CROSS CURRENTS Church Newsletter November 2007

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1 TIME VALUE ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED 900 Alameda BELMONT CA Transposing Our Life by Father Peter Salmas, Pastor CROSS CURRENTS Church Newsletter November 2007 PERMIT No. 17 BELMONT, CA P A I D NON-PROFIT ORGAN. U.S. POSTAGE Christos Yannaras, in his book Elements of Faith, shares the inspiring thought that Christ gave himself up to death, forsaking totally every tendency and aspiration for physical self-existence of the created and transposed the event of existence and life into a relationship with the Father. As Orthodox Christians we are also called to imitate Christ our Lord and transpose the event of our existence and life into a relationship with the Father. But where does one begin? By not separating our life as an Orthodox Christian from the life we live in the world. Our relationship with the Father must be first and the priority of our existence for it is truly existence itself. There is not life apart from our Creator and this is what our Lord tells us through His action of incarnation, suffering, and death. His is not an epic story of old but a wake up call for renewed life in Him. Our children need to understand this. This message is what the Church teaches and preaches. It is not learned on the basketball court or the soccer field. It is not learned in the kitchen making baklava. It is certainly not learned on the dance floor or learning some ancient dance from a mountain village in Greece. It is learned only through the example of practicing the faith in prayerful worship over and over again. The relationship with the Father begins with the relationship of the family and its priorities. I am concerned that our event of existence is not being transposed into a relationship with the Father but a relationship with self and therefore will not transcend our earthly existence. (to be continued in the next Cross Currents)

2 Cross Currents The Monthly Newsletter of the Church of the Holy Cross 900 Alameda / Belmont, CA (650) / fax (650) office@goholycross.org / I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E President s Report... 2 Festival Philoptochos... 6 Youth & Parents... 7 Outreach News...10 News & Information...11 Advertise in the 50th Book...12 Meetings & Events Upcoming Services...18 Announcements PieceMeal & New Year s Sponsors... 9,14,17,20 Articles and ads for Cross Currents are due on the 15th of the month prior to the month of desired publication. PRESIDENT S REPORT by Gary Brenner, Parish Council President As President of the Parish Council I have given a report to the General Assembly on three previous occasions. In December I will complete 2 terms as Parish Council President and I will then support another member of the Parish Council as President next year. It has been a wonderful opportunity and a great privilege to serve the past 2 years. Last year we celebrated our 50th Anniversary with a number of events and then our Golden Gala on December 29 highlighted a memorable year in our Parish. I also believe that the most significant event in the history of our parish was receiving the relic of the precious and life giving cross of our Lord and Savior. It was so appropriate that this historic gift was received by our Parish in our 50th year. Our church was truly blessed in This year has been less eventful as we have gone back to the planning for next year and the future of our beloved church. Many generous page 2 - Cross Currents parishioners have come forward to help us with our iconography project. It is critical to complete the icons behind the altar in the next year because our iconographer, Mr. Tonelli has offers from other church s that may prevent him from returning here in the near future. We must take measures to prevent the deterioration of the infrastructure of our church buildings. Maintenance of our property and buildings can be expensive and if we defer that project then they can cost a great deal more in the future. Earthquake insurance has become one of the most expensive line items on our budget. We have worked diligently to find the best coverage at the lowest possible premium dollar. We can only afford coverage that will protect us in a catastrophic quake. We would still have to pay a deductible would exceed a million dollars. We believe that there are many Orthodox churches in Northern California which do not have coverage due to the increasing premiums. The costs of operating our church have certainly increased at a pace that exceeds our stewardship contributions. Our Stewardship campaign for 2008 begins in November. We must step-up and meet the financial challenges of the coming years. The members of the General Assembly here today understand the challenges we face. We ask you however to reach out to those in our parish who are not here and be proactive as an arm of our stewardship committee. Talk to your friends and kombari about increasing their pledge so that our budget many keep pace with inflation. Tanya will have graphics in her report. We must also plan a capital campaigns in the near future to expand our facilities to meet the demands of our growth. The General Assembly has authorized a project to build facilities for religious education, senior activities and youth ministries. It is a significant project and every year that we delay the cost goes higher. It will need large fits from key donors to get the project started but we will still need the support of every parishioner to complete the project. We will with God s blessing meet our challenges. Thanks to all of you who have supported me with your prayers and your good wishes. I will continue to donate my time and effort to our beloved church in a different capacity in the coming years. Please continue to support those who will step into leadership roles in the future. Thank you. Cross Currents - page 3

FESTIVAL 2007 - EFHARISTO by Bob Nemchik, Festival Co-Chair, a worker amongst workers

Fall General Assembly, the following was reported Income for the Festival 2007 was off

This had nothing to do with your great efforts or less number of guests at the Festival.

The last figure I last gave you is not a firm since some of our providers of goods are

But with about 95% of all bills sent in, it looks good that this will be our best year

Stewardship, stills remains our number one source of income to balance the budget!

3 FESTIVAL EFHARISTO by Bob Nemchik, Festival Co-Chair, a worker amongst workers For those of you who did not have the opportunity to join us yesterday at our Church s Fall General Assembly, the following was reported Income for the Festival 2007 was off by just a little. This had nothing to do with your great efforts or less number of guests at the Festival. We have identified the areas where this has occurred, and believe we have a handle on how to fix this for the future. The good news is our overall net profit appears to be above last year s, which I have been told makes 07 a record high. This happened because of our good control on Festival Expenses, since everything is pretty much on computer. This helps tremendously to control cost and sets our Festival prices. The last figure I last gave you is not a firm since some of our providers of goods are slow in their billing. But with about 95% of all bills sent in, it looks good that this will be our best year yet. The Festival now only represents approximately 1/5 of our Church s annual budget. Stewardship, stills remains our number one source of income to balance the budget! I further reported that we are establishing an on going Festival Committee for the betterment of our Festival. If you would like to become a member please contact either myself or Peter Bibbes, or if you have any ideas that you think can add to and enhance the Festival, your ideas and recommendations will be welcomed. Again, all I can say is thank you for all you hard work and cooperation! workers amongst workers page 4 - Cross Currents

PHILOPTOCHOS PHILOPTOCHOS - CIRCLE OF FRIENDS Circle of Friends crocheters and knitters will resume in February, 2008. Watch for exact dates and details. All are welcome!

4 PHILOPTOCHOS PHILOPTOCHOS - CIRCLE OF FRIENDS Circle of Friends crocheters and knitters will resume in February, Watch for exact dates and details. All are welcome! - BOOK CLUB UPDATE We have had some wonderful discussions at our recent book clubs. Due to very busy November and December months, our next book club will be in January. Look for more details in December! In the meantime, we would love your help at the upcoming Metropolis Holiday Tea on Saturday, December 1, which will be held at our parish. Please contact Mary Peros or Claire Gagas (claire.gagas@att.net) if you are able to help. Thank you! - BACKPACKS COMING SOON! Holy Cross has volunteered once again, to donate backpacks to the Safe Harbor Homeless Shelter in San Francisco. We will also be doing our Family Sharing as well. However, we are still awaiting information on our families. In the meantime, toiletries for men and women could be gathered to put into the backpacks. Holy Cross will purchase 90 backpacks (so we can get a quantity discount), and ask that our parishioners purchase the backpacks and fill them. We will have a checklist for your use and scarves you may choose and include in the packs (made by our Circle of Friends knitters and crocheters). This year we will have (60) back packs for men and (30) women. YOUTH & PARENTS RELIGIOUS EDUCATION by Khara-Maria Kalamaras, Youth Religious Education Coordinator The Religious Education staff was recently privileged to welcome Dr. Eve Tibbs, Director of Religious Education of the Metropolis of San Francisco. We were inspired to develop our individual talents, to know that the Holy Spirit is working through us as we teach and that we will be very effective teachers if we proceed with this understanding. We are grateful for Dr. Tibbs willingness to travel and impart to us from the wealth of her knowledge and experience. ANNUAL PIECEMEAL - NOVEMBER 13 All our families are invited to gather on Tuesday, November 13 at 6 PM in The Oaks for our annual PieceMeal. Bring a salad, potatoes, stuffing and/or dessert. The turkeys will be prepared by our expert chefs. Let us give thanks for the blessings and fellowship we enjoy here at Holy Cross. Call Konstantine Salmas ( or ) for details. [See the flyer on page 22.] BOUNCE! SWISH! page 6 - Cross Currents The OYAA basketball sign ups are on NOW! Boys and girls ages 8-14 are welcome to play. Please sign up with Konstantine Salmas ( or ).

5 IONIAN VILLAGE PRESENTATION Sunday, November 18 IV is a travel abroad, camping program of the Archdiocese, for youth between 7th and 12th grades. Come hear our resident alumni - Konstantine Salmas, Alexandra Nemchik, and Jason Craighead - talk about the impact this program has on its participants. The presentations will be from 12:15-1 PM in the Contos Library. Call Konstantine at the church office ( ) for details. GREEK FOLK DANCE As we continue our mission to assist our children to grow spiritually, socially and in our Greek culture, our dance program has begun a new dance year. We have had several workshops and are learning new dances and songs from different regions of Greece. Practice schedules can be found on our website just click on the link for dance (near bottom of first column). For further information about the program, please call Kathy Roque-Albert at GREEK SCHOOL by Tonia Spyridi, Greek School PTO president cultural and bilingual awareness; and to promote the moral and ethical values of the Greek Orthodox families. Greek School has programs for both children and adults. The programs for children offer instruction at various degrees of exposure to the Greek language, ranging from Greek as second language to Greek as mother tongue. The adult classes are offered at the beginner and intermediate level. This year Greek School welcomes a new teacher from Greece, Ms. Dora Zoiopoulos. Ms. Zoiopoulos will be teaching in all children s programs and will also be working on the music curriculum for the entire school. The Greek School community is very proud of the two graduating students from last year: Vicki Papadakis and Chrysa Perakis who passed the level 1 examination for the certificate of attainment in Greek. Their hard work paid off and they are setting an example for all the younger students to follow. For detailed information on the Greek School please look at our web site: THANK YOU CROSS CURRENTS SPONSOR! DISC JOCKEY MUSIC RELIABLE, AFFORDABLE, PROFESSIONAL WEDDINGS, BAPTISMS, ANNIVERSARIES, SOCIAL EVENTS GREEK AND AMERICAN MUSIC - NEWS FOR THE MONTH Greek School started in September, with many new and returning students, extremely supportive parents and dedicated teachers. We are all looking forward to a successful, inspiring and productive school year. The mission of the Greek School is to provide education and instruction of the Greek language, culture, and heritage; to enhance bipage 8 - Cross Currents

6 - A $5,000 Challenge A very big THANK YOU to Mr. Elias Eleftheriades who has donated $5,000 to the Greek School! He has challenged the community to raise money for the Greek School to further the teaching of the language in the community. Should five (5) other individuals each contribute $5,000 each, he will match his original donation of $5000. OUTREACH NEWS drivers. A light Lenten dinner will be served at 6:00 PM. Deliveries will follow. We meet back at the Church to tun in paperwork and have dessert. If you have never participated in this ministry, please consider this your invitation to do so. The past participants have always had a wonderful experience. Please join us. - Backpacks for Safe Harbor Homeless Shelter In conjunction with our Family Sharing Program, we will be purchasing 90 backpacks for a South San Francisco Homeless Shelter which will also be delivered December 17. A checklist will be available for recommended contents. Scarves made by the Circle of Friends Knitting and Crotchet group will be included in each backpack. We anticipate having backpacks available for purchase in early November. Many thanks to Jim Bogios and his crew of volunteers who served food to the needy at the Samaritan House kitchen in San Mateo on the 3rd Friday of every month. Some of the volunteers that helped were: Al Keriotis, Steve Monolakis, Alex Maridakis, Edie Christoforidis, Daisy Fernando, Peter Evangel & his granddaughter Annamarie Buonocore, and Vivi Sarantitis & her daughter Liz Latham and granddaughter Demi Latham. The volunteers who have served in the past say that it is a very rewarding experience! If you are interested in joining the team, please contact Jim Bogios at Family Sharing Once again we will be participating in the San Mateo Samaritan House s Family Sharing Program. We hope to have our information for the Giving Tree by November 25. We anticipate each child receiving two gifts (each valued at approximately $50.) Adults will receive one gift with an approximate value of $15. Our distribution day is set for Monday, December 17. During the day beginning at 9:00 AM, we will sort items. A sign up board will be posted in The Oaks lobby for volunteer - Circle of Friends Knitting and Crotchet Group Thank you to Mary Metropulos friend Jeanne for her monetary contribution to the group. We would also like to thank Dee Sperow for her generous donations of yarn. We have made good use of both. If you have left over yarn and would like to donate it to Circle of Friends, contact Brenda Visas Baptism Blankets Available Beautiful, handmade blankets appropriate for baptisms are now available in the Holy Cross Bookstore. A heartfelt thank you to Enaam Gabor for her talented hands and giving heart. NEWS & INFORMATION JOIN THE LIST So many of us spend a lot of time on our computers for shopping, e- mails and work. Now, you can receive a daily dose of inspiration over with a religious daily study. page 10 - Cross Currents Cross Currents - page 11

SEND US YOUR FAMILY EMAIL ADDRESS AND HELP US SAVE The Ultimate Mediterranean Experience in Northern California Alhana Offers a Full Selection of Mediterranean and Greek Groceries, Bakalao, Fillo &

7 THANK YOU CROSS CURRENTS SPONSOR! Father Peter puts together a Daily Study on the Saints and Scriptures that he sends out on e- mail every day. If you would like to receive inspirational messages regularly to begin your day, please send your address to him at frpeter@goholycross.org. SEND US YOUR FAMILY ADDRESS AND HELP US SAVE The Ultimate Mediterranean Experience in Northern California Alhana Offers a Full Selection of Mediterranean and Greek Groceries, Bakalao, Fillo & Kataifi Dough, Baklava, Pastries & Sweets, Candies, Greek Loukums,Wines, Beers, Ouzos, Cheeses (Dodoni Feta, Mizithra, Manouri, Kefalotyri, Kefalograviera & Graviera Gritis & Kasseri) Onassis Spreads, Tarama & Taramosalata, Trahana, Anchovies Greek Olive Oils, Olives and So Much More. Come in and see for yourself...! To save money on printing and postage on some church mailings (like Cross Currents), we would like to such mailings to our parishioners instead of going the expensive, and old-fashioned paper, ink and envelope and stamp way. If you would like to help us with this expense, please tell us the e- mail address where you receive family . These ings will be infrequent but, in the long run, will save us a lot of money. We will not give your address to anyone else and will only use it for this church mailing purpose. We will identify these mailings with Church Mailing in the subject line. If you can lend a hand, just your address to OFFICE@GOHOLYCROSS.ORG. Thank you! We Cater all Occasions 25 West 37th Ave San Mateo, CA page 14 - Cross Currents Cross Currents - page 15

Stories of Christmas Christmas Tea Family Sharing Distribution New Year s Eve Dinner Dance Vasilopeta MEETINGS AND EVENTS Please check your Sunday Bulletins for the dates and times of all meetings.

8 MARK YOUR CALENDARS THANK YOU CROSS CURRENTS SPONSOR! Nov 4 Nov 13 Nov 18 Dec 1 Dec 9 Dec 15 Dec 16 Dec 17 Dec 31 Jan 13 Fellowship Luncheon Youth/Family PieceMeal Ionian Village Presentation Philoptochos Holiday Brunch Christmas Program Songs and Stories of Christmas Christmas Tea Family Sharing Distribution New Year s Eve Dinner Dance Vasilopeta MEETINGS AND EVENTS Please check your Sunday Bulletins for the dates and times of all meetings. In the next issue, we ll be back from summer break, so expect LOTS of meetings and events to be listed below. Group leaders : Be sure to get your organization s meetings on the calendar! first Tuesdays of the month - 11 AM, ORA first Tuesdays of the month - 7 PM, Philoptochos Board first Thursdays of the month - 7 PM, Youth Council second Monday of the month (usually) - 7:30 PM, Executive Council second and fourth Tuesdays of the month - 7 PM, Youth Groups third Tuesdays of the month - 7:30 PM, Parish Council Tuesdays, 10:30 AM, Bible Study Wednesdays, 7 PM, Studies in the Faith first three Wednesdays of the month, 7:30 PM, Choir Dance - please check with your Directors feel free to call us at page 16 - Cross Currents

9 UPCOMING SERVICES subject to change - please check your Sunday Bulletins Sunday Services are 8:30 AM, Orthros, 10:00 AM, Divine Liturgy Saturday Vespers are at 5:30 PM Friday, October 25 - Demetrios - 8 AM, Matins and 9 AM, Divine Liturgy Saturday, October 27 Great Vespers, 5:30 PM Sunday, October 28 7th Sunday of Luke - Matins, 8:30 AM, Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AM Thursday, November 1 Kosmas and Damian, 9 AM, Divine Liturgy Saturday, November 3 Great Vespers, 5:30 PM Sunday, November 4 5 th Sunday of Luke - Matins, 8:30 AM, Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AM Thursday, November 8 Synaxis of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, 9 AM, Divine Liturgy Friday, November 9 Nektarios, 9 AM, Divine Liturgy Saturday, November 10 Great Vespers, 5:30 PM Sunday, November 11-8 th Sunday of Luke Veterans Day - Matins, 8:30 AM, Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AM Tuesday, November 13 John Chrysostom, 9 AM, Divine Liturgy Thursday, November 15 Nativity Fast Begins Saturday, November 17 Great Vespers, 5:30 PM Sunday, November 18-9 th Sunday of Luke - Matins, 8:30 AM, Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AM Wednesday, November 21 Entrance of the Theotokos & Eve of Thanksgiving, 7:00 PM Saturday, November 24 Great Vespers, 5:30 PM Sunday, November th Sunday of Luke & Saint Katherine - Matins, 8:30 AM, Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AM Friday, November 30 Saint Andrew, 9 AM Divine Liturgy Saturday, December 1 Great Vespers, 5:30 PM Sunday, December 2 14 th Sunday of Luke - Matins, 8:30 AM, Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AM Tuesday, December 4 Barbara, 9 AM, Divine Liturgy Wednesday, December 5 Savas, 9 AM, Divine Liturgy Thursday, December 6 Nicholas, 9 AM, Divine Liturgy Saturday, December 8 Great Vespers, 5:30 PM Sunday, December 9 10 th Sunday of Luke & Conception of St. Anna - Matins, 8:30 AM, Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AM Wednesday, December 12 Spyridon, 9 AM, Divine Liturgy Saturday, December 15 Eleftherios, 9 AM, Divine Liturgy Sunday, December th Sunday of Luke - Matins, 8:30 AM, Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AM Saturday, December 22 Great Vespers, 5:30 PM Sunday, December 23 Sunday before Nativity - Matins, 8:30 AM, Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AM Monday, December 24 Christmas Eve, 7 PM, Vespers Tuesday, December 25 Nativity of Christ, Matins, 8:30 AM, Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AM Thursday, December 27 Stephen the First Martyr, 9 AM, Divine Liturgy Saturday, December 29 Great Vespers, 5:30 PM Sunday, December 30 Sunday after Nativity - Matins, 8:30 AM, Divine Liturgy, 10:00 AM Monday, December 31 Saint Basil, 7:00 PM, Vesperal Divine Liturgy page 18 - Cross Currents Cross Currents - page 19

Craighead 11 November 2007 Holy Sacrament of Baptism 4:00 p.m. Church of the Holy Cross Reception to follow in the Holy Cross Community Center Daniel and Khara-Maria Kalamaras RSVP 5 November 2007 650 654-7394 or kharamaria@kalamaras.

10 THANK YOU CROSS CURRENTS SPONSOR! The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree Psalm 92:12 We joyfully invite our Holy Cross Family to participate in the Holy Baptism of our son Peter Daniel whose Godparents will be Don and Kathy Craighead 11 November 2007 Holy Sacrament of Baptism 4:00 p.m. Church of the Holy Cross Reception to follow in the Holy Cross Community Center Daniel and Khara-Maria Kalamaras RSVP 5 November or kharamaria@kalamaras.org ANNOUNCEMENTS BAPTISMS Aug 25 - Nathan, son of Christopher and Katina Chiochios, John C. Condos and Moriah E. Condos, sponsors Aug 25 - Quinn Constantine, son of Christopher and Katina Chiochios, John C. Condos and Moriah E. Condos, sponsors Aug 29 - Anna Maria, daughter of Nicholas and Ereni Argeris, Marie Argeris, sponsor Aug 29 - George Nicholas, son of Nicholas and Ereni Argeris, George Chairakakis, sponsor Oct 6 - Matthew Rossi, son of Matthew and Gail Love, Vanessa Craighead, sponsor Oct 13 - Alexia Sophia, daughter of Panagiotis and Christina Kolotouros, John and Eleni Baxter, sponsors Oct 14 - Bsviliki, daughter of Theofilos and Marianne Kotseroglou, Vaciliki & Stephanos Papademetriou, sponsors WEDDINGS Sept 15 - Steven L. Violet and Emily K. White; Detra Lee Violet, sponsor Oct 7 - Michael Klobuchar and Georgette Dakis; Connie Morris (Bovis) and Joy E. Morris (Costelli), sponsors FUNERALS Lucille Saloum-Jacklin who fell asleep in the Lord on August 29 Matheos Alafouzos who fell asleep in the Lord on September 22 Helen Leontovich who fell asleep in the Lord on October 6 Speros Chechopoulos who fell asleep in the Lord on October 24 page 20 - Cross Currents Cross Currents - page 21

11 page 22 - Cross Currents Cross Currents - page 23

625 advertise your business here ½ page ad - $200 a ½ page ad size is approx 6.75 x 4.

12 Adver ertise in the 50th Anniver ersar sary Photo Director ectory (reduced-size samples from our 40th Anniversary Photo Directory) Full page ad - $350 a full page ad size is approx 6.75 x advertise your business here ½ page ad - $200 a ½ page ad size is approx 6.75 x or a memorial message for a loved one ¼ page ad - $100 a ¼ page ad size is approx x or even a personal message like Best of luck for the next fifty years! Contact: Jim Smith (home@zambranodesmith.com)

CROSS CURRENTS Monthly Newsletter December 2006

CROSS CURRENTS Monthly Newsletter December 2006 What Gifts Do You Bring? by Father Peter G. Salmas, Pastor Cutting of the Vasilopeta Sunday, January 7 Following Divine Liturgy. Join us for a delicious