ST. GEORGE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH. The Openheartedness of Loaves & Fishes by Cecelia Johnson. St. George Volunteers.

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1 St. Paul, MN October 2005 ST. GEORGE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH Glad Tidings The Openheartedness of Loaves & Fishes by Cecelia Johnson Matthew, Mark, Luke and John each gave an account of Jesus miracles of the blessing of 5 loaves and 2 fishes which fed a multitude of 5,000 people who came to hear him. As well as satisfying spiritual hunger, Jesus also wished to satisfy physical hunger. Undoubtedly, the message of the Biblical narrative of Loaves and Fishes served as the inspiration to institute a loaves and fishes program at Christian sites in the Twin City metro area where the need to feed the hungry is the greatest. The vision of the Loaves and Fishes program is ``We are guided by our vision that all people, regardless of socio-economic, cultural or ethnic background, deserve to meet their basic need for food, dignity and respect. The mission statement of Loaves and Fishes is simply to provide nutritious meals in an atmosphere of hospitality. In 1988, the Philoptochos (Friends of the Poor) at St. George Greek Orthodox Church joined with other first Monday of the calendar year at Faith Lutheran Church in the inner city. Throughout these 17 years, Ladies of Philoptochos and helpful St. George parishioners have given their time and effort to organizing the total operations for their designated day-from marketing setting up tables and chairs, preparing the meal and then doing the total St. George Volunteers clean-up. Of course, the cooks add the special Greek flavoring. Many of these people deserve special laudation. But to do so would exceed one of St. Paul s Epistles. However, how comforting it must be for them to know that they help to appease hunger in our community. Know that they are truly following the mandate of our Lord: Lord, when did we see Thee hungry and fed Thee, thirsty and give Thee drink, and a stranger and welcome Thee? Inside This Issue And the King answered then, Truly I say to you, truly I say to you, as you did it to me of the least of these my brethren, you did it unto me. Matthew 25: Fast Facts: 1.5 million is the estimated value of food and services all provided by the benevolence of the church and archdiocese 250,000 meals served yearly $2.50 the average cost of a meal 270 the number of volunteer members St. George helps at the Faith Lutheran site the first Monday of even months (October 10 and December 12.). Loaves & Fishes Volunteer Appreciation Picnic Loaves & Fishes 4th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Picnic is being held Sunday, October 9, 4 6:30PM, at Como Park Twin Pavilions, located at the intersection of Horton Avenue, Como Avenue, and Midway Parkway. RSVP by September 28, loavesandfishes@visi.com Third & Fourth Commandments-3rd in a Series 2 Youth & Sunday News 5 Parish Announcements 3 Books Store & Parish Organization 6 Festal Icons 3 Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts 7 Registry/Around Town 4 Weekday Worship Schedule 8

2 Glad Tidings Page 2 TEN COMMANDMENTS - 3rd and 4th in a Series Please review the questions associated with each commandment of the Lord our God. This exercise should lead us to a three part confession: 1. Daily confession in prayer to God 2. Confession to persons we have sinned against 3. Regular Sacramental confession with parish priest Confession is essentially expressing contrition for our sins and asking for forgiveness and is an essential part of our spiritual growth. Fasting periods are very appropriate times for sacramental confession. Please call Fr. Rick to make an appointment. Third Commandment Thou shaft not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain (Deuteronomy 5:11). Have I profaned the name of God in any way? Have I been thoughtless or irreverent with the name of God? Have I used the name of God in a curse? Have I treated something holy as a joke, or joked about holy things? Have I grumbled toward God or even renounced Him at any time? Have I shown due respect to the clergy and the faithful or hindered them in their work? Have I shown respect for all other people? Have I prayed absent-mindedly or inattentively? Have I cursed anyone or anything? Have I sworn a false oath? Have I broken an oath or a promise? Have I entered into any sinful or unlawful contract or made such a promise? Have I given in to despondency? Fourth Commandment Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee (Deuteronomy 5:12). Have I failed to attend Divine Services on the Lord s Day or on a Great Feast Day without just cause? Have I kept others from attending Divine Services? Have I done unnecessary work on Sundays or on Great Feast Days? Have I violated the sanctity of the Lord s Day or Great Feasts by unwholesome or frivolous activities? Have I distracted others from keeping these days in a godly way? Did I pray at home if I was unable to attend Divine Services on the Lord s Day or a Great Feast Day? Did I make every effort to worship "in spirit and in truth" while I was at a Divine Service? Did I allow myself to be distracted by worldly concerns at a Divine Service? to judge others? to think of unwholesome or frivolous things? Did I make the effort to come to Divine Services on time? Have I diligently kept the fasts of the Church? Have I caused anyone else to violate the fasts or tempted anyone to do so? Have I fasted properly in my heart, realizing a hunger for God and life in Him, rather than legalistically, just to fulfill the letter?

3 St. Paul, MN Page 3 PARISH ANNOUNCEMENTS GREEK FESTIVAL 2005 THANK YOU! The Greek Festival was a huge success! Thousands of people came to eat the wonderful Greek food, buy pastries, deli and boutique items, drink iced and Greek coffees, watch the dancers, tour the church, and have their children enjoy the bouncy dog. A special Thank You to all the parishioners who helped. Many people helped with setting up, serving, and breaking down the Festival, giving hours of their time and effort to our church. Many more people helped with baking pastries and donating items to sell. We would not have the amazing Festival we have without your help. Truly, it is a blessing to be of service! ---Greek Festival Committee Monthly Paraklesis The Service of Supplication to the Theotokos, also known as Paraklesis, will be prayed every month on the second Thursday beginning at 6PM. Everyone is encouraged to attend as we specifically pray for the health of the living. Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry Volunteer Training The second series of training classes for the Orthodox Christian Prison Ministry Volunteers will be held Saturdays, October 1 and October 8, 2005, from 10:00AM 1:00PM at St Mary GOC in Minneapolis. Both classes are required for prison ministry volunteer work, and are held twice a year. Registration is necessary for these classes. To register, contact Paul Hatjistilianos, , Hatjistilianos@tds.net Fall Chanting Workshops Learn Byzantine chanting, share experiences, practice and improve skills. Starting Saturday, October 22, at 4 p.m., we will conduct a series of eight weekly chanting workshops of the eight tones of Byzantine chant in the context of Saturday Vespers. These workshops are designed for beginners and intermediate level chanters. For further details contact Steve or Minda Arsenault at , e- mail: arsen003@umn.edu Online Directory For a directory of all Orthodox Churches in North America From Dan and Jackie Matuska, the former editors of Glad Tidings: We would like to thank Ann Woods, Diane Anastos, and their editorial staff for stepping up and volunteering to take over the editorial duties of Glad Tidings. We pray that this work for the Church will bless them as many times as it did us. To make their job easier, we urge all who wish to contribute to Glad Tidings to honor the deadlines that are established for each issue. Thanks again! Dan and Jackie Matuska Say Cheese St. George parishioners have coordinated the schedule for the pictorial directory. Dates for photo shoots are: Thursday November 10, 2:00-8:30 pm; Friday, November 11, 2:00-8:30 pm; and Saturday, November 12, 10:00am- 5:00 pm Congratulations To Mario Hangistamoulos & Heatlher Kaufman; Elaine Tsepelis a& Jeffrey Brandt on their recent engagements. Festal Icons Needed We Have Moved Please donate a Festal Icon (11" x 14") in memory of a loved one. Cost is $50.00 per icon. The icons are displayed in the church nave and are put out for veneration on the Feast Day of the Saint or event they represent. Circle your choice below and return to church. St. Thomas the Apostle October 6 St. Iakavos October 23 Feeding of the 5000 Name In Memory of John & Kelly Speros 3424 Halsey Street Eau Claire, WI John & Renee Moskai Davis Drive S Eau Claire, WI Robert & Lani Hattling Zane Street NW Elk River, MN Mary Giavassis Gervais Avenue Maplewood, MN 55109

4 Glad Tidings Page 4 Church Staff and Office Hours Church Office Hours Mondays 10:00AM-12:30PM, 1:30PM-4:30PM Tue. Thurs. 8:00AM-12:30PM, 1:30 PM-4:30 PM Rev. Fr. Richard Demetrius Andrews, Presbyter (651) FatherRick@usa.com Fiona Eustathiades, Administrative Assistant (651) Jason and Kelly Barbes, Youth Ministers (612) barbes11@msn.com. Paul Loudas, Parish Council President (651) usppl@comcast.net Reva Adkins, Philoptochos President (651) rradkins@comcast.net Andrea Faches, Sunday Director (507) afaches@hickorytech.net Barbara Bauman, Choir Director (651) Anna Christoforides, Greek Director (651) Diane Anastos & Ann Woods, Glad Tidings Co-Editors Registry Births: Boy born to Vaios & Amalia Vlachos August 17 Deaths: Venetia Jelatis August 17 Icon Class Despina George August 19 Memorials: Vlasios Faches (5 years) August 7 AROUND TOWN An introduction to icon writing will be offered at St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Church in Mpls. Dates Oct. 18, 25, Nov. 1, 8, 15, 29 and December 13, 6:30 to 9:00. Tuition $ and includes all supplies (panel, paints, brushes and gold leaf). Class is subject to a minimum of 8 participants and a maximum of 16. The class will cover the technique of icon writing in the acrylic method. Please send a deposit of $75.00 to hold your place in class by October 1st to Deb Korluka at: th St. North, Stillwater, MN Deb may be reached at: or akorluka@aol.com. Orthodox Women s Book club Tuesday, October 13, 7:00 pm., St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, 1250 Oakdale, Arden Hills. The Club will be discussing St. Athanasius on the Incarnation,at both the October and November Meetings The Sitka Icon Comes to The Twin Cities The Sitka Icon is visiting St Mary Cathedral in Minneapolis Friday, September 30, with Vespers at 6PM and Akathistos at 7PM, and Saturday, October 1, with the Divine Liturgy at 9AM. Alaskan clergy will share modern and historic accounts of life in the diocese where Orthodox Christianity first arrived in North America. October 2 Alex Kappos & Angie Crouther 9 Parish Council & Choir 16 Greek Festival Appreciation Luncheon 23 Arthur & Donna Georgopoulos, Kalley & Mark Johnson, John Georgolopolos, Stella & Fred Treiber Memorial: Anna (3 yrs) and George (20 yrs) Georgopoulos 30 Canas Family, Johnson Family

5 St. Paul, MN Page 5 YOUTH NEWS Sunday Andrea Faches, Director afaches@hickorytech.net, Sunday began September 11th with a dynamic staff, excited students and a new curriculum for each grade level. The teachers for this liturgical year are: Preschool Kindergarten & 1st Grade 2nd & 3rd Grades 4th & 5th Grades 6th, 7th & 8th Grades 9th, 10th, 11th & 12 Grades Art Auction To Benefit St. George Youth Ministries with a portion of the profits to Minnesota Visiting Nurse Agency s Club 100 Stella Hofrenning Mersina VanCleve & Katrina Kaniamos Stacy Katsiyiannis & Yeoryia Christoforides Toni Selleris & Nick Kanavati Elea Bently & Tom Lampros Jason Barbes & Georgia Panapoulos Please encourage your children to attend classes and feel free to contact me with any suggestions, comments and/or concerns. We also welcome volunteers to help with our programs. on Saturday Evening, October 8, 2005 at St. George Greek Orthodox Church Preview 6:30 pm Auction: 8:00pm Admission: $20.00 per person Music Wine Hors D oeuvres Dessert & Coffee For Tickets or Information Call: Jane Andrews (651) Major Credit Cards Accepted Featuring Art in All Media & Price Ranges Auction Coordinated by Marlin Art, Inc. Upcoming Events October 29 & 30 Metropolis Youth Director Visit Chris Avromopoulos, the Metropolis Youth Director, is scheduled to visit our parish. There are many parent/ youth activities being planned. He will also be giving the sermon on Sunday. The full schedule of activities is being mailed to all youth and their families. Contact Kelly or Jason for more information. Sunday, October 9 Crop Walk Join us for the annual Crop Walk for hunger relief. Proceeds to benefit those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Contact Jason or Kelly if you are interested in signing up! Wed., October 12 at 7pm Youth Ministry Committee We devote time to learning more about the Orthodox Faith, youth ministry, and organizing/ coordinating our efforts with youth here at St. George Church. Sunday teachers and staff, youth ministers, and advisors are expected to attend. The meetings are open to everyone, especially parents. Contact Fr. Rick for more information. Friday, November 4 Middle Event Attention all 6 th, 7 th and 8 th graders!! We have set aside a night just for you. We will be going to the Mall of America for a scavenger hunt and then back to church for pizza, movie and discussion. Mark your calendars now!! FAMILY CAMP is scheduled for October at Luther Point Bible Camp in Grantsburg, Wisconsin. Contact Paul or Cindy Karos at: or ckaros@visi.com. The theme is The Pursuit of Holiness: Inspiring Saintliness in our Families.

6 Glad Tidings Page 6 BOOK STORE Book: Elder Basanuphius of Optina Monastery Reviewed by Nick Criticos 832 pages Price: $23 St John Climacus was asked if there are reliable signs by which it is possible to know whether a soul is drawing near to God or moving away from Him The Holy Father replied: A sure sign of the deadening of the soul is the avoidance of church services. A man who is growing cold towards God begins first of all to flee attending church. At first he tries to come to church later and then he ceases altogether to visit God s temple. Therefore it is mandatory for monks to attend church services (p448) There are three conditions of the soul fervency, lukewarmth and coldness. A fervent man is enflamed with love for God and fulfills His law, as a requirement of his soul. The opposite state is coldness, when religious questions are not dear to a man, and he is profoundly indifferent to them. He goes to church once a month and doesn t rush to fulfill its regulations. A lukewarm man is also in a dangerous state he often goes to church and prepares for Holy Communion and perhaps gives alms and therefore thinks that everything is going well with him and that he is better than others, and this destroys him. The Lord said: I will spew you out of My mouth (Revelation 3:16). May God preserve us from such a state (pp 356-7).Revelation 3: says: And to the angel of the church of the Laoditians write: These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, The Beginning of the creation of God. I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say: I am rich, have become wealthy and have need for nothing and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me. To Him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. PARISH ORGANIZATIONS AHEPA Scholarships AHEPA Pericles Chapter # 270 awarded Scholarship Grants for to five recipients. Each student received $300 from the Gekas Scholarship program. The recipients are as follows: Kari Kalogerson, Richard Kanavati, Katerina Kaniamos, Alexandra Poulios, Alexis Schuster. Congratulations to all the students and best wishes in their studies. Kai Se Anotera! Each year the Scholarship Grants are given to students (they or their parents are members of AHEPA and St. George's Greek Orthodox Church) for undergraduate work. If you are interested in knowing more about this program and AHEPA, contact any of the AHEPA Education Committee members: Dino Contolatis, Steve Papacostantinou, John Antoniou, Christ Kontenakos AHEPAN of the Year Kosta Tsantir was awarded this award at the Annual Dist. convention, in recognition of his outstanding performance and contribution to the organization. He is a past district governor and current president of the Education Foundation. Philoptochos News Philoptochos has resumed meeting on Tuesday evenings, starting Tuesday, Sept 6, 6:30PM. We encourage all Philoptochos members to attend. The Philoptochos & Daughters of Penelope Annual Get-Together is set for Saturday, Dec. 3, 1:00 pm., at the Lake Elmo Inn, 3442 Lake Elmo Ave. RSVP by Tues., Nov. 22 to Evy Boosalis at: or Stella Treiber Price $13-18 and includes entrée, beverage, dessert & Tip. Greek Oxi Day Celebration The St George Greek will celebrate Oxi Day on Sunday, Oct 30 after the liturgy with songs, dance and poems. The program will be followed by our 6th annual Soutzoukakia dinner with homemade Boughatsas for dessert. Children <5 are free; Children 5-12/$6; Adults and youth $10; Families $30. See you there!

7 St. Paul, MN Page 7 Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort - What You Can Do to Help Guidance from the Archdiocese The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese web site contains daily updates on the relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina. If you wish to become actively involved, the Archdiocese has provided the following guidance: PRAY: Please continue to pray for the wellbeing of the hundreds of thousands who have been displaced by this disaster. STAY INFORMED: More types of assistance will be needed in the coming weeks as people relocate and rebuilding begins. When this information is available it will be shared with our parishes and faithful. Check out the Archdiocese web site often for the most current information at: GET INVOLVED: Live your Orthodox Christian faith by getting involved in various relief efforts as they become available to you. DONATE: At this time please consider a donation to the relief efforts that will assist our Greek Orthodox communities in the Gulf Coast area and for the general recovery effort. Online donations may be made at: Suggestions from the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) The IOCC team has urged all Orthodox parishes to assemble and send personal hygiene kits containing basic items such as soap, a washcloth, toothpaste and a toothbrush, as part of IOCC s ongoing Gift of the Heart program run in cooperation with Church World Service (CWS). The kits should be sent to the CWS warehouse in New Windsor, Md. The address and required contents of the kits may be found on IOCC s website at Contributions to IOCC s Hurricane Disaster Response Fund may be sent to IOCC, Hurricane Relief, P.O. Box , Baltimore, MD Donations may also be made online at or by calling toll-free IOCC (4622). St. George participates in Archdiocese Hurricane Relief At September's monthly meeting, the parish council voted and approved to donate 20% of the net proceeds from this year's Greek Festival to Archdiocese Hurricane Relief. This is an unprecedented gift of benevolence from our community to people in dire need. It was made after considering God's manifold blessings to our parish. This is a very good, noble and honorable decision and we should be grateful to God for the opportunity to help others. Doxa to Theo! St. George Philoptochos are making fleece blankets for hurricane victims at the next meeting on October 11. They will be collecting toiletries (toothbrush and paste, floss, soap, washcloths, shampoo, baby booties, liners, formula, hand towels, etc.). Please drop off items in Ziploc zippered bags by October 3. The Sunday is also gathering items to put together the IOCC Health Kits as part of the Gift of Heart Campaign. We will be collecting these items until October 22nd, when we will put the kits together to mail to the IOCC. These kits are available to people worldwide but have been recently used to support Katrina victims. St. George students will be collecting donations and assembling the kits for the victims. Each gallon bag sized kit will contain one hand towel, one washcloth, a comb, a metal nail file or nail clipper, a bar of soap (bath size), a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste (4-7 ounces) and six Band-Aids. Even our preschoolers are involved in helping with this project. For more information on this project visit healthkit_frameset.html. CLERGY LAITY CONFERENCE 2005 Metropolis of Chicago Clergy-Laity/Philoptochos/Choir Federation/Family Synaxis Assembly to be held in St. Louis, Missouri on November 2-5, Our Metropolis will be the first in the Archdiocese to gather all of these arms of the Church in one meeting place and at one time. There will be workshops, church music institute, meetings, worship, family synaxis, reunion of old friends and making of new friends. Each parish can send up to four delegates including, parish priest, parish council president and two members of parish. The cost is $190/delegate; $130 for non-voting attendees (including all meals and events). St. Louis Hotel Pavilion is $95 plus tax per room per night.

8 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday November 2005 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat ND SUNDAY OF LUKE + 9:45am LITURGY Twin Cities Marathon 3 October 2005 Coming up in November November 1-3 Metropolis Clergy-Laity Conference in St. Louis, MO November 6 Orthodox-Catholic Ecumenical Event (details TBA) November Parish Directory Photos Taken November Fr. Paul Tarazi Lectures November 15 Advent Fast Begins (through Dec. 25) November Philoptochos Bake Sale November 21 Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos November Fall Pie Sale November 23 Pan-Orthodox Thanksgiving Eve Liturgy November 24 Thanksgiving Holiday 4 7:00pm Catechism ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE :00am Prison Ministry Volunteer Training + 6:00pm St. Stephan Romanian 8 10:00am Prison Ministry Volunteer Training 6:00pm Art Auction 9 + 3RD SUNDAY OF LUKE + 9:45am LITURGY 12:00pm Crop Walk 10 Columbus Day Offices Closed 5:00pm Loaves & Fishes 11 7:00pm Bible Study 7:00pm Catechism 12 5:30pm Glad Tidings Committee 7PM YOUTH MIN- ISTRY MEETING :00pm Spiritual Life Committee Family Camp + 6:00pm PARAKLESIS 7:00pm Parish Council 15 Family Camp 16 + HOLY FATHERS 7TH ECUM. COUNCIL + 9:45am LITURGY 12:00pm Greek Festival Appreciation Dinner Family Camp TH SUNDAY OF LUKE + ST. IAKOVOS + 9:45am LITURGY ST. LUKE THE EVANGELIST + 9:00am LITURGY 7:00pm Catechism 25 7:00pm Stewardship Committee 7:00pm Catechism ST. DEMETRIOS + 9:00am LITURGY 20 + ST. GERASIMOS 7:00pm AHEPA Meeting OXI DAY - HOLY PROTECTION :00am Eau Claire, WI Liturgy TH SUNDAY OF LUKE + 9:45am LITURGY 12:00pm Greek OXI Day 31 St. George Greek Orthodox Church 1111 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, MN Rev. Father Richard Demetrius Andrews Phone: (651)

9 ST. GEORGE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 1111 Summit Avenue St. Paul, Minnesota Phone: Fax: Web Site: Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID St. Paul, MN Permit No. 177 Weekday Worship Schedule REGULAR WEEKLY SERVICES Thursday, October 13, Paraklesis, 6:00 pm Tuesday, October 18, St. Luke, 9:00 am Liturgy Wednesday, October 26, St. Demetrius Fast Day, 9:00 am Liturgy Saturday, October 29, Divine Liturgy 9:30 am, Eau Claire, Wisconsin Holy Confession: By Appointment Vespers: Saturday 5:00 pm (October May) Orthros: Sunday 8:30 am Divine Liturgy: Sunday 9:45 am Sunday : (September through May) starts after administration of Holy Communion