Saints Peter & Paul Greek Orthodox Church May 2016

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1 Saints Peter & Paul Greek Orthodox Church May 2016

2 Saints Peter Paul Greek Orthodox Church 1401 Wagner Road Glenview, Il Phone: (847) Fax: (847) Rev. Father Panagiotis Boznos, Proistamenos Rev. Father Kosmas Kallis, Youth Director Fr. Andrew Kearns Dn. Ted Saclarides Sunday &Weekly Services Matins 8:15 am Divine Liturgy 9:30 am Church Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 8:30am-4:30pm Fri. 8:30am - 3:00pm Office Administrator: Jeannine McIntyre Office Assistant: Toula Garbis Bookkeeper: Diane Bravos 2016 PARISH COUNCIL Rev. Father Panagiotis Boznos, Proistamenos President: George Nassos Frank Andreou Vice President: Demete Papson Chris Atsaves Rec. Secretary: Keith Anderson George Kirie Corr. Secretary: Christy Gouletas Mary Ann Langas Treasurer: Jim Santos Nicholas Mechales Asst. Treasurer: Louis Pappamichiel Fritz Freidinger Asst. Treasurer: Voula Colburn Michael Carrozza George Burbules Nicole Olds Jim Gottreich Therese Speropoulos Agape Preschool: Renee Tzakis (847) Altar Boys: Deacon Ted Saclarides, Elias Papadakis Athletics: Chris Atsaves Book & Icon Store: Pat Nassos Choir Director: Therese Speropoulos Church School Coordinators: Cynthia Olson Angela Schmidt Louis Pappamichiel Coffee Connection Dr. Helen Theodoropoulos Randa Anderson Doreen DeSent John Colis Coffee Fellowship: Lucy Economos (847) PARISH MINISTRIES Divorce Rebuilders: Maria Boyle Dynamis Group: Gail Kachoyeanos Georgia Photopulos Cancer Support Group: Bud Photopulos and Phyllis Perivolidis Greek School: Stella Theoharopoulos (847) Morning Bible Study: Dr. Helen Theodoropoulos OPA: Rev. Fr. Panagiotis Boznos Organist: Helen Mariano Outreach: Mary Ann Langas Philoptochos President: Georgia Ryerson PROSPHORA: Calliope Prekezes and Eleni Soukoulis Stewardship: Frank Andreau Ushering: Bo LaMotte and George Kirie Youth Ministries: Rev. Fr. Kosmas Kallis Please telephone the Church office (847) during daytime hours for all spiritual emergencies. For evening emergencies contact Fr. Panagiotis at (630) God bless you always!

3 Χριστός Ἀνέστη! Christ is Risen! I greet you with the joy and peace that the Risen Christ shines upon all of creation. His resurrection is the defining act of both God and man. God, in that He has redeemed us. Man, in that our enemy of death has been put to death. There is no greater proclamation than these facts, and for the Orthodox world that proclamation is expressed in the greeting Christ is Risen! and its response Truly He is Risen!. With these words we continually show forth to the world the very foundation of the Gospel. For the next 40 days we will begin and end every interaction with this phrase. So integral is the saying and singing of Christ is Risen, that the week immediately following Pascha, known as Bright Week, completely removes any penitential aspects in the services of the Church and replaces them with this hymn. Even funerals which take place during Bright Week drastically change and involve the singing of Christ is Risen nearly 40 times throughout the service. What is the Church trying to show us through the changes she makes to her Liturgy? That everything is different now. Christ has brought with His resurrection real and visible change. Look to the services of the Church to see that, and look into your own heart to live that. Grab hold of the Gospel of Christ s resurrection and share it with all you see. Be joyful in your interactions, and hopeful in your life. All of these things are made possible by Christ who has conquered death and doubt and darkness. On a related note, if you have not been to a Divine Liturgy during Bright Week, you will have many opportunities this year. Typically, after a new priest is ordained they serve the Divine Liturgy every day for at least a week, if not 40 days when possible. Yet, because Fr. Kosmas was ordained during Lent, when it is not allowed to celebrate weekday liturgies, Bright Week will be the first opportunity he has to participate in this tradition. Fr. Kosmas will be celebrating the Divine Liturgy at Saints Peter and Paul the mornings of Monday, May 2 nd ; Tuesday, May 3 rd ; and Thursday, May 5 th. He will be celebrating the Divine Liturgy at the Annunciation Cathedral of Chicago on Wednesday, May 4 th ; and at St. John the Baptist in Des Plaines on Friday, May 6 th. Please come to experience both the joy of Christ s resurrection, as well as Fr. Kosmas first liturgies as the presiding celebrant. Ἀληθῶς Ἀνέστη! Truly He is Risen! + Fr. Panagiotis

4 Q&A with Fr. Panagiotis Nowadays, in various areas of the world, people are being told to leave their faith in which God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are worshipped and glorified and move to a faith where They are not. If these people choose to stay in their faith which includes The Holy Trinity they are either beheaded or suffer some other tortuous ways of death. Where does our Orthodox faith stand on this? If faced with such spiritual attacks would it be acceptable to be prepared to PHYSICALLY fight to avoid death or do we do as the saints standing strong in our faith and fight PRAYERFULLY not PHYSICALLY for God to carry us through the situation? P.D. In answering this question there are, I believe, two aspects to consider: How do we respond to persecution when the option is apostatize or die, and how do we respond to persecution when the situation is less extreme. Throughout the history of the Church we find countless examples of those who were faced with the former situation, wherein their next words, be they words of faithfulness to God, or words rejecting their faith, determined if they would live or die in that very instant. In that very extreme situation we cannot find glorified saints of the Church who responded with physical resistance, and an attempt to flee their current state. In fact, it is very much the opposite. The saints, who we look to as models for our lives, peacefully proclaim Christ, pray for the salvation of their oppressors, and bow their head in embracing their martyrdom. Look no further than the Proto-martyr Stephen and the example he gave in his martyrdom (Acts 7) to see this fact. Therefore, when personally confronted with the very real choice of death or rejecting God, the only Orthodox response is peacefully proclaiming Christ, praying for our oppressors, and embracing martyrdom. A more contemporary example of this very peace in the face of martyrdom is the 21 Libyan martyrs that were executed by ISIS in recent memory. But this response is applicable only to the situation where death or torture is imminent. Were we to extrapolate this same response to all instances of persecution, the Church would never present itself as an opposing force to evil and tyranny. Look at the examples of the Maccabees. During the time after the reign of Alexander the Great, the descendants of Seleucus (one of Alexander s generals) ruled Judea and imposed an adherence to ancient Greek religion in the land of the Israelites. Rather than convert, or face systematic loss of rights and persecution, Judas Maccabeus led his family and other faithful Israelites in revolt against their oppressors. They were not personally at the edge of a sword being told to leave their faith or die, yet they were experiencing persecution. In response to this persecution they used what means they had to insure the protection and freedom of their faith. In a democratic society like ours, the means available to us are outlined in our constitution: freedom of speak, freedom to petition the government etc. If we are concerned about a persecution of Christianity in America, we can make use of these avenues to protect and guarantee the freedom of our faith. But this is a very different act than physically fighting against a foe at the point of martyrdom.

5 Parish Council News May 2016 Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! As you know, on March 27, 2016 Deacon Kosmas was ordained to the priesthood, and we are very fortunate to have such a wonderful young man as our assistant priest. We hope that he will be with us for many years. The service was beautiful and was followed by a wonderful luncheon hosted by our Philoptochos. A sincere thank you to President Georgia Ryerson and the event chairs Eleni Soukoulis, Tiana Cocallas, and Tina Spiratos. And also thank you to George Karas, Mike O Neill and Jim Spiropoulos for their assistance in this event. After last summer s Fanari Camp, we learned that some of our youth were a little disappointed that they could not see Fr. Panagiotis for confession. So early this year, we met with His Grace Bishop Demetrios to ask for the Metropolis to elevate Fr. Panagiotis to the position of Confessor. The bishop asked and received approval from His Eminence Metropolitan Iakovos, and he indicated that it would happen on the same day as the ordination. Besides having a priest at our church who can receive confessions from our parishioners, the bishop also wanted to accommodate SS. Peter & Paul as a means of reconciliation with our church as he is committed to improving our relationship with the Metropolis. So now you should feel free to contact Fr. Panagiotis for the Sacrament of Confession. Our strategic plan roll out to the parish was completed via two overview meetings in March and postings available on the web site. The implementation plan for was under development through the meditative period of Great Lent. The implementation kick-off with our parish is planned for the Parish Assembly Meeting later this month. As I had indicated in the March 2016 issue of The Messenger, we are forming a parish environmental committee to bring greater awareness to our parish and our community on what can be done to mitigate the deterioration of the environment. One of the projects that we are pursuing is a result of the Environmental Vespers last August 31, 2015 when we were joined by parishioners from Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the local Roman Catholic Church. We have since developed an excellent relationship with OLPH and together submitted an application to the Cook County Department of Environment for a grant to develop a community solar project at our respective parishes. If selected by the county, we will install solar panels on the roof of our school building and possibly on the church. The power generated by these solar panels will be used by the church but also will be credited to parishioners that don t have the capability for their own solar energy system; i.e. people who live in apartments or condos. There have been 109 applications for community solar, but 50 of the applicants were disqualified for various reasons. We are among the 59 remaining applicants from which five to seven will be selected for development funding from the Cook County s $1.5 million grant. The objective of the program by the county is to study these pilot projects by different types of property owners. Hopefully, there are not too many other faith-based applicants from which the county can choose. If you are interested in working on this or any other environmental project, please let me know as we can use a few more members for the environmental committee. George P. Nassos Parish Council President

6 SACRAMENTS Chrismation Horatiu Moldovan was confirmed into The Holy Orthodox Faith on March 6, WELCOME TO THE FAITH AND CHURCH COMMUNITY! PARISH NEWS DYNAMIS CALENDAR OF SPRING EVENTS: IAKAVOS CENTER - MAY 6- Trip to Center includes transportation, Divine Liturgy and luncheon. We will meet at 8:30 a.m. in the Church parking lot. Bus departs promptly at 8:45 a.m. There are 2 seats available on the bus. Members must contact Fanny Pappas at immediately if interested. Ascension Greek Orthodox Church has invited Dynamis to join them the end of May for the Veneration of the Miracle of St. John the Baptist at Assumption Church in Homer Glen, Illinois. Bus service will be provided. More details will folow once date and time is confirmed. Dynamis Ice Cream social, always a popular event, will be held on Thursday June 2nd at 1:00 p.m. Reservations are required. There is no fee. Call Fanny Pappas, for questions and reservation for all these events.

7 ORDINATION OF FATHER KOSMAS

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9 AGAPE Preschool & Kindergarten Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church Kindergarten and Preschool registration for the year is in progress! AGAPE Preschool & Kindergarten is committed to providing an educational experience emphasizing the Orthodox Christian faith in a nurturing environment with a centers or play-based approach to learning. Provided below are the program options: Saints Class (Kindergarten) 9:00am to 2:00pm Age 5 by 9/1/16 1 to 12 teacher/child ratio Monday through Friday Kindergarten State Standards for reading, writing, math, social studies and science Come and See with clergy Catered hot lunch program Specials include Greek School, Art, Music, Religion, Cooking and Gym Apostles Class (Pre-K) 9:00am to 1:00pm Age 4 by 9/1/16 1 to 7 teacher/child ratio Monday through Thursday Friday enrichment program (available) (9:00am to noon) Come and See with clergy Catered hot lunch program Specials include Greek School, Art, Music, Religion and Cooking Disciples Class 9:00am to 1:00pm Age 3 by 9/1/16 1 to 7 teacher/child ratio Monday through Thursday Friday enrichment program (available) (9:00am to noon) Come and See with clergy Catered hot lunch program Specials include Greek School, Art, Music, Religion and Cooking Fishermen 9:00am to 11:15am Age 2 by 9/1/16 1 to 5 teacher/child ratio Three Day Program (T,W,TH) Specials include Art, Music, Religion, Cooking and Greek Language Introduction If you have any questions, please contact Renée Tzakis by phone at or by agape60025@gmail.com

10 Philoptochos News by Milly Pappas COMING EVENTS MAY 7 - SATURDAY - A NIGHT AT THE CLUB Featuring Ron Hawking - Entertainer Sunset Ridge Country Club Cocktails / Silent Auction - 6:00 p.m. Dinner - 7:30 p.m. Performance - 9:00 p.m. Chairladies: Julie Anastos and Pam Paradies MAY 17 - TUESDAY - PHILOPTOCHOS GENERAL MEETING - JOIN US FOR A POT-LUCK DINNER DINNER - 6:30 p.m. MEETING - 7:30 p.m. Philoptochos will furnish the entrée. All that is needed is salad and dessert. MAY 22 - SUNDAY - GRADUATION SUNDAY Honoring all graduating seniors and presenting the Student Scholarships. Philoptochos will host the Coffee Hour in honor of all graduates. * * * * * * * * * PALM SUNDAY BAKE SALE - Our many thanks to the wonderful ladies of our Parish for the donation of their delicious pastry, and to the ladies who helped bake the Tsourekia, (Greek Easter Bread), Tiropites, Baklava, Melomakarona, Kourambethes, and more. You helped make the bake sale a great success.

11 PHILOPTOCHOS (cont.) GLENDI MARDI GRAS MARCH 5, VALLEY LO COUNTRY CLUB Chairladies Julie Mantice and Georgene Shanley Our many thanks to Julie and Georgene for a beautiful and fun evening. Everyone enjoyed themselves so very much, especially the youth. Thank you. Chairs: Julie nd Georgene Parish Council President George Nassos and wife, Patricia, Philoptochos President Georgia Ryerson and husband Dr. Mark, Fr. Kosmas and Presbytera Anna. The Parish children having dinner and much fun.

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17 May 2016 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 PASCHA 10:00am Agape Service No Church School Fast Free Week 2 8:30am Orthros 9:30am Divine Liturgy ~ St. George 3 8:30am Orthros 9:30am Divine Liturgy SS. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene 6:30pm Philoptochos Board Meeting 4 10:00am Adult Bible Study 5 6:30am Men s Bible Study 8:30am Matins 9:30am Divine Liturgy ~ Bright Thursday Agape Mommy & Me 4:30pm Greek School 6 Dynamis Trip to Iakovos Retreat Center 7 8:00am Metropolis Oratorical Festival 9:30am Greek School 5:00pm Vespers 6:00pm Philoptochos A Night at the Club 8 8:15 am Matins 9:30 am Divine Liturgy 9 10:30am HOPE Group 4:30pm Greek School 6:30pm Sr. GOYA Clergy Retreat 10 2:00pm SS. Peter and Paul Blood Drive 7:00pm Cancer Support Meeting 7:00pm 2.0 Couples Group 11 FAST DAY 10:00am Adult Bible Study 12 6:30am Men s Bible Study 4:30pm Greek School 7:00pm Parish Council Executive Meeting 13 FAST DAY 6:00pm Faith, Love & Joy 14 9:30am Greek School +Sacrament +Sacrament 5:00pm Vespers 15 8:15 am Matins 9:30 am Divine Liturgy +Sacrament General Assembly 16 10:30am HOPE Group 4:30pm Greek School 6:30pm Jr. GOYA 17 7:00pm Philoptochos General Meeting 18 FAST DAY 10:00am Adult Bible Study 19 6:30am Men s Bible Study 4:30pm Greek School 20 FAST DAY 7:00pm Vespers at SS. Constantine and Helen 21 8:30am Matins 9:30am Divine Liturgy ~ SS. Constantine and Helen 9:30am Greek School 5:00pm Vespers 22 Graduation Sunday 8:15 am Matins 9:30 am Divine Liturgy Last Day of Church School 4:00pm All Youth/ Youth Family BBQ 23 10:30am HOPE Group 4:30pm Greek School 24 6:00pm Family Night 25 FAST DAY 10:00am Adult Bible Study 11:00am Agape Picnic 6:30pm Sr. GOYA Coffee Talk 26 6:30am Men s Bible Study 11:00am Agape Graduation 5:30pm Greek School End-of- Year Program 7:00pm Parish Council Meeting 27 FAST DAY Jr. Olympics 6:30pm Jr. GOYA Funday 28 Jr. Olympics 5:00pm Vespers 29 8:15 am Matins 9:30 am Divine Liturgy +Sacrament 30 Office Closed 10:00am Memorial Service at Memorial Park Cemetery 31 Jr. Olympics

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20 1401 Wagner Road Glenview, Illinois Address Service Requested