Sunday of Forgiveness (Cheesefare)

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1 9400 WEST CONGRESS STREET MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN PH: February 2018 Sunday of Forgiveness (Cheesefare) The Sunday before we begin Great Lent, called Cheese fare Sunday in the hymns of our Church we are called to Embrace Lent in order to conquer the demonic ranks. We are called to loose the demons in our own life, let us not be tricked that they don t exist. The first week of Lent is when the battleground is set, we are called to begin fasting we have increased prayer, increased Church services, on Saturday of Souls, on Sundays on Wednesday nights Presanctified on Friday evenings to honor the Theotokos. We are called to think about Christ and our faith more often than just on Sunday mornings. We have to be careful at the same time not to overdo it, not to jump into the deep end with barely knowing how to swim. Some people who have converted and try to very strictly fast the first week of Lent, can find themselves passing out in Church. But that is not the point, however the first week of Lent is called Clean Week, the first day Kathara Deftera Clean Monday, we are striving to clean out our souls, to remove the gunk and filth that gradually builds up on our souls and needs to be scraped out and cleaned out. Transformation in our lives. The field of life is our Arena and we are trying to be victorious over sin, and be victorious in entry in the Kingdom of heaven and achieve salvation. The Gospel lesson we heard today, it all about forgiveness and fasting. There is beautiful story in the life of St. Epiphanios of Cyprus 4 th Century, who authored the book the Penarion translated The Medicine Chest of the Church in which he outlines all of the previous heresies that came up to the Christian faith and how Orthodoxy cured those heresies. One day St. Epiphanios was hosting for tea another great saint of the Church St. Hilarion the Great who was a great ascetic and monk. And St. Epiphanios offered kind hospitality to St. Hilarion which included having a chicken butchered and baked to served for lunch with the tea. St. Hilarion seeing the chicken said, forgive me since I have taken my monastic vows I have never eaten fleshmeats, which is typical of all Orthodox monastics. St. Epipanios responded since I have been ordained, I have never laid in my bed at (Continued on page 3)

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3 (Continued from page 1) night without completely forgiving all my enemies. St. Hilarion replied, your virtue my friend is by far greater than mine. You see my brothers in sisters in Christ our Lord is reminding us today of the interconnection between forgiveness and fasting, they are correlated to each other, you cannot have one without the other. Which is why in its great wisdom our Orthodox Church begins Great Lent with forgiveness and then we begin fasting. And at the same time we cannot forgive without fasting, fasting is a training ground for other virtues. How if we can begin to control what we put in our mouths, we can begin to control also what comes out of our mouths, it is a practice of self control. I recently saw something that caught my eye, they have at the 911 Memorial, a piece of steel that a page of the Bible became fused with, out of the entire Bible, in the carnage of the damage of the collapse of the twin towers, do you know what was written on the page that survived melted to that piece of steel? It was the words of Christ in his Sermon on the Mount, which is Matthew Chapters 5-7, and today s Gospel lesson is a portion of that great and awesome sermon of our Lord. Now if you think that is just a mere coincidence, you might want to rethink your way of thinking, our Lord is continually speaking to us through miracles, all the time, we need to listen. The entire Sermon of the Mount Christ is reminding us of the righteousness that we must have to be a follower of Christ, and this is a righteousness that must come from the heart. Our Lord is internalizing the Law, he is making it come from our hearts. God wants the spiritual transformation of the whole person, especially renewal of the heart, the interior life. Some listeners of the Sermon of the Mount, may incorrectly conclude thought that Christ was only concerned with the spiritual interior condition, although most important he also goes on in his Sermon on the Mount to speak about the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, and the proper way each of those are to be done. Impossible to have a loving heart without also engaging in prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We must be careful to not misunderstand this sermon, Christ is not saying don t pray or fast, rather don t do those things to be seen by others, but do them in private for your own spiritual benefit and to be seen rather by our Heavenly Father. Lent is all about us having our hearts and minds fixated on God and not one another, not worrying about what are the opinions of other people. Our Lord teaches us the Lord s Prayer KOINONIA 3 in the Sermon on the Mount, which contains forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. We say this at every divine liturgy at every service of our Orthodox Church, but do we really listen to the words we are praying and follow them? Is it just hot air that comes out of our mouths, do we just blindly say these words and really don t believe them or follow them? We are asking to the same measure that we give to others for God to give back to us. If I hold a grudge against someone else, than God will not forgive us of our own sins. The freedom lies within us, our own measure. Our fasting must also be with joy and we begin fasting with forgiveness, we will have the forgiveness service immediately following the Liturgy this morning. Please don t sneak out to our cars, please don t go hide in the Cultural Center, stay and participate in this beautiful Orthodox tradition of forgiveness. Begin Great Lent on the right foot. This is a matter for our eternal life for our salvation, please don t make something else a priority. This service is a renewal of our baptismal pledge, it is the proper way to begin Great Lent. Remember Salvation is a struggle and a process. Maybe I have never participated in a forgiveness service before, that doesn t mean you can t begin today. Let us strive to be like St. Epiphanios from the story today, and make Great Lent a time in which we do not go to bed each night without forgiving our enemies or even our fellow members of our parish. This is way that Salvation is near to us, we confess with our lips and believe in our hearts, and look to be saved in the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been saved, we are being saved and we will be saved. Note our Forgiveness Vespers service will be Sunday 18th following Liturgy. Clean Monday we will begin Great Lent with the Great Compline Service at 6pm followed by Daughters of Penelope Lenten Meal in our Cultural Center Hall. Rev. Father John Ketchum, Proistamenos

4 Holy Week 2018 Please donate towards these items that are needed each year! Monetary donations needed You may donate in full or part, on any item needed. All items will be purchased by the Church. Palm Strips (Donated) Palm Décor ($125) Extreme Humility Icon Frame ($85) Candles for Epitachios ($150) White Sheet ($30) Rose Petals ($25) 4 Rose Water ($40) Gardenias for Epitaphion ($150) Last Supper Icon Frame ($75) Crucifixion Icon Frame ($85) 12 Gospel Candles ($150) Crown of Thorns ($100) Wreath at Base of Cross ( $65) Bay Leaves ($250) Red Pascha Eggs ($300) Resurrection Icon ($85) Solea Arrangements ($350) 2 Iconastasis Swags ($250 Each) 8 Lily Plants ($35 each) 1 Pascal Clergy Lambatha $250 Kali Anastasi! Epitaphio Cross ($175) Epitaphio Flowers and 4 Floral Arms Please call the Church Office about offering Altar Candles during Holy Week EASTER OFFERING ENVELOPES Easter Offering Envelopes will be mailed in a special Holy Week Schedule mailing at a later date. Additional envelopes will be available in the church office and in the narthex. Please consider prayerfully making your Pascha gift. 4

5 Dear Annunciation Members, February has seen the success of our annual Taste of Greece, thank you to all those volunteers who have worked very hard to prepare, set up and work hard this major fundraiser of our Annunciation parish. Great work to all involved! The Lenten period begins in Feb. and we have three Saturday of Souls in order to bring Koliva and the names of our loved ones who have gone before us to our Lord. The dates this year are 1st Sat. of Souls Feb. 10, 2nd Saturday of Souls Feb. 17, and the 3rd Saturday of Souls on Feb. 24. Please don t forget to take advantage of this opportunity to pray for our loved ones. Forgiveness Vespers will be following Church on Sun. Feb. 18 (Cheesefare). Great and Holy Lent begins on Clean Monday Feb. 19 with 6pm Great Compline Service followed by Lenten Meal hosted by Daughter s of Penelope (see page 15) start off Lent in prayer and fellowship. That first week of Lent we have services each weekday, Tuesday Great Compline, Wed. Presanctified Liturgy (followed by Lenten Potluck hosted by Parish Council). Thurs. Great Compline and Friday 1st Salutations of the Akathist to the Theotokos 6:30pm. Wednesday evenings of Lent will continue Presanctified Liturgy followed by Lenten Potluck Meals, the following groups will be hosting the Lenten Meals although all are invited to bring a Lenten item to share: Feb. 28 hosted by Philoptochos, March 7 Orthodox Study Group, March 14 Oratorical Festival hosted by Sunday School,, March 21 Choir and March 28 Women of Faith group. The Akathist Services on Friday Nights continue on March 2, 9, 16 and the Full Akathist on March 23 all starting at 6:30pm. Please join us for these essential Lenten services. Wishing you a blessed Great Lent. See you in Church! +Fr. John Ketchum, Proistamenos KOINONIA FATHER JOHN S MONTHLY MESSAGE A FOUNDATION OF FAITH. SECURING OUR ORTHODOX FUTURE FOUNDATION PARTNERS Joan Andropolis, Rick Bolda, Robert and Grace Busse, Katherine Calarco, Joseph and Helen Caravella, James Chanos, John and Lin Constantine, Constance Contos, Nick and Stella Contos, Dean and Toni Copoulos, Steve and Patty Dietz, George and Sandy Dionisopoulos, Basil and Maria Doumas, John and Vivian Drott, Anthony Dynicki, James and Kathryn Eckstaedt, Norm and Martha Eckstaedt, Marlene Ego, Victor and Patti Frangopoulos, Nick and Kathy Galanis, Steve and Dolores Gaveras, Susan Gianos, Alex Gianos-Steinberg, Aspasia Harris, Eleni and Reider Hoff, Steve and Nancy Kailas, Ann Kapitz, Daniel Karrys, Greg and Ann Karvelas, Nick and Beth Kasemeotes, Gerri Katrichis, Ann Katsekes, Jeff and Paula Katsekes-Allen, Bob and Kathy Kobza, Tom and Fay Kolster, Dr. George and Penny Korkos, Di- anne Kotsonis, Tom and Marina Kotsonis, Arthur and Chrys Labros, Tessie Leon, Nicholas and Susan Logarakis, Catherine LoMenzo, Douglas and Anna Losey, Elizabeth Lumb, Emmanouel Maheras, Mar- kos Mamalakis, Louis and Mariann Maris, Dan and Carol McGinley, Zoe Nicklos, Athena Pagedas, Mi- chael and Olivia Pagedas, Tom and Elaine Pagedas, George and Angie Panagiotopoulos, Peter and Marian Panagis, Despina Panos, Andrew Papachristou, George and Karen Papachristou, Greg and Di- ana Papachristou, Ann Papastefan, Theodore and Niki Pappas, Harry and Caroline Partsafas, Polly Pease, Peter and Rosemary Petroll, Annunciation Ladies Philoptochos Society, Andrew and Kathryn Po- tos, Chris and Lesa Potos, James Pouros, Cynthia Christopoulos and Family, Clarence and Niovi Pulos, Gregory and Stephanie Rothstein, Andrew and Vicki Sarandos, Theodore and Dorothaya Sarandos, Elizabeth and Gregory Schmalbach, Michael Sikorski Family, John and Amalia Sorenson, Connie and Chris Soves, Manuel and Rita Staleos, Tom and Anna Stamas, Constantine and Kathy Stamatelakys, Dennis and Sue Stappas, Michael and Anastasia Stavropoulos, Clemens and Nancy Stoeckl, Tim and Dena Taff, Mitchell Ticoras, Will and Betty Ticoras, Athanasios and Tia Tongas, Gregg Vergetis, Kath- leen Vosswinkel, Paul and Evonne Winston-Nausieda, Gene and Ann Wright, Lauren Wright, Greg and Susan Zacharias, Christ and Anastasia Zervas, Charles Zinos 5

6 Dear Annunciation family, KOINONIA PRESIDENT S CORNER Happy New Year!! Thank you to everyone who attended church and also those who baked Vasilopita to sell and raise money for Saint Basil s Academy in New York. I d like to thank George Papachristou and everyone who attended our active shooter training sessions. George did a great job helping us to understand procedures and how to be proactive in keeping our parish and loved ones safe. I am so pleased to see many people attending the open gym for our youth and adults seeing everyone get together to play basketball and work on lifelong friendships is terrific. We are pleased to announce that Annunciation Milwaukee will be hosting the 2019 Western Region Basketball Tournament for our Metropolis of Chicago. We have formed a great committee to help make this a big success and as some of our folks would say Bring it Home to the Dome. Annunciation parish and our parishioners have always represented themselves very well at these annual tournaments, and we look forward to a great time with a lot of Christian fellowship. Please contact myself or the Church Office to find out how to be part of this great event whether you play basketball,support our ad booklet attend the games or banquet we would love to see you. Our parish has the opportunity to generate some decent revenue from this basketball event to support our parish ministries. Please remember to continue to spread the word that we are open for business our beautiful cultural center is available for rentals and is a great source of revenue for our beloved Annunciation. On behalf of Father John and the entire parish council we are here to serve you. Please feel free to contact me personally anytime Thank you! Michael Stavropoulos Parish Council President 6

7 Dear Annunciation Family and Friends: KOINONIA FOUNDATION NEWS Happy New Year to our Annunciation Family! A special thank you for our incoming Parish Council and Officers for 2018 and great appreciation to those that have served the Parish Council in 2017 whose term has ended. Also, to all those that continue to serve through the many ministries as we move forward as a parish family. At the writing of this letter we are finalizing the necessary work with the BMO Bank for the financing of our debt at the Cultural Center. Three years ago we were in arrears on our payments to BMO. At that time we entered into a forbearance agreement with BMO which essentially stated that they would work with us and not pursue legal action as long as we met the terms of the agreement and become current on back interest owed. Three years later I am very pleased to report that we are current on ALL monies owed the BMO Bank and have a traditional note with them moving forward. A very special thank you to everyone that has helped our Church Family through these challenging times. Now on to the projects at hand. The Building and Grounds Committee of the Parish Council is in the process of prioritizing the capital needs and related costs of our campus projects. Once in hand, we will send a detailed letter outlining the projects, costs and how we will fund develop to pay these necessary improvements. I purposely use the term moving forward a few times. Never lose track of where we came from and always move forward to where we can be! Thank you for being a part of the solution. I look forward to seeing all of you in Church on Sundays. Let us all continue to Love One Another. I remain, In His Service, A Foundation of Faith... Securing Our Orthodox Future. Norman D. Eckstaedt, President, Annunciation Foundation (cell) ndemce5@sbcglobal.net 7

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11 KOINONIA Youth Corner: Dear Brothers and Sisters, During the month of December we were able to get together with the GOYA and JOY youth grades 4-12 and have a youth night on December 12 th, where the kids exchanged Christmas Gifts. The event was a success with about 30 children from the JOY group participating. In January we had a GOYA Bowling Night with over 20 kids coming to the event. Father John and I would like to thank all parents who brought their kids and the parents who help with logistics, planning and encouragement. Looking ahead we are planning on a Tubing Extravaganza day in February. The date is February 17th at Sunburst Ski Area. We are also very excited to begin planning a GOYA 6-12 Lock-In night during Lent. The children will be able to worship and play together while spending the night here in Annunciation. I have organized such nights in various places like New York, Boston and Chicago and am so excited for us to have it here in Milwaukee as well. Please, encourage your children s participation. The date set is March 16th. Last but not least the Oratorical Festival of the Parish will be on Wed. March 14th. Borislav Dinkov, Pastoral Assistant Got Talent? ALL PARISH VARIETY SHOW FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2018 FORMING COMMITTEES: Publicity, Food, Sound and Stage Set-up, etc. CONTACT: BORIS, Pastoral assistant at info@annunciationwi.org 11

12 Dear Annunciation Family, KOINONIA PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS After a busy 4 th quarter, January gave us a chance to catch our breaths before our spring activities begin. We are very happy we were able to donate $500 to St. Basil s Academy, a home away from home for Orthodox young people who come from broken homes, or are victims of poverty, abuse or abandonment. With your help and cooperation, these young people are able to receive an education, be loved and have a home that all children deserve. It s time to focus on the 2018 Philoptochos membership. Whether you give an hour or a day, you can make a difference. Commit to serving those in need and those less fortunate than you and experience the satisfaction of doing HIS work. Read our membership invitation letter on the next page and complete the enclosed application. Better yet, attend one of our general meetings coming up and see what we are all about. Adina Zeppos, Annunciation Philoptochos President PHILOPTOCHOS GENERAL MEETING Tuesday, February 27, :30 pm Cultural Center Media Room Business Meeting And Special Presentation after the meeting: Things you should know about your skin with Dr. Evonne Winston 12

13 Dear Annunciation Family, KOINONIA The heart of our commitment in Philoptochos is our mission of helping the poor, feeding the hungry, caring for the aged and taking care of those who are sick and need our help. As our Philoptochos National President, Maria Lagos, wrote: Why do women serve Philoptochos for decades? Why do they pass that legacy onto their daughters and grandchildren? Today, why do women who have more demands on them than ever before volunteer their few free hours to this worthy cause? We have learned that life s most urgent question is What are you doing for others? To that, Philoptochos members can say, without hesitation or doubt, We Serve. Beyond fulfilling our National Obligations, our Philoptochos has helped our parishioners directly and reached out to the needs of our greater community. How have we helped? First and foremost, we are there with a phone call, a visit to our shut ins, to offer a warm meal, and to help with the grief of a death. In 2017, Philoptochos dispersed $37, These moneys included $4,000 in direct financial aid, $9,000 for medical assistance, $2750 for our Sr. Graduations, $8900 in outreach to projects serving the needy in our community, and $7500 donations for special requests. We have already issued 2 checks for 2018 Our National Committment to St. Basil s Academy and assisting a family in need. In addition to the hands on work of our Philoptochos, we also enjoy the fellowship of our members. Many of you have attended events sponsored by Philoptochos. Whether working together for a bake sale, or attending our Welcome Back Breakfast, our Christmas Luncheon, our Plaki dinner, our Night of Jewelry, or our Rummage Sale, the Philoptochos ladies are enjoying our time together. There s still a lot of work to be done the community needs us and we continue to listen to their stories. If we are to continue all this good work in 2018 and beyond, we need more help. We have set a goal of growing to 100 strong in the New Year and we want YOU to be a part of that. Whether investing your time, your talent, or your donation, your Philoptochos membership will yield a high return, because you will be helping our community live out its Orthodox Faith by doing HIS work. We invite you to become a part of Philoptochos in 2018! Help us grow our ranks to help those who truly need our help. Adina Zeppos Philoptochos President 13

14 Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society Of Annunciation Church KOINONIA Mission of the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society: To promote charitable, benevolent and philanthropic outreach, to preserve the sanctity of life and family, and to perpetuate and to promote our Orthodox faith and traditions Membership Form Name Address City/State Zip Home Phone Cell Phone for correspondence: Suggested Annual Dues $35 $50 $100 (please remember that $21 of your dues is required to go to National Philoptochos and Chicago Metropolis endeavors) Time and Talents: I would like to help with the following Christmas Bake Sale Coffee Social/Sunday Bake Sale Visiting/Outreach Call me as needed Donation of baked goods Rummage Sale Festival Baking/Pastry sale Receptions Christmas Luncheon Donation to underwrite Please enclose form with check payable to Annunciation Philoptochos. Treasurer: Dena Taff, 2745 North 117 th Place, Wauwatosa, WI (rev. 11/17) 14

15 KOINONIA The Great Lent Annual Lenten Supper (Immediately following The Great Compline Service) Monday, February 19, 2018 The Great Compline Service at 6:00pm Lenten Supper following the service in Cultural Center Hall Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church 9400 West Congress Street Milwaukee, WI Presiding Priest: Reverend Father John Ketchum Dinner: $10.00 Children 6 and under: free Hosted by: Daughters of Penelope Hector Chapter #107 For information about Great Lent, visit: The Daughters of Penelope, a women s sorority was founded in 1929 in San Francisco, CA and today has chapters in the U.S., Canada, Greece and Cyprus. Their overarching goals are to promote Hellenism, Education, Philanthropy, Civic Responsibility, along with Family and Individual Excellence. In the spirit of cooperation the DOP works in consonance with the entire AHEPA Family AHEPA (American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association), Daughters of Penelope, Maids of Athena and Sons of Pericles. Members of the Daughters of Penelope Hector Chapter 107 reside in the Greater Milwaukee area. It has become our traditional honor to host this beautiful gathering for all of you. Please join us. 15

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20 KOINONIA This year the coin of the Vasilopita went to the GOYA Youth Group. We wish all parents, youth leaders and children a year full of joy and opportunities for fellowship 20

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22 An Untold Tale: The Holocaust in Greece 22

23 Sacraments Baptisms December 3, 2017 Sophia, daughter of Dean Koukouras Godmother: Gena Koukouras December 10, 2017 Leonidas, son of Constantine & Christie Peters godparents: Aristotle & Dayne Peters 40 Day Churching Theodore Albert Sikorski Parents: Michael and Diana Sikorski (December 3) Sunday Memorial Services January 7 A forty day memorial is offered for the memory of Dr. George E. Batayias. January 14 A 15 Year Memorial for Kathleen Mistrioty from her family. A 3 Year Memorial for Catherine Beyer. May their Memory be Eternal! 2017 Totals: 10 Weddings, 11 Baptisms, 18 Funerals, Glory to God

24 KOINONIA Sacred Gifts An Altar Candle is offered in loving memory of my husband and son Harry and George Paches. Offered by Allice Paches. An Altar Candle is offered in loving memory of Eugene, Stella and Pamela Stawski by Chet and Ellen Nygren. January 7 An Altar Candle is placed in loving memory of my husband Dr. George E. Batayias from his wife Jacque and his sisters Helen, Jannie and Faye. An Altar Candle is offered in memory of our beloved mother Mary Eliopul on her five-year-memorial. Given by her daughter Chrys Labros and Family. January 14 An Altar Candle is placed for the health and well-being of our children, George, Aris, Eleni and Theo Sikorski by their parents Mike and Diana Sikorski An Altar Candle is offered in remembrance of the most loving mother Catherine Beyer. With love from her children and grandchildren. January 21 An Altar Candle is offered in honor of my father Chris Tsoris one year memorial. Offered by his children Irene, John and Dino. January 28 An Altar Candle is offered for a one year memorial of our beloved Mike Keller. An Altar Candle is offered in loving memory of my parents Ernie and Mary Nielsen from their daughter Joan Turner and her family. February 4 In loving memory of Angelo Alioto on his 7th year death anniversary. Offered by his wife, Harriet, and the Menos, Garekis and Warren families. He is dearly missed.

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28 Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church 9400 West Congress Street Milwaukee, Wisconsin (414) PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO MILWAUKEE, WI Deliver To: Or Current Resident ANNUNCIATION LISTSERV If you would like to receive news and announcements by through the new Annunciation Church Listserv, simply with your first name, last name and address. ANNUNCIATION FACEBOOK & TWITTER If you would like to follow Annunciation Church through Facebook and/or twitter go to: and/or