St. Catherine s Newsletter

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Stavroula Gonzini and Kim Voulgarakis. In addition attendance awards were given to students.

Athanasios. Kim Voulgarakis received a scholarship presented by Mr.

Camp Fanari Here We Come The Assumption group headed off to Camp Fanari from June 15-21st.

Maddy Szubert. Not pictured: Yannis Chulos-Saarinen.

1 St. Catherine s Newsletter Assumption Greek Orthodox Church June, 2014 SCS Graduates Recognized at Awards Day Two high school graduates were recognized at the Sunday Church School Awards Day: Stavroula Gonzini and Kim Voulgarakis. In addition attendance awards were given to students. Teachers called all students names and they received certificates from Fr. Timothy and Fr. Athanasios. Kim Voulgarakis received a scholarship presented by Mr. George Maniatis on behalf of his family in memory of his wife Mary Maniatis. Camp Fanari Here We Come The Assumption group headed off to Camp Fanari from June 15-21st. Getting ready to board the bus: Lea and Marisa Arvanites, Luke Maggos, Ben Steinhagen, Sophia and Maddy Szubert. Not pictured: Yannis Chulos-Saarinen. The Greek American Motorcycle Association awarded a camp scholarship to Maddy this year. They were on site to help send the group off by blocking the street with their bikes to allow the busses to exit the parking lot at Holy Apostles.

Community Picnic By Billy Panos On Sunday, June 1st, we had our annual Liturgy at the log cabin in Lombard. It felt strange serving in the altar without a robe and wearing shorts.

It was especially fun to get Mrs. Arvanites wet. Everyone had a great time.

Younger children often mimic the older children, their parents, Sunday School teachers, and adults making the sign of the cross throughout the liturgy because they are not sure about the right times

2 Community Picnic By Billy Panos On Sunday, June 1st, we had our annual Liturgy at the log cabin in Lombard. It felt strange serving in the altar without a robe and wearing shorts. After the Liturgy was over, the kids went to the park to play while the adults prepared lunch. There was a large amount of food to choose from. After lunch, there was a massive water war. It was especially fun to get Mrs. Arvanites wet. Everyone had a great time. Making the Sign of the Cross by Marika Maggos One way we all participate in the Divine Liturgy is by making the sign of the cross. Younger children often mimic the older children, their parents, Sunday School teachers, and adults making the sign of the cross throughout the liturgy because they are not sure about the right times to do so. I know that when I was younger, I would watch the teacher in the pew in front of me for when to do the sign of my cross, until we covered the topic in Sunday School. Like all things in the church, the sign of the cross proves to be symbolic. When we make the sign of the cross we are asking for a blessing on ourselves. We start out by putting the thumb, index, and middle fingers of our right hand together. This represents the Holy Trinity--the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our last two fingers are together touching the palm of our hand representing the two natures of Christ perfect God and perfect man simultaneously. When we go through the motion of crossing ourselves we are showing that we believe in Jesus Christ. Touching our head signifies Jesus was in heaven, stomach shows Jesus came down to Earth, right shoulder signifies Jesus ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, and finally left shoulder shows Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead. It is important to make the sign of the cross reverently because we are showing our faith in Jesus. Our beloved teacher Mrs. Maniatis always taught us that we want to avoid making a guitar strumming motion which results from going too fast and not touching your head, stomach, and shoulders. Make the sign of the cross once, slowly and thoughtfully. Times to make the sign of the cross during services include: Entering the church When you hear the name of the Holy Trinity Father, Son and Holy Spirit Name of the Theotokos and saints Before and after receiving Holy Communion When the priest faces us and blesses us During prayers The Liturgy book in St. Catherine s chapel guides us with the small black crosses throughout the text indicating when to make the sign of the cross. It is also a very personal matter of faith. We can make the sign of the cross to offer thanks to God, when we need His help, when we pray, when we are happy about something or when we are worried or scared. As Orthodox Christians it is our opportunity to ask Jesus Christ to bless and protect us. ST. C ATHERI NE S NEWSLETTER

3 ASSUMPTION GREEK ORT HODOX CH URC H Page 3 A Look Back on The Church Year by Fr. Athanasios Papagiannis This is the best time of the year for a kid, isn t it? School is out, the weather is finally warm and your friends are waiting to play outside. Another year has come and gone. You ve grown, you ve learned more and you ve matured. And now it s time to enjoy your time off! As we look back on the past year there s a lot to be proud of. For starters there s the Sunday School Program. I believe that we have without question the best Sunday School director and teachers, who show up every Sunday and teach you about God. And just as you grew physically this year, you also grew in your knowledge of God. But this isn t enough, because it s one thing to know about God and it s another thing to make Him your master and serve Him. Make sure you continue to build on your relationship with God this summer by coming to Church, by reading a little bit of the Bible each and every day and by praying every day. These are the habits we all have to partake in. In addition to a great Sunday School year, we also engaged in events to help out the greater community. In October we raised awareness for those who struggle with substance abuse and before we released the balloons in front of the Church, we prayed for God to help them overcome their problems. We also prayed for their families too. In November, we participated in the St. Jude s Walk to help cure children s cancer and we raised the most money we ever had in the three years of participating in the walk. Then in April we participated in the Feed My Starving Children event and packed over 25,000 meals! In addition to receiving an education and participating in events that help out others, we also participated in a lot of fun family activities. Who didn t have fun tubing in February or at the Spring Fling? Who didn t have fun at the annual Liturgy in the park? These were great events. Each year the wonderful community at Panagia s creates memories that last a life time and it s great to be a part of it! Next year we will look to continue planning events, teaching lessons and helping out others along the way. In the meantime enjoy the summer before you and come to Church every single Sunday! May our good and gracious God keep all of our families safe throughout the summer months and may we be come together in the fall to begin another wonderful year! God bless all of you! +Fr. Athanasios Papagiannis

Silver Medal Sprint by Emily Lucas When I went to the Junior Olympics a few weeks

When the finals were announced, and I went up to the starting line, I was nervous

I was hoping for it to just go and be over with, but, of course, the gun didn't

The other girls there were all really nice, and I wished them all good luck, as

So when the race ended, I congratulated everyone before going with the 1st and

4 Silver Medal Sprint by Emily Lucas When I went to the Junior Olympics a few weeks ago, I was looking forward to running my favorite track event, the 100-meter dash. When the finals were announced, and I went up to the starting line, I was nervous beyond belief. I was hoping for it to just go and be over with, but, of course, the gun didn't go off. The other girls there were all really nice, and I wished them all good luck, as did they. So when the race ended, I congratulated everyone before going with the 1st and 3rd place medalists (they 1st place person was also named Emily) to the medal stand. While we waited to get our medals, we were talking and laughing and having a great time. After we got our medals we went our separate ways, but it was a lot of fun getting to talk to some people from other churches.

Junior Olympics 2014 Assumption kids of all ages had a fun filled weekend at the Metropolis Junior Olympics. Congratulations to all of our participants!

5 Junior Olympics 2014 Assumption kids of all ages had a fun filled weekend at the Metropolis Junior Olympics. Congratulations to all of our participants! Many thanks to our coaches for all their hard work and dedication: Desiree Becker, Tom Demos, Dean Godellas, Lisa Gonzini, Dena Koulouris, and John Szubert. Special thanks to James Lakerdas for jumping in to help with our track team and Alex Facklis and Tom Koulouris for sharing pointers with our soccer team. Also, a great big thank you to Fr. Timothy and Fr. Athanasios, as always, your support is appreciated! Friday was a fun-filled evening of bowling; three teams and lots of fun for all. Saturday, Kim Voulgarakis won gold in the 10K and Emily Lucas won silver for the 100-meter dash. Our girls volleyball team did a great job. Our 7-9 year old Basketball team did an outstanding job playing against Sts. Constantine and Helen of Merrillville, IN. Then most of the players raced over to the soccer field and the joined their fellow teammates win their first game against St. John the Baptist, Des Plaines. Unfortunately, they lost the second game but certainly not due to lack of effort--they all did a tremendous job!!! Sunday our swimming team did an outstanding job competing The boys relay team of Christopher Godellas, William Godellas, Maximos Kouvelis and Fotios Tsaganos won gold in the 10 and under 100 yard freestyle. Our girls relay team of Lea Arvanites, Marisa Arvanites, Helena Godellas and Sophia Szubert won bronze in the 18 & under 200 yard freestyle. Lea Arvanites won silver in 50 yard freestyle and bronze for the 50 yard breaststroke. All our participants displayed incredible sportsmanship and team spirit. The children represented our parish with dignity, great love and enthusiasm. Congratulations to everyone on a job well done! Christina Arvanites

6 INFO Assumption Greek Orthodox Church 601 S. Central Avenue Chicago, IL Phone: Fax: MAIL TO: S U M M E R H O U R S M A T I N S 8 : 3 0 A M D I V I N E L I T U R G Y 9 : 3 0 A M We re on the web! WE LOVE OUR MOMS The St. Catherine s Newsletter was created in 2007 by a Sunday School student. It serves to inform, educate, and entertain the children of the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church community. All are welcome and encouraged to contribute to the newsletter. If you are interested in writing an article, sending in a self written piece of work, or just for more information PLEASE CONTACT: Very Rev. Fr. Timothy Bakakos FrTimothy@assumptionchicago.org or Dr. Evie Maggos demags@aol.com SAVE THE DATE Assumption Greek Festival Saturday & Sunday July 26-27th Mothers at Assumption were delighted by the prek through 3rd grade SCS children during the Mother s Day program directed by Mrs. Christina Gilroy.

St. Catherine s Newsletter

St. Catherine s Newsletter Assumption Greek Orthodox Church June, 2013 Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! The beautiful Holy Week and Pascha services were attended by many. Girls served as Mirofores on