THE PROMISE A THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION A SONG OF PRAISE FOR THANKSGIVING DAY

Transcription

1 NOVEMBER 2007 Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church

2 THE PROMISE Wait for the promise of the Father... November 2007 Volume 31, Issue 8 A SONG OF PRAISE FOR THANKSGIVING DAY Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. (Psalm 100) Come join in praising the Lord on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, with an early morning Eucharistic celebration. As this beautiful hymn instructs, "enter into His gates (the Holy Altar) with thanksgiving (eucharistic praise)." This Psalm is a type of doxology summoning with dignity God's people into the Holy Temple. It was sung as a thanksgiving service within the Temple leading the faithful assembly to the sacred meal. Liturgy begins at 8:00 AM on Thanksgiving Day. A THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION It is the duty of nations as well as of man to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, we: with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord. We know that by His Divine Law, nations, like individuals, are subject to punishments and chastisements in this world. May we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins; to the needful and of our national reprobation as a whole people? We have been the recipients of the choice bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever know. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us and we have vainly imaged in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God who made us. continued on p.3

3 THE PROMISE DATES IN THE LIFE OF OUR CHURCH THE PROMISE Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church A parish of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the Metropolis of New Jersey 250 Gallows Hill Road, Westfield, NJ Tel (908) Fax (908) Visit our Website at: holytrinitywestfield.org Fr. Peter s htgoc@westfieldnj.com Rev. Fr. Peter Delvizis, Presiding Priest OFFICE STAFF Irene Panagakos, Parish Administrator Jean O Dowd, Accounting Manager Ocione Nunes, Caretaker WORSHIP Pascalis Kuvalakis, Psaltis Kathryn Athanasoulas, Adult/Angel Choir, Dir. Phyllis Verenes, Organist Michael Wolff, Head Acolyte MINISTRIES Parish Council B. Theodore Bozonelis Philoptochos Mary Demiris Religious Education Louis Martin, Eleftheria Wolff Greek School Rita Fitanidis Trinity Circle Helen Hiotis TAG George Skorinko Youth (GOYA) Annie Zourzoukis JOY HOPE TOTS Joanne Paras Bookstore Sandy Mouratoglou COMMITTEES Cultural Barbara Manos Greek School PTO Nina Anastasiou Outreach Robert LoAlbo FALL, WINTER AND SPRING SCHEDULE Sundays: Orthros, 8:45am Divine Liturgy, 10:00am Weekdays: Orthros, 8:30am Divine Liturgy, 9:30am Volume 31 Issue 8 10 issues published annually No Subscription Fee (article deadlines - 10th of the preceding month) Thursday, November 1, Feast Day of Sts. Cosmas & Damianos; 8:30AM Orthros; 9:30AM Divine Liturgy; Afternoon Greek School, 4:00PM; No choir practice tonight Saturday, Nov. 3, Youth volleyball practice, 9:30AM-11:30AM Sunday, November 4, Daylight Savings Ends; 8:45AM Orthros; 10:00AM Divine Liturgy; Parish Assembly in Bouras Center Tuesday, November 6, Afternoon Greek School, 4:00PM; Adult Greek-Intermediate, 6PM; Beginners, 7:30PM; Philoptochos Wine and Food Tasting, 7:00PM at the Marco Polo Restaurant, Summit, NJ Wednesday, November 7, 6:30PM Vespers; 7:10, Bible Study; Basketball practice, 7:00PM, Jrs.; 8:00PM, Sr. Thursday, November 8, Synaxis of the Archangels, 8:30AM Orthros; 9:30AM Divine Liturgy; Greek School, 4:00PM; Choir practice, 7:30PM; Greek dance practice, 7:30PM Friday, November 9, St. Nektarios of Pentapolis, 8:30AM Orthros; 9:30AM Divine Liturgy; HOPE/JOY Greek dance practice, 7PM/8PM, respectively Saturday, November 10, Volleyball practice, 9:30AM; set up for youth luncheon, 1:00PM Sunday, November 11, 8:45AM Orthros; 10:00AM Divine Liturgy; Veteran s Day Commemoration; Youth Sunday and Youth Luncheon in the Bouras Center Tuesday, November 13, Greek School, 4:00PM; Adult Greek- Intermediate, 6:00PM; Beginners, 7:30PM; Parish Council, 7:30PM; Ladies Philoptochos Board, 7:30PM Wednesday, November 14, TOTS, 10:00AM; Trinity Circle meeting, 11:00AM; 6:30PM Vespers; 7:10, Bible Study; Basketball practice, 7PM, Jrs.; 8PM, Sr. Thursday, November 15, Christmas Fast Begins; Afternoon Greek School, 4:00PM; Greek dance, 7:30PM; Choir practice, 7:30PM; 50/50 Super Raffle, 9:00PM Friday, November 16, HOPE/JOY Greek dance practice, 7PM/8PM, respectively Saturday, November 17, Volleyball practice, 9:30AM Sunday, November 18, 8:45AM Orthros; 10AM Divine Liturgy Monday, Nov. 19, District 2 meeting, 7PM; NNJYC meeting, 8PM Tuesday, November 20, Great Vespers, 7:00PM Wednesday, November 21, Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple, 8:30AM Orthros; 9:30AM Divine Liturgy; no basketball practice Thursday, November 22, 8AM; Divine Liturgy; Thanksgiving Day; Church Office closed Friday, November 23, Church Office closed Friday, November 24, no volleyball practice Sunday, November 25, Feast day of St. Katherine the Great Martyr; 8:45AM Orthros; 10AM Divine Liturgy; Project Mexico presentation at Noon in the Bouras Center Tuesday, November 27, Greek School, 4:00PM; Adult Greek- Intermediate, 6:00PM; Beginners, 7:30PM Wednesday, November 28, TOTS, 10:00AM; 6:30PM Vespers; 7:10PM Bible study; Basketball practice, 7PM, Jrs.; 8PM, Sr. Thursday, November 29, Afternoon Greek School, 4PM; Greek dance, 7:30PM; Choir practice; Great Vespers, St. Andrew s, Randolph, 7:30PM Friday, November 30, St. Andrew the Apostle and First Called, 9:30AM Divine Liturgy Page 2 Saturday, December 1, Philoptochos Fashion Show at Bloomingdale s, 9:00AM; Volleyball practice, 9:30AM

4 It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe that last Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwellest in heaven. -- Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America, 1863 A.D. 12 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCH continued In last month s, four items were introduced about describing the Orthodox Church. This month four more items are added. You again are welcome to the Eastern Orthodox Church! There are a number of things about our worship that are different from the services of other churches, whether Roman Catholic, liturgical Protestant, or evangelical. In an effort to help alleviate confusion, here are twelve things every Orthodox Christian should know about their faith. Blessed bread and consecrated bread. Only those Orthodox who have prepared themselves through prayer, fasting and confession may receive Holy Communion, but anyone may have some of the blessed bread (antidoron.) Here s how it works: the round communion loaf, which is called the prosforo, is baked by a parishioner, and is imprinted with a special seal. In the Service of Preparation, before the liturgy, the priest cuts out the center section of the seal and sets it aside; this is called the Lamb or Amnos. The rest of the bread is cut up and placed in a large basket, and blessed by the priest during the liturgy. During the Eucharistic prayer, the Lamb is consecrated to become the Body of Christ, and the chalice of wine is consecrated as His Blood. Here s the surprising part: the priest places the Lamb in the chalice. When we receive communion, we approach the priest, standing and opening our mouths wide while he gives us a portion of the wine-soaked bread from a spoon. He also prays over us, calling us by our Christian name which identifies us with a saint of God. This name was given to us when we were baptized or chrismated (received into the Church.) As we file past the priest, we come to a basket holding the blessed bread (antidoron.) People will take portions for themselves and later visitors may receive this bread from the priest. No General Confession? In our experience, we don t have any general sins; they re all quite specific. There is no complete confession prayer in the liturgy. Orthodox are expected to be making regular, private confession to Christ in the presence of their priest. The role of the presiding priest is much more that of a spiritual father than it is in other denominations. He is not called by his first name alone, but referred to as Father First Name. His wife also holds a special role as parish mother, and she gets a title too, though it varies from one culture to another. Some of the titles used are presvytera Greek, khouria Arabic, both which mean priest s wife, or matushka Russian, which means mama. Another difference you will probably notice is in the Nicene Creed; we affirm that the Holy Spirit proceeds from only the Father. We do not add and the Son, as do Western denominations. In this, the Orthodox adhere to the Creed as it was originally written. Music, music, music. A greater part of the services are chanted. This includes the clergy s part as well as the laity s part. Traditionally, the entire congregation sings the liturgy. Congregational singing is supported by a choir or chanter (psalti.) Relatively speaking, the hymns rarely change from week to week. The same prayers and hymns fall in the same places. Before you know it, your heart falls into the presence of God in a way you never could when flipping from a prayer book to a bulletin to hymnal. The hymns of the Orthodox Church are very didactic in that they teach. The hymns contain the entire faith. They speak of God s mystery and His love. They are also very old. Many date from the 10th century A.D. and earlier. No shortcuts. Is there a concise way to say something? Can extra adjectives be deleted? Can the brisket be boiled down one more time to a more refined level? If there s a longer way to say something, the Orthodox will find it. When the priest or deacon intones, Let us complete our prayer to the Lord, expect to be standing there 10 minutes later. The original liturgy lasted something over five Page 3

5 hours; those people must have been on-fire for God. The Liturgy of St. Basil the Great edited this down to about 2-1/2. His reason was that most people can t remain standing throughout the entire five hour liturgy. So in order for the faithful to remain standing throughout the liturgy it was condensed to about 2-1/2 hours. The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom further reduced it to about one and a half hours. Most Sundays we use the St. John Chrysostom Liturgy, although for some services (e.g., Sundays in Lent, Christmas Eve) we use the longer Liturgy of St. Basil. When you arrive for the Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning, worship will already be in progress and you will feel chagrined at arriving late. You are not late; the priest, chanter, and some parishioners are just winding up Orthros, the morning prayer service which began about an hour and fifteen minutes before. Before Orthros, the priest has other preparatory services; he will be at the altar for a total of over three hours on Sunday mornings, standing in the flame, as one Orthodox priest put it. Orthodoxy is not for people who find church boring. Conclusion in December s. 12 Things You Should Know About the Eastern Orthodox Church is adapted from Frederica Mathewes-Green 12 Things I Wish I Had Known from Conciliar Press. PARISH COUNCIL BOARD BRIEFS B. Ted Bozonelis, President The Parish Council met on September 18 and on October 9, We are pleased to report that our parish continues to grow in Sunday School and Greek School enrollments. Our facilities continue to be improved under the direction of Father Peter, Notis Kotsolios, and Nicholas J. Bouras. The Parish Assembly is scheduled for Sunday, November 4, At this meeting, the 2008 Financial Budget and Stewardship Report will be presented by our Treasurer, James C. Fountas. On behalf of the entire parish, we thank Jim for all of his work on our financial administration and stewardship for our Holy Trinity family. In addition, at the Parish Assembly, we will elect our auditors for the coming year, present a list of nominees, and accept nominations for the Parish Council. Please plan to attend and to participate in the Parish Assembly. It is important to have all of our parishioners offer suggestions to continue to improve our community. Stewardship Sunday is planned for November 18, Following our stewardship presentations, Parish Council members will be available to provide continuing information on stewardship during the coffee hour. A POINT TO PONDER REGARDING STEWARDSHIP BROTHER GATEKEEPER One morning, a farmer knocked loudly on the door of a monastery. When Brother Gatekeeper opened the door, the farmer held out to him a magnificent bunch of grapes. "Dear Brother Gatekeeper, these are the finest grapes from my vineyard. Please accept them as a gift from me. "Why, thank you! I'll take them straight to the Abbot, who will be thrilled with such a gift." "No, no. I brought them for you." "For me? But I don't deserve such a beautiful gift from nature." "Whenever I knocked on the door, you opened it. When the harvest had been ruined by drought, you gave me a piece of bread and a glass of wine every day. I want this bunch of grapes to bring you a little of the sun's love, the rain's beauty, and God's miraculous power." Brother Gatekeeper put the grapes down where he could see them and spent the whole morning admiring them: they really were lovely. Because of this, he decided to give the present to the Abbot, whose words of wisdom had always been such a boon to him. The Abbot was very pleased with the grapes, but then he remembered that one of the other monks was ill and thought: "I'll give him the grapes. Who knows, they might bring a little joy into his life." But the grapes did not remain for very long in the room of the ailing monk, for he in turn thought: "Brother Cook has taken such good care of me, giving me only the very best food to eat. I'm sure these grapes will bring him great happiness." And when Brother Cook brought him his lunch, the monk gave him the grapes. Page 4

6 "These are for you. You are in close touch with the gifts nature gives us and will know what to do with this, God's produce." Brother Cook was amazed at the beauty of the grapes and drew his assistant's attention to their perfection. They were so perfect that no one could possibly appreciate them more than Father Liturgist, who served at all the Monastery Services, and whom many in the monastery considered to be a truly saintly man. Father Liturgist, in turn, gave the grapes to the youngest of the novices in order to help him understand that God's work is to be found in the smallest details of the creation. When the novice received them, his heart was filled with the Glory of God, because he had never before seen such a beautiful bunch of grapes. At the same time, he remembered the day he had arrived at the monastery and the person who had opened the gates to him; that gesture of opening the gates had allowed him to be there now in that community of people who knew the value of miracles. Shortly before dark, he took the bunch of grapes to Brother Gatekeeper. "Eat and enjoy. You spend most of your time here all alone, and these grapes will do you good." Brother Gatekeeper understood then that the gift really was intended for him; he savored every grape and went to sleep a happy man. In this way, the circle was closed. The circle always wraps around those who are in contact with the love of Christ." The grapes represent our Stewardship Commitment to our Church. The grapes actually belong to God, who gives them to us. When we give them away, when we make a sacrificial Stewardship pledge, the Lord returns blessings to us in abundance. Then we, too, like Brother Gatekeeper, can savor the Lord's blessings upon us and sleep a happy person. During the Liturgy we hear time and time again, "Let us commit ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God." Committing ourselves also refers to the treasures God has bestowed upon us. Before signing your 2008 Christian Stewardship Commitment Card, you should seriously consider how God has blessed you. You should also consider committing a respectable portion of your income to Christ in thanksgiving for all his blessings upon you and your family. The Lord will surely close the circle around you, as he did around Brother Gatekeeper and return to you an abundance of blessings. Be a Brother Gatekeeper and commit yourselves to Christ through your 2008 Stewardship Commitment to Holy Trinity. STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY November 18th, 2007 "Let us commit ourselves to Christ" through our generous Christian Stewardship Commitment for the year The following speakers will present to us a wonderful aspect of Christian Stewardship. November 4 Rev. Fr. Alexander G. Leondis November 11 Mr. James Speros November 18 Rev. Fr. Peter Delvizis PHILOPTOCHOS Mary Demiris, President We held our first General Meeting on Wednesday, October 10th, and our guest speaker was Mr. Wayne Tillman from Insight Financial Services who spoke about retirement. It was a very informative presentation and well received by the attendees. The 50/50 Raffle fundraiser was held on Sunday, October 14th; the winners who shared in the proceeds are Olga Emanuel, first prize, $816; Marie Combias, second prize, $490 and Socrates Mose, third prize, $326. We extend our appreciation to everyone who supported this fundraiser and send our sincere congratulations to the winners. The Ladies Philoptochos in partnership with the Holy Trinity Youth and Dr. and Mrs. Nicholas Liakas will be hosting Father Michael Nasser, the priest at St. Innocent s Orphanage Project Mexico in Tijuana, Mexico and Miguel Angel, a graduate of the orphanage, on Sunday, November 25th. Father Michael and Miguel will participate in the liturgy on Sunday. Father Michael will give a presentation on the mission work at Saint Innocent s in the Bouras Center. A free lunch will be offered immediately after Church to thank our community for supporting Project Mexico. Everyone is encouraged to attend, and we promise an interesting and heartwarming presentation by Father Michael and Miguel. We would like to thank Nick and Kathy Liakas for their support and for sponsoring the lunch. As most of Page 5

7 you know, Kathy is the Holy Trinity Mission Team Coordinator for Project Mexico. The Ladies Philoptochos has supported our Youth s trips and Project Mexico monetarily for many years. We also thank our Holy Trinity GOYA Advisors, Youth and the Youth parents for their participation and contributions to this event. October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month and, as in the past, we had a table with a plentitude of ribbons and various other gift items for sale. All proceeds from the sales go to the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation. Anna Savva was gracious to Chair this event again. I know that Anna sold out several times and had to get more items. In the next Promise I will report on the dollar amount collected. We would like to thank Anna and her helpers (especially her daughters) who did an outstanding sales job for a very worthy cause. Don t forget to sign up for the Community Christmas Card. The donation has remained the same at $10 per family. The deadline for the card is December 2, UPCOMING EVENTS WINE AND FOOD TASTING On Thursday, November 6, 2007 we will be sponsoring our Annual Wine and Food Tasting at the Marco Polo Restaurant in Summit, NJ. Phyllis Verenes and Agapios Kyritsis are the Co-Chairs for this fund- raising event. The cost is $45 per person and will include a buffet dinner and the wine tasting. We thank the entire Kyritsis Family for again offering to hold this event at their restaurant. Please sign up at the Philoptochos table during Fellowship Hour after Church. PROJECT MEXICO PRESENTATION Sunday, November 25, 2007, in the Bouras Center. Please see write-up above for details. BLOOMINGDALE S FASHION SHOW On Saturday, December 1, 2007 we will hold our annual Fashion Show at Bloomingdale s in the Short Hills Mall. The cost is $45 per person and the show will begin at 9 a.m. As always, a brunch will be served and we will have several items which will be raffled. Please stop by the Philoptochos table during Fellowship to sign up. Seating is limited so please make your reservations early. CHRISTMAS GENERAL MEETING/DINNER On Wednesday, December 5th, we will have our Annual Christmas Philoptochos General Meeting and Dinner. Five Star Catering of Garwood, NJ will cater the dinner, and the cost is $15 per person. The Chansonettes, a women s singing group from Westfield, will entertain us. We will again be collecting various items for the Battered Women s Shelter in Elizabeth. Please stop by the Philoptochos table during Fellowship Hour to pick up the list of items needed and to sign up for the dinner. OUTREACH PROGRAM We will be baking and preparing holiday goodies for the shut-ins in our community. Avi Kiriakatis is the Chairperson for this outreach program. Please look in the Sunday Bulletin for additional information on specific dates. VASILOPITTA LUNCHEON Our annual Vasilopitta Luncheon will be held on Sunday, January 13, 2008 in the Bouras Center. The luncheon will be catered by the Marco Polo Restaurant in Summit, NJ. More details will be available at the Philoptochos Table and in the December Promise. I would like to thank everyone for your continued support of Philoptochos. We are always looking for new members with fresh ideas and we hope to increase our membership for the coming year. This past year we were blessed with the outpouring of love and contributions for our various fundraisers, which enabled us to make donations of over $48,000 to the charities and foundations we support. May God continue to bless you all. TRINITY CIRCLE Helen Hiotis, President Our October meeting was very pleasant and was attended by 49 members. Father Peter gave the opening prayer. Pizza was served for lunch, and we want to thank Greg Psomas for ordering and picking it up for us. Our Lancaster trip was very successful and everyone had a good time. On October 15th we went to Hunterdon Playhouse, where we had lunch and enjoyed the play, The Late Christopher Bean. Page 6

8 Upcoming event: Christmas outing to Princeton on Sunday, December 16th. The bus departs immediately after church services for Morven Museum and will return about 6:30 PM. After lunch, we will attend a 4:00 PM concert at Richardson Auditorium at Princeton University. The estimated cost will be $50/members and $53/non-members. For more information, please contact Kay Demos, or see Maria Grafas at the TAG table during the Fellowship Hour. All payments must be received by November 18. Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 14, at 11:00 AM. I hope to see you all there. TRINITY ADULT GROUP Andy Bogeatzes The Trinity Adult Group (TAG) is committed to promoting Christian Fellowship among adult members of all ages at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. A variety of activities provide the environment for members to meet and get to know their fellow parishioners. We wish to thank the more than 140 members for their interest and great response for the varied activities we have throughout the year. EVENTS FOR The new Board has been meeting to plan the events for the upcoming year. Responses from a questionnaire sent to all the members were considered in selecting the activities. The anticipated upcoming events are: (1) Sat., Oct. 6 Pot Luck Dinner at the Bouras Center (2) Sat. in Nov/Dec. An evening of dinner and entertainment to be announced (3) Attend St. Vladimir Retreat to be held on a Sat. during Lent (Mid-Mar. to Mid-Apr.) (4) May - Possible weekend trip to Rhode Island and (5) Sat. in June - TAG Family Outing/Lamb Roast, details to be announced (6) Sept Planning day trip to Culinary Inst. and Kykuit, Rockefeller. The Board is looking forward to once again having another successful year for TAG. PLEA FOR NEW BOARD MEMBERS Much difficulty has been experienced the last few years in getting volunteers for the TAG Board. Board members serve two-year terms. It normally does not involve much time and effort. There are usually 3 to 4 meetings every year at someone s home. Meetings usually last less than an hour and the members spend the rest of the evening having coffee and chatting. It is a very enjoyable evening. Most of the other required time needed as a Board member is to assist from time to time at the TAG table during the Fellowship Hour after Church on Sunday. There is a great deal of camaraderie and companionship among the members of the TAG Board. We are appealing to all the members of TAG to commit themselves to serving on the Board and to do their part in continuing to have events each year which are enjoyable and promote fellowship among adults of all ages. We need 3 4 new Board members at this time. Contact one of the following Board members to volunteer: Andrea Blasi, Andy Bogeatzes, Maria Grafas, Sandy Mouratoglou, Evelyn Skorinko or George Skorinko. FIND A CORNUCOPIA OF TREASURES AT THE CHURCH BOOK STORE! by Sandy Mouratoglou Oltmann, Dana Banu, and Andrea Blasi At Thanksgiving we count the many blessings God has given us. A few of these blessings are available at the Church Book Store. Come, browse, and take your pick! The Book Store has Icons and Crosses to inspire prayers; children s books; Bibles for young and old, books on the Greek Orthodox religion; books on Greek tradition, culture, history, language and cooking; and both religious and musical CDs. Our November feature is THE BOOK OF SAINTS by Mary P. Hallick. The Saints are listed alphabetically, with a brief biography and the date they are commemorated. As you enter the Bouras Center for the Fellowship Hour most Sundays, look to the right for the Book Store. If you don t see what you want, we can order it for you! Please support the Book Store. In addition, we are looking for Book Store Stewards to act as cashiers, whenever it is convenient for you. If you are interested, please stop by our table some Sunday. Page 7

9 OUTREACH By Jennifer Conti Cast Thy burden upon the Lord and He shall sustain Thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22 On Saturday, September 8th at 8:30 a.m., Vasilis Chantzis, RJ Hedinger, Peter Menakis, Niko Sakellis, Nick Thomas, Zachery Wacker, and I worked strenuously in building the foundation for a porch in a newly constructed home for a needy family in Plainfield. This was our first outreach event this year for Habitat for Humanity. On Oct. 1st and the 14th, our youth members worked with special needs children at Children s Specialized Hospital in Mountainside. Nick Thomas, Zachery Wacker, Niko Sakellis, Panos & Vasilis Chantzis, and I organized bowling matches as we interacted with the children ages five to fourteen. Please check the youth bulletin for our upcoming outreach events. GREEK SCHOOL PTO Nina Anastasiou, President Greek School classes began on September 18 for the school year. We are proud to announce that 83 students are enrolled. The PTO would like to welcome all our students back, as well as the new kindergarten class of The PTO would also like to thank all the parents for the past support of our fundraisers. Through all our hard work we have raised funds to purchase some needed supplies. We bought a new CD player for each teacher. In addition, we are in the process of purchasing some Greek costumes to add to our current supply. These costumes can be borrowed during our Greek Independence Day performance. The PTO s mission is to enhance our children s Greek School experience through interactive activities outside the classroom. This year promises to be fun for everyone! We will be planning a trip to the Children s Museum in New York. We will be participating in the Greek Parade. And we will be organizing our 2nd annual Family Greek Dance. More details will follow in next month s Promise. We wish everyone a very successful school year. Any questions or concerns please call Nina Anastasiou at TH ANNUAL ANGEL AND MITTEN TREES by Debbie Martin As the November Promise is distributed, the leaves around us will be turning color and falling off of the trees, as we approach the holiday season. The Fall is such a hectic time as we finish up our summer holidays and begin the new school year schedules. As we approach the holiday season this year, let us all take a minute to appreciate all of the wonderful things in our lives. There are so many around us with so much less. Experience the true meaning of Christmas through our special angel and mitten tree programs, which provide the happiness and excitement we all enjoy with our families, to many children in need, in the Union County area. The Salvation Army of Union County is so grateful to our community for all of the assistance we provide to their program. Our Holy Trinity family is one of their largest supporters, as we fulfill the wishes of 275 children each year. We also provide many knit items to DYFS each year to warm those in need with scarves, hats and gloves. Our two very special trees will be available for your participation from Sunday, November 18th through Sunday, December 9th. Here is how they work: THE ANGEL TREE PROGRAM Select one or more of our 275 Bear angel tags from our decorated Angel Tree. The tag will specify boy or girl, age, and the gift requested. Each tag identifies both a toy and clothing item. Please purchase either one or both items. Sometimes it is difficult to find the requested toy, feel free to substitute some other gift appropriate for that age and gender. Page 8

10 Then attach the complete tag to the unwrapped gift, and place the gift under our tree. Although the gift must remain unwrapped, you may place it in a holiday bag with a decorative bow, if you choose. The Salvation Army then picks up the gifts and distributes them to the children, just in time for Christmas. THE MITTEN TREE PROGRAM The Mitten Tree is a program in support of the Division of Youth and Family Services, based in Elizabeth. We decorate our Mitten Tree with new gloves, mittens, warm knit hats, or socks for families in need. All sizes and colors are acceptable. Please hang these items directly on our Mitten Tree. These items will be given to Union County families in need, in time for Christmas. There will be someone by the trees each Sunday, starting November 18th, for any questions. Both programs will be running through Sunday, December 9th. Help add some joy to the lives of families in need. You will feel the warmth in your heart, as you make others warm with your contributions and gifts. May we all have blessed holidays, and thank you for your participation. SACRAMENTS AND RITES CHURCHINGS Wednesday, September 26, Steven Daniel, the son of Irene and Craig Cohen Sunday, September 30, Natalie Grace, the daughter of Stacy and Neil Horne; Anthony Carmen, the son of Carissa and Patrick Cicalese BAPTISMS Saturday, October 9, Alexander Serafim, the son of Anna and Alex Kalliaras Saturday, October 20, Melina Georgia, the daughter of Dina Maria and James Colonias Sunday, October 21, Adriana Mimitsa, the daughter of Sofia and Stamatios Manoussakis WEDDINGS Friday, October 26 between Barbara Williamson and Joe Sauma FUNERALS Friday, October 26, Georgia Martha Stappas Zarras+ Page 9

11 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PROGRAM The Religious Education Department will again be presenting its Annual Christmas Program on Sunday, December 16th, 2007 immediately following the Liturgy. This year students from grades K six will sing Christmas carols. We will also have a special visitor from the North Pole. We are very lucky this year to again have Anna Riginos as our Fellowship Hour Director. Georgia Roros will once again be our accompanist and Rebecca Michelopoulos will be our vocal coach. Information regarding the Christmas carol that your child will be singing will be handed out towards the beginning of November in your child s Religious Education class. We encourage parents to practice their child s carol with them. As with any program, we need parent volunteers. This year we are in need of a director or co-directors to take charge of this wonderful program. We need volunteers for backstage on show day. We also need Fellowship Hour volunteers to help set up, serve, clean up, and donate items. Please fill out the form below and turn it in to your child s Religious Education teacher no later than November 15th, THANK YOU! Child s name Parent s name Child s grade My child will be participating in the Religious Education Annual Christmas Program YES NO Phone number I can volunteer to: Direct and/or Co-Direct Help backstage Help set up for Fellowship Hour Help during Fellowship Hour Help clean up after Fellowship Hour Donate items for the Fellowship Hour

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