MESSENGER THE. Newsletter of All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church. February What Else is there in Life?

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1 THE MESSENGER Newsletter of All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church February 2014 What Else is there in Life? What is better than life? What is better than the life you are living? Well, it might depend on your circumstances. If you are rich and comfortable, living on easy street then maybe not too much would be better. They say, money buys happiness. How about being rich, but unfortunately, sick. That s a problem. Having bad health, difficulties moving or thinking, or simply in pain, may render all the money in the world useless. This is why they say health is the most important thing in life. What about being rich and healthy. That s it. What could be better? Having all the money in the world, and great health, but having no one else with whom to share it, might be downright awful. Loneliness is intolerable. They say, to have two or three real friends, makes a man rich. Lastly, beauty. The inspiration of fairy tales and legends. The aspiration of every culture. Most women, and men, may think that their physical appearance is the most important thing in life. After all, how much attention is given to the human body? Don t wealth and beauty go together, so if one were missing, would there be a problem? Therefore, a person who is rich, beautiful, healthy, that has good friends, and a person who is poor, plain, sick, and alone might both answer the first question quite differently. The former might have a problem defining what is better, and the latter might have a laundry list of answers! The Psalmist King David lets us in on a secret. He witnesses to the fact that there is something more in life, a unique and powerful understanding of the source of real joy. The source of his happiness is unusual because it does not come from life, but only directly from God Himself Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You. (Psalm 63.3) No matter who we are, rich or poor, the secret to happiness in this life, in your life, is understanding that there is more than life, finding the Love of God. God s love, steadfast love, is the only thing which can be better than life itself, with all of its blessings, and it is the only thing that survives this life. Death comes for the rich and the poor, but the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. (Psalm 136) When you have experienced His love, you are truly rich, whether you have or have not. We come to learn that God is the Giver of Life, as well as the Great Lover! Just as Job learned, You have given me life and steadfast love; and Your care has preserved my spirit. (Job 10.12) When you see people chasing money, or you hear health is everything, or just be happy. When someone asks you what else is there in life? Answer them boldly, the Steadfast Love of God! Happy Valentine s Day! Fr. Alexander

2 The Time Has Come for our Return! Sunday of the Prodigal Son Feb. 16th Christians are at home in every foreign land, and foreigners in every homeland. The Sunday after the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee is the Sunday of the Prodigal Son. This parable of God s forgiveness calls us to come to ourselves as did the prodigal son, to see ourselves as being in a far country far from the Father s house, and to make the journey of return to God. We are given every assurance by the Master that our heavenly Father will receive us with joy and gladness. We must only arise and go, confessing our self-inflicted and sinful separation from that home where we truly belong (Luke 15:11-24). KONTAKION OF THE PRODIGAL SON When in my wretchedness I ran away from your fatherly love, I squandered in wickedness the riches You had given me. And so now, like the Prodigal Son, I cry out to You: I have sinned in your sight, O Merciful Father: receive me now that I repent and make me as one of your hired servants. REMEMBER THE FATHER S HOUSE...THE HOUSE OF PRAYER PARISH INFORMATION Address: 9012 Q Street, Omaha, NE Office Hours: Monday Friday: 10am 5pm Phone: Fax: Website: Church: AHSoffice@allholyspirit.com Fr. Alexander Lukashonok: FrAlexander@allholyspirit.com Services: Fall/Winter/Spring hours Each Sunday Matins 8:45 am Divine Liturgy 9:30 am 2 All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church December

3 THANK YOU It s a great honor to offer the bread that will become the body and blood of Christ during Divine Liturgy and we thank the following people who provided Prosphora for January: Joanne Sgourakis, Litsa Carter, Aphrodite Petrihos and Joan Rakes January Coffee Hour sponsors: John & Hillary Detisch, Mike & Nikki Moravec, Jim & Deb McDonnell and Brian & Sheila Zachariae. Thank you to Helen Petrow, Joanne Sgourakis, Joan Rakes and Julie Bouzis for their donations for the new red, white and blue altar cloths. The Parents of William (Nuli) Thornton would like to thank everyone for their payers, cards, calls and gifts. They were truly appreciated. Please feel free to call and visit with Nuli at It s great to have such wonderful friends. CONGRATULATIONS! We introduce our new Parish Council and newly elected Officers: President: John Birge V. President: John Sgourakis Secretary: Chris Hoegemeyer Treasurer: Andy Karavas Dora Bitsos, Nick Petrow David Rakes John Treantos and Peter Wilger USHER SCHEDULE February & March If you are unable to usher on your assigned Sunday please find a replacement within your group. 02/02 Andy Karavas George Pserros Jim McDonnell & Paul Bitsos 02/09 Chris Hoegemeyer Lisa Rakes John & Elaine Berger 02/16 John Sgourakis George Rakes Brian & Sheila Zachariae 02/23 Nick Petrow Shelly Reiling Mike Bouzis & Josh Busch 03/02 John Treantos Steve Thomson Bill & Cindy Lambert 03/09 David Rakes Rena Thornton Mike & Niki Moravec 03/16 John Birge Matt Boulos Jim McDonnell & Paul Bitsos 03/23 Andy Karavas Tammy Bitzes John & Elaine Berger 03/30 Chris Hoegemeyer Joe Carter Brian & Sheila Zachariae Chrismation January 19th Kelsey Severson Baptismal name: Photini Sponsor: Leah Busch 3 All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church February

4 FAMILY MINISTRY Children of different ages put together their talents and decorated water bottles for their families and the church community on January 4th for the Feast of Theophany. We listened to the Christmas music and enjoyed Pot-luck brunch. Parents were as committed as children to decorate those bottles the best way possible! Special Thank You to Presvytera Oksana for teaching kids the tricks of decorating. Water Bottles Decorated by Children VASILOPITA CELEBRATION On January 12th we celebrated Vasilopita. Fr. Alexander recognized different church ministries by giving their representatives pieces of Vasilopita bread. Later we auctioned off several beautiful loaves of bread to raise funds for our church. Special thank you to Joan Rakes for a wonderful Vasilopita bread! CONGRATULATIONS! 4 All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church December

5 You will have the opportunity to see the film after tasting authentic, savory foods of Greece and Spain. Additional entertainment will be provided by a local Spanish Guitar artist, a Flamenco dancer, as well as the group, The Rhythm of Greece performing dances from the island of Crete to complete your evening. There will be a silent auction and bake sale. Donations of $75 per person will benefit the All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church. For tickets and information, please contact: Demetra or Elias Eliopoulos or N 141 Ave., Omaha, NE February

6 By Viktoriya Hoegemeyer Here is the Lord s prayer that Russians use, transliterated in English. Otche nash, izhe yesi na nyebesyekh, da svyatitsya imya Tvoye, da priidet tsarstviye Tvoye, da budyet volya Tvoya yako na nyebesi i na zyemli. Khleb nash nasushchnyi dazhd nam dnes, i ostavi nam dolgi nasha, yakozhe i mi ostavlyayem dolzhnikom nashim, i nye vvedi nas vo iskusheniye, no izbavi nas ot lukavago. Amin. I was about 9 when I heard about God. That was the same year my mother took me and my sister to church to be baptized. I remember feeling so incredibly enlightened and thrilled that there was God in this pretty mundane world. There was more to life that I thought; actually everything started to make sense. I can feel His presence in everything. I see His soul in my children s faces. At times I did struggle with my relationship with God. Regardless of those feelings I always knew He would give me and my family exactly what He thinks we need. To me, He is my God, my Father, my Protector. He will always protect me and my family. 6 All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church

7 AHEPA JANUARY NEWS 2014 Our meeting was opened by Elias at 9:10 AM and we discussed selling Pickle Tickets at our Fish Fry this year. Both Elias & Joe felt that it could have a positive effect to our bottom line for the 6 weeks. Again, both Elias & Joe did further study about sponsoring Bingo off site. We were looking at the Knights of Columbus facility but it is located in Sarpy County and we can t cross county lines by state law. To rent a facility in Douglas County, the start-up costs will be prohibited. As a member of AHEPA District #14, they have a newsletter called the FEZ which comes out about 2 to 3 times per year. I m looking for someone that is creative and can write our news to be submitted to the FEZ. The volunteer does not have to be a member of our chapter or even male. I m just looking for someone that can create a juicy story about our Ralston Chapter. This also can be a young adult that is interested in journalism. If interested, please contact Paul Bitsos at or Paulbitsos@me.com. To further our allegiance to Ralston, our Chapter made a donation of $1000 to All-Play. This is an organization that helps the disabled to play baseball. The meeting was adjourned at 10:05 AM. Our next meeting is scheduled for February 1 st at Church at 9 AM. RUSSIAN GROUP All Holy Spirit Church is happy to have met so many Russian friends in Omaha! So far we hosted Tea Time at the church, services in church Slavonic language, movie night and Russian style New Year s party at Chris & Viktoriya Hoegemeyer house. This month we invite you to the following events with our group: 1. Great Vespers in church Slavonic on Saturday, February 1st at 6:30 pm, followed by tea in the Fellowship Hall (please bring snacks); 2. Divine Liturgy, St. Kseniya of St. Petersburg, in church Slavonic on Thursday, February 6th at 9:30 am. We are looking forward to see you there! St. Kseniya of St. Petersburg 7 All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church February

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9 Icon Corner By Tom Denich February hosts a lot of famous saints and figures from the Orthodox past. St. Tryphon, Theodora and Polycarp. Perhaps lesser known to us as Greeks is Brigid of Kildare. We have a Brigit in our family tree and this icon was originally painted for her. Below is the history according to the Abba Moses site: Our Holy Mother Brigid of Kildare (524) Her name is also spelled Brigit or Bridget; she is considered, equally with St Patrick (March 17), patroness of Ireland. She was born in Ulster of a noble Irish family which had been converted by St Patrick. She was uncommonly beautiful, and her father planned to marry her to the King of Ulster. But at the age of sixteen she asked her Lord Jesus Christ to make her unattractive, so that no one would marry her and she could devote herself to Him alone. Soon she lost an eye and was allowed to enter a monastery. On the day that she took monastic vows, she was miraculously healed and her original beauty restored. Near Dublin she built herself a cell under an oak tree, which was called Kill-dara, or Cell of the Oak. Soon seven other young women joined her and established the monastery of Kill-dara, which in time became the cathedral city of Kildare. The monastery grew rapidly and became a double monastery with both men's and women's settlements, with the Abbess ranking above the Abbot; from it several other monasteries were planted throughout Ireland. (Combined men's and women's monastic communities are virtually unknown in the east, but were common in the golden age of the Irish Church). The Saint predicted the day of her death and fell asleep in peace in 524, leaving a monastic Rule to govern all the monasteries under her care. During the Middle Ages her veneration spread throughout Europe. St. Brigit 9 All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church February

10 AN ORTHODOX BEGINNING FOR A CHRISTIAN ENDING! SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2014 HELP US BECOME SOUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS! SOUPER BOWL OF CARING On Souper Bowl Sunday, February 2, 2014 please team up with our parish s youth to help the needy in our community and around the world. Help our team in the Souper Bowl of caring by bringing a monetary donation and canned goods with you to Liturgy. Please support this effort and help our parish become Souper Bowl Champions! All proceeds collected will go to IOCC for their charitable works around the world. Go to iocc.org and learn more about Orthodox Christian Charity. All Orthodox Christians are invited to the next meeting of the Orthodox Christian Burial Society. We will meet at All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church (northwest corner of 90th and Pacific Streets, in Omaha) on Saturday, February 15, AD 2014, starting at 10 AM. If you are interested in learning more about the doctrines and logistics which follow traditional Orthodox Christian dying, death, and burial practices, please join us as we continue to develop this loving and beautiful ministry. For more information, please contact Deacon Nicholas Tilden (Saint Vincent of Lerins parish) at tntilden@cox.net. HOUSE BLESSINGS! It's that time of year. It's time for house blessings. Its time to connect "your world" to the Church. Your house needs to become a House-Church, a place not only where you take care of your daily needs, but also the place where you work out salvation. Remember the story of Zacchaeus? The Lord, said, "Today, salvation has come to your home." Invite the Church to your home. Fr. Alexander will come and bless it Have the whole family together. Take him to the Icon Corner (the place of daily prayer) and have a small bowl with water, and the names of the living and the names of the departed. then, lead him with a candle (or icon) throughout the home as he blesses it. If you would like it to be social, please let him know in advance. This is a great opportunity to have a pastoral visit, and talk as a family with your priest. Slips for scheduling are in the Narthex. Please fill out the form mark you re availability, and Father will call you to make an appointment. 10 All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church December

11 PHILOPTOCHOS Our January lunch meeting at Greek Islands Restaurant was well attended and productive. We do not have a meeting in February, but our new social committee (Deb McDonnell and Nikki Diamantis) are making arrangements for a "Saturday Movie Matinee" outing at Aksarben Village on February 8th and we will be seeing "Saving Mr. Banks". Mark your calendars for this fun afternoon!! Check the weekly bulletin for times. A BIG THANK YOU to everyone for helping to make this year's Vasilopeta sale another big success! Especially the bakers and the buyers and everyone who bid as well as our committee chairs Joan Rakes and Stephanie Wilger. And, of course, our WONDERFUL auctioneer Gus Rakes! Thank you to these women for baking: Effie Bitsos, Angie Brown, Nikki Diamantis, Litsa Carter, Hellen Elfering, Voula Kotrotsios, Aphrodite, Petrihos, Joan Rakes, Anna Smith, Stephanie Wilger and Sheila Zachariae. Thank you to these people for purchasing: Teddy Petrow, Nick Bitzes, Bill Lambert, John Sgourakis, Helen Petrow, Tammy Gill, Helen Lazanas, Joanne Sgourakis, Pete Treantos, Nick Petrow, Mike Kriha, Demetra Eliopoulos, Dora Bitsos, Paul Bitsos, and Sam Tsichlis. We couldn't have done it without everyone's help! Memories from Vasilopita 2014 celebration 11 All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church February

12 All Holy Spirit Greek Orthodox Church 9012 Q Street Omaha, NE (402) office (402) fax PRESORT STANDARD U.S. Postage PAID Permit No Omaha, NE Address Service Requested El Greco event is coming up on February 22nd