Spring 2013 - St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church

St. Sophia’s
Community Newsletter
Spring 2013
Date of Publication
May 2, 2013
GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF VALLEY FORGE
Pascha
President’s Message
2
This year May 5 the Orthodox
Christian Church will celebrate the Feast of Pascha!
Millions of Orthodox across
the world will gather into their
churches to hear the Good
News that was proclaimed to
the myrrh bearing women,
“He is Risen! He is not here”.
These dedicated Disciples of
Christ went to His tomb early
on the first day of the week
thinking they would find a
body that had been beaten,
tortured, nailed to a cross and
pierced by a lance. That is
what they were expecting to
find. However, that was not
to be. What they encountered
was something that would
alter the course of human
history. A radiant angel sitting at the tomb proclaimed
Thyranoixia Anniversary
2
The Metropolitan’s 10th Anniversary
Philoptochos
3
Senior Citizen Ministry
3
Youth Ministries
4, 5
Stewardship Update
6
Holy Week and Easter
Schedule
9
Spring Festival
1013
Special points of interest:
 Join our Philoptochos or
Senior Parea.
 Become involved with our
Youth Ministries.
 Help sponsor the Resurrection Icon.
 Volunteer at our Spring
Festival.
Inside this issue:
2012 Financial Statement 14,
15
On April 12th, 2003, upon the
recommendation of and nomination by the Holy Eparchial
Synod of the Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese of America, the
Holy and Sacred Synod of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of
Constantinople under the
Presidency of His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew, unanimously
elected Metropolitan Evangelos as Metropolitan and Spiritual Leader of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New
Jersey.
that Christ had conquered sin
and death! The gates to Paradise that were closed to us
because of Adam and Eve’s
disobedience were once
opened by Christ.
What an impact the sight of
the empty tomb made on the
women! The tremendous
impact is felt by each and every one of us almost two thousand years later. We are the
beneficiaries of Christ salvific
act! Through His empty tomb
we are able to have eternal life
in the Kingdom of Heaven!
We have now become bearers
of the Light of Christ! It is
more than just carrying the
light of Pascha home from
church in our cars. It means
that we now take on the role
of the myrrh bearers, as we
On Saturday, May 10th, 2003
His Eminence Archbishop
Demetrios together with His
Eminence, Archbishop
Iakovos, His Eminence, Metropolitan Methodios of Boston, His Eminence, Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta and
several other Hierarchs, ordained the Very Reverend
Archimandrite Evangelos
Kourounis to the Episcopacy
at the Archdiocesan Cathedral
of the Holy Trinity.
H. E. Metropolitan Evangelos
must proclaim to the entire
world that Christ is Risen!
That Holy Light must be
placed high were everyone can
see!
A beautiful shining beacon!
All of us are now called to be
proclaimers of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ! It is our sacred
responsibility to preach the
empty tomb and the message
of the Angel to those who have
lost faith, who have lost all
hope, and who have found
themselves lost!
I pray that you all have a Joyous Celebration of the Lord’s
Pascha with you family and
friends!
Father Peter
succeeds Metropolitan Silas
and Bishop George of New
Jersey. With the new Charter
granted to the Archdiocese by
the Ecumenical Patriarchate
in 2003, the Diocese of New
Jersey, which was established
in 1977, was elevated to a Metropolis. Therefore, Metropolitan Evangelos is the first Hierarch enthroned as Metropolitan of New Jersey.
God Grant him many years!
Page 2
St. Sophia’s
President’s Message
“It is truly a rewarding
experience for us all to
watch our beautiful
community of
St. Sophia prosper
and grow.”
It is now more than one year
after the Thyranoxia for our
beautiful St. Sophia church
temple, and we can reflect on
how much has been accomplished over the last several
years. Of course no matter
how much has been accomplished, the work to continue
our progress goes on.
Steve Kavroulakis' company is
hard at work carving our
beautiful icon screen, altar,
throne, pulpit and chanter's
stand. If all goes well, his
work will be finished by the
end of July in time for an early September delivery.
Dr. George Kordis will return
to visit us later in the fall to
paint the icons on the icon
screen and pulpit for us.
In addition, you can see that
the renovations to the exterior
of the cultural center are well
underway. The new paint
scheme will now match that of
our beautiful church.
Besides the progress being
made on the building and
decorating front, our ministries and programs here at St.
Sophia are thriving too. Under the direction of Fr. Peter,
a bible study program has
been instituted and a new
seniors group is meeting on a
regular basis. Please try to
take advantage of all the wonderful programs and ministries that are available to you.
It is truly a rewarding experience for us all to watch our
beautiful community of St.
Sophia prosper and grow.
Many thanks to all of our
stewards, supporters and
friends who are helping to
preserve and advance our
Christian faith.
Sincerely,
Dean W. Laskaris
One Year Anniversary!
On Sunday April 7 2013 we
celebrated the one year anniversary of the opening of our
new Church. To Mark this
occasion a concert of Byzantine Music was presented by
the Byzantine Choir of the
Metropolis of New Jersey.
Under the Leadership of
Apostolos Combitsis the choir
of chanters from the Parishes
of our Metropolis performed
selections of the music of Holy
Week. It was such a moving
experience and such a special
way to mark the one year anniversary of the opening of the
new church.
Evangelopoulos Families and
Mediterranean Catering.
A wonderful Lenten reception
was held following the performance and was graciously
hosted and donated by the
Adult Bible Study
As we celebrate
Christ's Resurrection,
our Bible Study Group
will also focus on the
"Anastasi".
Our Bible Study ministry continues to grow and flourish.
Our group of 12 met on Monday, April 22nd and discussed
St. John the Baptist. Our next
Bible Study will be on
Wednesday May 8th at 6:30
p.m. As we celebrate Christ's
Resurrection, our Bible Study
Group will also focus on the
"Anastasi". We will read John
20:1-21:25.
Some questions to ponder
include:
 For you, what is the most
convincing evidence for
the resurrection of Jesus
Christ?
 Some people say that
Jesus’ resurrection from
the dead is the “linchpin”
of the Christian faith? Do
you agree? Why?
Our Bible Study group will
continue to meet every two
weeks. Please refer to the
weekly bulletin for actual
dates and times or visit our
Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/
groups/stsophiavalleyforge/
Spring 2013
Page 3
St. Sophia Ladies Philoptochos Society
“Pistis, Elpis & Agape”
JOIN IN THE SPIRIT OF THE LADIES PHILOPTOCHOS SOCIETY!
The word Philoptochos means
"friends of the poor". Join us,
knowing that your membership and commitment has
made you a "friend of the
poor". It is a wonderful sisterhood of women caring about
others as shown by our philanthropic causes that we support nationally and locally.
We have 51 members already
signed up for Philoptochos in
2013! Are you curious about
Philoptochos? Interested in
maybe doing more? Come to
a meeting, join in a project,
share your skills, talents and
ideas. Make new friends, reacquaint with old friends, and
see what can be accomplished,
when women work together
towards philanthropic goals
and a common mission.
How fitting that our membership drive ended during Holy
Week this year. It is the one
week, besides festival time,
where the men, women and
children of our parish all work
together to get whatever is
needed accomplished. Yes, at
times it can get a little chaotic
with the all the preparations.
However, by the end of the
week everything gets done.
THANK YOU all who assisted this past weekend in the
preparation, cooking, serving
and cleanup of (I have to say it
one last time) the highly anticipated Philoptochos Palm
Sunday Luncheon. We had 189
parishioners and friends of St.
Sophia join in Christian fellowship to enjoy a delicious meal
and the “5th Annual Antonio S.
Thomas Sunday Concert” featuring our talented St. Sophia
youth. It was very nice to see
over 20 women, men and children of our parish working
together at another one of our
events. Fortunately our luncheon is always a huge success
thanks to the community’s support.
We thank all the Philoptochos members who have
volunteered in the past and
continue to serve so willingly and tirelessly. We look
forward to our new mem-
Senior Citizen Ministry
Our parish has a new ministry
– St. Sophia’s “Senior Parea”.
This group is open to all senior citizens of the community.
The group meets weekly on
Thursdays in the church hall
from 10am-12 noon for
"parea" or fellowship. On the
third Thursday of every
month we have a formal meet-
ing beginning at 10am. The
next formal meeting will take
place Thursday, May 16th, at
10am. For more information
please contact the Parish Office.
Our first “Senior Parea”
meeting in March.
bers joining us in our labors
of love. Philoptochos needs
your time and talents. Thank
you and looking forward to
seeing you at our next meeting!
Kali Anastasi!
Kathy Tsipras
St. Sophia Philoptochos President
Page 4
St. Sophia’s
Youth Ministries
Sunday School News
Following Lazarus Saturday
service, the Sunday School
children enjoyed a delicious
pancake breakfast followed by
palm folding in preparation
for Palm Sunday. It was a
joyous way to begin holy
week!
School Excuse Letters: Letters to excuse the children
from school on Holy Wednesday and Good Friday have
been prepared and are available at the Pangari.
Good Friday Children's Retreat (11:30 am -2:30 pm)
Children ages 5-11 are invited
to join us in the cultural center for light Lenten lunch followed by a religious lesson
and craft project.
For the retreat, we are asking
families to donate empty, rectangular tissue boxes for the
craft. They may be brought in
ahead of time and placed in
the Flex Room.
The children are continuing to
collect money in their Sunday
School classrooms for S.A.M.P
(Support Area Mission Priest).
So far we have raised over
$350!!
We would also like to thank
Marianne Nikas for donating
a basket for the IOCC Silent
Auction held on March 9th.
Also, keep an eye out for end
of school year activities.
Sunday School
is May 19th.
Mission Coin Boxes are due
on May 12th.
PTO
On March 2nd, the PTO held a
successful Family Bingo
Night. Both the children and
the adults had fun playing
bingo and winning prizes.
Thank you to all of you who
donated prizes.
Last day of
Coming in November:
A PTO outing to see the Holiday Panto at the People’s
Light and Theatre Company in
Malvern.
Sight and Sounds Participants
On Saturday, April 6th the 28th Annual GOYA Sights and Sounds Arts Festival was hosted by St.
Thomas Greek Orthodox Church in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Thank you to all of the youngsters
from our parish who participated in this year’s event.
Niki Averginos
Xena Karalis
Perry Averginos
Vanessa Papadimitriou
Annina Baker
Stephanie Pogas
Kyle Dowzicky
Alexandra Poloway
Elaine Elder
Dena Swope
Adriana Evangelopoulos
Alexandra Watts
Theodora Frangakis
Also, thank you to Maria Papadimitriou and John Pogas—who were the advisors this year.
Easter
Egg
Hunt
The children of
the parish are
invited to join us
for an Easter
Egg Hunt following the
Agape Service
on Easter Sunday.
The Agape Service begins at
12:00 noon.
Spring 2013
Page 5
Saint Sophia’s GOYA
Our GOYA is having another
spectacular year with lots of
activities focused on our faith,
fellowship and serving our
community. Our nonperishable food drives during
Thanksgiving and Christmas
were very successful and benefited Manna on Main Street
– a food bank and soup kitchen serving residents of Montgomery and Bucks counties.
We have also prepared and
donated over a dozen casseroles for Manna on Main's
soup kitchen.
Our fellowship activities included snow tubing at Spring
Mountain, bowling at Facenda
Whitaker Lanes, a haunted
Halloween hayride and a very
successful Valentines dance
that was open to all of the area
GOYA chapters. Our GOYA
also learned how to bake tsoureki in preparation for Pascha.
We will end the year with our
annual camping trip at Knoebels in May and a splash party
in June.
Each GOYA meeting is not
just all fun and games. We
also focus on our faith. We
have discussed the church
fathers, making spiritual
New Year’s resolutions, being
good stewards of God's creation and more.
If you have a son or
daughter that is
between the ages of
12 and 18 then
please have them
join this fun and
dynamic group.
You can do so by
contacting John
Pogas at johnpogas@gmail.com or
calling him at 215703-0118. You can
also join our Facebook group at:
Our GOYA learns how to make tsoureki from
the skilled hands of Mr. George Neofotistos.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/stsophiagoya/
Saint Sophia’s HOPE and JOY
The HOPE and JOY children
started the year off with a
teaching liturgy of the Presentation of our Lord and Savior
in the Temple. Father Peter
taught the children (and parents!) the meaning and significance of each part of the liturgy. After refueling with
some lunch, the children
talked about the important
role of God Parents in preparation for God Parents' Sunday and had fun decorating a
mug or vase for their God Parents.
On March 23rd, our parish
proudly hosted the Delaware
Valley Youth Commission’s
Annual Bible Bowl. Our St.
Sophia HOPE/JOY children
and children from other Delaware Valley Parishes participated in a friendly competition answering questions
about the Bible, and making
some new friends along the
way. It was amazing how
much all the children knew!
Once the individual grade
competitions were complete,
the children participated in a
Lenten Community Service
Project, titled "Birthday Bags".
The children – in assemblyline fashion, worked together
to fill bags with all the different food and party items
needed for a birthday party.
The Birthday Bags were do-
nated to local homeless shelters for children in need who
otherwise would not have any
means to celebrate their birthdays.
During Holy Week, a Good
Friday Retreat for HOPE/JOY
children (ages 5-11) will take
place on Friday, May 3rd from
11:30 am to 2:30 pm. After
enjoying a Lenten lunch together, the HOPE/JOY children will participate in grade
specific lessons and projects
about Good Friday. They will
learn about the Passion and
the Resurrection of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ.
(Letters to excuse the children
from school are available at
the Pangari.)
Lastly, the HOPE and JOY
groups will have an end of the
year party in mid June.
Stewardship Update
May 4th, 2013
Christ is Risen! Truly He is risen! Today we celebrate Christ’s triumphant Resurrection—the
holiest time of the year. What a spiritually moving week, as we celebrated our 2nd Holy Week
and now Pascha in our magnificent new church. For those who we have not seen for a while, we
continue to make wonderful progress in growing our parish—in terms of membership
(stewards), ministries and activities.
As we mark the great sacrifice our Lord made for all of us, there truly is no better time to assess
where we are personally in our spiritual lives. Throughout the year, and especially during the
Paschal season, God is calling each and every one of us! Are you listening??
Stewardship is our way of thanking God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us. To be
considered good stewards of our parish and the faith, we must give back in gratitude to Him by
giving of our time, talent and treasure. What are you personally doing to show your gratitude to
Him for your own blessings? Are you truly giving back to Him to support His ministries here
on Earth?
Thanks to so many of you who have already returned your 2013 Financial Stewardship Card and
who have made sacrificial gifts to support His Word and our parish ministries. If you have not
done so yet, please return your commitment as soon as possible.
In addition to financial support, God expects all of us to give of our Time and Talents as well.
Our annual Spring Festival is coming up at the end of May. PLEASE sign up and come and help!
We ALWAYS need more hands to serve the thousands of visitors who come each year.
Thank you for your support of God’s work and our Ministries through your generous and sacrificial stewardship gift. God bless you and your family. Christ is Risen!!
2012
(5/3/13)
2013
(5/3/13)
Pledge Unit Goal
220
230
Pledge $ Goal
$200,000
$200,000
Number of Pledges
211
156
Amount Pledged
$185,743.00
$169,360.00
Average Pledge
$880.30
$1,086.00
New Stewards
43
20
Stewards of Saint Sophia’s 2013
James and Anna Agrian
Eron and Kristin Ahmeti
Harold and Diane Anagnostopoulos
Tessie Arapolu
Don and Helen Avgerinos
Patrick and Christine Bailey
Matthew and Joann Bannon
Frieda Bell
Stephen and Patricia Bell
Evangelos and Eliana Bellos
Angelo and Evangelia Bragitikos
James and Mary Caravoulias
Pope N. Christie
Arthur and Christina Collias
Alex Colyvas
Peter and Theresa Colyvas
Betty Cooper
George and Tina Coutavas
Thomas and Catherine Cox
Dr. Christopher and Estelle Dankmyer
Marie A. DelViscio
Iris Demas
John and Efrosine Demetris
Anthony and Joanne Dimitriadis
Gregory and Angela Dimmig
Alex Donatelli and Christina Sheridan
Steven and Vicki Dowzicky
George and Olympia Evangelopoulos
Aristea Evagelou
Athanasios Evagelou and Nicole Reffner
Nicholas and Sophia Fellouzis
Erietta and Kosmas Fotiadis
David and Irini Gaskin
Harry and Dimetra Giannakarios
Charles and Naki Godfrey
Marques and Vanessa Glaze
Erik and Melissa (Prousi) Gross
Thomas and Maria Hatzipavlides
Vela Hatzipavlides
Janet C. Hohnholt
Garry and Donna Holstein
Andrew and Georgiana Kane
Nicholas and Athena Karabots
George and Kleanthi Karagounis
Dr. Omiro Karalis
John and Rochelle Karistinos
Harry S. (Bob) Keares
Evangelia Klapakis
Bart and Lucy Kline
Peter and Krista Kolevas
Despina Kourtidis
Haralambos Kourtidis
Kiriakos and Melissa Kourtidis
Nikolaos and Evangelia Kourtidis
Chris and Despina Lafakis
Dean and Nina Laskaris
Ernest and Marian Laskaris
Karen Laskaris
Angela Laspas
John and Angeliki Lathiris
Vicky Lathiris
Aphrodite Nicole Liantis
Nicholas Liantis
Petros and Sophia Liantis
Dr. Anthony and Dr. Maria Limberakis
Dr. Cary and Alexis Limberakis
Presb. Elizabeth Limberakis
Peter and Francine Lowry
Edward and Mary McAdoo
William Mackrides
Veronia Macricostas
Irene Malagari
Nicholas Maropis
Dr. Paul and Roula Matsiras
Olga Migdalias
Thomas and Barbara Migdalias
Andrew and Christina Morrison
Mary Moukoulis
Phidella Natale
George and Bessie Neofotistos
Annemarie Nicholas
Hon. William and Catherine Nicholas
Alexander and Dr. Marianne Nikas
Michael and Zoe Nikolaou
Peter and Jennifer Nikolaou
Serafim and Despina Notaras
Anthony and Katherine Pantazopoulos
Harry and Pauline Papadakes
Sophia Papadakes-Frangakis
John and Maria Papadimitriou
Evelyn Pappanastasiou
Dr. Peter and Phyllis Patukas
Thomas and Demetra Patukas
Chris and Angelina Pavlou
Kay Pavlou
Aram and Elaine Piligian
John and Lynn Pogas
David and Flora Poloway
George Prieston
Elias Proios
Dr. Andrew S. and Melissa V. Prousi
Mrs. Margie Prousi
James and Georgia Reynolds
Michael Koser and Stephanie Reynolds
Jeff and Georgia Ruser
Dimitri Samaras
John and Christine Samaras
Costas and Effie Samios
Dr. Lia Sandilos
Dr. William and Dr. Elaine Sandilos
Joseph and Maria Scavitto
Matthew and Constantina Schmidt
James and Kristen Shuler
Philip and Catherine Sitsis
Sofia Sitsis
Anna Skylakon
Dr. Charalambos and Dr. Melpo Solomides
Thomas and Eva Soutos
Ronald Dennis and Theodora Stern
Matthew and Melissa Stolarczyk
Jeffrey and Zoitsa Sturm
D. Maria and Keith Swope
Vasilios and Sofia Tatsis
Alexandra Thomloudis
Ilias and Susan Thomloudis
Fr. Peter and Katherine Thornberg
Anna Trantas
Linda Tripolitis
Nikolaos and Eleni Trontsios
Andreas and Ekaterini Tsipras
Katherine Tsipras
Maria Tsipras
Seraphim and Patricia Tsipras
Socratis and Ekaterini Tsipras
Chris and Irene Tsokas
Dr. William and Maureen Tsoubanos
Nikolaos Tsouros
Anastasios and Sofia Tzivekis
Christodulos and Aglaia Tzivekis
Helene Vellios
Anastasia Ververelli
Robert and Cynthia Watts
Matthew and Maria Williams
Roger and Alexis Witt
Charles and Catherine Zarcone
Gregory Zarcone
Dr. George and Hope Zavitsanos
Dr. Peter and Alice Zavitsanos
Dr. Thomas and Ann Zavitsanos
Stephen and Valerie Zezenski
Capt. Nicholas and Amanda Zikas
Thank you to all of our Stewards for sharing your Time, Talents and Treasure!
St. Sophia Grecian Festival 2013
To Our Parishioners:
Our Annual Spring Festival is only a few weeks away, and preparations are under way!
One of the most important factors to a successful festival is having enough volunteers. That means we need YOUR
help! Whether you can help out each day or only for a few hours, your help will be greatly appreciated.
In order to better organize our volunteers this year, and to let you know when your help is most needed, we are trying a new approach to organize our volunteers who have email/internet access. We will use a web based sign up,
called 'SignUpGenius'. This will make it simple for you to let the Festival Organizers know when you are able to volunteer your time - it's simple and will take just a minute of your time. And if you can only spare a few
hours, this will let you see when we could really use your help.
Please follow the link below, and let us know when you can volunteer!!
If you do not receive an email from 'SignUpGenius', please try this link:
<http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C044FAAA72AA20-stsophia2>
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C044FAAA72AA20-stsophia2
Finally, don't let technology stand in the way of volunteering. If you cannot access the website, then please just call
the church office or send an email letting us know when you can help!
Upcoming Festival Meeting Dates:
Tuesday, May 7th @ 6:30 pm
Tuesday, May 14th@ 6:30 pm
Tuesday, May 21st@ 6:30 pm
All those interested in participating in the organization of the festival are welcome to attend.
Stewards and Friends of our St. Sophia Parish:
The annual Spring Grecian Festival will soon be here! Our Grecian Festival Magazine and Program (formerly referred to as "Ad book") is a major part of our financial success. New for 2013 we have completely redesigned the
book which will now be in color!
To help ensure the success of our Festival, we are asking all of friends to either sponsor an advertisement or personal message. And, kindly share this opportunity with friends and businesses you know (from your local deli to barbershop to insurance agent). We expect between 8,000 and 10,000 visitors during our festival, giving lots of exposure to the ads and messages.
For questions, please contact Peter Patukas at 610-304-4774 or Tom Cox at 215-859-1009.
Thank you for your support!
St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church
900 South Trooper Road
Jeffersonville, PA 19403
Phone: 610-650-8960
Fax: 610-650-8961
E-mail: stsophia@verizon.net
REV. ECONOMOS PETER J. THORNBERG,
PROISTAMENOS
www.stsophiavf.org