OUR JULY 2017 FAITH FAMILY FELLOWSHIP Stewards in our Community SAINT NICHOLAS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH
Dear Valley Greek Festival Volunteers, There is a quote I read once that has greatly influenced my life The only people with whom you should try to get even with are those who have helped you. All of you are the ones I must get even with. Writing to you all now as your Festival Chairman, I find myself filled with an overwhelming amount of emotions. The unconditional support, hugs, words of encouragement, smiles and inspiration through your actions filled my heart with more love than I could ever explain in words. Thank you. Over the past 44 years a few brave souls have accepted the role of chairing our beloved Valley Greek Festival. It s a position filled with a great deal of hard work, long hours and months of dedication none of which any of us necessarily wanted. The common thing I heard about being Festival Chairman is that it inherently carries a lot of stress and is quite a hassle to endure. After completing my second year, there are so many more experiences and emotions that I must share with you all. 1 www.st-nicholas.info JULY 2017 For months and months before the Festival there are unending negotiations, permits, marketing/advertising, ordering etc etc etc. My worries truly disappear when I walk into our newly remodeled kitchen and meet with our Festival Baking Team. I m blessed to receive their heartfelt hugs and kisses as they assure me of another successful Festival, all the while telling me I am doing a great job. Thank you ladies, but it is you who are doing the great job and I must get even with. Despite the many more years you all have been doing this each of you lovingly treat me as the leader; however, I can not help but honestly look at you all as the leaders of this fantastic event. Sitting with you during your outstanding lunches fills my heart with love and memories as I listen to your stories. I pray the young women of our church see the value of this beautiful ministry and want to learn from you both the
recipes and building of friendships that our festival is all about. I know that our future Chairman will need this same support you have shown me. Another special moment filled with unique emotions is found on Saturday morning of our Festival. When I arrived on our beautiful campus not long after sunrise, and saw the tents set up, tables and chairs in place, band stand ready, I paused for a moment, looked around and enjoyed the silence. I literally could envision and feel in my soul the thousands of smiles and memories that were going to be created in a few short hours. As the booth captains and volunteers began to arrive, preparing their booths, I experienced and witnessed the heartbeat of the festival - you, our beloved volunteers. Despite all the hustle and bustle, the hugs, kisses, high fives and smiles are what stood out for me. Through the chairmanship of this huge Festival, I must share how blessed I feel to have grown closer to you all in ways I could have never imagined. Thank you. There is a voice that I continue to hear, even though it is not physically present. It is that of our beloved Fr. Thanos (of blessed memory) who sat next to me in the office as I worked long hours, telling me, Don t worry Stavraki, everything will be perfect. As I think about his voice, it is not simply a voice in my head or a distant memory, it is a reality that I feel and experience through each one of you. Because you are the heartbeat of our Festival, it is you all with whom I must get even. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you! Stavros D. Naltsas JULY 2017 www.st-nicholas.info 2
COMPETITIVE FELLOWSHIP W hat do you get when you add a slew of Orthodox youth form all over Southern California, one field full of volleyball courts, and a beautiful Saturday in June? The highly anticipated St. Anthony s Annual Volleyball Tournament in Pasadena! On Saturday, June 17th, St. Nicholas youth once again attended St. Anthony s Volleyball Tournament where in the past, churches from as far away as Las Vegas have come to participate. This year, St. Nicholas enjoyed participating in three divisions: Young Adults, High School, and Middle School. In addition to the athletic success of our youth, which included having our Middle School youth take first place in their division, the event is characterized by an undeniable sense of comradery shared between the participating church groups and the individual teams. This combination of competitive fellowship and sportsmanship continues to make this sporting event one of the most fun-filled and popular youth activities of the entire year. Fr. State 3 www.st-nicholas.info JULY 2017
WOMEN ON A MISSION His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios called Philoptochos an army of nobility and the jewel of our Church. We are an organization that leads by exemplifying the core values of our Orthodox faith and focusing on enriching the lives of those in need. The Philoptochos mission to help the poor, the destitute, the hungry, the aged, the sick, the unemployed, the orphaned, the imprisoned, the widowed, those with disabilities and the victims of disasters will continue to take each and every member s love and dedication to fulfill, just as we have seen over the many years Philoptochos has faithfully served our beautiful parish. His Eminence continued, Philoptochos must continue to do what God does by loving people. We must continue to love, as Christ loves the church, whole-heartedly. While love can be shown in many forms, Philoptochos empowers the women of our church to act on that love in the form of philanthropy. These selfless acts are what provide hope for all those that our mission aims to support. In the coming year, I hope to inspire our members to stretch even further and do even more; to show love in the form of their talents, to get involved in the ministries that strengthen their relationship with Christ, to better fulfill the philanthropic mission of our church. What an honor it is to serve as the President of the Ladies Philoptochos for our St. Nicholas chapter and to be involved in such an intimate part of our faith. I look forward to celebrating Christ s love in the beauty of philanthropy. Sincerely, Dara Phillips JULY 2017 www.st-nicholas.info 4
Education 5 www.st-nicholas.info JULY 2017
SAINT NICHOLAS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH O n Friday, June 9 the seniors of St. Nicholas School graduated. Our graduation ceremony is very unique. Our students took us down memory lane during the first few minutes of the graduation with a cleverly written dialogue created by our seniors with a little help from our 8th grade music director Ms. Kristen Barefoot. They spoke of special moments and memories of their time here at St. Nicholas going all the way back to their Prekindergarten years. We enjoyed watching them perform their final Greek song To Pothilato and dance their final greek folk dance to Siko, Horepse Sirtaki. It was an evening that they will never forget and will become one of their favorite memories of their time here. We are very proud of our seniors for all of their accomplishments here at St. Nicholas. Congratulations to the class of 2017. Continue making your days count! Melissa Damato Principal JULY 2017 www.st-nicholas.info 6
Abrahms, Adam & Tiffany Abulseme, Veronica M.D. Adams, Nicole Alex, James & Cindy Alex, George & Thresa Amash, Michael & Taliny Andrews, Peter & Debbie Barbinis, Elias & Renee Bariamis, Ioannis & Janice Boulgarides, Maureen Vickie Boyias, Nicholas & Stella Brown, William & Penelope Chrysiliou, Christos & Nikki Daglas, Dina Duschinsky, Bob & Evie Fekaris, Dino Fergadis, Kostas & Amerissa George, Gene & Vikki George, Louis & Niki Gourgouris, James & Tessie Greanias, George & Irene 7 www.st-nicholas.info JULY 2017 2017 Stewardship Pledges over $2,080 Thank you to everyone who has generously given the required pledge amount, and to those who have pledged above and beyond. Greanias, Steve & Annie Jacquet, Anthony & Nicole Kappas, Ernie Katsiotis, Alex & Wendy Kezios, V. Rev. Spencer T. Kirollos, Michael & Adriana Kontos, James & Genie Koulakis, Mihail & Katina Langermann, Mark & Patricia Livitsanos, Apostolos & Edith Lyons, Mary Manios, Steve & Linda Manios, Steven & Sylvia Markis, Steve & Alexis Mavrakis, George & Penny McCarty, Peter & Charlotte Mitsopoulos, George & Sophia Morgan, Larry & Lori Nahmoulis, Zak & Elizabeth Naltsas, Stavros & Catherine Naltsas, Dr. Steve & Mari Newton, Scott & Lea Nicolacakis, Nicholas & Maria Niizawa, Sean Nikolopoulos, Jim & Arpi Pappas, Evangeline Phillips, Michael & Dara Prevas, Rev. Michael & Presv. Matia Randall, David & Pandora Sapon, Phillip & Lisa Smith, Matthew & Athena State, Rev. Michael & Presv. Sophie Swift, Andy & Eleni Tassopulos, Venetta Theodosiou, Kostas & Nagwa Thomas, George & Cassandra Thomas, Michael & Cressie Thomas, Paul & Gail Valas, Michael & Dena Volianitis, Gus & Soula Youlios, Stephen & Laura Zampas, Tom & Susie
Orthodox Calendar July/August 2017 July 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Feast day of St. Marina Feast day of Prophet Elias 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 August 2017 8 www.st-nicholas.info JULY/AUGUST 2017 Feast day of St. Paraskevi Feast day of St. Panteleimon 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 The Holy Transfiguration of our Lord 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Great Vespers at Assumption Long Beach The Dormition of the Holy 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Feast day of St. Phanurius The Beheading of John the Baptist Feast day of Mary Magdalene & St. Markella of Chios
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