APRIL The People we are, the God he is. ERNIE S CATERING (586)

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1 The People we are, the God he is. St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church 760 West Wattles Road Troy, Michigan (248) Fax: (248) Website: stnicholastroy.org Archdiocese Website: goarch.org Rev. Fr. Stratton Dorozenski Priest Emergency phone (248) Rev. Fr. Michael Manos Asst. Priest Emergency phone (313) Sunday Services Orthros-9:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy-10:00 a.m. Catechism Classes-10:30 a.m. Kris Viver, Office Administrator Catechism School Office Patti Chalker, The Echo ECHO STAFF The Pulpit....Fr. Michael Manos Editor....Patti Chalker Council Secretary..... George Manolias Philoptochos... Andrea Feles Katsimbaris Catechism... Margaret Theofanous Argonauts...Alice Vretta G.O.Y.A.....Maria Manolias Bookstore... Maria Kokkinakis Opa! FEST Sponsors... Karen Cosmos ERNIE S CATERING (586) APRIL 2018 Holy Week deepens our self-understanding. It encourages us to read our own person into the diverse characters encountered in the services and scripture readings, and pushes us further into the complexity of our souls. The week opens with the celebration of three Bridegroom services, on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday evening. These services make us eager maidens, awaiting the appearance of their bridegroom. Some of us are well-prepared, with oil to last even through an unexpected delay. Others of us have readied in a hurry, and our lamps lose light before the middle of the night. At these services we look honestly at how we ve prepared, in our Lent and in our life, and wonder if we are ready to receive the bridegroom Christ. Even as we lament our neglect, we are grateful to find that we still have time. We tell ourselves not to be borne down with sleep, but instead to rouse ourselves and cry: Holy, Holy, Holy are You, our God, save us. When Wednesday comes, we have left the bridal chamber and stand with the crowds in Palestine. Just as those crowds saw Jesus heal the sick, raise paralytics, cleanse lepers and enliven the dead, we ourselves see God s healing and forgiveness come to us through the Unction Service. This joyful moment gives us relief in the middle of a long week, and bespeaks the joy still to come. Holy Thursday morning augments this joy, and Wednesday s oil of forgiveness is sweetened by the very bread and blood of life. Beholden, we hear what the disciples heard at the Last Supper: He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. Night, though, precedes the dawn. Before the Resurrection there is Crucifixion, and on Holy Thursday Night we aren t the faithful disciples but rather Judas himself. We hear our own voices in the belligerent crowd and are brought to tears by the moments in our life when we have not only ignored God but fought against Him. We consider that we, too, may have shouted: Crucify him! Crucify him! On Holy Friday, then, when we see Christ dead on the Cross, we lament the tragedy of human decision. Tears of our repentance fall on His lifeless corpse, and we sing regretful dirges. We want Christ back, and we want Him alive. On Holy Saturday morning, life begins again. It pulses underground, and Christ s Resurrection is seen first by the dead in Hades. Prophets see their prophecies fulfilled, and the faithful voices of the Old Testament urge Christ upward, shouting: Arise O God, and judge the earth; for you shall take all nations to Your inheritance. Continued on page 2

2 ANNOUNCEMENTS FuneraLS Helen Markoul (+ March 11) Mary Cosmos (+ March 12) Arthur Frangedakis (+ March 27) May THEIR MEMORIES be eternal For over 65 years and spanning into three generations of campers, the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Detroit Summer Camp (MDSC) has been providing faith, friendship and fun to the youth of our Metropolis since Located in Rose City (MI), approximately 3 hours north of Detroit, the camp is set in a beautiful and peaceful setting, in the heart of the Huron National Forest. With two unique camp programs (for older teens and for youth entering grades 3-11), the camp welcomes over 400 campers and over 125 staff throughout the different weeks each summer. We encourage all of the youth of our Metropolis to join us at MDSC The Metropolis of Detroit Summer Camp runs for 6 weeks each summer, beginning in late June. The summer begins with Week Zero, geared for young people entering Senior year or their first year of college. Following this week, the camp begins its regular 5 weeks of summer camp, for campers entering grades Our 2018 Camp Programs & Dates: Program for Young Adults (Entering Senior Year or College): Week Zero: June 24 June 30, 2018 Programs for Youth Entering Grades 3-11: Week 1: July 1 July 7, 2018 Week 2: July 8 July 14, 2018 Week 3: July 15 July 21, 2018 Week 4: July 22 July 28, 2018 Week 5: July 29 August 4, 2018 For questions or further information please contact: METROPOLIS OF DETROIT SUMMER CAMP ATTN: Geoffrey Lowes P.O. Box Livonia, MI GOMDSC@GMAIL.COM Fr. Michael s article continued from page 1 Finally, the Resurrection service comes. Christ is to appear on the earth, and all people will see that death has been destroyed. As we ready our family and make our way to church late Saturday night, we retrace the steps of the myrrhbearing women. Bearing the fragrance of repentance, and the spices of anticipation, we come together at the tomb of Christ. We find the stone-home of death empty, and an angel sitting on a shattered coffin. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified? He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him! Gabriel s words awaken us and decimate our sorrow, and, upon hearing his joyful message, we take it up ourselves: Christ is risen from the dead, by death, trampling down upon death, and to those in the tombs He has granted life. We are so many people during Holy Week. We are nervous brides, lepers cleansed, disciples nourished, crowds enraged. We are traitors and we are faithful we are the first to have Christ Crucified, and the first to see Him Risen. Christ, though, is always the same. He loves His bride; He heals His sick; He feeds His faithful; He forgives His betrayers; and, He shows His beloved that even death cannot do them part. Holy Week shows us our changing self and our changeless God. It shows us the Way, the Truth, and the Life. St. Nicholas Golf League Our St. Nicholas Golf League is always looking for golfers! Consider joining the league. We play on Monday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. at Glenhurst Golf Course in Redford. If you have any questions please contact Joann Kefalas at jmkgreek@gmail.com or (248) If you don t want to play as a member of the league but would like to play occasionally, let Joann know and she will work you into the schedule,. First golf date is Monday, April 23 (weather permitting). Come out and enjoy golfing with your fellow church members. 2

3 Parish news PARISH COUNCIL Phase III Expansion and Fundraising The construction is nearly complete. We await certificates of occupancy from the City of Troy for the new Community Room and approval of the new kitchen walk-in refrigerator and freezer. There will be a Special Preview Event fundraiser scheduled for the evening of April 13, limited to the first 125 people. Tickets will be $50 each. On April 15, Fr Stratton will conduct an Agiasmo blessing for the new Community Room and all parishioners are invited to see the unveiling of the new space and brunch. Details to follow. Catering George Manolias reported feedback from around the parish on recent events has been positive, and that menu prices have been reasonable and comparable to market. All inquiries to hold events at our Event Center can go to Sam Backos at (586) or at sales2@erniesmi.com. Ernie s is located at Mile Road, Clinton Twp., MI The website is New Parish Website Our new website is finally complete, with a new look and feel, complete with multiple pages of content and an easy-to-follow navigation. The website address remains unchanged at stnicholastroy.org/. A Donate button, linked to our parish accounts which are kept at PNC Bank, is available on the website so that parishioners and any online visitors can make contributions online. The website will also allow for parishioners to set up an account online and to contribute to their Stewardship pledge. There are also links to parish resources, our Facebook photo gallery and other areas. The master calendar of events is present, as is a link to our caterer. If you have any content, announcements or news to be placed on the website, please it to the church stnicholastroyoffice@comcast.net. For all submissions, Fr Michael is the editor and together with Fr Stratton must approver all material, **If anyone has an ipad(s) that they are not using and would like to donate it to our church, it would be appreciated. Please contact the office for additional information. Thanks you. Council Meeting 2018 Schedule Parish Council meets on the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. Our next meeting is April 11. April 8 April 15 May 13 May 20 June 17 June Nov. 11 Nov. 18 Dec. 2 Council Calendar 2018 Anastasi / Resurrection Social Phase III Expansion Grand Opening Mother s Day Cake and Coffee Spring General Assembly Father s Day- Dads & Grads Breakfast Opa! FEST 2018 Feather Party Fall General Assembly Feast Day Breakfast Just a reminder In order to assist in the posting of donations to your account, please use the unnumbered envelopes available in the narthex and include your membership number on all donations, cash or checks. Your membership number is located on envelopes sent to you or your may call the church office for the information. Thank you! 3

4 Parish news CATECHISM St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival On Sunday, March 18 our parish level Oratorical Festival was held. There were five speakers: four Junior Division participants and one Elementary Division speaker. John Papp took the challenge to participate as a sixth grader. Hopefully he ll use the experience and share his talents again next year as an official junior division entry. The speakers presentation in the following order: #1. Katerina Kaltsounis In John 15:13 15, Jesus teaches about friendship to His disciples. Discuss the importance of friendship in your life. #2. George Perakis In John 15:13 15, Jesus teaches about friendship to His disciples. Discuss the importance of friendship in your life. #3. Nicholas Kalkanis Talk about a time and circumstance when you were in awe and wonder where you sensed the majesty of God. 4#. John Papp. Choose a parable from the Gospel of Luke and discuss how it speaks to our contemporary life. #5. Sia Kaltsounis Choose a parable from the Gospel of Luke and discuss how it speaks to our contemporary life. (The parable of the Prodigal son) Nicholas Kalkanis will represent our parish in the District Festival on April 14, at Assumption Church in Grand Blanc. Congratulations Nicholas! We wish to thank Mrs. Laurel Kalkanis, who has in the past and this year, for coordinating the festival. The participants high-fived each other and shared the thumbs-up sign after each speech. How exciting it is to have a group of such caring and enthusiastic participants! REMINDER: Charts for additional services attended during Great Lent are due back to teachers no later than May 6 along with O.C.M.C. collection containers. G.O.Y.A. With all of the Lenten activities, March was a very busy month. On March 10, we attended a Lenten Retreat at Saints Constantine and Helen Church in Westland. We had a great time exploring our faith, reuniting with friends in our Metropolis, and making new friends. We did not have a community service event this month, but are looking forward to collaborating with FOCUS Detroit in April. Our junior and senior GOYANs also met with Father Stratton to discuss the New York trip in April. As for April, our GOYANs are looking forward to celebrating Pascha by attending church and celebrating with our families. As stated, we will be collaborating with FOCUS Detroit sometime in April, whether that be going back to the Detroit Achievement Academy or cleaning up outside. The highlight of the month will definitely be the New York City trip for our upperclassmen, which will take place April We will be visiting the Archdiocese, touring the city, and having a great time as a G.O.Y.A. Our younger GOYANs are also working on a homebased activity. The time is also quickly approaching for G.O.Y.A. elections. If your GOYAn is interested in running for a position for the G.O.Y.A. Board, please G.O.Y.A. Co-advisor Tina Souphis at tsouphis@icloud.com. Also, be sure to attend our next meeting on April 15th. Argonauts Our expansion is complete and soon the Community Room will be open, and we re sure the seniors will be among the first to use and enjoy it! April brings the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior/Pascha. On April 19, we will sing Χριστός Ανέστη!-Christos Anesti!-Christ Is Risen! and crack red eggs together at our Pascha Luncheon in our Event Center. Please make reservations. Our group is very excited about its upcoming outing on April 28, to Stranford, Ontario, Canada to see the musical The Music Man. We look forward to our monthly luncheons and always welcome new members. If you have any questions concerning the Argonauts, please contact George Kallos. 4

5 Parish news PHILOPTOCHOS MISSION STATEMENT To promote charitable, benevolent and philanthropic outreach to preserve the sanctity of life and family and to perpetuate and promote our Orthodox faith and traditions. Past Events: Lenten Retreat- Iconography: Art and Faith On March 3, our 14th Annual Ladies Lenten Spiritual Retreat was held with guest speaker Fr. Anthony Salzman who spoke on Iconography: Art and Faith. The retreat was attended by over 60 women representing 13 Orthodox Churches. After a spiritual fulfilling day, participants left with a personally created icon. Book Drive A big thank you to our GOYAns and Catechism School for organizing a book drive collection to benefit FOCUS Detroit. We d like to thank all our Philoptochos members and to all who donated to this worthy cause. Project Linus: Thank you to all who donated and/or assembled fleece blankets in February. With your help we were able to donate 175 blankets. Seventy-five blankets were donated to Project Linus, 50 blankets were donated to UPC (United Cerebral Palsy of Michigan) and 50 blankets were donated to C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. Upcoming Events: Philoptochos Membership Drive 2018 Philoptochos Membership is being collected. If you are interested in joining or renewing your membership please fill our membership form. To obtain a membership form or if you have any questions contact Patti Bologna at pattibologna@mac.com or (586) May 9 Philoptochos Meeting We will be hosting a meeting and Tea Party. Please plan to attend this fun event and feel free to bring a friend. Details to follow. Opa! FEST Pastry Booth Opa! FEST June 22-24! It s that time again. Can you believe it s been 25 years! We need our Philoptochos to again support our festival with baked goods and working hours. Get out your calendars and make your commitment now. SAINT NICHOLAS BOOKSTORE & GIFT SHOP It is with great anticipation that we await the opening of the bookstore in its newly dedicated location. The St. Nicholas Bookstore was established in 1996 as an outreach ministry of our beloved St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. We offer a variety of Orthodox books and items to enhance the development and spiritual growth of our Orthodox Christian faith. Our vast selection includes: Byzantine Icons Orthodox Study Bibles Iconography Books Prayer Books Lives of Church Fathers & Saints Books Orthodox Children s Books Electric Vigil Lights Incense, Charcoal and Brass Censers Glass Tealight Votives & Wicks Candle Holders Sterling Silver Crosses Liturgical Music CDs Orthodox Greeting Cards Christmas Tree Ornaments Greek Cookbooks Greek Language Books Greek Dictionaries And so much more! Whether you are building your home library or establishing the icon corner of your home, looking for a baptism, birthday, Christmas, Nameday, Bridal or Baby Shower Gift..look no further than our parish Bookstore and Gift Shop. We look forward to you visiting our Saint Nicholas Bookstore and Gift Shop which is full of many treasures. For any assistance finding or requesting a specific book, icon or item Contact Maria Kokkinakis at stnicholasbookstore@yahoo.com or (248) If it is not in stock, every effort will be made to special order your request. We thank you for supporting our parish bookstore. 5

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7 Gem Sponsorships DIAMOND $ GARNET $ EMERALD $ JADE $ RUBY $ SAPPHIRE $ AMETHYST $ GOLD $ SILVER $50.00 BRONZE $25.00 OPA! FEST 2018 OUR 25TH YEAR! JUNE 22, 23, & 24, 2018 Diamond Garnet Emerald Jade Opa! FEST 2018 Sponsorship Order Form $2500 $2000 $1500 $1000 Ruby $750 Sapphire Amethyst Gold Silver Bronze $500 $250 $100 $50 $25 Name: Address: Sponsorship Name: Phone: Payment Enclosed:_$ or Visa/MC/DC/Ax Exp: CVV Signature Please make payment to: St. Nicholas Church Opa! FEST 760 West Wattles Road, Troy, Michigan, Phone: (248) Fax: (248) Questions and Correspondence to Karen: PLEASE PROVIDE ALL INFORMATION / LOGOS ON SEPARATE PAGE. 7

8 Opa! FEST Sponsor Levels DIAMOND $2,500 Prime Display location on Banner at Festival Full color inside front or outside back cover ad in program (based on availability) or Prime location of a full page black & white ad in program Prime listing on Sponsor page Prime listing on the website GARNET $2, Display banner at festival Full color inside back cover ad in program (based on availability) or Prime ½ page black & white ad in program Prime listing on web site Prime listing on sponsor page EMERALD $1,500 Display Banner at Festival Full page black & white ad in program Prime listing on sponsor page Prime listing on web site JADE-$1, Full-Page black & white ad in program Level listing on web site Prime listing on Sponsor page of web site RUBY $750 ½ page black & white Program ad Two Sidebar website advertisement Listing on Sponsor page of website SAPPHIRE $500 ¼ page ad in program Sidebar website advertisement Listing on Sponsor page of website AMETHYST $250 Business card size ad in program Listing on Sponsor page of website GOLD $ Listing on sponsor page of website and in program SILVER $50.00, Listing on sponsor page of website and in program BRONZE $25.00 Listing on sponsor page of website and in program 8

9 APRIL 2018 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Palm Sunday 1 Holy Monday 2 Holy Tuesday 3 Holy Wednesday 4 Holy Thursday 5 Holy Friday 6 Holy Saturday 7 8am Orthros 9am Divine Liturgy 11am Divine Liturgy 7pm Bridegroom Service 7pm Bridegroom Service 7pm Bridegroom Service 9:30 Egg Prep 4pm Holy Unction 7pm Holy Unction 6:30 am Vesperal Divine Liturgy 10am Dye & Wrap Eggs 7pm Passion of Christ 8:30am Royal Hours 9:30am Decorate Epitaphios 3pm Descent from the Cross 7pm Lamentations 10am Vesperal Divine Liturgy 11pm Resurrection Vigil Great & Holy Pascha 8 Bright Monday am Resurrection Service Followed by Pascha Social 11am Agape Vespers followed by Easter Egg Hunt Office Closed 6:30pm Opa! Dance Practice 4:30pm Greek School 7pm Parish Council Mtg. 7pm Philoptochos Mtg. 7pm Preview Party for Community Room (Reservations only) Sunday of Thomas Community Room Opening & Brunch 9am Orthros 10am Divine Liturgy 10:30 Catechism Classes 11:30am G.O.Y.A. Meeting 4:30 Greek School 7pm OCW 7pm AHEPA Meeting 7pm D.O.P. Meeting 7pm Opa! FEST General Meeting 4:30pm Greek School 10am Book Study 12pm Argonauts Luncheon 5pm Book Study Myrrh Bearing Women 22 St. George G.O.Y.A. 9am Orthros 10am Divine Liturgy 10:30 Catechism Classes 9am Orthros 10am Divine Liturgy 3pm Golf League 4:30 Greek School Sunday of the Paralytic am Orthros 10am Divine Liturgy 10:30 Catechism Classes 3pm Golf League 4:30 Greek School 6:30pm Opa! Dance Practice 4:30pm Greek School 11am Argonauts Board Meeting trip to 27 10am AHEPA Meeting New York City 28 Argonauts Outing to Stratford, Ontario, Canada ( The Music Man ) 9

10 St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church 760 West Wattles Road Troy, MI NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PAID TROY, MI Permit No. 171