Fr. Alex s Message: Scary Places

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1 Fr. Alex s Message: Scary Places It s that time of year again. I know it s months earlier than you re used to and before you start worrying about resolutions and party hats, let me put you at ease. The ecclesiastical new year, the cycle of Church feasts, is what we are talking about. This new year s feast, of sorts, is called The Beginning of the Indiction ; in addition to it being connected to the importance of the harvest for the sustenance of God s people, it speaks to the prayer and hope of the Church for a year of blessings: that His people will be physically sustained, nurtured by the Sacraments, inspired by the Gospel, led by the Holy Spirit, and drawn to worship and thanksgiving. As the image below suggests, it is a kind of spiritual new year of renewal and promise, an autumn harvest of the fruits of faith deep within our hearts. It s fitting, then, that this is also the time of year when we think of other beginnings, such as school and athletic programs not to mention the rejoining of our ministries and programs at St. Philip. Sunday School, JOY, GOYA, Choir and all of our ministries will, of course, resume this month. It s also fitting that we make an effort to celebrate this event and quite special time of the year. On September 8, we all look forward to Welcome Back Sunday, when we ll enjoy a beautiful BBQ reception sponsored by our Stewardship Committee and have a chance to stroll through our Ministry Fair. Here, we can take a moment to talk with representatives of our ministries and programs, learning about what the new year has to offer you and your family. For our younger parishioners, a visit from Rainbow the Clown is also on the agenda! For those parents who may not have had an opportunity to register their children for Sunday School via yet, staff and teachers will be on hand to make this happen. With these things in mind, please save the date and make a special effort to join us on the 8th. We Stewards and supporters of St. Philip have so much to be excited and enthused about. This is another year to engage in our excellent and ever-improving palate of ministries; this is another opportunity to get more involved in what might inspire and move us at St. Philip; this is another chance to open your heart toward OCTOBER 2013 Table of Contents Liturgical Schedule 2 Stewardship 3 Youth 4, 5 Photos 6 Calendar 7 Social Action & Outreach 8 Ed., News & Events 9 Sponsors 10, 11 St. Philip Church 500 West Hollis St. Nashua, NH facebook.com/ StPhilipNashua (Cont d. on Pg. 2)

2 LITURGICAL SCHEDULE September Schedule Sundays Divine Liturgy, 10 am 6: 3rd Sunday of Luke 13: Sunday of the 7th Ec. Council 20: 6th Sunday of Luke 27: 7th Sunday of Luke Weekday Liturgies Divine Liturgy, 10 am* 18: St. Luke (Senior Brunch to follow) 26: St. Demetrios *Because the weekday Orthros service is generally shorter than on Sunday, we often will begin Liturgy by about 9:45 am. Please come early! GOYA Pledge Congratulations to All! Our GOYA officers and chairs made their pledge on Sept. 29 at the conclusion of Divine Liturgy, promising to do their utmost for the youth of our parish and Christ s Gospel. Recognition is also due VP Alexia Philipon and Advisor Marisa Donati they have both been invited to serve within our Parish Council Mentoring Program. We wish our GOYAns a wonderful year! Voices of Faith Parents often look for ways to involve their children in our services in a deeper way. Our adult parishioners too look for ways to become more closely involved in our worship. One great way to achieve this is by setting up an Epistle reading. October and November dates are still available! Contact Fr. Alex to set up your reading. Oct. Oct. Oct. Oct. Scary Places (continued) God and His people, our fellow parishioners. These are all things to be glad about, to be grateful for things worthy of celebrating. I look to celebrating this new beginning with your family! I also look forward to another wonderful year with you all, as not only your pastor but your partner. Together, I know we will strive to make Christ the center of our lives and to bring every parishioner, from the youngest to the oldest, before Him through our ministries, programs and community life. Fr. Alex A Morning Prayer Let our thoughts, our words and deeds ever be pure, kind and good. Let us live peacefully with each other, respecting one another in love. Let us see the good in our fellow man, that we may love our neighbors as ourselves. Praying the Bible Orthodox Christians are not merely to read the Bible; we are also to pray the Bible. The prayers of the Liturgy are full of biblical imagery and shot through with hundreds of biblical quotes. In fact, the late French Orthodox theologian, Paul Evdokimov ( ) once calculated that there are 98 quotations from the Old Testament and 114 quotations from the New Testament woven into the prayers of the Liturgy. The language of the Liturgy is the language of the Bible! To come to the Liturgy attentively is to learn to pray the Bible! Robert Krantz, Guide to the Divine Liturgy Like to Bless us with a Bible? From our youth ministries to adult education programs, there is a need to build a library of Orthodox Study Bibles for all to share. Each donation is $35 and will be signed with your dedication. Contact the office. Come and See 2

3 STEWARDSHIP 2013 Stewardship Report How Are We Doing? As we prepare to present our 2014 Stewardship program, we ask our faithful to look back at all the changes that have taken place at St. Philip this year. We might look at this as a year of transformation, one of growth and new opportunity. We plan to continue on this path! We thank you for all of your support including your time, talent and treasures. For those of us that have not fulfilled pledges, please do so as soon as you can. While 218 of our Stewards have made contributions, many of have not. (We are currently at $85, which is far short of our $140,000 goal.) While we remain positive, we need to keep you informed as to the reality of us being far from our goal. If you can make just a little effort to help, it will go a long way, be assured! We are grateful for your support! St. Philip Greek Orthodox Church 500 West Hollis St. Nashua, NH P: ; F: Rev. Fr. Alex Chetsas: fralex@stphilipnh.org Office Staff Cheryl Petren & Sophie Theoharis: office@stphilipnh.org Office Hours: M - F, 10 am - 2 pm Help Us Reach You Are you receiving weekly s and other electronic communications from St. Philip? If not, we may not have an updated for you and/or your family. Please help us stay close to you by contacting the office with your . Thanks! Reflecting on Our Community: Doug Philipon I was taken back when I looked at all the booths for our ministries during last month s Welcome Back Stewardship BBQ. Our Church is flourishing! And it did not go unnoticed that we had our best attended luncheon in recent memory. A heartfelt thanks to everyone from our volunteers to our ministry leaders and to those that shared desserts and appetizers. As I was leaving, I walked out with someone I did not recognize and said hello and introduced myself. This gentleman was visiting for the first time. He told me what a beautiful church we had and that he could see a vibrant sense of community amongst our parishioners. I thanked him and said to myself, We have done well. If we can give that sense to a first time visitor, we should all be saying Well done. We are a vibrant community. Spread the word. Come back if you have been away. Support us with your presence and thank you for being part of our community. Every Member Our Capital Campaign We are hopeful that you have received our mailing describing the work that has been completed over the past months here at St Philip. We also briefly discussed some of the remaining work that needs to take place and the need to fund these improvements and help replenish our Capital Fund account. We are blessed to have a relatively new church that is still in very good condition. And, with Every Member, our newly initiated Capital Campaign, playing an important role with maintenance and improvements, our Church will continue to flourish and serve us well for years to come. The Every Member brochure outlining our thoughtful approach to funding this will be mailed out soon. In addition, we will be conducting a series of informational meetings describing our multi-year plan as to what needs to be done. We look forward to your participation as we all strive to preserve and enhance our beloved Church. It is so important that all of us, every member, support this effort! Come and See 3

4 YOUTH Don t let anyone look down on you because you are young Church School Underway Last month saw us get off to a great start the Sundae event, Ministry Fair and our first day of classes were all wonderful and allowed us reconnect with old friends and make some new ones. A warm welcome back to all of our children and families. To learn more about Sunday School contact Heather Cloutier (haclouter@comcast.net) or Tippy Johnston (tippyj27@comcast.net). Friendly Reminders & Updates: Each Sunday, workbooks are sent home with our students and should come back every Sunday. Stewardship Jars are now in each classroom, so our children can start learning to support our parish ministries and programs. Please help your child bring a small offering each Sunday. There are no classes on Oct. 13 due to Columbus Day. Children who wish to participate in the Christmas play will meet after classes on November 3. Meeting Rainbow at the Ministry Fair Youth Wish List Can You Help? The help, input and talents of our parents and all parishioners are paramount to the success of our youth programs. Our fall Wish List speaks to this reality please contact Fr. Alex for details: Sunday School substitutes Volunteers to help with Family Night Toys & books for the Nursery Orthodox Study Bibles ($35 per donation) GOYA: Alexia Philipon, VP It s a new year of GOYA and we re raring to go! First, the new officers will be sworn in on Sunday, September 29. Following services that day, there will be a hike up Rattlesnake Mt. for all GOYA participants. A Family Night is coming up on October 18. We will host the administrators and councilors of the Metropolis of Boston Camp, and we ll do many fun-filled activities with JOY! Coming up in November, GOYA will be taking part in the Thanksgiving Basket preparations. Also that month, we are having the Gingerbread House Contest and Display at the Nashua Holiday Stroll to benefit the Nashua Children s Home. We are looking for another sponsor for the event, so please contact us if you can help! Entry forms, rules, and other information are in this Come & See and have been ed to our parish. Hope to see you there! Don t forget to mark your calendar. Oct. 18: Family Night/Tie-Dye Event Nov. 9: The Bruins event is sold out! Go Bruins! Nov. 17: Out to lunch and grocery shopping for Thanksgiving baskets Nov. 24: Assemble Thanksgiving baskets after Liturgy. Nov. 30: Nashua Winter Holiday Stroll: Gingerbread House Contest and Display. Dec. 28: Christmas party/gathering. Details TBA. Greek Language School The children of our parish, grades 3-12, are invited to come discover the learning and fun offered by our Greek Language School program. We meet on Wednesdays throughout the year. Beginners, 3:30 pm; Advanced, 5 pm. Classes began Sep. 25, but it s still not too late to register and join us. We would be delighted to have your child. Contact George Kitsas: bettyb214@aol.com. October 21 This new ministry is for children 5 and under, moms and dads. Please join us 9 11:30 am in our newly renovated playroom; refreshments will be provided. Come play with us! Contact Tina Alexopoulos: ; tina_alexopoulos@hotmail.com. Come and See 4

5 YOUTH...but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12 Family Night is Back Oct. 18 JOY, GOYA, Parents & Families Last year our Family Nights brought us together for friendship, learning and faith. We look to continue this new tradition in with more fun and some excellent programming for our children and parents. On the 18th we will welcome Mr. Louis Zagami (Development Officer of IOCC) and staff from MBC for an outreachthemed event: Reaching Within, Reaching Out. Our younger children will enjoy a painting project (bring old clothes!) and our GOYAns will be engaged by our MBC staff. A pizza dinner will be served (free-will offering). Contact Stephanie Liakos with your side, drink or dessert: smliakos@comcast.net. Schedule: 6 pm, Welcome/Dinner; 6:45, Ice-Breaker; 7-7:45 Program; 7:45-8, Final Reflection/Prayer Altar Servers Boys of our parish (10-18) are invited to join us. Through service and learning, our servers grow closer to the faith and build their relationship with God. A late fall dinner/bonfire is in the works. Details to follow. Fall Craft Carving a Prayerful Pumpkin with the Kids For an inspiring alternative to standard jack-o-lanters, try carving a prayerful pumpkin! Handle each step as a prayer. Carve out: 2 heart-shaped eyes (God s love for us all and opening our eyes to God); a Cross nose (when we ve turned up our noses to His great sacrifice ); a fish -shaped mouth (ancient Christian symbol and reminder to please Him with our words); and two Bibleshaped ears (the hearing of the faith). As you light your pumpkin, prayer that we all show the Light of Christ to the world! GOYA Hike Sep. 28 Join us on Rattlesnake Mt.! Following Liturgy, our GOYAns will head to Rattlesnake Mt. (Holderness, NH) for a beautiful hike. Our GOYA leaders are excited to get everyone together for this fun, unique teambuilding event that will help us get to know each other better. All hikers should bring the following: ***A change of clothes for after Liturgy, including a sweat-shirt and light coat in case it s chilly on top ***Good sneakers/hiking boots and a small backpack if possible ***A bag lunch/snacks that can be eaten on the go Please join us! Contact Marisa for details: mdonati@rivier.edu. Saintly Lives: St. Demetrios the Martyr (10.26) There is a reason the life of St. Demetrios is so well-known he was a man of great faith, courage, and loyalty. He was born in Thessaloniki in 270 A.D., and though he was from a wealthy, privileged family, he had a profound sense of humility, even from his youth. As a young man, he entered the Roman Army, where he quickly rose in the ranks and became a successful officer. However, he was, in his heart, a soldier of God first, and one of Caesar second. He spent much of his time within the ranks preaching the Gospel, and this soon earned him the negative attention of his superiors. After refusing to recant his faith, the Emperor Maximian had him thrown in jail; it was there he met a young Christian named Nestor, who quickly began to look to St. Demetrios for holy leadership and prayerful friendship. Eventually, Nestor would express a desire to fight in Christ s name against a brutal warrior, Laios, in the gladiatorial games. After being blessed by Demetrios and charged only to seek glory for God, Nestor defeated Laios. Humiliated and furious, the emperor had the friends, Nestor and Demetrios, executed within days. Making it real: St. Demetrios, with his rugged spear and military regalia, makes for a fantastic conversation piece. Tell your children his story with all its real-life drama and action. Finally, if your child is planning on trick-or-treating this month, what about St. Demetrios as a costume? He ll have an amazing costume and be honoring St. Demetrios! Come and See 5

6 Church Improvements Come and See 6

7 October 2013 Overview Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednes- Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Feast of St. Philip is Nov. 14 Looking ahead, please save the dates of the 13th (Great Vespers/Reception) and 14th (Feastday Liturgy). May his beautiful hymn ever resound in our hearts: Holy Apostle Philip, entreat the merciful God to grant our souls forgiveness of transgressions. Don t forget to fall back, and set your clock back an hour, on Nov. 3! P. Council, 6:30 pm 1 Health/Wellness Ministry, 9 am 2 Orthodox Life, 7 pm 3 4 Mommy & Me Play-Date, 9:30 am Sunday School Ice Cream Park, 2 pm 5 Sunday before the Holy Cross Liturgy, 10 am - Welcome Back BBQ & Celebration - Ministry Fair/S. School Registration 6 Agape Membership Mtg., 6 pm 7 Stewardship, 6:30 pm 8 Health/Wellness Ministry, 11 am 9 10 Women s Prayer/ Bible Study Social & Kick-off Mtg., 6:30 pm Oct. Come & See submissions due Elevation of the Holy Cross Liturgy, 10 am 13 Sunday after the Holy Cross Liturgy, 10 am - Sunday School begins/blessing for our children) - Altar Training Mtg. 14 Mommy & Me Play-Date, 9:30 am Compassionate Friends, 6:30 pm 15 Health/Wellness Ministry, 11 am G. School Registration, 3-6:30 pm AED Training, 7 pm Soup Kitchen, 4 pm Orthodox Life, 7 pm st Sunday of St. Luke Liturgy, 10 am - Sunday School Mommy & Me Play-Date, 9:30 am 22 St. Euphrosyne 23 celebrated (see pg. 5) Health/Wellness Ministry, 11 am G. School begins, 3:30 & 5 pm (Agiasmo blessing) Women s Prayer/ Bible Study, 6:30 pm Metropolis Clergy- Laity RSVP deadline Taverna Night, 7 pm 27 2nd Sunday of St. Luke Liturgy, 10 am - Sunday School - Health/Wellness Ministry - GOYA Officers Pledge/Hike Stewardship Sunday, 12/8 We look forward to welcoming Angelo Stamoulis, guest speaker, and to making our 2014 Stewardship commitments together. Then all are invited for a wonderful brunch. Join us! Come and See 7

8 SOCIAL ACTION & Outreach Senior Brunch on Oct. 18 Over the summer, interest was expressed about forming a unique ministry for our seniors. Ideas ranged from occasional luncheons and road trips to cultural events and philanthropic endeavors. To get us started, we invite all of our seniors to get together for brunch following the Divine Liturgy for St. Luke on the 18th. We will meet at IHOP (230 Daniel Webster Highway, Nashua) and order what we would like off the menu. It will be great to be together, and all are invited. Outreach Snapshot: IOCC International Orthodox Christian Charities is a pan-orthodox organization offering the love and support of our faith to those in crisis. Visit: Halloween Hang-Up? Here s a Few Ideas... Website & Communications Committee As announced last month, our parish has decided to move forward toward a new website that will offer us improved features, such as a quick calendar, picture galleries, video and more. The site will likely be tested this month and hopefully launched by our feastday on Nov. 14. In a similar vein, a general Communications Committee is in the works, focusing on all electronic and other communications to our parish. Interested in joining? Contact Fr. Alex. Thanksgiving Outreach Trick-or-Treat, Halloween parties and other seasonal traditions can leave Orthodox Christian parents scratching their heads what is appropriate for our family? What message am I sending? Is Halloween ok and harmless for my children to celebrate? This month, visit our Facebook page to access several articles addressing these questions and more: Halloween Hang-Up and Two Hermiones. The former offers a brief history of the holiday and engages typical issues brought up by parents. The latter puts a new spin on the Hermione Granger character of Harry Potter fame. We hope the discussion is helpful and that the creative solutions offered might be of service in your family s spiritual journey. Connect to these articles: facebook.com/stphilipnashua. Last year, our parish offered 20 Thanksgiving dinner packages to those in need, via the efforts of our Outreach Committee. We can do even more this year! Needs list: 25 frozen turkeys; 25 disposable roasting pans; stuffing mix; mashed potato mix; gravy mix; cranberry sauce; peas. Financial gifts are also welcome. Throughout November, Turkeys can be dropped off in the kitchen, and all other goods at the Giving Box in the hall. We look forward to your support! Stay Connected MINISTRIES/PROGRAMS Adult & General Chanting Theodore Persakis Choir George Karakantas Food Festival Jamie Pappas Health/Wellness Katherine Richo Orthodox Life Frank Edelblut Parish Council Lou Juris Social Action/Outreach Stephanie Norris Welcome Committee Matthew Matsis Women s Prayer/Bible Iris Houdyshel Youth Altar Service Daniel Gioffre Basketball Thanassi Liakos Family Night Stephanie Liakos GOYA Marisa Donati Greek School George Kitsis Hellenic Dance Troupe Maria Donati JOY Sherrie Juris Junior Choir Kathy Cooney Mommy & Me Tina Alexopoulos Sunday School Heather Cloutier GROUPS/ORGANIZATIONS Agape Ladies Society Sia Juris AHEPA Cosmos Marandos Elpis Ladies Society Maria Donati Pan-Macedonians Charles Paskaley Come and See 8

9 EDUCATION, NEWS & EVENTS Agape Luncheon & More Oct. 20, following Liturgy: Spaghetti & Meatball Luncheon Fundraiser Great food and wonderful company! Adults $10; Children $5. Please join us and bring friends. Agape Cookbook: Our cookbook makes a wonderful and affordable birthday, wedding or shower gift. November Seminar: Dr. Anton Vrame Next month we look forward to welcoming Dr. Vrame, who will offer a seminar entitled Knowing and Living our Faith, which will focus on coming closer to God during the Nativity season. Save these dates: Nov. 7, 14 & 21. Parish Elections A Stewardship of the Heart The insert within this Come & See offers complete information on our upcoming Parish Council and Board of Auditors elections, including details on how to become a candidate on the 8th. Serving on our Parish Council is a serious but also joyous and rewarding stewardship it is surely a great stewardship of the heart. Please consider offering yourself as a candidate (confirmation due date is Nov. 1). To learn more, contact the office or Fr. Alex. Finally, man thanks to our council members, who have served with much love and vision. We appreci- Orthodox Life: Decisions of Unity Join us Oct. 3 & 17, 7-8:30 pm Our fall series is entitled Decisions of Unity in Faith a study of the 7 Ecumenical Councils of the Orthodox Church, through which we will reflect on their historical setting and the important decisions that were reached and how those affect our faith today. Contact Frank Edelblut: fedelblut@gmail.com. Women s Prayer Group & Bible Study Join us every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month, 6:30 pm, for prayer, fellowship, and study. It's time to find refreshment in our week and grow in our faith. We hope to see at our October gatherings: Oct. 10: God, the Author of Life (read Luke 7:11-16) Oct. 24: Doing God s Work (read Gal. 1:11-9) Contact Iris Houdyshel to learn more: iris57classic@gmail.com. Health & Wellness Ministry: To Your Health! "Take 3," as the director of a film might say. You are the director of your health, and the flu season is upon us. Take action to protect yourself and others: 1. Get the flue vaccine. This is especially important if you have a chronic health condition (Diabetes, heart or lung disease), are pregnant, are a health care worker, or are age 65 or older. 2. Take everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs. Cough into your elbow, stay home from work if you re sick, and wash your hands often with soap/water or use an alcohol-based hand rub. 3. Take an antiviral drug (prescribed by your doctor), early on, if you get the flu. This can help prevent serious complications, like pneumonia. No director needs an x-ray film to their credits! Clergy-Laity Assembly Sat., Oct. 5 at Hellenic College/Holy Cross Join His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios and parishioners from our sister parishes for this important assembly, which will offer a reflection on our national Archdiocesan ministries as well as those of our Boston Metropolis. Our ministry and program leaders are kindly asked to save the date and make plans to attend. In addition, all interested parishioners are invited to join us. Further information is available in the Narthex. Please confirm your attendance with the office by Sept. 27. Orthodox Christian radio programming every Saturday at 3:30 pm. WDER: 92.1 FM; 3120 AM. Listen online: Come and See 9

10 We thank our sponsors for their support! Stellos Family Investment Properties of Nashua, New Hampshire Proud Stewards of St. Philip Greek Orthodox Church Come and See 10

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12 Save the Date Nov. 13: Great Vespers of St. Philip & Reception Nov. 14: Feast Day of St. Philip Nov. 17: GOYA Shopping Event Dec. 6: Family Night Gingerbread House-Making Dec. 8: Stewardship Sunday & Parish Elections General Assembly Oct. 27 Join us for our fall assembly immediately following Divine Liturgy. Our assemblies take place only twice a year; please make every effort to attend. Lunch, games and a movie will be offered to our children. Baptism You are baptized; you are illuminated; you are anointed with the Holy Myrrh; you are hallowed in the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. George Lucas Logiotatos, June 22 Martial David Simonis August 4 Wedding News Martial Simionis and Melissa Ansara were united in the Sacrament of Marriage on September 21. The Koumbaros was Anthony Floras. We wish them many years of happiness!