Saints Peter & Paul Greek Orthodox Church August 2016
Saints Peter Paul Greek Orthodox Church 1401 Wagner Road Glenview, Il 60025 Phone: (847) 729-2235 Fax: (847) 729-6562 office@ssppglenview.org www.ssppglenview.org Rev. Father Panagiotis Boznos, Proistamenos (frp@ssppglenview.org) Rev. Father Kosmas Kallis, Youth Director/Associate Pastor (frk@ssppglenview.org) Fr. Andrew Kearns Dn. Ted Saclarides Sunday &Weekly Services Matins 8:15 am Divine Liturgy 9:30 am Church Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 8:30am-4:30pm Fri. 8:30am - 3:00pm Office Administrator: Jeannine McIntyre Office Assistant: Toula Garbis Bookkeeper: Diane Bravos 2016 PARISH COUNCIL Rev. Father Panagiotis Boznos, Proistamenos President: George Nassos Frank Andreou Vice President: Demete Papson Chris Atsaves Rec. Secretary: Keith Anderson George Kirie Corr. Secretary: Christy Gouletas Mary Ann Langas Treasurer: Jim Santos Nicholas Mechales Asst. Treasurer: Louis Pappamichiel Fritz Freidinger Asst. Treasurer: Voula Colburn Michael Carrozza George Burbules Nicole Olds Jim Gottreich Therese Speropoulos Agape Preschool: Renee Tzakis (847) 729-5814 Altar Boys: Deacon Ted Saclarides, Elias Papadakis Athletics: Chris Atsaves Book & Icon Store: Pat Nassos Choir Director: Therese Speropoulos Church School Coordinators: Cynthia Olson Angela Schmidt Louis Pappamichiel Coffee Connection Dr. Helen Theodoropoulos Randa Anderson Doreen DeSent John Colis Coffee Fellowship: Lucy Economos (847) 827-5593 2.0 Couples Group: Kristin Ryan PARISH MINISTRIES Divorce Rebuilders: Maria Boyle Dynamis Group: Gail Kachoyeanos Georgia Photopulos Cancer Support Group: Bud Photopulos and Phyllis Perivolidis Greek School: Stella Theoharopoulos (847) 803-4792 Morning Bible Study: Dr. Helen Theodoropoulos OCC: Elizabeth Samartzis Organist: Helen Mariano Outreach: Mary Ann Langas Philoptochos President: Georgia Ryerson PROSPHORA: Calliope Prekezes and Eleni Soukoulis Stewardship: Frank Andreau Ushering: Bo LaMotte and George Kirie Youth Ministries: Rev. Fr. Kosmas Kallis Please telephone the Church office (847) 729-2235 during daytime hours for all spiritual emergencies. For evening emergencies contact Fr. Panagiotis at (630) 664-2173. God bless you always!
Pastoral Message My article last month spent much time addressing the centrality of the Divine Liturgy, and worship more generally, in the life of an Orthodox Christian. This month, I would like to spend time talking about a few more practical things related to the Divine Liturgy, mainly some modifications to our typical Sunday worship. Starting in the month of September we will notice three new aspects concerning worship in our parish. They are: Liturgical Text, Church School dismissal, and Iconography. At the conclusion of 2015 the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America completed a five-year project by sending to the clergy a new, official, Archdiocesan and Patriarchal approved English translation of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. You may have noticed that following Pascha and our return from the Liturgy of St Basil to that of St John Chrysostom, some of the familiar wording of the prayers was different. You might have even heard me stumble over myself while reading, as I am acquainting myself with a slightly different word order or word choice at times. Taking our que from Archbishop Demetrios who states in the forward to the new Liturgy book We now commend this official translation as a sacred text of prayer and worship to be used in all the Churches of our Holy Archdiocese throughout the United States, starting on Sunday, September 4 th we will be making the transition to the full use of the Archdiocesan Liturgy book, and will be providing copies in all of the pews. I ask for patience as we all adjust and embrace a common English worship throughout the country. The largest adjustments will be required as it relates to the text of The Creed, The Communion Prayers, and The Memorial Service, as all of these differ from our current usage in a more than subtle way. This text also includes portions of the Liturgy which are in some places included and in others omitted. Again in the forward to this text the Synod directs It is the decision of each hierarch of our Archdiocese to determine if and when these sections of the Liturgy may be included in the Divine Service itself. I have asked for Episcopal clarification on those sections and will communicate those to the parish as they are received.
Pastoral Message cont. In an addition to an adjustment to the text of the Liturgy itself, we as a parish will be returning to a practice established under Fr. George Scoulas of Blessed Memory by beginning Church School following the conclusion of the entirety of the Divine Liturgy. A united, worshiping community requires that all her members stand together in prayer from the beginning through the end of the most central act of our faith. In light of this, please make an effort to arrive on time for the Divine Liturgy and plan to stay in the Church through the concluding prayers. This means that we will no longer dismiss the Church School participants first to receive Holy Communion, rather as in the past each row will be dismissed in full. Church School participants will now be dismissed to their class row by row while the ushers are passing the tray, with those not attending Church School remaining in their pew until the distribution of Antidoron. Memorial Services will be conducted following the dismissal of the Church School Students and before announcements and the distribution of Antidoron. Again I ask your patience in readjusting to this former practice. Finally, at the beginning of this month we will be adding four small icons to our Icon Screen. In the negative space under the half-dome arches on the Royal Doors, we will place an Icon of the Annunciation, with Archangel Gabriel on one door and the Theotokos on the other. Typically, the Church has put this Icon either on the royal doors or on the back wall of the Church flanking the Holy Altar Table. The reason for this placement is because Gabriel is announcing the incarnation of Christ to the Theotokos, and at each and every Divine Liturgy Christ is once again incarnate in the bread and the wine. In this way Gabriel is continuing to proclaim Christ s incarnation, both to the Theotokos and to us who will receive His Body and Blood. Similar arches will be repeated on the North and South doors of the Holy Altar and will contain Icons of Archangel Michael on the North door, and Archangel Gabriel on the South door. Again, the doors which lead out of and into the Holy Altar are characteristically decorated with these Icons owing to the symbolism between the Holy Altar and Heavenly Paradise. Notice that the Deacon, always exits the Altar from the North door, and returns via the South door, and also remember that it was the Archangel Michael who was set to guard paradise with a flaming sword so that Adam and Eve did not reenter. So we have the Archangel Michael guarding the door which leads out of Paradise, and the Archangel Gabriel (who announces our salvation through Christ s incarnation) opening to us the door which leads us back inside. I pray that these Icons, like all the Icons in our parish help to draw you deeper into prayer and appreciation for the salvation that our Lord has granted. + Fr. Panagiotis
Q&A with Fr. Panagiotis The other day, I was wondering, where was I before I was conceived? Was I in Heaven? More specifically I would like to know was my soul in heaven before I was conceived? T.B. This is a question that many in the Church have had. From where (and when) does my soul have its being? The simplest answer to this question is that before you were conceived you were not. Your soul did not exist before you were conceived, just like your body did not. Instead both soul and body are created simultaneously at the moment of conception. To better understand, we will look at a few ideas that floated around the Church contrary to this teaching and discuss why it is essential that our souls and bodies come into being simultaneously. The first idea we will look at is that our souls existed from the beginning with God. This was a popular idea among philosophers and Gnostics in the early Church and has its origins in Plato. This is problematic because it means that human souls are co-eternal with God, meaning that just like God our souls have no beginning or end, but rather have always and will always exist. Those are characteristics that apply to God alone. If our souls were truly coeternal with God, they would be God. So carrying this idea further, there is not one God but every soul is a god. Clearly this is not the case. So we know that our souls have not always existed, but were created by God. A priest from Alexandria who lived in the 2 nd and 3 rd century named Origen shifted the discussion from our souls being co-eternal to our souls being pre-existent. According to Origen all human souls were created by God and lived with Him in heaven. Then (and I am abbreviating here) because our souls were given freedom, we turned and fell away from God. God then created the physical world as a place for our souls to go after we had turned away. According to Origen, our souls pre-existed our bodies. This means that the creation of the physical world is a result of the sin of our souls, not God s good will. In this system, if our souls didn t fall away, there would be no need for earth or bodies or anything material. Yet, the book of Genesis tells us that God created and it was good. This bring us to the true teaching of the Church, which is that our souls and bodies receive their being at the same moment. A human being is the union of soul and body, and neither one separated from the other truly makes up the person. If the soul exited first, that means that it is either a god (false), or it has done something wrong to be sent out of heaven in the first place (also false). Instead God creates our souls and bodies because He creates human beings, not parts of human beings. He creates us to be the union of soul and body into eternity. The result of sin is that our soul separates from our body at death, not that a soul is joined to a body in conception. For this reason, the Church also teaches that at Christ s second coming our souls will be returned to our bodies and they will be united once again when we are resurrected.
Parish Council News August 2016 I hope you are enjoying the summer and taking advantage of the great weather. Don t forget to attend the Habitat for Humanity ministry function to be held in the atrium on Wednesday, August 17. Our own Mark Damisch will be providing us with some fantastic music as he performs on the piano in the same manner he does around the world. As you may or may not know, Mark travels almost every summer with his family for two to three weeks offering his talent to raise money for various charities. This summer he will be in South America, but we have the fortune to hear him right here in Glenview. Just four days later on Sunday, August 21, the Outreach and Stewardship Committees will be hosting a new member reception. This will be an opportunity for our new and potential members to meet with various ministries and learn about our church. This is a great opportunity for you to attend and bring friends to be introduced to our church. You may even learn more about our new programs. At the end of the month, we will again be conducting the Environmental Vespers in recognition of the annual day of prayer for the Care of Creation which is September 1 st. We will be hosting these vespers for the Metropolis as well as other Christian parishes in the area. As a result, we expect to have many Roman Catholics in attendance. As you may recall, on June 18, 2015 Pope Francis published Laudato Si, his environmental encyclical titled Care of Our Common Home. Two months later in August 10, 2015, he sent a letter to all Roman Catholics announcing the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation which will be celebrated annually on September 1 following the tradition of the Orthodox Church. So you can see the impact Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew had on Pope Francis when they met in Constantinople in late November 2014. Please try to attend the Environmental Vespers on the evening of August 31. It will be followed by a reception and a presentation by Dr. Gayle Woloschak, who is medical research doctor at Northwestern Medicine and a dedicated environmentalist. She also attended the Holy and Great Council in Crete in late June of this year. As a small part of our initiative to make SS. Peter & Paul a more welcoming parish, we will be introducing high top tables during our Sunday coffee hour. We hope this will make it more conducive for people to meet and make new friends. Another initiative is to install the necessary technical equipment to offer live streaming of our Sunday liturgy and other liturgical services. This has been shown not only to provide shut-ins an opportunity to participate in our church services while also bringing awareness to future stewards of our church. Our annual Food Fest is only a month away so make sure you volunteer some of your time for this great event and spread the word. Yours in Christ, George P. Nassos Parish Council President
SACRAMENTS +Baptisms Mila, daughter of Mike and Laura Kritikos Sponsor: Peter and Stacy Douvlis John, son of Peter and Maria Contos Sponsor: Grigoris and Christina Spanos GOD S BLESSINGS AND LOVE! +Wedding Sacrament James and Mary-Kate (Smirles) Fisher Sponsor: Jonathan Smirles George and Kristina (Sipowicz) Jordan Sponsor: Nicholas Jordan Juan and Stephanie (Saclarides) Gerardo Sponsor: Theodora Kolettis and Sylvia Metropoulos GOD S LOVE AND JOY! +40 Day Churching of Mother and Infant Antonia, daughter of Dan and Jenna Nikolaides GOD S BLESSINGS ALWAYS! PARISH NEWS Welcome to our New Members! Petros and Stacy Douvlis Michalis and Laura Kritikos DYNAMIS CALENDAR OF EVENTS Thursday, August 4th - LENTEN POT LUCK LUNCHEON - 1:00 p.m. Church Fellowship Hall. Call Fanny Pappas at 847-676-3989 with any questions. Thursday, Sept 1st - THE FIRST GREEKS IN CHICAGO -VCR TAPE - 1:00 P.M. Youth room. Refreshments will be served. Tuesday, Oct. 4th - TRIP TO CHANDLERS CHOPHOUSE in Schaumburg for luncheon and entertainment by Denny Diamond and the Jewels featuring Neil Diamond favorites. Cost of the luncheon and entertainment is $40.00. There is no charge for bus transportation. Reservations and payments are due no later than Sunday August 28th. Bus will leave at 10:10 a.m. from the church parking lot. Payments can be made in cash or check, Checks should be made out to SS. Peter and Paul Church - memo area Dynamis - Send checks to Fanny Pappas at 8248 N. Knox, Skokie, IL 60076 or see Fanny at coffee hour. Sunday Oct.9th - Dynamis will be having a Artoclasia Service. Please plan to attend!
OUTREACH AND EVENTS Mark your calendars for these important Outreach events: Wednesday, August 17 at 7:00 pm, we will co-sponsor the concert by Mark Damisch to benefit Habitat for Humanity. See details elsewhere in this newsletter. Sunday, August 21 after Divine Liturgy we will be hosting a coffee hour in honor of new members. Invitations and more information coming soon. Greek Fest will be held September 10 and 11. Invite your friends and neighbors! Sign up to volunteer also. Our formal fellowship dinner dance will be held Sunday November 6 at Fountain Bleu Banquet Hall. More information coming soon. We will continue sending care packages to our college students this coming school year, once in fall and once in spring. We are in need of current school mailing addresses. Emails would be nice also. Please email information to one of us, even if the address has not changed since last year. This is a most important project of our Outreach Committee! Have a great rest of the summer. Christy Gouletas, cgouletas@hotmail.com Mary Ann Langas, malangas@aol.com
Philoptochos News by Milly Pappas AGAPE - ALL GENERATIONS ACCOMPLISHING PHILANTHROPIC ENDEAVORS Congratulations to Caliope Prekezes, nominated to represent Saints Peter and Paul Philoptochos for the 2016 Agape Award. A Certificate of Merit will be presented to her and all of the nominees from each chapter of the Metropolis at the Metropolis September Luncheon. Calliope has been a leader in our Parish for over 33 years and has served our Parish in many ways. She Chaired the Philanthropy Committee of the Philoptochos Board and introduced many charitable causes to our Philoptochos. She spearheaded a fundraising effort in 1995 for Hurricane Katrina and also brought assistance to women incarcerated in Dwight Prison, Joliet. She has held classes on how to make Prosforo and has overseen the preparation of our Sunday Prosforo for our Parish. She is truly a most worthy candidate for the 2016 Agape Award. SS. Peter and Paul Philoptochos Delegates to the Clergy-Laity Congress, Nashville, TN Pat Nassos, Peggy Vranas, Georgia Ryerson, Lucy Economos Pat, Peggy, and Georgia at the July Conference with Miss America 2016, Betty (Vasiliky) Cantrell of Georgia.
Philoptochos News cont. SOLES 4 SOULS: Chairladies Tricia and Angie Katsamakis would like to thank all who participated in the Drive for shoes for the needy. Over 120 pairs of shoes were donated to this good and needy cause. GREEK FEST Saturday, September 10, and Sunday, September 11, 2016. Pastry Chairlady, Angie Katsamakis. We will appreciate your donation of homemade pastry. We are in need of Kourambethes, Koulourakia, Paximadia, Galatoboureko, Melomakarona, and more. Please bring to our pastry workroom lower level, across from elevator on Thursday, 9/8/16, Friday, 9/9/16, or Sat., 9/10/16, before 2:00 p.m. Thank You. We wish to thank all of the ladies and gentlemen who helped in so many ways during the Saint Peter and Paul Vespers and Feast Day Celebration in June. Especially to the ladies who baked their delicious homemade pastry. Chairladies Connie Teska and Eleni Soukoulis. SAVE THE DATE - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 METROPOLIS OF CHICAGO PHILOPTOCHOS ANNUAL BENEFIT LUNCHEON CARLISLE BANQUETS 435 East Butterfield Road, Lombard, IL Celebrating 85 years of Philanthropy and Agape Past - Present - Future Donation $50. Checks payable to: SS. Peter and Paul Philoptochos. Please mail your check by September 1 st to: Peggy Vranas, 6907 North Lockwood Avenue, Skokie, IL 60077.
August 2016 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 1 FAST DAY Dormition Fast Begins Small Paraklesis 2 FAST DAY 3 FAST DAY Project Mexico Small Paraklesis 4 FAST DAY 5 FAST DAY 1:00pm Dynamis Meeting Vespers at Holy Transfiguration Monastery 5 FAST DAY 8:30am Matins 9:30am Feast of the Transfiguration Divine Liturgy 5:00pm Vespers 7 8:15 am Matins 9:30 am Divine Liturgy 11:30am GOYA Lasertag Outing 8 FAST DAY Small Paraklesis 9 FAST DAY Cancer Support Meeting 10 FAST DAY Small Paraklesis 11 FAST DAY Parish Council Executive Meeting 12 FAST DAY 6:00pm Faith, Love & Joy Small Paraklesis 13 FAST DAY 10:15am GOYA Soup Kitchen Outing 5:00pm Vespers 6:00pm Book Club in Youth Room 14 FAST DAY 8:15 am Matins 15 8:30am Matins 16 17 FAST DAY 18 19 FAST DAY 20 9:30 am Divine Liturgy 1:00pm Young Adult Evanston BBQ Vespers at Assumption- Chicago 9:30am Divine Liturgy ~ The Falling Asleep of the Virgin Mary 6:30pm Church School Teachers Meeting Habitat for Humanity Concert Ministry Council Calendar Meeting OCF Reunion 5:00pm Vespers 21 8:15 am Matins 9:30 am Divine Liturgy +Sacrament 22 23 24 FAST DAY 25 Parish Council 26 FAST DAY 27 +Sacrament 5:00pm Vespers 28 8:15 am Matins 9:30 am Divine Liturgy 1:00pm GOYA Evanston BBQ 29 9:30am Divine Liturgy ~ Beheading of St. John the Baptist at St. John the Baptist 30 31 FAST DAY Vespers for the Environment
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