Saint Sophia. Cathedral Communiqué SEPTEMBER 6, th Sunday of St. Matthew

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1 Saint Sophia Cathedral Communiqué SEPTEMBER 6, th Sunday of St. Matthew

2 FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES EXECUTIVE OFFICERS George E. Preonas, President; James A. Demetriou, PhD, Vice President; Constantine M. Boukidis, Secretary; Tina Callas, Treasurer MEMBERS V. Rev. Fr. John S. Bakas; Timi Loomos Freshman; Alek Haidos; Steven C. Hanna; Gig Kyriacou; Brent A. Noyes; John T. Pappas; Jim Zaferis PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS Anthony A. Demetriou, Presidential Assistant; John G. Marakas III, Sr. V.P. of Wells Fargo, Advisor to the Board; Andrew J. Demetriou, Foundation General Counsel PARISH COUNCIL BOARD OF DIRECTORS EXECUTIVE OFFICERS Brent A. Noyes, President; Dean Peratsakis, Vice President; Peter Triantafyllos, Treasurer; Karen Sarames, Secretary; Jeanine Hanna, Corresponding Secretary MEMBERS Bertha Angels; Jonas Metin; Costa Bargeliotes; Peter Cosfol; Mauro Metini; George Rizkalla; Dorothy Spirus; William Bill Striglos, Anna Yallourakis; Dinah Wellington, Chris Stavaridis; Associate Member BOARD OF AUDITORS: Jim Ananias; Anthony A. Demetriou; Tom Moore Saint Sophia Cathedral 1324 S. Normandie Ave Los Angeles, CA Office: Fax: When you write your will or update it, won t you please remember Saint Sophia Cathedral? Such a gift will live forever as our church ministers to our spiritual needs. It s an investment in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

3 MINISTRY NEWS SAVE THE DATE 1. Tue, Sep 8: Making Bougatsa 2.Tue, Sep 8: Pan Orthodox Night at the Hollywood Bowl 3. Thu, Sep 10: Making Keftedes 4. Fri, Sep 11:Fr. John S. Bakas Chamber Recognition 5. Fri, Sat, & Sun, Sep 11, 12 & 13: 2015 LA Greek Fest 6.Wed, Sep 16: Inner Stillness Meditation with Prayer sessions begins FR. JOHN S. BAKAS CHAMBER RECOGNITION Fr. John S. Bakas will be honored with in Chamber Recognition by the city council of Los Angeles, Friday Sept 11 at 10 am. We welcome people to attend the ceremony at the Los Angeles City Hall. Please call Brent Noyes at (818) to make reservations. LABOR DAY The office will be closed Monday, September 7. THE FORUM: ORTHODOX YOUNG PROFESSIONALS Saint Sophia hosts a vibrant gathering of young professionals in the General Assembly room every Tuesday night at 7:00pm. The Forum meets to eat, learn, and pray together; growing in Christ-centered fellowship. 2

4 PHILOPTOHOS NEWS Thursday, September 17th Philoptohos General Assembly at Huffington Center. We welcome all members and prospective members to our first meeting of the year. Please join us to hear all about exciting programs and upcoming events. Please make reservations for lunch by September 14th at or Come and meet our new board! For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me John 12:8. With love in Christ s service, Judie Christopoulos and The Philoptohos Board of Directors SAINT SOPHIA L.A. GREEK FEST BAKING 3

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6 Inner Stillness Meditation Center At the Huffington Center of Saint Sophia Cathedral Ancient Faith Spirituality, Mindfulness and Inner Stillness Meditation with the Prayer of the Heart A six-session guided meditation workshop presented by V. Rev. Fr. John Bakas, Dean of Saint Sophia Cathedral, Maria Baltazzi, Meditation Teacher and Purveyor of Happiness, and John Kopatsis, Huffington Center Director Mindfulness is a movement that is gaining popularity as a practice in daily life to promote spiritual growth, well-being and a more compassionate society. Our goal is to present mindfulness meditation in relation to the ancient wisdom of Orthodox Spirituality, as well as a modern scientific perspective. Both views are just different sides of the same coin. In the Inner Stillness Meditation Workshop, each session consists of a talk, covering different aspects of meditation from the physical to the spiritual benefits, followed by a guided meditation with Maria Baltazzi, a certified meditation teacher and purveyor of happiness. She will lead the group on an inward journey, using the Prayer of the Heart to discover how Inner Stillness Meditation can benefit them and the world around them. Workshop: Wednesdays from 6:30 pm 8:30 pm (with a 15 minute break). Time will be given at the end for everyone s questions and feedback. $25 per session, or $125 for all six sessions. Call for more information and registration. 5

7 Session Date Topic 1 September 16, 2015 Introduction to Mindfulness as a daily life practice and Inner Stillness Meditation, the mystical tradition of meditation of the Eastern Orthodox Church September 23, 2015 September 30, 2015 October 7, 2015 October 14, 2015 October 15, 2015 Learn ways to create a successful daily meditation practice. Inner Stillness Meditation is of the outmost simplicity, accessible to everyone, but with daily practice it leads at the same time to the deepest mysteries of contemplation. Sharing of experiences and answering questions. Working with physical and emotional pain, negative emotions and modern life stress. Inner Stillness Meditation to deal with negative emotions. Create and share happiness with Inner Stillness Meditation to cultivate positive mental states of faith, love, peace, and gratitude. Create and share happiness with Inner Stillness Meditation to cultivate positive mental states of health, forgiveness, detachment and abundance. Learn about Inner Stillness mystical ascetic practices and higher levels of consciousness that can be achieved through the Prayer of the Heart meditation practice. 6

8 "BE THE BEE" PAN-ORTHODOX ONE-DAY RETREAT IN SAN FRANCISCO We are excited to announce the first ever, "Be the Bee" Pan- Orthodox one-day Retreat in San Francisco open to all Youth (6th grade-12th grade), Parents, Youth Workers, and Young Adults at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church! Steve Christoforou, the Director of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries will be featured as one of the main speakers. Join us as we will offer multiple sessions for all different age groups throughout the day. 7

9 PAN-ORTHODOX NIGHT AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL PAN-ORTHODOX NIGHT AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL WITH GLINKA S RUSSLAN AND LUDMILLA OVERTURE, RACHMANINOFF S RHAPSODY ON A THEME OF PAGANINI AND DVOŘÁK S NEW WORLD SYMPHONY ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th AT 8 PM! Please join us for a delightful evening at the Hollywood Bowl! You may either drive directly to the Hollywood Bowl and park there or at one of the shuttle bus parking lots near the Bowl or if you do not wish to drive to the Bowl you may take one of the park and ride buses from numerous locations please visit visit/getting-to-the-bowl to explore these various options. Please purchase your $16 tickets in Section S, Row 6 so that we may all sit together in the same row. If you wish, you may bring a picnic basket or purchase food at the Bowl, but the food is quite expensive there. For any further information please contact Dean Langis at or at dlangis@stpaulsirvine.org. Please bring the whole family for a lovely evening! 8

10 NANNY NEEDED A call out from Maria Baltazzi. Looking for a nanny to watch my newborn godson, Andrew Michael Sinopoli. The parents live in studio city, near CBS Radford Studios. References requested please. For further details, please either call or Anna Damergis-Sinopoli (the mother) (818) or angel71ad@aol.com Thank you for your help! POSITION AVAILABLE Person needed to work in a booth for Saint Sophia Festival (Sep 11-13) representing a Greek import company and selling the products in a booth. Please John at kopatsis@gmail.com THE ART OF THE GREEK DANCE WHEN: Saturday, September 19 to November 21, 2015 WHERE: St. Sophia Huffington Community Center TIME: 10 AM 11:45 AM FEE: $140 First Time / $120 Returning/$100 Students INSTRUCTOR: Ramsay Seikaly, ramdonseik@hotmail.com CONTACT: St. Sophia or

11 SAINT SOPHIA MOMS & TOTS St. Sophia Moms & Tots Program is a Faith, Music and Movement infant and toddler program designed for those with young children between the ages of 6 months - 3 years old. If you are a parent or caregiver with a little one, please join us! WHEN: Thursdays, 10:00am -11:00am Beginning on Thursday, September 17, 2015 through June, 2016 WHERE: Huffington Center at Saint Sophia, in the Nursery Room COST: $50 donation recommended per child If you and your little one enjoy singing, dancing and spending time with friends, then you will love what we have in store for you! Our weekly gatherings center on a faith based lesson, complete with singing, dancing and crafts/coloring activities. We will learn how to do our cross, say our prayers, and much more! If you are interested in participating or have any questions please contact Sher r y Mohr at sherrymohr922@gmail.com, or Katia Boudouvas at kbakas@gmail.com. 10

12 THE TRAGIC 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE POGROM OF 6-7 SEPTEMBER 1955 On the evening of September 6, 1955, 100,000 storming troops, acting in groups of 50 persons and coordinated by a center organized by the Gladio of Turkey (NATO Stay Behind Staff), attacked and destroyed the Greek-Orthodox Churches, Schools, Monasteries, Cemeteries, Shops and Houses. Armenian and Jewish Communities were occasionally also attacked. The attacks in Istanbul were triggered by the explosion of a small bomb at the house of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk house in Thessaloniki by agents of Turkey as this was proved after their on site arrest by the Greek police. The organizers of this provocative act were later tried by Greek Courts but were freed after the political pressure of Government of Turkey. 11

13 Despite the fact that the given orders were not to kill, as it is proved by the slogan TODAY YOUR PROPERTY- TOMORROW YOUR SOULS the number of dead were 37. The security forces remained inactive and not protecting the victims. Despite the 60 years there has never been an independent and impartial investigation of the Pogrom and details as to how it was organized and executed remain unclear. The extent of the destruction and devastation could be understood by the two photographs attached below. Only recently the Parliamentarian Commission of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, in a report published in November 2012, stated clearly that the Pogrom of 6-7 September 1955, has been the first step in a long line of undemocratic interventions which led to several direct or indirect military take over in the country. Let us not forget the tragedy of September 6, Let us work for justice and reparations. 12

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15 HUFFINGTON CENTER AT SAINT SOPHIA CATHEDRAL Are you looking to impress your guests? With beautiful rooms, ample parking and a state-of-the-art kitchen, Saint Sophia Cathedral s Huffington Center is well equipped to host your next big event. Our eloquent and spacious Maniatakos Ballroom is a perfect fit for wedding receptions, family reunions, business meetings, or fundraisers! For a more intimate setting the Maria Maniatakos Pavilion is a beautiful setting to create wonderful memories. Share the word with friends and associates. Please call the office or send an to events@huffingtoncenter.org to schedule a tour and set the date for your event. 14

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18 SAINT SOPHIA ANNUAL L.A. GREEK FEST

19 JOIN US NEXT WEEKEND! 2

20 GREEK FEST VOLUNTEERS The 17th annual L.A. Greek Fest will be held on September 11, 12 and 13, This is our community s biggest and most important expression of cultural and spiritual identity, as well as a critical fundraiser for our operational costs. Our participation as volunteers is needed again. It is the act of coming together and working for a common goal that defines us as the Saint Sophia Cathedral Community. Please join us at the coffee hour after the Liturgy and sign up. Do not forget that individuals benefit of volunteerism: community improvement, relaxation, socialization, stimulating conversation, self satisfaction, altruism, potential learning, acquisition of new skills, and career opportunities. You may call the office ext. 103 or Jessica at secretary@stsophia.org 3