The episTle - The Cathedral of St. Paul

Transcription

The Epistle
November - December 2009
GREEK ORTHODOX
CATHEDRAL OF SAINT PAUL
Special Memories from Autumn, 2009
JOY and HOPE Costume Party!!!
Fr. Demetrios Carellas Speaking on the First Beatitude
Ms. Michelle and some of our Nursery School "Stars"
AHEPA's OXI Day Event 2009
Frederuca Mathewes-Green Speaking on
the Jesus Prayer
Jim Stephens helping feed the Hungry
PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY
Official Publication of
GREEK ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL
OF SAINT PAUL
110 CATHEDRAL AVENUE
HEMPSTEAD, NEW YORK 11550
Tel.: (516) 483-5700
FAX: (516) 564-8335
Web-site: www.stpaulhempstead.org
e-mail: office@stpaulhempstead.org
FR. LUKE M. MELACKRINOS………...............Editor-in-Chief
JOAN PRIESTON………………………..............Chairperson
GUS DRIVAS……………………………….........Editor
THEANA JOANNON………………………........Editor
ERIKA HADJOGLOU- PALMER........................ Layout
GEORGE K. LAVAS..............................................Photographer
Vol LVIII November-December No. 11-12
FATHER LUKE M. MELACKRINOS, Presbyter
FATHER ANDREAS VITHOULKAS, Presbyter
Parish Council Executive Committee
GEORGE PAPAZICOS, Esq……..........................President
JAMES GEORGAKIS…………...........................Vice President
ANTHONY VACCARI………..............................Secretary
WILLIAM J. LEMBO...........................................Treasurer
GEORGE VORKAS……..…................................Finance Secretary
ANTHONY PANTELIDES...................................Finance Secretary
HARRY RAPTAKIS, Esq.…….............................Legal Advisor
Regular Schedule
Orthros 7:45 a.m.
1st Divine Liturgy 9:00 a.m.
2nd Divine Liturgy 10:45 a.m.
SUNDAY EPISTLE & GOSPEL
READINGS
Sunday, Nov. 1st
Sunday, Nov. 8th Sunday, Nov. 15th Sunday, Nov. 22nd Sunday, Nov. 29th I Cor.12:27-31; 13:1-8 Luke 16:19-31
Hebrews 2:2-10 Luke 8:41-56
Ephesians 2:4-10 Luke 10:25-37
Ephesians 2:14-22
Luke 12:16-21
Ephesians 4:1-7
Luke 18:18-27
Sunday, Dec. 6th
Sunday, Dec. 13th
Sunday, Dec. 20st
Sunday, Dec. 27th
Hebrews 13:17-21
Luke 13:10-17
Ephesians 5:8-19 Luke 14:16-24; Matthew 22:14
Hebrews 11:9-10,32-40 Matthew 1:1-25
Galatians 1:11-19
Matthew 2:13-23
CHURCH FEAST DAYS
Sunday, Nov. 1st Sts. Kosmas & Damianos
Sunday, Nov. 8th
Synaxis of the Archangels
Monday, Nov. 9th St. Nektarios the Wonderworker
Saturday, Nov. 14th St. Philip the Apostle
Monday, Nov. 16th St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist
Saturday, Nov. 21st Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple
Wednesday, Nov. 25th St. Katherine the Great Martyr
Monday, Nov. 30th St. Andrew the First-Called Apostle
Friday, Dec. 4th
St. Barbara the Great Martyr
Sunday, Dec. 6th
St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
Wednesday, Dec. 9th Conception of the Theotokos
Saturday, Dec. 12th St. Spyridon the Wonderworker
Friday, Dec. 25th
Holy Nativity of Jesus Christ
Saturday, Dec. 26th Synaxis of the Theotokos
Sunday, Dec. 27th St. Stephen the First Martyr
Cover Photo by John Mindala
Ορθρος 7:45 π.μ.
Α’ Θεία Λειτουργία 9:00 π.μ.
Β’ Θεία Λειτουργία 10:45 π.μ.
Emergency Telephone Numbers
Father Luke Melackrinos............
Father Andreas Vithoulkas.........
516- 225- 1718
917- 334- 4192
Choir Director and Chanter
Dr. Efstratios Demertzis
Cathedral Secretaries
Nicole Rousakis
Cathi Efstathios
Stewardship Secretary
Hermea Drivas
Organist
Adrienne Stamatas-Borbely 516-481-9333 (9-5)
The Hospital for the Soul
By Fr. Luke Melackrinos
“The inhabitants of this world, the
children of this age, are like wheat
in a sieve. They are being sifted by
restless thoughts of this world. They
are constantly tossed to and fro by
earthly care, desire and absorption in
a variety of material concerns. Satan tosses such souls as a
sifter sifts wheat.... By these concerns he disturbs men, keeps
them anxious and in a state of nervous motion.”
–St Makarios
St. Makarios lived in the 4th century, but he clearly
describes our situation today. The Church is a spiritual
hospital. It is exactly the place where the tired and fearful
and sifted need to be. Each time that we enter our beautiful
Cathedral we are reminded of this fact and see pictures of
former patients who were cured [i.e., icons of the saints]
surrounding us, encouraging us, and letting us know that we
too can be healed. The amazing fact about our hospital is
that no other hospital on earth can claim the same record as
Christ’s Holy Church, the true hospital. This hospital has a
record of almost 2000 years of successfully curing the sick
in heart.
Following this imagery of a hospital, consider a
hospital that is reliant on contribution from patients. In
these days with debates of healthcare reform, our hospital
operates just as socialized medicine would, with a major
difference, we receive no support from our government.
Our hospital relies on the contributions of the patients who
also serve as a portion of the staff. Our hospital helps so
many people, reaching out to those of all ages and so
many diverse stages of life, never turning anyone away.
We are in a unique situation, but one that is blessed by the
hand of God. Being the Body of Christ, we strive for His Glory
and can offer something back to Him for all the blessings that
are bestowed upon us. When we come to that realization, we
offer a grateful response with our time, talent and treasure.
Some of the recent ways that our Cathedral served as a hospital
for our people were witnessed in many wonderful events.
In October, we enjoyed a perfect autumn day during the
Family Fall Festival. This wonderful event seems to get larger
each year, and I marvel when I remember our first Fall Festival
which was chaired by Jim Comack of blessed memory.
We also had the amazing blessing of two renown
speakers come to our Cathedral. Fr. Demetrios Carellas
shared inspirational words with us during his lecture on
the First Beatitude. And Frederica Mathewes-Green taught
us a great deal about prayer, especially the Jesus Prayer.
We also enjoyed a beautiful evening to benefit our beloved
Seminary, Hellenic College/Holy Cross by having a wine
tasting at Jonathan’s Restaurant. We learned, laughed, enjoyed
some delicious food and certainly helped a worthy cause.
In November and December we look forward to so
many wonderful activities at the Cathedral including
the Golden Leaves Ball (honorees include Gus
Kratsios and the Recipe Club), our Annual Community
Dance, and the wonderful, traditional Christmas
presentations from our Greek and Sunday Schools.
The faithful of the New York area also had several
opportunities to receive the blessing of our beloved Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew. Many of our parishioners, and of
course our clergy, attended several key events including
events including the Great Vespers Service at St. Demetrios
in Merrick, the conferral of an Honorary Degree at Fordham
University, and the Archons Dinner. It truly is uplifting
to His All Holiness’ flock to be able to see the humble
servant himself and live the witness of his martyric life.
It is extremely important that we don’t forget that
November is Stewardship Month at the Cathedral of
St. Paul. Now that we have been strengthened by the
visit of His All-Holiness, Patriarch Bartholomew, I
ask you to consider some of His All-Holiness’ words,
“This sacrifice for the sake of sharing means learning
to give, and not simply to give up. It is learning to share
and to connect with others…It is a way of loving, of moving
gradually away from what I want to what God’s world
needs. It is liberation from fear, greed and compulsion. It
is regaining a sense of wonder, being filled with a sense of
goodness, seeing all things in God, and God in all things.”
And while His All Holiness is referring to the
environment, I would say that much of this can be
related to the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. Paul and
her parishioners, specifically in regards to stewardship.
Indeed, as His All Holiness says it so well, Stewardship
is indeed a sacrifice that asks us to give not just give up.
The Cathedral needs all of us, especially in these trying
financial times we should consider these words and
also put in our minds the nature of how God gives to us.
The ultimate sacrifice is given by God. Our Lord, God
and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is easy for us in our daily lives
to forget all that God has done for us. Stewardship calls us
to remember all the wonderful blessings that He continually
bestows on us and to offer a grateful response. Every penny
that we earn is directly given to us through God. Every
talent and ability we have is from God. And yet many of us
would prefer to keep these gifts from God to ourselves. This
November, let us consider the many ways God has blessed all
of us at the Cathedral of St. Paul and respond appropriately
by giving back to His Holy Church, the hospital of our souls.
A Great Light
By Fr. Andreas Vithoulkas
“The people who walk in
darkness have seen a great
light” Isaiah 9:2
As we approach the Feast of the
Nativity according to the Flesh
of our Lord and God and Savior
Jesus Christ it is a time of great
anticipation – expectancy – looking forward to the future!
We read the Scriptures in these coming days, we note
the rays of hope in the life of Christ. The Gospels
speak to us of high hopes when the three magi seek
him out. However, there was bad news as well
as good news. Already when Jesus was just born
and was being presented in the
Temple after forty days we hear
of His impending suffering,
crucifixion and death in the of
the prophecy of the righteous
Simeon to Mary. Simeon blessed
them, and said to our Panagia,
“Behold this Child is destined
for the fall and rising of many in
Israel, and for a sign which will
be spoken against ‘yes a sword
will pierce through your own soul
also’ that the thoughts of many
hearts may be revealed” (Luke
2:34-35).
Simeon forewarns
Mary of her own impending grief
and suffering which she will
endure at the foot of the cross.
As we prepare to receive the
light of salvation at Christmas
we are also reminded of the darkness of oppression
and suffering that exists in our own lives. I don’t
have to tell any of you about darkness, because in
one form or another, at one time or another, it has
touched the life of each of you. You have all felt
that piercing of the sword which the righteous
Simeon forewarns Mary of in the Gospel of St. Luke.
You have been acquainted with the darkness of
the night. Perhaps some of us have been oppressed by
fear, sin, sorrow, loneliness, failure, or suffering from
grief. For some the joy of the approaching Christmas
season fades into darkness as we remember our loved
ones who have passed away and are not here with us
to rejoice in birth of Christ. Thus, our purpose is not
to naively deny the existence of darkness or suffering.
Nowhere in scripture do we receive a pep talk
and argument that suffering doesn’t exist. Rather, it
affirms that the darkness is real and it is present, but
scripture also affirms that there is a light at the end of
the tunnel. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “people who
walk in darkness have seen a great light. (Isaiah 9:2)”
The Gospel of St. John records: The light shines in the
darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. The
good news of Christmas is that in the midst of a deep
darkness there came a light, and the darkness was not
able to overcome the light. It was not just a temporary
flicker. It was an eternal flame. We need to remember that.
There are times, in the events of the world and in
the events of our personal lives, that we feel that the
light will be snuffed out. But
the Christmas story affirms
that whatever happens, the
light still shines. Just like the
memory of all our loved ones
who have passed away will
eternally shine in our hearts. We
live in a world where darkness,
oppression and suffering truly
exist. But out of the darkness
of the cave in Bethlehem came
an inextinguishable light which
shines brighter and stronger than
any darkness. Into the darkness
God sent an eternal light.
The greatest need in our
mixed up and confused world
this day is to let people know
there is hope. That life is worth
living no matter what. We
should not be discouraged to the point of despair.
In Jesus Christ we shall cling to the hope that life
overcomes death, that love conquers hate, and that truth
will prevail over falsehood. We are all people of light
and we must share that light in a dark and dreary land.
Why do you think that God chose to use a star to
guide the Magi to Bethlehem? I am convinced that
it was not by accident. It was an eternal reminder to
them and to us that in a sea of darkness, it is the light
that keeps us going forward. It is the light of hope and
the light of Christ that leads and dispels the gloom.
It is my prayer that the light of Christmas will shine
and enlighten the dark corners of your life and that
you, too, will discover the pathway to Bethlehem.
From the President
by George Papazicos
Wait a minute! Where is
that picture of the President
that looks like it is staring
at us in each issue of the
Epistle. Not in the month of
November, which we have
designated as Stewardship
Month. (You get me back
smiling at you in January.)
During the entire month, the sermons of our
Clergy will have a common theme – true Christian
Stewardship – illustrated by offering back to God and
His Church the magnificent gifts of time, talent and
treasure that He has bestowed upon all of us.
The Stewardship Committee expects to start
distributing 2010 packages at the Parish Assembly on
November 8 and will continue to do so for another
two weeks. Please pick up your packages promptly
and encourage your family and friends to do so. It
saves us the effort and the postage of mailing them
out. This year, you will see something new on the
Commitment Card. We have created space for each
of you to identify the talents that you can offer to our
community.
We ask that as many of you as possible come up
and drop off your commitment for 2010 at the end of
each Divine Liturgy on Sunday, November 22. If you
cannot do so that day, please deliver it to the Cathedral
office as soon as possible. Of course, please consider
what the church and this community has meant to you
and your family and what we hope it will continue
to mean to all our families for generations to come,
as you decide what you can offer to the Church in
2010.
November also brings Thanksgiving and,
right around the corner, Christmas. Many of our
organizations are planning events for these two
celebrations but the one common function that the
entire community should make sure to attend is the
Annual Community Dance, which will be held in the
Cathedral Center on Sunday, December 6. Stop by
our table at Fellowship Hour for details.
The Annual Community Dance is an example
of the commitment we all have made to make our
community a “welcoming” one to all families, whether
they are new to St. Paul or among our founders.
Honoring all our families was also the theme of our
Fall Family Festival which was held on a beautiful
day in early October. I graciously thank all those who
put it together and all those who otherwise contributed
to a successful day.
Details about our many diverse ministries
and programs, and other events planned by our
organizations, including a complete calendar of
activities, are available on our expanded web-site,
www.stpaulhempstead.org, which we continue to
enhance and add content to. Contact the Cathedral
office, by phone or e-mail at office@stpaulhempstead.
org, if you any items including details of upcoming
events or pictures from community functions or just
ideas about what we can add. Sometime in 2010, we
hope to add the capability of providing a live feed
from our Church services through our web-site.
We also continue to expand our e-mail capability
and now use this system to regularly communicate
with over 600 friends of the Cathedral of St. Paul,
each of whom receives the Sunday Bulletin by Friday
of each week and this issue of the Epistle as it is sent
to the printer, generally at least a couple of weeks
before print copies get mailed. If you would like to
be added to our e-mail list, send an e-mail to office@
stpaulhempstead.org.
We also continue to move forward with Project
Renaissance so that our facility can continue to serve
the spiritual and other needs of our families. We
have recently seen a number of exciting changes and
upgrades, including the painting and new floors in
our hallways, the new lights and window hardware in
the Hellenic Room and a new drywell system to take
rainwater away from our building. Work continues on
our major project which involves re-sealing our dome
to address the significant water penetration problems
we had been having. More projects are underway and
we expect a continued need for funds. If you have not
a pledge yet, please consider doing so. For those of
you who have previously made a pledge, we ask you
to consider increasing it.
I again thank you for all you do for our Cathedral
and pray that you and your families continue to be
blessed with health and happiness.
As Amended and Approved on August 20, 2009
Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Paul
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting of
Thursday, July 16, 2009
The meeting was called to order by President George
Papazicos at 8:10 p.m. Father Luke led us in an opening
prayer.
The minutes of the Thursday, June 18, 2009 meeting
had been distributed by Tony Vaccari the Parish Council
Secretary. A motion to approve the minutes was made
by George Hadjoglou, seconded by Evans Lizardos, the
motion carried.
Correspondence:
President George Papazicos read the following
correspondence:
- Letter and Journal Ad regarding a 50th
Anniversary Dinner Dance from Assumption
Church in Port Jefferson which will be on
November 14, 2009. No action was taken.
- Letter from Ron Badami from the Greater
Ocala Mission Church thanking the Cathedral
of St. Paul for a recent visit and asking for
support. Mr. Badami also extended an
invitation to all Parishioners of Cathedral of
St. Paul to visit their Church. It was suggested
by Harry Raptakis that he look into this in
more detail to explore options. Mr. Raptakis
will be joined by George Vorkas.
- A Letter from Michael Campbell, an architect
specializing in Orthodox Church buildings,
offering assistance with architectural services.
No action taken.
Meetings/Events Attended By President George
Papazicos:
- Saint Peter and Paul Vespers and Reception
- Nursery School Meeting
- Community Picnic Planning Meeting
- Pamas Basketball Organizational Meetings
- Parish Council Offsite Planning Meeting
- TD Bank Meeting
- ESCO Meeting
Stewardship Report:
President George Papazicos presented the following report
as of June 30, 2009:
Year
2009
2008
2007
Increase (decrease)
Number of Pledges
761
729
781
32
Amount Pledged
$332,500
$330,740
$354,764
$1,760
Average Pledge
$436.93
$453.69
$454.24
($16.76)
Clergy Report:
Father Luke reported on the following activities and
upcoming events:
+ The Feast Day of Saint Paul on June 29th went smoothly.
Father Luke thanked all who assisted.
+ Father Andreas is assisting at Camp St. Paul this week
and then will be on vacation for the following week.
+ A request was made by Father Luke that the Cathedral
of St. Paul host the Long Island Young Adult League
(YAL) Volleyball Tournament fundraiser which is
scheduled for August 22nd. A motion was made by Lou
Patrickakos to approve the request that the Long Island
YAL use the Cathedral Center to host the Volleyball
Tournament, seconded by Triphon Kollitides. Motion
carried.
+ The Vorkas family brought back holy oil from their
San Francisco trip to visit the relics of St. John
Maximovich.
+ The Cathedral of St. Paul now has a page on Facebook
and Father Luke made reference to an Article posted
there and in our Bulletin regarding the expansion of the
religion of Islam throughout non-Muslim countries.
Father Luke is drawing our attention to this article.
+ The Lenten period for the Dormition of the Virgin Mary
commences on August 1st. Paraklesis services will be
held each evening culminating with the Dormition of
the Theotokos on August 15th.
+ The International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC)
would like to host an all day conference and fundraiser
on Saturday, October 10, 2009 and use our Cathedral
Center. A motion was made by Joan Prieston that
we approve, seconded by George Marinos. Motion
carried.
Treasurer’s Report:
George Vorkas presented the following report as of June
30, 2009:
Total Cash Assets
Less: Decorations Fund
Less: Renaissance Fund
Net Available Funds
$745,755
($149,060)
($328,750)
$267,945
Revenue
Expenses
Surplus (Deficit)
Less Proj Ren & Decoratons (net)
Net Operating Surplus (Deficit)
Month of
Year to Date
June 2009
June 2009
$383,448
$904,731
($245,137)
($804,553)
$138,311
$100,178
$2,803
$73,167
$141,114
$173,345
Month of June Year to Date
2008
June 2008
$348,038
$929,858
($204,569)
($719,609)
$143,469
$210,249
($1,725)
($53,392)
$141,744
$156,857
A motion was made by Toni Kourepinos to accept the
Treasurer’s Report, seconded by John Hajisava, motion
carried.
Gala Sweepstakes:
George Lavas reported that final results and a more detailed
report of the Gala Sweepstakes will be forthcoming.
George Papazicos thanked Bill Lembo, George Lavas for
co-chairing the Gala Sweepstakes and all of the sellers of
tickets and those who purchased tickets for a successful
fund raiser.
Golf Outing:
George Vorkas reported that the Golf Outing on June 11th
was a success. George also discussed the initial planning
for Golf Mini-Outing at Hempstead Country Club in
September. More information will follow.
Seminary Trust Fund Committee:
Dino Zografos announced a Seminary Trust Fund
fundraiser. Dino Zografos made a motion to hold a Wine
Tasting fundraiser at Jonathan’s Restaurant on Tuesday
evening, October 20th, seconded by George Marinos.
Motion carried.
Sunday Church School:
George Lavas made a motion to increase the Sunday
School registration fee to $15.00 effective the 2009/2010
school year, seconded by Joan Prieston. Motion carried.
Boy Scouts:
+ Harry Monioudis made a motion to have Souvlaki
Sunday on September 20, seconded by Frank Albers.
Motion carried.
+ The Boy Scout Eagle Scholarship Golf Outing is being
scheduled for Wednesday, October 7th at North Shore
Towers.
Decorations Committee:
+ Hellenic Room - Toni Kourepinos reported that
the committee is reviewing improvements to the
Hellenic Room flooring, painting, lighting, window
hardware and window treatments. Mrs. Kourepinos
recommended we begin immediately with the repair
to the Window Hardware and made a motion that
we approve the repair of the Window Hardware at
a cost not to exceed $2000.00, seconded by George
Hadjoglou. Motion carried.
+ Hallway - Tony Pantelides made a motion to proceed
with the painting of the Hallway between the Church
and Cathedral Center at a cost not to exceed $7200.00,
seconded by John Hajisava. Motion carried. Tony
Pantelides made a motion to tile the Hallway floor at
a cost not to exceed $2,000.00, seconded by Triphon
Kollitides. Motion carried.
Technology Committee:
Jim Stephens reported the server needs to be rebuilt and is
being addressed.
Nursery School:
Harry Raptakis presented a report provided by Anna Possas
regarding the upcoming Nursery School year. The two
year old class will be increased to two classes. The three
year old class and four year old class will continue to be
together for three days and one day will be added for the
four year old class. The increase in the number of classes
will require hiring an additional teacher. It was proposed
that we hire Michelle Youpis, a certified Nursery School
teacher, and the parent of one of the four year old students,
to cover the additional class.
+ A motion was made by Harry Raptakis to retain
Michelle Youpis to cover the additional 2 year old class
and to assist at the extra four year old class, seconded by
Bill Lombard. Motion carried.
Harry Raptakis also reported that the additional class will
use “Classroom C” downstairs.
Entertainment Committee:
Triphon Kollitides provided a report on the Annual Picnic.
The Entertainment Committee served Breakfast and Lunch.
Triphon Kollitides thanked Mary Bassias, Mike Lazarakis,
the Pantelides Family, the Politis Family, Barbara Filou,
John Hajisava, George Hadjoglou, Bob Donus, Cathy
Marinos, Callie Papazicos and all others that assisted.
Approximate expenses were $543.00.
Project Renaissance:
+ Evans Lizardos reported that emergency action needed
to be taken by the Executive Committee to remove the
Dome Ring as pieces began falling onto the soleas. It
was reported that the damage was created by water
leaking through the Dome. Action will be taken over
the next several weeks to seal the Dome and prevent
further seepage and damage. A motion was made by
John Hajisava to ratify the action of the Executive
Committee to take the emergency action to erect
scaffolding and remove the Dome Ring at a cost of
$12,500.00, seconded by Harry Monioudis. Motion
carried.
+ Evans Lizardos made a motion to pay an invoice of
$4000.00 for ongoing Architectural Services being
provided by Gage Clemenceau, seconded by Bill
Lombard. Motion carried.
+ The anticipated completion of exterior work on the
Dome is October and planning for the interior work
can be started. The work to the interior of the Dome is
expected to be started in February 2010 and completed
during Lent.
Facilities:
Tony Pantelides made a motion to replace the Dishwasher
and Refrigerator in 2 Kensington Court at a total price of
$1,282.48, seconded by John Heliotis. Motion carried.
Parish Council Offsite:
George Papazicos reported that he met with Kosmas
Jannes. The Parish Council Offsite is currently being
planned for September 27 & 28, 2009. Kosmas provided
pricing for the Hotel and Charter Fishing Boat. The plan
is to target the 27th for golf or other activity and then dinner
followed by overnight stay and fishing on Monday. A sign
up sheet was circulated.
Financial Report:
George Vorkas presented the invoices to be paid. A motion
was made by John Hajisava to pay the invoices, seconded by
Louis Yeostros, motion carried.
Old Business:
+ Jim Georgakis provided a report by the committee
formed for the purchase of a new Clergy Automobile.
The committee looked at a Toyota Camry for $20,300,
Chevy Malibu for $20,485, Ford Fusion at $19,550 and
the Honda Accord for $19,300 including dealer prep. All
cars were comparably equipped. The committee decided
to purchase the Honda Accord per the authorization at
the June Parish Council meeting.
+ Joan Prieston extended appreciation for Homebound
Ministries couple, Gus and Mary Theo, who were
recognized during the Vespers of St. Peter and Paul.
+ Joan Prieston announced that the deadline to submit
articles for the September-October issue of the Epistle is
August 15th.
New Business:
+ George Papazicos reported that Bill Lembo and he met
with the manager of TD Bank regarding setting up an
Affinity Program. This program would be set up to
attract a percentage of our parishioners to open accounts
with TD Bank. The Cathedral of Saint Paul would
receive an annual donation from TD Bank based on the
balances of those parishioner accounts. Bill Lembo
will present a more complete report at the next Parish
Council Meeting.
+ Bill Lombard reviewed a program offered by Ambit
Energy, an Energy Service Company (ESCO), which
enables a discount for Natural Gas. The program is a
network marketing program where the Cathedral would
receive a monthly donation for each parishioner that
would join the program and the parishioner receives a
discount on gas. The amount of the monthly donation
would increase based on the natural gas usage of each
parishioner that joins. Also, each parishioner that solicits
15 additional customers would receive their Natural Gas
for free. The program continues to build as additional
customers join. The only fee to the
Cathedral is $99.00 to start the program. Bill Lombard
provided hand outs describing the program and a
discussion followed. Bill Lombard made a motion that
we go ahead with this program and approve the $99.00
expenditure, seconded by Lou Patrickakos. Motion
carried.
+ George Lavas made the recommendation that we default
our copiers to be two sided which will result in reduced
costs.
As Amended and Approved on Sept. 17, 2009
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting of Thursday,
August 20, 2009
prayer.
The minutes of the Thursday, July 16, 2009 meeting
had been distributed by Tony Vaccari the Parish Council
Secretary. A motion to approve the minutes was made by
Louis Yeostros, seconded by John Hajisava, the motion
carried.
Correspondence:
correspondence:
- Letter from United Veterans asking for
permission to place a clothing drop box on
Church property. No action was taken.
- Letter from Father Demetri of the Greenlawn
Church in reference to a Golf Outing to benefit
the Holy Cross Seminary. We will wait for
additional information before acting on this
matter.
- Communication from a parishioner, Gus
Stamoulis who is in the commercial roofing
business, offering his services to assist the
committee with Project Renaissance repairs.
- Letter from the Assistant Chancellor, Fr.
Michael Kontogiorgis of the Archdiocese
regarding a Biennial Retreat for Presvyteres
to be held October 9-12 in Baltimore.
- Letter from Jerry Minetos, Development
Officer for the Archdiocese Office of
Development offering assistance in Strategic
Planning which will be referred to the
Stewardship Committee.
Meetings/Events Attended By President George
Papazicos:
- Decorations
- Greek School
- Insurance
- Epistle
- Endowment Fund
- Annual Journal
- George D. Pamas Basketball League
Championship Game and Dinner
- Family Fall Festival
- Utility Oversight
A motion to adjourn at 10:58pm was made by George Zakos,
seconded by John Hajisava, the motion carried.
Stewardship Report:
President George Papazicos presented the following report
as of July30, 2009:
Year
2009
2008
2007
Increase (decrease)
Number of Pledges
799
747
799
52
Amount Pledged
$347,235
$337,390
$363,016
$9,845
Average Pledge
$434.59
$451.66
$454.34
($17.07)
Tony Vaccari reported there will be a Stewardship meeting
on August 27.
Clergy Report:
upcoming events:
+ Divine Liturgy will be held on Friday, September
11th to honor the Saint of that day and to pray for
those who have lost their lives in the terrorist
attacks.
+ September 13th is Fellowship Sunday which is also
the last Sunday with one Divine Liturgy. Light
refreshments will be served during the Fellowship
Hour.
+ Sunday September 20th will be Registration
Sunday. We also return to two Divine Liturgies
with Orthros at 7:45am, First Liturgy at 9:00am
and Second Liturgy at 10:45am.
+ Father Luke will be attending a clergy retreat; “The
Art of Speaking” in Boston is on Sept. 28 – Oct. 01.
+ We are compiling articles for the September/October
issue of the Epistle. We have been actively pursuing
advertisers by mailing to those that have advertised in
the past.
Youth Report:
Father Andreas reported on the following youth activities:
+ Family Fall Festival is scheduled for October 4th. Fran
Lutfy explained that the Fall Festival this year will be
more geared to the entire community and include food
and activities for the whole family. Fran Lutfy and
Gus Kratsios are co-chairing the event this year.
+ Cathedral of St. Paul will be hosting the Long Island
Young Adult League Volleyball Tournament on
Saturday August 22nd.
Bill Lembo presented the following report as of July 31,
2009:
Total Cash Assets
Net Available Funds
Revenue
Expenses
Surplus (Deficit)
Less Proj Ren & Decoratons (net)
10
$714,373
($149,360)
($328,242)
$236,771
Month of July Year to Date
2009
July 2009
$67,333
$972,064
($114,073)
($918,626)
($46,740)
$53,438
$209
$73,376
($46,531)
$126,814
Month of July Year to Date
2008
July 2008
$58,783
$988,641
($99,672)
($819,280)
($40,889)
$169,361
$4,000
($49,392)
($36,889)
$119,969
A motion was made by Toni Kourepinos to accept the
Treasurer’s Report, seconded by Andy Andron. Motion
carried.
Festival:
Bill Lembo provided a report on the Festival revenues and
expenses. The Net Surplus is approximately $130,000;
however there are some outstanding receivables and
expenses that need to be reconciled. Bill Lembo also
congratulated Michael Possas and George Marinos for a
job well done.
Gala Sweepstakes:
Bill Lembo reported that we sold 1640 Gala Sweepstakes
Tickets this year.
Finance:
Bill Lembo announced that there will be a Finance
Committee meeting in the mid/late September time frame
where the budget will be analyzed and the preparations for
the 2010 budget will begin.
Bill Lembo announced that we were informed by Advanta
Bank that the Church Credit Card had been cancelled due
to the fact they no longer offer the program. Bill Lembo
reported that, at the request of the president George
Papazicos, a committee was formed consisting of Financial
Officers and Human Resources. The recommendation
of the committee is that we establish an Imprest Fund
(expense advance) of $250.00 each for Father Luke, Father
Andreas and the Custodian. A motion was made by Bill
Lembo that the Parish Council affirms and approves the
recommendation of the committee and that we establish 3
Imprest Funds of $250.00 each and as receipts are turned
in the fund will be replenished, seconded by Jim Stephens.
Motion carried.
Bill Lembo reported that he attended a meeting with TD
Bank regarding their Affinity Program. We are waiting
for TD Bank to provide a proposal with more detail on
the program and will revisit this issue when the proposal
is received.
Fall Golf Outing:
George Vorkas reported that planning was progressing for
the Fall Golf Outing at the Hempstead Country Club to be
held on September 26th. The fee will be $275.00 and the
number of Golfers will be limited to 40 golfers. George
Vorkas made a motion that the Parish Council approve we
go forward with the event, seconded by Jim Ginis. Motion
carried.
Annual Journal:
George Papazicos reported that the Journal Committee
met with a representative from Olin Mills to discuss the
detail of a photo directory. The committee has decided
that we postpone the combination of this directory with
our Annual Journal and that we would move forward with
our traditional Annual Journal.
Seminary Trust Fund Committee:
Andy Andron announced that a Wine Tasting fundraiser to
benefit the Seminary Trust Fund will be held at Jonathan’s
Restaurant on Tuesday evening, October 20th at 7:00pm at
a price of $50.00 per person.
Golden Leaves Ball:
Toni Kourepinos reported that the Golden Leaves Ball will
be held at the Milleridge Cottage on November 1st from
6:00pm to 10:00pm at a donation of $90.00 per person.
Toni Kourepinos made a motion that we hire Gregory
Marinakis to provide music at a cost of $1800, seconded
by Louis Yeostros. Motion carried.
Decorations Committee:
- Hellenic Room – Toni Kourepinos reported that the
window hardware repairs in the Hellenic Room
were completed. In addition, one of the donated
lighting fixtures had been installed. It was approved
by the Parish Council. A motion was made by Toni
Kourepinos that we give the go ahead to George P.
Possas to install the remaining 7 lighting fixtures,
seconded by Michael Gurlides. Motion carried.
- George Papazicos asked the Decorations Committee
for a recommendation on what should be done with
the old fixtures.
- Hallway Painting – Gus Kratsios reported that the
painting of the hallway between Church and Cathedral
Center will begin after selecting the colors and we on
target for completion by September 20th.
Insurance:
Fran Lutfy provided a report addressing the level of casualty
coverage we have on the buildings we own surrounding
the Cathedral. The buildings include 130 Cathedral
Avenue, 100 Cathedral Avenue and 2 Kensington Court.
The committee calculated the appropriate coverage levels
based on industry standard replacement costs and square
footage of each building. It was determined that we need
to increase our coverage over current levels. Fran Lutfy
made a motion that upon renewal of our insurance policies,
the Parish Council authorize an increase in the coverage to
the appropriate levels and increase in premiums so that we
can properly plan for next years budget, seconded by John
Heliotis. Motion carried.
Nominating Committee:
Gus Kratsios reported that a Nominating Committee has
been formed consisting of Gus Kratsios, Jim Georgakis,
Tony Pantelides, Fran Lutfy and Triphon Kollitides. There
are 10 Parish Council members whose terms are expiring
and the committee will nominate a slate of 12 candidates.
George C. Possas provided a progress report on projects
underway:
- Drywells will be installed on August 24th. A change
order was received by the contractor increasing the
price by $7500. We asked for detail and are waiting
for a response.
- Dome Repair – The stones for the Dome are delivered
and work will now be progressing at a faster pace over
the next few weeks. The Dome repairs are expected to
be completed by mid to late October.
- The contractor will begin working on the repair of
the roofs in other areas of the Church and Cathedral
Center.
- Additional damage was noticed to seams in the Dome
which will be repaired.
George C. Possas made a motion to approve the payment
of an invoice from JCRC in the amount of $34,260.32 for
services and purchase of the stones for the Dome, seconded
by Bill Lembo. Motion carried.
Financial Report:
was made by Michael Gurlides to pay the invoices,
seconded by Lou Patrickakos, motion carried.
Old Business:
- George Papazicos announced we will begin to
promote the Ambit Energy program and thanked Bill
Lombard for his assistance in getting the program off
the ground.
New Business:
- Jim Ginis announced that the next Blood Drive is
scheduled for Tuesday September 22nd.
- Fran Lutfy announced that Greek School Registration
will be held on Saturday, September 12th.
- Harry Raptakis announced that there will be a Parish
Representative meeting for the Direct Archdiocese
District on Tuesday, September 15th and attendance
is open to Parish Officers and Executive Committee
members.
- George Papazicos announced that there are two special
anniversaries in 2010; the 50th Anniversary of the
Tearing Icon and the 65th Anniversary of the Cathedral
of St. Paul. An informal committee will be formed to
explore various activities we can do surrounding these
two milestones in 2010.
A motion to adjourn at 11:30pm was made by Dean
Mavrovitis, seconded by George Zakos, the motion
carried.
11
As Amended and Approved on October 15, 2009
Minutes of the Parish Council Meeting of Thursday,
September 17, 2009
prayer.
The minutes of the August 20, 2009 meeting were
distributed by Tony Vaccari, Parish Council Secretary. A
motion to approve the minutes was made by Jim Stephens,
seconded by Evans Lizardos, the motion carried.
Correspondence:
correspondence.
- Letter from Bishop Andonios regarding St.
Michaels Name Day Gala.
- Letter from Fr. Michael Kontogiorgis on
behalf of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios
and Harry Raptakis, Chairman of the DAD
Finance Committee informing of a meeting
on Tuesday, September 15th at the Archdiocese
Cathedral Center to discuss the 2010 Parish
Council Allocations as well as a Stewardship
presentation.
- 2010 Clergy Compensation Package
- Letter from our Choir Director relating to
the Annual Choir Dinner, which is scheduled
for Oct. 29th at Jonathan’s and asking for a
reimbursement of the cost for Choir Members.
A motion was made by Toni Kourepinos that
we approve the expenditure, seconded by
Harry Monioudis. Motion carried.
Meetings Attended By President:
President George Papazicos attended the following
committee meetings:
- Decorations
- Stewardship
- Utility Oversight
- Annual Journal
- 2010 Steering Committee
- Special Needs Sunday Church School
Program
- Family Fall Festival
Stewardship Report:
George Papazicos presented the follow report as of August
31, 2009:
Year
2009
2008
2007
Increase (decrease)
Number of
Pledges
825
772
815
53
Amount Pledged
$361,710
$348,415
$367,741
$13,295
Average
Pledge
$438.44
$451.31
$451.22
($12.88)
Clergy Report:
Father Luke read the Gospel Reading for this coming
Sunday and discussed the importance of the message.
services:
+ September 20th is Registration Sunday and the return
to two Divine Liturgies
+ Bible Study resumes on September 21st. and will be
the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month.
+ Church Sunday School resumes September 27th at
9:00am sharp
+ Orthodoxy 101 classes resume on October 2nd.
+ We will be showing a movie at 7:00pm on October 6th
named “The Island” on the life of a Russian Orthodox
Monk followed by a discussion.
+ October 7th, Father Demetrios Carellas will be
delivering a lecture on the Mystical Journey into the
1st Beatitude.
+ October 10th we are hosting a retreat for the IOCC and
Frederica Mathewes-Green will be speaking.
+ Pioneer Program - Father Luke reported that we will
be forming a special needs Sunday Church School
class that will be offered to children with disabilities.
This class will meet two times per month during the
2nd Liturgy. The class will be a cooperative program
with parental participation and will be run by a teacher
trained to work with special needs children who will
received a small stipend. The class will be fully funded
by St. Nicholas Foundation.
George Vorkas presented the following report as of August
31, 2009:
Total Cash Assets
Net Available Funds
Revenue
Expenses
Surplus (Deficit)
Less Proj Ren & Decorations (net)
$635,806
($147,770)
($291,626)
$196,410
Month of
Year to Date
Month of
Year to Date
August 2009 August 2009 August 2008 August 2008
$49,275
$1,034,333
$56,287 $1,044,929
($100,544) ($1,054,555)
($92,438) ($911,719)
($51,269)
($20,222)
($36,151)
$133,210
$38,206
$111,582
($2,233)
($55,037)
($13,063)
$91,360
($38,384)
$78,173
A motion to accept the Treasurers report was made by Lou
Patrickakos, seconded by George Zakos. Motion carried.
12
Fall Golf Outing:
George Vorkas provided an update. Registrations are
slow. We will be promoting the event more broadly over
the next few weeks.
Youth Committee:
Father Andreas indicated a need for funding for JOY and
GOYA Soccer Teams. A motion was made by George
Hadjoglou to approve payment of entry fees for up to
six JOY and GOYA Soccer Teams at a cost of $475.00
each for a total of $2,850.00, seconded by Louis Yeostros.
Motion carried.
Fall schedules are beginning for HOPE, JOY and GOYA.
The first event for GOYA will be a trip on September 26th
to Holiday Hill in CT. Father Andreas also reported that
on October 31st we will be taking some GOYA members to
St. Michaels to visit seniors.
Fall Festival:
Fran Lutfy reported that the planning for the Family Fall
Festival, which is on October 4th, is progressing well.
Many new activities and food are being planned this year.
Fran asked for permission to have a Frappe Stand at the
Fellowship Hour this Sunday so they can test the process.
We will get a note out to the Parish Council to ask for
support. Fran also asked for someone to volunteer to take
photos at the Festival. Harry Raptakis made a motion that
the Parish Council authorize him to spend $100.00 for a
Tent Permit should we need to get one, seconded by Lou
Patrickakos. Motion carried.
Annual Journal:
Liz Comack reported that the 60th Annual Journal is moving
forward. Contracts for Ads are going out in mailings. We
will also be promoting Ads through our Website. Elizabeth
will be asking that all organizations to provide their own
digital photographs by October 20th. All Ads are due by
November 1st. We will be staffing a table at Fellowship
Hour beginning this week. Parish Council photographs
will be taken at the next Parish Council meeting.
Technology:
Jim Stephens discussed the submission of content for the
Website. We are also in the process of moving the Domain
name which will give us greater flexibility and control.
We will be able to set up email accounts for specific
organizations. We only have one copy of the software we
use to create various publications including the Epistle and
Journal. There will be a Technology Committee meeting
to discuss and make a recommendation on the purchase
of additional copies of this software as well as other
technology needs.
Blood Drive:
Jim Ginis announced that the semi-annual Blood Drive
will be held on Tuesday, September 22nd and encouraged
all to make an attempt to support it as well as spread the
word to others.
Boy Scouts:
Harry Monioudis announced that Sunday, September 20th
is Souvlaki Sunday and the Boy Scouts will be selling
souvlaki after both Liturgies. The Annual Boy Scout
Scholarship Golf Outing is schedule for Wednesday,
October 7th. The EOCS retreat is Saturday, October 10th.
A trip to Annapolis, MD for a Navy football game and to
view the grounds is scheduled for November 14th.
Seminary Trust Fund:
Dino Zografos reminded us that the Seminary Trust “Wine
Tasting” Fundraiser is scheduled for Tuesday, October
20th at Jonathan’s. Mr. Zografos encouraged all Parish
Council members to attend and announced that we will be
taking reservations during Registration Sunday and during
Fellowship Hour each Sunday.
Nursery School:
George Hadjoglou presented a Nursery School report
prepared by Anna Possas. The current registration is 15-2
year olds, 5-3 year olds and 4-4 year olds. The teachers
have set up the classrooms to make them welcoming to
the children. We will be using Conference Room C this
year and we should be mindful of the materials when we
use it for other meetings. Classes will begin on October
1st for the 2-years olds and October 2nd for the 3 year olds
and 4 year olds. An orientation meeting is scheduled for
September 22nd for all parents to meet teachers and hear
about the curriculum. Demetri deserves thanks for setting
up classrooms and installing clothing hooks and a second
lower banister. There is a need for a cabinet with a lock, a
desk with a lock and a bookshelf. If these are not donated
we will need to purchase them. A discussion followed
regarding the need for additional storage. This will be
looked into by Facilities and a report will be provided.
Church Committee:
George Lavas distributed a new Parish Council Roster.
Mr. Lavas also indicated there may be a need for coverage
during the second Liturgy each week. A discussion
followed regarding freeing up the Financial Secretaries so
they can attend Liturgy.
Sunday Church School:
George Lavas reported that first day of classes is September
27th. There will be an emergency evacuation drill in early
October.
Golden Leaves Ball:
George Lavas announced that we will begin to accept
13
reservations for the Golden Leaves Ball this Sunday and
continue through October 25th. The event is on November
1st.
Gala Sweepstakes:
George Lavas provide a preliminary report indicating
approximately $50,000 in Net Income. A final report will
be present at the October Parish Council meeting.
Reservations:
Jim Georgakis received a request from a parishioner for
use of the Hellenic Room for a Birthday Party on Saturday,
January 9th from 4:00pm to 8:00pm. A motion was made
by Harry Raptakis to grant use of the Hellenic Room
on Saturday, January 9th from 4:00pm to 8:00pm with
the condition that the room is cleaned and prepared for
Sunday and any costs incurred would be passed on to the
parishioner, seconded by Jim Stephens. Motion carried,
one opposed.
Evans Lizardos reported on the projects that are underway.
The recent inclement weather has caused slight delays in
the completion of the Drywell work. We are exploring
reimbursement from the contractor of a $1,500.00 expense
for damage incurred to our sprinkler system during the
excavation for the Drywells. Work on the Dome will be
accelerating as the Limestone has been delivered and it
will be hoisted to the Dome and installed.
Hallway – Gus Kratsios reported that the Hallway has been
painted and new lighting has been installed. In addition
the tiling has been selected and ordered. The work will be
done within the following week.
Decorations:
Hellenic Room - Toni Kourepinos thanked Gus Drivas and
Zach Lambrinon for their work on cleaning the lighting
fixtures and George P. Possas for installing them. Mrs.
Kourepinos also asked that we send a thank you letter to
the donors of the fixtures.
Nominations Committee:
Gus Kratsios reported that 10 Parish Council members’
terms will be expiring this year. Gus has contacted all
10 incumbents and the following 9 have agreed to run if
selected; Elizabeth Comack, Bob Donus, Bill Lembo, Bill
Lombard, Harry Monioudis, Michael Sassos, Jim Stephens,
George Vorkas and Louis Yeostros. The committee has
identified 10 parishioners and will approach them to ask if
they would consider running. A total slate of 12 candidates
must be submitted according to the Parish By-Laws.
Financial Report:
was made by Dino Zografos to pay the invoices, seconded
by Jim Ginis. Motion carried.
Old Business:
George Lavas reported that the installation of the Flag
14
Poles is scheduled for early October 2009.
George Papazicos thanked John Hajisava and the
Fellowship Committee for their work on Fellowship
Sunday.
New Business:
George Papazicos reported that a request was made by
Stratis Demertzis, Choir Director that we approve the
purchase of new books that are used by the Chanters as the
existing ones are old and tattered. A motion was made by
Joan Prieston that we approve the purchase of new Chanter
books up to a maximum of $1000.00, seconded by Andy
Andron. Motion carried.
Harry Raptakis reported on the Parish Representative
Meeting hosted by the Direct Archdiocesan District on
September 15th at which the parameters for the 2010
Allocation Program are decided. We should be getting our
Allocation Assessment information before October 15th so
that we can incorporate into our 2010 budget process. Also
at the meeting was a presentation regarding assistance the
Archdiocese will be providing to help parishes establish
Stewardship Programs.
George Papazicos reported that several important dates
will occur during 2010, including the 50th Anniversary of
the Tearing Icons, May 1st is the 50th Anniversary of Father
Nick’s Ordination to the Priesthood and June 13th is the 65th
Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Church. A Steering
Committee will be formed to plan the “Anniversary Year”
including several activities during the year, in addition to a
banquet luncheon that is being targeted for May 2nd.
The Parish Assembly is scheduled for November 8th.
George Papazicos asked the Parish Council members to
prepare for any presentations they wish to make. The
Secretary will be sending a letter to the community
announcing the Parish Assembly meeting.
George Lavas asked that we consider a H1N1 Flu plan.
George Papazicos suggested that we develop a plan and
communicate with the community.
George Papazicos suggested we create a “Friends of St.
Paul” list so that we can periodically communicate with
those that may not be Stewards about events and news.
A motion to adjourn at 10.55 pm was made by Jim Ginis,
seconded by Toni Kourepinos, the motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Anthony P. Vaccari
Secretary, Parish Council
Is our Stewardship Adequate?
“Here we go again, the Church is asking for more
money.” How often do we hear that? How many of us
are asking ourselves this very question? Do we realize,
however, that the Church is not a Country Club or a
profit making enterprise? The Church is the Mystical
Body of Christ, an extension of our very being, our
anchor.
A truly believing Greek Orthodox Christian loves
the Church as his or her own. We should support
our Church according to the needs of the Church
and not personal convenience. A devoted parent,
sibling or adult child would never tell their loved
one, “I have given you enough. You are on your
own.” Likewise, a faithful Greek Orthodox Christian
should never feel that way about their Church.
The fact is that our Cathedral of Saint Paul relies
on Stewardship to meet the operating costs necessary
to continue the many Ministries and activities available
to all of us. We are indeed blessed to have many
Stewards that give generously to our Cathedral. We
must remember that Stewardship is not only the amount
of money we donate, but just as importantly, how
much of Time and Talent we offer to help to defray
costs. However, we do require a sustainable income
stream to enable us to satisfy the financial challenge
of covering our expenses. Currently, our Stewardship
Commitments do not cover the basic needs of our
Cathedral. Were it not for the many Fundraising
events we devote hard work and precious time to each
year, we would not come close meeting these basic
financial needs. Genuine Stewardship is a tangible
expression of our faith. It is a promise, an ongoing
commitment to support the ever increasing needs of
our Cathedral. Giving generously and not frugally
cements this commitment. If you have not increased
your commitment over the years, you should consider
how your own personal costs have increased. Take note
and be thankful if you have been blessed with the ability
to provide for yourself and family as these costs have
increased and realize that the costs of the Cathedral of
St. Paul are no different. Our Stewardship, over the
years has essentially remained steady while over the
same period, our costs have increased significantly.
Stewardship cultivates our bond with Christ and
ensures the progress of the Church. It affords us the
opportunity to give a portion of our blessings back to
Him. Actually, thoughts on giving can be traced to
the Bible. “No one shall appear before the Lord empty
handed, but each of you, with as much as he can give,
in proportion to the blessings which the Lord God has
bestowed on you.” (Deut 16:10, 16-17). “Everyone to
whom much is given, from him will be required.” (Luke
12:48) Saint Paul tells us, “On the first day of the week,
each of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping
with his income.” (I Cor. 16:2). Saint Paul also writes,
“He who sows sparingly, will also reap sparingly and
he who sows bountifully, will also reap bountifully.”
Each one of us must do as we have made up
our mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for
God loves a cheerful giver. God is able to provide
you with every blessing in abundance so that you
may always have enough of everything and may
thus provide in abundance for every good work.
When we consider that the greatest gift we will ever
receive is the gift of God’s only begotten Son, who was
crucified for our salvation, we must ask ourselves, what
can we give in return? We believe in a loving God who
gives of Himself for our salvation. Therefore, Orthodox
Stewardship is a loving response where we offer
ourselves to Him in return. Giving is a spiritual discipline
and we should give out of need to grow spiritually.
But how much should we actually give? What
guidelines do we have? Unfortunately we are rarely
given tangible concrete guidelines. Here is some food
for thought: Research indicates that Roman Catholic
and Lutherans generally give 2% of their gross family
income to their respective Churches. This often
amounts to $35.00 to $40.00 per week. By comparison,
the average Greek Orthodox family often gives ½%
amounting to only $10.00 per week. At the Cathedral
of Saint Paul, our average Stewardship is even less
than this. It is interesting to consider that if each of us
increased our weekly commitment by just $5.00 per
week, we would be able to meet all of the financial
needs of our Parish without the reliance on any of our
many Fundraisers. Imagine what we could do with the
additional funds we would realize from the Festival,
Annual Journal, Easter and Christmas offerings,
Gala Sweepstakes, as well as Candles & Collections.
The entire month of November is Stewardship
Month and November 22nd is Stewardship Sunday.
This is the day we set aside to make our Stewardship
Commitment for 2010. As you consider your
Stewardship Commitment to the Cathedral of Saint Paul
for 2010, please remember that this is your Cathedral.
Let us now seize the opportunity to strongly affirm our
beloved Greek Orthodox faith by increasing our 2010
Stewardship Commitment to a level our Lord Jesus
Christ deserves and strongly consider how our Time
and Talent can add to the richness of our community.
15
Fun Times at the
16
Family Fall Festival 2009
17
Daughters of Penelope Pasithea Ch. #141
By President Jackie Ursini
Our year has been off to a great start. The tea
for all seasons held on Saturday, September 19th in
the Hellenic Room was an afternoon of fun, plenty
of food and lots of laughter. Thank you to our cochairs Denise Rigopoulos and Corie Commander.
The bake sale held on Sunday, September 27th was
our first fundraiser for the season. We nearly sold out
of all the baked goods. Thank you to all who baked,
donated and helped out that day.
On Wednesday, October 14th we held our annual
Honey Party with friends and family and later we
were joined by our Ahepans. The night was filled
with lots of raffle prizes and fun. Thank you to Mary
Lagonikos for calling the numbers for our Honey
Games. Thank you to Annette Stasinos for chairing
this event (on her birthday) and for all who helped.
Our fall conference was held on October 24th this
year with some of our daughters in attendance. On
October 28th the Daughters were in charge of the
desserts for the Ahepan “OXI” Night held in the
Hellenic Room.
Sisters, please mark your calendars for Sunday,
November 15th when Pasithea will be hosting Founders
Day after the second Divine Liturgy. This will be
followed by a luncheon at the George Washington
Manor. On Thursday, November 19th the Ahepans
will be having their Annual Thanksgiving Dinner
and the Daughters will host the desserts. Another
important date to remember is our Annual Christmas
Party held on Wednesday, December 2nd.
Hope to see all of you at our events.
18
St. Paul’s Seniors
By Grace Rosalbo, Secretary
With summer behind us, I hope everyone had
a good summer. It was a pleasure to see everyone
again.
Our first meeting was held on September 8, 2009.
We all said a prayer of thanks and enjoyed a great
luncheon catered by Jamie Spanopoulos of “Chicken
Carnival”. We celebrated eight birthdays with cake
and best wishes to the celebrants. We wish to thank
Mary Sikalis and Esther Alasitis for their donation
of the wine.
Our next meeting was held on Tuesday, October
13, 2009. Father Luke and Father Andreas gave
prayers of thanks followed by lunch catered by
Jamie Spanopoulos of “Chicken Carnival”. Thirteen
birthdays were celebrated with good wishes to all.
We also celebrated our 35h anniversary with a large
cake. After dessert we played a game and prizes
were given out. We purchased an ad for the Church
Journal and donated to the Fellowship Hour for both
services.
Our next meeting date will be Tuesday, November
10, 2009.
SACRAMENTS CELEBRATED
AT OUR CATHEDRAL
SEPTEMBER
Baptisms
Sons of Mr. & Mrs. Mario Ciampi
Son of Mr. & Mrs. Robert Decillis
Son of Mr. & Mrs. Peter Rahaniotis
Daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Damian Pappas
Daughters of Mr. & Mrs. Simone Sartona
Son of Mr. & Mrs. Yianni Vardouniotis
Daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Argyrios Andriotis
Weddings
George Trevlakis & Erin Weishaupt
Emmanuel Voulgarakis & Angela Velis
James Ragusano & Stella Katsanevakis
Peter Makrides & Chrystal Kola
Weddings
George Bouzikos & Pamela Bissias
Anthony Pigis & Jeanette Duras
Spiro Delis & Effie Babatsikos
Jerry Troianos & Vicky Zervoudis
Michael Demetriou & Randi Pettis
George Papageorge & Patricia Fletcher
Louie Mellis & Irene Avgoustidis
Jimmy Baldea & Stacy Guercia
Funerals
Athanasia Sue Melas
Gust Tasolides
John H. Dounelis
Funerals
Louis Thymius
Costas Antoniou
OCTOBER
Baptisms
Daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Constatine
Cassimatis
Son of Mr. & Mrs. Wesley Peterson
Daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Alexatos
Son of Mr. & Mrs. Hristos Spetserieris
Daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Peter Kalamaras
Daughter of Mr. & Mrs. John Klein
Son of Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Gaunt
Daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Niko Tsastelis
Daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Michael Englezos
Daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Petros Skamagas
Daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Vasilios Tsoukalos
19
Project Renaissance Update
Since the last issue of “The Epistle”, we continue
to progress through our project list. The new drywell
has been completed and has been “battle-tested”
with some significant rainfall. The hallways in the
administration building look beautiful with a fresh
coat of paint, new flooring and improved lighting.
The weather-proofing of the exterior dome and the
dome windows is nearly complete. Although the
recent rainfall has slowed the exterior dome work,
it should be finished sometime in November. Once
that is done, the scaffolding over the Vestry will
be removed, allowing the contractor to repair the
Vestry roof. The interior dome work is scheduled for
completion early next year during Lent. The dome
ring that was removed several months ago will be
replaced at that time.
We would like to thank those of you that have
heeded our call for new or increased donations to
Project Renaissance. These funds and more are
necessary if we are to proceed with our remaining
projects. It would be a shame if we are unable to
refurbish the vestry where our visiting clergy,
including the Archbishop and Bishops, vest
themselves prior to participating in the Liturgy. This
area of our Church is in dire need of a facelift. We
also still need additional money to make necessary
repairs to our choir loft and we must replace the
ground-level concrete surrounding our building and
the broken bricks on the exterior of our facility to
protect against future damage from the elements.
Each of us must help in order for us to complete
the job we started. Please continue to support our
Cathedral with your donations. We all know that
being an Orthodox Christian often means making
sacrifices, but as someone once said, “the hours
are long, the work is difficult, but the rewards are
eternal.” Please give generously.
LIACA-----Long Island American Cypriot
Association
By Teena Grosinski
Many members of our community were unaware
that LIACA stands for Long Island American Cypriot
Association. LIACA was established over 30 years
ago in order to strengthen the bonds among Cypriot
Americans and to further our cultural heritage. We
strive to morally support the people of Cyprus and
also to engage in benevolent and philanthropic
activities. Through the years we supported many
projects here at the Cathedral of St. Paul as well as
offering assistance to members and their families
who are in need.
In addition to our monthly meetings which take
place on the second Monday of every month we have
a number of
social events.
Many people
look forward to
our annual cake
sale in October
where we have
traditional
Cypriot and Greek desserts. Cypriot olive bread, in
particular, has quite a following. Come December,
we have a Christmas party and later during Lent a
Lenten Dinner. Our dinner dance will be held in the
spring. This year we are also planning a movie night
in February.
We were delighted to meet several new families
and members during Registration Sunday most of
whom attended our Welcome Back Social in October
where we enjoyed each others’ company over Cypriot
mezedakia prepared by our members.
Our newly elected board consists of:
President
Soteroulla Constantinou
Vice President
Notis Savvides
General Secretary
Irene Kyriakou
Treasurer
Costakis Pierides
Advisor to the Board Constantinos Zaphiris
All Cypriots are encouraged to join us the second
Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the Hellenic
Room. For information please feel free to contact
Soteroulla at 516-783-9036. We look forward to
seeing everyone again.
20
St. Anna’s Philoptochos
Grief & Bereavement
By Athena Kallinikos, President
By Kay Pamas
We are well underway in our new Philoptochos
year. Congratulations to our 25 year member
recipients honored at our Membership Tea on
October 13. They are: Mary Allis, Mary Grigoriou,
Alice Linderman and Anthipi Sicoutry. God Bless
you for your continued support and dedication to
St. Anna’s Philoptochos. Thank you to Susan Simon
from the Maurer Foundation for a very informative
presentation on breast cancer awareness. Thank you to
board member Connie Germanakos, chairlady of our
Membership Tea and a true steward of Philoptochos.
On November 1st we celebrated St. Anagyroi
Feast Day and hosted the fellowship hour. Thank
you for your donations. Once again we have had
two successful “Shop For A Cause” shopping sprees
chaired by Kathy Boulukos. The proceeds went to
our seminarians and to charities supported by St.
Anna’s. November 24 is our next General meeting.
Please be sure to read our church bulletin for more
information about our speaker that night. Our book
circle continues to grow as we are now entering
our third year. Check our Sunday bulletin for our
upcoming book title and date of our next Book
Circle. To expand on our literacy program, I would
like to ask each of you to bring a new or gently used
children’s book to our next General Meeting so that
we may gift them to the children in Hempstead.
As we get closer to the holidays, we are busy
preparing for our Christmas Luncheon at the
Westbury Manor on December 10, “It’s a Holly,
Jolly Christmas”; our wreath sale on December 6 and
December 13 and our holiday bake sale , December 13.
Reservations can be made for our Christmas luncheon
in the Cathedral Center any Sunday in November.
We also ask that you purchase your holiday wreaths
and grave blankets from Philoptochos which you
can reserve in advance. Just speak to anyone of our
board members. Please help support our upcoming
events. We appreciate any help you can give us.
Without your love and support, Philoptochos would
not be able to continue working towards its many
Philanthropic obligations. It is important that you
keep your membership current. Thank you very
much.
God Bless you all and may He fill your hearts this
holiday season with continued faith, good health and
peace.
The Grief and Bereavement Support Group had
been meeting for several years when some of the
members expressed their desire to memorialize their
departed loved ones by doing something special.
In December of 1998, Kay Pamas asked Fr.
Nick Magoulias for permission to have her group
place an ornament on the Church’s Christmas tree.
He agreed wholeheartedly. The following year
the Bereavement Group got permission to have its
own memorial tree in church near the Shrine of the
Panaghia. This was the beginning of a wonderful
tradition that has been repeated annually since 1998
and extremely successful with over 175 people
attending. Therefore, we will once again have a
Memorial Tree on Wednesday, December 16, 2009
at 7:00pm. Father Luke and Father Andreas will
join us for the Trisagion Service and a special talk
by Father Andreas.
You are all cordially invited to bring an ornament
in memory of your loved one and place it on the
Christmas tree.
Telephone(516)326-2275
Fax
(516)326-2251
PAUL KRITIKOS, M.D., F.A.C.S., P.C.
Ophthalmology and Ophthalmic Surgery
Diplomate of American Board of Opthalmology
Fellow of American College of Surgeons
Office Hours
By Appointment
Lake Success Medical Building
1300 Union Turnpike, Suite 105
New Hyde Park, NY 11040
21
Blood Drive
By Jim Ginis & Kay Pamas Co-Chairpersons
On Tuesday, September 22nd, the Cathedral of St.
Paul hosted its semi-annual blood drive. Forty eight
donors participated, seven were postponed. Seven
other donors were able to donate under a process
known as apheresis, “automated red cell collection,”
which allows the donor to give two units of red blood
cells instead of just one.
Each donation of blood, which just takes 15-20
minutes, helps at least 3 to 4 people here on Long
Island that require the blood for surgery or other urgent
needs. The blood we collected at this drive benefited
over 140 people, probably saving many lives!
Special thanks go to Fr. Luke Melackrinos, Elias
Chrysanthis, Gerald Holder, Peter Liakos, John
Mikos, Angelo Orphanos and Jim Stephens, who
generously donated to the “automated red cell
collection”. The process separates the blood into its
components while it is being drawn. Only red blood
cells are collected and the remaining components are
returned to the donor. Because of the concentration
of red cells collected, the donation allows for twice as
many red cell transfusions. The process takes about
10-15 minutes longer than a regular whole blood
donation and the donor must wait at least 112 days
before offering another blood donation compared to
56 days for whole blood.
We also thank the volunteers Hermea Drivas and
Roula Zografos who helped out with the phone calls
soliciting previous blood donors, with the blood
donors who signed up during the Fellowship hours
and with processing the blood donors on the day
of the blood drive. A special thank you to a new
volunteer, Ms. Kristin Stephens, daughter of Parish
Council member, James Stephens, who made sure
our donors were properly identified as donors with
the “blood drop” sticker and made sure they had some
cookies and juice.
The rules for donating are strict in order to ensure
a safe blood supply. There are restrictions on certain
medications you may be taking or have taken and
where you may have recently traveled. Many times
donors are postponed from giving blood due to low
iron levels in their blood. This can be remedied by
eating certain iron rich foods such as nuts, dried
fruits, liver and many other foods. Before our next
drive, we will let the community know what foods
22
can be consumed to help bring up the iron level in
their blood.
If you were not able to donate that evening, please
consider donating at various blood drives being held
throughout the area. You can call 1 (800) 933-2566 or
visit www.nybloodcenter.org for more information.
In conclusion, we also thank all those who offered
a blood donation at this drive.
Our next Semi-annual Blood Drive is:
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Please Donate
Blood is Life, Pass it on
Blood Donors
Fr. Luke Melackrinos
Marcus Arianas
George Benson
Teresa Bussi
Elias Chrysanthis
Judith Chrysanthis
Soteroulla Contantinou
Paula Conte
James Delegianis
Robert Donus
John Doyamis
Faith Drapan
John Ebbets
Maria Giannopoulos
James Ginis
Andrew Grigoriou
George Hadjoglou
Mark Heighington
Katherine Hellaman
Gerald Holder
Maria Ioannou
George Kakalos
Maritza Kakoyiannis
Athena Kallinikos
Elaine Kaniaris
Nicholas Koumos
Maria Koutsouras
Peter Liakos
George Marinos
Dorothy McGarvey
John Mikos
Annette Mitchell
Tim Mourikis
Jackie Orfanos
Angelo Orphanos
Erika Palmer
Cathy Pantelides
Christine Papazicos
George Papazicos
Kaliope Papazicos
Sophia Pisano
Joann Politis
James Stephens
Thomas Scudero
Kalliope Tsigakos
Sophea Tsigakos
Eugenia Verdis
George Zito
Association Laconon
By Pauline Alexander
On Sunday, October 11, 2009, the Association
Laconon held its 40th Annual Dinner Dance at the
Pompeii Restaurant in West Hemptead. There is one
word that can describe that function and it is WOW.
It was an absolutely fabulous evening. The event was
chaired by our Vice President, Georgia Tsempelis and
our long standing member and former President John
Heliotes with lots of help from our current President,
Teddy Lakis.
Since this year’s dinner marked the occasion of
our association’s fortieth year, we wanted to do
something to mark this occasion. We wanted to honor
our founding members and we were fortunate to have
two of them in attendance that evening. We presented
them with a gift—after all, if it hadn’t been for these
early founding members, we would not be here today.
Honored that evening were Teddy Andromidas and
Mike Lazarakis.
Many of our parishioners were in attendance that
evening, including Father Luke and his lovely bride
Marusia. Georgia Tsempelis and Teddy Lakis spent
countless hours seeing to every detail and they did
an outstanding job of picking beautiful arrangements
and colors for the event. Georgia also chose a great
menu for us and everyone there raved about the
food. Marina Heliotis designed our posters and our
programs, again an outstanding job, creative and
beautiful. We were lucky to have Vasili Tsempelis
and Lou Vlogianitis at the door collecting money
from the attendees and Teddy Mavromihalis did an
outstanding job keeping track of the raffles.
We had the band One + One = Five, with Nick
Skrepetos on clarinet. His clarinet playing is
incredible. There is no way that one can sit through
his songs. Our attendees appeared to have danced
every dance! The only time we sat down was when
the band took a break, which was rare!
Again this year, more people wanted to attend than
we had room. Not only did we not have room for
more people, but we sold all of our raffles. The night
of the dance people were asking to buy raffles and we
didn’t have any more.
Also in attendance were some of our sister
organizations, who always support us as we support
them. Mr. Teddy Pavlakos of Epidauro Limeras was
there with his group. Also in attendance was Mr. Nick
Sarandakos of Longastra, his lovely wife Maria and
their guests. Lastly, also joining us was the Kremasti
Association with their president, Mr. Nick Dounias
and their guests.
As many of you know, our organization tries to
perpetuate and imbue our members with a sense of
pride in their history and the backgrounds of the
famous individuals who were Laconians. We are but
one organization out of many that attempts to do this
through dances and cultural events. In conjunction
with this, Epidauro Limeras is sponsoring a talk and
review of one of our most famous
modern Greek poets, Yiannis Ritsos on
November 15th at the Stathakion Center
in Astoria. I was lucky enough to have
attended a retrospective of the artist in
his hometown of Monemvassia this
past summer. My husband and I found
out on the last day of the retrospective
and we raced down from our town
in the mountains above Sparta to
Monemvassia to make sure we didn’t
miss this event.
The retrospective
was high up in the castle town of
Monemvassia in one of the local
churches. We literally ran through the
cobblestone streets to get there. Of
course, when we got there the church was locked and
no one knew when it would open. Finally, at 6 p.m.
they opened the church and it was a vastly beautiful
exhibit. Over loudspeakers (softly), you could hear
the poet reading one of his poems (among others
that he read) and under glass were artistic creations
he had made from rocks and various materials. His
paintings were breathtaking. His medium of choice
was watercolors and some of his style looked like
Cezanne, but I am a mere mortal, and not an art
expert. For those of you who wish to know, Yiannis
Ritsos was born in Monemvassia in 1909 and he died
in his sleep at home in 1990.
In closing, we thank everyone who attended our
function, thereby making it the successful event that
it was. We so much look forward to seeing all of
you again next year. Please don’t forget to attend
our Osios Nikonas breakfast on November 29th in
the Hellenic Room. It will be held after the second
liturgy and it is free to all parishioners of St. Paul’s
and their families.
We would be delighted to have new members and
if you have any Laconian ancestry, please call our
president Teddy Lakis or our Vice President Georgia
Tsempelis to join. We hope that the upcoming
holidays will be happy and safe for all of you.
23
School of Religious Education
Mr. & Mrs. Club
By Jim Georgakis, President
By Joan Prieston
As we embark on a new year your Executive
Board has met and put together some activities that
we believe everyone will enjoy. Before I get to the
schedule of activites I’d like to first thank the current
Executive Board of the Mr. & Mrs. Club for their hard
work and dedication last year and for this upcoming
year. They are Olga Georgakis, Bill & Marge Lembo,
Tony & Cathy Vaccari, Nick & Nikki Prokos, April
& Dean Mavrovitis and our newest Executive Board
members Jim and Annie Stephens. Thank you for
your support.
For those of you who have not paid your dues
please either send them to the Church, Attention:
Bill Lembo or you can bring them to our first
meeting. Last year after several failed attempts,
due to inclement weather, we had to cancel the first
Clergy Not So Newlywed Game. The good news is
that we have rescheduled this fundraiser for Tuesday
December 1st at 8PM in the Hellenic Room. We
invite the whole community to join us for an evening
of fun and surprises. In addition, several volleyball
games which were very successful last year will also
be scheduled during the year. Please review the
calendar below for upcoming events that begin at
8:00 p.m.
The Sunday School commenced its school term
with a registration of 285 students. The annual
Orientation Program was well attended and very
successful. The teachers discussed their respective
curriculums and shared their ideas in order to make
their lessons creative and interesting. On October 18
all the students, except the Nursery and Kindergarten
students, who remained in their classrooms,
attended the first Youth Liturgy with Father Andreas
officiating the service. The Youth Liturgy has been
planned for the second and fourth Sundays of every
month. Observing the liturgy in a smaller setting, the
Hellenic room, enables the students to understand and
appreciate the living drama of the Divine Liturgy.
On Saturday, November 21st, the students will attend
the holiday Divine Liturgy which is always held on
the weekend before Thanksgiving Day. Immediately
following, the communion breakfast will be held in
the Hellenic Room for the students and their families.
Also, on Saturday, November 21st and on Sunday,
November 22nd, the Holiday Boutique will be held
in the cathedral center. The Tuesday Ladies have
been busy creating their wonderful magic for this
event. Hand – crafted articles, magnificent lighted
Christmas trees and wreathes, whimsical Christmas
scenes for adorning tables and beautifully decorated
sleighs for creating a winter wonderland. Also
available will be delicious desserts and, of course, the
ever popular cheese and spinach pitas. Yiayia’s Attic
always offers unique treasures, many vintage articles
that were discovered in an attic or basement. The
Holiday Boutique and Raffle are the Sunday School’s
only fundraisers and we hope that the community
will support this important event.
Each year the Sunday school students and
teachers usually receive a Christmas gift. This year
it was decided that the funds, which are spent on
the Christmas gifts, will be donated to St. Basil’s
Academy in Garrison, N.Y. as a token of the spirit of
giving to others.
Executive Board Meeting
General Meeting (members only)
Not So NewlyWed Game
Vasilopita
Valentine’s Dinner
Bowling Night
Cinco de Mayo Eve
November 3rd
November 17th
December 1st
January 5th
February 9th
March 5th
May 4th
Peter J.G. Maris, Jr., M.D
Opthalmology and Opthalmologic Surgery
Tel: 516-481-1570
Fax: 516-481-1786
24
Plaza 230
230 Hilton Avenue
Suite 118
Hempstead, NY 11550
Food for the Soul
By Cathy Pantelides
“Come you that are blessed
by my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the
world; for I was hungry…,
I was thirsty…, I was a
stranger…, I was naked…, I
was sick…,” (Matthew 25.34)
and you ministered unto me.
That is exactly what a group of
twenty five parishioners did on
a beautiful crisp Columbus Day
morning when we gathered in the
church parking lot and headed
off to the Mary Brennan Inn in
Hempstead. This would not have
been possible without all of those
who gave so generously during
fellowship hour and enabled us to reach our goal of $1500 to sponsor the meal. THANK YOU!!
Approximately half of our group was made of volunteers who had been to the Inn before. The other half was first time
volunteers anxious with anticipation. Upon
our arrival, we delivered clothing, toiletries
and food that had been generously donated by
some of the volunteers and other parishioners.
After signing in, the veteran volunteers were
quickly dispatched to various assignments,
among them sorting toiletries, working in the
food pantry, preparing utensil packets for the
meal service or sorting clothing. The first time
volunteers were given a tour of the facility,
by one of the managers, and informed of the
many wonderful services provided to those in
need.
Next on the agenda was the main event.
Our group joined together with the Inn’s
regular volunteers and God gave us all the
strength to serve over 450 meals to the men,
women and children who came through the
doors on that day. After all the “guests” were
fed and gone, it was time to clean the tables
and the dining room.
At each visit to the Inn, it seems that during
the clean-up the volunteers always seem to
share stories/feelings from the day. This visit
was no different, from the sixteen year old
students to the senior citizens, our volunteers leave the Mary Brennan Inn transformed. When we go out as stewards of
our community of St. Paul to minister to those in need what really happens is that it is us who receive the blessing. You
cannot help but be filled with the Holy Spirit. You don’t have to take my word for it, we have made a commitment to
sponsor a meal at the Inn every other month…so come on down and join us…you’ll be helping to feed those in need and
your soul all at the same time!!
25
Fall Family Festival
By Fran Lutfy
Fran Lutfy & Gus Kratsios Co-Chairpersons
On October 4, 2009, our Church held its annual
Family Fall Festival. Happily, this event was a huge
success due to wonderful weather, great activities
for our youth and adults alike, and our wonderful
members. It was great to see such a vast cross section
of our Community come together to kick back and
have fun. An event like is never possible without the
hard work and dedication of so many organizations
and people. We want to thank each and every one for
that help. In particular, the following persons must be
thanked profusely:
George and Maria Vorkas for their wonderful
organizational skills, good ideas, hard work and
overwhelming generosity in donation, Nicole Rousakis
for her help in ordering food, tents and advertising
and listening to a certain chairperson nag.
Jamie Spanopoulos and his souvlaki making
ninjas, including Mike Possas, Rocco, Aaron, Cathy
Pantelides, Lou Yeostros, Maria Vorkas, Helene
Jorge, Stamata Karahalios, Soula Karahalios and
Bobby Politis.
Callie Papazicos and her wonderful band of
Loukoumades-makers, including Barbara Filou,
Carol DePitto, Maria Frantzis, Olga Georgakis,
Christina Halicos, Marge Lembo, Cathy Vaccari,
April Mavrovitis, Marina Roulis, Demitra Tzakas,
and Didi Yannios.
George Marinos and Billy Demas for all their
help, including their willingness to risk frost bite
in Restaurant Depot and overdose on Cotton candy
making.
Tony Pantelides for all his help in so many
different ways - including his interesting run to Stop
and Shop.
The Vaccari family and the Greek School PTA for
their generous donations.
Georgia Constantine and GOYA parents in running
a yummy candy shack.
Farmer Marie Kratsios for running our farm
stand.
Maria Yeostros, Kathy Mavrikakis and Sophia
Halicos for their help in running the vendor booth and
organizing the pie eating contest.
Mary Bassias and Soteroulla Cosmas in their
wonderful Frappe making.
26
Maria Arnidis, Nicole Rousakis and all of JOY
for their pumpkin craft.
Marina Heliotis, our baker extraordinaire for
baking and running our Bake Shop,.
Jina and Dimitri Papadoniou for the Fall leaves
craft.
Athena Menoudakos and HOPE for running a
wonderful Fair.
Maria Kratakazos and Girl Scouts for their
wonderful beading craft.
Foula Bandini for running the door sales.
Kay and Spiro Georgopalis for all their assistance
in running our Spin Art craft.
Kiki and Tom Flouskakos for running our Petting
Zoo and Pony Rides.
Triphon Kollitides and Dean Mavrovitis for all
their efforts and in running our ring toss.
Nick Georgakis and Nick Constantine in running
our Field Day events.
George Lavas for his photographing our event.
The Church Staff for all their work in preparing
for the event.
Our wonderful clergy, President, George Papazicos
and Parish Council for their help, generosity and
encouragement.
As stated above, an event, even a small
homegrown festival, requires the help of so many. We have tried to mention just a few folks that
were instrumental. We want to thank everyone
who helped and to all those who attended.
St Paul’s Nursery School
By Anna Possas, Chairperson
The 2009-2010 school year for the Nursery
School has begun successfully. We now
have three classes, two classes for the two
year old program and one class for the three
and four year old program. The enrollment
for this year has more than doubled from last
year and we expect further explosive growth
in the future.
Ms. Tara and Ms. Michele are working
diligently together to continue with a
curriculum filled with a stimulating and
nurturing environment where children can
play and experience educational activities
under the umbrella of our Greek Orthodox
Christian faith, culture and community. This
photo reiterates the experiences shared by
the students, parents and teachers at the start of this new school year. Many activities and trips are planned with
the students, parents and teachers in the coming months.
Please watch for a notice of early registration for the 2010-2011 school year, coming in November.
27
Save your $$$ while supporting the
Cathedral of St. Paul
The Cathedral of St. Paul has entered into an
agreement with Ambit Energy, an Energy Service
Company (ESCO), that will provide the members
of our community and the people they know with
substantial savings on their home use of natural
gas and electricity. This is possible because of the
deregulation of the energy industry, where existing
utilities no longer have a monopoly on supplying
natural gas or electricity. Instead, Ambit Energy will
supply gas and/or electricity at a reduced cost and
your existing utility provider will only be paid for
the delivery of the energy. For most of us here on
Long Island, the key benefit should be a reduction in
the cost of the natural gas currently supplied to us by
National Grid.
When you enroll, nothing changes except that your
energy bill will be reduced. All existing services by
your current utility, including repairs, meter readings,
billing, etc. will continue as they are now. You will
also continue to pay one bill to your current utility,
except that the charge for the supply of energy by
Ambit and the charge for delivery of the energy by
your current utility will be itemized separately.
Benefits to you: You will realize an immediate
savings of 7% on your gas or electric bill for the
first two months following your enrollment and then
averaging about 3-5% thereafter, but guaranteed to
be no less than 1%. You will receive other benefits,
including additional reductions in your energy bill
for referring others to Ambit and incredible travel
opportunities. Details are available at www.StPaul.
JoinAmbit.com.
Benefit to the Cathedral of St. Paul: The
Cathedral of St. Paul will receive continuous revenue
based on the energy usage by our members, as well
as usage by the people they refer, when they enroll as
Ambit Energy customers.
The program is not limited to parishioners, so
encourage your family, friends and neighbors to join.
In summary, this is a win-win for our parishioners,
the people they know and for our Cathedral. There
is no charge to switch to Ambit and you save money
every month. Just log on to www.StPaul.JoinAmbit.
com for answers to any questions you still may have
and then click “Enroll Now.” It takes 30-60 days for
the transfer period to be effective, so be sure to enroll
28
now to have the two-month 7% savings apply to
periods with maximum gas usage for home heating.
You can call the Cathedral Office for any additional
information or to enroll if you don’t have computer
access.
Ambit Energy is licensed throughout most of NY
State, which will be verified when you log on and enter
your zip code. Besides here on Long Island, National
Grid is currently a participating provider in New York
City and in upstate and western regions of New York
State. Con Edison is currently a participating provider
in New York City and in Westchester. (Note: LIPA
electric customers on Long Island are not eligible
to switch their supplier because LIPA is a “not-forprofit” corporation.)
Fall Golf Outing – September 26, 2009
By George Vorkas, Co-Chairman
Thank you to all who participated and contributed
to our mini golf outing at Hempstead Golf and
Country Club on September 26. We kept the group
small so we can properly assess the viability of using
this venue for future events, but that didn’t dampen
the spirit as all had a great time both on the course
and at the dinner.
Special thanks to: HGCC in putting up with
us, Nick Eliopoulos for donating the golf balls, the
Dipieto Family for donating a raffle prize, and Tyrone
Constantine for also donating a raffle prize, but also
helping with the arduous task of scoring.
Our winners in each category:
Men’s Low Gross – Larry Lembo, 75 (great round!)
Men’s Low Net, Callaway – Tyrone Constantine, 76
(despite playing with our President)
Men’s Longest Drive (Hole#11) – Harry Demaris
(many golfers were there, but trees, rough and
bunkers don’t count!)
Closest to Pin (Hole#17) – Mike Lembo (a half inch
separated the first and second golfers)
We look forward to seeing you all at our special
20th Annual Golf Outing next year. Let’s all help
make it a grand event by coming out and supporting
this key fund raising event for the Cathedral!
Επεξήγηση της εικόνας των
Χριστουγέννων
1) Στο κέντρο της εικόνας δεσπόζει η μορφή της
Παναγίας Θεοτόκου, που είναι το κύριο πρόσωπο
της παρούσας εορτής. Τυλιγμένη σεμνά στο
κόκκινο μαφόριό της, στέκεται γονατιστή σε στάση
ευλαβείας και απορίας συγχρόνως, με τα χέρια στο
στήθος
σταυρωμένα.
Απορεί για τον τρόπο
τον ανέκφραστο της
Γεννήσεως και ατενίζει
με ευλάβεια και δέος «το
βρέφος το τεχθέν».
2)
Την
κεφαλή
της
περιβάλλει
φωτοστέφανο και το
μαφόριό
της
είναι
στολισμένο
με
τα
τρία
άστρα,
που
είναι
σύμβολα
της
αειπαρθενίας της (προ
τόκου, εν τόκω και μετά
τόκον Παρθένος).
3) Το σπήλαιο στο
κέντρο είναι σκοτεινό. Ο
αγιογράφος μ’ αυτόν τον
τρόπο θέλει να δηλώσει
ότι πριν από την Γέννηση
του Θεανθρώπου, όλη η
ανθρωπότητα ήταν στο
σκοτάδι της άγνοιας και
της ειδωλολατρίας.
4) Ένα άστρο από
τον ουρανό, ρίχνει το
πλούσιο και λαμπρό φως
του μέσα στο σπήλαιο.
Είναι το φως της Θείας
Χάριτος, γι αυτό και διακρίνεται στο κέντρο του
ένας μικρός φωτεινός σταυρός.
5) Μέσα στη φάτνη, πάνω στο λευκό λίκνο
κάθεται ο Χριστός σαν βρέφος, τυλιγμένο σε
λευκά σπάργανα. Την κεφαλή Του περιβάλλει
φωτοστέφανο, σύμβολο της Θεότητός Του.
6) Δύο ζώα, ένας όνος και ένα βόδι, βρίσκονται
κοντά Του, συμβολίζοντας την αλογία των εθνών,
και προσφέροντας την θαλπωρή της παρουσίας
τους. Ταυτόχρονα ο αγιογράφος υπενθυμίζει
στον θεατή ότι πρέπει να φανεί φρονιμότερος των
αλόγων ζώων, με την ευγνωμοσύνη του προς τον
ενανθρωπήσαντα Κύριο και Θεό.
7) Έξω από την φάτνη και δεξιά στέκεται Άγγελος
Κυρίου που έχει την χείρα εκτεταμένη και ομιλεί
με τον βοσκό μεταφέροντάς του το χαρμόσυνο
μήνυμα της Γεννήσεως του Χριστού.
8) Πλησίον άλλος βοσκός καθιστός παίζει φλογέρα
και ελκύει τα πρόβατα που τον περιστοιχίζουν.
9) Στο επάνω αριστερό μέρος της εικόνας πλήθος
Αγγέλων σε στάση κινήσεως, άλλοι βλέπουν προς
το φωτεινό άστρο και άλλοι προς τους έφιππους
Μάγους, που εικονίζονται ακριβώς από κάτω με
πορεία προς το σπήλαιο, για να προσκυνήσουν
τον γεννηθέντα Βασιλέα
Χριστό, και να του
προσφέρουν τα πολύτιμά
τους δώρα.
10) Στο κάτω αριστερό
μέρος της εικόνας, ο
γέροντας
σε
ηλικία
και
σύνεση
Ιωσήφ,
κάθεται πολύ σκεφτικός,
διαλογιζόμενος
το
θαυμαστό και παράδοξο
γεγονός. Η θέση του
Ιωσήφ, στην άκρη της
παράστασης
και
σε
ικανή απόσταση από την
φάτνη, το βρέφος και την
Μητέρα του, είναι η πλέον
σωστή και εύλογη, αφού
αυτός δεν έχει ουσιαστική
σχέση με το γεγονός της
Γεννήσεως του Χριστού.
11) Δίπλα στον Ιωσήφ
στέκεται ένας βοσκός με
την πλούσια κάπα του
και στηρίζεται σε μια
μεγάλη ράβδο. Κατά τους
ερμηνευτές, πρόκειται για
τον κοινό έχθρό διάβολο,
με μορφή ανθρώπου
- βοσκού, που σπέρνει
λογισμούς αμφιβολίας στον Ιωσήφ, για να του
θολώση την εμπιστοσύνη στην Παρθένο Μαρία,
της οποίας ανέλαβε την κηδεμονία. Στο κάτω δεξιό
μέρος της εικόνας, δύο γυναίκες - μαίες, βοηθούν
στην περιποίηση του νεογέννητου βρέφους. Η
μία χύνει νερό στη λεκάνη, και η άλλη με το ένα
χέρι δοκιμάζει την θερμότητά του και με το άλλο
κρατεί τον Χριστό με σκοπό να τον πλύνει, όπως
γίνεται πάντοτε μετά την γέννηση ενός παιδιού.
12) Την εικόνα στολίζουν στοιχεία της φύσεως,
όπως δένδρα και διάφορα φυτά της γης, που
εικονίζονται διάσπαρτα για να θυμίζουν ότι
όλη η κτίση συμμετείχε στο μεγάλο γεγονός της
Γεννήσεως του Σωτήρα Χριστού.
29
AHEPA Constantine Cassis Chapter #170
By Howard Abbondondelo, President
Greek “OXI” Day Celebration was held on Wednesday, October
28th, at 7:30pm. Upcoming events: We will be having a speaker and
refreshments will be served on Wednesday, November 11th, Tribute
to our Veterans; Thursday, November 19th, our annual Thanksgiving
Dinner; Wednesday, December 2nd our Christmas Party hosted by The
Daughters of Penelope. We have several prospective new members who
will be initiated at our regular meeting on Wednesday December 9th,
when our new District Governor Gus Drivas will be visiting. We are
always looking for new members. Anyone interested, please contact our
membership chairman, Brother John Angelidis at (516) 829-4760. 
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Marathon Bank
31
Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. Paul
N o n - P r o f i t
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Hempstead, NY
Permit No, 72
110 Cathedral Avenue
Hempstead, NY 11550
Kallinikos Funeral Services, Inc.
In association with
Towers Funeral Home Inc.
Funeral Arrangements
Services available in most communities of the Metropolitan Area
Arrangements for out-of-state and international burials
Pre-need
Arrangements and consultations
Irrevocable trust accounts for Medicaid
Pre-planning for estate purposes
Kallinikos Funeral
Services
Krissie Kallinikos
Funeral Director
Licensed Manager
George Frangiadakis William C. Kallinikos
Funeral Director
Funeral Director
President
The Kallinikos family has been assisting the families of Saint Paul for over a decade. We take
pride in serving the families with great care, compassion, personalized attention, and
affordability.
Hour Service
Telephone 9
Funeral and pre-need arrangements can be conducted in the privacy of your home
2681 Long Beach Road, Oceanside, NY 11572
32
33

The episTle - The Cathedral of St. Paul

Transcription

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