A Blessed and Happy New Ecclesiastical Year to All! A Time to Renew our Faith & Commitment to our Lord

Transcription

1 VOLUME 26 NUMBER 9 September 2017 A Blessed and Happy New Ecclesiastical Year to All! A Time to Renew our Faith & Commitment to our Lord Dearest Spiritual Ohana, On September 1st, we usher in the New Ecclesiastical Year in the Liturgical Cycle of our Orthodox Church Calendar. We begin the cycle of the Immoveable Feasts and will approach and pass through the Moveable Feasts from early February thru the beginning of June (Triodion, Great Lent, Holy Week, Pascha, to one week after Pentecost the Sunday of All Saints). The last month of the Ecclesiastical Year, August, was a very eventful one as we completed the outgoing Liturgical Year with the Feasts of the Holy Transfiguration, the Dormition of the Theotokos, the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, and held and concluded our 36th Annual Greek Festival. I would like to acknowledge all the hard work all of you did in putting the Greek Festival together and for the immense amount of energy exerted in laboring for it. I would like to thank especially Austin Vali for taking the lead in chairing the event and planning and organizing all the logistics involved in what it takes to run this huge, monstrous sized event. Thank you to all our chairpersons, numerous volunteers, our Nisiotes and Nisiopeda Dancers and Dance Director Dianna Graves, our Aloha Choir and Choral Director Stelio Scordilis, and all the people who worked in front of the scenes and behind the scenes. The camaraderie that takes place is an absolutely amazing dynamic I witness at our Festival, where we enthusiastically work together, fellowship and enjoy one another s presence and good company (. The magnitude of this camaraderie is something I really miss after the Festival is all over. I enjoy spending time with all of you and I marvel at the uniqueness you each hold in your personalities and talents! I feel these special moments of camaraderie should happen throughout the year in our parish community and family. I have experienced some of these special moments in some of the major and not so major events and Holy Days that take place during the year, such as: our Thanksgiving Feast in the Social Hall, Fundraisers for our Dancers and Aloha Choir, Great Lenten Services, Saturday of Lazarus Retreat, Holy Week Services, the Paschal Picnic, the Dormition Paraklesis Services, and Week Day Feast Day Coffee Hours. Beginning in this month of September, we have some new opportunities to build camaraderie and fellowship. We have the following taking place: Ohana Pizza Night on Saturday, September 9th. (Continued on page 2) 1

2 (Continued from page 1) We are starting our Prayer Group towards the end of September to lay our cares at the Lord s Feet and to give Him due Glory. On Sunday, September 17th, we will begin a 4-part Adult Religious Education Series on Hot Potato Issues led by Dr. Robert Arakaki with one part led by Peter Kay. I plan on preparing an Adult Religious Education Series on the Divine Liturgy soon after. We are also planning on implementing the Y2AM Youth Ministry Plan that Steven Christoforou (who introduced the wonderfully engaging Be the Bee series) developed. I am currently working on a manual (borrowing from reliable sources) to help guide our families to live Orthodoxy in the home and daily life, knowing that the spiritual life and formation as Christians begins within our own personal living spaces. Of course, good ideas are wonderful, but if not implemented are meaningless and fruitless! As our late Metropolitan Anthony of blessed memory would say: You have an idea...give it flesh! This was one of his great strengths which he exemplified in his life and as leader of our Diocese and Metropolis. He would have a vision and would take that vision and make it a reality! He left us with lasting legacies and left huge footprints. He created the Folk Dance Festival Ministry (FDF) to bring the youth together in masses. He made St. Nicholas Ranch a reality as a center for spiritual growth and development, and as a setting for retreats and Summer Camp. He built the Monastery of the Life-giving Spring so that monasticism would flourish. The New Ecclesiastical Year is a time that is an opportunity for us all to renew our faith and commitment to the Lord. Given the fact that God has gifted each one of you with your uniqueness along with special talents, use them by investing them for His Glory. Within our Saints Constantine and Helen Cathedral there are countless opportunities to use your God-given treasures. Our choir, for example, could be better supported by an addition of more voices, especially more Altos, Tenors and Sopranos. Rather than the very few people committing any given ministry, let us all be a part of the various ministries. Let us be true to what we articulate in our services, let us commend ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God. With Love in Christ, +Fr. Alexander Shorelines is published Monthly by: Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Pacific 930 Lunalilo Street Honolulu, Hawaii Phone : (808) Fax : (808) office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Parish Web Site: Regular Office Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday thru Friday Rev. Father Alexander M. Leong fralexanderleong@yahoo.com Church Staff Cris Devine - Office Coordinator office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Erica Jansen - Bookkeeper 2017 Parish Council pc@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Maria Naval, President Trish Kiladis, Vice President Roni Katsikas, Treasurer Christina Dimitrion, Secretary John Kiladis, Cleopatra Kritikos, Nicholas Kyriakakis, Dimitri Nicholas & Andrew Tujios. Sunday School Director Presbytera Nicole Leong Sunday School Teachers Shawn Chu, Alice Malick, Greg Malick, Maria Naval, George Kalantzis, Dimitri Nicholas, & Katherine Pasieta Philoptochos Board Anita Akel, President; Anita Higashi, Vice President; Ludmyla Solyar,Treasurer; T.B.A., Recording Secretary; Valentina Varovaya, Corr. Secretary; Alma Chu, Advisor Choir-Chanters Orest Saikevych, Music Director Gregory Malick, Protopsaltis Parish Ministries Stelio Scordilis, Aloha Youth Choir; T.B.A., Bookstore; Dianna Graves, Greek Dance Groups; Stelio Scordilis, Greek School; Julie Ličina Web Master; Anita Higashi, Facebook 2

3 LITURGICAL LIFE OF OUR PARISH WEEKDAY SERVICES IN SEPTEMBER GREAT VESPERS Thu. 9/7 Vespers 6:30 pm NATIVITY OF THE THEOTOKOS Fri. 9/8 Orthros/Liturgy 8:30/9:30 am GREAT VESPERS Wed. 9/13 Vespers 6:30 pm ELEVATION OF THE HOLY CROSS Tues. 9/14 Orthros/Liturgy 8:30/9:30 am MAUI SERVICES Sat. 9/23 Liturgy 10:30 am Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) September Parish Council Teams 09/03 Nick 09/10 Roni 09/17 Trish 09/24 Trish Please remember in your prayers Dina Giannakopoulos Paul Kelley Suzanne Keyser Julie Licina Alice Marie Malick George Missias John Mitsis...and all those needing our prayers. Announcements Adult Religious Education Hot Potatoes Issues Led by Dr. Robert Arakaki & Peter Kay Sundays 12 to 12:45 p.m. September 17- Defending the Truthfulness of Scripture ~Dr. Robert Arakaki September 24- Women s Ordination and Orthodox Tradition ~Dr. Robert Arakaki October 1- Orthodox Responses to Atheism ~Peter Kay October 8- Orthodoxy and Ecumenism ~Dr. Robert Arakaki -- T.B.A.- Acquiring a Better Understanding of Liturgy ~Fr. Alexander Leong Learn Greek In addition to our classes after Sunday School, we offer the following classes in the conference room: Elementary: 5:30 PM Advanced Youth & Adults: 6:00 PM 3

4 Library Update The books in the library downstairs are catalogued into categories with the exception of the Greek books. There is a typed reference sheet of the 200+ books on the shelf. The books in each category are not alphabetized. However they are color coded with dots. There is a blue loan book. Please sign your information into the book. When you return the book sign back in and return to the correct color on the shelf. I am off island until after Labor Day. If you have suggestions for buying future books for the library write them down on the last page of blue loan book. Thank you. Trish Kiladis Vice President Parish Council Share your news! Announcements that you would like to see in the October issue of Shorelines should be submitted to the church office by September 15th. Weekly Bulletin announcements should be submitted by noon on Thursday for the upcoming Sunday. Our Vision: To be a beacon of Orthodoxy in the Pacific and proclaim the Gospel of Christ to all people in accordance with the Orthodox Faith Our Mission: To proclaim the Gospel of Christ 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 Church pure and undefiled. office@greekorthodoxhawaii.org Call: Or drop by with a copy of your announcement. Maui Orthodox Christian Mission reminds those who attend services on Maui to visit or call to verify services. or look for other activities that may be posted. 4

5 Aloha Ss. Constantine & Helen Ohana, Welcome back to the Sunday School! As the New Ecclesiastical Year starts, our Sunday School starts in September. Before starting the classroom lessons, the teachers and the students are going to receive God s Blessings as Fr. Alex prays and sprinkles the Holy Water upon them on Sunday, September 10 th. This is not just a ceremony but an important act which reminds us to seek for success with God s help. So, please plan to bring your children and let them receive His Blessings. I get an image of a plant being showered with water and sun. Our actual lessons are going to begin on Sunday, September 17 th. Currently, there are five classes: Preschool Class (age 3 and up) Mrs. Katherine Pasieta will focus on beginning with the basics. Through crafts, songs and fun, the children will learn to do the sign of the cross, how and why they pray, and how God wants them to treat themselves and others. Mrs. Mindy Scordilis offers to be a substitute teacher in case of Mrs. Pasieta s absence. Lower Elementary Class (K to 2 nd grade) Mrs. Maria K Naval and Mr. Shawn Chu co-teach this class. They will focus on teaching God s presence, love, and gifts through depictions of their daily experiences of God s world. Upper Elementary Class (3 rd to 5 th grade) Mrs. Alice Malick explains the Divine Liturgy to her students. She always encourages children to do an oral presentation of our faith as well. Middle School Class (6 th to 8 th grade) Mr. Greg Malick shares the stories of various saints. Through the lives of the saints, the students will learn to follow Christ. High School Class (9 th and up) Mr. Dimitrios Nicholas brings up different subjects which many Orthodox Christian youth may face at school and everyday life. Also, Mr. Peter Katsikas is a frequent guest speaker for this class and teaches Christian Apologetics. He has prepared the online course along the classroom speech. I thank all the teachers and Mr. Katsikas who are willing to guide our children to grow in their faith with love, faith and hope. Please keep our Sunday School Teachers and Youth in your prayers. Your prayers are very important, helpful and appreciated. If you have any suggestion or question, please feel free to talk to me or any teacher. In Christ, Pres. Nicole, Sunday School Director 5

6 STEWARDSHIP: Broadening our Vision Rev. Dr. John Chrysavgis Scripture and the Fathers When we think of the term stewardship, we frequently consider only matters of financial support. The stewardship or economy is not very illuminating as it provides both a linguistic as well as conceptual reduction of this critical and originally Biblical word. In so doing, however, we have narrowed the scope of the Bible s teaching and neglected the depth of our Church s tradition about our place and role in the world, indeed at a time when these are more vital and critical than ever before. If we turn to the Church Fathers, we see that they attribute the highest importance to oikonomia (stewardship or economy), which in their eyes implied a broader and more inclusive concept of revelation and salvation, indentified with God s vision and desire to save the world. For our great theological teachers and spiritual masters, economy in fact refers to our very salvation by the all-embracing love of God for all humankind and to the universal compassion of the Creator of all creation. Somewhere along the line, we unfortunately shrunk the theme of stewardship to purely monetary terms that primarily include making contributions to philanthropic organizations probably as a result of a narrow interpretation of scripture, and possibly as a result of the rigid focus of modern society. 6

7 Dance Group News We had a wonderful Greek Festival Thanks to Austin Vali for chairing it as usual! Please thank him when you see him, along with all his committee members. We are once again taking two groups to FDF (Folk Dance Festival) 2018 in San Francisco from January 11th-14th, We will have the Nisiopeda (the Little Island Dancers) and the Nisiotes (the Islanders). If you have never gone to an FDF, let this be your first. For those of you who remember Bishop Anthony, he was the one who started this wonderful ministry, which is now in its 42nd year. There are over 1,000 dancers ranging from the young to the older, around 5,000 Greeks in one place for four days, and over 35 churches both within and outside of our Diocese participate. Come meet old friends such as Fr. Peter Salmas and Fr. Kouldukis. Also meet new friends, come see what it is all about and visit beautiful San Francisco. See Dianna for information. We will be having our fundraiser "Glendi" so watch for updates. And of course, we have our continual recycle campaign. Please contribute to that. Only HI 5. No metal soup containers or wine bottles. See Dianna for transfer from your trunk to ours. Recycle bin at Church upstairs. Opa! Dianna Graves, Dance Ministry Director C 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 and serve a coffee hour 7 yourself, consider making a monetary donation. Please do not bring non- Lenten food including cake & ice cream during fasting periods. Thank you to our August Sunday Coffee Hour sponsors! 2017 Coffee Hour Sign-up Calendar posted outside the Social Hall. Please sign up to host a Sunday. 8/6: Melzack 8/13: Cynthia Dell 8/20: Yarovaya, Akiona, Panagakis

8 A Men s Pilgrimage to Mount Athos is being planned for May of 2018 with limited spots. Please contact Peter Kay before Sept 9 via peter@cybercominc.com Just a reminder that the next Philoptochos meeting is on Sunday, September 10th at 12:00 pm. The Making the Strides Against Breast Cancer walk is happening on Saturday, October 21st, Registration starts at 6 a.m. and the walk begins at 7 a.m. The location is Ke ehi Lagoon Beach Park (465 Lagoon Drive, Honolulu, HI). The event contact is Michelle Hashimoto. Please feel free to her at HonoluluHIStrides@cancer.org or call her at For more information, check out this website. pg=entry&fr_id=84811 Ss. Constantine & Helen Ohana Pizza Night When: Saturday, September 9 th, 4:00 7:00 pm Where: Ss. Constantine & Helen Social Hall Activities: Making Pizza, Games, Hawaiian Aloha For Whom: Everyone! $5/person or $10/family donations are appreciated to cover a part of the costs for foods & games. * Please respond to Pres. Nicole (nicolehleong@gmail.com), so we can prepare the pizza ingredients, drinks & desserts accordingly. There will be the first meeting for our prayer group the end of September. We will discuss and plan for this new ministry. If you are interested, please come and share your thoughts! The date and time of the meeting are TBA. 8