INSIDE THIS ISSUE Fr. Nick s Net

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1 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Fr. Nick s Net Parish News & Events From the Inter-NET Around the World Pg. 2 Pg. 3 Pg. 5 Pg. 6 HOLY TRINITY GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH STEUBENVILLE, OHIO OCTOBER 2014 VOLUME VI ISSUE 9 ALSO INCLUDED IN THIS ISSUE: October Calendar Metropolis Stewardship Seminar Flyer AHEPA Wine Tasting Flyer All Saints Consecration Flyer Taste of Greece Flyer THE MISSION OF THE HOLY TRINITY PARISH IS TO SEEK AND ACHIEVE ONENESS WITH GOD IN HIS REVEALED SON, JESUS CHRIST THROUGH DAILY SACRAMENTAL AND SACRIFICIAL LIVING. WE WILL STRIVE FOR THE PEACEFUL AND LOVING UNITY WITH OUR NEIGHBORS IN CHRIST WHICH MAKES US HIS DISCIPLES. / 1 The Net October 2011

2 Fr. Nick s Net The Net is the Monthly Newsletter of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church PARISH INFORMATION PARISH PRIEST: FR. NICHOLAS M. HALKIAS PHONE: (740) HOME: (724) FRNICK@HOLYTRINITYSTB.ORG ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: KIM PALUCH OFFICE@HOLYTRINITYSTB.ORG PARISH ADDRESS: 300 SOUTH FOURTH STREET P.O. BOX 788 STEUBENVILLE, OH PHONE: (740) FAX: (740) OFFICE@HOLYTRINITYSTB.ORG WEB: Holy Trinity Church is a parish of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Pittsburgh (pittsburgh.goarch.org) and Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America ( under the Spiritual Jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( PARISH MINISTRIES Tony Mougianis John Scavdis Susan Vogagis Rikki Kamarados Nick Riley Greg Matzorkis George Berris Steve Pahides John Synodinos PARISH COUNCIL President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Asst. Treasurer Asst. Treasurer Don Kronstein Connie Shea Marianne Balakos Philoptochos... Rikki Kamarados Religious Education... Stewardship... GOYA... Rikki Kamarados JOY... Maria Matzorkis HOPE... Maria Matzorkis Choir... Pete Caleodis Library / Bookstore... Mary Romios Senior Citizens... Barbara Lee Maragos Chian Society... John Synodinos Pan-Icarian Brotherhood... Stacey Kotsanis AHEPA... Tommy Kotsanis October 2014 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Christ is in our midst! He is and always shall be! We delight in the joy of Christ s presence in our lives. It is this fact that gives so many of us a purpose or reason to live our lives just a bit more joyfully than we would otherwise. Jesus presence heals so much that is broken in our fallen existence here in this world. And when we look around at a world that desperately needs more of Him, we see so many more opportunities for bearing witness to His wonderful deeds. But the simple fact remains that although there are so many who need to know His love, there are still so many who have received His love consciously and haven t given back to Him proper thanks and sacrifice. When our Lord healed the ten lepers, only one turned back to thank Him. When He healed the man beside the pool of Bethesda, the man reported Him to the Jews. There are so many times where Pharaoh saw the amazing works of God and still never gave Him the praise and glory. Do we do the same by sometimes ignoring God s gifts to us? This is precisely the opposite of Stewardship. Stewardship is our response to the acknowledgement of God s blessings in our lives. Simply put: it is giving back to God a portion of the blessings and love that He gives to us. I know that many of us hear Stewardship and we think money. But that is so limited. Considering that the Bible talks about tithing, then money is involved in it. Nevertheless, if we only consider that Stewardship is about money, then we are missing an enormous part of what God want from us in our lives. We must find ways of giving back to God the joys and blessings He has so richly bestowed upon us. But there is another aspect of Stewardship. One that also gets lost, if we are not careful. It is the idea that to be a good steward, before we can ever give back to God a portion of the thanks He deserves for His gifts to us, don t we have an obligation to find out exactly how big a gift He has given to us? One of the reasons we struggle to understand Stewardship is because we don t realize what God has truly done for us. We haven t stopped to prayerfully measure it with our hearts, minds and souls. We haven t reconciled ourselves to actually see the gift or blessing for what it is. We try to get away by saying, Well He is God. That s what He does; He blesses us or forgives us. Why should I be anymore thankful or appreciative now than I ve ever been in the past? This is a valid thought for some, but not for those who truly understand how our Lord works. After all, just like the in parable of the talents, each person will be required before God to give an account of what they have done with the gifts God has bestowed upon them. Have we made more with the gifts that God has given us, or have we let them sit without proper thanks, without proper praise, and most importantly without proper stewardship action in return for them? God has blessed us with so much, dear brothers and sisters in Christ. On a general level, He has given us life, and has allowed us to participate in His plan of salvation for the world. On a personal level, He has blessed us with gifts that are specific to each person s needs. Let us then, with prayerful consideration, determine what God has truly given us, and then give in return (from the bottom of our hearts) a measure of that joy back to Him! God Bless You All!!! 2 The Net October

3 News & Events WORSHIP SCHEDULE Sunday Worship... October We have now begun our regular schedule for Orthros and Liturgy. Orthros will now at 9:00 am and Liturgy is at 10:00 am. Sunday School begins at 11:00 am. We will now be having Hymnology the first Sunday of the month starting at 11:00 am. Wednesday Paraklesis Services... October Paraklesis Services will be offered every Wednesday at 6:00 pm unless otherwise stated. OCTOBER These are the services for the month of OCTOBER. Please check your schedules and plan to attend. Wednesday, October 1 Wednesday, October 8 Saturday, October 11 METROPOLIS STEWARDSHIP REGIONAL SEMINAR 10:00 am Steubenville Holy Trinity Tuesday, October 14 4:00 pm Confession Wednesday, October 15 Monday, October St. Artemios 8:30 am Orthros 9:30 am Liturgy Wednesday, October 22 Thursday, October 23 11:00 am Confession Tuesday, October OXI Day 8:30 am Orthros 9:30 am Liturgy Wednesday, October 29 HAPPY BIRTHDAY The following people will be celebrating their birthday in the month of October: Ann Damis Patra Kavades Sonja Richardson Debra Fuller Nick Tsouris Deena Riley Madison Manneh George Panagis Angie Teramana Marlane Figurski Argie Karvounides Nicholas Panagis Alexandra Panagis Carol Halkias Ava Terezis Dean Collaros Ethel Scavdis Kyra Halkias If your name was not listed and you had a birthday during this month, please contact the office and we will be happy to place it on our roster for next year. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION GREEK SCHOOL... October Greek school is scheduled every Monday from 4:00 pm until 5:00 pm here at the church unless otherwise stated. Check the Bulletin each week for changes. BIBLE STUDY...October The Bible Study group holds it meetings on the 2 nd and 4 th Monday of the month at 10:00 am. There is no scheduled meeting for the month of October. FAMILY FUN NIGHT... TBA Each month Family Fun Night meets at a different location. PARISH GROUPS AHEPA... October The AHEPA Society will now have their meetings scheduled through our Notify-Now system. 3 The Net October 2014

4 News & Events CHOIR... TBA Rehearsals are held weekly when possible and the times vary. Anyone who would be interested in joining the Choir is welcome to do so. Please contact Pete Caleodis if you are interested in joining. PHILOPTOCHOS... October 2 The next scheduled meeting of the Philoptochos will be dinner meeting scheduled for the first Thursday in October. They will be meeting at the church at 6:00 pm along with the Russian and Serbian Orthodox ladies of Steubenville. PARISH COUNCIL... October 14 Parish Council meetings are held the 2 nd Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm at the church unless otherwise stated. OPA... TBA OPA has its monthly meeting at a restaurant at 6:30 pm. All women are invited to attend these meetings. THEOLOGY ON TAP... TBA Each month Theology on Tap meets at a different location. GYRO SALE The next scheduled Gyro sale will be held on Tuesday, October 14 th from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm. Please help support these ladies in this endeavor. AHEPA WINE TASTING On Saturday, October 18, 2014, AHEPA, along with Tri- State Winemakers Club, will sponsor a Wine Tasting from 6-9 PM at the Hellenic Hall, 300 South Fourth Street, Steubenville, OH. There will be Greek hor d oeuvres and a silent auction. Donation will be $15.00 per person. This event will benefit AHEPA Charities. Please come and support this great cause. We are sure you have a great time. CHEERS!!!!! A TASTE OF GREECE Holy Trinity will be hosting a Taste of Greece on Saturday, November 1, They are in need of sponsors for the food that we will be serving. This is a chance for you to show off your culinary abilities. If you have food you would like to showcase, please call John Scavdis at or Rikki Kamarados at and tell them what you would like to prepare. They are also looking for items for the silent auction, so please call them with these donations too. METROPOLIS STEWARDSHIP MEETING Our parish of Holy Trinity will be hosting the South/Southwest Regional Metropolis Stewardship Seminar on Saturday October 11 th from am - 3:00 pm. This is a great opportunity for our parish to learn about Stewardship from the Archdiocesan Programs themselves. All Orthodox parishes within our region will be invited with their representatives. We trust that you will support and attend our seminar offering your thoughts, concerns and shared visions for the future of our Metropolis and parish. FOURTH STREET HEALTH CLINIC For the month of October we are asking dish soap, dusting Swiffer pads, Mr. Clean erasers, toilet bowl brushes, toilet bowl cleaner and toilet paper. Please be generous with your supplies as these go to a very worthy cause. THANK YOU AND GOODBYE It is with sadness and joy that my time has come to a close here at Holy Trinity. There is sadness because I am leaving a community of people that I have come to love and enjoy. You have all captured my heart. I have never been appreciated by so many people and I will truly miss each and every one of you. Joy because I feel I am opening up a new chapter in my life. I can now enjoy my husband, children and grandchildren more and do the things with them I couldn t do before. It will be a hard adjustment but I feel I am ready for the challenge. Thank you everyone. Don t think this is the last you will see of me. I plan to help bake for the Festival and still volunteer my time. I may not be Greek but you have made me an Honorary Greek. Sincerely, Mary Anne AUGUST MONTHLY FINANCIALS August weekly income $2, August weekly expense $7, The Net October

5 WHAT IS STEWARDSHIP? From the Inter-NET of the parish, our efforts will not reach their full potential. Orthodox Christian Stewardship is a way of life, which acknowledges accountability, reverence, and responsibility before God. A primary goal of Stewardship is to promote spiritual growth and strengthen faith. Becoming a Steward begins when we believe in God, to whom we give our love, loyalty and trust and act on those beliefs. As Stewards, we affirm that every aspect of our lives comes as a gift from Him. Stewardship calls on the faithful to cheerfully offer back to God a portion of the gifts with which they have been blessed. An Orthodox Christian Steward is an active participant in the life of the Church. The parish encourages all who accept the Orthodox Faith to become practicing Stewards. Each year the Steward is expected to carefully review his or her personal circumstances and make a commitment of time, talent, and treasure to support the Parish and her Ministries, which in turn support the National Ministries of our Archdiocese, Metropolises, and institutions. Effective stewardship ministry is not a single event or project. Rather, it is going out to our people wherever they are in their walk with Christ, listening to their concerns, helping them to realize their importance as branches of the True Vine and encouraging them to offer their gifts in His service. We use various resources to support our efforts, but unless we meet with our people personally, sincerely listen to their ideas and concerns, and share a vision for the future In Oriented Leadership their book on Orthodox Christian leadership, Williams and McKibben define stewardship as the call of the faithful to share willingly the gifts that God has bestowed on them, including sharing these gifts for God s work. Stewardship is devotion and service to God and His Church as persons, as families, as a Parish, as a Metropolis, as a National Church, and as the Church Universal. Stewardship is our active commitment to use ALL our time, talent and treasure for the benefit of humankind in grateful acknowledgement of Christ s redeeming love. -Stewardship is caring for the needs of others. -Stewardship is offering one's self to God as He offered Himself to us. -Stewardship is what a person does after saying "I believe..." as proof of that belief. - Williams and McKibben in Oriented Leadership In the words of Fr. William Chiganos of Holy Apostles Church in Westchester, Illinois, people don t give to need; they give to vision. Church people don t stretch their giving because of need to meet the budget; they give more because they are able to see a vision of people being reached and God s purposes being accomplished in the life of the church and its ministry. Parishes with successful Orthodox Christian Stewardship Programs have found that incredible support is unleashed from Stewards who unselfishly and joyfully offer their time, talent and treasures, which in turn enhances the spirituality and ministry of the local parish. Taken from: The Net October 2014

6 Around the World ASSEMBLY OF BISHOPS ISSUES STATEMENT ON THE MIDDLE EAST September 19, 2014 Blessed are the peacemakers (Matt. 5.9) We, the members of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America, gathered in Dallas, Texas, on September 16-18, 2014, prayed for the peace of the whole world (from the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom) and decried the brutal and bloody violence in the Middle East. The barbarity perpetrated against Christians, Muslims and vulnerable communities in the Middle East by the self-named Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as well as other jihadist groups has claimed numerous innocent lives and driven countless people from their homes. It has also threatened the existence of Christian communities, which enjoy an uninterrupted presence there for over two thousand years. Recent hostility not only against Christians and Yazidis, but also against Muslims, has shocked the entire civilized world. Echoing the statement of His Beatitude Patriarch John X of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East as well as the other Patriarchs of the East (August 14, 2014), we lament and denounce the egregious and barbarous incidents in the area, including religious intolerance and fanaticism, that erode the social fabric and unity of the region, destroying churches, shrines and monuments, which are the common heritage of all Christians and, indeed, all humanity. Along with His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, we cannot remain indifferent or silent before such irrational persecution, cultural intolerance and appalling loss of life, especially when caused by religious hatred and racial hostility (August 13, 2014). The recent horrific events in Iraq and Syria, Libya and Egypt, and especially in Palestine and Lebanon, demonstrate the dire consequences of remaining complacent in the face of evil. In this regard, we affirm the Message of the Primates of the Orthodox Autocephalous Churches (March 9, 2014), which called for the immediate cessation of military action, liberation of captives, and establishment of peace in the region through dialogue, stressing that Christians in the Middle East are a leaven of peace" and emphasizing that peace for all people also means peace for Christians. Therefore: 1) We affirm our solidarity with and pray for the safety of Christians in the Middle East, committing ourselves to work for peace and justice in the region. 2) We support international efforts to resolve the Israel- Palestine issue, ensuring the security, freedom and human rights of their peoples, and bringing peace to the Holy Land. 3) We encourage all people of good will to support agencies, already hard at work throughout the region, in their efforts to assist the displaced populations in order that they may return to their homes. 4) We urge governments and authorities to insist upon the fundamental human rights and religious freedom of all, urgently establish the rule of law, and immediately desist from supporting extremist groups and oppressive governments whether through financial means or military arms. 5) We urge the United Nations and the international community, and especially the government of our United States of America, to establish policies that promote peace and justice for all in the region, while refraining from all forms of violence. 6) We firmly reiterate our call for the immediate release of our brothers, the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Paul Yazigi and the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop John Ibrahim, both of Aleppo in Syria, who were kidnapped on April 22, 2013, as well as the release of all innocent captives. Finally, above and beyond our appeal and prayer for peace and justice, mindful that what is impossible with men is possible with God (Luke 18.27), we place our ultimate hope in God, who is the source of peace (Rom ). Taken from - docs/statementonmiddleeast%2cfinal.pdf 6 The Net October

7 The Net-Minders The Parish of Holy Trinity would like to thank the following benefactors for making this Monthly Newsletter possible: Place your AD Here In Loving Memory Of Nicholas Mougianis 7 The Net October 2014

8 Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church P.O. Box South Fourth Street Steubenville, OH NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE P A I D STEUBENVILLE, OH PERMIT NO. 83 Submissions for THE NET are to be submitted by the 20 th of each month About the Icon on the Cover GREAT MARTYR DEMETRIOS THE MYRRH-FLOWING Saint Demetrios suffered in Thessalonica during the reign of Galerius Maximian (c. 306). The military expertise of Saint Demetrios led Galerius, to appoint him commander of the Roman forces in Thessaly and Proconsul for Hellas. Since faith in Christ had touched his heart, all the glory of this world meant nothing to him, and there was nothing he preferred to teaching and preaching the word of God. Despite the persecution directed against Christians by the Emperor, Saint Demetrios brought a large number of pagans to the faith. A number of pagans denounced Demetrios as a Christian. Demetrios was confined in a cell, located in the basement of nearby baths. Maximian arranged for games and gladiatorial combats to take place in the amphitheater of the city. He had brought with him a man of gigantic stature and Herculean strength called Lyaios. There was in the city a young Christian called Nestor, who ran to the baths where Demetrios was imprisoned and asked for the protection of his prayer in going to confront the giant. The Martyr made the sign of the Cross on the brow and the heart of the boy, and sent him like David before Goliath. He reached the amphitheater just as the heralds were crying out on all sides for any who would stand against Lyaios. Advancing towards the Emperor, Nestor threw his tunic to the ground and shouted, "God of Demetrios, help me!" At the very moment the giant rushed upon him, Nestor slipped aside and stabbed him to the heart with his dagger. Rather than yield to the sign of the sovereign power of God, the Emperor flew into a rage. He had heard Nestor calling upon the God of Demetrios and, supposing the Saint had used some kind of witchcraft, Maximian ordered his soldiers to go and thrust Demetrios through with their lances, without trial, in the depths of his prison cell. There were some Christians, including Demetrios' servant Lupus, present at his martyrdom, and when the soldiers had gone, they reverently buried the Saint's body. It was God's will that the grace with which He filled Saint Demetrios should remain active even after his death. This is why He caused to flow from his body a myron with a delightful scent, which had the property of healing all who took it as an unction, with faith in the intercession of the Saint. Time and again, during sixteen hundred years, Saint Demetrios has given proof of his benevolent care for the city of Thessalonica and its inhabitants. He has defended them from the attacks of barbarians, he has preserved them from plague and famine, healed the sick and comforted the afflicted. Excerpted from: