The New Ecclesiastical Year Begins September 1st

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1 VOLUME 25 NUMBER 9 September 2016 The New Ecclesiastical Year Begins September 1st Dearest Spiritual Ohana, On September 1st, we begin the New Ecclesiastical Year. We must wonder why we celebrate this new beginning on this appointed day. Vincent Gabriel answers this question most adequately in a blog from Ancient Faith Radio entitled Why Orthodox hristians elebrate the New Year on the First of September. I invite you to visit the website to read the complete article. The link to the website is as follows: onbehalfofall/why-orthodox-christians-celebrate-the-newyear-on-the-first-of-september/. I will offer only some of the main points. The main points of the blog are as follows: I. So This is the New Year? The old Roman term for this day is Indictio, meaning definition or order. This was a day established as the beginning of a fifteen year cycle, marking the redefinition of tax obligations for Roman citizens (especially since Roman soldiers served fifteen-year terms), likely from the time of aesar Augustus. One of the Emperor St. Justinian s novellas (AD 537) decreed that all official documents of the Empire should include the indiction reference. When attempting to date manuscripts from this era, it can be helpful to know the year of the indiction (1 15), as exact dates or years are less commonly found. And when a date is found, it usually corresponds to Anno Mundi(Hebrew: ) העולם orלבריאת the year of the world since the date of reation. Anno Mundi (AM) served as the beginning point for calendars until the modern era in many parts of the world, and is still a liturgical point of reference for 1 both modern Judaism and hristians. (Jews also mark the New Year in September, but on a floating date.) The date of the creation of the world as discerned by a literal reading of the Patriarchal histories of the Greek Septuagint was determined to be around 5500 B on our modern calendar, with variations here and there. On the Julian calendar, the date of creation was said to be September 1, 5509 (B), with the birth of Jesus hrist taking place in 5509 AM that is, 5,509 years from the foundation of the world. II. Harvest, Thanksgiving, and Sowing By marking the start of a new year in September, the Empire and later, the Orthodox hurch was associating the new year with harvesting crops. As preparations for winter were being made, so too were preparations for the upcoming year. For hristians, it was a time of thanksgiving, remembering the good weather and abundant rain the Lord provided for that year s harvest something we pray for at every Divine Liturgy. This draws close parallels with the Feast of Trumpets for the pre-incarnation people of God (Lev. 23:23 25) III. Ecological Stewardship The Ecclesiastical New Year is now a day marked by prayers for the care of the environment. (Please (ontinued on page 2)

2 In this cycle we see the Incarnation of the God-Man Jesus hrist at the heart of our story as God s people. And see references in the entire blog regarding references in between those two reference points we have this feast to our former Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios and that could, at first glance, seem a peculiar or even present Patriarch Bartholomew) irrelevant holdover from the Roman Empire. Rather, the Ecclesiastical New Year serves as the crux The beginning of the New Year was for centuries a for our entire liturgical life each and every year. commemoration of the foundation of the world (Anno We say goodbye to the old and welcome the new. We give Mundi). It is a day for giving thanks to God for thanks for what the Lord has done, and petition his lovingplentiful harvest. It is a day that recognizes God s kindness and protection for the days yet to come. We take a protection over and providence for the world, along moment to consider our impact on the world around us, with our responsibility and stewardship towards the and whether our actions proceed from hearts of selfishness same. or hearts of compassion. This is a feast day that points to the very core of hrist s This all goes back naturally to the story of reation message of true, hristian spirituality: prayer, fasting, and itself, and a story where mankind represented by almsgiving. Prayers for blessings seen and unseen, fasting Adam and Eve is given the awesome responsibility for the sake of the world and our own mortification, and of caring for every living creature. A restoration of almsgiving for the care of others. Self-sacrifice and peace between mankind and the created order lies at promise, beauty and self-restraint. the heart of redemption and deification, and that is So pop open a bottle of champagne and bring your ultimately what the Ecclesiastical New Year is all petitions to the Lord. It s the start of a new year. about. I pray that this information is helpful in your Here is what the celebration of the Ecclesiastical New understanding of this Great Feast celebrated on September Year is in a nutshell. In Vincent Gabriel s conclusion to 1st. I wish all of you a Most Blessed and Prosperous Beginning! the blog, he writes: (ontinued from page 1) Our hurch Year begins and ends with the life of Mary. The Nativity of Mary is the first Great Feast of the year, while her Dormition or falling asleep is the last. With Love in hrist, +Fr. Alexander Shorelines is published Monthly by: Rev. Father Alexander Leong Saints onstantine & Helen Greek Orthodox athedral of the Pacific hurch Staff Amanda Jackson - Office oordinator Erica Jansen - Bookkeeper 930 Lunalilo Street Honolulu, Hawaii Phone : (808) Fax : (808) fralexanderleong@yahoo.com; office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org pc@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Parish Web Site: Parish ouncil Maria Naval - President Andrew Tujios - Vice President Roni Katsikas - Treasurer hristina Dimitrion - Secretary Dr. Michael Dimitrion, leopatra Kritikos, Nicholas Kyriakakis, Regina Mass & Austin Vali. Regular Office Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday thru Friday Nicholas, Mindy Scordilis & Jeanie Stavrue Pe ahi Philoptochos Board Alma hu, President; Anita Akel, Vice President; Marina Saikevych,Treasurer; Alice Malick,Recording Secretary; Valentina Yarovaya, orr. Secretary; Harriett Medes, Advisor hoir-hanters Orest Saikevych, Music Director Gregory Malick, Protopsaltis Parish Ministries Stelio Scordilis, Aloha Youth hoir; T.B.A., Bookstore; Dianna Graves, Greek Dance Groups; Stelio Scordilis, Sunday School Teachers Greek School; Julie Ličina Web Master; Alice Malick, Greg Malick, Maria Naval, Anita Higashi, Facebook George Kalantzis, Shawn hu, Dimitri Sunday School Director Presbytera Nicole Leong 2

3 LITURGIAL LIFE OF OUR PARISH WEEKDAY SERVIES IN SEPTEMBER NATIVITY OF THE THEOTOKOS Thu. 9/8 Orthros/Liturgy 8:30/9:30am GREAT VESPERS Tues. 9/13 6:30pm ELEVATION OF THE HOLY ROSS Wed. 9/14 Orthros/Liturgy 8:30/9:30am MAUI SERVIES Sat. 9/24 Liturgy 10:00am SEPTEMBER PARISH OUNIL TEAMS 4 Maria Naval 11 Michael Dimitrion 18 Nicholas Kyraakakis 25 Regina Mass Please remember in your prayers: Ted Anastasopoulos Dina Giannakopoulos Suzanne Keyser Julie Licina Alice Malick John Mitsis & All Those Who need our Prayers Upcoming Opportunities for Worship & Learning Moms and the Orthodox Family We are looking forward to starting up our Fellowship, once again, this Fall! But first, we need to know of anyone interested in joining us, what day and what time would be the best for us to meet? Please call or see Anita Higashi and or Fr. Alexander with your suggestions. Adult Religious Education Beginning this month, our classes will focus on establishing and maintaining the small church in our homes and in our daily lives, living the liturgy after the Liturgy on Sunday. Stay tuned for the schedule and further details in your Weekly Bulletin! 3

4 Philoptochos News LADIES PHILOPTOHOS SOIETY The Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society, the official philanthropic organization of the Greek Orthodox hurch in America, was established in November 1931, by the late Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I, who was then serving as Archbishop of North and South America. The members of the National Board of Philoptochos are dedicated church women who offer countless hours to the philanthropic, humanitarian, and hristian mission of the hurch. There are 475 Philoptochos chapters in the United States. The structure of the Philoptochos includes the National Board, Metropolitan Boards, and hapters in every parish of the Archdiocese. Share your news! Monthly Bulletin announcements that you would like to see in the October issue of Shorelines should be submitted to the church office by September 15th. call , or drop by with a hard copy of your requested announcement. Weekly Bulletin announcements should be submitted by Thursday, at Noon, for the upcoming Sunday. Maui Orthodox hristian Mission reminds those who attend services on Maui to visit or call to verify services. or look for other activities that may be posted. Please consider being a part of our Local Philoptochos Ladies hapter. See our President Alma Faith hu or one of our members for more information or to join! = Friend of the Poor 4

5 learned about God and Orthodoxy with prayers and fun activities. When my children came back from the camp, they shared many wonderful experiences, stories, and what they had learned with us. hrist is in our midst! I hope you had a nice summer with your family and friends. For me, the summer break passed much quicker than I had expected. We had family visits from Japan (my parents in June and my sister in July) which kept us busier and happier spending time with them. Besides, I put my two younger children into Summer Day amp. The program helped us to have a structured daily schedule through the long 9 weeks of summer break. I find it is better for us to live with some sort of daily structure while we have so much free time. Of course, we enjoyed being more relaxed, sleeping in, going out for entertainment and having free time. However, a few or a several weeks are enough to pamper ourselves. I start feeling spoiled after a while. My older children have been blessed to live with the hurch daily structure during the San Francisco Metropolis Summer amp at St. Nicholas Ranch and Retreat enter. (We thank our Parish ouncil and all the parishioners who have supported sending our youth to this special summer camp). They started their day with Orthros, before breakfast, and had Vespers Services before dinner. Through the day, they As schools and many work places have a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual schedules, our Orthodox hurch offers us those as well. You know examples such as daily prayers, fasting days/periods, Sunday Liturgy, the hristmas Season, the Lenten Season etc.. Our Ecclesiastical New Year starts on September 1 st. (If you wonder why it starts on September, you can read the following article: Why Orthodox hristian elebrate the New Year on the First of September, by Vincent Gabriel, posted on Ancient Faith Radio Blog, On Behalf of All. ) So, I believe it is a very appropriate time for us to start the New Sunday School Year. On Sunday, September 4 th, Fr. Alex will bless our Sunday School Students and Teachers with Holy Water praying for our children s spiritual growth. On the same day, I will have a registration form for parents to fill out. All children are always welcome to join in Sunday School. However, we need to collect these forms from parents. It will help us plan and coordinate classrooms, lessons, schedules, and events. So, please plan to come to church to let your child/children receive the blessing and sign up on the registration form during the coffee hour. If you will not be able to come to church on September 4 th, you can me at: nicolehleong@gmail.com or call Fr. Alex at (808) In hrist, Presbytera Nicole Sunday School Director 5

6 Dance Group News WE HAD AN AWESOME TIME AT OUR ANNUAL GREEK FESTIVAL DANING THE NISIOTES AND NISIOPEDA. PRIMARY ELETION FUNDRAISER FOR THE DANE GROUP WAS SATURDAY AUGUST 13, WE THANK THE PEOPLE WHO PARTIIPATED AND DONATING THEIR STIPEND TO THE DANE GROUP. IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN PARTIIPATING IN THE GENERAL ELETION FUNDRAISER TUESDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2016, SEE DIANNA ASAP. WE ONTINUE OUR HI 5 REYLE OF ALUMINUM ANS, PLASTI, AND GLASS, SEE DIANNA FOR TRANSFER OF REYLE FROM YOUR AR TRUNK TO HER AR TRUNK. WE WELOME TWO NEW MALE DANERS TO THE NISIOTES DANE GROUP: ONSTANTINE PAPZAHARIOUDARIS IS A STUDENT AT UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FROM ALIFORNIA. AND KONSTANDINOS (DINO) STEPHATOS WHO IS IN THE MILITARY FROM HOUSTON, TEXAS. OPA Thank you very much! Fr. Alexander expresses his utmost gratitude to all our dedicated volunteers, in front of and behind the scenes, for all your hard work and dedication for a successful 2016 Greek Festival! Learn Greek In addition to our classes after Sunday School, the following classes are on Monday Evenings: Elementary 5 pm, Advanced Youth-Adults 6-8pm Scheduling an Event? BEFORE scheduling meetings, parties, or any other event at church social hall, kitchen, or office rooms, PLEASE be sure to clear your event with the hurch Office at least 2 weeks in advance. Doing so will ensure that our facilities are available for all to use, as well as prevent confusion and double-bookings. Rental forms must be completed by anyone wishing to use our facilities organization, member or non-member. 6

7 Quotes on Stewardship A steward is one who manages another s property or resources; the hristian, therefore, is a steward of everything he is and has, including his own body and soul, for according to the mystery of salvation, we possess nothing from ourselves, not even our own life and being; all belongs to God and is given to us by the Father through His Son because of the richness of His love and mercy. ~The Theology of Stewardship in Light of Orthodox Tradition by Fr. Paul Wesche Stewardship is the offering to God as children of faith rather than as hired servants. hildren of God make offerings to God as expression of authentic love, whereas, hired servants simply fulfill legalistic duty. hristian stewardship is a manifestation of our love for God through the holistic offering of time, talent, and treasure to Him, through hrist s Holy hurch. By this offering of love to our Father in heaven, He further extends the healing experience of His hurch to His children, through Her ministry. ~Fr. Luke Palumbis Our Vision: To be a beacon of Orthodoxy in the Pacific and proclaim the Gospel of hrist to all people in accordance with the Orthodox faith Our Mission: To proclaim the Gospel of hrist to all people in accordance with the Orthodox Faith. To sanctify and minister to the spiritual growth and needs of the faithful through liturgical worship and spiritual programs. To safeguard and keep the traditions, values, and faith of the Orthodox hurch pure and undefiled. O F F E E H O U R Each individual/ family is requested to sponsor a coffee hour one Sunday per year. Sign up on the calendar posted outside the Social Hall or contact Suzanne A. or Frances R. Instructions/tips for sponsoring a coffee hour are available in a 3-ring binder in a cupboard in the hall. The Ladies of Philoptochos appreciate any donations of coffee supplies, including paper supplies to help defray some of the coffee hour expenses. If you are hesitant to prepare ice cream and serve a coffee hour periods. Thank you to our August Sunday offee Hour sponsors! Harriet & Peter Medes Valentina Yarovaya Kritikos Family Parish ouncil 7 yourself, consider making a monetary donation. Please do not bring non- Lenten food including cake & during fasting

8 What is Reasonable to Expect of People? An Excerpt from OA.org Question What you say sounds super-human. Is it really reasonable to expect the people to do it? Indeed, who can do it? Answer The question about who can do it was asked a long time ago. St. Peter asked it of hrist when he was listening to His teachings. The answer of hrist was conclusive: With men these things are impossible. But with God all things are possible. This is the point. hristian morality is, strictly speaking, not a human morality designed for the happy life in this world. hristian morality is the morality of perfection. Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. These are the words of hrist in the Sermon on the Mount. Such a morality in this world is really open-ended. It is never complete. As a matter of fact, it is the teaching of the Orthodox hurch that man s life is never complete even in the Kingdom of God. Man will always be on the way. His very perfection, as one saint put it, is always to grow more perfect. To be as perfect as God is impossible to men. But to move toward this perfection eternally and forever is within man s possibilities with the help of God. And this is the life and the moral position to which hristians are called. The hurch is always ready to forgive the sinner, since hrist is the Head of the hurch and He has come exactly to save sinners. But while condescending to forgive every sort of sin and weakness and necessity to indulge in relativistic and morally ambiguous actions (such as warfare and politics and birth control ), the hurch cannot give these actions complete approval and cannot change its gospel which proclaims that man is created for the Kingdom of God and divine perfection. 8