St. Catherine s Newsletter

Transcription

1 St. Catherine s Newsletter Assumption Greek Orthodox Church June, 2013 Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! The beautiful Holy Week and Pascha services were attended by many. Girls served as Mirofores on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Many altar boys helped, current ones and past graduates returning to be with the Assumption family for Pascha. Congratulations Graduates Congratulations to three young men who recently graduated high school. Gerasimos Gilroy (pictured) graduated from Barrington High School and will attend Notre Dame University to study pre-med and theology. George Koulouris graduated from Hinsdale Central High School and was accepted into the Kelly School of Business at Indiana University. Thomas Palmisano graduated from Wheaton-Warrenville South High School and will ship off to the United States Marine Corps. May God bless them as they embark on their new journeys!

2 Personal Care Items Bagged and Delivered By Marisa Arvanites On April 7 th the 7 th and 8 th grade Sunday Church School class assisted by Presvytera Katerina, Dr. Evie Maggos, Mrs. Tina Sarantos and Mrs. Christina Arvanites packaged all of the personal care items that everyone generously donated. We assembled approximately 80 individual care kits and then also bagged all the remaining loose toiletry items. The kits included soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, toothpaste, tooth brush, shaving supplies. These care kits were then delivered by Mr. Andrew Kanel to the Chicago Teen Living Program and by Mr. Dean Sarantos to the Circle Urban Ministry. We thank everyone for their support of this Sunday Church School sponsored collection drive. In addition, the Mission Coin Box Collection yielded $450 that will be donated to the Orthodox Christian Mission Center. Why Greek Dance? By Marika Maggos This is an interview with our Greek dance teacher, Mrs. Athanasia Katris. 1. Why do you think it's important for the kids to learn Greek dances? I believe Greek dance is important for kids to learn because it keeps them connected to their Greek roots and is also a very vital part of Greek customs and rituals. It is also used frequently to communicate in Greek culture - we have dances & songs that express happiness & sadness - dances for weddings, Easter, Greek Independence Day - dances that show what part of Greece you are from! 2. What do you like about teaching this to the kids? I love teaching dance to the kids because dancing is fun, especially when the children hear about the stories behind the dances, it becomes more than just learning dance steps, it's learning about the songs and dances themselves and what they are trying to say. I love knowing that they are learning something that they will actually use in their life. They can be proud of themselves and have confidence when they hear a Greek dance song and say "Hey, I know how to dance that" and can get up and show their stuff - like the pride and confidence they showed at the Glendi and how excited they were afterwards when they realized their hard work paid off! Anything else you'd like to add... It's been a great year! The children have been wonderful at becoming and staying involved. They have all come a long way from the first day and have learned a great deal in such a short time. A big thank you to all the parents who believed in what a great experience this would be for their kids and committed themselves to it as well because they send their children up with a positive attitude towards Greek Dance Class. I am very proud of all the kids, especially at their performance at the Glendi. ST. C ATHERI NE S NEWSLETTER

3 ASSUMPTION GREEK ORT HODOX Page 3 Christ is Risen! by Fr. Athanasios Papagiannis Christ is Risen! Let me ask a quick question. What s the most important event that ever happened to you? Some people will say it s the day they were born, while others will probably talk about some kind of achievement they made in school or through sports. All of us have days that really shape us and make us who we become. Life would sure be boring without these wonderful events. For each and every Orthodox Christian, the Church wants us to make the Resurrection of Christ the one event that shapes us and molds us into righteous people. No event is greater than that! Yes, winning a medal at Junior Olympics is a great achievement, one we will remember forever. And getting straight A s on a report card is great, too. But God wants all of us to have one event the same event - shape us, and that event is the Resurrection of Christ. No other event is of greater impact than that. No other event reverses death and brings us more life! When someone makes the Resurrection the most important event in their lives, it shows up and their lives are totally different. People who hold the Resurrection close to them love more radically, forgive at a greater rate and have no enemies. They respect each and every person, no matter the person s failings. And the world becomes a better place because of that one event. Let us all make that one event really count. Let us all make it change us! I truly pray that we all let the Resurrection of Christ shape us into the person God wants us to be! As the school year comes to a close and the summer months creep in, I hope and pray that all of you keep yourselves safe and enjoy the blessings of being a kid in the summer. It has been a blessing worshiping together with you this year! Please don t forget that Church is always in session and that we should see you there each and every Sunday! May the summer ahead provide you with many wonderful blessings, and may you keep the joy of the Resurrection of Christ close to your heart for the rest of your precious lives. In Christ, + Fr. Athanasios Papagiannis Survey Says. By Sophia Szubert I recently conducted a survey to see what season people like the most. I asked around church, my school, and my family. These are the results... Winter-12, Spring-16, Summer-15, Autumn-21. The grand winner is Autumn with a total of 21 votes!!! I will see you all at church. Until next time, have a wonderful week and God bless you all.

4 Poetry by George Sarantos God God is loving and forgiving It s a pleasure to be living He will never hate We then will follow our fate And we should be giving He will always love us He will not fuss He trusts us not to lie Because of him, we do not die We, Orthodox Christians are different We praise him We all try not to sin St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival Come Receive the Light By Eleni Caprio The term light in the Orthodox Church is used quite often. But, we usually use it in the context of the Resurrection Service when the priest proclaims Come receive the light. We know what the light is, the Word of the Trinity, and the divine light that shines down from Heaven. But what exactly is the darkness that opposes the light of Christ? I believe there are two types of darkness; the problems that come with the temptations of the devil and the devil himself. In Matthew 26:41, the verse is Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Here God is acknowledging our struggle with the devil s many temptations. God knows that the Holy Spirit is willing to keep us out of temptation, but the bodily desires of humanity throws us into his traps. This is why we have the light of Christ. The Trinity s holy word revealed in the Bible, combined with the knowledge of the Holy Spirit can keep us out of temptation and help fix the problems caused by the consequences of that temptation. Let us not forget the comforting words of the Lord s Prayer, especially this line from Luke 11:4 And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one While you would think that the temptations of the devil are the same kind of darkness as the devil himself, they are in fact two different darknesses. In Matthew 13:38-40 Jesus tells a compact parable of our lives, The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. In this context, a tare is a noxious weed. Weeds grow anywhere and are relentless in choking all the good plants away to get their nutrients to survive. This is not too much different from our World situation. People who have fallen into the temptation and life of the devil believe there is no God who can save us. They try to make us believe, constantly. Those who have fallen into temptation like to try our faith like the devil. This is an example of the weeds being relentless. When we as Christians believe them, we now have become as dead as a choked plant. For how can anyone survive without the spiritual enlightenment and kind words of the Trinity. The light to this darkness is the divine light that shines down from Heaven and Word of the Trinity. The divine light from Heaven shows us what is to come if we obey the Ten Commandments and live a God-pleasing life. The Word of the Trinity tells us there is a God. Together, they promise an eternal and good life in Heaven. The Lord makes it clear to us that he is holy and Mighty. With his teachings and the guidance of our church leaders, we are lead onto the path of light. Those who do not know the light to our dark in the end will perish. When Jesus died for us, he created that light at the end of the tunnel. The everlasting promise that no matter how hard things seem, there is a wonderful end to our story. We have faith, and with that faith we can achieve all things through Christ. So come, receive the light. Page 4

5 Page 5 Religious Tolerance by Christen Massouras The Edict of Milan has been a vital document since 313 AD. The Edict states that Christians are allowed to freely practice their faith. This message of religious tolerance has allowed Christians to practice their faith and beliefs for centuries. Even though this document was written centuries ago; a time before the internet ever existed, before Costco food samples, and reality T.V. shows, its message and values can still be applied today. The Edict of Milan was written and proclaimed by St. Constantine the Great. At the time of his rule, Christians were persecuted and not allowed to believe in their own faith. In Constantine s Edict of Milan he states, We grant to the Christians and others full authority to observe that religion which each preferred; Christians may do so freely and openly, without molestation The edict states that all are allowed to observe their own beliefs and cannot be harmed for believing in them. The edict can be applied to that time and in today s modern time. Around the world, there are many unique and different people, cultures, languages, customs, clothing, and religions. There are about 21 major religions in the world today, yet a major and constant problem that people face is tolerating other religions. In Istanbul, Turkey, where the patriarchate is located and where Agia Sofia stills stands, there is constant persecution of Orthodox Christians. Istanbul, formally known as Constantinople, is the birthplace of Christian Orthodoxy. Today, the patriarchate is faced with extinction in a Muslim dominated state. In a country of 99% Muslim population, there is little tolerance or understanding of the Orthodox faith. The government has shut down the only seminary in Turkey, which means that there will no longer be a place for future patriarchs to begin as clergy men. And because all patriarchs must be born in Turkey according to the Turkish law, the future of the church in Turkey is bleak. In order to maintain and keep the orthodox faith, the Turkish government needs to adopt the values and spirit of the Edict of Milan. They should allow religious tolerance towards the orthodox people and church. Orthodox Christians in Istanbul are not the only people persecuted based upon their religion. Others such as the Copts in Egypt, and Shia/Sunni in the Muslim faith, and the Assyrians in Iraq, feel threatened and persecuted. By following the values of the Edict of Milan, religions in all areas of the world can accept each other and stop violence and misunderstandings. In America, the land of the free, there still exist small communities and religions who feel threatened and persecuted. America historically has been a place of religious tolerance. Yet, in its history there has been a great absence of tolerance for many different faiths and beliefs. Based on the limited knowledge that we learned in elementary school, we believe that the Pilgrims settled in America as a refuge in order to find religious tolerance. Yet this story isn t completely accurate. The Europeans who landed here in America used their religion to discriminate against Indians, and other Christian sects. America was not founded completely by people who accepted all religions, rather fought about them. Let s fast forward 400 years, within this time we have experience movements full of religious hate and little tolerance. Some examples are the Bible Riot in Philadelphia, and the burning of the Bunker Hill monument by antichristian groups. And one of the most current and controversial examples relates to numerous amount of mosques trying to establish themselves in communities around the country. After 9-11, many relate terrorism to those who practice the Muslim faith. This has caused a great amount of intolerance towards those who are Muslim. President Obama declared: This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country and that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are. President Barack Obama and his message of religious tolerance is a message that all Orthodox Christians should embrace; that we must tolerate all religious whether we accept their beliefs or not. In order to foster religious tolerance, we must look to the values of the edict of Milan. As revealed through the edict, Christians were allowed to believe in their own faith and are assured of legal rights to organize churches. Therefore in our own country, we must allow other faiths access to places of worship, and respect their beliefs. In this way the Edict of Milan will survive for more centuries to come.

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7 Junior Olympics 2013 Page 7 What an AMAZING weekend at the Metropolis Junior Olympics! We were in the company of 37 Parishes and about 1600 participants. Congratulations to all of our participants. Many thanks to our coaches for all their hard work and dedication: Chris Caprio, Desiree Becker, Alex Facklis, Jette Georgopoulos, Erin Godellas, Lisa Gonzini, Jeanne Jurasek, Dena Koulouris, Katherine Kouvelis and our swim timer Dean Godellas. Also, a thank you to Fr. Timothy and Fr. Athanasios, as always, your support is appreciated! A few highlights from the weekend. Friday was a fun-filled evening of bowling; both of our teams had a great time! On Saturday, Marika Maggos received a gold medal for the 10K run. Our remaining track participants did an outstanding job as well. Our boys and girls volleyball teams played fantastically. Our 7-9 year old Basketball team did an outstanding job playing against the much larger team of Sts. Constantine and Helen of Merrillville, IN. Both of our soccer teams did a tremendous job, our year old team won their first round. On Sunday, our swimming team received several medals. George Koulouris received silver for freestyle, and bronze for both breast stroke and backstroke. Lea Arvanites received the bronze medal for breaststroke. But most importantly the gold medal goes to the Assumption participants for great sportsmanship and team spirit. As the saying goes It doesn t matter if you win or lose, it s how you play the game As a parent, Sunday Church School Director and above all as a parishioner I can honestly say our children represented our parish with dignity, great love and enthusiasm. I was proud to wear the maroon and gold tshirt that was designed by Mary Maniatis several years ago and worn this year in her loving memory. Teaching children how to dribble a ball, swim a lap or kick a goal is easy. Teaching them how to treat their fellow brothers and sisters with respect and love is the true challenge and I can honestly say from what I saw this weekend I believe the Assumption Children have this successfully mastered.

8 INFO Assumption Greek Orthodox Church 601 S. Central Avenue Chicago, IL Phone: MAIL TO: S U M M E R H O U R S O R T H R O S 8 : 0 0 D I V I N E Business L I TTagline Uor RMotto G Y 9 : 3 0 We re on the web! JUNIOR OLYMPICS 2013 The St. Catherine s Newsletter was created in 2007 by a Sunday School student. It serves to inform, educate, and entertain the children of the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church community. All are welcome and encouraged to contribute to the newsletter. If you are interested in writing an article, sending in a self written piece of work, or just for more information PLEASE CONTACT: Very Rev. Fr. Timothy Bakakos FrTimothy@assumptionchicago.org or Dr. Evie Maggos demags@aol.com Full coverage and more photos on pages 6-7. Sunday Church School Outdoor Liturgy and Community Picnic Sunday, June 9th RSVP to Church Office