The Voice of Holy Trinity

Transcription

1 The Voice of Holy Trinity September Since the kingdom of God is not just words, it is power. 1 CORINTHIANS 4:20 HOLY TRINITY GREEK ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL 3131 NE Glisan St., Portland, Oregon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Parishioners and Friends, I am filled with enthusiasm and excitement as I write to you at the beginning of a new ecclesiastical year! I am optimistic because it has been a magnificent Summer and I feel that we have great energy and momentum as we begin a new school year and church year! We had an excellent Vacation Church School. We would like to build that ministry and see more participants next year. Hopefully that will be the case as it was a terrific program. It was an Archdiocese Clergy-Laity year and the congress in Nashville was inspiring and manifested the unity of the Church. This was followed by our Summer Camp. Not only did we have more campers this year, but the program truly came together in a phenomenal way! After our Summer Camp my family along with Stephanie Marschman, Elena Triantafillou and Hanna Makarounis went to Session 2 of the Ionian Village. This was a transformative experience for all of us. You may wish to speak to all the participants including Julia Karambelas who went for the first session to get their impressions. Hopefully, we can continue to have young people participating in this ministry as campers and counselors in the future! We are thankful that Fr. Tom Paris was able to be at Holy Trinity for the three weeks that I was away. He not only filled in, but brought something very special to the community making it a dynamic and spiritually rewarding time. The 15 days of August were also meaningful and the feastday itself was nicely attended and beautifully celebrated both at the Great Vespers and the and. For all these wonderful experiences and more that took place this Summer, we are thankful and renewed as we begin this new year! I pray that you will make every effort to fully engage yourself in the life of community this year. It is a joy and blessing for me to serve this dynamic parish. I thank everyone for all that they do and all the ways that they serve. As I am writing this a group of dedicated workers is making Dolmathes for the Greek Festival. Our volunteers have put forth a tremendous effort for months already. I hope that you will join and volunteer for the festival and encourage your friends to attend. There are so many ways both small and great that we can contribute to the overall vitality of our community. Be sure to enroll your children in Sunday School so that we can get off to a great start. You can register online at our website at More work has been done to beautify our classrooms over the Summer! May this be a year filled with the grace of our Lord! My prayers are with you all for good health and progress in life. Happy New Year! Love in Christ, Fr. Paul Services for September Thursday, Sept. 1: The Indiction 8:00 am, 9:30 am Wed. Sept. 7: 7:00 pm Great Vespers for the Nativity of the Theotokos Thursday, Sept. 8: The Nativity of the Theotokos 8:00 am 9:30 am Tuesday, Sept. 13: 7:00 pm Great Vespers for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Wed. Sept. 14: Exaltation of the Holy Cross 8:00 am, 9:30 am Monday, Sept. 26: Falling Asleep of St. John the Theologian 8:00 am, 9:30 am

2 ALPHABETICAL LISTING Adult Education, Dn. David Cole Agia Sophia Academy, Ranae Rice A.G.R.O., Saki Tzantarmas AHEC, American Hellenic Educational Center John Melonas AHEPA, Thomas Spathas Altar Boys, John Anasis C.O.M.E., Thomaida Hudanish Camp Angelos Daughters of Penelope, Dawn Damiani Director of Music, John Michael Boyer Dynamis, Gail Morris Endowment Fund, Mike Diamond Ethos Bookstore, Christos Efthimiadis Greek Festival, Katherine Ossey Greek Folk Dance, Helen Tzakis Greek School, Katerina Iconomou Greeters Ministry, Anastasia Mallos HACCM (Hellenic-American Cultural Center & Museum) Nick Fkiaras Alexandra Andronikos Justice & Human Rights, Alex Christy Little Angels Moms and Tots, Eleni Anadiotis Men s Ministry, Stephen Phoutrides Orthodox Spirituality Philoptochos, Mari Lou Diamond Philoptochos Cookbook, Helen Stratikos Seniors Ministry..., Stewardship Chairman, John Lampros Sunday School Vacation Church School, Youth Ministry, Christine Whitton * Hope & Joy (ages 5-11) * Junior Goya (ages 11-14) * Senior Goya (ages 15-18) * College Ministry, OCF * Young Adult Ministry * Summer Youth Camp CATHEDRAL STAFF Father Paul Paris ext. 13 frpaul@goholytrinity.org Deacon David Cole, Adult Education dndavid@goholytrinity.org Deacon George Ketrenos, George_ht@ketrenos.com John Michael Boyer, Director of Music Protopsaltissf@gmail.com Gail Morris, Administrative secretary gail@goholytrinity.org Jane Valentine, Assistant secretary jane@goholytrinity.org Christine Whitton, Youth Director Christine.n.whitton@gmail.com Bob Shaffer, Maintenance Our People Baptisms: August 14, 2016: Thea Evangeline Skourtes, daughter of Michael Constantine Skourtes and Elizabeth Ann Brown. The Godfather is Peter Skourtes. August 20, 2016: Michael Peter Psihogios, son of Matthew Psihogios and Maria Foudoulis Psihogios. The Godparent is Christina Kemper. Weddings: July 30, 2016: Abel Kahsay and Metkel Kahsay. Abel is the son of Kahsay Gebrerufael and Nigisti Tesfai and Metkel is the daughter of Kidane Kahsay and Mehret Woldemariam. The Sponsor was Miriam Kahsay. August 27, 2016: Marion Clark II and Helen Kidane. Marion is the son of Marion Clark, Sr. and Brenda Crowder and Helen is the daughter of Berhe Kidane and Frewoini Kidane. The Sponsor is Yosief Berhe. August 27, 2016: Peter John Thanoukos and Michaelyn Ann Ness. Peter is the son of John and Angie Thanoukos and Mica is the daughter of Steven and Leslee Ness. Funerals: August 10, 2016: George Nicholas Flessas, who fell asleep in the Lord on July 28, 2016 in Palm Desert, California at the age of Festival Baking Schedule for Greek Festival 2016 September 5 & 6 September September 24 September 25 September 29 Baklava (annual Labor Day baking) Pastry Packaging (large Hall) Diples (a Saturday baking) Combo Pastry Packaging Pastitsio (7:30am, small hall) All events begin at 9:00 am, unless otherwise noted. All dates are subject to change. Please check with the office or current notices for updated times and dates. Do you have a booth you would like to volunteer at? Call the church office to find out who you need to contact to get signed up! September 30 Greek Festival begins! October 1 & 2 Greek Festival continues October 3 Clean up

3 A Night On the Aegean Join His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos, FR. JOHN BAKAS from Los Angeles, and the Honorable Charles and Nancy Hales, to celebrate founding artistic director Alexander Lingas at the CAPPELLA ROMANA 25th Anniversary Gala. Black tie optional. Features dinner with fine wine, live music and Greek dancing; a live auction and fundraiser. Sat., Sept. 24th, 2016 at 6:00pm at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, NW Portland. The Gala follows the 4:00pm performance of Orthodox Music: Ancient & Modern. RSVP at cappellaromana.org or The Earthquake, the Music & Holy Trinity According to experts, it wasn t the big one, but the San Francisco earthquake of 1989 was cataclysmic enough to close the doors of the city s monumental Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral forever. Musicology graduate student, Alexander Lingas, a son of our Holy Trinity living in San Francisco in the Spring of 1991 and psaltis at Annunciation, had the idea to assemble Portland's finest professional singers for concerts here and in San Francisco to benefit the reconstruction of the Cathedral, now near splendid completion after 27 years. Thus Cappella Romana was conceived: The Portland-based professional vocal ensemble would draw repertoire from the living tradition of our Orthodox liturgical music. Holy Trinity parishioner Pano Vlahos of blessed memory, expert in working with arts organizations, helped Alexander form a board of directors drawing from parish leaders, and tradition has kept Holy Trinity parishioners among its board ever since. Typically, three or four times a year, the organization benefits from the use of our facilities for rehearsals. At such times, other parish-affiliated groups gathered in the building may hear them working on this beautiful music. Cappella has donated the services of its professional singers at the Greek Festival, at a Western States Choir Federation conference hosted by Holy Trinity, in chant workshops and in chanting during feast day liturgies. That original 1991 program, with works by Greek-American composers Tikey Zes and the late Frank Desby along with Sergei Rachmaninoff and Igor Stravinsky as well as ancient Byzantine chant, provided the impetus for the annual concert series in Portland and Seattle. Eventually came recordings, broadcasts and concert tours with performances at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Smithsonian, the J. Paul Getty Museum; great universities like Stanford, Yale and Princeton; and prestigious venues and festivals across Europe. Cappella Romana has presented important artists at Holy Trinity, including the Greek Byzantine Choir of Greece under the late Lycourgos Angelopoulos, and lecturers on topics related to the Church's music and history. Remarkably, among Holy Trinity's choir archives Alexander uncovered the work of a fine, long-ignored Greek-American composer: there he found Christmas hymns and a forgotten setting of the composed in the early sixties by Californian Peter Michaelides, who had had a brief stint as Holy Trinity's choir director in that decade. More famously, Alexander, now Dr. Lingas, has rediscovered and revived old works by masters suppressed by Communist regimes of the 20 th century, many of which Cappella Romana has premiered both in recordings and live in concert. For 25 years, such have been the sounds and the inspiration of Cappella Romana, a music organization with Orthodox artistry, Byzantine roots and modern brilliance. They have resonated worldwide, hailing from Holy Trinity, Portland, Oregon. A Quiz: 25 over 25 years What do these Holy Trinity parishioners have in common? Pano "Peter" Vlahos + Janice Vlahos Bill Aspros Veevee Aspros + John Spathas John Marandas + Helen Stratikos George Lendaris Joan Liapes Georgia Vareldzis + John Hogan Demetra Ariston Melanie West Christina Geist Rene Contakos Maria Boyer John Boyer Cathy Amen Christina Marneris Christos Efthimiades Stephanie Nonas Nancy Doulis Sue Fischer Nancy Retsinas Mel Downie Robinson Answer on page

4 Parish Council Corner Each day, week, month and year we take a look at our lives, analyze what we have ahead of us, whether it s in the near future like a busy day of meetings, or more far into the future like planning a big trip. When we do this are we also looking into our spiritual tasks that we have planned or need to plan? Do we plan our Sundays with worship, fasting or enriching our lives with service? Diakoneo the Greek verb for service is one of the most important tasks we can do in the Orthodox tradition, it is there for us to enrich our lives spiritually by giving back to God through spreading his love and teachings while guiding us to do better and live a more Orthodox life. Fr. John Angelis wrote, "We hear much about prioritizing, about choosing and doing the most important things from the array of things that lie before us. We need to continuously prioritize the to do list of our lives and choose the most important issues, projects and services that will glorify God, enrich our lives, and better serve the people around us. Otherwise, we run the danger of spending our valuable time, talent and treasures on secondary things and not on the important issues and programs that affect our lives." Our church offers a bountiful number of ministries to participate in and each of them are as important as the other. Whether you choose to help with the youth, the seniors, the care of our buildings, there is something for everyone. You can put a little bit of time into it or you can pour your heart and soul into it, but whatever level you choose to give will be enriching your life spiritually and spreading Gods message of service. Please come September 11th immediately following liturgy to the annual Ministries fair in the large hall and learn about all the wonderful areas where you may serve the church and yourself. There is something there for everyone and this year there will be new ministries that have been added to our list and there are many that we do not have actively but are very important and would love to see become active. Without all of you we cannot have active ministries, this is not a job for a small group to carry the load but for all of us, young and old to participate and serve our lord. With love and service, Athena Corvallis Paskill Holy Trinity Cathedral Sunday School: Register Now! Holy Trinity's Sunday School begins a new and exciting year on Sunday, September 18th! A sacred task, while our community acknowledges and affirms that parents are at the forefront of ultimately teaching and modeling the ancient Orthodox faith to their children, our community also recognizes as most treasured and precious the responsibility of instructing our Christian youth through our many parish ministries. It indeed, takes a village! Our Sunday School program lies at the very center of all our youth programs. To our parents: Please make a family commitment to regular participation and attendance in this crucial ministry. Discuss with your children the importance of attending the Divine Liturgy in a timely and proper way, and of investing themselves in their life in Christ. Please know, the entire Holy Trinity parish family warmly welcomes all children,

5 pre-school through high school, to join us for Sunday School classes immediately following Holy Communion. Family worship begins with the at 10 am ( begins at 8:30 am). Classes will end at 12:15p. If you have any questions, or are ready to sign up your family for our Sunday School program, please go directly to our online format found at on the homepage of our Holy Trinity website at Introducing a new Sr. Goya Ministry to Holy Trinity! SR GOYA Forum As teenagers continue to be more and more exposed to the realities, stresses, and pains of the world around them, and further continue to face constant affronts and attacks to their Christian faith and communities, it is important they have the regular opportunity to come together and discuss openly and directly, in a safe, yet real environment all these everyday influential and impactful issues facing them. Provided with the opportunity to have real and informed discussions about their faith, their Church, and their lives, the Senior GOYA Forum offers precisely the right kind of setting, where High School youth are able to hang out, connect, pray, and enjoy peer to peer community, fellowship, and encouragement. A ministry available to SR GOYA youth (9th-12th grades), the Teen Forum meets monthly. Prayer, food, and parea will be included! Fall Senior GOYA Forum Dates: September 20 October 18 November 8 December GOYA Fireside Chats (Grades 7-12) An opportunity for our youth to get together for a meal, fellowship, and a great discussion! We are looking for families willing to host an event at their home for the following dates: Saturday, December 17 th at 6:45p Saturday, January 7 th at 6:45p Please contact Christine Whitton at Christine.n.whitton@gmail.com if willing to host. GOYA Save the Dates 2017: Fall Retreat - November th FDF - February th in San Diego, CA Amazing Race Portland Lenten Retreat - March 2017 Camp Angelos July 9-14 Hope/Joy (Grades K-6) Fellowship An opportunity for our youth to get together for a meal, fellowship, and a great discussion! We are looking for families willing to host an event at their home for the following dates: Saturday, October 22 nd at 6:45p Saturday, Dec 10 th at 6:45p Saturday, January 21 st at 6:45p Please contact Christine Whitton at Christine.n.whitton@gmail.com if willing to host HACCM News: "From Piraeus to Portland" - HACCM's next major event is coming very soon. HACCM is very excited to be bringing back a weekend of music and culture of Asia Minor and mainland Greece. Friday evening, November 18th will feature the screening of an award-winning film - "Smyrna: The Destruction of a City," in St. Dimitrios Hall at 7 pm. A donation of $10 is appreciated. A special concert on Saturday, November 19th features the return of Christos Govetas and his group, Dromeno, performing music of Asia Minor, Rebetika, and mainland Greece. Christo will offer a lecture prior to the concert at 6 pm in the museum. Enjoy hearty hors d'oeuvres at 7 pm followed by the special concert at 8 pm. Tickets are $50 (18 and under $25). Tickets at the door will be $10 more. Hard ticket sales will be sold in the museum during the Festival. Digital tickets can be purchased sooner. Watch for more news about that. As Festival time is fast approaching, the museum is in need of docent volunteers to help during the specific shifts. For those of you who have been docents in prior years during the Festival, we especially need your help this year. As noted above we will be selling tickets to our November event in the museum during the Festival. So extra help is needed. Call the museum at to let us know if you'll be able to volunteer this year. Please note that there will be a training session for all docents (for Festival and otherwise) sometime in early September. This summer has brought several visitors to our museum. We recently had a family from New Jersey stop by. They were truly amazed at what they saw...and spent quite a bit of time taking it all in. Some of their comments included "This is amazing!" "We've never seen anything like this -- not even New York has anything like it." They were very impressed by what we have done. We should all be very proud of our museum if people from as far away as New Jersey offer comments such as these. So if you haven't seen our beautiful exhibition of traditional Hellenic dress, why not stop by. We're ready to show it off to our many Festival visitors this year.

6 Philoptochos.. A Fresh Start Given the troubled world we seem to be living in, it s comforting to know that some things remain tried and true. Your Holy Trinity Philoptochos continues to stand as the right arm of the church. It is that one organization that ministers to those in need; that serves the greater good; and holds fast to that which is sacred, holy and traditional. Our Philoptochos chapter is a beacon of light locally and nationally. Maintaining no less than seventeen ministries, Philoptochos is at work Our new year begins again this September. As our full calendar of events unfolds, expect exciting plans for Senior activities; Philanthropy grant requests; Educational programs to attend; Flavor It Greek cookbook gift packages to buy; Visitation schedules to meet and more. While many took a summer vacation from church, Philoptochos was hard at work with our 21st Camp Agape Kids N Cancer Camp. A stellar year under the new direction of Shelle Pickens, Camp Agape brought joy, fun and memories to twenty families. Our representatives to the Clergy-Laity conference, under the leadership of President Mari Lou Diamond, returned with new insights and ideas to be manifested on the local level. Through our Makaria Ministry headed by Carolee Peterson, we helped say goodbye to many, in these past months. And though we lost so many of our beloved elders, our desire to lift the spirits of homebound seniors continues. Our quiet, under-the-radar Emergency Assistance team has been providing rent, transportation, food and moral support to those in crisis situations. Everyone is invited to join Philoptochos, both as members and male associate members. By recognizing what we do, who we are, and what we stand for your gift of membership fuels our ability to be stronger and better. To join us for , contact membership chair Kathy Melcher at melchgka@hotmail.com. Philoptochos your right arm, your heart and helper Olympian Eliana Mason Flies to Rio Eliana Mason, our own 2016 Olympian, is traveling to Rio de Janeiro as a member of the U.S. Olympic Goalball Team. Eliana is one of six team members, three from Portland, representing the United States in the 2016 Paralympic Games, September Eliana is the daughter of Kevin and Joanna Mason and granddaughter of Presvytera Effy Stephanopoulos and the late Father Elias Stephanopoulos. Eliana has two supportive brothers, Jordan and Stephanos. She will be flying to Rio on her 21st birthday accompanied by her father, Kevin. Eliana is a student at Portland State University majoring in Psychology and Family Studies. She has a passion for reading and Harry Potter is among her favorites. Eliana has competed in national and international competitions. Most recently in the 2015 and 2014 Maimo Ladies Intercup and the Finland Pajulahti Games placing first in both. In 2013 Eliana's team placed third in the Youth World's Goalball Championship and in 2012 placed first in the National Goalball Championship. Goalball is a team sport for the visually impaired and participants compete by throwing a ball that has bells embedded in it. Players must attempt to get the ball into the opponent's goal. Players use the sound of the bell to judge the position and movement of the ball. Goalball has been a part of the summer Paralympics since Congratulations and best wishes to Eliana from her Holy Trinity cheering fans. We are all so very proud of you. Eliana's own words express all our feelings: "Hoping for the gold!"

7 Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral STEWARDSHIP Ministry THANK YOU fellow parishioners for your much appreciated support of our Stewardship Goal for Two Plates Not One Someone said one Sunday during the offering, "Here we go again! There's always a plate." The person was right in one way and wrong in another. There is not one plate-but two! One plate is man's; the offering plate that is passed to us every Sunday. The other plate is God's. And that is the paten, the "diskos", the plate that carries the Precious Body of our Lord during the liturgy. Two plates -- - not one! God gives first. He gives us our body, mind, life, health, talents. On the paten the plate of God's mercy, He gives us Himself as the Bread of Life, the manna from heaven. He gives forgiveness, strength, courage. He gives victory over sin and death. He gives eternal life. "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which he lavished upon us" (Eph.1:7-8). God gives. He lavishes upon us the riches of His grace. That is the meaning of the first plate-the paten. It represents also the great spiritual hunger that exists in the world -- the God-shaped vacuum in every heart that only Christ can fill. We give, but He gave first. Two plates not one! However much we give, it will never be more than just a minute fraction of what we receive from Him. There's always a plate! Indeed there is! Not one but two. First God's, then man's. Part of a sermon given by Father Anthony Conaris CUMULATIVE 2016 STEWARDSHIP GOAL PLAN BY MONTH ACTUAL YTD BY MONTH Jan $42,644 $25,339 Feb $85,384 $71,737 Mar $134,857 $125,725 Apr $191,119 $173,889 May $237,478 $207,976 Jun $275,000 $258,753 Jul $314,200 $301,449 Aug $343,734 Sep $376,631 Oct $425,638 Nov $470,538 Dec $550, Bringing Orthodoxy to America a National Missions & Evangelism Conference ~ October 3-5, 2016 This is the first National Missions & Evangelism Conference of the Greek Archdiocese dedicated to domestic missions. The speakers include Fr. Luke Veronis, Fr. Theodore Dorrance, Fr. Evan Armatas and Fr. Barnabas Powell. This is a very special event and to have it here in Portland is a rare and wonderful opportunity! The event is already over half full! Register now at comesf.org/conference! The second plate which is passed every Sunday - the offering plate - represents our response to the first plate. We are invited to give in gratitude for God's generosity, for His limitless forgiveness and mercy. The emptiness of the offering plate represents the aching needs of the world which we are called upon to assist.

8 September 2016 at Holy Trinity Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 The Indiction 8:00 am 9:30 am 7:00 pm Ahepa Bd. Mtg. (small hall) Labor Day Office Closed 9:00 am Baklava 9:00 am Baklava 7:00 pm Philoptochos Bd. Meeting (small hall) Bible Study 7:00 pm Great Vespers The Nativity of the Theotokos 8:00 am 9:30 am 12:00-4:00 pm Car and Bikes Show & BBQ No Great Vespers Coffee: Cappella Romana 11:30 am Parish Fair 12:00 pm Kids N Cancer mtg (annex) 9:00 am - Pasta Flora 7:00 pm Parish Council meeting 8:30 am Senior s Trip to the Oregon Coast 9:00 am - Pasta Flora 7:00 pm Great Vespers Exaltation of the Cross Exaltation of the Holy Cross 8:00 am 9:30 am 7:00 pm Choir Practice 7:00 pm Ahepa general meeting (small hall) 5:00 pm Great Vespers Pastry Packaging Pastry Packaging Agia Sophia Academy Greek Open Golf Tournament Pastry Packaging 7:00 pm Senior Goya Forum Bible Study (library) 7:00 pm Choir Practice 9:00 am Diples First day of Sunday School October 1 Coffee: Pazeotpoulos family Falling Asleep of Saint John the Theologian 7:00 pm Choir Practice 7:30 am Pastitsio (small hall) 10:00 am Greek Festival 10:00 am Greek Festival Combination packaging