S T. G E O R G E G R E E K O R T H O D O X C H U R C H. Glad Tidings

Transcription

1 St. Paul, MN S T. G E O R G E G R E E K O R T H O D O X C H U R C H February 2011 Volume 17, Issue 2 Glad Tidings NFL Superstar Gets It Friday, January 07, 2011 By Ann Rodgers, Pittsburgh Post- Gazette T he most famous Orthodox Christian in Pittsburgh, if not the nation, has a greeting for his fellow believers today: "Kala Christougena!" said Steelers safety Troy Polamalu. That's Greek for "Merry Christmas!" Mr. Polamalu and his wife, Theodora, actually celebrated Christmas 13 days ago, but they keep the same Orthodox traditions as those who observe today. Most Orthodox celebrate on Dec. 25, but many Slavic churches tie liturgy to the old Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. The Greek Orthodox Church and some others have adopted the Gregorian calendar -- except at Easter. "We all celebrate Easter on the same day," said Mr. Polamalu, 29. Orthodoxy is the Eastern wing of the earliest Christian church, which split into the Orthodox and Catholic churches in He and Theodora converted to Orthodoxy about five years ago. His background was Catholic and Protestant, hers Muslim and Protestant. They were Christians in search of a deeper, more consistent experience of God. "Orthodoxy is like an abyss of beauty that's just endless," he said. "I have read the Bible many times. But after fasting, and being baptized Orthodox, it's like reading a whole new Bible. You see the depth behind the words so much more clearly." That fasting is a Christmastime difference between Eastern and Western Christians. While many Americans pile on the food from Thanksgiving to Christmas, Orthodox Christians start fasting Nov. 15 or 28. "Christmas Lent" or "Winter Lent" lasts 40 days, broken by a feast on Christmas, said the Rev. Stelyios Muksuris, administrative assistant to Metropolitan Maximos of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Pittsburgh and professor of liturgy and theology at Ss. Cyril & Methodius Byzantine Catholic Seminary. Slavic Orthodox keep a strict fast, abstaining from meat, dairy products, oil and fish for 40 days. Greeks usually permit fish, cheese and oil for the first few weeks, then fast strictly for the last two, he said. Mr. Polamalu is of Samoan heritage, and belongs to the Greek church, but fasts like a Russian. His consists of a "fast from dairy, from meat and from oil for 40 days -- as well as from sex," he said. "It's to prepare you for the birth of Christ, of God incarnate." Fasting doesn't affect his football fitness, he said. "When you fast, you can eat extremely healthy by eating a lot of light food, like fruits and vegetables." (Continued on page 2) Inside: Registry, pg. 3; Parish Announcements, pgs. 4-5; Youth News, pg. 7

2 Glad Tidings Page 2 (Continued from page 1) There are other aspects to fasting. "Maybe not watching as much TV, or not getting caught up in idle talk or different things, in order to keep you spiritually healthy," he said. The most important Orthodox fast is Great Lent, for 50 days before Easter. When he has kept longer fasts "I have never felt more spiritually strong," he said. Referring to great theologians of the early church, he said, "The church fathers have said that when you eat gluttonously or you eat a lot of meat, your passions get stronger, so your inclination toward sinning becomes stronger.... [Fasting] really does soften your passions. It gives you spiritual insight." In Orthodox theology "passions" are negative impulses -- such as sadness or greed -- that can harm the soul. He doesn't claim that practicing the faith improves athletics. The player known for crossing himself on the field has seen his faith grow more from his injuries than his interceptions. "When I got injured, I learned so much from it spiritually, just thanking God for the health that I had when I was healthy," he said. "People have this idea that the more pious and devout I am, the more successful I am. Which is very dangerous. If you look at faith in that way, you're bound to fail at both -- spiritually and in your career." As the Polamalus build Christmas traditions for their children, Paisios, 2, and Ephraim, 3 months, "It's become less about Santa Claus and more about the birth of Christ and the celebration of the Virgin birth," he said. They spent Christmas Eve at an Orthodox monastery. The service lasted several hours, ending at 1 a.m. It was entirely chanted. "Orthodox chanting is nonemotional, it's very monotone," said Mr. Polamalu, who also calls it "the most beautiful thing." "It's the perfect environment for prayer," he said. "Chanting in Greek... is like a beautiful opera, but way better. You have candles, not [electric] lights. It's dark. You have the women sitting on the left and the men sitting on the right. Everything is to keep your mind focused on God.... To me the most beautiful thing anyone on earth can experience, other than maybe marriage and child-bearing, would be the Orthodox Liturgy." Before he became Orthodox, he said, songs in church sometimes moved him to tears. He now distrusts those passing feelings. "I'd start crying and feel 'This is awesome.' If I'd had a Red Bull, I'd feel it even more. If I'd had breakfast, I'd feel good. If I didn't have breakfast, I didn't feel anything, I was grumpy," he said. "It was a very superficial experience. I was thinking, 'God, why did I not feel you today?' because I wasn't feeling the music today. Orthodoxy is very sensitive to that, to take the emotion out of it, to really go after the heart." The difference between the heart and emotion, he said, is like the difference between the deep love he has for his wife and their daily ups and downs. "I could say, emotionally, I'm mad and sad with my wife. But that has nothing to do with how much I love my wife within my heart," he said. "Before we were Orthodox we were able to separate our spiritual lives and our daily lives. Now that we're Orthodox, because of the prayer life that is required... and the fasting, it consumes your life. It's the number one thing in your life."

3 Registry December 19, 2010 December 5, 2010 Chrismation Karen Petanitis (Katherine), sponsored by Minda Arsenault Memorial Dimitrios and Maria Panayoton St. Paul, MN Church Staff and Office Hours Church Office Hours Monday-Friday 8:00 AM--2:15 PM Rev. Fr. Richard Demetrius Andrews, Presbyter (651) Lori Kurtyka, Administrative Assistant (651) Page 3 Festal Icons Needed Please donate a Festal Icon (11" x 14") in memory of a loved one. The cost is $75.00 per icon. The icons are displayed in the church nave and are put out for veneration on the Feast Day of the Saint or event they represent. To donate an icon, fill out a form (found on the bulletin board by the kitchen) and return it to the office. St. Symeon the God Reciever February 3 Prophet Zacharias February 8 Healing in Syria, Judea & Galilee Frank Mortari, Parish Council President (651) frank.mortari@rndsystems.com Reva Adkins, Philoptochos President (651) rradkins@comcast.net Rebekah Moll, Youth Minister (763) Andrea Faches, Sunday School Director (507) afaches@msn.com (Continued from page 6) He said as part of the restoration work in 2010, the baptistery s courtyard was restored and the baptismal font was unearthed. This font was used in mass baptism ceremonies. I guess we are the first ones to see it since the conquest of Istanbul, because the baptismal font was never used again once the Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque. Visits in spring Dursun said the baptismal font was 3.32 meters long, 2.52 meters wide and 1.16 meters deep. He said interest would increase in the Hagia Sophia Museum when the pool opened to visitors in springtime. The number of visitors will reach 3 million. I am concerned about this big interest, because the museum is too narrow. It creates problems when these types of work are visited by lots of people. Reprinted from an article by the Anatolia News Agency dated December 14, Stella Hofrenning, Greek School Director Jennifer Argeros, Glad Tidings Editor Sue Gnetz & Sandra Thole, Loaves and Fishes Coordinators suegnetz@yahoo.com, quadmom196@yahoo.com Submissions for upcoming issues are due by the 11th of the preceding month.

4 Glad Tidings Page 4 Parish Announcements Catechism Has Begun The Winter-Spring term of the MEOCCA Cooperative Catechism course continues on Mondays 7-9 pm. The course is open to everyone but is required for those preparing to convert to Orthodox Christianity. Please register online Contact Fr. Rick for more info. Parish Council Officers Congratulations to the newly elected parish council officers: Frank Mortari- President; Tom Lampros- Vice President; Secretary- Sophronis Mantoles; Treasurer- George Kanavati; Assistant Treasurer- Diane Anastos. Note- George Kanavati was elected by the parish council to become its twelfth member. We look forward their leadership on the council and the council s leadership in the parish community. Trinity Mission The focus this year is on the basic needs of food and items for personal hygiene such as toothpaste, toothbrushes and laundry detergent. Families greatly appreciate gift cards to grocery stores or discount stores so they can shop for their family. Please put the items for Trinity Mission in the "red bins" in the basement. Greek School It`s not too late to sign up for Greek school. Children (first grade and up) meet after church in the lower level classrooms. For more info, contact Stella Hofrenning, at Stewardship 2011 Campaign Stewardship pledge cards were mailed out with an Archdiocese brochure. Several parishioners have already returned theirs. Please consider your commitment for Remember, if every parishioner gives an average of 2% or more of gross income, we will be a selfsupporting parish. Thank you to all for their generous offering of time, talents and treasures. Remember, Come and See! (John 1:39) 2010 Stewardship Statements All parishioners should have received a 2010 year-end stewardship statement. Please review your statements for accuracy and contact the Lori in the church office if you find a discrepancy. Orthodox Media The Orthodox Christian Network (OCN) produces the Come Receive the Light (CRTL) weekly radio broadcast. This station is not yet being used to its fullest potential. We need a station manager to help us make full use of the station. If interested contact Fr. Rick. The CRTL program broadcasts every Saturdays at 5:00pm on KKMS 980AM. You can also listen on the internet anytime along with an array of other Orthodox Christian programming on Ancient Faith Radio also has excellent programming: FOCUS on FOCUS The center continues to take donations for winter coats/jackets and also has needs for blankets/bedding and kids clothes in good condition. If you are unable to take them directly to the FOCUS center, place them in the blue bins in the basement and they will be delivered. Please consider volunteering to serve today and/or in the future. FOCUS Center address is 1600 E. Lake St., Mpls MN Thank you for your generous support of this blessed Orthodox ministry. For more info contact: vsproctor@gmail.com , ext. 712 or sandrathole@yahoo.com, St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival at St. George Our parish St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival (SJCOF) is fast approaching. On February 6th, our students invite all parishioners, especially their parents, family and Godparents to attend the SJCOF at St. George, immediately following the Divine Liturgy. Parents and students are reminded that the competitive oratory topics for children aged 7-12th grades can be found online at A noncompetitive program of elementary school students will precede the competitive oratory. All students are encouraged to participate. For more info, please see your Sunday School teacher or contact Andrea Faches, or afaches@msn.com. Orthodoxy in the Home On February 11-12, 2011 gather together with Orthodox Christians from around the world for our first every Orthodox Education Webinar! Listen and interact with renowned Orthodox speakers and conference attendees as we discuss ways to live

5 St. Paul, MN Page 5 Parish Announcements and teach our Orthodox Faith. For more info: Study Orthodoxy Online The Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies (affiliated with Cambridge University, UK) offers an online Certificate in Orthodox Christian Studies. The complete program is two years long but you can start anytime. There are 10 modules, approx. two months each with an optional summer school session in Cambridge. The next module is "Scripture: The Gospels". For more information, check out the website: If you have any questions you can also contact Emily Johnson (a parishoner at Holy Trinity OCA) who is currently enrolled in the program - ruthemilyjohnson@gmail.com. The Nativity Icon Christmas Program A special thank you to all Sunday School students, staff and parents for another successful Christmas program. Additional gratitude is paid to Presbytera Eileen Simon, Julie Delton, Tom & Dawn Lampros, Georgia Ehrich and Barbara Bauman for their instrumental assistance and input in making the program such a joyful event for all. Thank you to parishioners who donated additional costumes and for the overall community support of this blessed performance. Retreat Center Video A brief video capturing the essence of the new Retreat Center has been added to our Metropolis website Please consider a meaningful donation this year and becoming an annual donor to our Retreat Center; it will change many lives. Donations should be sent to: St. Iakovos Retreat Center, 40 E. Burton Place, Chicago, IL It is incorporated as a non-profit 501(c) (3) Fed ID Daughters of Penelope Update Dues for 2011 are $29. Please remit to Georgia Ehrich, Secretary before the end of February. Reminder: Daughters of Penelope and AHEPA will meet February 17 at 7 pm. Philoptochos News Dues for 2011 are $21. Please give your payment to Sandra Thole, treasurer before the end of February. Extra dues money will be used for charitable endeavors. Reminder: Cheese Fare Sunday is March 6, A big thank you to the ladies who baked their beautiful and delicious Vasilopites, to the kitchen crew, and to our most generous parishioners for making this Vasilopita celebration a great success. The children of St. Basil`s Academy thank you all. Thank You- to our Ahepa chapter for hosting the enjoyable dinner and program honoring our octogenarian (80+ years old) parishioners on Saturday, January 8. Bravo! The following long-time parishioners were honored at the dinner for their dedicated services to our parish: Aphrodite Anastos James Andrews *Agnea Antoniades Annoula Bahneman *Evelyn Boosalis *Mary Boosalis Nick Boosalis *Evelyn Daltas *Hilda Daltas *Katherine Daltas *Georgia Ehrich Mary Ernst *Mary Giavassis Kiki Gore Georgia Haidos George Hatzistamoulos *Cecilia Johnson Harold Johnson Chris Kalogerson *Stella Lake *John Lambros *Nancy Lambros Ingrid Larson John Larson *Nick Leaskas Basil Loudas *Mary Makredes Mike Manos Homer Mantis Angelica Maravelas Garifallia Miller Chris Panayoton *Ann Pathos George Pathos Marie Paulos Bill Pitsavas *Chris Rozikes Ione Sater Joan Spell Calliope Strenglis Spero Thomaidis Calliope Veros *Deno Wedes Joe Weiser *Steve Zeece Chris Zubulake *Pioneer s Children

6 Glad Tidings Page 6 Newly Unearthed Baptismal Font at Hagia Sophia to open in Spring A large baptismal font unearthed during restoration work in the Hagia Sophia and dating back to the sixth century was shown to press members at a press conference Monday. Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency head Yılmaz Kurt noted that a Google search of Hagia Sofia yielded 800,000 results and said Istanbul was home to popular world cultural heritage sites. We are proud to take the initiative in the restoration of this heritage site, provide financing and finish such a huge renovation project. Outlining the history of Hagia Sophia, Kurt said: The construction of Hagia Sophia was ordered by Constantius II. The structure opened in 360 A.D. Its roof burned in a fire in 404 and its restoration took 10 years. In 415, Hagia Sophia opened once again. This second structure burned down in 532 and the church was constructed for the third time under Emperor Justinian. The columns of the Artemis Temple in Ephesus were used in its construction; it opened for the third time in 537. The dome was damaged in earthquakes and completely destroyed in 558. It reopened in 562. Kurt said the museum had undergone many restorations between 562 and 2010, the most comprehensive of which was during the The newly unearthed baptismal font in the Hagia Sophia Museum is made of solid marble. AA photo reign of Sultan Abdulmecit, between 1847 and Archaeological work was also carried out during the restoration process after which it became a museum, he said. Kurt said the ancient baptismal font, which was unearthed during archaeological work, would be open to the public for viewing. The baptismal font was positioned in a place in the structure that was closed to visits. It is made of solid marble. The font, which shows the cultural and architectural style of the Byzantium period, is still very strong and clean. It is very important in the history of the museum and everyone will be able to see it. Hagia Sophia Museum Director Haluk Dursun said 2009 and 2010 were the best years for the museum in terms of restoration. He said there were two very important events during the restoration process, the removal of the 17- year-old scaffolding and the discovery of a mosaic featuring a sixwinged angel figure. Dursun said they decided to open the baptism pool to visitors as a surprise for As of next spring, visitors will be able to see the baptismal font. He also noted that the Hagia Sophia was chosen as European Museum of the Year for 2010 thanks to the comprehensive restoration work and had received the Rotandi Award. Baptistery becomes sultan tomb Speaking about the features of the baptismal font, Dursun said the Hagia Sophia s Byzantine (Greek Orthodox) baptistery building had been turned into an Ottoman sultans tomb, and the sixthcentury baptismal font in it was moved to the baptistery s courtyard. He said the sultans who were buried in the tomb were those who had been dethroned. When Sultan Mustafa I and Sultan İbrahim were buried there, the baptistery turned into a sultans tomb and the baptismal font in it was moved to the court without being damaged. It remained under the soil. This court is a very beautiful section showing Byzantine art. Dursun said olive oil was used in baptism ceremonies in Byzantine Orthodox culture. Historical olive oil cubes and sarcophaguses were also unearthed in the court. (Continued on page 3)

7 St. Paul, MN Page 7 YOUTH NEWS UPCOMING YOUTH EVENTS February 6th: Oratorical Festival, Godparent & Superbowl Sunday February 11th-13th: Basketball Tournament in Rock Island, IL February 17th: HOPE Valentine Night February 19th: JOY Night Focuses on the Prodigal Son March 3rd: HOPE night-what is Lent? Christmas Program 2010 February 6th: Oratorical Festival It s approaching quickly! Make sure to encourage our youth as they work hard for this approaching date! See Andrea Faches for more information regarding this event Family Basketball Tournament Let s cheer on our members who are attending the tournament this month. St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Rock Island, Illinois will be hosting the Tournament February of Please see for more information. March 5th: March 26: JOY Night-A Lenten Focus GOYA Feed My Starving Children, Movie Night & Lock-in Youth Groups GOYA: 9th-12th grades Jr. GOYA: 6th-8th grades JOY: Kindergarten 5th grades HOPE: Ages 3-5 GOYA Feed My Starving Children March Lock-in GOYANS-Mark your calendars for an event that will involve fellowship and growth in your faith as we work together to help others and learn about hospitality! You will have fun with your friends while helping others! Save the date! JOY goes sledding at Como Park HOPE Valentines Day Celebration HOPE group get ready to learn more about God s love as we celebrate Valentines day the right way with activities. Mark your calendars, parents! GOYA & JR. GOYA Goes Tubing in Maple Grove

8 S T. G E O R G E G R E E K O R T H O D O X C H U R C H 1111 Summit Avenue St. Paul, Minnesota ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID St. Paul, MN Permit No. 177 Phone: Fax: Web Site: Weekday Worship Schedule REGULAR WEEKLY SERVICES Holy Confession: By Appointment Meeting of Our Lord Orthros 8:00am Divine Liturgy 9:00am Wednesday, February 2 Vespers: (Sept. May) Saturday 5 pm Orthros: Sunday 9:00 am Sunday School:(September - May) following Communion Divine Liturgy: Sunday 9:30 am

9 February 2011 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday FAST DAY +FAST DAY +MEETING OF OUR LORD *1:30pm Philoptochos Mtg. +8:00am ORTHROS +9:00am LITURGY *5:00pm Radio Program KKMS 980am +5:00pm VESPERS ST. PHOTIOS +ST. THEODORE +FAST DAY +ST. +FAST DAY STRATELATES HARALAMBOS +8:15am ORTHROS +9:30am LITURGY *11:30am GOYAL Basketball Oratorical Festival *12:00pm MEOCCA Tourney at Rock *12:00pm Godparent- Mtg. at Holy Trinity Island, IL Godchild-Newcomer OCA *5:00pm Radio Luncheon *7:00pm Catechism *7:00pm Bible Program KKMS *12:30-2:30pm Youth Class Study at Fr. Rick's *7:00pm Parish 980am Basketball Home Council +5:00pm VESPERS *2:30pm Adult Basketball at St. Mary Greek PUBLICAN & +ST. THEODORE PHARISEE - OF TYRE TRIODION BEGINS *5:00pm Spiritual *5:00pm Radio +8:15am ORTHROS Life Cmte Program KKMS +9:30am LITURGY *5:00pm Loaves *5:30pm HOPE 980am & Fishes Youth- Valentine's +5:00pm VESPERS *11:00am Sunday Day & God's Love School Classes *7:00pm Catechism *6:00pm JOY Class *7:00pm Ahepa Youth- Who is the *11:30am Acolyte Mtg Prodigal Son? Training + NO FASTING PRODIGAL SON PRESIDENT'S +FAST DAY +FAST DAY +SATURDAY OF DAY SOULS +8:15am ORTHROS +ST. POLYCARP +ST. FOTINI +9:30am LITURGY OF SMYRNA +8:00am LITURGY +8:00am ORTHROS *11:00am Sunday +9:00am LITURGY School Classes *11:30am Choir +9:30am Divine Practice *7:00pm Catechism *7:00pm Liturgy in Eau Class Stewardship Cmte Claire, WI *5:00pm Radio Program KKMS 980am +5:00pm VESPERS +MEATFARE SUNDAY +8:15am ORTHROS +9:30am LITURGY *11:00am Sunday School Classes FAST FROM MEAT-DAIRY PERMITTED *7:00pm Catechism Class Coming in March... 6 CHEESEFARE & Missions Sunday 7 CLEAN/PURE MONDAY: Great & Holy Lent Begins 13 SUNDAY OF ORTHODOXY & Procession of Icons LENTEN RETREAT with Dr. Harry Boosalis 25 ANNUNCIATION & GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY 27 VENERATION OF CROSS & Procession Service St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 1111 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, MN Rev. Father Richard Demetrius Andrews -- Phone: (651)

10 ST. GEORGE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH MEMORIAL DONATION POLICY First, we extend to you our deep sympathies and prayers on the loss of your loved one who has departed from this life. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, extends the loving arms of His Church to you to embrace and comfort you. If you need assistance of any kind, please call our Parish priest or any Parish Council member. We will help you in any way we can. In the event of a person s death the surviving family members and/or friends may wish to make donations to the Church in the departed loved one s memory. This is a centuries old tradition well established in the Orthodox Church. Our parish allows the family to help designate how these funds will be spent. Often the family seeks direction to best assess the Parish s need as well as their own areas of interest. So that the priest can provide direction to families, the list of projects in Appedix-I has been pre-approved by the Parish Council as acceptable beneficiaries within the community for designated memorial donations that are made payable to St. George Greek Orthodox Church. If the family wishes to designate memorial funds that are made payable to the Church to an alternate St. George Church beneficiary other than what is identified in the pre-approved list, such requests must be made in writing and presented to the Parish Council for approval. For your convenience, the form to be submitted to the Parish Council for such requests is printed at the botton of this sheet. The family must designate these funds to one of the pre-approved beneficiaries within three months of the funeral date. All designations to a beneficiary not on the preapproved list will be considered on a case-by-case basis. If the family wishes to designate other memorial funds to an affiliated organization of St. George Church (e.g., Philoptochos, New Pioneers, AHEPA), it may do so by giving the money directly to that organization without involvement of the Church. However, memorial donations that have been made payable to the Church may not be redirected to these affiliated organizations. Modified and Approved by Parish Council on January 13, Appendix-I List of Approved Beneficiary Programs 1. Roselawn Cemetery Monument Fund 2. Church Sanctuary Fund 3. Building Improvement Fund 4. Property Acquisition & Development Fund 5. Youth Programs Fund 6. Camp Scholarship Fund 7. Other Last Modified Jan 13, 2011 Page 1

11 ST. GEORGE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH MEMORIAL DONATION DESIGNATION FORM Please list the Fund(s), from the above list of Approved Beneficiary Programs, which you wish to have your donations go towards: Other 1 Parishioner: Date: Descriptions of Funds - To enable a better understanding of where and how donations may be used, a brief, non-exhaustive description of each Fund is provided below. Roselawn Cemetery Fund: donations will be used to build a monument in the Greek section of the cemetery Prothesis Altar Fund: donations will be used to build an altar table used for Liturgy preparation Sign in Front of Church Fund: donations will be used to build new church signage on Summit Ave. Building Improvement Fund: donations will be used for any improvement, renovation or expansion of the building facilities. Property Acquisition & Development Fund: donations will be used for acquisition of land adjacent the Church or improvement of any land owned by the Church. Youth Programs: donations will be used for any needs associated with Youth Ministries. Camp Scholarship: donations will be used to provide financial support to youths from St. George GOC to attend Orthodox Christian camps. 1 If you select Other, you must specifically describe the area to which you want funds designated. This request must then be presented to the Parish Council for approval before the funds will be so directed. Last Modified Jan 13, 2011 Page 2

12 Stewardship 2011 Reflections By Fr. Richard Demetrius Andrews St. George Greek Orthodox Church, Saint Paul, Minnesota Parish Statistics Total Budget $312,368 Stewardship Budget $229,618 Difference $ 82,750 Number of Families (Low Est.) 232 Per Capita Giving to Meet Stewardship $ 989 Per Capita Giving to Meet Budget $1,346 Per Capita Giving 2009 $ 830 Per Cap. Increase Req to Meet Stewardship $ 169 $.46/Day $ 3.22/Week $ 14.08/mo. Per Capita Increase Req to Meet Budget $ 526 $ 1.44/Day $ 10.09/Week $ 43.83/mo. Average Household Income (Gross, Twin Cities) $60,000 Tithing (10%) Giving (Bible, Archdiocese) $ 6,000 Average Giving St. George Family $ 830 Percentage of Average Household Inc. 1.4 % Percentage Req to Meet Stewardship 1.65 % Percentage Req to Meet Budget 2.3 % Steps Toward Tithing 1. Meditate, Pray and Read- to understand what God expects of us. 2. Thank God for everything you have- it s all His anyways; He s just loaning it to us and watching. 3. Look at Where You Are- total dollar amount and percentage of gross income 4. Decide to Commit to Growth- it will not happen unless you make the decision and take the first step. 5. Plan for Growth- budget at beginning of year; prioritize stewardship first, then work from there. 6. Set Goals for Growth- use % of income scale; if I m giving ½ %, then shoot for 1%; if I m giving 1%, then shoot for 2%. Avoid model of % increase over previous stewardship. Why? Because a 10 % increase over ½% tithe is still only.55% tithe. It will take you forever to grow in giving. 1

13 Stewardship (from Jan.2011 GT) The appeal letter that everyone received in December contained some information that I would like to expand on briefly. Here are some figures to consider. We have about 232 families/individuals who financially support our community. Our total budget to carry out the mission and ministry or our parish is $312,368 in Of that total, we are planning to receive $229,618 in stewardship contributions for our members. The rest will come from fundraisers, tray/candle offerings and other income. In order to achieve our stewardship fundraising goal, each family/individual needs to give $989 on average. In order for us to be a self-sufficient parish, not relying on outside fundraiser type income, we need to average $1,346 per family/individual. In 2009, our annual stewardship giving averaged $830 per capita. So a $169 per family/individual increase would help us meet our parish stewardship goal and a $526 increase would boost us to self-sufficient status. Here are some more figures to consider. Recent census figures say the average gross household income in the Twin Cities is $60,000. I m quite sure that our parish membership average is significantly higher than this but for the sake of example we use this figure. If we all followed the biblical and Archdiocesan model of tithing (10% of gross income) for stewardship, the average per capita giving would be $6,000. Can you imagine what kind of ministries St. George would have if this were the case? Taking our $830 average stewardship contribution and comparing it to the $60K average household income, one could assert that we average giving about 1.4% of our income. Taking the $989 as a goal, that would require us to give an average of 1.65% and the higher goal of $1,346 would require 2.3%. Of course, those who earn above $60K have more disposable income and can more easily give a higher percentage of income as stewardship to the Church. The point here is that in order to meet our parish stewardship goals, it doesn t require us to even come close to tithing our income. If everyone made it a personal/family goal to give at least 2.0% of gross income, our parish financial anxiety would disappear. This is an attainable goal. Let s dedicate ourselves to doing it so we can leave these worries behind and get on to the real business of our parish: preaching, teaching and healing. Amen! Tithing (from Nov.GT) The biblical model for thanksgiving is tithing or giving a tenth of our material wealth. When tithing is mentioned often people scoff or laugh as if it s a joke. And that s the reality. What we Greek Orthodox give to God to support His work in the ministry of the Church is laughable. Consider that in the United States, the Greeks are the second wealthiest ethnic group and the most educated. Yet, we are dead last in per capita giving to religious organizations namely our Greek Orthodox Church. It makes one wonder if we ever truly came to Christ and saw what He did for us on the Cross. Baby Steps Growth and maturity in the spiritual life is progressive. In other words, it is ongoing and happens in steps that require a significant effort on our part. Growth is not guaranteed because, if the effort stops, then atrophy and backsliding will inevitable occur. We don t expect babies to go from helplessly lying on their back one day to walking, running and jumping the next. We help them make small approximations from crawling to standing up to a few steps to walking and then to running and so on. It is our encouragement and their effort that builds their muscles and teaches their brain how to control them. Likewise, it is very difficult, if not impossible, for us to go from a habit of not praying one day, to an hour of true saintly prayer the next. Similarly, how many of us are able to follow the Church fasting prescriptions after not fasting for a long period? I advise people to take baby steps in the spiritual life in order to exercise the spirit and soul to become disciplined and strong. It s better to pray one minute each day than thirty minutes once per month. It s better to read one chapter from the bible each day than to read a whole book on the last day of the month. That does not mean we pray one minute per day for the rest of our lives but it s a good start until we re ready to stand up, walk and run. Walking This progressive growth model can be applied towards stewardship. Often people are paralyzed because they see the gap between the ideal and where they are and cannot imagine even how to take the first step towards tithing and sacrificial giving. Yet, that first step is essential. Just like parents encourage their child to take their first step and are ready to catch them if they fall, we should be encouraging of one another to take a positive step towards stewardship giving. We should be ready to help with an outstretched hand giving an example of how it can be done. My Story As a single person and as a spouse, I ve tried to apply this principle in my life. I want to share with all of you my own struggle to crawl and walk in stewardship. I don t do this pridefully because I am no where near perfect. I have many faults, sins and mistakes of which many of you are painfully aware. Yet, most if not all of you know what I earn as a priest of this parish and I hope that what I share will be an outstretched arm to help us walk together in order to support the ministry of God s Church. 2

14 Like many young adults, I depended on my parents for lots of support through college and right after. During those years, I also experienced the loving helping hands of many faithful Orthodox Christians. I decided to start financially supporting the local parish in order to help others experience what I did. I began with $100 per year and that grew to about $400 per year back in the late 1980s. After Presvytera Jane and I were married and left for seminary, we experienced at times near poverty living. Once again, people within the Church helped us when we could barely help ourselves. We relied a great deal on other individuals and organizations to help pay for my seminary education, while Pres. Jane worked full time. Despite those tight periods we still made small offerings to our local parish in Boston. After graduation and spending the summer in Greece, we returned to the States awaiting ordination. My first assignment in Chicago was challenging as we barely made any more than Pres. Jane earned in Boston. Yet, now we also had a young child to support. However, we made sure to fill out a stewardship pledge card to support the local parish of the Church, a Church that always supported us spiritually and materially. When I was assigned by the bishop to the parish in Racine, Wisconsin, we received a substantial wage increase that enabled us to purchase a home. However, becoming a proistamenos (head pastor/priest) also meant that parishioners would be looking to me more than ever to set the example for living the life in Christ, including stewardship. The reality was I was following the example of other priests and faithful whom I knew. Most, if not all, were not tithing. And this carried into my assignment here at St. George in Saint Paul. However, as with many things in the spiritual life, I was convicted by my own preaching. I didn t feel comfortable talking about tithing if I was not making a real effort to try and fulfill it myself. So, I began increasing my stewardship monetary offering by about a half percent for the next five years and by one to two percent the next five years. Now, in year 2010, we are giving over ten percent of my gross compensation (salary, housing, social security and auto allowance) back to the parish of St. George with thanks to God for all things. We are still working towards a full tithe of our total income, but we re close. This was not an easy process. I ll have to admit that it was difficult to return money to God knowing what nice things we wanted to buy and not knowing if we could actually pay for things we needed. It really required faith and trust in God, and He has provided for our every need. One of the practical steps we took to help the process was budgeting our stewardship increase first each year and then tailoring our other expenses after that priority. It s much easier to give to God first than to try and give Him leftovers. I have learned that as I give more money away to Church and charities, the less I actually worry about money and the more joyful I ve become. It truly is a blessing that God has hard-wired into us. Our Story Our parish of St. George outreaches to approximately 245 families that total approximately 550 members. We also minister to many outside our church community. Some examples are assisting the local poor through benevolent activities, supporting our Archdiocese and Metropolis through fair share giving, edifying other local Christians through retreats, lectures and pan-orthodox events, and sharing our faith and culture through the Greek Festival and Festival of Nations. The ministries of our parish require human, financial and physical plant resources. There is a tangible cost to have our own spiritual home and temple to worship and fellowship in. Our annual budget is around $300,000. In the past few years, our stewardship income has not kept pace with the rising costs of doing ministry. Last year, we used all of our fundraiser net income and about $17,000 from our investments just to balance the operating budget. We need to turn this trend around so that we become a self-supporting community through stewardship. Then our fundraiser income can be used for benevolent purposes and/or capital improvements. If all of us were tithing we would have a surplus of operating income, and thus no need for fundraisers to support additional benevolence and capital projects. We can do this if we have faith and trust in God. From End of Year 2010 Appeal Letter Also enclosed is a Stewardship Card for 2011, which asks for your commitment of Time, Talents and Treasures. Thank you in advance for your participation in the various activities and ministries of our church. Regarding our Treasures, we want our operating budget to be covered by pledges and stewardship contributions. What does this mean to each Steward or contributor to the church? Our stewardship income goal is $229,618 and our total budget for 2011 is $312,368. As we mentioned in the Parish Assembly Meeting in November, that means we must average a minimum $989 per family giving to meet our stewardship income goal and $1,346 to fully support our mission and secure the financial resources of our parish. For many of us that will mean an average increase of $164 and $521 respectively. In other words, if everyone gave on average 45 cents more per day we would meet our stewardship income goal and if they gave $1.43 more per day, we would be a fully self-supporting community. These are attainable goals. I would hope that you would join me and the leaders of the church to exceed this minimum financial support needed for the church's ministries in

15 St. George Greek Orthodox Church Parish Council Meeting Minutes December 10, 2010 Attendees: Fr. Rick Andrews, Vice President Paul Pliakas by telephone, Secretary Tom Lampros, Treasurer Frank Mortari (led meeting in absence of the president), Asst. Treasurer Diane Anastos, Jason Barbes, Stacy Katsiyiannis, Christ Kontenakos, Sophronis Mantoles, Frank Nemeth, Jim Theros, Joe Weiser Absent: President Eric Chadwick Guests: Newly elected members: Alexis Bighley, Dan Simon, Steve Zeece I. Call to Order, 7:05 II. III. IV. Opening Prayer Submission of Minutes: The Minutes from the November were accepted. It was agreed that that the November 14, 2010 Parish Assembly minutes as circulated were acceptable for submission at the next Assembly meeting. Treasurer s Report: Frank Mortari reviewed the November 2010 bank accounts and Financial Report. A Rental Property P&L report was also reviewed. Highlights were that we had received notification that both the elevator and cleaning maintenance contracts will increase by 4.8 and 2.9% respectively in V. Father s Report: Father Rick presented a Stewardship report on behalf of the Stewardship Committee. It was observed that pledgers compared to donors or non-pledgers donate significantly more. If pledgers donated an additional $0.50 per day, this could erase the need to transfer additional funds from reserves above what fundraisers generate. Father welcomed new Council members, congratulated re-elected members and thanked outgoing Council members. Fr. reminded us that Advent had begun and encouraged everyone to participate in the additional worship opportunities. The Saint Elizabeth Orthodox Mission in Eagan is interested in accepting the old Altar Table. The 2011 basketball tournament is February and the host parish, Saint George in Rock Island, IL has sent enrolment information and a program book. Father encouraged Council to consider placing an ad from our church in the program booklet since we will host the tournament in The Eritrean community has submitted an agreement to use the facility for both weekly church school and on Sunday, December 12 for a community meeting. Work on the Archives has begun again. Fr. thanked George and Rita Kanavati and the other volunteers for preparing the meal for the Pan Orthodox Thanksgiving eve service. VI. Committee Reports a) Property Management: A committee was established to handle the sale of rental property. Some interested buyers have come forward. Current committee members are Eric C., Sophronis M. and Frank Nemeth. Tom Lampros, Diane Anastos and Steve Zeece had expressed in joining the committee. A meeting with the real estate agent is being planned. 1

16 b) Building and Grounds: A few updates were provided including on snow removal. A final report on the lower level redecorating was presented. That project is complete. c) Elections Committee: Vote tallies for the Dec 5/10 Parish Council elections were: Diane Anastos 48, Alexis Bighley 46, Tom Lampros 61, Dan Simon 50, Steve Zeece 49. Twentyseven write-in votes were received for Andrea Faches. d) Art Auction Final Report: Total Income (including pre-sale tickets) was $22,595. Total Expenses were $15,937 for a net profit of $6,658. This number is down from two years ago when the last event was held. The event was deemed a success. VII. New Business a) Protest of Parish Council Election: A Council candidate refused from the ballot has expressed intent to file a protest with the Metropolis. This matter will be handled through the Metropolis once both the protest and the Parish Council elections results are submitted to the Metropolis. b) Meeting of Parish Council at FOCUS: Tom moved, Diane seconded to hold the March 10th, 2011 Council meeting at the FOCUS facility at 1600 East Lake Street in Minneapolis. Joe offered, and it was accepted, a friendly amendment to start the meeting earlier, at 6pm, to allow for a tour of the facilities. Motion Passed. c) Memorial Reserves-Allocations and Projects List: Christ reviewed the reallocation of memorial funds to specific projects as agreed to by families who were contacted. Christ moved, Joe seconded to reallocate the funds as specified. Motion passed. The project list is being revised and will be voted on at the next meeting. VIII. Unfinished Business a) Andrea Smith Donations Request: Sophronis motioned, Jim seconded to contact the donors to Andrea Smith s mission activity and advise them that the donation is not tax deductible and if the donor is amenable, the donation will be directed to Fr. Rick s discretionary fund and all proceeds will be allocated toward purchase of her airfare. Donated funds will not be booked into the Church s operations account. Motion Passed. b) Rowselawn Update (Dimitri Dokos): The committee met on Nov 15/10 and reviewed a few different designs to build a monument in the Greek section of the Roselawn Cemetery. A design idea was accepted and Dean Dovolis has been asked to draft a detailed proposal of the accepted design as well as solicit bids from 3 vendors for the work (Lewiston Monument Co., City Monument Co., and Schoenrock & Sons. The committee will meet to review the final specs, cost estimate and select a vendor. c) Old Altar Table: Stacy moved, Paul seconded that the old altar table be donated to Saint Elizabeth Mission in Eagan. Motion Passed d) Ushering procedures: A draft revised procedure of ushering duties was distributed and Council members are asked to provide input to Tom and Diane by January 3 rd, 2011 to update this document. e) Community Party: January 8 th will be a community party sponsored by AHEPA and all are encouraged to purchase tickets and attend. IX. Other Business: a) On behal of the Parish Council Frank M. expressed his thanks to all outgoing Council members and presented a recognition plaque to Eric Chadwick for his years of service as Council president. b) Frank M. read an from Eric Chadwick expressing his regrets for not being present this evening and thanking everyone for their hard work, the collegial atmosphere in the Parish Council and in helping to achieve a lot in the six years he was on Council. X. Adjournment and Closing Prayer, 9:05 2

17 All documents and reports submitted at the meeting are on file with the original copy of the minutes at the church. Last Saved Date: February 1,