the word A Culture Obsessed With Food A Lenten Message Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church Andover, MA March 2016 IMPORTANT DATES

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1 Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10:17 the word BIBLE STUDIES THIS MONTH Pursuing our spiritual life Women s Faith & Fellowship March 3: 9 am Morning Meditations March 16: 10 am Bread for Life March 23:: 7 pm IMPORTANT DATES March 6- Godparents Sunday March 13- New Familes Welcome April 10 - Lenten Luncheon March 13 SAVE THE DATE May 12 - Daughters of Penelope Bid-n-Buy at The Phonecian Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church Andover, MA March 2016 A Culture Obsessed With Food A Lenten Message I enjoy good food. And our Orthodox Christian faith is a sacramental faith, a faith which teaches us that the earthly joys of this world including good food are gifts from God. And certainly, our ancestors whatever one s heritage have known deprivation, and have prayed that their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren would know peace and prosperity, and not go hungry. But brothers and sisters, we all know that as a people, as a culture, as Americans, our relationship with food has become disordered. Supersize has entered our vocabulary. Public health officials warn about our growing obesity epidemic: 80% of Americans over 25 are overweight, and obesity-related illnesses like type II diabetes are out of control. Our disordered relationship with food can be seen just as clearly at the other end of the spectrum. The diet and weight loss industry from Jenny Craig to Oprah s Acai Berry Diet are booming. Desperately underweight models and actresses stare out at us from the grocery store magazine racks. We are a culture that is obsessed with food. And this obsession is literally killing us. Yet, we don t want to take responsibility for our problem. As a people, we re like the two young women who a couple of years ago sued McDonald s because eating there all the time made them fat. But, the Church teaches us that there is a better way a healthier way, a saner way. We can learn to bring our relationship with food in to balance. And in the process, we can bring healing to our relationship to not just food, but to other parts of our earthly lives how we spend our money, how we spend our time, how we care for our loved ones. The fasting days and seasons of the Church are there to teach us how. We must choose to be spiritual athletes, to recognize our failings and our need for healing not so that we will despair, but so that we will start getting in shape. There are three practical things that we can do to change our relationship with food. First, we can draw up a realistic plan and stick with it. All of us will struggle and will falter, but when we falter, we should plan to get back on track as soon as possible. This is true perseverance. Get news of additional events and announcements via . Go to the church web site and sign up to be on our LISTSERV Second, we can change our relationship to food by changing the place that it holds in our lives. The disorder in our eating is not just about what we eat, but how we eat. We need to slow down. How many of us eat on the run? In our cars? In front of the television? In front of the computer? How often do we eat, and then realize that we did not even taste what we were eating? How can we be truly grateful for our food when we eat like this? A priest told me the story of how when his son was young, they used to go to lunch together. One day, his son told him, Dad, I think that every time we eat together, it s a blow against the devil. Don t eat like you are putting gas in your car. Eat more simply, slowly, and make it an occasion to converse and enjoy the company of others. Turn off the TV, and make a m companionship and the taste of the food. Then, go beyond even this. Find someone in the parish who does not have family to eat with, and invite them over for a meal. (Continued on page 2) 1

2 A Culture Obsessed with Food (Continued from page 1) Fr. Christopher Makiej, Parish Priest Dn. Sal Fazio Dn. Gary Kent Parish Deacons Buzz Stapczynski, President John Terzakis, Vice President Jim Panagas, Secretary Carol DiPietro, Treasurer Chris Alexandrou Dylan Archambault Sam Diamantis Bess Gorman Nicholas Miminos David Murphy Valerie Murphy Tom Pantely Peter Souhleris Anthony Warren George Xifaras Church Office Karen Davies Office Assistant Anita Stratigakis Philoptochos Martha Coravos, President Chanter Telly Papanikolaou Choir Pres. Katerina Makiej, Director Organist David Harvey Altar Boy Captain Costas Vergados Sunday School Patty Trant, Director Greek School Voula Nikitas Christian Lending Library Patti George, Director GOYA Advisors Connie Vergados GOYA President Costas Vergados JOY Advisor Patty Trant YouthChoir/Women sfellowship Pres. Katerina Makiej Book Store Manager Elaine Demetroulakos Internet Ministry Christopher Primes AHEPA Steven Pithis Daughters of Penelope Nancy Pantazopoulos College Fellowship Telly Papanikolaou Young Professionals Ministry Nicholas Miminos Facilities George Perakis Archons Arthur C. Anton James Lolos Telly Papanikolaou The Word Elizabeth Xaros Bigelow, Editor Third, we should remember every day that our fasting discipline is about much more than food. It is about God. As mentioned, our faith is a sacramental faith. The earthly bounty of this world is not evil it is a gift from God that we should partake of in gratitude. The problem is that we do not remember that God must come first. We forget that our first need, our first hunger, is for God. We use things including food to try to fill a God-shaped hole in our lives. So we should make our fasting discipline an opportunity to turn towards God. We should not go about with the sense that we are denying ourselves something. Instead, we should feel that we are giving something giving ourselves God. By Douglas Cramer, Orthodox writer and publisher Dear Parishioners, I m writing this letter for the March issue of The Word on one of the coldest nights of the winter, knowing full well that it will be read in early March when the weather is warmer and spring is in the air. I m fighting this cold weather with a nice cup of hot cocoa and Girl Scout cookies! Great Lent comes late this year, beginning on March 14th. It is our most holy and prayerful time of year and there will be Pre-Sanctified Liturgies on Wednesday evenings and Salutations to the Theotokos on Friday evenings. Before Lent begins, the Ladies Philoptochos will be hosting a Meatfare Luncheon on Sunday, March 6th. They will be serving a delicious meal of pastichio and salad. During Lent the Parish Council will host our Annual Lenten Luncheon on Sunday, April 10th where we will be serving a tasty meal of baked fish with green beans for adults and pizza for children. Our Parish is in the midst of the I am the Vine Mortgage Elimination Program with the goal of eliminating the mortgage by the 100th anniversary of our Church next year. We are asking all parishioners to participate. To date, 115 of our 500 families have pledged over $440,000 and the average pledge is $3,659. We are respectfully asking the remaining families to kindly consider pledging so that we can have 100% Parish participation and be debt free by Being debt free means we can better serve you, your children, our elderly and the needs of our growing Parish community. One of the many blessings my family and I have received by being members of Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church is the realization that this Church is more than just our spiritual family. It is a community of believers who actually care for each other with love and compassion. When I attend Church on Sunday, I m continually reminded that our Church is our family. May Christ be with you, Buzz Stapczynski Parish Council President 2

3 Philoptochos The Word - March 2016 Where does it go? Have you ever asked yourself that question when you threw a buck into a tray a Philoptochos sister was holding after Liturgy or when you bought a ticket to a Philoptochos event like Teamwork Trivia or Meatfare Sunday Luncheon? Philoptochos sponsors many worthy charities that assist people living in poverty or suffering from a crisis. Each month, we donate to two charities specified by our National Board. These charities provide long-term and short-term support to retired clergy and widowed presvyteres, enable Philoptochos to respond to national or international disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, and benefit the United Nation s Children s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). Some of our national commitments support Orthodox Christian college students in the U.S. including students at Hellenic College/Holy Cross Seminary. Philoptochos also donates to other charities at our discretion including St. Basil s, the Santa Fund, and numerous worthy local groups and individuals. So that s where it goes when you pitch in to help with a donation! Thank you! Your sister in Christ, Martha Coravos Philoptochos President Sunday School Updates: For the month of February the Sunday school children learned about the Presentation of The Lord celebrated on February 2nd and the Triodion period which began on February 21st. The Sunday school children prepared for Lent by reviewing the following bible passages in their classes during the Triodion Sundays: The Publican and the Pharisee 2/1/16 The Prodigal Son 2/28/16 Judgment Sunday to be taught on 3/6/16 Forgiveness Sunday to be taught on 3/13/16 For the month of March the children will be primarily focusing on Lent (fasting, praying, and alms giving) and Christ s journey to Pascha. March 20th is the Sunday of Orthodoxy; please have your child bring an icon to church for our icon procession. The service project for February was to make Valentine s Day cards for our parish shut-ins and the elderly living at the Wingate, an assisted living facility in Andover. The children made over 70 beautiful cards. Thank you to all the students and teachers for participating. You brought smiles to many people s faces this Valentine s Day! The Service Project for March will be the assembling of Emergency Health/Hygiene Kits to be sent to the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC). The IOCC offers emergency relief and development programs to those in need worldwide. They will distribute these kits to displaced families worldwide. Any parents that would like to volunteer to help in the classrooms with this service project or would like to donate supplies please me at pattytrant@earthlink.net. The Word Volume 18, Issue 3 Published monthly except August and January by Sts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 71 Chandler Road Andover, MA Phone vfax Periodicals postage paid at Andover, MA. Permit No POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sts. Constantine & Helen Church. Elizabeth Xaros Bigelow, Editor. exbigelow@aol.com Sunday School Calendar: March 6 Meat Fare Sunday March 13 Cheese Fare Sunday Forgiveness Sunday March 14 Clean Monday Lent Begins March 20 Sunday of Orthodoxy Icon Procession March 20 St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival. After Liturgy at 12:30 pm in the Church. All students in grades 4 6 are welcome to participate in the Elementary Division, all students in grades 7 9 are welcome to participate in the Junior Division, and all students in grades are welcome to participate in the Senior Division. Only students in the Junior and Senior Divisions will be judged. March 25 Annunciation of The Virgin Mary Kali Sarakosti! Patty Trant 3

4 JOY and Junior GOYA I hope everyone stayed warm this February. It was a very quiet month for JOY and Junior GOYA. Due to the frigid temperatures we had to postpone our snow tubing outing from February to March 5th. Our next outing and meetings planned are: JOY /Junior GOYA Snow Tubing Outing Saturday, March 5th at the New England Sports Park in Amesbury, MA from 2 pm-5 pm. Please join us for three fun hours of tubing and pizza afterwards. The cost for this event is $22 per person. Cost includes tubing, pizza and drinks. For parents who only wish to watch their children tube, the cost is $5 per person. This cost includes your pizza and drinks. Parents and siblings are welcome to attend. Please RSVP to pattytrant@earthlink.net Junior GOYA Church Meeting March 13th from 12:00-1:00 immediately following Sunday school dismissal in the conference room. Pizza lunch will be served. JOY Church Meeting March 27th from 12:00-1:00 immediately following Sunday school dismissal in the lower, large level room. Pizza lunch will be served. Saturday of Lazarus Retreat Saturday, April 23rd at the Church. Breakfast will be served in the community center following the service and the retreat will begin immediately after. The Word - March 2016 The Bookstore Dear Fellow Parishioners, As we enter the Lenten season, the Bookstore has several publications to help guide us through this most meaningful time in the Greek Orthodox calendar. Here is a brief listing: - A walk with Christ to the Cross ; Dawson McAllister. The last fourteen hours of His earthly mission. - Great Week and Pascha in the Greek Orthodox Church ; Alkiviadis C. Calivas. Recommended to all those who seek to heighten their appreciation of this sacred period of the Church. - Meditations for Great Lent ; Vassilios Papavassiliou. Reflections on the Triodion. - The Case for Easter ; Lee Strobel. A journalist investigates the evidence for the resurrection. - God Speaks from the Cross ; Anthony M. Coniaris. Meditations for Lent and Easter based on the last seven words of Jesus from the Cross. - In His Steps ; Charles M. Sheldon. A Pastor in 1896 chose to preach one Sunday night on the question What would Jesus Do? A sermon became a movement and the book has sold over 30 million copies. - The Beginner s Bible - The Very First Easter Introduces children to one of the most marvelous stories of all time. Good Friday Retreat Friday, April 29th at the Church. More details to follow. All children ages 7 9 in grades 1 4 are welcome to attend all the JOY meetings and outings. All children in the 5th and 6th grades are welcome to attend all the Junior GOYA meetings and outings. We look forward to the start of Great Lent! Kali Sarakosti! Patty Trant - A Lenten Cookbook for Orthodox Christians Includes not only wonderful recipes, but also explains traditions and the deeper meaning of Orthodox Great Lent. We are constantly adding and refreshing our offerings in the Bookstore. Please stop in with suggestions and requests. Happy Easter, Elaine Demetroulakos Dotty Vlamis Daughters of Penelope We will kick off the month of March with our monthly meeting on March 3rd, when we will welcome at least three new members! Also in March, our Sts. Constantine and Helen Philoptochos will be holding a Pastitsio and Salad Meal, on Meatfare Sunday, March 6th, after Liturgy. I know many of our members belong to Philoptochos and it would be nice if we could pitch in to help our sisters in this endeavor. On April 9th, the District 8, Annual AHEPA Family Spring Conference will be held at the Worcester AHEPA home, and on June 25th, the District 8 Convention will be sponsored by the Lynn AHEPA in Lynn. All members are urged to attend. Our Sts. Constantine and Helen Annual Lenten Luncheon will be held on Sunday, April 10th. I anticipate support for this event from our Chapter members by attending and helping with food prep, serving, clean-up etc. On Saturday April 23rd, we will be sponsoring the Communion Breakfast, after Liturgy on Lazarus Saturday. This is a wonderful experience for all of our Sunday school children and the entire parish community, as palm crosses are made after breakfast for Palm Sunday. I would like to remind AHEPA family members with high school seniors graduating this year to please contact me at for a Pallas Chapter scholarship application. District scholarships are also available. Lastly, I would like to remind you that on Thursday, May 12th, we will be holding our Annual Bid-n-Buy. We look forward to a fun and successful evening at the Phoenician in Bradford, MA. We hope you can join us! In sisterly love, Nancy Pantazopoulos 4

5 G O Y A The Word - March 2016 Hello Goyans, What a great time we had at our last meeting! Goyans had a blast playing Giant Bible Jenga! After some dinner and discussion with Fr. Chris we all enjoyed some friendly indoor volleyball! We encourage all youth in grades 7-12 to join us on the 3rd Sunday of every month at 6pm. No prior attendance necessary. Some upcoming events include serving at Cor Unum, Goya game night, glow in the dark mini golf, and Lazer Craze to name a few! Also, The first Sunday of every month is Youth Sunday. On youth Sunday we welcome all Goyans to come to the choir and celebrate the Divine Liturgy with Presbytera Katerina. We also welcome anyone who would like to read the Epistle for Youth Sunday - please let me know if you would like to read the Epistle and I will send you the reading ahead of time. Lastly, if you would like to be kept informed of all our Goya activities please send your name and address to: connieve@comcast.net I look forward to seeing you all at our next meeting. In Christ, Costas Vergados Of all the afflictions that burden the human race, there is not one, whether spiritual or bodily, that cannot be healed by the Holy Scriptures. (St. John Chrysostom, Conversations on the Book of Genesis, 29.1) 5

6 MORTGAGE ELIMINATION UPDATE: Our Goal $1,000,000 - to be debt free in the year of our parish s 100th Anniversary, 2017! Pledged to Date: 115 Families Pledged! $440,849 - as of February 19, 2016 If you have not yet made your 100th Anniversary Pledge, please prayerfully seek to do so during this month of MARCH. Therefore you will have three years to contribute which makes it very easy to give... For example, the "Leaf" category is a $1,000 pledge, but spread over three years its only about $6 per week... LESS THAN A DOLLAR A DAY! The average pledge and most popular has been the "Fruit" category: $5,000 Pledge Card available in this edition of the Word. Families Pledged So Far Thank you for your support! Abdennour Family, Alexandris Family, S. Andreadis, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Anton, Sr., Archambault Family, Bajor/Liponis Family, Banos Family, Bassi Family, Margaret Bedrosian, Berry Family, Antonia Boutselis, Brandon Family, Budd Family, Camargo Family, Chris Christakos, Connor Family, Martha Coravos, Coufas Family, Coufos Family, Danas Family, Daughters of Penelope, Delegas Family, Elaine Demetroulakos, J. Demetroulakos Family, Kay Diamantas, Diamantis Family, DiPietro Family, Fazio Family, Furman Family, Gavriel Family, C. George Family, E. George Family, K. George Family, Georges Family, Georgoudis Family, Giannakas Family, Gildea Family, Goodwin Family, Gorman Family, Grillakis Family, Gryllakis Family, Gudinas Family, Gulde Family, Iatron Family, Hagigeorges Family, Hatzikonstantis Family, Janos Family, L. Johnson Family, A. Karafilidis Family, J. Karafilidis Family, Fr. Karahalios Family, T. Karamouropoulos Family, J. Kiladis Family, Kombouras Family, Koskores Family, Kostakis Family, Koulouris Family, Krueger Family, Bessie Liponis, Loisou Family, J. Magliozzi, Fr. Christopher Makiej Family, J. Makiej Family, W. Makiej, Jr. Family, Christina Manikas, Dorothy Mastromonaco, P. Matzouranis Family, Andrea Mavroides, Athena Melucci, Nicholas T. Miminos, Nick and Diane Miminos, Moccia Family, D. Murphy Family, J. Murphy, T. Murphy Family, Nikitas Family, A. Orphanos Family, Ethel Panagas, James Panagas, Pantazopoulos Family, Pantely Family, Papanikolaou Family, Pastore Family, Patsios Family, J. Pescatore Family, N. Petrakis Family, Philoptochos, Pithis Family, Plentzas Family, Powers Family, Robinson Family, P. Saragas Family, Serpa Family, Sheehan Family, Skowronek Family, Souhleris Family, Spanos Family, Splagounias Family, Stapczynski Family,Stevens Family, Stevenson Famaily, Stratigakis Family, L. Stylos Family, Tasiopoulos Family, Terzakis Family, G. Theodorou Family, Trant Family, Ullman Family, Vitale Family, Wallingford Family, Warren Family, Webster Family, Xifaras Family, Xintaropoulos Family, Elaine M. Zollo 6

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9 March 2016 Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 Greek School 4:30 pm 2 3 Women s Faith & Fellowship 9:00-10:30 am Daughters Mtg st Saturday of Souls Liturgy 9:30 Youth Tubing Amesbury 2 pm 6 Liturgy 10:00 Meatfare Sunday Godparents Sunday Philoptochos Luncheon 7 8 Greek School 4:30 pm nd Saturday of Souls Liturgy 9:30 13 Liturgy 10:00 Cheesefare Sunday New Families Welcome Junior Goya 12 noon Greek School 4:30 pm Parish Council Mtg. 7:15 pm 16 Morning Meditations 10 am-11:30 am Pre-sanctified Liturgy 6:00 pm Men s Dinner 7:00 pm st Salutations To the Theotokos 7:00 pm 19 3rd Saturday of Souls Liturgy 9:30 20 Liturgy 10:00 Sunday of Orthodoxy Oratorical Festival Greek School 4:30 pm 23 Pre-sanctified Liturgy 6:00 pm Bread for Life Parish Bible Study 7 pm Annunciation Liturgy 9:30 26 Greek school Independence Day Program 5:30 pm 6:00 Goya Mtg. 27 Liturgy 10: Greek School 4:30 pm 30 Pre-sanctified Liturgy 6:00 pm 31 Joy 12 noon 9

10 Immediately Following Divine Liturgy Sunday, April 10, 2016 Fish Dinner $15/person Pizza Dinner $10/person Reserve Your Tickets Early Last Year Was a Sell-Out! All Reservations This Year Must Be Paid for in Advance. Please contact the church office to make your reservation. Kindly note how many guests in your party and their dinner choices. Make sure to pick up your tickets at any coffee hour.. All proceeds benefit the Mortgage Elimination Fund Periodical 10