu, HI at the age of Who was Athena K. Adams? She was a small whisper of a woman with a beautiful smile, and the love of Christ in her eyes, who could accomplish big things in her lifetime. Her neighbors and friends knew her as a smart, business woman, their local realtor; and, those of us at church knew her as our Philoptochos President for many years, and member of our Parish Council for several years. It was her love of God and church that made her the special force of nature that she grew to be, and that's what endeared everyone to her. She was vivacious, dynamic, hard-working, and charitable to a fault. She was our friend, our mother, our sister-in-christ; and, she was connected to everyone through her love of God and church. She was a Godmother to her many Godchildren. But, she also made a contribution to Hawaii. As President of Philoptochos, she was instrumental in continuing to support the Children's Cancer Transportation Fund, at the Kapiolani Women's and Children's Hospital, The Institute of Human Services, and many other local charities, as well as being active in the National Philoptochos West Coast Chapter. Her active involvement in career and church helped to improve the lives of so many people. Matina Manthos, who passed away on September 4, 2013, on the other hand, was a wife and mother first, with two children: Perry and Eleni. She was also a grandmother. And that's where her heart was...with her family. She also had a beautiful smile and the love of Jesus in her eyes, just like Athena, but that's where the similarity ends. Matina was a humble, honest woman who enjoyed a simple life, and life's simple pleasures. Most of her life was spent in Greece, and then in Maryland before she moved to Hawaii. Her beautiful daughter, Eleni was married in our church, and she has two children, and follows in the tradition of her mother raising a family. Before she passed away, Matina was living in Kaneohe with her son, Perry. Matina was very proud of both of her children, and her contribution to Hawaiian History is through the accomplishments of her children. For it cannot be denied, without her, they would not be the outstanding people they are today. Perry was the former State Highways Administrator for Hawaii. He ran the Hwy System for HI. He was District Hwy. Engineer and completed H3 which included the tunnel. Today, he owns a Construction Management Company and is working on the Ala Moana Blvd. Reconstruction Project into Waikiki. Why do I write this article? Because I love them both, and because they are Greek women. Since the very beginning, Greeks have been on the island of Hawaii, but we are a minority; and, Greeks have made a contribution to Hawaiian History. Since there aren't that many Greeks on this island, we need to celebrate the accomplishments we've made here, and to remember not only the Greek women, but all of our church members - whatever their nationality, because we are all sisters and brothers in Christ. 4 9

5 Sts Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Pacific 930 Lunalilo Street Honolulu, Hawaii If you no longer wish to be on our mailing list, just let the office know by phone, fax, mail, or Future Announcements 8 NON - PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID HONOLULU, HI. PERMIT #1108 Return Service Requested Don t wait until the last minute to share your news! If there are any announcements that you would like to see in the November bulletin, be sure to let the office know by the deadline, October 15th. This allows for enough time for approval, editing, printing, and mailing out the bulletin to be received by the 1st of the month. You can send an (SaintsConstantine-HelenHon@mail.goarch.org), call the office ( ), or drop by with a hard copy of your requested announcement. GOING ELECTRONIC In an effort to keep everyone better informed, our Office is now offering the monthly bulletin Shorelines electronically. The format and contents will be the same, and subscribers can choose to read online, download and save, or print a hard copy. Further, we hope to use this service in the future to make notification of upcoming events at Ss Constantine & Helen and to share important news items. To begin receiving your bulletin electronically, simply send an to Frances in the Church Office, at: saintsconstantine-helenhon@mail.goarch.org, with Bulletin Electronic Subscription in the subject line. Passing The Torch by Alexandra Helene A New Calendar Year has begun for our church starting in September. It started from Athena's funeral when Father John and Father Alex joined together during the Funeral Service. Father John gave an inspiring eulogy, and then Father Alex shared his own experiences and memories of Athena with us. It was the first time we saw both priests together and the last time, as well. Then Father John performed his last service, which was ironically on his own name day, on the Feast day of St. John the Baptist. FAREWELL to Father John Kuehnle and Presbytera Jamal, and their two children, Nazih, and Manon, from all of us at Sts. Constantine's and Helen's. Watching you leave our church was really sad. We hugged, and tears were shed. Then you left us, and you were gone, but you will forever have a place in our hearts. We love you. God Bless You wherever you go. Then the Torch was passed, silently, from one priest to the next, and it was a New Year, a new beginning for all of us, and for Father Alex. And a BIG WELCOME to our new spiritual Father and his family. We are looking forward to having a great year in Sts. Constantine's & Helen's Cathedral of the Pacific & all of its Parishioners WELCOMES Father Alexander and Presbytera Nicole and their children, Peter, Joanna, and Paul 5

6 PARISH COUNCIL TEAMS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27 Parish Organizations and Their News ELAINE MORENO ERES EDDY JIM MCCOY JULIE LICINA Scheduling an Event? BEFORE scheduling meetings, parties, or any other event at church -social hall, kitchen, or office rooms, PLEASE be sure to clear your event with the Church Office at least 2 weeks in advance. Doing so will ensure that our church facilities are available for all to use, as well as prevent confusion and double-bookings. Please be aware also that there are rental forms to be completed by anyone wishing to use our facilities - organization, member or non-member. Greek Language Class The adult Greek Class will be held in the conference room on Thursdays at 5 pm, IF there are 5 or more students. For questions or if you would like to attend, be sure to contact John Giannakopoulos at the beginning of the week for that Thursday s class. Saints Constantine & Helen Book Store is Open Come check out the latest arrivals. We have some great new books, gift item, and articles for personal devotions. See Eres after services on Sundays or weekdays by appointment. 6 Ladies Philoptochos Society News Monthly Benefit Garage Sale 1st Sat of each month $20 to reserve your space Bring your own table Keep your own profits Keep our Philoptochos members, Marianna Klimenko and Helen Potts in our prayers. Starting in October Philoptochos will be selling imported Greek products on Sundays as a Fundraiser. Philoptochos Baking Volunteers We would like to thank all of the wonderful volunteers who have been helping with the baking. If you are interested in baking, please contact Vicki Shiroma at or Frances Rizzo at franrizzo@hotmail.com so that we can add your name to the volunteer list and contact you with the exact dates and times of future bake days. We will be doing more baking in October and November and would really appreciate your help. Please note that men as well as women and children are all welcomed to help, no experience is needed! Philoptochos Holiday Baking Order Form The Philoptochos Holiday Baking Order Form will be ready by November. Please look for it upstairs on the kitchen door, on the church website and on our facebook page. We had an FDF Garage Sale Fundraiser at the Philoptochos Saturday Garage Sales September 7, 2013 from 8 AM-2 PM. The Dance Group would like to thank all the parishioners who donated items to sell, baked goods, and monetary donations. Your support was very much appreciated. We'd like to thank Paul Hanna for helping the dancers learn Gaida and New Pentozali at our Monday night practices. Paul was a former member of our dance group here at the church and grew up in this church. We say Aloha to Father John and Family and to Marija and Andy, all who have been very special to our dance group. Potential new dancers, Aina Katsikas and Lauren Berck took advantage of our August come and see what dance is all about at our Sunday practices. Hope you enjoyed yourselves girls. DANCE GROUP NEWS COFFEE HOUR 1. Thank you to our August Sunday Coffee Hour sponsors! Richard & Barbara Gribbon The Nicholas Family The Berck Family 7 Please put HI 5 recycles: aluminum cans, plastic bottles, glass bottles in the BLUE recycle Bin ONLY in the upstairs hallway by the kitchen. Dance Group is recycling as a Fundraiser. If any parishioners wish to bring in their HI 5 recyclables please bring them to Dianna. Please DO NOT crush cans or plastic. They are placed individually into a machine and counted for cash at the recycle outlets. For the Parish s Information: Some parents of the teenage group dancers and an adult dancer have taken on the responsibility of making the coffee, preparing juice, and filling the water container for coffee hour every Sunday as a help and give back to Philoptochos and the Parish for their support in the Dance Ministry. Dance Ministry Director Dianna Graves The Parish Council 2. The new 2013 Coffee Hour calendar is posted outside of the Social Hall. If you have a special date that you would like to reserve, sign up early to secure the date before it is reserved by someone else. 3. You may sign up directly on the calendar or contact Elaine Moreno or Mary Book. 4. Instructions for sponsoring a coffee hour are on the blackboard in hallway of the social hall and in Chirgotis Hall itself. 5. The Ladies Philoptochos would appreciate any donations of coffee, powdered juice, powdered coffee creamer, coffee cups, paper plates, and napkins to defray some of the coffee hour expenses. Donations may be given to Mary Book or Suzanne Akiona.