Saint Luke Greek Orthodox Church The MESSENGER Volume I, Issue 8 September 2016 Dear Friends, This has been a busy summer, with some interesting climate. The weather may have been exceedingly warm but, thank God, it is now cooling nicely! Apparently, the heat waves we have been having were last recorded in the 1890s. They seemed relentless, but all things in life, of course, do change. Now, hopefully, things will begin to normalize for us. As you know, September 1 is the beginning of the new church year. A whole cycle of feasts will begin and, on a parish level, familiar events will take shape. For one, our Church School and Choir will resume their normal duties. We will be welcoming a new organist, Gao Can (pronounced Tsa - o), and we look forward to her musical talents in participating in our worship! Toni Rizas is our new Choir leader, supported by Cindy Rodolakis. We are also approaching the Taste of Greece. In a short month and a half, there we will be. Thank you to all who have participated in the workshops this year it is not too late to help! In his Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul calls us to be renewed in the spirit of our minds (Ephesians 4.23). Renewal is an activity of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church, and while we experience our own personal renewal, so do communities. This renewal begins with personal repentance and prayer. A clear expression is seen in church attendance, where our presence and attentiveness transforms us as fellow travelers on the Ark of Salvation. Let us set as our personal goal an increase in our attendance for this upcoming year. One way to help address this issue is by inviting a family member or friend to join you for Liturgy. Let us work together to attain this! 1
We also have openings in our vital ministries. We thank Sarah Kirchner for agreeing to facilitate the work of JOY. But we are still seeking a ministry leader for Loaves and Fishes. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul compares the church, which is the Body of Christ, to a building that is built on the foundation, Christ. He then calls on is to mutually uphold one another. Stronger areas should carry the load of weaker areas, for example. If your heart is in serving Christ and His Church, and you would like to facilitate the Loaves and Fishes Ministry, we welcome you and thank you! As we enter this new church year, let each of us find time for the prayer below. May 2016-2017 be filled in every way with Divine Grace. Christ our God, Your kingdom is an everlasting one and Your lordship is over all. You have made all things with wisdom and have established proper times and seasons for our lives. We give thanks to You in all circumstances and for all things. Grant that this liturgical year be for all of us a year of grace. Make us worthy with purity of heart always to praise you. Lord, glory to You! With love in Christ, + Fr. Panteleimon Please join us on September 25 as we host a Coffee Hour reception after Liturgy in memory of Rosalie Polaski. We will be joined by her family and friends, and memories will be shared. For over sixteen years, Rosalie worked side by side with Saint Luke s priests and parishioners, and we would like to show her family our personal appreciation. 2
The Messenger is a publication of the Saint Luke Greek Orthodox Church of East Longmeadow, MA located at 400 Prospect Street East Longmeadow, MA 01028. For mailing use PO Box 381. To contact the Church Office: 413-525-4551; 413-525-4552 (fax) and stlukego@aol.com. To contact the Pastor call 978-587-6488 or email at frpklostri@gmail.com. All rights reserved. Saint Luke Greek Orthodox Church 400 Prospect Street East Longmeadow, MA 01028 (413) 525-4551 (413) 525-4552 (fax) www.stlukego.org Fr. Panteleimon Klostri - Proistamenos frpklostri@gmail.com Church Office saintlukego@gmail.com Pastor- Fr. Panteleimon Klostri 2016 Parish Council President - Nick Vamvilis Vice President - Judy Lelas-George Treasurer - Anthony Antonopoulos Secretary - Christos Nikolis Corresponding Secretary - Bea Syner Assaad Hallak Ervin Henault George Katsoulis Greg Laware Bill Sakel Harry Georgiades Philoptochos President - Maria Londo Vice President - Melissa Kaitis Treasurer - Vaceleci Zaharis Secretary - Rosanne Desautels Corresponding Secretary - Evangelia Tsikrikis Past President/Advisor - Dorsey Cokkinias Ministries Chanters -Elias Zovas and Ervin Henault, Ralph Masterjohn, Aristidis Zaharis Choir Director - Cindy Rodolakis Organist- Gao Can Endowment Fund Chair - John Piponidis GOYA Advisor - Kathy Kalaitzidis JOY Advisor - Sarah Kirchner O Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke, intercede with our Merciful God, that He may grant our souls remission of sins Apolytikion of Saint Luke Memorials - Maria Laware Messenger -Editor - Maria Londo Stewardship Chairs - Joe and Meghan Dasco Sunday School Director - Priscilla Johnson Assistant Director - Leia Georgeopolus Outreach Committee - Harry Georgiades Yvonne Kintgios 3
NEWS FROM THE PARISH COUNCIL Dear Fellow Parishioners, September marks the start of the New Ecclesiastical Year. We must thank God for the blessings of the previous year and the ones to come this year, but this does not come without a price. We must dedicate ourselves to Gods Church and work a little harder to achieve our goals. we, ourselves, through example must encourage our youth to get more involved in various ministries. Let s use the upcoming Taste of Greece as a stepping stone to future involvement in other ministries. I hope everyone has had a great summer and we all welcome you back to your church. Remember Jesus has no day off or holidays, but is still there waiting for you at all times. Get involved, the Church needs you. In the end, you will receive a much more greater satisfaction than you can imagine. Yours in Christ, Nick Vamvilis, Parish Council President PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS SEPTEMBER 2016 Welcome back! I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable summer. We would like to take this time to give a special thank you to everyone who helped us in our backpack fund this summer. We collected 51 backpacks and these were distributed to 5 districts throughout our community. Philoptochos sponsored Loaves and Fishes in July. A picnic style was provided with hot dogs, rolls, beans, chips, and watermelon. Thank you Bill Sakel for delivering the food. Just as a reminder, we will be passing a basket on Sunday, September 18 for Holy Cross. Please be as generous as you can. It will be greatly appreciated. Keep your eyes out for our upcoming General Assembly... a notice and details to follow. We are also starting to plan new and upcoming events. If you have any ideas or an event that you would like to see, please free to let any of the board members know. See you all in September. Maria Londo Philoptochos President 4
GOYA NEWS AND NOTES I hope everyone enjoyed their summer and is excited to start a new year in GOYA! Our first meeting of the year will be on Sunday, September 18 after liturgy and we will hand out full calendars with meeting dates for the year. We will also be holding GOYA elections and I am very excited to see where a new board will take us this year. I am once again incredibly grateful to have spent the last two years as GOYA President with you all. We would also like to extend a huge thank you to Philoptochos for their donation they gave to GOYA. Thank you for supporting GOYA as we continue to pursue our ministry. Madeline Londo GOYA President Choir starts on Sunday, September 11. Our first rehearsal will be on Thursday, September 8 at 6:30 p.m. If you would like to join us, please come. We would love to see you! 5
STEWARDSHIP MESSAGE SEPTEMBER 2016 Dear Fellow Parishioners; All that we have is a gift from God. This principle does not only apply to the individual but to the life of a congregation as well. Jesus is clear in the New Testament when He says that He would build and grow the Church by making disciples of His followers. His followers are the life of His Church and we all benefit from the joy of this gift. Orthodox Stewardship strengthens our parish and congregation and goes hand in hand with outreach into our community. Our largest parish outreach opportunity is fast approaching. Please join us as we prepare for our Taste of Greece festival. Offer your time and talent by helping with cooking and baking workshops, preparing mailings, spreading the word of our upcoming festival, and signing-up for hours to work during the festival. There are many opportunities to become involved. It is up to the people of our parish to get involved and stay involved to continue the vitality of our Church. Welcome back to another ecclesiastical year! God Bless, Joe and Meghan Dasco Co-Chairs Stewardship Committee 6
Time Talent Treasure Taste Of Greece Choir/Chanters Music Ministry Parish Council Church School Liturgy and so many more Bible Study- Learning your Faith Youth Programs HOPE/JOY/GOYA Philoptochos There are so many opportunities for one to be involved in the life of Christ, all you have to do is choose. 7
Important Dates September 8 - Great Feast- The Nativity of the Theotokos September 11 - First Day of Church School and Return of the Choir September 12- Bible Study Begins!!! First Corinthians September 14 - Great Feast- The Elevation of the Holy Cross September 17 - Open House of the St. Methodios Faith and Heritage Center, Contoocook, NH/All Youth Event September 18 Kid s and Family Day Festivities after Liturgy, GOYA meeting September 23 HOPE/JOY Gathering (tentative) September 24- The 40 to 4 Club (Mothers/Fathers and Baby Playgroup 10:30am) Taste of Greece October 14, 15, 16 10% off your purchase of $30 or more. Please mention St. Luke Messenger ad. Offer expires 12/31/2016. 8
The Endowment Fund In Memory of ~Georgia Kafantaris~ ~Elizabeth Carras (Vershon) nee Beth Caranicholas~ ~Rosalie Polaski~ From John and Georgette Piponidis The Endowment Committee extends appreciation for continued support of this Ministry. Treasurer s Report It's only fitting that the first edition of the Treasurer's Report be dedicated to the memory of the Church's longstanding Secretary and unofficial Treasurer - Rosalie. Many of you may not know that Rosalie paid all the bills, met all the payroll and payroll taxes, made all the deposits and posted all the transactions in our accounting software just to mention a few of the financial things she did. She was in essence the Church's Controller. The Treasurer's role was made easier because of her efforts. I will miss the calls from Rosalie insisting the Church was running out of money and that we wouldn't be able to pay the bills. Of course she was embellishing for emphasis; something not lost on those who served as Treasurer. And, I will miss the calls from her demanding that I come to the Church to sign some checks. Mostly, I'll miss our conversations about our families. With caring thoughts, Tony Antonopoulos 9
Coffee Hour A big shout out goes to all those individuals and families who have volunteered to host coffee hour! All your fellow parishioners appreciate your efforts. A new coffee hour schedule will be placed in the Pappas Hall shortly. It will run from June 2016 to June 2017. As always individuals, families, or groups of friends can host on any given Sunday. You will receive a letter before your Sunday giving you suggestions on amounts to bring as well as where to find things for set up, etc. Just a reminder.if there is a 40 day memorial and the family of the deceased chooses to have a coffee hour in memory of their loved one, that takes precedence. However, if the family chooses and you agree, you can host the coffee hour together! Please sign up on the schedule sheet or call the church office at 525-4551 for assistance. 10
It was a special person who passed away Why might you ask, am I writing about Rosalie.she wasn t my sister, my mom, my cousin, my aunt, my niece. She was however, a friend to me and I might add, a friend to all of us at St. Luke. She loved and cared for our church as if it were her own home. No one ever got away with an incorrect billing without her calling to question it. She also had no qualms about calling to say that a delivery was not correct, come back to pick it up and bring the correct one! Our vendors knew her well. Mathew from Flowers, Flowers said he always knew that he had done something wrong with the Easter flowers when he answered the phone and heard her voice M-A-T-T-T-H-H-E- WWWW. In her job, Rosalie had to deal with the many facets and personalities of St. Luke. She did not have the normal situation with a boss as one would have working in a business office. At St. Luke, she dealt with the Priest of the parish, the Parish Council, the Philoptochos, the Sunday school director, the choir director, the GOYA advisor, the Stewardship chairs, etc., etc., etc. Hired as a clerical worker, she grew over the years to become familiar with the computer and its many programs. Considering this was the most challenging and least favorite part of her job, she did really well. She also became the right hand lady of many treasurers during her tenure at St. Luke, as well as working side by side with the treasurer for Taste of Greece. She was diligent in all she did for us when she had a job to do, she would not give up until it was done to her satisfaction. Sometimes it happened right away; sometimes it took an hour or two...or three; and, sometimes she d put it away until the next day. But she always followed through. She not only did her job, but she would always offer to help with anything others were doing in the office. She actually spoiled us how many times did she run off, collate, run to the post office, run to the bank, run to Staples to make our jobs easier for us. Rosalie went above and beyond her specified duties always asking if we needed her assistance. For example, each year she would volunteer to spend extra hours working at the Taste taking phone orders for take outs all day Friday and Saturday. 11
And, bringing home mailings from the various ministries to fold, stuff, seal, and stamp while she watched TV at night was not out of character for her. How many times did she stay late, come in early, or come in on the weekend to meet potential hall renters, accept an expected order, and/or open up on a Saturday morning or afternoon for the group who was renting the hall that evening. She involved her family in her job of caring for us there were times when we d say oh no, we re out of paper towels or stamps or labels etc. On the phone she would go calling her husband John and a short while thereafter in he would come with the supplies! Oh how he dreaded her calls to go to Mansfield Paper for something during the weeks of the Big E!!!! One time, she even made her husband leave an anniversary party early so she could come back to St. Luke to lock up at the end of a rental affair! When asked why she didn t have one of us do it, she replied that it was going to be too late for you to be coming out and we were out anyways. Rosalie put St. Luke in line right after her family. Our families became her second family. She loved young children and always welcomed them into her office. At times, when there was a viewing at St. Luke before a funeral, many of us wouldn t have been able to pay our respects without Rosalie. She d tell us to come with our children or grandchildren and drop them at the office so she could watch them while we would go in to church. Returning to pick them up, we d find them playing a game or coloring with her at her desk not missing us at all! Her stash of hard candy turned into a stash of lollipops now and then! There were even times when she would volunteer to go and pick up one of the elderly ladies for a workshop if she heard they really wanted to come but didn t have a ride. It wasn t uncommon for her to make hospital visits either. Many of us had the pleasure of her company after hours. She would join us for dinner, the movies, short trips, and participating in her favorite pastime playing cards.. She was a people person Thanks for the memories, Rosalie. Your St. Luke family loved you and will truly miss you... 12
MEMORIALS In memory of Georgia Kafantaris In memory of Helen Rookey Bill and Louise Leventis Luke and Lorraine Ahladas Pat and Luciano Grimaldi Victoria Lanides Lanie and Peter Alexopoulos Joseph and Christine Babineau George and Lynn George Tom and Kathy Themistos George and Magda Galiatsos Bill and Dorothy Delis Demosthenes and Marion Dasco Phyllis LaVallee Eleni and Chris Bazos Helen Kostas Vicki and Lou LaRoche Tom and Maria Laware Michael and Christine Kennedy Marianne Sergides Ann Flynn Jean Magnani Mary and Michael Mushok Estelle Shammash and Dr. Jacob B. Shammash Andrew and Doreen Psilakis Marianne Welch and Paul X. Welch DDS Paul and Sandy Hamilakis Constantinos Levanos Peter Coscore Luke and Lorraine Ahladas Domna Moropoulos Ann Flynn Shirley B. Boothe Mary and Leonard Danos In loving memory of a Dear Friend, Georgia Kafantaris Arlene M. Carmichael In memory of Nektaria Allahyari Tadeusz and Eleftheria Olko In memory of Rosalie Polaski Ann Flynn Luke and Lorraine Ahladas Vicki and Lou LaRoche Tom and Maria Laware Michael and Christine Kennedy Andrea Argiro Dorsey Cokkinias Judy Lelas George Parris Ochsner Mary Poulos Ilene Conklin Mary Moriarty In memory of Jacqueline Weissbach Vicki and Lou LaRoche Tom and Maria Laware ************************************************* In Honor of Bill Giokas' 70th Birthday Bob and Gini LaPalme 13
Saint Luke Greek Orthodox Church 400 Prospect Street, P.O. Box 381 East Longmeadow, MA 01028 NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID SPRINGFIELD MA PERMIT NO P12424 14