C o m m u n i t y B u l l e t i n

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1 C o m m u n i t y B u l l e t i n FEBRUARY 2016 DAY SERVICES 8:15 a.m. Matins & Divine Liturgy PARAKLESIS NO Paraklesis services during the month of March OTHER SERVICES MARCH 1 ST THROUGH MARCH 31 ST (SEE REVERSE FOR WEEKDAY LENTEN SERVICES) Sat. Mar. 5-1 st Saturday of Souls, 9:00 a.m. Matins & Divine Liturgy Wed. Mar. 9, 9:00 a.m. Matins & Divine Liturgy - Holy Forty Martyrs Sat. Mar nd Saturday of Souls, Holy Ascetics, 9:00 a.m. Matins & Divine Liturgy Sun. Mar. 13, 5:00 p.m. Forgiveness Service Sat. Mar rd Saturday of Souls, St. Theodore, 9:00 a.m. Matins & Divine Liturgy Fri. Mar The Annunciation of the Theotokos, 9:00 a.m. Matins & Divine Liturgy; 7:00 p.m. Leave Taking of the Feast Day of the Annunciation & Salutations IN THIS MAILING: March Calendar Lenten Services Forgiveness Vespers Service Wednesday Night Presanctified Liturgy & Lenten Soup Supper Come Sing the Psalms with Us Feast Day of the Annunciation Donation Center Youth Ministry Adult Religious Education 2016 Athletic Fundraiser Softball Game and Dinner Stepping Stones Sunday 9th & 10th Grade St. Photios Trip Fundraiser Luncheon & Bake Sale Metropolis Family Life News 2016 OCMC Trips Philoptochos News ST. NEKTARIOS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 5108 KUYKENDALL RD. CHARLOTTE, NC PH: Saturday of souls - March 5 th, 12 th, & 19 th Please submit in person, names to be commemorated on the specific Saturday of Souls you are attending. Matins begins at 9:00 a.m. We ask that kolyva (memorial wheat) and/or names be brought to church no later than 10:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. The ushers on duty will be there to assist you. Please clearly print or type the names to be read. Better Late than Never Book Club The March meeting of Book Club will be on Tuesday, March 29, 7:30 pm at the Starbucks on Rea Rd., in the Trader Joe s shopping center. We will be discussing Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin. The group is always welcoming new members. For more information, please contact Maria Demakis at maria_p29@hotmail.com. Parish assembly The next Parish Assembly will be held on Sunday, March 6, 2016, following Divine Liturgy. YOUNG ADULT MINISTRY (YAM) Watch your and Community Announcements for upcoming YAM events. Young at Heart for our over 55 members The next luncheon meeting will be on Thursday, March 10, 1:00 p.m. lent Pascha Lent begins Monday, March 14 th Daylight savings time Sunday, March 13, 2:00 a.m. Daylight Savings Time begins, make sure to SPRING your clocks forward one hour 2016 House Blessings Father John will be available for house blessings after Pascha on May 1st. If you are unable to schedule an appointment, you may take some Holy Water and a prayer card home to perform the blessing yourself. Beyond St. Nektarios Mardi Gras Celebration, Saturday, March 5 th, 6:30 p.m. 11:30 p.m. hosted by the Ladies Philoptochos Society of Transfiguration of our Savior Greek Orthodox Church in Florence, SC. Come enjoy food, fun, and dancing with live music provided by the Nick Trivelas Band; Cash bar; Cocktail attire. Tickets are $50 each and can be purchased by contacting the church office at Apkreatiko Community Dance, Sunday, March 6 th, 6:00 p.m. 11:00 p.m. hosted by Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Columbia, SC. Come enjoy heavy hor d oeuvres, fun, and dancing with live music provided by the Aegean Duo, Steve Tavelaris and Nick Mouganis. Casual dress. Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased by contacting Steve Bitzas at Preparing for our Lenten Journey presentation with guest speaker Presvytera Mary Christy of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Raleigh, NC on Monday, March 7 th, 6:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of Dormition of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church in Greensboro, NC. The event is sponsored by the Ladies Philoptochos Society. Refreshments will be served. RSVP by March 1 st to Maria Mandaleris, smlmando@gmail.com or Vespers for the Annunciation of the Theotokos, celebrated in Winston-Salem, Thursday, March 24 th, TBD Iconography Workshop and Retreat, Sunday, May 22 Saturday, May 27 at the Diakonia Center in Salem, SC. Instruction by Fr. Anthony Salzman. For more information go to Registration closes May 1 st. Did You Know? We can receive your offerings through your personal banking bill pay service. Just set up the church as one of your bills to pay. Please remember to indicate the purpose of the donation. We can receive your offerings through e-giving, go to our website, click on Online Giving.

2 Great Compline Mondays March 14, 21, 28 and April 4, 11, & 18 at 7:00 p.m. The service of the Compline is done in monasteries on a daily basis before one retires for sleep. It is used in our churches during the season of Lent, on either Monday, Tuesday or Thursday. This 45 minute-long service consists mostly of Psalm readings and prayers and ends with the very powerful hymn, Lord of the Powers The service of the Great Compline allows us an opportunity to pray and reflect, to cry out for God s mercy and forgiveness, and to acknowledge that all our hopes and salvation must be placed in God s hands. Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts Every Wednesday beginning March 16 through April 20 at 6:00 p.m. and followed by a Community Lenten Soup Supper Since the Divine Liturgy is a festive and joyous celebration, it is not celebrated on week-days during Lent. This celebration is reserved only for Sundays, the Saturdays of the Souls and the Feast of the Annunciation. The Divine Liturgy is not conducted on other days as a way of maintaining the solemnity of the season. However, because Lent is a period of fasting, it should also be a period of more frequent reception of Holy Communion. There is no consecration of the Gifts at this Liturgy. They have been consecrated usually on the preceding Sunday at a regular Divine Liturgy. It lasts just over an hour and contains the service of the Ninth Hour and the Vespers, with Holy Communion added at the end. Those who choose to keep the entire fast are encouraged to attend this service and to receive Holy Communion as a way of sustaining the fast by receiving the Body and Blood of Christ even more frequently during this period of spiritual discipline. Salutations to the Theotokos and Akathist Hymn St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church 2016 GUIDE TO LENTEN WEEKDAY SERVICES Every Friday beginning, March 18 and ending on April 8 at 7:00 p.m. This service lasts just over an hour and consists of hymns and prayers addressed to Christ and the Theotokos. The Akathist Hymn is a beautiful poem of praise and devotion to the Mother of our Lord. It was sung in the year 626 in the Church of the Theotokos in Constantinople on the occasion of the deliverance and freedom of Constantinople from the barbarians. The Akathist is composed of twenty-four stanzas, each stanza beginning with a letter of the Greek alphabet from Alpha to Omega. The Hymn is divided into four parts, one part sung on each of the Fridays of Lent (Salutations) and on the fifth Friday, the Hymn is sung in its entirety. It is called "Akathist" because the people, out of love, devotion and gratefulness to the Theotokos for Her miracle and deliverance, stood during the entire Hymn.

3 W e d n e s d ay N i g h t s D u r i n g L e n t Beginning Wednesday, March 16th 6:00 p.m. Presanctified Liturgy Followed by a Lenten Soup Supper A Lenten soup will be provided. Please bring [to share] a Lenten side dish, fruit or a Lenten dessert (no dairy items). See the sign-up list by the kitchen window for what to bring. Take-out containers of Lenten soup will be available for a small donation to help you with your Lenten meal preparations during the week. Come Sing the Psalms with Us! St. Luke Holy Trinity St. Nektarios Through the 40 days of Lent on your own time and at home Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. (Eph. 5:19) Join our Psalter Prayer Group we will be reading the Book of Psalms and praying on your own time at home daily. You will be assigned psalms to read each day and rotate through the list and as a group we will be reading the complete book of psalms each day! Please join us for this wonderful spiritual journey as we lift up our voices and sing/read the Psalms together each day in the privacy of our homes to our Lord and Savior. Send your and Name (Baptismal Name), to Tammy Pollard at tammypollard@windstream.net and she will send you your group assignment and reading list. We will start on Clean Monday, March 14 th.

4 DONATION CENTER Now Accepting Food for Matthews HeLP Center Most Urgent need is for: Canned beans- pinto, kidney, black, navy Canned veggiesmixed, corn, peas, carrots, green beans Hamburger/Tuna/ Chicken Helper Canned chicken Instant mashed potatoes Pork and beans Jelly Instant grits Hearty soups Located in Spiritual Life Center Lower Level Elevator Lobby

5 MAR 6 TRIVIA NIGHT Fellowship Hall; 5:30 7:00; teams and prizes!! SAT MAR 12 SAMARITAN S FEET SERVICE DAY sign up required; offsite MAR 13 FORGIVENESS SERVICE Seats on the Porch for O-Life fellowship at dinner MAR 20 Night Out location to be determined; watch your s; 5:30 7:00 APR 3 SPORTS NIGHT TRIVIA, GAMES AND MORE; 5:30-7:00 in Fellowship Hall APR 10 SERVICE NIGHT making sandwiches for URBAN MINISTRY CENTER APR 17 LENTEN POTLUCK DINNER Holy Week prep; 5:30 7:00; Fellowship Hall

6 A D U L T R E L I G I O U S E D U C A T I O N Spring Session Sunday Points Well-Made -- offered by Fr. Seraphim, generally weekly, following the Gospel reading. Lenten Worship: Not Just for Dummies Parts 1 & 2 -- offered by Fr. Seraphim; Tuesday, March 2 nd & Wednesday, March 9 th at 7:00 p.m. The Footsteps of Christ & the Apostles offered by Gerry Clonaris; Sunday, April 24 at 5:00 p.m. Special Presentations -- Offered periodically with special speakers and seasonally timed themes; to be announced Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. Matthew 7:7

7 Helping Orthodox families live Christcentered lives with updated blogs, family retreats, and teaching materials. Albania Open Mission Teams Current Mission Team opportunities available through OCMC are listed below. Airfare not included in Team costs. Team members must travel on scheduled dates; air travel to be coordinated with OCMC; ground transportation will be provided. Team members are encouraged to raise additional funds to cover the cost of domestic and international travel. To learn more or sign-up for a Mission Team go to: Kenya 3/19/2016 to 3/27/2016 Teaching 8/10/2016 to 8/22/2016 Youth Work 5/23/2016 to 6/10/2016 Outreach 8/10/2016 to 8/22/2016 Youth Work 6/7/2016 to 6/20/2016 Youth Work Mexico 8/26/2016 to 9/5/2016 Teaching 3/26/2016 to 4/2/2016 Teaching 10/25/2016 to 11/5/2016 Teaching Uganda Guatemala 5/9/2016 to 5/21/2016 Healthcare 4/8/2016 to 4/17/2016 Healthcare United States 6/15/2016 to 6/28/2016 Youth Work 7/1/2016 to 7/11/2016 Youth Work 8/26/2016 to 9/4/2016 Healthcare 7/7/2016 to 7/21/2016 Construction Indonesia 7/20/2016 to 7/30/2016 Youth Work 5/9/2016 to 5/21/2016 Healthcare 7/27/2016 to 8/5/2016 Youth Work 6/28/2016 to 7/11/2016 Teaching 6/28/2016 to 7/11/2016 Teaching

8 Upcoming Events Saturday, March 26 Lenten Service Project sandwich making for St. Peter s Soup Kitchen Sunday, April 3 Second Tray for Hellenic College and Holy Cross School of Theology Loukoumades Sale Saturday, April 23 Palm Cross Making Following Liturgy Sunday, April 24 Palm Sunday Luncheon Tuesday, April 26 Egg Dyeing Friday, April 29 Decorating the Kouvouklion Tuesday, May 24 End of the Year Picnic Sunday, April 3 rd Fresh Made Loukoumades Feeding the Hungry Sandwich Makers Wanted Saturday, March 26 th at 10 a.m. February 2016 Help assemble sandwiches to feed the neighbors served by St. Peter s Soup Kitchen of Urban Ministries. Meet in the church kitchen. All supplies will be provided. Opportunities to Make a Difference Visiting Partners is a ministry of the church supported by the Ladies Philoptochos. A dedicated group of lay volunteers regularly visit and keep in touch with those who are not able to make it to church due to short term or long term health issues. If you have a couple of hours a week to call, visit, play cards, or just spend time with someone who d like some company, please contact Ritsa Neary at Hazel s Helping Hands Blankets In this project we donate our hand-made fleece blankets to the hospital s most medically fragile newborns. The blankets are distributed for use in the neonatal section of CMC in memory of a little darling, Hazel. Volunteers are needed to sew fleece blankets. All materials are provided. Contact Ritsa Neary at Hazel s Hugs Blankets This ministry calls for all Knitters and Crocheters to help make blankets for children served by Levine s Children s Hospital. Any size, style or color is accepted. We collect the blankets at the annual Christmas Fashion Show Brunch. They are then blessed by the Fathers for those who will be comforted by them. Passing Trays for special collections. Baking and Packaging items for Pascha Bake Sale. Become A Member For 2016 Registration envelopes located at the SLC Hall Information Center and the office reception area.