GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE HOLY RESURRECTION SUNDAY, MARCH 20, 2011 – Vol. 35 #26 Rev. Fr. John Vlahos Office: (516) 671-‐‑5200 Fax: (516) 671-‐‑5205 web: www.resurrectiongoc.org ***
Epistle: Hebrews 1:10-14; 2:1-3 pg. 138 Gospel: Mark 2:1-12; 1:43-51 pg. 139 CHURCH ORDER: Nickie Demos, Peter Koumoulis, Kathy Costas, Jim Gabriel, Zefy Christopoulos, Costas Zachariadis. ALTAR SERVERS: James Bazakos, Peri Ipiotis, Nicholas Mihaltses, Thomas Nastasi, John Nickas, Matthew Rakowski, Christos Aniftos, Stavros Asprou, Constantine Hartofilis, Jonathan Nikolaidis, Christopher Papantoniou, Louis Tiglias, Alexios Georgiades, Socrates Patestas, Stavros Savvinidis. COFFEE HOUR: Paula Savvinidis, Bette Kalpakis, Alexandra Megaris, Christine Zeiner, Mary Ladis. TODAY WE COMMEMORATE ST. GREGORY PALAMAS. WE ALSO COMMEMORATE the Righteous Fathers slain at the Monastery of St. Savas; St. Cuthbert the Wonderworker, Bishop of Lindisfarne; St. Myron the New Martyr of Crete; St. Photini the Samaritan Woman. WE COMMEMORATE the three year memorial for Crystal Nicolaras beloved mother of Mary Lamb, and grandmother of Nicholas and Peter. Eternal be her memory! THE ALTAR KANDILI, THE COMMUNION WINE, AND A PROSFORON are offered by the Karathanasis family for the health, wellbeing, and progress in life and faith of their newborn son. UPCOMING SERVICES AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: Mon, March 21st Great Compline 7:00 pm Wed, March 23rd Presanctified Liturgy 6:45 pm Fri, March 25th Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Divine Liturgy 10:00 am Great Vespers and the 3rd Stanza of the Salutations 7:00 pm
WE SHALL HOLD A TOWN HALL following Liturgy this Sunday. We look forward to updating you on parish news and answering your questions. STEWARDSHIP – We hope you have received the new Stewardship card in the mail. Please prayerfully consider how you may be able to participate in our many ministries and also support the needs of our Church. Thank you. THE RESULTS OF THE ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM ORATORICAL will be announced after Liturgy on Sunday, March 20. Sunday School students from the 7th through 12th grades participated in this worthwhile event last Sunday and we congratulate all of them for a job well done. A special thank you to Vivian Casil who coordinated the entire festival. Without her hard work and dedication, we would not have such a wonderful event each year. We would like to thank our three judges for their time in judging this event: Melanie Arfman, Anastasia Frangos and Nicholas Kokis. Many thanks to the Sunday School director Tina Mihaltses (who was also the timekeeper) and Sunday School teachers Kathy Ktistakis, George Chakery, George Verveniotis, Christina Vlachos, and Nicholas Pappas for encouraging their students to participate. Thanks to the support staff for providing the extra copies of research material: Maria Burns, Tina Mihaltses, Amalia Pappas, Susan Pappas, Stephanie Philippou, Anna Tsontakis-Mally, George Verveniotis and Christina Vlachos. We thank the Philoptochos for providing bagels and coffee for the judges during the morning orientation session. And a special thanks to Youth Director Nickie Demos and Assistant Youth Director Debbie Catacosinos for serving a delicious lunch and Eleni Sakaris who prepared it with love. THE GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE –NEXT SUNDAY, MARCH 27th JOIN US! Buses leave after Church around noon. Reserve your seat by calling Steve Verveniotis at 677-‐‑9650. We’ve got room! Let’s have a large contingent, or, you can come on your own and join us there. We are marching. THE OLYMPICS held at Suffolk Community College will take place on May 27, 28, 29. Please pick up registration forms from a GOYA or JOY advisor. In order to participate, your child must be a GOYA/JOY member since the fall.
THE SEASON OF GREAT LENT is the time of preparation for the feast of the Resurrection of Christ. It is the living symbol of man's entire life which is to be fulfilled in his own resurrection from the dead with Christ. It is a time of renewed devotion: of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It is a time of repentance, a real renewal of our minds, hearts and deeds in conformity with Christ and his teachings. It is the time, most of all, of our return to the great commandments of loving God and our neighbors. In the Orthodox Church, Great Lent is not a season of morbidity and gloominess. On the contrary, it is a time of joyfulness and purification. We are called to “anoint our faces” and to “cleanse our bodies as we cleanse our souls.” The very first hymns of the very first service of Great Lent set the proper tone of the season: Let us begin the Lenten time with delight … let us fast from passions as we fast from food, taking pleasure in the good words of the Spirit, that we may be granted to see the holy passion of Christ our God and His holy Pascha, spiritually rejoicing.
ST. CATHERINE’S PHILOPTOCHOS NEWS PLEASE DON’T THROW OUT THOSE OLD TOYS! ST. CATHERINE’S PHILOPTOCHOS IS SUPPORTING SECOND HAND TOYS by having a Used Toy Drive for disadvantaged children. Gently used, plastic toys should be clean, have no small or missing parts, and battery operated toys must be fully operational. Kindly drop off the toys in large plastic garbage bags, in the Church Hall throughout the month of March. Any questions, kindly contact Millie (516) 801-2731 or Vasilianna (917) 335-4886. Second Chance Toys is a 501c3 communitybased program that rescues and recycles gently used plastic toys for distribution to disadvantaged children. Second Chance Toys was founded in 2006 by a NJ high school student. To date it has donated over 64,000 toys, which have helped keep our landfills free of plastic while bringing smiles and laughter to many children. IOCC RELIEF FOR JAPAN --- We will be holding a tray after Liturgy to collect funds for the disaster in Japan. IT'S MEMBERSHIP DRIVE TIME. You should have received your membership letter in the mail by now. Please consider joining St. Catherine's Philoptochos and helping support this very important ministry. For more info, call Maria at 917-541-4444. WE HAVE CHOSEN OUR NEXT BOOK for our Orthodox book club. It is titled Dear and Glorious Physician, A novel about St. Luke, by Taylor Caldwell. Books may be ordered through the Church Book Store during coffee hour. SAVE THE DATE---March 23th Lenten Lecture with Fr. Sebastian Skordallos. Recognizing Warning Signals & Nurturing Your Marriage. A flyer is attached.
BEST SUNDAY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY goes to Mrs. Bellidoro'ʹs and Mrs. Hartofilis'ʹ Nursery class; second place goes to Mrs. Ktistakis'ʹ 7th grade; and third place goes to Mrs. Alexandrou'ʹs 3rd grade. WE ARE HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE that Jim Xanthos and Frank Albers would like to offer all 7-‐‑12 year olds the opportunity to play basketball. They will hold intramurals at the church beginning in April. If your son/daughter is interested please get in touch with Jim Xanthos or Nickie Demos. HELP WANTED/HELP NEEDED NY TLC LICENSED DRIVER AVAILABLE FOR HIRE. Available full or part time to help with general driving or errands. 7 years experience. PARISH WISH LIST: Please consider making a donation towards all or part of an item listed below for the health and wellbeing or in memory of a family member. Your gift will continually provide our Parish the opportunity to serve in our Lord’s ministry. A Chalice, Altar Cloths, a Censer. OUR FOOD PANTRY IS NOW OPEN AND HELPING OUR COMMUNITY! THANKS TO YOU AND TO THE SUPPORT OF LONG ISLAND HARVEST, WE ARE ABLE TO OFFER SUPPORT TO ALL IN NEED! We are open each first Monday of the month, beginning at 10:00 am, and also on an as needed basis throughout the week. FOR COMPLETELY CONFIDENTIAL SUPPORT, IF YOU ARE IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT THE CHURCH OFFICE.