ISSUE 4 APRIL 2020 Looking into April April 14th - Holy Tuesday April 1st 6:00 pm Bridegroom Service 6:00 pm Presanctified Liturgy April 15th –Holy Wednesday April 3rd 6:00 pm Holy Unction 6:00 pm Akathist Service April 16th –Holy Thursday April 5th 9:30 am Vesperal Liturgy 8:45 am Orthros 6:00 pm Reading 12 10:00 am Ushers: William Christopher April 17th –Holy Friday 9:00 am Great Hours April 6-8 3:00 pm Vespers Tenting- All Buildings closed 6:00 pm Salutation Service

April 10th April 18th -Holy Saturday 9:30 am Clean the Church 9:30 am Vesperal Liturgy 11:30 Nocturns April 11th - Lazarus Saturday 12:00 am Paschal Orthros & Liturgy 8:45 am Orthros Ushers: Litsa Halverson 10:00 am Divine Liturgy April 19th –Great and Holy Pascha April 12th - Palm Sunday 12:00 pm Paschal Vespers 9:00 am Orthros April 25th 10:00 am Divine Liturgy 10:00 am Food Pantry Ushers: Orson Gregory

3:00 pm Bridegroom Service April 26th –Thomas Sunday

8:45 am Orthros April 13th-Holy Monday 6:00 pm Bridegroom Service 10:00 am Divine Liturgy Ushers: Harriet Crozier

Very Rev. Fr. John W. Stefero, Proistamenos Cell # 678-637-4425 Email: [email protected] Rev. John Panteli 3600 76th Street North · St. Petersburg, FL 33710 - www.ststefanos.org 727-345-8235 Email: [email protected] 2 FROM THE DESK OF FR. STEFERO Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As I sit down to write this letter, I just finished participating online in a ‘Virtual Town Hall Meeting’ led by His Eminence, Archbishop Elpidophoros and attended by the Met- ropolitans as well as 325 clergy from across the country. The purpose of the webinar was to receive guidance and encouragement from His Eminence and to address the practical issues that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to our churches and society in general.

I don’t think any of us saw this crisis coming a month ago when we began our Len- ten journey. But here we are now in the midst of a global pandemic that has affected everyone in one way or another. We have felt the impact physically, spiritually, psy- chologically and economically. Furthermore, we don’t know how long this virus will continue or what the lasting effects may be on us or our way of life.

Yet in spite of the many challenges that we are enduring, we also have witnessed acts of compassion and courage. These include care and concern being offered by health professionals, first responders, clergy, parishioners, civil authorities, members of our military and countless others reaching out to those in need.

Archbishop Elpidophoros stated that many decisions will be made in the next week or two - how and Pascha will be celebrated, whether the Clergy-Laity Conference will be postponed (he said it most likely will), how Holy Cross/Hellenic College graduation will take place, etc. The trip to the United States by His All- Holiness Bartholomew scheduled for May has already been postponed.

In this issue of The Light I have included several resources to help you as you seek to discern the will of God during these difficult times and to actually use this time to grow spiritually and trust in and rely on our Lord and Savior more deeply. We must remember the words of Psalm 90 (91) which states:

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge, my fortress, my God, in Him I will trust. Surely He shall deliver me from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pesti- lence.”

Let us not forget that GOD IS WITH US and He is in control. Let us deepen our faith in Him and our commitment to Him. May we use this time to pray more often, to read Holy Scriptures and to share our love and concern for one another by connecting with them by phone, email, text or social media. We WILL endure for “the Lord of Hosts is with us and the God of Jacob is our protector!” Psalm 45 (46):12

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE - NICKY STAMOULIS 3 Dear St. Stefanos Parishioners and Friends, We are already half way through . Great Lent, or the Great Fast, (Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, meaning "Great 40 Days," and "Great Fast," respectively) is the most important fasting season in the church year in the - Wikipedia According to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, “on the Great and Holy Feast of Pascha, Orthodox Christians celebrate the life-giving Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This feast of feasts is the most significant day in the life of the Church. It is a celebration of the defeat of death, as neither death itself nor the power of the grave could hold our Savior captive. In this victory that came through the Cross, Christ broke the bondage of sin, and through faith offers us res- toration, transformation, and eternal life.” We all are aware of the recent outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-9) throughout the world, including the United States. Metropolitan Alexios’ message was “The sea- son of Great Lent is one of vigilance: both spiritual--in terms of prayer, and physical- -when we fast. As we await further developments concerning the coronavirus, this is but another way we can remain vigilant, caring for our bodies--the Temples of the Lord--and also for our family, friends, and neighbors”. On March 26, 2020 I saw this message. Isaiah 26:20 “Go my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by.” As many of you know, the annual budget for our Parish is funded by stewardship. At every Council meeting we receive a finance report for the month and year to date. This information is shared with you in the bimonthly financial report. To this date we received 64 stewardship cards, 51 pledged for 2020 for a total $69,610.00 towards our budget of $394,735.00 approved at the General Assembly. Thank you to all our faithful who completed their stewardship pledges already for 2020. Thank you to all who are still contributing through these difficult times. This year our Humanitarian donation pledge was $20,000.00. In March, we sent to The Rotary Foundation $1,000, All Children’s Hospital $1,000, to the As- sembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA $500 and Dia- konia Center $1,000. Please stay safe and healthy. Happy Resurrection, ΚΑΛΗ ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΗ! 4 SCRIPTURAL VERSES ABOUT GOD’S PROTECTION

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1)

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10)

The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still (Exodus 14:14)

The Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6)

For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy (Psalm 63:7)

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

The Name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe (Proverbs 18:10)

But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one (2 Thessalonians 3:3)

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid (Psalm 27:1)

May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the Name of the God of Jacob protect you (Psalm 20:1)

The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever (2 Timothy 4:18)

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him (Nahum 1:7)

ORTHODOX RESOURCES FOR DEALING WITH COVID-19 5

The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA announced a Resource Center for clergy and faithful during the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes updated news from the various jurisdictions as well as practical guidelines and resources for families, ministry leaders, parish leaders, and everyone. The Center can be accessed at http:// www.assemblyofbishops.org/covid19 and will be update regularly with new materials and expanded selections.

Religious Education at Home Weekly Resources, Activities, Lessons, and Crafts – The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese has been developing ways for normal parish ministries to be brought into the home. Instead of just hit- ting ‘play” on a video to “teach” children, take this opportunity to dig into the teachings of the Church together so that they work on their Lenten journey as one. The weekly lessons have sections for various ages, but if you do not have time to work with each age group, try to at least utilize the “Family” section. Every Saturday a new page will be uploaded with educa- tional ideas to achieve at home. Go to https://www.goarch.org/-/ religious-education-at-home?inheritRedirect=true

You can also find additional articles, videos and other resources related to Lent and Holy Week at http://www.goarch.org/lent

40+ Activities for Children During Great Lent can be found under the ‘Department of Christian Education’ at the Antiochian Orthodox website at www.antiochian.org

An On-Line Church School began on March 25th entitled “COVID Catech- esis: A Reflection.” For more information go to https://bit.ly/oca- churchschool 6 FROM THE CHURCH FATHERS

“When you pray to God in time of temptation do not say, ‘Take this or that away from me’, but pray like this: ‘O Jesus Christ, sovereign Master, help me and do not let me sin against You…’” Abba Isaiah the Solitary Every affliction tests our will, showing whether it is inclined to good or evil. That is why an unforeseen affliction is called a test, because it enables a man to test his hidden desires”

Saint Mark the Ascetic

PRAYER FOR PROTECTION FROM THE CORONAVIRUS

O God Almighty, Lord of heaven and earth, and of all creation visible and invisible, in Your ineffable goodness, look down upon Your people gathered in Your name.

Be our helper and defender in this day of affliction.

You know our weakness. You hear our cry in repentance and contrition of heart.

O Lord who loves mankind deliver us from the threat of the corona virus.

Send Your Angel to watch over us and protect us.

Grant health and recovery to those suffering from this virus.

Guide the hands of physicians, and preserve those who are healthy

that we may continue to serve You in peace and glorify

Your most honorable and majestic Name,

of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

His Grace, Bishop Alexis of Bethesda OUR LENTEN STRUGGLE IN A TIME OF PANDEMIC 7 (Taken from Ancient Faith Ministries)

March 27, 2020 · Sasha Rose A personal reflection Well I had been working on plenty of other blog posts for this month. A few months ago we had some deaths of those close to us- some expected and some less so. It had me thinking and pondering a lot on speaking of death with our children. And that post is still pending for the future, but things just got very real very quickly and it doesn’t seem quite right right now. As a doctor I’ve been abreast of this for quite a few weeks more than non-medical folks. My reaction was extremely humbling. Did I demonstrate my faith in our All merciful, All powerful and loving God? No. I wallowed in doubt and fainthearted- ness even as I spoke daily the words of St Ephraim’s Lenten prayer. I had high hopes for this Great and Holy Lent. I had plans to read with my kids daily, create Lenten crafts for daily meditations and regularly make our church’s Wednesday night presanctified liturgy. Instead I found myself wallowing in fear and hunkering down at home and struggling to fall and stay asleep. Lord Forgive me – I believe, help my unbelief! I’ve been reading the Psalter regularly since last year when I found my way to Syl- via Leontaritis’ (of OrthodoxMom.com) Psalter Groups and formed one in my own parish. The poetic words of the psalter are such a soothing balm for my soul. Reading them in these days I feel quite sure that this whole situation has some- thing spiritual for us to learn and reflect upon. Especially as it coincides so pre- cisely with Great Lent – and, sadly, looks set to try and eclipse Pascha if we would let it. At first I was quite sure this was straight from the devil – trying to distract us from the important struggle at hand and keep us looking at one another as if a potential threat and enemy. But I also see how this has the potential to be an important tool for us in our spiritual struggle, if we can come together – even as we are standing 6 feet apart – in love and a shared vision. Many writers on Ancient Faith have been writing about the way that this pandemic can be viewed spiritually. I haven’t read them all but enjoyed Abbot Tryphon’s Dark Times and Elissa Bjeletich’s Our Global Great Lent. I’d love to hear your favorites. So here we are. We find ourselves home with our children. While home with my children is, honestly, my happy place, the stress and unrest are definitely getting to me and I find my temper quicker to flare, my patience severely lacking. This too is humbling. When my daughter made a groan as I invited her to the prayer corner 8 OUR LENTEN STRUGGLE IN A TIME OF PANDEMIC for morning prayers instead of holding her with patience and love – I too struggle to discipline myself for regular prayer and I’m not 3 years old – I sent her to her room. I never do that. And not long after I slammed a metal bowl down on the floor after trying to get my oldest to stop pulling his arms inside his shirt and just stand quietly with me for the prayers.

This is not nurturing love. This is not living by example. This is slipping and we all do it – and we need to forgive each other and ourselves. But we also need to re- pent and redirect ourselves. We need metanoia. So that is what I am planning to do and I hope you’ll join me. I’d love your help too.

Using this Time

So how can we use this time – this gift wrapped in a very unusual wrapping pa- per – for our family’s salvation? What will allow us to invite Christ into our homes and our hearts as a family – as the soothing balm that we all need so desperately right now? How can we work to nurture our faith and trust in God in the midst of so much uncertainty? Perhaps for you it comes easily. For me, I plan to start where I’m at and take it one day at a time with the promise to make God the cen- terpiece of our days. We can fill our lives with prayer – for our children, for our- selves and for our very broken world. And then can we invite our children into this space we have created and just make it part of our lives. We do crafts. We sing songs. We connect to our liturgical lives as best we are able. In our home we’ve been doing a lot of “church.” For our family, being connected digitally to church actually means that we “do” church all the time. My two oldest share a room and now ask for “church” at bedtime – and I play the most recent service (we’ve been watching the services of St. John the Baptist in D.C. since our church is still get- ting our system set up).

AN OFFER 9

So starting tomorrow I will be planning to post a few times a week (as many as I’m able while I’m able) ideas for a daily dose of “God time” with your children. Just dedicated time to do something to bring us as a family into connection with God – not that there should ever be “non-God time” in our families. I am getting my ideas from everywhere and I am sure you have many of your own so PLEASE share. I will be sharing just a little blip of what we did and how it went. I know the first time I did this with my kids last week I felt a huge wave of relief running over me and I knew that God was with us and guiding us and loving us.

For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them. – Matthew 18:20

It was so needed for me – and if I had planned something for today – who knows if I could have kept my temper cooled and remembered to “see my own sins and not judge my brother” or my children’s in this case.

If this pandemic is teaching us anything it surely is how incredibly intercon- nected we all are – and truly how much we rely on one another. I hope per- haps you’ll join me and share with me as we work together to try to keep our minds and hearts on God even as we feel sometimes that the ground we are standing on is shifting beneath our feet.

With much love in Christ, Sasha 10 CHOIR NOTES - AGAPE - PHILOPTOCHOS SCHOLARSHIP

CHOIR NOTES Due to Covid-19 restrictions, there will be no choir rehearsals or choir singing during services. Please make a joyful noise unto the Lord in your homes, and utilize the church services which are streaming on the inter- net! Just because we have to be physically separated from each other does not mean that we are separated from God.

There will be no April meeting. Stay safe ad healthy. We wish you all a Happy Easter! Καλη Ανασταση!

Philoptochos Scholarship Awards 2020 Graduating high school seniors are eligible to apply for the Philoptochos scholarship award. The hard copy applications with guideline instructions are in the church office. Applications must be filled out by the applicants and returned to the church office by May 1st or can be hand delivered to the President of Philoptochos Maria Gregory or Chairwoman of Scholarship committee Jo- anna Petsalis. PHILOPTOCHOS 11 PHILOPTOCHOS Despite having to cancel our March meeting due to COVID-19 re- strictions, our Ladies Philoptochos continues to do good works. We fed Pinellas Hope on March 18 with the peanut butter and jelly sandwich bag breakfast/lunches. However, all meetings are on hold for now. Unfortu- nately, we have also cancelled the Palm Sunday luncheon and bake sale, so we will not be baking this month. Many thanks to Victoria Filides for being ever ready and willing to chair the Palm Sunday luncheon and egg dyeing and Betty Morgan for chairing the baking. Our end of the year luncheon may also be on hold, but many thanks to Vicky Anadiotis for spearheading both this event and also working with the VA Volunteer Services. Our national dues (per capita) are due at the end of April. If you have not paid your $35 dues for 2020, please send to the church office written out to Philoptochos 5009. We only have 20 members paid. We will let you know if we will be doing (in small groups) egg dyeing or Kavouklion decorating and when our next meeting will be as soon as we can have larger group meetings. Philoptochos will also be sponsoring the Philoptochos Scholarship Awards 2020. Graduating high school seniors are eligible to apply for the Philoptochos scholarship award. The hard copy applications with guideline instructions are in the church office. Applications must be filled out by the applicants and returned or mailed to the church office by May 1st or can be hand delivered to the President of Philoptochos Maria

12 SUNDAY OF ORTHODOXY 13 SUNDAY OF ORTHODOXY 14 TREASURER’S MESSAGE - KATHY KOKKINAKOS Dear Cherished Members of the St. Stefanos Family: I pray you and your loved ones are well and staying healthy. Since the last time I saw you in church, we are now living in a starkly different world. The most im- portant thing we can do as Christians right now is to keep praying that God’s will be done in our lives. During these times, just remember that we are truly blessed…we are healthy, we have our families, we have our homes, we live in the BEST Country and in Florida, so much to be thankful for to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I sincerely understand that current circumstances find us challenged with im- portant decisions, myself included. Although we are unable to worship in our church at this time, as your Parish Treasurer I am here to remind us that WE ARE ALL STEWARDS of our beautiful St. Stefanos community. Please generously and cheer- fully give what God has blessed you with. Mail donations/stewardship payments to: St Stefanos Greek Orthodox Church 3600 76th St. North St. Petersburg, FL 33710

Or, call our office at (727) 345-8235 to speak to our bookkeeper Alan Field, between the hours of 8:00 am and 11:00 am with your credit card information. Praise and thank God for all of our blessings.

With all my love, Kathy Kokkinakos 15 EASTER CARD

St. Stefanos 2020

Community Pascha Card Form

With joy and love, we invite your family or business to participate in the St. Stefanos 2020 Community Pascha Card. For a small donation, you may join the rest of our parish family in sharing our greetings in celebration of Pascha. Please fill out the section below & return/mail to the Church Office by Sunday, April. 5th. Thank you

Please write legibly, make sure order of names and spelling is correct Name (s) as you wish to appear on card: ______

______Contact Person: ______Phone Number

Donation: ______$20.00 per Household

______$40.00 per Business

Date paid: ______Payment method: _____Cash or Check #______

16 YOUTH - SUMMER CAMP

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Lazarus Saturday Lazarus Saturday Holy

4 11 18 25 9:30 am Vesperal am 9:30 8:45 am Orthros am 8:45 Divine am 10:00 Liturgy Liturgy Nocturns pm 11:30 Paschal am 12:00 Liturgy & Orthros Pantry Food am 10:00

Sat

Friday

Holy

Epitaphio

3 10 17 24 Hours Great am 9:00 6:00 pm Akathist Akathist 6:00pm Service the 9:30Clean Church the Decorating Vespers 3:00pm Salutations 6:00pm

Fri

Holy Thursday Holy

2 9 16 23 30 9:30 am Vesperal Vesperal am 9:30 Liturgy Reading 6:00pm 12 Gospels

Thu

Holy Wednesday Holy

1 8 TENTING 15 22 29 6:30 Compline pm Service 6:00 pm Holy Holy pm 6:00 6:00 pm 6:00pm Presanctified Liturgy Unction

Wed

Holy Tuesday Holy

7 TENTING 14 21 28 6:00 pm Bridegroom Bridegroom pm 6:00 Service Service

Tue

Updates in the Sunday Bulletin Sunday the in Updates

Holy Monday Holy

6 TENTING 13 20 27 6:00 pm Bridegroom Bridegroom pm 6:00 Service

Mon

April 2020 2020 April

Palm Sunday Palm

Great and Holy Holy and Great

Sun

8:45 8:45 Orthros Divine 10:00 am 8:45 am Orthros am 8:45

5 12 19 26 ThomasSunday 8:45 am Orthros am 8:45 10:00 am Divine Divine am 10:00 Liturgy Divine am 10:00 Liturgy Bridegroom 3:00pm Service Pascha Paschal pm 12:00 Vespers ST. STEFANOS GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH NON - PROFIT ORG. 3600 76th Street North US POSTAGE PAID St. Petersburg, Florida 33710 PERMIT #6203 www.ststefanos.org • E-mail: [email protected] ST. PETERSBURG, FL

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