TRANSaGRAM. WELCOME COOKOUT: No better way to celebrate the start of Sunday School than with family, friends, and IN THIS ISSUE

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1 October 2017 Monthly / Issue No. 7 TRANSFIGURATION GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH Fr. Tom Chininis, Pastor WELCOME COOKOUT: No better way to celebrate the start of Sunday School than with family, friends, and food! IN THIS ISSUE PASTORAL REFLECTIONS page 2 Outreach Must Reach In PARISH COUNCIL NEWS page 3 Treasurer s Report, Parish Council Report, and Stewardship Report PARISH GROUPS page 5 Philoptochos, Sunday School, and Youth Ministry EVENTS & OUTREACH page 10 Welcome Cookout, GOYA Gathering, and Golf Outing CHURCH INFORMATION page 15 How to contact the church and who to contact, Parish Council member names and contact information CALENDAR pages 16 Regular and special services, sacraments, and church events Photo ByCatherine PAGE 1

2 OCTOBER FROM FR. TOM To Provide Outreach We Must Reach In REMEMBERING DEAN PROYOUS By Fr. Thomas Chininis This past summer Dean Proyous fell asleep in the Lord. He was currently serving as a member of the Parish Council. While he helped with many different events, the one ministry that was most important to him was the Community Kitchen. The Community Kitchen provides free lunch for both parishioners and neighbors on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Dean and I often spoke about the need for this ministry and the good that it could provide. We looked at the good in two ways. The first is for those who can benefit from a free meal and fellowship. The second way was how it provides benefit by ON THE COVER Welcome Cookout WELCOMING THE NEW ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS By Catherine Koufogazos encouraging us to grow form within. Outreach requires us to reach inward. By reaching in we learn more about ourselves and how our faith influences our decisions. By reaching in we learn how to put Christ s teachings into action. By reaching within we come to understand the power and strength of God s grace. Dean understood this and his family honored his memory by designating this ministry for memorial donations. During the coming months, the Community Kitchens will honor Dean s memory. Join us as we welcome friends and neighbors and honor Dean at the same time. On Sunday, September 10, the Parish Council invited everyone to attend an indoor cookout to celebrate the beginning of the Ecclesiastical year and to welcome back all of this year s Sunday School students. Over 100 parishioners, students, and guests attended the event, which immediately followed Divine Liturgy and took place in the church hall. Many dedicated volunteers were on hand to help the Parish Council with the picnic style luncheon preparing and serving food, setting up and cleaning up, and making sure that everyone was well taken care of. During Divine Liturgy, Fr. Tom addressed the Sunday School children and their parents to announce a change this year for his weekly chat with the Sunday School children. He will now invite the Sunday School children to sit upfront after the Gospel reading, rather than waiting until later in the Divine Liturgy. This change is meant to encourage us to be present for the Gospel reading, which is the central part of celebrating the Divine Liturgy, providing meaningful guidance and reflection for us from Our Lord. As everyone ate well, the church hall was filled with the spirit of fellowship. After a busy summer for many people, everyone renewed their friendships and eagerly caught up on summer events and family news. The GOYA kids claimed a corner of the hall and thoroughly enjoyed the day and each other s company their exuberant energy and camaraderie hints at an upcoming year filled with wondrous achievements! We even took a moment to celebrate (with cake, of course), our newlywed chanters, Irene and Trevor; we wish them well. The indoor cookout was the first of many special events planned for the upcoming year. There is much to look forward to, so be sure to plan accordingly; see you soon! PAGE 2

3 OCTOBER 2017 PARISH COUNCIL NEWS President s Report Parishioners Continued Generosity by Christian Zouzas, Parish Council President Over the summer months the bell tower domes project was finished. Through the inspiration and passion of the Danas family who asked that donations in memory of Arthur Danas be used for this purpose, the parish assembly voted last spring to seal the domes in an epoxy blue color giving a final finish to the domes. The domes are made of cement and have been unfinished for close to 100 years. The physical structure of the church in the 20 s and again in the 50's, and the addition of the Family Life Center in the late 90's to the early 2000's were all possible through the donation of the parishioners. Everything you see when you walk through the church, from the stained glass windows to the mosaics, from the chandeliers to the pews, everything was donated through the generosity of fellow parishioners. The generosity and faith of the parishioners built the church and will be how the church survives and continues to exist for the next 100 years. If you feel inspired to give towards a particular need or aspect of the church please speak with us. Thank you for continuing to assist the church in any way you can Thank you and God Bless the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church. Treasurer s Report by Kon Kalabokis, Parish Council Treasurer ACCOUNT SUMMARY (AS OF AUGUST 31, 2017) Account Balance Altar Fund $2, Building Maintenance $10, Endowment Fund $8, General Checking $17, Kitchen & Hall Fund $248, Money Market Savings $200, Outreach Center $8, Rental Account (restricted) $115, Special Events Checking $61, Youth Ministr y $6, Account Totals: $680, If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at kkalabokis@gmail.com. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have. PAGE 3

4 OCTOBER 2017 PARISH COUNCIL NEWS Stewardship Report As the Father has sent me, so I send you John 20:21 by Olivia Sintros, Stewardship Reporter Stewardship.. What do you think of when you see that word? Many of us think immediately of money. We recall that time in our congregation s life when we are asked to make a financial commitment for the coming year. In November, we will be asked to make that commitment. The church continues to ask us to reflect on what amount of money we can offer weekly and to multiply by 52 weeks. Everything else increases so shouldn t we be thinking in terms of some increase when it comes to supporting the operating expenses of our church? Stewardship is a fact of life at both Orthodox churches and churches of other denominations across the country. The following four facets are from the Stewardship Program at St. Demetrious Greek Orthodox Church in Seattle, WA. Hopefully they will encourage us to reflect on our own giving pattern. 1. Ordinary Stewardship is the regular practice of returning to God a portion of all that God has given us. It involves teaching ourselves how to create a life built upon the notion that all that we have is a gift from God. This includes spreading the teachings of Christ and the concept that giving regularly of our time, talent, and money to God's work on this earth is as much a spiritual practice as prayer and worship. 2. Time and Talents is getting involved with the Church both in your participation in ministries and offering your volunteer time as well as your talents to help further the Church's mission and ministries. 3. Extraordinary Stewardship involves the special occasions that arise in the life of our community that call us to give beyond our ordinary habit. They involve encouraging us to experiment with sacrificial giving in order to help the community realize critical and important goals and programs. Some examples of extraordinary stewardship are such items as Festival Underwriting, Golf Sponsorships and Capital Campaign programs. 4. Legacy Stewardship is the way in which we address the matter of disposing of the accumulations of our lifetime. It is the opportunity to provide a planned gift that constitutes both a legacy to generations yet unborn. Trans a Gram Seeking Your Help If you are interested in helping with the production of our parish newsletter please contact Fr. Tom. The Trans a Gram is in need of volunteers to write articles, help with layout, help with editing, and assist in the mailing. PAGE 4

5 OCTOBER 2017 Parish Council Report by Amanda Apostolou, Parish Council Secretary PARISH COUNCIL NOTES The September meeting was held September 5. During the meeting the following items were discussed: The Parish Council mourns the falling asleep of council member, Dean Proyous. The Parish Council discussed having a Thanksgiving Dinner themed Stewardship Luncheon on November 19. The Parish Assembly is scheduled for November 5 following liturgy. The agenda will be determined at the October meeting. Funds from the James Sarantos memorial are deposited in the Building Maintenance Fund and earmarked for mosaic icon upkeep. In music ministry, we have learned that Irene Koulianos will not return as our chanter. We thank Melanie Pappas and Patty Vaporis for chanting Orthros and Liturgy. The choir will be directed on an interim basis by Toula Spurges. We thank Chuck Karayianis, who is taking a break from directing.for leadership. Costa Tsioulis reported on the upcoming Golf Outing and although the forecast of the outing looks profitable he urged the Council to focus more on Stewardship rather than depending on special events. Time for New Altar Boy Robes The time has come to purchase new robes for our Altar Boys. The order has been placed and the robes are being made. Donation per robe is $175. We welcome full and partial donations If you have any questions, please contact Fr. Tom at frtom@transchurh.org or PAGE 5

6 OCTOBER 2017 PARISH GROUPS Philoptochos Society Report by Ellen Dobi, Philoptochos Society President Our Philoptochos chapter has con1nued projects throughout the summer and we look forward to gearing up for the ecclesias1cal year. The Board met in June and August to wrap up spring projects and get a jumpstart on summer and early fall ac1vi1es Vaca$on Church Camp: Thanks to the many Philoptochos members who helped with this year s Vaca1on Church Camp during the week of July 24 th. Whether it was working in the kitchen, leading a class, or helping with logis1cs and registra1on, your assistance is greatly appreciated and invaluable to our parish and youth ministry. Parish Feastday: On Saturday evening, August 5 th, the Dris1liaris family, under the coordina1on of Georgia Dris1liaris and Daphne Easton, once again hosted a lovely recep1on following the Great Vesper service honoring the feast of the parish. Thank you to all of the ladies who prepared addi1onal desserts for Saturday evening and Sunday morning. On Sunday morning, August 6 th, our ladies served a light brunch following Divine Liturgy for approximately 80 people. Thank you to all who provided some of the delicious food. We also appreciate all who provided assistance with set-up, serving and clean-up. Calendar of Mee$ngs: All Philoptochos members should have received a mailing outlining our calendar for the first half of the year. Members who would like reminders for mee1ngs are asked to contact our Membership Chair Daphne Easton at daphneeaston1@yahoo.com. Membership: I am so grateful to our current membership for your support and par1cipa1on. Every contribu1on is greatly appreciated and needed to achieve our goals. Along with our charity work, we also enjoy the perks of friendship and camaraderie and always welcome new members. If you ve been thinking of joining Philoptochos, make this the year! Please contact me at ekdobi@verizon.net or Daphne Easton at daphneeaston1@yahoo.com for more informa1on. No Bake Cake Sale to Benefit Hellenic College & Holy Cross: Thank you to chairladies Clara and Freda Gkolias for organizing the annual No Bake Cake Sale. The donated funds are sent to Hellenic College and Holy Cross School of Theology for seminarian and student scholarships. Several students from our parish have a_ended the school and have benefited from this financial assistance. There was also a basket collec1on on Sunday, September 17 th. House of Hope: One of our ongoing outreach programs is serving dinner to mothers and children at the House of Hope. We have commi_ed to providing dinner the fourth Thursday of each month. Please consider signing up for a 1me slot for this very worthwhile and needed project. This can be a valuable community service opportunity for families to experience together. We welcome our new coordinator, Cindy Rios. You may contact her at cerios3@hotmail.com or SAVE THE DATES: October 28th : We are again having a holiday Crad Fair from 9AM to 3PM. Come to see what is available and start your holiday shopping. Bring a friend or two. November 4 th : General Mee1ng, 9:30AM December 3 rd : The 64th Annual Benefit Christmas Tea. See flyer in this issue. Reserva1ons may be mailed in or brought to the church office during office hours. A table will be set up on Sundays ader Liturgy star1ng late October. PAGE 6

7 OCTOBER 2017 Friday Oct 20 th 6:30-8:30 pm DONUT-ON-A-STRING ~ PONG TOSS CUPCAKE WALK ~ SQUASH BOWLING BEANBAG TOSS ~ PIZZA & TREATS FAMILY-FRIENDLY EVENT COSTUMES WELCOME! This is a free event. Donations gladly accepted. SIGN UP! Please sign up in the church lobby, on fb, or contact: Amanda Apostolou at su_lou22@me.com or PAGE 7

8 OCTOBER 2017 PARISH GROUPS Sunday School News by Connie Gkolias, Sunday School Director We welcome our girls and boys back to Sunday School. We know that there are still a few families that have not yet registered their children and we look forward to seeing you in the coming weeks. Your teachers have some great lessons planned for you. Please come and join your classmates. Parents please have your children in church around 9:30 am. Fr. Tom will be offering the Sunday School lesson following the Gospel and we don t want you to miss it. This year our Sunday School Open House is on November 12 following services. Come and meet the teachers, see what the children are working on in class and enjoy our Super Duper Coffee Fellowship and Reception. Our annual Christmas pagent this year is on Sunday, December 17, after the Divine Liturgy. Please mark your calendar so you don t miss our children s Christmas presentation. Everyone is welcome. The Sunday School staff works hard throughout the year to ensure that our children have the opportunity to grow in faith and to learn about the Orthodox Church. We look forward to working with all the parents to help their DATES TO REMEMBER: children grow. November 12: Open House December 17: Christmas Pageant JAMES MONOXELOS NORTHEAST Realtor VISIT OUR E MAIL: jmonoxelos@neref.com PHONE: x15 FAX: SHAWSHEEN ST., TEWKSBURY, MA Soula.Spaziani@NEmoves.com! Robin Ley TOP DONUT 700 Aiken St. Lowell, MA Tel. (978) Store Hours Open 7 days a week 5 a.m. 9 p.m. Mama s Italian Restaurant 1140 Lakeview Avenue Tel: (978) Dracut, MA Fax: (978) When you re hungry, come to Mama s! PAGE 8

9 OCTOBER 2017 PAGE 9

10 OCTOBER 2017 CHURCH EVENTS AND OUTREACH WELCOME COOKOUT PHOTOS BY CATHERINE KOUFOGAZOS PAGE 10

11 CHURCH EVENTS AND OUTREACH OCTOBER 2017 GOYA AT THE WELCOME COOKOUT PHOTOS BY CATHERINE KOUFOGAZOS MEMBERS OF GOYA PREPARE THE HOLY CROSS FOR THE FEAST OF THE HOLY CROSS (RIGHT) PAGE 11

12 OCTOBER 2017 CHURCH EVENTS AND OUTREACH PHOTOS BY MELANIE PAPPAS ANNUAL TRANSFIGURATION GOLF OUTING AN ENJOYABLE DAY WITH FRIENDS ON THE LINKS WHILE SUPPORTING THE MINISTRIES OF THE PARISH PAGE 12

13 OCTOBER 2017 The Transfiguration Golf Outing Committee thanks all who provided financial and material donations in support of this event. Major Outing Sponsor John and Elanie Thibault Outing Sponsors The Demoulas Foundation Hellas Order of AHEPA #102 Jeanne D Arc Credit Union Commonweath Motors Enterprise Bank Continental Resources-Con-Res Jim McCann Dr. Peter Eliopoulos, DMD Costas and Elizabeth Tsioulis Dr. Kevin Malone and Family Arthur and Christine Faneros John and Jason Faneros Spike and Olivia Sintros Michael and Kate Sintros Steven and Pam Sintros Christopher and Erin Sintros George Eliopoulos Tee Sponsors 2017 TT Kosciolek, Inc. Pride Star EM Lincoln Food Groups Four Sisters Owl Diner Stephen and Cathy Economou Alexander s Pharmacy Jillie s Café, Inc., Angelo and Lisa Koukos Riverside Glass Co. Dracut Funeral Home Ryan Smith Financial Planner A Belvidere Florist Thomas and Sophia Quinn St. Methodios Faith and Heritage Center PAPS Plumbing New Olympia Restaurant Tyngsboro Auto Sales Arthur and Regina Dabilis Fr. Tom Chininis and Family Washington Bank George and Iris Malliaros Jimmy and Houle Demetri Debbie and Ronnie Sevigny ---In memory of Thomas and Sophia Quinn Ladies Philoptochos Society Soula and Larry Spaziani Christopher s Towing Northeast Refrigerated Distributing Co. Peter Mahoney Chris and Caroline Mahoney and Family Mark Cabral-MJC Home Repairs John and Daphne Zaralidis and Family John and Ann Tavoularis Marc and Sandra Gulezian and Family Hole Sponsors 2017 Skewers Wood Grill- Panteli and Ann Karakatsanis Top Donut Fr. Peter Rizos Universal Apartments. Inc. O Donnell and Sons Funeral Home Transfiguration Parish Council McDonough Funeral Home Niclis and Daphne Kouloungis Angela Hastings Wedding Planning and Design George and Jill Laganas Flowers by Albert Athenian Corner Golden Century Real Estate The Liquor Shop Toula and Arthur Sparages Collegiate Charter School of Lowell Tewksbury Mobile-Circle K Alfred A. Finocchiaro Laurin Funeral Home Unifirst Corporation Saucony Deaconess Abundant Life Communities The Corner Café Lowell Matt and Amanda Apostolou and Family Samuel and Despena Zouzas Morse-Bayliss Funeral Home Blake Funeral Home Primo Pizza- Dracut RichSkin LLC- Dan Richard Dr. Dina Eliopoulos Attorney Philip Eliopooulos Attorney Angelique Eliopoulos Donations 2017 Patricia Mahoney Ellen and Ernie Dobi Eva and Stratos Dukakis A Friend Angie Rigs Melanie Pappas PAGE 13

14 OCTOBER 2017 Family Fun Night Calendar Most events are Friday evenings from 6:30-8:30, with a few daytime events. We begin with separate ten minute clergy-led adult and child break-out sessions followed by dinner and planned activities. We have a great time and hope you ll join us! October 20th Fall Family Fun Fest FFN Team December 8th Gingerbread Night Available to Coordinate February 9th Valentine s for Veterans Available to Coordinate March 31st Palms and Pancakes Sintros Family June (TBD) EOY Bowling Party FFN Wamesit Lanes If you want to coordinate a FFN event, see Amanda Apostolou during fellowship or su_lou22@me.com. PAGE 14

15 OCTOBER 2017 CHURCH INFORMATION CHURCH Secretary: Jeanne Brady Address: 25 Father John Sarantos Way, Lowell, MA Telephone: Fax: Office Hours: Secretary: Mon. Fri., 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Priest: Tuesday Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., or by appointment WEBSITE FACEBOOK CLERGY Rev. Father Thomas Chininis Telephone: FrTom@transchurch.org Rev. Deacon John Vaporis Telephone: DeaconJohn@transchurch.org PHILOPTOCHOS Ellen Dobi Telephone: ekdobi@verizon.net CHOIR Toula Sparages Telephone: toulaarthur@verizon.net HOSPITAL NOTIFICATION SUNDAY SCHOOL Connie Gkolias connie@garston.com Corrine Dubay corrinedubay@gmail.com BOOKSTORE Joan Tsoukalas joantsoukalas@gmail.com Virginia Kimball virginiakimball@comcast.net WEBSITE Melanie Pappas Telephone: melanie.pappas@gmail.com TRANS A GRAM Rev. Thomas Chininis Telephone: frtom@transchurch.org Please contact the church office when a family member has been admitted to the hospital or care facility. This will allow Fr. Tom to make a pastoral visit. Because of HIPAA regulations hospitals are reluctant to inform the local clergy of parishioners who have been admitted to their facility. So, the responsibility of notifying the parish falls on the family Parish Council Members PRESIDENT Christian Zouzas Home: Cell: zouzas@aol.com VICE PRESIDENT Costa Tsioulis Cell: costasusa@hotmail.com TREASURER Konstantinos (Kon) Kalabokis Home: kkalabokis@gmail.com ASSISTANT TREASURER Nick Kouloungis Home: koulclan@comcast.net SECRETARY Amanda Apostolou Cell: su_lou22@me.com William (Bill) Arvanites Home: Cell: arvanites.willy@gmail.com James Demetri Home: Cell: jdemetri56@hotmail.com Marc Gulezian Cell: msgulezian@comcast.net Patricia Mahoney Cell: pmahoney7@comcast.net Stephen Nicholaides Cell: corfu@comcast.net Olivia Sintros Home: Cell: osintros@comcast.net Is Your Information Correct? To update your name, salutation, phone number, address, or , please call the office, we are happy to help.thank you! PAGE 15

16 OCTOBER 2017 SERVICES, SACRAMENTS, AND CALENDAR OF EVENTS Services SUNDAY SERVICES Orthros: 8:30 a.m. Divine Liturgy: 9:30 a.m. Monthly Trisagion October 8, following Liturgy Special Services (continued) October 26 Orthros 8:30 am & Liturgy 9:30am (Feast of St. Demetrios) Sacraments BAPTISMS August 27: Zoe Genevieve Mancini, daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth (Lane) Mancini. Godparent: Kathryn O Brien September 10: Nikoletta Maria Chiola, daughter of David and Ekaterini (Pournaras) Chiola. Godparents: Nikos and Pamela Georgakakis. CHRISMATIONS No Chrismations this month Calendar of Events VACATION CHURCH CAMP (VCC) November 18: Advent Camp YOUTH MINISTRY October 1: GOYA Meeting October 20: Family Fun Night November 5: GOYA Meeting SUNDAY SCHOOL October 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29: Classes November 12: Open House and Coffee CHOIR Rehearsals as announced WEDDING & MARRIAGE BLESSINGS No Weddings or Marriage Blessings this month FUNERALS: MAY THEIR MEMORY BE ETERNAL August 12: James Sarantos August 20: Anastasia Forsely August 28: Ann Andrews August 30: Richard Mitropoulos September 7: Milton Monoxelos OTHER CHURCH ACTIVITIES October 4, 11, 18 & 25 Outreach Center 10:00 am - 2:00 pm OUTREACH AND SPECIAL EVENTS October 7: Metropolis of Boston Pre-Marriage Transfiguration 9:00 am - 3:00 pm October 14: LTLC Dinner October 24: Community Kitchen 11:30 am October 26: House of Hope Dinner October 28: Philoptochos Holiday Craft Fair BIBLE STUDY AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION October 4, 11, 18 & 25: 10:00 am Dracut Funeral Home Proudly serving the Greek Community in Dracut and Greater Lowell for 25 years James F. O Donnell & Sons FUNERAL DIRECTORS since 1884 Serving members of the Lowell and Greek community for over 120 years 2159 Lakeview Avenue Dracut, MA Mark P. Gacek (978) Owner/Director PAGE 16 John W. Crane 276 Pawtucket Street Lowell, Massachusetts (978) James F. O Donnell, Jr.