THE MESSAGE. St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Shrine Church 1 Shrine Pl., Greenlawn, NY 11740

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1 St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Shrine Church 1 Shrine Pl., Greenlawn, NY THE MESSAGE 58th Anniversary of The Founding of Our Church 38th Anniversary of The Consecration of Our Church April 2015 Volume 20, Issue 4 Inside This Issue Church Calendar Church & Ministry Info Upcoming Events Liturgical Schedule From Fr. Lou From the PC 1st Vice President Philoptochos Choir Notes Sunday School Little Angels Greek American Preschool Greek School Book Review GOYA Stewardship Information Pictures Flyers Advertisements

2 Volume 20 No. 4 PARISH COUNCIL OFFICERS 2015 President - Steve Margarites Vice President - Steve Ramerini 2nd Vice President - Nick Andreadis Treasurer - Dan Doscas Assistant Treasurer - John Ioannou Secretary - Effie Carlucci Assistant Secretary - Dennis Lichas Parish Council Members 2015 Elene Batanchiev-George Bennis-Katherine Dorsey Gigi Franklin-Christine Ilasi-Peter Karropoulos-Nick Kontos Dean Kostopoulos-Dean Koutsoubis-Peter Orfanakos Jason Poulis-Georgia Psilakis-Steve Stavros-Jon Varlamos Our Ministry Leaders Athletics Chris Varthalamis Choir Pauline Kitsopoulos Church Book Store John Arettines Girl Scouts Agape Bell Good Neighbor Fund - Pam Praetorius, Maria Mastrogiacomo GOYA Advisors Bob Kouroupakis, Janina Nathan GOYAL - Georgina Kostopoulos, Anna Koullias Greek School PTO Cheryl Paraskevopoulos, Joanne Kefalas Greek School Principal Maria Angel Greek School Board George Likourezos Greek American Preschool Joanne Kefalas Bi-Annual Blood Drive - Angela Arettines HOPE Melissa Levick, Agape Bell JOY Tessie Pando Junior Choir - Kathy Demacopoulos, Erika Gavras Little Angels Alexandra Bennis, Effie Poulos, Christine Borzumato Philoptochos Georgia Constantine Care Ministry - Sophia DeMonte Life Ministry Anastasia Geotes Players Chris Christopher Shrine/Church Beautification Anastasia Geotes Pam and Gregg Praetorius, Ritsa Taktekos Sunday School Argy Koumas IOCC - Nikki Larkin, Gloria Stavrakopoulos TheMessage2011@Gmail.com April 2015 Contents Featured Saint Calendar Church Information From The Desk of Fr. Lou From Our Parish Council 1st Vice President Choir Sunday School Philoptochos Greek School PTO Greek School Greek American Pre-School Girl Scouts Little Angels GOYA Stewardship Information SUNDAY SERVICES Orthros: 8:30 am Divine Liturgy: 9:45 am *** WEEKDAY LITURGIES Orthros: 9:00am Divine Liturgy: 10:00am *** PARAKLESIS TO PANAYIA Every Friday Evening - 6:00pm *** PARAKLESIS TO ST. PARASKEVI First Friday of every month - 11:00am *** All services are listed on the Church Calendar on our website. *** If you wish to schedule a Memorial, Artoclasia, or Fanouropita Service Please contact the Church office. These services can be done any day of the week. Saint Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Shrine Church,1 Shrine Pl., Greenlawn, NY Tel.: Fax: shrine@stparaskevi.org - Website: askevi.or g Reverend Father Elias (Lou) Nicholas - FrLouisNicholas@Gmail.com

3 APRIL 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Girl Scouts 4pm Pre-Sanctified Liturgy 6pm Lenten Meal 8pm 2 3 Pre-Sanctified Liturgy 9am HOPE 6pm 4 Saturday of Lazarus Orthros 9am Divine Liturgy 10am Folding of The Palms Lenten Breakfast 5 Palm Sunday Orthros - 8:30am Divine Liturgy - 9:45am Nymphios Service 7:30pm 6 Nymphios Service 7:30pm 7 Nymphios Service 7:30pm 8 Holy Unction 3pm Holy Unction 7pm 9 Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil 6am 12 Gospels 7:30am 10 Royal Hours 9am Apokathelosis 3pm Epitaphios Service 7:30pm 11 Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil 6am Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil 10am Resurrection Service 11pm 12 Easter Sunday Orthros - 12am Divine Liturgy - 1am Agape Vespers 11am Easter Egg Hunt 12pm Little Angels 12:30pm Greek Regents 5:15pm Adult Greek Class 7:15pm 15 Girl Scouts 4pm Paraklesis 6pm JOY - 7pm 18 Greek School 9:30am GOYA 7:30pm 19 Sunday of Thomas Orthros - 8:30am Divine Liturgy - 9:45am 20 Adult Basketball 8:00pm 21 Greek Regents 5:15pm Adult Greek Class 7:15pm 22 Sts. Raphael, Nicholas & Irene Orthros - 9am Divine Liturgy - 10am 23 St. George Orthros - 9am Divine Liturgy - 10am 24 Paraklesis 6pm HOPE - 7pm 25 Zoodohos Peghe Orthros - 9am Divine Liturgy - 10am GOYA 7:30pm Girl Scouts 4pm Philoptochos Meeting 7:30pm Greek School 9:30am 26 Myrrh Bearing Women Orthros - 8:30am Divine Liturgy - 9:45am 27 Adult Basketball 8:00pm 28 Little Angels 12:30pm Greek Regents 5:15pm Adult Greek Class 7:15pm 29 Girl Scouts 4pm 30 St. James Orthros - 9am Divine Liturgy - 10am GOYA 7:30pm

4 From The Desk of Fr. Lou The following article was a lecture form our Lenten Lecture series, given on Wednesday evenings, which was presented by Bill Courbanou. I pray it inspires you as much as it inspired me. - Blessings, Fr. Lou There is a story that I like to read every once in a while; and it s about a saint who lived during the 1200 s and it describes the end of his life. He is lying on his death bed and is surrounded by his disciples. And as they are gathered around him, they are sad and crying. But he looks at them and says: Come now my dear brothers- do not lose courage- do not cry or grieve too much for death is nothing new in this world. Then he confesses his Faith in God and tells them that they should love one another. He then says that he is departing to the house of eternity and he gives up his spirit. The thing that I find beautiful about this story is the peace with which this man died. He didn t make a big deal out of death. He acted as if he were telling his friends that he was going away on a trip to a far off city or village. How was it possible that while he was dying, knowing he was about to leave this world and everything in it, he could be so serene and so calm? I believe he was able to act this way during his death, because during his life, he had found the kingdom of heaven and had a sense of what was to come. And this is what I want to talk about tonight- the ability for us, while we are still upon this earth, to find the kingdom of heaven and receive the peace within our souls which it can bring. In the Gospel of Matthew- Christ tells us to Seek first the Kingdom of God and all other things that we need will be taken care of. He is telling us that our first priority- the first thing we should try to do as we try and figure out how to live our lives, is to look for the kingdom of God, to Seek it out. Why? Because it will be our guide for how we live our lives. Because once we find it, the way we look at life changes and the way we live our life changes. The kingdom of God brings with it, a great joy and a great peace within our hearts and an understanding of the true purpose and meaning of our life. - (pretty nice things to have). Christ compares the kingdom of heaven to a great treasure that is hidden in a field- He tells the parable of the man who finds that treasure, and realizes it s great value, so much so, that he goes and sells everything else that he has- just so he can buy that property and have that treasure. In other words, it is worth more to him than anything else in the world. Finding the kingdom of heaven means having new sight. It means seeing with our hearts and not with our eyes. It is a new vision, one that enables us to see and care about the things which are truly important, and to ignore the things which are not. We find ourselves wanting only those things which are necessary for our souls. And the many petty things that used to trouble us in this world, no longer trouble us. When we worry and fuss about the petty things that happen in this world, we are like a 2 year old child who is playing with a toy that is suddenly taken away from him. He cries and is upset because to that child- the world revolves around him and that toy- he does not have the ability to understand that life is so much more than just that toy. And this is what we need to learn as Christians, that life is so much more than what we can see in this world. It is so much more than the material things that make us temporarily happy. That the important things in life are not what we have or our fame or celebrity, but rather the important things in life are how we show our love for God and for each other. And so then, how do we begin and where do we look for the kingdom of heaven? In the Gospel of Luke, some of the Pharisees were asking Christ this very question. They asked- When will the kingdom of God come? And Christ tells them that kingdom of God is not something they are able to see coming with their eyes. And in fact, he tells them that the Kingdom of God has already arrived- and it is within them. The truth is that the kingdom of heaven is within all of us, but it will never be found if we do not look for it. Christ uses the word Seek for a reason. In the same way He describes the kingdom as a treasure hidden in a field, the Kingdom is hidden within our hearts, waiting for us to discover it. In the same way that we can take a gift which someone has given us and put it away in a closet and never see it or use it for what it was intended, the same is true of the Gift that God has placed within our hearts. There are a number of things we can do to help us find the kingdom of God within us. And these include daily prayer, daily reading of the Gospels, worshiping in Church and receiving Holy Communion. All of these things help to prepare our hearts to be a welcome home and a fitting dwelling place for the Spirit of God. And this is why it is important to keep our hearts pure, for it is through our hearts that we talk to God and within our hearts, that we hear His voice. During this Lenten period, we pay a lot of attention to what goes into our mouths, but it is equally important to watch what it is that we allow to enter into our hearts. In one of my Sunday school classes, I was talking with the kids about this, and I drew a picture of a heart on the board and began shading in sections of the heart and described what they represented. There were sections for: Jealousy, hatred, greed, power, envy, pride- and soon most of the heart was filled with these things, and I explained that when this happens, there is little room left in the heart for compassion, kindness, mercy or love. And as I talked about this, one of my students, a young man stopped me and said, wait.. who would ever want to fill their hearts with these bad things? And I said- that is an excellent question- who would want to do such as thing? Then I said, I believe the answer is that no one would intentionally want to do this, but it can happen if we are not careful. If we allow ourselves to be pulled and pushed by the things of this world, then the things of this world can slowly creep into our hearts and overtake our souls. One of the ways this can happen is when we look around us and compare ourselves to each other. What good can come from comparing ourselves to anyone else? If you compare the things that you have with the things that others have and they have more or better things than you - can that not begin to grow jealousy or envy within your hearts? And if they have less than you, or you have better things than they - can that not begin to grow pride and swell your ego and make you think you are better than they? There is nothing good that can come from comparing ourselves to others. And besides this, God will not judge us on how we compared to others. If you want to compare yourself with someone- you would do well to compare yourself with the person which God created you to be, for that is what God will judge you on. Another thing to be careful about is caring too much about what others say about us. Do not look for praise from others and do not be troubled by their criticisms. Thomas Kempis, in The imitation of Christ put it very well. A person who is not affected by praise or blame enjoys serenity of the heart. You do not grow in holiness because of the praise you receive and you do not become evil because of the blame that others may pour upon you. Be much more concerned with what God, who knows what is in your hearts, thinks of you, and less concerned with what others, who do not know what is in your heart, think of you. And finally, give as much or even more attention to your spirit, as you do to your body. Each morning, we wake up and think about our looks. We wash up, fix our hair, put on cloths, perhaps jewelry, makeup, so that we are presentable to all whom we meet. Give some thought and attention to making your spirit look good as well. Remember that when we meet others, while their first impression is about how we look, the lasting and more important impression is of how we act. Each day as we get dressed, think also about putting on the spirit of love and mercy. In your day to day activities with all whom you meet, let them see through your actions and your words, the spirit of mercy and kindness and love. St. Peter tells us that this type of beautify, which cannot be seen by the human eye, is of great value in the eyes of God. During this Lenten period, we fast and pray and worship together as we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. In truth, we should fast and pray and worship every day as we seek the kingdom of God and prepare for our own resurrection. If we try to keep our hearts pure and live each day with a spirit of compassion and kindness and love, we will be well on our way to finding the kingdom of God. And when the time comes for us to leave this world, we too may experience a peace and a calm within us, because we have gotten a small glimpse into the new life which is waiting for us. Amen

5 From Our Parish Council 1st Vice President - Steve Ramerini In my last few letters in this space I used humor to make my point. Today I need to make a very serious point about our community and the sustainability of religion in the USA and the world as well. Thus this conversation is going to be about what it will take to sustain our religion and our church. If our religion, or for that matter any religion, is to survive into the future, you have to believe that you are connected to your religion and your community. You have to have a relationship with God and let him be active in your life. This is what we have been seeking to communicate over the last 6 to 9 months. Without this, religion as we have known it in our lifetime will cease to exist. Now we as a Parish Council, and with the full cooperation of Fr. Lou, made a conscious decision not to ask for money as we were told last year very clearly that we were always asking for money. You may have noticed that we have removed all amounts from the Stewardship Pledge Cards this year. In fact the only number which appears on the card is the year We have also moved the collection trays to the back of the church and they are not being passed. Neither of these means that the church no longer needs money. Quite the contrary, we still need money. And because of attrition, we now are a community of 472 Stewards, and an annual Operating Budget of approximately $570,000, we need on average $1,208 per Steward, this year, to open the doors and turn on the lights so that there will be Liturgy on Sundays and Holy Days and a Priest to serve us whenever we need. I mentioned last year in this Message that I was born and baptized Catholic and I attended Christ the King Elementary School in Springfield Gardens, Queens. As school children attending the elementary school we were required to attend mass every Sunday with our class; 1st graders right on up to the 8th graders. Back in those days the church kept track of and published who gave what in their envelopes. Us school kids would put $.25, $.50, even $1 in the little envelope we gave in every Sunday. This was not optional; this was required. It was the church s way of teaching us that we had an obligation to support the church if we wanted to attend Mass on Sundays close by to where we lived. In essence, if we wanted a church we had to support it. We had to own it. If we wanted to practice our religion, we had to own it. Now my classmates and I weren t the only ones putting money in the tray. Our parents were also putting money in the tray in envelopes which were also tracked. Typically families were giving anywhere from $1 to $10 per week in those envelopes. And this is back in 1963/64. Back then, in the early 1960 s, a Chevy Impala cost about $3,000. Today that same car starts at $30,000. Simple math means that those school children today would be giving $2.50, $5 and $10 each week and their parents would be giving $10 to $100 per week. Now I am not all that naive to expect that school children would be putting in as much as $10 and their parents would be putting in as much as $100 in the collection tray today, but certainly they would be putting in something more than $1. Something significantly more; because it costs much, much more to run a church today than it did in Which brings me back to Stewardship. By now all of you should have received your Stewardship packet which contains a very beautiful Pledge Card that has no amounts on it. In past years there were always suggested amounts and a statement as to how much was required per Steward to operate the church. That is gone as well. However you now know that it costs more than $1,200 per Steward for us to have a Church in Greenlawn. Now in stating all this, $1,200 is an average. Some are able to give more while others can only afford a more modest amount. One thing which is common to all of us is that, clearly, we all know that we should be making our Stewardship Pledge every January for the current year. Several years back the Parish Council adopted a rule that requires the members of the Parish Council to act as leaders of our community and make their Stewardship Pledge by February 15th of each year. I am pleased to report that we have once again achieved that goal as the members of the Parish Council have pledged, on average, almost $1,500 per member to Stewardship in As a community to date we have received 231 pledges totaling $160,870, or approximately $696 per Steward. Last year at this time we had 280 Pledged Stewards for a total of $200,150 or approximately $715 per Steward. So for those who have yet to make their 2015 Stewardship Pledge, and even those of you who have already pledged for 2015, I ask that you reflect back on where your life would be today if it weren t for the church and this special place we call St. Paraskevi. Then look out into the future. Don t look out 50 years. Look out 100 years. Will there still be a St. Paraskevi? Will future generations be thankful for our commitment and sacrifice to keep our religion and this place? It is up to me and you, to all of us, to sustain our religion into the future. If not us, then who? If not now, then when? We are all caretakers of this special place we call St. Paraskevi. The question I would like you to ask of you today is, will you own this special place?

6 CHRISTOS ANESTI! On behalf of our Ladies Philoptochos, I wish to THANK VIVIAN DIMITRIOU and DOROTHY PANTASON for hosting the March 8 th lecture/video presentation of the reconstruction of St. Nicholas National Shrine at Ground Zero. Our sincere THANK YOU, to JERRY DIMITRIOU for narrating this very interesting lecture. We THANK OUR ST. PARASKEVI FAMILY for attending. We all absorbed knowledge of the magnitude of this project from its beginning stage to the projection of its completion. We THANK OUR PHILOPTOCHOS SISTERS who prepared delicious Lenten appetizers and baked goods for our guests to enjoy. We THANK EVERYONE for their generous donations following the lecture. We hope you enjoyed the presentation. Philoptochos hosted the HIHI Dinner on March 12 th. We wish to THANK DIANE BENNIS and DOROTHY ATHA- NAS for coordinating the meal. THANK YOU to ALL who donated, purchased items, prepared dishes, and served the Homeless. The Philoptochos has always been a great supporter of the HIHI program at St. Paraskevi by annually funding the purchase of weekly breakfast food items from December through March. The TSOUREKIA PASCHA SALE will be on Saturday of Lazarus and on Palm Sunday. Please preorder your Tsourekia to guarantee them on your holiday table. Don t forget to ship Tsourekia to your loved ones. Our 2 nd ANNUAL MEN WHO COOK will be Saturday, May 2. We wish to invite back, the wonderful men who prepared delicious dishes for us last year and we also wish to encourage others the opportunity to show off their cooking talents. This will be a fun night for all of us to enjoy great fellowship, delicious foods, and work off the calories with Greek Dancing to the sounds of DJ Kyriacos Parpas. With love to my sisters and family in Christ, Georgia Constantine My Dear Fellow Parishioners, Last month I referred you to a letter written almost 40 years ago. Today I am pleased to have my fellow Parish Council and Executive Board Member John Ioannou speak with you about Stewardship. I also ask that you reread the President s Letter in this months Message. We are grateful for the continued support of our Stewardship Program and for each of you who participate in the Stewardship Program. Thankful for all of God s Blessings, Steve Ramerini Stewardship Committee Co-Chairperson * * * By John Ioannou, Parish Council Assistant Treasurer (As it appeared in the Church bulletin.) This week s thought on Stewardship, in a word is, Perception. How do we as Parishioners perceive our role in supporting the life of our Church, Saint Paraskevi? Do we have the perception that Saint Paraskevi is sustained by a benefactor, endowment, the Archdiocese, Greek or Federal governments, and doesn t really need our financial offering? Do we have the perception that Saint Paraskevi will be taken care of by someone else? Do we have the perception that Saint Paraskevi will always be here for our children and grandchildren? The simple answers to these perceptions is no. The reality is, there is no right of passage. In other words, each of us individually and collectively must share the spiritual and financial responsibility to ensure that our Church will be passed on to our Children and our Grandchildren. Today Saint Paraskevi has savings to cover less than three months of expenses. Imagine the lives of our children without Saint Paraskevi as a nucleus, a community of faith and fellowship, then consider your Stewardship to Saint Paraskevi. Consider how often you come to Church, consider how often you give of your time and consider your monetary support. The prolific secularization of our society persists. We live in a society where God, specifically a Christian God is not popular. We have all heard our grandparents generation brought Orthodoxy to America our Parents generation built the Church s. And now what is the challenge of our generation? Our generation will either be the generation that preserved the faith, or the generation that let the faith slip away.

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9 Epitelos!! Finally!! Spring has sprung, although as of this writing it still doesn't look it or feel it, there is still so much snow around, and still more arriving! But - it sounds like it!! Everyone is commenting about how the birds' singing has changed and how definitely their music is springlike! And, of course, it is Great Lent and with it the church hymns that are so special to this time of year that your choir is busy practicing. Sweet as sweetest Grecian honey will my song be when I sing, O Beloved, in the season of the Spring - Ruben Dario Sad News: The Orthodox Church music world has lost another noted church musician. Demetrios C. Pappas, composer/arranger, chanter, singer, choir director, and teacher fell asleep in the Lord on Sunday evening, March 8th, 2015, after singing in the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Hicksville, choir directed by his daughter, Leah Pappas Monias, and enjoying a lovely day with his family. Affectionately known as Jimmy by those who met or knew him, he was most recently so proud that the DAD Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians' Annual Scholarship had been renamed "The Demetrios C. Pappas Educational Scholarship" in his honor, and in recognition of his many accomplishments, mentoring and kindnesses over the span of many years. Probably the most familiar of his compositions to St. Paraskevi parishioners is Jimmy's "Doxology" which we sing at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy every Sunday, and which is even played many times before weddings. "Psalo to Theo mou eos iparho" "I sing to my God as long as I exist" is a phrase that can be found at the beginning of Jimmy's "Greek Orthodox Hymnal", which he lived and which embodies all of his life's work. He quotes St. Paul in his foreword: "But be filled with spirit, speaking to ourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord:" He goes on to say that it is hoped his book...will help in the perpetuation of our vast Byzantine musical heritage...and will influence young and old alike to join their church choirs and even induce many to seek careers as choir directors in our Greek Orthodox Church. The late Archbishop Iakovos of blessed memory commended Jimmy's Hymnal as a "welcome addition" and went on to commend him for his "tireless efforts...to attract choir members...particularly the younger who are the future choirs...as well as for posterity". Eonia i mmi mi! May his memory be eternal! Sunday, March 1st, the Sunday of Orthodoxy, we were happy to have Kathy Demacopoulos and the Junior Choir join us once again with their angelic voices, especially singing "Eis Ayios" so beautifully, as did Andrew Warren singing "Enite" solo. Megan Schiede, a 9th grader in the Junior Choir, and Andrew, a senior, both appeared in their high school's production of "Beauty and the Beast". SAVE THE DATE!! COME TO THE "CABARET" Saturday, April 18th, The DAD Federation will be holding its' third biennial Cabaret Evening to benefit the Federation's Demetrios C. Pappas Educational Scholarship Fund, at the Hellenic Room of St. Paul's Cathedral, Hempstead, NY. We hope see you for a wonderful evening of entertainment and talent from across our Archdiocesan District, also offering mezedakia, wine, dessert and dancing to the music of a DJ. See choir member Fay Pavlidis for tickets and information for a wonderful evening benefitting a great cause. CMI Saturday, March 28th, choir members from throughout the Archdiocesan District will be participating in a Church Music Institute at the Archdiocesan Holy Trinity Cathedral in Manhattan which will be conducted by the noted Orthodox Church musician, Dean Limberakis. Mr. Limberakis is the Choir Director of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Boston, Massachusetts, teaches music and Byzantine chant through western notation at Hellenic College/Holy Cross where he is the Director of the HC/HC Chorale. CONCERTS: Sunday, April 26th, 2015, 5PM at St. Paul's Cathedral, the Hellenic Voices of Long Island will present a concert in a tribute to Vasilis Tsitanis, composer,singer, bouzouki player. All proceeds will support "TO HAMOGELO TOU PAIDIOU" FOUNDATION. Donation:$25.00 A wine and cheese reception will follow. Thursday, April 30th, 2015, at 7:30 PM, An Anniversary Musical Tribute to the late Archbishop Iakovos will be presented at Saint Peters Church, Citigroup Center, NYC. It will be an evening of music and narration with The Alexiad Chorale, directed by Eleni Traganas, and with Guest Choral Ensembles, sponsored by The Hellenic- American Chamber of Commerce; no charge for admission. A reception will follow. For further information see the flyers in the hallway. In other choir news we would like to extend our condolences and deepest sympathies to choir members Georgia and Peter Stavros upon the passing of Peter's sister, Diamando. Eonia i mni mi! May her memory be eternal! Until we meet again, we would like to wish you a Kali Anastasi and a Kalo Pascha! Stay well and see you on Sunday!!

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11 The Greek Independence Day Celebration was a success! The students performed and danced beautifully. It was nice to see the children in their traditional Greek costumes! Thank you to the Greek School Board and parents that helped decorate, set up and clean up. Your involvement is very much appreciated! The Graduation Dinner Dance is Saturday, June 6th at 6:30pm. All graduates must arrive at 6:00pm with their graduation caps and gowns! This end of the year graduation dinner dance is open to all students and their families as we celebrate the 6th graders! Ticket sales will begin later this month into May. You may purchase tickets during Greek school hours and Sundays after Liturgy: Adults $25, GOYAns $15, Children $10. Greek School PTO Elections will be held next month. Please contact Cheryl or Joanne if you are interested in running for a position: President, Vice President, Treasurer, or Secretary. April Snack Duty 4/18 Eleni Tiliakos & Alexandra Bennis 4/25 Lynn Hatzigianakis & Maria Brabender As a reminder, there will be no Greek School on April 4th and April 11th. Kali Anastasi! GREEK SCHOOL PTO EVENTS: Coffee Hour Sunday, April 26 Graduation Dinner Dance - Saturday, June 6th 6:30-10:30pm If you have not been receiving s and would like to be added to the Greek School PTO list please contact: cherylparaskevopoulos@yahoo.com. Jojobeba@aol.com. Christos Anesti, After a long cold and stormy winter, Spring has finally arrived! With the better weather the care ministry can frequent our visitations with greater ease. A small Easter service was performed by Father Lou at the numerous facilities. The residents always enjoy participating by reciting the beautiful prayers and hymns.if you wish to volunteer or know of someone in need of visits, please contact either the church office or Sophia De Monte ( ). Thank you to everyone who goes and visits those who may be home bound or in a facility, your time and effort is a blessing! In Christ, Sophia De Monte The Greek American Preschool celebrated many birthdays and giortes! They attended several liturgies and were introduced the letter upsilon and sigma. All of our students were busy this month learning the meaning of Lent and Easter. The 3 year old English class has been focusing on Dr. Seuss and dental health. The preschool will be opening a 4 year old English program for Fall 2015 and another Greek Kindergarten program on Saturdays from 9:30am-11am under the instruction of Kyria Foteini Papadopoulos. Please contact me if you are interested. There are many new classes for the 2014/2015 academic year: Ta Morakia - Mommy and Me ages 0-2 Wednesdays 10-11:45 Ta Kouklakia - ages 2/3 years old Wednesdays and Fridays 9:30-12:30 Soccer Program years old Wednesdays 12:30-1:30 Ta Poulakia - 4 years old Tuesdays 3:30-5:30 Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:30-3:30 Ta Psarakia - 5 year olds Thursdays 4:30-6:00 Ta Psarakia - 5 year olds Saturdays 9:30-11:0 NEW ENGLISH CLASS- 3 year olds Tuesdays & Thursdays 9:30-12:30. The teacher has her undergraduate degree in Nursery through 6 and her graduate degree in Reading. The students will also have 30 minutes of gym with a Certified Phys. Ed teacher. Please join our preschool. It truly is a wonderful program. Check us out on Facebook at The Greek American Preschool at Saint Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Church. You can see our program in action. If you are interested in enrolling your child please contact Joanne Karipidis Kefalas at: Jojobeba@aol or

12 The Girl Scouts of St. Paraskevi would like to thank everyone for their support on Scout Sunday. The girls are looking forward to spring and our spring events! The troops will again host their annual Mother's Day Tea for their mothers as well as plan field trips as the weather warms! The Girl Scouts will once again be cleaning the church in preparation for Pascha. We will be re-registering in June for next year. This is the opportunity to register with us if you would like to join us in the fall! Please contact Agapi Bell at if you are interested. GOYA has been busy participating in a lot of events such as: making and donating teddy bears for Ronald McDonald House, feeding the homeless, showing our Greek pride by marching in the parade, and participating in the Cathedral Cup. There are a lot of upcoming events for GOYA. Since Easter is approaching, the GOYANs will be hosting the Lenten breakfast on April 4th following church services. We need GOYANs to help set up, serve, and clean up. We will also be selling lambathes at this breakfast, and after church services on Sundays. Saturday, April 18th we have volleyball playoffs in Port Jefferson and on Sunday, April 19, GOYA will be having a souvlaki sale after church. Now that the warmer weather is starting to come back, we hope to have our attendance back up at our weekly meetings. Happy Easter and Kali Anastasi Thank you to all of the Greek School families who signed up to march in the Greek Independence Day Parade. All Greek School students who go to the parade and wear traditional Greek costumes or navy suits, skirts and white blouses will be allowed to ride the float. The experience will be a very rewarding one. Please join the children of our Greek School on Saturday, March 28th at 11:00am in the Community Center as we will be celebrating the Feast of the Annunciation and Greek Independence. If your child would like to wear a traditional costume, that would be great. If not, please have him/her wear navy bottoms (pants or skirt) with a white top. The children have been working diligently on learning songs, dances, and poems to honor this special day in our Greek heritage. There will be no Greek School classes on April 4th and April 11th due to Easter. Classes will resume on April 18th. We are already beginning to plan for the next school year. Early registration for the school year will begin on Saturday, June 6, In order to participate in early registration all tuition payments must be paid in full for the school year. Please make every effort to pay any outstanding tuition payments as they are now late. The Graduation Dinner Dance to congratulate the 2015 Greek School Graduates will be on June 6th at 6:30pm. Best wishes for a Kali Anastasi and a blessed Easter. George Likourezos, Esq. Greek School Board President Happy Spring and Happy Easter!!! Xristos Anesti to all of our St. Paraskevi Families. Our Little Angels can t wait to get outside and play! Little Angels has a new date and time!! We will meet every other Tuesday in the upstairs youth room at 12:30. We have arts and crafts, a visit from our priest, socialization and play time for our little ones. If you have a child between the ages of birth to preschool and are interested in signing your child up for this ministry, please contact one of our advisors; Alexandra Bennis atmrsbennis@aol.com Christina Borzumato at croussis76@aol.com.

13 For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in...lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink...and the King will answer and say to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."Mathew 25:35,37,40 The Huntington Interfaith Homeless Initiative program, (HIHI) gives us the opportunity to do as Jesus asked us; to help those who do not have a warm home to go, or food to consume, most especially during the cold months between December and March. With Fr Lou at the helm, the parishioners practice what Jesus asked us to do, when we host the HIHI program in our church hall, during the winter months. Doing so, has enabled men who do not have a warm home to which to go during the cold and some times brutal nights of winter, ( this winter being one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record), to have a safe haven from the cold temperatures and to receive warm meals. Here in our Hellenic Hall, the men have the opportunity to clean up with the toiletry kits with which they are provided every night they are here, eat a delicious meal prepared by our parishioners, sleep in a comfortable and well heated facility, eat a hearty breakfast Friday morning, and then leave with a lunch bag in hand. I have mentioned in each article I have submitted in the past for The Message, that we are able to have so many beautiful community outreach programs such as the HIHI program, because of the generosity of our priest and the parishioners of this church. We are fortunate that we have the financial ability to give to others.. Fr. Lou, our spiritual father, Demetra Doscas and Marion Moricca. who are the coordinators of the HIHI program for our church, the Ladies Philoptochos of St Paraskevi, The Greek Grill in Dix Hills, Mr George Vlachos Esq, the parishioners of St Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Church, and St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church are responsible for this very successful community outreach program. Mr Mavromoustakos, owner of The Greek Grill, has provided avgolemono soup and lentil soup every night our guests are here, since the beginning of the HIHI program, the winter of Mr George Vlachos has provided the lunch items many times throughout each winter season, for several years. Thank you to the many volunteers who either prepare or provide the necessary items for the meals, (dinners and lunches) given to the men, or are here for the various shifts to help serve, supervise, give out blankets, pillows etc, or prepare the breakfasts very early each Friday morning, with breakfast items the Ladies Philoptochos provide throughout the 4 months of the program. Many of our volunteers who either prepare dinners or volunteer their services on Thursday nights and Friday mornings, do so several times during the winter season. Members of the parish council, The Ladies Philoptochos Society, our GOYA, many of our parishioners, scout troops and students from Burr Intermediate School in Commack, headed by our fellow parishioner, Kathy Vasilopoulos Finkin, all give generously so the men who are without the basic necessities in life, this being shelter and food, can have them during the coldest months of the year! THANK YOU TO ALL FOR DOING THAT WHICH CHRIST ASKED US TO DO. May we have the ability to continue to do the will of our Lord for many years ahead, with the guidance of Fr. Lou. Sincerely, Anastasia G Geotes The Letter From Magda 'My dearest Johanna, I pray you never have to read this letter while your father and I are alive.' So begins Magda's letter to her daughter urging her to change identity, and to run and hide. Unable to decipher her mother's warning letter after surviving an assault in Switzerland, a wounded Johanna Wagner returns home to uncover the family mystery. Johanna and Michael Warner, the doomed and surviving children of the condemned families, find each other and unite against pursuing killers as they run and hide to unravel the deadly mystery

14 2015 STEWARDSHIP

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19 Every year, during Great Lent and Holy Week, the icons, Kouvouklion, and Iconostasis are adorned with magnificent and beautiful flowers. If you are interested in assisting with the preparation and beautifying of the Church for the Lenten season, whether it be by decorating the icons and/or making a donation towards the purchase of flowers, please contact the Church office. God bless the entire community of St. Paraskevi for the many decades of love and caring that has been offered during this very sacred time of the Church.

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23 Wanted: Choir Members Positions Open: Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Bass (No Others Need Apply) Physical Qualifications: M ust be able to carry light musical notes part way across the church. Must have sufficient vision to see the director from twenty feet away. Experience: No applications accepted from persons who have not sung, hummed or whistled in the tub or shower. Wages: Satisfaction and joy in God s service. Fringe Benefits: Social Security - We promise you the security of social fellowship with other members of the choir. Hours: Sunday m ornings, with occasional opportunities for overtime. (at above mentioned wages) Vacation: M issed rehearsals and worship services are primarily a matter of conscience and the ability to return the glares and pointed remarks of the director. Retirement: No particular age, but it is generally determined by prayer, printed notes getting too small, robe too heavy, notes too high, church too hot (or cold), or organist unable to play the notes you sing. Rehearsals: Only when necessary. Apply: By attending our next rehearsal, by contacting the director, or contacting Pauline Kitsopoulos at: PKitso@verizon.net.

24 Official Photographer of St. Paraskevi

25 TSUNIS GASPARIS LUSTIG RING & KENNEY LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW 2919 EXPRESSWAY DRIVE NORTH ISLANDIA, NEW YORK tg-law.net John C. Tsunis Maria Gasparis WILLS, TRUSTS, ESTATES & ELDER LAW REAL ESTATE MATTERS LAND USE & ZONING

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27 Palm Sunday Orthros - 8:30am Divine Liturgy - 9:30am Nymphios Service - 7:30pm Holy Monday Nymphios Service - 7:30pm Holy Tuesday Nymphios Service - 7:30pm Bishop Sebastian will preside Holy Wednesday First Unction Service - 3:00pm Second Unction Service - 7:00pm Holy Thursday Divine Liturgy of St. Basil - 6:00am (This is the only Divine Liturgy) Service of The 12 Gospels - 7:00pm Holy Friday Royal Hours - 9:00am Apokathelosis - 3:00pm Epitaphios Service - 7:30pm Holy Saturday Divine Liturgy of St. Basil - 6:00am Divine Liturgy of St. Basil - 9:00am Anastasi Service - 11:00pm Easter Sunday Agape Vespers - 11:00am

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