Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church

Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church 1400 N. O’Plaine Road, Libertyville, IL 60048 -­‐‑ Tel (224) 513-­‐‑5530 Fax (224) 513-­‐‑5542 www.saintdemetrioslibertyville.com M a y -­‐‑ 2 0 1 4 Sunday Services: 8:30am
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
As we all know, every year on the second
Sunday of May, we celebrate a traditional
American holiday – Mother’s Day! Thus,
Parish Priest:
throughout the entire month of May, that is, until
Fr. Cosmas Halekakis
we arrive at Memorial Day, our thoughts focus
and center on the beauty and impact of the role
Chanter:
of the mother in the life of the family.
Socrates Harisiadis
In addition, around this time of year we also
remember
the Sunday of the Myrrh Bearers (this
Parish Council:
year celebrated on the first Sunday in May).
President: Tim Mauer
Vice Pres: John Iskalis
When the Lord Jesus was going throughout
Treasurer: Christine Palmer
Galilee, preaching and working miracles, many
Recording Secretary:
women followed Him and ministered unto Him.
Bill Mentzelopoulos
After His entombment, they came bearing the
Members:
myrrh (oils) they had prepared to anoint His body. It is because of this, that
Demetrios Axarlis
Dupree Barbato
these God-loving women are called the Myrrh-bearers.
Nick Camacaris
Often times I am asked about the role of women in Church. Considering
Gus Govas
our
post-feminist society, many question why women are not allowed to have
Jason Keeling
more prominent roles in the life of the Church. Why can’t women become
Margie Kobus
priests or bishops? In response, I usually reference the importance of the
John Pavlos
Sonia Pylarinos
Myrrh Bearers…and ultimately, the importance of the role of the mother
Maria Sakas
within the family. I cannot imagine a more crucial and important role than
Gus Tziavaras
this. The Myrrh Bearers minister to Christ! They are the last ones at the
Jimmy Vatistas
Crucifixion, and the first ones to receive the good news of the Resurrection.
They are the hearth and backbone of Christ’s earthly ministry. Similarly, in
our own parishes and families, the women are the center of ministry and education.
Similarly, in our own families, it is usually our mother who is responsible for the day-to-day “running” of
the household. It is the mother, who is typically responsible for teaching the children about their faith, and for
setting an example of servant leadership for all to follow. Our mothers, young and old, should remember to
embrace their incredibly important role as the hearth, or center of spiritual warmth, of the family. We should
remember that motherhood is the ultimate form of selflessness, ascetic discipline, vigil, and sacrifice. This year,
make sure to let your mother know, in an honorable and dignified way, how much you appreciate that sacrifice.
Christ is Risen!..And Happy Mother’s Day!
- Fr. Cosmas Halekakis
Church Office Hours:
Monday-Friday 9a.m.-1p.m.
Meet Your 2014 Parish Council
Hello, my name is Demetrios Axarlis and I have been married to my wife Olga for
almost two wonderful years. I was baptized at St. Demetrios in Waukegan, and my wife
was baptized at our current location in 2010. Late last year prior to Parish Council
elections I decided to get involved. As a young adult I am optimistic that my involvement
in the future of our Church will inspire other young adults to reconnect, get more
involved and bring new ideas to build upon the foundation that so many have worked
hard and sacrificed to build for us today. In addition to Parish Council, I am an active
member in AHEPA. St. Demetrios has been bringing the community together for 85
years this year and I am confident that with hard work and a dedicated stewardship our
faith will only get stronger. Please, if you have any questions or ideas do not hesitate to
bring them to my attention. Thank you and God Bless.
Hello, my name is Dupree Barbato and I am a new Parish Council member. My wife
Allena and I relocated to Lake County in 2009 along with our two daughters Althea, and
Alessandra to be closer to Allena’s parents, Ed and Koula Kanne. While my wife grew up in
St. Demetrios in Waukegan, I was baptized into the Greek Orthodox Church in 2003. Allena
and I were married in St. Demetrios in Concord, California so it feels like I have been a
member of St. Demetrios for a longer time than you have known me here. I feel blessed to
be part of making our church a thriving place for all of us to come and draw closer to God.
There is always room for you to help with this important work as well. This year I am Coth
Chairman of the St. Demetrios 85 Anniversary Committee helping to plan the fall dinner
dance and celebration along with other events over the year. I encourage you to get
involved as well and help to make this year a great success!
My name is Bill Mentzelopoulos (son of Demitri and Stella Mentzelopoulos). I am
currently serving as a second year Parish Council Member and also the Parish Council
Recording Secretary. I’m a lifelong member of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church. I
have participated in the church through its Sunday school, Greek school, bible study and
GOYA programs and have also served as an altar boy. I grew up in Waukegan but
currently reside in Libertyville. I graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a BA in
International Studies and currently work as a school administrator for the Crisis and Safety
Department in Waukegan. I’m not married but one day hope to raise my future family in
the church. Coming from a small family but growing up in our church, often made me feel
as if I had an extended family calling many elder stewards theo and thea. The lessons that
I came to know as a young Christian at St. Demetrios have lit my path throughout life and
still resonate within me every day as an adult. My future hopes for St. Demetrios is that it
remains a pillar of our community and continues to be a place where an Orthodox family
can grow.
Xristos Anesti! My name is Maria Sakas and I have been attending St.
Demetrios with my family since 2003. I have been serving our Parish Council
since 2008 and I am on the Divine Services committee. I am a graduate of
the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign and majored in management.
My husband George and I have been married for twenty years and currently
reside in Antioch. We have two children. Eleni-13 who helps me usher, and
Konstandino-7 years old, serves as an altar boy. As our community
continues to grow, I encourage all of you to get involved and volunteer. I am
honored and humbled to witness all the amazing accomplishments these last
th
ten years at our church. I look forward to celebrating the 85 anniversary of
our beloved parish. If I can assist you in any way, please let me know.
Parish Ministries
Sunday School
Christ is Risen! Thank you to the Sunday school teachers who helped out at our Saturday of Lazarus retreat. We all
enjoyed lunch, making crosses for Palm Sunday, pulling apart the Bay Leaves for Holy Saturday, lesson time, craft time,
and confession with Father Cosmas. It was a blessed way to end Lent and begin Holy Week!
Sunday school commencement will take place on June 1st after Divine Services. Please make every effort to be at church
on that day so that we may celebrate our kids! I would like to thank all the parents and teachers for making our Sunday
school a place where kids can get together to learn how to live the Orthodox Faith. If you are interested in helping out
next school year, please let me know (earthmg1@yahoo.com).
Greek Fest is coming up. We haven't had a new parish Greek Fest Tee Shirt in four years. We are sponsoring a design
contest with 2 age groups, 5-11 and 12-18. The winner in each division gets 6 shirts for his family. We hope to have the
shirts ready by Father's Day. More details will be available in the next 2 weeks. The Sunday school donations for the
month of May will go to Martha & Mary Maternity House. Thank you for supporting this cause. Please see the last few
pages in the back of the Arena for details.
th
Vacation Church School
Our 5 annual VCS will be held the week of August 4th from 9 am – noon.
Vacation Church School is a time for kids pre-K through 5th grade to come together and have fun learning about our
Orthodox Faith! Kids who are 6th grade and up can volunteer to be camp counselors. Registration forms will be available
later this month. If you have any questions, please email me at earthmg1@yahoo.com
Greek School Update
On behalf of the Greek School we would like to congratulate the students
and teachers, and the event organizers for the March 25th program. It was
a concert of heroic songs and poetry dedicated to the Annunciation of the
Theotokos and the 1821 revolution. Our Director Sophia Liarakos would
like to thank the parents and friends that honored the event. Our program
introduces a full curriculum by using multimedia tools along with a variety
of creative and interactive teaching methods for children ages 4-12. All
grade levels meet on Tuesdays from 5pm-7:30 pm; Greek dancing lessons
are also be offered to immerse the children in the Greek culture. If you
have any questions please contact the Program Director, Sophia Liarakos,
at sliarakos@hotmail.com.
JUNIOR OLYMPICS
The Junior Olympics will be held on Saturday May 25th at
St. Constantine & Helen Church in Palos Hills where
about 2000 kids between the ages of 7 to 18 years old,
representing about 37 parishes from 6 states, come
together to compete in sports and enjoy fun and
fellowship. This is the 9th year that our church will be
participating in the Junior Olympics (SEE PICTURE of
our 1st year participating).
Tryouts for the track and field events are going to be held
on Sunday, May 4th at 5:20pm at the soccer fields west of
the Hunt Club Fitness Center, 920 N. Hunt Club Road in
Gurnee. On May 8th registration forms and rosters need to
be submitted. We cannot accept any more participants
after May 8th. The remaining practice schedule is as follows: May 4th: 5:20pm – track & field and soccer; 6:20pm –
basketball & volleyball, May 11th: NO PRACTICE (Mother’s Day), May 18th – Final Practice: 4:20pm – track & field
and soccer; 5:20pm – Basketball & Volleyball), May 25 – JUNIOR OLYMPICS. For more information or for any
questions email Petros Macheras at petrosmacheras@yahoo.com or call 224-627-4084.
Parish News & Organizations
GOYA
On FRIDAY, JUNE 6th from 8:00-9:30pm our GOYA will be volunteering at Feed My Starving Children: 742 East Park
Avenue (Hwy 176) (Behind Life Storage) Libertyville, IL - PLEASE ARRIVE AT 7:50pm! Also, we will be having an
END-OF-YEAR POOL PARTY & GET-TOGETHER - More Information Coming Soon!
PHILOPTOCHOS SOCIETY
We would like to thank everyone for their donations and help for the Palm Sunday Luncheon. We raised about $2000 to
be split amongst PADS, A Safe Place and Help Them to Hope. A special thank you to Dino Kallianis, owner of Captain
Porky’s for donating the fish. This month we celebrate the Mother of the Year on Mother’s Day. Our next meeting will
be on May 1st at 7:00pm at the church.
AHEPA
Hello, my name is James Kostantinidis, and I am the current president of our
local Ahepa Chapter. I have been married for 23 years to Angie. We have two
sons, Niko age 19 and George age 15. We live in Diamond Lake. I was born
in the Taylor street area of Chicago’s Little Italy. We then moved to Harrison
and Central where I attended Plato School as a child; we went to Panagia and
Saint Basil’s Church. I have been in the construction business for the last 35
years running stucco, brick and stone operations. As president of our Local
Ahepa Chapter 218 for the last two and a half years we have given 7 $1000.00 scholarships, two $500.00 scholarships, two need based $1000.00
grants, and recently donated $1000.00 to help the needy in Greece. It has been
a pleasure working with this group of men with big hearts. Most of our members are from the Saint Demetrios parish. Our
members are the group that you see cooking the rotisserie lambs at the picnic, with all proceeds donated to the Church.
DAUGHTERS OF PENELOPE
We will be having our Mother’s Day Banquet Honoring the Mother of the Year on Thursday, May 15 at Dover Straits
(890 E. US Highway 45, Mundelein IL 60060. Time: Cocktails 5:30pm, Dinner 6:00pm. Menu Options: Broiled Filet
Mignon Steak $38.00, Lake Superior Whitefish - $30.00, Breast of Chicken Marsala - $30.00 Please contact Carole
Scheve and R.S.V.P., 847-231-4792, Dcscheve@aol.com. It is with deep regret that the Daughters of Penelope will be
having their last meeting on Thursday, May 8th at the Liberty Restaurant in Libertyville: 6:00pm dinner, 6:30pm meeting.
Please make every effort to participate.
General Assembly Meeting on May 18
We will be having our next regularly scheduled General Parish Assembly on Sunday, May 18th after Divine Services. The
purpose of this meeting is to inform the community about our current financial status, and the status of our current
mortgage. Please make every effort to participate after Sunday services.
Coffee Hour Sponsors:
Traditionally at St. Demetrios, coffee hour has been sponsored by our parish members and associated organizations.
Please consider hosting as part of our fellowship for each other. Please see Maria Sakas for any ideas or questions.
(Unless it falls on a fast, you are welcomed to bring whatever you like and be creative with your coffee hour. Also, 2
families may share the coffee hour if you like.)
Community News
Graduate Information: Each year our community recognizes our high school and college graduates. If you have a child or
are someone who would like to be recognized on June 1st after Divine Services, please let us know. Call the Church
office or email Maria at earthmg1@yahoo.com and include your name, school, and degree. We would love to share events
or news about our parish members. Please send any articles or news you would like to post in the Arena to John Pavlos,
847-223-9509, jpavlos@sbcglobal.net.
Parish News & Organizations
85th Anniversary Committee Meeting
Date: Wednesday May 7, 2014
Location: Church Hall
Time: 7:00pm
Co-Chairmen:
Gus Tziavaras (kostniko@aol.com)
Dupree Barbato (Dupree.Barbato@gmail.com)
Please come help plan the Saint Demetrios 85th Anniversary celebrations. We will be discussing the fall dinner
dance and other possible 85th Anniversary events. Your help is needed with everything from decorating and
entertainment to menu and ticket sales. Please arrive a few min early if possible so the meeting can start on
time. Your involvement will help make this event a success!
Book Store Recommendation
The bookstore has 2 new books in stock. The first is The Divine Flame
Elder Porphyrios Lit in My Heart. It is easy to read and hard to put
down. The book written by one of our newest Saint's spiritual sons. A
modern day saint, St. Porphyrios was a hospital chaplain who lived in
a trailer by the hospital.
We recently were given a copy of his icon and will be including it with
the book. Our other new book is The End of Suffering - Finding
Purpose in Pain by Scott Cairns. Dr. Cairns is an Orthodox Christian
and is a Professor of English at the University of Missouri.
Metropolis of Chicago Oratorical Festival
Congratulations to our kids for participating in our Metropolis of Chicago
Oratorical Festival on Saturday, April 26 at St. John the Baptist in Des
Plaines.
Our parish was very well represented in almost every division:
Junior Speech: Katerina Paganis
Junior Essay: Eleni Sakas
Senior Speech: Georgia Costopoulos
Senior Essay: Michael Danos
Senior Poetry: Yanni Halekakis
Congratulations to our own Yanni Halekakis who won 1st Place in the
Senior Poetry Division (pictured receiving the award from His Eminence
Metropolitan Iakovos) and will represent the Metropolis of Chicago at the
Archdiocesan Oratorical Festival in Cleveland, Ohio. Thank you to all the
teachers, parents and participants – a special thank you to Dr. Mary
Nunchuck for organizing and coordinating our Oratorical Festival.
May 2014
Sunday Monday 4 Sunday of the Myrrh Bearers 8:30am Services Tuesday 5 11 Sunday of the Paralytic 8:30am Services Mother’s Day 18 Sunday of the Samaritan Woman 8:30am Services 25 Sunday of the Blind Man 8:30am Services 12 26 Memorial Day Fr. Cosmas at Cemeteries: 9am – at 131 10:30am – at 45 6 5pm Greek School 7 7pm 85 Anniversary 13 5pm Greek School 14 7pm Parish Council 20 21 8:30am Services for Sts. Constantine and Helen 19 Wednesday 5pm Greek School 27 5pm Greek School Thursday 1 7pm Philoptochos 8 5:30pm Daughters of Penelope at The Liberty 7:30pm Greek Fest 15 5:30pm Mother’s Day Banquet at Dover Straits 2 9 10 16 23 17 24 8am Junior Olympics in Palos Hills, IL 30 3 29 Holy Ascension 9am Services in Lincolnshire Saturday 22 28 7pm Ascension Vespers in Lincolnshire Friday 31 Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church 1400 N. O’Plaine Road
Libertyville, Illinois 60048
Return Service Requested