ISSUE

15
March 2012

Monthly Newsletter for Stewards of Holy Anargyroi Sts. Kosmas & Damianos Greek Orthodox Church

Box & Spoon

2012 Standing Committees

PARISH COUNCIL Tim Kelly President Aaron Biedermann V.P. Andru Peters Secretary Dan JerghiuTreasurer Diana Orbelo Tia Maragos Erline Holman Robert Lytle Halina Woroncow STEWARDSHIP / OUTREACH John Maragos Chair Halina Woroncow Ari Kolas Mark Smith Diana Orbelo ICONOGRAPHY Diana Orbelo Chair Tia Maragos Andru Peters Fr. Mark Muoz BUILDING Tim Kelly- Chair Ari Kolas BUDGET Dan Jerghiu Chair Fr. Mark Muoz AUDIT Aaron Biedermann Mark Smith John Maragos PHILOXENIA HOUSE Chamaidi Belanger Chair GREEK FESTIVAL Dan Jerghiu Chair Steve Kereakos Treasurer Lorenda Jerghiu Silent auction Joe Ferrer Set-up/Teardown Tim Kelly Outdoor Cooks Johnny Mangouras Marketing Ari Kolas Marketing Penny Kolas Pastries Maria Thomas Pastries Denise Mangouras Pastries

My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.- Mark 14:34
Ambrose of Milan, that great Cappadocian of the West. In commenting on this dramatic scene from the Gospel of St. Luke 22:39-46 he states, For He took my sadness in order to bestow on me His joy, and came down to our footprints, even to the hardship of death, in order to call us back to life in His own footprintsThus, He must also undertake the grief, in order to overcome the sorrow...He wished to instruct us...hat we should learn through Christ to conquer death. I understand now that the Gethsemane crisis was more relational to me and my fallen condition than Christs humanity in distress. This is just another exquisite example of the Divine self-

Last summer I had the awesome opportunity to walk through the Garden of Gethsemane for the second time in as many years. As we entered the crowded entrance young Palestinian boys jostled for position to sell us souvenirs, a large group of German pilgrims were being anything but reverent, and the sun was beating down on our small group relentlessly. Those of you who know me and my temperament can imagine the look that was upon my face! As I gallingly proceeded through the

gates I was immediately confronted by ancient twisted olives trees that were over 2,000 years old...the very same trees under which the Apostles slept and Christ prayed on the last fearsome night before His death. As if almost in a day dream I

emptying (); God in Christ meeting us where we are to elevate us to Himself. As we

visualized that gut wrenching intense scene revealed to us by the Gospels. In Christs most desperate and sullen hour He retreats away from the city and even the majority of His friends and finds refuge in prayer; prayer so deep and demonstrative that sweat fell as drops of blood. I sat in the shaded corner of that Garden teary eyed and most perplexed. How could Christ suffer such agony (in His human nature, mind you), such pain, such...dare I use the word...desolation? I found the answer I

begin our Lenten journey to the Passion and Resurrection of Christ be mindful of the Gethsemane scene: in moments of strife flee to your spiritual isolated garden and pray there, allow Christ to keep YOU company and keep vigil with YOU as He so heartily desired and as His Apostles so miserably failed. It is my Lenten prayer for all of us that we abide in the self-emptying love and guidance of Christ our God.

Martha Voytovich Market place

Andru Peters Beverages Mike Brekke Beer Garden Larissa Ostfeld Children Area

was looking through the exegetical mind of St.

-Fr. Mark consulting

Save, O Lord, Your people; Grant to Your faithful victory over adversaries, and by the power of Your Cross preserve Your commonwealth.

Liturgical and Organizational Calendar

March 2012
Thursday Friday Saturday March 1st March 2nd March 3rd Great Compline w/ Penitencial Canon 6pm 1st Stanza of the Salutations to the Holy Theotokos 6pm Saturday of Souls-St. Theodore's Miracle with the Kolyva 8:30am Orthros/Divine Liturgy Please prepare Kolyva to accompany names of Orthodox departed Great Vespers 6pm Sunday of Orthodoxy 8:30am St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival Great Compline 6pm Presanctified Liturgy 6pm 2nd Stanza of the Salutations to the Holy Theotokos 6pm Great Vespers 6pm Great Compline 6pm Presanctified Liturgy 6pm GOYA Faith Night after Liturgy St. Philothei Project 6pm 3rd Stanza of the Salutations to the Holy Theotokos 6pm Great Vespers 6pm 8:30am Hierarchal Divine Liturgy With His Grace Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos, Chancellor of the Metropolis of Chicago Liturgy 5pm Great Compline 6pm Presanctified Liturgy 6pm Parish Council Meeting after Liturgy JOY Faith Night 6pm 4th Stanza of the Salutations to the Holy Theotokos 6pm GOYA RETREAT/LOCK IN Feast of the Annunciation: Great Vespers 6pm Outreach and Stewardship Meeting after Fellowship Great Compline 6pm Presanctified Liturgy 6pm Akathist Hymn 6pm Great Vespers 6pm

Saturday Sunday Monday Wednesday Friday Saturday Monday Wednesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

March 3rd March 4th March 5th March 7th March 9th March 10th March 12th March 14th March 14th March 15th March 16th March 17th March 18th

Monday Monday Wednesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Wednesday Friday Saturday

March 19th March 19th March 21st March 21st March 22nd March 23rd March 23rd March 24th March 25th March 26th March 28th March 30th March 31st

A Missionary Prayer
Christ our God, the source of wisdom and Bridegroom of the Church, You called the Apostles to follow You and to become fishers of men, giving them authority to cast out unclean spirits and heal every disease and infirmity. You commissioned them to make disciples of all nations and to feed your sheep. On the day of the Pentecost, you sent the Holy Spirit to fortify them, enabling them to fill peoples lives with your saving love. Continue to act today, loving Savior, for the good of Your Holy Church. Send your Holy Spirit upon dedicated men and women; inspire them to respond to Your Great Commission and to serve You as missionaries, for the building of Your Body, the Church. Through the prayers of all the holy missionary saints, strengthen all who are preparing to serve Your Holy Church in humility and love. For you are a loving and merciful God and unto You we give glory, together with youre your eternal Father and your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

By means of Your Holy Cross, O Lord, You abolished death; and to the robber You opened Paradise. Adoration of the Holy Cross, March 18th, 2012

Philoxenia House News

Remembering Antonis
Friends and parishioners people who knew him and people who did not know him gathered around on January 15, 2012, to pray and to remember Antonis Kritikos. Antonis Kritikos Memorial Service and Luncheon was offered by his parents, George and Nomiki from the island of Kalymnos, Greece. They asked me to thank all the people those who made the kolyva, and prepared the food, as well as everyone who attended this luncheon for remembering their beloved son and the love and support they had shown toward their family during that time of great pain and suffering. May Antonis memory be eternal.

On January 21,2012 the Hellenic Society of Constantinople held the 70th Anniversary Dinner Dance at the Cotillion Banquets in Palatine, IL. Philoxenia House was selected as one of its beneficiaries during this event for its benevolence and compassion to Orthodox medical patients and their families. Joel and I attended the event as representatives of the Philoxenia Committee. His Grace Archbishop Iakovos and the members of the Society were very pleased to see us there daring to drive during a very treacherous weather. We met most of the people involved in the Society and many others from different communities who were supporters of our Ministry. I was introduced by Jane Analitis, the President of the Society, to a number of guests who wanted to learn more about The Philoxenia House, our goals and our needs. A friend of Philoxenia House, Demetra R., has send us a very generous donation along with a beautiful note: Thank God that there are places like the Philoxenia House to help people in their hour of need A follow up on the letter which was published in our previous Box and Spoon Philoxenia News: Patricia Eliopoulos and family sent us a check of $865.00, funds which her friends and family collected from forfeiting one Christmas present each. What an incredible gift for the Philoxenia House! Thank you Patricia and all your friends for such a loving and generous gesture! Please, find out about Patricia's project to help the Philoxenia House by going to: togetherwecare2011@gmail.com Keep on giving, and it shall be given to you: a good measure which hath been pressed down and shaken together, and it is overflowing shall they give into your bosom; for with the same measure with which you measure, it shall be measured in turn to you. Luke Ch 6:38 Chamaidi Belanger Philoxenia House hair

Save, O Lord, Your people; Grant to Your faithful victory over adversaries, and by the power of Your Cross preserve Your commonwealth.

Youth Team Report

On our February JOY Faith Night we explored the idea of doing Works of Faith by using what God has given us to serve others for His Glory. We learned about the command that Christ gives people of faith to love one another, offering good works to others in need. We read the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) and for hands on activity we put together School Kits that were sent to IOCC via Church World Service(CWS) to help needy children. Our church JOY group was able to send 13 School

Kits: many thanks to all contributing families! The GOYAns met for Faith Night and were challenged to navigate through the worldly obstacle course to Christ, both physically and spiritually. Lent provides a road map for us by encouraging us to pray, fast, learn by reading the Bible and attending the beautiful, reflective Lenten services, and to give of our time, talent, and treasure to those in need. We open our hearts to see where we have missed the mark in a life in Christ, and receive Gods mercy and healing in repentance and the Sacrament of Confession. We are steered back onto the right path once again. GOYA spent Meatfare at a roller skating rink followed by delicious pizza at Steves Pizza in Austin. Thanks to the Davis family for their hospitality!

By means of Your Holy Cross, O Lord, You abolished death; and to the robber You opened Paradise. Adoration of the Holy Cross, March 18th, 2012

We had a healthy contingent of Holy Anargyroi youth at the Metropolis Family Basketball Tournament, which, this year, was hosted by St. Georges GOC in St. Paul. Holy Anargyroi joined with St. Georges to produce a GOYA girls and a JOY coed basketball team. When our youth werent playing, they were cheering on the St. George/Holy Anargyroi mens team! Everyone played hard and played fair, then let loose a little at the banquet and dance afterwards. It was so nice to see so many familiar faces from Holy Anargyoi at the evening festivities, a portion of whose proceeds were donated to our Philoxenia House.

Your Church School teachers and Youth Team wish you a blessed Lent. May your journey be fruitful. Youth Team Coordinators, Loredana Jerghiuta., Halina Woroncow and Trevor Hamlen

Orthodox Christian Mission Center Coin Boxes

Please support the Sunday School children and GOYAns in their efforts to raise money for the Orthodox Christian Mission Centers long term missionaries in Albania, Kenya, Moldova, Romania and Tanzania. The children and teens have coin boxes to collect money in exchange for doing chores. In addition, the GOYAns will stand in the Narthex after Liturgy every Sunday during Lent from March 4th until April 8th. We hope to exceed last years donation from Holy Anargyroi of 245 dollars. Please be generous and most importantly please pray for the 14 brave men and women who are the OCMC long term Orthodox missionaries. Please see the website www.ocmc.org for more information.

Winter Greek Fest

Calli Kelly, Maria Petersen, and Erline Holman working at the Winterfest Gyro Booth for Holy Anargyroi.

Save, O Lord, Your people; Grant to Your faithful victory over adversaries, and by the power of Your Cross preserve Your commonwealth.

Parish Council
Great Lent has begun, A reminder of who the members of your parish council are for the 2012 year: Tim Kelly, President; Aaron Biedermann, Vice President; Dan Jerghiuta, Treasurer; Andru Peters, Secretary; Robert Lytle; Erlene Holman; Diana Orbelo; Tia Maragos; and Halina Woroncow. We have two new members to welcome to the parish council: Bob Lytle and Erlene Holman. We would like to thank Dr. Nick Maragos and Johnny Mangouras for their contributions to the council, and we know that they both will still be actively involved in the growth and leadership of the church. I want to thank the election committee, everyone who participated as nominees in the election, and especially those who voted. We are trying our best to keep a list of stewards in good standing for the privilege to participate in voting during assemblies and elections. You can help us by filling out a stewardship pledge card, turning it in to Jackie Barbes, and by writing stewardship on your check memo line. If you know of a discrepancy, or are averse to filling out a pledge commitment, please let someone on the parish council know so we can avoid last minute corrections or misunderstandings when these important events occur. We are trying our best to run the business side of the church operations, and your understanding and cooperation help us keep the issues to a minimum. The Burn the Mortgage pledge to the building fund has gotten off to a great start. Those who have pledged so far have exceeded our goal of $6000 per parish family, and we are approximately one third of the way to the $600,000 we need to raise in the next three years to pay off the church mortgage. Only a minority of the parish has come forward with their commitments in this sacrificial giving. We need more of you to participate in this critical effort, as our money is going to pay the interest on a loan that should have been paid off by now. The building committee is formulating our next steps regarding parish support in this endeavor, and you can expect to hear from us shortly. Each month the council discusses our financial condition and the stewardship of the church, the youth and their activities, the outreach efforts to our community, the efforts of the Philoptocos, Philoxenia, the Building Committees efforts to raise funds and various upkeep of the church properties, the Philothei Project, the iconography, and various other activities, concerns and issues that are associated with the operations and business of the church. If you have some feedback or input that you would like to share with the leadership of your church, please reach out to one of the council members noted above. Tim Kelly Parish Council President Building Committee Chair

Stewardship
Have you and your family become Stewards of Holy Anargyroi for the new year?! If not, dont worry. There are complete Stewardship packets located in the Narthex of the Church. Please returns your completed forms to the Church office or the Stewardship Box in the Narthex. We thank you for your commitment to our parish and her ministries.
Jan 2012 Actual Total Income Total Expenses Net Income $17,234.54 17,922.92 -$688.38 Jan 2011 Actual $17,908.55 $19,848.44 -$1,939.89 2012 vs 2010 Difference - $674.01 -$1,925.52 $1,251.51 Jan 2012 Budget $15,520.00 19,622.22 -$4,102.22 Actual vs. Budget Difference $1,714.54 -$1,699.30 $3,413.84

By means of Your Holy Cross, O Lord, You abolished death; and to the robber You opened Paradise. Adoration of the Holy Cross, March 18th, 2012

Philoptochos Society
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Our meetings are the first Tuesday of each month in the church library at 6pm. The meeting for this month will be on Tuesday, March 6th. Please attend the meetings as they are a great way to learn about our mission work and assist in the planning of our endeavors. I would like to welcome two new members of our Society: Kyriaki Karie Pasalis and Marilyn Phelps. Karie and Marilyn are two very different women however when it comes to the Philoptochos; they share one thing in common: they both joined for the same wonderful reason: they saw a need and joined to help us in our need. Karie approached me asking if she could help with our Fashion Show Fundraiser and from that desire, she became a member. Marilyn was told by her daughter, Philoptochos member Kristine Brekke, that we are in need of help with our Philoptochos Outreach Program to assist home bound parishioners. This special need of ours compelled Marilyn to gladly join our Society and assist Terri Mettler with that program. As you see; I am very thankful for these two women who answered a call to join and help! Thank you and with open arms; we welcome you both! Every Sunday during Lent starting on March 4th through April 1st; Philoptochos members will be collecting monetary donations for the Pascha flowers. In addition to names of the Orthodox departed for Father Mark to commemorate on Holy Friday. Please donate generously and remember your loved ones. Our Philoptochos Society is committed to assisting the Saint Philothei Project for the Womens Shelter two times in the upcoming months. We agreed to give 400 dollars to the project and to commit to work together in the meal preparation on March 15th and May 17th from 6pm to 7:30pm. I am asking all Philoptochos members to sign up and help! Please see myself or Laura Hamlen to sign up. Thank you! March 18th is the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross. In the scripture reading for that Sunday; Jesus Christ lays down the foundation of the cost of discipleship. The first line is this: Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Jesus Christ in Mark 8:34 Denying ourselves is a central (and very difficult!) component of the Orthodox faith. Saint Innocent of Alaska clearly defines what this means, in addition to taking up ones cross and following Jesus Christ, in his wonderful booklet titled Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven. Regarding denying oneself Saint Innocent writes: The first duty of a Christian, of a disciple and follower of Jesus Christ, is to deny oneself. This means that you must disown all bad habits, free your heart from sinful bonds, squelch impure thoughts, harbor no lustful desires, distance yourself from situations leading to sin, and in general, do nothing because of stubbornness or ego but do all for the love of God and with the desire to contribute to the glory of His Holy Name. To deny yourself is to be dead indeed to sin but alive to God, as St Paul has explained in Romans 6:11. In dying to the world; we live with Him, Calli Kelly Philoptochos President Veneration of the Holy Cross

Hierarchal Pastoral Visit Sunday, March 18th

Let no one do anything touching the Church, apart from the bishop. Let that celebration of the Eucharist be considered valid which is held under the bishop or anyone to whom he has committed it. Where the bishop appears, there let the people be, just as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Church Catholic. - St. Ignatius of Antioch

O Lord and Master of my Life, give me not the spirit of sloth, meddling, lust for power and idle talk. But

grant unto me, Your servant, a spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own faults and not to judge my brother, For blessed are You unto the ages of ages. Amen.

His Grace Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos, Chancellor of the Metropolis of Chicago, will be visiting our parish on the 3rd Sunday of Lent which corresponds with the Adoration of the Holy Cross. It is a unique blessing to have the opportunity to celebrate a hierarchal liturgy and welcome into our midst the Apostolic presence of a bishop of our Church. Please plan on attending the divine services and the reception to follow in honor of His Grace. More details considering the visit will be in the Sunday Bulletin!

Box N Spoon Issue 15 March 2012

holyanargyroi@gmail.com

Greek Orthodox Church 703 West Center Street Rochester, MN 55902 (507) 282-1529 phone (507) 282-1253 fax http://www.holyanargyroi.org

Holy Anargyroi/Sts. Kosmas & Damianos

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Rochester, MN Permit No. 278