A Moveable Festal Season is Coming upon Us!

Transcription

1 VOLUME 28 NUMBER 2 February 2019 Dearest Spiritual Ohana, A Moveable Festal Season is Coming upon Us! In our Orthodox Christian Faith, we have what are called Immoveable Feasts and Moveable Feasts. When it comes to the Immoveable Feasts, the dates never change. Some examples of the Immoveable Feasts are, for instance: Our Lord s Nativity on December 25, Epiphany on January 6, Entrance of the Lord into the Temple on February 2, Annunciation on March 25, Sts. Constantine and Helen on May 21, etc. When we speak of the Moveable Feasts, they are the Feasts whose dates vary from year to year. These Moveable Feasts revolve around the Feast of Feasts which is Pascha (Easter), our Lord s Resurrection, which is celebrated the 1st Sunday after the first full moon of Spring, which follows the vernal equinox when the length of day equal the length of night, but also must be celebrated after Jewish Passover. There are two very important periods we are entering into that make up the Moveable Feasts, namely the Triodion and the Pentecostarion Periods. Both the Triodion and the Pentecostarion, are in fact, Liturgical Books filled with the services for the Moveable Festal Season. The Triodion Period begins this year on Sunday, February 17th, which is made up of 4 preparatory weeks which lead us into 5 weeks of Great Lent, and ends with Holy Week on Holy Saturday. We embark upon a 1 labor-intensive spiritual journey with the goal of entering into the fulfilling Joy of God s Presence in our hearts and lives through the tools of abstinence, self-control, increased prayer, almsgiving and repentance. The Triodion Period beckons us to intensely struggle to refocus on our purpose of being, symbolic of our life and spiritual struggles on earth. The Pentecostarion Period begins on Pascha, Sunday, April 28th, this year, and ends the week after Pentecost on Sunday, June 23rd. The Pentecostarion Period is a time of celebration and victory, symbolic of the life that awaits us in the Heavenly Kingdom. So in last two week in February, and in the first two weeks in March this 2019 year, we enter into the Triodion Period and find ourselves fully immersed in the preparatory period which leads us into Great Lent. These four weeks of preparation, prior to the start of Great Lent, help us to examine and discern where we are in our personal, spiritual lives and call us to action. I challenge, as many of you as possible, to come to the services of especially Orthros to listen to the hymns and discern what these are personally saying to you! We have four Sundays in this preparatory period: The Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, the Sunday of Prodigal Son, Judgment Sunday and Forgiveness Sunday. (Continued on page 2)

2 (Continued from page 1) I share with you hymns from each of these Sundays found in the Orthros. I hope they speak to your hearts and your consciences. [All the Hymns below are taken from: Orthros courtesy of Narthex Press] From the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee- O faithful, let us despise the boastful voice of the Pharisee. Let us desire the contrite prayer of the Publican. Let us not be exalted in our thoughts, but let us humble ourselves and, in contrition, cry out, O God, be propitious to us in our sins. (Lauds) From the Sunday of the Prodigal Son- O Lord, I offer You the cry of the Prodigal, I have sinned before Your sight, O Good One. I have squandered the wealth of Your gifts. But receive me in repentance and save me, O Savior. (Lauds) From Judgment Sunday- I perceive that hour and day when we shall all appear before the unbribable Judge, naked and condemned. Then, the trumpet shall blast loudly, and the foundations of the earth shall shake and the Shorelines is published Monthly by: Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Pacific 930 Lunalilo Street Honolulu, Hawaii Phone : (808) Fax : (808) office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Parish Web Site: Regular Office Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday thru Friday Rev. Father Alexander M. Leong fralexanderleong@yahoo.com dead shall rise from the grave. All shall be of one stature, and every hidden secret shall stand revealed before You. Those who have never repented shall beat their breast and lament and shall depart to the outer fire. And the assembly of the righteous shall, in joy and in gladness, enter into the Heavenly chamber. (Lauds) From Forgiveness Sunday- O Lord, wretch that I am, I disobeyed Your commandment, and have been stripped of Your glory and filled with shame. Woe is me! I have been cast out from the delight of Paradise. Take pity on me, O merciful One, have mercy on me who have rightly been denied Your love, O compassionate One. I wish all of you a beautiful and rewarding spiritual journey as we enter the Triodion Period, experiencing the Fulfillment and Joy of God s Presence in your lives! With Love in Christ, +Fr. Alexander Church Staff Debby McGraw - Office Coordinator office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Erica Jansen - Bookkeeper 2019 Parish Council pc@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Trish Kiladis, President Garry Ross, Vice President Roni Katsikas, Treasurer Susan Shaindlin, Secretary Stavros Emery, John Kiladis, TCleopatra Kritikos, Scott Pasieta and Andrew Tujios. Sunday School Director Presbytera Nicole Leong Sunday School Teachers Shawn Chu, Jesse Horiuchi, Peter 2 Katsikas, Lexi Leventis, Maria Naval, Dimitri Nicholas, & Katherine Pasieta Philoptochos Board Anita Akel, President; Anita Higashi, 1st Vice President; Eres Eddy, 2nd Vice President; Alexandra Boval,Treasurer; Alice Malick, Recording Secretary; Valentina Varovaya, Corr. Secretary; Alma Chu, Advisor Choir-Chanters Orest Saikevych, Music Director Gregory Malick, Protopsaltis Parish Ministries Stelio Scordilis, Aloha Youth Choir; T.B.A., Bookstore; Dianna Graves, Greek Dance Groups; Stelio Scordilis, Greek School; Julie Ličina Web Master; Anita Higashi, Facebook

3 WEEKDAY SERVICES IN FEBRUARY GREAT VESPERS Fri. 2/1 Vespers 6:30 pm ENT. OF OUR LORD INTO THE TEMPLE Sat. 2/2 Orthros/Liturgy 8:30/9:30 am SATURDAY GREAT VESPERS Sat. 2/9, 2/16 Vespers 5:30 pm MAUI SERVICES Sat. 2/23 Liturgy 10:30 am February Parish Council Teams 2/3 Andy 2/10 Cleo 2/17 Scott 2/24 John Announcements Please remember in your prayers Judy Economou Dina Giannakopoulos Paul Kelley Julie Licina Alice Marie Malick The Melzack Family George Missias John Mitsis Christina Yepez and all those needing our prayers. Adult Religious Education Bible Study on the Gospel According to St. Mark Tuesdays 5 to 6:30 p.m. (series concludes 2/5/19) in the Social Hall To join in a Conference Call, please call (720) and enter PIN# Sunday Adult Religious Education Practicing our Orthodox Christian Faith Daily Study/Fellowship/Sharing Sundays 1:10 to 1:50 p.m. See Weekly Bulletin for upcoming sessions. Learn Greek! Beginners Sunday 12:00 1:00 PM Beginners II Friday 5:30 6:30 PM Intermediate Sunday 1:00 2:00 PM Advanced Friday 6:30 7:30 PM 3

4 Our Vision Be a beacon of Orthodoxy in Hawaii Our Mission Proclaim the Gospel of Christ to all people in accordance with the Orthodox Faith. Goals To sanctify and minister to the spiritual growth and needs of the faithful through liturgical worship and spiritual programs. To safeguard and keep the traditions, values, and faith of the Orthodox Church pure and undefiled. Share your news! Announcements that you would like to see in the March issue of Shorelines should be submitted to the church office by February 15th. W e e k l y B u l l e t i n announcements should be submitted by noon on Thursday for the upcoming Sunday. office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Call: New Liturgy Books Recently, we received our shipment of the 2019 Edition of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom books (hardcover). They contain the 2016 translation approved by the Eparchial Synod of the Archdiocese. The books are now available for use and are located in our pew pockets. They are also available for purchase at $25 each at the Narthex. Or drop by with a copy of your announcement. Maui Orthodox Christian Mission reminds those who attend services on Maui to visit or call to verify 4

5 The teaching process should involve helping the learners integrate new information into their pre -existing knowledge networks. Aloha SS Constantine & Helen Ohana, Last year, SS had the Faith Expression Festival, which was an opportunity for our students to express their Orthodox Christian Faith through speech, writing, drawing, singing, pictures and videos with creativity and free expression. The purpose of the event was to lead the youth to participate in our Local St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival, and in the Metropolis Oratorical Festival, and even in the National Oratorical Festival if it is God s Will. This year, we are planning to encourage the children, especially the older ones, to make a speech or presentation which requires some research and writing. We do not want to force them to do what they do not like to do, but we want to guide them to do what is beneficial for them. Parents, please support your children in having them do their best for this upcoming, beneficial opportunity. Below is part of an article, How to Help Your Children Become Active Learners in the Orthodox Faith by Katherine Damacopoulos ( publicorthodoxy.org/2019/01/10/help-children- become-active-learners-in-orthodox-faith/#more- 4917) According to researchers in the field, three of the primary principles of active learning are: That students are asked to generate connections, questions and solutions. Students are far more likely to recall and comprehend a topic if they are required to produce ideas rather than receive information from an instructor or textbook. Long-term retention of information requires the repetition and spaced retrieval of learned information. I am struck by how beautifully the Oratorical Festival aligns with these key principles. To write a 4-minute speech, teenagers develop their own ideas in the context of what they know about their church and faith. They may think about their personal experiences, read scripture, consider what they have learned in Sunday School, read about the lives of saints or their writings. Furthermore, once they have written their speech, they need to practice reciting it as participants are judged equally on both the content of the speech and their delivery. I learned as well in my research that repetition is how memories are moved from temporary storage in the hippocampus of our brains to more permanent storage in the cortex of our brains. I know this to be true from personal experience as well with the Oratorical Festival I know participants from the 1980s and 90s who can still recall entire paragraphs of the speeches that they delivered decades ago. One final thought and I share this as both a passionate advocate for the Oratorical Festival and a mother of 4. No child is ever going to come to you and say, I want to write a 3 4 minute speech about my faith. Please consider treating the Oratorical Festival like one of the other things in your child s life that they may not want to do, but you find a way to get them to do it anyway. As parents, we are confronted all the time with situations where our children don t want to do something that we know is beneficial to their growth and health. Going to school, getting shots, (continued on page 6) 5

6 (Continued from page 5) eating their vegetables these aren t choices you leave up to your child s discretion. You might reward them, you might praise them, you might threaten them (just kidding) whatever your parenting strategy is in these situations, please consider applying it here for the benefit of their long-term spiritual growth. Please continue praying for our Sunday School teachers, students, and parents. In Christ, Pres. Nicole Leong, Sunday School Director Stewardship Forms & Envelopes Aloha to all Parishioners of Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Pacific. Just a reminder that all Parishioners should have received your new 2019 Stewards Packet in the mail. If you did not receive it, please feel free to let me know, and I ll get you a packet. Once we receive your completed 2019 Pledge and Time & Talent forms, Steward Envelopes will be distributed to you. Please ensure that you fill out all requested areas on your form(s) and turn into Cleo only. Respectfully, Sarah Cleopatra Kritikos PHILOPTOCHOS CORNER Inasmuch as you did to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me. Matthew (25:40) Giving Focus in February: AUTISM SPEAKS Supports advance research into causes and better treatment for autism spectrum disorders & the needs of individuals with autism and their families. St. PHOTIOS GREEK ORTHODOX NATIONAL SHRINE (St. Augustine, Florida). Dedicated to the first colony of Greek people who came to America in 1768, the Shrine continues to witness people s love of faith and heritage. The Ss. Constantine and Helen Cathedral s Philoptochos Society Aloha Chapter is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) and is a philanthropic group of the parish and supports both the Metropolis of San Francisco & the National Philoptochos Societies. 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. 6

7 Dance Group News Thank you, everyone, for your Glendi donations and support of our dance ministry. I d also like to thank our dance group parents and dancers for their teamwork on the Glendi. In addition, the Nisiopeda dance group has done a Diakonia (community project) by supplying goodies to the Ronald McDonald House families. The Nisiopeda girls will be going to FDF this month and competing to represent our Parish. Let s wish them luck. There will be about 100 dance groups from youngsters to adults competing. Dance Ministry Director The Aloha Youth Choir has been busy preparing for FDF this month. We want to thank everyone who makes this trip possible the Parish Council, individual donors, and supporters of our baked goods sales and fundraisers. We also thank all the parents and families for their dedication and continuing support. 7

8 BRING THEM TO ME Jesus Is concerned about the 5,000 men plus women and children that are with him in the wilderness. His disciples tell him that all they have are five loaves and two small fish that a boy has offered. Jesus response is the phrase, Bring them to me. Jesus then takes the loaves, blesses and breaks them, and feeds 5,000 men plus women and children. We also bring what we have to Jesus. We offer bread and wine. He returns it to us as His body and blood in Holy Communion. We offer ourselves and we become the Church, His body on earth. No matter how much we give, He cannot be outdone. Just like the boy who offered the loaves and the fish, if we offer what we have however great or small our gift with prayer and humility, God will receive our gifts and multiply them to feed His people. 8

9 Through faith, God s will is accomplished in the world. Our great example is Mary, the Theotokos, the Mother of our Lord. When Archangel Gabriel came to her at the Annunciation, tradition and hymnology hold that all creation awaited her response. In faith and obedience to the will of God, Mary replied to the angel, Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be according to your word (Luke 1:38 NKJV). Mary responds with faith and fulfills God s will for all the world. As Orthodox Christian Stewards, we offer our life to the fulfillment of God s plan. 9

10 LEARN BYZANTINE CHANT EVERY FRIDAY AT 1:30PM (WITH OCCASIONAL EXCEPTIONS SEE WEEKLY BULLETIN) SS CONSTANTINE & HELEN GREEK ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL OF THE PACIFIC Every Friday, 10:30 am to Noon, unless otherwise noted. 930 LUNALILO ST. HONOLULU, HI All are welcomed to join the group. No vocal experience required. This is a laity group under the direction of Rev. Fr. Alexander Leong. Time commitment: 1.5hr. practice sessions on Fridays FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: ALICE MARIE MALICK (ALICEMARIEMALICK@HAWAII.RR.COM) C O F F E E H O U R Each individual/ family is requested to sponsor a coffee hour one Sunday per year. Sign up on the calendar posted outside the Social Hall or contact Frances R. Instructions/tips for sponsoring a coffee hour are available in a 3-ring binder in a cupboard in the hall. The Ladies of Philoptochos appreciate any donations of coffee supplies, including paper supplies to help defray some of the coffee hour expenses. If you are hesitant to prepare and serve a coffee hour yourself, consider making a monetary donation. Please do not bring non- Lenten food including cake & ice cream during fasting periods. Thank you to our January Sunday Coffee Hour Sponsors! 1/6 Parish Council 1/13 Vasilopita Philoptochos 1/20 Chris and Sooka Mann 1/27 Melzack Family 10