Annunciation. The. Resurrection of your Son. Shine, shine, O New Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord has shone on you.

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1 The Annunciation ANNUNCIATION GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH 950 N 63RD ST, LINCOLN, NE "Virgin Theotokos, rejoice! Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb; for thou hast borne the Savior of our souls." Shine, shine, O New Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord has shone on you. Exult now and be glad, O Zion, and you, O Pure Theotokos, be radiant in the Resurrection of your Son. E njoy the feast of faith; receive all the riches of lovingkindness. Let no one bewail his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one weep for his iniquities, for pardon has shone forth from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Savior s death has set us free: he that was held prisoner of it has annihilated it. By descending into hell, he made hell captive. An excerpt from the Paschal Sermon of St. John Chrysostom... He embittered it when it tasted of his flesh. And Isaiah, foretelling this, cried: Hell was embittered when it encountered thee in the lower regions. It was embittered, for it was abolished. It was embittered, for it was mocked. It was embittered, for it was slain. It was embittered, for it was overthrown. It was embittered, for it was fettered in chains. It took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and encountered heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen. O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are overthrown. Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and life reigns. Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave. For Christ, being risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. To him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages. Amen.

2 News & Notes T he Lied Center will partner with the Hixson-Lied College of Fine & Performing Arts to present A Celebration of Philip Glass including the world premiere of a new piano quintet titled Annunciation. The celebration will bring together pianist Paul Barnes, the Chiara String Quartet, vocal ensemble Cappella Romana, Native American flute player Ron Warren and the UNL Symphony Orchestra. To purchase tickets contact the Lied Center at Greek Festival 2018 Planning has begun for the 2018 Greek Festival. This year, the festival will be Friday, August 24 th from 4PM - 10PM and Saturday, August 25 th from 11AM 10PM. Please block those dates off on your calendar. We need everyone who is able to commit to working at least a few hours during the festival. Just as importantly, we need everyone to come and enjoy yourselves. Besides volunteering and merrymaking, you can also help us out by donations. This year the festival committee is looking to purchase several items to ensure the continued success of our festival. We have already received a generous offer to donate a food warmer. The other major items that we want to purchase this year are our own gyro machine and knife. Fay estimates that the gyro machine will cost $1500- $2000 and the knife will cost about $1000. We are very grateful to the Parthenon for lending us some of their equipment every year, but we feel it is in our best interest to begin acquiring some equipment of our own. The festival committee is very excited this year. Last year we had a lot of setbacks, but with all of your help the festival was still quite successful. We learned some things, made some adjustments and this year we are hitting the ground running. Please keep us and this vital ministry of our parish in your prayers. Our Parish family continues to grow! Mike Fiedler was chrismated on February 11th. Pictured are Mike s sponsor, Joel Davies, Mike, Father Mark and Father Nektarios. Prosphoro Schedule April Baker May Baker April 1 Sarah Kripal May 6 Stami Deligiannis April 8 Jennifer Garza May 13 Anna Panos April 15 Nina & Randy Johner May 20 Sarah Kripal April 22 Charlene Gondring May 27 Jennifer Garza April 29 Sandy Ballas June 3 Nina & Randy Johner

3 Year End Financial Report I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver. Maya Angelou Christian Stewardship is about becoming good caretakers of all that God has given us. God has given each of us special and unique gifts. And through Holy Scripture He teaches us all that we have is a loan. He lends everything to us, and reminds us that one day He will ask us to give a detailed accounting of what we have done with the gifts He has given us. Archbishop Anastasios of Albania has noted that we find ourselves by offering ourselves. Have we learned the blessedness of generously giving to others of all we have?

4 Picture This... Meet the new Parish Council! From left to right Paul Barnes Nina Johner Galen Erickson Dinos Giannakas Cathy Beedle Ghassan Chami

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7 Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church 950 North 63rd Street Lincoln, NE Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church Priest: Newsletter Editor Sarah Kripal, Schedule of Regular Services Every Saturday: 5:30 p.m. Great Vespers Every Sunday: 9:15 a.m. Orthros 10:15 a.m. Divine Liturgy